6. We swear "against a detestable indifferency and neutrality in this cause, which so much concerneth the glory of God." And yet how many are there amongst us like unto Gallio, that care not what becomes of the cause of God, so they may have peace and quiet? That will not be the backwardest of all, and yet will be sure not to be too forward; for fear lest, if the times turn, they should be noted amongst the chief of the faction? That are very indifferent which side prevail, so they may have their trading again? That say as the politicians say, That they would be careful not to come too near the heels of religion, lest it should dash out their brains: and as the king of Arragon told Beza, That he would wade no further into the sea of religion, than he could safely return to shore. In all these six particulars, let us seriously search and try our hearts, whether we be not among the number of those that make the times perilous.
The third use is for humiliation. Let the consideration of our covenant-breaking be a heart-breaking consideration to every one of us this day: let this be a mighty and powerful argument to humble us upon this day of humiliation. There are five considerations that are exceedingly soul-humbling, if God bless them to us.
1. The consideration of the many commandments of God, that we have often and often broken. 2. The consideration of the breaking of Jesus Christ for our sins, how He was rent and torn for our iniquities. 3. The consideration of the breaking of the bread, and pouring out of the wine in the sacrament, which is a heart-breaking motive and help. 4. The broken condition that the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany, are in at this time. 5. The many vows and covenants that we have broken; our sacrament-covenants, our fasting-covenants, our sick-bed covenants; and especially the consideration of our often breaking our national covenant, which you come this day to renew. This is a sin in folio, a sin of a high nature: and if ever God awaken our conscience in this life, a sin that will lie like a heavy incubus upon it. A greater sin than to sin against a commandment, or against an ordinance. A sin not only of disobedience, but of perjury; a sin of injustice, of spiritual adultery, a sin of sacrilege, a sin of great unkindness, a sin that not only makes us disobedient, but dishonest; for we account him a dishonest man, that keeps not his word. A sin that not only every good Christian, but every good heathen doth abhor; a sin that not only brings damnation upon us, but casteth such an horrible disgrace and reproach upon God, that it cannot stand with God's honour not to be avenged of a covenant-breaker. Tertullian saith, "That when a Christian forsakes his covenant, and the colours of Christ, and turns to serve as the devil's soldier, he puts an unspeakable discredit upon God and Christ." For it is as much as if he should say, "I like the service of the devil better than the service of God." And it is just as if a soldier that hath waged war under a captain, and afterwards forsakes him, and turns to another; and after that, leaves this other captain, and turns to his former captain. This is to prefer the first captain before the second. This makes God complain, "What iniquity have your fathers found in Me, that they have gone far from Me?" And, "Hath any nation changed their god, which yet are no gods? But My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit." Basil brings in the devil insulting over Christ, and saying, "I never created nor redeemed these men, and yet they have obeyed me and contemned Thee, O Christ, even after they have covenanted to be Thine." And then he adds, "I esteem this honouring of the devil over Jesus Christ at the great day, to be more grievous to a true saint than all the torments in hell." A saying worthy to be written in letters of gold. Seeing then that covenant-breaking is so great an abomination, the Lord give us hearts to be humbled for this great abomination this day. And this will be a notable preparation to fit you for the renewing of your covenant. For we read, that Nehemiah first called his people to fast before he drew them unto a covenant: according to which pattern, you are here met to pray and humble your souls for your former covenant-breaking; and then to bind yourselves anew unto the Lord our God. As wax, when it is melted, will receive the impression of a seal, which it will not do before: so will your hearts, when melted into godly sorrow for our sins, receive the seal of God abidingly upon them which they will not do when hardened in sin.
Is every man that sins against the covenant to be accounted a covenant-breaker, and a perjured sacrilegious person? By no means. For, as every failing of a wife doth not break covenant between her and her husband, but she is to be accounted a wife, till she, by committing adultery, break the covenant: so, every miscarriage against the covenant of grace, or against this national covenant doth not denominate us, in a gospel account, covenant-breakers: but then God accounts us, according to His gospel, to break covenant when we do not only sin, but commit sin against the covenant; when we do not only sin out of weakness, but out of wickedness; when we do not only fail, but fall into sin; when we forsake and renounce the covenant; when we deal treacherously in the covenant, and enter into league and covenant with those sins which we have sworn against; when we walk into anti-covenant paths, and willingly do contrary to what we swear; then are we perjured, and unjust, and sacrilegious, and guilty of all those things formerly mentioned.
