VIII.

ceived." And the angel of the Lord said of him that CHAP. was thus conceived, "He will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him." Thus was Abraham deceived through Sarai, as Adam was deceived through Eve.

15. For although God had expressly said to Abraham, that," He that shall come forth out of thine own Gen. xv. bowels shall be thine heir;" yet no fleshly or carnal 4 gratification could fulfil the promise, (not even in an allegory,) concerning a spiritual seed, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed.

13.

16. And truly, this first born was his heir, and Gen. xxi. properly, his seed, after the covenant of the flesh, as all the rest of his natural posterity were, of whom Christ said, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed.”

17. This shows that, in reality, the first-born of Abraham as well as the second, were both one seed, and that in a natural sense, there was no difference between the posterity of Ishmael and Isaac, both were, strictly speaking, the seed of Abraham.

18. But as it respected the promise which God made to Abraham, the order and manner of their birth, and other concomitant circumstances, it served as an allegory or figure, to sigaify the difference between the old and new creation.

John viii.

37.

19. In the order of God's work, in the creation and redemption of man," that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterwards that 1 Cor. xv. which is spiritual." So in regard to the allegory which represents both the natural and spiritual seed.

20. The first covenant that God made with man, was a natural covenant. This was broken at the fountain head, which was man's fall from his first rectitude.

40.

Gen. iü

21. But a promise followed: The seed of the womun shall bruise the serpent's head; which intimated is. a recovery. Yet, this promise was not to be fulfilled according to the order of the first, or old covenant, but according to a new covenant. But to signify the state of the old creation under the first covenant, Abraham, through the influence of Sarai, begat a son by a bond woman: which is counted his seed after the flesh.

CHAP.

VIII.

5, 6.

22. Then after this, concerning another seed, God said unto Abram, "Thy name shall be called Abraham : Gen.xvii. (i. e. the father of a multitude :) for a father of many nations have I made thee-and kings shall come out of thee." And of Sarai he said, Sarah (i. e. the princess of a multitude) shall her name be and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 23. The first promise was made to Abraham many years before the true heir could be born in whom his seed should be called; and it had been expressly chap. said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.

xvid. 10.

Gen.xviii

24. Yet, to show plainly that the true seed could not be begotten after the will of the flesh, Abraham 11,& and Sarah were old, when the time for the fulfilling of the promise came, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.And the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

Web. xi. 11.

Gal. iv.

25. When nature had finished its course, and the mere desire of carnal gratification could claim no share in the promise; then it was "through fuith, that Sarah received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age."

26. "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons; 2,23,24 the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bond woman, was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants." The first answering to the old covenant of the flesh, or old creation, which gendereth to bondage; the second to the new covenant or new creation, which is free.

Con. xxi.

27. All the natural posterity of fallen Adam are, by nature and birth, strangers and aliens to God, and are the children of the bond woman, being servants to sin.

28. The seed of Hagar (i. e. a stranger) was cast 10-14,& out of the inheritance; also all the rest of the seed of Abraham, who were begotten after Isaac was born, were sent away with small gifts, that might serve for the present: for the fashion of this world passeth away!

29. In this was prefigured the state, and portion

VIII.

of all the natural seed or posterity of man born after CHAP. the flesh, both before and after the true seed appeared. Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But the bond woman, who was given to be his wife, and her son, were sent away with bread and water; which was a figure of the best portion of the children of this world.

30. There was another heir, born of a free woman, who claimed the inheritance by promise-another birthright. That which is born of the flesh is flesh.-- John ü Marvel not that I say unto you, ye must be born again.

31. But after Abraham had been in unto the bond woman, and she had conceived after the flesh; the Lord again renewed his covenant with Abraham, to show, that the promise of the true inheritance of the new creation, could not be supplanted or rendered void by the deceitfulness of sin.

6. 7.

Gen.xvii

32. And to show wherein the new creation of God should take place, Abraham received the seal of cir- 7, 11, 23, cumcision, as a token of that new covenant; which 24. was an outward cutting round about the flesh of the foreskin.

