A Discourse of the Covenants, Chapter 7
Of the Covenant of Circumciſion. CHAP. VII.
The great Promiſe, Gen. 17. 7, 8. propoſed, in order to a more ſtrict Enquiry into the proper meaning, and extent thereof: What ſome collect from it. §. 1. Several things are premiſed in order to a right Ʋnderſtanding of it. §. 2. Iſrael to be conſidered in a twofold Reſpect under the Moſaical Oeconomy; 1. As the whole Body of the People was conſtituted in a typical Churchſtate. 2. As many of them were by Faith, Members of the ſpiritual Church. §. 3. The Iſrael of God in Iſrael, remained under the Law till Chriſt came: Tho' they obtained eternal Life in Circumciſion, and under the Law, yet not by Circumciſion, nor by the Law: The Promiſe inquired into belongs to the Jewiſh Church; and was fulfilled to the Body of that People. §. 4. The Promiſe fully opened; It was an Engagement of God to make good the Covenant: It gives no particular Good beyond what is contained in particular Promiſes. §. 5. The ſence given, farther confirmed; This Promiſe added both to the Old Covenant, and the New: No proof that the Covenant of Circumciſion was the Covenant of Grace deducible from it. §. 6. A brief view of the Hiſtory of its Accompliſhment to Iſrael. §. 7. All the Bleſſings of Iſrael after the Fleſh, as ſuch, fall ſhort of the Bleſſings of the New-Covenant: The firſt Tender of the Goſpel belonged to the Jews; Act. 2. 38, 39. opened. §. 8. The Covenant of Circumciſion was not that Covenant of Grace, which God brings all the Elect into; nor immediately a Covenant of ſpiritual Bleſſings: The ſolemn Worſhip of God not preſently confined to Abraham's Family thereby. §. 9. The Patriarchs, and other holy Men then living, were not bound to be circumciſed, tho' intereſted in the Covenant of Grace as well as Abraham; The Conſequence hereof. §. 10. The Queſtion about Infants Church-memberſhip conſidered. §. 11. Five things propoſed in order to the clearing of it: No Argument for Paedo-Baptiſm can be taken from thence. §. 12.
§. 1. IT will be expedient, in the next Place, more fully to ſearch out the true meaning, and extent of that great Promiſe in the Covenant of Circumciſion, which was before but briefly touched upon; viz. I will eſtabliſh my Covenant—to be a God unto thee, and to thy Seed after thee. Gen. 17. 7. And again, The Promiſe of Canaan to Iſrael for an everlaſting Poſſeſſion, is backed with the ſame Aſſurance; and I will be their God; v. 8. This Enquiry is the more neceſſary, becauſe many conceive, That the intire Bleſſing of the New-Covenant is comprehended in theſe words; ſeeing the like Promiſe is given forth as the Summary and Aſſurance of that Covenant in Jer. 31. and Heb. 8. And hereupon they conclude it is the Covenant of Grace that God is now making with Abraham, and which he ſealed with Circumciſion; and that ſpiritual Bleſſings are thereby directly bequeathed to him both for himſelf, and his Seed; and conſequently, it was no other than Intereſt in the Grace and Promiſe of the New-Covenant, that was ſealed to his Infant Seed by Circumciſion.
This Notion militates againſt diverſe things that have been before pointed at in the Account we have given of this Tranſaction; But I conceive, upon a more thorough Diſquiſition, it will be found without ſufficient Strength to ſhake thoſe Principles that are already laid down, and muſt yet be built upon, in the Progreſs of our Diſcourſe: In order therefore to free you from any Intanglement by Objections raiſed from hence; I ſhall proceed gradually, to the Solution of the doubt moved.
§. 2. And, that I may not be miſunderſtood in what is to follow, I ſhall prepare my way by offering theſe things to ſerious Thoughts:
1. A conſiderable time before this Tranſaction recorded Gen. 17. the Covenant of Grace was by God confirmed unto Abraham in Chriſt Jeſus; and that not only in the Capacity of a private Believer; but as one bearing the Relation of a Father to all Believers: And this Relation is peculiar to himſelf; none can claim a Partnerſhip with him therein.
2. In the eſtabliſhment of this Covenant, there was a Seed promiſed unto him, that ſhould certainly inherit the ſpiritual and eternal Bleſſings thereof; for the Promiſe was ſure unto all the Seed: But this was a Seed of Believers collected out of all Nations, and united to Chriſt by Faith, and not the Children of Abraham according to the Fleſh; as is manifeſt almoſt in every Page of the New-Teſtament. And,
3. It hath been moreover proved, That God did chooſe Abraham to be the Root, and Father of a typical People, even of a Nation, the whole Body of which he would take into a peculiar Relation, and Nearneſs to himſelf; and upon whom he would beſtow many great Favours and Priviledges, until the fulneſs of Time came for the bringing forth of that Seed unto which the Promiſes of the New-Covenant did eminently appertain.
