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IV. That he would be a God to Abraham, and to his feed after him in their generation.

V. That in Abraham himself, all the families of the earth fhould be bleffed.

VI. That in Abraham's feed alfo, all the nations of the earth fhould be bleffed.

These ftipulations, the apoftle Paul, in different places of his epiftles, hath styled the promises; and hath entered deeply into their meaning.

To understand thefe promifes, in the whole extent of their meaning, the reader should recollect, that in the early ages, before the art of writing was invented, the most approved method of communicating and preserving knowledge, was by allegory: that is, by making fenfible objects which were prefent, or not very diftant in point of time, representations of things which are not the objects of sense, or which are future, but which have fome affinity to the things made use of to represent them. In this method of inftruction, the characters and actions of remarkable perfons, and the ordinary events of their life, were on fome occafions confidered as prefigurations of more diftant persons, and events to which they had a resemblance. Of this kind, which may be called the natural allegory, we have the following examples in fcripture.-Abraham, in refpect of the faith and obedience which he exercifed in uncircumcifion, was a type of believers of all nations; and to fhew this, he was made their father.-Melchizedeck, in his character and offices of a king and priest, was made by God himself a type of Chrift, Pf. cx. 4, -David also, in his office and kingdom, prefigured Chrift; on which account, Chrift is called David by the later prophets.Abraham's wives and fons, according to St. Paul, Gal. iv. 24, were allegorical representations of the two covenants, and of the perfons placed under these covenants.-The swallowing of Jonah by the whale, and his continuing in its belly three days and three nights, is declared by our Lord himself to be a prefiguration of his burial, and of his refurrection on the third day, Matt xvi. 4.-The characters, actions, and events which constitute the natural allegory, though exifting apparently in the ordinary courfe of things, were ordered of God, fo as to be fit emblems of those future perfons and events, the knowledge of which God intended to communicate to the world,

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There is in fcripture, likewife, what may be called The inftituted allegory; because it confifted of actions which God appointed to be performed with fuch and fuch circumftances, for the purpose of prefiguring future perfons and events. Of this fort were all the Levitical facrifices, particularly the paschal-lamb, John xix. 36.—and all the rites of worship appointed by Moses, which, as Paul tells us, Heb. x. 1. were shadows of good things to come. Of the fame kind was the lifting up of the brazen ferpent in the wilderness, which our Lord tells us, John iii. 14, 15. was a type of his being himfelf lifted up on the cross.Probably alfo the command to offer up Ifaac as a burnt-offering, was intended as an allegorical reprefentation of the facrifice of Chrift, Heb. xi. 19.-And to name no more inftances, many of the extraordinary things done by the prophets, at the command of God, were types; as is evident from the explications with which they were accompanied.'

The allegorical method of communicating and preferving inftruction, was attended with three advantages. 1. The emblem being an object of sense, made a strong impreffion on the imagination of the perfons for whofe inftruction the allegory was intended, and might eafily be remembered.-2. The verbal explication which often accompanied the inftituted allegory, having for its subject an object of sense, neither required many words, nor were thefe words of uncertain meaning. This kind of allegory, therefore, with its interpretation," could be handed down to pofterity with a good degree of accuracy, without the aid of writing.-3. In fcripture, fome future events are foretold. in fuch a manner as to fhew, that they are themselves prefigurations or predictions of future events more femote. In fuch cafes, when the first events come to pass in the manner foretold, they are both a proof and a pledge that the more remote events, of which they are the figns, will take place in their feason.

This account of the ancient fcripture allegory I have given here, becaufe from what our Lord and his apoftles have faid concerning the promises in the covenant with Abraham, it appears that that tranfaction, befides its first meaning which terminated in the perfons and events literally fpoken of, had an allegorical or fecond and higher meaning, which was to be accomplished in perfons and events more remote. For example,

Abraham's

Abraham's natural defcendants by Ifaac, though he was not yet born, were confidered in the covenant as types of his feed by faith. In like manner, Ifaac's fupernatural birth accomplished by the power of God, typified the regeneration of believers by the fame power. And the land of Canaan, promised to the natural feed as their inheritance, was an emblem of the heavenly country, the inheritance of the feed by faith.-In fhort, the temporal bleffings promifed in the covenant to the natural feed, had all an allegorical or fecond meaning; being images of those better bleffings which God intended to bestow in a more remote period, on Abraham's feed by faith, as fhall be shewn immediately.

The promises in the covenant with Abraham, thus allegorically interpreted according to their true intention, throw great light on the gofpel revelation, in which there are many allufions to that covenant; not to mention that the accomplishments of its promises in their literal meaning to Abraham's natural feed, is a striking proof of the divine original, both of the covenant itself, and of the gofpel which it prefigured.

