the Church of God, the command which, with
respect to the keeping of the second commandment, was delivered to
Israel--"Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the
Lord your God, which he made with you."[233] And in remembering that the
saints vow and endeavour constantly to keep all these commands, thus the
Psalmist vowed, "So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and
ever."[234] And thus the people of God, as a nation of kings and
priests, chosen, and called, and consecrated, to his service, have the
covenant of an everlasting priesthood.

All that God requires of man, is commanded as the keeping of his
Covenant. There is no statute of inspiration concerning faith or
practice, which might not, in innumerable ways, be shown to be included
in its appointments. All the exhibitions of Divine truth, are
representations of the provisions and duties of it. And however they may
be described in the sacred volume, the statutes ordained for the
regulation of the conduct of men, embody completely its demands. To
unfold the dictates of the Divine law, is to present the claims of that
covenant; and to endeavour to obey those dictates, is to use means to
satisfy these claims.

I. A covenant with God ought to engage all to duties to each one's
self. The Divine law inculcates upon men, not selfishness, but love to
themselves. The evils forbidden therein none should perpetrate, either
on others or on himself. The good to all that is there represented as
due, ought to be done not less to the individual who obeys, than to
others. In the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," it
is implied that men ought to love themselves. Calculated to show at once
the duty of all, and the practice of those who fear God, is the
declaration, "No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and
cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church."[235] Those who do not make
use of all the means which God has appointed for promoting the true
happiness of all individually, do not love themselves. Aware of this,
the believer, entering into a Covenant engagement with God, vows to
perform to himself the duties which correspond to his condition. These
are,

The cultivation of personal religion. Vowing and swearing to God in
secret are a part of this. That, and the other observances of it, are
incumbent, and behove to be kept; and as they ought to be regarded, they
ought to be promised in covenant. "I will call upon the Lord, wh