called to Personal Covenanting with God And the truth is the work of effectual Calling the Term of it that which perfytes it and makes it effectual Calling it s not Challenges and Convictions of Sin it s the closing with Christ and entering in a Personal Covenant with Him for suppose we should be able to tell of never so many Challenges for Sin and fears of Hell they have had they are not able to instruct from all these their Effectual Calling if they have not come under a Personal Covenant with Christ so any of you that are under the pangs of the New-Birth Birth as there are some travelling among you under fears and griefs and guiltiness and fears of Hell the way of coming to a delivery and an outgate from all these is to enter in this Personal Covenant to accept of the offer and the Terms on which the offer is made 2ly It 's a very suitable time to enter in this Personal Covenanting with God when there comes to be any special impression of the Spirit made on the Soul we ought to take the stot of our hearts readily it may be long before ye get that occasion again it 's not your each days dinner when ye get any Elevation of Spirit any delight or any peace or joy in believing any striking of the Irons in Prayer that the heart will affect the eye when ye go to God that is a special time of Personal Covenanting with Him in this case we are to do as Psal 27.8 Thou saidst seek ye my face that is the Spirit working within him it was even like a command and my heart Answered Thy face Lord I will seek hide not thy face from me So at your first Effectual Calling it may be in some corner ye may have some liberty to vent your heart to God and ye may have some gale on your Spirit ye cannot improve that time better as a cord to knit to the duny better than to say I accept of the Offer and I accept of the Terms on which it 's Offered and I shall watch against the Failings wherein I have been weakest 3ly It 's a suitable time to enter in a Personal Covenant with God after we have fallen in some great Sin against God after we have been left to some Sin against God that hath made a breach on the former Personal Covenant's that we have made with Him It may be some wide breach then that come to be a call to thee from God to go and renew a Covenant with Him It 's remarkable in Thomas's case when Christ came in among the Disciples when Thomas was absent and they told him that Christ was risen and that they had seen him O saith he I will not believe exccept I put my hand in his side and in the print of the nails Christ comes and convinces him of this Sin and challenges him for it and bids him not to be unbelieving but faithful and when he had seen him and heard him and had been convinced thou art my Lord and my God sayes he it 's as much as if he had said I will Indenture of new with Christ and renew a Personal covenant with him thou art my Lord and my God so that when there comes to be any breach betwixt God and us that readily hath made a great slap in our former vows when ye are not to go and run away and give over hope but even after Thomas would not believe that Christ was risen trom the dead and was living yet when he is throughly convinced of all he saith thou art my Lord and my God 4ly It 's a fit time in entering in a Personal Covenant with God when a Christian comes under desertion and when there is a great Cloud betwixt him and God It 's remarkable upon the case Christ complains nore of Desertion than of the nails that was thurst in Him it was no wonder if he Had taken ill with the Cross for He was daily with the Father as one brought up with Him and He was daily his delight before the Mountains were brought forth and a desertion was heavy to Him and what is His way he takes for outgate He takes him to the Covenant My God my God why hast thou forsaken me In this casting a coppy to us that there is no such promising way under Desertion as the renewing of a Covenant with Him Lastly It 's a fit time to enter in a personal Covenant with Him at a Sealing Ordinance the Sacrament of the Supper it 's a Seal of the New Testament in His Blood and it may lay a great Obligation on a loose careless heart that if it get leave will be thy death as a poor man complained Alas my heart will be my death thou that hast such a heart thou art to enter in a personal Covenant with him and take this Bread and this Wine and say I accept of this deemer as the Father offers Him I Indenture to the terms of the Gospel without exception of any of them but especially to the great things wherein I have been most negligent there is a fit time to enter this personal Covenant when there is a Seal of the New Testament Passing as it were out of his hand into thine and that is a great part of the Souls Communion with him in that Sacrament Vse I will only exhort to two things and with them close this Sermon 1. Christian wilt thou go and take a view of this Covenant that thou may be encouraged to engadge in it many are ignorant of the Covenant I complain of your ignorance of the Scriptures and of your unacquaintedness with them and for all the sweetness of the Promises that ye know nothing of them that ye cannot say as an Antient was wont to say this is my Promise a Believer ought to have several Promises in the Covenant these which they have gotten most reviving quickning and consolation from what an excellent thing is it if one were going through the Bible and through the Covenant and doing as Apothecaries use to do they go to a Garden and they get a Flower here and there and puts them up in Boxes that when sick folk comes they may go rightly to the Box sO ought we to do with the Promises we ought to gather the Promises in classes so that when we have to do with any Promise we may go to them and take out a Promise suitable to our case 2ly I exhort you to take a view of the Duties and Terms of the Covenant ye need not be discouraged at them there is a kind of Heaven in holiness and the scope of them all is to make us holy it 's true the generality but breaks the shell and gets not the kernel there is nothing more sweet and satisfying than the kernel it 's like Honey all that taste of it cry more more but of all the wershest things in the world is the shell SERMON XIII 2 Samuel 23.5 Although my
