A Discourse of the Covenants, Chapter 8
Of the mutual Reſpect of the Promiſes made to Abraham. CHAP. VIII.
An Introduction to the general Deſign of this Chapter. §. 1. The preſent Intermixture of the Promiſes of ſpiritual, with thoſe of temporal Bleſſings, ſuitable to the Darkneſs of the Old-Teſtament-diſpenſation: The like obſerved in the Writings of the Prophets: The miſtake of the Jews hereupon. §. 2. The mutual Reſpect, and Dependence, of theſe Promiſes: The Concern of Abraham's Faith in the Promiſe of Iſaac's Birth. §. 3. Wherein the Greatneſs of Abraham's Tryal in offering up Iſaac did conſiſt: All the Promiſes made to Abraham meet in one general Iſſue. §. 4. The typical Reſpect and Analogy of the Covenant of Peculiarity to the Covenant of Grace: Iſrael, in one reſpect, a Type of Chriſt myſtical: This explained: The typical Reſpect of Circumciſion to his perfect Righteouſneſs. §. 5. Coloſ. 2. II. propoſed, and explained. §. 6. A typical Repreſentation of the future State of the Church in Abraham's Family: Gal. 4. 21. &c. propoſed; and the Sum of that Context collected. §. 7. Some farther Obſervations, and Inferences from thence. §. 8. Several things recollected, and Direction given for their Ʋſe as a Key to many Prophecies and Promiſes in the Old Teſtament. §. 9. Rom. 4. 11. propoſed, and the Terms explained. §. 10. How Circumciſion became unto Abraham a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which he had while uncircumciſed. §. 11. The Account given of it confirmed, by the Words of the Text, Scope of the Context, and its Harmony with other Scriptures that ſpeak of Circumciſion, and its Ʋſe: The Concluſion of the Treatiſe. §. 12.
§. 1. IN the Chapters foregoing, I have endeavoured to treat diſtinctly of the Promiſes given to Abraham; firſt of thoſe that belong to his ſpiritual, and then of ſuch as appertain to his carnal Seed; which Promiſes (notwithſtanding their different Nature, and Importance) we have found frequently intermixed in the ſame Tranſaction of God with Abraham, they being in the ſacred Hiſtory preſented to us interwoven the one with the other; And now the order of our Diſcourſe leads us to make a more particular Enquiry into that mutual Reſpect of the Promiſes, which might give Occaſion for, and render neceſſary, ſuch an Intermixture of them.
§. 2. And the firſt thing which I ſhall offer to be conſidered upon this Head, is;
That this Order and Diſpoſition of the Promiſes is excellently ſuited to the Diſpenſation of thoſe Times wherein they were given forth, and to that State of the Iſraelitiſh Church which was, not long after, to be built upon them: For theſe things were tranſacted long before the time appointed for the clear breaking up of Goſpel-light to the World, which was not to be expected till Chriſt came in the Fleſh, before whoſe coming the Law was to take place, and the Oeconomy of the Old Covenant to remain for many Generations: And therefore, altho' the Goſpel was preached unto Abraham; yet was it not delivered unto him with that Plainneſs and Perſpiouity as it is in the New-Teſtament, but for the moſt part as ſhadowed and figured by outward things: And hence, That which concerns the State of Iſrael under the Moſaical Oeconomy is more expreſly and fully declared unto Abraham, than what concerns his ſpiritual Seed under the Goſpel; And therefore tho' this latter be the chief thing intended and aimed at (becauſe the perfection of all the reſt) in all divine Tranſactions with Abraham▪ yet is it, for the moſt part, myſtically infolded in, and to be inferred from, the typical Reſpect of the other thereunto; which leaves the Glory of Goſpel-grace ſtill under that Vail, which accompanied the Old Teſtament-ſtate of the Church; the full opening of thoſe Promiſes that did immediately belong to the Covenant of Grace, being reſerved for another State of things in the Church; God having provided ſome better thing for us, that they without us ſhould not be made perfect: Heb. 11. 40. A dim Light was ſuited to thoſe Times; and it could be but dim, ſo long as the Promiſes lay ſo much intangled one within another. The like is to be obſerved in After-times, in the Revelation of the Mind of God to Iſrael by the Prophets; For in the prophetick Writings (as it appears that the temporal Deliverances of Iſrael, are conſidered as typical of the ſpiritual Redemption of the Church; ſo) we often meet with ſudden, and (ſeemingly) abrupt Tranſitions from the Promiſes of things relating to the preſent State of Iſrael after the Fleſh, unto Promiſes and Prophecies of thoſe things which are accompliſhed in the New-Teſtament by the Miniſtration of the Spirit, which being generally delivered in Terms ſuitable to the preſent Diſpenſation of things, and their typical Reſpect, are by the Jews wofully perverted unto this day, while they contend that themſelves are the only People concerned in them, to whom the Bleſſings, promiſed and propheſied of, do belong; and that they are to be fulfilled unto them in a way agrecable to their former State, and ſuited to their own carnal Luſts and Imaginations; whereby they harden themſelves in their Contempt of the Grace of God in Chriſt, and the ſpiritual Bleſſings of the Goſpel, wherein the Accompliſhment of thoſe Prophecies, according to the true Sence of them, is only to be ſought. And thus Jeſus Chriſt himſelf became a Stone of ſtumbling, and Rock of Offence to them; becauſe the State of his Kingdom ſuited not their carnal Minds, nor anſwered their groundleſs Expectation.
