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is the treaty of eternal happinese 'twixt God and finners; whatfoever good a foul can defire to exempt it from mifery, and to make it truly happy,there it is.

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2. The Covenant of Grace, in respect of our entrance and admiffion into it, is a moft gracious, and spiritual, and firme en gagement of God to be our God, and to performe all the good which he hath there undertaken. I will be a God unto you, will fhew mercy unto you, you fhall have loving kindnesse, I will give you grace in all kindes, I will not faile to affift, and guide, and lead, and uphold you, I will be a father to you, a rock to you, a Sanctuary, an alfufficiency, an exceeding great reward. So that if you need any thing, come to me, I have it for you, and do not fear to come, for I will affuredly do you good,I am willing to do it,for I have promifed it, and be you confident to poffeffe, for I have obliged my felf by Covenant to performe.

3. He that beleeves in Jefus Christ is affuredly in the Covenant: for Chrift (on whom he beleeves) is the Meffenger of the Covenant, and his blood is the blood of the Covenant, and in him all the promises of the Covenant are Tea and Amen. If thou haft given thy confent to Chrift, if thou haft beftowed thy heart on him, if thou haft truly received him to be thy Lord and Saviour, undoubtedly God is become thy God, and all those ample and rich, and congruous, and bleffed undertakings in his Covenant, they are all for thee, thou art the man to whom God faith, I will furely have mercy on him, and to whom he faith, Sin fhall not have dominion over him, for he is under grace, and to whom he faich, I will hear him, and heale him; and guide him, and keep him. Thou mayeft go to all thole treasures of divine promifes, as to thy own garden, and take of any flower, lay hold on any promife, relpecting thy particalar exigence, and fay, this is mine. When thou lookest down into thy felf, thou mayeft reade many wants with wet and fad eyes, but then if thou look up to the Covenant, thou mayeft by faith elpy all thy fupplies with a glad heart. Why? God did put thy good into the Covenant, and there thou shalt affuredly finde it: Doeft thou read of any altering grace, of a ny pardoning grace, of any enlarging grace, of any preventing grace, of any affisting grace, of any preferving and upholding 22

grace,

grace, of any recovering and raising grace, of any pacifying and comforting grace? why all this is for thee, and all that God hath there undertaken is thine.

4.

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SECT. IV.

Ourthly, if you do beleeve in the Lord Jefus Chrift, you may then with boldnesse approach the throne of grace.

Ephef. 2. 18.For through him we both have accesse by one Spirit to the Father. Heb. 10.21. Having am high Priest over the house of God. Ver. 22. Let us draw neer with a true heart in full assurance of faith. 1 John 5.13. These things I write unto you that beleeve in the Name of the Sonne of God. Ver. 14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he beareth us.

Obj. You fhall finde in your heart many finful modefties; you are afraid to be fo bold with God, and whether God will do fuch great matters for you, yea, and there are many unbeleeving fears our broken fervices fhall never be accepted, and who are we that the Lord fhould regard our prayers?

Sol. But if a man doth truly beleeve in Jefus Chrift.
I. His way is open to Heaven.

2. He hath a friend, and not an enemy to deal with: It is thy Father to whom thou art bending the knee.

3. He bath a mighty interceffor; look as Jefus Christ is the mighty Redeemer for the perfons of men, fo he is the mighty interceffor for the fervices of men, and he ever lives to make interceffion. If thy wants be never fo great, yet thy God is able to fupply them, and if thy infirmities be never fo many, yet thy interceffor is able to cover and expiate them. Thy fervices (as thine) carry with them a prejudice, there was iniquity in the holy offerings, but then Aaron did bear the iniquity of them: fo thy Priest, thy Chrift, thy interceffor, he doth take off by the Application of his merits, whatfoever is amiffe and offenfive, and he doth ingratiate thy requests, and procures audience and acceptance for thee.

Therefore now, if thou be a beleever then in thy prayers.

come

come confidently to God; if thou canft finde a promife, and a Chrift, and a faith, thou mayeft cheerfully put up thy petitions to heaven. What fhould hinder us from being confident? Is God unwilling? No, he hath engaged himself unto thee. Is God unable? Why, He is able to do abundantly above all that we are able to ask or think. Doeft thou feare thy own di ftance? Why, but thou comeft to a Father, and thou comeft by the blood of a gracious, of a beloved, of a powerful Mediator and Interceffor. Hebrews 4. Having Such an High Priest, we may come boldly to the throne of grace, See Heb. 10. Doeft thou feare because of enmity? Chrift bath! faine that or because of infirmity? Chrift will cure thar.

