general on the other side of the flood, and being added that God took Abraham from the other side of the flood, he seems to have been involved in the guilt of the same sin, whilst he was in his father's house and before his call. Nor is there any account given of the least preparation or disposition in him, to the state and duties which he was afterwards brought into. In this condition, God, of his sovereign grace, first calls him to the saving knowledge of himself, and by degrees accumulates upon him all the favours and privileges before mentioned. Hence, in the close of his whole course, he had no cause to glory in himself, neither before God nor men, Rom. iv. 2. for he had nothing but what he gratuitously received. Indeed there were distances of time in the collation of several distinct mercies and blessings on him. And he still, through the supplies of grace which he received under every mercy, so deported himself, as that he might not be unmeet to receive the succeeding mercies whereof he was to be made partaker. And this is the method of God's communicating his grace unto sinners. His first call and conversion of them, is absolutely gratuitous. He hath no consideration of any thing in them that should induce him thereunto. Neither is there any thing required unto a condecency herein. God takes men as he pleaseth, some in one condition and posture of mind, some in another; some in an open course of sin, and some in the execution of a particular sin, as Paul. And he indeed, at the instant of his call, was under the active power of two of the greatest hinderances unto conversion, that the heart of man is obnoxious to. For first, he was zealous above measure of the righteousness of the law, seeking earnestly for life and salvation by it; and then he was actually engaged in the persecution of the saints of God. These two qualifications, constant resting in legal righteousness, with rage and madness in persecution, than which there are not out of hell principles more adverse to it, were all the preparations of that apostle unto converting grace. But after that this grace, which is absolutely free and sovereign, is received, there is an order in God's covenant which for the most part he observeth in the communication of ensuing graces and privileges; namely, that faith and obedience shall precede the increase and enlargement of them. Thus was it with Abraham who received his last great signal promise and privilege, Gen. xxii. on that signal act of his faith and obedience in offering up his son upon God's command. As it was with Abraham, so is it with all those who in any age are made partakers of grace or spiritual privileges.

Secondly, The promise here intended, as to the spiritual part of it, may be considered with respect to all believers, of whom

Abraham was the representative. And two things are contained therein.

1. The giving and sending of the Son of God to take on him the seed of Abraham. This was the life and soul of the promise; the ancient and first expressed regard of divine grace unto sinners. "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;" that is, the seed of the woman shall break the serpent's head. The incarnation of the Son of God, promised from the foundation of the world, shall be fulfilled in thy seed, he shall take on him the seed of Abraham. So our apostle argues, Gal. iii. 16. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made: he saith not unto seeds, as of many, but as of one, and thy Seed which is Christ." For the promise which is made concerning Christ in one sense, is made to him in another. As to the benefit and effects of the coming of Christ, it was made concerning him unto Abraham and all his seed, but as unto the first grant, intention and stability of the promise, it is made unto Christ himself, with respect unto that everlasting covenant which was between the Father and him, in his undertaking the work of mediation. Or the Lord Christ may be' considered either as the undertaker of the covenant with God, and so the promise was made unto him; or as the accomplishment of the terms of it for us, so the promise was concerning him.

2. The nature of the benefit which is to be received by Christ thus promised; and that in general is a blessing: in thy seed shall they be blessed. And two things are comprised in this blessing, as the springs of other mercies innumerable. The promise of Christ himself was the fountain, and all other promises were particular streams from it, especial explications and applications of that promise. 1. The removal of the curse of the law which was come on all men by reason of sin. The curse could not be removed but by a blessing; and that which doth it is the greatest of blessings, as that was the greatest of curses and miseries. 2. The bringing in of a blessed righteousness, on the account whereof we might be accepted with God; see Gal. iii. 13—15.

Before we proceed, we may observe two things in general concerning this promise. 1. That this was the life of the church of the Old Testament, the spring of its continuance unto its appointed season, which could never be dried up. How many times were that whole people, the posterity of Abraham, at the very brink of destruction? For sometimes they fell generally into such terrible provoking sins, as that their utter casting off might have been justly expected by angels and men; sometimes they were, in the just judgment of God, given up unto such wasting desolations in their captivities, as that they were

wholly like dry bones on the face of the earth, without hopes of a resurrection. Yet mercy, patience and power, wrought through all, and preserved them in a church state, until this promise was accomplished. This it was alone, or the faithfulness of God therein, whence all their healing and recoveries did proceed. And when this promise was once fulfilled, it was beyond the power of all the world to keep them unto their former condition. All depended on the issue of this promise, in whose fulfilling all things were to be cast into a new mould and order. 2. This was that which preserved the spirits of true believers among them, from ruining despondencies in the times of the greatest apostasies, calamities, and desolations of the people. They had this promise still to plead, and rested therein, notwithstanding all the interveniencies which oft-times seemed to render the case of that people very desperate. See their faith expressed, Micah vii. 18, 19, 20. Isa. vii. 13-15. ch. li. 3. Luke i. 70—73. And I would hope that mercy lies treasured in the bowels of this promise, not yet brought forth, toward the remainders of the posterity of Abraham according to the flesh. Who knows but that by virtue of the engaged love and faithfulness of God, declared in this promise, these withered branches may revive, and these dead bones rise again? Our apostle placeth the hopes of it on this ground alone, that as touching the election they were beloved for the fathers' sake, Rom. xi. 28. As to profession, they were then visibly falling off; but as to election, as to God's purpose concerning them, the love which he bare to their fathers, engaged unto Abraham in this promise, will one day find them out, and bring them in unto a plentiful share in this blessing.

