*«**. i v J' lAtkinson AcademY I*arY| ^ a % L i Ashelf, \JVo. PRESENTED BY ^^ This Book Most Be Kctoeked in Two Weeks. - vA 'j. VIEW OF THE mi y f«i a- M HIS KINCDOM IS AN EVERLASTING KINGDOM," "AMICUS SOCRATES, AMICUS PLATO, SED MAJOR AMICA VERITAJ." WOKCESTER : PRINTED BY THOMAS Sc STURTEVANT, In the Author ; sold by him and by Isaiah Thomas, Jun. in Worcester; by Thomas £2 Whip tLi,Neul/uryport; and by Thomai &Tap r an.. ¥ort:m$u'h }UQ7. District of Massachusetts , to wit : (t2) TBtit temCmtJCrCD, that on the sixteenth day V_ J °f April in the thirty first year of the Independence of the. U. States of America, Samuel Austin of said District, has deposited in this Office the title of a Book, the right whereof lie claims as author, in the words following-, to wit. " A View of the economy of the Church of God, as it ex- isted primitively, under the Abrahamic Dispensation, and the Sinai Law ; and as it is perpetuated under the more luminous dipensation of the Gospel ; particularly in regard to the Cove- nants. By Samuel Austin, A. M. Minister of the Gospel in Worcejler, Massachusetts. " HIS KINGDOM IS AN EVERLASTING KINCDOM." " AMICUS SOCRATES, AMICUS PLATO, SED MAJOR AMICA VIRITAS." In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the U, States, entitled, " An Act, for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Au- thors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an Act entitled, « An Act supplemen- tary to an Act, entitled, an Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies during the times therein mentioned ; and extending the benefits thereof to the Arts of Designing, Engraving, and Etching Historical, and other Prints, ,,.„ T J. ,, c euuv 7 Clerk of the District of WILLIAM S. SHAW, £ Massachusetts. INTRODUCTION. SEVERAL works have been published within a few years, both in Europe, and in this Country, concerning the Church of God ; particularly, the qualifications which are requisite for membership in it, its institutions, the persons to whom they ought to be extended, and the discipline which its officers, and ordinary members are to maintain in it- The. Baptist controversy, in which all these subjects are more or (ess involved, has been lately revived- Books are multiplied, "without bringing this controversy to a close. Difficulties still remain, to perplex the humble enquirer, and keep up the ve- hemence oj debate. Much truth is exhibited. But a clear, consistent scheme, disembarrassed of real difficulties, seems to be wanting. Such a scheme the Bible undoubtedly contains. To elicit this scheme is the only way to bring honest minds to an agreement. Whoever will candidly review the most ingen- ious Treatises zvhich have been published in the Baptist con- troversy, will perceive that the Padobaptists have a great pre- ponderance of evidence on their side of the question. It will, at the same time be perceived, that they are not as unit- ed as could be wished in the principles of their theory. Some rest the evidence that the infant seed oj believers are proper subjects of baptism, almost wholly upon the covenant which God established with Abraham- Others have not so much re- spect to this kind of argument ; but prefer to rest the defence of their opinion, and practice, upon what they apprehend to be the clearer intimations of the Gospel, and upsn the re- cords oj history. Different views are entertained of the na- ture of the Abrahamic covenant. It is debated whether this covenant was strictly, and properly the covenant of Grace ; what was the real import, and who iverc the objects oj' itr promises. Different opinions are entertained, and contrary \ ft INTRODUCTION. hypotheses advocated also, respecting the Sinai covenant, the dispensation by Moses generally, and {the constitution and character of the community of Israel. Some very respecta- ble and learned divines among the Padobaptists have adopt- ed the idea, that this community was of a mixed character, and have called it a Theocracy. Among the many advocates of this opinion are Lowman, Doddridge, Warburton, Guise, nnd the late John Erjkine. These Divines supposed, that the legation of Moses could be best defended against the ca- vils of unbelievers, by placing God at the head oj the commu- nity of Israel, as a civil governor, surrounding himself with the regalia, and managing his subjects with the penalties and largesses, of a temporal sovereign. The Antipcedobaptists have jound this hypothesis so convene ient a refuge from the attacks of their opposers, as to incor* porate it, with great ajfection, and as a radical principle, in- to their system oj reasoning. They have gone farther, and entirely accommodated the hypothesis to their peculiar notions* They insist, that this community was not, either in fact, or in the original plan of the institution, spiritual, and religious ; but civil and carnal ; and that, of course, the christian church is specifically different, and an entirely new society. It is the opinion of the Author oj the following Treatise, that this hypothesis has been adopted unwarily ; and not on- ly without, but against evidence. In view of this diversity of Sentiment, and the obscurity which seems yet to lie over these subjects, it was his opinion, that a distinct and accurate view, if one could be given, of the Hebrew economy, as established by Jthovahjrom its rise in the call of Abraham, and the covenant entered into with him, to its consummation in the Christian Church ; deduced, not from the fallible theories of men, but jrom the Bible it- self, was a great desideratum in the science of theology - Such a view he has attempted to furnish. Of his success the public must judge. Though he cannot but entertain the hope that he has succeeded, as to the main principles, he would be ad- venturous indeed to avow a confidence, that his work is with- INTRODUCTION. v cut error. Circumstantial errors however) whether they re- spect the matter or the manner, the reader is requested to re- member, will not invalidate the truth of the leading princi- ples. If these principles can be shewn to be wrong, the writ- er will be constrained to confess he has altogether jailed of his object. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Respecting the different meanings of the term Covenant, as it is ufed in the Scrip- tures. ... .... P a g e 9 CHAPTER II. Refpecting the identity of what are called the Covenant of Redemption, and the Covenant of Grace. ...... 16 CHAPTER III. Refpecting the character and relative ftate of Abraham, prior to God's cftab- lifhing with him that covenant, which is generally called the Covenant of Cir- cumcifion. -..-.-.25 CHAPTER IV. Refpecting the Covenant of Circumcifion. In this chapter an attempt is made to analyfe this covenant ; to (hew the nature and extent of its promifes ; who the leed are ; in what fenfe they are covenantees ; and to prove its perpetu- ity. ----•..- 33 CHAPTER V. Exhibitinga general view of the Community of lfrael, from the adminiftration of the Covenant of Circumcifion, to that of the Covenant of Sinai. - 93 CHAPTER VI. Refpecting the Covenants of Sinai and Moab. In this chapter it is enquired in what relpects the Covenant of Sinai is diftingiiifhab'e from the Covenant of Circumcifion, and the new Covenant predicted by Jeremiah and tzekiel, and mentioned by the writer of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, as taking effect under the Goipel Difpenfation ; whether the Covenant of Sinai was the Covenant of Woiks ; and whether it was defigned to form the Hebrew Community into a Civil, or to continue them a Religious Society. - - 1OO CHAPTER VII. Giving a general view of the actual character of the Hebrew Community, from the introduction of the Sinai Covenant to the advent of the MelTiah. 136 CHAPTER VIII. Refpecting the coincidence of Prophecies and Facts in regard to the advent of the Meifiah to his people (he Jews, his treatment of them while converlant among them, and the conclufions which are to be drawn from this treat- ment. - ...... 149 CHAPTER IX. Refpecting the rejection of the unbelieving part of lfrael, and the tranflation of the Meffiah's kingdom into the Gentile world ; in which, the union of be- lieving Jews and Gentiles, under hU immediate reign, is illustrated, 164 CONTENTS. vft CHAPTER X. Refpe&ing John's miniftry and baptifm, and the baptifm which was adminis- tered by John to the Mefliah. - - - - - icp CHAPTER XI. Refpe&ing the Lord's Day, the Loid'»Supper, and Chriflian Baptifm. In thii Chapter it is attempted to (he*', that thele ordinances are to be observed by Chriflian believers, as fcals of the fame covenant, of which the Jewifh Sab- bath, the PafTover, and Circumcifion were fca'.s. _ - 197 CHAPTER XII. Refpe&ing the memberfhip of infants in the Jewifh and Chriflian Church, the application of the feals to them, and the manner in which they arc to be treat- ed by the officers and adult members of the Church. - - 118 CHAPTER XIII. •RefpecYing the abrogation of the Sinai Covenant, and the difference between th« difpenfation which preceded, and that which followed the advent of the Mefliah. - - 37$ CHAPTER XIV. RcfpcfUng the converfion of the rejected Jews, their refloration to the land re- cured to them in the covenant, and the ingathering of the fulnefs of the Gen- tile*, which events arc to introduce the millennial giory. - 287 CHAPTER XV. Containing feveral intcrefling deductions and addrefTcs. - . ^oq The reader is referred to the Poftcript for feveral explanations fuggeftedby a review of the fleets t after tbey came from the frefs. On a review of this work, feveral typographical errors are difcovered. The greater number are to be found in the forepart of the book. Here alfo the punc- tuation is moll incorreft. So far as the accuracy of the Author feems to be im- plicated, he has an apology in an indifpofition, of which he wa& iubjett. while this part of the book was paffing through the prefs. The errors which the reader is requefled to correct arethefc. In page 21 For Pfalms, in three inftances, read Pfalm. 44 Sixth line from bottom, for convenant read covenant, 46 Bottom line in the note, for appears read appear. 5£ Tenth from bottom, for kindred read kindreds, 71 Second from top, for exjlufion read exclufitn. 9j Eleventh from bottom, for pachal read pafchal. 143 Top line, for difobience read difobediencc. 15O The top line of firft note, for tautohgus rend tautologous, and in the fecond line below, for interpratations read interpretations. 160 Sixth line from bottom, for dsys read days, 173 Sixteenth from bottom, for fucceejjive readfucccjfive. »75 In two inftances, for Ifreal read Ifrael. aao Here are two omiflions near the bottom, hrs t and ed, which the reader will fupply. CHAPTER I. Respecting the different significations of the word Covenant, as it is used in the scripture. J\ S we professedly design to examine the cove- nant of circumcision, as the constitutional basis of the Hebrew community, and shall have occasion to con- sider wherein it differs from other covenants with which it stands connected ; it may aid us in our en- quiries and guard us from error, to notice, in the first place, the different significations of the term covenant, as it is used in the holy scripture. 1. The word covenant is used in many parts of the scripture to express an absolute or unconditional prom- ise. It is evidently used in this sense, in the 9th chap, of Gen. 8th verse, and onward. " And God spake unto Noah and his sons with him, saying, And I, be- hold, I establish my covenant with you, and your seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, of every beast of the earth, and I will establish my covenant with you, nei- ther shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a .flood ; neither shall there be any more a flood to de- stroy the earth. And God said, this is the token of the covenant, which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you for perpetual gen- erations. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth. — And it shall come to pass when I bring a cloud over the earth, the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and all flesh, and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Here is no condition. — The engagement respects the irrational animals, as well as human beings, and is therefore absolute. No impiety on the part of man can make the engagement void. B [ io] The word covenant has evidently the same significa- tion in the promise which God makes to David, as ex- pressed in the 89th Psalm, from the 20th verse, and onward. This passage, because it not only confirms- the idea, that the word covenant sometimes means an unconditional promise, but reflects light on our main subject, I shall quote at large. " I have found David ' my servant, with my holy oil have I anointed him. — With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy also shall not exact upon him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. But my faithfulness and my mercy sjhall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my first born, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep with him forever more, and my cov- enant shall forever stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake my law ; and walk not in my judgments, if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments ; then will I visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. Once have sworne by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever as the moon, and as a faithful wit- ness in heaven." Here are several promises wrought into this covenant. They hadan ultimate respect to the Mes- siah, the root and the offspring of David ; his Lord and heir ; God's first born. They are of the same tenor, and are, as is plain from the terms in which they are expressed, and from the nature of the purpose which they reveal, absolute. David indeed complains, in the following verses, as though they were made void ; but [11] this complaint has respect to present contrary appear- ances only, and is corrected at the close of the Psalm. M Blessed be the Lord, forever more, Amen & Amen.'* This covenant, though equally absolute with that addressed to Noah, differs from it in this respect, that it involves personal allegiance on the part of David, and his seed. This was not a contingenee upon which the covenant was suspended ; but essential to the exe- cution, and secured by the terms of it. This distinc- tion, between some absolute promises and others, the reader is desired to keep in remembrance ; for it will be of use in ascertaining the divine economy in re- gard to the Church. 2. The word covenant is sometimes used in the scrip- ture to signify law. In Deuteronomy iv. 13. the ten commandments are expressly called God's covenant. "And he declared to you his covenant to perform , even ten commandments j and he wrote them upon two tables of stone." The ark, because it contained these two tables of the law, was called, " the ark of the covenant." The word law, it is true, is sometimes used in a large sense, as intending the whole of the Pentateuch ; and thenjt comprehends the sacrifices, the purifications and festivals, with their special design, the history of facts, and the promises, wrought into the dispensation by Moses. In this sense the word lain appears to have been generally used by the Jewish Rabbis. And in this sense it is used by our Lord, 'when he says, Luke xxiv. 44th, " These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet . with you ; that all things must be fulfilled, which are written in the law cf Moses , and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.*' But we see from the quotation just made, that the word covenant is used to signify the law, in the strict- est sense ; as a mere rule of obedience. * S. The term covenant is applied, Exodus xxxi. 26 to the Sabbath. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall * This use of the term covenant is by no means peculiar to the scripture. The Pythagorian and Orphic schools among theGrecks, gave this name to their pre. fepts. " Et*pro legibus apud Oiphicos jMTPythagoristas ; nam hi, pK£tcrip_ ts« suo gregi vivendi norma*, ^taGaxa?, vocabant Peli ProlcgomtnA in Uatikanm. I [ 12] eep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." It is not perhaps necessary to stay here to enquire in what sense the sabbath is a covenant. It may be just observed, that it seems to be a covenant in the same sense that circumcision is called a covenant ; i. e. as a standing token in Israel, that Jehovah was their God. This is the view given of it by God himself. Ezekiel, xx. 12, " Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." 4. In Exodus, xxxiv. 10, the word covenant is used to express the triumphs of divine power over the enemies of Israel \ in which God signally appeared in their be- half as their God. "And he said, Behold I make a covenant ; before all thy people will I do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any na- tion ; and all the people amongst whom thou art, shall see the work of the Lord ; for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. Observe thou that which I command thee this day. Behold I drive out before thee, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebuzite." These triumphs of God over the enemies of Israel, were another token, or testimony, that they were his people, and that he was their God. 5. Our Lord Jesus Christ is called a covenant. Isaiah, xlii. 6, " I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles." That this passage relates to Christ, is ev- ident from the application which the Evangelists make to him of the verses with which it is connected. He is a covenant, as he is the leading subject of promise, and the sum of the blessing bestowed upon sinners. 6. The word covenant is used in Job, xxxi. 1, for a pious resolution. " I made a covenant with my eyes ; why then should I think upon a maid ?" 7. The word is used ,to signify the established order in ivhich the planetary system revolves. Jeremiah xxxiii. [is] 20, " Thus saith the Lord, if you can break my cove- nant of the day, and my covenant of the night ; and that there shall not be day and night in their season ; then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, &c." That the word covenant here does not look back directly to the promise made to Noah ; but rather respects the continuity of the revolutions of the heavenly bodies ; which, however, is partly in fulfil, ment of that promise, is, I think, evident from a cor- responding passage in the 31st chapter, 35th verse. " Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon, and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar, the Lord of Hosts is his name. If those" ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever." 8. The word covenant sometimes signifies in the scripture, as it does more generally, when applied to the transactions of men with each other, an agreement which is mutual. The word under this meaning is ap- plied to the compact which was entered into between Israel and the Gibeonites. This compact consisted of mutual engagements. In our English version it is in- deed called a league. But in the Seventy the same word is used, which is generally rendered covenant. The word covenant, as importing mutual agreement, is applied to the contract of marriage, Malachi ii. 14, " Yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy cove- nant." In marriage there are always mutual engage- ments. 9. The word covenant is used to signify a condition- al promise on the part of God, to secure the felicity of men, upon their appropriating him, and maintaining their allegiance to him, as their God. In this sense it is evidently used in Deuteronomy, v. 2, 3, *' The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horcb. — The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day." This covenant is here expressly distinguished from pre- [14] vious covenant transactions with the Patriarchs. It 13 found in the 19th chapter of Exodus, 5 and 6 verses j and, as there laid down, is undeniably a conditional promise. " Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a pecu- liar treasure unto me, above all people, for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Jsrael." Law was involved in this covenant, as will be seen hereafter. Still, it is evident the word covenant has respect here, at least in part, to promise. And this promise is conditional. 10. The word covenant is used to signify the sanc- tification of the heart by the special influences of the Holy Spirit, involving a cordial acceptance of the over- tures of grace on the part of him who is a subject of this sanctification. A passage in the 3 1st chapter of Jeremiah presents this idea of covenant. " Behold the days come saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. But this shall be the covenant which I shall make with the house of Israel after those days saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; and I ivillbe their God, and they shall be my people." This covenant is mentioned again in the 40th verse of the next chapter. " And I will make an everlasting cov- enant with them, that I will not turn away from thqjn to do them good ; but I will put my fear in their hearts and they shall not depart from me." It is to be observ- ed, that the promise of God is one thing, and the event t which he engages to bring to pass, is another. It is the latter which is here called a new covenant. It consists in the actual renovation of the hearts of the people of Israel and Judah ; and in God's becoming spiritually and unalterably united to them as their God. This covenant was made with the house of Judah oiv [15] their return from the Babylonian captivity ; and again under the ministry, and after the ascension of Jesus Christ ; but will be made, in a far more extensive and glorious manner, and, in complete fulfilment of the promise, at some future period. Here then we have ten distinct senses in which the word covenant is used in the Bible, without adverting to the nature of the covenant of circumcision. If the word has so many distinct meanings in the scripture, it must be hazardous to assume any particular defini- tion of covenant, as applying in all cases, or even gen- erally v Nor is it safe to say, that it is here to be taken literally, and there figuratively. It is not certain that it is once used in a figurative sense either in the Old Testament or the New. Like many words in all lan- gnages, it has a large and inappropriate signification. The idea which it is designed to convey, in any partic- ular placets to be ascertained,from the subject to which it is applied, and the transactions which it expresses. Some of these distinctions respecting the meaning of this word will come into vi&v, and appear to have their use, as we progress in our enquires. CHAPTER II. Respecting the identity of what are commonly called, the Cove- nant of Redemption, and the Covenant of Grace. IN the most approved systems of Divinity, the word covenant is often used to express an agreement ■which is supposed to have taken place in eternity, be- tween the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, in regard to the redemption of the Church. This supposed agree- ment is, hence called the covenant of redemption. The ■word is used also to express the promise made by God to every believer, that he will ultimately bestow upon him the blessedness of heaven. This blessedness is promised and conferred wholly, of grace. Hence the promise is called the covenant of grace. Nei- ther of these phrases, the Covenant of Redemption or the Covenant of Grace, i£ to be found in the scrip- ture. There are however those covenant tranactions which they are meant to designate. That we may fix the covenant of circumcision in its place in the economy of God, and have correct views of the nature of its promises, it is necessary that we should settle the question, if we can, whether there is any foundation in the scripture for this distinction ; or whether these covenants are two ; or are only distinct modifications of one and the same covenant. Writers have different opinions on this question. Some con- tend for two covenants, numerically distinct from each other. Others insist that there is but one.* The * "The distinction between a covenant of Grace, and a covenant of Redemp- tion is without any foundation in the word of God." Gill's reply to Clark, page 10. " The covenant of Redemption subsist? between the three persons of the Trinity, and was eternal. But the covenant of Grace was between God and fallen man, and none are brought into this covenant unless they do, in some way assent to its conditions." Cowles, on the identity of the Jewish and Christian Church, page 7th. "There is only one covenant of God's making, the covenant of Grace and Redemption, for the eternal salvation of mankind sinners. The scrip- ture reveals but one for that purpose, the new covenant, the everlasting covenant." Cib's Sacred Contemplations, paje 142. I C 17] covenant of Redemption, by all who admit the thing, is allowed to be brought into view in Isaiah, liii. chap- ter, 10, 11, and 12 verses. " When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He snail see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many ; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong ; because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgres- sors, and he bare the sin of many, and made inter- cession for the transgressors." This is understood to be a promise on the part of God the Father to the Son. The ground of this promise was, the Son's making his soul an offering for sin. This event was as certain us the purposes of God are unalterable, and un- frustrable. The promise therefore, was suspended upon no contingence, and must take effect. It engag- ed a seed, and the salvation of that seed ; so that they must all infallibly be saved. Accordingly our Savior ob- serves, John vi. 37, " All' that the Father givcth to me shall come to me ; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." •What is called the covenant of grace, is brought in- to view, in all the promises which are addressed by God to believers generally. An example we have in this promise, Hebrews xiii. 6, " I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." % The question, now is, whether the term covenant ma) - not apply to these two ca^es of promise, without a numerical, and with onlv a modal distinction. Let it be here remarked, that God's promise of eter- nal life to men, assumes different attitudes, under dif- ferent circumstances. It is sometimes addressed td men conditionally > as a mere proposal. Thus it is pre- sented in the 55th chapter of Isaiah, first verse. " Ho, every one that thirstcth, come ye to the waters ; and he that hath no monev, come, buy and cat, yea, come s C [ 18 ] «. buy wine and milk, without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. In- cline your ear, and come unto me, hear and your soul shall iive ; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." Here God proposes a covenant to men, which is certainly a gra- cious covenant ; for it comprehends the sure mercies of David, or the blessing of eternal life. The promise is conditional. 7/* they will incline their ear and hear, their soul shall live. But sometimes this promise be-* comes a matter of mutual agreement. After having been proposed, as it must ever be in order to be an object of personal faith ; it has an application ; or is car- ried into effect, by virtue of the consent of him to whom it is proposed. In the former case it secures no bles- sing. In the latter it secures all blessings. For the promise as conditional might be made to mankind uni- versally ; and be as universally disagreed to. No ef- fect would then follow but their heavier condemnation* But no man can embrace the promise and fail of salva- tion.* Here is a very important modal difference, yet the promise is numerically the same. — Perhaps the distinction between the covenant of Redemp- tion, and what is called the covenant of Grace is anal- ogous to this ; not that they are two, but the same covenant under different modifications ; first, in the form of an absolute promise, made by the Father to the Son ; then revealed and proposed to men ; and then applied and carried into effect, in the persons of those who consent to it. If this should appear to be the case, it will be coincident with, and therefore confirmed by, the innumerable examples in which the word covenant, when it respects the great work of redeeming grace, is used in the singular. It is scarce ever used in the plural. • All the conditional or hypothetical promises recorded in the Bible, are, I conceive, the covenant of Grace or Redemption, call it which you will, presentsd in this form of a proposal. And all the absolute promises are this covenant ap- plied or carried into effect with respect to the elect. In the latter case the prem- ises arc )ca and amen. [19] As the covenant state of all the elect is the same, except that some have actually embraced the covenant, and some have not, let us, to ascertain and settle this matter conclusively, have our eye upon an individual, say B. Suppose then that God the Father, promised the Son, that B should be one of his seed, and adorn, his triumphs.* The nature, time, and manner, of the salvation of B, are to be understood as comprehended in the promise, which we suppose to be made respecting him : viz. that salvation should be proposed to him ; that he should be influenced to embrace this proposal ; be made a subject of the indwelling of the Spirit ; and in consequence inherit eternal life. The promise de- pended upon no contingence, and could not fail. Thus B. was " chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that he should be holy and without blame before God in love. He was predestinated to the adoption of a child." The promise in this case, which is of the na- ture of choice and predestination tp life, is what is in- tended by the Covenant of Redemption. It is evident that this promise completely interested B in the bles- sings of the covenant. No posterior circumstance could interest him more perfectly. All that should follow, in relation to his salvation, would be but the (execution of this promise. In the course of events B exists, as a revolted and guilty creature. At the time, and in the manner fixed on, it is revealed to him, that God means to save a part of that revolted race to which he belongs. He is not now told that he is one designated. But he is told that Christ has laid dou n his life for the sheep ; that salvation through him is tendered to men indiscrimin- ately ; that the door of mercy is open, and he may enter • The justness of applying the promise of the covenant of redemption to an individual will surely not be contested. For it has a full warrant in these wordi of our Savior, John, vi. 37. //.$yW, and executed. But neither the publication, nor execution of a prom- ise, forms numerically another promise. So far therefore as the term covenant is applied to either in a distinct sense, it can only mark a new modification in which the covenant of Redemption is placed. [21] It will appear in the progress of this work, that there is an exact similarity between the promises of the cov- enant made with Abraham and those of the covenant of Redemption. We cannot anticipate the analysis of the former which is to be given. But so much may be here observed. There was a seed of some sort, with which God promised Abraham that he would establish his covenant, so as to be their God. Supposing this promise to be absolute, which will be proved ; it was just like the promise made by God the Father to the Son. The promise to the Son, was ; that he would give him a seed ; that he would establish his cove- nant with that seed ; and be their God. The prom- ise to Abraham was ; that God would give him a seed ; that he would establish his covenant with that seed ; and be their God. Let us now sup- pose, that Moses was one of the seed of Abraham promised to him, and respected in the covenant made with him, as he undoubtedly was. The promise then se- cured, that Moses should exist, that he should embrace the covenant, and walk in it ; and that God would be his God. Moses exists, and at a. particular moment actually embraces the covenant. But a numerically distinct covenant is not now established with Moses. If this were true, there would be as many covenants as there are believers. No, it is the covenant of Abraham, which is now, in fulfilment of the promise of it, estab- lished with Moses. It is this identical covenant ap- plied and executed with respect to him. Moses and Abraham are in the same covenant. This illustrates and confirms the identity of the covenants of Redemp- tion and Grace. Hence the word covenant, v* hen it is used with respect to the blessing, is so universally in the singular. It may be useful to refer to a few passages. Psalms, xxv. 14, "The secret cf the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will shew them his cove- nant" Psalms, Ixxiv. 20, "Have respect unto the covenant." Psalms, cxi. 5, " He hath given meat un- to them that fear him, he will be ever mindful of his covenant." Isaiah, lvi. 4, " For thus saith the Lord [22] unto the Eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my cove- nant." Hosea, vi. 7, " But they like men have trans- gressed the covenant."' Matthew, iii. 1, "Even the messenger of the co tenant." Acts, iii. 25, " Ye are the children of the covenant.' 1 '' Hebrews, ix. 15, "And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, or covenant, that by means of death for the redemption of tlie transgressions which were under the first testa- ment, they which are called might recive the promise of eternal inheritance." Surely this language, which runs through the scripture, from beginning to end, is against the idea, that God has two or more distinct gra- cious covenants respecting his redeemed people, securing their salvation. Nor, as Dr. Gill correctly observes, is there one word in scripture in favor of sucha distinction.* We shall go upon the principle then, that the cove- nant, meaning by covenant, that which is equivalent with efficient promise (for the term, as it means law, tok- en, &x. is here out of the question) is one, and shall call it God's gracious covenant. This one covenant is the substance of that revelation which God has given to us in the Holy Scriptures. The historic and prophetic parts of the scripture are to be viewed as illustrating the manner in which God exe- cutes the promises of this covenant. The devotional parts chiefly consist in celebrating the omnipotence, the wisdom, the faithfulness and grace with which it is carried into affect. All the assurances which are there addressed to individuals, or the church at large f all the benedictions pronounced ; all the tender names God is pleased to assume and the condescending manner in which he is pleased to declare, that he unites him- self to saints as their God ; are so many illustrations of the plenitude of grace which it contains. The law is a schoolmaster to lead us to him who is the media- tor of it. The blood of Christ is the blood of this * But the Dt. did not perceive how this idea militates entirely with the view he has given us, and which is given us in the writings of Baptists generally, of the Abrahamic covenant, of the nature of the Hebrew community, and of cxclq. iiv« adult membership and baptism. How it doc* will be »ccr» bi the sequel. [23] covenant solemnly sealing- it. " For," Matthew, xxvi, 28, " this is my blood of the New Testament." This one covenant is the flourishing stock on which every promise to man gro\vs,\vhether absolute or condi- tional, relative to one dispensation or another, to time or to eternity. On the basis of this covenant it is prop- er for God to make any promise that he sees fit, td families or to individuals. Hence we find in fact, par- ticular promises made to one person, which are not made to another. Some promises were made to Abra- ham, which have not been made to any other of the hu- man race. And this is true of Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Daniel, Peter and Paul. A promise was made to the widow of Sarepta, which was made to no other human being. Some of these promises are absolute, some of them conditional. It cannot per- haps be strictly correct to say of one of these particular and appropriate promises, separately considered, that it is the gracious covenant of God y or the covenant of grace, any more than it can be correct to say of a branch, that it is the tree. But as the nature of a branch is de- termined by the tree on which it grows ; so it must be safe and correct to say, that all these particular prom- ises, shooting out from God's gracious covenant, as the parent stock, are exclusively of a gracious nature, and belong to it. To adopt the beautiful and expressive figure of Paul, Romans, xi. the covenant is an olive tree, (a svm- bol of peace) planted in a bountiful soil, cultured by the hand of efficacious grace, full of fatness, shooting up to heaven, and spreading into an infinite multitude of branches. The branches are distinguishable from each other ; but they all depend upon the tree, and be- long to it. They may be perpetually multiplying ; yet the tree is but one.* • Herman Witsiuj, in his Economy of the Covenants, treats the Covenant of of Grace and the Covenant of Redemption as distinguishable. Yet he is con- strained to speak of them as essentially the same. His words are, Vol. I. page 382, »' If we view the substance of the covenant, it is but only one, nor is it possible it should be otherways.— (He means the covenant of grace.) And that Testament which was consecrated by the blood of Christ, he (Paul) calls everlasting ; becaust *r net itttUdfrom eternity, published imnicdmely upan the fall of the first mu [24 ] Aided by this extended view of God's gracious covenant, we shall be better able to understand the na- ture of God's transactions with Abraham. To which therefore we will next proceed. constantly handed down by the ancients, msrc fully explained by Christ him- self and his apostles and is to continue throughout all ages ; in virtue of which believers shall inherit eternal happiness." Most undoubtedly it is the covenant of Redemption which was fixed in eternity, and in virtue of which believers inherit eternal happiness. In like manner, Dr. Samuel Hopkins says, System, 2d. Vol. page 93, " The Covenant of Grace, when understood in the most extensive sense, comprehends all the designs and transactons respecting the redemption of man by Jesus Christ. In this \ lew, it comprehends the eternal purpose of God, the father, Son and Holy Ghost, to redeem man, fixing the manner of it, and every thing that relates to it, and entering into a mutual agreement or covenant, in -which the part which each person should perform, as distinguished from the o-her, was fixed and voluntarily undertaken." Here certainly is the covenant of .Redemption. Vet, strange to tell ! The Dr. attempts to make an entirely distinct thing of the Covenant of Grace. The reason of this confusion is, that it is im- possible to give any account of the one, without comprehending the other. In the Covenant ot Grace simply an agreement which subsists between God and the individual believer ? Then it had its beginning in time. For the agreement could not exist belore the believer himself existed. And then there are as ma- ny Covenants of Grace as there are be' ; evers. For the agreement which subsists between Cod and me, is not an agreement which subsists between God and an- other person, In short, a Covenant of Grace, distinct numerically from the Cove- nant ot Redemption, is an indefinable thing. CHAPTER III. Respecting the character and relative state of Abraham, prior to God's establishing with him that covenant which has been commonly styled the covenant of circumcision ; or prior to that covenant transaction recorded in the 17th chapter of Genesis. IT is undeniable that from a period not very- remote from the first apostacy, to the calling of Abra- ham, there were pious persons in the world. Abel, Enoch, and Noah, were eminently of this character. — Others there were who were distinguished from the idolatrous, and irreligious part of mankind, as the sons of God. But so little is said respecting their open sep- aration and union, under covenant bonds ; or as a col- lective society ; that we can scarcely discern an organ- ized Church during that whole period. The calling of Abraham was a new epoch in the history of the work of redemption. It was an event which had special respect to the Messiah ; and the establishment, increase, and perpetutity, of his kingdom in a compact- ed state, and before the eyes of the world. Abraham was a person of real piety. He was strong in faith, giving glory to God. He is spoken of in the scriptures, in terms of high commendation, in that light. God testifies of him, Genesis, xviii. 19. " For I know him, that he will command his children, and his house- hold after him ; and they shall keep the way of the Lord ; to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he "hath spoken of him." He is called by way of eminence, " the friend ofGod.