A fifth consideration, from whence the difficulty of covenanting with God is sometimes heightened, was taken from the meanness of such as attempt the work. When the great ones, the nobles that are called the shields of the earth, do not afford their authority and patrociny, as an encouragement to the undertaking; and when the wise and learned will not employ their learning, parts, and abilities for the facilitating thereof; but the mean and weakest are left to do the work alone. This was no small difficulty and discouragement to the Tekoites, in their building and repairing the wall of Jerusalem, "That their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord." Neh. iii. 5.
A sixth consideration, which may sometimes render such a work hard and difficult, was drawn from the want of the concurrence of civil authority; and the opposition made thereunto by the laws of the land; which, when it happens to be the case of a people designing to renew national engagements cannot but be a very difficult and discouraging ingredient amongst others in their cup.
On the other hand, these counterbalancing considerations were adduced, which are as so many props and pillars to support his people, and to allay the difficulties of the duty of entering into covenant with God, and to make it the more light and easy. 1st, That the work is the Lord's, and he is greatly concerned in it; and, therefore, his people may safely lean to him for help, he having enacted no law against it, as men have. 2d, That he looks not upon his people in such undertakings, as in themselves, for then it were impossible for creatures, having the least sinful imperfection in them, to covenant with their spotless Creator, and come so near a jealous God, who is a consuming fire to the workers of iniquity; but he considers his people in their covenanting with him, as in their head, Christ, his eternal Son; whence we may safely say, That our national covenant wants not a Mediator more than the covenant of grace, in this sense, as it is through him we have access to make this covenant with God. 3d, That the Lord has promised his presence to his own work; thus we find through the whole of the covenants made, and renewed by the people of Israel and Judah, that the Lord discovered his gracious presence with them, by some remarkable effect of his goodness. Thus it is remarked of Hezekiah, that after he had entered into covenant, "That the Lord was with him, and he prospered whithersoever he went forth," 2 Kings xviii. 7, compared with 2 Chron. xxix. 10. 4th, That the Lord puts none of his people to any piece of his work upon their own proper expense and charges, but upon his own; and whatever complaints his people may have of want of necessary charges, he both has wherewith to supply them, and has undertaken to make it actually forthcoming for them, having commanded his people to open their mouths wide, and he has promised to fill them. 5th, That the covenant has a greater entail of blessings, than what will sufficiently compensate whatever expense and pains a people may be at, in undertaking and performing it. In regard, that though a Christian should lose all, yea, even life itself, upon the account of it, yet the covenant will bring in all with advantage to a hundred fold, and glory to the overplus, when it is duly observed. 6th, That the undertakers have God's call and commandment to set about it; this is that which, above all other considerations, inspires a Christian with undaunted courage and alacrity in the undertaking of a duty, when it is made clear that the person has God's call and command for a warrant; otherwise the want of this may make the duty to be heartlessly and doubtingly entered upon, and lamely performed.
Seeing, therefore, that sometimes a work may be the Lord's, and yet the Lord's call to such a particular person, or people to undertake it, may be wanting; he came necessarily (which was the second head proposed) to enquire, what were the several things that might seem to speak against us, as not having this call from the Lord, and what were the things that spake for us, and might give us matter of encouragement in undertaking the work before us.—In solution of which the following considerations were proposed.
1st, As to the things that might seem to speak against us: 1st, Our darkness, not whether covenanting be a duty, but in regard of the want of right apprehensions of the nature and greatness of the duty, which cannot be a sufficient ground to neglect the duty, unless there were some duties from which a Christian is exeemed and that this is one of them, which indeed will not be found in the whole Bible. 2d, Our want of a frame suitable for the greatness and weightiness of the work, which speaks sadly against us, but is not to be a ground to neglect the duty, we being commanded to look to the God of the covenant for it.
