Blake - Houston-Packer Collection BT155 .B53 1653

aasana 50 No A (lb rance of happineffe, but in per- formance of the termes of the Covenant, The Covenant of Work! Chapar . and mercy of the Covenant, God in Covenant engages to Faith and Repentance ; tltefe as we have feen are his termes;when men come not up to them, they difintereft themfelves, and difengage God from any tye of conferring blif e and falvation upon them. Their own folly and madnefl'e, puts a barre to their own happi- neffe and glory. They cannot be felf- faviours , yet they will not go out of themfelves for falvation by another ; when they have received the fentence of death in themfelves , they will not come to Chrift that they may have life. He may worthily bear his own debt, that in pride of fpirit refufes anothers bounty ; Chrift offers himfelf as a ftirety in our flead, to make payment for us in his own perfon. The unbeleever will fland on his own bottome, and make pay out of his own ftore,orperifh; having heaven and hell fet before them , the tender of the one, and the terrour of the other, quitting heaven and all the glory of it, and happineffe in it ; They make choice of that fire, that is prepared for the Devil and his Angels; Covenant - breaking having the cer- taine doome of deftru&ion faftened upon it. Affurance of fal- vation cannot be gained, but in a way of Covenant-keeping ; yea the conditions of the Covenant are the bafis and never failing bottome of our Evidence and Affurance. It is gathered thus: He that beleeves and repents, fhall be Paved. This is evidently laid down in Scriptures; A man even void of Paving faith , and impenitent may give his affent to it. Then the foul is to afl'ume to it felf; but I beleeve and repent, therefore I'hall befaved. Thefe two (as at large bath been Ihewen) are the conditions of the Covenant; Thefe we muff finde wrought in our foules or elfe all Evidence is wanting ; and when thefe are concluded, an undeceiving inter - eft in falvation followes. There is a twofold work to be done on the foul that is in finne, to bring to falvation ; There is a third to be done for Affurance of falvation, The firft work is to Pet the foul free from Hell,to deliver it from the fentence of Death ; to which by the rule of juftice, man ftands condemned. A man muff be fetched out of prifon, before he can be for any preferment, or place of honour. This is done by the blood of Chrift, Ephe% r . a. in whom we have redemption through his bltod,the forgivenele offnnes, according to the riches of his grace. This is the price ofour ranfome , Being redeemed , not With i

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