absolute resignation of our lot of our station and service in the wilderness if they be not a glazen window in the house they are content providing they be a nail in the wall if they be not an eye they are content providing they be a toe if it be for the good of the body It 's true we are no great gift when we have made a gift of our selves yet it 's that He calls for and in personal Covenanting with Him that we indenture for like the Macedonians we give our selves to the Lord to be disposed by the Lord if He think prosperity or adversity for us we are content if He think a suffering lot or a peaceable lot for us we are content or whether we be in a high place or a low place it 's all one for it 's a clause in the indenture we are to be at His disposing Secondly In the Covenant we not only look to what we are to give but what we are to do it 's true all the Duties of the Covenant ought to be done in our Covenanting with Him we are not to make exception of any of them a Believer may personally Covenant with God that does not distinctly take up all the Terms on which the Covenant runs yet they do not make exception of any of the Terms but esteems all his commands concerning every thing to be right some of them are greater some of them are smaller even in our indenturing in the Covenant of Grace we are not to walk by the principles that others walk by O say they the Truths relating to exteranl Worship and Church Government they are but small things the great duty is to accept of the Righteousnes offered in the Covenant they will personally Covenant with God for these absolutely incispensible and necessar things but they think they need not take in these lesser things into the Covenant But like a man clipping gold he will stoop down and left the least clipping Why it's gold in our indenturing we are not to make exception of any of the Terms Why the Terms are His and there are two reasons for this 1. In the great Duty of the Covenant the Father's design is the exaltation of His Son it was one of the proofs I brought to prove Him the Maker of the Covenant it looked like the design of it that He designed to cry up His Son therefore the great violation of the Covenant lyes unbelief and in not accepting of the Son which would be noticed by all who will go mourning for other thins and will be cherishing their unbelief There cannot be a greater affront put upon God than what is put upon Him in His Son in regard He is at the outmost of His offers to speak with reverence he cannot make a greater offer than of his Son now an eye ought to be had to this great Duty especially But 2ly These things wehrein our infirmity is greatest or that we are soonest worested by Temptation in Covenanting to Terms in our Coveranting which God a special respect ought to be had to these as Samson had something wherein his great strength lay in other things he was like another man so every one of us hath something wherein our weakness lies now in our Covenanting with God if one be a neglecter of Family Duty or if one be easily drawn away from God after evil company if one be in a passion and provocked to prophane and blaspheme the holy and precious Name of God if one be superficial in secret Prayer observe wherein the infirmity lies and where the temptation does most easily worst them to have an eye in the persponal Covenant with God to these things it 's observed by some when they write of the covenant when the Spirit is about to challenge for neglect of these things there will nothing sooner come in ones heart than the covenant they made like a knock of an hammer it will drive in the Challenge and roove the Nail to the head therefore a special eye ought to be had for these infirmities incident to us wherein temptations uses to assault us most So I hope laying these things together I have proved wherein personal covenanting with God lies it lyes in accepting the Son the Father hath offered Him and all that he hath and when the Soul accepts of this offer and relyes with an act of recumbency on the faithfulness of Him that made it and subscribes to the Terms both to give themselves to the Lord back again and to indenture to the Terms and Duties required and particular indenturing agaist the infirmities we are easily beset with and that Temptation easily worsts them in herein lies as I conceive tha Act of personal Covenanting with God especially if ye add to it in The 3d place the manner how this acceptation and this engagement is to be performed and gone about and here I shall notice to you three or four things 1. Take notice that in accepting this offer and in Indenturing to these terms in a personal Covenant with God the