^ Isaiah, xli. 8. He is spoken of by Jesus Christ, as the Father of the whole body of Israel. John viii. 56. " Your Father Abralv.m rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad." And the whole D [26] body of believers, from Christ, to the end of the world, are placed in connexion with him, as his children. — All who are of f lith are asserted to be children of, and to be blessed with, faithful Abraham. Believing Jews, and believing Gentiles, have one common spiritual re- lation to him. Galatians iii. 28, 29. '■ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female ; for ye arc all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abra- ham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." All inferior distinctions are ultimately lost in the unity of the family state. This family is the Church ; the Church, as a collective and associated body, under im- mediate divine superintendance, and protection. In order then to obtain right ideas of the constitution and duration of the Church of God in this view, we must begin with this illustrious patriarch. We must en- deavor to ascertain as accurately as we can, the relation to God in which he stood, and the peculiar nature of those covenant transactions which took place between God and him. The first thing we hear of importance respecting Abraham is his calling, or his open separation, in obe- dience to the command of God, from his kindred, and the place of his accustomed habitation. Genesis, xii. 1, " Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation. And I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and I w ill curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abraham depart- ed as the Lord had spoken unto him : And Lot went with him. And Abraham was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abraham took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran, and they went forth into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came." [27] It is evident that Abraham was at this time, a subject of faith. His prompt obedience to the command of God, in the face of so many natural inducements to the contrary, is proof of it. Faith was the principle of this obedience. For the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in the 11th chapter and 8th verse of that Epistle, tells us, " By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out, into a place, which he should after receive for an inheri- tance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went." He was separated from his father's house, led to Canaan, his future earthly inheritance, a type and pledge of the heavenly, was blessed of God, and designated to be a blessing, as a subject of faith. The promises attached to this call were comprehen- sive of all good. They implied an indissoluble and holy relation between God and Abraham ; and had evi- dently in view, the establishment of the Church in the persons of his descendants ; the advent of the Messiah, who, according to the flesh, was to proceed from his loins ; and, by a scries of antecedent and subsequent events, the accomplishment of that great salvation, of which the Messiah is the author, and the finisher. This is evident from the obvious import of these promises ; but will be made to appear more clearly in the sequel. This initial proceeding on the partof God, was altogether gracious, and ought to be understood as giving a char- acter to all subsequent transactions with this patriarch, and the events which followed, in regard to the family of which he was now publicly and solemnly constituted head. The promises were certainly of a gracious na- ture. All promises made by God to creatures wjio have become obnoxious to punishment by sinning a- gainst him, must be of this nature. The law and prom- ise are contrasted. The law worketh wrath. Prom- ise is the language of peace. It holds out a bkssi?ig. Hence the apostle Paul so carefully distinguishes be- tween law and promise. Galatians iii. 18, " For if the inheritance be of the law it is no more of promise ; but God gave it to Abraham by promise." God de- clares here that he will curse all who curse Abraham. [28] He is here then, as expressly as possible, recognized as a subject of grace, and all the blessings secured to him are promised upon this ground. These promises are not conditional, but absolute. They are suspended upon no contingence. They are an irrecoverable grant, and must take effect. Another promise made to Abraham is mentioned in the 7th verse of this chapter. " And the Lord ap- peared unto Abraham, and said, unto thy seed ivill I give this land." This promise also, is, for the reasons just mentioned, of a gracious nature, and proves that Abraham was now a subject of special grace. The promise of a numerous posterity, and of the land of Canaan to be given them for a possession, is renewed to Abraham in the 14, 15, 16, and 17 verses ; and, as in the former case, proves his covenant interest in the divine favor. This holy relation Abraham ratifies by building an altar unto the Lord in Hebron, verse 18. Afterwards we find it openly acknowledged, and confirmed, by the benediction of Melchizedek, king of Salem, and priest of the Most High God, who went forth to meet him, as he was returning in triumph from the vale of Siddim. Genesis, xiv, 18, 19. " And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine ; and he was the priest of the Most High God, and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth." Melchizedek was an extraordinary character. In him, as in the Savior, vyere united, the offices of prophet, priest, and king. This benediction was prophetical ; and the offices of priest and king are expressly assign- ed to him. His priesthood was altogether distinguish- able from the order of Aaron, and superior to it. For the tribe of Levi, which enjoyed the Aaronic priesthood, was in the loins of Abraham, when Melchizedek met him ; and as the less was blessed of the better. Hebrews vii. 6, 7. " But he whose descent is not counted from them, received tithes from Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all controversy s the less is blessec^of the better." [29] He was not probably Christ himself ; but was a re- markable type of him. For, Hebrews, vii. 3, " Be- ing made like unto the Son of God, he abideth a priest continually." As the contrast of the mortal state of the priests of the Aaronic order, it is " witnessed of him that he liveth," 8th verse. Five times, in this Epistle to the Hebrews, is Jesus mentioned as, "made a priest forever after the order of Melchizedck." As such a remarkable type of Christ, Melchizedek was commissioned to bear the blessing to Abraham. — And as an outward testimonial of it, to which the ap- pointed elements in the Lord's supper are probably conformed, he brought forth bread and wine. In this whole transaction we perceive a wonderful coincidence with the dispensation of the Gospel. Here is in fact a Gospel preacher, an extraordinary representative and forerunner of the adorable Jesus, bringing srlad tidinas of great joy to the Father of the faithful ; which not on- ly respected him, but his immense family. This an- nunciation of Gospel blessings, at this time, when ex- hausted by the labors of travel and battle, must have been greatly exhilerating to Abraham. Now, " he re- joiced to see Christ's day, and he saw it and was glad." John viii. 56. In the conquest he gained over the enemies of God, and the spiritual consolations imparted to him under this benediction, he enjoyed those holy triumphs which fall to the experience of all believers. In the 15th chapter of this book of Genesis, God again addresses Abraham in language of covenant fa- vor. " After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying, Fear not Abraham, for I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." What more gracious declaration was ever made, or can be made, to man than this ? Here Abraham is required to dismiss all his solicitude, both With respect to this world, and the next ; for that God is his salvation. The next thing of importance that we find respecting Abraham, is the promise of an heir from his own bow- els. This promise he believed, and it was counted to [30] him for righteousness. The promise of an heir, and the faith with which Abraham embraced it, were con- siderably anterior to the appointment of circumcision. Tins is found to be a fact on the face of the history ; and is expressly mentioned by the apostle Paul, Rom- ans, iv. 9. " For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reck- oned ? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircum- cision ? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had, being yet uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also." It is evident from this passage, as well as from all that has been before adduced, that Abraham was interested in the righteousness of faith, that right- eousness which faith secures, long before circumcision was instituted. This righteousness of faith was a righteousness which Abraham found. For the asser- tion of the apostle just quoted from the 4th of Romans, is made in reply to the question put in the first verse of the chapter. " What shall we say then that Abra- ham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found ?" It is a righteousness entirely distinct from faith itself. It is a righteousness imputed to all who believe. It is a righteousness without works, verse 6th. It is the nonimputation of sin, and the blessedness which the full pardon of it involves, verse 8th. It is comprehen- sively the blessing with which God blessed Abraham, and which was the specific reward of his faith. It is the very blessing which has come on the Gentiles through faith. It cannot be otherways ; because faith is ever a fruit of the same spirit ; is of the same nature ; respects the same object, the promise ; is ever con- trasted to the same things, law and works ; is ever the principle of life ; for " the just shall live by. his faith ;" and is ever crowned with the same victory ; for " this is the victory, whidh overcometh the world, even our faith." It may be worth while to remark here, that, as cir- cumcision is expressly declared by the apostle to be a [31] seal of the righteousness of the faith which Abraham had, being yet uncircumcised, that is, long before cir- cumcision was instituted, it sealed a promise which was made long before the transactions recorded in the 17th of Genesis ; and as circumcision is also declared to be a token of the covenant, spoken of in this 17th chapter, established by God with Abraham and his seed ; it is undeniable, that this covenant,callcd the covenant of cir- cumcision, and the anterior promise, are substantially the same. Circumcision is certainly not a seal of one thing, and a token of another. Or if it should be contend- ed, that seal and token are not of exactly equivalent im- port, yet, circumcision had respect to the first transac- tion as well as to the last, and to nothing but promise.* On the whole it seems undeniable that Abraham was respected altogether as a saint ; that God was his God, upon this ground ; that he was in covenant with God years before circumcision was instituted ; that the re- lation, which subsisted between God and him, was al- together spiritual ; that the blessings promised were wholly by grace ; that they were embraced by faith ; and therefore, that all the transactions of God with him, * It is a pitiful explanation which is given by some writers of this righteous- ness of faith, which is mentioned here, and in many other places of the scripture; that it means the reality, or the morally right nature of Abraham's faith ; and therefore has no respect to the object of faith, or the faith of any other person. — *« That which St. Paul meant, by calling circumcision the seal of the righteous- ness of Abraham's faith is simply this, that the alacrity, promptitude and cheer- fulness, with which he received and obeyed this self denying duty, was a seal, token, or confirming evidence, of the sincerity of his faith." Andrews's Vindica- tion, page 39. According to this construction, the whole design of circumcis- ion, in all the innumerable cases in which it has been practiced, was to assure Abraham and the world, that his faith was not insincere, but sincere faith ; or true faith in opposition to that which is mere preterce. But the sincerity of A- braham's faith wanted no such confirmation. The attestation of God who knew , his heart ; and his own works, furnished such proof of this, as rendered «verv other evidence altogether superfluous, j.iires tells us how Abraham's faith was justified, or proved to be genuine. It was not by circumcision, but by his works. James ii. 22, "Secst thou how faith wrought with his works, and by tatrks was faith made perfect f" The sealing respected nothing done by man. — It respected the promise of God, with the blessing whirh it secured. Man'can- notseal his own actions. He is a mere recipient of the blessing. The right- eousness of faith was not peculiar to Abraham. It was enjoyed by his progeni- tor Noah. Hebrews xi 7. " By faith N'oah, being warned of God, of things not jeen as yet, moved with fear, prepired an Ark to the saving of his house ; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." See an ingenious illustration of the righteousness of faith, by Edward Williams, D. D. in his woik entitled, Antipocdobaptism Examined, Vol. I. chapter 2. Sec ako, Dr. Stephen Weft's Dissertation on Jnfant Baptism, psje 14. [32] so far. were as removed as possible from all legal prin- ciplcs, and from a mere temporal or civil alliance. The land of Canaan was indeed promised to him ; not however as a mere temporal acquisition, or for po- litical purposes ; but as a part of the inheritance of grace ; as the cradle of the Church during its minority ; as subservient to the diffusion of the blessing, which was to be transmitted through his natural descendants ; as a theatre on which was to be transacted, the great work of our redemption ; and as a type of heaven. It was promised in the same light that godliness, under the latter dispensation, has "promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come." God promised also that he Mould make of Abraham a great nation ; but it was not to be such in the ordi- nary acceptation of the words, for his posterity have never been such. The obvious meaning is, that his posterity should be exceedingly numerous ; and that they should be contradistinguished from the world, as a holy people. The promise that he should be the heir of the world, it is evident, has also the same spiritual meaning. For Paul says, Romans iv. 13, that this promise, " was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." This view of the character and moral state of Abra- ham, anterior to the appointment of circumcision, ought to have its due influence upon our minds, in estimating the nature and design of the covenant tran- sactions, recorded in the 17th of Genesis. It can hardly be imagined that it was the divine plan, that what was so favorably begun in the spirit, should end in the flesh. After having elevated this patriarch to the honor of be- ing the father of the whole family of the faithful to the end of the world ; after having admitted him to such a free and covenant intercourse as his peculiar friend ; after multiplying benedictions so altogether spiritual ; it cannot readily be supposed, that he should sink him down to the pitiful condition, of being the founder of a mere political society ; that too in a transaction in- troduced with uncommon solemnity. CHAPTER IV. Respecting the Covenant of Circumcision, IN the seventeenth chapter of the book of Gen- esis we are presented with what has been commonly denominated, the Covenant of Circumcision. This covenant we shall now attempt to analyse. It is of the last importance to understandaccurately the na- ture of this covenant ; in what respects it agrees with, or is distinguishable from, any other covenant which may- be found mentioned in the scriptures ; the nature and extent of its promises ; with whom it is established; and in what way its blessings are transmitted and enjoyed. That we may look at the subject fairly, and prosecute our analysis upon secure principles, it may be proper to put down all that is said upon it in this chapter. 11 And when Abraham was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abraham, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect ; and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And A- braham fell on his face ; and God talked with him, sav- ing ; As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham ; for a father of many nations have I made thee ; and I will make thee exceeding fruitful ; and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my cov- enant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant ; to be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and thv seed after thee, the land, E [34] wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou and thy seed after thee, in their generations. This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee. Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised a- mong you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with thy money must needs be circumcised. And, my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncir- cumcised man child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people ; he hath broken my covenant." The 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 verses, only inform us of Abraham's compli- ance with the command of God. He circumcised himself, Ishmael, and all that were born in his house, or bought with his money. I. The first thing which claims to be noticed, respect- ing the covenant transaction recorded here, is, that cir- cumcision itself was not the covenant. It was but the token of it. It is indeed called the covenant. But the meaning of this language is fully explained by what is said in the eleventh verse of the chapter. " And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." Paul gives the same explanation, Rom. iv. 12. " And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal, of the righteousness of the faith which he had, being yet un- circumcised." That which is a token, sign, or seal of a thing, cannot at the same time be the very thing of which it is a token. The language is metonymical. Christ says, in the institution of the supper, referring to the bread before him, " This is my body." All pro- testants understand the meaning to be, this is a symbol of my body. The literal construction involves the most glaring absurdity. [55] If circumcision be only a token, then it wa9 really no part of the covenant. And if it was no part of the covenant, certainly it was not a condition of it. A con- dition is always an essential part of the covenant, to which it belongs. Exclude the condition, and the covenant is destroyed. It may in this connexion be farther remarked, that the painful nature of the operation, which took place when a person was circumcised, though it was a yoke, which required some selfdenial patiently to bear,* was no more inconsistent with the supposition, that the cov- enant, of which circumcision was a token, Mas exclu- sively of a gracious nature, than the innumerable dis- tresses which have always been a part of the experi- ence of the children of faith, are inconsistent with their being interested in the blessings of grace. Selfdenial is the narrow path by which all the people of God, un- der every dispensation, enter the gates of the heavenly city. To them it is given, not only to obtain salvation through, but to suffer, for the sake, of their adorable Redeemer. Faith must be tried. Self must be sub- dued. God must be enthroned. To all docs the lan- guage of the Apostle Peter apply. 1 Peter i. 6. " Though now for a season (if need be) ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, may be found un- to praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Je- sus Christ." II. The next thing which claims to be noticed res- pecting the covenant here mentioned, is, that the promises of it, allowing for some verbal variations,, are the same with those, which had been before made,inthc antecedent covenant transactions with Abraham. The first prom- ise respects the multitude of Abraham's posterity. The 2 and 6 verses are, " And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceed- ingly. And thou shalt be a father of many nations. * Acts XV. io. [36] Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but Abraham, for a father of manj nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee." But the same thing had been repeatedly prom- ised to Abraham before, as God's covenant with him. Thus in the first promise which was addressed to him, God said, Gen. xii. 2. " And 1 will make of thee a great nation, and I w ill bless thee, and make thy name great." And in the xiii chapter, 16 verse. " And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth ; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed be numbered." Again, chapter xv. 5th verse. " And he brought him forth abroad, and said, look to- ward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to num- ber them, and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be." It is evident that these promises are the same. They have respect to one object, the multitude of Abraham's posterity. I do not mean that they respect this object exclusively. For Paul, in the fourth chapter of Romans, 16, and onward, extends this clause of the promise, " And thou shalt be a father of many nations," to be- lieving Gentiles ; by which we are assured, that the sal- vation of these Gentiles was comprehended in this promise. " Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end, the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law ; but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, (these are believing Gentiles) who is the Father of us all. (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations J before him, whom he believed, even God, who quick- eneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not, as though they were ; who against hope believed in hope ; that he might become the father of many na- tions ; according to that which is written, so shall thy seed be." Here the promise is shewn to extend to a secondary object. This secondary object we shall shew directly was also embraced in promises previous- ly made. In regard to the first object, the multitude [ 37] of a posterity, proceeding from Abraham's loins, it is undeniable, that the promises are the same. Another promise of this covenant is, that God would give to Abraham, and his seed, the land of Ca- naan, verse 8. " And I will give unto thee, and thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession." This also had been a matter of covenant promise before. It was made when Abraham first came into the land of Canaan. Gen. xii. 7. " And the Lord appeared unto Abraham, and said, unto thy seed will I give this land." See also xiii chapter, 13, 14 and 17 verses. " And the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up thine eyes now, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward, for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee. Arise and walk tliFough the land, in the length, and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee." Another promise of this covenant is, that God would be a God unto Abraham. •■ And I will establish my covenant, between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee." But this also, which is the sum of all conceivable good, as respected Abraham, had been engaged repeatedly before. The first covenant transaction which took place with Abraham, was this promise, though not in precisely the same words. Gen. xii. 1. " And I will make of thee a great nation, and I iv ill bless thee." This promise involved an assur- ance that God was, and ever would be, Abraham's God. Unquestionably, God is the God of the man whom he undertakes to bless. The call itself, the design of it, and the prompt obedience of Abraham, as a matter of faith, implied the same thing. Melchizedek's benediction testified that God was unalienably Abraham's God. God himself made a declaration equivalent with it, Gen. xv. 1. " Fear not Abraham, for I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." This certainlv a. [ M ] mounted to an engagement, on the part of God, that he would be Abraham's God. So far then it is plain, that the covenant recorded here, is not at all distinguishable from the covenant transactions that went before it. The remaining clause has some appearance of being a new engagement ; but if carefully considered, it will be found, that even here the difference is verbal only. It is merely an explicit annunciation of what had before been implicitly engaged. The clause is this. "And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thy seed af- ter thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be their God.'''' Surely the promises previously made, that the seed should increase to a vast multitude ; that they should have the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession ; that they should have a peculiar elevation in the world ; and especially this promise, " and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed," which Paul, in his epistle to the Galatiaps, explains, as having special respect to Christ, as the seed,* are equivalent with the promise contained in this clause. The words of Paul are, Galatians iii. 16. " Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made," They were made to them jointly with Abraham, and they all terminated in a common good. They all implied therefore, that God wouldestablish his covenant with them, and be their God. (i He saith not, and to seeds, as of many ; but as of one. And to thy seed which is Christ." Christ was re- spected in all the promises. Hence the declaration in the following verse. " And this I say, that the cove- nam, which was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect." It has been just shewn, that the promise, " And I will make thee a father of many nations," extends to the saved Gentiles. Now Paul, who has given us this explanation, has certified also, that this promise was made in the first covenant transaction which took place between God and Abraham. For, to confirm the as- [39J sertion, that, " the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham," he quotes a clause in that first cpvenant transaction, Genesis xii. 3. " In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." The coven°n* of circumcision was not then now es* tablished as an entirely new thing. It was only a new, and more explicit edition, of a Covenant already made. The promises are several, and repeated, but the cove- nant is one. Christ was " the minister of the circum- cision, for the truth of God, to confirm the promises, made unto the fathers." Yet he is the mediator of but one covenant. Hence the covenant transactions of God with Abraham, are so generally spoken of throughout the scriptures, in the singular form. Leviticus xxvi. 9. " For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you." Deuteronomy iv. 31. " For the Lord thy God is a merciful God, he will not forsake thee, nor destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of the Fath- ers which he sware unto, thee." Acts iii. 25. " Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant, which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abra- ham, " And in thy seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed." The instances are very numerous.* Does not this uniform manner of speaking, when God's covenant transactions with Abraham are in view, which runs through all parts of the Bible, lead us nat- urally, and necessarily to the conclusion, that all these transactions are one covenant ? Are we not nec- essarily led to conclude also, that, allowing for such in- cidental variations, as particular promises to individu- als, in their private capacity, involve, this covenant is none other than the one, eternal, gracious covenant of God, under a particular application, or fastening itself upon Abraham and his seed ? That this is a fact, it is thought is made evident, by what has been already said on this one covenant ; and it will be abundantly con- * There are two or three exceptions. But when the plural form if used, it i» evident, that the Horeb covenant it united with tbc Abranamic. [40] irmed by the illustrations which will be produced. — Noah and Abraham were certainly under the same gen- eral covenant, though particular promises are made to the one, which are not made to the other. Hebrews xi. 8. "By faith Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness -which is by faith." Thus the same good essentially was secur- ed to Noah by covenant, which is secured to Abraham by covenant. This was the case with Abel, and E- noch, and all the elders who obtained a good report through faith. It is the case with all the just ; for " the just shall live by faith." Faith always terminates upon the promise of an eternal inheritance. Was Abra- ham the subject of any other covenant than that which secured to him the righteousness of faith ; and which circumcision sealed ; when, in all the retrospective lan- guage of scripture, the singular form is used ; when the seed especially respected was Christ, in whom allthe prom- ises are yea and amen ; and when, in the light of these promises, Abraham saw Christ's day, and was glad ? The form of expression in the covenant, it is true, is in the future tense : "/ will make, and I will establish." This manner of expression, however, may be fairly un- derstood as meaning no more, than a new confirmation ©f the covenant, with a farther explanation of its articles, and the institution of a seal. And the indisputable fact, that the covenant had been made a long time, and re- peated, makes this interpretation unavoidable.* The date which the apostle gives to the covenant established by God with Abraham, as 430 years before the law, perfectly coincides with the idea, that all God's cove- nant transactions with him constituted one covenant. — The date applies to the time when this covenant was first established with Abraham ; i. e. when he was cal- led from his father's house, and the first promises were •" The scriptures which promise the making of a covenant, only intend tht clearer manifestation and application of the covenant of grace to persons to whoi» rt belongs." Gills Reply to (Jark, page \ 1, [41 ] made to him, Genesis xii. 1. It was proper that the covenant should be dated here. All transactions of this kind are dated at their first establishment. This will do nothing towards proving that the covenant re- corded in the 17th chapter of Genesis, is numerically distinct from the covenant promises previously made. III. A third remark respecting the covenant of cir- cumcision, entitled to notice, and to be noticed care- fully, because it confirms what has been already said, is, that its promises are absolute. An absolute promise is one, which is not suspended upon any contingence. It cannot be vacated by any circumstance whatever. Absolute promises may re- spect very different things. The execution of them may involve, as has been already suggested, activity on the part of him, whom the promises respect. In this case they are absolute, no less, than if all the agency were on the part of the promisor. For the term abso- lute characterizes, neither the agent nor the object ; but the promise. The promises made to Abraham were all of this kind. They respected moral beings, and secured an active conformity to the spirit of the promises in them. To say therefore, "that //Abraham and his seed had not been obedient to the covenant, it would not have taken effect with respect to them ;" though it be true, is to say nothing incompatible with the idea, that its promises were absolute. A bare in- spection of the promises of this covenant, one would think, sufficient to shew them to be absolute. " I will multiply thee exceedingly — my covenant is with thee — thou shah be a father of many nations — and I will establish my covenant between me and thee* and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee — And I will ghe unto thee, and thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and / will be their God — I will bless thee, and thou shall be a blessing — I will bless him that blesseth thee, and curse him that cur- seth thee ; and in thee shall all families of the earth be [42] blessed.'''' These promises are of one kind, and they are certainly absolute ; for not a condition is men- tioned. Nothing like reserve or contingence appeals. Hence it was that God revealed himself to Moses, un- der this peculiar, lasting memorial, " the God of A- braham, and Isaac, and Jacob ;" i. e. as maintaining his unalterable engagements, to them. Hence also, when anticipating the then future perverseness of a large proportion of Abraham's natural descendants, and foretelling the judgments, which, in consequence, he would bring upon them, God, to preclude all sus- picion of his faithfulness* says, Leviticus, xxvi. 24, v Yet for all that, when they be in the land of their en- emies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. But I will, for their sakes, remember tlie covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt, in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God." This passage teaches us, that no perverseness in Israel, could induce God to break his covenant. Then the promises of it were not suspended upon any contingence ; no, not upon the condition of obedience. There seems then, to be abundant evidence of the absolute nature of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, from the un- conditional manner in which they are expressed. But this idea is confirmed by all the representations of scripture, by the nature of the purpose which these promises unfold, by fact, and by the necessity of the case. To collect and arrange this evidence, would be superfluous. But I cannot forbear to mention the man- ner in which the promises of the covenant are spoken of, in Hebrews vi. 13th, and onward, as God's swear- ing, and as his oath, and as declarative of his counsel ; therefore, exhibiting ground of sure confidence to Abra- ham. " For when God made promise to Abraham, be- cause he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, surely, blessing, I will bless thee ; and multiplying, I will multiply thee ; and so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise : For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for conftr- [43] motion is to them the end of all strife. Wherein, (that is, in this very engagement entered into with Abraham.) God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ; that by two immutable things, in Which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong con' solution who have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have, as an anchor to the soul, both sure and stedfast, entering to that with- in the vail." It is to be noticed, that the immutabili- ty of God's counsel, is here said to be revealed in the promises made to Abraham ; and is extended to all the heirs of promise, or subjects of grace, who are consid- ered as united with him in the reception of the blessing. This immutable counsel, this strong consolation, and this hope which is sure and stedfast, are a common inheri- tance among all who, as believers, are objects of prom- ise ; whether they now exist or not ; those who live after Christ, as well as those who lived before him ; and are all connected with the oath, addressed to Abra- ham. The counsel was what the oath confirmed to him, and to all the heirs of promise. The counsel and the oath are two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie. He can neither alter his purpose, nor forfeit his veracity. As this counsel, and this oath respect all the heirs of promise, they furnish strong consolation to them, the moment they have evi- dence that they have fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before them. The hope they possess, being founded upon such a bottom, is indeed sure and stedfast. It is so sure and so stedfast, that nothing, not even their own perverseness, can unsettle it. Surely then, the covenant established with Abraham, is the Gospel covenant ; God's one gracious and eternal cove- nant, under a particular application ; and its promises are absolute. It is evidently in this view that Christ's advent is spoken of, Luke i. 72, as taking place " iti remembrance of the covenant." If he had not come, God would unfaithfully have forgotten his covenant.* * Dr. Bellamy, though in. favor of the conrlilionality of the covenant of cir- cumchion, concedes, that "it wa* expTCtted in the form of an absolute urcon- Aiiioaal promise.' 1 Ste Ft^ly ;« Mather, page 32. [44] To suppose the promises of this covenant condition- al, is to suppose, that at the time they were made, there was no security that one of them would take effect. It is to suppose there was no certainty that God would establish his covenant with Abraham's seed at all ; that he would ever give them the land of Canaan ; or that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. If any one should imagine that the initial language of this covenant, " Walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee," implies, that the promises of the covenant are suspend- ed upon a condition, a recurrence to what has been said will surely correct his mistake. This was simply a direction which respected Abraham personally ; the observation of which was indeed his duty. But this duty was so far from being a contingence upon which the covenant was suspended, that it was secured by the promise of it. It was the determined way in which it should take effect. That promise which assured that God would be the God of Abraham, his shield and ex- ceeding great reward, assured, that Abraham would dutifully maintain this relation. The promise that se- cured a seed, to whom God Would be a God, secured the holiness of that seed. Law, though always obliga- tory, is never against the promise. Grace and duty are perfectly coincident. If any doubt remains with the reader respecting the doctrine now advanced, that the promises of the covenant of circumcision were all absolute, it is presumed none will remain after he has progressed a little farther in this analysis. IV. The next thing to be ascertained, in regard to this covenant is, who the covenantees are. Respecting Abraham the father there is no doubt. To him the promise is expressly addressed as its immediate ob- ject. But the convenant was not only to be establish- ed with him ; but also, and as unfrustrably, with his seed. God promised to Abraham a seed, that he would establish his covenant with that seed, and be their God. Whom are we to understand to be here intended by the seed ? To settle this question rightly, is of the great - [45] est consequence ; and, as contrary theories have spread a good deal of obscurity over it, requires a patient in- vestigation. Beyond all doubt, if we will impartially follow the light of scripture, we shall find this question determined conclusively. That v\e may proceed with certainty, it seems necessary to premise, that the term seed has both a literal, and a. figurative meaning. The literal meaning is one thing, and the figurative meaning is another. Christ says to the unbelieving Jews, John viii. 37, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed, but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you." And again, verse 39. " If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." Here, though a different term is used, the two senses are brought into view. The former is the literal ; the latter is the figurative sense. In the first passage, Christ acknowledges that the Jews were what they claimed to be, lineal descendants from Abraham. But he denies the conclusion, that they were of his character, and partakers with him of the blessing. In the second passage he speaks of them, as not being children of Abraham in character. If they were, he tells them, they would do the works of Abraham. If these Jews had been disposed to do Abraham's works, they would have proved themselves his true seed, his seed in both respects, morally considered, as well as by lineal de- scent. The term seed is used by Paul in the figur- ative sense, Gal. iii. 29. " If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." The term seed is here applied to converts from the Gentile world. These converts were not Abraham's seed, by natural descent. They were his seed, only as they were of faith, and blessed with him, or par- takers with him of promise. These two entirely distinct meanings of the term seed, cannot be confounded. They are as distinct, and remote frt>m each other, as if they were exact con- traries. It is true, that in two or three instances, and the examples have been already introduced, the term seed is extended to the saved irom the Gentile \iorld, [46 ] in connexion with natural descendants. Still, in almost every case in which the term is used through the scrip- ture, it is used in the literal sense, as meaning appro- priately natural descendants from Abraham. When it is used as extending to both, they are primarily intended. The reader will see this * confirmed as we proceed. I say they are intended, as natural descendants ', in the literal sense ; a sense by which they are entirely dis- tinguished from Gentile believers. It is evident, that, by the seed, in the covenant of circumcision, must be meant, primarily, and in the lit- eral sense, natural descendants from Abraham, as such ; or believers generally, must be meant, without any res- pect to a descent from him. Let it here be carefully noticed, that if a natural seed are primarily intended, thev mav be a seed in character also. The cove- nant may be actually established with them. Whereas if a spiritual seed simply is intended, without any spe- cial respect to a descent from Abraham, then, though the covenant may be established with them, it may be, that not one descendant from Abraham shall be found among them. I mean for ought that can be learned from the covenant. Now, that a seed literally, or according to the flesh must be primarily intended, and intended under that description, will, I apprehend, be evident from the fol- lowing considerations. 1. It is a good and an established rule of interpretation, that the primitive, literal meaning of a term should always be taken, unless the subject treated of be such as to make it necessary to take it figuratively.* With- out the use of this rule, words will be always indeter- minate. If the figurative sense be designed, the sub- ject itself must clearly determine that it is so. But surely, in this case, there is nothing in the subject which makes it necessary to take the term seed in the mere figurative sense. There is in fact every thing * " The literal sense is alwsys to be preferred to the figurative, unless there ap- pears plain and good reasons to the coatrary." HmTKtnzuay on Bapti n. [ 47 ] against it. To apply the figurative sense will make all these covenant transactions, not only ambiguous, but wholly inexplicable. It will be impossible to find the objects in whom several of these^romises were fulfilled. We are at the outset then, presented with a very strong presumption, that by the term seed are meant, pri- marily, natural decendants from Abraham's body. 2. It is evident Abraham himself could receive no other idea from the term, as it was used, in the several covenant transactions, w Inch took place between God, and him. His separation had a family design. Sev- eral of. the promises made to him were such as to oblige him to apply them to his natural descendants. The promise, " I will make of thee a great nation, and kings shall come out of thee ; must have had respect to a natural posterity. The promise that his seed should be as the stars in heaven for multitude, was equivalent with the promise just mentioned, and pri- marily to be taken in the same sense. The promise that his seed should possess the land of Canaan, could apply to natural descendants only. To them, and to them only, has the promise been fulfilled. But if the term seed, in 'these promises, be certainly to be taken primarily, in its literal meaning ; beyond a question, it is so to be taken in the whole of the covenant. The meaning of the term cannot be supposed to be chang- ed when the subject is not. The following prom- ise was superadded to that which immediately re- spected the seed. " And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Here the diffusion of spiritual blessings beyond the limits of Abraham's naturaly pos- terity is in view. But the objects of these blessings are not intended primarily by the seed. This is undeniable. For it was in Abraham that all these families of the earth were to be blessed. They are only spoken of. He is the immediate covenantee. But how were they to be blessed in Abraham ? Not in him personally only, but especially in his seed. He is identified with his seed. This Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians clearly illustrates. 5 Chapter 15. verse. "That the bles- [48 ] sing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christy that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith. " Jesus Christ was the seed natural- ly. He was a lineal descendant from Abraham. " Of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came," Romans ix. 5. He was eminently the seed. For the apostle adds. " Now to Abraham, and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds as of ma- ny, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ."* Christ certainly was not of the spiritual seed, i. e. of the seed in the mere figurative sense. He was not one of those whom God's gracious covenant contemplated to save from their sins. He was the seed, merely as a nat- ural descendant from Abraham. " He took oh him the seed of Abraham." Heb. ii. 16, the seed of the woman, of the Virgin Mary, that seed, which was to bruise the serpent's head ; and in whom all the promises of God are yea, and in him amen. Then by the term seed is undeniably meant a natural offspring. This thought, that Christ is the seed, not as one of the saved ; but as lineallv descended, the reader is requested to keep in remembrance. For it will go far towards elucidating several other parts of our subject.f 3. The use of the term generations in the covenant, constrains us to understand the term seed, as applica- ble to natural descendants from Abraham as such. "And thy seed after thee in their generations for an * The promise was originally made to Abraham as the immediate covenantee. It was made to the seed as a subject of promise, and standing in covenant con- nexion with Abraham. Christ was eminently, not exclusively, this seed. All of the posterity of Abraham, who were connected with him as brethren in the cov- enant, came jointly with him under this denomination. In this view he appro- priates the common jelation indicated by the term seed . " I ascend to my father, and to your father ; to my God, and to your God." He is accordingly said to be •' the first born among many brethren." Exactly comporting with which is the passage, Heb. ii. 11, 12. " For both he who sanctif/-th, and they who are sanctifed, are aH of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, faying," &c. + A Mr Samuel Manning, in a late pamphlet, which I am credibly informed came from the press under the inspection and patronage of one of the ablefl Bap- tist writers in this Country, tells us, page, 27, that the promise mentioned in the above argument, imdeto Christ as Abraham's seed, " ultimately respected Christ, as GoJ." Then Christ was Abraham's seed as God. Then, when Christ took, on him, the feed of Abraham, he took on him godhead. Tiiis is certainly worse than transubstantiaiion. For it is not only a war with common sense, biit a denial of express divine tefl.imony. [49] everlasting covenant." This term does not apply to a spiritual seed, irrespective of a natural descent from A- braham. Such a seed therefore is not designed by the term seed in the covenant. The term generation is o indeed sometimes used figuratively to characterize both good and bad men. But this is not the import of it in this place. To apply this sense to it would load the promise with absurdity. 