scudderpage275

our consent, and have been so unfaithful in keeping promise with Christ.

Truth, fulness and firmness of consent of the will to receive Christ may stand with many doubtings, and with much weakness and sense of difficulty, in bringing the heart to consent. For so long as there is a law in your members warring against the law of your mind, you can never do as you would, Rom. vii. 23. If you can bring your hearts to will to consent and obey, in spite of all oppositions, this argues hearty and full consent, and a true faith, Isa. i. 19. Nay, if you can bring the heart but to desire to receive Christ, and to enter into covenant with God, made mutually between God and you in Christ, and that it may stand according to the offer which he makes unto you in his word, even this argues a true and firm consent, and makes up the match between Christ and you. Even as when Jacob related the particulars of an earthly covenant, into which he would have Laban enter with him, Laban's saying, I would it might be according to thy word, gave proof of his consent, and did ratify the covenant between them, Gen. xxx. 34. If you can therefore, when God offers unto you the covenant of grace, commanding you to receive Christ, in whom it is established, and to enter into this covenant; if, I say, you can with all your heart, say to God, I would it might be according to thy word; the covenant is mutually entered into, and the match is made between Christ and you.

And whereas it troubles you, that you cannot be so faithful to Christ, as your covenant binds you, it is well you are troubled, if you did not also make it an argument that you have no faith; for in that it heartily grieves you, that you cannot believe, nor perform all faithfulness to Christ, it is an evident sign that you have faith. You must not think that after you are truly married to Christ, you shall be free from evil solicitations by your old lovers; nay, sometimes a kind of violence may be offered, by spiritual wickedness, unto you, so that you are forced to many evils against your will, Rom. vii. 19; as it may befall a