■ THE 
 
 > U T Y 
 
 I ° F 
 
 National Covenanting 
 
 EXPLAINED, 
 
 fome SERMONS preached at the 
 Renovation of*our Covenants, Nati- 
 onal and Solemn League, in the 
 Bond adapted to our picient Situation 
 md Qircumftances in this Period, 
 }y tlie AfTociate Presbytery, at A- 
 \ernethy y in the Month of July 1744, 
 
 
 Air. Alexander Moncfjeff Minifter 
 f the Gofpel there* 
 
 1. 4, s - h *b°fa &<#*} &%f tn f h at Time, faith 
 
 he Lord, the Children of \{ta£i (hall come % they and 
 
 he Children of Jiidah together, going and weeping : 
 
 /hall go , and feck the Lord thstr God. They 
 
 hall a/k the Way to Zion with their Faces thiiher- 
 
 )ard, faying, Corns, and let. us join our [elves to the 
 
 , in a ptrpetudl Covenant that Jiall not he for- 
 
 t ■. 
 
 iburgh, Printed for David Dnncan, and Sold at 
 is Haufe, oppofite to the Weigh-Houfe, No~ , 
 ide of the Street j and by John Hen derfon Mtr- 
 wct in , [terMfy. MDGCXL VII. 
 
> J s 
 
 November 3. 1744. 
 TO THE 
 
 People of my paftoral 
 Charge. 
 
 THESE Notes were taken from my Mouth, 
 in the fhort Hand, by one of the Hear- 
 ers, when they were delivered Ufttoyouj^ 
 I am fenfible they labour undfer many 
 Defects, but I am willing they be put intft your 
 Hands in the familiar Way in which they were 
 preached to you, hoping that the Lord may, of 
 his Grace, condefcend to blefs them, to bring to 
 your Remembrance the folemn Vows you are 
 come under to the moft high God, and to excite 
 you to an hahituai Dependence upon the Grace 
 that is in Chrift Jefus, to enable you daily to per- 
 form them. I have hereto fubjoined the Bond you 
 have come under. 
 
 * \7f/E, all and every one of us, though lenfible 
 
 * VV of the Deceitfulnefs and Unbelief of 
 
 * our own Hearts, and however frequently per* 
 
 * plexed with Doubts and Fears anent our ac- 
 
 * tual Believing ; yet, defiring to elTay, in the 
 9 Lord's Strength, and in Obedience to his Com- 
 1 mand> to glorify God, by believing his Word 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 * of Grace contained in his Covenant of Promife, 
 
 * and, in the Faith of his Promife, to devote our r 
 
 * felves unto the Lord in a Covenant of Duty ; 
 
 * We do, with our Hands lifted up to the MOST 
 c HIGH GOD, hereby profefs, and, before God, 
 6 Angels and Men, folemnly declare, That, through 
 c the'Grace of God, and according to the Meafure 
 c of his Grace given unto us, "We do, with our 
 4 whole Hearts, take hold of the LORD JESUS 
 
 * CHRIST, as the only Propitiation for our Sins ; 
 
 * his Right eoufnefs, as the only Foundation of our 
 6 Accefs to and Acceptance with God ; hk Co- 
 6 venant of free and rich Promifes, as our only 
 \ Charter for the heavenly Inheritance ; his Word 
 4 for our perfecT: and only Rule of Faith and Prac- 
 ' tice ; his SPII^JT for our alone Guide, to lead 
 1 us into, all Truth revealed in his holy Word, 
 
 * unto which nothing, at any Time, is to be ad- 
 
 * ded^hether by pew Revelations of the Spirit or 
 
 * Traditions of Men. We avouch the LORD to 
 ' be our GOD, and, in the Strength of his promi- 
 
 * fed Grace, we promife and /wear, by the GREAT 
 
 * NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD, That 
 ' we (hall walk in his Way, keep his Judgments 
 
 * and Commandments, and hearken to his Voice : 
 < And, particularly,, that we ihalj, by the Lord's 
 ' Grace, continue and abide in the Prof eflion, Faith 
 
 * and Obedience of the forefaid true reformed Re- 
 * * ligion, in Doctrine, Worfhip, Presbyterial 
 
 * Church-Government and Difcipline ; and that 
 1 we fhal.l, according to our feveral , Stations, 
 ■ Places and Callings, contend and teftify againft 
 
 * all contrary Evils, Errors and Corruptions, par- 
 
 * ticularly, Popery, Prelacy, Deifm, Arianifm, 
 
 * Armin'ianifm, and every Error fubverfive to the 
 \ Poctrine of Qrace \ as alfa Independent, Latitude 
 
 ' nariau 
 
a jr/<7» Tenets, and the other Evils named in the 
 above Confeflion of Sins. 
 
 * In like Manner, we promife and /wear, That, by- 
 all Means which are lawful ancj warrantable for 
 us, according to the Word of God, the approv- 
 en and received Standards of this Church, and 
 our known Principles, we (hall, in our feveral 
 Stations and Callings, endeavour the Reformati- 
 on of Religion in England and Ireland, in Doc- 
 trine, Worihip, Difcipline and Government, ac- 
 cording to the Word of God ; and to promote 
 and advance our covenanted Conjunction andU- 
 niformity in Religion, Confeflion of Faith and 
 Catechifms, Form of Church-Government, and 
 Directory for Worfhip, as thefe were received by 
 ; this Church. 
 
 ' And, in regard we are taught by the Word of 
 
 God, and bound by our Covenants, National and 
 
 ' Solemn League, to live together in the Fear of 
 
 1 God, and in Love one to another, and to encou- 
 
 ' rage one another in the Work and Caufe of the 
 
 * Lord ; and that, denying all Ungodlinefs and 
 1 worldly Lufts, we fnouldlive foberiy, righteouf- 
 4 ly and godly in this prefent World : Therefore, 
 « in a Dependence on the Lord's Grace and 
 
 * Strength, We, in the fame Manner, do promife 
 1 and /wear that we fliall, in our feveral Places ancj 
 ' Callings, encourage and ftrengthen one another's 
 ' Hands, in purfuing our End and Defign ^of tliis 
 
 * our folemn Oath and Covenant ; and that we 
 
 * lhall endeavour a Life and Converfation becom- 
 4 ingthe Gofpel of Chrifr, : And that, in our per- 
 ' fonal Callings and particular Families, we lnail 
 
 * ftudy to be good Examples to one another of 
 
 * Godlinefs and Righteoufnefs, and of every Duty 
 
 * that we owe to God and Man ; and that we fliall 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 ' not give up ourfelves to a detcftablc Indifference 
 
 * and Neutrality in the Caufe of God ; but, deny- 
 1 ing ourfelves, and our own Things, we lhall, a- 
 « bove all Things, feek the Honour of God, and 
 « the Good of his Caufe and People ; and that, 
 
 * through Grace, forfaking the Counfels of Flelh 
 
 * and Blood, and not leaning upon carnal Confi- 
 
 * dences, we fhali endeavour to depend upon the 
 
 * Lord, to walk by the Rule of his Word, and 
 
 * to hearken to his Voice by his Servants. In 
 
 * all which, profefling our own "Weakncfs, we 
 « earneftly pray to God, who is the Father of 
 
 * Mercies, through his Son Jefus Chrift, to 
 ' be merciful unto us, and to enable us, by the 
 
 * Power of his holy Spirit, that we may do our Du- 
 « ty, unto the Praifes of his Grace in the Churches. 
 
 * Amen: 
 
 Extracted— ■ 
 
 JOHN POTTS Pr. Cls. 
 
 Isaiah 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 Isaiah xix. 18* 
 
 In that Day Jhall five Cities in the Land 
 
 °f kgyP 1 - f wear t0 tb c L°rd °f 
 Hofis. 
 
 IN the preceeding Part of this Chapter yon 
 have an Account of awful Judgments de- 
 nounced againft Egypt. In this Verfe, 
 and what follows in the Chapter, you 
 have an Account of Mercy referved for 
 Egypt in Gofpel -Days. Egypt was en- 
 lightened by the Gofpcl early after our Lord's A- 
 fcenfion into Heaven, by the Miniflry of fome of 
 the Preachers of the Gofpel of Chrift : And under 
 the Name of Egypt, and the Promiles of the Grace 
 of God made unto it, is likeways included the Con- 
 verfion of the Heathen and Gentile Nations in Go- 
 fpel-Days, in thofe very Places of the World 
 where Pagan Darknefs hath prevailed to the great- 
 eft Height ; for, by the Gofpel of the Grace of 
 God, the People that fat in Darknefs fee a great 
 Light, and to thofe that were in the Shadow of 
 Death, Light fprings up. 
 
 In thefe Words, then, we may remark theft 
 few Things following. In the ift Place, there is 
 a Duty, and a folemn Part of religious Worftip, 
 which is to be performed and given to God in E- 
 gypt y now by Grace brought into a Church-State : 
 Five Cities hi the Land ef Egypt Jhali /wear to the 
 
 Urd 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 Lord of Hofts. They ihall not only fwear by him," 
 in a Way of Appeal unto him, as is ordinarily 
 done for putting an End to Controverfies between 
 Man and Man, but they ihall fwear Allegiance to 
 him : They lhall enter into a Covenant of Duty, 
 founded upon, and in confequence of their taking 
 hold of his Covenant of Grace and Promife. 
 
 idly. You have the Seafon of this Duty • In that 
 Day. The Gofpel-Day, which is frequently point- 
 ed out in Scripture by that Day, as in Zech. xii. 
 io, ii. and xiii. i. In that Day, when the Son of 
 Right eoufnefs /ha/I arife with Healing in his Wings. 
 In that Day, when the Day-Spring from on high jh all 
 vifit the Heathen Nations and the Land of Egy'pt. 
 Egypt in particular : /;; that Day jhall five Cities in 
 the Land of Egypt fwear to the Lord of Hofts- Thus 
 we fee fwearing to the Lord of Hofts is a Duty un- 
 der the New Teftament as well as it was under the 
 Old. 
 
 %dly. You have the Parties engaged and employ- 
 ed in this Part of folemn Worfhip. They are but 
 a few ; five Cities in, the Land of Egypt. There 
 were many Cities in the Land of Egypt, yet but 
 five of a great many Cities do fwear to the Lord, 
 and engage in this neceffary Duty of vowing to the 
 Lord. And this teacheth us, by the Way, 
 that it is the Duty of a few, of a Remnant in a 
 Land, to avouch the Lord for their God : T,hough 
 the great Bulk of the Land or Generation fliould be 
 chargeable with flighting or oppofing Reformation- 
 Work, it muft not hinder us from doing our Duty, 
 in renewing our Covenant* Engagements to the 
 Lord : Tho' few in the Land join in this Work, 
 vet a few of many have God's Warrant, in his 
 Strength, to cfTay the Duty of vowing and fwear- 
 ing to Jack's mighty God. Five Cities in idola- 
 trous 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 trotis Egypt , that were Heathens and Outcafts 
 Strangers to the Covenant of Promife, when Gofpel- 
 Light ihines in Egypt y and they are enlightened by 
 it, they lhall fwear to the Lord of Hofts. Our 
 Fathers in thefe Lands ferved other Gods ; they 
 bowed to and worfhipped Stocks and Stones under 
 Pagan Darknefs, and were involved in- the grofs I- 
 dolatry of the Church of Rome under Popifh Dark- 
 nefs -, and at this Day Heathenifm, Deifm, Atheifm, 
 Socinian and Arminian Errors have overfpread the 
 Land, and a Way is paved for introducing the I- 
 dolatry and Superftition of Rome which already has 
 got great Entertainment in many Places, as appears 
 from the open Saying of Mafs, and the Growth of 
 Popery in the Land : Yet, notwithstanding the la- 
 mentable Condition our Fathers were in under Po- 
 pifh Darknefs, when the Lord did clear their Sky, 
 they entred into a Covenant of Duty, to oppofe 
 the Superstitions of Popery, Prelacy, and every o- 
 ther Evil contrary to the Word of God, and to 
 walk with God, and cleave to him. And altho' 
 thefe Lands, at this Day, are over-run with the a- 
 bove Errors and Abominations, yet five Cities, a 
 few in thefe Lands, are warranted to fwear to the 
 Lord of Hofts. 
 
 tfhly. In this Verfe we have a Qualification of 
 the Covenanters and thofe that fwear to the Lord 
 of Hofts, namely, they are a People that fpeak the 
 Language of Canaan ; five Cities in the Land cf E- 
 gypt /hall fpeak the Language of Canaan. The 
 Scripture Language was the Language of Canaan , 
 the Jews had the fame Dialeft In which the Scrip- 
 tures were written ; and thofe who fpeak the Lan- 
 guage of Canaan y are fuch who prize the Word of 
 God, and duly read, the fame ; thofe who meditate 
 upon the Word of God, thofe who rejoice in his 
 B Word, 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 Word, as tfaofe who find great Spoil ; who fpeak 
 about the Truths of his Word, the Doctrines of 
 his Word, and who meditate upon the great 
 Things of his Law. They who fpeak the Lan- 
 guage of Canaan, fpeak concerning Chrift, who is 
 the very Subftance of the whole Word : They 
 have a Savour of Chrift in their Words and Acti- 
 ons, and in their whole Converfation ; and their 
 Speaking the Language of Canaan fuppofes they 
 are Citizens of Canaan, Citizens of Zion ; for every 
 Country fpeaks its own Language *, and it fup- 
 pofes they have been born in Zion, born from a- 
 bove, and are the Children of Zion, who are joy- 
 ful in their King. It muft be the renewed Heart 
 that will or can fpeak the new Dialect, the Lan- 
 guage of Canaan, for out of the Abundance of the 
 Heart the Mouth fpeaketh. And this fheweth who 
 will be true Covenanters, namely, thofe who have 
 their Converfation in fome Meafure in Heaven, and 
 fpeak the Language of Canaan. They are far from 
 Ipeaking the Language, of Canaan who favour juft of 
 this Earth, and- fpeak about their worldly Affairs 
 on the Lord 'stjjay, and make Intimation of their 
 Roups, and the like, ori the Lord's Day ; a Practice 
 which has too much prevailed, even in this Place ; 
 but, be it known unto you all, we, in the Lord's 
 Kame, forbid and difcharge any Perfon whatfoever 
 to be guilty of fuch a Practice for the future on the 
 Lord's Day, by placading their Papers on the 
 Church-Doors, or otherways intimating them, on 
 that holy Day. You who are on your Journey to 
 Canaan, no Wonder you ipeak the Language of 
 Canaan ; it is your Country you are going to, and 
 no Wonder you fpeak the Language of your Coun- 
 try •, you are Strangers on Earth, but you look for 
 ^ better Country, that is, an heavenly. 
 
 Sthlj. You 
 
( " ) 
 
 $tbly. You have the Object of all religious 
 Worfhip, and of this Part of religious "Worfhip 
 in particular, namely, the Lord of Hofts. They 
 Jhall /wear to the Lord of Hofts ; to Jehovah, who 
 has all the Hofts and Armies in Heaven and Earth 
 at his Command, and who doth what he pleafeth 
 in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabi- 
 tants of the Earth. He alone is the fole and only 
 Object of all divine "Worfhip and Adoration. It 
 is God, then, we have to do with in renewing our 
 Covenant-Engagements. 
 
 6thly. You have the Form in which this Duty is 
 taught us, and delivered to us, namely, in the 
 Form of a Promife. Five Cities in the Land of 
 Egypt fliall fwear to the Lord of Hofts. Not only 
 is it a warrantable Duty, but it is a Duty wrapt in 
 a Promife, which importeth that the Lord will af- 
 iift his People in theDifcharge of this Duty. He 
 has undertaken for their Furniture ; they jhall fwear 
 to the Lord of Hofts. If any Duty, or this folemn 
 Duty, were left to our Management, we would 
 make a fad Account of it ; but Jehovah, our God, 
 has taken it in Hand ; they Jhall fwear unto the Lord 
 of Hofts. 
 
 Laftly, In this Verfe you have the Term or De- 
 fignation which one of thefe Cities mail have; 
 one of them fliall be called "The City of Deftru&ion, 
 or, The City of the Sun, as fome render it ; one of 
 them fhall be called, The City of Light, or, of the 
 Valley of Vifion ; or one of them fliall be called, 
 The City of Deflruciion ; that is, one of them, or 
 all of them put together, will be reckoned by their 
 Neighbours, the Men of the World, to be Cities 
 of DeftrucYion, a felf-ruining People, bringing De- 
 ftrucYion upon themfelves, when they fee them tak- 
 ing joyfully the fpoiling of their Goods for Chrift 
 
 and 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 and his Caufe ; or we may take it thus, The Men 
 of the World will feek to bring DeftrucYion upon 
 them, becaufe they are a People that are employed 
 in witnefling for, and fwearing unto the Lord of 
 Hofts ; a Wprk which the Pvlen of the World bear 
 a great Hatred unto, becaufe a Teitimony againft 
 a Gourfe of Defection is tormenting to the Men that 
 dwell on the Earth. 
 
 From thefe Words, thus explained, we obferve 
 the following Doctrine. 
 
 That, as it is the Duty of the Church and People of 
 God, in New Teftament Times, to renew their 
 national Vows and Covenants, tho* they be but a 
 few in Number compared with the Oppofers of 
 a Work of Reformation ; fo they may war ran- 
 tably trufl a prcmifing God, that he will enable 
 them to perform that Duty to the Praife of his 
 Grace. 
 
 In that Day ft) all five Cities in the Land of Egypt 
 fuear to the Lord of Hefts. 
 
 In difcourfmg this Doctrine we fliall endeavour, 
 by the Lord's Affiftance, firft, to offer fome Re- 
 marks concerning this moral, neceffary and feafon- 
 able Duty of renewing our Covenant-Engagements, 
 and fwearing to the Lord of Hofts. 
 
 idly. Shew that this is a Duty in New Tefta- 
 ment Times, and even when the witnefling Rem- 
 nant are the fmaller Part, and but a few, compar- 
 ed with the Oppofers of Reformation- Work. 
 
 idly. Speak of this fole'mn Part of religious 
 Worlhip, vowing and fwearing to the Lord of 
 Hofts. 
 
 qthly. Shew that we have a good Ground 
 and Warrant to truit a promifing God, that he 
 
 will 
 
( >3 ) 
 
 will enable us to perform this Duty of vowingad 
 fwearing to him, to the Praifeof his Grace. 
 5thly. Make fome Application, 
 We proceed then to the firft Thing propofed, 
 namely, by divine Affiitance to offer fome Remarks 
 concerning this moral, neceifary and feafonable 
 Duty of renewing our Covenant-Engagements, and 
 fwearing to the Lord of Hods. 
 
 And ( i ) we remark, that the Oath of God which 
 we are to enter into, is not the Covenant of Grace, 
 but it is a Covenant of Duty and Gratitude ; and all 
 that have taken hold of the Covenant of Grace are 
 obliged to devote themfelves to the Lord in a Cove- 
 nant of Duty. There muft be Faith in Chrift in the 
 firft Place, and, in confequence of that, there ought 
 to be an open Profeding of our Faitli in him and O- 
 bedience to him. When Gideon and Jephtah had 
 wrought great Deliverances'in Ifrael, what was the 
 Voice of the People ? Why, it was, Rule thou over 
 tis. Chrift has wrought a great Salvation, and all the 
 Citizens of Zion defire him to rule over them, and 
 they truft and confide in him alone ; as it was faid 
 by Boaz to Ruth, Bleffed art thou of the Lord, feeing 
 f thou art come to truft under the Wings of the God of 
 Ifrael. The very Nature of Faith is juft aTrufting 
 Immanuel \ and it is theVoice of all the People who 
 are helped by Grace to act Faith on him, Rule thou 
 ever us. Their Voice is fuch as that of the Men 
 who came to David in the Hold. The Spirit of the 
 Lord came upon Amazai, and he faid. Thine are we, 
 David, and on thy Side, thou Son of Jeife, i Chron, 
 xii. We fay, it is not the Covenant of Grace, but 
 a Covenant of Duty, which is founded upon, and 
 confequential of our taking hold of the Covenant 
 of Grace, 
 
 For, 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 For, in the fir ft Place, the Covenant of Grace is 
 a Bundle of precious Promifes, i«Bk God hath 
 undertaken to perform to us for Chrinrs Sake. The 
 Covenant of Duty is a Bundle of Duties, which, 
 as inflated in Chrift our new Covenant and fari&ify- 
 ing Head, we do promife in his Strength to do and 
 perform, idly, The Covenant of Grace never was* 
 and never ihall, nor can be broken, becaufe the 
 Parties contracting in it are Jehovah the Father on 
 Heaven's Side, and Jehovah the Son on Man's Side, 
 as may be feen in the 89 Pfalm throughout. But 
 our Covenant of Duty and Gratitude is frequently 
 broken, and needs to be renewed.- %dly. The Co- 
 venant of Grace, as it ftands faft with Chrift, is 
 the Ground of all our Faith, Hope and Confidence 
 before God : Bu.t our Covenant of Duty is neither 
 in lefs nor more a Ground of Hope or Confidence 
 to us. If we value oufelves lefs or more upon the 
 Account of it, we do but idolize it. It is a Mean 
 of God's Appointment to imprefs deeply upon our 
 Spirits a Senfe of our Duty to God, a Senfe of 
 our Infufficiency to perform any Duty acceptably 
 by any Ability or Power of our own, and to ftreng- 
 then our Dependence upon Chrift alone for Righ- 
 teoufnefs and Strength : But if we truft to it as a 
 Ground of Hope, we pervert the End and Defign 
 of its Inftitution, and abufc it to perverfe Ends of 
 our own Invention. 
 
 idly. We remark, that our entring into, or re- 
 newing our Covenant of Duty at this Day, is a • 
 neceflary and feafonable Duty. There were weigh- 
 ty Reafons, in the Days of ' Nehemich, for renewing 
 their Covenant of Duties, as w"e may fee in the 
 ninth Chapter of his Book and 38 Verfe : And, 
 becaufe of all this, we make, a fure Covenant, and 
 write it, and our Princes , Levites, and Priefts feat 
 
 unto 
 
( ij ) 
 
 unto it. Becaufe of all this, that is, for the weigh- 
 ty Reafons mentioned in the preceeding Part of the 
 Chapter. And if we compare our Cafe with theirs, 
 we will find m^pime weighty Reafons, at- this 
 Day, for renewing our Covenant with the Lord 
 our God. They renewed their Covenant, becaufe 
 of the Defections of thefe Times, and upon the 
 Account of the Corruptions that were brought in 
 among them, Neh. ix. 34, 35*. and becaufe of the 
 Jugdments of God they were under, and becaufe of 
 other awful Judgments they were farther threatned 
 with, for their Sin and Apoftafy, Neb. ix. 36, 37. 
 and that fuch are the Circumftances of thefe Times, 
 muft be evident to all who have any fpiritual Dif- 
 cerning. How manifold fpiritual Judgments are 
 we under already ? And what awful temporal Judg- 
 ment are we threatned with I And becaufe of all 
 thefe we are to make a firre Covenant. 
 
 %dly. We remark, that due Preparation is necef- 
 fary in order to our entring into this Covenant of 
 Duty : Slightnefs of Spirit in making of Vows, 
 brings on Slightnefs of Spirit in performing the 
 fame ; every folemn Duty calls for folemn Prepa- 
 ration, and this is a Duty as folemn as any, to 
 vow to Jacob's mighty God ; we need then to pre- 
 pare for fuch a Wdrk. As our Lord and Saviour 
 commands to take heed how we hear the Word 
 preached, fo we muft take heed how we vow and 
 fwear to the Lord. In order to our Preparation, 
 then, there are thefe few Things neceffary. F/r/?, 
 It is neceffary, in order to our Preparation, that 
 we have Faith in the Son of God, for without 
 Faith it is impoffible to pleafe God, Heb. xi. 6. 
 If you come to this Duty without Chrift, and Faith 
 in him, you will go away without Acceptance, for 
 he hath made us accepted only in the Beloved, idly* 
 
 I 
 
In order to our Preparation, it is neceffary that we 
 take hold of God's Covenant of Promife : There 
 can be no devoting ourfelves aright to the Lord 
 in a Covenant of Duty, unlefs we firft take hold of 
 God's Covenant of Promife. We muft avouch 
 the Lord to be our God, and, in the Strength of his 
 Grace, promife to walk in his Statutes, keep 
 his Judgments and do them. You fee this Duty of 
 taking hold of God's Covenant of Grace pointed 
 out in Ifalah Ivi. 6, 7. Alfo the Sons of the Stranger, 
 that join themfehes to the Lord to Jerve him, and to 
 love the Name of the Lord to he his Servants ; every 
 one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and 
 taketh hold of my Covenant ; even them will I bring to 
 my holy Mountain, and make them joyful in my Houfe of 
 Prayer; their Burnt -Offerings and their Sacrifices 
 fhall be accepted upon mine Altar. You are all warrant- 
 ed to take hold of God's Covenant, even tho' you 
 be the Sons of the Stranger. Your Parents have 
 taken hold of the Seal of it for you, when your were 
 Infants, but that will be a Witnefs againft you, if 
 you take not hold of his Covenant yourfelves by 
 Faith in his Word of Grace and Promife. But then, 
 %dly. as all Men and Women are at Agreement with 
 Sin, fo this Agreement muft be djfannulled and bro- 
 ken before you can enter into this Covenant of Du- 
 ty •, for if you regard Iniquity in your Heart, the 
 Lord will not hear your Prayers, neither will he 
 accept your Covenants and Vows made to him. 
 What a woful Cafe are they in, who only profefs 
 to worfnip the Lord, and ftill continue in their A- 
 greement with Sin ? For what Fellowfhip hath 
 Righteoufnefs with Unrighteoufhefs ? And what 
 Communion hath Light with Darknefs ? And what 
 Concord hath Chrift with Belial ? 
 
 4th!y. It 
 
( »7 ) 
 
 qtbly. It is necefFary, in order to our renewing Co- 
 venant with God, that we be humbled for and repent 
 of our Breach of former Vows and Engagements. 
 This we find was the Practice oflfrael and Jvdah, 
 Jer. 1. 4, 5. In thofe Days, and at that Time, faith 
 the Lord, the Children of lfracl Jh all come, they and 
 the Children of Judah together, going and weeping ; 
 they Jh all go andfeek the Lord their God, they jh all ask 
 the Way to Zion with their Faces thitherward, faying, 
 Come, and let us join our fe Ives to the Lord in a perpe- 
 tuol Covenant that /hall not he forgotten. They ask 
 the Way weeping as they go. Gofpel-Humili- 
 ation, that fprings from Faith's looking on him. 
 whom we have pierced, is abfolutely neceflary in 
 our joining to him in a Covenant of Duty : We 
 need to have our former Breaches removed by a 
 frefli Application unto, and Faith 's Sprinkling of 
 the Blood of Jefus, that cleanfeth from all Sin; 
 thus betaking ourfelves to the Fountain opened to 
 theHoufeof David, and to the Inhabitants of Je- 
 rufalem > for Sin and for Uncleannefs. 
 
 $thly. It is neceflary, before you enter into this 
 Bond and Oath, that y ou fit down and count the Coft 
 of fuch anUndertakingas to enter into God's Cove* 
 nant, Luke xiv. 28. Which of you intending to build a 
 Tower, ftteth not down and count eth the Coft, whether he 
 hath fufficient to finijh it. It has been feen of rafh 
 Covenanters, that they have been fo far from {land- 
 ing to their Engagements, that every Moving of 
 their Hand afterwards has been employed in pulling 
 down Zion's Towers and in the Building of Babylon. 
 Now, in order to your counting the Coft, 17?. Ex- 
 amine your own Hearts upon the Articles of this 
 Covenant which is to be fworn to the Lord of 
 Hofts. Put the Queftion to your own Hearts, and 
 let every one fay thus unto himfelf, Is it indeed 
 G the 
 
( i8 ) 
 
 the inward Exercife of my Soul, that from the 
 Heart I defire to effay, in the Lord's Strength, to 
 glorify God by believing his Word of Grace con- 
 tained in his Covenant of Promife ? And is it the 
 Defire of my Heart, in the Faith of his Promife, to 
 devote myfelf to the Lord in a Covenant of Duty ? 
 Is it my Concern and Exercife to be enabled, with 
 an uplifted Heart, as well as uplifted Hands, to 
 profefs and declare, that through the Lord's Grace 
 I take hold of Chrift as the only Propitiation for 
 my Sins, of his Righteoufnefs as the only Ground 
 of my Acceptance with God, and of his Covenant 
 of free Promifes as my only Charter for eternal 
 Life ? And is it the Defire of my Heart by Faith - 
 to avouch the Lord to be my God, to take his 
 Word for my Rule, and his Spirit for my Guide? 
 And after examining my Duty of vowing to the 
 Lord from the Word, and after confidering my 
 Infufficiency to pay my Vows, and the Strength 
 that is in Chrift to enable me to perform them, am 
 I refolved to fwear to the Lord, that in his Strength 
 I will walk in his Ways, keep his Commandments* 
 and hearken to his Voice ? And do I refolve, 
 through Grace, to adhere unto the true reformed 
 Doctrine, Worfliip, Presbyterial Government and 
 Difcipline of the Houfe of God ? And do I alfo re- 
 folve, that, in my Station and Capacity, I fhall op- 
 pofe all contrary Errors, fuch as Popery, Prelacy, 
 Deifm, Arianifm, Arminianifm, Independency, and 
 Latitudinarian Principles ? And do I refolve, in 
 my Station, to endeavour the Reformation of 
 England and Ireland., according to the Word of 
 God, in Doctrine, Worfliip, Difcipline and 
 Government? And do I refolve to ftrengthen the 
 Hands of my Brethren in this g eat Work and Du- 
 ty, and to endeavour by Grace to have a Conver- 
 sation 
 
( IP ) 
 
 fation becoming the Gofpel of Chrift, and in my 
 Family and Station to be a good Example to others, 
 and to obferve every Duty incumbent on me both 
 to God and Man ? And do I refolve againft all 
 Neutrality and Indifference in this great Work, 
 and that, denying myfelf, will prefer the Honour 
 of God, and the Good of his Caufe and People, 
 to every Thing elfe, and that, forfaking the 
 Counfels of Fleih and Blood, I will depend on the 
 Lord alone ? 
 
 idly. As you are to count the Coft by examin- 
 ing your Hearts upon every Article of the Bond, 
 fb you are to count what it muft coft you, and 
 what it may coft you. i . There are fome Things it 
 muft coft you. (i.) It muft coft you the renoun- 
 cing of all Confidence in the Flefh, and betaking 
 yourfelves unto the Dependence of Faith upon 
 Chrift alone. (2.) It muft coft you the Death of all 
 your Idols, the Mortification of all your Corrupti- 
 ons, the Breaking all your Leagues with Sin ; a 
 League with Sin, and a League with God, can 
 never ftand together ; there muft be a Warfare 
 maintained, through Grace, with every Sin. (3.) 
 It muft coft your Subordinating all your Concerns to 
 Chrift's Intereft and Glory. You muft be denied 
 to all worldly Comforts, fo as to be ready, in 
 Chrift's Strength, to part with them all at his Call. 
 You muft be of another Spirit than the Men of the 
 World. Your Eye muft be upon another World. 
 (4.) It muft coft you the Denying of all your 
 Self-Righteoufnefs and Doings, in Point of Accefs 
 to and Acceptance with God ; it is in the Strength, 
 and through the Righteoufnefs of Chrift alone, that 
 you can pay a Vow. (5.) It muft coft you a great 
 deal of Pains and Labour, You fee we undertake 
 to endeavour the Reformation of Religion in Eng« 
 land and Ireland, and among ourfelves ; fo. that fays 
 
 that 
 
( SO ) 
 
 that we muft be at a great deal of Pains to know 
 our Duty, and to follow it. You muft not be in- 
 different about the Times, as many are, who are 
 only taken up about themfelves, and haveco Con- 
 cern for Zion. Some there are who have only a 
 publick Religion, and know nothing of perfonal 
 Religion ! But as fuch who have only a pu- 
 blick Religion, have no Religion at all, fo perfo- 
 nal Religion, and a Concern for the Caufe of Chrift, 
 are joined together in the Word of God ; and what 
 God has joined we are not to feparate. (6.) It; 
 muft coft your Maintaining an Intercourfe with 
 Chrift, and a daily Traffick and Commerce with 
 the Land that is afar off, to bring in from Time 
 to Time, by Faith in the Word of Grace andPro- 
 mife, Supplies of Grace to enable you for Work 
 and Warfare, to do and to fuffer. 
 
 2. There are fome Things it may coft you. It 
 may coft you the Spoiling of your Goods ; and by 
 Grace the Lord's People have taken joyfully the 
 Spoiling of their Goods for Chrift. It may coft 
 you Bonds and Imprifonment, Rev. ii. 10. Behold 
 the Devil /hall caft fame of you into Prifon, that you 
 may be tried. It may coft you your Life ; and there- 
 fore you ought to be in the Difpofition of the Apo- 
 ftle, who faid, What mean ye to weep, and to break my 
 Heart ; for I am ready y not only to be bound, but to. 
 die at Jerufalem for the Name of jefus. It may 
 coft you fo much in the Iffue ; but tho' it fnould 
 not, you are to lay your x^ccount with all this Coft 
 in adhering to the Lord and his Caufe •, for all that 
 are Chrift's Difciples and fincf r.e Followers, they 
 are Martyrs in Refolution : For except a Man deny 
 limfelf and take up his Crofs and follow Chrift, he can* 
 not he his Difciple. 
 