4. To say that a spiritual seed is designated, as such, irrespective of descent, would imply, that Abraham had no more reason to calculate that either temporal or spiritual blessings, would come upon his lineal des- cendants, than upon the idolatrous inhabitants of Ca- naan, or the world at large. A natural offspring was not, upon this supposition, respected in the promise. For ought that Abraham could learn, his natural seed might all be reprobated ; and the rest of the world be chosen, and saved. But this would be to separate A- braham entirely from his natural posterity, as to a cov- enant relation to God ; it would take away those very consolations respecting them, which the covenant was designed to administer ; enfeeble his motives to fidel- ity in instructing his seed ; destroy the distinction which is made throughout the scriptures, and in a mul- titude of facts, between his posterity and the world ; and would be to load with absurdity the whole Bible. 5. To suppose that by the term seed is meant a spir- itual seed at large, and not natural descendants from A- braham as such, is to take away all cause for the appli- cation of circumcision to Abraham's lineal descendants, and particularly in their infancy. Circumcision is cer- tainly to be applied to the seed mentionedin the covenant. Verses 9, 10, 11. " And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my cove- nant which ye shall keep, between me and you, and thy seed after thee, every manchild among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your . foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant be- twixt me and you.'''' Beyond a question, the term seed G [SO] has the same meaning here, that it has in the preced- ing verses. The subjects are not altogether changed without any notice given of it. But the seed here cer- tainly means natural descendants. For it is added as an explanatory direction, " every ma?ichild among ycru shall be circumcised. And it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." To the natural seed then circumcision was to be applied. And it was to be applied to diem as a party in the covenant. But if a spiritual seed merely, as such, was respected, this direction would have been irrelevant, and the applica- tion of circumcision to die natural seed wholly un- meaning. 6. The Aposde Paul in the 9th chapter of his Epis- tle to the Romans, expressly applies the term seed, as meaning natural offspring. 7th verse. " Neither be- cause they are the seed of Abraham are they all child- ren ; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. By the term seed he evidently means natural offspring. He is speaking about them only. They were his brethren according to the flesh. His whole description applies to them, and to them only. " Who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; w/wse are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the jftesh, Christ came, who is over all, God, blessed forever." The distinction he makes between the nominal and true Israel applies to them only. " Not as though the word of God, had taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, who are of Israel." When therefore, in the lat- ter part of the verse, he applies the term seed to Isaac, it is evidently in the literal sense. Isaac is one of the seed intended in the promise. But he is such as the fruit of Sarah's womb. It may be thought, and it has often been suggested, that the following verse is opposed to this idea. But it is not. It is only explanatory of the doctrine of dis- criminating grace, which the Apostle had mentioned, and on which he insists throughout this, and the two [51] following chapters, as extending to the natural seed of Abraham, as well as the world at large. ** That is, they which are the children of the flesh ; these are not the children of God ; but the children of promise are counted for the seed."* All the natural offspring of Abraham are not as such the children of God. Some of them however are. They are as such. For " in Isaac shall thy seed be called." The seed was called in Isaac, as Abraham's child, descended frcm his body. Yet it was also called in Isaac in distinction from Ish- mael, as he was a child of promise, and stood in spe- cial relation to Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yea and amen. This idea the Apostle illustrates as he proceeds. " For this is the word of promise ; at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son." Isaac was a child of special promise. Ishmael was not. Verse 10th, " And not only this, but when Re- becca had conceived by one, even by our Father Isaac (for the children, being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, accord- ing to election, might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth ;) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Here the Apostle carefully runs the distinction of discriminating grace, between the elect, and the non elect parts of the nominal seed. Yet the nominal seed, or the seed according to the flesh only is in view. This is evident from the destinction he makes. To suppose that by seed, he means ail be- lievers, as such, without any respect to descent from Abraham, would destroy the unity of his discoure, and the force of his argument. Directly indeed, he ex- tends his remarks to persons who were not lineal de- scendants from Abraham ; but this is only to illustrate the same doctrine of divine sovereignity, as extending to all the saved. By the term seed then the Apostle evidently means Abraham's lineal descendants only. * The general mistake in applying thii passage has been founded in unwarranta- bly extending it beyond the lubjects ot the Apostle's discourle. He has respect to no other* than to Abraham's natural descendants, or the children ofthejlah. [ 52 ] Hence, after having in such a solemn manner insisted on the severity, as well as on the goodness of God, he anticipates, in the beginning of the 11th chapter, the question, which he foresaw would naturally rise in the minds of those to whom he was writing ; " I say then hath God cast away his people ?" There would have been no propriety in this question, if the Apostle had ' excluded the natural descendants of Abraham as hav- ing no special interest in the covenant. But if they have a special interest in the covenant, beyond all doubt, they have it as the seed. " God forbid. For 1 also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham. God hath not castaway his people which he foreknew." As we shall be obliged to recal this distinction di- rectly, we shall here take leave of it ; having sufficient- ly shown, not only that it is consistent with, but a proof, that by the term seed are meant, in the covenant, lineal descendants. 7. But one more proof will be added to establish this, as the proper sense of the word seed, in the cove- nant. This proof is furnished in the declaration of Pe- ter to the Jews, Actsiii. 25. " Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed." These Jews were children of the covenant, not as believers; for Pe- ter did not address them as sustaining this character ; but as chargeable with great wickedness in killing the Prir.ce of life. They were in his view children of the covenant only as lineal descendants from Abraham. The terms children of the covenant are used as equiv- alent with that of seed. For he supports his declara- tion by adverting to that clause in the covenant in which the term seed is inserted. "Saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed." Against this theory there are objections, which it is proper here to notice. 1. It is objected, that " as the same declarations and promises are made in the covenant with respect to the *,v> [53] seed, which are made with respect to Abraham, per- sonally, it will follow, that the natural seed of Abra- ham without distinction are interested in the covenant of grace, as extensively as Abraham himself, which is contrary to scripture, and to fact." The explana- tions already made, furnish a reply to this objection. Though the term seed be used in the covenant indefin- itely, for reasons which will soon be mentioned, it is not to be understood as applying, so as to involve an in- terest in the promise, to all the natural offspring with- out exception. This is evident from what has already been said, and will be more fully illustrated in some subsequent remarks. . 2. It is farther objected, "that the term seed can- not mean natural descendants of Abraham, because, upon that supposition, circumcision, as a token of the covenant, must have been confined to Abraham's nat- ural children ; whereas the institution extended to all that were born in his house, and bought with his money." Answer. This objection lies equally a- gainst the other hypothesis, that the term seed is to be taken figuratively. For circumcision was certainly applied to other persons than a spiritual seed. If cir- cumcision were confined to the seed, and yet extend- ed to others, besides lineal descendants ; if it were so extended to the latter, as to have no appropriate respect to the former ; then indeed it must be conceded, eith- er, that circumcision had no connexion with the seed, or that by the seed were intended other persons than lin- eal descendants, and that it had no special respect to such descendants at all. But the express distinction which is made in the law of circumcision, between the seed and others, as subjects of circumcision, unde- niably proves, that it was not thus confined ; and that natural descendants were intended by the seed. "This is my covenant therefore which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee. Every manchild among you, shall be circumcised. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you ; every manchild in your generations ; he that is born in the ** [54] house, or bought with thy money, of any stranger which is not of thy seed.''* This express distinction, which is not of thy seed, is nugatory, upon the supposition that the term seed is used figuratively for a spiritual seed merely. There would have been no propriety in men- tioning the ?iatural seed at all. 3. It is again objected, " that natural descendants from Abraham, as such, cannot be intended by the seed, because Ishmael, who was 'from his loins, is expressly excluded from the covenant, as born after the flesh ; and he and his posterity are spoken of as allegorically representing the law ; and as persecuting the seed." But surely this proves directly the contrary. It con- firms the idea, that by seed are meant lineal descend- ants from Abraham. For, why is Ishmael excluded ? Why is the distinction made between him and Isaac ? Evidently, because with Isaac he was Abraham's nat- ural son. The seed then had respect \jd natural de- scent. Had the term respected believers in general, without any respect to a descent from Abraham, there would have been no propriety in mentioning Ishmael as excluded, any more than any one of tjie reprobate world. Besides, it is by no means certain that Ishmael per- sonally was not a subject of the covenant, so far as to have God for his God. And this might be on another principle than that of being the seed ; i. e. as some of the servants of Abraham were. This principle we shall have occasion more fully to explain directly. — The limitation of the seed to the line of Isaac, no more excluded Ishmael from the, personal felicity of having God for His God, than it excluded Cornelius, who was by birth a Roman. Be this however as it may, the fact mentioned in the objection, evidently proves the very thing that the objection opposes. 4. It is moreover objected, " that the term seed cannot intend natural offspring as such, because the term is confined by Paul, Romans iv. 16, to believers," The words are these, " Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be [55] sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, tvhoisthe father of us all." But the passage itself confutes the objection. For why the distinction be- tween the seed which is of the law, and that which is of faith ? Does not that which is mentioned as of the law, intend those who are Jews by nature ? And does not the seed which is of faith intend believers from the Gentile world ? Most evidently. For in the 11th and 12th verses, the Apostle says, " And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had, being yet uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also, (i. e. Gentile believers) and the father of circumcision tothem who are not of the circumcision only ; but also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had, being yet uncircumcised." By those who are not of the circumcision only, are designed lineal descendants from Abraham. They are part of the seed ; and they are so under that descrip- tion, as lineal descendants ; of course as the natural seed. Believing Jews, and believing Gentiles are equally covenant children of Abraham, or joint heirs with Christ, of covenant blessings. And this is what is intended by the terms in the passage all the seed. They are equivalent with all the saved. But this does not militate with the idea, that by the term seed in the covenant, is meant primarily and appropriately natur- al descendants. Because these belong, as a distinct class, to all the seed ; or are not of the circumcision only, but also walk in the steps of that faith of our fath- er Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumcised." These objections, and there are no other, of any plausibility, which have occurred to the Author in the course of his reading, being found futile, the conclusion may be taken as questionless, that the term seed, in the covenant, intends, primarily and especially, a natural seed as such. The promise then being to be taken as absolute, and as respecting a natural seed, another question now pre- [56] gents itself, of as great importance as the former, viz. Did the promise embrace as those with whom it was to be carried into effect, or be cstablihed, all the seed without exception, or all Abraham's natural descen- dants ? This question has been in some degree una- voidably anticipated. But the truth respecting it is so fundamental, that it must be yet more clearly ascertain- ed. And if we should repeat some things which have been already suggested, it will be easily pardoned. On the just solution of the question, Who are inten- ded by the seed ? depend essentially all correct views of the Abrahamic covenant, and the economy of God's holy kingdom. It must be acknowledged, the word is used here in the xvii. of Genesis indefinitely. At the same time it must be admitted, that it is so used, as not necessarily to extend to all the posterity of Abra- ham numerically. If the word is necessarily to be un- derstood as embracing all the individuals, who sprung from Abraham's loins, then it involves essentially the idea of number. If not, then it is rather a generic term, designating a class, a society. It is undeniable that words are often used in the scriptures in this large sense; as descriptive of a collection of persons, when all the individuals, who stand related are not numerically intended. Thus it is said of the race of man general- ly, Gen. xi. 12. " The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was fi lied with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." But Noah personally did not come under this descrip- tion. The prophet Jer. says, v. 23. " But \h\s peo- ple hath a revolting and a rebellious heart ; they are. revolted and gone." But there were individuals un- questionably who had not bowed the knee to any false God. "Ephraim," saysHosea, "is joined to his idols, let him alone." But it is not to be supposed that all Ephraim numerically, were idolatrous. The Church of Smyrna as a body, is honorably characterized. "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is, and thou holdcst fast my name, and hast C 57] not denied my faith, even in those days, wherein An- tipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where satan dwelleth." Yet there were some in that Church who held the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the Nicholaitans. To suppose then that the term seed, is not to be taken as designating Abra- ham's descendants numerically, but classically ; and that a part of them only are really embraced, is more agreeable to the analog)' of scripture language thanoth- erways. Now, let us consider what the Holy Ghost teaches relative to this matter. Some of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, it is evident, are necessarily to be appropriated to a part of the nominal seed. The promise, " In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed," is expressly appro- priated by Paul to Christ, and that part of Abraham's posterity, who had life in him. " Not as o&many; but as of one. And to thy seed which is Christ." The promise, "for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever;" applied to a part of the natural seed only. With respect to a pari of them only was it executed. Thousands fell short of the promised land through unbelief.* The prediction, " Know of a surety that thy seed, shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years," applied to a part of the posterity only. Abraham himself must have been led to entertain a restricted idea of the seed, from the very terms of the covenant. " And the un- circumcised manchiid, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people, he hath broken my covenant." Here the pcssibilitv of breaking the covenant, i. e. of fatally trampling on * A restriction of the term seed,;.* applying to a pari of Abraham's natural de- scendants only, is admitted by Dr. Cypiian Strong in regard to this promise, in his Second Enquiry, page »i. " This promise of Canaan however did not respect all the posterity of Abraham. The promise only imported that some of Abra- ham's posterity (more or fewer, as God in his sovereignty should determine) should possess that land." If the term seed, in regard 10 the extent of iU appli- cation, may be subjected to this limitation in respect to the promise of the land ot Canarn ; why may it not be subjected to a similar limitation in regard to tW more substantial interests cf the coxenar.t ? H [ 58] the duties it enjoined, is presented to Abraham's view. And what else can be the ground of his prayer respecting Ishmael? " O that Ishmael might live before thee !" If all the individuals of the natural posterity were em- braced in the promise, there was already a certainty that Ishmael would live before God. The prayer im- plies that Abraham was apprehensive, that notwith- standing the promise of the covenant, Ishmael might be excluded from the divine favor. In the 21st. verse of the chapter, the covenant is un- equivocally explained to Abraham as having an exclu- sive reference. " But my covenant will / establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee in the set time in the next year." After the birth of Isaac, Sarah, prompted as it would seem by a special divine impulse, for it is quoted by Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians in that light, says to Abraham, "Cast out this bond woman, and her son, for the son of this bond woman, shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." Abraham had too much natural affection for his son Ishmael, to be pleased with this apparently severe measure. But God says to him, 41 Let it not be grievous in thy sight, because of the lad, and because of the bond woman ; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice ; for, in Isaac shall thy seed be called." This appropriation of the covenant engagement as it respects the seed, to Isaac, the Apostle Paul treats as an initial dispensation, which gave a cast to the whole divine economy respecting the seed. " Be- cause they were the seed of Abraham, they were not all children." Some of them were. They were the children respected in the promise." For the children of the promise, are counted for the seed." Romans ix. 7m 8. These were the Israel who were of Israel. They were the remnant according to the election of grace, the remnant as it respected Israel at large. For Romans ix. 29. " Except the Lord of Sabaoth, had left us (us Israel) a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha," i. e. we had been all [59] given up to destruction. They were those who, Ephes. i. 5. " Were predestinated unto the adoption of child- ren by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will." They were those who were made accepted in the beloved ; who, in every age walked in the steps of that faith of their father Abraham, which he had, be- ing yet uncircumcised. This was the character of a part of the natural posterity only, " more or fewer" at different times, " as God in his sovereignty determin- ed. '' The residue were children without faith. They entered not in because of unbelief. They rejected the covenant of their God ; and generally went oft* into open idolatry in some form or other. " Being igno- rant ©f God's righteousness, and going about to estab- lish their own righteousness, they submitted not them- selves to the righteousness of God." They stumbled at this stumbling stone. While the election, i. e. the election of Israel, obtained, tliey were blinded. Hence, the solemn declaration of Moses just before his decease. Deut. xxxi. 16, and onward. " And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold thou shalt sleep with thy lathers, and this people shall rise up and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be amongst them, and will forsake me, and break mv covenant, which I have made with them.* Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day ; and I will forsake them, and hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, Are not all these evils come upon us because the Lord our God is not among us ? Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel ; put it into their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers that floweth with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxed fat, * Though the promise of the covenant in strictness, or as to its effect, extend- ed to the election only ; yet the covenant ?s has been hinted, and as will he rro:e fully explained directly, was made or eilablishcd, as to its outward administra- tion, with the whole body, [ 60 ] then will they turn unto other Gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. And it shall come to pass when many evils and troubles are be- fallen them, that this song shall testify against them, as a witness ; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed ; for I know their imagination which they go about even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware." This is a predic- tive view of the reprobate part of Israel. Agreeable to this is the direction of God to the prophet Isaiah. Isai. vi. 9. 10. " Go and tell this peo- ple, hear ye indeed, but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this peo- ple fat,\and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed." John, the Baptist, urged strenuously this distinction, between the elect, and the nonelect parts of the de- scendants of Abraham. Matt. iii. 7. " But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ; Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance, and think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father ; for God is able even of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees ; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." This declaration had evidently a special, primary respect to nominal Israel, for it was addressed to those who belonged to them. Our Savior insisted much on the same distinction. He says, " Many are called, but few chosen — Ye can- not believe because ye are not of my sheep as I said unto you — And they shall come from the cast and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of God ; but the children of the kingdom, (the disobedient part of the visible seed) shall be cait [61] out into utter darkness ; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." And in his prayer, John xvii. he says. " I pray for them ; I pray not for the world, (those among the Jews who died in their sins) but for them which thou hast given me ; for they are thine, and all thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. Holy Father keep through thine own name, those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are." The distinction runs through all Paul's writings ; several passages of which, to the point, have been al- ready quoted ; which, to avoid repetition as much as possible, wc shall forbear to mention here. The 9, 10 and 11th chapters of his Epistle to the Romans, are especially full to this point. J * St. Peter brings it into view with great clearness in the 2d chapter of his first Epistle. It is to be noted that this Epistle is addressed to \\\z strangers (i. e. be- lieving Jews) dispersed through Pontus, Galatia, Capa- docia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are characterized, as " elect according to the foreknowledge of.. God the father, through sanctification of the spirit unto obedi- ence, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.'' To them, he says, W Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious ; but unto them which be disobedient ; the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence ; even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, where unto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises of him, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." Finally, this distinction is presented in the sealing of a definite number out of every tribe of Israel, mention- ed in the 7th chapter of the Apocalypse. " And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God ; and he cried aloud to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth, and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor die trees, till we have scaled the servants of our God m [62] their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed, and there were sealed an hundred, and forty and four thousand, of all the tribes of the children of Israel." Facts exactly coincide with these doctrinal represen- tations of the scripture. Abraham had other children, besides Ishmael and Isaac, fie had six sons by a wo- man, whom he married after Sarah's death. But they were not counted for the seed, respected in the promise. Gen. xxv. 5. " Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac, as the heir ; but unto the sons of the Concu- bines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son while he yet lived, eastward unto the east Country." Jacob had an ele- vation to the prejudice of Esau, as to his primogeni- ture. He was established the heir, and counted for the seedy with whom the covenant was to take effect, before he was born. Gen. xxv. 23. The whole his- tory of Jacob exhibits him in this light, as an object of special covenant favor, in distinction from Esau. The Israelites and Edomitcs, as bodies, were as dis- tinguishable, as are now the Church and the world. Some of Israel fell in the wilderness ; and others enter- ed into the promised land. In the time of Rehoboam the largest branch was cut off from the stock. The ten tribes separated from the tribe of Judah, and went off into idolatry, in which they have continued to the pre- sent day. The seed was from that time perpetuated peculiarly in the tribe of Judah. ''In Judah God was known. He refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim : But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion 'which he loved ; and he built his sanctuary like high places, like the earth which he hath established forever." Psalm lxxviii. 67 — 69. When Elijah complained of the apostacy of the peo- ple as universal, God assured him, that, " he had re- served to himself seven thousand men, that had not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." When the Messiah appeared, he sat, in exact fulfil- ment of the prediction delivered by Malachi, "as a re- [63] finer and purifier of silver. He was a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppressed the hireling in his wages, the widow and fatherless, and that turned aside the stranger from his right, and that feared not God." According to the prophetic de- nunciation of John, he gathered the wheat into his gar- ner, and burnt up the chaff with unquenchable fire. To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them who believed on his name." To the residue he says, Mat. xxiii. 34. "Behold I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill, and crucify ; and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation." By generation here is evidently intended, according to the distinction urged ; not all numerically who lived in that day ; but all of a class ; those who were blinded. In the days of the Apostles, some stood by faith, while others were broken off for unbelief. And in eternity, we find, as a representation of the issue, Dives in hell, and Lazarus in Abraham"* s bosom, both of them natur- al descendant! from Abraham. From the position that the term seed was designed to comprehend ail the individuals numerically, what consequences, directly opposed to all this scripture ev- idence, and to millions of facts, will follow ? It will follow, that no soul could ever be cut off from his peo- ple. It will follow, that all the seed numerically have had the faith of Abraham, and are saved. It will fol- low, that divine sovereignty does not discriminate be- tween one part of Abraham's natural offspring and an- other, where it is expressly insisted on, all over the scriptures ; it will follow, that no wrath can be expres- sed towards any part of the nominal seed ; and yet it [64] is expressly said, " that wrath has come upon them to the uttermost." It will follow, that it was a valid cov- enant plea, which the Jews advanced, " We have A- braham to our lather;' 1 whereas, it is expressly con- demned, as having no warrant in the covenant. It will follow, that the covenant was so constructed as to give the reins entirely to licentiousness, with re- spect to the descendants of Abraham ; in the same manner that the doctrine of universal salvation does, with respect to the wOrld at large, and it will follow, that all the solemn denunciations of the holy Jesus a- gainst the hypocrites among the Jews, were words without reason or meaning. Upon the whole, we conclude with certainty, that the seed respected in the covenant, and with whom it was established, is that portion of the natural descend- ants of Abraham, who were predestinated to be joint heirs with Christ of an everlasting inheritance. These are numerous, and are characterized in a manner which does by no means apply to all the nominal Israel. For the writer to the Hebrews says xi. 13 and 14 verses. " Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These #//died in faith, not having received the prom- ises,* but having seen them afar off, and were per- suaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed tint they were strangers and pilgrims pn the earth : Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city." Having assertained whom we are to understand by the seed, we are next to enquire respecting the visi- bility of the seed. This is of importance, that we may have just views of the divine economy in regard to the Church, and that we may duly regulate our own con- duct. A thing may be contemplated as being what it is in the sight of God, who cannot err ; and what it appears to be in the sight of man, who has not intuition, * How strange that any one should suppose the promises respected ultimately temporal object! ; when the true Israel did not in this world receive them. C 65 3 L)ut whose judgment is to be regulated by evidence, To God, before whom all things are naked and open, the distinction between visible and invisible does not apply. But to men, who receive their ideas through a fallible medium, it does. We find ourselves often mistaken with respect to the objects we contemplate. The earth appears to us a plain, and that it is, has been the serious opinion of thousands of philosophers. But voyagers have proved it to be a globe. Judas was considered, by his fellow disciples, as a friend to Christ, till the treasonable designs of his heart were disclosed. The divine Being, perfectly wise and good, ever treats man according to his nature. He does not require of him knowledge beyond the reach of his capacities. — His institutions, and laws, must of course be ever un- derstood, as coinciding with his condition and capaci- ty. They must be suited to the doctrine, that, man tooheth on the outward appearance. To interpose by .constant revelations, in order to determine the real moral state and future destiny of every individual, would be incompatible with a state of trial. To un- mask the hypocrite, and extirpate him from the midst of the holy people, would be to anticipate the judg- ment. Engaged to perpetuate a seed to Abraham, and designing them, not only as monuments of his grace, but as depositaries of his will, it was necessary that God should form them into a visible society ; that they should be as a city set on an hill which cannot be hid. In this case they would have reciprocal obligations to One another. They would be visibly brethren ; and be bound to treat each other as such. This visible society would necessarily comprehend some, and it may be very many, who are not really children of promise. The wheat and the tares, as is the case in the Christian Church, would necessarily grow together. The pur- est discipline would not prevent ; and never was de- signed to prevent it.. Discipline is designed to extir- pate open offenders ; but not those, who, though in the sight of God they may be servants of Satan, in the sight of* men, are servants. of God. For God to deter- 1 [66 3 mine, then, and to inform us, who are the seed un- der his eye, is one thing ; and for him to direct us whom we are to consider, and treat as the seed, is an- other. It may be necessary for us, while obedient to his direction, to treat some as not of the seed, who really are ; and some as of the seed who really are not. Neither Elijah nor the disciples appear to have acted improperly, in their treatment of those whom their o- pinions respected.* So long as Judas appeared to the disciples, to be, or they were taught by Christ to view and treat him, as a friend ; they could not with propri- ety treat him as an enemy. It was necessary then for God to inform whom he would have viewed and treat- ed as the seed ?' Now, what has he in fact informed us on this important point ? I answer. He has told us, that we are to consider and treat all those, as the seed, who are natural descendants of Abraham, except- ing such, as he has himself rejected by his testimony. This testimony may be either direct and express ; or be made in the execution of the laws which he has en- acted,for the very purpose of, "discerning between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serveth God, and him who serveth him not." The covenant was established, as to the outward administration of it, with the natural seed of Abraham indefinitely- ; but God soon made express exceptions. He expressly excepted Ishmael and his lineal descendants ; and the sons of Keturah, and their descendants. He expressly excepted Esau, and his descendants. He expressly excepted the rebellious thousands, who, in the day of provocation and of temptation in the wilderness, open- ly refused to have him for their God. And he has ex- * Dr. Gill concedes, Reply to Clark, page 14, that " baptism was administer- ed to Simon Magus in the pure primitive way, by an apostolic person, yet he was in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity." At the same time he says, page 9. " A dedication ought to be previous to baptism. And believers must fust give themselves to the Lord, and then are baptized, in his name." If Simon Magus was in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity, he was not a real be- liever. He had not given himself to the Lord. He must have been baptized, because he appeared to have done so. Then, to proceed upon the ground of a visibility which is sometimes founded in mistake, is to act in a pure and apos- tolic way. I cannot think any peraoii will be disposed to deny the justness of this diitinction. [67] pressly excepted the multitudes who have now a vail upon their hearts. They are broken off, and not to be counted for the seed till they are grafted in again. — Then, " all Israel," i.e. the true Israel, the seed " shall be saved." The primitive law of the covenant, compre- hensive of all other laws pertaining to visible subjec- tion, in the execution of which divine exception was testified, is this, Genesis, xvii. 14. " And the uncir- cumcised manchild, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people ; he hath broken my covenant." The unpermitted neg- lect of circumcision, even though it was the parent's fault only, determined that the child should no longer be counted and treated as of the seed. The reason is obvious. The visibility of the infant, as one of the seed, stood, by divine appointment, in inseparable con- nexion with the visibility of the parent. If the parent refused to circumcise his child as God had appointed, he divested himself of the visibility of being one of his people. He wilfully trampled upon the covenant. He trampled upon God's authority, and thereby dis- owned him from being his God. Romans ii. 25. — " For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law ; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circum- cision is made unsircumcision." He excluded his child with himself. The parent and the infant offspring were constitutionally united ; because, the seed came on, from generation to generation, by natural descent. The infant child was to be counted for the seed till the neglect of circumcision ; not afterwards. He was visibly of the seed, and a subject of the covenant, by birth. Hence God says, Ezekiel xvi. 20. " More- over thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, which thou hast born unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children ?" It is not the least objection to this idea, that the in- fant was incapable of consenting to the covenant, and w r as wholly passive in circumcision. That the infant was wholly passive, in becoming a visible subject of the [68] covenant, is implied in this very passage in Ezekiel. It was born to God. Its initial covenant state was under- stood to take place passively. The infant was covenant- ed about. The whole seed was ; Christ himself was, as the great high priest, the representative of the seed, their elder brother. In this sense only the infant Mas a covenantee. And the real seed were covenantees in this sense, as covenanted about,, interminably ; as much after a personal consent, as before it ; and as- much be- fore it, as after it. Consent did not interest in the Covenant. It will be - remembered the promise was absolute. It was the promise only which interested. The consent of the subject was but the execution of the promise. If consent were the thing which inter- ested, then a personal profession would have been nec- essary to constitute a visible standing in the covenant. But as it was not, an infant might have as complete a visible standing in the covenant as the adult.* It is a mistake which has led to very erroneous conclusions, to suppose that visibility of covenant standing rests up- on one uniforrn principle. It may have different grounds. It may take place by the appointment and testimony of God, as well as by personal consent. If God have put his hand upon an infant to bless it, and thereby have let us know that it is a subject of his kingdom, it must be daring impiety in us to deny its' covenant standing. Neither is it any objection, that the visible covenant standing of the infant must be different from that of the consenting adult, who gives evidence that he is re- ally sanctified. For, though a consenting adult, like Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, appears to me actu- ally to possess, what I have not equal evidence that the * If there beany difficulty in considering the infant seed as embraced in th« covenant, or in covenant, it lies as much against the scheme of the antipccdobap- lists, as against that which considers the covenant of circumcision as wholly of a gracious nature. They allow that the land of Canaan was premised to the pos- terity of Abraham as such. But it is of no consequence, as to the question of an infant's being a covenantee, what the ccvenant engages to perform, whether to bestow an earthly or an heavenly inheritance, whether it have respect to politic al or spiritual objects. The simple question is, whether an infant be capable ©f being made a subject of a prornut : Or whether a promise m.iy be made to a pa-' rent that^he shall have a child who shall poisess any kind of good ? [69] infant possesses, I have as real evidence that the in- fant is a subject of covenant promise, as I have that the adult is. In the case of the adult, the ground of the . onc.jusion may be more extended, and the conclu- sion itself more certain ; just as the evidence respect- ing one adult visible believer, is far more convincing than that respecting another ; but, in the case of the infant, the evidence, or the ground of estimate is as real. In both cases the ground of evidence is the di- vine testimony ; i. e. God tells us by what marks we shall estimate a person to be one of his kingdom, or a subject of promise. To return, the covenant must be kept. It must be kept by the careful observance of infant circumcision as the appointed token of it. To have substituted adult circumcision exclusively, in the room of infant eircumcision, or to have deferred circumcision till the child should come to years of discretion, in order that it might embrace or reject the covenant, and be circum- cised or not, accordingly, would have been a depar- ture, not only from the law, but from the design and spirit of the promise. Circumcision would then have lost its most important meaning, as a token. It would have implicitly turned the promise into a conditional thing, and virtually vacated it. So indispensable was infant circumcision.