§. 3. It is alſo to be obſerved; That there is not only a ſingular Congruity, and Fitneſs in this Method of giving forth the Promiſes, in regard of the Time wherein they were made to Abraham, and that State of the Church which was next to follow upon theſe Tranſactions; but there is alſo in ſome reſpect a Neceſſity of it ariſing from the Nature of the things promiſed, and their mutual Dependence one upon the other. For,
All the Promiſes of a ſpiritual Seed, and ſpiritual Bleſſings to be beſtowed on that Seed, (which belong to the Covenant of Grace as revealed to Abraham) are Yea and Amen in Chriſt Jeſus: And this Meſſiah, in whom the Covenant was confirmed, was to be made of the Seed of Abraham according to the Fleſh; and for the bringing of him forth, according to the Promiſe, was the Seed of Abraham by Iſaac and Jacob, ſeparated unto God for a peculiar People, and kept diſtinct from all other Families in the World; and in this reſpect, the Bleſſing of Grace and eternal Life given unto Abraham, and his believing Seed, was ſuſpended upon the Effect and Accompliſhment of the Promiſes concerning his natural Offspring; and particularly upon the Promiſe of Iſaac's Birth; who was to be begotten by Abraham, and brought forth by Sarah, at ſuch a time, when Nature in them both was ſo weakned by Age, that they were as unapt, he to beget, and ſhe to conceive a Son, as if they had been already dead, Rom. 4. 19. And hence it is, that the Apoſtle doth lay ſo great Weight upon Abraham's Faith in this Particular, even in the Buſineſs of his Juſtification before God; The Object of juſtifying Faith, the Meſſiah to come, being thus included in the Promiſe of Iſaac's Birth: On this account his Parents had the greateſt Cauſe of rejoycing at the Birth of this Son, who hath his Name from Laughter, and Rejoycing: Gen. 17. 17. and Chap. 21. And to this (in part) may be referred the ſaying of our Saviour, Abraham rejoyced to ſee my Day, and he ſaw it, and was glad: Joh. 8. 56. He ſaw it in the Birth of Iſaac (and afterwards in the offering of him up) who was a Type of Chriſt, and from whom he was to come; whoſe miraculous Birth, in the virtue of a Promiſe, when Nature could not have effected it, afforded alſo ſome Adumbration of, and was a Praeludium to, the more miraculous Birth of Chriſt, who was conceived and brought forth by a pure Virgin (the Power of the moſt High overſhadowing her) for the fufilling of that Promiſe, The Seed of the Woman ſhall break the Head of the Serpent. As Iſaac in the Type, ſo Chriſt more eminently, ſprang up as a Root out of a dry Ground; Iſa! 53.
§. 4. Now from theſe things we may collect with Eaſe, and great Clearneſs, wherein the Greatneſs of Abraham's Tryal, and the Eminency of his Faith in offering up Iſaac, did ſpecially conſiſt: To part with a Son, an obedient Son; a Son grown up (as Iſaac now was) yea an only Son, was indeed a great Tryal; howbeit Abraham was not only required to part with him, but to ſacrifice him; and for a Father to become the Executioner of his Son, the Son of his old Age, and the Object of his moſt endeared Affections; for him (I ſay) to be appointed the Prieſt that muſt ſlay this Victime, adds yet much more to the Tryal; And in Abraham's addreſſing himſelf to ſuch a Service (had there been no more in it) without Debate, murmuring, or delay, we have an unparallell'd Inſtance, and Example of Piety, and Obedience: But alas! There is a Concern infinitely greater, in this Caſe, than all that hath been yet mentioned; Iſaac was the Son of the Promiſe, (And upon this account the Holy Ghoſt places it—he that had received the Promiſes offered up his only begotten Son: Of whom it was ſaid, in Iſaac ſhall thy Seed be called; Heb. 11. 17, 18.) Abraham had no other Son in whom he might expect the fulfilling of the Promiſe when Iſaac was loſt; and yet upon the Accompliſhment of this Promiſe, in the bringing forth of the Meſſiah in Iſaac's Line, the eternal Salvation of Abraham, and of the whole Church depended; and therefore he is called his only begotten, not becauſe Abraham had no other Son, but becauſe he was the only H…ir of the Promiſe. This might have cauſed the greateſt Anxiety of Mind imaginable, in Abraham, had he at all conſulted with Fleſh and Blood in the caſe; but his Faith overcame this Difficulty, and ſilenced all carnal Reaſonings about the Impoſſibility of the Accompliſhment of the Promiſe, if this Command were obeyed; Accounting that God was able to raiſe him up, even from the Dead, from whence alſo he received him in a Figure: Heb. 11. 19. And the Iſſue made it abundantly manifeſt, that the readineſs of Abraham to obey in this Caſe, did put the Promiſe to no real Hazard; for it brought forth means of farther Confirmation of his Faith, by the Exhibition of an eminent Type of the Redemption of the Church by the Death and Reſurrection of Chriſt; unto which was added the renewing of God's Promiſes to him, both for his ſpiritual and carnal Seed and that with their Confirmation by the Oath of the great God: Gen. 22. 17, 18. But to return to that which concerns our preſent Purpoſe.
From theſe things we may certainly collect, that all the Promiſes made to Abraham, were ordered of God to meet in one general Iſſue; For as the Promiſes concerning the carnal Seed, and their State, were ſubſervient unto the Ends of of God's Covenant with the ſpiritual Seed: ſo alſo the the Promiſes peculiarly belonging to the ſpiritual Seed, were to have their Effect and Accompliſhment in a Seed that muſt deſcend from Abraham according to the Fleſh: And therefore that Interchange of the Promiſes which hath been obſerved to you, ought not in any wiſe to ſeem ſtrange.
