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braham's life: Twenty-four years after his call from Ur of the Chaldees: And feventeen years after the last covenanting in which Abraham had been engaged. In the interval between the firft and fecond inftances of covenanting, God paid many vifits to the patriarch; but, between the fecond and this third inftance of it, we read not of fo much as one. It is not improbable, that God hid his face from him, for fuch a long space of time, as a further chastisement of his diffimulation and adultery.

Now, These things rendered covenant-renovation extremely proper at this time. To demonftrate, that neither the fin of cove nanters, nor God's paternal chaftifement of them do make the covenant-promifes of none effect. Though God vifit the iniquities of his covenanted children with the rod, and that for a very long time; yet he will not remove his loving kindness from them, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail.To rectify Abraham's miftake refpecting the promised Seed. Formerly he was fufpicious, that the bleffed Seed might fpring from his fteward, and not from himself: Now he might be ready to imagine, that he would fpring from the bond-woman, and to take Ifhmael for his ancestor; But this tranfaction taught him, to look for the accomplishment of the promise by the free-woman.——The renovation of the covenant was delayed till this time, and no longer, that the

faith of Abraham might be tried with waiting God's time, on the one hand; and his impatience alfo chaftifed, which impelled him to grafp at comfort, before it was given him, on the other. The patriarch was taught to look over human ability, unto divine fovereignty, for all he had to expect by this covenant. Had the promise of making Sarah a mother been given at an earlier period, lefs of God. would have been feen in the accomplishment of it; but now there is no room to afçribe that event unto any other.

PART IV.

GEN. xxii. 15-18.

N furveying this Tranfaction, I shall follow the fame method as in the foregoing Part.

FIRST, I muft give a fhort view of the PARTIES Covenanting.

1. THE first party is denominated "THE ANGEL OF THE LORD." He is the very fame angel who ftopt the flaughter of Ifaac: "And the angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven, and faid, Abraham, Abraham: And Z

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he faid, Here am I. And he faid, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing to him: for now I know that thou feareft God, feeing thou haft not with-held thy fon, thine only fon from me.-And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the fecond time * " He who spake unto. Abraham the fecond time, is the very fame perfon from whom the patriarch did not withhold his fon, even his only fon; of confequence, he can be no other than the uncreated ANGEL OF THE COVENANT: For Abraham never intended to offer Ifaac unto an inferior one † The name ANGEL imports miffion; or he who is fent. When it is applied to the Son of God, it denotes his being the fent of God for the

* Gen. xxii. 11, 12. and ver. 15.

+ Dr Willet imagined it was a created angel who announced this promife unto the patriarch; but the rea fons he affigns for his opinion are by no means decifive: "This angel (fays the Dr) was not Chrift; for the angel addeth, by myfelf have I fworn, faith the Lord, he 1peaketh then in the perfon of the Lord, as being not the Lord himself; but Chrift, being God, would have fpoken in his own perfon." Granting it was the Father who fwore, Why might not Chrift, as the meflenger of the Father, reveal his purpofe ?-Why may he not speak in the name of the Father, faying, THUS SAITH THE LORD? But there is no neceffity to understand this fwearing of the Father. This was common style when a di vine perfon spoke unto the prophets, Jer. i. 7, 8. For a further illustration of this fubject, fee Donch. de Tribus Elohim, p..31. Dr Owen on Heb. vi. 13, 14.

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falvation of men*. When this Angel deals with men, by way of foederal tranfaction, he reveals the Father's will, as a prophet; and they reftipulate obedience unto him, as a king.

2. THE other party is Abraham, and his fon Ifaac. Abraham is the only perfon mentioned in the facred hiftory, indeed; but Ifaac feems to be alfo included, as he was taken along with his father unto mount Moriah. Be

* « Vox nomen eft officii, fignificat enim LEGATUM, NUNCIUM, MISSUM. Quidam ab deducunt, "h. e. IVIT, AMBULAVIT, tranfpofita litera et eadem "in mutata, ut fit, qui mandatum habeat a fuo Domi. "no, eundi ad aliquid annunciandum vel efficiendum. "Alii dici putant, quafi 7 QUID TIBI? h. e. quid "novi adfers? Sed hæc allufio potius eft, quam vera no"tatio. Commodius fignificatio a nomine ɔ dedu"citur (quod ab inufitato 8 effe volunt) quod fignificat "OPUS, INDUSTRIAM, MINISTERIUM. Ad opus enim "mittentis perficiendum 77 LEGATUS mittitur. Tri“buitur autem in fcriptura facra, I. Hominibus, Gen. "xxxii. 3. II. Sacerdotibus, Prophetis, Ef. xlii. 19. "Mal. xi. 7. ch. iii. 1. III. Spiritibus Cœleftibus, Gen. "xxviii. 12. ch. xxxii. 1. Pfal. xxxiv. 8. IV. Tandem "xar o FILIO DEI, fecundæ Trinitatis perfonæ tri"buitur, ut in allegatis fupra locis, notatque (uti ipfum " oftendit etymon) fanctiffimum ejus officium, quod fcil. "miffus fuit a DEO Patre ad exfequendum redemtionis "opus, uti explicatio habetur, Efa. lxi. 1. feqq. Cum

que Chriftus fit avròs, IDEM, heri, hodie, et in fecula, "Heb. xiii. 8. igitur in veteri etiam Teftamento, ejus, "quod obiturus erat, muneris fpecimen quoddam edidit, "dum patribus et piis V. T. in vifibili forma apparens, "divina voluntatis internuncium egit, operaque divina "inter illos præftitit." GLASS. Onomatolog. Meffiæ Prophet. apud nomen ANGELUS.

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fides this, the Pfalmift obferves, that the covenant was confirmed to Ifaac by AN OATH *: Now, this is the only inftance in which God interpofed with an oath to him, so far as we know. Ifaac had been folemnly declared a covenanter when he was but eight days old; and now, when he had arrived at the age of twenty-five years, it was proper to renew his covenant-engagements in his own perfon. And, in this refpect, he became an example unto every perfon, early dedicated unto God, in every fucceeding period; teaching them to make a grateful return for their privileges, by by a folemn renovation of their engagements unto the Lord.

SECONDLY, The next branch of the fubject is the PARTS of this Covenant. They confift in a cluster of promifes, on the part of God, which are expreffed; and correfpondent duties, on the part of Abraham and Ifaac, which are implied.

As to the divine promifes contained in this covenant, they were either,

1. SUCH as had been made in former tranf actions, and renewed in this one: For example, The promise of BLESSING the patriarch †; as alfo the promife of MULTIPLYING him, which

*Pfal.cv. 9. Gen. xii. 2. comp. with Gen. xxii. 17.

had

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