An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth, & tenth chapters of…

And then thirdly,¹ There is no trust to be had to wicked men in their Oaths and Covenants; let their Protestations be never so solemn, their Oaths, their Covenants, it is but only to gain time to work about some advantage, that they cannot work about for the present while they have any opposition: If they have not things under their power as they desire, they will promise you any thing in the world, but when once they come to get power in their hands, then who shall require the fulfilling of their Promises, their Oaths, their Covenants? And therefore certainly, when we have to deal with those that we have had experience to be false, we must ever retain this conclusion, except we see an apparent change in their hearts, for that's not enough that they are willing to take Covenants, that's no new thing; but till we see that God hath wrought some mighty work upon their hearts we must carry this conclusion, Certainly if they can they will ruin us, therefore our condition cannot be safe but to be so as they can do us no hurt. That's the third Note. And then the fourth is this:

1. 1Obs. 3.

That,¹ Breaking Covenant, though with wicked men, is a very great wickedness, God will be revenged for it. I have heretofore spoken of falseness, and falseness in Covenant, and Promises, and shown you the example of Saul and Zedekiah, therefore I shall not look back to those things. God ⟨p. 366⟩loves humane societies,² which cannot be preserved but by faithfulness; Faithfulness (it's the speech of a Heathen) it's the common safety of all men. I remember I have read of the Romans that they did so esteem of Faithfulness, by the light of Nature in Covenants,