§. 5. Again, The typical Reſpect and Analogy of the Covenant of Peculiarity unto the Covenant of Grace, as after to be more fully revealed, and accompliſhed in Chriſt, affords another Occaſion of, and Reaſon for, the interweaving of thoſe Promiſes which require a diſtinct Application: ſome of them belonging immediately to the carnal, and others to the ſpiritual Seed, as ariſing from the ſprings, and ordered towards the Miniſtration of two diſtinct Covenants: That there was a Diſpoſition of things in the Old Teſtament with a typical Reſpect to the things that are of a ſpiritual Nature, and Concern, in the New, is ſo fully, and clearly aſſerted by the Holy Ghoſt in the Scriptures, that it hath obtained a general Acknowledgment from thoſe that own their Authority; as alſo that many things in the Tranſactions of God with Abraham were of this Nature; largely to inſiſt on theſe things is beſides my preſent Deſign; only for the better clearing of the Point under Conſideration, I ſhall briefly touch upon ſomething of this kind: And firſt, let it be obſerved;
That the Body of the Iſraelitiſh Nation, conſidered as an holy People, and the Lord's firſt-born, Exod. 4. 22, 23. Jer. 2. 3. bearing in their Fleſh the Character of Circumciſion (which laid them under an Obligation to perform the Righteouſneſs of the Law) was not only a Seed ſeparated unto God for the bringing forth of the Meſſiah, but alſo, was a Type of Chriſt myſtical, viz. of that Seed, and Body, whereof Chriſt is the Head, and true Believers are the Members (who in this Relation are conſidered as compleat in him) and ſo did eminently point at his being made under the Law, Gal. 4. 4. and (by the perfect fulfilling thereof) becoming the End of the Law for Righteouſneſs to every one that believeth; Rom. 10. 4.
Thus much (I ſuppoſe) may be fairly gathered from that ſaying of the Prophet in Hoſ. 11. 1. *Vid. Junii Annotationes in locum, & ejuſdem Parallela.Out of Egypt have I called my Son; compared with Mat. 2. 15. where the Evangeliſt applies it unto Chriſt. And, probably for this reaſon is Chriſt propheſied of by the Name of Iſrael, Eſa. 49. 3. Chriſt was the Seed in whom the Subſtance of that Righteouſneſs, that was ſhadowed in the Circumciſion of Iſrael, was to be found; and from whom it is derived upon all true Believers for their Juſtification before God, and Introduction into ſuch a State wherein they ſhould acceptably walk before God, and worſhip him in newneſs of Spirit: Thus Circumciſion did not only oblige to the keeping of the Law (in which reſpect, it was an heavy Yoke Act. 15. 10.) but did alſo (as ſubſervient to the Promiſe) point at the Meſſiah who was to come under a legal Bond to fulfil all Righteouſneſs, that thro' Faith in his Name ſuch a Righteouſneſs might be obtained, as is witneſſed to both by the Law and the Prophets: Rom. 3. 21. It is Chriſt alone, in whom the Deſign of Circumciſion is fully anſwered: And as under the Old Teſtament-Miniſtration, no Man could enjoy the Priviledges of the Covenant of Peculiarity without Circumciſion, none being admitted to walk before God in that Covenant, without this Sign of a perfect Righteouſneſs and Purity according to the Law; ſo now, none can have entrance into the Kingdom of Grace, nor obtain a Right in the ſpiritual Bleſſings and Priviledges of the New-Covenant, but by an Intereſt in the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt thro' Faith, and by coming under the Imputation of his Obedience, wherein the Law was fulfilled for us. And ſeeing this was one (and that the moſt comfortable, if not the chief) end of Circumciſion, as it ſerved the Deſign of the Covenant of Grace towards the Elect; the Continuance of it now, with the ſame reſpect which it had in its firſt Inſtitution, would be in effect, to deny that Chriſt is come in the Fleſh.
I intend not by any thing I have ſaid to intimate a Denial of the typical reſpect of Circumciſion to the Sanctification of Believers alſo; neither is that Notion of it in the leaſt weakened, but rather ſtrengthened in its proper Place; For as the real Holineſs of Believers ſprings from their Ʋnion to Chriſt, and Juſtification thro' the Faith of his Name; ſo I take Circumciſion, firſt to look towards that perfect Righteouſneſs which we have in Jeſus Chriſt; and then to that ſincere (tho' imperfect) Holineſs that is wrought in us by the Spirit of Chriſt: For we are the Circumciſion which worſhip God in the Spirit; and rejoyce in Chriſt Jeſus, and have no Confidence in the Fleſh: Phil. 3. 3.
§. 6. And I conceive if thoſe other Texts in the New-Teſtament that look towards the myſtical uſe of Circumciſion, be well weighed, and the ſcope of the Context in which they are, duly conſidered, they will caſt a great Light upon the Notion propoſed to you; I cannot ſtay upon all, But for Inſtance, let us repair to Col. 2. 11. In whom alſo ye are circumciſed with the Circumciſion made without hands, in putting off the Body of the Sins of the Fleſh, by the Circumciſion of Chriſt.