 HEAD II. We proceed, idly. By divine Affift- 
 snee, to fhew that this is a Duty ?n New Teftament 
 
 Tiniev 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 Times, and even when the witnefling Remnant are 
 the fmaller Part, and but a few, when compared 
 with the Oppofers of Reformation -Work : And 
 that it is a Duty, at this Day, to rene* our Co- 
 venant-Engagements, will appear, if we ^onfider, 
 in xhtfirfl Place, 
 
 That we live in the Gofpel-Day, concerning 
 which it was prophefied that this Duty fhould be 
 gone about, as in our Text, /;; that Day, (viz. 
 the Gofpel-Day, or in the Times of the New-Te- 
 flament) /ball Jive Cities in the Land of "Egypt /wear 
 to the Lord of m Hofls. The Gofpel-Day is a Day 
 of Manifeftation, wherein we fee more clearly the 
 Glory of the Lord revealed •, we fee more clearly 
 the Covenant of Grace as it ftands fail with Chrift, 
 which is the Foundation on which all our Vows 
 and Engagements mull be built -, we fee the Glory 
 of his Perfon, Immanuel, God with us ; we fee 
 more clearly that everlafting Righteoufnefs he has 
 brought in as the Foundation of the Faith and Hope 
 of Men i we fee the Law fulfilled by him as a Co- 
 venant, and delivered by him to us as a Rule of 
 Life ; we fee more clearly the ftrong Grounds and 
 Rcafons for this and every other moralDuty from the 
 Authority of God, the infinite Perfection of his 
 Mature, and from his Holinefs, Grace and Love 
 manifefted iq the Face of Jefus Chrift; we fee 
 more clearly the Furniture that is in Chrift, for 
 Light and Leading, to make known the Way of 
 Duty, and the Grace and Strength that is commu- 
 nicated by him to us, to enable us to walk in his 
 Ways, to keep his Confhiandments, and to heark- 
 en to his Voice. Thus then it muft be our Duty 
 Jn particular, at this Day, to vow to the Lord of 
 Hafts, 
 
 idly. Ses» 
 
( » ), 
 
 idly. Seeing the Ends of this Duty, of vowing 
 and fwearing to the Lord of Hofts, are the fame 
 now as under the Old Teftament, It muft be our 
 Duty at this Day, as well as it was theirs when 
 they renewed their Covenant-Engagements in the 
 Days of Nebemiab, fofiah, and others. We are 
 under as great and ftrong Obligations to maintain 
 the Purity of God's Worfhip, to adhere to his. 
 Truths, and to walk clofely with him, as they 
 were j and we are as ready to turn afide from the 
 Lord as they were. Our Corruptions are as ftrong» 
 and we are as ready to be forgetful of our Obliga- 
 tions to the Lord as they were ? Our Graces are 
 as weak, and we have as much Need of this Mean 
 of God's Appointment to awaken our Attention to 
 Duty, and to ftrengthen our Faith and Dependence 
 upon the Lord, as they had. 
 
 $dly. That it is a Duty at this Day, as well as 
 it was the Duty of the Old Teftament Church, to 
 renew our Covenant-Engagements to the Lord, 
 will appear, if we confider, that thofc very Things 
 that made this Duty feafonable at that Time, are to 
 be found with us at this Day. Why ? They en* 
 tred into a Covenant with the Lord upon the Back 
 of great Deliverances, upon the Back of the Red- 
 Sea Deliverances, when the Lord had delivered 
 them, and deftroyed their Enemies. And has not 
 the Lord many a Time delivered us in*thefe Lands, 
 and wrought great Salvation for us, from Time to 
 Time . ? It was alfo in the Time of much Backflid- 
 ing and Corruption, when they had mingled them- 
 selves with the People of the Land, and came to 
 fee the Neceflity of being Separated from them, as 
 in the Days of Ezra, as we may fee in Ezra ix. 
 They had mingled with the Heathen, and learned 
 af them their Way ; and how far this is the Cafe 
 
 with 
 
( =3 ) 
 
 With us, at this Day and Time, is obvious to every 
 attentive Obfcrver. We have been too long min- 
 gled with thofe who have either adopted or con- 
 nived at the grofs Errors vented in thefe Times ; 
 and we have been mingled with them in the Back- 
 flidings and Defections of the Day ; and therefore 
 it is a Seafon wherein we ought to return unto the 
 Lord, to vow and fwear that we fhall walk with 
 him in his Strength. They renewed their Cove- 
 nants with the Lord, when they were under great 
 Judgments, as in Neh. ix. 37. They were in great 
 Diftrefs ; becaufe of all which they made a furc 
 Covenant, Verfe 38. Are not we alfo in great Di- 
 ftrefs by the Judgments of God already inflicted, 
 and the awful Judgments we are threatned with, 
 a foreign Sword being already drawn againft the 
 Land ? Are not we in great Diftrefs by the Divifi- 
 on and Neutrality of the Day and Time wherein 
 we live, fome who feemed to have the Root of the 
 Matter turning indifferent about the Lord's Caufe, 
 and bitterly oppoiing that Work which once they 
 appeared to be zealous for I Are not we in great 
 Diftrefs by ourDeadnefs, Formality and fpiritual 
 Plagues, by the Lord's hiding his Face, and with- 
 drawing from publi-ck Ordinances, and from us in 
 our Retirements,. in a great Meafure ? As alfo by our 
 great Infenfibility in all thefe, for we are not turn- 
 ing to the Hand that fmiteth us, nor are we feek- 
 ing the Lord of Hofts. From all which it is e- 
 vident, that it is a neceffary and a feafonable Duty 
 for us to renew our Covenant-Engagements unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 qthly. It is a moral Duty, and therefore muft be 
 our Duty at this Day, as well as it was the Duty 
 of the Old Teftament Church ; for moral Duties 
 are ©f themfelv«s binding and obligatory in all Pe- 
 riods 
 
( *4 ) 
 riods of the Church. It is a Duty enjoined in the 
 third Commandment of the moral Law, and we 
 are commanded, Pfalm lxxvi. 1 1 . to vow to the 
 Lord, as well as to pay ; Vow and pay to the Lord 
 your God. It is a moral Duty, that was both en- 
 joined to the People of God, and practifed . by 
 them in the Days of Nehemiah, Jofiah, and others. 
 It was a Duty practifed by the Saints of God 
 in all Ages. Job made a Covenant with his Eyes, 
 and David did fwear to keep God's righteous 
 Judgments, Pfalm cxix. 106. I have fworn, and I 
 will per form, that I will keep thy righteous Judgments. 
 It is a Duty that God gracioufly accepted and ap- 
 proved of in Old Teflament Times : ,And, that it 
 might evidently appear to be a moral Duty of per- 
 petual Obligation, there are Prophecies and Pro- 
 mifes of this Duty as acceptable Worfhip to 
 God under the Gofpel, as we may fee by comparing 
 our Text with the 2 1 Verfe of this Chapter : In 
 that Day fh all five Cities in the Land /"Egypt fwe ar 
 to the Lord of Ho/Is. Verfe 21? And the Lord /hall 
 he known to Egypt, and the Egyptians /hall know the 
 Lord in that Day, and /hall do Sacrifice and Oblation ; 
 yea, they /hall vow a Vow unto the Lord, and perform 
 it. Thus it is a moral Duty, and fo a Duty at this 
 Day. 
 
 Sthly. It is a Duty wherein God is glorified, and 
 therefore it is our Duty, at this Day, to fwear to 
 the Lord of Hofts, Jehovah Tzebaoth. It is a very 
 folemn Piece of Worfhip. The Lord has fworn, 
 that to him every Knee mail bow, every Tongue 
 fhall fwear, Ifaiabxlv. 23. 1 have fworn by my/elf 
 the Word is gone out of my. Mouth in Right eoufnefs, 
 and jh all not return, that unto me every Knee fhall bcw > 
 every Tongue /hall fwear. He is glorified by this 
 Part of folemn Worfhip, becaufe by it we profefs 
 
 our 
 
6 *5 ) 
 
 our Faith in, and Reverence towards the infinite 
 Jehovah, God in Chrift reconciling the World to him- 
 felf. And to fwear by the Name of the Lord of 
 Hofts, is to profefs the ftrong Obligation we are un- 
 der to cleave unto him with Purpofe of Heart, and 
 to profefs bur own utter Inability to keep any of 
 our Vows and Engagements. To fwear by his 
 Name, is juft to call in the Name of Jehovah, the 
 Name of God as in Chrift, to our Affiftance in 
 paying our Vows. To call in his Name, that is, 
 all his Attributes and Perfections, hisGrace, Love, 
 and Mercy, his Power, Faithfulnefs, and Holi- 
 nefs, as glorified in Chrift, to our Affiftance in 
 this great Work, of our walking clofely with God 
 and obeying his Voice. , It glorifies him. Why f 
 Becaufe it is juft the higheft Expreffion of the quiet 
 and affured Confidence of Faith upon the Name 
 and Attributes of God, as glorified in Chrift, for 
 our Affiftance and Through-bearing in following 
 him fully ; and that he will fee to the Performance 
 of all our Vows made unto him. They fhall vow 
 a Vow to the Lord, and perform it. He will en- 
 able to a fingle and fincere Performance of Vows ; 
 he will make our Hearts found in his Statutes ; 
 he will give us the faving Knowledge of the Lord, 
 and ftrengthen us to walk clofely with God : And 
 it is a Duty wherein God is glorified, becaufe it 
 is a Duty wherein Faith is confpicuoufly manifeft- 
 ed ; and to act Faith upon God, is a glorifying 
 of God; for it is faid of Graham, he was ftrong 
 in the Faith, giving Glory to God, 
 
 <S^/)."That it is our Duty, tho' the fmaller Part, 
 and tho' a few in Number compared with the 
 Oppofers of Reformation-Work, is plainly laid 
 before us in the Text : In that Day fhall five Cities 
 in the Land of Egypt fwear to the Lord of Hofts, 
 
 D Five fij 
 
( It ) 
 
 Five Cities, a few in Number, even in the Midft of 
 idolatrous Egypt, fhall fwear to the Lord of Hofts. 
 Five Cities were but a very few of the Cities of that 
 great and flourifliing Kingdom of Egypt. Tho' the 
 Bulk regard not this as a Duty of the Times ; tho' 
 one Part be profaning his holy Name, another Part 
 indifferent about his Caufe, and another Part walk- 
 ing after the Lufts of their own Hearts ; yet five 
 Cities, a few, are to fwear to the Lord of Hofts ; 
 and it is their Duty fo to do, even in fuch a Time ; 
 becaufe it is a Duty in which God is glorified, and 
 a moral Duty, as has been fhewn, therefore the 
 Duty of a few, who would defire to obey the 
 Voice of the Lord, tho' the Bulk mould make 
 light of this as well as of the other Duties. We 
 cannot be abfolved from a moral Duty ; we cannot 
 be abfolved from the Obfervafion of the Sabbath, 
 tho' many are guilty of profaning the Sabbath : So 
 no more from this Duty of fwearing to the Lord of 
 Hofts, tho' the great Bulk of Men of this Generati- 
 on be againft it. 
 
 7th/y. That it is our Duty, at this Day, to re- 
 new our Covenant-Engagements to the Lord, tho* 
 the fmaller Number, will appear, if we confider 
 that it is a Duty, not only plainly taught and laid 
 before us in the Old Teftament, but it is a Duty 
 pracT:ifed by the Church in New Teftament Times : 
 For not only is it prophefied by the infpired Apoftle 
 John, in the Revelation, The Kingdoms of this Earth 
 are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Chrift, 
 which, in fome Meafure, has had its Accomplifh- 
 ment in the Kingdoms of Scotland, England and 
 Ireland, their furrendring themfelves to the Lord, 
 and fwearing Allegiance to Zion r s King, in ouc Co- 
 venants, National and Solemn League. But it is 
 like ways plainly alferted, that the Macedonians gave 
 
 themfelves 
 
( *7 ) 
 themfelvcs to the Lord in a Covenant of Duty, 
 wherein they devoted themfelves to the Lord, and 
 vowed to keep his Commandments, and to obey his 
 Voice. 2 Cor. viii.j. This they did not as we hop- 
 ed, hut fir fl gave their own J elves to the Lord, and tin- 
 to us by the Will of God. Firft gave their own 1 elves 
 to the Lord. It muft be our Duty, as well as of 
 the Macedonians, to give our own felves to true Lord, 
 The Apoftle is fpeaking there, in the 4th Verfe, 
 of their giving of their Subftancc for the Support of 
 the Caufc of Chrift ; but he gives us to know, that 
 they kept the due Order. They did not as we hoped, 
 (fays he) but firft they gave their own- felves to the 
 Lord. We call you in this Company to this Du- 
 ty and Exercife, to give your own felves to the 
 Lord, as the Macedonians did. It is a good Exer- 
 cife for every Day, and for the Lord's Day. O, 
 whofe are you, and to whom -do you belong ? The 
 Lord's People, who have given themfelves to the 
 Lord, have this fnfcription written upon them, Te 
 are not your own, but ye are bought with a Price. Ye 
 are Ghrift's. Alas, fome of you are like the ftray- 
 ing Sheep upon the Mountains, who have not come 
 to Chrift the Shepherd and Overfeer of your Souls, 
 Be it known to you, the Son of God is come to feek 
 and to fave that which was loft ; and his Voice is, 
 Other Sheep I have which are not of this Fold, them 
 alfo Imujl bring. He is come to bring you to hisFold 
 and to fave you from your Sins ; and he calleth you 
 by Name, My Sheep know my Voice, and they follow 
 ne ; and I give to them eternal Life, and none fliall pluck 
 them out of my Hand. To you, Men, I call ; and my 
 Voice is to the' Sons of Met;, What was thy Work 
 tjiis Morning ? Was it to give yourfelf to the 
 Lord ? Why, , here is good Work for you, Rich 
 and Poor, young Men and old Men, young Wo- 
 men 
 
( =8 > 
 
 men and old Women •, here is good Work for you 
 jj.ll •, he is willing to give and to take : He has giv- 
 en his Son to you ; For unto us a Child is born, to us a 
 Son is given, Ifa. ix. 6. O believe God's Record, that 
 he giveth to you his Son, and that there is Life for 
 vou in his Son. He is willing to receive you, And 
 will not you receive a given Chrift ? He is given to 
 you this Day as God your Saviour,- as the Lord 
 your Righteoufnefs and Strength, and his Counte- 
 nance is as Lebanon, excellent as the Cedars ; his 
 Mouth is moft fweet ; he is altogether lovely : 
 His Voice is to you, Come with me from Lebanon, 
 my Spoufe, with me from Lebanon. Look untome, 
 and be ye faved, all the Ends of the Earth. Look from 
 the Top of Amanz, from the Top of Shenir and Her- 
 jnon, from the Lions Dens, from the Mountains of the 
 Leopards. As he is a giving God in Chrift, fo he 
 is willing to receive you* What is thy Language 
 then . ? Take with you Words, and fay to him, 
 Take away all Iniquity and receive us gracioufly. 
 He is willing to receive you juft as you are, with- 
 out any farther Delay : O give yourfelves then to 
 the Lord. Here is an Altar of Acceptance, He 
 hath made us accepted in the Beloved. 
 
 Laflly, upon this Head, That it is a Duty, at this 
 Day, to renew our Covenant-Engagements to the 
 Lord, will appear, if we confider that it is a Du- 
 ty wherein the fpecial and gracious Influence of the 
 holy Spirit is promifed to enable to perfom it ac- 
 ceptably. Jfa. xliv. 3, 4, 5*. / will pour Water up- 
 on him that is thirfly, and Floods upon the dry G 'round \ 
 J will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed, and my Blefling 
 upon thine Oj? spring, and they jh all fpring up as among 
 the Graf, as Willows by the Water -Cour J es. One fl? all 
 fay, I am the Lord's, and. another flail call himfelf by 
 the JSfams of Jacob, and another flail fubferibe with 
 
 hii 
 
< . 2P ) . . , 
 
 bis Hand to the Lord, and fir name himfeif by the Name 
 of tirael. Here are good News. Why ? Here is 
 the Promife of the Spirit to enable us to fay, We 
 are the Lord's. We cannot fay a better Saying ; 
 but none of Adam's Houfe ever could have laid 
 this, if it were not through the Influence of the ho- 
 ly Spirit. As the Spirit of the Lord came upon 
 Amazai, when he came to David in the Hold, and 
 he faid, Thine are we, David ; and on thy Side, 
 thou Son of Jeife : So it muft be in this A^ay that 
 we muft elfay this gre^t Work of vowing and 
 fwearing to the Lord of Hafts. Here then is Grace 
 promifed to enable us to the right Performance of 
 this Duty in our Retirements, and to fit and pre- 
 pare us for doing it in a publick Manner. / will 
 four Water upon him that is thirfty, and Floods upon the 
 dry Ground. The Holy Ghoft is compared to Wa- 
 ter, and Floods of Water : And he has promifed to 
 pour him out as Floods of Water. We are dry- 
 Ground at this Day, let us then plead that he 
 may pour his Spirit upon us ; plead the Promife, 
 pray over the Promife, believe the Promife, pray 
 it over with Application to yourfelves, as to the^ 
 Place, and for the Minifter of the Place, that 
 there may be the Sound of the Abundance of Rain, 
 and that the Lord may be as the Dew to Ifrael % 
 and revive his Work in the Midft of the Years. 
 So much for the fecond Thing propofed. 
 
 " Before we proceed to the third general Head in the 
 Method, namely, to fpeakof this folemn Part of re- 
 ligious Worfhip, vowing and fwearing to the Lord of 
 Hofls, let us confider, that this Work and Duty, to 
 be done in the Gofpel-Day, is not a Work to be 
 performed in order to obtain Life. No ! for the 
 .Work of Redemption is a finilhed Work. The glo- 
 rious 
 
( 3° ) 
 rious Head, having finilbed his Work, has entrc4 
 into his Reft, and left us nothing to do in Point 
 of Impej.ration and obtaining Acceptance with God. 
 He has left us nothing to do in the Matter of ful- 
 filling the Law as a Covenant of Works : But yet 
 he will do much in his People ; he will work 
 Sanftification and Holincfs in all thofe that arc 
 truly juftified, and make them to be fruitful in 
 good Works -, not that they may live, but becaufe 
 they do live, being juftified already : Not in Point 
 of working for Life, but of doing from Life : 
 Not to merit any Thing at the Hand of God, but 
 to teftify their Thankfulnefs to God : Not tQ 
 fhare of the Glory with Chrift of our own Salva- 
 tion, in left or in more, but that we may be con- 
 formed to him, by his Spirit dwelling in us, in Point 
 of Sanftification ; and all this our doing is to be 
 in a Way of Union with him, and he working 
 all our Works in us: Altho' the Lord's People are 
 not to fulfil the Law, thereby to obtain Life, yet 
 they are under the Law to Chrift, yea, under the 
 moft drift and folemn Ties to Gofpel-Holinefs, 
 and to walk clofely with God, that thereby they 
 may evidence that they are alive from the Dead, 
 The Statutes of the Lord do rejoice their Heart : To 
 them the Commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightning 
 their Eyes ; his Judgments are to them righteous al- 
 together ', ,more to be de fired are they than Gold, 
 yea, than much fine Gold ; Jweeter alfo than Honey to 
 the Mouth : His whole Will is fweeter to them 
 than the Honey-Comb : His Law comes juft along 
 with his Promife, Hand in Hand, to his People ; 
 and all the Furniture for vowing and fwearing to 
 ?he Lord, and for the Performance of every other 
 Duty required, comes jnft wrapped up in the Pro- 
 mife ; and this makes all fweet and refrelhing to 
 
 his 
 
( 3' ) 
 
 his Followers ; ai\d nothing more delightful in it, 
 than that it is all to be done in borrowed Strength 
 and all to be done to the Glory of the Head; 
 and Self to be funk down into eternal Oblivion, 
 and a God in Chrift alone to bear all tire Glory. 
 
 Having thus given you a general Hint, that vow- 
 ing to the Lord of Holts is to be managed in a Go- 
 fpel-Way, and not in a legal Manner, we proceed 
 to the third general Head in the Method, namely, 
 To fpeak of this Duty, this folemn Part of religi- 
 ous Worfhip, vowing and fwearing to the Lord of 
 Hofts. And, in difcourfing this Head, we would 
 endeavour, by Grace, 
 
 F/V/?, To fpeak of the Nature of this folemn 
 Part of religious Worfhip. 
 
 idly. Of the Matter of this folemn Vow and Co- 
 venant under Confideration. 
 
 -$dly. Of the Manner in which this folemn Part 
 of religious Worfhip is to be performed ajid gone 
 about. 
 
 And, firft, as to the Nature of this folemn Part 
 of religious Worfhip, it is to be obferved, in the 
 firfl Place, that we are not to put our perfonal 
 Covenanting, or National Covenants, in the Room 
 of the Covenant of Grace : Perfonal Covenanting 
 and national Covenanting are of the fame Nature 
 and Kind, and differ only, as the one is tranfafted 
 by Perfons fingly and feparately confidered, and 
 the other by many Perfons jointly in a Body .• But 
 many mifmanage perfonal Covenanting, and like- 
 ways national Covenanting ; for too many ap- 
 prehend, that God, in the Word, declares himfelf 
 willing to be our God upon certain Terms or Con- 
 ' ditions to be performed by us, different from believ- 
 ing the free Promife of the Gofpel with Application 
 %o ourfelves ; and therefore they do accordingly 
 
 make 
 
C 32 ) 
 
 make a Covenant with God, talcing him for their 
 God upon thofe Terms to be by them performed 
 in the Strength of Grace, promifing and vowing, 
 that, if God will be their God, pardon their Sins, 
 and fave their Souls, they will, for their Part, be 
 his People, faithfully ferve him all the Days of 
 their Lives, watching againft all known Sin, and 
 performing every known Duty. There are fome 
 Miftakes here we are to beware of. In the firft 
 Place, this is to confound and mingle the Covenant 
 of Grace and our Covenant of Duty together, as 
 if they wefe the fame : The Covenant of Grace 
 was made from Eternity between the Father and 
 the Son : Our Covenant of Duty is to bfe made 
 when we have faken hold of God's Covenant of 
 Grace, and never till then are we fuitably prepared 
 for this folemn "Work. (2.) This is to bring 
 in ourfelves as Parties tranfacling in the Cove- 
 nant of Grace. Whereas Chrift alone, as the 
 fecond Adam, was the Party-Contrafter in that 
 Covenant upon Man's Side, as appears from 
 the 89 Pfalm throughout. God never did, nor 
 ever will tranfact with any Sinner of Adam's Fa- 
 mily. There is nothing we can perform, no- 
 thing we can implement in this Matter : And 
 how then can we be Tranfaclors in the Covenant 
 of Grace ? His Holinefs will not permit, his Juftice 
 will not allow, his infinite Wifdom will not admit 
 of a Tranfaclion with any Sinner at firft Hand. 
 But (3*) tn ^ s would be to bring in ourfelves, our 
 Doings, or what we are helped to do by Grace, in- 
 to the conditionary Part of the Covenant of Grace, 
 and fo to overthrow the Doctrine of free Grace, to 
 take Chrift's Work out of his Hand, to fubvertthe 
 only Foundation of the Faith and Hope of perill- 
 ing Souls, and to difparage the Righteoufnefs of 
 
 Chrift 
 
( 33 5 
 Chrift the fecond Adam, which is the only proper 
 2nd real Condition of the Covenant of Grace. 
 
 idly. It is to be obferved, in order to our confi- 
 dering the Nature of this Tran faction, that, by our 
 believing the Prqmife of Gbd in his Word, and 
 our trufting in the Pcrfon of Chrift, who is to be 
 believed upon m the Gofpel of the Grace of God, 
 we are united to the Lord Jcfus Chrrft the Cove- 
 rfant-Head, and thereby we are peffonally entred in- 
 to the Covenant of Grace, Co as rn h*fs Right to 
 have a faving Intereft in the Righfeo'ufnefs of Chrift, 
 the Condition of the Covenant perforrned by him ; 
 his Doing is ours, being united to him by Faith ; 
 his Righteoufnefs is ours, for he is Jehovah our Righ- 
 teoufnefs ; being united to him we have a Right to 
 eternal Life, the Promife of the Covenant made to 
 him •; that is, eternal Life becomes ours u^on the 
 Account of his eternal Righteoufnefs, Rom. v. 17. 
 John x. io. He that hath the Son hath Life ; he 
 hath Life in the firft Fruits of it ; he hath the Be- 
 ginning of Life in Pofleffion, by having the Son ; 
 he hath the fure Title and Right to eternal Life, 
 and he fhalt have the full Poffeffioh of it in due 
 Time. 
 
 %dly. "We obferve, that afrho' £ Ctfnfenf to tafc£ 
 Chrift as our Lord, to be ruled and governed by 
 him, and to obferve and keep his Commandments, 
 be not the Condition and Terms of the Covenant 
 of Grace, as we have already fhewn, by which 
 Doctrine Legalifts have fubverted the Gofpel of 
 Chrrft, and turned the Covenant of Grace info a 
 new Law, ot new Form of a Covenant of Works; 
 yet, upon the Back of our believing the Pr6mife* 
 and trufting on the Perfon of Chrrft, by which we 
 are perfonally entred into the Covenant, there doth 
 fteceffarily follow an abfolute Content to take Chrift 
 E frf 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 for our Husband, Head and Lord ; a Confent to 
 take Ghrift as our only Prieft, to be faved by his 
 Righteoufnefs alone ; for our only Prophet, Teacher 
 and Guide ; for our alone King and Lord, refigning 
 ourfelves wholly to him in Soul and Body, to be re- 
 fcued by hisPower fromSin, Death, theDevil, and this 
 prefent evil World ; for to ferve him for ever, and 
 to be ruled by the Will of his Command as to our 
 Duty, and to be difpofed of according to the 
 Will of his Providence as to our Lot : A Con- 
 fent to renounce every known Sin ; a Confent to 
 renounce every Lull and Idol, and all other 
 Lords befide him •, a Confent to fubmit to what- 
 ever he fees meet to lay upon us ; a Confent to 
 take up our Crofs and fellow him, as he fhall call 
 us to it ; and all by his Grace, and in his Strength 
 alone, without which we can do nothing. What 
 is here reprefented contains the Subftance of a Co- 
 venant of Duty, which all of us are bound to in out 
 baptifmal Vows, but which we cannot rightly en- 
 gage unto, until firft in Order we take hold of God's 
 Covenant of Promifc, by Faith in the Son of God, 
 with whom the Covenant of Grace is made, and 
 doth ftand faft : And this Covenant of Duty, as it 
 is branched out iji the particular Duties that belong 
 to it, is either a perfonal Covenant of one Perfon, 
 or a national Covenant of many Perlons in one Na- 
 tion joined together. 
 
 $thly. As to the Nature of this Duty, we obferve, 
 that our devoting ourfelves to the Lord in a Cove- 
 nant of Duty, is not a Tiling indifferent, left to us 
 to do it, or not do it at our Pleafure : But it is a 
 folemn Part of religious Worfliip enjoined to us 
 both in the firft and third Commandment of the mo* 
 ral Law ; and therefore we are not left at our own 
 Liberty, whether we will doit or not. Ipfe true, 
 the far greater Part are in noways fit for joining in 
 
 this 
 
( 35 ) 
 this folemn Part of religious Worfhip, becaufe 
 they have not taken hold of God's Covenant of 
 Grace ; this would be to invert the Order of 
 Matters, and to build without a Foundation. None 
 are to be impofed upon in this Matter, yea, none 
 are to be admitted to join in this folemn Duty, but 
 fuch Perfons as are free of publiek Scandal, and 
 abftain from the ordinary Outbreakings that are 
 too cuitomary in the Day and Time wherein we 
 live ; and the Perfons to be admitted to this fo- 
 lemn Part of religious Worfhip, are fuch as have 
 a Converfation becoming the Gofpel of Chrifl, and 
 keep up the Worfliip of God in their Families Mor- 
 ning and Evening. There are many who obferve 
 it in the Evening, but neglect in the Morning : 
 But it is good to lhew forth his Loving-kindnefs e- 
 very Morning in this Duty of Family- Worfhip, as 
 well as by fecret Worfhip : We have Family 
 Mercies^ every Morning to praife him for, Family 
 Wants and Needs every Morning that need to be 
 fupplied ; we need Family Bleffings, aswellasper- 
 fonal Bleflings, every Morning ; and we are to be- 
 gin the Day, as well as end the Day, with God, and 
 to walk with him all the Day long. We are all 
 engaged to this in our Baptifm. Did we not, in 
 our Baptifm. engage to obey his Commandments, 
 and this am^ngfl the reft ? It is dangerous to break 
 Vows. But, to' return to the Purpofe in Hand, 
 we fay, this Duty of fwearing to the Lord of Hofts 
 is not a Thing indifferent, left to us to do, or not, 
 at our Pleafure : But it is a Part of folemn religi- 
 ous Worfhip, commanded both in the firft and third 
 Commandments of the moral Law : And that it is 
 a Part of folemn religious Worfhip will appear, if 
 we confider, i//. that Jehovah^ the infinite Being, the 
 Object of all divine Worfliip and Adoration, is 
 the Party to whom the Vow is made ; he is the 
 
 Party 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 Party to whom our baptifmal Vows were made, to. 
 whom our national Vows were made, and to whom 
 our facramental Vows are made ; he is the Party to 
 whom this Vow is to be explicitely made. For 
 it is faid to be a Swearing to the Lord of Hofts, 
 Jehovah Tzebaoth, the Lord of" the Armies, as in 
 the firft Language. He is the Party with whom 
 we are to be concerned in this folemn Part of re- 
 ligious Worfhip : How folemn muft it be, then, if 
 we conflder the Object: of it ? It is Jehovah, who is 
 Being itfelf, and the Fountain of all Being : The 
 eternal God, the Ancient of Days, the immutable, 
 unchangeable God, with whom there is no Variable- 
 nefs neither Shadow of turning. He is the omnipor 
 tent Jehovah, in whom we live, move, and have our 
 Being. Jehovah Tzebaoth, the Lord of Hofts. 
 "Why ? He has all the Hofts of Heaven at his 
 Command. All the Armies of Heaven and Earth 
 are under his Controul. He doth according to his 
 Will in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabi- 
 tants of this Earth. He is Jehovah to whom we 
 iwear, or who is the Party concerned in our vow- 
 ing and fwearing : Jehovah the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghoft, one in Eflence, but three dU 
 ftincT: Perfons. O ! he is Jehovah,*. God in Chrift 
 reconciling the "World to himfelf ; he is the God 
 . of Salvation, he is Jehovah who made a Covenant 
 with his Chofen, with Jehovah his eternal Son, as 
 the contracting Party on Man's Side of the Cove- 
 nant ; he is Jehovah the Lord God, merciful and 
 gracious, long-fuffering and abundant in Goodnefs 
 and Truth, forgiving Iniquity and Sin ; he is Je- 
 hovah that paifeth by the Tranfgreflions of theRemr 
 nant of his Heritage, becaufe he delighteth in 
 Mercy ; he is Jehovah that fancTifieth us ; / Jeho- 
 yal;, that fmtfifethjou, am holy ; he is Jehovah our 
 
 Healer t 
 
..< 37 ) 
 
 Healer, his Name is Jehovah Rophe, the Lord that 
 healeth us ; he is Jehovah our God and Redeemer, 
 and therefore we are bound to keep all his Com- 
 mandments. O ! he is Jehovah our God, who is 
 the Party to whom the Vow is made ; Vow to the 
 Lord your God, and pay : Let all that be round about' 
 him bring Prefents to him that ought to be feared, 
 Pfalm lxxvi. at the Clofe. He is the Lord our 
 God, our God in ChriiVs Right and Title. / a- 
 fcend to my Father, and your Father ; to my God and 
 your God, faith our Lord to his Difciples. Thus 
 Jehovah is the Party to whom the Vow is made. 
 But then, idly, it is a very folemn Part of religious 
 "Worfhip, our vowing to the Lord, if we confider, 
 that not only is Jehovah the Party into whofe Pre- 
 fence we come in this Aft of religious Worfhip, 
 but it is a Vow and a Promife to Jehovah ; it is a 
 promifTory Vow to the Lord, and with God w« 
 have to do, in this Part of folemn Worfhip, in a. 
 very immediate Manner. In praying we feek the 
 the Lord, in praifing we extol and magnify the 
 Lord ; but infvewing we fwear to the Lord ; we 
 promife that, in the Strength of his Grace, we will 
 obey his Commandments, and hearken to his 
 Voice. O, then, how folemn mufl it be ! For here 
 we bind our Souls to him in a promifTory Vow. 
 Jehovah is every where prefent, and fo he is Witnefs 
 to our Promife ; he is the all-feeing God, and fo 
 knows our very Thoughts afar oft \ he knows if 
 there be fuch an Heart in us, as to walk in his 
 Ways, and hearken to his Voice ; and certainly 
 fuch a Difpofition is not in us, unlefs he give it 
 himfell ; and we ought' to he ware of deferring 
 to pay our promifTory Vow to him, for better not 
 ' to vow, than to vow and not to pay ; a Breach of 
 Promife to him mufl be a great Iniquity. If you 
 
 brea]$ 
 
break your Promife to your Neighbour, it fe a 
 great Fault; but if you break your Promife of 
 Fealty to your King, that is a capital Grime. Muft 
 not therefore the Breach of our Promife to God be 
 an Evil of the worft Nature ? As it is a Promife, fo 
 it is a Promife in his Strength ; if it be not a Pro- 
 mifingand Vowing in his Strength, it is not right 
 and acceptable Worfhip; and itisaProfeffing,/^/?, 
 That you have no Heart, no Strength or Ability of 
 your own to make or keep the Promife. idly. There 
 muft be in this promiffory Vow, a Believing that 
 there is Strength in the new Covenant-Head to en- 
 able you to perform your Promife and Vow ; it is a 
 Believing that there is all Fulnefs in him for you. 
 Surely, Jhall one fay, in the Lord have I Right eoufnefs 
 and Strength, Ifa.xly. 24. %dly. This vowing and 
 promifing to the Lord includes in it the Exercife of 
 Faith, in making a particular Application, to our 
 own Souls, of thatGrace and Strength of Chrift con- 
 tained in his Word of Promife, believing that his 
 Grace and Strength ihall be forthcoming to us, as 
 in making, fo in paying our Promife and Vow ; 
 as in the 2 1 Verfe of this Chapter, They /hall vow a 
 Void unto the Lord, and perform it. Thus it is an ac- 
 tual Betaking of ourfelves to that Strength that is 
 in him, believing he will be forthcoming to us in 
 this Work and Duty ; fo that his Hand, we fee, is 
 jufl: at every Work that his People are engaged in ; 
 and therefore we are not to go about it in a legal 
 Way and Manner, trufting in lefs or more to any 
 Thing that we can do ; but we are to truft himfelf 
 with the Whole of it, and then the Duty will be 
 managed to his Praife and our own Comfort. 
 