* Let it be carefully noticed by the reader, that I have qualified the term neglect by un- permitted. God has aright to dispense with his own laws. He has done so on many occasions. The neg- lect of circumcision was permitted to the Israelites while they were prosecuting the tedious journeyings of the wilderness. Neglect, which is not of the nature of disobedience, but of duty, cannot be a breach of cov- enant. Neglect, which is of the nature of disobedi- ence, is such a breach of covenant, as nothing but * " And the male child that wa3 not circumcised on the eighth day, was*.o be Cut off from his people, as having broken the covenant, (tor these words, on the eighth day, should be inserted in the 14th verse ; and the verse read thus. The yicircumcised manchi/J, whose Jlesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, on the eighth aay, that soul (hall be cut off from his people, he hath broken my coveven! ; as appears from the Samaritan text, the Greek and ^amarican versions, and the citations of Philo, Justin, and Origen." Mallet's Notes, Vol. IH. page 276. [70] repentance, and that on the ground of an atonement, can repair. As the reason why an unpermitted neglect of in- fant circumcision separated from the visible seed, was, that it broke the covenant, it is evident, tha; a breach of the covenant, let it consist in what it might, was a reason, in law, why a person should no longer be counted for the seed. That which was a reason in one case, would certainly be in another. In the nature of things, if a man openiy reject the covenant, he can no longer be considered as a subject of it. This idea is established by the whole current of scripture. The covenant promises made to Abraham proceeded orig- inally upon this given principle, "I know Abraham, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that God may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." The covenant, as expressed in the 17th of Genesis, is thus introduced. " Walk before me, and be thou perfect." Circumcision must be attended with allegiance, other- ways it becomes uncircumcision. St. Paul observes, Romans iii. 25. " Circumcision verily pronteth,f/*thou keep the law ; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. " Obedi- ence then, just as it is now under the Gospel, was the condition of continuing "visibly in the covenant : I say continuing ; it was not the condition of being estab- lished in it initially. Accordingly, in successive pe- riods, when any part of nominal Israel were openly re- jected, it was because they had despised the covenant. All imperfections were borne with, so long as the cov- enant was not despised. This was done by open idol- atry, and such other acts of disobedience, as amounted to a refusal to have God for their God. The Psalmist, Psalm, 78, detailing the dealings of God with the re- fractory part of Israel, assigns, as a general reason of the judgments which fell upon them, " For their heart was not right with him, nor were they stedfast in his covenant." [71] The numerous denunciations of the Mosaic and the prophetic law, provided for theexslusion of all, who, by personal disobedience, rejected the covenant ; and, whether executed or not, whom God would have, and whom he would not have, counted for the seed. Having thus clearly determined whom we are to un- derstand to be the seed, really and visibly, there will be no difficulty in ascertaining what we are to understand to be intended by the covenant, mentioned in this arti- cle ; the establishing of this covenant; and its duration, expressed by the term everlasting. The term covenant has its own explanation in the promise itself, " to be a God unto thee and thy seed sfter thee." In this covenant, God engaged, that in the highest sense, and by a relation as spiritual, and unalterable, as that which subsisted between God and Abraham, he would be the God of his seed, their shield, and exceeding great re- ward. This is so clear as to be beyond dispute. — Nothing but partiality to a favorite theory can lead any one to attach a different idea to the declaration. Equally evident is it, what is to be understood by the promise, to establish this covenant with Abraham, and his seed, throughout their generations. The plain import of the engagement is, like what has been just observed, that the covenant should not only be propos- ed, but take a full effect with respect to the seed, as it had taken effect with respect to Abraham. Therefore it secured the continuance of a seed, in successive genera- tions, with whom the covenant should be established. — This is so obviously the import of the declaration, that ingenuity could scarce find out a different meaning to apply to it. This construction of the promise is a- grceable to fact, and is confirmed by the current of the scriptures, especially by a question which the apostle Paul puts, in the beginning of the 11th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, and the reply which he makes to it. " I say then, hath God cast away his people whom he foreknew ? God forbid." This answer clear- ly supposes, as an undoubted fact, that there is a per- [72] petual succession of the seed, called the people of God, with respect to whom the promise has its full effect. Finally, it is easy to see what we are to understand to be the meaning of the word everlasting, as qualifying this covenant, with regard to its duration, Beyond a doubt it is ufed to convey the idea of its endless contin- uance. This is evident ; beeause the literal meaning is the most natural, and by far the most agreeable to the spirit, of the covenant ; because, on the supposi- tion the term had a limited meaning, the covenant might have been of very short duration ; and thea A- braham would have had every thing to fear ; whereas he is commanded, not to fear. " Fear not, for I am your shield and your exceeding great reward;" be- cause this covenant, as explained by Christ, secured a resurrection from the dead and eternal glory; Matth. xxii. 31. " But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying ; I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living ;" because other way s, i. e. if he had not prepared a city, a continuing city, God would have been ashamed to be called their God> Heb. xi. 16 ; and because the promise is expressly said, Heb. ix. 15, to have had respect to an, " eternal in- heritance." To suppose that the covenant is of temporary dura- tion, is to sink its glory to nothing. It is to suppose God has ceased, or will cease to be the God of Abra- ham and his seed ; that the connextion between Christ, and his adherents will be dissolved ; and that the pro- visions, encouragements, promises and interpositions of grace, mentioned in the scriptures, as eminently illus- trating the excellency of Jehovah's character, have ul- timate respect to perishable objects ; and are there- fore little more entitled to notice, than sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. By this covenant then God united himself eternally to Abraham, and his seed, as their God ; and they were taken into a peculiar, spiritual, and indissolvabk con- [73 ] nexion with him as his people ; the seed being placed in regard to covenant relation and security, even though they did not now exist, upon the same ground that Abraham himself stood upon. One article more is to be attended to, before the an- alysis of the covenant of circumcision can be consider- ed as completed. This is, that it made provision for the adoption of others, who were not of the seed by natural descent. I shall not here dwell largely upon this idea. It will come into view with more advantage in a subsequent stage of this Treatise. A few things however in this connexion claim to be noticed. The child by descent, is a child according to the primitive literal meaning of the term. The child by adoption, is such figuratively. The adopted son, may, however, be as paternally regarded, and share as fully the privileges of the family, as the natural son. The doctrine of adoption, into the family of A- braham, runs through the Old Testament, and the New. It is very clearly intimated in the Abrahamic covenant itself. " / iv ill bless him that blesseth thee." He who blesses Abraham, is a friend of Abraham, in the light in which he is exhibited in the covenant ; is a possessor of the faith, and a worshipper of the God of Abraham. His language is that of the pious Moabitess, Ruth. " Where thou goest I will go ; where thou lodg- est I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." He is of course united with Abra- ham, in a participation of the blessings of the same cove- nant. He is equally an object of promise. This doctrine is again intimated, or rather clearly expressed in another promise of the covenant, " And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Here the blessing \s extend- ed beyond the boundaries of Abraham's natural seed. But it is extended, in Abraham, i. e. by the Messiah, his seed. It takes effect by faith. By faith Gentiles be- come joint heirs of the eternal inheritance ; or are bles- sed with faithful Abraham. ' ' If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. " The doctrine of adoption then Mas wrought into the K [74] covenant as an essential part of it. The covenant taught the«eed, that they were to multiply into a great nation, not in the natural course of propagation only; but by accessions, from time to time, of converts from the other inhabitants of the world. They were accord- ingly to spread their arms, to receive these converts, with the most affectionate cordiality. The gates of their city were not at all to be shut.* For they were to ex- pect that the glory, and the honor of the nations should be brought into it. Being received, these converts were to be treated as brethren. " One is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." ' The doctrine of adoption seems to be taught, in the order for applying circumcision to all who composed the family ; those who were born in the house, and those ivho were bought with money. " And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man- child in your generations, he that is born in the house or bought with money, any stranger which is not of thy seed — ancWny covenant shall be in your flesh for an ev- erlasting covenant." In obedience to this direction, we are told, that, ." Abraham, took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men, of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin, the-selfsame day, as God had said unto him;*' This appointment was to extend through their succes- sive generations ; and circumcision was to be the cove- nant of God in their flesh. All the reasons for this ap- plication, we may not be able indisputably to ascertain. But so much is evident ; that circumcision, when ap- plied to the stranger that was not of the seed, signified the same thing, exactly, that it did when applied to the seed. It was a token, sign, or seal of the covenant gener- ally ; of all the promises of it : of those which respected the diffusion of the blessing beyond the limits of the seed, as well as of those which were appropriate to the seed ; and certified, that God would be the God of the former, in the same sense and to the same extent that he engaged to be the God of the latter. The promises * R^ xxi, 2$. [75] were a common interest. Hence, the Apostle, Heb. vi. 11, 12, says ; " And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence, to the full assurance of hope, unto the end. That ye be not slothful, but follow- ers of them, who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises.'* Could it be ascertained, conclusively, that Abraham's servants were visibly godly persons., and that circumcision was applied to them on this principle, it would be a settled point, that here was the doctrine of adoption reduced to practice. Some reasons which would induce us to form this conclusion, rather than an opposite one, we shall take the liberty to mention. G od himself testified to Abraham's fidelity in instructing and governing his household ; and expressly connected, by a gracious constitution, their piety with his fidelity. " I know Abraham, that he will command his child- ren, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that Qod may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.'* Ought it not to be presumed, that this constitution produced the effect, expressly desig- nated ? Were the means secured ? Were they design- ed for the very purpose of forming to faith and piety, Abraham's household ; and yet were they so ineffec- tual, as not to gain them even to a visible subjection to the true God, and« visible acceptation of the covenant ? When Melchizedek gave the blessing to Abraham, had this blessing no respect to the family, of which Abraham was the head, and whose eternal welfare he was so engaged to promote ? Was it promised, " I will bless them that bless thee;" and yet were his own family, who were attached to him, and who fol- lowed him through all perils as their common leader, under the curse, both really and visibly ? Was not § Abraham probably as strict with respect to the relig- ious character of his household, as any of his seed ? Yet one of them says, Psalm exxxix. 19. "Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God, therefore depart from me, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. — [76] Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee ; and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee ? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine ene- mies.'' He prays, Psalm cxliv. 11. " Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth spcaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood." "He resolves, Psalm ci. " I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside ; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me : / will not know a wicked person. — He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall scree me : lie that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house : He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight." If we are to take these declarations as il- lustrating the testimony of God, respecting the fidelity of Abraham, can we imagine, there was an entire vis- ible contrast between his religious state and that of his household ? That servants, were, according to the economy of the covenant, understood to be united with their mas- ter, in religious allegiance to God, seems to have proof in the conduct of Jacob towards his servants, when he was passing from Padan-aram to Bethel. His confi- dence which he exprescs to Laban, that none of his Gods had been taken by his w ives, children, or servants ; presents the presumption, that he had taken care to ex- tirpate idolatry, and to lead them to the acknowledg- ment and worship of Jehovah. Gen. xxxi. 32. "With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live ; before our brethren^ discern thou what is with me, and take it to thee ; for Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them." Sometime afterward, when Jacob had got near to Bethel, and he had received directions from God to go to Bethel, and dwell there ; suspect- ing ; or, if you choose, knowing, that the conquest of" the Shechemitcs had brought some of their gods, and considerable spoil into his household, he undertakes to purge it entirely of the accursed thing." Gen. xxxv. '2, 3, 4. " Then Jacob said unto his houshold, and to [ 77] all that were with him, put away the strange Gods that are among you, and be clean, and change yourgar- meuVs. And let us arise and go up to Bethel ; and I wil; make there an* altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange Gods which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechcm." We cannot tell how far this introduction of idolatry had gained ground, or whether in fact here was any thing more than spoil. For that his followers any of them wor- shipped these gods, is not said. Here, however was a thorough cleansing. The objects of idolatrous wor- ship were put away, even as dangerous spoil. Jacob's servants submitted to external ablution, as a symbol of internal dedication to God; and changed their garments, as a sign of devoting themselves to his service. But why all this, if the covenant of circumcision tolerated idolatry, and its attendant impieties, in the family of Abraham ? Those who contend that God's covenant transac- tions with Abraham, admitted, that subjects of visible impiety and idolatry, should be incorporated into his family, and be honored with the seal of the righteous- ness of faith; must admit also, that these covenant transactions. macie provision for the very thing, which they were designed to counteract and extirpate. The separation of Abraham and his seed, had the special de- sign of preserving them from the idolatries of the world, and forming them into a society of worshippers of the true God. The holy nature of the covenant, and the subsequent laws which were given to this so- ciety, bound them, by most solemn sanctions, to avoid all connexion with idolaters. A passage, in the 34th chapter of Exodus, claims here to be particularly noticed. " Observe thou that which I command thee this day. Behold I drive out before thee, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and thellittitc, ;mdthePerizzite,andtheHi- yite, and the Jcbuzitc. Take to heed thyself lest thou [78 ] »akc a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of of thee. Bat ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. For thou shalt worship no other God. Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whor- ing after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice. And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons ; and they go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons to go a whoring after their gods." Abraham was un- doubtedly required to be as cautious, and as pure, in this respect as his descendants were. God was as jealous with respect to him, as with respect to them. Accordingly, what notices we have respecting the character of the servants of Abraham, are clearly in favor of their visible union with Abraham, in religious faith and worship. If the evidence be not conclusive, so far as it goes, it confirms the doctrine of adoption. A case very expressly to this point of adoption, is found in the 12th chapter of Exodus, at the 48th verse. *' And when a stranger shall sojourn with you, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it, and he shall be as one that is born in the land ; for no uncircumcised person shall cat thereof. One law shall be to him that is home born, and to the stranger that sojourneth among you." No words could more fully warrant the adoption of proselytes, or more fully certify their equal interest in the covenant. Another passage, very express to this purpose, occurs in Isaiah lvi. 3, and on. " Neither let the son of the stranger that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, the Lord hath utterly separated me from his people ; neither let the Eunuch say, behold I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the Eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant, even unto them will I give in mine house, and within my walls, a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters : I will give them an everlasting [79] name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to loxe the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and takcth hold of my covenant, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer ; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar ; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer, for all people.'''' Af- ter so full and explicit a testimony, all farther proof must be superfluous. The hundreds of gracious prom- ises which run through the prophecies, respecting the ingathering of the Gentiles to Zion, are, as w ill be seen in the sequel, illustrative of this idea. Here let it be carefully noticed ; that all these pros- elytes, who entered into the covenant by adoption, were required expressly, not only to be circumcised them- selves, but to cause their male children to be circum- cised. They must conform exactly to what was en- joined upon the natural seed. They must circumcise their male infants at eight days old. For there was one law to him that was home born, and to the stranger, " Let all his males, be circumcised." This was agree- able to the command given to Abraham. He was as careful to circumcise the infant children of his servants, as the servants themselves. Whether we can discern the reason or not, this was law, and this wzsfact. But the general reasons seem obvious. 1. It has ever been the manner of God's proceeding, to identify children with the parent, in the unity of a household state. Thus Noah was directed to prepare an ark for the saving of himself, and his house. The children of Lot were associated with him under one pe- culiarly merciful dispensation, by which they were res- cued from the destruction of Sodom. Abraham and his house were connected by covenant alliance. When Zaccheus was converted, our Lord declared, "This day is salvation come to this house." When the dis- ciples were sent abroad to preach the kingdom of God, they were directed to say, upon their entering a house, [80] " Peace be to this house." And were told " that if the Son of Peace were there, their peace should rest upoii it." Peter said to the trembling jailor, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Cornelius was told, that Peter should tell him words, whereby he, and his house should live. It is one of the Proverbs of Solomon, that " the house of the righteous shall stand :" And another, that " the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked." This provision is founded in perfect wisdom ; nay, in the necessity of the case. Marriage was instituted for the propagation of a godly seed, and the family alliance which it establishes, was designed to carry on this pur- pose to its ultimate issue. Unity of religious charac- ter is understood as the principle of this alliance. Up- on an opposite principle, the unity of the family state is dissolved. For " How can two walk together, ex- cept they be agreed ?" Children, by the circumstance of their dependance, come naturally, and almost nec- essarily into the lot of their parents, and partake of their religious privileges or deprivations. They are led to join in their worship of God ; or to participate in their idolatry. Even the Baptists themselves are constrained to act upon this principle. They require the attendance of their children in acts of family wor- ship ; and carry them up, as parts of themselves, to the sanctuary, in which God's worship is publicly celebrated. 2. The children of those who were of the adoption were born to God, in a sense which did not apply at all to the carnal world. They were as really born to God, as the natural descendants of Abraham. For their parents were subjects of the same faith ; were equally servants of God ; and in the same covenant. The one sort of parents devoted their children to God, in the same manner, that the other sort of parents did. If there was one law to the stranger, and to him that was home born ; that law had the same foundation with respect to the one, that it had with respect to the oth- er. God was related to both alike as their God. The whole family, was by birth, in a state of religious unity. [81] . 3. Here, in this one general family, the seed, not on- ly according to the literal, but the figurative meaning of that term, was to be found, as one generation suc- ceeded another. Proselytes were indeed to come orig* inally from the idolatrous world. But the blOssing which rested upon those proselytes, was the blessing of Abraham, which passed over to his offspring. He was blessed, in having a seed given to him, to whom Jehovah was a God. And sincere proselytes were heirs acccording to the promise. They w^re blessed with Faithful Abraham. They partook of the root and fatness of the tree. They were the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring tvit/i them. — » The blessing had a lineal or seminal descent, as well with respect to them, as the home born. I do not mean that the infant offspring of proselytes Were the seed primarily intended in that particular clause of the covenant, " I will establish my covenant with thy seed." This would be to contradict all that has been said. But, as the promise, " and in thee shall all fami- lies of the earth be blessed," did not respect one gen-* eration only, but every generation, the blessing involve ed in it was to be transmitted fan a family way, or by family descent ; and by means of those instructions, and that discipline, which the covenant furnished and required. So that the infant offspring of the stranger, just like the other, though upon a different principle, were to be accounted holy, die Lord's, and joint heirs with the offspring of the natural seed, of the heavenly inheritance. The profit of circumcision extended to the one soft of offspring as really as to the other. — Hence the manner in which benedictions thoughout the scriptures embrace the children of all pious par- ents, connectively with parents themselves. Deuteron- omy, xxx. 19. " Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Ibid xxviii. 4. "Bles- sed shall be the fruit of thy body." lb. vii. 13, " And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee, he will also bless the fruit of thy womb." — lb. xxx. 6. " And the Lord thy God shall circum- L [82] cise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed." Psalm xxv. 13. "His soul shall dwell at ease, and his seed shall inherit the earth." These several promises had an application to proselytes, as much as to the home bony' For they were equally of the body. Psalm cxii.' 1,2. " Blessed is the man that ieareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments : His seed shall be mighty upon the earth; the generation of t/ie upright shall be blessed." Psalm xxxvii. 26. "He ise^er merciful and lendeth, and his seed is bles- sed." Proverbs xi. 21. " Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished ; but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered." Isaiah xliv. 3. — " Fori will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my spirit up- on thy seedy and "my blessing upon thine offspring." lb. lxi. 9. " And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people ; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed." These declarations, as has been shewn with respect to the term seed, are to be understood, not as securing the salvation of all, individually, of the offspring of the adoption ; but as announcing the descent of the bles- sing, and the descent of it in this way, that is, seminally* These promises certainly involve a connexion be- tween the piety of the parent and the piety and salva- tion of his child ; or that the blessing descends seminal- ly throughout the whole Church. If there be no such connexion, then these promises are without meaning. They secure nothing. They convey no blessing like that, which, in terms, they express. There is an essen- tial disparity between the covenant state of the natural, and the adoptive seed. The grand reason for the ap- plication of circumcision with respect to the one, has no application to the other. Thistheory will have afullconnrmaiion,when we come to see how Jews and Gentiles are consolidated, with out any distinction, into one body, at the period, when the Messiah orders and establishes his kingdom forever. [83] The view of the covenant of circumcision which has now been taken, presents a number of important conclusions, which, because they will farther illustrate the general subject in hand, will here be noticed. 1. It is plainly a gross pervertion of the leading promise of the covenant of circumcision, when it is treated, as it often is, as meaning no more than that God would unite himself to the posterity of Abraham as a temporal sovereign ; to govern them as to their worldly state, and to bestow on them temporal rewards, upon mere* external obedience.* This idea will be more largely considered and refuted, when we come to examine the Sinai covenant. Here let it be only observed, that not a word of this nature is suggested in all God's covenant transactions with Abraham ; but every thing, as we have seen, has a contrary appear- ance. The preceding analysis has shewn, that God was the God of Abraham in the most gracious and spiritual sense. He was his exceeding great reward ; not upon the low ground of a civil compact, which in- volves no moral rectitude ; nor upon the scale of mere temporal prosperity, which involves no blessing ; but upon the principle of distinguishing and everlasting mercy. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is Jehovah's memorial throughout all generations. And he is not the God of the dead, but of the living. It* Jehovah be the God of Isaac and Jacob, not as dead and reprobate men, but ay eternally living in his favor ; without all doubt he is a God in the same sense to the residue of Abraham's seed. The covenant relation is ex- actly the same with respect to all. Nothing then can be more derogatory to God than such a construction of the Abrahamic covenant. It sinks him down to a level with the miserable kings of the earth. It sup- * " It is exceedingly evident that the Abrahamic covenant respected and promised blessings to Abraham's posterity, or natural descendants as sneh.-r- Those blessings however, were of a mere temporal kind." Andrews's Vindi- cation of the Baptists, page 24. li It is an undoubted truth, that God \va» the God of the posterity of Abraham in the very sense in which he prom- ised to be. It will not be denied that God was the God of the Jewish Na- tion, in the most literal sens*. He was tbeir political hwgivtr and king y " paqm 43 an(1 it- [84] poses him to be the friend and patron of a race of be- ings, held in external allegiance, by interested motives only ; who are wholly adverse to him in their real character. It makes him unite himself favorably to moral filth and deformity. For what are a class of be- ings, merely subject to civil regulations, without relig- ion ? What, but enemies to God by wicked works ? No wonder, that the more modest advocates of this the- ory, advance it with a trembling hand. That the prom- ises of the Abrahamic covenant, principally respected an eternal inheritance, and were exclusively of a gra- cious nature, is just as evident as that there is a Bible. We might multiply quotations without end in proof of it. But enough evidence has been presented. We are assured that God would be ashamed to be called the God of a man upon a lower principle. 2. It is plain, from what has been said, that the covenant of circumcision has more than two parties. A. covenant is often exslusively defined as a stipulation, by one, and a astipulation by another ; and of course as comprehending no more than two parties. This is a just description of some covenants ; but by no means, of all covenants. It may be a just description of such covenants as respect things only. But when a cove- nant respects moral agents, there may be several par- ties. This is often the case in the settlement of the terms of peace betw een nations who have been engag- ed in war. There may be two transacting parties on- ly ; and yet there may Idc others ; either societies or individuals, whom their engagement may respect, and in whom certain rights shall be as really vested, as in either of the contracting parties. A king, in settling a peace with another king, with whom he has been at war, makes the investiture of his eldest son, with a certain principality, a primary article in the treaty, entirely unknown, at the time of establishing this trea- ty, to this son. By r the agreement of the contracting parties the son becomes entitled to this principality. He is therefore, properly a party in the covenant. As soon as the treaty shall be published, he will advance his claims accordinglv. [85} In the covenant of circumcision, God covenanted, Abraham was the immediate covenantee. This cov-r enant respected another portion of intelligent agents, the seed. These were covenantees only as the cove- nant respected them* But the promise respecting them, did as really invest them with the blessing, as it did Abraham himself. 3. It is evident from the view which has been taken of the covenant of circumcision, that the application of particular promises to individuals, which are not made to others, is not at all inconsistent with their being in the same covenant, and interested ill the same common blessing. The promise addressed to Abraham, " I will make of thee a great nation, kings shall come out of thee," did not apply to Moses, though one of his seed. The promise to Moses, Exodus iv. 12. " Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say," did not apply to Abraham. Yet Abraham and Moses were in the same covenant, and had equally God for their God. Hence, though, the promise of the land of Canaan, does not apply to Gentile believers, it will not follow that they are not in the same covenant, with the seed of Abraham. 4. From the view we have taken of the seed, and their covenant standing, it is an obvious conclusion, that the salvation of children was not so suspended up- on the faith of parents, and their diligence in instruct- ing them, as that, however perfect, their salvation would always infallibly follow. The covenant com- prehended no promise, securing such a connex- ion universally. In millions of instances it might fail, and yet the covenant stand good. Fidelity on the part of the parent was an indispensable duty. It was an important mean, in the hand of God, of accom- plishing his gracious purpose, relative to the seed ; and was so commonly prospered, or made effectual, as that it had the strongest encouragement, and presented a foundation for raised hope. Yet it was not always ef- fectual ; for it was not a condition of the promise. — The promise was absolute. But an absolute promise, [89] though it may have a mean, can be suspended upon no condition whatever. The seed was the election. — The most perfect faithfulness with respect to all others, would of course be wholly ineffectual. Probably Isaac was as faithful to Esau, as to Jacob. Aaron, for aught that appears, was as faithful to Nadaband Abihu, as to Eleazer and Ithamar. David was probably as faithful to Absalom as to Solomon. Circumcision was not therefore administered upon the ground of such an in- fallible universal connexion. 5. It is plain from the foregoing premises, that the covenant of circumcision was the basis of a society, and such a kind of society as there was nothing like it in all the world. It was a society, which embraced the heirs of the eternal inheritance. It was a society which, as to its descriptive character, consisted of the seed which was the blessed of the Lord. It was appropri- ated by Jehovah, as, his family, his inheritance, his por- tion. Those who composed it were his people, and he was their God. They were under his special govern- ment and care as his ; as those whom all the promises of his covenat respected. Christ was united to this society as its saviour. Its institutions and laws were holy. Its character was holy. Its relations and inter- ests were holy. In a moral view therefore it was the contrast of all institutions among men, merely national and civil. There was not, indeed, a vestige of any thing national, or civil belonging to it ; according to the com- mon import of those terms, as signifying combinations and laws, of a mere worldly design. The society was not a kingdom of the earth; but the kingdom of heaven. 6. It is evident, that this society, formed by the cov- enant of circumcision, and of which this covena»t was the constitutional basis, was indissohable. It was to last forever. Whether the members of it should be in heaven or upon earth ; whether it should occupy, as its place of rest, Egypt, or the Wilderness, or Canaan, or the territories of the Gentiles ; whether it should have one modification, or another ; be under M/odispen- [87] Satlon, or that ; it Was to be of interminable duration. The covenant is declared to be everlasting. The estab- lisher of it is the living God. The promises of this covenant respect a redeemed seed ; and they are re- deemed in such a high and exalted sense, as thatdiey are made unto God, kings and priests forever. 7. It is evident that the infant offspring of those adults who belonged to this society, whether in the line of the natural posterity of Abraham, or of the adoption, ' were members of it. They were so by birth ; and as completely members then, as when they became adults. They were the seed constituting the society ; and whom the promises of the covenant respected. Hence the fact, which is so uncontrovertible as not to be denied by any denomination of Christians, that the infants of Israel were considered and treated as compleatly mem- bers of the body. With their parents, they came un- der all the collective epithets, which designated the so- ciety. 8. It is evident from the foregoing view of the cov- enant state of the seed, tfcat those who died in their in- fancy, not having been excepted from the body of the seed by any express testimony, or in the execution of the laws of the covenant, were to be considered as sav-> ed. None will deny this , who do not deny the possibil- ity of the salvation of infants altogether. But surely they are as capable of salvation, as of being made sub- jects of promise. And their being subjects of an un- conditional gracious promise, concludes in favor of their being considered heirs of the inheritance. The kingdom is in heaven as well as upon earth. Death therefore does not dismember from it. This was a very important part of the blessing secured in the cov- enant, and made a wide difference, between the cove- nanted people of God, and the heathen world. On ac^ count of this difference, the heathen are called by Paul, Ephcsians ii. 12. " £evoi ruv &«0vjviwv tvjo- tfrayfrAW," strangers from the covenants of promise ; and arc said to be without God, without Christ, and without hope in the world. [88] 9. It is evident from the illustrationswhich have been brought into view respecting the seed, that individual descendants from Abraham could be deprived of the blessings ofthe covenant, or fail of having God, for their God, in the strict sense of the promise, but in one nvay ; i.e. by refusing the covenant alliance, I do not now speak of the divine sovereignty, which is the cause why one is taken and the other left ; but of the part which man acts as a moral agent. The external administration of the covenant, involved a proposal on the part of God, to be the God of all to whom it was addressed. This was another point of great difference between the pos- terity of Abraham, and the rest of the world. This proposition has never been made to mankind, univer- sally. It has been made in connexion with the pre- servation and promulgation of the covenant only. — ■ The way, and the only way, then, by which individuals lived and died, without any interest in the blessings of the covenant, was unbelief. Hence those who were chargeable with unbelief, were openly cut off from the covenant. 10. It is evident, that if the covenant of circumcis- ion, be altogether of a gracious nature, as it has been largely shewn that it is, then the dutiful observance of the ordinance of circumcision, by the adult, must have been understood to be an act of faith. Circumcision was a token of promise. The promise was embraced by faith only. The application of the token then, when dutifully applied, was an act of faith. It was of course, believers, and not unbeliever's circumcision. Yet, 11. It evidently appears from the view which has been taken of the covenant, that actual faith was by no means an essential qualification in the subject of circum- cision.* It was a requisite, respecting the adult pros- elyte ; butnot at all respecting the seed. Their passivity in circumcision, and as subjectsof the covenant initially, * " The most plausible agrument against the baptism of infants, has been founded on this principle, viz, that actual faith is a necessary qualification for thai trdinance. This argument is the dernier resort of the antipecdobaptists, and the whole weight of their cause rests and depends upon it." Arnzi Lewis. [89] was understood, because they were only covenanted about. 12. We are shewn in these illustrations the reason why the term circumcision is so often used in the scriptures, as characterising and designating the people of God, in distinction from the world. Romans iii. 10. " Seeing it is one God which shall justify the cir- cumcision by faith," he. Philippians iii. 3. " For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh. " The reason is, that circumcision was a seal of the absolute promises of the covenant, and desig- nated the seed, to whom it was applied, as visible sub- jects of these promises. This is the evident reason also, why circumcision is so often mentioned as repre- senting internal sanctification. The seed whom the promise embraced were really sanctified. Circumcis- ion was expressive of their being so. The peculiar nature, time, and circumstances of the ordinance, all concurred to make this expression in the most per- fect manner. * 13. To the common question, (expressive either of ignorance or unbelief,) what good could it do to cir- cumcise an infant child, who in the act must have been altogether passive ? We have the very best answer. — Circumcision, when applied to the infant, much more clearly expressed the nature of the covenant, than when applied to the adult proselyte. The covenant, in all the promises of it, had respect to blessings which were to take place by descent. It respected a seed naturally, and adoptatively. Circumcision, therefore, when ap- plied to infants, was attached to the very subjects on which the promise terminated. The language of it was precisely that of the covenant, that the seed was bles* sed. It marked the subjects as belonging to God, by a most gracious covenant relation. It was the grand * " The time of performing this rite, was on the eighth day, because it was not till then, sufficiently cleansed from the impurities of its birth ; nor -was the mother past her greatest pollution, and consequently, could not touch it with- eut rendering it unclean. — That member which is the instrument of generation, was made choice of, that they might be tm L'ly seed, consecrated unto God from the beginning." ' lewis's Hebrew Rtbubli, i M [90] public seal of the charter, not merely of their temporal, but of their eternal inheritance. It was especially such as applied to the seed in their infancy. Had it been de- ferred to adult years, its peculiar meaning would have been lost. Accordingly, to the question, What profit is' there in circumcision ? The apostle answers, *' much every way ; chiefly, because, that unto them were committed the oracles of God." They had the word of promise. This involved the security of the salvation of the seed, embraced in the promise. What impiety then, to treat with disrespect, as a burdensome, unmeaning, carnal ceremony, an institution, the lan- guage of which is so infinitely gracious ; and which is of such solemn consideration in the account of God ! 14. It is evident, from the view which has been ta- ken of the covenant of circumcision, that it made pro- vision for, and was to be carried into effect by means of, a strictly pious education. It was to be establish- ed with the seed in their generations. The blessing was to go down the lapse of time, in a succession of pi- ous recipients. These recipients were to become pious, and inherit the promises, through the instrumentality of instruction. For, faith cometh by hearing, and hear- ing by the word of God. God accomplishes all his purposes of grace by means. These means are to be used with diligence ; and, as they are covenant means, and given for the express purpose of being channels, by which the blessing is to flow down from generation to generation, this diligence has every possible en- couragement, short of being universally effectual. As a general principle, it is designed to be effectual, in proportion to the fidelity exercised,' in teaching and governing, persuading and praying for. This is clear- l} r exhibited in the testimony of God respecting Abra- ham, which we have had occasion before to introduce. " I know Abraham, that he will command his child- ren, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that God may bring upon Abraham, that which he hath spoken of him." Accordingly, Moses, to subserve [91] the execution of the promises of the covenant, directs the children of Israel, "And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart ; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children ; and shalt talk of them when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." In agreement with which the Psalmist observes, Psalm lxxviii. 5. " For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to theic children, that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise, and declare them to their children, that they might set their hope in God." 15. From the preceding analysis of the Abrahamic covenant, it is evident, that this covenant made provi- sion for, and required a strict discipline.. If the uncir- cumcised manchild was to be cut off from his people, and the visible seed was to be holy, and distinguished as such, from those who were subjects of divine ex- ception, and from the uncovenanted world, in the execu- tion of covenant law ; then here was established, as an essential part of covenant duty, a strict, impartial, and constant discipline. 