r from the context, verses 3d and 4th--"For I will pour
water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will
pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring. And
they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the
watercourses."

Under this head of doctrine, he gave the following marks to evidence
whether the present time of renewing our covenant with God was indeed to
us a time of the Lord's privileging us with his gracious presence--1st,
That a time of God's privileging his people with his gracious presence,
and with a shower of gospel grace, is a very inviting and alluring time;
wherein, as the Lord invites his people to their duty, by engaging their
hearts and souls, through his Spirit's gracious influences, to fall in
love with him and his commandments, so they mutually invite one another
to covenant with God. 2d, That such a time proves a soul-engaging and
taking time, wherein souls are engaged to fall in love with the
covenant, and with Christ the Mediator of the covenant, and are taken in
the net of the gospel. 3d, That a time of the letting out of God's
gracious presence is ordinarily a time of many sweet and excellent
resolutions, the people of God resolving to walk more accurately and
circumspectly in the ways of new obedience. 4th, That this usually is a
time of ridding marches, and clearing of evidences. 5th, That it is a
time of many and special confirmations of God's love to the soul. 6th,
That this time of God's letting out much of his gracious presence to his
people, is a very uniting and healing time to them amongst themselves.
Having given these marks, to show whether the Lord were, at the
occasion, letting out his gracious presence, he added, by way of
caution, that seeing (no doubt) the people of God would be expecting
something of all these, upon the undertaking of so great a work; if so
be that they found it not, they should not thence be induced to have
hard thoughts of the Lord, and to conclude that he keeps not his usual
method with his people, or is not so good to them as formerly he hath
been: for whatever defects there are upon his people's part, there is
none upon the Lord's, for he remains the same to them, providing they do
so to him; the change of his dispensations towards his people being from
the change of his people's deportment towards him.

The Second Doctrine, resulting more directly from the words, was, _That
the Lord's Spirit poured ou