The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

But now for particular promises in the Covenant of grace. A gracious heart looks upon every promise as coming from the Root of the great Covenant of grace in Christ. Other men look upon some particular promises, that God will help them in straights, and keep them and the like; but they look not upon the connection of such particular promises, to the root, the Covenant of grace: Now Christians do miss of a great deal of comfort they might have, from the particular promises in the Gospel, if they'd look upon their connection to the root, the great Covenant that God hath made with them in Christ. Now I remember I spoke a little about that, that in outward promises in the time of the Law, they might rest more upon them than we can in the time of the Gospel. I gave you the reason why we that live in the time of the Gospel cannot rest so fully, for a literal performance of outward promises that we meet withal in the old-Testament, as they might in the time of the Law: for there was a special Covenant, that God pleased to call a New Covenant by way of distinction from the other Covenant that is made with us in Christ for eternal life: And so even the Law was given to them in a more peculiar way for an external Covenant of outward blessings in the land of Canaan; and so God did deal with them in a more external covenant than he doth now with his people. Yet godliness, hath the promise of this life, and that which is to come. We may make use of the promises for this life, but yet not so much to rest upon the literal performance of them as they might; but that God will make them good some way or other, in a spiritual way, if not in an outward way. We must lay no more upon outward promises than this, and therefore if we will lay ⟨p. 65⟩more, we make the promise to bear more than it will bear out. For to give some instance; to believe fully and confidently, that the Plague shall not come nigh such a house (I say) it is to lay more upon such a promise than it will bear. I opened that promise in Psal. 91. now if I had lived in the time of the Law, perhaps I might have been somewhat more confident of the literal performance of the promise, than I can now in the time of the Gospel; the promise now bears no more than this, that God hath a special protection over his people, and that he will deliver them from the evil of such an affliction;

But now for particular promises in the Covenant of grace. A gracious heart looks upon every promise as comming from the Root of the great Covenant of grace in Christ. Other men look upon some particular promises, that God will help them in straights, and keep them and the like; but they look not upon the conection of such particular promises, to the root, the Covenant of grace: Now Christians do misse of a great deal of comfort they might have, from the particular promises in the Gospel, if they'd look upon their conectiō to the root, the great Covenant that God hath made with them in Christ. Now I remember I spoke a little about that, that in outward promises in the time of the Law, they might rest more upon them than we can in the time of the Gospel. I gave you the reason why we that live in the time of the Gospel cannot rest so fully, for a litteral performance of outward promises that we meet withall in the old-Testament, as they might in the time of the Law: for there was a special Covenant, that God pleased to call a New Covenant by way of distinction from the other Covenant that is made with us in Christ for eternal life: And so even the Law was given to them in a more peculier way for an external Covenant of outward blessings in the land of Canaan; and so God did deal with them in a more external covenant than he doth now with his people. Yet godlinesse, hath the promise of this life, and that which is to come. We may make use of the promises for this life, but yet not so much to rest upon the litteral performance of them as they might; but that God will make them good some way or other, in a spiritual way, if not in an outward way. We must lay no more upon outward promises than this, and therefore if we will lay