16. From what has been said, it is evident, that the females in Israel were as really subjects of the cove- nant as the males ; and that circumcision signified ex- actly the same thing with respect to them, that it did with respect to the males. For they were equally with the males, the seed. It was the seed, as a mystical or spiritual society, rather than the individual, though the individual was comprehended, to whom circumci- sion sealed the promises of the covenant. The objec- tion then to the graciousness of the Abrahamic cove- nant, that it made no provision for the blessing to rest upon females, is entirely groundless. 17. It is an obvious conclusion from the preceding illustrations, and a conclusion which needs to be re- membered, because the opposite idea is most general- ly advanced in treatises on this subject, that circumcis- [92] ion did not initiate. It did not place the subject in, covenant ; but was administered, because he was in covenant already. He was so by birth. Nay, he was comprehended in the covenant before he existed. 18. And finally* we are presented with an admira- ble display of the wisdom of God, in the economy of the covenant. If God had given no absolute promise, respecting a seed, there would have been no certainty of the appearance of a Savior, that a church would have been perpetually preserved in the world ; or even that one soul would be saved. If his promise had ex- tended to all the natural, or die adoptive posterity, in- dividually, and without exception, it would have oper- ated to countenance licentiousness, like the absurd, and antigovernmental doctrine, of the final salvation of all men. Had there been no really sanctified seed in suc- cession, God would have appeared as the God of a race of hypocrites only. And had the invisible and the visible seed been exactly the same persons, the judgment day would have been anticipated. We conclude, then, this analysis of the covenant, in the adoring language of the apostle. " O the depth of the riches,both of the wisdom and knowledge of God I How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out ! For of him, and through him, and to him are all things ; to whom be glory forever. AmenJ\ CHAPTER V. Exhibiting a general view of the Community ef Israel, from the administration of the Covenant of Circumcision^ to thai ej the Covenant of Sinai. IN the preceding analysis, we have ascertained the exclusively gracious nature of the covenant, estab- lished by God with Abraham ; the unconditionally of its promises ; the extent of their application ; and its perpetuity. We have found it the basis of an organized, and in- dissoluble society, composed of persons who are visi- bly objects of the blessing. We are thence, naturally led to anticipate a series of expressions of divine care, especially directed to the conservation and elevation of this society ; miraculous displays of God's power ; special revelations of his will ; and assurances of his favor. We are led to expect the promulgation of in- stitutions and laws, forming an interior regimen, adapt- ed to the peculiar nature of the society, and the glori- ous objects to which it is to be ultimately advanced. It will be seen that facts justify this expectation. — The covenant we find carried into effect in the birth of Isaac ; in his circumcision ; in his evident personal piety ; and in the extraordinary manner in which he was made a typical representative of the Savior, when Abraham virtually offered him upon the altar. The blessings of the covenant appeared to rest upon this Patriarch, in the repeated assurances he had from God, that he was an object of his special love ; in the pro- traction of his life to a very old age ; in his closing his days in peace ; and having his burial in the land which the covenant gave to him. From him, the covenant, with its blessings, was transmitted to Jacob. God avowed himself his God, [9-1] by* the same gracious and indissoluble bonds by which he was the God of his fathers, Abraham, and Isaac. — Jacob had power with God, and prevailed. He care- fully applied the token of the covenant to all his child- ren; taught them to fear and serve God, and went be- fore them in a pious example. His valedictory bles- sings hud the efficacy of prophecy. He expired under the weight of years, upon the bosom of an affectionate Joseph, and his bones were carried up, in solemn pomp, and buried by the bones of his fathers, in the land of promise. His children, the heads of the tribes, suc- ceeded in the same relation to God, and were visibly recipients of the blessing. In character, they were by no means faultless. In some instances, their conduct was cruel. Still they adhered to the worship of God, and were distinguished from the idolatrous world as his people. Joseph was certainly a person of singular piety.— His resistance of a potent temptation ; his adherence to true religion in an idolatrous and profligate court ; his filial duty ; his readiness to forgive his brethren ; and his great and persevering kindness to them, in op- position to all the natural dictates of pride and resent- ment, are decisive proofs of it. . By an extraordinary series of events, the prediction addressed to Abraham, respecting the subjection of his seed to the oppressions of a relentless government, was fulfilled. This did not express the discontinu- ance of covenant favor. Though the Egyptian mon- arch reduced them to slaves, and extended over them a most cruel despotism, their increase was not retard- ed. For we are told, Exodus, i. 12. " The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew." The blessings of the covenant siffnallv attended them, to counteract the designs of their oppressors ; and to prepare the way for a triumph over them, in their final deliverance. When God interposes to accomplish this, he does it, as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and in remembrance of his covenant ; and he speaks of thes I [95] their descendants, as his people. Exodus, iifc 6, 7, 8. "Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Ja- cob ; and the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt, and hav'e heard their cry, by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of their land to a good land, &c." Moses, exactly ac- cording to the tenor of the covenant, is directed to speak to Pharaoh, of God, as appropriately the God of the Hebrews ; and to say, " Let us go, we beseech thee, three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God." Language, indicating the same covenant 'union, is again put into the rrlouth of Moses, Exodus iv. 22, 23. " And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Israel is my Son ; even my first born. And I say unto thee, let my Sort go, that he may serve me." This appro- priate language is used throughout the whole of that in- tercourse, between God and Moses, and between Mo- ses and Pharaoh, which respects the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. Very remarkable was the distinction made betwen Israel and the idolatrous inhabitants of Egypt, during the course of those terrible judgments which, preceded the exodus. While the whole Country, inhabited by the native Egyptians, was overspread with calamity, the adjoining territory, possessed by Israel, entirely es- caped. The exemption of their firstborn from death, through the efficacy of the blood of the pachal lamb, when the firstborn of Egypt universally perished, was manifestative of distinguishing covenant grace. So Mas the manner, in which Israel, were directed to spoil the Egyptians. And so, especially, was their miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea, when the hosts of Pharaoh were drowned. God's treatment of Israel at this time, had the char- acter of grace, as distinguishably, as hasbcenhis treat- ment of Christians at any period under the New Tes I 96] foment dispensation. It indicated a relation to him •entirely spiritual, and was therefore in perfect agree- ment with the view which has been given, in the pre- ceding analysis, of the covenant of circumcision. The triumph of Israel, after the passage of the Red Sea, was one, among the many triumphs, of the peo- ple of God. The song which they sung, was in the strain of evangelical piety ; and, like all the doxologies of the Church, partook of the hosannas of heaven, where the song of Moses is the song of the Lamb. In the second verse of this song, there is a profession of real religion. " The Lord is my strength, and song ; he also is become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation ; my father's God, and I will exalt him. ,, In the eleventh verse also, the spirit of true religion, is very fully expressed. " Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the Gods ? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders ?" The peculiar spiritual relation of this people to God is recognized, verses 16 and 17. " Fear and dread shall fall upon them : By the greatness of thine arm, they shall be as still as a stone ; till thy people pass over, O Lord ; till thy people pass over, which thou fiast re- deemed, Thou shalt bripg them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance ; in the place, Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in ; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have estab- lished." It is to be remembered, the people, as a body, united with Moses in this song. Did ever then, a people, more deserve the name of a professing peo- ple ? Were there ever any professions of godliness, more consonant, with sanctification of heart ? To this scene of united and public exultation, God 7 it would seern, had respect, in the direction given to Jeremiah, Jeremiah ii. 2. " Go and cry in the ears of Je- rusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord ; all that devour him shall offend ; evil shall come [97] ■ upon them, saith the Lord." What equally express testimony have we to the visible piety of the Church under the last dispensation, at any period of it, antece- dent to the millennium ? If there be a parallel, it must be found in the first planting of it, under the immedi- ate ministry of the Apostles. It may be proper to remark as we go along, that in this passage in Jeremiah, and in a multitude of other places in the scripture, some of which will come into view in the course of this Treatise, Israel is addressed as a single person ; a manner of speaking, which seems to have been chosen, to suggest as impressively as possi- ble, the unity of the society. This mode of address teaches us, that the pattern of this society, as drawn by God, was calculated to fix upon it the same simplicity of character, which distinguishes the pious individual. Whether it be called a Congregation, a Flock, a Church, or Nation, (and it has all these names given to it,) an idea of the same simplicity of character is inten- ded. And the meaning of these terms is precisely the same with that which is conveyed by them in the New Testament, as applicable to the Christian Church. Let it be farther remarked, that this community con- sists now of liouseholds ; by no means excluding the infant part of them. The institution of the passover, is on this principle. Exod. xii. 4. " And if the household, be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it, according to the number of the souls ; every man according to your eating shall make your count for the lamb." Be it remembered also, that they have all collectively, not excepting the infant part, been baptised into Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea,* and thereby had one character- istic name fixed upon them, " Holiness to the Lord." Be it remembered farther, that whatever proselytes may have become attached to them, and incorporated into this society, by adoption, and are living ; and all the children of proselytes, who have not apostatized, and gone off to idolatry, are identified with it ; so that * I. Corinthians x. a. N [98] the distinctions between them are those only of geneal- ogy and office ; and therefore, that whatever is, or shall be communicated by God to Israel, is to be understood as respecting all equally. This idea, founded upon proofs already adduced, and which need not here be repeated, we are to keep in view, as we progress in as- certaining the covenant history of this people. Wheth- er these proselytes are many or few, is of no conse- quence to the general enquiry* Events proved, that a large proportion of this people, who here made such excellent professions, at least of the male adults, were false hearted. " With many of them, God was not well pleased." They sung his praises, but soon forgat his works. They murmured. They were disobedient. They were children without faith ; and. instead of entering the promised land, fell victims to divine displeasure in the wilderness. But this presents no difficulty. The reconcileableness of it, with the spirituality and absolute nature of the prom- ises of the covenant, and the relation it formed, has been explained. All are not Israel who are of Israel. The covenant itself implied, that there would be hyp- ocrites and apostates, under its visible administration. But let it be remarked, God speaks of Israel as his people, notwithstanding their disobedience, and their temporary idolatry. He does not immediately extir- pate the offenders. He does not disown at once the covenant alliance. He easily yields to the interces- sions of their mediator, Moses. He illustrates and con- firms his character, as the Lord God, gracious, and merciful, slow to anger, and ready to forgive. And this character we shall find exemplified towards Israel in every period of time, till the coming of the Messiah. Nor is it displayed in a less clear, or less affecting man-, ner, under the Gospel dispensation, and towards nom- inal Christians. Had God exterminated the offend- ers, upon the appearance of the first symptoms of dis- affection of heart, without putting them upon farther trial, that amiable part of his character, his slowness to anger, which it was so much a dictate of wisdom and [99] benevolence, fully to illustrate, could not have been manifested at all. And the same remark will apply to the Church at every subsequent period of time. — We are not hastily to conclude, therefore, that because these offenders were suffered to continue a while in their visible relation to God, this relation was civil, and not entirely spiritual. Extirpation would indeed, have been as necessary upon one principle, as upon the other. We have now followed the society of Israel to the foot of Sinai, and found it to be in fact exactly of that description which the covenant designed. Here a new subject of enquiry presents itself, to which we must attend, with the same careful and patient investi- gation, which was found necessary in ascertaining the nature of the covenant of circumcision. CHAPTER VI. Respecting the tovenants of Sinai and Moab m In this chap- ter it is enquired, in what respects the covenants oj Sinai and Moab, are distinguishable from the covenant of Ctrcumcis- ton, and the new covenant, predicted by jferemiah and Ezek- iel, and mentioned by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, as taking effect under the Gospel dispensation ; whether the. covenant oj Sinai was the covenant of works ; and whether it was designed to form the Hebrew community into a civil ; «r to continue them a religious society . IT is undeniable that the covenant of Sinai, and that of Moab are the same. They were propounded to, and accepted by the same persons. For Moses, in the 5th chapter of Deuteronomy, where he is intro- ducing the Moab covenant, says,thatthe covenant of Si- nai was made with the very persons, to whom he was then speaking. "The Lord our God, made a covenant with us in Horeb.* The Lord made not this covenant with our Fathers, but with us who are here all of us alive this day. The Lord talked with you face to face, in the mount, out of the midst of the fire." The same law was wrought into them both, as may be seen by comparing the one with the other. They were proposed in the same terms, engage the same blessings to the obedient, and denounce the same curses on the disobedient. — Some verbal variations are to be observed. Some his- toric details, there are in the one, which are not in the other. Some motives from experience are urged in the latter, which are not urged in the former. Still it is undeniable, that the covenant of Moab is but a re- newal of the Sinai covenant. • Horeb and Sinii were two elevations of ground, very near to each other, the latter higher than the former, both of them standing upon one mountain, as '.heir common base. This is the reason that the names Horcb and Sinai, are used in the scripture promiscuously. The same mountain is intended. Sec |»wa'i Dictionary «f the UMt, and Stackhouse's Hiitory. [101] Writers give very different representations of the mature of this covenant. Overlooking all theories, let us starch the scripture^ and see what the account is whichgthey give of it. It is to be observed, 1. That, in the 2 and 3 verses of the 5th chapter of Deuteronomy, a passage just quoted, Moses ex- pressly distinguishes this covenant, from the cove- nant which God established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. " The Lord our God made a covenant with us inHoreb. The Lord made not this covenant with our Fathers." If God did not make this covenant with their fathers, certainly it is distinguishable from that which he did make with them. This difference is also observed by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, viii. chapter, 8 and 9 ver- ses. " For, finding fault with them, he saith, Behold the days come saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt." He does not go back to the time when God established the cove- nant of circumcision with Abraham. He goes to the exodus only ; when the Sinai covenant was made. — If the Abrahamic and the Sinai covenants were the same, he could with no propriety have fixed upon this as the time when the covenant, to which the new cov- enant is contrasted, was made. For the origin of the covenant is evidently intended. That these covenants are quite distinct from each other, is also evident from a passage in Deuteronomy, vii. 12. " Wherefore it shall come pass, that if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the cove- nant and mercy which hesware unto thy fathers." The judgments here mentioned, with the promise in case of keeping them, constitute the covenant of Sinai. But this promise respects another covenant ; the covenant sworn unto their fathers. The application and exe- cution of this other covenant was engaged, as the re- [ 102 ] D .ird, or the blessing, which should follow upon their keeping the Sinai covenant. Then certainly they are not the same. The diffcrencejt>et\veen these two cov- enants will appear clearly as we pursue our enquiries. 2. The covenant of Sinai is distinguishable from the new covenant, mentioned in the passage of the Epistle to the Hebrews, just quoted. The establishment of this new covenant was predicted both by Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Jeremiah xxxi. 31, — 34. " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new cov- enant with the house of Israel and with the house of Ju- dah ; not according to thecovenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they brake, though I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heartSj and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man. his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord ; for all shall know me, from the least of them, unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord ; for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more." See also, the 32d chapter, from the 36th verse and onward. Ezekiel predicts the making of this covenant, in the following terms. Ezekiel, xxxvii. 24, to the end. " And David, my servant, shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd ; they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your lathers have dwelt. And they shall dwell therein, even they and their children, and their children's children, forever ; and, my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them, it shall be an everlasting covenant with them ; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them ; yea, I will be [ 103 ] . their God, and they shall be my people. And the! the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Is- rael, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore." It is mentioned also by Zachariah, vii. 8. The passage above referred to in the 8th of Hebrews, is plainly a quotation from Jer. xxxi. 31. The terms of these prophecies shew, that the cove- nants mentioned are materially different. The dissimilar characters given to them in these passages, and in other parts of scripture, prove them to be different. The one is old, (netXuici) the other is new (h#Jvh.) The one had al- ready been established ; the other was yet to be establish- ed. The one is not according to the other. The one was broken, " which my covenant they brake ;" the other is not. The one left the subjects of it impenitent and disregarded, " for I regarded tliem not, saith the Lord ;" the other places the subjects of it, in the fullest sense, partakers in the divine blessing. The former, II Cor. iii. 6, is of the letter {y^cc^iLuloir) ; which kill- eth ; the latter is of the spirit (it\iev\j.ct\o and ye shall be my people.' 1 '' jj' The giving of the law proceeds again through the last chapter of this book, and though several chapters of the book of Numbers. The most material articles of it are recapitulated by Moses through the book of Deuteronomy. Here also we find promises repeatedly inserted. See Chap. vii. 12 26. " Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant, and the mercy, which he sware unto thy fathers : And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee : He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people &c." See also chap. xi. 13, and on, " And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken dili- gently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul ; that I will give you the rain of your land, &c." Another se- ries of promises is found in the 15th chap, beginning at the 4th verse. '* For the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for an inheritance to posses it : Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day : For the Lord thy God. blesseth thee, as he hath promised thee ; and thou shalt lend unto many Nations, and shalt not borrow ; and thou shalt reign over many nations, and they shall not reign over thee." The last series of promises is found in the 14 first verses of the 28th chapter, «' And it shall [ 108 ] come to pass, if thou shalf hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high, above all nations of the eurth : And all these blessings shall Come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shah hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, unci blessed shalt thou be in the field : Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase cf thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be w hen thou goest out. — The Lord shall com- mand the blessing upon thee, in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto ; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God to walk in his ways. &c." Thus we find, in fact, promises appended to the Si- nai covenant. We are next to enquire into the nature of these promises. The writer of the Epistle to the Heb. in a passage which has been quoted, distinguishes between the promises of this covenant, and those of the new covenant, as of a different character. Chapter viii. 6. il But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better cove- nant, which was established upon better promises. Not only is the covenant better ; but the promises are better. It is altogether a better covenant. The law written upon the heart, and precluding finally the curse, is better than the law promulgated only, and bringing along with it the curse. The promises are better. Wherein are the promises of the one covenant better than those of the other ? About this there has been much contrcvci s)\ Let us see if the scriptures will not guide us to a decisive answer* [ 109 ] These promises are evidently not better as to their origin ; for both sorts of promises are from God. They are not better as to the certainty of their being fulfil- led. For the veracity of God is pledged as much in the promises of the Sinai covenant, as in those of the New covenant. They are not better as to the ultimate good in which they terminate. For the promises of the Sinai cove- nant terminate in this. " Then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me ; and ye shall be unto me a king- dom of priests, an holy nation ; and I will walk among you, and be your God, and ye shall be my people." But the promises of the new covenant terminate in nothing; nor could they possibly terminate in any thing better. " I will be their God, and they shall be my people," is expressly the blessing in which both covenants termin- ate. The promises of the Sinai covenant involved life* Leviticus xviii. 5. " Ye shall therefore keep my stat- utes and judgments ; which, if a man do, he shall live in them; I am the Lord." Deuteronomy -xxx. 19. " I call heaven and earth to record this day, that I have set before you this day, life and death, blessing and cursing — therefore choose life, that both thou arid thy seed may live." lb. xxxii. 47. " For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life.'''' The promises of the new covenant involve the same thing. John xiv. 19. " Because I live, ye shall Ihe also. It is pretended by some, that the life promised in the Sinai covenant, was only the protraction of an exis- tence in this world, under circumstances of outward prosperity. This idea is advanced merely to carry out the scheme of the carnality of the covenant, and to make the promises of it quadrate with the doctrine, that the obedience which the law required was external and civil, without any respect to a principle of piety within. Not one word of this kind is found in the covenant. And what reason can there possibly be to attach to the promises of it such an interpretation ? Had the term life, a meaning in this covenant,so infinitely below what C no 3 It expresses in the New covenant,and generally through* out the scripture ? Was this the blessing, with which God proposed to testify his peculiar love to his dutiful children, among the posterity of his friend Abraham ? Were a few years of outward prosperity, enjoyed in common with the idolaters, and profligate children of this world, the amount of the good to which his cho* sen people were called ; and in which that high, and holy relation which subsisted between him and them, was to result ? Would not God have even been a- shamed to be called their God, without preparing for, and proposing to them, a city of another description ? Does not Asaph tell us, that, in regard to temporal prosperity, the wicked had, in fact, often much the advantage of the righteous ?. Psalm lxxiii. " For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked ; for there are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor plagued as other men. Their eyes stand out with fatness ; they have more than heart could wish." All desirable, temporal good, was in-, deed promised ; and it is a very different thing to en- joy temporal good under the blessing, from what it is to enjoy it under the curse of God. But was this ul- timately the good ? Was this only the reward to which Moses had respect, when he chose rather to suffer af- fliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleas- ures of sin for a season ? Was this the object on which his faith, and the faith of those other illustrious wor. thies terminated, whose names are set down in the elev- enth of Hebrews, as declaring to the world, that they were pilgrims and strangers on the earth ? How sad- ly must the confidence, which these noble patterns of piety placed in God, have been disappointed, when, instead of living at the fountain head of temporal pros- perity, " they were stoned, sawn asunder, slain with the sword, and wandered about in sheepskins, and goat- skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented V- To suppose that the continuance of a prosperous life in this world is the blessing, is to suppose that a C in 3 short pilgrimage of calamity, closed by a painful death* is the curse. Then the holy suffered the curse of the covenant in common with the unholy ; and the former rather than the latter. Surely such a carnal in- terpretation of the promise needs no farther refutation. If the superior excellence of the promises of the new covenant is not to be found in either of these things, it must be looked for in something else. And there is but one other idea ; which is, beyond all doubt, the true one. It is this, the promises of this covenant are absolute ; whereas, those of the Sinai covenant, are conditional. Let the reader turn his eye to the places quoted, in which the promises of the Sinai covenant are inserted, and he will perceive, that in every place they have the conditional term, if. Nothing was ab- solutely engaged. Obedience to the law, was the con- tingence upon which the fulfilment of the promises was suspended. This obedience was not secured by the promise. Therefore nothing was secured abso- lutely. Disobedience left the covenantees just where the uncovenanted world stands ; i. e. "without God, without Christ, and without hope in the world." But it is far othcrways with the New covenant. The prom- ises, of which this consists, are all absolute. " But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days saith, the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heart, and will be their God, arid they shall be n:y people ; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the great- est of tfiem, saith the Lord ; for I will forgive their m- iquity, and I will remember their sin no more.'*'' Here, obedience, and all the spiritual, and everlast- ing blessings attendant upon it, are secured. It is to be observed, that though the terms of the promise, as it is here laid down, respect the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, this is not exclusive '■ language. The effect promised, and produced, is the experience ©f every one of the saved. The blessing [112] to be bestowed, is the righteousness of faith, a right- eousness without works. This is forgiveness of sin, Romans iv. 6. " Even as David describeth the bles- sedness of the man unto whom God imputeth right- eousness without works, saying, blessed is the man to whom t/ie Lord will not impute sin." This blessedness does not come upon the circumcision only, but upon the uncircumcision also. The reader is probably now prepared to subscribe to the idea, that the new covenant, and the covenant which God established with Abraham, are the same. Perhaps no farther evidence of this need be adduced. But to remove all doubt, let us, with the analysis which has been given of the Abrahamic covenant in our recollection, briefly retrace the leading features of each, and see, if those which apply to the one, do not apply to the other also. The promises of the Abrahamic covenant respected a natural and adoptive seed. So do the promises of the new covenant. Members of the house of Israel* and the house of Judah, are expressly the objects. — They are objects in the proper, primitive sense, as such. And that the same covenant extends to the adopted Gentiles, is evident, from the declaration of Paul, Ephesians i. 2 — 6. " If ye have heard of the dispensation of the Grace of God, which is given me to youward ; how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, which, in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now re- vealed unto his holy apostles, and prophets, by the Spirit ; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body ; and partakers of his promise in Christy by the Gospel." The promises of the Abrahamic covenant were ab- solute, securing the holiness of those on whom they terminated, and so, as we have seen, are those of the new covenant. In the former, sovereignty, in determining the ob- jects of mercy, was expressed ; and so it is in the | latter. [ us] The latter holds forth and secures the righteousness of faith ; a righteousness without works ; the non- imputation of sin ; " for I "will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more ;" so does the former. Thfs was eminently the blessing which rested upon Abraham, by virtue of that covenant, which God established with him. For it is expressly declared to be, the righteousness of faith, which was sealed to Abra- ham by circumcision. Romans iv. 11. Here let the reader recollect what has been said upon the righteous- ness connected with Abraham's faith ; and especially, let him carefully notice, by an inspection of the context, that the apostle is not speaking of the righteousness of Abraham's faith, as an exercise; i. e. of the moral qualities of his faith, but of something, which, by faith, he found. The Abraham ic covenant was the ministration, of the Spirit ; and so is the new covenant. The former brought the person, in whom it took ef- fect, into that relation, that God was actually his God ; and so does the latter. There was no curse wrought into the Abrahamic covenant ; nor is there any into the new covenant. The former remains, or is everlasting ; and the latter has the character, that it rcmaineth. The former was confirmed of God in Christ ; and so is the latter. The execution of the one, is also the execution of the other.* We conclude therefore, with certainty, that, agree- bly to all that has been said upon the Abrahamic cove- nant, that and this arc the same. The promises, ob- jects, and Mediator of the covenant are the same ; and the covenant, as it takes effect, is the same. The A- brahamic covenant was then transmitted, and executed, through successive generations of the Isrealitish peo- ple, till the Messiah. And as certain as it was, it is * •• I am apprehensive, that if the matter should be accurately examined, ic would be found, that the Abrahamic covenant of circumcision, and the Sinai covenant, are not so very distinct as Pcedobaptists seem to suppose." An- drews'* Vindication, pa^e 34. Tb" reader will judge. P C "* ] still in operation, and is yet to have a more extended effect, with respect both to the house of Israel, and the Gentiles, than has hitherto been experienced.*— The Sinai covenant, different in all the particulars which have been mentioned, was superinduced upon the covenant which God established with Abraham ; or, as the apostle expresses it, added. " Wherefore then," he asks, Golatians iii. 19, " serveth the law ?" And answers, " It , was added because of trangressions, till the seed should come, to whom the promises were made." — Till the seed should come. This manner of expression proves, that the Sinai covenant was to con- tinue only till the coming of the seed, the Messiah ; and then we know it was abolished. Hebrews viii. 13. " In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now, that which decayeth, and waxeth old, is ready to vanish away." That which is added, may be removed at pleasure* and leave that to which it is added, as it was, before the addition was made. Hence, the apostle observes, Gal. iii. 17. "And this I say, that the covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ, the laiv^ which was 430 years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect." The Sinai cov- enant was like the first tabernacle, to which it is compared, Hebrews ix. 2. This was distinguished from the holiest of all. In the latter, was the mercy seat ; not in the former. This " was a figure for the time then present ; in which were offered both gifts, and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the ser- vice perfect, as pertaining to the conscience. * " Though the covenant is called a new and second covenant, yet only wi respect to the former administration of it under the legal dispensation ; and both administrations of it, under the law, and under the Gospel, are only so many exhibitions and manifestations of the covenant, under different forms, which was made in eternity." Gill's Reply to Clark, page 1 1. The reason here given why the covenant is callod a new one, is not the true reason ; for it is called new in contrast to the Sinai covenant. It might be new in this sense, and yet old as to its date in itself considered ; and there is full demonstration that it is old as eternity. This excepted, the passage accord* en- tirely with our statement. ith [ US] From what has been said, it appears, that though the Sinai covenant was law, and this law was sanc- tioned by the curse ; and thougli many of the reason- ings of Paul, appear to have respect to it, in that light merely, it was not altogether legal, nor in any respect hostile to grace ; but, in coincidence with it, and op- erating in aid to it. Therefore, it was not the cove- nant of works. Such it is often very erroneously rep- resented to be.* Quite different is the account which Paul gives of it. Gal. iii. 21 — 24. " Is the law then a- gainst the promises of God ? God forbid.— Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." To the law, as the basis of the covenant of Sinai, were appended prom- ises, altogether of a gracious nature. It is an act of great condescension and grace, for the holy God, to make promises, though they are but conditional, to guilty creatures ; especially when the promises em- brace the highest possible good, and the condition, is that obedience, which is obligatory, in itself, and prior to the annunciation of promise, f In its natural tendency, the Sinai covenant operated in aid to the Abrahamic covenant. To use the figure of the apostle, it was a schoolmaster, to lead those, to whom it was administer- ed, to Christ, who was the great confirmer of that cov- enant. The promises of it were founded in Christ's * " On the other hand that covenant which requires obedience, and promises blessings conditionally, is the covenannt of works." Andrews's Vmdi.aiion page 37. " The truth is, that the Sinai Covenant, which was confessedly the constitution of the Jewish Church, was, in the nature of it, a covenant of works." lb. page 69. + By condition, here, as it respects the Sina: covenant, is meant no moie than what the apostle means, when he says, Hebrews iii. 14. " For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto t'lc end." The legal Jews treated the Sinai covenant as conditional in a very diffi •- rnt sense. They treated it in a manner which entirely excluded grace. Bi.i condition, as suggested by the apostle in this passage, is perfectly evangelic. It applies to grace, as truly as to law. " Behold, I stand at the door and knock, //any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in m him, and sup with him, and he with me." Revelations iii. 20. Faitn involves thi scription of the law upon the heart. Christ is the end of the law ; and L' hath Christ nalh life. He who belr.-veth snail be saved ; he w\io believeth not shall be damned. Jews and Gentiles must be obedient to law, or they cannot be saved. The law, though, not the principle of life, is still the narrow way. It is as much so to thcGentiics, as it ever was to the Jews. Faith-does not make void ike law ; yea, ite.tablishes the law. [ 116] intervention ; and grew out of that one eternal covenant, which all that is done for the salvation of the Church, in this world, does but execute. The priesthood, sacrifices, and ablutions, which this covenant ordained, were all typical of Christ, or referred to him. Hence, we are told, Hebrews iv. 2, that the Gospel was preached unto them, as well as unto us. And hence, Moses, with evident design to preclude the idea, that the blessing was to be expected upon a mere legal principle, expressly told the people, Deuteronomy ix. 4 : " Speak not in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out before thee, saying, For my righteousness, the Lord hath brought me to possess this land; but for the wickedness of these nations, doth the Lord drive the'm out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess this land ; but for the wicked- ness of these nations, doth the Lord thy God drive them out from before thee ; and that he may perform the word, which he sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." The blessing proposed in the Si- nai covenant, if conferred at all, was to be conferred en- tirely by grace, and in fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant. The Sinai covenant, therefore, was very far from being the original covenant of works. The cov- enant of works was wholly done away by the apostacy of the progenitors of our race. It could never be over- turcd afterwards, as a foundation of hope, among any of their guilty descendants ; no, not upon the suppo- sition of their repentance. The covenant of works supposes those to whom it is proposed, to be innocent. The covenant of Sinai supposes that the objects of it are guilty. The covenant of works makes no provi- sion for pardon. The covenant of Sinai does. The covenant of works makes sinless obedience thecondi- tion of the blessing. The covenant of Sinai made provision for the forgiveness of sins, not yet commit- ted ; therefore the blessings of it were suspended upon obedience short of that which is absolutely sinless. Those who failed of entering the promised land, did not [117] fail because they had not strictly obeyed the covenant of works ; but because of unbelief. And those who en- tered, entered not on the ground, that they had been perfectly obedient to the covenant of v. orks, but because they were subjects of faith, as a character. Faith, in the Gospel sense, had nothing to do with the obedience which belonged to the covenant of works : But faith is the principle of that obedience which is required in the Sinai covenant. Compare Deuteronomy xxx. 11, 12, 13, 14, with Romans x. 6, and on. The difficulty with the law, was, that it did not secure this obedience. Faith in Christ docs. Faith is always of a truly obe- dient nature. Moses is expressly mentioned by the writer to the Hebrews, as an eminent subject of faith ; and his faith certainly involved obedience to the Sinai law. If he had not been obedient to that law, he would have been an object of the curse. Faith is mentioned by our Savior himself as among the weightier mat of the law ; Matthew xxiii. 