Christ that is the first Head thereof in and by him all the Promises of it are ratified as he was the Surety of the Covenant Heb. 7. 22. and in him they are all Yea and Amen 2. Cor. 1. From whom all the Grace of the Covenant is derived upon poor Sinners thro' Faith in his Name This the Apostle asserts most clearly Gal. 3. 17. and argues it from the Form of the Promises as made unto Abraham ver 16. Vnto Abraham and his Seed were the Promises made he saith not unto Seeds as of many but as of one and to thy Seed which is Christ The Scope of the Apostle's Discourse will teach us that those Promises are meant which relate to the Justification and Salvation of poor Sinners even such as include that Grace by which the Gentiles are called to inherit eternal Life some do principally refer this to Gen. 17. 7. and it will readily be granted that some of those Promises that ultimately respect the spiritual Seed and spiritual Blessings are sometimes given to Abraham under the Covert of those Terms that have an immediate respect unto his natural Seed and temporal Blessings as made Types of the other and when they are so the Promise still runs to his Seed in the singular Number which the holy Ghost may here teach us to be on set purpose to gather up our Thoughts to Christ alone as the Spring and Root of Abraham's Blessing when we consider the mystical import of such Promises But this being allowed That the Apostle hath the form of that Promise in his Eye we cannot from thence conclude that the Promise is made to Abraham's Seed both natural and mystical in one and the same Tenour but only thus much will fairly follow upon it That the Apostle argues from the carnal Seed as typical to the spiritual Seed as typified thereby and so arguing makes special Use of the Terms in which the Promise is made as purposely fitted to its typical respect or mystical sence So is the Prohibition of breaking a Bone of the Paschal Lamb which was a Type of Christ applyed by John to Christ himself who was typified thereby Joh. 19. 36. with Exod. 12. 46. Howbeit I conceive the Apostle hath here a direct and special Eye to that Promise Gen. 22. 18. * This Promise is particularly cited by Peter as a summary of the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham Act. 3. 25. In thy Seed shall all the Families of the Earth be blessed which runs directly parallel both in Terms and Sence with the Promise given to Abraham Gen. 12. 3. which was before pleaded by him Gal. 3. 8. This Promise was given forth in the Repetition and Confirmation of the Covenant before made with him upon the occasion of Abraham's having offered up Isaac whereby the Death and Sacrifice of Christ Jesus was in a most lively manner prefigured And clearly holds forth thus much That as all Nations should be blessed in a relation to Abraham as his Children so that Blessing should be derived upon them thro' Interest in Christ his promised Seed and by the Efficacy of his Mediation in the Interest of that Sacrifice and Offering of a sweet smelling Savour Eph. 5. 2. that in the fulness of time he should make unto God And if it be objected that the Promise there is made of or concerning Abraham's Seed and not to his Seed let it be minded that all the Promises made of this Seed viz. Christ in one respect may be said to be made to this Seed in another because they are originally established in the everlasting Covenant of Redemption that was between the Father and him * See Strong of the Covenant p. 126. Some do interpret this Text in Gal. of Christ mystical because of the order of the Words The Promise is made first unto Abraham then unto his Seed therefore say they it is such a Seed as comes to have Right in the Promise Secondly to Abraham and as his Children And also because the Apostles Scope is to prove that the Gentiles are justified by Faith as Abraham was But I should rather apply them to Christ as personally considered For the Seed to whom the Promise is made is the same in whom all the Nations of the Earth are blessed Gen. 22. 18. Now altho' as all Believers being the Seed of Abraham are blessed with faithful Abraham yet are they not that Seed in whom all Nations are blessed but the Nations who are blessed in this Seed And in the very next Verse the Covenant is said to be established of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in or unto Christ who is the same Seed spoken of in the preceding Verse Now the Covenant is confirmed in Christ personal not in Christ mystical hence Paraeus concludes it is to be understood individuè de uno Christo ex quo omnis spiritualis Benedictio in fideles diffluit But this also is to be observed That Christ is given for a Covenant of the People Isa 42. 6. and therefore the Covenant is established in him and with him for all Believers who by Union with him become that One Seed of Abraham unto whom the Blessing of his Covenant doth belong And so in this sence it as strongly concludes for Justification only by Faith in Christ as in the other And for the order of the Words it need not seem strange that Abraham is first mentioned and then Christ his Seed for besides that of the Promises chiefly intended the first saith in thee and that given afterwards in thy Seed shall all Nations be blessed which is the order the Apostle observes This is also to be considered That Abraham was really the Father of Christ according to the Flesh and by Covenant appointed so to be as was David also and yet Christ is not only the Offspring but also the Root both of Abraham and David And altho' the Mercies of the Covenant are called the sure Mercies of David because of the Covenant which God made with him yet are they all originally from Christ in one respect tho' mediately by Christ in another as they flow from a Covenant first made with David which was to be after ratified and fulfilled in Christ the Son of David * Duorum maximè Filius dicitur Christus Abrahae David quoniam istū sapius ac disertius quam caeteris est promissus Lud. Viv. And perhaps it is upon the account of the Covenants made with Abraham and David concerning this Matter that in Mat. 1. 1. they are so peculiarly mentioned in the Genealogy of Christ as recorded by that Evangelist § 8. Fourthly This Covenant was made with Abraham as a Root of Covenant-Blessings and common Parent unto all true Believers Indeed Abraham himself obtained the Grace of this Covenant by Christ his Seed and so came into it at the second hand with respect to the Son of God who is the Prince of the Covenant but with respect unto us The Covenant was
bring forth Salvation to the Gentiles That so there might be no colour of Reason left for interpreting this Covenant to their Prejudice in the straitening of the Grace of the Gospel which was designed of God only as an Handmaid thereto 2. Because Things were so ordered by God in this Covenant that as the Promises thereof should be subordinate to the great Promise so also spiritual Blessings should be mystically implyed in them so Abraham's being the Father of Believers of many Nations was typified in his numerous Offspring by Isaac viz. Israel after the Flesh And hence a Confirmation and sealing of the one must include a Ratification of the other also And therefore at the same time to assure Abraham that he should certainly become the Father of * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Multitude or of many Nations his Name is changed into Abraham and also Circumcision is instituted for the sealing of the Promises made to his carnal Seed The mutual respect of these different Promises and the order observed in their Establishment being such Circumcision it self was so far from everting the Covenant of Grace in its Promise to the Gentiles as that it became to Abraham a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith Rom. 4. 