venant. Concerning
which, we may receive some light from the notation of the original
words; 1. For a covenant. 2. For the making of a covenant. The Hebrew
_Berith (a covenant)_ comes from _Barah_, which signifieth two things:
_First_, To choose exactly, and judiciously. _Second_, To eat
moderately, or sparingly. And both these significations of the root
_Barah_, have an influence upon this derivative _Berith_, a covenant:
the former of these intimating, if not enforcing, that a covenant is a
work of sad and serious deliberation, for such are elective acts.
Election is, or ought to be made, upon the rational turn of judgment,
not upon a catch of fancy, or the hurry of our passions.

Now, in a covenant, there is a double work of election: _First_, An
election of the persons, between whom. _Second_, An election of the
conditions, or terms upon which the covenant is entered. As God's
covenant people are His chosen people, so must ours. Some persons will
not enter into covenant, though invited; and others, though they offer
themselves, are not to be admitted. They who are not fit to build with
us, are not fit to swear with us. Some offered their help to the Jews in
the repair of the temple, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God."
But this tender of their service was refused. "Ye have nothing to do
with us, to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will
build." What should we do with their hands in the work, whose hearts, we
know, are not in the work? The intendment of such enjoining, must be
either to build their hay and stubble with our gold and silver, or else
to pull down by night what they build by day, and secretly to undermine
that noble fabric, which seemingly they endeavoured to set up. We find
in this book of Nehemiah, that the persons combining in that covenant,
were choice persons. The text of the tenth chapter, sets two marks of
distinction upon them. _First_, "All they that separated themselves from
the people of the lands, unto the law of God." _Second_, All "having
knowledge, and having understanding." Here are two qualifications,
whereof one is spiritual, and the other is natural. The plain English of
both may be this, "that fools and malignants, such as (in some measure)
know not the cause, and such as have no love at all to the cause, should
be outcasts from this covenant." Such sapless and rotten stuff will but
weaken, if not corrupt this sacred band.

The tenor of the covenant now