medy is left unto us? Only this of laying hold on the arm and ftrength of God in that covenant, wherein forgivenefs of fin is provided. Therein alone he faith, Fury is not in me; and the end will be, that we shall have peace with him both here and for ever. IX. The oath of God, engaged and interpofed in this matter, is another evidence of the truth infifted on. Now, because this is annexed unto the covenant before mentioned, and is its establishment, I fhall pass it over the more briefly. And in it we may confider; First, The nature of the oath of God: The apostle tells us, that he fware by himself: And he gives this reafon of it, because he had no greater to fwear by, Heb. vi. 13. An oath for the confirmation of any thing, is an invocation of a fupreme power that can judge of the truth that is fpoken, and vindicate the breach of the engagement. This God hath none other but himself, Because he could fwear by no greater, he fware by himfelf. Now, this God doth, 1st, By exprefs affirmation that he hath fo fworn by himself, which was the form of the first folemn oath of God, Gen. xxii. 16. By myself have I fworn, faith the Lord. The meaning whereof is, I have taken upon my myself as I am God, or let me not be fo, if I perform not this thing. And this is expreffed by his foul, Jer. li. 14. The Lord of Hofts bath fworn by his Soul, that is, by himself, as we render the words. 2dly, God doth it by the efpecial interpofition of fome fuch property of his nature, as is fuited to give credit and confirmation to the word spoken ; as to his holiness, Pfal. Ixxxix. 35. I have fworn by my holiness: So alfo Amos iv. 2. Sometimes by his life, As I live, faith the Lord. In the Hebrew, I live, faith God, it fhall be fo. And fometimes by his name, Jer. xliv. 26. God as it were engageth the honour and glory of the properties of his nature for the certain accomplishment of the things mentioned. And this is evident from the manner of the expreffion, as in that place of Pfal. lxxxix. 35. Once have I fworn by my holiness, that Cc 2 ५ I will I will not lie unto David; fo we: In the original the words are elliptical; If I lie unto David, that is, Ler me not be fo, nor be efteemed to be fo, if I lie unto David. Secondly, For the end of his oath; God doth not give it to make his word or promife fure and ftedfaft, but to give affurance and fecurity unto us of their ac complishment. Every word of God is fure and certain truth itfelf, becaufe it is his; and he might juftly require of us the belief of it, without any further atteftation. But yet, knowing what great objections Satan and our own unbelieving hearts will raise against his promises, at least as to our own concernment in them, to confirm our minds, and to take away all prétences of unbelief, he interpofeth his oath in this matter. What can remain of diftruft in fuch a cafe? if there be a matter in doubt between men, and an oath be interpofed in the confirmation of that which is called in queftion, it is an end, as the apoftle tells us, unto them of all ftrife, Heb. vi. 16. How much more ought it to be fo on the part of God, when his oath is engaged. And the apoftle declares this end of his oath, it is to fhew the immutability of his counfel, Heb. vi. 17. His counfel was declared before in the promife; but now fome doubt or ftrife may arife, whether on one occafion or other, God may not change his counfel; or whether he hath not changed it with fuch conditions as to render it useless unto us? In what cafe foever it be, to remove all doubts and fufpicions of this nature, God adds his oath, manifefting the unquestionable immutability of his counsel and promises, What therefore is thus confirmed, is afcertained unto the height of what any thing is capable of. And not to believe it, is the height of impiety. Thirdly, In this interpofition of God by an oath, there is unfpeakable condefcenfion of grace, which is both an exceeding great motive unto faith, and a great aggravation of unbelief. For what are we, that the holy and bleffed God fhould thus condescend unto us, as as for our fatisfaction and furety, to engage himself by an oath! One faid well of old; Felices nos quorum caufa Deus jurat; O infœlices, fi nec juranti Deo credimus. It is an inestimable advantage that God should for our fakes engage himfelf by his oath. So it will be our mifery, if we believe him not, when he fwears unto us. can we now object against what is thus confirmed? What pretence, colour, or excufe can we have for our unbelief? How juft, how righteous, how holy must their deftruction be, who, upon this ftrange, wonderful, unexpected warranty, refufe to fet their feal, that God is true. What These things being premised, we may confider how variously God hath engaged his oath, that there is for givenefs with him. First, He fweareth that he hath no pleasure in the death of a finner, but rather that he repent and live, Ezek. xxxiii. 