11. This it had not from its next and peculiar End or its proper Nature with respect to all the carnal Seed or others that were to be the Subjects of it but from the Disposition of the Covenant to which it was annexed and the present Circumstances of Abraham with whom it was made and to whom Circumcision was now given for a Seal thereof But this we must farther inlarge upon in speaking to The mutual respect of God's Foederal-Transactions with Abraham And at present it shall suffice to remind you That there is no way of avoiding Confusion and Intanglements in our Conception of these things but by keeping before our Eyes the distinction of Abraham's Seed which is either spiritual or carnal and of the Promises respectively belonging to either For this whole Covenant of Circumcision as given to the carnal Seed can no more convey spiritual and eternal Blessings to them as such then it can now inright a Believer tho' a Child of Abraham in their temporal and typical Blessings in the Land of Canaan Neither can I see any reason for an Assignment of Covenant-Interest in all spiritual Blessings typified as well as in the temporal Blessings that were the Types of them to the carnal Seed and yet not to admit the Conveyance of the same Covenant to hold good in point of temporal Blessings to the spiritual Seed seeing as some conceive both are directly included in the same Covenant and the Promise of both was sealed with the same Seal But the Truth is Notwithstanding the respect this Covenant hath to the Covenant of Grace it yet remains distinct from it and can give no more then external and typical Blessings unto a typical Seed The stating of their Rights and Priviledges in Subserviency and with a typical Respect to the Dispensation of Grace to the Elect in the New-Covenant is the proper End and Design of this Transaction in Gen. 17. as will more fully appear in the particular Account of the Promises given therein § 9. The Sum of those Promises is set before us in Gen. 17. 6 7 8. In the 6th Verse The Promise of a numerous Offspring is repeated in such Terms as do import if not Inlargement yet at least a farther Explication of what was before promised in Gen. 13. 16. And I will make thy Seed as the Dust of the Earth c. For here the Promise runs thus I will make thee exceeding fruitful and I will make Nations of thee and Kings shall come out of thee These Words in their first and literal Sence had their Accomplishment in the natural Offspring of Abraham and are particularly intended of his Seed by Isaac For tho' it be true that other Nations besides Israel did spring from Abraham yet the Context will evince it to be that Seed with which the Covenant of Circumcision should be established that is here meant and that was with the Seed of Abraham by Isaac only To see therefore the fulfilling of this Promise we must look to the twelve Tribes of Israel that were as so many distinct Peoples and Nations with respect to their Power and Number tho' with respect to Religion and Government united in one Polity and so but one people And to this Promise Jacob hath an Eye in his blessing of the Sons of Joseph Gen. 48. 19. where he saith that Manasseth the Father of one of the Tribes of Israel shall be a People and shall become great i. e. His Seed shall be numerous and strong and shall make up one People or one of the Nations that God had promised should come of Abraham And yet Ephraim his younger Brother must have the Preeminence in being the Father of another distinct People or Tribe that should be stronger then Manasseth and more numerous in that his Seed should become the Fulness of Nations so it is in the Hebrew i. e. a very great Nation and People That Distinction of Tribes which was after observed among the Israelites seems to be first pointed at in these Words I will make Nations of thee And the following Words viz. Kings shall come out of thee do not only signifie the Eminency of Abraham's Seed in general but more particularly respect their forming under a distinct Polity and Government of their own or as Ezekiel speaks Chap. 16. prospering into a Kingdom and living under the Rule and Conduct of Judges and Princes raised up among themselves as they were from Moses his time who was King in Jeshurum when the Heads of the People and the Tribes gathered themselves together Deut. 33. 5. by whose Ministry God settled their State and Government by Laws peculiar to themselves and fulfilled the Covenant of their Fathers therein This Branch of the Promise contains more than was expresly given to Abraham before § 10. In the following Words Gen. 17. 7. we have the Assurance of this and of the ensuing Promises also which God gives unto Abraham by passing them into a solemn Covenant and consequently an Interposition of himself and Engagement of all the Perfections and Properties of his divine Nature to be exerted for the making of them good Thus you read 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 to thy Seed after thee Unto this is added the Promise of their Inheritance Ver. 8. And I will give unto thee and to thy Seed after thee the Land wherein thou art a Stranger all the Land of Canaan for an everlasting Possession and I will he thire God The Difficulty arising from those Terms in the Promise which give the Right of the Inheritance of Canaan to Abraham in the first place hath been already
first given unto Abraham and we are brought into it in the Interest of Relation to him as Children which also is by Faith in Jesus Christ This special Honour did God put upon Abraham by the manner of his entring into Covenant with him that thenceforth no People should be taken into Covenant with himself but as his Seed This is evident as to Israel after the Flesh in the Old Testament that their Covenant-Interest was derived from Abraham and it appears as plainly concerning the spiritual Seed and Israel of God in the New-Testament that Abraham is their Father Rom. 4. and all true Believers are blessed in him as his Seed Gal. 2. 8. 29. with Gen. 12. 3. for by that Promise in Genesis Abraham was ordained and constituted of God the Father of the faithful as hath been before touched And hence it is that their Fruition of Paradise is called a resting in Abraham's Bosom Luk. 16. because as they have their Entrance into a State of Grace so they are also brought into the Kingdom of Glory and made to possess Heaven as his Children They are also said to sit down with Abraham in the Kingdom of of Heaven Mat. 8. 11. § 9. Fifthly The last thing I shall note is The eternal Settlement of the way of Salvation according to the Tenour of the Covenant which is by Faith in Christ This is a Covenant that conveye the Grace of Life to poor Sinners by a free and gracious Promise which admits of no other Restipulation in order to Covenant-Interest but Believing 〈◊〉 is of Faith because it is of Grace Rom. 4. 16. And this way is the only way of Life There is but one Covenant of spiritual and eternal Blessings in Christ Jesus founded in the eternal Decree and Counsel of God's Love and Grace which is now revealed unto Abraham and there is but one Seed which is of true Believers in Union with Christ promised to him as the Heirs of this Covenant and the Grace given thereby and thus is the Way of their Justification and Acceptance with God determined not by a natural Descent from Abraham or any external Priviledg appendent thereunto but by a walking in the Footsteps of Abraham ' s Faith Rom. 4. 13. who is made the Exemplar of Justification unto all in future Ages for whose perpetual Instruction this is recorded That he believed God and it was accounted to him for Righteousness The Tenour therefore of the Promise now given unto Abraham could never be altered nor any ways evacuated or superseded by any future Dispensation that the Church was brought under but whatsoever Law or Covenant was afterwards given unto them must of necessity lye in an order of Subserviency unto it and be directed towards the 〈…〉 ring in of the Perfection of that Dispensation of Grace which was unalterably fixed thereby Gal. 3. 17. It was the everlasting Gospel that was now preached unto Abraham which was afterwards to break forth with the fullest Glory and Lustre in the days of the Messiah when the Lord performed his Mercy to Abraham and remembered his holy Covenant Luk. 1. 