The deſign of the Apoſtle's Diſcourſe in the whole Context, is, to confirm the Souls of the believing Coloſſians in the Faith of the Goſpel, and particularly in that great Article of the Chriſtian Religion concerning our being juſtified freely by the Grace of God, thro' the Redemption that is in Chriſt Jeſus; Rom. 3. 24. and to caution them not to be led away by the Errour of the Wicked from the Simplicity of Truth which they had received; But as they had received Chriſt Jeſus the Lord; ſo they ſhould walk in him: Rooted and built up in him, and eſtabliſhed in the Faith; ver. 6, 7. And (ſaith he) Beware leſt any Man ſpoile you through Philoſophy and vain Deceit, after the Tradition of Men, after the Rudiments of the World, and not after Chriſt; ver. 8. The Men which the Apoſtle brands in theſe laſt Words, are thoſe that endeavour'd the Subverſion of the Liberty of the Gentile Churches, and intangling them again in the yoke of Legal Bondage; in order whereunto, they did not only aſſert the Levitical Ceremonies, to be ſtill, and in their own nature, acceptable Service to God; but alſo, that they were of perpetual Uſe, becauſe of thoſe Philoſophick Secrets, and Myſteries of Nature, which they pretended were wrapt up in them; which Conceit they had no ground for (God having at no time appointed them to ſuch an End) but from the Tradition of their Elders: This it is which the Apoſtle intends, by Philoſophy and vain Deceit after the Tradition of Men: And, to prevent their being inſnared with this corrupt Doctrine, he informs them how Chriſt was the End and Subſtance of all thoſe Shadows, and that all Fulneſs dwels in him, in whom they were compleat; and therefore ought not to turn back to the Law, or its Ceremonies, to ſeek Perfection from them; ſeeing by Chriſt they were made Partakers of that real Benefit, which was but darkly pointed at, and ſhadowed by the Ceremonies of the Law: For ſo he adds in this 11th Verſe, In whom alſo ye are circumciſed; (mind) They are not ſaid to be circumciſed in themſelves, but in Chriſt; becauſe in him they were compleately juſtified by the Imputation of a perfect Righteouſneſs, which Circumciſion under the Law, as an Ordinance of the Old Covenant, did oblige Men to, and as ſubordinate to the Promiſe did prefigure: Hence the Apoſtle affirms, that Believers are the Circumciſion, who place their whole Truſt in Jeſus Chriſt: Phil. 3. 3. and whereas they are alſo deſcribed to be ſuch as worſhip God in the Spirit; this doth not reſtrain the Notion of their Circumciſion to the Righteouſneſs of Sanctification, but rather deſcribes the Perſons by another Fruit, and Property, of that Grace whereby they are juſtified; Confer. Rom. 8. 4. In the following words of this Text in Coloſ. the Circumciſion ſpoken of, is ſaid to be,—In the putting off the Body of the Sins of the Fleſh; which is primarily intended of our Juſtification, and includes Sanctification as a neceſſary Concomitant thereof; It is by Juſtification that we are compleatly delivered from a State of Sin, and the Maſs of Corruption (as Joſhua was from his filthy Garments) Zach. 3. 4. by an Implantation into, and Union with Chriſt, who dyed for our Sins, and roſe again for our Juſtification; and therefore this change of their State, is ſaid to be, by their being quickned together with Chriſt; ver. 13. and this quickning is that of Juſtification, wherein they were raiſed from that deadly ſtate of Guiltineſs, in which they were, while dead in their Sins, and the uncircumciſion of their Fleſh, unto a ſtate of Life, Righteouſneſs, and Acceptance with God, who forgives them all Treſpaſſes. Now this putting off the Body of the Sins of the Fleſh, is,
—By the Circumciſion of Chriſt. I know Expoſitors do generally take that Circumciſion which is the work of the Spirit of Chriſt in the Soul, to be here intended; as they do apply the whole Verſe to our Sanctification; but I conceive as our Juſtification is primarily intended in the Context, ſo the ſcope of the Apoſtle's Diſcourſe leads us rather to interpret this to be that Circumciſion wherewith Chriſt was circumciſed; the Sign being put for the thing ſignified; viz. the Circumciſion of Chriſt, for his perfect Obedience, and fufilling of the Law: In Circumciſion was the firſt bearing of the Yoke of the Law; and by it the Perſon circumciſed was bound to keep the whole Law, otherwiſe his Circumciſion became Ʋncircumciſion; Rom. 2. 25. ſo then, the Circumciſion of Chriſt is a convincing Evidence of his being made under the Law; and by a perfect fulfilling thereof, he brought in that everlaſting Righteouſneſs, thro' the Imputation of which, all that are in him are juſtified before God: And this Communion that Believers have with Chriſt in his Benefits thro' the Faith of the Operation of God, is in a lively manner held out, and ſignified to them in their Baptiſm, wherein they are ſaid to be both buried and riſen together with him; Col. 2. 12. The Immerſion of the Body into the Water bearing an Analogy to his Burial, as the raiſing of it again out of the Water doth to his Reſurrection. This the Apoſtle intends, that even their Baptiſm upon their firſt receiving, and profeſſion of the Chriſtian Religion, did teach and oblige them to live upon Chriſt alone, and to joyn no other thing with him in the Foundation of their Hope.
Theſe things being ſo, Circumciſion was of Uſe no longer, neither had Chriſtians any Concernment in it; for having reached the Accompliſhment of its utmoſt End in Jeſus Chriſt, it expired in Courſe, and vaniſhed away with the whole Frame of the Moſaical Oeconomy: And ſo far is the Apoſtle from intimating that Baptiſm came in the room of Circumciſion, that he diſcourſes of them, as appertaining to two Covenants ſo differenced one from the other, and in their compleat Miniſtration oppoſed the one to the other, as that they could by no means (in this laſt reſpect) conſiſt together.
§. 7. In the next place; It is to be noted,
That there was A typical Repreſentation of the future State of the Church (viz. in the days of the Goſpel) in the preſent Tranſactions of God with Abraham, and the State of his Family thereupon. The Explication of all Particulars belonging hereunto, would require an inlargement of this Diſcourſe beyond its intended Bounds; And therefore, to our preſent Purpoſe, I ſhall only point at the Heads of thoſe things which the Apoſtle ſets before us in Gal. 4. from ver 21, to the end of the Chapter.
Upon the reading of this Context, you will obſerve that the Allegory inſiſted on by the Apoſtle is grounded upon this hiſtorical Verity,
1. That Abraham had a twofold Seed; the one proceeding from him according to the ordinary Courſe, and by the Strength of Nature, the other brought forth by virtue of a Promiſe; the one was Iſhmael by Hagar, a Bond-woman, the other Iſaac by Sarah a Free-woman.
2. The Bond-woman and her Son, had the Precedence, in time of Conception and Birth, to the Free-woman and her Son.
3. In proceſs of time the Son of the Bond-woman who was born after the Fleſh, perſecutes the …on of the Free-woman who was born after the Spirit; i. e. in the virtue of the Promiſe; And thereupon the Bond-woman and her Son are caſt out of the Family, and Iſaac remains there as the only Heir of his Father's Bleſſing.
