I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.' He minds him of the covenant, and bids him not fear. What is the matter that God comes to Abraham, with this, Fear not, Abraham? The next verse discovers it; and Abraham said, 'Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.' He was afraid, that all the travail he had taken, in reference to the promise, would come to nothing; and he must leave it to Eliezer of Damascus. Now God comes to give him relief, in minding him of his covenant.

Jacob also relieved his dying spirit with this, upon the foresight of great troubles in his blessing of Dan, Gen. xlix. 16-18. Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.' He alludes to the name Dan, which signifies in Hebrew to judge.' When did Dan judge his people? Why in Samson; this is matter of joy to Jacob. But what shall follow? 'Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path; that biteth the horse's heels, so that the rider shall fall backward.' He shall be a serpent and an adder, saith he; that is, idolatry shall be set up in the tribe of Dan, and continue. The first idolatry that was set up in Israel, the work of the serpent, was in the tribe of Dan; Judg. xviii. 30. when the Danites took away the graven image, &c. from Micah, and set it up, and made priests, until the day of the captivity of the land; not the captivity by the Assyrians, but the captivity by the Philistines, when they overcame them, and took away the ark; for then were all those things destroyed at Dan: and afterwards Jeroboam comes and sets up the calf in the same place, and that continued to the last captivity. With what now doth Jacob relieve himself? I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord:' he betakes himself to the covenant, and therewith relieves himself against all the trouble which he foresaw was coming upon his posterity in that tribe, which, upon that account, when the other tribes were sealed in the Revelations, was left out, because idolatry first began and ended in Dan.

David expresseth the same course to the height. Psal. xxxi. 10-15. He describes a very sad condition upon all hands. My life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. I was a reproach among all my

enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance,' &c. Here is sin and reproach, and contempt, and persecution, and danger of his life, all at once fallen upon him. What doth the man do? Why, in the 14th and 15th ver. he tells you, But I trusted in thee, O Lord; I said thou art my God; my times are in thy hand.' He betakes himself to the covenant against all these troubles within doors, and without doors, from sin, the world, wicked men, in reproach, contempt, persecution, that had almost slain him he hath but this relief, he goes to God, and saith, 'Thou art my God,' thou shalt undertake for me against all these. I am not in the hand of sin, nor in the hand of my enemies; but my times of suffering, my time of life and death are in thy hands. He betakes himself unto God's covenant, and there he finds rest. I might multiply instances.

Take one more, wherein the doctrine is plainly held out; Hab. iii. 17, 18. Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Though my house be not so with God; there is my family gone, the fruits of the earth gone, all is gone; it is no matter, saith the believer, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Every word expresses the covenant of God. By these instances it doth appear, that in the most surprising trouble and disappointments, believers do, as David here doth, betake themselves unto God in covenant.

Why do they so? I will give no reason for it, but what lies in the words.

First, They do it, because of the author of the covenant. They consider who it is that makes it with us: because he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, saith David: there is a great emphasis upon that HE; who is that? Why it is the Rock of Israel, the God of Israel, HE hath made it. It is not a covenant that man hath made with me, nor an angel; but it is a covenant that God hath made with me. And you may observe, that God, whenever he would require our faith or obedience, he doth signally preface his commands and promises with himself. You must know who it is that

commands, and who it is that promises. So in the decalogue, the rule of commands, he prefaceth them with that, I am the Lord thy God;' which influences the minds of men unto obedience, and brings them under his authority. And when he made this covenant that David speaks of here, he doth it thus, Gen. xvii. 1. 'I am God Almighty.' This David regards here, when he saith, ' He hath made with me this covenant.' He; who? God Almighty, God All-sufficient; hither I retreat in all my wants and straits. Now, if we make a covenant one with another, we engage all that is in us to make good that covenant; we engage our power and ability, and reputation, and faithfulness. If I have a covenant with any of you, I would reckon upon this covenant, just according unto the esteem I have of your persons, your abilities, reputation, faithfulness; for when you engage in covenant, all you have is engaged. Now God making this covenant, he engages according to his power, goodness, faithfulness; so that we have the reputation of God to secure us in the things of this covenant, his all-sufficiency to assure us of the making good this covenant. So saith the soul, I will retreat unto the covenant, because God hath made it, who is all-sufficient. This makes it a very honourable covenant; it is a covenant made by God; and it makes it a very satisfactory covenant, if all that is in God can give satisfaction unto the soul of a poor creature; and it makes it also a sure covenant, as we shall see afterwards.