72 c. § 10. I shall now close this Chapter with some Coâ—laries deduced from the things already cleared and then proceed in the Method before propounded 1. This Covenant of Grace whereof we have been speaking and which the Holy Ghost in the New-Testament hath so remarkably pointed out 〈◊〉 us whereby Abraham was made the Father of the Faithful and all Believers according to it were to be considered as a Seed that God would give to him was confirmed and ratified by a sure Promise unto Abraham a considerable time before the Covenant of Circumcision was given to him viz. about twenty five Years before it and had then no outward Sign or Seal annexed thereto And indeed that which hath been of late affirmed That the Covenant of Grace always had an outward Sign on Seal added to it is so wide a Mistake that on the contrary it may be affirmed That altho' the Efficacy of its Grace did reach Believers in all Ages yet it was not filled up with Ordinances of Worship proper and peculiar to it self until the times of Reformation nor had till then any outward Sign or Token immediately belonging thereunto For had it been so this Sign or Token as the Covenant it self had remained without Change and not vanished away with the other Shadows of the Mosaical Oeconomy 2. The Promise made unto Abraham gives the Seed as well as the Blessing of that Seed unto him Believers are the Children of Promise Typified by Isaac afterwards being begotten unto God of his own Will by the Efficacy and Grace of his free Promise and in the Virtue thereof yea the Seed is first supposed in the Promise and then the Blessing of that Seed is promised which being of Grace is made sure unto all of them Rom. 4. 16. And as the Blessing is spiritual so is the Seed also nor can it be extended farther then to that Seed which is the promised Subject thereof 3. The Sum of all Gospel blessings being comprized in this Promise it will hence follow That the proper Heirs of this Blessing of Abraham have a Right not only in some but in all the Promises of the New Covenant and that not in a limited Sence and as suspended on uncertain Conditions but in a full Sence and as secured by the infinite Grace Wisdom Power and Faithfulness of God and accordingly they are in time made good to them all And this will be more manifest if we consider that all the Blessings of this Covenant redound upon Believers by means of their Vnion and Communion with the Lord Jesus Christ who is both the Head and Root of the New-Covenant and the Fountain from whence all its Blessings are derived to us which as they were intirely purchased by him so are they intirely applyed to all that are in him and to none other The Limitation therefore of a New Covenant-Interest to the Grant of an external and temporary Priviledg only I conceive to be utterly inconsistent with the Promises of the Covenant it self even such as these Isa 54. 13. chap. 59. 21. Jer. 31. 33 34. Ezek. 36. 26 27. with Heb. 8. and many others of like import Neither will these Texts admit of another Notion of late insisted on for the Commendation of Paedo-Baptism viz. That the Infant Seed of Believers during their Infancy have all of them a certain and definite Interest in the Covenant of Grace by virtue of which they are compleatly justified before God from the Guilt of original Sin both Originans and Originatum and yet when they come to Years of Discretion may yea must by their actual closing with or refusing the Terms of the Covenant either obtain the Continuation and Confirmation of their Covenant-Interest or be utterly and finally cut off from it and so perish eternally in their Ignorance of God and Rebellion against him And as the Promises
House besides the Promise of spiritual Blessings that was given to him both for himself and his spiritual Seed he had also the Promise of a numerous Offspring which should naturally descend from him No less can be intended in these Words I will make of thee a great Nation than this Thou shalt be the Father of a great Nation which shall spring and issue from thy Loyns such is the plain Sence of the like Words to Moses Num. 14. 12. And this Promise with the rest Abraham embraced by Faith for to an Eye of Reason there was no present Likelihood of its Accomplishment seeing at this time he had no Child for want of which he also makes Complaint a considerable time after this Gen. 15. 2 3. and Sarâ— his Wife was barren Yet esteeming him faithful and able to make good his Word that haâ— given him these Promises he embraced them and upon the Call of God * Cui non magis est dulce proprium tugurium quam palatia Poregrina Voluntaria Casa quam digesta Praetoria Cui non est durum illos conscioâ— nâ—â—alium Parâ—â—tes dulcia ill◠〈◊〉 mina atque amabilem larem quem parentum memoria ipsius Infantiae Rudimenta commendant Inter 〈◊〉 ergo tam 〈…〉 dulcia 〈…〉 Exi ait de 〈…〉 Quis haec 〈…〉 August forsook all that before was dear unto him and went out not knowing whither he went Heb. 11. 8. For it doth not appear that the Land of Canaan was mentioned to him at his first calling but rather an absolute Resignation of himself unto divine Goodness and Conduct was required of him and he knew no more than this that he must travel from his own to another Country which was to a Land that God would shew to him tho' as yet he knew not what or where it was And therefore tho' we read Gen. 11. 32. That he went from Uâ— of the Chaldees to go into the Land of Canaan I conceive those Words are to be taken as an historical Anticipation and not a Relation of what fell within Abraham's Knowledg and Intention when he first undertook his Journey * Vid. Riveti exercitationes in 〈…〉 His Peregrination was in the Counsel of God determined to the Land of Canaan and by a divine Conduct he was brought thither tho' himself knew not the Place designed at least not till he came nearer to it viz. unto Haran where the Lord gave him a second Call after the Death of Terah to proceed in his Journey to the Land of Canaan Gen. 12. 4 5. § 3. When Abraham came into the Land of Canaan unto the Place of Sichem the plain of Moreh the Progeny of cursed Canaan being then the Inhabitants of the Country the Lord appeared unto him again and gave him a full and express Promise of that Land which for Pleasantness and Gen. 12. 6 7. Fertility was the Glory of all Lands for an Inheritance unto his Seed And there he first built an Altar unto the Lord that by worshipping him he might testifie his Gratitude for the Promise so freely given to him and also receive a Ratification of it in the Blood of his accepted Sacrifice Soon after this a Famine drives Abraham into Egypt and there Sarai's Chastity was indangered by the Egyptian King but the Gen. 12. 17. Psal 105. 13 14 15. Lord's rebuke upon him delivered his Servant from that Affliction and by his good Providence he was again brought back in Peace to the Land of Canaan All this time Lot Abraham's Brothers Son was with him but now their Substance being increased and some Contention happening between their Servants Abraham to take up the present Controversie and prevent the like makes a Proposal for their parting the one from the other which was accepted of by Lot Gen. 13. And after that Lot was separated from Abraham the Lord again renew and confirms the Promise of the Land of Canaan to him and of the great Increase of his Seed that should possess it with a special Command to Abraham to walk thro' it in the Length thereof and the Breadth thereof to survey and by Faith to take Possession of it while as yet he was a Stranger and had no Inheritance in it no not so much as to set his Foot on Act. 7. § 4. In the Promise thus renewed there are two things that require some farther Explanation First The Conveyance of this Inheritance is directly made first unto Abraham himself and then unto his Seed All the Land which thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy Seed Gen. 13. 15. Now it is evident Abraham had no Possession in it all his Days save that of a Burying-place which he after purchased for his Money paid to the full value thereof Gen. 23. And like was the Case also of Isaac and Jacob who were the Heirs of this Promise together with Abraham Heb. 11. 9. A Question therefore ariseth How was this Promisemade good to Abraham In Answer hereunto waving at present the Typical Respect of the promised Land and Abraham's Inheritance of the spiritual and heavenly Blessings signified thereby observe 1. That as to those Words to thee and to thy Seed the latter may be taken as an Interpretation of the former and then the sence is to thee that is to thy Seed The Hebrew Particle here used is undoubtedly to be taken in this sence in some other See Ainsw Annot. places and is to be interpreted not as Copulative by And but as explicative by Even or that is See 1 Chron. 