1. God in Christ offers a Covenant of Grace to us; so we through Christ should embrace this gracious Offer. His Offers have appeared from first to last: as, 1. To Adam. 2. To Abraham. 3. To Moses. 4. To David. 5. To Israel, and to Judah. Take notice of it in that great promise of the Covenant, I will be thy God: q. d. Come Soul, if thou wilt but have me, I am thine, here I offer my self, my son, my spirit, Justification, Sanctification, Adoption, Salvation: whatsoever I am, or whatsoever I have, all is thine, if thou wilt but accept of me: Look over all this wide, wide world, and if there be any thing in it that can please thy soul; and when thou hast gone through all the world, then come and take a view of me, and see me in my glory, beauty and excellency; view me in my Attributes, and see if thou findest not enough in me worthy of thy acceptance: all this, and more than this, nay more than eye can see, or ear can hear, or heart can conceive I offer to thee, if thou wilt but have me; Lo, I will he thy God. So Christians! God is ⟨p. 112⟩first with us, he is the first mover, he begins with us before we begin with him: I will bring them (saith God) into the bond of the Covenant. Now in this let us conform; doth he offer? O let us embrace the offer! doth he lead the way? O let us follow him step by step in that very way as he goes before us! Let us not prescribe unto God, let not us presume to appoint the Conditions of the Covenant; let us not seek to wind about the Promise of Grace to our own Mind and Will: let us not say, We will have it thus, thus and thus it shall be or else we will admit of no conditions of peace: But, O come, take God and Christ upon his own Terms; submit to that way of the Covenant, and to those conditions of peace which the Lord prescribeth; why? this is to conform to his gracious offers. There is much of this offer of Christ and conforming to Christ, and therefore give me leave to enlarge. As in the offer God usually scatters some little seeds of Faith in the hearts of those that he will bring to himself; so it is worth the while to observe the work of Faith in receiving and accepting of this gracious offer; only I shall not herein limit the Lord; but I will show what some conceive the most usual and ordinary course of Faiths working, and of the souls conforming to Jesus Christ in its closing with Christ. As thus—
1. God in Christ offers a Covenant of Grace to us; so we through Christ should embrace this gracious Offer. His Offers have appeared from first to last: as, 1. To Adam. 2. To Abraham. 3. To Moses. 4. To David. 5. To Israel, and to Judah. Take notice of it in that great promise of the Covenant, I will be thy God: q. d. Come Soul, if thou wilt but have me, I am thine, here I offer my self, my son, my spirit, Justification, Sanctification, Adoption, Salvation: whatsoever I am, or whatsoever I have, all is thine, if thou wilt but accept of me: Look over all this wide, wide world, and if there be any thing in it that can please thy soul; and when thou hast gone through all the world, then come and take a view of me, and see me in my glory, beauty and excellency; view me in my Attributes, and see if thou findest not enough in me worthy of thy acceptance: all this, and more than this, nay more than eye can see, or ear can hear, or heart can conceive I offer to thee, if thou wilt but have me; Loe, I will he thy God. So Christians! God is ⟨p. 112⟩first with us, he is the first mover, he begins with us before we begin with him: I will bring them (saith God) into the bond of the Covenant. Now in this let us conform; doth he offer? O let us embrace the offer! doth he lead the way? O let us follow him step by step in that very way as he goes before us! Let us not prescribe unto God, let not us presume to appoint the Conditions of the Covenant; let us not seek to wind about the Promise of Grace to our own Mind and Will: let us not say, We will have it thus, thus and thus it shall be or else we will admit of no conditions of peace: But, O come, take God and Christ upon his own Terms; submit to that way of the Covenant, and to those conditions of peace which the Lord prescribeth; why? this is to conform to his gracious offers. There is much of this offer of Christ and conforming to Christ, and therefore give me leave to enlarge. As in the offer God usually scatters some little seeds of Faith in the hearts of those that he will bring to himself; so it is worth the while to observe the work of Faith in receiving and accepting of this gracious offer; only I shall not herein limit the Lord; but I will shew what some conceive the most usual and ordinary course of Faiths working, and of the souls conforming to Jesus Christ in its closing with Christ. As thus—
