Page:Faith's plea upon God's covenant (5).pdf/6

6 ſeek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirſt, I, the Lord will hear them, I, the God of Iſrael will not forſake them' It is a covenant of Gifts, wherein grace and glory are freely given; and in the diſpenſation thereof, God ſays, come and take all freely, himſelf, his Chriſt, his Spirit, and all, Rev. xxii. 17. Iſa. lv. 1.

II. We are to ſhew what it is for God to have reſpect to the covenant.

1. God hath reſpect to the covenant when he remembers it, and ſo remembers us, as in that forecited, Lev. xxvi. 42. 'I will remember my covenant, and then will I remember the land.' Thus Pſalm cix 5. 'He hath given meat to them that fear him.' Why, he will ever be mindful of his covenant, if he comes to give us meat to feed our ſouls at this occaſion, the ground will be, he will be mindful of his covenant, mindful of his promiſe.

2. God may be ſaid to have reſpect to his covenant when he regards it. He hath no reaſon to have reſpect or regard to us, but he ſees reaſon to have a regard to his covenant; he puts honours upon it, for reaſons that I ſhall afterwards ſhew, only I ſhall ſay here, his honour is engaged therein, therefore he ſays, 'My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips,' Pſalm lxxxix. 34. He hath more regard to it than he hath to heaven and earth: for he ſays, 'Heaven and earth ſhall paſs away, but my words ſhall not paſs away.' He hath ſuch regard to it, that he will never break it, but ever keep it.

3. He hath reſpect to his covenant, when he eſtabliſhes it. And when we pray that he would have 'reſpect to the covenant,' we not only pray he