21. 12. where it is so rendred And the like Interpretation must be given of it in 2 Sam. 17. 12. Of him and rather that is of all the Men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one Now this rendring removes all appearance of Difficulty from the Text. 2. A Man may have jus ad rem that hath not jus in re All Right is not persently actionable but a Man may have a Right to an Inheritance by Promise or otherwise without the Right of present Possession which he may not enter upon till a long time after or perhaps not himself but his Posterity are to be possessed of it by that Right which is at present made over to him Neither doth the annexing such Terms render the Promise vain or fruitless unto him that first receives it for the Assurance that the Good promised shall in its time certainly redound upon his Offspring is a present Comfort to himself as it is an Honour also for him this way to be made capable of transmitting such a Right to them And therefore it was a pleasing Thought to old Jacob when he lay dying That God would surely visit his Children and bring them up out of Egypt to inherit the promised Land Gen. 48. 5 20 21. tho' he went to his Fathers without sight of its Accomplishment As it was also a special Favour to Ephraim and Manasseth that
by Jacob's Blessing each of them obtained a Right in Canaan equal with the Brethren of their Father and yet themselves enjoyed not the temporal Good of that Blessing but their Posterity after them And indeed that Lege Riveti exercitationem in Locum ubi dubium hoc proponitur accuratè solvitur is properly said to be given to Parents which is given to their Posterity upon the Account of that Promise which they have received and which makes them the Heads of that Covenant-Blessing which descends upon their Offspring And that the Fathers embraced the Promise in this sence is put beyond doubt by the express Limitation of the time of its Accomplishment in Gen. 15. 13 16. Secondly The other Difficulty ariseth from the Extent of the Pomise in point of time for here God promiseth to give this Land to Abraham and to his Seed for ever and again Gen. 17. 8. for an everlasting Possession whereas it is evident they have now for many Ages been disinherited of it But the Solution of this Doubt will be easie to him that consults the Use of these Terms in other Texts and the necessary Restriction of their Sence when applyed to the State or Concernments of Abraham's Seed in the Land of Canaan For the Priesthood of Levi is called an everlasting Priesthood Num. 25. 13. and the Gates of the Temple everlasting Doors Psal 24. 6. and this in the same sence as Canaan is said to be an everlasting Inheritance no more being intended than the Continuance of these for a long time viz. throughout the Old Testament Oeconomy until the days of the Messiah commonly spoken of by the Jews under the Notion of the World to come wherein a new State of things was to be expected and when their old Covenant Right and Priviledge was to expire as having its proper End and Degsin now fully accomplished § 5. In Gen. 15. we have an account of another solemn Transaction of God with Abraham wherein besides other things included and intermixt the Promises before given to Abraham concerning his carnal Seed and their Inheritance are renewed and farther explained in diverse Particulars And Abraham being now more stricken in years than when he first received the Promise and as yet having no Son tho' his eternal Happiness as well as other Blessings depended on the Seed that should be given to him he was now brought to a greater Tryal of his Faith then formerly and the present acting of it being rendred the more Illustrious by the Difficulties it overcame the Holy Ghost is pleased in this Place to give an express Testimony thereto ver 6. He believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for Righteousness And Conf. Rom. 4. this is the first time that either Believing or the Imputation of Righteousness is in terminis mentioned in the Scripture Not but that both these were true of Abraham before even from the first giving out of the Promise to him Gen. 12. He then believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for Righteousness but as his Faith was now manifested in a higher Degree so it pleased God from this time to leave upon Record a more particular Encomium thereof than formerly And as a farther Token of Favour immediately hereupon follows that Explication and Inlargement of the Promise to his natural Offspring that was before mentioned Many things I shall pass over and only note here these few that follow as direct to my present Purpose 1. The Lord informs Abraham of the Affliction that should befall his Posterity and the seeming Death that should be upon the Promise before they were brought into the Inheritance of the Land of Canaan And also particularly limits the time thereof they should be afflicted four hundred Years the Account of which I suppose must take its Rise from the mocking of Isaac the Heir of the Promise by Ishmael the Son of Hagar the Egyptian from which to the deliverance of Israel from their Bondage in Egypt is exacty four hundred Years 2. The Lord gives Abraham an Assurance that in the appointed time he will redeem them from their Servitude and that by signal Judgments upon their Oppressors and so great Favour to them as should suddenly change their Condition from Want and Penury to the Enjoyment of great Riches and Substance Gen. 15. 14. And as for Abraham himself should go to his Fathers in Peace and be buryed in a good old Age and in the fourth Generation the Blessing of this Promise should certainly come upon his Posterity ver 15 16. The exact Accomplishment of all this you may read in the Book of Exodus all the Wonders there recorded being the Birth of these Promises Exod. 2. 24. Act. 7. 17. for it was not the Goodness of the People but the Stability of the Promise that all those things are to be ascribed to 3. A Reason is given for the referring of the Accomplishment of the Promise to this time Because the Nations whose Land they were to possess were not yet ripe for Judgment and the Measure of their Iniquity must be filled up before the Curse of Canaan was fully executed upon them Thus we see that although the Children of Canaan bare his Curse many Generations after him yet this Curse descended not upon them without a full Measure of their own Sin as there is no doubt but Canaan's partnership with Cham in his Wickedness did at first bring the Curse of his Father upon himself But to return 4. These things are expresly said to have been transacted in a way of Covenant with Abraham and also the Bounds of Israel's Inheritance are set and those Nations marked out by Name Gen. 15. 18 19 20 21. that were to be dispossessed and destroyed by them § 6. Before we pass on farther in the History of God's Transactions with Abraham respecting his natural Offspring Let it be observed 1. That as this Seed was afterwards raised up to Abraham by virtue of a Promise so the first Grant of the Land of Canaan to them for an Inheritance was by a gratuitous Promise also and that Promise past into the Form of a Covenant with Abraham long before the giving of the Law as a Condition of their Inheritance therein yea before the Institution of Circucmision And the Original of their Claim being from a free Promise the Severity of that Law which afterwards they came under was so far restrained thereby as that notwithstanding their manifold Breach of Covenant with God and Forfeiture of all legal Claim of their Rights and Priviledges in the Land of Canaan thereby they were never utterly cut off from that good Land nor ceased to be a peculiar People unto God until the End of their being made so was fully answered and that Promise expired with the Accomplishment of its Design in the Introduction of the Israel of God to the full Enjoyment of those spiritual Blessings which were the Substance of what was but darkly
