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lecture. At present we barely remark, that it is duty to be fubmiffive to the divine dealings with your fouls. Are ye called to walk in darkness? the God of the covenant, who is infinite in wisdom, knows what is for your best advantage; he leads you in ways dark and gloomy, to keep you humble, and to teach you to live by faith, and to continue to make him your refuge. Leave then all your concerns with your God; prescribe not to him the WAY or the MANNER in which he ought to conduct you; but rather say, "Lord, however dark and difficult the path may be, "in which thou leadeft us, we lament not that we "have bidden an everlasting adieu to fin, to Satan, "to the world, and have chosen thee for our portion; "however it may fare with us in this life, we will, by thy grace, reft upon thy promifes." This is living by faith, and thus to live, would make you ashamed of living without repofing an entire confidence in your Saviour God; of living without cordially submitting to the providential and gracious dispensations of thy Redeemer.

But, PEOPLE OF GOD, who are MORE ASSURED, and whose grounds of encouragement are strong, and walk in the light of the Lord, feek ye to become still more established; and, to this end, daily examine yourselves by the marks of grace, which are recorded in the word of God, and often reflect upon your first exercises; when, hungering and thirfting after Christ and his righteousness, ye importuned God to beftow upon you his grace, and when the Spirit of the Lord, by his irresistible power, overcame you, and your hearts in anguish cried, "Lord, although thou art exalted "far above all principalities and powers, and art in"vested with infinite majefty and glory, yet, because thou condescendeft to regard worm Jacob, we, poor

"and naked as we are, come unto thee, and in thy

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strength, lay ourselves under inviolable obligations "to walk before thee in the land of the living."

But are ye indeed the covenant people of God? let it be your conftant endeavour to be adorned more and more with every Christian grace, and to be more and more conformed to the image of Chrift, that thus the world may fee that ye belong to that people whom the Lord has formed for himfelf, to show forth his praises.

Those who have entered into covenant with God, are on the fide of God: they come out boldly for the cause of God; they labour for God; they dare to speak in honour of his injured name, and their hearts are conftantly devoted to his service. Let then your conduct be more and more like that of those who can call Jehovah their covenant God; be not ashamed of him; cleave to him; give him daily your hearts: renew your covenant with him; efpecially when feated at the table of the Lord, which ye are foon to approach: then, believers, will God not only HERE, manifeft to you, that he is your covenant God; but, what is ftill more, he will put you into the FULL POSSESSION of falvation and eternal glory, when this fong of praise, in honour of your faithful Redeemer, will, throughout the never-ending ages of eternity, burft from your grateful hearts,-IN HIM

ALL THE PROMISES HAVE BEEN YEA AND AMEN.

THE END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

THE

PIOUS COMMUNICANT

ENCOURAGED,

AND DIRECTED IN WHAT MANNER HE MAY APPROACH

The Holy Supper of the Lord,

ACCEPTABLY TO GOD, AND PROFITABLY TO HIMSELF.

IN A SERIES OF LECTURES.

By the Rev. PETER IMMENS,

MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT MIDDLEBURG, IN THE PROVINCE OF

ZEALAND.

Tranflated

By JOHN BASSETT,

ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF THE REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, IN THE
CITY OF ALBANY.

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THE

PIOUS COMMUNICANT.

Lecture IX.

ON COVENANTING WITH GOD.

ON a late occafion we addreffed you on the interesting fubject of the SINNER's giving his cordial affent to the demands of God in the covenant. A fubject of fuch vaft importance could not be fully difcuffed in a single lecture: we have therefore been compelled to omit several points which, in our general divifion of the fubject, were propofed to be illuftrated. To those points we now folicit that attention which their magnitude demands.

I. How ought those to conduct themselves who are engaged in covenanting with God, fo that they may best evince their fincerity, and obtain for their fouls, divine confolation?

II. What SEASONS are the most proper for the folemn work of covenanting with God? Ought the foul only ONCE, or muft it FREQUENTLY engage in it? On what particular occafions fhould the covenant engagements of God's people be renewed?

III. What are the beft MEANS of preferving a Chriftian's confidence of his intereft in the covenant;

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