2. Secondly. "Thy people." This also is a note of distinction; for every people are God's people, but there is a distinction among them. All people, it's true, are God's people by right of creation: why therefore says he, _Thy_ people, and not _all_ people? Because all people belong not to Christ. God has authority over all indeed, but in a special manner He enters into covenant with some. All people who are subject to Him in His providence are not His peculiar people, His royal nation, His holy priesthood, His chosen generation, but only those of them who belong to Christ; those are properly termed to be His people. And we should remember of this, that those who are the people of God, they have notable privileges; they have all things that any people should have, and, whatever we should be, they have that. Where any are the people of God, there there is blessedness indeed, for they have His truth for their security, they have His love for their comfort, His power for their defence. The Lord God, He takes His people into His bosom, and with every soul He does so, and says, "I the Lord thy God enters in covenant with thee, and renews the covenant that before I made with thee." And then He lays a necessity upon thee, by His providence, that thou must enter into covenant with Him; and then He says to thee, "I will not remember thy sins any more; I know they are heinous, great, and many, but because thou desires that they should not be remembered, therefore I will not remember them. And because when ye have renewed your covenant with Me, ye will be aye in a fear to break it again, therefore I will write My law in your hearts. And so whatever I promise to you, I will perform it freely when ye are in covenant with Me; and whatever ye promise to Me, being in covenant with Me, I sall perform it for you also, at least I sall give you strength to perform it." And therefore to the end that ye may be perfectly blessed, enter into a covenant with God; and without ye be in covenant with Him, ye sall be in nothing but perpetual misery. I would have all of you to think this to be your only health, wealth, and peace, and your only glory in the world, to be in covenant with God; and so that ye are the people of God, I would not have you to count men to be rich and glorious men by their estates in the world--that he can spend so many chalders of victual yearly, or so many thousand merks. O, a silly, beggarly glory is this! Naked thou came into the world, and naked thou must go out of it again. But see how mickle thou has of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, how far thou art forward in the work of repentance, faith, &c., and such good actions. Learn to set your affections on things that are above, and testify it by your actions.