In the second head of doctrine, viz., That it is the duty of a people who have broken covenant with God, to engage themselves again to him by renovation of their covenant; after proving the proposition by several heads of arguments deduced—1st, From the lawfulness of entering into covenant with God, whether personal, as Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 20, 21, or economical, as Joshua and his family, Josh. xxiv. 15, or national, as God brought his people Israel under a covenant with himself, Exod. xix 5. The consequence holding undeniably, that if it be lawful and necessary, in any of these respects, to enter into covenant with God, it must needs be also lawful and a duty to renew the same after the breach thereof. 2dly, From Scripture precedents of the people of God, who, after breaking off and declining from God's covenant, renewed the same. As for instance, the covenant made with Israel at Horeb, was renewed at the plains of Moab, Deut. xxxix;—by Joshua, chap, xxiv.;—by Asa, 2 Chron. xv. 13, 14;—by Jehoiada, 2 Kings xi. 17;—by Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxix. 10;—by Josiah, 2 Kings, xxiii. 2;—by Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezra, x. 3;—Neh. ix ult. and x. 28, 29. 3dly, From Scripture precepts, Deut. xxix. 1—"These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb." Psalm, lxxvi. 11—"Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God." 4thly, From Scripture promises, wherein the Lord promiseth as a blessing and mercy to his church and people, that they should renew their covenant with him, Isaiah xix. 21, 23—25; Zech. ii. 11. For further opening of the proposition, these two questions were proposed and solved—First, Whether all persons who have broken covenant with God may be admitted to renew the same? Answer, All sorts of persons in the three kingdoms are under the obligation of the covenant, and consequently, bound to renew and keep it inviolable; but all are not in present capacity, and therefore have no actual right to enter into covenant: such as are obstinately wicked, living in error, profanity, or malignancy, have not God's call and right from him, as such, to renew a covenant with him; for, Psal. 1. 16, 17—"God says to the wicked, What hast thou to do to take my covenant in thy mouth?" But all such as are reformed, or reforming from all iniquity, and namely from the defections and compliances of the time; who have some suitable sense of the breaches, and competent knowledge and understanding of the duties engaged unto in the covenant, Neh. x. 28, have a right and an immediate call to the duty of renewing the covenant. 2dly, If any number of people may renew a national oath and covenant without the consent and concurrence of royal authority, or at least, without the concurrence of some chief and principal men in church and state? Answer, Without the concurrence of church and state, a covenant cannot be taken or renewed nationally, speaking strictly; yet a few may publicly declare their adherence to their covenant-engagements by renewing them, not only without the consent and concurrence of authority, but against it; and there are several precedents for so doing, both before and since the established reformation. As for instance, that covenant at Edinburgh, Anno 1557; at Perth, 1559; at Stirling, the same year; another at Leith, Anno 1560; another at Ayr, 1562. And at Lanark, a small handful of the Lord's people renewed it in direct opposition to, and at Lesmahago, without the consent or concurrence of authority; which instances may be both an inducement and encouragement to us to renew, and in our mean capacity, to testify to the nation our approbation of, and adherence to these covenants.
In the prosecution of this doctrine, he had occasion also to insist upon the reasons, or motives, and manner of entering into covenant. The scope and argument of the reasons adduced as motives to the duty of covenanting was to this effect:—
1. The turning away of the Lord's wrath and anger from a land, or people, which covenant-breaking hath deserved, may be a motive to renewing covenant with God; this was the motive that prompted the good reforming King Hezekiah to make a covenant with the Lord, 2 Chron. xxix. 10—"Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us." And Nehemiah, with the returned captives, Neh. ix. 38—"And because of all this, we make a sure covenant."
2. Reviving and advancement in reformation, being the ordinary consequent and effect of upright covenanting with the Lord, may be another motive and inducement thereunto; this appears both in personal and national covenanting—In personal, Psal. cxix. 106—"I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments." The Psalmist's having sworn, was a very quickening consideration to excite him to the performance of his duty. In national covenanting, we always find, after the people of Israel and Judah had covenanted with the Lord, they made progress in reformation, and the land was purged of abominations and idols. Thus it was in Asa's covenant, 2 Chron. xv. 12 to 19; for there, the people have entered into a covenant with the Lord, "and sworn with all their soul, and with all their heart," the Lord was found of them; and Asa removed his mother, Maachah, from her royal dignity, and stamped the idol which she had made, and burnt it at the brook Kidron; and he brought into the house of the Lord the things that his father and himself had dedicated. Thus it was also in Jehoiada's covenant, which he made "between the Lord, and the king, and the people, that they should be the Lord's people," 2 Kings xi. 17, 18, 20; for, immediately after the making of his covenant, "all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down—his altars, and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly; and the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord;" and they slew Athaliah with the sword. The like is evident in Hezekiah's covenanting, 2 Chron. xxxiv., xxxv. chapters.
3. This upright renewing of covenant with the Lord is a way and mean to procure many mercies, both spiritual and temporal, from the hand of the Lord; which should be a strong inducement and motive to engage us thereunto. Spiritual mercies are entailed upon it, Deut. xxix. 12, 13. "That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day: that he may establish thee to-day for a people to himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Temporal mercies are also promised to this upright renewing and keeping covenant, Deut. xxix. 9—"Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do." And, it is remarked, 2 Chron. xv. 15, that after Asa's covenant, "the Lord gave them rest round about."
4. The malice and opposition of the Popish, Prelatical, and malignant party against the covenants, and their doing what in them lies, to make their obligation void and null, may be a motive and argument for the people of God so much the more to avouch their respect to them by a public adherence, especially after long continued breaches.
5. Upright entering into, or renewing covenant with God, is a most sovereign medicine for healing a people's breaches, as well as their backslidings, the covenant being a cement, as well to join and unite the people of God one to another, as all of them in their duty to God; and, as it flows from the nature of the covenant to unite the friends of reformation, so it is observable as one of the peculiar fruits of covenant-renewing, that union in the Lord has followed thereupon: thus it was with Israel and Judah in the text, who united together in making a covenant with the Lord. Whence all the people of God, who are called to be united and "perfectly joined together in the same spirit, and in the same mind;" and especially they who have been lamentably divided one from another, by their manifold defections from God, and from their covenant-engagements, ought to be strongly inclined, moved, and engaged to this duty; from this consideration, the upright covenant-renewing is a usual mean of land-uniting and church-uniting dispositions amongst the people of God.
As for the manner of renewing covenant with God, and how the duty ought to be gone about, he propounded and opened it in the following particulars, to this effect:—
1. That it must be done with understanding and judgment, both in relation to the nature of the duties we engage to perform in the covenant: grossly ignorant persons being justly deprived of the privilege of engaging in covenant, though bound to inform themselves of its nature and obligation; and also in relation to the breaches, such as would engage into it being called to have some suitable sense and understanding, both how it has been violated, and by what means persons come to be guilty of the breach thereof. So, Neh. x. 28, 29—"Every one that had knowledge and understanding entered into the covenant."
2. This duty must be gone about with sincerity and uprightness of heart; thus Joshua, when making a covenant with the people, that they should serve the Lord, exhorts them—"Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth," Joshua, xxiv., compare the 25th verse with the 14th. The want of which qualification in covenant-renewing, causes unsteadfastness and perfidy in covenant-performing—Psal. lxxviii. 36, 37.