and End appointed to it And hereupon all the carnal Priviledges and Ordinances of Worship suited to that State did necessarily cease and become useless also 6. During the time wherein their Covenant retained its full Vigor and all their carnal Priviledges remained good to them in their utmost extent all their Advantage lay short of Interest in the Covenant of Grace This they could never claim by virtue of a carnal Descent from Abraham Mat. 3. 9. For it was not a carnal Relation to Abraham but walking in the steps of his Faith that alone could interest them in this Covenant and the Blessings thereof This the Apostle professedly discourses in Rom. 4. and many other places So then § 3. 7. The carnal and the spiritual Seed as also the Covenants wherein their respective Priviledges are stated were from the Beginning in their own Nature distinct the one from the other Altho' during the Minority of the Church under the Mosaical Oeconomy these different Blessings did ordinarily meet in the same Subjects For in that time the Seed of Abraham after the Flesh comes under a twofold Consideration 1. The whole Body of them is to be considered as a People separated unto God for the Ends before mentioned and formed into a typical State by the Law of Moses vested with carnal Priviledges and having an earthly Inheritance which things were typical of spiritual Blessings under the Gospel 2. As a great number of them were made the true and real Members of the spiritual Church and Assembly of the redeemed of the Lord who did by Faith inherit and enjoy those spiritual Blessings which the outward Priviledg of the carnal Jew was but a shadow of For that Nation was so made a typical Church as that they were also the only true visible Church that God then had i◠the World And therefore while the Wall of Separation stood betwixt them and the Gentiles the Oracles of God were committed to them and his true Worship wa◠settled among them the Covenants of Promise were given to them and the way of Salvation by a Covenant of Grace thro' the promised Seed was made known tho' but darkly among them and the Blood of God's special Elect did generally run in their Veines that People who were savingly interested in God and truly holy being for the most part found amongst them while the Gentiles lived without God in the World Thus I say it was ordinarily for even then the Grace of God might superabound to some few among the Gentiles And therefore that Church that was really and not only typically Holiness to the Lord was found within the Compass of their Enclosure Thus as Isaac was not only a Type of the Children of Promise in the New-Testament but was also one of them that did by Faith truly inherit the spiritual Blessing of Abraham and Jacob was not only a Type of the Elect Seed but also a real Part thereof so the like may be said of all that came after of the Circumcision who were not of the Circumcision only but did also walk in the Steps of the Faith of their Father Abraham which he had being yet uncircumcised They were in one respect a Type and in another true Members of the general Assembly and Church of the First-borne Tho' the one of these they found as pertaining to the Flesh the other they obtained by Faith § 4. And of this Israel in Israel two things are to be observed 1. That notwithstanding their Interest in the Promise by Faith they were not freed from the Yoke and Discipline of Moses his Law until Christ came They were indeed Children even the Children of Abraham on a spiritual Account and by the Grace of a free Promise which the Law could not disannul they were relieved from its Rigor as to their spiritual and eternal State but being Children under Age the Paedagogy they were under differed nothing from that of Servants neither could they be discharged of this School-Master before Christ came 2. They were blessed with spiritual Blessings and had Interest in eternal Life in Circumcision and under the Law but none of them obtained this by Circumcision or by the Law That whole Oeconomy that Israel after the Flesh was under was in and by it self insufficient and weak as to the End of eternal Happiness and the Justification of a Sinner before God in order thereto It could not make the Comers thereunto perfect nor make the carnal Seed Heirs of spiritual Blessings But a Right to them was evermore grounded upon a spiritual Relation to Abraham and Interest in that Promise which the Covenant of Circumcision was but an Hand-maid to And therefore those that rested in their carnal Priviledges and sought eternal Happiness from them did pervert their true End and could never obtain what they followed after Lastly To conclude The Covenant of Circumcision did belong to the Body of the carnal Seed even to the Jewish Church The Foundation of their State is laid therein and their Right and Priviledg is thereby expresly stated in their Generations And therefore as we readily grant the Promise now under consideration to belong to the Seed of Abraham after the Flesh so we do with good Reason affirm that it must be taken in such a sence as we may find verified in that People and Nation unto whom it did belong and that shall no ways contradict or interfere with the general Design of the Gospel or the plain and indisputable Sence of other Texts of Scripture § 5. These things being premised we shall now come more close to the Words themselves and enquire what that Good and Blessing is which by them is ensured unto this Seed of Abraham That this Promise I will be their God with that foregoing in Gen 17. 7. do give a general Assurance of some Good to the People in Covenant is evident but that they are Promises of some particular Good or Blessing that is of an higher Nature then is comprehended in any other Promises of the Covenant is not to be supposed For the true Import of this general Promise is That God hath ingaged himself and all the Properties of his Nature for the exact fulfilling of all the Promises of the Covenant now made with them according to the true Tenor and Conditions of the said Covenant All the divine Perfections See Mr. Whist Prim. Doctr. p. 124. are laid in as Pledges that the Promises shall not fail on God's Part seeing as need requires they shall be all exerted for the Good and Advantage of this People in fulfilling the Promises given to them But still these Communications of God to them and Actings for them both in respect of the Blessings he will bestow as also the Terms and Conditions on which they shall be bestowed are limited by the Covenant he hath made with them and the Nature and Extent of the Promises thereof And this will more plainly appear to be the true Sence if we duly weigh the Terms
ut quidam privati Hominer ex Generation◠Caln Instinctu divino se ad Adam conjunxerint 〈◊〉 salvati sint Luther in Gen. nay it is possible that even some of the Line and Race of Cursed Cain might do so as on the other hand it is more then probable that others of the Children of Adam besides Cain did revolt with him from all true Religion and Holiness and joyned Issue in an open Contempt of God and Rebellion against him However the Nature and Necessity of the thing in it self in reference to religious Worship and that Obedience that was due to God therein did oblige his Servants to keep themselves distinct and separate from the rest of the World And whilst they did so the general Defection of Mankind was prevented But towards the Period of the old World all things declined and grew worse and worse Gen. 6. 5 12 13. The Violence and Corruption of Mankind abounded and even the Sons of God were taken with the bait of sensual Delights And those who had formerly kept up a pure and distinct Communion for the solemn worshipping of God by calling upon his Name and therefore had also his Name called upon them Gen. 4. ult being denominated the Sons of God did now lose the sense of Religion and brake the Bounds of their just Separation and mingled themselves with the Daughters of Men Gen. 6. 24. These were the Women of Cain's Offspring or of Confederacy with his Seed by whose Beauty they were entangled while they regarded more the gratifying of their Lust than the true Ends of Marriage and being thus entangled were also drawn in a Partnership with them in their Abominations Insomuch that when the time of the Flood came the pure Worship of God was maintained in the Family of Noah only who found Grace in the sight of God Gen. 6. 