Wherefore, on all accounts, the instance chosen by the apostle was of singular use unto the Hebrews, and singularly suited unto their present condition. For as they received many advantages, from the personal privileges of him who was their father accord ing to the flesh, so they succeeded unto him in the spiritual part of the promise; and therefore, as the like duties of faith, and obedience, and perseverance, were required of them as of him, so they, in the performance of them, had assurance given them in his success, that they also should inherit the promise. So the apostle applies his discourse, ver. 17, 18.

Obs. III. Where the promise of God is absolutely engaged, it will break through all difficulties and oppositions, to a perfect accomplishment.-No promise of God shall ever fail, or be of none effect. We may fail, or come short of the promise by our unbelief; but the promises themselves shall never fail. There have, in many ages, been great seasons of trial, wherein the faith of believers hath been exercised to the utmost about the accomplishment of the promises; but the faithfulness of God in them

all hath hitherto been ever victorious, and it will be so for ever. And this trial hath arisen partly from difficulties and oppositions, with all improbabilities of their accomplishment on rational accounts, or with respect unto visible means; partly from a misunderstanding of the nature of the promises, or of the season of their accomplishment. Thus, in the first great promise given to our parents after the fall, how soon was their faith exercised about it. When they had but two sons, the one of them slew the other, and the survivor was rejected and cursed of God. From whom should now the promised Seed be expected to proceed and spring? Is it not probable that they were oft-times ready to say, Where is the promise of his coming? And yet indeed this, which seemed to overthrow and disannul the promise, was only a means of its farther confirmation. For the death of Abel on his offering his acceptable sacrifice, was a type of Christ and his suffering in his mystical body, 1 John iii. 12. When the wickedness of the world was come unto that height and fulness that God would not spare, but destroyed all the inhabitants of it excepting eight persons, the very destruction of the whole race of mankind seemed to threaten an annihilation of the promise. But this also proved unto its confirmation. For after the flood, God established it unto Noah, accompanied it with a covenant, and gave a visible pledge of his faithfulness therein to abide for ever, Gen. ix. 11, 12. For although that covenant in the first place respected temporal things, yet as it was annexed unto the first promise, it represented and assured the spiritual things thereof, Isa. liv. 8-10. This great promise was after limited unto the person of Abraham, namely, that from him should spring the blessed Seed. Yet after it was given unto him, many and many a year passed over him, before he saw the least hope of its accom plishment. Yea, he lived to see all natural ways and means of fulfilling it utterly to fail, Sarah's womb being dead, and his body also; so that he was past and beyond all hope of having it fulfilled in the ordinary course of nature. And the faith which he had in hope was against hope, Rom. iv. 18, 19. Hence he complained, that after all his long and wearisome pilgrimage, he went childless, Gen. xv. 2. and fell into no small mistakes in the matter of Hagar and Ishmael. Yet, after all, the promise made its way unto its own accomplishment. And by the signal victory it had herein against all oppositions, assured itself unto the faith of all succeeding generations, as is here expressed by the apostle. Afterwards, when the promise was confined unto Isaac by that word, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called," and Abraham now drawing apace towards the grave, he is commanded to slay this Isaac, and offer him in sacrifice unto God. indeed was the greatest appearance under the Old Testament of VOL. V.

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the absolute disannulling and frustration of the promise. And Abraham had no relief for his faith under this trial, but only the omnipotency of God, which could produce effects that he could no way apprehend, as raising of him up again from the dead, or the like. But this also proved in the issue so great a confirmation of the promise, as that it never received any thing of the like nature, before nor after, until its actual accomplishment. For hereon was it confirmed by the oath of God, whereof we shall treat immediately; the sacrifice of Christ was illustriously represented, and an instance given of the infallible victorious success of faith, whilst against all difficulties it adheres to the truth of the promise. What was the condition with the faith of the best of men, when the Lord Christ was in the grave? At how great a loss they were, and how their faith was shaken to the utmost, the two disciples expressed to the Lord Christ himself as they went to Emmaus, Luke xxiv. 21. “ We trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel ;" and for what they had heard then reported of his resurrection, they said they were astonished at it, but could not arrive at any positive actings of faith about it. And this befel them when they were speaking to Christ himself, in whom the promise had received its full accomplishment. After this also, when the gospel began to be preached in the world, it appeared that it was rejected by the generality of the Jews, and that they also thereon were rejected from being the people of God. This made a great hesitation in many, about the promise made unto Abraham concerning his seed and posterity, as though it were of none effect. For now, when the full accomplishment was declared, and innumerable persons came in to a participation of it, those unto whom it was peculiarly made, neither would be, nor were sharers of it. This great objection against the truth of the promise, our apostle lays down, Rom. ix. 6. "Not as though the word of God had taken none effect,” in answer whereunto he spends the three ensuing chapters And he doth it by letting us know, that the objection was grounded on a mistake of the persons to whom the promise did belong; who were not the whole carnal seed of Abraham, but only the elect of them, and all nations whatever. And there are promises of God on record in the Scripture not yet fulfilled, that will and do exercise the faith of the strongest and most experienced believers, concerning whose accomplishment our Lord Jesus Christ says, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith in the earth ?" The faith, hope, and expectation of most, will be at an end, before they are fulfilled; and that because of the insuperable difficulties that seem to lie in the way of their accomplishment. Such are those which concern the destruction of antichrist, the calling of the Jews, the spread