The fourth use presents unto you a divine, and therefore a sure project to make the times happy; and that is, let all covenant-takers labour to be covenant-keepers. It hath pleased God, to put it in your hearts to renew your covenant, the same God enabled you to keep covenant. It is said, "The king made a covenant before the Lord. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord. And all the people stood to the covenant." This is your duty, not only to take the covenant, but to stand to the covenant; and to stand to it maugre all opposition to the contrary, as we read, "And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers. That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman." For it is not the taking, but the keeping of the covenant, that will make you happy. God is styled, "A God keeping covenant." O that this might be the honour of this city! That we may say of it, London is a city keeping covenant with God. Great and many are the blessings entailed upon covenant-keepers. "Now, therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me, above all people: for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant." There are three covenants, I shall persuade you in a special manner to stand to.
1. The covenant you made with God in baptism. A Christian (saith Chrysostom) should never step out of doors, or lie down in his bed, or go into his closet, but he should remember the time when he did renounce the devil and all his works. Oh, let us not forget that which we ought always to remember! Let us remember to keep that covenant, as we ever desire God should remember us in mercy at the great day.
2. The covenant we make with God in our afflictions. Famous is that passage of Pliny in one of his epistles, to one that desired rules from him how to order his life aright; I will (saith he) give you one rule, which shall be instead of a thousand: That we should persevere to be such, when we are well, as we promise to be when we are sick. A sentence never to be forgotten: the Lord help us to live accordingly.
3. The covenant which you are to take this day. The happiness or misery of England doth much depend upon the keeping or breaking of this covenant. If England keep it, England by keeping covenant shall stand sure. If England break it, God will break England in pieces. If England slight it, God will slight England. If England forsake it, God will forsake England, and this shall be written upon the tomb of perishing England, "Here lieth a nation that hath broken the covenant of their God." Remember what you have heard this day, that it is the brand of a reprobate to be a covenant-breaker, and it is the part of a fool to vow and not to pay his vows. And God hath no delight in the sacrifice of fools. "Better not to vow, than to vow and not to pay." It is such a high profanation of God's name, as that God cannot hold a covenant-breaker guiltless; it is perjury, injustice, spiritual adultery, sacrilege. And the very lifting up of our hands this day, (if you do not set heart and hand on work to keep covenant) will be a sufficient witness against you at the great day. We read "that Jacob and Laban entered in covenant, and took a heap of stones, and they called the place Mizpah, the Lord watch between me and thee," and made them a witness, and said "this heap is a witness." "The God of Abraham judge betwixt us." Such is your condition this day. You enter into covenant to become the Lord's, and to be valiant for His truth, and against His enemies, and the very stones of this church shall be witness against you, if you break covenant; the name of this place may lie called Mizpah. The Lord will watch over you for good, if you keep it, and for evil if you break it; and all the curses contained in the book of the covenant shall light upon a willing covenant-breaker. The Lord fasten these meditations and soul-awakening considerations upon your hearts. The Lord give you grace to keep close to the covenant and a good conscience, which are both lost by breaking covenant.
There are four things I shall persuade you unto in pursuance of your covenant. 1. To be humbled for your own sins, and for the sins of the kingdom; and more especially, because we have not, as we ought, valued the inestimable benefit of the gospel, that we have not laboured to receive Christ in our hearts, nor to walk worthy of Him in our lives, which are the causes of other sins and transgressions so much abounding amongst us. Gospel sins are greater than legal sins, and will bring gospel curses, which are greater than legal curses. And therefore let us be humbled according to our covenant, for all our gospel abominations. 2. You must be ambitious to go before one another in an example of real reformation. You must swear vainly no more, be drunk no more, break the Sabbath no more. You must remember what David says. "But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to take My covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest My words behind thee." To sin willingly, after we have sworn not to sin, is not only to sin against a commandment, but to sin against an oath, which is a double iniquity, and will procure a double damnation. And he that takes a covenant to reform, and yet continueth unreformed, his covenant will be unto him as the bitter water of jealousy was to the woman guilty of adultery, which made her belly to swell, and thigh to rot. 3. You must be careful to reform your families, according to your covenant, and the example of Jacob and Joshua, and the godly kings fore-mentioned. 