23. " Wo unto you Scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites ; for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith." The Sinai covenant then was very far from being a covenant of works, or a covenant with which faith, in the evangelical sense of that term, was not con- cerned. It is indeed infinitely derogatory to the supreme Ruler of the universe, to insinuate, that he addressed a covenant to his people, which made perfect personal obedience, the meritorious ground of hope, and that ex- clusively ; when their known disobedience had exclud- ed the possibility of such a hope. This would have had a direct tendency to lead them into the most fatal delusion. Nor was the Sinai covenant a civil compact ; making God and the people, parties ; He as their political sov- ereign, and they ashis subjects. It had not in it a ves- tige of any thing of this kind. It was simply a relig- ious institution, and designed for no purposes but such as were purely religious. [118] Here we advance a negative against laboured theo- ries, 3tnd high authorities ; even among those, who are. not driven to any exigence, for the support of a sectari- an hypothesis. ■ It is therefore necessary, before wc close our examination of the Sinai covenant, to look into this matter with particular attention. Modesty, it is presumed, does not forbid it. By civil, in this connexion, is to be understood, that which merely appertains to objects of our present temporal life ; and which has no foundation in religion, or respect to it. The term civil has a Latin deriva- tion. Chi*, denoted a subject of the Roman govern- ment. Chilis, qualified persons, actions, or things, which respected that government merely. But no one will pretend, that the Roman government was founded upon, or acted in aid to religion. A temporal sovereign, as such, is designated for purposes merely temporal. Temporal governments, instead of being promotive of religion, have almost universally been the scourges of it. No doubt a civil magistrate may be a religious man, and perform the duties of his office religiously. And civil government may be subservi- ent to religion ; as we know all opposition to God in- directly is. But a mere civil interest, is very far in- deed, from being a religious interest. Generally, if not universally, they are opposing interests. Suppose the whole world to this moment had been as perfectly subject to God's government, as the holy angels are ; and suppose, that 500 persons were to go off, and form to themselves a government of another kind, which should have no respect to the government under which they had hitherto lived ; and in which, God, and his au- thority, should be disowned. Would not this govern- ment be founded in apostacy and atheism ? Allow that these persons live, under this new government, in tol- erable order, without however the least affectionate ac- knowledgement of God, Would they not still live in complete practical atheism? " Render," said our Sa- viour " unto Caesar, the things which are Caesar's ; and unto God, the things which arc God's." Their pre- tentions are entirely distinct. [ 119 3 That several institutions of the Sinai covenant had respect to actions, and things, which ordinarily come under the description of civil, such as judgment upon trespass, the partition of property, the fulfilment of con- tracts, &.c. is not to be disputed. But it will not fol- low, that these were civil institutions, in a sense distinct from religious. Nor is there any propriety in apply- ing the term civil to them. This is not a term which the scripture has appropriated, as descriptive of any of its institutions or duties. We may as well say, that Arbitrators and Deacons, of the primitive Christian Church, were civil officers, as to say, that the judges in Israel were such. We may as well say, that the char- itable provision, which was made by the Christian Church, for its poor, or its ministers, was a civil estab- lishment ; as to say, that the payment of tythes, and the offerings of the tabernacle, were a tax upon the sub- ject, to support the authority of God, as a temporal sovereign. If an economy, which, in a subordinate view, partly respects secular objects, be on that account civil ; the Christian Church is certainly a civil insitution. If, for this reason, the Hebrew Communitv was a The- ocracy ; the Christian Church is undoubtedly a Theoc- racy. Were this all tfcat is intended by representing the Sinai covenant, as" in whole, or in part, a civil in- stitution, there would be no dispute ; for every man must be left at liberty to use his own words. The business of the Author, in this case, would be merely with the critic. But the use of terms and the repre- sentations given, in those treatises, to which we have respect, are such,asto make the Sinai Covenant, in whole, or in part, a mere civil institution, in a sense opposite to religion. Obedience was required, say these treatises and accepted, which had not its foundation in real piety. The Hebrew Community (say they) was a Common, wealth. God placed himself at the head of it, as its king. The priesthood formed his court. The tabernacle was his palace. The tithes, offerings, and expiations, were his revenue. He made war and peace, like other mon- [ 120] arclis of the earth. And he subjected the disorderly to corporal punishments, and temporal death, exactly in a manner, and on principles, resembling the penal codes, of civil governments generally. Thus the late Dr. JohnErskine, in his Dissertation, upon the Nature of the Sinai Covenant, tells us, Theolog. Dissertations, page 1. u To Israel pertained the covenants, not the covenant of grace only, but another covenant, express- ly distinguished from it (he means the Sinai Covenant) in virtue of which, many, destitute of inward piety, and no way interested in the covenant of grace, yet had a just title to another kind of covenant blessings." By this covenant? he says, page 3, " God, as monarch of the Jewish Nation, promised them a long, and prosper- ous possession of Canaan, on condition of their exter- nal obedience, to a variety of laws, precepts, and judg- ments." He says, same page, " Obedience to these laws was never designed to entitle to heavenly and spiritual blessings." In page 4, he says, " It is how- ever necessary to observe, that God entered into that covenant, under the character of king of Israel. He is termed so in scripture ; and he acted as such, disposed of offices, made war and peace, exacted tribute, enact- ed laws, punished with death, such of that people as refused him allegiance, and defended his subjects from their enemies." Page 5. "There (in the Sinai covenant) he appeared chiefly as a temporal Prince, and therefore gave laws, intended rather to direct the outward conduct, than to regulate the heart." Hence he is constrained to say, page 6. " The fidelity and allegiance of the the Jews was secured, not by bestowing the influences of the Holy Spirit, necessary to produce faith and love ; but barely by external displays of majesty, and great- ness, calculated to promote a slavish subjection, rath- er than a cheerful filial obedience." This theory leads him to the following mean idea of the Israelites, even when obedient to the Sinai law. " A fit emblem of the Sinai covenant, in which the Jews were hired, by the prosperous possession of the land of Canaan, to per- form a variety of slavish, burdensome services ; if they C 121 3 &d the work they were only to expect the wages."-— Page 24. " Neither the law of nature, nor the cove-^ nant of grace, but the Sinai covenant alone, placed men in the relation of mercenary slaves." Mr. Locke had given an account of the community of Israel, in his Letters on Toleration, which nearly corresponds with this. " As to the case (says he) of the Israelites in the Jewish commonwealth ; who, be- ing initiated into the Mosaical rites, and made citizens of the commonwealth^ did afterwards apostatize from the worship of the God of Israel ; these were proceed- ed against as rebels and traitors, guilty of no less than, high treason. For the commonwealth of the Jews, different in that from all others, was an absolute T/ie- ocracy. Nor was there, nor could there be, any dif- ference between the Commonwealth and the Church. The laws established there, concerning the worship of the one invisible Deity, were the civil laws of that people, and a part of their political government, in, which God himself was the Legislator.*" Here we have the Church of Israel fairly transformed into a mere civil Commonwealth. Dr. Gill attempts to rid himself of the argument? drawn from the fact, of the membership of infants, in. the Israelitish Church, by ihe same pretence. " The covenant of Horeb, was indeed a national covenant, and took in all, children, and grown persons ; and which was no other than a civil contract, and not a cov- enant of grace, between God and the people of Israel, he as king, they as subjects ; he promising to be their Protector and Defender ; and they to be his faithful subjects, and to obey his laws."f Lowman, Witsius, Warburton, and several other modern writers, of great reputation, have given a similar view of this society. These quotations however, must serve as a specimen of the general theory. * Bishop Warburton says, Mr. Locke was the first man who fell upon this in- vention. It is certainly a pity he was not the last. + Gill's Reply to Clark, page 37. The Doctor did not consider that infants Were included in this society, long before ike covenant of Skiai was iuv.io- ittccd. Q [ 122] That there is some resemblance between the institu- tions of the Sinai covenant, and those of ordinary civil governments, though this resemblance is certainly re- mote, will not be denied ; and whether some things might not have been ordained, out of respect to the existing institutions of those governments, we shall not pretend to say. But one would think, the simple consideration of the moral nature and end of mere civil establishments, quite sufficient to prove, that a system of duty proceeding from God, could not come under this description. To prepare the way for the refutation of this thcoiy, it may be proper to make two or three preliminary re- marks. 1. We are not to judge of the nature of the Sinai covenant, by what was, in fact, the character of the people, under the first institution of the covenant, or at any period afterwards, till it was abolished ; any more than we are to judge of the Gospel from the ac- tual character of its professors. A million of hypo- crites will not prove, that the institution was calcu- lated to promote hypocrisy, or to make it an accepta- ble service when exhibited. Let it be remarked again, 2. That the institutions upon which a society is founded, cannot be judged of by any new modifications, which that society may, in subsequent periods, assume. These modifications may arise out of incidental caus- es, and be an abuse of the institution. A regal gov- ernment was introduced into the community of Israel ; but this was a departure from the institution ; not a character of it. 3. It has been already proved, that the covenant of circumcision was the constitutional basis of the com- munity of Israel ; that the principle of this covenant was a spiritual obedience to God, as God ; that its promises were absolute ; and embraced that good, and that only, which grace secures to the saved ; and that the relation which it formed between God, and its subjects, was spiritual, and indissolvable. If then, it could be proved, that the institutions of the Sinai C 123 ] covenant, its relations, duties, rewards, and penalties, were, in part,or altogether, civil ; this would do nothing towards proving the discontinuance, or transformation of the Society, which was founded in the Abrahamic covenant, and which consisted of the seed. For then these institutions, and the society formed by them, would be merely superinduced and adventitious ; like the putting on of an exterior garment, which nei- ther destroys, nor alters the wearer. When these in- stitutions arc withdrawn, as it is conceded the Sinai covenant was, at the coming of Christ ; the original society will be left just what it was before this super- induction was made. But there is an offensive incon- gruity in this, imperium super imperium, this double sort of society ; especially when the Pentateuch, and the following history present one society only, and that of the simplest construction. No doubt this theory is the product of human in- genuity ; and not a work of the wise and immutable Builder of the Universe. Let us see if this cannot be evinced. It has been proved, that the promises of the Sinai covenant terminate in the same good, in which the promises of the Abrahamic covenant terminate. It has also been proved, that the curse of the Sinai covenant, terminates in evil, entirely distinguishable from the dissolution of the body, and beyond any thing expe- rienced in this life. This must be the punishment which the scriptures generally denounce against final impenitents. If then, it can be made to appear, that the law, which constitutes the radical principle of this covenant, required inward piety, and accepted of noth- ing, as obedience, which did not result from upright- ness of heart ; it will undeniably follow, that the Sinai covenant was purely a religious, and not at all a civil, or mere temporal institution.- It will follow also, that if the Hebrew community was, in whole, or in part, irreligious, hypocritical, or carnal, it was because they were disobedient to the covenant, and not because they followed its directions. [ 124] Now it is most evident, that the Sinai law required inward piety. For thus its fundamental precepts run. Deuteronomy vi. 4, and on. " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord ; and thou shalt love the the Lord thy God, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou licst down, and when thou risest up." 13th verse. " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name." lb. x. 16. " Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, ?iUo\ be no more stiff necked." 12th verse. " And now, O Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God,with all thy heartland with all thy soul ?" lb. xii. 12. " And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God." lb. xi. 13. "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments, which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, -and to serve him, with all your heart, and with all your soul ; that I will give &c." Here all the laws of the Sinai covenant are explained, as comprised in lov- ing God as a portion, and serving him ivith all the heart, and with all the soul. Surely then, piety, and nothing,else, was obedience to these laws. According to this view of the law, the people were told, that hatred of God would bring on them his severest displeasure. Deuteronomy vii. 9, and 10. " Know, therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God ; which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him , and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to de- stroy them ; he will not "be slack to him that hateth him ; he will repay him to his face.'' In conformity to this view of the law, they are also told, lb. iv. 19. — " But if from thence, (a state of captivity) thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him ; if shou [125 ] seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul." — These passages prove, that love was required, as the principle of obedience, to every part of the law. He who hated God, was, let him do externally what he mi,y God, the interpretation of the prophecy is easy, and the fulfilment of it, evi- dent. " In Judah God was known. He chose the Mount Zion which he lov- ed." Here was always found the remnant, according to the election of grace ; the society, consisting of the seed. Here the law was preserved and had its in- Kuence, Fgj, " from Zion went forth the law and the word of the Lord from [151] Another prophecy, in agreement with this, and to the same purpose, is presented in the 89th Psalm. Here is recorded God's absolute covenant with David, which has already been quoted at large. We will only intro- duce two or three verses, which ensure the coming of the Messiah, as the offspring of David, his elevation to his throne, and the perpetual dominion he should maintain. " Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for- ever, and his throne as the sun, before me ; it shall be established forever, as the moon ; and as a faithful wit- ness, in heaven." This prediction could not have had respect to a temporal dominion. The seed of David did not enjoy it. It respected the Messiah, his descent through the line of David, his appearance in the partic- ular family of David, and the sphitual government he should assume, and maintain over his own people. Another prophecy, to this purpose, is in Isaiah, ix. 6. " For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given ; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. Of the increase of his government, and peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it, with judg- ment, and justice, from henceforth, even forever." — Here the Messiah is undoubtedly designed. His pe- culiar character, as God manifest in the flesh, is de- scribed. He was to appear in the midst of the Jews, his people, in the humble form of a child. He was to ■Jerusalem." Here the true religion w» maintained. Here the public worship of God, was kept up, in its spirituality, and glory ; here the holy oracles were se- cured, and transmitted, as a sacred deposit ; here the types were perpetuated ; here the light of truth continued to shine ; and here is to be traced the genealogi- cal descent of Jesus, ihe son of Mary. This was the nature of the preeminence, to which the tribe of Judah was destined. A preeminence like this, it continued to •njoy, uninterruptedly, till the Savior came. External depressions were not in- consistent with it. Bishop Newton, who mainly follows Sherlock, in the inter- pretation of this prophecy, does indeed, endeavor to reconcile it with fact, upon the plan of making it mean no more, than that the tribe of Judah should continue a« a tribe, and be governed by judges, or princes, from within itself. But this is ir- reconcilable with the general tenor of the prophecy, and with fact. This im- plies no ascendancy above the other tribes ; whereas, such an ascendancvis plain- ly declurtU. And the very first king over Judah, w»i fiotn the tnbeof Benjamin. [ 152] ascend the throne of David his father, not as a tempo- ral prince, but as the king of saints. He was to take into his hands ; the management, and ordering of that very kingdom, over which David, as a type of him, had presided.. Instead of terminating that kingdom, and setting up an entirely new one, he was to establish it ; he was to establish it, with judgment, and with jus- tice, even forever. If, therefore, this kingdom haa failed ; if it has been prostrated, by his own hand, or by any agency whatever ; and another, of a different character, has been formed, over which he has placed himself as king ; he has not executed his mission ; and the word of God has become of none effect. Hag- gai ii. 6, 7, 8, 9. " For thus saith the Lord of Hosts ; yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heav- ens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land ; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come ; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house, shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts ; and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." By the desire of all nations, is unquestionably meant the Messiah. His appearance was to be attended with great changes in the external state pf the Jewish people, and among the heathen na- tions. But notwithstanding these changes, which for the most part would be calamitous, he was to come in full gratification of the expectations of all who waited for redemption in Israel. He was to come to the temple in which they worshipped, and fill it with the glory of his personal presence, and of his mighty works. Malachi, iii. 1. " And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple ; even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in : Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming ; and who shall stand when he appeareth ? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like ful- ler's soap. And he shall sit, as a refiner, and purifier of silver ; and he shall purify the sons of Levi ; and t 153 ] purge them as gold, and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord, an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah,and Jerusalem, be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the wid- ow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.'* Here wc are told, not only of the coming of the Messiah to his temple, but of the effects which should attend his public ministry. He would purify, and purge his people. He would detect, and extirpate the impeni- tent, and flagitious part of them. To them, the day of his coming, was to be the great, and dreadful day of the Lord ; a day of vengeance ; a day which should burn as an oven ; in which the irreclaimable should be burnt, so that there should not be left of them, eith- er root or branch. Unto those who feared his name, he was to arise, as the sun of righteousness, with heal- ing in his wings. They were to be the remnant ; and were to go forth, and grow up, as calves of the stall. In agreement with which, was the prophecy of Simeon. Luke ii. 34, 35. "And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, behold, this child is set for the fall, and rising again, of many in Israel ; and for a sign, which shall be spoken against. (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also) that the thoughts of many hearts may be repealed." In coincidence with which, was the declaration of John. Matthew iii. 10, 11, 12. " And now also, the axe is laid unto the root of the trees ; therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire : I indeed, baptize you with wa- ter, unto repentance ; but he that cometh after me, is mightier than I ; whose shoes I am not worthy to bear ; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. Whose fan is in his hand ; and he will thor- oughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the U [ 15* ] garner ; but he will bum up the chaff with unquench able fire." Thus the Messiah was to come upon his own floor, disposing of its contents, separating the holy from die vile, as wheat is separated from the chaff, in the fan. The former, as his sheep, he was to carry in his arms, and secure, and nourish, as a faithful shep- herd. Over them, as his true Israel, his redeemed, he was to reign gloriously. In them, the kingdom was to be established, and perpetuated. The latter were to be cut down, and destroyed. Not only was he to reign in righteousness ; but he was to be personally righteous. Isaiah 11 j i. 11. " By his knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify many.'* He was to be a Jew, not by descent only, but by his entire conformity in heart, and action, to the law. He was to be preceded by an extraordinary messenger, denominated Elijah, whose busines it should lie, to prepare his way, and announce his approach. Mala- chi iii. 5, 6. " Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great, and dread- ful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers unto the children, and the heart of the children unto the fathers." Let us now see whether events do not coincide with these prophecies ; and whether this coincidence do not determine, that in the Jews, the kingdom of God, was, in fact, perpetuated, at the coming, and under the public ministry of the Messiah, and till he left the world. When Joseph is told by the angel, that Mary shall have a son of the Holy Ghost, he is directed to call his name Jesus ; and the reason given for it is, " for he shall save his people from their sins." This phrase, his people? evidently had primary respect to that peo- ple, among whom he wa c ; to arise. Accordingly, to him, is applied by Matthew, Matthew i. 22,23, the prediction, Isaiah vii. 14. " Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord, by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall C 155] call his name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us." The words of Gabriel to Mary, re* specting her son Jesus, are these : Luke i. 32, 33, " He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the Highest ; and the Lord Gcd shall give unto him, the throne of his father David ; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever ; and of his kingdom, there shall be no end." This passage, in connexion 'with the former, proves, that the house of Jacob was still exist- ing ; that Christ, as its proper king, appeared to place himself at the head of it ; and that, as his kingdom, it was to be perpetual. Mary herself, under an evident inspiration, is prompted to say, Luke i. 54. " He hath holpen/j/s servant Israel, in remembrance of his cove- nant ; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever." If Israel did not now exist, as it ever had done, as God's servant ; and was not to be exalted, and perpetuated, in this character, this declara- tion would not apply. Zacharias also, filled with the Holy Ghost, thus prophecies. Luke i. 68. " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; for he hath visited, and redeemed his people ; and hath raised up an horn (a symbol of strength) for us, in the Jiouse of his servant David." When the angels announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus, it was in these words, re- markably agreeing with the prophecy in Isaiah, quoted a little above. Luke ii. 11. " For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." Simeon unites his testimony. "Alight to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Is- rael." His genealogical descent, through the line of David, is distinctly traced, both by Matthew and Luke.* Thus he took on him the seed of Abraham. And being constituted, Rom. xv. 8, " A minister of the circumcision, for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers ;" or the seed, in whom all the promises of the covenant, are yea and amen, he was circumcised the eighth day. The name Jesus, ex- * Tliis will be admitted by those for whom I wiite. It is not the dr-ti^a ef tiiis Xreatise, toobviau. dtutical eavih, C 155 ] pressive of his office, was given to him. When the days of his mother's purification were accomplished, he was brought to Jerusalem ; and presented, by a sol- emn dedication, in the temple. As it behoved'him to be made, in all things, like unto his brethren, tempta- tion and persecution not excepted, his life was sought by a jealous and cruel king ; he was driven into Egypt ; was detained there in a kind of bondage ; led out of it, in connexion with the death of his persesutors ; and con- ducted to, and put in posession of the land of promise, in a manner remarkably corresponding with the expe- rience of Israel, as a body. Being made under the law, he was in all respects conformed to it. In obedience to the fifth commandment, he was subject to his par- ents while in his minority. During the whole time, antecedent to his shewing unto Israel, he was, " holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." He had his way prepared before him, when he was about publicly to take possession of the throne of his father David. Mat. iii. 1. " In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and say- ing, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." At the age of thirty years, he ascended the throne of his father David. By an inaugural rite, (which will be explained in a following chapter) the descent of the Ho- ly Ghost upon him, in the form of a dove ; the testimo- ny, by an audible voice from heaven, that he was God's beloved son ; and the witness of John ; he assumed the office, and entered upon the discharge of the duties, of his Messjahship. He enters the synagogues ; preach- es righteousness in the great congregation ; applies to himself, publicly, the prophecies respecting the Mes- siah. He begins to collect followers. He finds Na- thaniel, an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile ; John, Andrew, Philip, Simon, Matthew, James, Thomas, Levi, fee; Multitudes soon gather round him, to hear his instructions, and sec his mighty works. He feeds them miraculously, heals their diseases, de- clares to them his glory, and his kingdom. He enters the temple, and scourges out of it those who were pro- [ 157 ] faning it. His fan is in his hand. He separates the holy, from the vile. He comforts and encourages the former. He denounces extermination against the lat- ter. With ihe former he converses as friends, as real brethren. The latter he reproves and condemns, as brethren in name only ; as enemies, who were con- spiring his death. To the former he says, Luke xii. 32, " Fear not little flock ; for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." lb. xxii. 28. *' Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye may cat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes oi Israel," i. e. un- doubtedly, the rebellious part of the twelve tribes. For these, his little flock, he thus interceeds. John xvii. " I have manifested thy name, unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world, thine they were, and thou gavest them me ; and they have kept thy word. I pray for them, I pray not for the world ; but (or them which thou hast given me, for they are thine : And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them." To the latter he says, John viii. 44. " Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." These were all descendants from Abraham, his brethren, and visible subjects of his kingdom ; those who received, and those who re- jected him. For we are told, John i. 11. " He came unto his own, and his own received him not ; But to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his name," In the midst of his affectionate followers, he enters his own city Jerusalem, with that kind of tri- umph, which suited the spirituality of his dominion, and allows himself to be acknowledged, and that pub- licly, as the king of Israel. Luke xix. 37. " And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disci- ples, began to rejoice, and praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works, that they had seen, saying. [ 158 ] blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." He kept the passover, in careful conformity to his condi- tion as a Jew. To his followers he instituted, and with them he partook of the holy supper. To them he appeared as his real subjects after his resurrection. To them he gave his benediction. With them he left the precious deposit of his word ; to them he gave in chnrge the preaching of his kingdom over the earth, with the promise, " Lo I am with you alway, even un- to the end of the 'world. " And in their sight he as- cended up into heaven. This detail may be thought superfluous. But it is an appeal to facts, as coincident with the representations which have been given in the preced- ing chapters, and the prophecies which went before, respecting the Messiah, and his kingdom. In these facts, we see him uniting himself formally and public- ly, to the Jews, as his people. We see the different ef- fects of his ministry upon those M ? ho believed ; and upon those who believed not. Wc witness the sol- emn manner in which, in his declarations, interces- sions, and public treatment of them, he separates be- tween those who are Israel, and those who are only of Israel. We behold him gathering his loyal sub- jects around him, as that kingdom, of which he is head ; and which he was to order and establish forever. We behold him ordering it, and establishing it, according- ly ; and leaving the world, as its public protector, with his benediction resting upon it. Here is not the least appearance of the termination of one kingdom, over which he had presided, and setting up a new one, over which, as a society of a distinct character, he was to preside in future. Had Christ excluded the whole of the Jewish people, from being connected with himself, as Messiah, and united himself to the Gentiles only ; then there would have been some reason, to think fa- vorably of such an idea. Though it would not have followed, even then, that an absolutely new kingdom was instituted. Because it is evident a kingdom may L 159 ] change its subjects, without being dissolved. But we See it is exactly otheruays. The seed of Abraham, are the persons exclusively, to whom Christ's public ministry is addressed, to whom lie is visibly united, and of whom his kingdom consists, when he finally leaves the world. The subjects of this kingdom arc all, at this time, native Jews. But there is supposed to be a difficulty in the way of admitting this conclusion, from the manner in which our Savior speaks, frequently, of the kingdom of heav- en. He says, Mat. iv. 17. " Repent, for the king- dom of heaven is at hand." Again x. 7. " And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand" He says, xi. 11. " Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the baptist ; notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he." This manner of expression is supposed to teach, that the kingdom of the Messiah was not yet set up ; but was to be a matter of future establish- ment. The phrases, kingdom of heaven, and kingdom of God, seem to be used in the Gospel as of equivalent meaning. But this meaning is not uniformly the same. Sometimes, and more generally, the phrase, the king- dom of heaven, intends the state of the Church, in this world, sometimes its state in the next ; but always re- spects, as far as I have observed, the state of the church subsequent to Christ's appearance upon earth, as its visible head. This kingdom is certainly distinguisha- ble from the gospel itself. Because the gospel of the kingdom is frequently mentioned. This phraseology supposes, that the Gospel, and the kingdom, are two things. The Gospel is the intelligence communicated. The intelligence is, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The original word translated at hand, is vr/ylne; and signifies local nearness, rather than nearness in re- gard to time. And it is certain, this kingdom, is often spoken of by our Savior, as already in existence. An example of it we have, Mat. xi. 12. " And from the days of John the baptist even until now, the kingdom [ 160] of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. " It must have existed, or it could not have I) -!i a subject of this violence. It must be admitted^ that the observation of Christ, in the verse before this; respecting John the baptist, implies, that he (John) was not in the kingdom of heaven. But will any one con- tend, that he was not in the kingdom of the Messiah ? • tainly he was a subject of this kingdom. Prom- ises, predictions, and facts, as they have been already, called into view, prove, that it had long existed, and that it would not be discontinued. And it is not pre- tended that there are two kingdoms, over which Christ maintains a mediatorial government. He is head over all things unto the Church. This is his one body, the fullness of him who filleth all in all. The phrase then, kingdom of heaven, must have an appropriate meaning. And it seems to intend, Zion, at a particular period of her existence ; in her greater enlargement, spirituality, light, and beauty ; derived from the Redeemer's pres- ence, and instructions, and the more abundant effusions of the Holy Ghost, which were to be given. The day of the Messiah was to be, and in fact was, a luminous day, far beyond any preceding parallel; Motives were multiplied, types were answered, the leading promises of the former dispensation were fulfilled; the Messiah- was come ; the spirit was richly given, and grace was glorified. So great was this augmentation of glory, to which the Church was raised, as to justify the figura- tive representation of the prophet, Isaiah, xxx. 26. " Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sunshall.be sevenfold, as the light of seven dsys, in the day that the Lord bind- eth up the breach of his people, and healcth the stroke of their wound." This was somewhat like the setting up of a new kingdom, yet it was in fact only the in- crease of one long established.* *" John the forerunner of Christ, was the fust who administered baptism, under the new dispensation." Baldwin on Baptism, page 193. Perhaps I do not rightly apprehend what Dr. Baldwin means here by new dispensation. At any rate this position implies, that the dispensation wui in existence prior tt John's begiitnin;; to baptizs. C 161] Again it is objected, that the prophecy of Dainel» Dan. ii. 44, " And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, &c." implies the erection of a kingdom,orig- inal, and new ; and, as this kingdom is acknowledged to be the kingdom of the Messiah, under the latter dis- pensation, this kingdom cannot be a continuity of the Israelitish Church. This Dr. Baldwin has advanced as am argument against the sameness of the Jewish and Chris^- tian Churches. The whole force of the argument depends upon the words set up. If these terms mean, to found originally, there is some plausibility in the argument. But demonstration lies against this interpretation. The whole current of scripture, and facts, in perpetual succession, forbid it. As makings, covenant, in scrip- ture phraseology, according to the concession of Dr. Gill, sometimes means, only the renewing, or farther confirming a covenant already established, why may not setting up a kingdom, mean merely, the exaltation, and greater extension ofa kingdom, already in existence ? On consulting the Seventy, I find the original word trans- lated, set up, rendered by them avaofyrei ; and Poole renders it suscitabit. Chrysostom renders it into the very same word. (Suscitabit Deus celi regnum.) Schrevellius renders av which was to come before that generation entirely passed away. After the passage from Mat. xxiii, which 1 have just quoted, as expres- sive of their great guilt, he subjoins this solemn testi- mony. " Wherefore, behold I send untojou proph- ets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them yc shall kill, and crucify ; and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, that upon you may come all the righteous blood, shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, son ofBarachias, whom ye slew between the temple, and the altar. Veiily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon t/iis genera- tion. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." This is the prophetic des- tiny of the unbelieving Jews, under which they were to remain, as cut off branches, till the second coming of Christ. Events have exactly coincided with these denunciations. The converts, which were afterwards made by the preaching of the Apostles, excepted, they were in fact extirpated, in one form or another, from the land cf their inheritance. Hundreds of thousands of them fell a sacrifice to their public enemies/ Multitudes became victims to each other's cruelty. Their temple was burnt to the ground, their city rased, their country desolated, and the miserable fugitives were scattered into the four winds. The blessing no longer attached itself to them, nor was it transmitted to their descendents. They were no longer of the vis- ible seed. According to the declaration of the Apos- tle, " wrath came upon them to the uttermost." The ^ [167] vail of unbelief was thenceforth upon their hearts ; ami they are now, as nauseous carcasses, an abhorrence to all fltsh. " Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God ! on them which fell, severity." Let us now consider the disposal of those, who, as loyal subjects, followed their king. This we shall find to have been altogether the reverse of the other. Here we are to recollect the many promises which had been made of the unceasing continuance of the name and the seed of Israel, some of which have been called into view, and need not here be repeated. We are to recollect that the Messiah was to be a horn of salvation, (a symbol of invincible strength) to his people Israel ; and that, being on the throne of David his father, he Mas to order and establish his kingdom forever. And we are to recollect, that the zeal of the Lord of hosts was pledged to do this. Accordingly we see this very kingdom of the Mes- siah going down the lapse of time ; and, with irresis- tible progress, triumphing over all opposition, even in our own day. We see it surviving the general wreck of Empires, and about to rise upon the entire ruins of them all, as an eternal excellency, the perfection of beauty. At the time of Christ's ascension, this kingdom con- sisted of a pretty large number of subjects. For, af- ter his resurrection, he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once. These could be but a part, of the whole number, of his adherents. Some of these five hundred, were alive when Paul wrote his first Epistle to the Corinthians, about twentysix years afterwards. See the 15th chap, of that Epistle. To these, of whatever number they might consist, under the preaching of Pe- ter, at the Pentecost, were added about three thousand souls. Acts. ii. 41. These were all native Jews ; as were those to whom they were added. Peter addressed them as such. And the Gospel was not yet preached, either by Christ or his apostles, to the Gentiles. These continued daily, with one accord, in the temple ; the principal place of worship, for the Church, since the C 168] days of Solomon. They, with their fellow believers, were t/ie Church. For it is said in the last verse of the chapter. " And the Lord added to the Church, daily such as should be saved.'' We have here then undeniably the Church of Christ, consisting altogeth- er of native Jews, members of the tribe of Judah, and the seed of Abraham. To this Church, mention is made in the 4th chap. 4th verse, of the addition of about five thousand more believers. These also were native Jews. Afterwards, Acts v. 14. that, " believers were the more added to the Lord ; multitudes, both of men and of women." These also were Jews. In the 6th chap. 7th verse, is an additional testimony to the still greater augmentation of the Church. " And the word of God increased ; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem, greatly ; and a great number of priests were obedient to the faith." The apostles, and leading brethren of the Church, were soon after this, dispersed, by a violent persecu- tion, through the regions of Judea and Samaria. But, " they that were scattered abroad, went every where, (still however within the limits of those regions ; and their labours appear to have been confined, even in Sa- maria, to the Jews) preaching the word." We have now arrived to the time, when the ingather- ing of the Gentiles began ; a period of great impor- tance, not as terminating the kingdom of the Messiah ; but as involving a great change in the actual state of that kingdom. By this event, the system of adoption, which was wrought into the Abrahamic covenant, as an essential part of the economy of the kingdom, Mas carried into extensive effect ; the partition wall between Jews and Gentiles was broken down ; and the king;, dom removed from its local position, into the midst of an immense people, hitherto sitting in the region and shadow of death. This event, therefore, claims a care- ful consideration. But before we enter upon it, that nothing essential to the economy may be left in doubt, I deem it expedient to subjoin farther evidence, dedu* ced from the Epistles, that the Church, whose history 1 i. 169 3 We have so far traced, is in fact a continuance of Israel, as a society ; and that this society was continued long after the accession of the Gentiles. Perhaps it is su- perfluous. But on a subject of so much practical im- portance, and such diversity of opinion, the reader will pardon an accumulation of evidence, which to him may seem needless. Paul, in his Epistle to the Church at Rome, which, as it would seem, from several passages in it, consisted partly of Jews, and partly of Gentiles ; an epistle sup- posed to have been written about seven and twenty- years after Christ's ascension, expressly teaches the continuance of the true Israel, in the believing Jews, who then existed ; and in distinction from the unbe- lieving Jews, who were hardened, and cast away, as vessels of wrath. Rom. ix. 22. 25, 24. "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and make his power known ; endured with much long suffering, the vessels ofivrath, fitted to destruction. And that he might make known the riches of his glory, on the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared unto glory. iLven us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." These believing Jews were called, and made vessels of mercy. In the 27th verse, the Apos- tle tells us, they were the remnant of Israel. " Esaias also, crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a rem- nant shall be saved." This prediction he considers as fulfilled, in the persons of those then existing believ- ing Jews, of whom he was one. This idea he resumes in the beginning of the eleventh chapter. " I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew." They still remain his people, by the same covenant bonds, in which they had ev- er been allied to him. He adds in the 5th verse. " Even so then, at this present time, there is a remnant, according to the election of grace. The same idea he inculcates bv the similitude of an olive tree, verse 16. X C 170] u And if the root be holy, so are the branches." It is continued, verse 17. " And if some of the branches were broken off." This implies that some of them remained. Let the olive tree therefore, introduced by Paul in this place, represent what it may, this clause undeniably proves, that the believing Jews held pre- cisely the same character, and relation, with their earli- est progenitors ; or with Abraham, in whom their soci- ety was founded. As there is much evidence of the point before us in this figure of the olive tree ; and as we shall have oc- casion to make a farther use of it in this chap, ter, and in the subsequent parts of this Treatise, it is necessary we should determine here what the Apostle designed it should represent. To settle this matter, we must resolve the question, from what were the unbelieving Jews broken off ? The branches that are supposed to be broken off, it is conceded on all hands, represent them. The tree, therefore, must represent that, whatever it be, from which the unbelieving Jews were broken off. It is contended by some, that this was the enjoyment of Gospel means, and offers. Thus Dr. Jenkins, in his Defence of the Baptists, page 63, says, " No doubt the Jews had those outward ad-vantages, that the Gentiles, who were wild, had not." And page G6, "But to the participation of Gospel blessings, in a Gospel Church state, with the Jews who believed ; but from which the Jews who believed not, were broken off."