action ought to be very deliberat and advised it ought not to be as one says as a man loving a woman at the first view he sees her beautiful and comely and presently it goes in his heart he will marry her not considering that she may have much debt and an evil humor and many infirities following her so many in their personal Covenanting with Christ they presently fall in love with Glory they fall in love with the Land of Canaan and they see the Mediator beautiful and lovely but they do not consider the crosses the reproaches the temptations the difficulties that will accompany Covenanting with him It 's remarkable in Scripture it 's called the deed of the wife Merchant that goes and sells all that he may buy the Field where the Pearl is this is not the act of a fool it 's not an hasty act no he goes and considers the Field and finds it 's the Field where the Fearl is and he goes and sells all that he may but it so the sould that Indentures with God on this score must consider it 's a business may cost him all that he hath he must consider whether the Pearl will compense the selling of all that he hath There are many it may be truly said of them they are pound fools and peny wife all the little wit they have in the Wilderness is only like Children it 's how to build Houses and run after Flies and busk Babies but their deliberation runs not about this It 's strange to see many rational in may things and so far from reason in their Religion the most thing wherein they play the fool is there but this Act of personal Covenanting is a deliberat Act it 's an Act of the wife Merchant who considers whether the Field and the Pearl will pay the cost 2ly This Act is to be an Act of the whole Soul the understanding will and affections the Lord
will have the consent of all in perfecting this work of personal Covenanting the case is with them as with some generous spirits who in suit of Marriage except they get the Womans heart and consent all other things that they câ—n offer will be of on value and will not induce them to Marry Wisdoms demand is my Son give me thy heart it 's not give me thy hand or give me thy tongue or ear but my Son give me thy heart it 's not my Son divide thy heart give me a piece of it but my Son give me thy heart it 's the whole heart that must be given him in personal Covenanting with him and when he he hath gotten the whole heart he hath not gotten a thing of much worth unless he take a way when he hath gotten it to clothe it with the righteousness of his Son and to Persume it and yet for as feckless as it is he will have it in personal Covenanting with him to concur 3ly It may be very necessary and useful semetines to express outwardly our accepting of his offer and Indenturing to these terms on which the offer is made it 's true the special obligation and that which is especially required is the firm purpose of heart the content of the heart and he will not take words if he marry except he know well he get the Brides heart there may be externals subservient to the great end of personal Covenanting with him as sometimes to go and to say to God Lord I accept of this Christ and Indenture on these terms I will give my self to thee and will watch especially against the things I have been neglective in and guilty of sometime we may do it by lifting up of the hand our hearts are such cheats as we cannot lay too mahy tyes on them sometimes believers have done it by subscribing to the Lord they have drawn up the sjpecial things of it on Gods part and the special duâ—ies they have engaged unto on Gods part and they have written them down and spread them before the Lord and them subseribed them which if they find of any use when they have examined their way they have run to the engagement they made to the Lord and they find if performing such duties yielding to such temptations be agreeable to the Covenant they made with God therefore form the fear of the wrath of the Covenant they have been made to mourn for Covenant breaking with him Now when things are thus performed when with eonsent of the whole man they are content either to say or to subseribe or to swear to God that they take his offer they hold him at his offer they take hold of the offer as it 's offered and will not alter the terms but accepts of it on the very terms that it is made this is the Act of personal covenanting with God as I conceive But before I proceed to the Application there is one great difficulty necessary to be cleared ye would remember both the grounds I brought in the forenoon to prove the necessity and the Ecplication of that wherein the formal act of personal covenanting consists Quest The question necessary to be cleared is whether is this personal Covenanting with God the duty of all within the visible Church Is there not a mixed mult tude of elect and reprobat and is not the Church like a Drag-net wherein good and bad Fishes are and can this personal covenanting and accepting the offer and Indenturing to the terms be the duty of the reprobate and bad Fishes in the Net This is the tossing of a great Arminian Question If I should dilate in the Latitude it would carry me before such a popular Auditory Ans For Answer to the Question I will only say this this Act of personal covenanting is the duty of all within the visible Church and none is to go and exempt himself from it but indeed especially it is the duty of the Elect. There are Two Parts of this Answer that I would labour to