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FAITH'S PLEA upon GOD'S COVENANT.
Pſalm lxxiv. 20. Have reſpect unto the Covenant, &c.
THE, Pſalmiſt, in pleading for the church and people
of God, and that he would appear for them againſt
in the cloſe of the preceeding verſe, there is ſomething he
pleads God may not Forget, Forget not the congregation
of thy poor for ever;' and the rather he uſes this argument
becauſe he had ſaid, Pſal. ix. 14. 'The needy ſhall not be
forgotten; the expectation of the poor ſhall not periſh for
ever.' There is, in this verſe, ſomething he pleads, that
God may Remember and have regard unto, 'have reſpect
unto the covenant.' Thou haft brought us into covenant
with thee, might he ſay, and though we are unworthy to
be reſpected; yet have reſpect onto the covenant of pro-
miſe. When God delivers his people, it is in remembrance
of his covenant, Lev. xxvi. 42.. Then will I remember
my covenant with Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob; and I will
remember the land.' We cannot expect he will remember
us, till he remember his covenant: hence, therefore, we
propoſe to illuſtrate the following truth.
DOCT." That one of Faith's ſtrong pleas with God, is,
" That he would have reſpect to the covenant."
If we would deal with God for mercy, or plead with him
for favour, or look to him for any good at this occaſion,
let us expect it only upon this ground, the reſpect he bath
to the covenant, and plead upon this argument.
The method we would obſerve, as the Lord ſhall aſſiſt,
for briefly handling this ſubject, ſhall be the following.
I Shew what Covenant it is he will have a reſpect to.
II. What it is for God to have a reſpect to the covenant.
III. What it is if the covenant he hath a respect to.
IV. What kind of reſpect he hath to it.
V. Why he hath reſpect to it, and ſo why it is a ſuita-
ble plea and argument in ſuing for mercy,
VI. Make ſome application of the whole.
I. We are then firſt to ſhew what covenant it is he will
have a reſpect to. The covenant here ſpoken of is the co-
venant of grace and promiſe, made in Chriſt Jeſus 'before
the world began,' and publiſhed in this goſpel to ſinners,