* Thus also Mr. Andrews observes, in his Vindication, page 12. " The representation which Paul meant to to communicate by the metaphor of the olive tree, is simply the opportunity, or proffer oS. salvation, by Jesus Christ," page 14. " In consequence of their having rejected the proffer of salvation, they were broken off * Is it then true, that the unbelieving -Jews were once in " a Gospel Church state ?" When ? In what is called the Christian Church ? Then, undoubtedly, the Christian Church is but a continuity of the Jewish Church. For it is cer- tain they never were members of the former, as a distinct society from the latter. In what is called the Jewish Church ? Then that was a Gospel Church. S» do crrorists, in spite of themselves, get entangled in the truth. [ 171 ] from those privileges which they had, or might have enjoyed."* But the fact is, they have never been bro- ken off from these privileges, and proffers. They have still the whole of the Old Testament scriptures in their hands. And those of the new, are in the hands of some of them, and at the command of all. The Gospel was preached to them, even in Judea, years af- ter this Epistle was written. It has been preached to them in every age since. At this day, wherever they are dispersed, through Europe, Asia, and America, salvation is, with greater or less clearness, overtured to them. Conversions are, in fact, made from a- mong this people. How are they made ? •Without opportunity, and without the proffer of salvation ? Then faith does not come by hearing, nor hearing by the word. By what means is the promise, that they shall be graffed in again, to be executed ? Must it not be by the ministration of the word ? Gospel advantages and means, must be brought to them prior to their being graffed in. Therefore, they must be enjoyed while they are broken off. An interpretation, which is ab- surd in itself, and contradicted by undeniable facts, cannot be admitted. 2. That from which the unbelieving Jews were brok- en off, cannot be Jesus Christ, personally and separate- ly considered, as an object of faith and hope. This is the account which Dr. Baldwin gives of the olive tree, in his last publication, page 240. " By the good olive tree, therefore, we rather think, Christ himself is in- tended." But this interpretation leads him at once into a sad self-contradiction. For, putting the ques- tion, which he perceived would immediately arise in the reader's mind, " If so, it may be asked, how can •" Or might have enjoyed." What! broken off from something to which they never were united ? But Mr. Andrews endeavors to defend this, by an ap- peal to the words of Christ. " There shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ail the prophets in the king- dom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." But this is a poor defence. For these persons were, in fact, in the kingdom of God. What absurdity, to speak of their being thrust out, unless they had been previously in ? A parallel place we have in Matthew viii. 12, "But the children of the kingdom shall be cart out&c." [ 172] it be said, that the unbelieving Jews were branches (as they must have been in some sense) or they could not be broken off ?" He answers, " They were so consid- ered in consequence of their 'visible profession. As a nation, they professed to be his people." Then the nation of the Jews, were a nation of professing Chris- tians. This is either to concede every thing to us ; that the nation of the Jews was the visible kingdom of the Messiah ; or it is a declaration without any mean- ing. If by professing people, be intended, that they were professed believers in Christ, as the twelve di- sciples were, this is notoriously contrary to fact. For, from first to last, they openly rejected him. " He came unto his own, and his own received him //or." They did not receive him by any kind of visible sub- mission ; but perpetually opposed, and at last crucified him. Besides, How could they be cut off from a visi- ble profession ? A man may profess as long as he lives, let him be in one state or another. Did the thousands of unbelieving Jews now existing, ever make such a profession ? Certainly not. No part of the world, have been more openly inimical to Jesus, than this peo- ple. 3. That from which the unbelieving Jews were broken off, was not the society of the elect, as such, or those who, according to God's eternal predestination, become enriched with the adoption of sons. For these all are branches which abide in the vine, and must in- fallibly be saved. They are vessels of mercy, toward whom, this severity is not shewn. 4. It does not seem satisfactory to say, with Mr. Pe- ter Edwards, that the olive tree represents simply a visible Church state. It is not denied, it is one of the principles of this Treatise, that some of these unbe- lieving Jews were in a visible Church state, and cut off from it by open unbelief. And dismemberment in this sense is undoubtedly involved in that dispensation by which they were broken off. But does a simple, visible Church state, come up fully to the idea convey- ed by the metaphor of the olive tree ? Does this state C i" ] comprehend the fatness of which the believing Gci. tiles partake ? Docs it distinguish living, from nomin- al Christians ? Are all who are in this state subjects of saving faith ? Is this, and this only, the state into which the unbelieving Jews are to be grafted again ? Is this all that is implied in the effect of the vail's being taken from the heart, and their turning to the Lord ? Would the salvation of all Israel follow of course ? I confess myself not satisfied with this explanation. And am constrained, therefore, to adopt another idea, viz, •5. That from which the unbelieving Jews were broken off was the Society of Israel, without any respect to the distinction of visible and invisible membership,, Let this matter be a little explained. It has appeared from passages, which have been introduced, and there are a multitude of others of alike kind, that Israel, as an entire community, is often addressed under the notion of a single person. "Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of, and they shall cleave unto thee" This language expresses a complete unity. All over the scripture, injunctions, predictions, promises, and threatcnings are addressed to this society, in the second person singular, as though it were an individual, existing through the; succeesive periods of time. This mode of speaking, while it marks the identity and unity of the Society with peculiar force, seems to exclude the distinction of visible and invisible membership, though it really exists. In a manner corresponding with which, oui Lord says, John xv. 1,2. "I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away ; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." 5th verse, " I am the vine, ye are the branches." Here the Savior identifies his followers with himself ; all of them without distine- tion. He and his people are one person, as much as the vine and the branches are one vine. Yet some of these followers of his, who are in him, according to the metaphor, as much, and in the same sense, as ihe [ 174] others, arc dead, unproductive branches. The others are vigorous. They partake of the life and fatness of the vine, and bear fruit. The vine, and the olive tree are evidently parallel figures. They both represent subjects of which unity is predicated. The olive tree, then, as used by the Apostle, must be designed to rep- resent Israel, as a body, without any respect to visible and invisible membership, in regard to individuals. Accordingly Israel simply considered is referred to expressly in the context, without any respect to such si distinction. " And so all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, there, shall come out of Sion the deliver- er, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." This explanation is confirmed by the nature of the other fig- ure the Apostle introduces. " If the first fruits be holy, the lump is also holy." It is agreeable to the in- troductory verse of the chapter, which is undoubtedly to be used as a key for the opening of the whole chap- ter. " I say then hath God cast away his people . ? " He doth not distinguish, and say, visible or invisible people ; but people indefinitely, as one society. "God forbid." This people continues. The explanation is confirmed by the remark of the Apostle in the 25th verse ; " blindness, in part, is happened to Israel ;" (to this one body.) With this explanation, and as far as I can sec with no other, the whole process of the meta- phor, and the whole context are reconcileable. To Israel the Gentile world is opposed. From the Gentile world, as a wild olive, a body of Idolaters, the believ- ing Gentiles were taken, and inserted into Israel. Un- belief is the thing which cuts off from Israel^ as it ever had done. Gentiles become inserted by faith. Israel is, holiness to the Lord ; and in that respect, i. e. in regard to its peculiar character, and its being the sub- jest of the blessing, is justly represented by the fatness of the olive tree. Abraham and Christ are both of this Israel ; the one the Father, the other the seed, to whom ultimately the promises were made ; and in whom they are yea and amen. The unbelieving Jews, were natur- al branches of this one tree ; or naturally belonged to. [ 175 3 Israel, as they descended from this common stock. When they shall cease to be unbelievers, they shall be brought into Israel again, and take their natural posi- tion. But if this shall be true of them, and we have the absolute promise of God that it shall, certainly Israel will be in being, as the original stock, into which they may be reinserted. * If the reader should be satisfied with this explana- tion of the figure of the olive tree, he will agree, that it is undeniable proof, of the continuity of ihe ancient Israel, as the spiritual inheritance of Jehovah. If he should not, still evidence will be furnished, in the con- nexion, of this truth. No construction can possibly be put upon it, which shall annihilate this evidence. For there are branches which remain, and they stand on the stock on which they originally grew. These are the remnant, in which Israel is perpetuated. If it be supposed that the Abrahamic covenant is represent- ed by the olive tree, this will result in the same con- clusion. For Israel, as an indissolvable society, is es- tablished upon that covenant. Another passage, proving the actual continuity of Is- rael, is found in the 3d chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, at the beginning. The writer of this Epis- tle, generally supposed to be Paul, is addressing him- self to believing descendants from Abraham. To them he says, " Wherefore, holy brethern, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle, and high priest of our profession, Jesus Christ; who was faithful to him that appointed him ; as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, as he which hath builded the house, hath more honor than the house." Here Mo- ses is considered as belonging to that one temple of grace, which Jesus Christ has reared. If he belong- ed to it, than did all the true Israel. The Apos- tle adds in the 6th verse. " But Christ, as a son over his own house^ (the house is but one) whose house * Dr. Doddridge seems to coincide with this idea. Though his paraphrase is by no means unambiguous or critical. C 176] . ii we hold fast the confidence, and the rejoic- ing of the hope, firm unto the end." Here the Jewish believers, existing at that time, of whom Paul was one, are declared to be Christ's house, built by him as Sa- vior, and to which Moses, and the rest of the pious, of primitive Israel, belonged. That the first Epistle of Peter was written to believ- ers who originated from the stock of Israel, at least principally, seems evident from many things in the E- pistle, and is very generally allowed by Commentators and Critics. Admitting this, farther proof to our pur- pose will be found, in the 2d chapter, 5th verse, of this Epistle." Ye also as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ. The following verses are coincident with this. The 10th verse may be thought opposed to this idea ; but it is en- tirely reconcileable with it, if we allow, what is not at all improbable, and even seems to be strongly intimat- ed in many passages in this Epistle, that these native Jews, who had been dispersed through the heathen na- tions, had very much forsaken the religion of their fath- ers, and partaken of the impieties of those nations. Presuming that the point of the actual continuity of Israel under the Christian dispensation, and to as re- cent a period as the history of the scripture carries us, has been fully evinced, I will now proceed to consid- er the very important subject of the accession of the Gentiles* This event we have seen was provided for in the covenant which God established with Abraham. " I have made thee a father of many nations. In thee and in thy seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And thou shalt be a blessing ; and I will bless him that blesseth thee." We have shewn that these promises referred, not only, in the primary and proper sense of the term seed, to lineal descend- ants from Abraham, as such ; but, in a secondary and implied sense, to another kind of seed, the acceding Gentiles, as children of Abraham by adoption. C 177 3 Let us now see, by comparing posterior prophecies and events, how these promises were accomplished, in the ingathering of the Gentiles. To avoid swel* ling this volume too much, a few only of the prophe- cies in point will be quoted. A part of these respect Christ personally ; and part of them respect Israel as his kingdom. Let us begin with the former. The iirst which claims to*be noticed, is the famous proph- ecy of Jacob, respecting Judah. Genesis xlix. 10. " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law- giver from between his feet, till Shiloh come ; and to him shall the gathering of the people be." It is true, the Gentiles are not here expressly mentioned ; but they are evidently intended. The next prophecy to be noticed, is in the 2d Psalm, 8th verse. " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheri- tance." Another prophecy of a like character occurs in the 72d Psalm. "In his days shall the right- eous flourish, (the righteous Israel) and abundance of peace, so long as the sun and moon endureth. He shall have dominion also, from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish, and of the Isles, shall bring presents. The kings of Sheba, and Seba, shall offer gifts. Yea all kings shall bow be- fore him ; all nations shall serve him.'" This cannot intend mere conquest. A voluntary subjection, and service, are undoubtedly intended. Isaiah xi. 10. " And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people, (the Jewish peo- ple) to it shall the Gentiles seek ; and his rest, (Israel) shall be glorious." Ibid xlix. 6. *' And he said, it is a light tiling that thou shouldest be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the preserved of Israel, I will also give thee for a light of the Gen- tiles, that thou mayest be my salvation to the ends of the earth." Ibid be. 1, and 3. " Arise, shine, for thy light is come. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light." Daniel vii. 13, 14. "I saw in the nidit vis- Y [ 173] ions, and behold, one, like the son of man, came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him, dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him ; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Malachi i. II. " For from the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in ev- ery place, incense shall be offered unto my name ; and a pure offering ; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts."* Luke ii. 30, 31, 32. " For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten tlie Gentiles, and the glory of thy peo- ple Israel." John x. 16. " And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold ; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." These passages convey an intelligible meaning. — Most undoubtedly they predict the accession of the Gentiles to Christ, not as disconnected from Israel, but as in the midst of them ; and their acknowledged king. Let us now attend to some prophecies which fore- told, and promised, the ingathering and union of the Gentiles to Israel, as a society. Such is the prophecy of Isaiah, ii. 2. " And it shall come to pass, in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house, shall be established above the tops of the mountains, and exalt- ed above the hills ; and all nations shall fow unto it. And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he Mill teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go fordi the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusa- lem." The Gospel is first to be preached by heralds from Israel, and the event of the accession of the Gen- * That the Messiah is here-intended, we have reason to conclude from JExodua ^xiii. ao, 21. " my naniei* in him." [ 179 ] tiles, is to follow. See also the 4£fli of the same proph- ecy, at the 8th verse, and on. " Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time, have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation, have I helped thee. And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate her- itages. That thou may est say to the prisoners, Go forth ; to them that that are in darkness, Shew your- selves ; they shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places : They shall not hunger, nor thirst ; neither shall the heat, nor sun smite them ; for he that hath mercy on them, shall lead them ; even by the springs of water shall he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my high ways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far ; and lo, these from the north, and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim. Sing O heavens ; and be joyful O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains ; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his afflicted. But Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgot- ten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually before me. Thy children shall make haste, thy destroyers ; and they that made thee waste, shall go forth of thee." All this is said of Zion, then existing, to whom the prophecy was immediately addressed. It was said, respecting a period to come, a period which was to succeed one of apparent dereliction, which is called an acceptable time, and a day of sahation. This was the gospel day, as we are informed by the express application of the words to that day, by the apostle. II. Corinthians vi. 1,2. " We then as workers together with him, be- seech you, that you receive not the grace of Gocl in vain, (for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accept- ed ; and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee ; behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, imv is the [ 180 ] day of salvation." J* To all this respecting Zion, the prophet adds, 18th verse, " Lift up thine eyes round about ; all these gather themselves together, and come to thee ; as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee as a bride doth." See also again in the same prophet, lx. 4, 5. " Lift up thine eyes round about and see ; all they gather themselves together ; they come to thee ; thy sons shall come from far ; and thy daughters shall be nurs- ed by thy side. Then thou shalt see and flow together, and thine heart shall fear and be enlarged, because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee ; the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." Zechi viii. 20, to the end. " Tims saith the Lord of Hosts, it shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities. And the inhabi- tants of one city, shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily, to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts : I will go also. Yea, many people, and strong nations, shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts, in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, in those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, we will go with you ; for we have heard that God is with you." John xi. 51, 52. " And this spake he not of himself ; but being high priest that year, he prophecied that Jesus should die for that Na- tion ; and not for that Nation only ; but that also he should gather together in one, the children of God that were scattered abroad." This prophecy of Caiaphas, being recorded by the Evangelist, as officially given ; and being in agreement with facts, is to be considered as equally authentic with other prophecies. In exact agreement with these predictions is a clause of the memorable intercessory prayer of Christ, ad- dressed to the Father, just before he suffered ; and record- ed by John, in the 17th chapter of his Gospel. " Nei- ther pray I for these alone ; but for them also which [181] shall believe on me through their word. That the^ all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee ; that they also may be one in us, that the world may be- lieve that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. Let us now see how the ingathering of the Gentiles agrees with these prophecies. The commencement of this memorable scene took place in the person, and connexions of Cornelius. Cornelius was a Roman. The account of his conver- sion is given us in the 10th chapter of Acts. Peter was the instrument of it. A vision, and an extraor- dinary concurrence of events, were ordered, to impel Peter to this ministry, and to give majesty and notori- ety to the event. Peter's preaching was accompanied with a miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost. For, verse 44. " While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were as- tonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ? And he commanded them to be baptized in t/ie name of the Lord." Thus were the Gentiles, in the first fruits of them, by equality of gifts and grace, united /o Christ and his Israel. The next accession from the Gentile world is mentioned in the following chapter, 19th verse. " Now they which were scattered abroad, upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but to the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Gyrene ; which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed, and turn- [ 182] ed unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the Church which was in Jerusalem ; and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch ; who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart, they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and faith ; and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul." The good man was so overjoyed, he must have his brother Saul, to witness with him, these triumphs of grace over the Gentiles. " And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass a whole year, they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people." Thus Zion " cloth- ed herself 1 '* with the Gentiles. It is added. "And the disciples, were called Christians, first in Antioch." These disciples were correlates of the Jewish disciples. To them however, the name Christian, was first applied. The Jewish disciples had not been called Christians. The Church at Jerusalem, was not called Christian. It was still Israel. It is worth while to notice what fol- lows. '' And in these days came prophets from Jerusa- lem to Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dearth throughout all the world. Then the disciples, (i. e. the christians in Antioch) .every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. Which also they did, and sent it by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." Thus, in a public manner, they acknowledged their af- filiation. The next accession to the Church is in Antioch, in Pisidia, under the ministry of Saul and Barnabas ; who had been, by a special designation, ordained to a mis- sion among the Gentiles. Of the converts who were made in this Antioch, who were partly Jews, but prin- cipally .Gentiles, it is testified ; " And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost." Dur- ing this first mission among the Gentiles, numerous C 183] converts were made successively, at Iconium, Lystra, and several other cities. , For it is said ; Acts xiv. 23. " And when they had ordained them elders in every Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." Thus were these Churches collected and organized, by mis- sionaries from the Mother Church in Judca. The mission of Paul and Barnabas, with certain others to the Church in Jerusalem, on the subject of circumcision, as the metropolis of the Holy kingdom ; their consultation, and reply ; and the joyful accepta- tion of it, by the Gentile Christians in Antioch, might- ily confirm the doctrine, that a new kingdom was not now set up among the Gentiles'; .but that the believ- ing Gentiles did merely accede, and unite themselves to a kingdom already existing, in the persons of be- lieving Jews. Next the Gospel was propagated, and Churches formed and organized, in Greece, and Ma- cedonia. But it is not necessary to pursue the history of the accession of the Gentiles any farther. This ac- cession of the Gentiles, it will be perceived, exactly co- incides with, and is in fulfilment of the promises wrought into the Abrahamic covenant, and made in prophecy to the Messiah and to his Zion. They cor- respond with the declarations and with the prayer of Christ, relative to this event. We have only to notice farther, two or three passa- ges in the Epistles which speak of the incorporation of the Gentiles into the Isiael of God. The alle- gorical representation of Paul in the 11th of Romans, which has already been under our view, will here read- ily occur to us. It hath appeared, that by the olive tree, Israel is represented as one indissolvable socie- ty. Into this society, as an original stock, the Gen- tiles are represented by Paul, as engrafled. Being- engrafted, they are borne, just like the remaining natur- al branches, by the root, and partake of the fatness of the olive tree. All the blessings of the covenant aic a common inheritance, and descend to the one rort of believers as richly as to the other. That the Gentile [ 134] believers did accede to Israel, and that thrir conversion was in fulfilment of the promises of the covenant of circumcision, is plainly asserted in the 15th chapter of this Epistle ; beginning at the 8th verse. " Now this I say, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circum- cision, for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the Fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy ; as it is written, For this cause, I will confess to thee, among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice ye Gentiles with his people." Thus, Christ is the exec- utor of the promises of the covenant, in the conver- sion of the Gentiles. Its promises did then, in part, terminate upon the ^Gentiles. And they are placed with the believing Jews, under that one covenant. In perfect agreement with which, is Paul's observation in the 4th chapter of this Epistle, 11th verse. "And he (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, a seal, &c. that he might be the Father of all them that believe y though they be not circumcised ; that right- eousness might be imputed to them also." Conform- ably he says, in his epistle to the Galatians ; iii. 9. " So then, they which are of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham." " Also 29th verse. " And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs, according to the promise." See how undeniably the system of adoption is actually carried out, in the ac- cession of the Gentiles. This union of believing Jews and Gentiles, is brought into view by this same Apostle, in J. Corinthians, xii. 18. " For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit." I will trouble the reader with but two more quota- tions. They are both found in the Epistle to the Ephesians. The one is in the 1st chap. 9, and 10 ver- ses. " Having made known unto us, the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself ; that in the dispensation of [ 185 ] the fulness of times, (the Gospel day) he might gath- er together in one, all things in Christ ; both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him." Mr. Locke is of the opinion, that by " things in heav- en, and things on earth," is meant, Jews and Gentiles. There is much reason to think his opinion is correct. If so, then the passage is peculiarly to our purpose. And then the 6th verse of the 2d chapter, as the Apos- tle is addressing the Gentile converts, will cogently il- lustrate the idea we are upon. " And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." ev ovquvo'io; The same words in the original which are used in the other verse. — How indeed, can any other admissible interpretation be put upon the words ? In what heavenly places are Gentile converts called to sit together, but in the Church of Israel? The scope of this Epistle, and especially the following context, favors this interpretation, and seems to make it necessary. A consideration of this context, will bring us to the other quotation intended. It begins at the eleventh verse, and reaches quite to the end of the chapter. This whole passage is so much to our purpose, that I shall take leave to quote the whole of it. "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past, Gentiles in the flesh, who are called un- circumcision, by that which is called circumcision in the flesh, made by hands ; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world : But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were afar off", are made nigh, by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and broken down the middle wall of partition between us : Having abolish- ed in his flesh the enmity, even the law of command- ments, contained in ordinances, for to makc,in himself, of twain, one new man, so making peace ; and that he might reconcile both unto God, in one body, by the, •ross, having slain the enmity thereby ; and came, and Z [186] preached peace to you, which were afor off, and to them that are nigh. For through him we both have an access by one Spirit, unto the Father. Now there- fore, ye are no more strangers, and foreigners, but fel- low citizens of the saints, and of the houshold of God ; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the Chief cor- ner stone ; in whom all the building, fitly framed togeth- er, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord ; in whom you also are builded together, for an habitation of God, through the Spirit." This passage scarce needs a comment. By being brought nigh, is evidently to be understood, being brought by adoption to the Messiah, who is enthroned king over Israel, therefore into the family of Israel. By the one new man, is plainly intended, not an abso- lutely newsoeiety,as Dr. Jenkins, absurdly, and against the whole current of scripture, contends ; but Israel new modified, by the immense addition of Gentile believ- ers. The terms used in the verse, to which this chuse belongs, imply this. A Society cannot be dissolved by accessions which are made to it, let them be ever so numerous. It is rather strengthened and perpetu- ated by this accession. The other phrases in the passage, in one body — household of God — an holy temple — an habitation of God through the Spirit- coincide with, and confirm this idea. It is justly said by Mr. Peter Edwards, that "the terms, both and us, mean Jews and Gentiles ; that a partition, is that which separates one society, or family, from another ; and that the breaking down of the par- tition wall, brings the two societies, or families, into one. A wide and effectual door being thus opened for the Gentiles, and the propagation of the Gospel among them, being accompanied with abundant emissions of the Holy Spirit ; the children of the desolate soon be- came more numerous, by far, than those of the mar- ried wife. [187] Unparalleled judgments spread the mselves over Ju- dea, defacing the Country, wasting its inhabitants, ter- minating the public exercises of religion ; forcing the most of the unbelieving Jews, whom the sword did not destroy, to fly into other parts of die world, and of course, subjecting to exile, many even of the followers of the Lamb. These circumstances necessarily involved a transla- tion of the Church from the position it held, while the tabernacle was yet standing, into the territories of the Gentiles. Among believers, as an effect of this trans- lation, the name of Jew was gradually lost, and gave place to that of Christian. National distinctions, were absorbed, in the unity of the brotherhood. There was neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor fe- male. No man was known after the flesh ; but Christ was all in all. This translation resulted from the necessity of the case. It was impossible that the numerous Gentiles, who were to come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God, should resort to Judea, and subsist within its narrow limits. It was indeed impossible, that the strength of the Church should remain collected there, while the viols of divine wrath were pouring out upon the reprobate Jews. And it was the pleasure of God, that impious Gentiles, should have this land, for a while, under dieir power. This translation was also necessary, to the accom- plishment of God's ultimate purposes of grace. In no other way could the earth be filled with the knowl- edge of the glory of God. In no other way could the devil be dispossesed of his usurpations. In no other way could the heathen be given to Christ, for his in- heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth, for his possession. In short, in no other manner could the promises of God's gracious covenant, receive their com- plete fulfilment. This translation of the kingdom, was in agreement with what Christ testified to the incorrigible Jews, [ 188] who rejected his instructions. Matthew xxi. 43. " Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall he taken from you, and given to a nation, bring- ing forth the fruits thereof." Dr. Jenkins indeed says, that the phrase, the kingdom of God, is to be found no where in the Old Testament. Be it so. There are phrases entirely equivalent with it. Such are : "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, an holy na- tion — his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom — and the saints of the Most Hio;h shall take the kingdom." The phrase, kingdom of God, as used by our Savior, evi- dently corresponds with the vineyard in the parable, of which it is the application. What does the vine- yard represent ? Let the scripture be its own interpre- ter. Isaiah v. 7. " For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel." What then can be in- tended by the kingdom of God ? This author says, and the construction Baptist writers generally adopt, " By the kingdom of God, our Lord certainly meant, the Gospel." Defence, page 63. But he contradicts this idea before he has finished his paragraph. For he says, " But this kingdom was set before them by the preaching of the Gospel." Can he mean that the Gospel was set before them, by the preaching of the Gospel ? The Gospel is the declaration. It is good news, glad tidings of great Joy. These tidings an- nounce something. W r hat is it ? The rising kingdom of the Messiah. By the kingdom of God then, is certainly meant, something entirely distinguishable from the Gospel. It is that kingdom, over which the Savior reigns ; whose history is given us in the Old and New Testament. This kingdom was, in fact, taken, as has been proved, from the midst of the unbelieving Jews, and the position it had previously held in the land of promise, and given to the Gentiles. In them, in connexion with the remnant of primitive Israel, as its subjects, it was perpetuated. It is not a fact that the Gospel was taken from the unbelieving Jews. For the apostle, treating on this veryj subject, Romans xi. after he had mentioned their exclusion, says, " For 1 C 189] speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office ; if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my fles'i, and might save some of them." This language intimates, that he expected and calculated, that the in- structions which he was now communicating, would come to their knowledge. But what reason for this calculation, if a judicial act had separated them finally from all knowledge of Gospel truth ? That the idea which has been given of the king- dom, which was to be taken from the unbeliev- ing Jews, and given to the Gentiles, is correct, is proved by several corresponding passages. I will stay to mention but one. This is in the 17th of Luke. " And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come ; he answered, and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observa- tion. Neither shall they say, lo, here ; or lo, there ; for behold, the kingdom of God is within you, (evu/xiv) in the midst of you, or among you." Certainly the Phari- sees, in their habitsof speaking,attachedadistirtctideato the phrase, the kingdom of God, and of this kingdom they had gotten their idea from the prophetic writings. The subject to which they applied this phrase was no oth- er than the kingdom of their expected Messiah. — The question itself imports this. The answer of our Lord is in conformity to this idea. " The kingdom of God cometh not with observation." The advent of the kingdom of which you speak, is not attended with that external pomp which your proud imagina- tions have fancied. This kingdom is of a spiritual na- ture. And I tell you that it is in the midst of you. CHAPTER X. Respecting John's ministry, and baptism ; and the baptism which was administered by John to the Messiah. THE nature of John's office, and baptism, is to be learned from his character, his mission, and the effects of his ministry. Here we must have recourse to prophecy. The prophetic designation of John, is found in Isaiah xl, 3, 4, 5. " The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert, a high way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every moun- tain and hill shall be made low ; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Also in Malachi iii. 1. " Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way be- fore me." He is intended by Elijah the prophet, in the 5th verse of the 4th chapter. The effects of his ministry are described in the 6th verse. " And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." John's office then, was to prepare the way of the Messiah. This was to be done morally ; by effecting a reformation in Israel. It was to be done also, by announcing his approach, and pointing him out, when he should actually appear ; by recognizing his Messi- ahship, and asserting his dignit\ r , and glory. Accord- ingly we find his preaching to have been, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Messiah is coming to fulfil the promises made to the fathers. Pre- [191] pare to m&et him, r hope*, he shall be indulged the liberty he takes, in applying the term ordi- nance, to the sabbath also. [ 199 ] ceding day to be counted the sixth day ; unless the practice of counting by weeks had been in use ? And how came the congregation, of their own accord, to gather twice as much on the sixth day, that they had gathered on any preceding day, but in respect to the sabbath of rest, which they knew was to follow 2 And how did they so generally know this, unless they had been in the habit of observing it ? These circum- stances do not look altogether like an original appoint- ment ; but as the recognition of an institution ; which, though it had gone into some neglect, under the bon- dage of Egypt, was of primitive standing. • At any rate, the sabbath was here established. It was established anterior to the introduction of the Si- nai covenant. Hence, in distinction from ail the ritu- al precepts of that covenant, it was incorporated into the decalogue. This institution therefore did not ex- pire with that covenant. It still continues, and is of permanent obligation even to the end of the world, un- less there be a particular revocation of it. This idea of the permanency of the sabbath will be confirmed, by considering its design, its use, and the character which the scriptures give to it. These things however we must run over with as much brevi- ty as possible. The design of the Sabbath is, that it should be a day of holy rest, to return at regular periods, for the refreshment of man, and the irrational animals under his care, and subject to his use ; and that opportunity might be had for those spiritual employments, in which the glory, and felicity, and beauty of the Church con- sist and appear. Rest is the proper meaning of the term sabbath. And that rest is the thing in which it appropriately consists, is agreeable to the account giv- en of it in every place in which it is mentioned. The people were to rest from gathering manna. Best is mentioned in the fourth commandment as the thing ir* which the sabbath is to be sanctified. " Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy," to sanctify it. How ? The commandment proceeds to explain. " Six days [ 200 J Shalt thou labor, and do all thy work ; but the seventh dav is the sabbath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou shaft not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daugh- ter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For, in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth ; the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day ; wherefore the Lord thy God, blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Rest, in such regular returns, secur- ing refreshment to man and beast, and giving opportu- nity for the pleasing and edifying employments of pub- lic, and private devotion, is, to the people of God, an in- estimable favor. Accordingly the sabbath is spoken of as given, in testimony of paternal love, by God, to his Church. Ezek. xx. 12. " Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths." The Sabbath, as a rest, is a relief from the curse which followed the apostacy ; and grateful, in this view, to the benevolent man, not only with respect to himself, and his brethren, but the brutes, who seem m some measure to partake of the curse. Besides being a day of rest, the sabbath was com- memorative of the great work of creation ; which, in the divine plan, was subordinate to the greater work of redemption. It was commemorative of the work of redemption itself, of which the Church is the subject. Kcnce the deliverance from Egypt, as an important part of this work, is particularly mentioned, as a reason why the Church was required to keep the sabbath. Dent. v. 14. " And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt ; and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence, through a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm ; therefore the Lord thy God com- manded thee, to keep the sabbath day." This was a reason of the injunction, as appropriate to the Church, in distinction from the heathen world. The sabbath is also a type of heaven ; and as such, presents an assurance to the believer of a speedy close ol all the labors, and sorrows of the present world. In the 31st chapter of Exodus, the sabbath is sppk* en of in another view ; as a sign of God's gracious t 201 ] relation to Israel, as their sanctifier, and the observance of it, on that account, is enjoined, not as a temporary institution, but as a. perpetual covenant. