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that he may establish thee to-day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn.

I have done my errand. The messenger of the morning disappeareth when the orient sun cometh forth out of his chambers. I vanish: I put my mouth in the dust. The voice of the Lord! The soft and still voice! O my soul, wrap thy face in the mantle, and bow thyself to the ground, and put thee into the clift of the rock, while Jehovah proclaimeth his name, and maketh all his goodness to pass before thee.

CHAP. II.

Introduction. The Proclamation; or, the Voice of the Lord.

HEAR, O ye ends of the earth, the mighty God, the Lord hath spoken: gather my saints unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. Behold, I establish my covenant between me and you.d By my holiness have I sworn, that I will be your covenant-friend. I lift up my hand to heaven, I swear I live for ever: and because I live, you shall live also. I will be yours,f yours to all intents and pur

Psalm 1. 1, 5. d Gen. xvii. 7. • John xiv. 19 Jer. xxxi. 38, 40.

poses; your refuge and your rest;s your patron and your portion; your heritage and your hope; your God and your guide. i While I have, you shall never want; and what I am to myself, I will be to you; jand you shall be my people; a chosen generation, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. 1 I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I take you for mine for ever: My name shall be upon you, and you shall be pillars in the temple of your God, and shall go no

more out.m

My livery shall you wear, and the stamp of my own face shall you carry; and I will make you my witnesses and the epistles of Christ unto the world; and you shall be chosen vessels, to bear my name before the sons of men.P And that you may see that I am in earnest with you, lo, I make with you an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure; and do hereby solemnly deliver it to you as my act and deed, sealed with sacred blood, and ratified with the oath of a God; a God that cannot lie, that

Jer. 1. 6. Psalm xc. 1. xlvi. 1. h Psalm lxxiii: 26. Isa. xxv. 4, 5. i Psalm xlviii. 14. xxxiv. 9, 10. k Exod. xix. 5, 6. m Rev. iii. 12. n Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 24. o Isa. xliv. 8. 2 Cor. iii. 3. q 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 1 Cor. xi. 25.

Psalm 11 Pet. ii. 9 26. Eph. iv. p Acts ix. 15. Heb. vis 17.

knows no place for repentance.t Come ve blessed; receive the instrument of your salvation: take writing, behold the seals; here are the conveyances of the kingdom. Fear not; the donation is free and full. See it is written in blood, founded on the allsufficient merits of your surety, in whom I am well pleased; whose death makes this testament unchangeable for ever;w so that your names can never be put out, nor your inheritance be alienated, nor your legacies diminished; nothing may be altered, nothing added, nothing subtracted; no, not for ever; whilst you abide in me.

The blessings of the covenant are, either its GLORIOUS LIBERTIES and IMMUNITIES, or its ROYAL PRIVILEGES and PREROGA

TIVES.

Happy art thou, O Israel! Who is like unto thee, O people! Only believe, and know your own blessedness. Attend, O my children, unto the blessing of your Father; and hear and know the glorious immunities, and the royal prerogatives that I here confirm upon you.

Tit. i. 2. 1 Sam. xv. 29. Heb. ix. 18. v Mat. iii.. 17. w Heb. ix. 12, 14, 16, 26. Gal. iii. 15, 16, 17. y Deut. xxxiii. 29.

SECTION I.

The IMMUNITIES and LIBERTIES of the covenant, consisting in, I. Our general discharge from all our debts.

Here I seal you your pardons. Though your sins be as the sands, and as mighty as the mountains, I will drown them in the depth of my bottomless mercies; I will be merciful unto your unrighteousness; I will multiply to pardon. Where your sins have abounded, my grace shall superabound; though they be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though red like crimson, they shall be as wool.a Behold I declare myself satisfied, and pronounce you absolved; the price is paid, your debts are cleared, your bonds are cancelled.c

Whatever the law, or conscience, or the accuser hath to charge upon you, here I exonerate you; I discharge you. I, even I, am he that blotteth out your transgressions, for my name's sake.d Who shall lay any thing to your charge, when I acquit you? Who shall impeach or implead you, when I proclaim you guiltlessře Sons, daughters, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you;f I will sprinkle your consciences, and

у Міс. vii. 19. Heb. viii. 12. Isa. lv. 7. a Isa. i. 18. b Job xxxii. 24. Col. ii. 13, 14. d Isa. xlv. 25. e Rom. viii. 33, 34. f1 John ii. 12. Mat. ix, 2.

35

put the voice of peace into your mouths; & they shall be your registers, in which I will record your pardon; and the voice of guile, and wrath, and terror, shall cease.h

II. Our release; 1. From the house of bondage.

Here I sign your release from the house of bondage. Come forth, ye captives; come forth, ye prisoners of hope, for I have found a ransom. I proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. Behold I have broken your bonds, shaken the foundations of your prisons, and opened the iron gates.1 By the blood of the covenant have I sent forth the prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water.m Arise, O redeemed of the Lord, put off the raiment of your captivities; arise, and come away.

2. From the dark and noisome prison of sin.

The dark and noisome prison of sin shall no longer detain you; I will loose your fetters, and knock off your bolts; sin shall not have dominion over you.p

I will heal your backslidings; I will sub

& Ezek. xxxvi. 25. Heb. iv. 14. Isa. lvii. 19. h Heb. x. 22. Isa. xxvii. 4, 5. i Rom. vi. 17, 18. 1 Cor. vii. 21. jJob xxxiii. 18, 24. k Isa. lxi. 1. xlvii. 7. Acts xii. 6, 10. m Zech. ix. 11. Deut. xxi. 13. John viii. 34, 35, 36. P. Rom. vi. 14.

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