confirm to you from some Reasons 1. That it is the duty of all within the visible Church thus Personally to covenant with God shall appear from these things 1. All to whom the offer of the covenant is made are bound to the accepting of the offer now whatever be in the purpose of God the Promulgation and Proclamation of the covenant and the offer of it is made to all within the visible Church and who shall question where there is an offer made that it is presumption to accept of it Many stand at it as if it were presumption I suppose one were coming by a house and if the Master of the house should look out at a window and see him and intreat him to come and dine with him and eat and drink with him would ye think it presumption especially if he should add Allurements and Promises and tell you that he hath killed his Fatlings and mingled his wine and if he should not prevail with all these if he should look our at the windom and cry if ye will not come in I swear I will come down and kill you the Father hath done so in this Covenant he hath given Intreaties and Allurments and Promises and sworn if ye accept not of his offer he will damn you eternally in hell 2ly All whom the command of Believing reaches and who are concerned in it are bound Personally to Covenant with God but all in the visible church are commanded to believe and the great Root of the Sentence that will pass against them will be even the Reprobat their not believing 3ly If all were not bound thus Personally to Covenant with God what can be the meaning of the many Regreates and Lamentations in the Gospel for many Reprobat ones for their not Indenturing with him to sit down over Jerusalem and weep to upbraid Chorazin and Bethsaida if they had not been bound thus Personally to Covenant with Him So it s the duty of all within the visible church all of them ly under an Obligation to make a Covenant with him by Sacrifice on no less hazard than what they are worth for ever and ever But this is the duty of all but especially the Elect the reasons why it is the Elects duty I will not dwell on them at this time but will shew you that though it be constantly the duty of the Elect tobe making and keeping Covenant with God yet there are some special times wherein especially they are called to it and all I shall say in this Sermon shall be to shew you Four or Five remarkable Junctures of Cases wehrein the Lord calls his Elect to enter in or to renew a Covenant â—irst At their first effectual calling when He hath made a law work to make way for a Gospel Work when He hath sent His Spirit to convince of Sin and of Judgment the Spirit hath a Couumission also to convince of Righteousness then especially they are
of Grace hath bound us to all the Duties be hath commanded in the Covenant of Works what a multitude of them there are take a compend of them in that word 2 Cor. 7. at the beginning Having these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God mark there we must cleanse our selves of the fil hiness of the flesh and spirit a famous Ancient said well when he read that verse this seems to me says he like the Message the King of Syria sent to the King of Israel 2 Kings 5.2 I have sent my servant to thee that thou mayest recover him of his leprosie what says he am I a God to kill and make alive that this man sendeth to me to cure him of his leprosie 2ly We are to consider the constancy we are bound to in these Terms if we enter in Covenant with God it 's a marriage Covenant whatever fall out to a man or woman except Adulters the marriage-tye remains firm if one were never so sickly or tender it does not break that tye all the variety of cases his people can come under cannot dissolve it we are not to be Time-servers in these things for in a little they that serve Time their Master will be taken from them Rev. 10.5 And I saw an angel Hand upon the sea and he lift up his hand to heaven and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever that there should be time no longer But 3ly We are to consider the difficulties that will accon pany these Terms the Terms are to cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God what multitude of difficulties must these Terms be carried on with will they make a man walk like an Owl among the rest of the Birds What a deal of crosses and difficulties will attend him that makes a Covenant with God Now one that would Indenture in a personal Covenant with God must consider and ponder all these Now this is the second Property of personal Indenturing with God it 's an Act of absolute necessity and we ought to be very deliberat and serious in it Thirdly This Act of personal covenanting as it ought to be deliberat so it ought to be sincere and an Act of the whole Soul Psal 16.2 O my soul thou hast said unto the Lord thou art my God God will dispense with any Infirmity in this Act sooner than Hypocrisie He cannot endure to be mocked For clearing this that it ought to be done with the whole Soul I would have you notice First This Act of personal covenanting requires a very well ordered Soul not only Morally well ordered but Spiritually Divines observe well the Soul is well ordered in two Cases First When the Will comes to beled by the Understanding several times the Will like a domineering Lady it glories in it's Liberty and Freedom it will bind the Understanding and draw it after it we are easily brought to believe what the Will inclines us to and to find our Reasons for justifying