we have explained to be indeed the wells of falvation.

2. THIS fubject difcovers the veracity and faithfulness of God, in the accomplishment of his promife. The fame, yea the SELF SAME day which God had fixed for bringing forth the feed of Jacob, was the day of their deliverance. God has a fet time in which he will fuffer finners to fill up the meafure of the cup of their iniquity; and a fet time for the deliverance of his Church: And, till that time come, his people muft fill up the measure of their affliction. Now, the deliverance of God's children from the furnace of affliction, frequently coincides with the cafting of his enemies into the furnace of his vengeance. Said God to Abraham, Thy feed fhall be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and fhall ferve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and alfo that nation whom they fhall ferve, will I judge: For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. How punctual is the accomplishment of the promife! How exact the harmony between the prediction and the event!

3. GOD accomplisheth his promise, when his people are reduced unto the loweft extremity; and his enemies raifed to the highest pitch of profperity. Egypt was raifed to affluence and grandeur, Ifrael oppreffed to the loweft degree, when God looked down on their afflic

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tion. It is wifely done, that his people may not have it to fay, mine own arm hath brought falvation: That his enemies may know, that, even in those things in which they deal proudly, he is above them. When God begins his work, with his people at their loweft ebb, and his enemies in their fulleft ftrength; the more . of God, and the lefs of man, is to be feen in the difpenfation. Ifrael must be redeemed from the hand of the Egyptians, and froin their gods, not when Jofeph governed the kingdom; but when the male-children are doomed to the river by their affectionate parents. this event may be applied, the word of God fpoken by the prophet: "I have a long time held my peace, I have been ftill and refrained myfelf: now will I cry like a travelling woman: I will deftroy and devour at once. will make wafte mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs and I will make the rivers iflands, and I will dry up the pools of water. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; and I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things ftraight. Thefe things will I do unto them, and not forfake them."

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4. WHEN the circumstances of God's people are fuch as hinder them from the discharge of thofe duties which they owe to God, the prefent and fucceeding generations, then they

may warrantably ufe every lawful mean to accomplish a change. God pronounced the way clear for Ifrael to leave Egypt, as their fituation incapacitated them for their duty. Not a few, at this day, are under hardships of the very fame kind: If the fervants of many feek a reasonable time to ferve the Lord, efpecially in folemn duties, they stand fair in the way to get fuch an answer as Pharoah gave unto Ifrael: "VE ARE IDLE, YE ARE IDLE, therefore ye fay, Let us go and ferve the Lord Get ye to your burdens; Wherefore do ye let the work?" The lower class, in many corners of the nation, are not commanded to kill the bodies of their children, indeed; but, what is worse, they are neceffitated to kill their fouls; as they have it not in their power to fulfil those vows under which they came for them at their baptifin. As ever perfons value the fouls of their children, let them avoid thofe places which incapacitate them from training up their children in the way that they should go, either by diftance from the means of inftruction, or fuch hard fervice as affords neither time nor means to beftow it. If perfons be fo hurried for want of time; or fo far diftant as they cannot attend on public ordinances, then they ought to take the firft lawful opportunity for changing their fituation,-trusting that God will provide for them in the way of duty; or, if expofed unto any lofs, he will either make it

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up fome other way, in the courfe of his pro vidence, or fanctify it unto them *.

5. THE law unto which covenanters fhould engage is, the Law as magnified by the blood of Christ. The law which Ifrael promifed obedience to is, the Law fprinkled with the blood of facrifices, teaching all Ifraelites indeed, to vow obedience unto the Moral Law in the hand of Chrift the Mediator. They are not without law to God; but under the Law to Chrift. Faith's contemplation of the blood of fprinkling applied to the Law, is a grand encouragement to keep all God's commandments.

6. COVENANTERS ought to be carefully inftructed as to the nature and extent of covenant-duties, previous unto their entering into fœderal engagenients. How often is the matter of this covenant declared unto Ifrael! God

See alfo Differtation II. Part i. On Abraham's removal from Chaldea.Servants ought to make it an article in their conditions to have a reasonable time allowed for fafting and the celebration of the Lord's Sup per: And then the laws of the country, for which we ought to be thankful unto the King of Nations, will make good that article, even although perfons profefling godlinefs fhould ferve unreafonable and wicked men. It is much more eligible, however, to ftrive to gain the good will of mafters by faithful fervice at other times; who, if reasonable, will not grudge a fhort time for the fervice of the Lord; and to make choice of fuch maflers as fhew a proper deference to divine things.

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himself spake it; Mofes fpake it once and again: He wrote it, and read it in the ears of all the people. Many, at this time, would be ready to reckon these things needless repetitions; but God, whofe judgment is always according to truth, determined them to be needful precautions, that his people might covenant with knowledge and understanding.

7. WHEN Covenanters renew their engagements to the Moft High, they ought to engrofs into their bond every part of reformation formerly attained. When Ifrael covenanted with God at Sinai, they embraced all thofe inftitutions which were given unto the Church prior unto that transaction: For example, Circumcifion, which was given to their fathers, as well as the paffover to themfelves, but a few months before. Both the promises and precepts which belonged to former covenants were engroffed in this one: Only this was the most perfect dition of them. The ordinances, which lay fcattered in the memories of men, were all reduced to one entire and written fyftem. And the rules, efpecially refpecting ceremonial inftitutions, which had been formerly indefinitely expreffed, were, at this time, particularly delincated, and fully afcertained.

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