Page:Faith's plea upon God's covenant (5).pdf/19

Rh of Iſrael, to do it for them,' and how are we to enquire, but by pleading the reſpect he hath to the covenant! Have you a polluted heart with the filth of ſin? a polluted conſcience, with the guilt of ſin? Why, here is an article of the covenant: 'I will ſprinkle clean water upon you, and ye ſhall be clean from all your filthineſs, and from all your idols will I cleanſe you,' verſe 25. O then, go to God for cleanſing, and plead, ſaying, O Lord, 'Have reſpect to the covenant.' Have you the old hard ſtony heart ſtill within you, and would you have it renewed and ſoftened? Here is an article of the covenant, 'A new heart will I give you, and a new ſpirit will I put within you: I will take away the ſtony heart out of your fleſh and I will give you an heart of fleſh.' O then, go to God and plead it, ſaying, 'Have reſpect to the covenant.' Are you deſtitute of the Spirit; ſenſual, not having the Spirit? Do you find ſuch a want of the Spirit, that you cannot walk in God's way! Well, there is an article of the covenant here, ver. 27. 'I will put my Spirit within you, and cauſe you to walk in my ſtatutes,' O plead for this great bleſſing, and ſay, Lord, 'Have reſpect to the covenant.'

In a word, when you conſider what kind of a ſinner you are, conſider alſo what kind of a covenant this is; it is enough to ſay, that it is a covenant of grace, of all ſorts of grace; for all ſorts of ſinners that are out of hell. Are you under dreadful guilt? Here is a covenant of pardoning grace, 'I will blot out thy ſin as a cloud, and thy tranſgreſſion as a thick cloud; return to me for I have redeemed thee,' Iſa. xlix. 22. O then, plead that he may 'have reſpect to the covenant.' Are you under fearful pollutions? O here is a covenant of purifying