SECT. I. Of the First Promife in the Covenant with Abraham.

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The first promise in the covenant was, that Abraham should be exceedingly bleffed. Gen. xii. 2. I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a bleffing. Gen. xxii. 16. By myfelf have I fworn, faith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and haft not withheld thine only fon, 17. That in blessing I will bless thee; that is, I will greatly bless thee.

This promife, in its first and literal meaning, implied,

1. That God would beftow on Abraham great temporal profperity, and protect him from evil during his fojournings as a stranger in Canaan, and in the neighbouring countries into which he might have occafion to go. Hence in allusion to the literal meaning of this promife, God called himself Abraham's, fhield, Gen. xv. 1.-In fulfilment of this promife, according to its literal meaning, God bleffed Abraham so exceedingly, that after living in Canaan a few years, the male flaves born in his house who were capable of going to war, were no fewer than 318, with whom he purfued Chedorlaomer and his confederates,

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and defeated them near Damafcus.-Farther, in the account which Mofes hath given of Abraham's fojournings in Canaan, and Egypt, and in the land of the Philiftines, various dangers, from which God fhielded him, are mentioned, which being well known, it is needless to speak of them particularly.

2. The blefling of Abraham, in its literal meaning, compre hended alfo God's counting Abraham's faith, concerning his numerous natural feed, to him for righteoufnefs. Now the meaning of God's counting an action for righteousness, may be understood from the application of the phrafe to Phinehas, after he executed judgment on Zimri and Cozbi. Pfalm cvi. 30. Then Stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment, and fo the plague was flaid, and it was counted to him for righteousness to all generations; that is, his executing judgment on these wicked persons, was rewarded by God as a righteous action, with a temporal reward which defcended to his lateft pofterity. That this is the meaning of the phrafe, appears from Numb. xxv. where speaking of the fame action, God faith to Mofes, ver. 11. Phinehas the fon of Eleazar, the fon of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Ifrael, (while he was zealous for my fake among them) that I consumed not the children of Ifrael in my jealoufy. 12. Wherefore fay, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace. 13. And he shall have it, and his feed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Now, as in the cafe of Phinehas, his flaying Zimri and Cozbi is faid to have been counted to him for righteousness, because God rewarded him and his pofterity with the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; fo in the cafe of Abraham, his believing in the Lord that his feed fhould be numerous as the stars of heaven, is faid to have been counted to him for righteousness, because God rewarded him and his feed with the promise of the inheritance of Canaan, immediately after declaring that his faith was counted to him for righteousness. Gen. xv. 7. And he faid to him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. Then, as in the cafe of Phinehas, God confirmed this grant to Abraham's feed, by a covenant, ver. 18 In that fame day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, faying, Unto thy feed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

Such

Such is the firft or literal meaning of God's bleffing Abraham exceedingly, and of his counting his faith to him for righteousness, But this promife in both its parts, had also a second and higher meaning, of which the literal meaning was itself the fign, and which must now be explained.

The promise to beftow on Abraham great temporal profperity, and to protect him from evil during his fojourning in Canaan, was likewife a promise to beslow on him those spiritual bleffings, and that protection from his fpiritual enemies, which were neceffary to his perfeverance in faith and obedience, during his fojourning on earth. This we learn from the apostle Paul, who calls the affiftances of the Spirit, the bleffing of Abraham, and represents them as promised to him. Gal. iii. 13. Chrift hath bought us off from the curfe of the law, being made a curse for us.-14. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the nations through Jefus Chrift; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Next, the counting of Abraham's faith to him for righteoufnefs, Gen. xv. 6. by beftowing on him the inheritance of Canaan, was in its fecond and highest meaning, a promise to bestow on him the bleffing of juftification by faith. This appears from Gal. iii. 8. The fcripture foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel before to Abraham, faying, Surely in thee all the nations fhall be bleffed. For the blefsing of justification by faith, the apostle hath termed, the blessing of Abraham, and tells us in ver. 13. as quoted above, that Chrift died that the bleffing of Abraham might come on the nations, Wherefore, if the counting of Abraham's faith to him for righteousness, was nothing but God's rewarding him with the promise of bestowing on him and on his feed the inheritance of the earthly country, which indeed was its firft meaning, the bleffing of Abraham neither hath come on the nations, nor can come on them, notwithstanding the apoftle hath affured us, that Christ died to procure that bleffing for them.

It is evident, therefore, that when God promised to bless Abraham by counting his faith to him for righteousness, he in effect promised to justify him by faith. Now this implied, 1. That he would pardon Abraham's fins. 2. That he would reward him as a righteous perfon.

1. That

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