That theſe things were diſpoſed of God with a typical Reſpect to Goſpel-times, the Apoſtle affirms, and thus applys them:
Hagar was a Type of mount Sinai, and the Legal Covenant there eſtabliſhed; and Iſhmael was a Type of the carnal Seed of Abraham, as under that Covenant: Sarah was a Type of the New-Jeruſalem, or of the Goſpel-Church founded on the Covenant of Grace; And Iſaac, a Type of the true Members of that Church, who are born of the Spirit; being converted by the power of the Holy Ghoſt, for the fulfilling of the Promiſe of the Father, unto Jeſus Chriſt the Mediator: And, the Ejection of Hagar and Iſhmael was to foreſhew the Abrogation of the Sinai-Covenant, and diſſolving of the Jewiſh Church-ſtate; that ſo the Inheritance of ſpiritual Bleſſings might be clearly devolved upon the Children of God by Faith in Jeſus Chriſt.
There are many other things worthy to be obſerved, which it is not my preſent Work to inſiſt upon; this general View which hath been taken of the Context being ſufficient to prepare our way to the following Obſervations.
§. 8. Firſt, The Apoſtle who in Gal. 3. 8, & 17. calleth the Promiſe recorded in Gen. 12. the Goſpel preached to Abraham; and the Covenant confirmed of God in Chriſt: doth here expreſly call that Covenant-Tranſaction unto which Circumciſion belonged, and wherein the Right and Priviledg of the natural Seed of Abraham was ſtated, the Law; and their deſire of being under it he condemns, as proceeding from their Folly and Ignorance: Gal. 4. 21.
2. Notwithſtanding all the Priviledges of Iſrael after the Fleſh, they remained in a ſtate of Bondage under the Law: And their being Parties in the Sinai Covenant, and in the Covenant of Circumciſion, and Children of the earthly Jeruſalem (or Members of that Church whoſe State was founded on the Covenants before mentioned) and ſo intereſted in all the Worſhip there to be performed, (all this I ſay) could no more give them Intereſt in, and Right to, the ſpiritual Bleſſings of Abraham, then Iſhmael's carnal Deſcent from him, could either inright himſelf or his Seed, in the Covenant of Peculiarity made with Iſrael, and the outward Bleſſings thereof: For altho' the Seed of Abraham by Iſaac were under the Diſpenſation of thoſe Bleſſings that were the ſhadow, and Type of the good things of the Goſpel; yet their Birth-right, and proper Claim in the Intereſt of their Covenant; did fall as far ſhort of Goſpel-bleſſings, as Iſhamel's did of their Priviledges; For as Iſhmael was, in a literal Sence, born after the Fleſh and the Son of a Bond-woman, ſo were they myſtically; and as Iſhmael did perſecute Iſaac, ſo they (being puft up with a vain Confidence in their carnal Priviledg, and Prerogative) did not only reject the Goſpel themſelves, but alſo perſecuted the Children of the New Jeruſalem; And therefore as he was caſt out of Abraham's Family, and excluded from any part in the Inheritance of the Son of Promiſe, ſo muſt they be excluded from the Kingdom of God, and the Inheritance of the Bleſſings thereof.
Thus did God, in the very beginning of the Covenant-ſtate of Iſrael after the Fleſh, in this Type ſet before their Eyes the Imperfection-thereof, and the ſad End they would bring themſelves to, by a reſting in it, and overweening of it.
3. Howbeit, The Covenant of Peculiarity made with Iſrael, and the Diſpenſation that God brought them under purſuant to the Fnds thereof, was typical of the Goſpel-Covenant and the State of things therein. In Iſaac we have a Type of the Children of God by Faith; and as he (in his Seed) was the Heir of Canaan, ſo are they Heirs of Heaven; And as he was perſecuted by Iſhmael, ſo muſt they expect Trouble in the World, and look to be maligned by all carnal and Phariſaical Spirits, that ſeek to eſtabliſh their own Righteouſneſs, and refuſe to ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of God; In a word, the People, their Worſhip, and Inheritance, was all typical; And yet, as Abraham's ſpiritual Seed may behold the ſhadow of their own State and Priviledg, in the myſtical Reſpect, and typical Oeconomy of the Jewiſh Church; Pars quaedam terrenae Civitatis, Imago coeleſtis Civitatis effecta: eſt, non ſe ſignificando, ſed alteram, & ideô ſervieus. Neque enim propter ſeipſam, ſed propter aliam ſignificandam eſt inſtituta, & praecedente aliâ ſignificatione, & ipſa praefigurans, praefigurata eſt: Nam que Agar ancilla Sarae, ejuſ que Filius, Imago quaedam hujus Imaginis fuit. Auguſt. de Civita. Dei, Lib. 15. Cap. 2.ſo they again might, and ought to conſider themſelves in their outward State to be but typical; and while they were figures of the Children of Promiſe, both themſelves, their State, and End, was figured in the Son of the Bond-woman and his Rejection.
Now from hence we may infer, that;
1. The carnal Seed of Believers, can obtain no greater Priviledg by the Covenant of Circumciſion, than the Seed of Abraham by Iſaac had; and their Priviledg reached not to an Intereſt in Goſpel-Bleſſings, or in the New Covenant, unleſs they obtained that Right for themſelves by believing; otherwiſe they had no more Right in them, by their natural Deſcent from Abraham, than Iſhmael had in the Bleſſings of their Covenant of Peculiarity; And their Intereſt in typical Priviledges, muſt needs ceaſe, and vaniſh away, when the things typified were exhibited.
2. The State of Iſrael after the Fleſh being typical; The Iſrael of God among them, were taught to look above, and beyond their external Priviledges, unto thoſe things that were ſhadowed by them, as ſet before their Faith in the Promiſes of Grace by Chriſt; and ſo to live upon the Grace of that Covenant, which their outward State, and Covenant of Peculiarity was ſubſervient to; And unto them, all theſe things had a ſpiritual, and evangelical Ʋſe; which being their principal End and Intent, a fair Occaſion is miniſtred for ſuch an Intermixture of the Promiſes of Typical, with thoſe of real Bleſſings, as we have now had under Conſideration; Becauſe the Covenant of Grace, and that of Circumciſion have their mutual Reſpect, as the Type to its Antitype.