 But to proceed, in the third Place, there is a 
 great Solemnity in this Acl of religious Worihip, 
 if we confider, that it is not only a Promife and a 
 
 Vow 
 
( 39 ) 
 VoW to the Lord, but it is a Vow and Promlfc ac- 
 companied with the Solemnity of an Oath, for it 
 is & Swearing to the Lord of Hofts : Sometimes there 
 are Covenants and Leagues entred into without ex- 
 prefs Oaths ; but when Oaths are added the Matter 
 is more folemn. This then mull be a very folemn 
 Piece of Worfhip, when the Name of Jehovah is in- 
 vocated in the Matter. They fh all fm ear to the Lord 
 of Hofts. There are two or three Things we may no- 
 tice here for clearing this Point. In the firft Place, 
 there is a Swearing to the Covenant of Jehovah y to 
 the Covenant made between Jehovah the Father, and 
 Jehovah the Son, and Jehovah the Holy Ghoft, from 
 all Eternity : For in this Vow there is a Swearing, 
 that all our Strength and Furniture for Work and 
 Warfare is wholly and only in this new Covenant- 
 Head, and in this new Covenant itfelf, as it ftands 
 faft with Chrift God's Chofen ; it being, in the 
 evangelick Nature of this Vow, a Swearing in the 
 Strength of that Grace that is held out to us in 
 the Covenant of Promife. Thus it is a Swearing to 
 God's Covenant of Promife, and that he has made 
 this Covenant with his Chofen, and that Chrift his 
 Chofen is the Head of this Covenant ; that he is the 
 Nail faftned in the fure Place, that bears all the 
 Veffels of his Father's Houfe, of greater and fmal- 
 ]er Quantity ; that all our Springs are in him ; that 
 all the Grace and Furniture for Work and Duty, 
 that are bellowed upon the Church of the Firft-born, 
 it all comes from him, and is communicated by 
 him. This may be one Reafon, among others, why 
 he will have us fwear to him in a Covenant of Du- 
 ty, becaufe the Covenant- of Grace is a fworri Co- 
 venant. The firft Covenant, made with the firft 
 Adam, was not a fworn Covenant ; but when God 
 introduces a new Covenant, made with his eternal 
 Son, the fecond Adam, that Covenant is a fworn 
 
 Covenant ; 
 
( 4° ) 
 
 Covenant ; as in Pfalm lxxxix. 3. / have made a 
 Covenant with my Chofen, I have /worn unto David 
 my Servant. Verfe 35* . Once have 1 J worn by my Ho- 
 linefs, that I will not lie unto David. And as it was 
 fworn to Chrift the Head of the Church, fo it was 
 fworn to the Church which is his Seed. Thus it was 
 fworn to Abraham ; for when God could fwear 
 . by no Greater, he fworeby himfelf, faying, Sure- 
 ly,blefflng J will blefs thee, &c. Bleffingl willblefs 
 thee, through my Son the new Covenant -Head, to 
 whom I have fworn by my Holinefs. This Cove- 
 nant was alfa fworn by the Son, the Head and 
 Surety of k, Pfalm cxxxri. 1. Lord remember Da- 
 vid and all his Afflictions ; Verfe 2 . How he /ware 
 unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob. 
 What was the Nature of the Oath ? Surely I wilt 
 not come into the Tabernacle of my Houfe, nor go' up in- 
 to my Bed ; I will not give Sleep to mine Eyes, nor 
 Slumber to mine Eye -Lids, until I find out a Place for 
 the Lord, an Habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. 
 This was literally fulfilled in David, but h is evi- 
 dent a greater than David is here. David was the 
 Type, Jefus Chrift the Antitype ; that it is he who 
 is here fpoken of, you may fee by reading through 
 the Pfalm. In Verfe 13. it is faid, The Lord hath 
 chofen Zion, and de fired it for his Reft for ever. Our 
 Lord Jefus Chrift, the Antitype of David, left 
 his Father's Bofom, and came to this Earth in 
 hjs Incarnation, and took no Reft, had no Place 
 where to lay his Head, and gave not over the 
 Work, tiH he ha-d prepared a Reft for Jacob's 
 mighty God ; and, having fimflied the Work, 
 God faid of Zion, This, is my Reft for ever ; here 
 I will dwell, for I have de fired it ; for Chrift is 
 God's everlafting Reft. Here then we have the 
 great Antitype of David fwearing this Covenant of 
 
 GFace. 
 
( 4* ) 
 Grace. He fware and vowed to the mighty God 
 of Jacob ; and tho' the Church of the Firft-born arc 
 not Parties in the Covenant of Grace, yet the Lord, 
 by his Grace, makes them all take hold of the Co- 
 venant, founded upon Chrift's fulfilling the Conditi- 
 on of it, as a publick Head and Surety. And what 
 is our Swearing to the Lord in a Covenant of Du- 
 ty ? It 1s juft our fwearing our Amen to that Co- 
 venant that ftands faft with Chrift the true David. 
 They /hall fwear to the Lord of Hofts. But then, as 
 there is here a Swearing to the Covenant of Jehovah, 
 
 (2.) There is, in this Swearing to the Lord of 
 Hofts, a folemn Profeffion, yea, a folemn Swearing, 
 that we are fhipwreckt Men in the firft Covenant ; 
 that we have neither Houfe nor Hold in the firft A- 
 dam ; that we are poor, wretched, miferable, blind 
 and naked ; and, particularly, that as we have no- 
 thing but Sin and Plagues, fo likeways that we are 
 full of Enmity to all that Is good, and confequent- 
 ly have no Strength to vow, or pay our Vows to 
 the Lord. 
 
 (3.) There is, in this Swearing to the Lord of 
 Hofts, a Swearing that there is a Fulnefs of Righ- 
 teoufnefs and Strength in the new Covenant-Head, 
 to anfwer all our Wants and Needs, to fuit all our 
 Neceflities, to fuit every fad Cafe we are or can be 
 in ; that there is Strength in him, Furniture in him, 
 Through-bearing in him, and all this in him to be 
 communicated to us, to enable us both in the Du- 
 ty of vowing and paying our Vows to the Lord of 
 Hofts. 
 
 (4.) In this Swearing to the Lord of Hofts, there 
 
 , is a folemn Swearing to fome particular Claufes and 
 
 Articles ; and, in the firft Place, there is a folemn 
 
 Swearing to an Article of Acceptation 1 that we ac- 
 
 F cepc 
 
< 42 > 
 
 cept of the Lord Jefus Chrift, as our Head, our 
 Husband, our Lord, and as God our Saviour, and 
 that, in the Strength of this new Covenant-Grace, 
 we thus accept of him as our All. O Sirs, have 
 you any Objection againft doing this in his Strength ? 
 But we tell you before you do this, you muft firft 
 believe in him, be married with him ; you muft firft 
 be joined to the Lord as one Spirit with him, be- 
 fore you be in Cafe, in a "Way of Faith's Depen- 
 dence upon that Grace that is in him, to join in 
 this Duty of Swearing to him in a Covenant of 
 Duty ; I fay, there is here a Swearing to an Arti- 
 cle of Acceptation, that we accept of him as Je- 
 hovah our Righteoufnefs, and as Jehovah our 
 Strength ; as the Captain of our Salvation, as our 
 Prophet, Prieft and King ; as our Husband, Head, 
 and Lord ; that we accept of him as our Sin-fub- 
 duing Lord, to fubdue us to himfelf, to fubdue our 
 Unbelief, our Heart-Enmity, and all our Lufts and 
 Corruptions ; to fubdue us more and more to him- 
 felf ; and as our Lord to rule over us, and to fub- 
 due his Enemies in us, and give us the Victory o- 
 ver them all, making us more than Conquerors 
 through him that loved us. We fwear to an Ac- 
 ceptation of him as our Leader and Guide through 
 all our dark Steps while here, and who will after- 
 ward bring us to Glory. (2.) We fwear not 
 only to an Article of Acceptation, but alfo to an 
 Article of Dedication ; the Article of Dedication, 
 as we mewed, is expreffed by our Saying that 
 we are the Lord's, I fa, xliv. 5*. One fh all fay, 1 
 am the Lord's. That is a good Saying, but we 
 cannot fiy it but under the Influence of the ho- 
 ly Spirit. Well, this is in the Promife, Verfe 3. 
 Ill pour Water upon him that is thirfty. One fliall 
 fay, I am ths Lord's ; that is to fay, they mail fay it 
 one by one, every one for himfelf. You who are 
 
 an 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 an Husband, you cannot fay it for your Wife ; Pa- 
 rents cannot fay it for their Children ; every one 
 muft fay it for himfelf. And it is, firft, a perlbnal 
 Saying, a perfonal Dedication, One /hall fay, lam 
 the Lord's, idly. As it is a perfonal Saying, fo you 
 fee it muft be a Saying it under the Influence of the 
 Spirit of Promife ; / will pour Water upon him that 
 
 is thir/ly One /hall fay, I am the Lord's. His 
 
 Spirit is promifed, and therefore we are to look for 
 his Coming r that we may be enabled to mint at lif- 
 ping out this Saying in his Strength, idly. This 
 Saying, / am the Lord's, it is juft a Saying it in the 
 Name of Chrift, / am the Lord's, to be accepted 
 in the Beloved ; to be an Offering on the Gofpel- 
 Altar, the Altar of much Incenfe ; the Altar that 
 fanftifieth the Gift. It is a Saying this by the Spi- 
 rit of Chrift, and in the Name of Chrift •, therefore 
 it is faid, Tour Burnt -Offerings fiall be accepted on 
 mine Altar, Ifa. lvi. 7. qthly. This is a well-war- 
 ranted Saying : So well-warranted, that every one 
 in this worfhipping Aifembly is warranted to fpeak 
 it out for himfelf, in the Name of Chrift : One /hall 
 fay, I am the Lord's- Are you not well -warranted to^ 
 ' fpeak out this Saying, when it is put in a Promife ? 
 One /hall fay, 1 am the Lord's. O will you doubt of 
 your Warrant ? Have you not the beft of War- 
 rants to fay what is contained in the Word of 
 Promife ? There is nothing put in a Promife, but 
 what is for the Glory of God ; and it is in the 
 Word of Promife, One fl) all fay, I am the Lord's; 
 therefore it is for his Glory, that you Man, you 
 Woman, you Lad, and you Lafs, fay this Night, 
 I am the Lord's ; that is, I am devoted to the Lord, 
 and accepted of God through Chrift and his ever- 
 lafting Righteoufnefs : There is a full Ground for 
 you all to fay this, when it is in the Word of Pro. 
 
 mtfe •, 
 
( 44 ) 
 mifc ; and there is full Ground for your Acceptance 
 in your Mints to fay it. The Ground is the fame 
 for every one here, to fay, / am the Lord's ; I am 
 the Lord's, to be received and accepted to his Fa- 
 vour, and to be devoted to him, juft as perfumed 
 with the Incenfe of Chrift, the Angel of the Cove- 
 nant, who ftands at the golden Altar, and who 
 hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Will you 
 doubt of Acceptance then ? He was never refiifed 
 Acceptance to any that came to God in his Name : 
 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all Things 
 into his Hand, O ! then, there is wide and broad 
 Room for your Acceptance through the Lord Jefus 
 Chrift. Many have come and are accepted in him, 
 and yet there is Room for you : Tour Burnt-Offer- 
 ing jhall he accepted on mine Altar, Let not the Son 
 of the Stranger fay, I am a dry Tree, I am not 
 called ; tho' others be called to fay, 1 am the Lord's* 
 he will not accept of me. Why ? Say not fo, O 
 Sinner, you are warranted to fay it for thyfelf in 
 Chrift's Right, lam the Lord's. 
 
 But then, as there is, in the Article of Dedication, 
 a Saying I am the Lord's, fo (2.) there is in it a 
 fubfcribing with the Handtothe Lord, Another [ball 
 Jubfcrihe with his Hand unto the Lord; and that fays, 
 ill the firjl Place, That it is a diftincT: Tranfa&i- 
 on ; it fays, idly. That it is not to be recalled a- 
 gain ; it is a putting our Hand to it, faying with 
 the Church, in the 80th Pfalm at the Clofe, Let 
 thy Hand be upon the Man of thy Right -H and ; fo 
 will not we go hack from thee. But then, ^dly. as 
 there is, in the Article of Dedication, a Saying, I 
 am the Lord's, a Subfcribing with rhe Hand to the 
 Lord ; fo there is a Sirnaming by the Name of If 
 rael, as in the Clofe of the 5 tli Ferfe of that 44th of 
 Ifaiah. Now this Sirnaming by the Name oi'Ifra- 
 
( AS ) 
 el implies, in the \fl Place, fome fupernatural Re- 
 velation of Chrift, as God's Servant in whom he 
 will be glorified ; juft a View of him as the new 
 Covenant-Head, that hath finifhcd the Work 
 that was given him to do ; and as the Juftice- 
 fatisfying Head through whom God is acceffible by 
 finful Men, he having fulfilled all Righteoufnefs : 
 juft a View of him as that infinite Peribn, through 
 whom all our Worihip is or can be accepted, and in 
 whom only God has Glory and Honour, and as 
 the Head of the worfhipping Affembly both of the 
 upper and lower Houfe •, a View of him as the 
 great Worker of every Work that is for the Glo- 
 ry and Honour of God ; every Work that is done 
 through the Land, and in our Hearts, to the Glo- 
 ry of God, his Hand is at it ; and as he works the 
 Work, fo he muft bear the Glory. 
 
 zdly. Shall firn am e himfelf by the Name o/*Ifrael. 
 Why f It implies that you have given up with your 
 own Name, and all your Self-Righteoufnefs and 
 Self-Confidence ; and that you have given up your 
 Name to be fwallowed up in the Name of Chrift, 
 who is God's Ifrael, in whom he is glorified. O f 
 You will not only be called by his Name, but 
 you will eat his Bread, and wear his Apparel ; 
 you will have all from him, and you will have 
 your Name out of Sight, and his only to be known 
 and remembred. Sirname himfelf by the Name oflfra- 
 el ; juft as thofe who are adopted Children, they 
 belong to a new Houfe and Family, and have a 
 new Name ; they lofe all their Name in the Con- 
 fideration they flood in .before ; fo doth the Soul 
 in this Article of Dedication, they firname them- 
 selves by the Name of Ifrael. 
 
 idly Shall fir name himfelf by the Name of Ifrael. 
 It implies the Expectation of Faith to live upon If- 
 rael 
 
( 4* ) 
 rael their Head ; they have got a new Name, and 
 are admitted to new Privileges, to live on Chrift 
 by Faith, that they may live to his Praife. 
 
 qthly. This Article of Dedication is exprefTed 
 by a Giving ourfelves to the Lord, 2 Cor. viii. 4, 5. 
 Paul faith of the Macedonians, They fir ft gave their 
 own felves to the Lord, and then unto* us by the Will 
 of God. It is a Giving our Understandings to the 
 Lord, and that in order to be taught by the Lord : 
 For our Lord faith, John vi. 45*. // is written in 
 the Prophets, and they /hall be all tanght of God. 
 And, feeing the Promife is univerfal, every one of 
 us is warranted to give up ourfelves to the Lord, 
 this very Moment, to be taught of God ; and by 
 his Teaching the Heart of the rafh fhall underftand 
 Knowledge : Seeing God is the Teacher, and has 
 taken teaching Work in Hand, the moft igno- 
 rant Sinner, the dulleft Scholar in all this Ailem- 
 bly, may take Encouragement from it ; and every 
 one of us may reiign and give up ourfelves to the 
 Lord, to be taught of God ; to fee the Wonders 
 of 4iis Law, and to know the Myfteries of the 
 Kingdom of Heaven, whi?h are hid from the Wife 
 and Prudent, and revealed unto Babes. He hath 
 faid, I will give them an Heart to how me, that I 
 am the Lord; I will bet roth e thee unto me in loving 
 Kindnefs, and thou /halt know the Lord. But then 
 we are to give our Wills to the Lord, to chufe 
 him for our God and Portion in Chrift's Right ; of 
 whom it is faid, as the new Covenant-Head, He 
 fhall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and 
 the Rock of my Salvation, Pfalm lxxxix. 26. This 
 is the Shout and Cry of the elder Brother, and all 
 the younger Brethren may lift up their Voice, and 
 £ng, Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock 
 of my Salvation. -In the Right of his eternal Son 
 
 we 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 we may and ought to chufe God for our God, his 
 Word for our Rule, his Spirit for our Guide, his 
 Glory for our lad and higheft End. But then we 
 are to give our Confciences to the Lord, to re- 
 ceive his Orders, and to be a faithful Deputy for 
 him in our Soul ; our Affections to him, to fear 
 him with a holy filial and reverential Fear, to love- 
 him with a fuperl'ative Love, and to delight in him 
 above all Things. We are to give our whole Soul 
 to him in all its Powers and Faculties, and to pre- 
 sent our Bodies to him in all its Members. We 
 are to give our Ears to him, to hear his Gofpel ; 
 our Eyes to him, to read his Word and behold his 
 Works -, our Feet, to run his Errands ; our Lips 
 and Tongues, to praife him, to pray to him, and 
 to commend him to others. We are to give our 
 whole Man unto the Lord, as a living Sacrifice 
 acceptable to God through Jefus Chrift, which is 
 our reafonable Service. 
 
 5* thly. -This Article of Dedication is likeways 
 exprcfled in Scripture by a joining ourfelves to the 
 Lord in a perpetual Covenant never to be forgotten, 
 Jer. 1. 5. This Exercife, of joining ourfelves to 
 the Lord, may either be taken for the uniting Act 
 of Faith, according to another Reading of the 
 Words, Come y and let us join our/elves t» the Lord, 
 the perpetual Covenant /hall not be forgotten. Let us 
 join ourlelvcs to Jehovah, by believing thePromife, 
 and trufting in the Perfon of Chrift the new Co- 
 venant-Head, for the everlafting Covenant made 
 with Chrift fhall not be forgotten of God, and we 
 raay build our Hope for Eternity upon the Promife 
 of God, and his Covenant that ftands faft with 
 Chrift. God will be ever mindful of bis Cove- 
 nant; it is the Chief of his Ways. Or, as it fecms 
 to be more agreeable te the Scope of the Place, 
 
 Come, 
 
( 4« ) 
 
 Come, and let us join ourfelves to the Lord by a Co* 
 
 venant of Duty never to be forgotten, but to be 
 remembred, by us, as a facredBond of our Depen- 
 ding upon the Grace ofChrift and his Strength; 
 cleaving to him with Purpof e of Heart, and daily 
 paying the Vows we have come under to the Lord. 
 This is a Joining ourfelves to the Train and Re- 
 tinue of the Lamb, that (lands upon the Mount 
 Zio?i, and with him an hundred and forty and four 
 Thoufand, having his Father's Name written in 
 their Foreheads, Rev. xiv. i. It is a Joining our* 
 felves to the Witneifes ofChrift, and to the Wit- 
 neJTes of Scotland's, England's, and Ireland's covenan* 
 ted Reformation : A Joining ourfelves to the Dif- 
 ciples ofChrift, to the ConfefTors and Martyrs of 
 Jefus, by believing and adhering to the fameCaufe 
 ofChrift which they witnefTed for, and for which 
 they took joyfully the fpoiling of their Goods ; 
 by profefling the fame Faith, Doctrine, Difcipline, 
 "Worfhip and Government which the Martyrs of 
 Jefus both contended and fuffered for in this Land: 
 A Joining ourfelves to Chrift, as our Sin-fubduing 
 Lord, and the Captain of our Salvation : A 
 Joining ourfelves to thofe Armies that are in 
 Heaven riding on white Horfes, who follow him 
 whofe Name is faithful and true, and who is King 
 of Kings, and Lord of Lords. It is a Join- 
 ing ourfelves to Jehovah, to ferve him, to love the 
 Name of Jehovah, and to be his Servants, Ifa. lvi. 
 6. O how blelTed an Exercife is this under the In- 
 fluence of the Spirit of Promife ? To ferve him iri 
 fuch a Bond of Service, Duty, and Love - 7 to 
 ferve him is the choiceft Liberty, and to love 
 him is to breathe in the Air of Heaven ; for as Love 
 will be perfected in the Church triumphant, fo in 
 that Place his fcrvants Jhall fee his Face ; and Love 
 
 to 
 
.( 49 ) 
 
 to him, and thepraifing of him will there for ever 
 be the Exercife of the general AiTembly of the 
 Church of the Firft-born that are written in Hea- 
 ven. It is only under the Influence of the Spirit 
 of Promife that we can mint at this Duty, that we 
 can join ourfelves to the Lord in a Covenant never 
 to be forgotten. It will never be forgotten by God, 
 and it muft not be forgotten by us ; and to encou- 
 rage our Faith, and excite our Dependence on 
 Chrift, let us look to him, let us walk up and down 
 in his Name, making Mention of his Righteoufnefs, 
 even of his only. So much for a Hint of this At- 
 tide of Dedication, to which we fwear in our vow* 
 ing and fwearing to the Lord of Hofts. 
 
 $dly. In this Vow and Covenant we fwear, not 
 only to an Article of Acceptation, to an Article of 
 Dedication, but alfo we fwear to an Article of Re- 
 nunciation. We muft all acknowledge to our God, 
 that other Lords befidehim have had the Dominion 
 over us, but refolve that now, by his Grace, we will 
 make only Mention of his Name, Ifa. xxvi. 3. It 
 is to be our Work to rejoice in Chrift Jefus, and to 
 renounce all Confidence in the Fleih, to deny our- 
 felves, renouncing our Self-Righteoufnefs, Self- 
 Seeking, and Self-Confidence ; we muft renounce 
 all our fpiritual Enemies, fuch as the Devil, the 
 World, and the Flefli ; the Luft of the Eye, the 
 Luftofthe Flefh, and the Pride of Life, and, in 
 the Name and Strength of the Captain of Salvation, 
 we are to maintain a Warfare againft Principalities 
 and Powers, and the Rulers of the Darknefs of this 
 World ; we muft lay afide every Weight, and the 
 Syi that doth moft eafily befet us, and refolve, in 
 the Strength of Grace, to be upright before the 
 Lord, and to keep ourfelves from our own Iniquity. 
 As this Work is great, fo there is Furniture and 
 G froviiioa 
 
( SO ) 
 
 Provifion in the new Covenant, to enable us to 
 renounce all the Enemies of Chrift, and to take the 
 Field againft.all the Legions of Hell in us or around 
 us, Hofea xiv. 4, 5*, 8. Verfes compared •, / will 
 heal their Backfliding, 1 will love them freely ; for mine 
 Anger is turned away from him. I will be as the Dew 
 
 to ifrael Ephraim flail fay % What have I any 
 
 more to do with Idols ? Under the Influences of the 
 holy Spirit, wherein Chrift is as the Dew to Ifrael ; 
 we may fay, and fhall fay it, What have I any 
 more to do with Idols ? He will be to Ifrael as the 
 Dew that lies all Night on their Branches ; he 
 will be as the Dew in his enlightening Grace, his 
 Heart-drawing Grace, his Heart-melting and Heart- 
 thawing Grace, coming down upon their Branches. 
 Then ihall Ifrael fay, What have I any more to 
 do with Idols \ I have had too much to do with 
 Idols, too long to do with Idols : But feeing 
 Jehovah will heal my Backflidings, and love mc 
 freely, What then have I any more to do with I- 
 dols ? Then mail Ephraim fay, in the Strength of 
 his Grace, who is as the Dew to Ifrael, I will have 
 no more to do with Idols, I will have no Confidence 
 in myfelf for Righteoufnefs and Strength, but I will 
 lift up mine Eyes to the Hills, from whence cometh 
 mine Aid. He is as the green Fir-Tree, from whom 
 -my Fruit and Fruitfulnefs is found ; and therefore, 
 under the Influence of his Grace, Ephraim is made 
 to fay, I will have no more to do with Idols, but, 
 through Grace, fix all my Confidence, Faith and 
 Hope upon the God of Ifrael, blefs myfelf in him, 
 and glory in his holy Name. Surely flail 'Ifrael fay, 
 In Jehovah have 1 Right eoufnels and Strength. What 
 have I to do to idolize any Thing in the Place of 
 Chrift . ? What have I to do to draw Comfort from 
 the Creature ? What have I to do to idolize the 
 
 World, 
 

 World, that is but tranfitory and very "Vanity? 
 What have I any more to do with Self-Sufficiency 
 for Work or Warfare, but to truft in Jehovah's All- 
 Sufficiency for whatever he calls unto ? Ephraim 
 Jh all fay, What have I any more to do ivlth Idols f I 
 have no more to do with the Pleafures of Sin for a 
 Seafon ; no more to do with the Prince of the Pow- 
 er of the Air, but to declare War againft Sin and 
 the Kingdom of Darknefs. What have I to do to 
 have any Confidence in any other but in the Lord 
 Jehovah alone, the God of Ifrael, to put my Con- 
 fidence under tire Wings of the God of Ifrael, un- 
 der which I am now come to live, I am now come 
 to die, and am now come to fpend an Eternity ? 
 O, through grace, I am now made to fay, I will 
 truft under the Wiegs of the God of Ifrael, in him 
 will I blefs myfelf, and in him will I glory. 
 
 But we return to fhew, that our Vowing and 
 Swearing to the Lord of Hofts is a folemn Part ot 
 religious Worfhip ; and it will appear, If we con- 
 fider, that it is not only a Swearing to the Lord, 
 but, jfiblyr. it is a Swearing by the Lord, a Swearing 
 by the great Name of the Lord our God, as yoa 
 have it in Jer. iv. 2. And thou jh alt fvedr the Lord 
 liveth in Truth, In Judgment, and in Righteoufnefs ; 
 the Nations Jhall blefs them/elves in him, and in him 
 /hall they glory. Deut. vi. 13. & x. 20. Thou jh alt 
 fear the Lord thy God; him /halt thou ferve, and 
 to him /halt thou cleave, and [wear by his Name. 
 It is then a Swearing the Lord liveth, a Swearing 
 by the living and true God, in Oppofition to all I- 
 dols and falfe Gods ; it is a Swearing by the Name 
 of the Lord our God: And thus it is a moft folemn 
 Declaration of our -Faith of his Being and Exiftence, 
 and a folemn Appeal to his Omnifcience <as to the 
 Sincerity of our Refolutions and Purpofci, fo far 
 
 as 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 as we can know our own treacherous Hearts ; and 
 a Calling upon his Holinefs and Juftice to avenge 
 perfidious and treacherous Dealing in his Covenant. 
 The Connection is remarkable ; Thou /halt /wear the. 
 1 Lord livethy and the Nations frail blefs themfelves in 
 him ; that is, when Strangers to Chrift are Wit- 
 neifes to the Solemnity, and to the appearing Seri- 
 oufnefs in which you fwear by the Lord, and ob- 
 ferve how circumfpeftly you walk in an Agreeable- 
 nefs to the Impreffions you profefs to have on your 
 Spirits, of the infinite Majefty, Hotinefs, and Grace 
 of God, it will provoke and encourage them to ask 
 the Way to Zian, to ufe the Means of Acquaintance 
 with Chrift ; and, having met with him in his Word 
 of Grace, the Nations will blefs themfelves in him ; 
 and place all their Happinefs in his Favour, and glo- 
 ry in his Righteoulhefs alone ? They will blefs the 
 Lord they ever heard of Chrift, and of the Way of 
 Salvation through him ; they will place all their 
 Confidence in him ; they will glory in him, in 
 what he has done, in what he is doing, in what he 
 has promifed to do, and really will do for the Ends 
 of his Glory, and /for their Good, in Time and to 
 Eternity. So mueh for a Hint at the firft Things 
 propofed on this He£d, which was to Tpeak; a 
 little of the Nature of our Swearing to the Lord of. 
 3 4 Hofts. 
 
 We ftouldnow proceed to the fecond Thing .up- 
 on this Head, namely, to confider the Matter of 
 this Bond and Oath before us ; but, before we.enter , 
 . oh this, we mail firft lay down two.or three Remarks d 
 for our Inftru<fnon.;^ And, in the ift Place, 
 
 We remark, that aperjbnal Covenant, anS'this-u 
 iblemn Oath and Covenant/that we t arc to emei w- 
 to jointly and together, are of one and the isifie 
 Kind ajid£s T atu.r$ i op]y whereas, in a perfcna* Co- 
 
( S3 ) 
 venant, there is but one Perfon that vows and fwears 
 to the Lord, but in this there are many Perfons 
 joining together about the fame Part of religious 
 Worlhip. The Parties, joining in this Vow and 
 Oath, are juft all in this Land, or the neighbour- 
 ing Lands, who have been helped by Grace to take 
 hold of God's Covenant of Promife, and in his 
 Strength are refolved to cleave to the Whole of his 
 Truths, even tofuchTruths as are reckoned by fome 
 to be of fmall Confequence ; all fuch as buy the 
 Truth at any Rate, and refolre to fell it at no 
 Rate •, and fuch as will not give up with the Order 
 and Government of Chrift's Houfe, and are willing 
 to bind themfelves to thefts Duties by the Oath of 
 .God. A perfonal Covenant, then, is between the 
 Lord and one fingle Perfon, tranfacted in a moft 
 fecret Manner ; but here there may be many, and 
 it is to be lamented that fo few are difpofed for this 
 Work at this Day. It is to be wifbed, that fuch 
 as defire to own the Caufe of Chrifl may offer them- 
 felves willingly to this Work. As two are better 
 
 j than one, fo, the more of the Owners of Chrift's 
 Caufe that mail be directed to join in this folemn 
 Work, it will make the more publick the Gonfef- 
 fion of his Name ; and may be a Mean offlrength- 
 
 • ning one another's Hands, in witnefling for his 
 Truth and Caufe at this Day, when fo many care 
 for none of thefe Things. 
 
 idly. We remark, that as perfonal Covenanting 
 and national Covenanting are much of the fame Na- 
 ture and Kind, only different in fomeCircumflances, 
 the one being done in fecret, the other in publick ; 
 
 «* fo we remark, ,that Covenanting, in its Nature, and 
 
 in. the Nature of Things, goes in a due Order belpre 
 
 ■■Gerwiiuniqating and fitting down at the Table of the 
 
 1 J "perfonal Covenanting muff go along with 
 
 our - 
 
 f 
 
( J4 ) 
 
 our Vowing at his Table. We arc to examine our- 
 felves and fo to eat of that Bread, and drink of.that 
 Cup : And as Examination is neceflary, fo our re- 
 newing our Engagements to be the Lord's ought 
 likeways to preeced the other, becaufe, in fitting 
 down at the Lord's Table, we take the Seal of his 
 Covenant ; and, if we be not in Covenant with him, 
 our Joining in the folemn Ordinance of his Supper 
 is nothing more than fealing of a Blank. Thus, I ! 
 fay, there is at lead a Necertity for perfonal Cove- 
 nanting preceeding Communicating, and now Pro- 
 vidence has opened a Door for renewing our folemn 
 national Vows, for our Saying, Come, and let us join 
 our [elves to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant never to be 
 forgotten : Come, and let us cleave to him, and a- 
 vouch him as our God before the World •, let us 
 confefs his Name before the World in a Day when 
 it is fo openly denied ; let us go up to the Houfe of 
 the God of Jacob, and there he will teach us of his 
 Ways. It may be very defirable, if the Lord pre- 
 pare the Hearts of his People to himfelf, and take 
 away the Iniquity that (lands between him and us, 
 that our publick Vowing go along with our publick 
 Communicating. 
 
