thee of temporal mercies; thou hast all thou hast by free-holding of Covenant-Grace: thy Bread is by Covenant, thy sleep is by Covenant, thy safety from Sword is by the Covenant, the very tilling of thy Land is by a Covenant of Grace, Ezek. 36.34. O how sweet is this? Every Crum is from Christ, and by virtue of a Covenant of Grace.
2. He hath made a Covenant with thee, of spiritual mercies; even a Covenant of Peace, and Grace, and Blessing, and Life for evermore; God is become thy God, he is all things to thee; he hath forgiven thy sins, he hath given thee his Spirit, to lead thee, to sanctifie thee, to uphold thee in that state wherein thou standest; and at last he will bring thee to a full enjoyment of himself in Glory, where thou shalt bless him, and rejoyce before him with joy unspeakable and full of glory. O pluck up thy heart, lift up thy head, strengthen the weak hands and the feeble knees; serve the Lord with gladness and joyfulness of Spirit, considering the day of thy Salvation draweth nigh. Write it in Letters of Gold, that thy God is in Covenant with thee, to love thee, to bless thee, and to save thee. Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and receive thee to him∣self, and then thou shalt fully know what it is to have God to be thy God, or to be in Covenant with God. I know these Objects rejoyce not every heart; a man out of Co∣venant, if he look on God, he is a consuming fire: if on the Law, it is a Sentence of Condemnation; if on the Earth, it brings forth Thorns by reason of sins; if on Hea∣ven, the Gate is shut; if on the Signes in Heaven, Fire, Meteors, Thunder, strike in him a terrour. But O my Soul, this is not thy case: a Man in Covenant with God, looks on these things with another eye; if he look on God, he saith, This is my Fa∣ther; if on Christ, this is my elder Brother; if on Angels, these are my Keepers; if on Heaven, this is my House; if on the Signes of Heaven, Fire, Meteors, Thun∣der, these are but the effects of my Fathers Power; if on the Law, the Son of God hath fulfilled it for me; if on Prosperity, God hath yet better things for me in store; if on Adversity, Jesus Christ hath suffered much more for me than this; if on the De∣vil, Death, and Hell, he saith with the Apostle, O Death! where is thy Sting? O Grave! where is thy Victory? Come poor soul, is it not thus with thee? what? art thou in Covenant with God, or art thou not? If yet thou doubtest, review thy grounds of hope, and leave not there, till thou comest up to some measure of assurance: but if thou art perswaded of thy Interest, O then rejoyce therein; is it not a Gospel-duty to rejoyce in the Lord, and again to rejoyce? The Lord is delighted in thy delights: he would fain have it thy constant frame and daily business to live in joy, and to be alwayes de∣lighting thy self in him.
This one Promise, I am the Lord thy God, is enough to cause thy appetite to run to it, and to unite it self to it by Love; and to scatter it self on it, and to overflow those pow∣ers of the Soul that are nearest to it, that every part of the Soul may concur to the pos∣session of it. Bless the Lord, O my Soul (saith David) and all that is within me bless his holy Name. So rejoyce in the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me, rejoyce in the Name of God. This is true joy, when the soul unites it self to the good possessed in all its parts: And was there ever such an object of true joy as this? Heark, as if Hea∣ven opened, and the voice came from God in Heaven; I will be a God to thee, and to thy Seed after thee: I am the Lord thy God; and I will be thy God. What? doth not thy heart leap in thy bosom at this sound? John the Baptist leaped in his mothers womb for joy, at the sound of Maries Voice; and doth not thy soul spring within thee at this voice of God? O wonder! some can delight themselves in sin; and is not God better than sin? Others more refined, and indeed sanctified, can delight themselves in remission of Sin, in Grace, Pardon, Holiness, Fore-thoughts of Heaven; how exceedingly have some gracious hearts been ravished with such thoughts? But is not God, the objective happiness, the Fountain-blessedness, more rejoycing than all these? Why? Dear soul if there be in thee any rejoycing faculty, now awake, and stir it up; it is the Lord thy God whom thou art to rejoyce in; it is he whom the glorious spirits joy in: it is he who is the top of Heavens joy, their exceeding joy: and it is he who is thy God as well as their God. Enough! enough! or if this be not enough, hear thy Duty as the Lord commands thee: Rejoyce in the Lord, Phil. 3.1. Be glad ye Children of Zion, and re∣joyce in the Lord your God, Joel 2.23. Rejoyce in the Lord all ye Righteous, for praise is comely for the upright, Psal. 33.1. Rejoyce in the Lord ye Righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, Psal. 97.12. Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoyce, let th••m ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them; let them also that love thy Name be joyful in thee, Psal. 5.11. Let the Righteous be glad, let them rejoyce before