ing covenant with him. He is | eth all calculation. It has in it the faithful God, which keepeth every thing attractive and encovenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.* Hence his people should be faithful in keeping covenant with him. They are under indispensible obligations to imitate him as dear children. The excellency, wonderful grace and perpetuity of the covenant, render the violation of it most ungrateful, inexcusable and abominable.

dearing. It should constrain us to a most strict, constant and cheerful obedience to the whole will of God. The apostle Paul besought the Christians of his day by the mercies of God, That they should present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God: which he insisted was but their reasonable service.* From this consideration, That Christians were not their own, but bought with a price, he presseth it upon them to glorify God in their body, and in their spirit, which were God's.† This is his language to us, to all the churches and disciples of Christ. It is the language of the love of God the Father, and of the dying love of our Lord Jesus Christ. This love, these mercies of God, con

Further, our blessed Saviour was faithful to us, in the great work of our redemption. No poverty, shame, nor agonies of the garden or of the cross could divert him a moment from pursuing his Father's honor and the good of his people. He is still the same faithful Redeemer. He lives for ever interced-strained the apostles and primiing for us, and governing all things for the good of them who love him. Shall we not be faithful to him, and walk even as he also walked ?

Further, shall not the great love of God and our Lord Jesus Christ constrain us to a cheerful and universal obedience? The love of God in devising a way of recovery for lost men, in which he might consistently enter into covenant with them, in giving his only begotten Son from his bosom, to purchase the blessings of the covenant, and in his condescension to become a covenant God and Father to them, is without parallel. It passeth all understanding. The love of Christ in laying down his life for the sheep, and in purchasing the immense blessings of the new covenant, for his people, excced

* Deuteronomy vii, 9.

tive Christians to a life of wonderful self-denial, patience, fortitude and holy living. They loved not their lives even unto death, that they might obey, honor and enjoy Christ. Can we imagine that we indeed love him and are his disciples, or expect to share with them, in the inheritance of all things, if the love of Christ have not, in some good measure, the same effect upon us? Can we believe that he hath loved us, and washed us from our sins, in his own blood; that he hath delivered us from the wrath to come, made us the sons of God and heirs of all things, and not deny ungodliness and wordly lusts, and live soberly, and righteously, and godly in this present world? Have we this hope, and shall we not purify ourselves even as Christ is pure?

* Rom. xii. 1. + 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20.

till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.* Shall we in these views, live in a loose, careless manner? Can we be willing to counteract the design of our election, of the death of Christ, of our effectual calling, and of the gospel? Can any true Christian do this? Certainly he cannot. Who eyer does it has an evidence in him that he is an hypocrite, and that he hath no part, nor inheritance among the saints. How should these considerations awaken all our concern to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called, and, like the apostle, forgetting the things which are behind, to press toward the mark for the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus?

Again, Christians may be pressed to live godly in Christ Jesus, from the purpose for which they were chosen inChrist, from the grand design of his death, of their effectual calling and of the gospel, to make them holy in heart and life. They were all chosen in Christ, to be conformed to his image, and to be holy and without blame before him. And whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son.* According as he hath chosen us in him, from the foundation of the world; that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.† The death of Christ was for the same purpose, the sanctification of the church: That the saints might perfect holiness in the fear of God. It is written, Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. Even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might presentors God, injures the cause of it unto himself a glorious church, Christianity, opens the mouths not having spot, or wrinkle or of infidels and blasphemers aany such thing; but that it gainst God and our holy relishould be holy and without blem-gion, and puts such a stumbling ish. Christians are also called block in the way of men's beto be holy. Who hath saved us lieving, as the loose, unholy and called us with an holy call-walking of professing Christians. ing. The grand design of the This furnisheth infidels with one gospel, as it respects the saints, of their most artful and plausible is their sanctification. For this arguments against the religion its teachers, ordinary and extra- of Jesus. Loose and scandalous ordinary, were given; for the professors are some of the most perfecting of the saints, for the grievous enemies of Christ and edifying of the body of Christ, the gospel. They are the Judases, who, in his own visible family, betray him and his dear.