 ^dly. We remark, that, as to our Entring into 
 this Bond of the Covenant, there are many Difficul- 
 ties in our Way, and becaufe of all thefe we have 
 Need to feek to the Lord in the Actings of Faith, 
 in the Duty of Facing and Humiliation, that he 
 may teach us a right Way. We are in Danger . 
 of ra(h approaching on the one Hand, and we are 
 in Danger of Slacknefs and Remifnefs, and of ne- 
 glecting prefent Duty, on the other : By our Slack- 
 nefs we may come to lofe the Seafon of this Du- 
 ty ; every Thing is beautiful in its Seafon, and cer- 
 tainly this Duty muil alfo be beautiful in its own 
 
 Seafon : 
 

 Seafon : We are in Danger of being involved in 
 Difficulties-, and therefore we need to look to the 
 Lord, to (hew us his Way, as we find Ezra did at 
 the River Ahava, as we may fee in the 8th Chap- 
 ter of his Book, and 21ft Verfe. At that Time 
 there were few of the Sons of Levi, who ought to 
 have been mod foreward in this Work of going up 
 to Jerufalem to repair the Houfe of the Lord, and 
 therefore he ftnt for Minifters, as in the 17 th 
 Verfe. How much is this the Cafe with us I At 
 this Day there are few of the Sons of Levi, few 
 Minifters to own this folemn Work of renewing 
 our Covenants with the Lord : But, alas ! fome .of 
 them, who once appeared zealous for his Caufe, 
 are now opening their Mouths in the moft reviling 
 Way and Manner againft the fame ; and endeavour 
 to palliate the Defections of the Pay, to hide their 
 own Shame, in not coming out to the Help of the 
 Lord againft the Mighty. You fee then what Courfe 
 Ezra took in the 2 1 ft Verfe j Then I proclaimed a 
 Fajl there, at the River Ahava, that we might afflift 
 our fe Ives before our God^ to fesk of him a right Way 
 for us, and for our little Ones, and for all '(far Sub- 
 (lance. We are then to mint, in his Strength, to 
 feft before the Lord our God, and to inquire of 
 him a right Way for ourfel^es at this Day. You 
 fee Ezra was afliamed to require of the King a Band 
 of Soldiers and Horfemen to help him againft the 
 Enemy in the Way, becaufe they had faid to the 
 King, The Hand of our God is upon all them for Good 
 that feek him ; but his Power and his Wrath is againft 
 all them that forfake him. Verfe 22. So we fafled 
 and be/ought our God fir this y and he was intreated of 
 us. We are then to take the Courfe that Ezra 
 was directed to take, which was better to him, and 
 may be fo, by God's Bleifing, to us, than .tho' he 
 
 or 
 
( $6 ) 
 Or we had many Bands of Soldiers. "What then 
 is the End and Defign of the Faft ? Why, it is to 
 inquire of the Lord a right Way for ourfelves in 
 a Day of fo many Difficulties. In the firft Place, 
 It is to fee that our Help or Sufficiency is noway 
 in ourfelves, for this great and folemn Work which 
 we have in VLew ; our Help to prepare for it is not 
 in ourfelves, no more than Ezra's, who knew not 
 how to be carried through fo many Enemies and 
 Obftruclions in his Way. And are we not ready 
 to be turned afide, either by Rafhnefs on the one 
 Hand, or Rcmifnefs on the other. ■ Thus we muft 
 wholly diftruft ourfelves, and fee that all Furniture, 
 Strength, Righteoufnefs and Salvation-is with him : 
 For the Hand of our God is on all that feek him for 
 Good. His ftrengthning Hand, his healing Hand, 
 his helping Hand, his encouraging Hand, his through- 
 bearing Hand is upon all that feek him for Good ; 
 upon all that feek him as their Reft, that feek him 
 as their 'All, that feek him in Chrift, where only 
 he is to be found, idly. It is to have fome flayed 
 Thoughts, what we are that are the Parties who 
 are to join in that folemn Bond. Why ? You fee 
 who they are in the Preamble of that Bond : We 
 all and every one of us, tho* fenfihle of the Deceit fulnefs 
 of our own Hearts — We have deceitful Hearts all 
 of us, and the Parties who may join in this Work, 
 are fuch as have deceitful Hearts, and are fenfiblc 
 that their Hearts are deceitful above all Things, 
 and defperately wicked, and therefore need Vows 
 and Covenants, Bonds of God's own Appointment, 
 in an evangelical Way, to be made life of to bind 
 them fafter to the Lord. And what Need have 
 we of the Spirit of Faith, and of Gofpel-Humiliati- 
 on, that we may ly in the Duft before the Lord, 
 in a Senfe of the Corruption of our Natures, and 
 
 of 
 
( 57 ) 
 of the Deceitfulnefs of our Hearts ! But then, ^dly. 
 our Falling, a*d Afflicting ourfelves, imply our 
 Acting Faith upon God's Promife* of finding our 
 Way. We have been Covenant-Breakers* and fo 
 loft our Way, and have dealt very treacheroufly 
 with our God. Our Way is very dark and diffi- 
 cult, if we confider that we are Sinners in the firffc 
 Adam, and, by our Unbelief, have rejected preci- 
 ous Chrift the fecond Adam, the Lord from Heaven. 
 Innumerable perfonal Evils compafs us about ; and 
 we have our Hand deeply dipt in all the Provoca- 
 tions of the Day and Time wherein we live : We 
 are the Men and Women that have finned againft 
 the Lord God of Ifrael, with us arc found many 
 and great Tranfgreffions againft the Lord our God z 
 We with our Fathers have finned ; we have been too 
 long the Workers of Iniquity. Let us look back then 
 to what we are by Nature, and to what we have 
 done by our Sins of Heart and Life, in Thought, 
 Word and Action -, by all which we have been 
 drawing down the Lord's righteous Anger and Dif- 
 pleafure upon ourfelves and thefe Lands : But, we 
 fay, our Fafting, arid Afflicting ourfelves, imply the 
 acting of Faith upon God's Promife of finding our 
 Way. Why ? Where is the Promife, then, of 
 guiding us in the right Way ? We may fee it in 
 the 50th Chapter of Jer. 4 and 5 Verfes, In thofe 
 Days the Children of Ifrael /hall come, they and the 
 Children of Judah together : They /hall ask the Way 
 to Zion with their Faces thitherward, &c. Here it 
 is promifed of Ifrael and Judah, they /hall come ; 
 whatever Obftructions may be in the Way, they 
 /hall come, faith the Lord. What Obftructions may 
 be in the Way of the On -going of this covenant- 
 ing Work of Reformation, we cannot tell ; but w^ 
 hope tl>e Time will come, when Ifrael and Judah % 
 H Scotland 
 
( *« ) 
 
 Scotland and other Nations joining with her, (hail 
 come asking the Way to Zion, with their Faces 
 thitherward. For this End let it be our Concern 
 to behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the 
 Sin of the World, that he may take away our 
 Sins, and the Sins of thefe Lands, as in one Day ; 
 and bring us to join ourfelves unto the Lord, in a 
 perpetual Covenant never to be forgotten. So 
 much for the Remarks. 
 
 We now proceed, by divine Affiftance, to fpeak 
 of the Matter of the Oath and Bond under Consi- 
 deration ; and this Bond contains nothing but what 
 is laid down in the Word of God, and therefore 
 the Matter of it is morally binding upon each of 
 our Conferences, whether we explicitly enter into 
 it or not. This we fhall endeavour to mew as we 
 go along, and as the Lord afTifteth. 
 
 The Bond may be divided into three Parts. \fl. 
 The Preface or Preamble of the Bond. idly. The 
 explicit Matter of the Bond. %dly. The Conclufion 
 of the Bond. Of each of thefe we fhall endeavour 
 to fpeak a little for Explication. And, 
 
 Firftt The Preface or Preamble of the Bond, 
 which runs in thefe Words : We, all and every one of 
 us, tho y fenfible of the Unbelief and Deceitfulnefs of 
 cur own Hearts, and however frequently perplexed with 
 Doubts and Fears anent our acJual Believing ; yet, de- 
 firing to ejfay, in the Lord's Strength, and in Obedi- 
 ence tv his Command, to glorify God, by believing his 
 Word of Grace contained in his Covenant of Promife, 
 and, in the Faith of his Promife, to devote ourfelves 
 unto the Lord in a Covenant of Duty. 
 
 Now, in this Preface we may notice, in theffft 
 Place, the Parties entring into this Bond and Co- 
 venant, we, all and every ont of us. idly. Their 
 Character : (i.).They arena other thanfinful Men 
 
 and 
 
( 59 ) 
 
 and Women, who have fallen in the firft Adam, and 
 who have deceitful and unbelieving Hearts : (2.) 
 They are fuch as, in fome Meafure, are fenfible of 
 the Deceitfulnefs and Unbelief of their own Hearts : 
 (3.) They are fuch as may have Doubts about 
 their ac"hial Believing : (4.) They are fuch as de- 
 fire to elfay to glorify God ; 1 . By believing his 
 Word of Grace contained in his Covenant of Pro- 
 mife ; 2. They defire, in the Faith of his Promife, 
 to devote themfelves to the Lord in a Covenant of 
 Duty ; and (3.) we may notice the Way and Man- 
 ner they are elfaying all this : Why ? It is in the 
 Lord's Strength, and in Obedience to his Com- 
 mand. 
 
 But then, Secondly, as we have the Preface, fb 
 we have the explicit Matter of the Bond, which we 
 propofcd alfo to explain a little ; and the Bond, as 
 to the explicit Matter of it, may be again divided 
 into two Parts, ift. There is in it a folemn De- 
 claration and Profeflion of our eifaying, through 
 Grace, to take bold of God's gracious Covenant, by 
 Faith, as the fame is revealed to us. in the glorious 
 Go/pel. But, idly, in this explicit Matter of the 
 Bond, there is likeways a folemn Oath and Promife t 
 in which we, in the Strength of Grace, devote our- 
 felves to the Lord in a Covenant of Duty, folemnly 
 promifing and fwearing, that we, in the Strength of 
 his promifed Grace, /hail walk in his Ways, keep his 
 Judgments and Commandments, and hearken to his Voice, 
 Of each of thefe in Order. And, 
 
 Firft, We are to make a folemn Declaration and 
 ProfefTton of our elfaying, through Grace, to take 
 hold, by Faith, of God's gracious Covenant reveal- 
 ed to us in the glorious Gofpel. And here we (hall 
 notice fome Things for clearing this Matter. In 
 the firft Place, we have the Solemnity of this De- 
 claration 
 
( 6° ) 
 
 chration and Profeflion of our Faith In God's Co- 
 venant of Promife ; and this is exprefled in the fol- 
 lowing Words. We do, with our Hands lifted up to 
 the Mojl High God, hereby profefs, and before God, 
 jingels, and Men, folemnly declare, that, through the 
 Grace of God, and according to the Meafure of his 
 Grate given unto us, we do, with our whole Hearts, 
 take, hold of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, as the 
 only Propitiation for our Sins ; his Right eoufnefs, as 
 as the only Foundation of our Accefs to and Acceptance 
 with God; his Covenant of free and rich Promifes, as 
 our only Charter for the heavenly Inheritance ; his 
 Word, for our perfecl and only Rule of Faith and Prac- 
 tice ; his Spirit, for our alone Guide to lead us into 
 all Truth revealed in his holy Word, unto which nothing 
 at any Time is to be added, whether by new Revelati- 
 ons of the Spirit, or Traditions of Men. We avouch 
 the Lord to be our God, &c. 
 
 Now we have, ift. in this folemn Declaration 
 and Profeflion, the Solemnity of it pointed out to 
 us, in that it is made with our Hands lifted up to 
 the Moft High God •, with Hands lifted up, and 
 therefore with the Solemnity of-an Oath ; for the 
 Angel of the Covenant, Rev. x. who appears clo- 
 thed with a Cloud, and having a Rainbow upon his 
 Head, whofe Face is as the Sun, and his Feet as Pil- 
 lars of Fire, he lifted up his Hand to Heaven, when 
 he did /wear by him that liveth for ever and ever. 
 And the Lifting up of our Hands is an Expreflion 
 of the Lifting up of our Souls to the Moft High 
 God in the Acts of Faith, Love, Obedience, Re- 
 verence, and godly Fear. idly. We may notice 
 the Witneftefs before whom this folemn Declara- 
 tion and Profeflion is made. It is before God, 
 Angels, and Men ; before God, who is the Sear- 
 cher of Hearts, and who is gracioufly prefent a- 
 
 mong 
 
( 6t ) 
 
 mong the worfhipping Affcmblies of his People- 
 and before Angels, who attend the publick wor- 
 ihipping Affemblies of the Church, and obferve our 
 Behaviour and Deportment, as we fee in i Cor. xi. 
 io. For this Caufe ought the Woman to have Power 
 on her Heady becaufe of the Angels ; - that is, the 
 Woman's Head ought to be covered in worfliip- 
 ping Aifemblies, becaufe fome of rhe Angels are 
 ordinarily prefent in them, and obferve the decent 
 Attire and Behaviour of Gofpel-Worfhippers : 
 And it is alfo before Men, becaufe we are all Wit- 
 neifes. one againft another, of the folemn Engage- 
 ments we come under. $dly. "We may notice the 
 Object of our Worfhip, to whom this folemn De- 
 claration and Profeffion is made. Why I It is to the 
 Moft High God, the only living and true God, the 
 fole Object of all religious Worihip and Adoration. 
 qthly. We may notice the Matter of this folemn 
 Declaration and Profeffion ; and, I . we folemnly 
 profefs, that, through Grace, we believe on the Son 
 of God, and take hold of him in his Perfon and Of- 
 fices •, 2. That, through Jefus Chrift, we avouch 
 the Lord to be our God, j/^/v. We may notice^ 
 the Manner of this folemn Declaration and Profef- 
 fion ; and it is to be done in the Gofpel- Method 
 and Manner, namely, through Grace, and accor- 
 ding to the Meafure of the Grace of God given 
 unto us. It is not to be done in our own Strength, 
 bat in the Strength of Grace, and according to 
 the Meafure of Grace given t» us, according to the 
 Meafure of Grace we have been helped to receive, 
 out of the Fulnefs of Grace that is in Chrift, the 
 gracious Head of the new Covenant ; to fet about 
 this folemn Worl^ otherways, were to do it not 
 in a Gofpel -Manner. 
 
 But, 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 But that we may difcourfe a little farther concern- 
 ing this folemn Declaration and Profeffion, we Ihali 
 endeavour, ' by the Lord's Afliftance, firft, to (hew 
 that it was the Pra&ice of the Lord's People, in en- 
 tring into a Covenant of Duty, to profcfs their 
 Faith in God's Covenant of Promifp, and to a- 
 vouch the Lord, through Jefus Chrift, to be their 
 God : idly. Explain more particularly the Mat- 
 ter contained in this folemn Declaration and Pro- 
 feflion. 
 
 AVe proceed to the fir ft of thefe, namely. To Ihew 
 that it was the Pra&ice of the Lord's People, in en- 
 tringinto a Covenant of Duty, to profefs their Faith 
 in God's Covenant of Promife, and to avouch the 
 Lord, through Jefus Chrift, for their God. We 
 fee this goes firft in Order, if we arc helped to 
 manage it in a Gofpel Way and Manner : And this 
 will appear, If we confider fome of the Covenants 
 that the Church and People of God entred into, 
 as we may fee, 2 Cbron. xv. 12. where we have an 
 Account of the Covenant they entred into in the 
 Days of Afa. And they entred into a Covenant \ to feek 
 the Lord God of their Fathers with all their Heart i By 
 this Seeking of the Lord, you are to underftandthe 
 whole of religious Worfliip and Duty. The Co- 
 venant of Duty they entred into, was to feek the 
 Lord with ail their Heart ; to feek him in Chrift ; 
 to feek him according to the Revelation he had 
 made of himfelf in the Coven a^i. he had made 
 with his eternal Son before the Beginning of all 
 Ages. You fee the Objeft of their Worlhip was 
 the Lord God of Ifrael ; they were to a£l Faith 
 upon him as the God of Ifrael, as the Lord God 
 of their Fathers. And how was he the Lord God 
 of their Fathers, but in the Covenant he made with 
 Abraham ? W hich Covenant was exprelfed to this 
 
 Purpofe : 
 
( «B ) 
 
 Purpofe : Fear ntf, Abraham, / am thy Shield, and 
 thy exceeding great Reward. I am God Almighty, walk 
 before me, and be thou perfect. In conference of 
 this Jehovah takes that Name to himielf, The 
 God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of 
 Jacob. Thus our Lord Jefus proved the Refur* 
 reftion of the Dead againft the Sadducees ; Ifaveyou 
 not heard that it is written, I am the God of Abraham, 
 the God s/lfaac, and the God of Jacob f He is not the 
 the God of the Dead, but of the Living ? The "Chil- 
 dren of Believers are called the Children of the 
 Faith of Abraham. Thus the very firft Article of 
 this Covenant of Duty, made in AJa's Time, was 
 juft a Profeflion of their acting Faith upon God as 
 the God of their Fathers. See alfo 2 Chron. xxxiv. 
 3 1 . And the King flood in his Place, and made a Cove- 
 nant before the Lord, ta walk after the Lord, and to 
 keep his Commandments, and his Teflimonies, and his 
 Statutes, with all his Heart, and with all bis Soul, to 
 perform the Words of the Covenant which are written in 
 this Book. Verfe 32. And he caufed all that were 
 prefent in Jerufajem and Benjamin to fl and to it, and the 
 Inhabitants tf/'Jerufalem did according to the Covenant 
 of God, the God of their Fathers. Why ? This Cove- 
 nant was made with the Lord their God, and the 
 very leading Article in it was their Faith in him as 
 the Lord their God. And in like Manner we have 
 it in the Book of Ezra ; that Covenant that was 
 made In the Time of Ezra was to the fame Purpofe> 
 as we may fee in the 1 oth Chapter of his Book: Now 
 therefore let us make a Covenant with our God, to put 
 away all the Wives, and fuch as are born of them, ac- 
 cording to the Counfel of my Lord, and of fuch as 
 tremble at the Commandment of our God. Now there- 
 fore let us make a Covenant with our God. The Co- 
 venant of Grace was, in the Subftance of it, pu- 
 
 bliihed 
 

 ( *4 ) 
 
 bliftied at Sinai, in the/e Words, / am the Lord thy 
 God, which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, and 
 out of the Houfe of Bondage. This was the leading 
 Article of this Covenant of Duty which was made in 
 the Days of Ezra, namely, to lay hold on God's 
 Covenant made with Chrift, to take or acknowledge 
 God as their God in Chrift. They were to act Faith 
 on him as the Lord their God : He gave us out the 
 Law at Mount Sinai, juft as it were ingrafted upon 
 Gofpel-Grace, that we might walk in the Strength 
 of his Grace, in doing his Commandments. To 
 the fame Purpofe you may fee, Neh.x, 28, 29. and 
 Pfa Im lxxvi. 11. Vow, and pay to the Lord your God ; 
 let all that be round about him bring Prefents to him that 
 ought to be feared. We can never vow aright, un- 
 leis we aft Faith upon the Lord as our God, and 
 we will never pay our Vows unlefs we aft Faith 
 upon him as our God. Vow to the Lord your 
 God, and pay. So we fee that the Church and 
 People of God, in renewing their Covenants, had 
 it for their Practice to aft Faith upon God's Cove- 
 nant of Promife, and to avouch the Lord, through 
 Jefus Chrift, to be their God : And fo it is expref- 
 fed in the Bond under Confideration ; We do, in the 
 Strength of Grace, and according to the Meafure of 
 Grace given unto us, take hold of the Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 &c. Some may miftake thefe Expreffions, and, 
 think them ftrong, and that they point forth that 
 none are to enter into this Bond, as it is laid, except 
 they have Affurance of their being in a State of 
 Grace : But it may be confidered, in thefirft Place, 
 that, when the Preface of the Bond is compared 
 with the Declaration, it will appear that doubting 
 Chriftians may join in this folemn Work ; for the 
 Parties entring into this Bond are fuch who have de- 
 ceitful unbelieving Hearts, who are fenfiblc of 
 
 the 
 
( 6S ) 
 
 the Deceitfulnefs and Unbelief of their Hearts, and 
 who frequently have Doubts and Fears anent their 
 actual Believing ; yet they defire to effay to glori- 
 fy God by Believing 3 and it cannot be queftioned, 
 but it is our Duty to effay to believe in the Strength 
 of Grace, and according to the Meafure of God's 
 Grace given us. idly. It mu ft be confidered, that 
 we can effay no Duty but in the Strength of Grace, 
 and according to the Meafure of Grace given unto 
 us. If we fit down at the Table of the Lord, we 
 muft effay, in the Strength of Grace, to take hold 
 of Chriil, and we muft do it according to the 
 Meafure of Grace given to us ; for there is a par- 
 ticular Application in Faith, and we muft do it ac- 
 cording to the Meafure of Grace given to us, tho* 
 it be fmall like a Grain of Muftard-Seed, like the 
 fmokingFlax, even fo fmall, that perhaps it is, for 
 ordinary, out of Sight with us whether we have a- 
 ny Grace at all ; yet it muft be according to the 
 Meafure of Grace we have received, and not what 
 others have received, becaufe there is a particular 
 Application in Faith ; and fo we muft believe for 
 ourfelves, and none other can believe for us. S^ly. 
 It muft be confidered, that the Defign of this fo- 
 lemn Declaration is not to declare that we have 
 actually believed, which is clear, as I have fhewn 
 from comparing the Preface and Declaration toge- 
 ther - but it is to make an EiTay at actual Believing, 
 which cannot mifs to be our Duty ; and thofe who 
 are in Doubts anent their actual Believing may and 
 ought to effay actual Believing, and in our Effay 
 at Believing we are to exprefs our Faith, and not 
 to hamper the Expreffions of our Faith with Ex- 
 preflions of our Unbelief. Athly. We find the 
 Old Teftament Church expreffing their Faith in go- 
 ing about this Duty, as is clear from the Scriptures 
 I we 
 
( 66 ) 
 
 we have noticed : And why mould not the New 
 Teftament Church profefs and exprefs their Faith 
 in going about this Duty ? Ezra x. 2. Now there- 
 fore let us make a Covenant with the Lord our God. 
 They could not acknowledge the Lord to be their 
 God, but according to the Meafure of Grace they 
 had received, no more than we ; and their Avouch- 
 ing the Lord for their God, implies their taking hold 
 of Chrift by Faith, in the Strength of Grace, and 
 according to the Meafure of the Grace of God 
 which they had received ; and fo are we to effay 
 the fame Duty, in the Strength of Grace, as well as 
 they did before us. By this you may fee that thefe 
 "Words are neceflary in the Bond, and it could 
 not have been otherways, if done in a Gofpei- 
 Way. We mud: go about this folemn Duty in a 
 Way bodding Good at the Hand of God, not in a 
 doubting Way. Whatever Toffings we have with 
 our Unbelief, let us not bring it in when we are 
 to make a folemn Profeffion of our Faith in Chrift ; 
 but let us fet about this Duty, bodding well of his 
 Grace. We muft not fay, If we have Grace, we 
 take hold of Chrift, and of the Covenant made 
 with him ; if we have Grace, we believe in Chrift: 
 That is juft a mixing Unbelief with our Faith : 
 This is no fiitable Form of Speech to bring before 
 God. How would a Mafter take it off the Hand 
 of-his Servant, if, concerning his Commandment, 
 the Servant mould fay, If I obey you, I do obey ? 
 We muft not fay, If w r e have already believed, 
 we take hold of God's Covenant of Grace, and 
 devote ourferves to the Lord in a Covenant of Du- 
 ty ; but that we de fire, in- the Strength of Grace, 
 to glorify God bv prefent Believing his Word of 
 Grace. We never owed fo much to Unbelief, as 
 to foiler it in the folemn Profeffion of our Faith. 
 
 Have 
 
( 67 ) 
 
 Having thus fliewn you, that it was the Practice 
 of the Lord's People, in entring into a Covenant ot 
 Duty, to profefs their Faith in God's Covenant of 
 Promife, and to avouch the Lord, through Jefus 
 Chriit, to be their God, we proceed, idly, by di- 
 vine Affiitance, to explain more particularly the 
 Matter contained in this folemn Declaration and 
 Profeffion of our Faith, in which, by a folemn Oath 
 and Promife, we devote ourfelves to the Lord in 
 a Covenant of Duty. We tell vou, there is not 
 one Word in it, but what is contained in the 
 Word of God, and therefore we with Confidence 
 open it up unto you. 
 
 In this folemn Promife and Engagement to Du- 
 ty we may notice, then, in xhzfirft Place, the So- 
 lemnity of the Engagement. We promife and 
 fwear, by the great Name of the Lord our God, 
 according to the Example of the Lord's People 
 recorded in the Scripture,' who came under an En- 
 gagement to be the Lord's by a folemn Oath, 
 Pfalm cxix. \o6. I have Jworn, and I will perform, 
 that I will keep thy righteous Judgments. 
 
 idly. A Profeffion of Faith in the Lord ; for we 
 fwear by the great Name of the Lord our God, and 
 his Name is a great Name ; it is wonderful, and un- 
 fpeakable by all created Beings; and we are to 
 make Mention of his Name, at all Times, with ho- 
 ly Awe and Reverence, efpecially in fw^aring by 
 his Name. We fay, there is„ in the Matter of 
 this folemn Declaration and Profeffion, a prefent 
 Profeffion of Faith in the Lord as our God* And 
 here we may notice, i. That Faith takes along its 
 Helps and Auxiliaries with it, in as much as the 
 Profeffion is made through the Grace of God : And 
 this anfwers to the Commandment given by Paul to 
 Timothy, And thou Timotnj, my Sor^ be flrong in the 
 
 Grace 
 
C <?8 ) 
 Grace that is in Chrift Jefus. 2. It fays, there is a 
 Deniednefs to Self, and Grace received ; as if the 
 Perfon fhould fay, O ! It is but a fmall Meafure of 
 Grace that I have received; but this muft be 
 an Exercife in the Strength of Chrift, and in a 
 Dependence upon the Fulnefs of Grace that is 
 in him: And this- Expreffion, In the Strength of 
 Chrift, and according to the Meafure of Grace received, 
 implies in it Faith's Perfuafion that there is a Ful- 
 nefs of Grace, in Chrift the Fountain of Grace, to 
 carry us through this Duty, and a Concern that e- 
 very Grain of Grace received may be in Exercife in 
 this Duty of Lifting up the Hand to the Mofl High 
 God. 3. It fays, There is a Mint at a prefent 
 Taking hold of the Perfon of Chrifl-. We do, in 
 the Strength of Grace, take hold of the Lord Jefus 
 Chrift, as the alone Propitiation for our Sins. We 
 take hold of his Perfon ; Faith receives him in his 
 Perfon, John i. 14. The Wcrd was made Flefh, and 
 dwelt among us, and we beheld his Glory All Things 
 were made by him who is the Word, and yet the 
 Word was made Flcih ? We beheld his Glory, the 
 Glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of 
 Grace and Truth. The Word, in the firft Lan- 
 guage, fignifies, We did take a flayed and fixed View 
 cf the Glory of Chrift ; and thofe who beheld his 
 Glory were the fame Perfons of whom it is faid, 
 that they 'received Chrift, and believed on his Name, 
 Verfe 12. fo that Faith is a prefent Believing. 
 * There mull: then be a Believing in the prefent Time ; 
 and this ought to be a believing Time with us : 
 behold, now is the accepted Time ; behold, now is the 
 Day cf Salvation t But our Believing in the prefent 
 Time, does not fay that we believe with prefent 
 Comfort, Scnfe, or Feeling. No ; there may be 
 a Believing, and yet a Doubting \, ftrong Faith, 
 
 and 
 
( *9 ) 
 
 and yet ftrong Unbelief, as you read of Hem an in 
 the 77 th Pfalm. He had ftrong Doubts, and yet 
 ftrong Faith ; there is, I fay, a prefent Mint at 
 taking hold of the Perfon of Chrift. It is a Scrip- 
 ture Expreffion, to take hold ; let a Man take hold of 
 my Strength^ that he may make Peace with me, and 
 he Jhall make Peace with me. Let him take hold 
 of my Strength, that is, my eternal Son, the Horn 
 of Salvation raifed up in the Houfe of David. Faith 
 is a Taking hold of Chrift in his Perfon ; for we 
 take hold of him as the true God and eternal Life; 
 we take hold of the Lord Jefus Chrift. Chrift is 
 called the Lord, which is the Rendririg of Jehovah 
 in the Old Teftament. Why, then, we take hold 
 of Jehovah, the Lord Jefus Chrift, as the true God 
 and eternal Life, as he is Lord of all, and as 
 our Lord and our God. This was the Way that 
 Thomas acted Faith upon him : Thomas anfwered 
 and /aid, My Lord, and my God. We take hold of 
 him as our Lord and King, to rule over us, to fub- 
 due Sin in us, and to fubdue our Hearts to himfelf ; 
 as our Lord, to rule us by his Word and Spirit, to 
 defend and protect us by his Almighty Power ; as 
 the Captain of the Lord's Hoft, that is mighty to 
 fave. We take hold of him whofe Name alone is 
 Jehovah, the Moft High over all the Earth. Who 
 have more Need to take hold of him than we, to 
 fave us from the Guilt, from the Filth*, and from 
 the Power of Sin ? We take hold of the Lord Je- 
 fus, who hath faid, I will fave you from all your 
 Uncleanvefes. We take hold of a whole Chrift, of 
 the^ Lord Jefus Chrift, as the Mefias, as well as 
 Jefus, and as "Lord. Chrift is a Greek Word, and 
 fignifies the Mefias, the Anointed. We take hold 
 oi God's Anointed ; of him whom God has anoint- 
 ed as Mediator of the new Covenant, and to whom, 
 
 as 
 
( 70 ) 
 as fuch, he has given the holy Spirit without Mea- 
 sure. He was anointed to a threefold Office ; a- 
 nointed to be our Prophet, to teach us ; our Prieft, 
 to fatisfy Jufticc for us, and to reconcile us to 
 God ; and, as our King, to fubdue us to himfelf, 
 and to rule us by his Word and Spirit. 
 
 But then we take hold of him, in t he firft Place, 
 .as the only Propitiaton for our Sins, as we have 
 it, Rom. iii. 25. Whom God hath fet forth to be a Pro- 
 pitiation through Faith in his Blood, to declare his 
 Right eoufnefs for the Remijfion of Sins that are p aft > 
 through the Forbearance of God ; to declare, I fey, 
 at this Time, his Righteoufnefs, that he might he juft, 
 and the Juftifier of him which lelieveth in Jefus. 
 "We invite you, then, this Day, to take hold of 
 him as the Propitiation for your Sins ; -we are jufti- 
 fied freely by his Grace, faith the Apoftle Paul to 
 the Romans, How came you by Redemption ? 
 might one have faid. Why ? faith he, through 
 Chrift, whom God hath fct forth to be a Propi- 
 tiation for the Sins of finful Men of Adam's Family, 
 and for me, Paul, as well as others, who myfelf 
 was a Blafphemer, but through his Propitiation I 
 obtained Mercy. Here is a Call and Summons, to 
 every Confcience here, to believe in Jefus : We 
 call you,- in his Name, to believe in Jefus, and 
 that with a particular Application to your own 
 Souls. To whom is he fet forth to be a Propi- 
 tiation ? Why ? It is juft to the guilty Sinner, the' 
 Law-condemned Sinner : And we warn you, O 
 Sinnner, that, if you be a final Rejecler of this 
 Propitiation, to Hell you muft go, for other ways 
 God would not be juft, and the Juftifier of them 
 that believe in Jefus. . There is no Way of being 
 accepted with God, but this Way, by this Propi- 
 tiation that God hath fet forth : And we make 
 Intimation to the vileft Sinner in all this Company, 
 
 there 
 
( 71 ) 
 there is Help iq God for you, through this Propi- 
 tiation : If thy Confciencc is awakned, you will 
 perhaps think there is no Mercy with God for 
 you. Are you then faying, There is no Help in 
 God for me, who have run away all my Days from 
 God . ? Why ? Poor Sinner, we tell you, there is 
 Mercy with him for you, tho' never fo miferable ; 
 for he is juft, and the Juftifier of them which 
 believe in Jefus : He is juft, but yet the Juftifier 
 of all fuch as believe in Jefus, as do venture up- 
 on this Propitiation •, venture, then, on Immanu- 
 el, God with us. 
 
 idly. As we are to take hold of him as the 
 only Propitiation for our Sins, fo we profefs here 
 to take hold of his Righteoufhefs, as the only Foun- 
 dation of our Accefs to and Acceptance with God. 
 This alfo is Scripture-Language, Heb. x. 19. 
 Having therefore. Brethren, Boldnefs to enter into the 
 Holiefl by the Blood of Jefus, by a new and living Way 
 which he hath confecrated for us through the Vail, 
 that is to fay, his Flefh ; and having an High-Priefl 
 over the Houfe of God ; let us draw near with a true 
 Heart, in full Affurance of Faith, having our Hearts 
 ffrinkled from an evil Conference, and our Bodies wafh- 
 ed with pure Water. O ! Here is the Way of Ac- 
 cefs to and Acceptance with God ! Having there- 
 fore Boldnefs 4 to enter into the Holiefl by the Blood of 
 Jefus, by a new and living Way, namely, by the 
 Way of his eternal Righteoufnefs which he hath 
 fulfilled for us, let us draw near. You may all 
 draw near to God in this Way ; he hath made us 
 accepted in the Beloved, who fulfilled all Righte- 
 oufnefs, and for his Righteoufnefs Sake is he well 
 pleafed. O ! Then, you are called to take hold of 
 'him as the Lord your Righteoufnefs ; for this is 
 the Name whereby he fhall be called, The Lord 
 
 OUR 
 
( 72 ) 
 
 6ur Righteousness j and you never give him his 
 Name, O Sinner, till you call him, The Lord my 
 Right eoufiefs. Surely in the Lord, ffxill one fay \ have 
 I Right eoufnefs and Strength. 
 