1-11 and was preserved in the Ark that by him and his Sons the desolate Earth might be again replenisht with Inhabitants after the Foundation of the Wicked had been destroyed with a Flood Job 22. 16. § 5. Now in the dealings of God with Noah there are some things call for our diligent Attention as carrying on to a farther degree of Light the Discovery of Grace and Redemption by Christ and so the farther Establishment of the Church in Expectation thereof For The Ark which Noah being warned of God built by his special Direction for the saving of himself and his House which were eight Souls 1 Pet. 3. 20. did not only afford him and them a temporal Deliverance from the Deluge of Waters by which God in his Wrath then swept away a disobedient World but was moreover useful by its typical Respect for their farther Instruction about the Redemption of Man from the Floods of divine Vengeance to be hereafter poured out in eternal Wrath upon the World of Unbelievers For this is to be observed concerning the State of the Church before Christ came in the Flesh That as the Gospel was preached unto them by Types and dark Shadows so this kind of Instruction was afforded them not only by the stated Ordinances of Ceremonious Worship but also by many extraordinary Works of Providence which were so ordered by Divine Wisdom as that they might bear a typical Respect unto and be an apt Representation of spiritual things This may be observed in many Instances in the History of Abraham and of his offspring the Children of Israel On this account the Manna they did eat in the Wilderness is called spiritual Meat and the Water of the Rock which they drank spiritual Drink and the Rock Christ 1 Cor. 10. 3 4. and yet we read of no special Ordination or Appointment of these things unto such an End but what they had from the Order and Voice of Providence together with the peculiar Circumstances of the People concerned in them And under this Consideration doth Noah's Ark come which either was a Type of Christ as the Ark in the Jewish Sanctuary or of the Church considered as guarded with his Salvation which in the Issue will come near to the same thing And this Type is rendered the more lively by the Form of Structure which God commanded and also the unwonted Use of one Term in the Direction given for the securing of their Preservation who were to enter into the Ark. 1. The Form in which the Ark was built in the Proportion of its Dimensions comes nearest to that of the Body of a Man for it was in length 300 Cubits in breadth 50 and in height 30 So that in Figure is was shaped like a Coffin and there was a Resemblance of Burial in the entring thereinto and of a Resurrection in coming out of it In which respect the Apostle Peter makes Baptism to be the Antitype to the Ark 1 Eph. 3. 19 20. And thus was the Ark an extraordinary Sacrament or Prefiguration of the Churches Redemption and Salvation by the Death and Resurrection of Christ and of her Union and Communion with him that dyed and rose again so as to enjoy all the Benefits of his Death and Resurrection 2. In the Directions given for the building of the Ark Noah is commanded to pitch it with Pitch both within and without Gen. 6. 14. the Words in the Hebrew are Caphartà Baccophèr The first sence of the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to cover and thence by a Metaphor it signifies to expiate or make Atonement because as things covered are hid from Sight so Sin expiated is blotted out and no more remembred against the Sinner And the Noun viz Cophèr is never used in the like sence in all the Bible for the Hebrews have other Words that properly signify such kind of Stuff as was now to be made use of see Exod. 2. 3. but in the Law it is often used for the Covering of or Propitiation for Sin So that these Terms seem to be especially adapted by the holy Ghost unto the typical respect of the Ark which was to prefigure the Salvation of the Church thro' the Expiation of Sin and Atonement made by the Death of Christ in the Merit of whose Blood is her only Defence against the swelling Waters of Divine Wrath and the Curse of the Law under which the whole World of Unbelievers must inevitably perish Now tho' we have no reason to think that these things could be then apprehended so distinctly and clearly as we now see them by the Light of the New Testament yet have we good ground to believe that some general Knowledg of them was conveyed to the Minds of the Faithful in the time of this Type and by means thereof And this will inform us how Noah became an Heir of the Righteousness of Faith by building the Ark and entring thereinto Heb. 11. 7. seeing there was not only a Proof of his Obedience herein whereby the Truth of his Faith was manifested but moreover his Faith did reach and in some Degree apprehend the Mystical use of the Ark
of the Covenant will admit of no such partial Interest therein so neither can this Opinion consist with the Analogy of Faith in other Respects For either the Stain of original Sin in these Infants is purged and the Dominion of Concupiscence in them destroyed when their Guilt is pardoned or it is not If it be then the case of these Infants in point of Perseverance is the same with that of Adult Persons that are under Grace by their actual Faith and then a final Apostacy from the Grace of the New Covenant must be allowed possible to befal the one as well as the other notwithstanding all the Provisions of the Covenant and Engagement of God thereâ—n to make the Promise sure unto all the Seed But this the Author will not admit If he say that their Guilt is pardoned but their Natures are not renewed nor the Power of original Corruption destroyed so as that Sin shall not have Dominion over them It will be replyed that then notwithstanding their supposed Pardon they remain an unclean thing and so uncapable of Adminion into the Kingdom of Glory But the Truth is None are at any time justified before God but such as Christ hath loved and washed from their Sins in his Blood Rev. 1. 5. And none are washed by him but those that are in him as the second Adam It is by Union to him as the Root of the New-Covenant that the free Gift comes upon them to the Justification of Rom. 5. 14 c. Life And none can have Union to him but by the indwelling of his holy Spirit and wherever the Spirit of God applies the Blood of Christ for the Remission of Sins he doth it also for the purging of the Conscience from dead Works to serve the living God And as certainly as any derive a New-Covenant Right from Christ for Pardon they also receive a vital Influence from him for the Renovation of their Natures and conforming their Souls to his own Image And therefore to assert That the Grace of Christ is applyed to some for the Remission of Sins only or that the Guilt of any Sin can be pardoned to any Person and yet that Sin retain its Dominion over him is so far as I can discern both unscriptural and incoherent with the Doctrin that is according to Godliness 4. To conclude It is plain That a Believers Claim to the Blessings of the New-Covenant is in the Interest of Abraham's Seed and by virtue of the Promises given to him relating to such a Seed and not as Coordinate with him in Covenant-Interest They are not each one by this Covenant made the Father of a blessed Seed as Abraham was the Father of the Faithful neither can they claim the Promise for themselves and their Seed according to the Tenour of Abraham's Covenant and as he might but they must rest in a Relation to him as Children and so receive his Blessing that is the Blessing promised to him for his Seed and that by their own Faith and for themselves alone Believers because they are Abraham's Seed are blessed with faithful Abraham And If we be Christs then are we Abraham ' s Seed and Heirs according to the Promise Gal. 3. 29. Of the Covenant of Circumcision CHAP. V. The Subject of our present Inqiury the Promises gived to Abraham for his natural Off-spring these given forth gradually all summed up in the Covenant of Circumcision § 1. Gen. 12. 2. farther opened in its respect to the carnal Seed Abraham called out of Ur of the Chaldees Heb. 11. 8. conferred with Gen. 11. 32. their Harmony shewed § 2. Abraham comes into Canaan and builds an Altar his Journey into Egypt Return to Canaan parting from Lot the renewing of the Promise thereupon § 3. Gen. 13. 