4. You must endeavour, according to your places and callings, to bring the churches of God in the three kingdoms to the nearest conjunction, and uniformity in religion. O blessed unity! how comes it to pass, that thou art so much slighted and contemned? Was not unity one of the chief parts of Christ's prayer unto His Father, when He was here upon the earth? Is not unity amongst Christians one of the strongest arguments to persuade the world to believe in Christ? Is it not the chief desire of the holy apostles, that we "should all speak the same things, and that there should be no division amongst us?" Is not unity the happiness of heaven? Is it not the happiness of a city, to be at unity with itself? "Is it not a good and pleasant thing for brethren to dwell together in unity?" How comes it to pass then that this part of the covenant is so much forgotten? The Lord mind you of it this day; and the Lord make this great and famous city, a city of holiness, and a city of unity within itself: for if unity be destroyed, purity will quickly also be destroyed. The church of God is Una, as well as Sancta; it is but one church, as well as it is a holy church. And "Jesus Christ gave some to be apostles, etc. till we all come to the unity of the faith." The government of Christ is appointed for keeping the church in unity, as well as purity. These things which God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. That government which doth not promote unity as well as purity, is not the government of Christ. Oh, the misery of the kingdom where church divisions are nourished and fomented! A kingdom or church against itself, cannot stand. "Would it not be a sad thing, to see twelve in a family, and one of them a Presbyterian, another an Independent, another a Brownist, another an Antimonian, another an Anabaptist, another a Familist, another for Prelatical government, another a Seeker, another a Papist, and the tenth, it may be, an Atheist, and the eleventh a Jew, and the twelfth a Turk? The Lord in His due time heal our divisions, and make you His choice of instruments, according to your places, that the Lord may be one, and His name one in the three kingdoms.
Quest. But some will say, "How shall I do to get up my heart to this high pitch, that I may be a covenant-keeper?" I will propound these three helps. 1. Labour to be always mindful of your covenant, according to that text, "God is always mindful of His covenant." It was the great sin of the people of Israel, that they were unmindful of the covenant. They first forgot the covenant, and afterwards did quickly forsake it. He that forgets the covenant, must needs be a covenant-breaker. Let us therefore remember it, and carry it about us as quotidianum argumentum, and quotidianum munimentum. 1. Let us make the covenant a daily argument against all sin and iniquity; and when we are tempted to any sin, let us say, "I have sworn to forsake my old iniquity, and, if I commit this sin, I am not only a commandment-breaker, but an oath-breaker. I am perjured. I have sworn to reform my family, and therefore I will not suffer a wicked person to tarry in my family; I have sworn against neutrality and indifferency, and therefore I will be zealous in God's cause." 2. Let us make this covenant a daily muniment and armour of defence, to beat back all the fiery darts of the devil: when any one tempts thee by promise of preferment to do contrary to thy covenant, or threatens to ruin thee for the hearty pursuing of thy covenant, here is a ready answer, "I am sworn to do what I do, and, if I do otherwise, I am a perjured wretch." This is a wall of brass, to resist any dart that shall be shot against thee for well-doing, according to thy covenant. Famous is the story of Hannibal, which he told king Antiochus, when he required aid of him against the Romans, "When I was nine years old (saith he) my father carried me to the altar, and made me take an oath to be an irreconcilable foe to the Romans. In pursuance of this oath, I have waged war against them thirty-six years. To keep this oath, I have left my country, and am come to seek aid at your hands, which, if you deny, I will travel all over the world, to find out some enemies to the Roman state." If an oath did so mightily operate in Hannibal; let the oath you are to take this day work as powerfully upon you; and make your oath an argument to oppose personal-sins and family sins, and to oppose heresy, schism, and all profaneness; and to endeavour to bring the church of God in the three kingdoms to the nearest conjunction and uniformity. And let this oath be armour-proof against all temptations to the contrary. And know this one thing, that if the covenant be not a daily argument and muniment against sin, it will become, upon your breaking of it, a daily witness against you, as the book of the law was, and an "everlasting shame and reproach" unto you and yours. 2. Let us have high thoughts of the covenant. Actions and affections follow our apprehensions. If thy judgment be belepered with a corrupt opinion about the covenant, thy affections and actions will quickly be belepered also: and therefore you ought to endeavour, according to your places, that nothing be spoken or written that may tend to the prejudice of the covenant. 3. You must take heed of the cursed sin of self-love, which is placed in the forefront, as the cause of all the catalogue of sins here named; "Because men are lovers of themselves, therefore they are covetous," etc., and therefore they are covenant-breakers. A self-seeker cannot but be a covenant-breaker: this is a sin you must hate as the very gates of hell.