Upon the other hand, the things which seemed to speak for us, and yield matter of encouragement, that not only the work was the Lord's, but also that we had his call to the same, were, 1st, The many, palpable, plain, and open breaches of these covenants, are a loud call to renew them. 2d, The undervaluing account that the nations have made of them, is a call to all such as have any respect to the sacred name of the Lord invocated in these covenants, to do their utmost to vindicate them from that disgrace, by showing how high a price and value they put upon them. 3d, The lands enacting the perpetual banishment of these covenants, and imposing oaths contrary and opposite to them; which brings double perjury upon the nation, both by disregarding and omitting the performance of this just, lawful, and commendable covenant, and by making unjust, sinful and hateful covenants, for opposing the growth and success of Christ's kingdom, even the reformation of these many abuses that have corrupted the holy religion of his institution: And perjury drawing wrath after it, as a native and necessary fruit consequent; they that would stand in the gap, to turn away national wrath, cannot otherwise make up the hedge, that the land should not be destroyed, but by renewing and keeping national covenants. 4th, That so many are speaking against them everywhere, accounting them a conspiracy against royal authority, a popular combination for advancing private ends and interests under the cloak of religion, or at least unnecessary and unprofitable for the end intended by them, binding to things of such a heterogeneous nature, as renders the keeping of them, and keeping within the sphere of our own activity and station, inconsistent and impossible, and such things as whereof we now have no occasion, and the like; which is a loud call to us, or any that retain other thoughts of their nature and ends, than the generality do, to speak for them; which cannot be done more fitly, honorably, nor conspicuously any other way, than by renewing and observing them. 5th, The practice of the godly in such a juncture of time, as what ours appears to be, is a call and encouraging consideration to set us upon this work: the godly usually in times of great defection from the purity and power of religion, and corruption of the ordinances of God's worship, set about renewing their covenant, thereby to prevent covenant curses, and procure covenant blessings; as we find both in scripture record, 2 Chron. xv. 12, 13; xxix. 10; xxxiv. 30, 31; Ezra x. 3, and in our own ecclesiastic history. And the practice was justified by the success, for the most part terminating in some reviving and reformation. 6th, The time being come to such a crisis, that such as would keep the word of Christ's patience cannot any longer do it in a distinguishing way from those that are covenant-breakers, but by renewing covenant, and thereby making a test and trial of the well-wishers to the covenanted interest in the land, is a call to set about this work: in former times the godly held fast this their profession, by suffering for their adherence to covenanted duties, resisting unto blood, striving against the sin of covenant-breaking; whereas now our call seems to be more clear to do it, by renewing those covenant-obligations. 7th, The covenants themselves have, as it were, a loud voice to call us, and all who own their obligation, to set about renewing of them; they call by the justness and intrinsic goodness of the matter, which is of binding force by virtue of the law of God, prior to any covenant-tie, and by the holiness and excellency of the end, to wit, the reformation and preservation of religion. Yea, the covenant seems to say to us, and to every true hearted son of the church of Scotland, as Job said in another case, "Have pity upon me, O my friends," &c. So says the covenant: Have pity upon me, all ye that have any respect for me, for church and state have forsaken me.
The third thing proposed was to give some advices and directions for right managing the duty intended. The scope and substance whereof briefly follows:
1st, Such as would make a covenant with God aright, so as the same may never be broken nor yet forgotten, must labor to know if they be in good terms with the God of the covenant, and with the Mediator of the covenant; if they sincerely closed with the terms, and acquiesced to the proposals of the covenant of grace; this personal and particular acceptance of Christ in the new covenant being the only fountain of acceptable entering into national covenants. Hence it concerns all that would be right Covenanters, to search and see how it may be betwixt God and them, because 'tis but a profanation of the covenant to have the hand and tongue at it, and the heart from it: a well informed head without a reformed heart is not sufficient: a good opinion and liking of the covenant without a heart and affection to the covenant avails nothing in God's sight.
2d, Such as would rightly renew covenant with God, must be well resolved concerning the motives leading them to covenant; which motives must neither arise wholly from without, nor yet wholly from within, for if these motives arise wholly from without, it discovers a great deal of treachery in the persons covenanting, as not beginning at the heart, not duly considering the inward case of the soul, but being moved from some external considerations, as a name amongst men, or affectation of zeal for public concerns, or such like; if they arise wholly from within it betrays much weakness and lowness of spirit, as not being able at the same time both to have a concern about the inward frame of the heart, and eternal state and condition of the soul, and likewise a zeal for the public good of the nation, and thriving of the work of God and kingdom of Christ. Both which interests ought to be in their due proportion before the eyes of a sound and real Covenanter; a right engager in covenant must be moved thereto, both from a due sense of the strength and power of corruption within, and also from the consideration of the lowness of God's work through defection without.
3d, A right covenanter must be well resolved concerning the terms of the covenant; that it excludes all coming and going, according to the revolutions of the times, and the ebbing and flowing of worldly interests: One that has given up his name to the Lord in covenant, and called himself by the name of Israel, must not, like the Samaritans, be an Israelite only in the time of Israel's prosperity, but he must be one in adversity too: The things engaged to in the covenant being of an everlasting and permanent duration, in their nature, must be lasting also in their observation.