duties, to the neglect of which they are under more than ordinary temptations; but a voluntary and intentional overlooking of any one duty, in bringing themselves under these engagements, were a sad indication of a heart not right with God. "I shall not be ashamed," says David, “when I have a respect to all thy commandments." The covenanters in the days of Nehemiah were in peculiar hazard of neglecting the duties of sanctifying the Sabbath, of showing mercy to the poor, of contributing of their substance to religious purposes, and of preserving a proper separation betwixt themselves and their heathen neighbours; they accordingly paid a most special attention to these in that work, and even made a specification of them by name in their covenant-bond.* This, however, they did not in the way of overlooking other things; but by a general clause, they likewise pledged themselves to study the conscientious discharge of every duty which they owed either to God or man. "They "entered into an oath to walk in God's law, given by "Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all "the commandments of the Lord our God."t

The other thing mentioned, as requiring our particular attention here, is the manner of entering into these engagements. And as to this we observe, that they are by no means to be entered into in our own strength, but solely in a dependence on divine grace. We are not sufficient of ourselves so much as to think one good thought; but our sufficiency is of God. Our whole stock of strength, both for duty and difficulty, both for work and warfare, is laid up in Christ's hand, in whom it hath pleased the

Father that all fulness should dwell; and therefore, on him must our whole dependence rest. If we trust in ourselves, we will be sure to fail; if we trust in Christ, we may expect to be established. We should therefore, in all our engagements, be concerned to say with the Psalmist, "I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I "will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine "only."*

We have thus laid before you a genuine account of the real nature of religious covenanting; and from it you may plainly see the great injustice of many of the representations made of it by multitudes in the present day. Some give one account of it, others another; but almost all agree in giving such an account of it, as has a tendency to prejudice serious people against it. Misrepresentations of this work have always been found some of the most successful weapons wherewith its enemies could fight against it. It is for this reason, among others, that I have been so full in giving you an undisguised account of its nature. It has now been laid fairly before you; let it be duly considered, and this will go a great way to clear your minds about the warrantableness of it. If persons were duly apprised that the substance of it lies in a formal acceptance of the Lord for their God upon the warrant of the gospel-offer, in a cordial devotement of themselves to him, to be his people, upon the footing of the new covenant, as it stands fast with Christ, and in an engagement, in divine strength, to act and walk as his covenant-people, it is scarcely conceivable how one serious Christian should hesitate for a moment about its being not only lawful, but even their reasonable service. * Psalms, lxxi, 16.

SERMON II.

JER. I. 4. 5.-In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together ;-saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

WE formerly told you, that these words are a prophecy respecting New-Testament times, and that public religious covenanting is the subject of them. We therefore observed from them, that public social coveenanting is a duty well warranted in scripture, and incumbent upon the church under the New-Testament dispensation. In prosecution of this subject, we proposed to open up the nature, and instruct the warrantableness of covenanting; to give some account of the seasons, the manner, and the ends of this duty; and then to make some improvement. The first of these points we have already discussed, and given you a pretty full account of the nature of religious covenanting, in the former sermon. We therefore now proceed to the next thing proposed, which was,

II. To evince the warrantableness of this work, or show that public religious covenanting is a duty incumbent upon the church under the New-Testament dispensation.

The proving of this would have been both necessary and proper at a time when you were called to the discharge of the duty, though there had never been an individual stating an opposition to it; but the keenness with which this work is opposed by multitudes at present, renders such a proof at this time doubly needful, and must be my apology for insisting on this head at some considerable length. A contested point would need to be well established; and, with this view, I now lay before you the following particulars.

1. Covenanting is a duty plainly taught us by the very light of nature. Nature's light, indeed, cannot give us any such full discovery of our duty on this head, as to show us how we may perform it in a manner acceptable to God. This it cannot do with respect to any other duty more than this. The work itself, however, it both may, and really doth, teach to be a duty. Why, it teaches us that we are wholly from God, and therefore ought to be wholly to him. It shows us, that we depend upon him for our provision, protection, direction, and every comfort of life; yea, that we depend wholly on him for our very being, and every breath we draw. Our doing so is not only an unquestionable truth, but a plain dictate of nature's light. This we are taught in Acts, xvii. 28. "In him we live, and move, and have our being; as "certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring." Now, reason evidently says, that if we depend wholly upon him, and are entirely indebted to him, for all that we either are or have, it must of ne

cessity be our duty to give him all that homage and obedience which lies in our power; and if this be our duty, nothing can be more reasonable, than that we should bring ourselves under the most strict and inviolable obligation to the discharge of it; and what is this but the very essence of covenanting? Such an evident dictate of the light of nature is this, that the heathens themselves, who have had no other light to guide them, have both taught and practised it. It was taught in the most express manner by one of the heathen philosophers, who lived near the beginning of the Christian æra. His words translated into our language, are these: "To this "God ye ought to swear as the soldiers do to Cæsar."They, for the sake of wages, swear that above all things "they will study the welfare of Cæsar. And while you "are loaded by God with so many and such great bene"fits, will ye not swear to him? or when ye have sworn, will ye not perform? And what should ye swear ? That ye will always obey his voice; that ye "will never complain of him; that ye will never find "fault with any thing he measures out to you; and that "ye will always willingly do and suffer whatever he "shall think necessary to put upon you." ** And this duty, which some of the heathens have taught and inculcated, others of them have actually practised. There is no need to ransack the writings of the heathen world, in order to have this fact ascertained; you have an instance of it on record in your bibles, in the account given us of the mariners of Joppa, in the first chapter of the book of Jonah. That these mariners were mere heathens, is abundantly plain from the 5th verse of that chapter;

* Epictetus, Lib. I. Cap. 14.