Beloved, you see where stability in covenant is to be had; even in the presence of God. Labour, I beseech you, to walk in His presence, and to set Him always at your right hand; behold, it shall keep you, so that you shall not be moved; or, if you be moved, you shall not be removed; if you stumble you shall not fall; or, if you fall, you shall not fall away; you shall rise again. There is a double advantage in it. First, It will keep your hearts in awe; he that sets God in his presence, dares not sin in His presence: "God sees," will make the heart say, "How shall I do this great evil, and sin against God?" Secondly, There is joy in it; "In Thy presence is fulness of joy." It is true, in its proportion of grace, as well as of glory; and joy will strengthen and stablish, as I shewed you before, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." As long as the child is in its father's eye, and the father in its eye, it is secure. "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee." It will hold as well in the evils of sin, as in the evils of punishment: well, the Lord make you know these precious truths in an experimental manner. I have held you too long; but the business requires it. Remember, I beseech you, it is God that must uphold your desires and resolutions; and therefore, 1. Be much in prayer. And, 2. Set yourselves in the presence of God. He lives unchangeably that lives in the unchangeable God.
In the Sixth, and last place, if thou wouldst make an everlasting covenant with God, that shall never be forgotten, look up to Jesus Christ, go to Jesus Christ. He must help, and He must strengthen, and He must keep thee, or else thou wilt never be able to "keep thy covenant;" hear Him, else, "without me ye can do nothing." And as Christ speaks thus in the negative; so you may hear the apostle speaking by blessed experience in the affirmative; "I can do all things through Jesus Christ, Who strengtheneth me." Observe, I pray, "Without Me ye can do nothing. Through Christ I can do all things." Nothing, all things. There is a good deal of difference between two men; take one without Christ, and, be his parts never so excellent, his resolutions never so strong, his engagements never so sacred, "he can do nothing;" unless it be to "break his covenant and vows," as Samson brake his cords like threads scorched with the fire; and, take the other with a Christ standing by him, and be he in himself never so weak and mean, unlearned and ungifted, lo, as if he were clothed with omnipotency, "he can do all things," he can subdue such corruptions, conquer such temptations, perform such duties, and in such a manner, do such things, suffer such things, (and in all these keep his covenant with God) as to other men, and to himself before, were so many impossibilities; he could not before, now He can. Nothing before, all things now. All things fit for an unglorified saint to do; all things God expects from him; all things in a gospel sense; all things comparatively to other men, and to himself, when he was another man. See, I beseech you, how without a Christ, and thro' a Christ, makes one man differ from another; yea, and from himself, as much as can and cannot; all things and nothing; impotency and omnipotency, "Without me ye can do nothing." "Through Christ I can do all things." If therefore you would make a covenant with Eternity to eternity, study Christ more than ever, labour to "know nothing but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." And therein these two things,
First, Labour to get interest in Christ. Interest is the ground of influence; union the fountain or spring of communion; so Christ, "as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me." There you have the truth and the simile of it; no fruit from Christ, without being and abiding in Christ; there is truth: illustrated and proved by the vine and the branch; there the simile, which is prosecuted and enlarged by our Saviour.
And, as all communion ariseth from union, so look what the union is, such is the communion; Christ was filled with the fulness of God because united to God; the saints receive of the fulness of Christ, because united to Christ. "I in them, and Thou in Me." Only here is the difference. Christ's union with His Father was personal, infinite, and substantial, and therefore the communications were answerable, "For God gave not the Spirit by measure unto Him." But the saints' union with Christ, being of an inferior nature; their communications also are proportional; yet such as serve poor creatures to all blessed saving purposes. And therefore with Paul, labour to "be found in Christ," that so you may know experimentally the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. All the power and virtue that are in Jesus Christ, are only for them that are in Him, as the branch in the root, as the members in the body.