 %dly. Here we are to take hold of his Covenant 
 of free and rich Promifes, as our only Charter for 
 the heavenly Inheritance. This alfo is Scripture 
 Language, I/a. lvi. 6. Alfo the Sons of the Stranger, 
 that join themfelves to the Lord, to ferve him, audio 
 'love the Name of the Laid to be his Servants, every one 
 that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh 
 hold of my Covenant. Then, you fee, the Sons of 
 the Stranger are warranted to take hold of God's 
 Covenant ; The Promife is to you and to your Children, 
 and to ail that are afar off, even as many as the Lord 
 our God jh all call. Acts ii. 39. Then, fa id Peter, 
 Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name 
 of Jefus Chrijl, for the Remijfion of Sins, Verfe 38. 
 for the Promife is to you, and to your Children, and to 
 all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God 
 /hall call. Now, what is the Promife ? Why? It is 
 juft the Charter of the Covenant, / will be your God, 
 and you Jhall be my People : I will be your God, re- 
 conciled through my eternal Son, and you (hall be 
 my People accepted by me through him. The 
 Promife is to you, to you, Q Sinner i Will you 
 let the Promife (lip then ? The Promife is to you, 
 and to yofcr Children ; it is fpoken to you, it is 
 given to you, and therefore muft be received by 
 you, and believed by you -, to you is the Word of 
 this Salvation fent. 
 
 qtbly. We are to take his Word as our perfect 
 and only Rule of Faith and Practice. This is al* 
 fo Scripture-Stile, and what we are called to, Ifa. 
 viii. 20. To the Law and to the Tejlimony ; if they 
 fpeak not according to this Word, it is becaufe there is 
 
 H 
 

 ( 73 ) 
 no Light in them, "Wq have a more fure Word of 
 Prophecy, to which, faith the Apoftle, we do well* to 
 take heed, as to a Light Jbining in dark Place. 
 It is more fure than that Vifion which the Apoftles 
 had from the excellent Glory when they were with 
 Chrift on the holy Mount, 2 Pet.i. 17, 18, 19. 
 It is a perfect Rule ; The Law of the Lord is per feci ; 
 It is an unerring Rule ; therefore, faith the Pfalmift, 
 that my Ways were directed to keep thy Statutes, then 
 /hall I not he ajhamed when I have a ReJpecJ to all thy 
 Commandments, 
 
 Sthly, We are to take his Spirit for our alone 
 Guide to lead us into all Truth. This much is pro- 
 mifed of him by our Lord, Johnxiv. 26. But the 
 Comforter, which is the Holy Ghofl, whom the Father 
 will fend in my Name, he {hall teach you all Things, 
 and bring all Things to your Remembrance whatfoever 
 I have J aid unto you. And John xvi. 13, When he y - 
 the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into alt 
 Truth, We are then to depend on him for Guiding 
 in all Things, to help us faithfully to bear Witnefs 
 lor Chrift in our Day and Generation : We are to 
 take him for our Remembrancer, to bring all Things 
 to our Remembrance. 
 
 But then, as it contains a Profeflion of our Faith 
 in the Lord Jefus Chrift ; fo our Swearing by the 
 the great Name of the Lord pur God contains al- 
 fo a Profeflion of our Faith in God, through Jefus 
 Chrift, as our God : Therefore it is faid, We a- 
 vouch the Lord to be our God: And this alfo is what 
 we are warranted to do, and called to do ; we arc 
 warranted, if we confider it was the Cry of Chrift 
 as our publick Head, Pfalm lxxxix. 26, He /hall 
 cry unto me, Thou art my Father, ?ny God, and the 
 Rock of my Salvation, If it was his Cry as a Head, 
 then all of us (nay fay it over through him as his 
 K " Members. 
 
( 74 ) 
 Members. We are called, as well as warranted, to 
 avouch the Lord to be our God, Jer. iii. 4 and 19. 
 compared ; Wilt thou not from this Time cry unto me, 
 My Father ? And I /aid, Thou Jh alt call me, My Father, 
 and /halt wot turn away from me. The Lord Jefus 
 Chrift, as the new Covenant-Head, has acquired a 
 new Right to God, as his God and your God; there- 
 fore he laith.to Mary, Iafcend to my Father and your'Fa- 
 ther, to my God and your God. We are then to put in 
 our Claim andTitle, in Chrift's Right to God, as our 
 our Father and our God : We are to avouch the 
 Lord to be our God. O ! We call you, Sirs, to 
 chufe him to be your God and Portion : Thou art 
 my Portion, faith my Soul, therefore will 1 hope in thee. 
 Pfalmxvi. 5, 6. The Lord is the Portion of mine In- 
 heritance, and of my Cup ; thou maintaineft my Lot ; 
 The Lines are fallen unto me in pie af ant Places, yea, 1 1 
 have a goodly Heritage. Theie are the Words of. 
 the new Covenant-Head immediately, and we are to 
 put in our Note with him, and fay, The Lord is 
 the Portion of mine. Inheritance : The Lines are fallen 
 unto me in pleafant Places. O put in your Note ! 
 What will be your laft Words? Will you not fay 
 The Lord fhall be my God. Thus faith the Lord, 
 I will be your God : And what faith Faith, The 
 Lord fhall be my God. O fay it, young People ! 
 This was the Language of ^facob, in his young 
 Days, at Bethel, The Lord fhall be my God. O, it is 
 good Language for you that are young People, 
 The Lord fhall be my God : Look to him to help 
 you to fay it. When alone Jacob faid it, when a- 
 lone at Bethel. O fay it; old People, The Lord 
 fhall be my God. Will you refolve that nothing 
 ihall c^Ce or pleafe you buthimfelf. that I knew 
 ivhere I might find him, that I might come even to his 
 ! O let every one here fay, The Lord fhall be 
 
 my 
 
(if ) 
 
 my God ; for now is the accepted Time, now is 
 the Day of Salvation. To-day if you will hear 
 his Voice, harden not your Hearts as in the Provoca- 
 tion. 
 
 But then, in the Matter contained in this folemn 
 Declaration and Profeifion of our Faith, in which 
 we, by a folemn Oath and Promife, devote ourfelves 
 to the Lord in a Covenant of Duty, we have not 
 only the Solemnity of the Engagement, and a folemn 
 Profeifion of our Faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift, in 
 the Manner we have been hearing, and in God 
 through him as our God ; but, $dfy. the Matter of 
 our folemn Vow and Engagement that we vow and 
 fv/ear unto, namely, That we Jhall walk in his Way\ 
 keep his Judgments and Commandments, 'and hearken to 
 his Voice. This is what we are all bound to by the 
 moral Law ; and it has been the Practice of the 
 Saints inScripture to bind themfelves to thefeThings, 
 Pfahn cxix. 57. Thou art my Portion, Lord; I 
 have faid that I will keep thy Words. Verfe 106. / 
 have [worn, and 1 will perform it, that I will keep thy 
 righteous Judgments. There cannot be better 
 "Work for us, than that we walk in his "Way, keep 
 his Judgments and Commandments, and hearken to 
 his Voice. We are to hearken to his Voice in 
 the Law ; we are to hearken to it in the Gofpel, to 
 believe in his Son Jefus Chrift ; for this is his Com- 
 mandment, that we believe in the Name of his Son 
 Jefus Chrifl. 
 
 But more particularly, in the Matter of our fo- 
 lemn Vow and Engagement to Duty, we promife 
 and fwear, in the ift Place, That we /hall, by theLord's 
 Grace \ continue and abide in the Profeffion, Faith andO- 
 bedience of the true reformed Religion, in Doclrine, l¥or- 
 Jhip, P r esby I er'ial Church -Government and Difcipline of 
 the Houfe of God, laid down in his Word ) contained in our 
 
 Standards^ 
 
( 7<J ) 
 
 Standards, and /worn to in our folemn Covenants* A 
 Summary of the Doctrine is contained in our Confef- 
 fion of Faith ; fome View we have of our "Worfhip 
 in the Directory for Worfhip, our Difcipline is fomc- 
 what pointed out in the Books of Difcipline, and 
 in our Acts of Affembly in reforming Times -, but 
 we do not formally fwear either to the Books of 
 Difcipline, or the Acts of Affembly in the mod re- 
 forming Periods, but to the Subftance of Presbyte- 
 rial Difcipline as laid out in them, and to thefe 
 Branches of Difcipline in them that are moft agree- 
 able to the Word of God. For you may obferve 
 that neither the Books of Difcipline, nor the Acts 
 of AfTembly in reforming Periods, are exprefly men- 
 tioned in the Bond ; and as it is our Duty from the 
 World, to contend for the Faith once delivered to 
 the Saints, and to ftrive together for the Faith of 
 the Gofpel ; fo you may obicrve, that through the 
 whole Bond the Word of God is the primary Rule, 
 as it ought to be. Thus you fee that there is no 
 Ground to object, that by fwearing to the Difcipline 
 we become engaged to fupport what is defective as 
 to the Difcipline, in the Books of Difcipline, or in 
 the Acts of Affembly. And as to Presbytcrial 
 Church-Government, you have a View of it in the 
 Form of Church-Government, which is printed a- 
 long with the Confeffion of Faith. Now, here is 
 nothing but what is our Duty, and what we are 
 bound unto, whether we enter into this Bond or not. 
 Is it not his Commandment to all, Buy the Truth, 
 and fell it not ? To buy it at any Rate, and fell it at 
 no Rate? Is it not the Duty of the Church of Chrift 
 to ftrive together for the Faith of the Gofpel ? So we 
 are bound, by the fecond Commandment of the mo- 
 ral Law, to preferve all Chrift's Ordinances and 
 Inftitutions pure and intire, whether as to Worihip, 
 
 Difcipline* 
 
( 77 ) 
 Difcipline, or Government, in ourfeveral Places 
 and Stations ; and convey them to Pofterity, 
 that Race unto Race may {hew his mighty Deeds. 
 
 But then, under this Article of the Bend, we re- 
 nounce and promife, by the Lord's Grace, to contend 
 and tejl'ify againfl all contrary Evils, Errors, and Cor- 
 ruptions, particularly Popery, which is opened up to 
 you, in moil of its Branches and Corruptions, 
 in our national Covenant, which you have a- 
 long with the Bond in which we renew the 
 fame. 
 
 Wc promife alfo to contend againfl: Prelacy, 
 which, as to Corruption in Government, and Su- 
 perftition in Worfhip, is much allied to Popery : 
 For, as their \Vorfhip is corrupted by a great Vari- 
 ety of fuperftitious Rites and Ceremonies, fo like- 
 ways their Government is intirely antifcriptural, 
 feeing they inveil their Bilhops and Prelates, (which 
 are Creatures merely of human Invention) with the 
 fole Power of Ordination and JurifdicYton, and, up- 
 on the Matter, derive their whole eccleiiailical 
 Powers from the Erafiian Supremacy of the civil 
 Magi (Irate ; which is fitch an Erafiian Way and 
 Manner of Government, as is deftructive of the 
 beautiful Order of ChrihVs Houfe. 
 
 Welikeways renounce Deijm, which is a Prin- 
 ciple prevailing with many at this Day, who denv 
 the Scriptures to be the Word of God, and pretend 
 that natural Religion is fufScient to guide Men 
 to Happinefs, and revealed Religion is not necef- 
 fary. 
 
 "We likeways renounce Arianifm, which is that 
 grofs Herefy denying the proper, true and fu- 
 preme Deity of the Son of God, and of the Holy 
 Ghoft. 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 We alfo renounce Arminianifm, which is a Sy- 
 ftem containing many grofs Errors ; fuch as, not- 
 withstanding of the Fall, Man retains a Freedom 
 of Will to that which isfpiritually good ; that the 
 Grace of God is not irrefiftible and efficacious of 
 itfelf ; that Believers in Ghrift may fall totally and 
 finally away from a State of Grocc ; that Election 
 depends upon forefeen good Works ; and that 
 Ghrift has merited Grace to all Mankind ; that, the 
 Reafon why fome arechofen to Salvation, and o- 
 thers rejected, is for the forefeen Faith and good 
 Works of the one, and for the forefeen Unbelief 
 and evil Works of the other; whereas Jehovah 
 faith, I will have Mercy on whom 1 will have Mercy ; 
 and whom he will he hardeneth* Rom. ix. 1 1. For 
 the Children being not yet horn, neither having done 
 any Good or Evil, that the Purpofe of God, according to 
 . Eleftion, might ftand, not of Works, hut of him that 
 calleth. Verfe 13. As is is written, Jacob have I 
 loved, but Efau have I hated. 
 
 Again, we likeways renounce Independency, which 
 is a Denying of the Unity of the true Catholick 
 Church bfChrift, pretending that every fingle Con- 
 gregation has. all Power of Jurifdiclion and Order fo 
 within itfelf, as noway to depend upon and be 
 fubordinatcd and fubjected to the Authority of Sy- 
 nods or AlTemblies, directly contrary to the 15th 
 Chap, of the AGs of the Apoftles, and other Places 
 of Scripture ; and by which Means they divide the 
 Body of Ghrift, and open a Door to all Manner of 
 Abominations, and, whatever Errors fall in among 
 them, they incapacitate themfelves for purging out 
 the fame. 
 
 As alfo we renounce Latitudinarian Tenets, thai 
 is, the prevailing Opinion of this Day, that Com- 
 munion is to be kept witlvall that hold what they 
 
 call 
 
( 19 ) 
 call the ElTentials of Chriftianity, whether they be 
 Presbyterians, Prelatifts, or Independents ; that is 
 to fay, Presbyterial Government, tho' the only 
 Government Chrift has inftituted in his Houfe, may 
 be given up with ; and the Decryers and Betray- 
 ers of it are guilty of no Scandal, that ought to 
 be purged, or that may mar their Fellowfhip with 
 the Church of Chrift. But if Men once take the 
 Freedom to. give up with any of the Inftitutions of 
 Chrift, with any of the Truths of God, and are 
 boldly adventuring to buy and fell, the Truths of 
 Chrift, concerning the Order and Government of 
 his Church, they bid very fair, in a fhort Time, 
 to pay little Regard to what they call the Elfentials 
 of Chriftianity ; for, when the Government and 
 Order of Chrift's Inftitution is once laid afide, e- 
 very Man is left at Liberty to judge for himfelf 
 what is effential to Religion, and what not. 
 They are called Latitudinarian Tenets, becaufe 
 they give a Latitude, a Toleration, in effect, to 
 every Thing that private Judgment fets up to be 
 right ; and becaufe thefe Principles, overthrowing 
 the divine Right of Presbyterial Government, do 
 thereby bury the publick Judgment of the Courts 
 of Chrift ; and becaufe the Terms of Communion 
 that feem to be gone into by fuch a Set of Men, 
 are wider and of a greater Latitude than thofe which 
 Chrift himfelf has laid down in his Word ; by 
 which Means a Door is fet open to Satan to low 
 his Tares ; every Thing is caft loofe, and God is 
 provoked. to give up fuch People to ftrong Delufi- 
 ons, to believe a Lie ; as is the Cafe of the Men 
 of thefe Principles in the Day wherein we live. 
 
 But then, idly, in like Manner, we promife and 
 fwear, That, by all Means which are lawful and war- 
 rant able for us, according to the Ward of God, we /hall \ 
 
( 80 ) 
 
 in our fever al Stations and Callings, endeavour the Refor- 
 mation of Religion in England and Ireland, in Doc- 
 trine, IVorfhip, Difcipline and Government, according 
 to the Word of God ; and to promote our covenanted Uni- 
 formity in Religion, Con f e jfion of Faith and Cat echifms, 
 Form of Church -Government, and Directory for Wor* 
 (hip, as they were received by the Church of Scot- 
 land. 
 
 This is the Subftance of the folemn League and 
 Covenant fworn both by Scotland and England a- 
 bout an Hundred Years ago. It was a lawful and 
 laudable AlTociation of thefe Kingdoms, for pro- 
 moting true Religion, for preferring the Glory of 
 God, the Increafe of ChriiVs Kingdom, to all 
 Things in the World, and fubordinating all Things 
 thereto, and to the Will of God revealed in his 
 "Word. It was a profefled Subjection of the three 
 Nations to Chrift, in their fwearing Allegiance to 
 Zion\ King, and was in fome Meafure the fulfilling 
 of that Prophecy, Hof i. 11. Then Jh all the Chil- 
 drenof Judah, and the Children of Ifrael, appoint 
 them/elves one Head '; and of that, Jer. 1. 4, 5. Now, 
 this Oath and V T ow being fo lawful, laudable and 
 warrantable, it is certainly binding on us, whether 
 we come under it, in our own Perfons, or not, as 
 much as the Oath made by Jojhua and the Princes 
 of the Congregation of Ifrael, to the Gibeonites, was 
 binding upon their Pofterity ; and that the Oath 
 made to the Gibeonites was binding on Pofterity, is 
 clear from the Famine fent in the Days oi \ David, 
 for the Sin of Saul in flaying fome of the Gibeonites, 
 altho 5 that Oath had been lworri to the Gibeonites 
 fome Hundred of Years before the Violation of it by 
 that bloody Action of Saul ; and the Anger of the 
 Lord was not turned away in that Judgment of Fa- 
 mine, till feven Sons of Saul were hanged up before 
 
 the 
 
( 8i ) 
 
 the Sun : And we have Reafon to fear that the 
 Lord will, in as awful and evident a Manner, a- 
 venge the Quarrel of his broken Covenant in the 
 Ifles of the Sea ; and that the Judgment, as in the 
 Inftance now hinted at, will fall heavily, and in a 
 remarkable Way and Manner, upon the Ring- 
 leaders in the Defection and Apoftafy of thefe 
 Times, tho' the beft may have fome Share in the 
 Stroke, feeing all are involved in the Sin of the 
 Day. 
 
 3 ://>•. In the fame Manner we promife and fwear, 
 by the great Name of the Lord our God, That we 
 fiall, in our feverai Places and Callings, encourage 
 and 'ftrengthen one another's Hands, in purfuing the End 
 of our Oath and Covenant ; and that we fh all endeavour 
 a Life and Converfation becoming the Go/pel of Chrift ; 
 and that, in our per final Callings and particular Fami- 
 lies, we (hall ftudy to he' good Examples to one another \ 
 o/Godlinefis and Right eoufinefis, and of every Duty we 
 owe to God and Man ; and that we /hall not give up 
 our/elves to a deteflable Indifferency and Neutrality in 
 theCaufe of God ; but, denying our f elves and our own 
 Things, we fh all, above all Things, feek the Honour 
 of God, and the Good of his Caufie and People, and that y 
 through Grace, forfiaking the Counfels of Flefh and 
 Blood, and not leaning upon carnal Confidences, we 
 fhall endeavour to depend upon the Lord, to walk by the 
 Rule of his Word, and to hearken to his Voice hy his 
 Servants, 
 
 Now, thefe Things are our Duty whether we 
 come under this Oath or not ; being moral Duties 
 they are of perpetual Obligation, as we have Ihewn 
 you already : And that thefe are moral Duties is 
 evident and plain ; for, to ftrengthen one another's 
 Hands, in promoting the Honour of God, and the 
 Good of his Caufe and People, is a Duty binding 
 L upon. 
 
( 82 ) 
 upon us, both by the firft and fecond Tables of 
 the moral Law ; and that we fhould depend upon 
 the Lord alone, chiefly aim a^ his Glory, and the 
 advancing and promoting of his Kingdom, and ftu- 
 dy to have a Converfation becoming the Gofpel of 
 Chrift, is clear from the whole Bible, the Old and 
 New Teftament, where we are taught to truft in 
 God alone, to love him with a fuperlative Love, 
 to efteem him above all Things, and to fubordi- 
 nate all our Concerns to his Glory and Honour; 
 and that, denying Ungodtinefs and worldly Lufls, we 
 fhould live fiber ly, right eoufly and godly in this prefent 
 World, Tit. ii. 12. That we /hall not give up our/elves 
 to a deteflable Indifferency or Neutrality in the Caufe 
 of God, is what we are all bound to already, becaufe 
 we are under the Oath of God, as we have fhewn 
 you, whether we explicitly fwear this folemn 
 Bond or not. A great many, both Minifters and 
 Profeffors, are at this Day giving up themfelves to 
 a deteflable Indifferency and Neutrality in the Caufe 
 of God, and yet, in the mean Time, profefling 
 a great Concern and Zeal for the Glory of God : 
 Whether their Ends be fingle or not, we leave it 
 between God and their own Confidences, as they 
 fhall anfwer to him at the great Day of Accounts, 
 when every fecret Thing mall be brought to Light. 
 But then, 
 
 Athly. As we have the Matter of this folemn 
 Oath, and as we have the folemn Profeflron of our 
 Faith in it, fo we are to notice the Expreffion of 
 our Faith and Dependence upon God's Covenant 
 ofPromrfe, in our Entring into this Covenant of 
 of Duty, namely, Thefe Things' we promife and en- 
 gage to, in the Strength of the promifed Grace of the 
 LORD OUR GOD: So that this folemn Duty is 
 not at all to be performed by us in our own Strength, 
 
 but 
 
( 8 3 ) 
 but in the Strength of the Grace of the Lord our 
 God, and in the Faith of God's Covenant of Promife. 
 We defire to believe in God through his Son Jefus 
 Chrift, and to take him with us in every Duty, 
 and to go about this folemn Work in a Depen- 
 dence upon that Grace that is in Chrift Jefus, who 
 is full of Grace andTruth, and who has a Fulnefs of 
 Grace, fuitable Grace, feafonable Grace, Grace 
 to help us in every Time of Need. We promife 
 nothing in our own Srrength, but in the Strength 
 of the Grace that is in him for us : It is in the 
 Strength of that Grace that is in the Promife, and 
 is in the Covenant of Promife, that we are to pro- 
 ceed in this Work ; and we are called and war- 
 ranted to believe that he will be forthcoming to 
 us in making our Vows, and in performing the 
 fame. 
 
 The laft Thing we took notice of in the Bond 
 was the Conclufion of it, in thefe Words. In 
 oil which, profejfing our own Weaknefs, we earneftly 
 pray to God, who is the Father of Mercies, through his 
 Son Jefus Chrift, to he merciful unto us, and to enable 
 us, by the Power of his holy Spirit, that we may do our 
 Duty, unto the Praife of his Grace in the Churches. 
 Amen. 
 
 This Conclufion is a Prayer which every one 
 of us have need to be putting up to God. We are 
 called to pray without ceaiing ; to pray with all 
 Suppi^cation in the Spirit ; to pray to God as our 
 God and Father in Chrift's Right ; to pray in 
 Faith, which eyes God in Chrift ; to put up the 
 Prayer of Faith for his Mercy, that he would be 
 merciful to us. O ! Nothing will do us Good but 
 his Mercy. ! Satisfy us early with thy Mercy* 
 Nothing will carry us through but his Mercy. 
 The Covenant of Grace is the fure Mercies of Da- 
 vid. 
 
( «4 ) 
 vid. We are then to look to him for Mercy, for 
 pardoning Mercy * for ftrengthning Me cy, for 
 Supporting Mercy, and for through -bearing Mercy. 
 "We are to pray in the Spirit for Mercy. The 
 Holy Spirit is in the Church thus to enable us to 
 perform Duty ; we are then to walk in the Spirit, 
 to believe in the Holy Ghoft, and to depend on 
 the Spirit, that by him we may be enabled to per- 
 form our Duty, to the Praiie of his Grace in the 
 Churches. Amen. 
 
 So much for the fecond Thing on this third 
 Head, which was to confider the Matter of the 
 Oath and Bond under Confideration. Before we 
 proceed to.fpeak of the Manner in which we ought 
 to enter into this Bond, let us confider, 
 
 That, as it is long fmce it was prophefied by 
 Jacob) That the See tre Jhould not depart from Judah, 
 nor a Lawgiver from between his Feet, till Shiloh 
 came, and to him Jhould the Gathering of the People be ; 
 fo this Swearing to the Lord of Hofts fuppofes a 
 Coming to the Lord of Hofts ; a Gathering to him 
 by Faith. He is the Enfign fet up to the Nations ; 
 To him jh all the Gentiles feek, and his Reft is and 
 ihall be glorious. O they have a good Standing, 
 who have, by Grace, been enabled to take up their 
 Standing, for Eternity, under the Banner of the 
 Captain of Salvation ! Their Standing is fo fure 
 that it will never be altered, and the Glory of the 
 Grace of God is fo much feen in the Gathering to 
 Shiloh, that it is' for the Glory of God, that they 
 who are gathered to him by Grace, fwear to him in 
 a Covenant of Duty and Gratitude : x^nd fo there 
 is a Command ilTued out from Heaven, Pfalm lxxvi. 
 I I . Vovj and pay unto the Lord your God : Let all that 
 he round about him bring Prefents unto him that ought to 
 he feared. Vowing to the Lord, then, is a Duty 
 
 that 
 
( 8j ) 
 
 that we are called unto, that we may renew our 
 baptifmal Vows and Engagements. But perhaps 
 fome of you hear thefe Things with very little Con- 
 cern ; you think you have little to do with this 
 "Work ; you think all this little or nothing to the 
 Purpofe : But, tell me, was it little to the Purpofe, 
 or nothing to the Purpofe, that you was baptized ? 
 I tell you, if you make not Confcience of renewing 
 your baptifmal Vows, you give up witfi your 
 Baptifm ; in fhort, you give up with the Retinue of 
 the Lamb on the Mount Zidn, and practically turn 
 afide to the Retinue of his Enemies. Vow and pay 
 unto the Lord your God: Let all that be round about him 
 bring Prefentr to him that ought to be feared. All 
 that be round about him, that is, all the Gofpel 
 Church, all that hear this Gofpel : As all Ifrael 
 were encamped round about the Ark, fo is the 
 Church, who by Pfofeffion furround Chriit the 
 New Teftament Ark, they are his Retinue and 
 Followers. What Way lhall you prove that 
 you are true Men ? When Jofeph would try his 
 Brethren, they fay, We be true Men. How would 
 you make it appear that you are true Men ? Why ? 
 You muft bring Prefents to him that ought to be feared. 
 Juft bring yourfelves to him : Vow to the Lord 
 your God, and pay. O! It is a very awful Work to 
 vow and fwear to the Lord of Bofts : But ycu fee 
 the very Argument is, he ought to be feared ; he 
 ought to be had in Reverence by all that be round 
 about him. We lofe the Benefit of the Wosd 
 we read, and of the Gofpel we hear preached, two 
 Ways ; fir ft 9 We are ready to forget that God is 
 the Speaker ; idly. We are ready to forget that 
 we are the Perfons fpoken to : But when we 
 hear the Word read and fpoken to, we mould 
 ndeavour to keep thefe two- in Mind, namely y 
 
 that 
 
( 8* ) 
 
 that God is the Speaker, and that he is fpeaking to 
 us in particular. And here you have a Duty en- 
 joined and commanded, and we are the very Per- 
 sons called to it, namely, Vow and pay to the Lord 
 your God : And yet, I fuppofe, many will be putting 
 it away from themfelves •, they will perhaps think 
 it is the Duty of fome to vow and fwear to the 
 Lord of Hofts, but not their Duty. But we tell 
 you, it is your Duty, whether you will believe it 
 or not. There are fome Things Duty immediately, 
 and fome mediately. There is a Duty, that, in the 
 Order of Nature, goes before vowing and fwearing 
 to the Lord in a Covenant of Duty. What is 
 that ? "Why ? It is the Duty of Believing in the 
 Name of the Son of God, the Lord Jefus Chrifh 
 It is our own Fault we have not all believed in the 
 Lord Jefus Ghrift already ; and therefore it is the 
 immediate Duty of all who have not yet believed, 
 now to believe, and, believing in the Lord, to 
 fwear to the Lord : It is the immediate Duty of 
 all who have believed in the ^amc pf the Son of 
 God, to fwear to the Lord of Hofts ; and it is the 
 Duty of all fuch as have not y^t believed, to believe 
 immediately, and without any farther Delay : 
 "We therefore call you immediately to believe in 
 the Name of the Son of God ; and mind we deal 
 with your Confciences, we deal with immortal 
 Souls, with a View to our Appearance before the 
 awful Tribunal of God, where you muft give an 
 Account how you have received the Word, as we 
 mult alfo account for it how we have delivered the 
 > fame unto you. 
 
 We now proceed, by the Lord's AiTiftance, to the 
 third Thing on this Head, namely, To (hew how 
 and after what Manner we are to enter into 
 this Bond arid folemh Engagement. After what 
 
 Manner 
 
( 8 7 ) 
 Manner fliall we then approach to the Lord in 
 this awful and foleran Work, of Vowing and 
 Swearing to him . ? 
 
 i. Then, we are to fwear to the Lord ofHofts 
 believingly, and in Faith, for without Faith it is 
 impoflible to pleafeGod. We muft have the Faith 
 of the Command of God, that we have his Com- 
 mand for this Piece of folemn religious Worihip, 
 as we have formerly fhewn you from the Practice 
 of the Church in OldTeftament Times, as in the 
 Time of Nebemiah, Afa, and Jofiah, when they did 
 fwear to the Lord ofHofts. This was the Practice 
 of the Church, Pfalm cxix. 106. I have /worn, and 
 I will perform, that 1 will keep thy righteous Judg- 
 ments. You have an exprefs Command for ir, 
 Pfalm lxxvi. 1 1 . Vow to the Lord your Cod, and pay. 
 And this was alfo the Practice of ihc Macedonians ; 
 They gave their ownfelves to the Lord. You are to 
 have Faith, as in the Precept, fo in the Promife of 
 God ; and this you have in the Words of the Text, 
 where it is promifed, In that Day jh all five Cities in 
 the Land of Egypt fwear to the Lord of Ho/Is : As 
 alfo in the 2 ift Verfe of the Chapter, And the Lord 
 /ball he known to Egypt, and the Egyptians /hall know 
 the Lord in that Day ; and they /hall vow a Vow to the 
 Lord, and perform it. Here is Furniture for vowing, 
 and paying of Vows, They /hall vow a Vow to the 
 Lord, and perform it. We muft act Faith upon 
 the Covenant of Promife, and upon the Lord Je- 
 fus Chrift as the Altar of Acceptance ; for we 
 muft bring' all our Prefents to this Altar. As 
 there was no other Altar of old, where the Lord's 
 People were to worfhip, but at Jerufalem, fo here 
 there is no other Altar but Chrift, where we can, 
 be accepted as to our Perfons and Services, and to 
 which we are to bring ail our Offerings. Ifu lvi. 7. 
 Their Sacrifices and Burnt-Qfferings /hall he accented 
 
 tip on 
 
( 88 ) 
 
 vpift mine Altar. This is the Altar that fanftifies 
 the Gifts ; For he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. 
 But then, idly, as we are to fwear to the Lord of 
 Hofts believingly, and in Faith, fowe are to do it 
 with due Deliberation, and in Judgment ; Jer. iv. 2. 
 Anl thou /halt fwear, the Lord liveth, in Truth, in 
 Judgment, and in Rigthteoufkefs % and the Nations {hall 
 hlefs t hem fe Ives in him, and in him [hall they glory. 
 Thou Jhalt fwear, the Lord liveth, in Truth ; that is, 
 we are to confider, and be allured that what we fwear 
 be Truth : It is to be in Righteoufnefs, that is, we 
 are to be faithful and righteous in paying our Vows, 
 and not to deal with a flack Hand with the Lord : 
 It is alfo to be in Judgment, that is, with Knowledge 
 and Underftanding of what we fwear, according to 
 our different Capacities and Abilities to know Mat- 
 ters : But it is not to be thought that every one has 
 the fame Judgment and Capacity ; you may take 
 Notice for this, Nek. x. 28. And the red of the 
 the People, the Priefls, the Levites, the Porters, the 
 Singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had feparated 
 ihemfelves from the People of the Land, unto the Law 
 of God, their Wives, their Sons and their Daughters, 
 every one having Knowledge and Underftanding. Verfe 
 29. They clave unto their Brethren, and entred into a 
 Curfe, and into an Oath, to walk in God's Law which 
 was given by Mofes the Servant of God. There you 
 may obferve that there were People of very diffe- 
 rent Capacities entred into this Oath. It is faid, 
 Every one having Knowledge and having Under (landing, 
 that is, they had a competent Meafure of Knowledge 
 and Underftanding, tho' they had not ail the fame 
 Meafure of Knowledge ; for we' may obferve here, 
 that not only thofe who were Priefts and Levites 
 joined in the Work, but likeways the reft of the 
 People, every one that had feparated themfelves 
 
 from 
 
( 8 P ) 
 /from the People of the Lands, all that faw it to be 
 their Duty to turn to the Lord, their Wives, their 
 Sons, and their Daughters : As there was fuch a 
 mixed Multitude of People, in different Stations, 
 joining in that Work, it is not to be thought they 
 had all alike Knowledge and Underftandingof the 
 Law'of God, either of the moral or ceremonial Law ; 
 but fuch as joined in that Work, were fuch as had 
 fome Knowledge of their Duty, and defired to know 
 it, and did ly open to Light, and to receive Inftruc- 
 tion in what was dark unto them. We fay, it is to 
 be with Judgment, that is, with what Judgment the 
 Lord has given to us to understand this Matter. 
 