of the thing which it desires Next the Soul is well ordered when Understanding Will and Affections follow the Conscience and the Conscience is regulat by the Word of God the Affections often it holds true of them that is said of Fire and Water they are good Servants but ill Masters when the affections comes to domineer they are ill Masters but when they are ruled by the Conscience and the Conscience regulat by the Law of God so that we can moderat our Anger and not sin that we can desire nothing but what we lawfully desire and we fear nothing but what we lawfully can fear when gref keeps within it's bounds when the Affections are thus regulat what a sweet calm is there in the Conscience like an Instrument that all the Strings of it are rightly placed and when ye strike on them every string gives the sound they ought to give so the Understanding Will and Affections when they are rightly regulat they give the sound that is proper for them when the Understanding is thus regulat that the Will follows the Understanding and the Soul is regulat by the Conscience and the Conscience by the Word of God 2ly This Soul covenanting it imports a rightly ordered frame of the Soul for it 's an affectionat and sincere Act it 's not to be wrung out of us Bellarmine calumniats Protestants when he says we maintain in the Act of Effectual Calling that Deus torquet voluntatem in he doth not thraw the Will no in this Act of personal covenanting it uses to be done when it 's done with the Soul not with the Affections only but with the Bensil of the Affections it 's as it were the marriage day and in that day the Soul is clothed in its best Appatel and the Unferstanding Will and Affections are at the height of their Vigor and Fervency it 's necessar it should be so for the Lord when he entered in Covenant with us O! so sincerely and affectionaly as He enters and when he hath found the lost Goat and stragling Sheep He call His neighbours and friends to rejoyce with Him Luk. 15. I likewise say there is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repents c. When he doth it so affectionatly and is so much taken when a person doth personally Covenant with Him ought we not to Covenant sincerely with the Bensil of the Affections SERMON XIV 2 Samuel 23. Verse 5. Although my house be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is all my salvation and all my desire although he make it not to grow AMong many excellent Truths in this verse this is one not of the meanest that David speaks of the everlasting Covenant as a thing personally and particularly made with him he doth not say the Lord hath made with the Church but with me an everlasting Covenant I entered on the Properties of this personal Covenant and spoke to three of them there are some yet remaining and therefore I shall proceed as this personal covenanting with God is of absolute necessity and is a very deliberat Act and a sincere Act so there is a Fourth Property of it it 's an Act that ought to be timeously speedily and early done without delay some of our Divines in their casuistical Disputs with Papists they rationally alledge that the Doctrine of the Popish Casuists in some Principles tends to hough all the Practises of Religion for among other things they maintain that if a sinner fall in sin he is obliged to repent when he comes under some cross or at some solemn Ordinance or at the hour of Death we maintain against them that a sinner is obliged to repent immediatly on the back of the commission of the Sin the same we say of personal covenanting with God it 's to be
there is good in these purposes they are like a smoaking flax that hath something of fire in at but it can do no more but smoak and he that will not quench the smoaking flax nor break the bruised reed will not readily set his foot on these purposes so when we come to Indenture with God and with full purpose of heart Covenant that we will keep by the terms of the Covenant and accept of the offers of it it 's a character of personal covenanting with God Quest And here I will clear this case what is the reason that there are so many purposes and resolutions to God that evanish we makes a Covenant with him to day and Indenture against these sins that our remptations carries us most easily away as there are some things wherein every one is weakest what is the reason that these purposes do so often evanish Ans I will name two or three things that influences this 1. Serveral times we purpose in our owe strength we putpose and we go in our own strength It 's a remarkable thing in Either she saw the dauger that the Church of God and her people were in and she sends to Mrdecai and tells him I will go to the King if I perish I perish though it be against the Law but says she Conveen thy people and fast three days and I and my maids will do likewise there is a thing difficult to be done she goes not in her own strength but she carries it on by prayer when we go out against any corruption within us we are like David going out against Goliah with a sling and with a stone and what would that signfie unless he had that to tell I come to thee in the Name of the Lord whom thou hast blasphemed the sling and the stone and the Name of the Lord was strong enough against a Goliah but when we go against any corruption in our own strength we go like David with a sling and with a stone and not in the Name of the Lord. The reason why our purposes evanish when we are sick or at a