PART III.

Conditions en Abraham's part.

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Thus far the promifes and grants of God to Abraham in this covenant.

Now we may confider the conditions on Abraham's part. He believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for rightaufnefs, Gen. xv. 6. The fame alfo is repeated by the Apolle, Rom. iv. 3. Here it is brought in by the Apostle, directly in oppofition to works in Abraham, as a condition of the covenant God entered into, with him. It is therefore evident that the Apoftle did not underftand this to be a covenant of works. Abraham believed; and that was the condition on his part, whereby God counted them his. It was all free fovereign grace on God's part, to promise and grant thofe things, in every particular, and the whole; and it was fo received on Abraham's part; he did not pretend any thing as a return, to remunerate God for all thofe great things he had promifed him: Therefore, it was in no fenfe, underflood by God or Abraham, to be a covenant of works: But is a clear unmixed Covenant of Grace. And it is the only covenant of grace for eternal life, that I find, God ever promulgated to mankind. All therefore, who pretend to come into covenant with God, in any other way, than according to his covenant with Abraham; their fuppofed covenant is fpurious and not of God's propofal. And the rejecting the feal of this covenant with Abraham, as being merely of a legal fignification; (as fome do) I think can be no lefs, than rejecting the only cov enant of grace for eternal life, that God ever made with mankind. For we find that when the Holy Ghoft first introduced, and fet up the chriftian dif penfation, by the miniftration of the Apoftles, as in Acts 2d. Chap. it was directly and literally on the covenant with Abraham, as confidered, page 138,

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Conditions on Abraham's part.

PART III.

And the Apoftles by divine infpiration, both practifed and taught according to that; univerfally fpeaking of Abraham as the father and pattern, of all true believers; and that all who are in Christ, or belonging to him, are Abraham's feed and heirs according to the promife.

We may now confider who were the parties, to this covenent with Abraham. That God was on the one part the grantor, promifing and granting all thofe gracious things; perhaps no one will dif pute. But whom the covenant embraces,as grantees, is not generally agreed upon; fome fay, a covenant cannot extend to any who do not perfonally agree or confent to it; that they cannot be confidered, as being in covenant. But as I profefs to go whol ly by the Scriptures, I will advert directly to them. In which we find that after God had made many promifes to Abraham, of those gracious things we have confidered; when he comes to fum it up, and fix the feal. In the 17th Chap. of Gen. verfe 2 d. He fays, I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. Here God fays, he will make his covenant with Abraham, and thei multiply him. How are we to underland this ?* When Abraham was in covenant, and multipled in that predicament; Would not the product of that multiplication, be in the fame predicament with Abraham, who is multiplied? Would Abraham: loofe all the covenant by being multiplied, fo that the product would have no benefit of it?

The Apofile fays, Heb. vii. 9. 10. That Levi who was in the loins of Abrahamn, therefore, part of that product, Abraham was multiplied into; paid tithes in Abraham, when he met Melchizedec; this was before God multiplied Abraham; and' if this product was then taxed, in Abraham, could it

PART III. Many Nations embraced in the Covenant.

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be right, for the fubject of taxation, to, be feclud ed any title, to the benefits or privileges of the body, in which he was taxed? By what God fays, further on, it appears very plain, that God meant, and that Abraham understood, that this covenant refpe&ed and embraced others equally with himfelf; not only his natural pofterity; but many others, for in the 4th verfe, God fays, As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be a father of many nations. I can conceive of no intelligible Idea, in expreffing thefe words, in the connection they are placed, unlels it be to affert, that many nations fhould be embraced in that covenant, God then made with Abraham. And must mean as much as the Apoftle fays, that all chrif tians in every nation, are children and heirs according to promife. God proceeds with the fame Idea in the 6th verfe, faying, I will make nations of thee. What can be understood by this, if he did. not mean, that thofe nations he made of Abraham, fhould be in the fame predicament with Abraham himself? To what purpose fhould God make nations of Abraham, if they were to be no other when made, than if made of Ham or Canaan, whom Noah had curfed? It could be no gratifica tion to Abraham, nor expreffion of the divine goodness, to make fuch nations of Abraham. It muft therefore be understood between God and Abraham, that the nations God would make of Abraham, fhould be in the fame predicament he was; viz. the fame he now declared him to be; that is, in that faine covenant with God, Abraham

was.

God proceeds in the next verfe. "And I will eftablifh my covenant between me and thee, and thy feed after thee, in their generations for an everlast

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Circumcifion the Seal of the Covenant. PART III. ing covenant;" to be a God unto thee, and thy feed after thee. Here God as we may confider it, brings out the fum total of all he had faid, or promised to Abraham, TO BE A GOD TO HIM AND HIS SEED. And appoints the SEAL, which Abraham and his feed fhould apply to themselves. verfe 9, "And God faid unto Abraham, thou fhalt keep my covenant therefore, thou and thy feed after thee, in their generations." Becaufe God would do fuch great and good things for Abraham, and all that he would multiply him intó, and make of him; had covenanted to do it. Therefore, they fhould keep his Covenant. And speaks to Abraham in the plural number, verfe 10th. "This is my covenant which YE fhall keep, between me and YOU, and thy feed after thee; Every man child among you, fhall be circumcifed," verfe 11th." And ye fhall circumcife the flesh of your forefkin; and it fhall be a token of the covenant, betwixt me and you," verfe 12th, " And he that is eight days old, fhall be circumcifed, every man child, &c. verfe 14, " And the uncircumcifed man child, whofe flefh of his forefkin is not circumcifed, that foul fhall be cut off from his people, he hath broken my covenant." Now take all this, into view, and confider how God defcribes Abraham that he would make his covenant with him, and multiply him, make him a father of many nations; make many nations of him; and eftablish his covenant with him, and his feed, and engage to be a God to him, and his feed, and appoint him à feal or token of this covenant, and fo ftriâly, and pofitively require; that it fhould be applied to infants at eight days old; which was as foon as we can fuppofe the tenderneís of the infant would admit of it; and fo pofitively declare, that the man

child that was not circumcifed, fhould be cut off from his people.

I fay, take all this into view, and I fee not how we can find out any meaning to it, unless it means, that God then in making and entering into covenant with Abraham, did in him as covenant head, take into covenant, Abraham's feed, and all thofe nations God faid he would make of him. And especially when God faid it fhould be an everlasting covenant, which it could not be, as it refpected Abraham perfonally; and many of the objects promised, and duties required, could not be everlafting; for Abraham was not to be here in this world always; and many of the objects promifed, and duties required, were peculiar to this world. Efpecially when God fays, The uncircumcifed man child fhall be cut off from his people, he hath broken

my covenant.

They could not be cut off, if they never belong. ed to them. Neither could they break God's covenant, if they were never included in it.

There is no meaning therefore, that I can devife, to thofe words of God; of cutting off, and breaking covenant: Unless it be that the children are born in covenant; viz. the children of all fuch people as God here defcribes, as contained in Abraham; when he was entering into covenant with him. Which were Abraham's natural feed, and all thole nations, which God would make him the father of; or make of him; which must doubtless mean all fuch as profeffed chriflianity, and embraced the faith of Abraham. This appears to be the fense in which God at first introduced the chriftian difpenfation, as we have it in the 2d Chap. of Acts, which has been confidered in the foregoing pages.