In the second head of doctrine, viz., That it is the duty of a people who have broken covenant with God, to engage themselves again to him by renovation of their covenant; after proving the proposition by several heads of arguments deduced—­1st, From the lawfulness of entering into covenant with God, whether personal, as Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 20, 21, or economical, as Joshua and his family, Josh. xxiv. 15, or national, as God brought his people Israel under a covenant with himself, Exod. xix 5.  The consequence holding undeniably, that if it be lawful and necessary, in any of these respects, to enter into covenant with God, it must needs be also lawful and a duty to renew the same after the breach thereof. 2dly, From Scripture precedents of the people of God, who, after breaking off and declining from God’s covenant, renewed the same.  As for instance, the covenant made with Israel at Horeb, was renewed at the plains of Moab, Deut. xxxix;—­by Joshua, chap, xxiv.;—­by Asa, 2 Chron. xv. 13, 14;—­by Jehoiada, 2 Kings xi. 17;—­by Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxix. 10;—­by Josiah, 2 Kings, xxiii. 2;—­by Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezra, x. 3;—­Neh. ix ult. and x. 28, 29. 3dly, From Scripture precepts, Deut. xxix. 1—­“These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.”  Psalm, lxxvi. 11—­“Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God.” 4thly, From Scripture promises, wherein the Lord promiseth as a blessing and mercy to his church and people, that they should renew their covenant with him, Isaiah xix. 21, 23—­25; Zech. ii. 11.  For further opening of the proposition, these two questions were proposed and solved—­First, Whether all persons who have broken covenant with God may be admitted to renew the same? Answer, All sorts of persons in the three kingdoms are under the obligation of the covenant, and consequently, bound to renew and keep it inviolable; but all are not in present capacity, and therefore have no actual right to enter into covenant:  such as are obstinately wicked, living in error, profanity, or malignancy, have not God’s call and right from him, as such, to renew a covenant with him; for, Psal. 1. 16, 17—­“God says to the wicked, What hast thou to do to take my covenant in thy mouth?” But all such as are reformed, or reforming from all iniquity, and namely from the defections and compliances of the time; who have some suitable sense of the breaches, and competent knowledge and understanding of the duties engaged unto in the covenant, Neh. x. 28, have a right and an immediate call to the duty of renewing the covenant. 2dly, If any number of people may renew a national oath and covenant without the consent and concurrence of royal authority, or at least, without the concurrence of some chief and principal men in church and state? Answer, Without the concurrence of church and state, a covenant cannot be taken or renewed nationally,