the work, and might prove matter of discouragement in the undertaking of it.  And what, upon the other side, might speak for us, and be ground of encouragement to us to go forward in humble and sincere endeavors to renew our covenant with the Lord.  Thirdly, To give some advices and directions to such as were resolved upon the work.  As for the first:  The considerations which make covenanting work weighty and difficult.  The first consideration was drawn from the greatness of the party to be covenanted with, the great and glorious Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who is a holy and jealous God, and who will not forgive the iniquity of such as are false hearted and perfidious in his covenant, obstinately persisting in their false dealing; so Joshua premonisheth a people making very fair resolutions and promises to serve the Lord, that it was a harder work than at the first sight they apprehended; “That they could not serve the Lord, in regard he is an holy God, he is a jealous God, and would not forgive their transgressions nor their sins; and that if they should forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he would turn and do them hurt and consume them, after he had done them good,” Josh. xxiv. 19, 20.  ’Tis a part of his name, Exod. xxxiv. 7. That he will by no means clear the (obstinately and impenitently) guilty.

A second consideration that makes the work of covenanting with God to appear a hard and difficult work, was taken from the nature of the work itself, which is to serve the Lord in a covenant way, and in the capacity of covenanted children, this covenant relation involving in it a walk and conversation in all things like the chosen of the Lord; and ’tis no small matter, so to walk, and so to behave as to be accounted worthy of a covenanted union with the Lord and interest in him, this covenant relation being confirmed with such awful sanctions, as in scripture we find, Neh. x. 29.  “They------entered into a curse and into an oath, to walk in God’s law,” &c.  This consideration, that covenanting work is weighty in its own nature, was further illustrated and amplified from the difficulty both of the things to be engaged against, and of the things to be engaged unto.  As for the former, the things to be engaged against, which is sin in all its kinds and degrees, and in all the inducements to it, both with reference to ourselves, and also as to participation in the sins of others.  This must first be put away, if one would be a right covenanter.  Well did old Jacob understand the necessity of this, who being resolved to go up to Bethel, to renew his covenant with God, that answered him in the day of his strait, advises his family first “to put away the strange gods that were amongst them, and to be clean.”  Gen. xxxv. 2.  So David assures us, Psal. xxxiv. 14, that departing from evil must precede doing of good.  A man that would lift up his face without spot in renewing covenant with God, must first “put