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, Verily, my sabbath ye shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations, that ye may know, that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you. Every one thatde- fileth it shall be surely put to death ; for whosoever doth any work thereon, that soul shall be cut off from among- his people. Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath through- out their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever." Here the sabbath is placed on an exact parallel u ith circumcision, as a sign. It is another public standing token of the gracious covenant which God established with Israel. It is hence, by a metonymy, called the covenant, as circumcision is. On all these accounts, it is an endowment of infinite value. It cannot be too highly appreciated. The moral language of it, is that of holy affinity ; of covenant love. It testifies, in the most impressive and endearing manner, the blessed, and indissoluble union which subsists between God and his people. Hence it is spoken of, Isaiah lviii. 13, as claiming to be reputed, and treated, " a delight, the holy of the Lord, and honorable." The Church cannot then be divested of the sabbath. It is an irre- vocable grant. " The gifts and callings of God are without repentance." His judgments he may withdraw ; but his absolute, gracious bequests, he can never an- nul. Let us now see what evidences there are in the New Testament, of the actual continuance of the sabbath, in the Gospel day. We are to remember, that the enquiry is as much, whether the sabbath be withdrawn as a blessing, as whether it hath ceased to be obligato- ry as a duty. [ 202 ] 1. If the sabbath be revoked iii the New Testa- ment, the revocation is expressed, and can be found. But a revocation of it cannot be found. The sabbath therefore remains. The change of the sabbath, in regard to the day in which it is observed, and which, more generally in the Christian Church, out of respect to Christ, and as com- memorative of his resurrection, is called the Lord's day; allowing it to have taken place, as it is almost universally conceded that it has, under the authority of God, is not a revocation of it. The phrase change of the sabbath, supposes that the sabbath itself is con- tinued. For to change and annul an institution, are different things. For a distinct elucidation of tins matter, the reader is referred to President Edward's Discourses, above mentioned, on the change and per- petuity of the sabbath. Let it be only observed here, that the stress of the law respecting the sabbath, lies upon the nature of the day, as a day of holy rest, a sign of the covenant, a gift, a blessing, a type of heaven, a memorial, and upon its returning periodically after six days of labor. Whether it shall be this day or the oth- er, is not indeed left to our discretion ; but still, is a circumstance, a mere modal affair. This change there- fore does not, cannot alter, or affect the thing itself. Suppose God had instituted a fast day, to be observed on that da} r which we now call Tuesday ; and had afterwards ordered, that it should he observed on Wednesdays ; this alteration, being circumstantial, it is evident, would not determine that it is no longer the fast day, which God originally appointed* The change,, in this case, would certainly prove the opposite ; that the fast day is continued. For it must be understoo4 to continue, in order to be a subject of this new mod- ification. 2. If Israel, as an indissolvable society, is the olive tree, introduced by Paul, in the 11th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans ; and if the broken off branch- es are to be grafted into it again, certainly the unbeliev- ing Jews, when the vail shall be taken from their heart. [ 203 ] and they shall turn unto the Lord, will be restored to the enjoyment of their sabbath. For they will partake with the adopted Gentiles, of the root and fatness of the olive tree. To this period, the prophet Isaiah at the close of his prophecy, has evident respect ; and his words, therefore prove, that the restored Jews, with the Gentiles, will enjoy their sabbath. " For as the new heavens, and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord ; so shall your seed, and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from! one sabbath to another ', shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." 3. The declaration of Christ, Matthew xii. 8. " For the son of man is Lord, even of the sabbath day,'* clearly implies, that the sabbath belongs perpetually to the kingdom, of which he is the visible head. The declaration which precedes this, in Mark ii. 27, is al- so corroborative of the same thing. " The sabbath was made for man." It is a blessing of the covenant of which Christ is the mediator, and designed altogether for the benefit of those who are the subjects of that cov- enant. It is then as certainly perpetual, as the cove- nant itself is perpetual. 4. The actual continuance of the sabbath under the Gospel dispensation, and after the Sinai covenant was abolished, is evident, from Mat. xxiv, 20. This pas- sage it will be remembered, respected an event which took place about forty years after Christ's ascension. \\ And pray ye, that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.' J If Christ had foreknown that the seasons were to be immediately discontinued, the direction to his hearers, to pray that their flight might not be in the winter, would have been imper- tinent; and would, as he must have known, have ex- posed him to the imputation of having given a direc- tion altogether futile, and even ridiculous. If he had foreknown that the sabbath was to be discontinued; and he must have foreknown it, if it were to be the case ; for he. was Lord of the sabbath day ; his direc- [ 204 ] don respecting the sabbath, would have been equally impertinent, and have exposed him to the same impu- tation. 5. As a farther confirmation of the actual perpetua- tion of the sabbath, in the Gospel day, and after the ac- cession of the Gentiles, we ma) r notice the words of Paul, I. Corinthians xvi. 2. "Upon the first day of the week (Keilct (jlIuv trattuluv, literally, upon one of the sabbaths) let every one of you &c." If the present translation be correct, still the use of the word actGGuluv will imply the continuance of the sab- bath. How can weeks be continued at all, scripturally and religiously, but upon the principle of the continu- ance of the sabbath ? Notices of the continuance of the sabbath, and of the observance of it by the Apos- tles, are to be found repeatedly in the book of Acts : but it is not thought necessary to give them a particu- lar attention. The indispensable necessity of the day for the fur- therance of religion, the conversion of sinners, and their edification when converted, for the manifesta- tion of Christ, and the accomplishment of God's pur- poses relative to Zion, is a cogent argument of its continuance. If the sabbath was necessary to present the Church to the view of the world, as an army with banners, under the former dispensation, it is no less necessary for this purpose under the latter. Two passages are brought forward by those who oppose this doctrine, as favoring, if not proving the discontinuance of the sabbath. The first rs in Rom: xiv. 5. " One man csteemeth one day above another ; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.'' Here the A- postle is supposed to admit, that the distinction between the sabbath andotherdays, was obsolete ; therefore that the sabbath wasnolongera matter of obligation, but of opinion. The sabbath, it is to be here recollected, was not imposed as a burden, from which the Church was to be relieved ; but given, as a blessing, which it was to enjoy. It is to be remembered also, that the Chris- [205 ] tians at Rome consisted partly of native Jews, and partly of Gentiles. The believing Jews retained strong prej- udices in favor of all the observances of their ancient religion. The Gentiles, on the other hand, had prej- udices against them. It could 'hardly be otherways the i, than that there should 1x3 disagreements among these christians, about several things belonging to the Jewish law. To these disagreements the apostle has respect in this chapter. He begins thus. " Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations." Here are the things he is going to treat of; things of doubtful disputation ; things, which he himself could not, or did not think it pru- dent then, expressly to settle. The sabbath, so repeat- edly and solemnly enjoined, and with such a highly important design, coulel hardly have come under this description. He speaks of days supposed to be conse- crated. But these days stoma in connexion with eat- ing, or not eating particular kinds of food ; which circumstance does not at all apply to the sabbath. — These days therefore, ought to be understood as fast, or festival days ; and several such days were ordained in, and were peculiar to the Sinai law. " For one be- lieveth that he may eat all things. Another, who is weak, eateth herbs." The discourse upon clean, and unclean things, eating, and not eating, runs through the chapter. When therefore, he says, as in the 5th verse, " One man estcemeth, &.c." he ought, in fair- ness, to be understood as speaking of these days. At any rate, here is nothing express respecting the sab- bath. And if there were, there is certainly noth which amounts to a revocation of it. The most that the passage teaches, even upon the supposition that the apostie alludes to the sabbath, in connexion with other consecrated elays, is, that each one should labor to possess the truth ; and that forbearance should be exercised in case of disagreement, if that disagreement do not appear to result from a contumacious spirit. Had the sabbath, with all other consecrau been openly and formally set aside, such a ccn;io\ t [ 206 ] as that which is brought into view in this chapter, could hardly have subsisted. The cause of it seems to have been, that which is at the foundation of many disputes and divisions at the present day ; the not distinguish- ing carefully between anterior institutions and laws ; and those which were added, as peculiar to the cove- nant of Sinai, which only have waxed old, and vanish- ed away. The observance of the sabbath was contin- ued under the authority of Christ, and his apostles. The usages which were sanctioned by the Sinai cove- nant, did not actually cease at once, with the removal of that covenant. They were abolished gradually, as the weak believers among the Jews could bear. Hence it was natural enough for those Jews to contend, that if the sabbath was to be observed, the other consecrat- ed days ought to be observed likewise. This dispute the apostle manages, with the same spirit of accommo- dation, with which he circumcised Timothy, kept the feast at Jerusalem, and conformed, on occasions, to several things in the ritual law. The other passage brought forward as an objection, is in Colos. ii. 16, 17. "Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the. sabbaths." What sab- baths were these ? The term sabbath was first applied to the seventh day. ' Afterwards it was applied as de- scriptive of all the consecrated days of the Sinai cove- nant. See Leviticus xxiii. 32, and 38. As the plu- ral therefore is used, there seems to be reason to pre- sume, that, as in the former case, the apostle had re- spect to these days of the Sinai law. The 4th verse, if attended to,will convince us that he had. " Blotting out the hand writing of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." What was this hand writing of ordinances ? It was what he calls, in his letter to the Ephesians, " the middle wall of partition." It was the ritual of the Sinai covenant. But it has been prov- ed that the primitive sabbath did not belong to this covenant. The passage therefore, cannot prove the discontinuance of the sabbath. [207] The fact of the change of the sabbath from the sev- enth, to the first day, as having taken place under the authority of God, is admitted by the whole Christian Church, a few individuals excepted. The universal, undisputed practice of the Church in the earliest and purest times of it, and as ordered by the Apostles themselves, is conclusive evidence, both of the perpetu- ity of the sabbath, and of this circumstantial change respecting it. " All Christians'* says Dr. Mosheim, " were unanimous in setting apart the first day of the week, on which the triumphant Savior arose from the dead, for the solemn celebration of public worship. This pious custom, which was derived from the ex- ample of the Church of Jerusalem, was founded upon the express appointment of the Apostles, who conse- crated that day to the same sacred purpose, and was observed universally throughout all the Christian Churches, as appears from the united testimonies of the most credible writers." This change was evidently necessary, to mark the accomplishment of the typical system, respecting Christ ; as a public standing testimony, that he was come, and was risen from the dead ; that the promises were accomplished in the purification of Israel and the accession of the Gentiles; and that these were the last times ; especially, and signally, the accepted times, and the day of salvation. As the sabbath, and not the less evidently on account of this modification, is perpetuated, in the essential na- ture of it, as a holy rest, an ordinance forever, a sign of the covenant, a public standing token that God is in the midst of the Church, to sanctify it, a pledge of his love, commemorative of the accomplishment of the great work of our redemption, and a type of heaven, it ought to be received, and observed conscientiously by all Christians, as a most precious blessing of the cove- nant. All labor ought to be suspended during the complete day, according to the original requirement. No work ought to be done upon it, but such as is of absolute necessity, and the dictate of mercy. The day r 203 ] >c spent in tliose devotional employments, public and private, which, instead of being a labor and burden to the children of God, are their refreshment, strength, and joy. Those who trample upon the sabbath are to be un- derstood as trampling upon all that it exhibits ; upon the covenant of God ; upon its provisions and prom- ises ; upon the whole work of redemption ; upon the interests of virtue ; and as despising the pleasant land. The passover is another ordinance which was ap- pointed to Israel prior to the introduction of the Sinai covenant. It was instituted before their departure from Egypt, and as a standing memorial of their de- liverance from the destruction, which cut down all the first born of Egypt. See the 12th ch. of Exodus* The reason given for its institution, is in these words : ',' For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the first born of the land of Egypt, both man and beast, against all the Gods of Egypt will 1 execute judgment : I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you a token, upon the houses where you arc, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you ; and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.' 1 Then it is added, " And this shall be unto you for a memorial ; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord, throughout your gen- erations ; you shall keep it a feast, by an ordinance for- ever .'' This exemption of the first born of Israel was an expression of special covenant favor, and stood in close connexion with their miraculous deliverance from Egypt, which was another signal expression of the same thing; Both the events are blended in the design of the institution. The blood of the lamb sacrificed at the passovcr, sprinkled upon the door posts of the houses of Israel, was typical of the blood of Christ ; through the expia- tory efficacy of which, the elect are saved. For it is said, 1 Cor. v. 7. "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." And in I Peter i. 18, 19. " For- nuch as ve know that ve were not redeemed with [ 209 ] corruptible things ; as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers ; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with- out blemish^ and without spot." The passover was then, not only retrospective, as commemorative of the great events which took place in favor of Israel, when they were brought out of the house of bondage; but pro- spective, as it prefigured a far greater deliverance to be wrought for the whole Church in the personal sacrifice, resurrrection, and conquests, of Christ her king. The expressions respecting the perpetuity of this ordinance, are the same, with those which are used, respecting the sabbath ; and if they are to be taken in the same sense, then it is to be understood, that in the substance, in the spirit, and true import of it, it is perpetuated in another form, that of the Lord's supper. So that the supper may not be improperly styled the Christian passover. The deliverance, which the Savior wrought in his death, and resurrection, was so much superior, the consummation of that, which was initial and emblematical, that it seemed to be necessary ; at least divine wisdom saw it proper, that this ordinance, as to the form of it, should be changed for one simply retro- spective. That the design of the passover, in a typical view, was answered in the death of Christ, is evident from his own words, Luke xxii. 15, 16. "And he said unto them, with desire 1 have desired to eat this passo- ver with you, before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. " The passover, was then to he ful- filled, in the kingdom of God. The Apostle's calling Christ our passover ; and the scripture account, gener- ally, of the design of his sufferings, and the efficacy of his blood, determine, that it was fulfilled in his death. By his death he wrought the deliverance of his whole Church, and triumphed over all his enemies. Col. ii. 15. "And having spoiled principalities, and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." ltbecame then entirelv improper that the Passover, C c [210] in the original form of it, should be continued. To have preserved the type, would have implied that the anti- type was not come. It would haze been a negative upon the whole gospel testimony. And it is an incon- testibie fact, which nobody disputes, the universal practice of the primitive church concurring to prove it, that the passover, in its original form, was abolish- ed. Still the essence, the commemorative language of it, was preserved and transmitted, and will be con- tinued to the end of the world, in the supper. This was instituted immediately after the Saviour made the declaration above quoted. The supper, like the pass- over, is a memorial, and is a matter of law : " Do this in remembrance of me.'' It commemorates and manifests the same almighty deliverer, whom the pass- over commemorated ; and virtually, that first great de- liverance, and not that only, but all the great deliveran- ces he has wrought ; his great salvation in the whole extent of it. It manifests the same covenant, and is a far clearer, and more affecting exhibition, of the bles- sings it contains. For our Lord says, Luke xxii. 20. " This cup is the new testament in my blood." i. e. a public token of the New Testament, as the passover was. In the participation of it Christians eat of the flesh, and drink of the blood of Christ, as the true paschal lamb. Circumcision was another standing ordinance ap- pointed to Israel, before the Sinai covenant was pub- lished. In proof of this, enough has been said already. That it was continued to the coming of Christ nobody disputes. We have therefore, but two questions be- fore us here ; first, whether circumcision, as outward in the flesh, was abolished ; and secondly, whether the essence, or symbolic language of it, as a token of the covenant, is perpetuated in baptism, as its substi- tute. Circumcision is declared expressly to be a to- ken of the covenant. It is a distinct token from the other two. If it was abolished; ifVbaptism was in- stituted upon the abolition of it ; and is the third to- ken of the covenant, distinct from the Lord's clay, and the supper; to be administered, like that, once only, [211 ] and at a particular time, i. e. soon upon the visible ini- tiation of the subject into the covenant ; and is expres- sive precisely of the same things ; why then, the to- ken is continued, though the form of it is changed. In other words, baptism is circumcision, in the moral import of it, continued. That circumcision was abolished at the introduction of the Gospel dispensation, is evident, from the fact, that the believing Jews gradually passed into the dis- use of it ; from the necessity of its discontinuance, as it held forth a typical language, which was fulfilled in Christ's death ; and as it was a thing calculated to keep up an undesirable distinction between believers of the circumcision, and believers of the uncircumcis- ion, which, for the more perfect union of the Church, was to be done away ; from the undisputed practice of the whole of the primitive Church ; and especially, from the decree of the mother Church in Jerusalem, which was ordained under the presidency of the apos- tles ; and, as is expressly said, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Certain brethren went down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and taught the new Gentile converts, in that city, that they must be circumcised, or they could not be saved. This immediately orig- inated the question, Is circumcision obligatory upon the Gentile converts ? A solemn mission was sent to the Church in Jerusalem, to ascertain this matter. The Church assembled, deliberated, and finally resulted in this manner. Acts xv. 24, and on. " Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us, have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, ye must be circumcised, and keep the law ; to whom we gave no such commandment : It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you, with our beloved Barnabas, and Paul ; men that have hazarded their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore, Judas, and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these neces- [212] sary things ; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication ; from which, if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well ; fare ye well." When the epistle was read publicly to the multitude at Antioch, they rejoic- ed for the consolation. Thus circumcision was lor- mally and publicly abolished, with respect to the Gen- tiles. But it had been before Christ obligatory, with respect to the Gentiles. This then amounted to an implicit abolition of it altogether ; though for reasons abovementioned, the believing Jews continued for sometime in the practice of it. They probably did till the distinction between Jew and Gentile was lost, in the christian Church, The other question is, whether the essence, or spir- itual meaning of circumcision, as a token or seal of the covenant, was perpetuated in baptism. Baptism had been before in extensive use ; but confined to the Jews, and therefore of an appropriate meaning, not a sign of initiation into the covenant. John's baptism was the baptism of repentance, or preparation for the coming of the Messiah. The baptism which the dis- ciples of Jesus administered, was the baptism oidisci- pleship. John iy. 1. " When therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard, that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John." This bap- tism was administered to those who had already the token of the covenant upon them; who Mere previ- ously of the visible seed ; and therefore signified mere- ly their separation from their unbelieving and disobedi- ent brethren, to a visible submission to Christ as the Messiah. We now speak of that baptism which is properly denominated Christian baptism ; of baptism as a for- mally instituted ordinance of Christ, to be administer- ed to all who should be gathered in from the Gentile world. This baptism is entirely distinguishable from all previous baptisms. It was instituted by Christ af- ter his resurrection ; was wrought into the grand commission he gave to his disciples to preach the Gos- [ 213] pel to every creature ; was to go side by side with the recovering influence of their preaching ; and to be, " into the name (f/V ovo^d) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Matthew xxviii. 19. " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost : Teach- ing them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- manded you, and lo ! 1 am with you always, even unto the end of the world." The question now is, whether circumcision, in the spirit and meaning of it, as a token of the covenant, or seal of the righteousness of faith, be perpetuated, in this instituted baptism. We have seen, that the covenant is one, and everlasting ; and that all the promises of it are irreovocable and effectual, be- ing yea and amen in Christ. Christ is declared to be the minister of the circumcision, for the truth of God, to .confirm the promises made to the fathers. The cove- nant, is in fact carried into effect by his agency, in the ingathering of the Gentiles. God saw it wise that the public seal, circumcision, should be appended to the covenant, and put upon all the visible subjects of it, during that long period which went before Christ. — What reason can be given why a seal, equivalent with it, should not be appended to it, and applied to all the visible subjects of it, during the whole time it is pub- lished to the world, and the promises of it are fulfilling ? Is not God's condescension to his people's circumstan- ces and wants, as great as before ? Do not his people, under the Gospel day, need confirmations of his grace, as much as those did who lived under the former dis- pensation ? Must not a public symbol of initiation in- to the covenant, be of as great utility, in the instruc- tions it administers, and the testimony it impressively bears, to unbelievers, under the latter, as under the former dispensation ? Is the fatness of the olive tree diminished, since Jesus has been glorified, the Gospel more extensively preached, and the Spirit given in more plentiful effusions ? It has pleased God to per- petuate, under new modifications, the other signs of his covenant. And is it to be supposed that this, [214] which was the most significant of its nature, and which had a distinct design, not expressed by the others, is withdrawn, without leaving any thing of equiv- alent import in its stead ? Let us besides look direct- ly at baptism itself. What is baptism ? Is it a mere ceremony r" No, It would be impious to call it so. — Has it any spiritual meaning ? Most undoubtedly. " He who believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved : But he who believeth not, and (implicitly) is not bap- tized, shall be damned. Except a man be born of wa- ter, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the king- dom of God." Baptism indicates very much indeed ; all that circumcision ever indicated. It denotes a spiritual indissoluble union to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It is spoken of by one Apostle, as sav- ing. I. Peter iii. 21. " The like figure whereunto, even baptism doth now save us." In this important re-» spect, it has the same character, which is given by Paul to circumcision. Romans ii. 25. " For cir- cumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law." — profitetlu How ? Certainly unto salvation. By the passage quoted from St. Peter, we are taught, that baptism is a figure. Of what is it a fig- ure, or symbol ? It is conceded on all hands, that it is a symbol of internal cleansing from sin ; or of rising to newness of life. But this is exactly the same with becoming a recipient of the covenant. And this is the same with becoming a subject of membership in Christ, being united to the true Israel, or grafFed into the olive tree. And such certainly the scripture teach- es us that it is. Says Peter, Acts x. 47. " Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost, as well as wc ?" — Ar.d in the passage of his Epistle, just quoted, " Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh ; but the an- swer of a good conscience towards God." And says Paul. " Know ye not that so many of us as are baptiz- ed into Jesus Christ, have put on Christ ?" Here mem- bership in Christ is expressly brought into view as sig- nified by baptism. But Christ is eminently t/ie seed. [215 ] Those who are in him, are so in fulfilment of the prom- ises made unto the fathers. They are all covenant cor- relates with him. " He who sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified are all of one. " Then baptism is precise- ly equivalent with circumcision, save that it has not its typical signification. The scriptures exhibit them as parallel. Js circumcision " lhat of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the flesh ?" So is baptism, " not the put- ting- away of tlje filth of the flesh ; but the answer of a good conscience towards God." Are christians baptized into Christ, so that they may properly be cal- led the baptized ? They are also " the circumcisicn y who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh." Were pros- elytes to the covenant, under the former dispensation, circumcised, in token of their proselytism ? So prose- lytes to the covenant under the present dispensation, are to be ; and by all denominations, the quakers ex- cepted, are, in fact, baptized in token of the same thing. Were the circumcised deemed clean, in distinction from the uncircumcised world, who were deemed un- clean ? So christians, who are baptized, are said to be * ic ivashed." As certain then, as one is a token of the cov- enant, or a seal of the righteousness of faith ; so, though not thus expressly denominated, is the other ; and the latter is, to all intents and purposes, a substitute for the former. The passage, Colossians ii. 12, 13, commonly in- troduced in support of the truth now advocated, and too much to the purpose to be overseen by an at- tentive enquirer, must here, as additional evidence, be carefully noticed. " In whom also (speaking to Gen- tile christians) ye are circumcised, with the circumcis- ion, made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ ; buried with him in baptism, wherein ye are also risen with him, through the faith of the operation of God." Some Pcedobaptists, and those very learned men, have contended, that, by the circumcision of Christ here, the apostle means water baptism. It cannot perhaps [ 216 ] be demonstrated, that this is, or that it is not the thing intended. On the supposition that it is, then we have here baptism expressly determined to be christian cir- cumcision. On the supposition that it is not, the ev- idence is scarcely less conclusive. Let it be conced- ed, that the apostle is here treating of the sanctification of the heart. What will follow ? If, by the circumcis- ion of Christ, in the 12th verse, be meant sanctification of heart ; then by baptism, in the l$th verse, must certainly be meant the same thing. For this verse is not the assumption of an entirely new subject. It is a continuity of the sentence, which closes at the end of the verse, and therefore respects the same subject. He tells these Colossians, that they had risen with Christ in baptism. Now, if the subject is the same, and if to put off the body of the sins of the flesh, and to rise with Christ though the faith, which is of the operation of God, be the same thing ; which it is presumed no body will dispute ; then circumcision and baptism are used as of exactly equivalent import. Then who can doubt that the one is in the place of the other ? It has been sometimes objected to this idea, that if this were the case, the church in Jerusalem might have given a ready reply to the Antiochian christians. They might have told them at once, that baptism was substi- tuted forcircumcision, and therefore circumcision was no longer obligatory. To this I reply, that such was precisely the answer that the Jerusalem Church sent back, though not in so many words. These christians had been baptized. They are told, that after this was done, circumcision is not necessary. Baptism, under the christian dispensation, is of equivalent import with, and therefore supercedes the necessity of circumci- sion. It has been also asked, If baptism be in the place of circumcision, why is it not confined to males, and administered on the eighth day, as circumcision was ? This question goes upon the supposition, that, in or- der that one institution may be a substitute for another, they must be similar in circumstantial things ; than [217] which nothing is more unjust. It is not necessary for us to know all the reasons for the ordinances God in- stitutes, or the modifications to which he subjects them. But in this case, the reason of this circumstan- tial difference seems plain enough. The seed," to whom the promises were made, who was to be a male, and the holiness of whose descent was signified by circumcision, is come. The design of this appropria- tion, is therefore answered. Its discontinuance was necessary to coincide with the Gospel dispensation. The evidence that baptism is in the place of circum- cision, will be considerably strengthened, from the proofs which will be produced, of infant membership, and infant baptism. For by these will appear the en- tire coincidence between the one and the other. To this subject therefore, we will next proceed. Dd CHAPTER XII. Rtspecting the membership of infants in the Jewish, and Chris* tian Church; the application of the seals to them ; and the manner in which they are to be treated, by the officers, and adult members of the Church. Dr. GILL, and several other Baptist writers, have freely conceded the fact, of the membership of infants in the Jewish Church. But they have not been candid enough to carry up this membership to its founda- tion in the Abrahamic covenant, notwithstanding they can find no posterior law, ordaining such a revolution in the society of Israel. To get rid of this difficulty, which seems altogether insuperable, they set up their own au- thority against that of the Deity ; and, in opposition to demonstrative evidence, convert the garden of God into an aceldema of dry bones. It is presumed that the analysis which has been giv- en of the Abrahamic covenant has proved, that in- fant membership was established in that covenant ; that it was in fact, the most distinguishing feature of it. This covenant, it has been shewn, constituted a relig- ious and an indissolvable society, which was to be transmitted, allowing for adult proselytism, seminally, from generation to generation to the end of the world. It is accordingly a fact, that from Abraham to the Exodus, infants were comprehended in the covenant alliance, and went to compose the society of Israel. It is a fact, not to be contested, that this continued to be the case till the Sinai covenant. And it is a fact con- ceded, which therefore we have no need to spend time to prove, that it continued ever afterwards, to the com- ing of the Messiah. He himself became a member C 219 ] of this society by birth. No law of the Sinai cove- nant, ordaining the membership of infants at all, and es- pecially as a new thing, can be produced. Infants then must have held their membership, not by the Si- nai covenant ; but by the Abrahamic covenant only. The abolition of the Sinai covenant did not, of course, affect this establishment. The only question therefore, now before us, on this subject is, Has the institution of infant membership been revoked under the christian dispensation ? None, it is evident, could revoke it but God. For he only, who rightfully, and authoritatively establishes a law, is competent to repeal it. And if the revocation have taken place, it must have been as public, and express, as the law. Now, that there has been no such revocation, and that infant membership is continued, in its full force, under the christian dispensation, may appear from the following considerations. 1. Infant membership cannot be annulled ; because to annul it, would be to diminish materially the bles- sings which the covenant secured. The covenant en- tailed, not the curse, but the blessing. " In blessing I iMill bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee — and thou shalt be a blessing the blessing is in the house of the righteous — and all that see them, shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed." The blessing attached itself to the society perpetually. It was entailed upon the a- dopted, as fully as upon the natural seed. " I will bless him that blesseth thee." Galatiansiii. 8. "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preaehed before the Gospel un- to Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be bles- sed." Here was an irrevocable grant of the entire bles- sing of the covenant to the believing Gentiles. It is therefore added, in the next verse. "So then, they which are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." And at the 14th verse, " That the blessing of Abra- ham, might come on the Gentiles through Jesus [ 220 ] Christ." Here is the very blessing with which God blessed Abraham, full, and entire, determined by the apostle to have come on the Gentiles. Hence it is said in the two last verses, ** There is neither Jew nor Greek ; there is neither bond nor free ; there is nei- ther male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ. — And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." The complete in- heritance belongs to them, as proper heirs, by virtue of the absolute promise of the covenant. This blessing could neither be withdrawn, nor diminished ; for it was given by will. It might be enlarged, at least in its ef- fects. And we have abundant evidence, that at the advent of Christ, and in the Gospel day, it was enlarg- ed. It was not narrowed into a more diminutive stream, but swelled into a broader river. " And I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream." Infant member- ship was an important part of the blessing. Its revo- cation cannot therefore have taken place. 2. Infant membership is not only secured in the covenant, as a part of the blessing ; but it is so insep- arably connected with the covenant, as to be essential to its existence. If this be withdrawn, the covenant itself is done away. The seed is the great object of covenant promise. " I will be a God to thee, and to thy seed." Abraham was but one. The seed were to be innumerable, and were to come on, in succes- sion, by birth. Infant membership must necessarily coexist with the duration, and execution of the cove- nant. I fit were to be annulled, the enquiry would present itself in a moment, Why ? Is the covenant at an end ? Has God reversed his engagement, that he will be a God to Abraham and his seed ? Has God cast away people whom he foreknew ? Has he chang- bis counsels, and forfeited his oath ? 3. If infant membership were revoked under the christian dispensation, it must have brought about a great revolution in the Church ; and this revolution must have been a matter of public notoriety. It must [ 221 ] have impressed the minds of the adult members of the Church, especially the Jewish believers, very sensi- bly, it must have been a source of commotion, of objection, at least of solicitous enquiry ; and it seems impossible that very much should not be found in the scriptures respecting it. Such a change could hardly have failed to be a subject of prophecy ; and of history, after it had taken place. Infant membership had ex- isted about two thousand years ; and all the habits of opinion and practice, in Israel, had become conformed to it. Changes of far less moment, and calculated to affect the feelings of individuals, and the economy of the Church, far less sensibly, were subjects of prophe- cy, and of particular record. If a small Pcedobaptist Church in these days, becomes Antipoedobaptist, or even a majority of them, it is noised all over the coun- try, and becomes a matter of public agitation ; of ex. ultation on the one hand, and of regret on the other. But not a lisp of any such thing do we find in the scrip- ture history. 4. If such a revocation has been given out, it is not lost. It is certainly somewhere in the scripture, and can be produced. But the opposers of infant membership have not been able, they have not even attempted to pro- duce such a revocation ; though urgently and publicly cal- led upon to do it. And now they are once more chal- lenged to produce such a revocation. A recourse to the miserable pretence, that the Sinai covenant was a political compact, and the Jewish Church a worldly commonwealth, will not be accepted in the room of it. 5. There are several prophecies and promises, in the Old Testament, which looked forward to the Gos- pel day, and which could not possibly be fulfilled, but upon die principle of the continuity of the member- ship of infants. Such, for example, is the promise, of making a new covenant with the house of Israel ; on which we have so particularly commented in the course of this work. That clause only, will be here quoted, which respects the present point. *' And they shall teach no more, every man his neighbor, and every man f 222 ] his brother, saying, know the Lord ; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith-the Lord." This prophecy had ultimate respect to a period yet future. It embraces the infant part of Israel as subjects of the salvation promised. — But can they be subjects of this saltation, and yet have no covenant connexion with the people of God ? In the 46th chapter of Isaiah., the 3d and 4th verses, we have this gracious declaration, addressed to Israel. •* Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the rem- nant of the house of Israel, which are borne by mo. from the belly, which are carried from the womb. And even to your old age, I am he ; and even to hoar hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear, even I will carry, and deliver you." This declaration is not merely descriptive of God's providence, which extends to the world as much as to the Church ; but it is covenant language. It expresses God's covenant care over the individuals of Israel, from their birth ; and extends to all future, as well as to past time. But this language cannot apply, if infant membership is discontinued. In the 3Qth chapter of Jeremiah, at the 18th verse, is the following gracious promise. " Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring again the captivity of Ja- cob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places ; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving, and the voiee of them that make merry ; and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few. I will glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as Aforetime." This promise, as is the case with the most of the promises of the Old Testament, had undoubtedly, immediate respect to the return from the Babylonian captivity ; but ultimate respect to a peri- odyet future, when the Jews shall be brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles, and so all Israel shall be saved. But how is it possible the promise should be fulfilled, if there be a revocation of infant member- [ 223 ] ship ? Such a revocation must place the infant part of Israel, out of the urates of Zion, abroad, in the midst of the uncovenanted world ; a condition just the opposite of what they were aforetime. 6. The membership of infants, instead of being an- nulled, is [openly recognized and confirmed, by our Savior. Matth. xix. 13. " Then were there brought unto him, little children, [vsaVola ; in Luke it is, fy£