§. 9. And theſe things are not only neceſſary to the right Underſtanding of thoſe divine Tranſactions with Abraham which we have been treating of; but alſo are of Uſe for the opening, and right Application of very many Prophecies, and Promiſes of the Old Teſtament; and for the avoiding of thoſe ſtumbling Blocks (and others like unto them) which the blind Jews have fallen, and do fall upon to this day.
The Phraſeology of the Old Teſtament will hardly be underſtood in divers Places, without due regard to many of thoſe things that we have been treating of: viz.
1. That during the time of the Law, the true Church was impaled within the Bounds of the Common-wealth of Iſrael; which in its intire Body was a typical Church.
2. That the Children of God after the Spirit (tho' as Children under Age, they were ſubject to the Paedagogy of the Law, yet) as to their ſpiritual and eternal State, did walk before God, and found Acceptance with him, upon Terms of the Covenant of Grace.
3. That the whole Oeconomy this People were under, did in its typical reſpect, ſubſerve the Ends of the Covenant of Grace to the Elect, who were the true and ſpiritual Worſhippers of God; And the greateſt, and only viſible Number of them, was to be preſerved among that People, until the Goſpel Church-ſtate ſhould take place.
4. But yet, this ſpiritual Relation to God according to the Terms of the New-Covenant which the truly Godly then had, was not ſo clearly held forth under the Old Teſtament as it is in the times of the New, and by the Diſpenſation of the Goſpel: But the things relating thereto, were very much wrapt up in dark Shadows, and Figures. And therefore,
Many times the things, and People typified, are ſpoken of in prophetical Scriptures, under the names of thoſe Things, and that People, which were the Types of them; And the Promiſe of the choiceſt Goſpel-bleſſings, and moſt glorious State (with reſpect to ſpiritual Glory) of the New-Teſtament Church, are given forth to Iſrael of old in thoſe Terms that did ſuit the preſent State of things; and are peculiarily directed unto them, and their Seed; but theſe Promiſes being given to them as conſidered in their Relation to God, as his only viſible Church, and Covenant-people, are not to be applyed to Iſrael after the Fleſh, as ſuch, but had their Accompliſhment in the Church when Iſrael was rejected, and the Gentiles called to inherit the Bleſſing of Abraham; Howbeit they being directly given out to Iſrael and Jacob, as the only true Church then in being, and a People in whom the Church, which ſhould be, was typified; it was but meet and neceſſary (eſpecially conſidering that the ſpiritual Glory of the Goſpel, and the calling of the Gentiles, was a Myſtery not to be unfolded in thoſe times, but kept under a Veil) that the Terms made uſe of in thoſe Prophecies and Promiſes, ſhould be acommodated unto that Oeconomy under which the Church then was; which yet muſt be interpreted in a Sence agreeable to thoſe times, and that Diſpenſation, in which they were to have their full Accompliſhment. And therefore ſeeing the Church was then continued in a Line of natural Deſcent from Abraham, being propagated by Generation as long as the Old Covenant ſtate thereof remained unſhaken, the Promiſes made to the Church reſpecting her future Glory, Peace, and Bleſſedneſs in the days of the Meſſiah, are given forth as to the Seed and Offspring of the Church then in Being; tho' they did really belong to, and were intended for, (not a carnal Offspring, but) thoſe that God ſhould continue to own as his Covenant-People and Church; even ſuch as ſhould walk in the ſteps of Abraham's Faith, the Gentiles, as well as Jews.
§. 10. All that now remains to be done before I draw to a Period of this Diſcourſe, is to conſider how far the mutual Reſpect of the Promiſes made to Abraham may guide us towards a right underſtanding, how Circumciſion became unto Abraham, a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of Faith, &c. which the Apoſtle affirms it to have bin, Rom. 4. 11. And in opening that Text, the grand Objection againſt that Notion of the Covenant of Circumciſion which I have inſiſted on, will be obviated. In order hereunto, I ſhall firſt ſet down the Text, and give you a brief Expoſition of it; then ſhew you wherein it was verified: and offer ſomething for the ſtrengthening and Eviction of the Sence given.
The words of the Text are;
And he received the Sign of Circumciſion, a Seal of the Righteouneſs of Faith which he had being yet uncircumciſed; that he might be the Father of all them that believe, tho' they be not circumciſed, that Righteouſneſs may be imputed unto them alſo.
In the Verſes foregoing the Apoſtle is diſcourſing of the time wherein Abraham's Faith was imputed to him for Righteouſneſs, and proves from thence the equal Right of the uncircumciſed Gentile (if a Believer) with the circumciſed Jew, in the Bleſſings of the Goſpel, by means, of a ſpiritual Relation to Abraham, inaſmuch as his Faith was reckoned to him for Righteouſneſs, not in Circumciſion, but in Ʋncircumciſion;
And he received the Sign of Circumciſion; i. e. Circumciſion which was a Sign; It is genitivus Speci…i; as when we read the City of Jeruſalem; for the City Jeruſalem; and the like: Some Greek Copies do here read foreign. This belongs to the general uſe, nature, and end of Circumciſion, it was a Sign; but moreover, unto Abraham it was;
—A Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith, which he had being yet uncircumciſed; A Seal is for Confirmation, and Aſſurance; and in this notion of a Seal there may be ſome reſpect to that viſible Mark and Character which remained in the Fleſh of him that was circumciſed; for we read not that any other Ordinance (no not Baptiſm) is ſo called in Scripture; but in the New Teſtament the ſealing of Believers is attributed to the Holy Ghoſt.
