that hath called you is holy so you must be holy in all manner of conversation 1 Pet. 1. 15. you must live soberly righteously and godly in this present world soberly in regard of your selves righteously in regard of others and godly in regard of the Lord. 1. Soberly in regard of your selves which implyes 1. Temperance in eating and drinking you must take heed of Gluttony and Drunkenness 2. Chastity you must take heed of Adultery and Uncleanness in thought speech look and act 3. Moderation you must be sober in your desires after these earthly things and take heed of inordinate affection to any thing 2 You must live Righteously in regard of others You must give to every one their due and do to others as you reasonably can desire that they should do unto you you must take heed of unrighteousness either in regard of Commutative Justice in your buying and selling borrowing and lending and in regard of Distributative Justice in dispensing of rewards and punishments you must beware of oppressing afflicting injuring any of going beyond or defrauding any of withholding dues keeping back wages from those that have done you service knowing that if they cannot God will be the avenger of all such 3. You must live godly in regard of the Lord you must especially shew your New Life in the immediate Worship of the Lord and that publickly in his House privately in your Families secretly in your Closets you must worship God in the Ordinances of his own appointment and this you must do with reverence having an awe and dread of God upon your spirits with whom you have more immediately to do with sincerity having a sincere respect to Gods glory therein and that you might be accepted by him and meet with him with vigilancy watching the fittest time in regard of the thing and the temper of your Bodies and Souls and the breathings of Gods Spirit with humility sensible of your sinfulness unworthiness weakness emptiness neediness with diligence before to prepare your hearts and in Ordinances to engage them and resist the Devil and the contrary workings of the flesh with frequency laying hold on all the opportunities as you can without neglecting other businesses which for that time you may be more necessarily called unto with servency getting your hearts if you can raised and enlarged labouring that they may burn within you with love to God with delight and complacency in God and above all with Faith in Jesus Christ through whom alone it is that you can have strength to perform duties and that you can have any acceptance in them by the Father Direction 7. You must resolve upon sufferings for Christ if called if you would be saved you must bear the Cross if you would wear the Crown remembring that if the Cross be weighty it will work for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory 2 Cor. 4. 17. you must reckon upon sufferings for Christ before hand and resolve that you will stick to him and his wayes though you should lose esteem by it and become the Drunkards Song and be reproached amongst men though you lose liberty by it and be thrust into Prison though you should lose Estate by it and be brought to pinching want though you should lose Friends by it and have none to stand by you though you should lose Life by it and be cut off in the midst of your years otherwise you cannot be Christs Disciples indeed and obtain this salvation which he hath purchased See the terms which our Saviour propounds Luk. 14. 26 27. If any man come unto me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own life he cannot be my Disciple This we are to understand that a man must choose to displease Father Mother Wife Children the nearest and dearest Relations and part with any thing in the world yea with Life it self rather than to displease and part with Jesus Christ and that we must resolve to bear the Cross whatever it be that God hath allotted for us otherwise we do not accept of Christ upon Gospel-terms you must resolve to be partakers of the affliction of the Gospel if you would obtain the salvation of the Gospel you must resolve to suffer with Christ and for his sake when called if you would reign and be glorified together with him Whatever profession you make of Christ and his wayes in time of peace and prosperity when the Sun of persecution doth arise upon you with burning heat you will wither and fall away and turn fearfull Apostates and then your last estate will be worse than your first and as your sin will be greater here so your punishment will be more dreadfull hereafter in Hell where you will confess that the light sufferings which you have declined for Christs sake here are not worthy to be compared with the far more exceeding and eternal weight of wrath which you must endure for your Apostacy unto all eternity Direct 8. You must study and apply the Promises of the Covenant of grace if you would be saved without the Covenant of grace there had been no possible salvation for any of the fallen Children of Men the Covenant of Works which God made with Man at the first being broken by sin it doth condemn all that are under it it is by vertue of the Covenant of Grace that any are brought into a state of salvation therefore study and apply the Promises of this Covenant Now you must know that all the Promises of the Gospel which are scattered up and down the Scripture do belong unto this Covenant but I shall spread before you those few more general Promises which the Apostle doth make mention of where he treats of the New Covenant Heb. 8. 10 11 12. For this is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those dayes saith the Lord I will put my Lawes into their minde and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People and they shall not teach every man his Neighbour and every man his Brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest for I will be mercifull unto their unrighteousness and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more Here are Four great Promises which the Lord hath made to his People which I shall explain though not in the order of the Text that you may the better understand and apply them 1. God promiseth that he will be to them a God and they shall be to him a People this includes all the rest It is a full and sweet promise that God will be our God it hath a great deal more in it than we can conceive we may look and look again and though our Faith have never so piercing an eye never so large and deep reach yet we cannot look to the bottom and fathom the
