bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man-child, whose flesh of his fore-skin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant." Ver. 1-14. The narrative thus given by Moses of this solemn transaction, suggests to us the following important facts; which, as first principles, will be found of great use in all our subsequent remarks on the saerament of baptism. 1. The covenant, which God made with Abraham, was a particular exhibition of the covenant of grace. Much has been written, and more has been said, to obscure and destroy the gracious character of the Abrahamic covenant; and to degrade it into a national covenant, designed only to secure temporal benefits to the descendants of Abraham. Frequently the attempt has been made to identify this covenant, in its nature and design, with the covenant made with the nation at Mount Sinai; and then to infer its abolition as a necessary consequence of the abrogation of the ceremonial worship. But the Apostle Paul has plainly drawn the line of distinction between these covenants; and as plainly denied that the abrogation of the ceremonial law has terminated the existence, or in the least degree interfered with the operation, of the Abrahamic covenant. "And this I say, That the covenant that 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 nome effect."* Here observe, that the Apostle does not only distinguish between the Abrahamic covenant, and the covenant at Sinai, expressly declaring that the abolition of the latter does not effect the existence of the former; but he positively asserts, that the covemant made with Abraham was confirmed in Christ, the Mediator of the covenant of grace, and, of course, that the Abrahamic covenant is substantially the same with the covenant of grace. For this same truth the Apostle contends in his Epistle to the Romans: "For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace." If this be not a recognition of the covenant of grace, and of the benefits it confers, we shall be at a loss to find a trace of the covenant of grace in any part of the inspired volume. But let us turn to the covenant itself, as described by Moses, and see whether, in the very terms of the covenant, there is not the most satisfactory evidence of its gracious character. Its grand promise is, "I will be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee."‡ Here God, unconditionally, makes himself over to Abraham, and his spiritual seed, in all the plenitude of his perfections and grace, so far as is necessary to the happiness of an intelligent creature.—I will be thy God, and I will be the God of thy seed. But Rom. iv. 13, 16. * Gal. iii. 17. + Verse 7 can God, the holy God, against whom we all have sinned-Can God, I ask, make such engagements to any member of the human family, irrespective of the covenant of grace, and the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ? If so; then away with the covenant of grace, and the mediation of Christ: they are both unnecessary.-While I reverence the superior piety of Abraham, I am not disposed to yield the point, that he could be saved independently of the covenant of grace, and the mediation of Christ, any more than I can! If he could get to heaven without Christ, and the well-ordered covenant, so can I; and so can you. But depend upon it, reader, Abraham does not thank the man, who would represent God as becoming his God in any other than a way of grace. Every such attempt he views as an injury done to the God of his salvation, and as an unholy interference with the song of praise which he unceasingly raises before the throne of God and the Lamb-" Grace, grace unto it!" The reformer Luther frequently observed, "I will have nothing to do with an absolute God." And the uniform representations, made by scripture, of God's holiness and justice, teach us to believe, that all negotiations and intercourse between the righteous God and fallen man must be conducted on principles of grace and mercy. The covenant with Abraham must therefore have been a dispensation of the covenant of grace. But some may urge, as an objection to this view of the Abrahamic covenant, that it evidently in cluded temporal benefits. The promise of a numerous posterity; the land of Canaan for a possession, &c. were a part of this covenant. We readily admit the fact without, however, consenting to the use designed to be made of it. Does the promise of temporal blessings destroy, or in the least interfere with, the gracious character of the Abrahamic covenant? Admit this, and away goes the covenant of grace, root and branch! We have been taught to view the covenant of grace as a merciful arrangement, for the glory of God, in the happiness of man, and adapted in all its parts to the condition and circumstances of man; making provision for the present life, as a state of preparation; as well as for the life to come, as the state of perfect enjoyment. If we have correctly understood our bible, the promise "Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure,' ,"* is an important part of the covenant of grace. And full confident am I that the Apostle did not consider himself as tarnishing the glory of the covenant of grace, when he made this assertion, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."† But if this inspired Apostle happened to be mistaken-surely the Great Teacher, come from God, himself the Mediator of the covenant of grace, could not have been mistaken as to the provisions of that covenant, when he said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things (food, raiment, &c.) shall be added unte † 1 Tim. iv. 8 * isa. xxxiii. 16. you."* Temporal blessings are, then, a part of the covenant of grace; and the circumstance that the Abrahamic covenant included temporal benefits, so far from militating against its gracious character, furnishes new evidence of the correctness of our assertion, that it was a particular exhibition of the covenant of grace: 2. The covenant, made with Abraham, requires holiness of heart and practice. This remark, indeed, is no more than a fair and legitimate inference from the fact we have just established. The great design of the covenant of grace is to glorify the perfections of Jehovah, in the salvation of man. But the perfections of Jehovah cannot be honoured, if man be saved in any other than a way of holiness. "Without holiness no one can see the Lord."+ The subjects of electing love were "from the beginning chosen to salvation, through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth." The subjects of effectual calling have been "called not unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."|| And one of the leading directions of the gospel is, "As he which hath called you is holy; so be ye also holy in all manner of conversation: Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.") Sanctification or holiness is, then, one of the leading benefits of the covenant of grace; for this it makes provision, and this it always confers on the *Mat. vi. 33. + Heb. xii. 14. 2 Thess. ii. 18. 1 Pet. i. 15, 16. |