This is another excerpt from "The Gospel Covenant", by the New England Puritan, Peter Bulkeley. Spelling and grammar are as in the original.
"Faith looks at the manner of Gods invitation and call, when he invites us to come and enter into Covenant with him; he doth not offer himselfe to be a God to us to blesse us, without being a God over us, but links these two both together; If we will have his blessing, his peace, wee must be under his Dominion: Look as in a Common-wealth or Kingdome, none hath the benefit of the Law, but those that subject themselves to the Law: none have the protection of authority, but those that obey it; so here; God doth not promise to pardon our sinnes, leaving us still at our own liberty to live as wee list, but if he doe at all make a Covenant with us, he will be a God to us, as well to rule us, as to save us; To say, live as yee will, sinne as yee will, and yet you shall be saved, is the Devils Covenant, not Gods; and therefore it is that when the Lord calls us into a Covenant with himself, he bids us come out from among the wicked, separate yourselves, and touch no uncleane thing saith the Lord, 2 Cor.
6:17, and in this way he promises to receive us, and to be a God unto us; How vile soever we have been before time, it hinders us not from entring into Covenant with God, but if we will now become his people, we must henceforth walke no more as we had wont to doe; we must henceforth be separate from our uncleanesse, Eph. 4:17. Isa. 1, ver. 6, 7, 8, Come let us reason together, let us make an agreement, but withall wash you, make you clean, etc. This is the Lords manner of invitation, so that faith sees a necessity of submitting to Gods authority, because it may not take hold of one part of the Covenant without the other: If we will have God to be our God to pardon us, and to blesse us, wee must have him a God over us to govern us after his own will."
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