This is the first reason why David makes his retreat, in straits and difficulties, unto this covenant, because of the author of it, God himself, who made this covenant.

Secondly, The second reason is taken from the properties of the covenant; what kind of one it is: and they are three. It is an everlasting covenant. It is a covenant that is ordered in all things. And it is a covenant that is sure.

1. It is the great relief of our souls, because it is 'an everlasting covenant.' The things we are troubled about, wherein our comforts consist in this world, are but temporal things; and an everlasting relief against temporal distresses will quite out-balance them.

How is this everlasting? It is everlasting in respect of the beginning of it; it is everlasting in respect of the end of it; and it is everlasting in respect of the matter of it.

(1.) It is everlasting in respect of the beginning of it; it is a covenant that comes from everlasting love, Jer. xxxi. 3. 'I have loved thee with an everlasting love;' what then? 'Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.' This drawing with loving kindness is the covenant here mentioned; and whence doth it proceed? from everlasting love. We had never had the drawing of the covenant, had not that been the spring. I will betake myself unto that covenant, which hath its spring in eternity. This covenant had not its beginning when first I laid hold upon it; but it had its beginning in God's love from all eternity.

(2.) It is everlasting in respect of the end of it: it ceases not until it brings the whole person, soul and body, into everlasting glory. So our Saviour manifests, Matt. xxii. 32. There arose a question whether the dead should arise or no, and so the whole person be brought to God in glory; and the Sadducees came to Christ with a pitiful sophistical question about a woman that had had seven husbands, whose wife she should be in the resurrection? Christ answers them; but how doth he prove that there shall be a resurrection? No otherwise but by the words of the covenant, ver. 32. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. They live unto God, by virtue of the covenant, unto this day; and, by virtue of the covenant, shall be raised again.

(3.) It is an everlasting covenant upon the account of the matter of it, the things concerning which it is. It is not a covenant about corn and wine and oil; about the growing of our houses, the increase of our families or selves in the world: but it is a covenant about everlasting things; 'things that are not seen;' 2 Cor. iv. 18. Grace is eternal, mercy eternal, spiritual life and joy and comfort are all eternal things. This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent;' John xvii. 3. Not only eternal glory, but the grace we have here by virtue of the covenant is eternal. It is not about the land of Canaan, thrones and kingdoms; it is not about the prosperity of our families, saith he, but about everlasting things.

Now is there not here great ground for retreat unto this

covenant in all our straits, that hath its rise in everlasting love, its end in everlasting rest, and the matter whereof are all everlasting things. This is the first property of it; and a reason why we ought to make it our relief, because it is an everlasting covenant.

2. The second property of this covenant is, 'That it is ordered in all things.' What is order? Order is the disposition of things into such a way, such a relation one to another, and such a dependance one upon another, as they may all be suited to attain their proper end. This is order. Now, saith he, this covenant is ordered. The truth is, order is the beauty of all things, the glory of all things; and it is but a little, I acknowledge, that I am able to look into, of the order of this covenant, which renders it exceeding beautiful and glorious, and much less that I shall now speak unto you.

I would refer the order of the covenant to these three heads; to its infinitely wise projection; to its solemn confirmation; and to its powerful execution. These three things give this covenant its order. Its infinitely wise projection, in the love and eternal wisdom of the Father; its solemn confirmation, in the blood and sacrifice of the Son; and its powerful execution, in the efficacy of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of grace. These are the heads of the glorious order of this covenant, that gives it its life, beauty, and glory.

(1.) Its projection was in the wisdom and love of the Father. Whatsoever is spoken concerning the love, grace, and wisdom of the Father, before the world was, was laid out in the projection of this covenant. Take it as it wraps Christ in it, as it brings forth the forgiveness of sin, as it is the centre of grace; and it compriseth the whole effect of divine wisdom, as far as the infinitely holy God ever manifested, or ever will manifest to eternity.

(2.) It had a solemn confirmation in the blood of the Son: hence the blood of Christ is called 'the blood of the covenant.' The covenant was solemnly confirmed in the blood of Christ. It is the design of the apostle, in the tenth chapter of the Hebrews, to prove the solemn confirmation of the new covenant, in the blood of the Son of God, that makes it irrevocable and unchangeable.