way. You know the promise, He that forsaketh father, or mother, or wife or children, or lands, or houses for my sake, shal have an hundred fold in this world, and in the world to come life everlasting. How hath God fulfilled this this day in many of our eyes, and too many of our experiences! how many have you known who have beene willing to part with that they had, and to put it out (as it were) to the wide world; God hath made it up not onely in himselfe, but in the very thing it selfe, and thereby taught them and all the world to be willing to venture for God, to part with any thing for him and his cause.Secondly,Observ. When we are willing to lose for God, then is the time when God will renew and confirm his Covenant with us. Then God confirmed his covenant with Abraham when he was willing to part with his sonne, to be deprived of all his seed. The way to be made sure of what we have is to be willing to part with it. You all desire to be sure of your estates, oh that we could in these times, wherein we see nothing sure make our estates sure! this is the desire of every one. Would you make sure of your estates? sure! illing to imploy your estates for God & for a good cause: This is the way to have God to renew his covenant to you for an assurance of that way. Here is the best assurance office in the world.But how comes this in at this time, & to his people in Hosea his Prophesie?Thus it comes in now, because the Lord by the Prophet would answer an objection of the people. They might have said thus, What Hosea, doe you thus threaten judgement, the destruction of Israel? why, you promise mer∣cy to Judah, and Judah is but a handful to us, we are the ten Tribes, & with us are the chiefe, the greatest part, almost all the seed of Abraham, and yet you threaten our destruction, it can never possibly be: What will become of Gods promise then? Did not God promise Abraham, that his seed should be as the stars of heaven, & as the sand on the sea shore? you seeme to goe crosse to God, God saith that he would multiply that seed, and you take a course to make men beleeve that the seed of Abraham should bee brought into a narrow compasse and be nothing. Thus doubtless they were ready to pleade against the Prophet. The Prophet answereth thus.What doe you say, what will become of Abrahams seed? Know that God can tell how to provide for his Church and fulfill his promise made to Abraham whatsoever becomes of you, for you are mistaken in thinking you alone are the seed of Abraham; for you shall know that Abraham hath not onely a carnal but a spiritual seed; all those that shal come to joyne in the faith of Abraham, and subject themselves to the God of Abraham, they shall be the seed of Abraham, and so they shall be the children of Is∣rael as well as you, and thus God will make good his word. And so the A∣postle, Rom. 9. doth quote this Scripture about Gods casting off of the peo∣ple of Israel threatned here by Hosea (ver. 25. As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people that were not my people: This is the very Text that the Apostle there quoteth, though all the words are not quoted, and it is 0