 But then, as it is to be done in Judgment, fo, ^dly. 
 we are to fwear to the Lord of Hofts reverently ; 
 every Duty ought to be performed with holy Awe 
 and Reverence, and fo furely this among the reft ; 
 that is one of the great Caufes of the Lord's Wrath 
 and heavy Indignation at this Day, that we have 
 loft realizing Vows of God, as he hath manifefted 
 himfelf in Immanuel, God with ' us : Let us have 
 Grace in our Hearts that we may ferve him with 
 Reverence and godly Fear : This Reverence, this 
 godly Fear, muft juft be with Grace in our Hearts ; 
 we have not one right Thought of God in our 
 Hearts by Nature ; nothing but Unbelief there : It 
 is by Faith we attain fanttifying Thoughts of God, 
 enabling us to fanftify the Lord God of Hofts 
 in our Hearts, and to make him our Fear, and to 
 make him our Dread. As we are to perform every 
 Duty with holy Reverence of God, fo, in a parti- 
 cular Manner, this great and infinite Name of Jeho- 
 vah our God. When Jacob made a Covenant with 
 Laban, he fwore by the Fear of his Father Jfaac, that 
 is, by the God of his Father Ifaoc % who feared and 
 .adored the true God. 
 
 M But 
 
( PO ) 
 
 But then, qthly, we are to fwear to the Lord of 
 Hofts fmcerely, Pfalm lxvi. 18. If I regard Ini- 
 quity in my Heart, the Lord will not hear me. You 
 fee what was the Sin the Lord condemns in Ifrael of 
 old, Pfalm lxxviii. 36, 37. Neverthelefs, they did 
 flatter him with their Mouth, and they lied to him 
 with their Tongues, for their Heart was not right with 
 him, neither were they Jledfafl in his Covenant. We 
 mull then be concerned to have the Heart made 
 right, and for thisEnd muft put it in his Hand to make 
 it right ; for he faith, A new Heart alfo will I give 
 unto you, and a new Spirit will I put within you ; I 
 will take away the Heart of Stone, and will, give you 
 an Heart of Flefi : Behold, I make all Things new ! 
 If we come to that Duty regarding any Sin in our 
 Hearts, we may be affured the Lord will not hear 
 lis. If the infinite Jehovah obferve that any Thing 
 ly nearer our Hearts than himfelf and his Glory, 
 then he willdefpife all our Vows and Engagements ; 
 we are then, I fay, to put the Heart in his Hand to 
 make it right for himfelf: This was the Prayer df 
 the Pfalmift, Make my Heart found in thy Statutes, 
 that I be not afhamed. He makes our Hearts found 
 as to their Principle, and the main End, tho* there 
 are and will be Corruptions with us fo long as we 
 are here away. Again, 
 
 $thly. We are to fwear to the Lord of Hofts 
 iingly, making his Glory our main End and Aim. 
 O ! if we come with By -Ends to this Work, we 
 •will draw Wrath down upon the Congregation of 
 Ifrael — When you fa/led in the fifth and f eve nth Month, 
 did you fa jl at all to me ? faith the Lord concerning 
 Ifrael. Self was the reigning Principle with them ; 
 they did not fall: fo much for the Caufe of their Cap- 
 tivity, as for the Captivity itfejf. O what Fatting to 
 the Lord have wis? How much Self? How little 
 
 Singlenefs 
 
( 9' ) 
 
 Singlenefs is with us in all we do ? But we have 
 need to take heed to our End, if it be with a 
 View to his Glory. If we come with any By- 
 Ends, fuch as, that we may be Neighbour like, the 
 Lord will obferve and remark that Man by himfelf, 
 and fearful will his Judgment be. We have to do 
 with the Searcher of Hearts, who underftands 
 Heart-Secrets, and who tries the Reins of the Chil- 
 dren of Men. 
 
 But then, 6thly. as to the Manner of our Vow- 
 ing and Swearing to the Lord of Hofts, it is to be 
 done cheerfully. All Judah (it is faid) rejoiced at 
 the Oath, in Afa's Time ; as God loveth a cheerful 
 Giver, fo he loveth a cheerful Covenanter. We 
 are to do it with Heart and Hand, willingly and 
 thankfully that ever he made a Covenant with his 
 Chofen, and that the Covenant made with him alfo 
 ftands faft with him; that ever he enabled us to 
 take hold of that Covenant made with his Chofen, 
 and that he inclined our .Hearts, in the Faith of 
 his Covenant, to devote ourfelves to himin a Co- 
 venant of Duty. All Judah rejoiced at the Oath, for 
 they had fvorn with all their Hearts, and fought him 
 with their whole Defire, and he was found of them, 
 2 Chron. xv. 15*. 
 
 jthly. We are to vow an4 fwear to the Lord of 
 Hofts timeoufly, not to put off this moral Duty by 
 pretended Shifts or Delays. Sometimes Weaknefs 
 ftands in the Way of a Perfon's going on to their 
 Duty ; fometimes the Enemy's Temptations ftand 
 in the Way, fometimes a Spirit of Lukewarmnefs 
 in the Caufe of Chrift, and fometimes the Prevalen- 
 cy of Unbelief and indwelling Sin ftrikes out againft 
 thefe facred and holy Bonds, objecting againft this 
 as againft other Duties : Many have this and the o- 
 ther Objection ; whereas, if the Truth of the Mat- 
 ter were heard, fome of thefe Evils, juft now men- 
 tioned, 
 
tioned, would be found, at the Bottom, even with 
 fome who have the Root of the Matter in them : 
 But we are to go about this Duty timeoufly ; the 
 the Lord difcerns all our Thoughts, whether our 
 Objections be really Matter of Concern to us, or if 
 they be only a Shift that we may delay our Duty 
 for the prefent : If fo it be with any of us, our Du- 
 ty may be long, yea, perhaps, for ever hid from 
 us. He will refent fuch a Quarrel. It is not in- 
 deed to be done rafhly, but deliberately, but yet it 
 is not to be delayed upon any trifling Excufe ; 
 People arc to beware of unneceflary Shifts in pre- 
 fent Duty, to beware of what may {land in the 
 Way as ObftrucYions, hindring their paying publick 
 Homage to the God of IfraeL We are To-day to 
 hear his Voice, for it is To-day his Command runs ; 
 we have no To-morrows given us at all in Matters 
 of prefent Duty ; but To-day, faith the Holy Ghoft, 
 if you will hear his Voice. If this Opportunity be 
 loft, we may never fee another. We have now, 
 by the kind Providence of God, an Opportunity 
 -which many of the Lord's People now in Glory 
 prayed for, wrefHed for, would have been glad to 
 have feen, and died in the Faith of: Le.t us then 
 tho* under many Difcouragements, blefs the Lord 
 for what he hath directed to in this Matter. Q, 
 then, be exhorted to fet about perfonal Covenant- 
 ing, in order to publick Covenanting. I tell every 
 one of you that are baptized, you are boupd to this : 
 Will you then make light of your baptifmal Vows 
 and Engagements ? I will pour Water oti him that is 
 . thirfty, arid Floods upon the dry Ground, faith the Lord. 
 We fummon every one here to believe the Promife 
 this Night. It looks to every one of you, for you 
 are either the thirfty, or the dry Ground ; / will 
 pur Water on the thirfty, and Floods upon the 
 
 dry 
 
( n ) 
 
 dry Ground : Not only upon the thirfty Ground, 
 that has.fome Greennefs upon it ; but even the wild 
 Out-Field, that is juft ufelefs, is included in the 
 Promife. / will pour Floods upon the dry Ground. O 
 look for his Coming in the Promife of the Spirit. 
 You was baptifed in the Name of the Holy Ghoft, 
 and he is the Spirit of Grace and Supplication, 
 which he has faid he will pour upon the Houfe of 
 David, and on the Inhabitants of Jerufalem. You 
 may look for his Coming down as the Rain upon 
 the Grafs, and upon his Coming you ihall be made 
 to mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only 
 Son, or for a Firft-born. 
 
 So much for a Hint at the Manner in which we 
 are to vow and fwear to the Lord of Hofts. 
 
 We proceed to the fourth Head in the Method, 
 namely, to fhew that the Lord's People, elfaying to 
 vow and fwear to the Lord of Hofts, may warran- 
 tably truft a promifing God, that he will enable 
 them to perform this Duty to the Praife of his 
 Grace. 
 
 O ! if we are helped fingly to trufl him, this will 
 be the only Way to praife him •> we have good 
 Reafon to truft him, and diftruft ourfelve-s ; let us 
 then come confidently to the Work, with an Eye 
 of Faith to him, putting all our Truft in him : 
 We have good Warrant fo to do, if we confider, 
 in the ift Place, that we have his Command to this 
 Duty, Pfalm lxxvi. II. Vow and pay unto the Lord 
 yiur God : Let all that be round about him bring Pre- 
 fents unto him that ought to be feared. We may 
 truft him, then ; he puts no Work in our Hand, but 
 what he will give Strength to perform to the Praife 
 of his Grace. He has taught us "to pray, Our Fa- 
 ther which art in Heaven, thy Kingdom come : And 
 will not he enable us to fay, Hofanuah to the Son 
 
 of 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 of David! Blejfed be the King that comet h in the 
 Name of the Lord. 
 
 2. We may truft that he will enable us to per- 
 form this Duty to the Praife of his Grace, becaufe 
 we are called to truft in him at all Times, and 
 therefore at this Time, and in this Duty : We 
 ought to truft him in the Work of fhewing forth 
 his Death, the beft Work ever was put in our Hands, 
 to be performed by us in his Strength ; and we 
 may truft him alfo in a Time of renewing our fo- 
 lemn Engagements unto him, Pfalm xxvi. 8. Truft 
 in him at all Times ; ye People, pour out your Hearts 
 before him : God is a Refuge for us. Selah. He is 
 a Refuge for Strength to perform all our Duties, 
 and a Refuge for Safety in all our Difficulties. 
 
 3. We have good Warrant to truft a promifing 
 God, that he will enable us to perform this Duty to 
 the Praife of his Grace, becaufe it is a Duty where- 
 in he is glorified : It is for his Glory : And will he 
 not help us to do what is for his Glory ? And has 
 he left us alone to lift up the Burden of his Praife ? 
 No, he will not ; for, in the new Covenant, he has 
 taken the Burden on himfelf, and has promifed to 
 make his Grace fufficient for us, and to perfect his 
 Strength in our Weaknefs. God is glorified by 
 confefling that Truth, that Chrift is Lord, Philip, n. 
 I!, and that every Tongue ft mid confefs that J ejus 
 Chrift is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father : And 
 he has faid, that all Nations' whom thou haft made 
 Jhall come and worjhip before thee, Lord, and 'Jhall 
 glorify thy Name ; for. thou art great -and do ft wondrous 
 Things: Thou art God alone, Pfalm lxxxvi. 9, 10. 
 Chrift made himfelf of no Reputation, and took upon him 
 the Form of a Servant, was found in Fajhion as a Man,, 
 humbled himfelf and became obedient unto Death ; there- 
 fore 
 

 ( 9S X 
 
 /ir? GW hath alfo highly exalted him, and given him a 
 Name which is above every Name, that at the Name 
 of Jefus every Knee fhould bow ; of Things in Heaven, 
 and Things in Earth, and Things under the Earth ; 
 and that every Tongue fhould confefs that Jefus Chrifi 
 is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father, Phil. ii. 7, 
 8, 9, 10. So God the Father will have no Glory 
 in the Church at all, if it is not in a Way of 
 confeffing that Ghrift is Lord, to the Glory of God 
 the Father. 
 
 Athly. We may truft him, that he will enable us 
 to perform this Duty to the Praife of his Grace, 
 upon this Ground, namely, the Ground of his own 
 Promife. Would we have any better Security than 
 this in the Text, In that Day [hall five Cities in the 
 Land of Egypt /peak the Language of Canaan, and 
 /hall fwear to the Lord of Ho/Is. They mail have a 
 new Dialect among them, and they (hall fwear to 
 the Lord of Hofts. This is a Promife that looks 
 to us, and we are warranted to plead it. When a 
 Man fpeaks, he (peaks but to one particular Perfon, 
 or but to a few ; but when God fpeak^ he fpeaks 
 to every one ; In that Day jh all five Cities in the 
 Land of 'Egypt five ar unto the Lord of Hofts. This is 
 fpoken of New Teftament Times, and concerning 
 dark Times ; for it is faid, In that "Day Jh all five 
 Cities in the Land of Egypt fwear to the Lord of Hofts 
 There 'ihall be fome here, and fome there, tho' but 
 a few in refpeft of the Bulk of the Land •, STATES- 
 MEN and KIRK-MEN (hall hold on their Back- 
 fliding Way, but a few, five Cities in the Land of 
 Egypt Jh all fwear to the Lord of Hofts. To whom 
 is the Word fpoken ? Why ? It is to Egypt, and 
 to us, who, in refpeel: of Darknefs and fpiritual Bon- 
 dage, are like unto the Egyptians. Five Cities in the 
 Land of Egypt Jball fwear to the Lord of Hofts. The 
 
 Promife 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 Promife is to us, and the Promifer is the Lord ol 
 Hofts ; the Word of Promife then muft be fure, 
 when it is fpoken by the Lord of Hofts, Jehovah 
 Tzebaoth. And you have the Promife, not only in 
 the Text, butalfoin the Context, Verfe 21. And 
 the Lord Jhall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians 
 /hall know the Lord in that Day, and pall do Sa- 
 crifice nnd Oblation ; -yea, they Jhall vow a Vow to 
 the Lord, and perform it. Why \ Here is Know- 
 ledge by which we may vow and fwear to the Lord 
 of Hofts- The Egyptians (hall know the Lord in that 
 Day. We are to fwear in Knowledge and in Judg- 
 ment. Here it is ! The Egyptians [Ball know the 
 Lord in that Day ; yea, they Jhall vow a Vow to the 
 Lord, and perform it. I allure you, tho' we had all 
 'the Knowledge upon Earth, if we want fupernatural 
 Knowledge, that is, Knowledge by God's teaching, 
 we will never perform this Duty aright : But he 
 hath faid it, They Jhall know the Lord in that Day ; 
 they fhall know the Object of their Worfhip, and 
 they fhall fwear to the Lord of Hofts. Confider, 
 the very Manner of performing this Duty is taken 
 in the Promife ; for it is faid, They Jhall know the 
 the Lord, and they Jhall vow a Vow to the Lord, and 
 perform it; that is, they 'fhall vow and fwear in Faith, 
 and in a Dependence on Immanuel, in Obedience to 
 his Command, in the Faith of his Promife, and with 
 fomo Meafure of Singlenefs in Aim and End. They 
 Jhall fwear unto the Lord of Hofts. 
 
 <;thly. We have good Warrant to truft a promi- 
 sing God, that he will enable us to perform this Du- 
 ty to the Praifeof his Grace, if we confider what a 
 faithful God hath faid to his eternal Son : We have 
 his Word, for our Through -bearing, to his eternal 
 Son, Ifa. xlix. 3. Thou art my Servant, Ifrael, in 
 whom I will be glorified. We may juft grip to that 
 
 Word 
 
 II . 
 

 ( 97 ) 
 
 Word, which he has faid to Chrift ; And faid unto 
 me, Thou art my Servant, Ifrael, in whom I will be 
 glorified. God will be glorified in Chrift, and there- 
 fore we may juft put in, that we may be helped to 
 glorify God through Chrift, and in Chrift to be en- 
 abled to do every Work he calls to, to hisPraife : 
 And is not this a Work to his Praife ? We may- 
 then put our Part of the Work in Chrift's Hand, 
 and then we fhall be enabled to do it to the Praife 
 of God's Grace, for Chrift is his Servant in whom 
 he will be glorified. 
 
 6ihly. We may truft that we fhall be enabled to 
 perform this Duty to the Praife of his Grace, when 
 we have not only God's Word and Promife to his 
 eternal Son, but alfo Chrift's Word for it to us, 
 
 John xv. 4, 5. Abide in me, and I in you for 
 
 without me ye can do nothing. This is the Word 
 which he is fpeaking to all the Worlhippers coming 
 up to the Mount, at this Time, Abide in me, and 1 
 in you : Abide in me by Faith, and I in you by my 
 Spirit : I am the Vine, ye are the Branches ; he that 
 abide th in me, and I in him, the fame bringeth forth 
 much Fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing. Abide 
 in me, for without me ye can do nothing. He is willing 
 and ready to be employed in every Duty ; to be 
 employed for Affiftance, without me ye can do nothing ; 
 to be employed for Acceptance, /a;* he is girded about 
 the Paps with a golden Girdle, juft that we may hold 
 him by the fame for Acceptance, when we come 
 with all our Offerings. Abide in me, and I in you, 
 for without me ye can do nothing ; you can do nothing 
 to the glorifying of God without me ; it is not the 
 Will of God that you do any Thing without me ; 
 I am juft with you in all your Work. If you go to 
 Family-Fafting, to perfonal and fecret, or to pub- 
 lick Fafting, or whatever Duty you go to, take me 
 Jf ay 
 
.( 98 ) 
 
 ay with you ; I am juft able and willing to be with 
 you, and to be employed by you at every Turn, for 
 without me ye can do nothing. 
 
 -jthly. We have good "Warrant to truft a promi- 
 fing God, that he will enable us to perform this 
 Duty to the Praife of his Grace. Why ? Becaufc 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift is the Head of the worfhipping 
 Aifembly in the upper and lower Houfc, and no 
 Worfhip can be managed without him. Innocent 
 Angels approach God in their own Perfons, as did 
 Adam in his Innocence ; but now, by the Spirit, 
 through the Son, we have Accefs to the Father. 
 The Spirit is in the Church, to bring us to God in 
 the Name of Chrift : Therefore it is faid by the 
 Apoftle Peter, in his firft Epiftle, 2d Chapter and 
 pth Verfe, Te are a chofen Generation, a royal Prieft- 
 m hood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People ; that ye 
 jhould /hew forth the Praife of him who hath called 
 you out of Darknefs into his ' marvellous. Light. You 
 are a holy Nation, under the Head of the holy Na- 
 tion. And what is to be your Work ? Why ? It is 
 to flew forth the Praifes of him who haih called you out 
 cf Darknefs into his marvellous Light. And, among 
 the Ways to fhew forth his Praife, thefe are none 
 of the lead, namely, Swearing to the Lord of Hofts, 
 and (hewing forth his Death till he come again ; 
 both of which we have a very near ProfpecT: of, and 
 it will be your own Fault if you do not fee him by 
 Faith, in both thefe Ordinances, who is the Head of 
 the worshipping Aifembly, both in the upper and 
 lower Houfe. But then, 
 
 In the hfi Place, upon this Head, we have good 
 Ground to truft a promifing God, that he will en- 
 able us to perform this Duty of Vowing and 
 Swearing to the Lord of Hofts, to the Praife of his 
 Grace. Why ? Becaufe this is the Method he 
 
 ufes 
 
( 9? ) 
 
 ufes in fettling and eftablifhing the Order of the 
 
 Lord's Houfe, namely, to bind his Servants and 
 
 People by an Oath of Allegiance to the King of 
 
 Zion, to be loyal Subjects to him, and to obferve 
 
 and keep pure and intire all his Inftitutions, and 
 
 the Order of his Houfe : And we may truft him 
 
 with all the Work, Zech.vi. \i, 13. Thus fpeaketh 
 
 the Lord of Hojls, faying, Behold the Mati whofe 
 
 Name is the BRANCH, and he jhall grow up out of 
 
 his Place, and he Jhall build the Temple of the Lord, even 
 
 he Jhall build the Temple of the Lord, and he Jhall bear 
 
 the Glory, and Jhall fit and rule upon his Throne, and he 
 
 Jhall be a Priejl upon his Throne. There has been 
 
 great Treachery and breaking of Vows made to 
 
 him, and therefore there is a Call to us to fwear 
 
 Allegiance to him : And we may go on to this 
 
 Work in the Strength of the Lord, making Menti- 
 
 tion of his Righteoufnefs, even of his only. So 
 
 much for the fourth Thing in the Method, which 
 
 was to mew that the Lord's People, in eiTaying to 
 
 vow and fwear to the Lord of Hofts, may warran- 
 
 tably truft a promifing God, that he will enable 
 
 them to perform this Duty to the Praife of his 
 
 Grace. 
 
 We come now, in the fifth arid lajl Place to apply 
 the Doctrine. And, in the \Jl Place, it may be 
 applied in an Ufe of Examination and Trial. 
 
 Is it fo then, as has been faid, that as it is the 
 Duty of the Church and People of God, in New 
 1 eftament Times, to renew their national Vows and 
 Covenants, tho* they be the fmaller Number, com- 
 pared with the Oppofers of Reformation, fo they 
 may warrantably truft a promifing God, that he 
 will enable them to perform that Duty to the Praife 
 of his Grace ? 
 
 Then 
 
C i°°. ) 
 
 Then it calls us, upon this Occafion, to examine 
 ourfelves : As we have great and folemn Work in 
 View, the Work of fhewing forth the Lord's 
 Death till he come again, and the folemn Work of 
 vowing and fwearing to the Lord of Hofts, it is 
 certainly neceflary that we examine ourfelves : 
 For as it is faid by our Lord, Let a Man examine 
 himfelf and fo let him eat of that Bread ? and drink of 
 that Cup ; fo it is his Will and Command that we 
 examine ourfelves in order to folemn vowing 
 Work : Let a Man examine himfel£ and fo let 
 him vow, and fo let him fwear to the Lord of Hofts: 
 For tho' the Duties of fhewing forth the Lord's 
 Death, and fwearing to the Lord of Hofts, be Du- 
 ties all of us are bound unto, yet it is not the imme- 
 diate Duty of any, in a natural State, either to ap- 
 proach the Lord's Table, or to fwear to the Lord 
 of Hofts ; but it is the firft and immediate Duty of 
 every one out of Ghrift, to come to him by Faith, 
 and then to approach his Table, and join in vow- 
 ing to Jacob's mighty God : But as to all th ofe who 
 are Believers in Ghrift, it is not only their Duty, 
 but their immediate Duty, to go up to the Mount of 
 Ordinances, and ihew forth his Death till he come, 
 and to join in vowing Work when there is a pre- 
 fent Gall to it in this Congregation ; therefore it is 
 our Duty to examine ourfelves : For tho' many of 
 you have receivedTokens of Admiffion to theLord's 
 Table, we know not the Hearts of Men, we know 
 not your State, and therefore the Work of Exa- 
 mination and Trial, it comes all home to your own 
 Door : Let a Man examine him/elf, and fo let him eat 
 of that Brendy and drink of that Cup. O look to him, 
 that he may be with you in your fecret Self-Exa- 
 mination, and look to him that he may be with you 
 In his own Word. When we are called to lay be- 
 fore yo\i the Marks and Characters of thofe who 
 
 ought 
 
ought to be employed in the folemn Work in View, 
 who are they, then, who are called to approach 
 the Table of the Lord, and to join in fwearing to 
 the Lord ofHofts, and- oy joining in this folemn 
 Work of renewing our Covenant-Engagements to 
 to the Lord ? We would have you to try it under 
 the Influence of the Holy Spirit. And, in the fir ft 
 'Place, we enquire at you, Are you the Children of 
 Zion, who ought to be joyful in their King ? Are 
 you the Children of Zion, who have a Call to this 
 as their immediate Duty, to vow and pay to the 
 Lord their God, to fwear Allegiance to Zion's 
 King ? It is the Children of Zion, the native Inha- 
 bitants of Zion, who are in fome Meafure fitted, 
 through Grace, to fwear to Zion's King, who is the 
 Governor among the Nations. Were you born 
 in Zion ? Were you born of the Spirit i Has there 
 been a Principle of fpiritual Life wrought in you 
 by the Spirit in Regeneration? Try the Matter ; 
 where there is fpiritual Life there is fpiritual Senfa- 
 tions. Has vour Soul been made to breathe after 
 Chrift and Fellowlhip with him, //// the Day breaks 
 and the Shadows fly away ? My Soul thirtieth for thee, 
 my Flejh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirfly Land where 
 no Water is : My Soul thirfteth for God, for the living 
 God : When Jhall I come and appear before God ? 
 Pfalm xlii. 2. My Soul longeth, yea, even faint eth, 
 for the Courts of the Lord-, my Heart and Fle/h 
 :rieth out for the living God, Pfalm ixxxiv. 2. 
 Try it. Are you groaning in this Tabernacle, being 
 >urdened, burdened with a Load of indwelling Sin ? 
 Ire you feeling your Burden of Guilt, and of your 
 piritual Wants and Plagues ? Try it by your 
 piritual Conflict with indwelling Sin, and all your 
 piritual Enemies. Is this your Language, 
 n -etched Man that lam, who Jhall deliver me from the 
 
 Ihdy 
 
( 1°2 ) 
 
 Ijody of this Death ! Return, return, Shulamite ! 
 What will you fee in the Shulamite, hut as it were the 
 Company of two Armies ? Again, trv it by your ipi- 
 ritual Appetite after the hidden Manna, after Chrift 
 himfelf. Do you feed upon Chrift the hidden Man- 
 na in the Word of Grace ? Is the Defire of your 
 Soul to him, and the Remembrance of his Name ? 
 Do you remember his Love more than Wine ? Try 
 it. Again, Have you common Interefl and Con- 
 cerns with him ? Do the Reproaches of them who 
 reproach him fall upon you ? Are you grieved 
 when he is difhonoured, and do you rejoice when 
 he is honoured ? Is there nothing fo much the De- 
 fire of your Soul, as that David's Horn may bud 
 forth pleafantly in the Work of God's Grace with- 
 in thee, and in the Advancement of his declarative 
 Glory in the Land, and every where, and that the 
 Crown may flourifh upon his Head. 
 
 idly. Examine yourfelves. Have you attained to 
 any Thing of a fupernatural Knowledge of Chrift, 
 and have you got fome heavenly Acquaintance with 
 Chrift, as you have it prophefied concerning the E- 
 gyptians in the 2 1 Verfe of this Chapter, The Lord 
 /hall he known to Egypt, and the Egyptians /hall know 
 the Lord in that Day, and they /hall vow a Vow to the 
 Lord, and perform it. You fee this Vowing to the Lord 
 flows, in its Nature and Order, from a laving Know- 
 ledge of the Lord. The Egyptians /hall know the 
 
 L or d and they /hall vow a Vow to the Lord, 
 
 and perform it. Have you feen the King in his 
 Beauty * Is your Knowledge of God the Fruit and 
 Effect of God's Teaching you by his Word and 
 Spirit ? And is it of that Kind and Nature that the 
 Glory of God is manifefted to you inthePerfon" 
 of Chrift, revealed to you by the Spirit in the 
 Word of Grace ? 2 Cor. iv. 6. Have you got fuch 
 
 a Know- 
 

 ( i©3 ) 
 a Knowledge of him, as that you efteem him above 
 all Things ? Pfalm lxxiii. 25*. Whom have I'm Hea- 
 ven but thee ? and there is none upon Earth that 1 de- 
 fire he fides thee. Have you got fuch a Knowledge 
 of him, as has made you fell all Things to buy the 
 Pearl of great Price, the Treafure hid in the Go- 
 fpel-Field? Such a Knowledge of him as has hum- 
 bled thee, and made thee to abhor thyfelf, and re- 
 pent in Dud and Allies? Job xlii. 5*. I/a. vi. 6. 
 Such a Knowledge of him as makes thee place thy 
 chief Happinefs in him, in the Blinks of his Coun- 
 tenance, and to defire no other Heaven for Eter- 
 nity, but to be where he is, to behold .his Glory ? 
 And does not this reconcile thee to ly down in the 
 Grave, in a little, that when you av/ake you fhall 
 be fatisfied with his Likenefs, and behold his Face 
 in Righteoufnefs ? Have you got fuch a Knowledge 
 of him, as that you have feeathe Glory of all the 
 Perfections of God centring in him, Mercy and 
 Truth meeting in him, Righteoufnefs and Peace 
 killing each other in him ? Have you got fuch a 
 Knowledge of him, and Acquaintance with him, 
 as makes you prize his Prefence above all Things ? 
 Tell me, thou whom my Soul Iweth, where thou 
 feedefl y and where thou m-akef} thy Flock to reft at Noon ? 
 Have you got iuch a- Knowledge of him, as makes 
 you breathe after Conformity and Likenefs to him? 
 that my Ways were diretled to ke?p thy Statutes / 
 Do you love the Lord becaufe he is holy ? Do you, 
 in fome Meafure, when you are at yourfelf, rejoice 
 at the Remembrance of his Holinefs ? Have vou 
 got fuch a Knowledge of him, as has made you take 
 up your Standing for Eternity upon the Perfon of 
 Chrift, and his everlafting Righteoufnefs, faying. 
 Behold, God our Shield, and hok upon the Face of 
 tbine Anointed) Pfalm lxxxiv. p. Have you all your 
 
 Confidence 
 
( *°4 ) 
 Confidence fixed upon Chrift alone, for Time and 
 Eternity ? 
 
 But then, %dly. as you have a View of bringing 
 a Prefent to him that ought to be feared, in devot- 
 ing yourfelves to the Lord in a Covenant of Duty, 
 Have you been compafTing the Gofpel-Altar with 
 the Gift ? Have you all your Confidence fixed upon 
 Chrift alone, for Acceptance of your Perfons and 
 Performances, as in Verfe 19. In that Day Jhall 
 there be an Altar to the Lord in the M'tdjl of the Land 
 of Egypt ? Are you Worfhippers at this Altar . ? And 
 is Chrift all in all to you for Righteoufnefs and 
 Strength? Do you truft to the Sacrifice of a cruci- 
 fied Chrift, as a Sacrifice of fweet-fmelling Savour 
 unto God, to perfume your Perfon, and this and 
 every Duty and Performance ? There is a perfuming 
 Savour, an abundant and frefh Savour in this 
 Sacrifice; Eph.v. 2. Walk in Love, as Chrift alfo 
 hath loved us, and hath given him f elf for us; an Of- 
 fering and a Sacrifice unto God, for a fweet-fmelling 
 Savour. This his Sacrifice has perfumed the four 
 wide Corners of the Heaven of Heavens. There is 
 an abundant Savour here to perfume all our Offer- 
 ings, and it is as frefh as it was that Day when he 
 bowed the Head and gave up the Ghoft. 
 
 tfhly. Are you among thofe that are crying to 
 the Lord becaufe of your Oppreffors, as it is promi- 
 fed concerning Egypt* in the 20 Verfe, They [hall 
 cry unto the Lord becaufe of their Opprejfors, and he 
 Jhall fend them.a Saviour and a great One, and he Jhall 
 deliver 'them ? His People are a praying Pedple, 
 and they are fenfible of the fpiritual Oppreflions they 
 are under, and they fend thejr Cry daily to Heaven 
 becaufe of their fpiritual Oppreffors ; they are op- 
 preffed with Temptations, Defertions and indwell- 
 ing Sin : And out of thefe Depths they cry unto 
 
 the 
 
c **s ) 
 
 4he Lord moft high, to God who performeth all 
 Things for them : They keep a daily Correfpen- 
 'dence and Communion with God, in Clofet-Prayer, 
 in Family-Prayer, and by ejaculatory Prayer. In the 
 Day when I cried, thou anfweredfl me, and /irengthnedfl 
 me rjith Strength in my Soul, Pfalm cxxxviii. 3. In 
 the Morning will I dirett my Prayer unto thee^ and 
 will look up, Pfalm v. 3. They not only pray, 
 but feek and wait for Anfwer ; / will dire ft my Cry 
 unto thee, and will look up . As they are made to 
 love him, fo, through Grace, they arc made to re- 
 • folveto call upon him as long as they live. 
 