—Of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which he had, yet being uncircumciſed; that is, of his being Righteous before God thro' believing; which Faith he had, and which Righteouſneſs was imputed to him (the Relative may agree with either Antecedent) while he was uncircumciſed: There are ſome Words ſupplyed by the Tranſlators to fill up the ſence in our Engliſh Phraſe, which the learned Dr. Lightfoot in his Hor. Hebraic. on Cor. 7. 19. fills up by another Supply that gives ſomewhat a differing ſence of the Text, which I refer the Reader to, as not unworthy his Conſideration; but ſhall here reſt ſatisfied with that ſence which our Tranſlation affords us. It follows,
—That he might be the Father of all that believe in Ʋncircumciſion: the ſence is, that he might be manifeſted to be (things are in Scripture oftentimes ſaid to be, when they are by any ſolemn Act declared, or confirmed) the Father of all believing Gentiles, tho' they be not circumciſed; inaſmuch as they alſo are a part of that ſpiritual Seed promiſed to him in Uncircumciſion.
—That Righteouſneſs might be imputed to them alſo: take it as before, that it might be made manifeſt, and confirmed, that Righteouſneſs is, and ſhall be imputed to thm alſo: See ver. 23, 24.
§. 11. Having given this brief Explication of the Terms uſed in the Text, the next thing to be enqurired is; wherein are the Contents of it verified? or how, or in what reſpect, was Circumciſion a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which Abraham had being yet uncircumciſed?
For anſwer to this Enquiry; obſerve,
1. That in the Prologue to this Covenant of Circumciſion Gen. 17. God did expreſly renew, and confirm to Abraham, the great Promiſe of the Covenant of Grace, concerning the juſtifying of the Gentiles by Faith in Chriſt, which Bleſſing they ſhould receive in the Relation of Children to Abraham, and ſo he ſhould become the Father of many Nations; And the Covenant of Circumciſion being added to former Tranſactions wherein God had confirmed his Covenant in Chriſt with Abraham; the uſe of Circumciſion (as to him) was not limited to that Covenant of Peculiarity unto which it did immediately belong, but muſt neceſſarily reach farther, and include a Confirmation of all preceding Tranſactions, & the Promiſes given in them; eſpecially of that which was repeated, immediately before the Inſtitution thereof. The Promiſes of God to Abraham (tho' of a different Nature) did not interfere one with another; but the latter ſtill implyed a Confirmation and Ratification of the former; This Covenant therefore did not ſupplant, but confirm the Truth of the Goſpel before preached to Abraham, it was not added to diſannul the Promiſe, but to ſerve the Ends thereof; and therefore Circumciſion did not only ſeal to Abraham the Promiſes of typical Bleſſings now given, but alſo was a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which he had being yet uncircumciſed, that he might be the Father of all that believe in Ʋncircumciſion.
2. It was ſo (tho' more indirectly) on this account alſo:
Abraham's Faith (as we have ſeen before) was much concerned in the Promiſe of Iſaac's Birth, and the ſeparating of his Seed from other Nations for the bringing forth of the Meſſiah; and he knew well that the Covenant of Circumciſion was made with him in purſuance of the great Promiſes before given; and ſo the Seal of this Covenant became unto him, a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which he had before, and confirmed him in his paternal. Relation to Believers in all Nations, which was an Honour before conferred on him. It is the Diſcovery of the Subſerviency of Circumciſion, as received by Abraham, to the great End and Deſign of the Covenant of Grace (which was confirmed to Abraham before he was circumciſed) that the Apoſtle particularly aims at in this Place; and he proves that the Covenant of Circumciſion is ſo far from excluding the Gentiles from inheriting the Bleſſing of Abraham by Faith; as that it was, to him an Aſſurance and Seal of the Promiſe of ſo great a Priviledg to them; as alſo of his own Juſtification thro' Faith, while uncircumciſed.
And moreover; The Covenant of Circumciſion not being ſo compleat in it ſelf, as to bring the Church unto that Perfection which in the eternal Counſels of God's Soveraign Grace was intended; and therefore not capable to make any thing perfect by it ſelf; muſt needs be eſtabliſhed as typical, and ſubſervient to the Covenant of Grace, in a temporary Diſpenſation that ſhould uſher in, and then give place to the Goſpel, in the fulneſs of Time; and in reſpect of this Diſpoſition of the Covenant now made, the Sign by which it was confirmed, became ultimately and in its typical reſpect, a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which Abraham had before.
§. 12. It is no ways difficult to conceive, that Circumciſion might have a different Reſpect, according to the differing Circumſtances and Capacity of its Subject; Yea that it had ſo, in another Inſtance hath been already proved. It was a Seal of the Inheritance of Canaan to the Children of Iſrael, and did enſure the Promiſe thereof to them and their Seed; But it gave their Bond-ſervants no ſuch Right or Claim; Even ſo, it was to Abraham a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which he had, &c. but this aroſe from the peculiar, and extraordinary Circumſtances, and Capacity that he was in; for it is not poſſible to conceive that Circumciſion ſhould be a Seal of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which he had while uncircumciſed, that he might be the Father of all that believe in Ʋncircumciſion, to one that never had Faith, either before or after his Circumciſion, nor ever had, or ſhould have, the Relation of a Father to all Believers, as Abraham had.
Now that the Apoſtle ſpeaks of Circumciſion here with reſpect to the peculiar Circumſtances, and Capacity of Abraham who received it, is evident from the ſcope of his Diſcourſe in the Context; in which the Argument that he manageth, is to prove that neither could Circumciſion give to any an Intereſt in that Grace, that juſtifies a Sinner before God, nor the want of it hinder any from obtaining that Intereſt, in the way, and upon the Terms of the Goſpel; ſeeing Abraham himſelf obtained it not by his carnal Prerogative, but was juſtified before he was circumciſed; And the whole ſtreſs of his Argument, lies upon the Suppoſition of Abraham's being a Believer, and juſtified by his Faith, before he received Circumciſion; Remove this, and his Diſcourſe concludes nothing of what he intends; And hence he infers, that Abraham received Circumciſion ſo, as that it was to him, a Seal (not ſimply, of the Righteouſneſs of Faith, or of the New-Covenant, but) of the Righteouſneſs of the Faith which he had being yet uncircumciſed; as alſo of his paternal Relation to all Believers tho' they be not circumciſed; for ſo it follows, that he might be the Father of all them that believe; And it is equally abſurd to ſay that Circumciſion was a Seal unto all its Subjects, of the Righteouſneſs of Faith which they had while uncircumciſed, as to affirm that it was the Seal of a paternal Relation to all Believers, unto every one that received it: Both theſe muſt neceſſarily be reſolved into the peculiar Circumſtances of Abraham, the particular Relation he had in the Covenants made with him, and the order of their Diſpoſition; and not into the nature of Circumciſion conſidered ſimply, and in it ſelf.
