nefs, of which, according to Scripture, profeffing Chriftians and visible faints do make a profeffion and have a vifibility, is not any religion and virtue that is the refult of common grace, or moral fincerity (as it is called), but faving grace.-Yet there are many other clear evidences of the fame thing, which may in fome meas fure appear in all the following part of this difcourfe.--Wherefore,

II. I come now to another reafon, why I answer the queftion at first propofed, in the negative, viz. That it is a duty which in an ordinary ftate of things is required of all that are capable of it, to make an explicit open profeffion of the true religion, by owning God's covenant; or, in other words, profefedly and verbally to unite themfelves to God in his covenant, by their own public act.

Here I would (firft) prove this point; and then (fecondly) draw the confequence, and fhew how this demonftrates the thing in debate.

First, I fhall endeavour to establish this point, viz. That it is the duty of God's people thus publicly to own the covenant; and that it was not only a duty in Ifrael of old, but is fo in the Christian church, and to the end of the world; and that it is a duty required of adult perfons before they come to facraments. And this being a point of great confequence in this controverfy, but a matter feldom handled (though it seems to be generally ́taken for granted), I shall be the more particular in the confideration of it.

.

This not only feems to be in itself moft confonant to reason, and is a duty generally allowed in New England, but is evidently a great inftitution of the word of God, appointed as a very important part of that public religion by which God's people fhould give honour to his name. This inftitution we have in Deut. vi. 13. "Thou "fhalt fear the Lord thy God, and ferve him, and "fhalt SWEAR BY HIS NAME.” It is repeated, chap. x. 20. "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, him shalt "thou ferve, and to him fhalt thou cleave, and SWEAR BY HIS NAME. "In both places it might have been

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rendered; thou shalt fwear in his name, or into his name. In the original, bifhmo, with the prefix beth which fignifies in or into, as well as by. And whereas, in the latter place, in our tranflation, it is faid, to him fhalt thou cleave, and fwear by his name. The words are thus in the Hebrew, ubho thidhbák ubhishmo tiffbàbhéang. The literal translation of which is, into him fhalt thou cleave [or unite], and into his name shalt thou fwear. There is the fame prefix, beth, before him, when it is faid, Thou Shalt cleave to him, as before his name, when it is said, Thou shalt fwear by his name. Swearing into God's name, is a very emphatical and fignificant way of expreffing a perfon's taking on himself, by his own folemn profeffion, the name of God, as one of his people; or by fwearing to or covenanting with God, uniting himfelf by his own act to the people that is called by his name. The figure of speech is fomething like that by which Chriftians in the New Teftament are faid to be baptized BIS TO OVOμα, INTO THE NAME of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. So Chriftians are faid to be baptized into Christ, Gal. iii. 17. This fwearing by the name, or into the name of the Lord, is fo often, and in fuch a manner spoken of by the prophets as a great duty of God's folemn public worship, as much as praying or facrificing, that it would be unreasonable to understand it only, or chiefly, of occafionally taking an oath before a court of judicature, which, it may be, one tenth part of the people never had occafion to do once in their lives. If we well confider the matter, we fhall fee abundant reafon to be fatisfied, that the thing intended in this inftitution was publicly covenanting with God. Covenanting in Scripture is very often called by the name of fwearing, and a covenant is called an oath*. And particularly God's covenant is called his oath, Deut. xxix. 12. "That thou fhouldft enter into covenant with

*

As Gen. xxi. 23. to the end. xxvi. 28. to the end. xxxi. 44.53. Joh. ii. 12, c. 1 Sam. xx. 16, 17.42. 2 Kings xi. 4. Eccl. viii. 2. Ezek. xvi. 59. xvii. 16. and many other places.

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"the Lord thy God, and into his oath." Ver. 14. "Neither with you only do I make this covenant and "this oath." 1 Chron. xvi. 15, 16. “ Be ye mind"ful always of his covenant:-Even of the covenant " which he made with Abraham, and his oath unto "Ifaac." 2 Chron. xv. 12. "And they entered into "covenant to feek the Lord God of their fathers." Ver. 14, 15. "And they sware unto the Lord with a "loud voice: And all Judah rejoiced at the oath." Swearing to the Lord, or fwearing in, or into the name of the Lord, are equipollent expreffions in the Bible: The prefixes beth and lamed are evidently used indifferently in this cafe to fignify the fame thing. Zeph. i. 5. "That "fwear by the Lord, and that fwear by Malcham." The word tranflated to the Lord, is Laihovah, with the prefix lamed; but to Malcham is Bemalcham with the prefix beth, into Malcham. In 1 Kings xviii. 32. it is faid, "Elijah built an altar in the name of the "Lord;" befhem. Here the prefix beth is manifeftly of the fame force with lamed, in 1 Kings viii. 44. "The "house I have built for thy name or to thy name;" lefhem.

