another, if you desiderate my name, look the covenant subscriptions and
you will find it there; another shall say, whatever my name was before,
_my sirname now is an Israelite_. So sweetly should a shower of gospel
grace engage the hearts of the New Testament converts to avow their
covenant relation to the Lord, and glory in their union with his church
and covenanted people. Having taking up the sense of the words to this
effect, he deduced from them these two observations:

_1. That the Lord is graciously pleased sometimes to privilege his
people with very remarkable tokens of his gracious presence._ This
doctrine is clear 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