And moreover it is obſervable, That immediately after, in the continuance of his Diſcourſe in Rom. 4. the Apoſtle refers Circumciſion to the Law, in contradiſtinction from the Goſpel; for when he hath told us that the circumciſed Jew could not obtain the Bleſſing of a ſpiritual Relation to Abraham by virtue of his Circumciſion, unleſs he did walk in the ſteps of Abraham's Faith, which he had while uncircumciſed, ver. 12. he aſſigns this as the reaſon of it in the 13th Verſe; For the Promiſe that he ſhould be the Heir of the World, was not to Abraham or to his Seed, thro' the Law, but through the Righteouſneſs of Faith. And I cannot ſee how the Concluſion which the Apoſtle makes concerning the Inefficacy of Circumciſion, is enforced by this Reaſon, if Circumciſion immediately and in its own Nature had not belonged to the Law; but, to the Righteouſneſs of Faith, or Covenant of Grace, as an ordinary Seal thereof.
Again; The Interpretation made of this Text is farther ſtrengthened by the conference of other Places in the New-Teſtament, where we find that Circumciſion is ſtiled an unſupportable Yoke, Act. 5. 10. and is ſaid to lay Men under an Obligation to keep the whole Law; Gal. 5. 3. and the compleat Diſpenſation of Grace in the Goſpel according to the New-Covenant, is conſtantly inſiſted on as that which renders it utterly uſeleſs to the Goſpel-Church, and manifeſts the Inconſiſtency of retaining the Practiſe thereof, with the Liberty of their preſent State: See for Inſtance the Epiſtle to the Galatians, and in Chap. 5. 13. the Apoſtle tells them if he did yet preach Circumciſion, then was the Offence of the Croſs ceaſed; and he might have lived free from the Perſecutions he now ſuffered from the unbelieving Jews: It was the Apoſtles preaching Chriſt, ſo as therein to aſſert the ſhaking and removing of that Old Covenant, unto which Circumciſion did belong, and by which the Jews held the Right of their peculiar Priviledges (tho' now in Truth, the Continuance of thoſe could no longer have been a real Priviledg to them) that was the ground of the Controverſie betwixt them, and of their unreaſonable Oppoſition to him: For if the Con…roverſie had been about the Mode of adminiſtring …he ſame Covenant, and the Change only of an …xternal Rite, by bringing Baptiſm into the place of Circumciſion, to ſerve for the ſame Uſe and End …ow, as that had done before, the heat of their Conteſts might ſoon have been allayed; eſpeci…lly conſidering the latter is far leſs painful and …angerous than the former: But he will certain…y find himſelf ingaged in a very difficult Task, …hat ſhall ſeriouſly endeavour to reconcile the Apoſtles diſcourſes of Circumciſion, with ſuch a Notion of it: Circumciſion was an Ordinance of the Old Covenant, and appertained to the …aw, and therefore did directly bind its Subjects …o a legal Obedience; but Baptiſm is an Ordi…ance of the Goſpel, and (beſides other excellent, and moſt comfortable Uſes) directly ob…igeth its Subjects to Goſpel-Obedience; And therefore is rather, in this reſpect oppoſed to, than ſubſtituted in the place of Circumciſion: And certainly it is more ſafe to interpret one Text according to the general Current of Scripture, and in a full Harmony therewith, than to force ſuch a ſence upon many Texts, which in no wiſe they will admit, to bring them into a Compliance with that Notion of one which our minds are prepoſſeſt with; And it is plain that the Notion I have inſiſted on, fully agrees with other places where Circumciſion is diſcourſed of according to its immediate and direct Uſe in the old Covenant: For there can be no Contradiction in aſcribing a different, and ſeemingly oppoſite, Uſe and End, to the ſame thing, if it be done in a different Reſpect: What Circumciſion was directly and in its immediate Ʋſe, is one thing; and what it was as ſubordinate to a better Covenant, and Promiſe, that had Precedency to it, is another; And it is eaſie to conceive, that it might be that to the Father of the faithful, in its extraordinary Inſtitution, that it could not be to the Children of the Fleſh, or carnal Seed, in its ordinary Ʋſe.
To conclude, if Circumciſion and Baptiſm have the ſame Uſe, and are Seals of the ſame Covenant, I can hardly imagine how the Application of both to the ſame Subjects ſhould at any time be proper; and yet we find thoſe that were circumciſed in their Infancy, were alſo baptized upon the Profeſſion of Faith and Repentance, and that, before Circumciſion was abrogated; yea according to the Opinion that hath been argued againſt, The Jews that believed before Chriſt had ſuffered, were at the ſame time under a Command both of circumciſing and baptizing their Infant-ſeed. But if the Principles that this Diſcourſe is built upon, be well proved by Scripture, as I take them to be, there muſt be allowed a vaſt Diſparity, betwixt Circumciſion and Baptiſm: The Old Covenant, is not the New, nor that which is aboliſhed, the ſame with that which remains; and till theſe become one, Baptiſm and Circumciſion will never be found ſo far one, as that the Law for applying this, ſhould be a ſufficient Warrant for the Adminiſtration of that, unto Infants.
We have now paſt through the Covenant-Tranſactions of God with Abraham; after which we find no ſignal Alteration in the ſtate of the Church, by any New Tranſactions, until the Law was given upon Mount Sinai. And therefore I ſhall here put a Period to my preſent Diſcourſe, it being intended only, of the Covenants that God made with Men before the Law.
FINIS.
End of the text · Nehemiah Coxe, A Discourse of the Covenants (1681)