15. opened how the Promise of the Land of Canaan was made good to Abraham in what sence said to be an everlasting Possession § 4. The History in Gen. 15. considered the 6th Verse explained the Promise renewed and inlarged the Bondage of Israel in Egypt foretold The time limited to 400 Years when they began one reason why the Promise was no sooner to take place the Iniquity of the Amorites not yet full how the Curse of Parents comes righteously upon their Children § 5. The Seed of Abraham and their Inheritance first given by Promise One consequence of this Abraham goeth in to Hagar the Reason of it as yet no mention of a Distinction of Abraham's natural Offspring among themselves nor any distinguishing Character appointed for them his Seed in remote Generations as well as in an immediate Descent from him intended in the Promises § 6. The Covenant of Circumcision why so called Gen. 17. 1. opened This a Praeludium to the Sinai Covenant § 7. Gen. 17. 4 〈◊〉 opened The Promise of the New-Covenant rehearsed Two reasons thereof Abram's Name changed to Abraham How Circumcision became a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith briefly touched The necessity of distinguishing of the Promises given to Abraham and of the Seed to which they belong § 8. Gen. 17. 6. opened the first Intimation of a distinction of 〈◊〉 in Israel § 9. The general Scope of Gen. 17. 7 8. the word Everlasting how to be taken as applyed to this Covenant no proof of its being a Covenant of spiritual Blessings deducible from thence § 10. The Church-State of Israel after the Flesh the principal Blessing of this Covenant This evinced by the Story of Ishmael and Esau Their Exclusion from this Covenant The preference of Israel's Lot § 11. § 1. THE Method before laid down leads us in the next place to inquire after the Promises given to Abraham for his natural Off-spring and the Assurance of them which it pleased God to give him by Covenant-Transactions And here as formerly I shall diligently review the History that Moses wrote of these things by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost and comparing the Promises made with the Records of their Accomplishment in other parts of holy Writ indeavour to collect from both the true Import and Extent of them with the proper Nature and Ends of that Covenant unto which in a peculiar manner they do belong Only this I shall premit to the whole That these Promises were not all made unto Abraham at one time Nor the Covenant of them perfected by one Transaction but they were given forth by several Parts and Degrees until at last the whole Charter of Priviledges and Blessings granted to the natural Offspring of Abraham was fairly drawn and the Covenant of them sealed by Circumcision This will immediately appear in the historical Account we shall have of these things and some Regard hereunto may be also remarked in the Progression of Stephen's Discourse when he gives a Recapitulation of them Act. 7. 5 6 7 8. § 2. In Gen. 12. 2. we find That when the God of Glory first appeared unto Abraham and called him out from his own Country from his Kindred and from his Fathers
force as well for the Benefit of more remote as nearer Generations Its Promises did include and its Law did equally bind both during the whole State of the Mosaical Oeconomy The Right of the remotest Generation was as much derived from Abraham and the Covenant made with him as that of his immediate Seed was and did not at all depend upon the Faithfulness of their immediate Parents And therefore the immediate Seed of those Israelites that fell in the Wilderness under the Displeasure of God were made to inherit the Land of Canaan by virtue of this Covenant with Abraham who otherwise could never have injoyed it by virtue of their immediate Parents Stedfastness in the Covenant § 3. I suppose it cannot be denyed but gross Idolatry was a manifest and full Breach of this Covenant on the part of the Idolater And yet when the Israelites in Ezekiel's time became guilty of the vilest Idolatries the Lord still claims an Interest in their Children by virtue of this Covenant Eezek 16. 20. 21. Moreover thou hast taken thy Sons and thy Daughters whom 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 slam my Children c. The Children of an Apostatize Israelite were God's as well as those of his faithful Servants which could not have been if their Covenant-Interest had been suspended on the good abearing of immediate Parents And to this agrees the Story that we have of Mattathias his proceeding in the Reformation of the Church in his day who finding that many had denyed their God and forsaken his true Worship in that time of Persecution did according to the Law of Moses execute Justice upon as many of the Apostates as he could lay Hands on by slaying them as Josephus witnesseth but the Children that he found to be left uncircumcised in this Time of Apostacy he took and circumcised them The Words of the Author in 1 Maccab. 2. 46. are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This I know hath no farther Strength than of an humane Testimony But it speaks fully what the sence of those Times was concerning the Covenant-Interest of Children viz. That the Apostacy of their immediate Parents could not prejudice it so as to render them uncapable of Circumcision which strongly concludes their Covenant-Right to be derived from Abraham and not suspended upon them And Mattathias who did this was not only a Man zealous for the Law but also one that may be presumed to have understood it better than many others seeing he was a Priest § 4. And not only the Passages before insistted on but the whole Current of Scripture where these things are mentioned runs very smoothly this way but especially that Phrase before touched thy Seed in their Generations will admit no other Sence being by no means capable of a restraint to the immediate Seed but even as the like Expression Gen. 9. 12. secures Noah's Children from drowning by the Waters of an universal Deluge to the end of the World so did this Promise give a Covenant-Interest to the Seed of Abraham till the times of Reformation We exclude not the immediate Seed viz. Isaac but the Promise passeth on much farther and is to be fulfilled in a Seed multiplyed exceedingly and formed into a Kingdom which it was not until Isaac and his immediate Offspring also were laid in the Dust Moreover The Inheritance promised in the Land of Canaan is given to this Seed for an everlasting Possession which was fulfilled in their successive inheriting of it from Generation to Generation therefore the Seed intended was such as should be propagated thro' many Generations the last of which are as directly here spoken of as the first Circumcision being to be observed by them upon the account of the Promise and Command now given for an everlasting Covenant The Relation of the carnal Seed to God in an external typical Covenant the Inheritance of Canaan by virtue thereof and the Seal of Circumcision are all of one Date and did all expire together § 5. That these things may be the better understood we must farther observe This Covenant of Circumcision was the Foundation upon which the Church-State of Israel after the Flesh was built I do not say that their Church-State was exactly and compleatly formed by this Ordinance alone But this I intend That in the Covenant of Circumcision were contained the first Rudiments of that in the Wilderness and the latter was the filling up and compleating of the former yea it was made with them in Pursuance of it and for the full Accomplishment of the Promises now made to Abraham And therefore the Priviledge of the carnal Seed of Abraham by virtue of the Covenant of Circumcision can rise no higher than the Advantage and Priviledg of a Jew by virtue of the Covenant in the Wilderness § 6. For the Confirmation of this I shall offer these things First Circumcision was the Entrance into and Boundary of Communion in the Jewish Church and it was made so by the express Command of God himself who straightly injoyned that whosoever brake the Covenant by the neglect of Circumcision should be cut off from his People Gen. 17. 