depth of this Promise we may suck and suck again at this breast and though we draw never so hard we can never draw forth all the sweetness that is in this Promise To have God to be our God it is very great it is very sweet Indeed God is the God of all his Creatures yea of his enemies and the vilest sinners but to be our God in this place sounds and signifieth more than that which is common to all it speaketh a peculiar relation a special interest and propriety in God in this promise God doth make over himself and all that he hath to us so far as we are capable of receiving he giveth himself to be our portion he engageth his Power Wisdom Goodness Mercy Love and all his Attributes to be employed for our good he promiseth to be our God here and to be our God for ever it signifieth that he will be our Father to love and cherish us to preserve and provide for us whilest we live and to take our Souls to himself when we dye and to raise up our bodies at the last day and make both perfectly glorious and happy in Heaven when time shall be no more He promiseth also that we shall be his People we cannot make our selves so but he promiseth that he will make us so he will make us his Children he will adopt us he will regenerate us give us the title and give us the disposition of Children all this and much more is contained in this Promise That God will be our God and we shall be his People even the whole work of our salvation from our effectual Calling unto our eternal Glorification 2. A second great Promise of the Covenant of Grace is That God will be mercifull unto our unrighteousness and that he will remember no more our sins and iniquities it is a promise of mercy in the free pardon and forgiveness of all our sins this is an exceeding great and precious promise without which there were no access for us unto God no attaining eternal happiness no escaping eternal misery guilt would shut us out of Heaven and sink us into Hell without a pardon This Promise is of vast extent it reacheth to all sort of sins Unrighteousness Sins Iniquities no sin is too great for God to pardon if the sinner doth believe 3. A third Promise of the Covenant of Grace is that God will give us the knowledge of himself they shall not teach every man his Neighbour and every man his Brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest they shall not teach one another the knowledge of God that is they cannot or they shall not be able to do it they may and ought to teach one another instrumentally it is the duty of some to teach and the duty of others and they have need to learn but they shall not be able to teach effectually they may give instructions to one another concerning God and his wayes but they cannot give light they may set the light before them but they cannot set up the light in them they may open Truths but they cannot open the Understanding this is the work of God only to do and this he hath undertaken by Promise to do they shall all know me they shall be taught of God by his Spirit the knowledge of himself he teacheth by men instrumentally but he will teach us by his Spirit effectually 4. A fourth Promise of the Covenant of Grace is that God will put his laws into our hearts and write them in our minds the Law was written before on Tables of Stone but here he promiseth to write them on fleshly Tables of the heart which is done not with Pen and Ink but by the Spirit of the living God 2 Cor. 3. 3. this Promise is very comprehensive it includes not only the giving of a spiritual discovery of the minde and will of God but also the giving of spiritual dispositions affections and strength to perform it and by consequence the removal of indispositions the purging out of corruptions the mortifying of lust the taking away the heart of stone and giving a heart of flesh the giving a new heart the putting the Spirit within us and causing us to walk in his Statutes and to keep his Judgements and do them as this Promise is branched forth Ezek. 36. 25 26 27. These in brief are the chief Promises of the Covenant of Grace labour to understand them and apply them that you may be saved Direct 9. You must give up your selves in Covenant to God if you would be saved God hath put his hand and seal to the Covenant which he hath made through his Son with you and you should put your hand to the Covenant and engage your selves unto the Lord you were dedicated to the Lord by your Parents when you were baptized then you understood not what was done now you are arrived to years of understanding you should make it your own act and dedicate your selves to the Lord and the more solemnly you enter into Covenant with God the more strong Obligation it may be upon you to walk closely with God all your dayes Some have directed to do it under hand-writing subscribing the name and some have put words into your mouths which you may do it in if you are not so well able to express the terms your selves you have this done in Mr. Guthry and Mr. Allen's books if those Books be not at hand I shall set before you this Platform which you may make use of in entring solemnly into Covenant with God I A. B. do acknowledge my self to be the Creature and Subject of the great and glorious Majesty of Heaven and Earth in whom I live move and have my being and from whom I receive every good thing which I receive and therefore am obliged to conform my minde will and affections to order my words wayes and whole conversation according to his most wise and good most righteous and reasonable Laws Besides which natural Obligation however born in sin and thereby disenabled yet being born in the Church and Baptized in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and by my Parents dedicated unto God when I was an Infant I am further obliged by Covenant to be the servant of the Lord. But having proved a Rebel and Traytor against the Highest Majesty breaking his Laws and Covenant-ties which have been upon me spending years of my life in a state of strangeness and enmity to God in the service of the Devil and my own Lusts I do now solemnly renew my Covenant with God that the breach may be made up which sin hath made between God and my Soul Being in the First place convinced of the guilt of my sins whereby I have affronted and offended the highest Majesty whose Justice must be satisfied and withall convinced of my own utter inability to make the least satisfaction either by doing or suffering and that my