Sacrament or when we are at a low ebb we do not as Esther carry them on by Prayer nor as David in the Name of the God of Isreal 2ly Several times there comes purposes and resolutions in the soul or convictions of the Spirit and these purposes evanish because they have not been sincere deliberat and serious enough readily they have been extorted by fears and readily we do as Earsmus reports of the man that when he was at Sea vowed he would offer a pound of Candle to the Virgin Mary when he came to Shore but when he came to Shore he said a Plack Candle might serve here Readily we do as that man when we are under a strait we come under vows and when the strait is over like one come to Land we forget all this is the reason why many their purposes evanish the Lord will lift off the Cross and the Spirit abates their challenges and the humility that will sometimes be in them will be but like the Dogs returning to his vomit again Josephus tells us that after the Flood the inhabitants of the World that were the posterity of Noah for fear of a new Deluge built their Houses on the tops of Hills but when they see there is no new Deluge like to come ye find them in the Plains of Shinar building a Babel whose top reaches to Heaven this is a great cause why our purposes evanish under a strait we would take the Covenant and the righteousness of it but when our fears and challenges are away like a man in a rainy day that will take an old Cloak about him but when the showre is past he lays by the old Cloak But 3ly These purposes and resolutions evanish by the company of the ungodly there is nothing will sooner cooâ— these purposes than the company of the wicked It 's a remarkable resolution of Davids Psal 6. Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity Why I have resolved to keep his Commands and I know I will not follow this resolution if ye do not depart from me oftentimes there is nothing makes purposes sooner evanish than the company of wicked men therefore the young man whom Solomon would have kept from the whorish woman among many directions he gives this My son go not near her door not only commit no uncleanness with her but go not near her door Seventhly The last property of this act of personal Covenanting as it hath all these six that I have mentioned so it hath this character as it is often broken so it should be often renewed we are frequently breaking our Covenant how many times will we bind against a lust or to the performing of duty and readily if a man should bind himself as for instance to secret Prayer to reading the Scripture the Lord will tryst him with some tryal with some diversion with something that will appear vertue to him or that will appear to be his interest to try if this will make him break and if on this account we break we should be as oft renewing again and two things will evidence that when we come to break our engagements of personal Covenanting we are no to say there is no help for my soul in God 1. Take notice that one God part with them the Covenant remains constantly firm Think ye the Covenant everlasting bacause we everlastingly keep it It 's everlasting because he is everlasting and everlastingly keeps lasting because he is everlasting and everlastingly keeps it So he calls often to us to renew this Covenant Jer. 3. Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers any would have thought the next word would be thou shall never be owned by me again yet the next word is yet return unto me backsliding children for I am married to you and I will take you one of a tribe and two of a family and bring you to Zion 2ly This evidences that the Covenant should be renewed because the Sacrament of the Supper is renewed he hath commanded the Sacrament of the Supper to be often taken and what is that but to renew a personal Covenant with him 3ly The renewing of the Covenant is our only safety there is no other way of doing for us in safety and eschewing the wrath of God but by renewing the Covenat Vse I will only close this day with a word or two of practical improvement of all that hath been said of these seven characters of personal Covenanting with God 1. I exhort you who are minding this as the great design ye have to put you to accept the offer of this Gospel and Indenture with God on t he terms that are made labour from all that is said to take up the nature and properties of this personal Covenanting with God many never knew what it meant and therefore they never practised it But consider for giving you light in this
Covenant So that will not prove that he hath not made a Covenant with thee that since thou made it with him thou hast failed These two being laid aside they make the assurance the less difficult 3ly Very ordinarily this clearing of our assurance in the Covenant comes when there is diligence ordinarily when we ar ediligent the Spirit comes and lights his Candle and lets us see our assurance there are a number that complain they are not assured and cleared of their interest and all their Religion lies in doubting ye may justly suspect them that they are sloathful and sluggards they are not diligenct they go not often to duty were they diligent they would not want the Spirit 's concurrance readily if we want assurance we have quenched the Spirit 's motions or grieved the Spirit were we but more diligent we would have more Light all the marks in the world will never clear an Hypocrite nor give him assurance nor will all the