14. And as it was to them a Gate of Priviledg so was it no less a Bond of Duty not only obliging them to obey the Will of God so far as it was now made known to Abraham but also to the Observation of all those Laws and Ordinances that were after delivered to them by Moses when so delivered For the circumcised Person was a Debtor to keep the whole Law Gal. 5. 3. And this Obligation did result from its proper Vse and End in its primitive Institution for we read not of its Appointment to any new End by Moses nor of any Vse it was assigned to de novo which it had not at least virtually from its first Appointment It was from first to last a visible Character upon this People as separated unto God from other Nations and as such they made their Boast of it And therefore it may be concluded to belong unto that Covenant from which all their Rights and Priviledges as such a People did spring and where the Sign was not varied there was no essential Variation or Change in the Covenant it self § 7. Secondly All the Advantage and Priviledg of Israel after the Flesh is in the New Testament expresly referred to the Covenant of Circumcision For thus the Holy Ghost speaks by Paul Rom. 3. 1. What Advantage then hath the Jew Or what Profit is there of Circumcision You see these Phrases The Advantage of the Jew and The Profit of Circumcision are set down as Convertible they import the same thing what belongs to the one belongs to the other And wherever Circumcision is mentioned in the New-Testament it is spoken of as no less belonging to the Mosaical Oeconomy tho' the first Institution was not of Moses but of the Fathers
Grace 3. That the whole Oeconomy this People were under did in its typical respect subserve the Ends of the Covenant of Grace to the Elect who were the true and spiritual Worshippers of God And the greatest and only visible Number of them was to be preserved among that People until the Gospel Church-state should take place 4. But yet this spiritual Relation to God according to the Terms of the New-Covenant which the truly Godly then had was not so clearly held forth under the Old Testament as it is in the times of the New and by the Dispensation of the Gospel But the things relating thereto were very much wrapt up in dark Shadows and Figures And therefore Many times the things and People typified are spoken of in prophetical Scriptures under the names of those Things and that People which were the Types of them And the Promise of the choicest Gospel-blessings and most glorious State with respect to spiritual Glory of the New-Testament Church are given forth to Israel of old in those Terms that did suit the present State of things and are peculiarily directed unto them and their Seed but these Promises being given to them as considered in their Relation to God as his only visible Church and Covenant-people are not to be applyed to Israel after the Flesh as such but had their Accomplishment in the Church when Israel was rejected and the Gentiles called to inherit the Blessing of Abraham Howbeit they being directly given out to Israel and Jacob as the only true Church then in being and a People in whom the Church which should be was typified it was but meet and necessary especially considering that the spiritual Glory of the Gospel and the calling of the Gentiles was a Mystery not to be unfolded in those times but kept under a Veil that the Terms made use of in those Prophecies and Promises should be acommodated unto that Oeconomy under which the Church then was which yet must be interpreted in a Sence agreeable to those times and that Dispensation in which they were to have their full Accomplishment And therefore seeing the Church was then continued in a Line of natural Descent from Abraham being propagated by Generation as long as the Old Covenant state thereof remained unshaken the Promises made to the Church respecting her future Glory Peace and Blessedness in the days of the Messiah are given forth as to the Seed and Offspring of the Church then in Being tho' they did really belong to and were intended for not a carnal Offspring but those that God should continue to own as his Covenant-People and Church even such as should walk in the steps of Abraham's Faith the Gentiles as well as Jews § 10. All that now remains to be done before I draw to a Period of this Discourse is to consider how far the mutual Respect of the Promises made to Abraham may guide us towards a right understanding how Circumcision became unto Abraham a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith c. which the Apostle affirms it to have bin Rom. 4. 11. And in opening that Text the grand Objection against that Notion of the Covenant of Circumcision which I have insisted on will be obviated In order hereunto I shall first set down the Text and give you a brief Exposition of it then shew you wherein it was verified and offer something for the strengthening and Eviction of the Sence given The words of the Text are And he received the Sign of Circumcision a Seal of the Righteouness of Faith which he had being yet uncircumcised that he might be the Father of all them that believe tho' they be not circumcised that Righteousness may be imputed unto them also In the Verses foregoing the Apostle is discoursing of the time wherein Abraham's Faith was imputed to him for Righteousness and proves from thence the equal Right of the uncircumcised Gentile if a Believer with the circumcised Jew in the Blessings of the Gospel by means of a spiritual Relation to Abraham inasmuch as his Faith was reckoned to him for Righteousness not in Circumcision but in Vncircumcision And he received the Sign of Circumcision i. e. Circumcision which was a Sign It is genitivus Speciâ—i as when we read the City of Jerusalem for the City Jerusalem and the like Some Greek Copies do here read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This belongs to the general use nature and end of Circumcision it was a Sign but moreover unto Abraham it was A Seal of the Righteousness of the Faith which he had being yet uncircumcised A Seal is for Confirmation and Assurance and in this notion of a Seal there may be some respect to that visible Mark and Character which remained in the Flesh of him that was circumcised for we read not that any other Ordinance no not Baptism is so called in Scripture but in the New Testament the sealing of Believers is attributed to the Holy Ghost Of the Righteousness of the Faith which he had yet being uncircumcised that is of his being Righteous before God thro' believing which Faith he had and which Righteousness was imputed to him the Relative may agree with either Antecedent while he was uncircumcised There are some Words supplyed by the Translators to fill up the sence in our English Phrase which the learned Dr. Lightfoot in his Hor. Hebraic on Cor. 7. 19. fills up by another Supply that gives somewhat a differing sence of the Text which I refer the Reader to as not unworthy his Consideration but shall here rest satisfied with that sence which our Translation affords us It follows That he might be the Father of all that believe in Vncircumcision the sence is that he might be manifested to be things are in Scripture oftentimes said to be when they are by any solemn Act declared or confirmed the Father of all believing Gentiles tho' they be not circumcised inasmuch as they also are a part of that spiritual Seed promised to him in Uncircumcision That Righteousness might be imputed to them also take it as before that it might be made manifest and confirmed that Righteousness is and shall be imputed to thm also See ver 23 24. § 11. Having given this brief Explication of the Terms used in the Text the next thing to be enqurired is wherein are the Contents of it verified or how or in what respect was Circumcision a Seal of the Righteousness of the Faith which Abraham had being yet uncircumcised For answer to this Enquiry observe 1. That in the Prologue to this Covenant of Circumcision Gen. 17. God did expresly renew and confirm to Abraham the great Promise of the Covenant of Grace concerning the justifying of the Gentiles by Faith in Christ which Blessing they should receive in the Relation of Children to Abraham and so he should become the Father of many Nations And the Covenant of Circumcision being added to former Transactions wherein God had confirmed his Covenant in Christ with Abraham the