God's people in fwearing to his name, or into his name, according to the inftitution, folemnly profeffed two things, viz. their faith and obedience. The former part of this profeffion of religion was called, Saying, The Lord liveth. Jer. v. 2. "And though they fay, The "Lord liveth, yet furely they fwear falfly." Ver. 7. "They have fworn by them that are no gods:" That is, they had openly profeffed idol-worship. Chap. iv. 2. "Thou fhalt fwear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in

judgment, and in righteoufnefs; and the nations fhall "blefs themselves in him, and in him fhall they glory." (Compare this with Ifa. xlv. 23, 24, 25.) Jer. xliv. 26.

Behold I have fworn by my great name, faith the "Lord, that my name fhall no more be named in the "mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, "faying, The Lord liveth :" i. e. They fhall never any more make any profeffion of the true God, and of the true religion, but shall be wholly given up to Heathenifm,

See alfo Jer. xii. 16. and xvi. 14, 15. and xxiii. 7, 8. Hof. iv. 15. Amos viii. 14. and ver. 5.

Thefe words CHAI JEHOVAH, Jehovah liveth, fummarily comprehended a profeffion of faith in that all-fufficiency and immutability of God, which is implied in the name JEHOVAH, and which attributes are very often fignified in Scripture by God's being the LIVING GOD, as is very manifeft from Jofh. iii. 10. 1 Sam. xvii. 26. 36. 2 Kings xix. 4. 16. Dan. vi. 26. Pfal. xviii. 46. and innumerable other places.

The other thing profeffed in fwearing into the Lord was obedience, called, Walking in the name of the Lord. Micah iv. 5. "All people will walk every one in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of "the Lord our God for ever and ever." Still with the prefix beth, befbem, as they were faid to fwear befbem, in the name, or into the name of the Lord.

This inftitution, in Deuteronomy, of fwearing into the name of the Lord, or vifibly and explicitly uniting. themselves to him in covenant, was not prefcribed as an extraordinary duty, or a duty to be performed on a return from a general apoftacy, and fome other extraordinary occafions: But is evidently mentioned in the inftitution, as a part of the public worship of God to be performed by all God's people, properly belonging to the vifible worshippers of Jehovah; and fo it is very often mentioned by the prophets, as I obferved before, and could largely demonftrate, if there was occafion for it, and would not too much lengthen out this discourse. And this was not only an inftitution belonging to Ifrael under the Old Teftament, but also to Gentile converts, and Chriftians under the New Teftament. Thus God declares concerning the Gentile nations, Jer. xii. 16. If they will diligently learn the ways of my "people, to sWEAR BY MY NAME, THE LORD LIVETH, as they taught my people to fwear by Baal: Then fhall they be built in the midft of my people," i. e. They fhall be added to my church; or as the Apostle Paul expreffes it, Eph. iii. 19-22. "They fhall be

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no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens "with the faints, and of the household of God, and be

built upon the foundation of Chrift; in whom all the "BUILDING, fitly framed together, &c.-In whom "they alfo fhall be BUILDED for an habitation of God

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through the Spirit." So it is foretold, that the way of public covenanting fhould be the way of the Gentiles joining themselves to the church in the days of the gofpel, Ifa. xliv. 3, 4, 5. "I will pour water upon him

that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I "will pour my Spirit upon thy feed, and my bleffing upon thine offspring, and they fhall fpring up as a"mong the grafs, as willows by the water-courfes; one

fhall fay, I am the Lord's, and another fhall call "himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall SUB❝SCRIBE WITH HIS HAND unto the Lord"-As fubfcribing an inftrument whereby they bound themselves to the Lord. This was fubfcribing and covenanting themselves into the name of Ifrael, and fwearing into the name of the Lord, in the language of thofe forementioned texts in Deuteronomy. So taking hold of God's covenant, is foretold as the way in which the fons of the ftranger in the days of the gospel should be joined to God's church, and brought into God's fanctuary, and to have communion in its worship and ordinances, in Ifa. lvi. 3. 6, 7. So in Ifa. xix. 18. the future converfion of the Gentiles in the days of the gofpel, and their being brought to profefs the true religion, is expreffed by That, that they fhould SWEAR TO THE LORD OF HOSTS." In that day fhall five cities in the land of Egypt fpeak the language of Canaan, and fwear to "the Lord of Hofts." So in Jer. xxiii. 5-8. it seems to be plainly foretold, that after Chrift is come, and has wrought out his great redemption, the fame way of publicly profeffing faith in the all-fufficient and immutable God, by fwearing, The Lord liveth, should be continued, which was inftituted of old; but only with this difference, that whereas formerly they covenanted with God as their Redeemer out of Egypt, now they fhall as D

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