11. As I live (faith the Lord) I have no pleasure in the death of a finner :-Now, without forgiveness in him, every finner muft die, and that without remedy. Confirming therefore with his oath, that it is his will the finner fhould return, repent and live, he doth, in the first place fwear by himself, that there is forgiveness with him for thefe finners that fhall fo repent and turn unto him. Again, whereas the great means he hath appointed for the forgiveness of fins, is by the mediation of the Lord Chrift, as we fhall afterwards fhew, he hath on feveral occafions confirmed his purpofe in him, and the counsel of his will by his oath. By this oath be promited him unto Abraham and David of old, which proved the foundation of the church's ftability in all generations; and alfo of their fecurity and affurance of acceptance with him; fee Luke i. 73, 74, 75 in taking upon him that office, whereby in an especial manner the forgiveness of fins was to be procured, namely, of his being a prieft to offer facrifice, to make an atonement for finners, he confirmed it unto him, and him in it by his path, Heb. vii. 20. He was not made a priest without an eath. And to what end? Namely, that he And And might be a furety of a better teftament, ver. 22. what was that better teftament? Why, that which brought along with it the forgiveness of fin, chap. viii. 12, 13. So that it was forgiveness which was fo confirmed by the oath of God. Further, the apostle fhews, that the great original promife made unto Abraham, being confirmed by the oath of God, all his other promises were in like manner confirmed. Whence he draws that bleffed conclufion which we have, Heb. vi 17, 18. As to every one, faith he, that flies for refuge to the hope. that is fet before him, that is, who feeks to escape the guilt of fin, the curfe and the fentence of the law, by an application of himself unto God in Christ for pardon, he hath the oath of God to fecure him that he shall not fail thereof. And thus are all the concernments of the forgiveness of fin teftified unto by the oath of God; which we have manifeftedto be the highest fecurity in this matter, that God can give, or that we are capable of. The name of God confirming the truth and reality of forgiveness with him. As alfo the fame is done by the properties of his nature. X. Another foundation of this truth, and infallible evidence of it, may be taken from that fpecial name and title which God takes unto himself in this matter; for he owns the name of the God of pardons, or the God of forgiveness. So he is called, Nehem. ix. 17. we have endered the words, Thou art a God ready to forgive; but they are, as was faid, (in the Heb :) And thou art a God of pardons, forgiveness or propitiations. That is his name, which he owneth, which he accepteth of the afcription of unto himself.The name whereby he will be known. And to clear this evidence, we must take in fome confiderations of the name of God, and the ufe thereof. As 1. The name of God is that whereby he reveals himfelf unto us, whereby he would have us know him, and own him. It is fomething expreffive of his nature or properties which he hath appropriated unto himself. What false name. Whatever therefore any name of God expreffeth him to be, that he is, that we may expect to find him ; for he will not deceive us by giving himself a wrong or a And on this account he requires us to truft in his name, because he will affuredly be found unto us, what his name imports. Refting on his name, flying unto his name, calling upon his name, praifing his name, things fo often mentioned in the fcripture, confirm the fame unto us, These things could not be our duty, if we might be deceived in fo doing. God is then and will be to us what his name declareth. 2. On this ground and reafon, God is faid then first to be known by any name, when thofe, to whom he reveals himself, do in an efpecial manner, reft on that name by faith, and have that accomplished towards them which that name imports, fignifies, or declares. And therefore God did not under the Old Testament, reveal himself to any by the name of the Father of Jefus Chrift, or the Son incarnate, because the grace of it unto them was not to be accomplished, God having provided fome better thing for us, that they without us Thould not be made perfect; they were not entrusted with the full revelation of God, by all his bleffed names. Neither doth God call us to truft in any name of his, however declared or revealed, unlefs he gives it us in an efpecial manner, by way of covenant, to rest upon. So he speaks, Exod. vi. 3. I appeared unto Abraham, unto Ifaac, and to Jacob (Heb) in the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them. It is certain, that both thefe names of God, Elifhaddai and Jehovah, were known among his people before. In the first mention we have of Abraham's addreffing himself unto the worship of God, he makes ufe of the name Jehovah, Gen. xii. 7. He built an alter unto Jehovah; and fo afterwards, not only doth Mofes make use of that name in the repetition of the ftory, but it was alfo of frequent ufe among them. Whence then it is faid, that God appeared unto them by the name of Elfhaddai, but not by the name of Je |