33. But why was he commanded to receive a token of the covenant particularly there? Why did he not receive it elsewhere? The truth is, that token was of special signification, and pointed directly to the very seat of sin; there lay concealed the hidden mystery of human depravity-the secret pleasure of that which is most highly esteemed of all men in their natural and fallen state.

34. And this outward token of circumcision, signified the cutting off that fleshly and carnal pleasure, taken through that part, by the circumcision of Christ col.11. in the heart, made without hands, in all the true heirs of that new covenant.

35. The real substance of the covenant which God made with Abraham, was neither to him, nor to natural Isaac, nor Isaac's natural posterity: this is plain from the tenor of it.

" Gen.xvii. 19, 21.

36. My covenant will I establish with Isaac-for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him." Again: "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." And xxi. 12. again: "Neither because they are the seed of Abra- 7, 8.

Rom. i

CHAP ham, are they all children: but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed."

Gal.iii. 16.

37. "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is CHRIST." And alluding to that seed, he said, I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. The covenant is therefore with Christ for an everlasting covenant, and with his spirJohn xiv. itual seed who are in him. As Christ said, "Ye shall know that I ani in my father, and you in me, and I in you."

20.

38. Then consider what was further signified by the token of the everlasting covenant made with Abraham. He whose flesh of his foreskin was not cirGen.xvii. cumcised, "that soul (saith God) shall be cut off from 13. 14. his people; he hath broken my covenant." Which

Rom. ü. 23. 29.

Gal.vi.15

signified, that he who is not circumcised in heart, with the circumcision made without hands, the same hath broken God's everlasting covenant, and while remaining uncircumcised, is cut off from Christ, and from the inheritance of everlasting life.

39. Then, from what hath been said, it may appear evident that the covenant which God made with Abraham, was only temporary, and pointed to an everlasting covenant, or spiritual seed yet future. Therefore this temporary covenant did not save those who kept it from the indwelling root and nature of sin, received by the fall; but pointedly prefigured what would save them when the true seed should appear who was called in Isaac.

40. Nevertheless, as many as were obedient to the outward signs of that covenant, and to whatever else pertained thereunto, obtained temporal blessingspossessed the gates of their enemies--multiplied exceedingly and in all outward things were blessed, while their obedience continued.

41. But when the true first-born of the promise appeared; neither outward circumcision availed any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

42. The land of Canaan was only a temporal blessing to Abraham's seed: it was not heaven itself;

and therefore the highest place it could have in the covenant of promise, was a shadow of better and more durable things to come.

43. Abraham's natural posterity were no better than the rest of mankind; only as they were obedient to the revelation of God, made known from time to time, they maintained and preserved the faith of one true God, and served as a figure of that seed who should possess a spiritual and everlasting kingdom.

CHAP.

VIL

44. And although they were comparatively, according to the literal sense of the promise, as the stars of the sky for multitude, and as the sand by the sea shore innumerable; yet it is expressly said, These all died Heb. xi. 12, 13, 39. in faith, not having received the promises; but having seen them ajur off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

45. They honestly confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims, as much in the land of promise as elsewhere, and thereby declared plainly that they sought another country, and had not received the substance of the thing promised.

46. Therefore it was not the country of Judea, nor the city or temple, whose builder and maker was David or Solomon, which they looked for; but that city Rev. xxi. and temple, made without hands, which God promi- 2. sed to build in the latter days, of which Christ Jesus was the chief corner stone.

13-16.

47. But to signify the oppression and bondage, under which the true seed of God should be held, before the time of real deliverance should come, the Gen. xv. seed of Abraham were led into Egypt, and kept under tyranny and oppression, for a certain limited time, before their temporal and outward deliverance could be accomplished.

22.

48. And as they were to increase, and did increase, according to the purpose of God, it could not escape the notice of an oppressive government; whose poli- Ex. 2. 10. cy it was to destroy all the males, who, according to the command of God, were to receive the tokens of that covenant, which promised a seed, as the stars for multitude. No matter about the females.