promised an open reward to such as secretly and sincerely seek him Pray frequently be often upon your knees give your selves unto Prayer begin the day conclude the day with Prayer and recover some other time to visit and speak to God at least mingle ejaculatory Prayer with every other work and labour that your minds may be always in a praying frame and do not withdraw but be glad when an opportunity offereth it self to come to the throne of grace Pray fervently pour forth your hearts before God in the duty wrestle with God in Prayer like Jacob be earnest in your Petitions as for your lives be instant and importunate take no denyal follow hard after God stir up your selves to take hold on him use arguments in Prayer to plead with him Pray believingly mingle your prayers with Faith make use of the name and mediation of Jesus Christ and make application of the Promises which God hath made to his People which he hath made to Faith and which he hath made to Prayer Means 6. Christian Conference Take heed of the company of the wicked from such turn away if you are under tyes to be in such company converse with them as infected persons with an Antidote lest you receive hurt by them and with endeavours of doing them good But choose the company of them that fear God they are the excellent persons the wicked are the Dross of the Earth they are the Gold let your delight be in their society associate chiefly if you have opportunity with such as have most of the power of godliness and labour to improve by their company whenever you come into it endeavour to get light and life and warmth and strength from them take heed of unprofitable discourse but let it be with grace for edification Means 7. Watchfulness Watch unto duty there are some golden seasons for some duties some choice opportunities of doing and receiving good which if once slipt you may never have the like again so long as you live watch that you may know them watch that you may improve them understand the day of your visitation sow your seed whilest the weather lasteth hoist up the sail when the wind bloweth watch the breathings of the Spirit and comply with its motions Watch against sin and therefore keep your hearts with all diligence guard your senses take heed of Satan get on the Spiritual Armour especially the shield of Faith and fight the good fight of Faith that you may lay hold on eternal life Means 8. Sanctification of Fasting-dayes Set apart times to humble your Souls before God in Fasting and Prayer and therein rend your hearts and not your garments labour to afflict your Souls for sin meet God with weeping and supplication cloathe your selves with humility lie in the dust cover your selves with shame loath and abhorr your selves in his sight for your iniquities mourn for your own sins and for the great dishonours of his Name by the sins of others And seek to the Lord both for your selves and for his Church Means 9. Sanctification of Sabbath-dayes Remember to keep holy the Sabbath-day break off timely the day before from worldly employments and be earnest with God to prepare your heart for the day and when the day is come begin and hold on with God from Morning to Night in the publick private and secret duties of his immediate Worship except what time works of necessity and mercy do call for Labour to be in the Spirit and in the fear of God all the day long lay aside worldly business take heed of vain and unprofitable discourse let not the Duties of Religion seem tedious but call the Sabbath your delight begin Heaven-work on such dayes that you may be fitted by these Sabbaths for the Eternal Rest Praise God on these dayes for the works of Creation especially for the work of Redemption and labour to grow in grace by the dews of the Word which fall upon you most plentifully on such dayes Means 10. Improvement of Sacrament-dayes Come frequently to the Table of the Lord if you have opportunity to celebrate the Memorial of Christs Death and come preparedly examine your selves pray for the Wedding-garment read the history of Christs Passion consider such arguments as may be a means to draw forth your graces into exercise and when you are there labour to mourn for sin which hath pierced the Lord to hunger after his righteousness to receive him by Faith to apply the Promises of the Covenant of Grace whereof the Sacrament is a Seal endeavour after a burning love to him whose love hath been so great as to dye for you and let your hearts be filled with joy and your mouths with Praises and deliver up your selves in Covenant unto the Lord in this Ordinance After you come from the Lords Table reflect upon your carriage towards the Lord if you have been straitened endeavour to find out the cause mourn and by after-pains and application of Christ endeavour to get some benefit and prepare better against the next time if you have been enlarged be humble be thankfull be watchfull live up to Obligations draw vertue from Christs death for the crucifying more and more of your flesh with its affections and lusts and fetch influences of grace and spiritual nourishment that you may encrease with the encreases of God Finally be diligent in the use of these and all other means and helps and so at length you shall attain the ultimate end for which they are appointed even your Salvation and Eternal Happiness FINIS