condescending marks that God hath made clear the sluggard So if we were but a little more diligent we would be more assured and we would be the better able to say The Lord hath made with me a Covenant for the Spirit uses not to be wanting with Illumination to them for whom he gives Assistance for practical Duties 4ly That it is not so difficult will appear from this Truth that often the people of God ly in the way fo their own assurance they hinder their own clearing that God hath made a Covenant with them I will offer you four ways how frequently when clearing an assurance about our interest in the Covenant might be had that we use to hinder it 1. Serveral times we hinder it by disputing the Question at a wrong time we are never so ready to disput our interest as under desertion there are some times when our Spirits will be carried as a Ship under sall and all the design of the Soul will then be to do but at another time all the design of the Soul will be to doubt and disput our interest and we are never more ready to do this than under desertion now what a foolish things is it to go and debate with a man that is roving under a Fever and we are never deserted but we are roving assisting influences are so necessary then to go and disput to take the time when one is in the dark and their Candle put out and then coming to read their Evidence as I said before our marks are written in small print and we have but little Light and if the Candle be put out then to go and disput our case whether God hath made a Covenant with us in the wrong time yet readily we are never more ready to do it than at that time 2ly Sometime Believers hinder their own Assurance that God hath made a Covenant with them not only by chusing the wrong time but when they take wrong Marks they take not the Right Rule several times we go exceedingly wrong in our Marks the generality of prophane and natural men they take the Marks that the Pharisee did I thank God I am not like this man I am not a drunkard nor an extortioner and these are their Marks many a time Believers they take the contrair way they take too high Marks O! say they some could say God hath made a Covenant with me I can delight in him I can meditat on him I can be satisfied with him as with Marrow and with Fatness But they have the Complaint that the elder Brother of the Prodigal had thou never gave me a kid to make merry with I can never count on the day wherein the Call was killed to me and that I was cloathed with the best Rob and shoes put on my feet and a Ring on my finger therefore they conclude he hath not made an everlasting Covenant with them by taking too high Marks thou may imped thy Assurance I beleive it indeed which the greatest Divines affirm the Reason why so many at Death have peace that readily want it all their Lifetime as ye will find few of the godly but they will go to the Grave in peace one reason is at that pass and strait they are driven to take the lowest marks they can say All my desire is before him and my groaning is not hid from him they will take at that pass the lowest Marks for there they must either do or die they are content to do as Benhadad's servants did with Ahab is he alive he is my Brother they got that word my Brother they take hold of the least word that makes for them at that pass we are driven to take in our light at a score though it come not in at the window therefore they have more peace at Death than they had in they had in their Lifetime now when we go to take too high Marks it 's a great Impediment in the way of Assurance But I add 3ly to let you see that many a time Believers ly in the way of their own Assurance and hinder it several times there is an inclination in the Soul rather to intertain the challenges of the Spirit than the Comforts of the Spirit especially after our effectual calling the common comforts of the Spirit will be intertained in a Natural State far more easiy than the challenges of the Spirit If ye ask what is the Reason of this that after effectual calling guiltiness hath another smell then before effectual calling The Reason is a Believer finds the scent of his guiltiness so strong after effectual calling that the challenges of the Spirit are far more pronly intertained than the comforts of the Spirit the Spirit will sometime knock at the door Open to me my dove my undefiled but if he come with a knock and say thou hast procured all these things thou hast destroyed thy fels look back to thy way in the valley how will that easily be intertained after effectual calling Now on these accounts the taking too high Marks and reading Marks under a cloud and being so prone rather to intertain the challenges of the Spirit than the comforts of the Spirit makes that a Believer lyes in the way of his own Assurance and cannot come up to say The Lord hath made with me an everlasting Covenant not because thou wants allowance and ground to do it but because thou disputs in the Dark and takes too high Marks To close all I will clear one Question which readily many of you will ask and it 's the third thing I proposed in the Doctrinal part of this Doctrine Quest What is the way apd method by which Christians come up and can be able to say The Lord hath made with me an everlasting Covenant how brings the Spirit them to this Answ That I may make way to the Practical part of this Doctrine I will offer four steps by which the Spirit uses to bring the Elect to affirm it as confidently as David