Christ is called the covenant of God. "I will give thee for a covenant of the people." As Calvin well expounds it, sponsor fœderis, the surety or undertaker of the covenant, of that second new covenant, between God and His people, not the Jews only, but the Gentiles also. A surety on both sides: the surety of God's covenant to them; "For all the promises of God are in Him, yea, and in Him, Amen." He sees them all made good to the heirs of promise. And Christ again is the surety of their covenant unto God; for He undertakes to make good all their covenants, and vows, and promises unto God. "Those that Thou gavest Me, I have kept," saith Christ. "And I live (saith Paul), yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." So that it is Christ who makes the covenant good on both sides, as God's to His people, so His people's to God; and so it follows in that place of Isaiah, "I have given thee for a covenant to the people, to establish the earth;" establishment must come from Christ, the undertaker, the surety of the covenant; as He paid the debt for the time past, so He must see the articles of the covenant kept for the time to come. For want of such an undertaker or surety, the first covenant miscarried: It was between God and the creature, without a mediator; and so the creature changing, the covenant was dissolved; but the second, God meant should not miscarry, and therefore puts it into sure hands; "I have laid help upon One that is mighty," speaking of Christ, and "I will give Thee for a covenant to the people." God hath furnished Christ wherewithal to be a surety; to make good His covenant to His people, and their covenant to Him.
But now, He hath this stock of all-sufficiency for none but these that are His members, He actually undertakes for none but those that are actually in Him; "These that Thou hast given Me I have kept." He keeps none but them whom the Father hath given Him; given Him so as to be in them, and they in Him. "I in them, they in Me." Well, if thou wouldst be unchangeable in thy covenant, get interest in Christ who is the covenant; the unchangeable covenant; "The Amen, the faithful and true witness." "Yesterday and to-day, and the same for ever." Get interest, "count all things loss and dung, that thou mayst win Christ, and be found in Christ." Yea, do not only labour to get interest, but prove thy interest. Take not up a matter of so infinite concernment upon trust: all that thou dost covenant to God, and that God doth covenant to thee, depends upon it; and therefore, "work it out with fear and trembling, and give all diligence to make it sure unto thy soul." Study evidences, and be content with none but such as will bear weight in the "balance of the sanctuary;" such as the word will secure; such as to which the word will bear witness, that they are inconsistent with any Christless man or woman, whatsoever; and pray with unwearying supplications that God will not only give thee interest, but clear thy interest, and seal up interest upon thy soul and thee, to the day of redemption.
Second, study influence when in Christ, then hast thou right to draw virtue from Christ, for behold, all the fulness that dwells in Christ is thine; all that life, and strength, and grace, and redemption, that is held forth in the promise, it is all laid up in Christ, as in a magazine; and by virtue of thy interest in, and union with the Lord Jesus, it is all become thine. Hence you hear the believing soul making her boast of Christ, as before, for righteousness so also for strength. "In the Lord have I righteousness and strength." As righteousness for acceptance, so strength also for performance of such duties, as God in His covenant doth require and expect at the believer's hands: I have no strength of mine own, but in Christ I have enough; "In the Lord I have righteousness and strength." Christ is the lord-keeper, or lord high steward, or lord treasurer; to receive in and lay out, for and to all that are in covenant with the Father. And this is one main branch of God's covenant with the Redeemer, that He gives out to the heirs of promise, wherewithal to "keep their covenant with God;" so that they never depart from Him. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the Lord, My Spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever." These be the words of God the father to the Redeemer, concerning all His spiritual seed; "the Redeemer shall come to Zion." And that Spirit, and these words of life and grace which were upon the Redeemer, must be propagated to all His believing seed; by virtue whereof, their covenant with God, shall in its proportion be like God's covenant with them (for indeed the one is but the counterpart of the other) unchangeable, everlasting. "I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart away from Me."