 $thly. Are you among thofe who are crying, 
 Hofanna to the Son of David, to Me /ft ah the Prince, 
 the Saviour and great One, whom God has fent to 
 deliver you, as in the 20 Verfe of this Chapter where 
 our Text lies ? Have you been made to affent tor 
 God's Record concerning Chrift, and to receive him 
 as offered to you in the Gofpel of Chrift, and to 
 fay, Bleffed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord 
 to fave us f Save now, I befeech the-e ; fend now Pro* 
 fperity. Is Chrift, the Saviour whom God has fenf 
 to deliver you, indeed a great One in your View ? 
 Have you feen his infinite Holinefs, Salvation arrd 
 Lovcline-fs . ? Is it thy Defire that he may be great to 
 the Ends of the Earth ? He /hall /land and feed in thd 
 Name of the Lord, in the Maje/ly of the Name of the 
 Lord his God, and now /hall he be great to the Ends of 
 the Earth. Have you feen the Need of him as a 
 Saviour and a great One to deliver you ? That nori£ 
 but the infinite One, the great One, could fave yOii 
 from your Sins ? Have you feen fuch a- Multitude 
 of Sins in you, and fueh an infinite Evil in every 
 Sin, that you can get no Reft but in him, and id 
 that Salvation that he hath wrought ? Are you re- 
 ceiving him by Faith, as fent of God to deliver yc 
 
 O At* 
 
 r 
 

 
 
 ( ■ ictf ) 
 
 Are you living by Faith upon him, as your Saviour 
 and Deliverer . ? Are you waiting for Redemption in 
 Jerufalem^ waiting for the Time when you (hall be 
 perfefted in Conformity and Likenefs unto him I 
 But then, 
 
 6thly. Has God put it in your Hearts, from Faith 
 in, and Love to Chrift, to put in your fmall Mite 
 to make ^his Name to be remembred to all Generati- 
 ons ? And is it the earned and inward Defire of 
 your Heart, that the Lord may enable you, by his 
 Grace, to glorify and honour Chrift publickly and 
 avowedly, in a Day when he it fo publickly diftio - 
 noured and difowned by CHURCH and STATE t 
 Are you going out to commanded Duty, juftdif- 
 trufting yourfelves, and trufting hrm with all the 
 Work ? Are you effaying to confefs hrm before Men, 
 hoping that he will be your Light and your Salva- 
 tion, that he will work all the Work, and bear all 
 the Glory ? All thofe that are his Difciples are to 
 own and confefs hrm before Men, as in the ipth 
 Verfe of this Chapter, In that Day /ball there be an 
 Altar to the Lord in the Midji of the Land of Egypt, 
 and a Pillar at the Border thereof 4o the Lord. Not 
 only an Altar, Chrift the Gofpei- Altar, but there 
 fhall be a Pillar to the Lord in the Border of the 
 Land of Egypt ; *a Pillar inferibed to the Lord of 
 Hofts, inferibed to Jehovah. As they had formerly 
 their Pillars inferibed to their Idols and falfe Gods, 
 fo now there is a Pillar inferibed to the Lord in the 
 Border of the Land of Egypt. In him {hall all the \ 
 Seed of lfrae\ be juflifed, and /ball glory. Sin is come 
 to fuch a Height, that Men are boafting of their • 
 Wickednefs, boaftfng in thieir Lewdnefs, boafting 
 in their Apoftafy from God's Truth andCaufe, and 
 in tberroppofing of the fame \ therefore there ought 
 to be a Faith's Bolafoefs, in borrowed Strength from? 
 Chrift, in owning him and his Caufe at this Day. 
 
 There 
 
( 207 ) 
 There fhall be d Pillar at the Border thereof to the 
 Lord. 
 
 ythly. Examine and try yourfelves. Are you 
 thofe that fpeak the Language oi Canaan ? Are you 
 true Church-Members, and native Inhabitants of 
 Canaan. It is only thofe who fpeak the Language 
 of Canaan, that are fit to fwear to the Lord of 
 Hofts. The Connexion is very remarkable in the 
 Text, In that Day Jh all five Cities in the Land of "E- 
 gypt fpeak the Language of Canaan, and fwear to the 
 Lord of Hofts. This is one of the Dialects of Ca* 
 naan, They jh all fwear to the Lord of Hofts. Try it 
 then. Do you fpeak the Language of Canaan ? 
 Are you native Inhabitants of the Church of Chrift ? 
 Have you a new Heart, a new Nature ? For out of 
 the Abundance of the Heart the Mouth /peaketh. 
 Are old Things pad away, and all Things become 
 new with you ? Do you fpeak the Language o£Ca- 
 ?iaan, the Language of Self Diftxuft, and the Lan- 
 guage of Faith on the Son of God ? This is the Lan- 
 guage of Canaan. The Men of the World they 
 cannot underftand it. When they hear the fpecial 
 Doctrines of Regeneration, and of Faith on the Son 
 of God preached up, why, it is juft all aftrange 
 Language to them. But is that thy Language, the 
 Language of Faith's Truft in Immamiel, God with 
 us ? Do you fpeak the Language of Canaan ? It is 
 Scripture- Language, Scripture-Stile, that was the 
 Language, of Canaan. Is his Word to you rnoft pre- 
 cious f Do you rejoice in his Word, as one that 
 findeth great Spoil ? Is it to you like pleafant Pa-» 
 ftures, like Honey, and the Honey-Comb . ? Are you 
 made to fpeak the Language of Canaan in fecret 
 Converfe with God, when none but he fees you ? 
 The Lord will command his Loving- Kindnefs in the Day- 
 Tiwe } 0.4 in the JVight hh Song ft all be with rne 7 _ and 
 
my Prayer unto the God of my Life, Pfalm xlii. 8, 
 my Soul, thou baft /aid unto the Lord, Thou art my 
 Lord i My Goodnefs extendeth not to thee, Pfalm xvi. 
 2. Do you fpeak the Language of Canaan, with $he 
 Pialmift, Pfalm lxxiii. 25. Whom have I in He c. 
 but thee, and there is none upon Earth that I defire be- 
 fides thee f Verfe 26. My Heart and my Flefh failetb, 
 hut God is the Strength of my Heart, and my Portion for 
 ever ? And with the Church, Lam, iii. 24. The Lord 
 is my Portion, faith my Soul, therefore will I hope in him. 
 And with Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 21. The Lord Jh all 
 be my God, and this /hall be the Houfe of God. This 
 was alfo Jacob's Language at Peniel, when he wrefl> 
 led as a Prince, and had Power with God, / will 
 not let thee go till thou blefs me. It was the Language 
 pf Mofes, when he puts up that Prayer, Ibefeech 
 thee pew me thy Glory. It is alfo the Language of 
 the Church, Jfaiahxlv. 24. Surely, Jh all one fay, in 
 the Lord have I Right eoufnefs and Strength. This is 
 ■ the Name whereby he /hall be called, THE LORE) 
 OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Are you helped to 
 fpeak the Language of Canaan in your Con verfe and 
 Table-Talk \ Do you fpeak of Chrift there? Do 
 you fpeak of him to your Children and Servants ? 
 Do you fpeak of Chrift in his Perfon, Love and 
 Lovelinefs? Do you fpeak of him as you rife up 
 and as you ly down, as you walk by the Way- 
 Side, in your Converfe with Fellow-Chriftians, and 
 in your focial Meetings ? Come here, all ye that fear 
 God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my 
 Soul. There is a Telling what God hath done for 
 our Soul, but this is to be done fingly, prudently 
 and humbly. Try it then. Do you fpeak the Lan- 
 guage of Canaan in your Converfe with one another, 
 endeavouring that there may be fomething of Chrift 
 \n eyery Converfatioii ? OJiow little is this the Cafe, 
 
 when 
 
( lop ) 
 when there is Co much vain and idle Talking, even 
 on the Lord's Day 1 But he hath laid, / will turn 
 to the People of a pure Language ', and they Jh all ferve 
 him with one Confent. 
 
 We proceed, idly, to apply the Doctrine in an 
 Ufe of Exhortation, particularly to you who arc 
 Strangers to Chrift, and have never to this verv 
 Day taken hold of God's Covenant ofPromife, and 
 fb are not fit to fwear tp hini in a Covenant of Du- 
 We come this Day to exhort you, from the 
 Lord, to repent and believe the Gofpel, for the 
 Promife is to you and to your Children, and to all 
 that are afar oft, and to as many as the Lord our 
 God ihall call. The Promife is fpoken to you, 
 tho' you have never yet, hy Faith, heard the hea- 
 venly and divine Voice of the infinite Speaker. 
 The Piomife is fpoken to you, and left to you. 
 And we would fay to you, Take heed, therefore, fee- 
 ing there is a Promife left you of entring into his Refl, 
 left any of you feem to come Jhort of it by Unbelief. 
 We are commiflioned to publifh the Record of God 
 this Day : And this is the Record, That to you 
 Man, to you Woman, is born this Day, in the City 
 e/David, 1 a Saviour, which is Ghrifi the Lord ; That 
 to you a Child is bem, to you a Sen is given, whofe 
 Name is WON DERFUL, Counfeller, the everlajling 
 Father, ' the mighty God, and the Prince of Peace. 
 That God giveth to you eternal Life, and this Life 
 is in his Son: That to you is the Word of this Salvation 
 fent, to you who are loft and perilhing Sinners of 
 Adam's Family. Chrift is given to you for your 
 Saviour ; and, in the Lord's muft holy Name, we 
 make a full and free Offer of Chrift to you,. 
 Una to every one of you, as the Saviour of the 
 World, as willing to faye you from your Sins,* 
 
 Thus. 
 

 
 ( no ) 
 Thus faith the Lord, 1 am the Lord thy God, which 
 irought thee out of the Land of Egypt ; open thy Mouth 
 wide, and I will. fill it. 1 will fpr -inkle clean Water 
 upon you, and ye jhall be clean ; and from all thy Filthi- 
 nefj, and from all thine Idols will I cleanfe you. Come 
 noxi) let us rsafon together, faith the Lord : Tho? your 
 S'ms be as Scarlet, they (hall be as white as Snow ; tho* 
 they be red like Crimfon, they Jhall be as IVooll, Ifa. i. 
 1 8. John x. id. Other Sheep I have, which are not 
 of this Fold ; them alfo I muft bring, and they Jhall hear 
 my Voice •, and there Jhall be one FoU and one Shepherd. 
 I am the Lord thy God, thou Jhalt have no other Gods 
 before me. This is the great Charter of the Cove- 
 nant laid before you, to be believed by you, that 
 God was in Chrijl reconciling the World to himfelf not 
 imputing to them their Trefpajfes. And we are Am- 
 bafladors for Chrift, as tho' God did befeech you 
 by us, we pray you, in Chrift's Stead, be ye recon- 
 ciled to God ; for he hath made him to be Sin for us, 
 who knew no Sin, that we might he made the Right eouf 
 nejs of God in him. In the Name of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift, we offer him to every Soul in all this Com- 
 pany, as the great God your Saviour, and we fay- 
 to you, Make Hafte, come down, Man, "Woman, 
 and receive him joyfully, for this Day is Salvation 
 come to thine Houfe ; this Day is Salvation come 
 to thy Soul, even the God of Salvation : For thus 
 fpeaketh the Lord of Hofts, faying unto you, /, even 
 J am he that blotteth out thy Tranfgrejfions for mine own 
 Sake, and will not remember thy Sins, Ifa. xliii. 25. O! 
 "Why do you (land aback from Chrift then ? Is it 
 becaufe you are guilty Sinners ? Then he publifheth 
 his Indemnity to you; lam he that blotteth out 
 thy .Tranfgrejfions for mine own Sake, and will net re- 
 member thy Sins. Is it becaufe you are not only 
 guilty Sinners, but fithly and polluted ? You have 
 
( III ) 
 
 juft a Burden of Guilt and Filth binding yoti over 
 to the "Wrath of God. Thus fpeaketh the Lord 
 ofHofts, faying/ Then will I fprinkle clean Water 
 upon you, and ye Jhall be clean ; from all your F lit hinefs 
 and from all your Idols will I cleanfe yoiu Why do 
 you ftand aback from Chrift ? Is it becaufeyou 
 have the old unrenewed Heart (landing in your 
 "Way ? Thus fpeaketh the Lord ofHofts, faying, 
 A new Heart alfo will I give you, and a new Spirit 
 will I put within you. Are you objecting, you 
 have a hard impenitent Heart, and cannot be af- 
 fected with all your Sins, for as many as they are I 
 Thus faith the Lord, I will take away the flony Heart 
 out of your Flejh, and I will give you a Heart of Flefh* 
 Are you objecting, His Law is a holy Law, and 
 you have unholy Hearts, and, tho' you would 
 mint at receiving Chrift, you will never be able to 
 walk in his Statutes, nor to keep his Judgments ? 
 Why, Thus fpeaketh the Lord of Hojls, faying, I will 
 put my Spirit within you, and caufe you to walk in my 
 Statutes, and ye Jhull keep my Judgments and do them. 
 Again, Are yon objecting your Sins are not like 
 the Sins of others, they are fo great and fo highly 
 aggravated ? Thus faith the Lord, T bo* your Sins he as 
 Scarlet i 1 will make them as white as Snow ; tho y they be 
 
 \red like Crimfon, they Jhall be as Wool I, We are inviting; 
 you this Day to come and hear the Voice of the 
 one Shepherd, in his Word of Grace. It is not 
 merely and only the Voice of Man that fpeaketh 
 unto you, but thefe are the Words of the Shepherd 
 of Ifrael, who faith, / lay down my Life for the 
 Sheep-, and other Sheep 1 have, which are not of this 
 Fold, them alfo I muft bring, and they Jhall hear my 
 Voice. How does he bring them that are wandring 
 tipon the Mountains ? Why, juft by caufing them 
 
 ' to hear his Voice. They frail hear my Voice. Hear 
 
 And 
 
( 112 ) 
 
 4nd your Souls Jh all live. 1 will betrothe thee Unto mi 
 for 'ever 9 yea, J will betrothe thee unto me 'in Righteouf 
 itefs and injiidgmint, and in Loving- Kindnefs, and in 
 Mercies. I will even betrothe thee unto me in Faith- 
 fulnefs, and thou jh alt know the Lord. Thou /halt call 
 me Iftii, and /haft call me no more Baali. 
 
 We (hall, *$dly. as the Lord aflifteth, apply the 
 Doctrine in a Word of Direction, to you who have 
 it in View to come unto the Table of the Lord, 
 and to approach the Lord in this folemn Work of 
 Vowing and Swearing to the Lord of Hofts. 
 
 In thefrft Place, we would direct you to pre- 
 pare for this folemn Work. The Ifraelites were 
 to prepare for eating the Paflbver, and we arc to 
 prepare to eat this Gofpel- Paflbver ; for even Chrift 
 our Paflbver is facrificed for us. We are to pre- 
 pare for every Duty, and more efpecially for fuch 
 folemn Dirties, as fitting down at the Table of the 
 Lord, and fwearing to the Lord ofHofts, fwearirig 
 by the great Name of the Lord our God, fwearing. 
 Allegiance to Zion\ King, that we will, through 
 Grace, follow him fully, walk in all his Command- 
 ments, keep his Judgments and his Statutes, and 
 hearken to his Voice. You are then to pre- 
 pare, 
 
 In the ift Place, for fuch a folemn Duty as vow* 
 ing to Jacob's mighty God, by putting Preparation- 
 Work, by Faith, in the Lord's Hand. The Pre- 
 paration of the Heart is from the Lord. Lord prepare 
 eur Hearts unto thee, fcith David. You muft juft put 
 every Branch of our Preparation into his Hand, and 
 cry with David, Lord prepare our Hearts unto thee! 
 Act Faith on this, that he has promifed to prepare 
 the Heart himfelf; and take him with you in e- 
 tery Duty, for he faith, Without me ye can do no- 
 thing* 
 
 tdty. ?t*~ 
 
C -"3 ) 
 
 idly. Prepare by retiring alone, and fetting £* 
 part ibme Time for fecret Fading and Humiliation 
 p ! you are to profeTsv upon the infuingOccafion 3 
 to be a People humbled before the Lord, for the 
 Breaches, of God's Covenant, and for your own, 
 Sins as Breaches of it. Ought you hot then to be 
 humbled in feeret ? This is not a Work and Duty 
 to be managed in a trifling Way and Manner..' 
 Set apart fome Time, then, before the Approach of 
 the Day for pub lick Humiliation, for feeret Failing 
 and Humiliation before the Lord. 
 ir %dly. Prepare by confidering the Matter of yotir 
 Vow to the Lord, and by examining if the Lord, 
 has inclined your Heart to his Teftimonies, and 
 made yoi'to.lbve God as holy, and his Law as ho- 
 ly. ; and if he has. inclined your Heart to breathe 
 after Conformity with himfeif. If that be wrought, 
 in your Heart, you will juft. fay Amen to all the. 
 Engagements you are called to come under to the 
 Lord. 
 
 4fA/y< Prepare for publick Covenanting, andthat 
 by fecref perfonal Covenanting : Let there be an 
 ejfaying' juft between God and you, to take hold 
 by Faith of God's Covenant ofProrhife, a's yont 
 only Charter . for the heavenly Inheritance, snef 
 then, take hold by Faith alfo of his Righteoufn efs ? 
 as the only Propitiation for your Sins ; and parti- 
 cularly refolveagainft every Sin,' and the Sin that 
 does moft eafily befet yau, calling, in the Grace 
 and Strength, of the Lord, to bring to Deftruclion 
 every Liift and Corruption of thy Heart. 
 
 5 thlj. Prepare by much Clofet-wreftling, in fe- 
 eret Prayer, with the blelfed Angel'of the Covenant/ 
 that h'rs Pretence may go with you, or that hs may 
 npt carry you up hence. Wreftle with God; for 
 yourfelves, for thofe of your Concerns, for the Fa- 
 P iniliTs* 
 

 milies, Societies and Congregations whereof yoi 
 are Members, for thofc who arc to join with you ! 
 in, this folemn Work, and for the Land in general, 
 and for our neighbouring Lands. You ha ve great 
 Work before you, and therefore we recommend 
 Jacob's Exercifd to you ; he weft, and made Suppli- 
 cation unto him : fie found him in Bethel, and 
 there he /pake with us. And if you who are Ser- 
 vants cannot obtain Allowance of as much Time as 
 is proper for fuch weighty Work, to be rranfa&ed 
 between" the Lord and ydti in fecret, either hire fome 
 others to work for you, or redeem Time for this 
 Purpofe from yonr Night's Reft, and let none come 1 
 {lightly to this'folemn Work ; for he will befan&i- 
 fied in them that draw near to him > and before all the'" 
 People he will be glorified : And he communicates his 
 Grace and Furniture for th* folemn Work he calleth' 
 us unto, in thefe Means of his own Inftitution. 
 
 idly. As we would direct you to prepare for this 
 folemn Work, fo we would direct you to be abfolute- 
 ly denied to your Preparation ; for curfedbe the Man' 
 that trufleth in Man, and maketh Flejh his Arm ; birt' 
 bleffed is the Man that trufleth in the Lord 7 and whoff 
 Hope the Lord is ; he Jhall be like a Tree planted by the 
 Rivers of Water, that bringeth forth his Fruit in bisr 
 Seafon\ his Leaf alfo jhall not wither y and whatfeever be* 
 doth fiall pro/perl 
 
 %dly. Let Faith be afted upon the holy Spirit of 
 Proroife. We are to believe in the holy Ghoft : 
 He h in trie Gofpel -Church to be believed upon ; 
 he was in it fincc ever the ffrft Blaft of the Gofpel- 
 Trtmipet was founded in Paradife, immediatly after 
 the Fall; Hag* ii. $. My Spirit remaineth among you 
 to this Day; feor ye not. And again, If a. xliv. 3, 
 4s $. / will pour Water upon him that is thirfty, and 
 Floods upon the dry Ground. I will pmr my Spirit upcri 
 thy Seed, and my Blejjing upm thine Offspring, and they 
 
 Jh*lt 
 
( "5 ) 
 
 tajl fpring up as among the Grafs, as Willows by the 
 ?ater-Courfes : One /hall fay, I am the Lord's, &c. It 
 only through him that this Duty can be managed to 
 ny Purpofe : And pur Lord faith, If I depart 1 will 
 \nd him unto you, He is in the Gofpel-Church, there- 
 >re aft Faith on him, as he has undertaken to con- 
 vince the World of Sin, that he may give you a 
 r iew of your Sin, and of the Land's Sin. When he 
 come, he [hall lornify me, faith Chrift. ail Faith 
 n him in his Perfon, and in his Office, as glorifying 
 Ihrift, and the Things of Chrift, and (hewing them 
 ato you : Act Faith on him as your Teacher and 
 .emembra^ncer: He /hall teach you all! "kings, and bring 
 I Things to your Remembrance whatfoever I have /aid 
 tto you. A& Faith on him as the Holy Goft your 
 anclifiex ; as the Spirit of Grace that works and 
 perates Grace in you \ as the Spirit of Humiliation, 
 > teach you to look on Chrift whom you have pcir- 
 d, and to mourn for him. Acl Faith on him as 
 iving undertaken to apply thePurchafe of Man's 
 edemption and Salvation : Act Faith on him as Je- 
 vah the divine Spirit, of whom Chrift hath faid, 
 dwclleth with you, and fhall be in you, John xiv. 17. 
 4//;/y. ElTay this great Work, depending on the 
 :>rd Jefus Chrift for Righteoufnefs and Strength. 
 aim Ixxi. 1 tf. I will go in the Strength of the Lord God: 
 vill make Mention of thy Righteoufnefs, even of thin? 
 Song viii. 5. Who is this that cometh up out of 
 Wilder nefs, leaning upon her Beloved? I will ftreng- 
 n them in the Lord, and / hey /hall walk up and down in 
 Name, faith the Lord. O come foreward, juft dec- 
 iding pn him for Righteoufnefs and Strength, who 
 faid, In thy Righteoufnefs /hall they be exalted, 
 is will do, and carry us through this great Wprk, 
 I nothing elfe will do us any Good. 
 

 $ihly. In a Way of Direction, in the Strength 
 cf Chrift, and the Grace that is in Chrift, come 
 foreward, and approach the Lord in that folemri 
 Ordinance, ^pth ; of vowing and (wearing to the 
 Lord, and (hewing forth the Lord's Deafli till he 
 come again. ^Some, 1 fa^, in the Exercife of 
 Grace, and, lft. let Faith be in Exercife on the 
 promifeof God, and the Perfori 6f Chrifr ; ' come 
 foreward looking to Jefus the Author and Fini- 
 iher of Faith : Looking to him in his Perfon, look- 
 ing to him in his AfcenfiOn, as the Forerunner 
 that has entred within the Vail. Let Faith be iri 
 Exercife, looking on and beholding the Glory ol 
 the Beloved. The Word was made Flejh, and dwell 
 'among us, and we" beheld his Glory \ the Glory as oj 
 the only begotten df the Father, full of Grace and Truth 
 John i. 14. And dutofhisFulriefs have all wi 
 received, and Grace for Grace, Now, Timothy; 
 my Son, be ftrong in the Grace that is in Chrifi 
 
 w uf - : : 
 
 idly. Let Repentance be in a lively Exercife irj 
 this folemh Approach. O ! this is a fit Seaforl 
 for Gofpel-Repentance, when wt take a View oj 
 our own Sins - , and the Sins of the prefent Genera- 
 tion, and of the former Generation, as you h'av* 
 them noticed in that Confeffion that is prefixed to thj 
 Bond and Engagement to Duty/ which we are (3 
 folemnly to come under to the mod high God. Yol 
 fee this was the Exercife of Ifr ael and Judah m thaj 
 joth of 'Jeremiah and 4thVerfe. In thofe Days, and a\ 
 ttat T'me, fait?) the Lord, the Children oflhitljhab 
 tome, they and the Children of "Judah together, goii 
 qnd weeping ; they Jhdllgo andfeek the Lord their Got 
 J( will bring them, faith the Lord, with Weeping, an) 
 with Supplications will I lead them. O what Nee<j 
 have we to mourn, if we take a Look of thegrea^ 
 Jehovah> whofe Name is diihenoured by our Sins j 
 
 Ah?! 
 
,'< **>. 
 
 And you fee there is Grace in the Promife to enable 
 us to perform this Duty ; They /ball come weeping as 
 they go. As we have finned againfl: the Lord God 
 cf our Fathers, fo you fee there is a Promife of Re- 
 pentance ; and not only is this a promifed Grace, 
 but it is commended by our Lord when performed, 
 Song vii. 4. Thine Eyes are tike the Fijh-Pools of 
 Helhbon, by the Gate of Bath rabbi m. 
 
 jdly. We ought to come with Love in Exercife ; 
 the Love of Chrift Ls to conftrain us to this Duty. 
 The Love ofCbrift confraineth us] faith the Apoftle ; 
 lecaufe we thus judge, that if one died for ail, then 
 were all dead, We are to come with a fjperlative 
 Love unto him that died for pur Offences, and 
 rofe again for our Juftification. What is the great 
 Work we have in View, but to promife, in the 
 Strength of the Grace of tlie Lord Jefus, to love 
 him that died for us, and- rofe again, and, as an 
 Evidence of our Love to him, to Walk in his Ways, 
 to keep his Statutes and Judgments, and hearken to 
 his Voice. 
 
 qtbly. Let us come in the Exercife of G of pel - 
 Obedience, taking the Law out of the Hands of 
 Ghrift the Mediator, faying, in his Strength, that 
 we will keep his righteous Judgments : / will 
 keep thy Statutes ; forfake me not utterly •, Pfalm 
 cxix. 8. 
 
 Sthly. Let ho]y Fear and Reverence be in Ex- 
 ercife, Heb. xii. 28. Wherefore we, receiving a 
 Kingdom which 'cannot be moved, let us have Grace 
 whereby we may ferve God acceptably, with Reverence 
 and godly Fear. I will put my Fear in their 
 Hearty and they frail not depart from me, Jer, 
 xxxii. 40. 
 
 6thly and laflly, Approach the Lord in this fo* 
 lemfo Ordinance, with the Staff of the Promife in 
 
 the 
 
( II« ) 
 
 the Hand of Faith ; I fay, juft come foreward t<> 
 this holy Ground, with the Staff of the Promife in 
 the Hand of Faith, for we will not keep our Feet 
 at all here, if we want this Staff in the Hand of 
 Faith. We have it then in the Text, In that Day 
 JJjallfive Cities in the Land of Egypt fwear to the 
 Lord of Ho/is ; and in the 21 Verfe, The Lord jhnll 
 be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians /hall know' the 
 Lord in that Day ; yea, they Jhall vow a Vow unto 
 the Lord, and per firm it. I wi W en able tjiem to 
 know nie the Lord of Hofts : T.hat is in the Pro- 
 mife, juft hold it up to him. / will give them a 
 Heart to know me that I am the* Lord : That fays as 
 much as, I will prevent them from rafh Swearing, 
 they fhall have fume twilight Views of me the Ob- 
 ject of their Worfhip, who am Jehovah Tzebaoth. 
 Here he hath undertaken for the Work, They Jhall 
 fwear to the Lord of Hofts ; they Jhall vpw a Vow to the 
 Lord, and perform it. Vowing to the Lord is for 
 his Glory and Honour, and therefore put in ^ 
 Promife : I will be with them in the Work ; they 
 fhall do it in a Way of Dependence on rne ; J 
 will fee to the Ongoing of the Work ; They Jhall 
 vsw, and Jhall perform it. O then, juft come in his 
 Strength, trufting his Promife, and making Menti- 
 on of his Righteoufnefs, even of his onjy. 
 
 We conclude this Subject, by making fome far- 
 ther Improvement of this Doctrine. And we now 
 proceed to improve it in an Ufe of Reproof to feye- 
 ral Sorts of Perfons. The Word of God is profit- 
 able for Reproof as well as for Doctrine •, and we 
 live in a Period wherein our Gold is become dirn, 
 our moft fine Gold is changed ; wherein fad and 
 melancholy Changes have paft upon the (Church 
 and Land, and wherein the Heathen have entred 
 into the Congregation of the Lord, and pulled down 
 
 the 
 
( "9 ) 
 
 the carved Work af his San&uary with Axes and 
 Hammers ■, we live in a Day wherein a worldly Spi- 
 rit has prevailed, a felfifh Spirit does prevail, a 
 Spirit of Error and Deiufion doth prevail, a Spirit 
 6f Neutrality and Itidifferency as to the Cataie of 
 Chrift doth prevail, in confeqnence whereof, the 
 Language of this Day is the Language of Ajhdod ; 
 but the Language of Canaan is forgof by the Bulk, * 
 and therefore the Generation is aftohiihed wlleri they 
 hear any of the Language of Canaan fpoken, efpeci- 
 ally this Part of that Language, namely, fwearing 
 to the Lord of Hofts ; but however this is the Lan- 
 guage of the Church of Chrift, of true Church- 
 Members ; and it is good, that, however few there , 
 be to fpeak this Language, it is the Lord himfelf 
 who builds his Church in troublefom Times, and 
 he will have his Work go on; whatever Men fay or 
 do againft it : For he hath faki, Five" Cities in the 
 Land of Egypt Jhall fivear to the Lord of Hofts, Five 
 (Sities m' Scotland, that was formerly Tike Go/hen, 
 but^iow turned like Egypt, by fetting up their own 
 Ihtereftand Profit in God's Room, fetting their* 
 Threftrolds in the Room of his Threfliold ; But yet 
 five Cities in that Day, in the Go/pel- Day, fhall fwear 
 ft) the Lord of Hofts, 
 
 But, to proceed, feeing it is the Duty of the 
 Church and : People of God, in New Teftament 
 Times, to renew their national Vows and Cove-~ 
 riants •, and that they may confidently truft a pro- 
 mifing God, that he will enable them to perform 1 
 this Duty to his Praife ; then this Doftrine reaches' 
 a Reproof, in the fir ft Place, to thofe who are for 
 delaying and putting off this neceflary Duty, till, 
 as they think, there be a more fit Opportnnity, and 
 till they be foand fo qualified for fuch a Work and 
 Dv,ty. But it muft be corifidercd, that they de- 
 
 flroy 
 
rrr*- 
 
 ( 120 ) 
 
 firoy and overthrow the very Nature of evangelrcd 
 Obedience, who neglect plain and known, Duty 
 till they find fuch Frames, Inlargemems and good 
 Qualifications in thefnfelves, for ciTaying to com- 
 ply with the Lord's Call to Duty, We are to elfay. 
 £>uty, not in the Strength. of our own Frames and 
 Enlargements, but in Obedience to the Call of 
 God, arid in- the Strength of the Grace that is in, 
 Ghrift Jefus, brought near to us in the Word of* 
 Grace and Promiie, and not in the Strength of 
 Grace received ; for what is that but to fcy, we are 
 to go through it in our own Strength, and not in ths 
 Strength of that unnieafurable Ocean .of the Ful- 
 nefs of Grace that* is in Chrift Jefus I And as to the 
 Fitncfs of the Opportunity, it may be obferved, 
 that thefe Lands have, been putting oft this Duty 
 for more than thefe fifty Years for a more fit Op- 
 portunity, and that Opportunity they have never, 
 ♦ yet got •, , the Time h?;s come for other Things, but 
 not for thi's'DUty. The Time has come for buil- 
 ding our own Hqufes, but not for building the Houfe* 
 of the Lord. ,See what the Lord faith rn that firft 
 Chapter of Haggai, 2, 4, 5 and 8 Verfes, Thus* 
 fpeaketh the Lord ofHofls, faying,, This People faith 
 the Time is not come, the Time that the Lord's Houfe % 
 Jhould be built. Is if Time for you, ye, to dwell in 
 your ceiled Houfes, and this Hovfe ly ivafte ? Now there- 
 fore, thus faith the Lord ofHofts, Confider four Ways, 
 Go up to the Mountain and bring Wood, and, build the 
 Houje, and I will take Pleafure in it, end 1 will be glo- 
 rified, faith the Lord- . This is an Opportunity of- 
 fered us in the Courfe of divine Providence, .where- 
 in his Hand remarkably appears, and is evident ta 
 be feen by all that have any fpiritual Difcerning ; 
 a»d wherein his infinite Goodnefs and Condcfcen? 
 fioii i^ remarkably manifefted. This then nmft be 
 
 ' ths r 
 
( f21 ) . 
 
 file very Time, Seafon and Opportunity for lis to 
 fenew our folemn Covenant-Engagements to the 
 Lord, if we confider, in the 
 
 Firft Place, how exceedingly God has been dis- 
 honoured a ; mong us, by all Sorts of Covenant- 
 Violafioh. There has been ah univcrfal Violation 
 of our folemn Covenants in thefe Lands ; and that 
 by everyone of us, even by Perfons of all Ranks. 
 And it is very plain, that the Lord is threatnir/g to 
 fend a foreign Enemy, with his Sword drawn in 
 their Hind, to avenge the Quarrel of his Covenant, 
 Muft not this then be a fit Time and Seafon for us, 
 to eifay, by Grace, to renew thefe our Covenant- 
 Engagemenrs to the Lord ? But then, 
 
 idly. Let us confider that this has been the 
 Practice of the Church and People of God in alF 
 Ages, both under the Old and New Teftament, to' 
 rtnew their Covenant-Engagements after a Gourfe 
 of Backfliding and Apoftafy from the Lord, as may- 
 appear from the Covenants entred into in the Times 
 of Nehemtah, Ezra, Jofiab, and others ; and from 
 the Practice of the* Macedonians, who gave therti- 
 felves to the Lord ; and from the folemn' Cove- 
 hts entred' into, in reforming Times, by the 
 Churches in Germany, France, Scotland, Engl and zt\& 
 r reland. 
 %dly. Let lis confider that Enemies ofalt Sorts are 
 king great Progrefs at this Day. Popery, and 
 frors and Delufibns of all Sorts are making great 
 xtvances, are increafing like a Flood, and ars 
 bmrng in' with great Inundation in thefe Times: 
 nd it has been the Practice of the Antichriftian 
 fate to propagate and fpread itfelf, by Oaths and 
 "6yenants in all their Fraternities and Societies ; dnd 
 fe Prelates in England have ftrengthened" them- 
 Ives, by fwearing to their Obedience all the iri- 
 Q: ferbr 
 

 ( 122 ) 
 
 fcrior Clergy, in their Ordination -Engagements 
 and Oaths of canonical Obedience. And ought 
 not we, then, to ufe that Mean for bringing down 
 Babylon, which they have abufed and perverted 
 for building it up, efpecially feeing it is a com- 
 manded Duty to renew our Covenants with the 
 Lord our God ? 
 
 qthly. This is a fit Seafon and Opportunity, be- 
 caufe it is an Opportunity of God's Offering to us. 
 He offers this Opportunity to make Trial of us, if 
 there be a Remnant in the Land to own him. He 
 is making aTrial, if there be a Party in thefe Lands 
 to cleave to thefe folemn Covenant -Engagements, 
 and, feeing he is making Trial of us, it is our Duty, 
 at this very Time, and in this Seafon, to fall in 
 with his Carf. 
 