* Rom. viii. 29. † Ephes. i. 4.
Ephes. v. 25, 26, 27.
2 Tim. i. 9.

Further, the glory of God, the honor of Christianity, and the salvation of our fellow men are highly concerned in the inoffensive and holy walking of professors. Nothing so dishon

* Ephes. iv. 11, 12, 13.

est interests. The apostle Paul therefore, in his day, testified against them, even weeping, that they were the enemies of the cross of Christ, and that their end is destruction.* The unholy lives of those who have professed the Christian religion, have proba-that we conduct ourselves in such bly done more dishonor to the a manner, as that he may in all Saviour, and been a greater in- things be glorified: That whethjury to the church than all the er we eat, or drink, or whatsoevbloody persecutions which have er we do, we do all to the glory been raised against it. Can any of God.|| Jesus Christ humbled of us be willing to act this un- himself unto death that his Fagrateful, perfidious part, and to ther might be glorified, and sinbe brought forth at last to the ners saved. This was the lanperdition of ungodly men? guage of his heart when his soul On the other hand, when pro- | was troubled, and sorrowful unto fessors live godly in Christ Je- death, Father, glorify thyself, sus, it does great honor to God He chose rather to suffer the and to the gospel, and puts a agonies of the garden, the shamewonderful beauty upon, the ful and cursed death of the cross, churches. Hence our Saviour than that his Father should not hath testified, Herein is my Fa- be glorified, and than that lost ther grorified, that ye bear much men should not be saved. Can fruit. This shows the excel- we be his unless the same spirit lency of religion, that it is heav-be in us? Can we be his discienly and divine. Its effects on individuals and on society in their piety, righteousness, sobriety, humility, peaceableness, and in whatever is lovely and of good report, show that its author is God, and bring the highest honor to him. It gives others conviction of the truth of the gospel, and causes them, while the light of true Christians shines before them, to glorify our Father who is in heaven. The self-denial, patience, fortitude and holy lives of the apostles, and primitive Christians was one of the principal external means, in their day, of bringing men to the belief of the truth. It is still equally important and necessary, to promote the same end. What powerful motives should

these therefore be to persuade us to live wholly to God? He admits his people into covenant with him, that they might cleave unto him, and be unto him for a | name, and for a praise, and for a glory. He hath commanded

ples if we regard not his glory, the honor of his gospel and the advancement of his kingdom? These lie near the heart of God and

our Lord Jesus Christ. They are of great consideration with all those who keep covenant with God. Let me then, dear brethren, plead with you, the honor of the Redeemer, his glorious example, the honor and advancement of Christianity, the encouragement, edification and comfort of your brethren in Christ, and the conviction and salvation of those who believe not, to engage you in a most strict, zealous and persevering walk with God. Suffer me to plead with you all the solemn and weighty considerations suggested in these papers on coven

Jer. xiii. 11. 1 Pet. iv. 11.

anting, and keeping covenant | ples? who walked with God in
with God.
times of great and general wick-

And what shall I say more? | edness; and whom he delivered

Shall I plead with you the hap-
py effect which this would have
upon our churches? That it
would cause them to look forth
as the morning; make them
beautiful as Tirzah and comely
as Jerusalem: That this would
engage the presence of God with
them, to comfort, edify and pro-
tect them? When the spices of
the churches, and of the Chris-
tian garden flow out, then their
Beloved comes into his garden
and eats his pleasant fruit. Then
shall we know, when we follow
on to know the Lord: Then his
going forth will be prepared as
the morning: Then will he come
unto us as the rain; as the latter
and former rain unto the earth.
He will give us great refresh-
ment and joy in his ordinances,
secret, private and public. Shall
I mention how in this way you
will assure your hearts before
God? The light, peace and tri-
umph it will give you in the hour
of death? Shall I plead with you
the degeneracy of the times?
that error is coming in like a
flood that iniquity abounds,
and the love of many waxethments, that they should walk
cold? The necessity which
there is of good people's arising
and standing in the gap, and
making up the hedge-The
special duty of all Christians act-
ing in character, as the salt of
the earth and the light of the
world, to prevent total corruption
and darkness? Shall I plead with
you the peculiar honor of faith-
fulness to God and our covenant
engagements, in times of great
and general corruption? Shall I
name unto you Enoch, Noah,
Lot and Elijah, Daniel and the
three children, as your exam-