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weak faith.

Ut now fome may reply, These are sweet comforts to beleevers, but as the Eunuch to Philip, of whom peaks the Prophet this, of himselfe or of fome other? So here, why? to whom are these comforts, to all, or to fome choice beleevers ? are they common comforts to every belcever, or peculiar to the eminent and strong only ?

This fcruple hath made way for a fingular point; I will fatisfie it by opening four particulars.

1. The common unity of all true faith, in respect of the habit, yet the intensive diversity in respect of acts and degrees.

2. The proofs of a strong faith, with the inftances of a weak faith in truth.

3 The concordance of faith in all fundamental Comforts.

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4.The

4. The inequality of ftrong and weak faith in many true, yet not effential confequences and confolations.

Concerning the first, which refpects the common unity of faith in refpect of the habit, and the diverfity of it, in refpect of the alls and degrees.

Obferve these things for the unity of faith.

1.

SECT. I.

Fleft that all true faith, though in a comparison of faith with faith in feveral fubjects, it may admit of feveral diverfities and differences, yet they confent and agree in these things, viz. Firft, in the immediate and special caufe: weak faith, as faith, comes not from one caufe, and strong faith from another cause, but both the one and the other from one and the fame caufe, viz. the bleffed Spirit of God. Not onely the flames,but the sparks of fire are kindled by that Spirit which blows where it lifts. As in the Orchard, the tree which stands ftrong, and the tender plant which ftands trembling, both of them were at first fet by one and the fame hand, fo the faith which is now well grown, and that faith which is as yet tender, and full of doubtings, both of them are the peculiar fruits of Gods fancti fying Spirit.

Though this childe in the cradle cannot funne and move as well as that in the field at work, yet the father begat the one as well as the other, and owns them both by vertue of one equal relation. The day of small things are things are not despised by God, who fees weakness in the Strongest Faith and Truth in the weakest, and is the Parent both of this and that.

2. In the remote and fingular caufe. You know that Gods free grace and love is the first wheele of all fingular good unto men; out of it came that great gift of Christ, and that great work of Election, from whence doth flow all the graces which fanctifie and bring to glory. As many as were ordained to eternal life beleeved. Now all faith is a drop out of this foun 13.48, taine, the weak faith is a fruit of that great love of God

electing

electing us in Chrift,as well as the ftrong, and is, though not fo fenfibly evident, yet as really a true teftimony of our election: The reafon whereof is this, not grace reftrictively confidered, but grace in the whole latitude of it is the fruit of Gods election: my meaning is this, not only Graces as eminent, as railed and elevated to fome more perfect quality and pitch, but grace in the whole compaffe of it, from the conception of it to the perfection of it, from the dawning to the full day, from the nature to the act; from the acts to the degrees; all of it in nature, in parts, in totum & folidum, all of it whether more or leffe, ftrong or weak, all is out of the fame grace of Electi

on.

It was not one love which elected him, who is therefore now ftrong in beleeving withe Abraham,and another love which elected him,whois now weak in beleeving with the father of the childe; No, but it was one and the felf-fame love which produced this, and that faith; yea, that electing love was intensively one in producing of both. It was as equally bigh towards this person as towards that, and was as equally caufative of the faith that is weak, as of the faith which is ftrong, being habitually confidered, and alfo in relation to the grace of Gods love in election.

3. In the ordinary and usual inftrumental caufe: the fame womb of the word brought them both forth, being efficaciously affifted by that Almighty Spirit. That word which difcovered mifery, and impotency, and neceffity to the one, did fo to the other. That word which revealed the Covenant of grace and mercy in Chrift to the one, did fo to the other beJeever alfo. That word which did affure the one, that if he would come in and accept of Christ, be should be faved,did alip of this affure the other. That word which did encline the heart of the one to trust upon Gods promife, and fo to accept of Chrift, did likewise (bring quickened with the fame Spirit) draw, and perfwade the other.

4. In the lively nature of beleeving: look as the ftrong and weak man, though they do differ in the meafure of power , yet they do agree in the nature of man; though they differ in refpect of working, yet they agree in respect of being. And as the fick man, and the healthy man, though

they

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