 Stbly. This is the Time, Seafon and Opportuni- 
 ty for this Duty, becaufe thus the Lord feems to be" 
 fealing his Servants in the Forehead, before the 
 four Winds blow, and bring on an Hurricane of 
 Wrath upon thefe Covenant-breaking Lands; there- 
 fore thfc Order is given to the Angel; not to hurt the 
 Earth, neither the Sea, nor the Trees, till the Ser- 
 vants of God be Jealed in their Foreheads, Rev. vii. j> 
 Why, then, do you think to know the Time 
 better than as God doth point it out to you in. 
 his Word and Providence ■ If we duly confider 
 Matters as now ftated, there are many Things i 
 which may make us conclude, that, feeing God in j; 
 his Providence has given us an Opportunity of re- A 
 
 '? 
 
 newing our folemn national Covenants, he intends 
 by it tofeal his Servants and People, and prepare r. £ e 
 them for a Storm of threatned Judgments -, and there''. ac 
 are evident Signs that God is purpoflng to avenge:^ 
 the Quarrel of his burred and burnt Covenants upon 
 thefe perfidious and Covenant- breaking Lands, up- 
 on" 
 
( 1*3 ) 
 en the Account of their (heckling the Blood of the 
 Saints of the Moft High, and for the contrary- 
 Oaths and Bonds which have been taken, in former 
 and prefent Times, fubveriive of the Oath of 
 God. 
 
 6thly. This is a fit Seafon for this Duty, if we 
 confider, that not only is God hereby making a 
 Trial of us, as has been faid, but he is hereby call- 
 ing us to make a Trial of him, as you may fee in 
 Malachi iii. 10. In the 7 th Verfe there is a Call to 
 return to the Lord, tho* they had gone away from 
 his Ordinances, even from the Days of their Fathers, 
 and tho'they had robbed God, as in the 8rjh Verfe, 
 and faid, Wherein have we robbed thee ? In Tithes 
 and in Offerings. Sure that is a juft Charge againft 
 us at this Day. Well, but what is the Gall in the 
 |7th Verfe, Return unto me, and I will return unto you f 
 Giitb the Lord of Hofls: But yt faid, Wherein fha'll we 
 eturn f That is the very Cafe of rhofe in the Day 
 v herein v/e live. Wherein (hall we return i fay they. 
 3ut be affured their Sin will find them out. Tou arc 
 urfed with a Curfe, for you have robbed me, even this 
 vhole Nation, Verfe 9. A great Sin is charged 
 pon this People, that they had robbed God of 
 is Honour and Glory ; robbed him in Tithes and 
 >fferings, in not bringing them in according 'to 
 is Command, or not bringing them in ful^ or 
 ot bringing them of the be/}. They began u.ngr^te- 
 illy to forget him, when they were brought back 
 fain to their own Land from Babylon, and robbed 
 m in Tithes and in Offerings. So our Lord Je- 
 s Chrift hath been robbed in thete Lands, in his 
 preme Deity, in his Crown-Rights and royai 
 erogative ; and has been dithonoured by all that 
 ack Catalogue of Sins which you have fp.ecified in 
 
 Confeilion of Sins which is perfixed unto th§ 
 
( *?4 ) 
 
 .Oath and Bond : But, notwithstanding of all this, 
 
 what is the Call: in the ioth Verfe ? lining ye all 
 the Tithes in to the Store -Houfe, that there may be 
 Meat in my Houfe, and prove me now herewith , faith 
 the Lord of Hofls^ if I will not open you the Windows 
 of Heaven, end pour mit a Blejfing that there /hall not 
 be Room 'enough tv receive it. Bring ye all the Tithes 
 in to the Store-Houfe. Here they are called to amend 
 their Ways, and to reform from this Sacrilege, fo 
 contrary to the Covenant of their God •, and as we 
 are many Ways guilty of Covenant-Violation, fo 
 we are called to bring Tithes into his Houfe, by 
 perfonal and national Reformation : And prove me 
 'herewith, faith the Lord ofHoftsl Prove me, by re- 
 turning to me in the Renovation of thefe Covenant- 
 Engagements, which you have broken anct violat- 
 ed. We are to prove him, by adventuring upon his 
 Grace alone : Prove me herewith, if you mail not 
 find me faithful in all that I have promifed ; If I will 
 not open the Windows cf Heaven, and pour out a Blejfing 
 that there /hall not be Room enough to receive it; pour 
 you out the Bleffing you want and need ; the Blef- 
 fiiig of Gofpel -Humiliation ; the Bleffing of felf- 
 eniptying Grace ; the Bleffing of upftirring Grace-, 
 the^ Bleffing of itrengthriing Grace to pay your. 
 Vows ; the Bleffing of fupporting Grace under all 
 your Trials ; the Bleffing of through-bearing Grace! 
 In all your Straits and Difficulties ; the Bleffing of) 
 ^oul-fanclifying Grace,-and Heart-purifying Grace: J 
 I will pour you -out a Bleffing, that there fh all not bel 
 Room enough to receive if. You irmll fee fuch a Flood] 
 of Bieffings about you, that whatever be the Trial* 
 of the Day, there mail be fuch Plenty of Bieffings] 
 fuited to the Cafe poured' out, that there mall not] 
 be Room enough to receive it. ' We have been fc* 
 lopg trying the World," ajid th* Vanities of this 
 
 prefer/ 
 
 *.' 
 
( ™t ) 
 
 prefcnt Life, that we will fcarce take Time to 
 make a Trial of God- Prove me herewith, fait b th$ 
 Lord ofHofls. O, the Generation is not awakened to 
 fee the fad Cafe they are in by the Abf.ence of Chrift; 
 jhey will not prove him ; it is hard to know whaj: 
 will awaken them -, fure nothing but him J elf. He 
 it is who can make a backfliding Generation fay, / 
 will arjfe and return to my fir ft Husband, for then was 
 it better with me than now % Hpf. ji. 7. 
 
 idly. Is it fo, as has been faid I Then this Doctrine 
 reaches!! Reproof to thofe that are throwing Stum- 
 bling- Blocks in the Way of the Lord's People, and 
 endeavouring to infufe groundlefs Prejudices into 
 their Minds, againfl: this neceifary Duty, fo loudly 
 called for at this Day. I do not think it proper for 
 this Place, to go through thofe groundlefs Prejudices. 
 I lhall only mention one of ih.em, namely, that we 
 Avear to Falfhoods in the Bond and Engagement to 
 Duty; and the Falfhoods eondefcended upon are juft 
 two, it feems they know no mor£. The firft of 
 thefe two is.Thatit is a Falfhood to fay that Mr. Sim~ 
 fin maintained his Errors at [he Bar of the AfTembly 
 in the Year 17 17. And the Proof given for its being 
 a Falihood is, that Mr. Simfon declared his Adherence 
 to our Confeflion of Faith, and difowned the Errors 
 pppofite thereto : But it mud be known that Mr. 
 Simfon never confeffed, or took with one Error vent- 
 ed by Mm ; that he defended all his Errors before ths 
 AfTembly, and had many Advocates in the Commit- 
 tees to aflifi him, at which fome of us were Eye aud 
 Ear-WitnefTes ; and, when Blatters came to a Pinch 
 with him, that fome were threatning him with Cen- 
 fure, then he declared his Adherence to the Confef- 
 fun of Faith, and his difowning the*Errors oppofite 
 thereto ; which was nothing but a Plot of his own, 
 sud of his Adherents, to favs him from Genfure, and 
 
 to 
 
( 176 ) 
 
 to fcreen his and their own pernicious Principles : 
 And his declaring his Adherence to the Confeffion of 
 jFaith,was in itfelf nothing to the Purpofe, but a mere 
 JBlind, to deceive Men that wanted Thought ; for 
 all along he owned his Adherence to the Confeffion 
 of Faith, and explained the Confeffion of Faith in a 
 Senfe confident with his own Errors : So, fince he ac- 
 knowledged no Error he had fallen into in confident 
 .with the Confeffion of Faith, his explaining the Con- 
 feffion in an Agreeablriefs to his own Errors, was the 
 ftrongeftWay to maintain them, and to give Error 
 the Victory "over Truth." "Wherefore thofe that 
 would make Objections at this Pay,to difturb People 
 and put them from their Duty, would need to be bet- 
 ter acquainted with the Facts they make Objections 
 abou^, and underftand the true State of Matters fome 
 better, as to the Truths of God, and the Wounds 
 they have received, before they adventure fo bold- 
 ly to miflead others. Such another Inttance they 
 had before the laft AffibmbJy this fame very Year, 
 when a Sociman came before them ; and becaufe he 
 pretended to adhere to the Confeffion of Faith, he 
 came off in Triumph. So much for the firft Fal- 
 ihood. 
 
 The other Falihood is, tljat it is affertcd, in the 
 Confeffion of Sins prefixed to the Bond, that the 
 kind Reception Mr. Whiiefield got from many, both 
 of the Minifters and People of this Church, or any 
 Entertainment his Doctrine got, was a Denial of 
 any particular Form of Church -Governm£nt to be of 
 divine Institution. But, if this be considered a little, 
 it will come out to be no Falihood, but a certain 
 Truth, that thefe Minuter* and People, who en- 
 tertained, heard, and encouraged Mr. Wliitefield, 
 after he had declared againft Presbyterial Church- 
 Government, and pretended it is a Matter of no 
 
 Moment, 
 
C< P*7 ) 
 
 Moment, whether the Government be Prelatical, of 
 Presbyterial, or Congregational, providing Men 
 hold by the Effentials of Religion, as they call it % 
 I' fay, it muft be a certain Truth, that thofe who 
 encouraged Mr. Whitefield, after he had declared 
 againft the divine Right of Presbyterial Church- 
 Government, did practically deriy that Prebsyterial 
 Government is of divine Initiation ; for they muft, 
 :n the Nature of the Thing, either be reputed, in 
 their Principle, to have given up with Presbyterial 
 Government's being of divine Inftitution, or to have 
 taken it upon themfelves, poor finful Mortals, to 
 rnake free with God's Inftitutions, and to have bold- 
 ly adventured to affift a ftroling Prieft of the Church 
 of England, to pull down what Chrift has built 
 by his own Authority in his eternal Word ; let 
 them chufe which of the two they will. It will 
 ftand to be a Truth as long as Chrift has a Church* 
 upon Earth, that the Supporters and Encouragers 
 of that Inftrument of Satan in the Land, have, by 
 their Practice, been employing themfelves in bury- 
 ing a Teftimony for Chrift's Headfhip and Royal- 
 ties, and for the Order and Government of his 
 Houfe, direftly contrary to the Worcj of God, 
 their own Ordination- Vows, and our Covenants na- 
 tional and folemn League, which are Bonds they are 
 under, which will not unty for them by all human 
 Power and Authority whatfoever ; fb that they hacf 
 Heed to take heed what Guilt they have invol-ved 
 themfelves in, and how to have their Condition re- 
 medied, which I heartily wi(h for ; and give them- 
 felves lefs Trouble in drawing out unjuft Charges 
 and Indictments againft others. So that, for all 
 ^hat has been faid, yea, or can be faid, the Evils con* 
 ained in the Gonfeflion of Sina remain to be Truths. 
 Afcs ! true with a-.Witiiefs ; the Truth and Evi- 
 dence 
 

 ( -**8 ) 
 dence of which, if Repentance prevent not, "ivift 
 meet the Confciences of the Men of thefe Lands at 
 the Tribunal of God. 
 
 ^dly. This Doctrine ferves for Reproof to thofe, 
 who, tho' they have put Hand to this Work, 
 yet have not done it in a Dependence on the Grace 
 of our Lord J e firs Chrift, and in his Strength alone. 
 It is poffible there may be" fome of this Stamp a- 
 mong us, and therefore there is a Call directed to 
 us, to look and confider how we have performe J 
 this folemn Duty of Swearing to the Lord of Hofts. 
 You fee it is a Duty pointed out in a Promife, as in 
 the Text, In that Day /hall five Cities in the Land of 
 Egypt [wear to the Lord of Hofts. They f h a 11 fwear 
 to the Lord of Hofts; which is as milch as if he had* 
 faid, Iwill be at the Work to affift in if, and to 
 curry it on to my Praife and your ComfoYt. How 
 juftly then are they to be reproved, who have not 
 taken him along withthem, by Faith in his Promife, 
 Hi every Part of this fole"mn and weighty Work ? 
 But again, 
 
 Athly. This Doctrine ferves alfo ttf reprove fhofe 
 who have gone about this folemn Work, and have 
 not been fingle in their Ends • who have had any 
 End whatfoever befides the Glory of God, which 
 ought to be chiefly in our Eye in all our Approaches 
 to him •, and more efpecially in fuch a very folemn 
 Approach as that of Vowing and Swearing to the 
 Lordof Hofts. 
 
 $thly. This Doctrine reaches a Reproof to thofe 
 who may be defponding, and are' caft down as to 
 the Performance of their Vows, thinking, perhaps, 
 that they wilfnever perform thofe folemn Tjes and 
 Engagements to the Lord. Why, this is a Duty he 
 has called to ; yea, not only fo, but it is a Duty 
 he has engaged to affift his People in, in his Cove- 
 nant 
 
( 129 ) 
 
 hant of Promife, both £s to the making and pay- 
 ing of Vows ; as you may fee evident from the 
 Text, and the 21 Verfe of the Chapter. And do 
 you think that he is going to leave you to your- 
 felves in paying your Vows, now when you have 
 been led out in his Strength, and in Obedience to 
 to his Command, to make them ? No, no, he will 
 be with you ; for he hath fa id, They /ball vow a 
 Vow to the Lord, and per form it. Therefore let our 
 Confidence and Trull be in him, who is the Con- 
 fidence of all the Ends of the Earth, and of jhem 
 that are afar off upon the Sea. We may truft him 
 with all the Work, for, becaufe of our great Unbe- 
 lief, he fets down both Day and Date to his Pro- 
 mife. In that Day jhall five Cities in the Land of 
 
 Egypt [wear to the Lord of Ho ft s yea, they 
 
 Jhall vow a Vow to the Lord, and perform it. A- 
 gain, 
 
 6thfy. This Doctrine reproves thofe who have 
 gone about this folemn Duty, and are yet in a na- 
 tural State : We know not but fuch may be among 
 us, and therefore this calls you all to try your State, 
 how Maters are with you after this Solemnity. 
 You fee the Connection is plain in the Verfe where 
 our Text lies, In that Day jhall five Cities in the 
 Land of Egypt fpeak the Language of Canaan . and 
 jhall fwear to the Lord of Ho (Is % The Language of Ca- 
 naan is a Language that cannot be fpoken by thofe 
 who are Egyptians, who are in a natural State ; and 
 if any have been profeffing to fpeak this Part of the 
 Language of Canaan, namely, fwearing to the Lord 
 of Holts, and are yet in a natural State, they are 
 furely, by this Text and Doctrine, very reprovc- 
 able. But then, again, 
 
 ythly. This Doctrine reproves thofe who hare 
 
 (tome rafhly foreword, and have not, as the Lord 
 
 R gave 
 
( *3 ) 
 gave Capacity and Opportunity, pondered the 
 Matter feriouily and deliberately, as in his Sight : 
 It is a very folemn Work, and ought deliberately 
 to be pondered ; but this is not to exclude the weak 
 from joining in this Work, but it is a Duty that 
 calls for due Deliberation from all. 
 
 In the laft Place, upon this Ufe, this Do&rine 
 reaches a Reproof to thofe who are putting this 
 Covenant of Duty in the Room of the Covenant of 
 Grace, and who perhaps are thinking themfelves 
 farther advanced than others, becaufe they have 
 been joining in this folemn Work. Alas ! that is 
 fad, if you are putting your Covenant of Duty in 
 the Room of God's Covenant of Grace : If thou 
 art not enabled to come beyond all thy Duties, 
 to put all thy Work in his Hand, lipning for no- 
 thing on the Account of thy Performances, but 
 leaning on him alone, and that Covenant that {lands 
 faft with God's Chofen ; if this is not the Cafe with 
 thee, it is very fad. If the Lord Jefus, in his Per- : 
 fon and Righteoufnefs, is not the alone Ground of 
 thy Hope, thy Hope is vain. 
 
 We proceed now, by the Lord's Afliftance, to 
 conclude this Subjeft, by fpeaking a Word to fome 
 different Sorts of Perfons. And, 
 
 In the firft Place, a Word to you who hare 
 been admitted to join in this folemn Work of 
 Vowing and Swearing to the Lord of Hofrs. idly. 
 A Word to you that have not yet been clear as to : 
 your Duty in this Matter, and are taking it to Con- 
 sideration. $dly. A Word to you who have been ? 
 at a Communion-Table, qthly. A Word to you, 
 who, by your Ignorance, have been debarred from 
 joining in this folemn Work of fwearing to the 
 Lord of Hofts, and alfo from the Lord's Table. 
 
 In 
 
( «3» ) 
 
 In the firft Place, a "Word to you who have been 
 admitted to join in this folemn Work of Vowing 
 and Swearing to the Lord of Hofts ; and we would 
 fay to you, my Friends, in the \ft Place, This Day 
 you have avouched the Lord to be your Cod. You have 
 made a folemn Profeffion. You have faid, with 
 Jacob at Bethel, Tbe Lord Jh all be my God, and this 
 Soul, this Heart of mine, mail be the Temple of the 
 living God. See then that you live within Sight of 
 Chrift ; be concerned to maintain this Relation you 
 have come under to him : my Soul, thou haft faid 
 unto the Lord, 'thou art my Lord. *Live by Faith on 
 him as your God. 
 
 2dly. We fay to you, as you have avouched the 
 Lord to be your God, fo the Lord himfelf bath a- 
 vouched you to be his peculiar People. As to you who 
 have been minting to go fingly about this Work ; 
 no Thanks to you, it came from him, and the Praife 
 muft go all back to him : He, hath avouched you this 
 Day to be his peculiar People. Live on him, then, 
 as his People devoted to him ; live on his Word of 
 Grace and Promife, live on the Grace that is in the 
 Hand of the new Covenant-Head, look like his 
 peculiar People, whom he has chofen and a- 
 vouched as fuch, and who are devoted to him as 
 fuch. 
 
 %dly. We would fay to you, you are by Pro- 
 feffion now a People that fhall dwell alone, and 
 fhall not be reckoned among the Nations. You 
 are a People that dwell alone, in the ift Place, in 
 Point of Profeffion ; idly. In Point of Privilege. 
 Happy art thou, Ifrael ! Who is like unto thee, 
 People faved by the Lord r- There is none lite 
 the God of Jefhurun, who rideth upon the Hea- 
 vens in thy Help ; the eternal God is thy Refuge t 
 and underneath thee are bis ever I a/ling Arms. 
 
 Thou 
 
( *3 2 
 Thou art warranted to improve, and juft by 
 Faith to call in all his Perfections, as thy Sha- 
 dow to cover thee, and thy Shield to defend thee, 
 in whatever Circumitances you are or may be in. 
 You are alfo a People that dwell alone in Point of 
 Duty, and you are to be a People holy to the 
 Lord ? You are to walk circumfpectly, not as Fools y 
 but as Wife, redeeming the Time becaufe the Days are 
 evil; you are to walk before him in the Light of 
 of the Living • and in his Strength you are to make 
 your Light fo to jhine before Men, as that others, feeing 
 your good Works, ?nay glorify your Father which it in 
 Heaven. But, 
 
 4^/y. We would fay to you, you are now to, 
 gird your Armour, and arife and go up and poflefs 
 the Land ; look like Pilgrims and Strangers on 
 this Earth, keep up, a Warfare with all his Enemies ; 
 let your Life, your Walk and your Talk, and all 
 your Converfation, be like thofe that have been 
 with Jefus. 
 
 $thly. We would fay to you, walk up and down, 
 • in his Name ; Every one will walk in the Name of 
 their God, and we will walk in the Name of the Lord 
 cur God, for ever and ever- 
 
 Laflly, We would fay to you, remember, in the 
 Strength of his Grace, to pay your Vows to the 
 Lord your God ; Vow and pay to the Lord your God ^ 
 Let all that he round about him bring Prefects to him 
 that ought to be feared. But, 
 
 2. Wc would fpeak a Word to you that have 
 not yet been clear as to your Duty in this Matter, 
 $nd are taking it to Confederation. We would 
 fay to you, 
 
 In the fir!} Place, be humbled before tbe Lord, 
 that you have been left to be in a Hefitation, and 
 to be miftaken in a Duty that is fo plain anc\ clear 
 
( iJ3 ) 
 n itfelf. Surely there is a Caufe for this, and 
 :herefore be humbled for it, that you have not 
 Deen careful enough in confidering this Matter ; 
 3e humbled that you have been too carelefs in put- 
 ting in thy fmall Mite for lifting up the Burden of 
 bis Praife, in a Day when the Generation are fo 
 openly denying him. 
 
 idly. Do not think that you are lefs bound, be- 
 :aufe you have not come under thefe Bonds and En- 
 gagements, than others who have come under the 
 fame ; for you are bound by your baptiimal Vows, 
 and by our Covenants national and folemn League, 
 tho' at this Time you have not gone the Length 
 of renewing the fame. 
 
 %dly. Do not think you may be more carelefs 
 than thofe who have vowed to the Lord ; and do 
 not think you are in lefs Hazard than thofe who 
 have been profeiling more : He that trujleth to his 
 oun Undcrflandlng is a Fool. 'Thefe are Bonds of 
 God's own framing, and he will obferve thofe that 
 are flack in entring into the fame, and help thofe 
 who are iingle in the Matter to pay their Vows 
 to the Lord. 
 
 qthly. Humble yourfelf before the Lord for your 
 Neglect of this Opportunity ; take with it on your 
 Knees before the Lord ; lor we can declare you 
 lave Reafon to be humbled for it, it bd'ng the Ne- 
 jlecl: of a prefent and feafonable Duty ; and look to 
 lim, that he may prepare you for this Work, when 
 ie in Providence may give you another Opportuni- 
 y i and in the mean Time give Heart and Hand to 
 fun in fecret : Commit your Souls to his keeping* 
 is to a faithful Creator. 
 
 "We come, idly, to fpeak a Word to'you who 
 iave been at a Communion -Table on the Mount of 
 tie God of Jacob. And, in the/;// Place, we flialt 
 
 fpeak 
 
( »34 ) 
 
 fpeak a "Word to you who art the prefumptuous 
 Communicant, who had not the Lord's Call to go 
 to his Table ; and that inch are among you we 
 have Reafon to fufpect : For, in the ift Place, are 
 there not fome who have come to the Lord's Table, 
 whofe Religion is all outward ? It is not in the 
 Heart : Perhaps you perform fome Duties, but you 
 neglect others more needful. Is there not a great 
 Neglect of keeping the Heart, a great Neglect of 
 feeding upon the Word of God? But then, idly. 
 Are there not fome whofe Ends were not right in 
 approaching the Lord's Table, fuch as had only 
 this for their End, to obtain a Name among others, 
 but had no Concern to meet with him in his Ordi- 
 nances ? We tell you, your Ends were not right : 
 Such as have no Concern to meet with him in fe- 
 cret Duties, fuch as never did meet with him, and 
 yet are not troubled about it, and have notwith- 
 ftanding come to the Lord's Table, your Ends 
 could not be right, you are the prefumptuous 
 Communicant; and we would fay to you, in the 
 i ft Place, Your Sin is great, you have crucified the 
 Lord of Glory afrefh, and put him to open Shame 
 by your Approach to his Table ; you are guilty of | 
 the Blood of the Son of God, you are guilty of the 
 Sin of Judas who betrayed him, and of the Sin of 
 the Jews that crucified him. idly. We would fay 
 to you, O repent of this thy Wickednefs, and 
 pray God, if perhaps the Thoughts of your Hearts 
 may be forgiven thee. We call you to repent 
 and believe the Gofpel. Let all the m Houfe of If* 
 rael know ajjuredly that God hath made that fame 
 Jef.s, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Chrlft. 
 Therefore believe in the Lord Jefus, and repent of 1 
 this and all your Tranfgreffions, and you fhall re- 
 ceive the Remiffion of Sins. 
 
 Secondly^ I 
 
( I35 1 ) 
 Secondly i In fpeaking to you that have been at 
 the Lord's Table, we would alfo fpeak a Word to 
 the doubting difconfolate Communicant. Perhaps 
 you are filled with Doubts and Fears ; you are 
 doubting becaufe you did not meet with him at this 
 Gofpel-Feaft : But tell me, did you meet with him 
 at any former Occafion ? What paft at the Meet- 
 .fng ? Did you fay, with Jacob at Bethel, The Lord 
 pall be my God ? Was there a Song at the Meeting ? 
 Was you made to fing with the Pfalmift, Whom 
 hate I in Heaven but thee ? And there is none upon 
 ■Earth that 1 defire befides thee. 'Was there a put- 
 ting all in his Hand at the Meeting ? / know in whom 
 1 have believed, and that he is able to keep that good 
 Things which 1 have committed unto him, againft that 
 Day. Well, if that is the Cafe, be encouraged, 
 "Weeping may endure for a Night, but Joy comet h in the 
 Morning. 1 will fee you again, faith* the Lord to 
 the Difciples, and your Heart /hall rejoice, and 
 your Joy no Man taheth from you. Again, idly. 
 Perhaps fome are filled with Doubts and Fears, and 
 the Occafion of this is, you-thought you had fome 
 Blink of his Countenance at the folemn Occafion, 
 but it was immediately gone. We tell you, Mani- 
 Feftations of his Glory are but very ih or t hereaway : 
 Wait on him, by this he teaches you the waiting 
 Exercife : He hath faid, The Iflesjh all wait for his 
 Law, and on his Arm Jhall they trufl. %dly. Perhaps 
 fome may be faying, We did endeavour to mint at 
 Duty, tho' in much Weaknefs, and we minted at 
 |oining in both the Duty of Swearing to the Lord 
 :)f Hofts, and the Duty of Shewing forthhis Death 
 "ill he come : But, alas ! tho' the Summer be paft, and 
 'he Harveft be ended, yet we are not faved. We are 
 n Doubts and Perplexities ft ill : We think, ifwc 
 verc brought the Length of waiting upon him, and 
 
 trufting 
 
( ti* ) 
 
 trufting in him, we would be as thofe that walk at 
 Liberty : But, O ! we are in Doubts frill if e- 
 ver we met with him. We would fay to you, 
 
 In the fir ft Place, the Lord will have us learn to 
 glorify him by a Life of Faith upon him, everi 
 when he denies fenfiblc Comforts and Enlargements. 
 Thank and blefs him that he keeps you about his 
 Hand in the mean Time, and wait upon him ftill. 
 idly. We would have you to know, that altho* 
 you have, at this Time, been explicitly owning his 
 Caufe, yet all of us have a deep Hand in the De- 
 fections and Backflidings of the Day wherein we 
 live : And the Lord will have us brought to a 
 Senfe of our Sins, and he will have Self down in 
 us ; and, that he may humble us, he hides his 
 Face from us. $dfy. You may confider this 
 as one Reafon why there is not fo much fen-' 
 fible Comfort, in going about this folemn Work 
 as has been felt and experienced in former Times, 
 when this Work was adopted by the whole Land. 
 Why ? This is one Reafon, we think, becaufe it is 
 only a Duty gone about in Corners as yet, and he ,» 
 is not going to keep Moufe with thefe few, and leave 
 the reft ; and therefore there muft be a Waiting on 
 him, to bring the Land univerfally to ', go about 
 this tWork ; and then he ilia 1 1 make every Man fit 
 under his own Vine, and under his own Fig-Tree. 
 Athly. Confider that this Duty is but a Dawning, 
 as it were, as yet, and we may have many Difficul- 
 ties to go through in carrying on this Work ; and 
 he will refervemoreof the comfortable Outlettings 
 of his fpecial Prefence till we be more deeply in- 
 volved in Difficulties, and then it mall be given in 
 that Hour. Wait on him, then, He is a God of 
 Judgment \ and blefted are all they that wait for him.- 
 We fhall, 
 
 Thirdly. 
 
( '37 ) 
 
 Thirdly, Speak a Word to the enlarged and 
 
 mforted Communicant. And, 17?. we would fay 
 
 you, try your Manifestations, if they be of the- 
 
 ;ht Kind and Nature ; which if they are, then, 
 
 you will lothe yourfelf, in your own Sight, for 
 
 your Iniquities and Abominations ; 2. If they be 
 
 the right Kind, Chrift is getting more Room with 
 
 m than ever he got before; 3. You will be made 
 
 maintain the Warfare with indwelling Sin, 
 
 A to keep yourfelves from your own Iniquity. 
 
 it, idly. We would fay to you, look out for 
 
 jne Trial approaching to you, take him along 
 
 .rough the Wildernefs with you in every Step. 
 
 ily. Be thankful to him, that he gave a Blink to 
 
 ou in this dark and hiding Day, when fo many are 
 
 Dmplaining. ^thly. We would fay to you, hold 
 
 le Beloved, and do not let him go, till you bring 
 
 im to your Mother's Houfe, and to the Chambers 
 
 f her that conceived you. Be concerned for Zion, 
 
 iat no Man careth for ; give him no Reft till 
 
 e make her a Praife in the whole Earth. Laftly, 
 
 rV*e would fay to you, i^alk worthy of him unto all 
 
 Vell-pleafing, being fruitful in every good Work ; walk 
 
 p and down in his Name, making Mention of his Righ- 
 
 eoufnefs, even of his" only ; and l&t the Heart of every 
 
 *)ne rejoice that feeks the Lord. 
 
 We come, in the fourth and A?/? Place, to conclude 
 yith a Word to you, who by your Ignorance 
 lave been debarred from joining in this folemn 
 Work of fwearing to the Lord of Hofrs, and 
 ilfo from the Lord's Table ; and we would fay to 
 jrou, in the firfl Place, O do not think that you 
 may go away from this Place with a light Heart, 
 becaufe you h.ive not fworn to the Lord, nor been 
 at the Table of the Lord ! I muft tell you, your 
 Sin is great ; it is great if you come to this Table,, 
 and cat and drink unworthily, and it is alfo great 
 S if 
 
:Ne- 
 
 ( 138 ) 
 
 if you ftay away ; for you are then living in thcN3^ 
 gle£l of a plain commanded Duty ; your Iniquity^ U 
 bound up, to be brought out againft you at the Da# 1$ 
 of your Doath, and at the Time of your Appei 
 ance before the Tribunal of God. 
 
 zdly.'We come to you with a Gall from the Maftt 
 of the Feaft, and his Gall to you is, Whofoever wl 
 let him come, and take the Water of Life freely. & 
 ther the People together, and 1 will give them Wfite\ 
 I will give them the fure Mercies of David. O 
 God is a giving God in Chrift ; he giveth fo 
 Things to you in the Glofe of thisWork ; he gi 
 eth his Son to you : To us a Child is born, to us 
 Son is given, whofe Name is the everlajling Fl 
 ther, the inighty God, and the Prince of Pea> 
 You have not a Heart to receive a given Chrift 
 But thus faith the Lord, A new Heart alfo will 
 give unto you, and a new Spirit will I put within you 
 and 1 will caufe you to walk in my Ways, and to keep tnjn 
 Judgments and do them. This is God's Record, 
 that he hath given to us eternal Life, and this Life is 
 in his Son ; and he giveth eternal Life to you in ' 
 his Son : He that hath the Son hath Life. And we.' 
 are warranted to make an Offer of Chrift to you, 
 and to every one of you. To you Men, Women, 
 God having raifed up his Son Jefus from the Dead, 
 hath fent him to blefs you, in turning every one of 
 you from your Iniquities. Lift up your Heads, then, 
 ye Gates ! Be ye lifted up, that the King of Glory 
 may enter in ! Who is the King of Qlory ? The Lord of 
 Ho/Is ; he is the King of Glory. Selah. O then o- 
 pen to him ! Whofoever will, let him take the Water ■ 
 of Life freely. Behold I fland at the Door and knock ; 
 if any Man will open unto me, I will come in and fup 
 with him, and he with me. If any Man in this Com- 
 pany, young or old, rich or poor, will open unto 
 me, I will come in and fup with him, and he with 
 
( *19 ) 
 me. Put the Heart in his Hand this Night, and 
 be employed in Jacob's Exercife •, he wept and made 
 Supplication, he met with him in Bethel, and there he 
 [pake with us. Thus faith Jehovah, I will betrothe 
 thee unto me for ever \ yea, I will betrothe thet unto me 
 in Loving- Kindnefs ; and thou /halt know the Lord : 
 Thou [halt abide for me many Days ; thou Jh alt not play 
 the Harlot ; thou /halt not be for another Man, fo will 
 1 alfo be for thee, Hof. ii. 19, 20. & iii. 3. If 
 you are for a Law-Righteoufnefs, you are for ano- 
 ther Man ; if you are for a Fill of this World, you 
 are for another Man. But, O ! he offers himfelf to 
 you, faying, Thou /halt not be for another Man,fo will 
 I alfo be for thee. Come, now, let us re afon together % 
 faith the Lord ; though your Sins be as Scarlet, they 
 /hall be as white as Snow ; tho* they be red as Crim/ov, 
 they /hall be as Wooll. 
 
 May the Lord blefs his own Word, and 
 to his Name be afcrib^d Praife, Ho- 
 nour and Glory, for ever, Amen. 
 
 f 1 n 1 s,