and honored above all the men
who have lived upon the earth.
Shall I mention Phinehas who
was zealous for the Lord, and to
suppress the wickedness of his
people, and that it was counted
unto him for righteousness unto
all generations for ever more ?*
| And that God hath not only set
these examples before us, for
our encouragement and imita-
tion in the worst times; but that
he hath made exceedingly great
and precious promises to all
those who will walk with him in
those dark and evil days? That
to those, who feared him and
thought upon his name, at a time
of uncommon infidelity and li-
centiousness, among his ancient
people, he promised, That a
book of remembrance should be
written before him, for them?
That they should be unto him,
as his peculiar treasure, and that
he would spare them, in the day
that he maketh up his jewels, as
a man spareth his own son that
serveth him?t That he promis-
ed unto the few names in Sardis,
who had not defiled their gar-

with him in white; and that he
declared them to be worthy?

These are some of those
weighty considerations, of those
endearing and forcible examples,
which God hath set before us,
to engage our fidelity in his ser-
vice. By these he commands
us, pleads with and presseth us
to keep covenant with him. And
do not our hearts, in contempla-
tion of them, burn within us? Is
not our zeal enkindled, and are

Psalm cvi. 30, 31.
Malachi iii. 16, 17.

the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, let us, I beseech you, fulfil the joy of the apostles and of all good men, by being like minded, to perform these duties, having the same love, being of one ac

Thoughts on Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6.

No. I.

not our resolutions invigorated? Shall we not, deeply impressed and impelled by their united energy, lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race which is set before us, look-cord, of one mind, observing all ing unto Jesus the author and things whatsoever Jesus hath finisher of our faith? As we commanded us. Amen. have received him, shall we not walk in him, rooted and established in the faith, as we have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving? Shall we not watch and pray always; "FOR it is impossible for praying with all prayer and sup- those, who have been once enplication, in the spirit, with all lightened, and have tasted the perseverance and supplication heavenly gift, and were made for all saints? Shall we not partakers of the Holy Ghost, wrestle with God, that the spirit And have tasted the good word of primitive Christianity may be of God, and the powers of the poured out upon all our church-world to come, If they shall fall es, and upon their pastors? That away, to renew them again unwe and all our brethren may to repentance, seeing they crumaintain a more close and hum-cify to themselves the Son of ble walk with God? That this God afresh, and put him to address might be succeeded to open shame." this happy effect on ourselves and others? Shall we not strive to grow more and more in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? To excel in the religion of the closet, of the family and of the house of God; and in the constant, cheerful discharge of all relative duties? Shall we not exhort one another daily, and consider one another to provoke unto love and good works? Shall we not do these duties so much the more as time flies away, and as we see the day of death and judgment approaching? Shail we not from this time shake off all slothfulness and be fervent in spirit serving the Lord?

Dear brethren, if there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of

MEN

EN of different religious sentiments, do not agree in their interpretation of this passage of scripture ; nor indeed do all those who harmonize, as to the general scheme of doctrines, contained in the word of God. Among those who maintain, that all true saints will persevere to final salvation, there are two different constructions. Some believe, that, by being enlightened, tasting the heavenly gift, &c. the apostle meant to express only such things, as may be experienced, by natural men; and that falling away, in which they are said to crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, must be taken to mean the unpardonable sin. It is believed by others, that the apostle is here speaking of the distinguish