Now therefore, my brethren, since there is enough in Christ, study how to draw it out: indeed it will require a great deal of holy skill to do it; it requires wisdom to draw out the excellencies of a man: "Counsel in the heart of a man is deep, but a man of understanding will draw it out." It is a fine art to be able to pierce a man, that is like a vessel full of wine, and set him a running; but to draw out influence and virtue from the Lord Jesus is one of the most secret hidden mysteries in the life of a Christian: indeed we may complain, "the well is deep, and we have nothing to draw withal." But labour to get your bucket of faith, that you may be able to "draw water out of this well of salvation." Labour by vital acts of a powerful faith; set to work in meditation and prayer, to draw virtue and influence from Jesus Christ; the mouth of prayer, and the breathings of faith from an heart soakt and steept in holy meditations, applied to Jesus Christ, will certainly (tho' perhaps insensibly) draw virtue from Him. Behold, faith drew virtue from Christ by a touch of His garments: shall it not much more draw out that rich and precious influence, by applying of Him in the promises, and in His offices unto our souls? Consider, O Christian, whoever thou art, even thou that art in Christ, consider, God hath not trusted thee with grace enough before hand, for one month, no, not for a week, a day; nay, thou hast not grace enough before hand for the performance of the next duty, or the conquering of the next temptation; nor for the expediting thyself out of the next difficulty; and why so? But that thou mayest learn to live by continual dependence upon Jesus Christ, as Paul did, "The life that I now live in the flesh, I live it by the faith of the Son of God." Paul lived by fresh influence drawn from Christ by faith, every day and hour; study that life, it is very mysterious, but exceeding precious. Had we our stock before hand, we should quickly spend all, and prove bankrupts: God hath laid up all our treasure of "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption in Jesus Christ," and will have us live from hand to mouth, that so we might be safe, and God's free grace be exalted: "It is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end your promise might be sure to all the seed." Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of this heavenly calling, look up to Jesus Christ, who is the covenant of His Father, and your covenant; lo, He calls you. "Look unto Me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth." Surely they are worthy to perish, who will not bestow a look upon salvation: oh, look humbly, and look believingly, and look continually; look for interest, look for influence, look for righteousness, look for strength; and let Jesus Christ be all in all to thy soul: thou wilt never be any thing, nor do any thing in Christianity, till thou comest to live in and upon Jesus Christ, and Him only: humbly entreat the Lord, and give Him no rest, that He will make a covenant with thee in Christ, which shall keep thee, and then thou wilt be able to keep thy covenant: look up to Christ for covenant grace, to keep covenant-engagement, and so shalt thou do this service in a gospel sense, to acceptation, to perpetuity.
I have now done with these three queries; What? Why? How? How to (1) Acceptation? and (2) Perpetuity? I know much more might be added, but the work to which we are to address ourselves, will take up much time; the Lord set home what hath been spoken.
Only give me leave to tell you thus much in a word, for the close of all; as this covenant prospers with us, so we are like to prosper under it; the welfare of the kingdom and of thy soul, is bound up now in this covenant: for I remember what God speaks of the kingdom of Israel, brought into covenant now with the king of Babylon, to serve him, and to be his vassals; that "by keeping covenant it should stand." And the breaking of that covenant was the breaking of Zedekiah and his whole family and kingdom. Now was covenant-breach, or fidelity the foundation of stability or ruin to that kingdom, which was struck, but with a dying man; how much more is the rise and fall of this kingdom; yea, of these two kingdoms, bound up in the observation or forfeiture of this covenant, which we make this day with the living God? You that wish well to the kingdoms, that would not see the downfall and ruin thereof; be from henceforth more conscientious of your covenant, than ever heretofore; for surely, upon the success of this covenant we stand or fall; as we deal with the covenant, God will deal with us; if we slight the covenant, God will slight us; if we have mean thoughts of the covenant, God will have mean thoughts of us; if we forget the covenant, God will forget us; if we break the covenant, we may look that God shall break these two nations, and break us all to pieces; if we reject it, God will reject us; if we regard our covenant, God will regard His covenant, and regard us too; if we remember the covenant, God will remember His, and remember us; if we keep the covenant, the covenant will keep us, and our posterity for ever.