4. One great End of this Separation of Abraham and his Seed by Iſaac from all other Families in the Earth, was the bringing forth of the Meſſiah in his Line, and the evident Accompliſhment of the great and firſt Promiſe therein: This was a Priviledg that Abraham had in the Fleſh, and his Seed derived from him; That they were ſet apart as a ſpecial Channel, thro' which the promiſed Seed ſhould be derived and brought forth into the World: Rom. 9. 4, 5. And therefore;
5. On this account their Priviledg, and Covenant-ſtate was ſecured unto them, ſo as they could never See Dr. Owen's Exercitations on the Heb. Vol. 1.be utterly diveſted of it in their Generations; until the great End of it was accompliſhed by the Meſſiah's being come in the Fleſh: And that then it was to ceaſe, the Nature of the thing it ſelf ſufficiently demonſtrateth, in that it was now brought to the limited Time, and End, appointed to it: And hereupon all the carnal Priviledges, and Ordinances of Worſhip ſuited to that State, did neceſſarily ceaſe and become uſeleſs alſo.
6. During the time wherein their Covenant retained its full Vigor, and all their carnal Priviledges remained good to them in their utmoſt extent, all their Advantage lay ſhort of Intereſt in the Covenant of Grace; This they could never claim by virtue of a carnal Deſcent from Abraham: Mat. 3. 9. For it was not a carnal Relation to Abraham, but walking in the ſteps of his Faith, that alone could intereſt them in this Covenant, and the Bleſſings thereof: This the Apoſtle profeſſedly diſcourſes in Rom. 4. and many other places: So then,
§. 3. 7. The carnal, and the ſpiritual Seed, as alſo the Covenants wherein their reſpective Priviledges are ſtated, were from the Beginning, in their own Nature diſtinct the one from the other; Altho', during the Minority of the Church, under the Moſaical Oeconomy, theſe different Bleſſings did ordinarily meet in the ſame Subjects: For in that time the Seed of Abraham after the Fleſh comes under a twofold Conſideration.
1. The whole Body of them is to be conſidered as a People ſeparated unto God for the Ends before mentioned, and formed into a typical State by the Law of Moſes, veſted with carnal Priviledges, and having an earthly Inheritance; which things were typical of ſpiritual Bleſſings under the Goſpel.
2. As a great number of them were made the true and real Members of the ſpiritual Church, and Aſſembly of the redeemed of the Lord, who did by Faith inherit and enjoy thoſe ſpiritual Bleſſings, which the outward Priviledg of the carnal Jew, was but a ſhadow of: For that Nation was ſo made a typical Church; as that they were alſo the only true viſible Church that God then had i… the World: And therefore while the Wall of Separation ſtood betwixt them and the Gentiles, the Oracles of God were committed to them, and his true Worſhip wa… ſettled among them; the Covenants of Promiſe were given to them, and the way of Salvation by a Covenant of Grace, thro' the promiſed Seed, was made known (tho' but darkly) among them; and the Blood of God's ſpecial Elect did generally run in their Veines; that People who were ſavingly intereſted in God, and truly holy, being, for the moſt part found amongſt them, while the Gentiles lived without God in the World: (Thus, I ſay, it was ordinarily; for even then the Grace of God might ſuperabound to ſome few among the Gentiles) And therefore that Church that was really, and not only typically, Holineſs to the Lord, was found within the Compaſs of their Encloſure: Thus as Iſaac was not only a Type of the Children of Promiſe in the New-Teſtament, but was alſo one of them that did by Faith truly inherit the ſpiritual Bleſſing of Abraham; and Jacob was not only a Type of the Elect Seed, but alſo a real Part thereof; ſo the like may be ſaid of all that came after of the Circumciſion, who were not of the Circumciſion only; but, did alſo walk in the Steps of the Faith of their Father Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumciſed; They were in one reſpect a Type, and in another, true Members, of the general Aſſembly and Church of the Firſt-borne: Tho' the one of theſe they found as pertaining to the Fleſh; the other, they obtained by Faith.
§. 4. And, of this Iſrael in Iſrael, two things are to be obſerved;
1. That notwithſtanding their Intereſt in the Promiſe by Faith, they were not freed from the Yoke and Diſcipline of Moſes his Law, until Chriſt came: They were indeed, Children, even the Children of Abraham on a ſpiritual Account; and by the Grace of a free Promiſe, which the Law could not diſannul, they were relieved from its Rigor, as to their ſpiritual and eternal State; but being Children under Age, the Paedagogy they were under, differed nothing from that of Servants; neither could they be diſcharged of this School-Maſter before Chriſt came.
2. They were bleſſed with ſpiritual Bleſſings, and had Intereſt in eternal Life, in Circumciſion and under the Law; but none of them obtained this by Circumciſion, or by the Law: That whole Oeconomy that Iſrael after the Fleſh was under, was, in, and by, it ſelf inſufficient and weak as to the End of eternal Happineſs, and the Juſtification of a Sinner before God, in order thereto: It could not make the Comers thereunto perfect; nor make the carnal Seed Heirs of ſpiritual Bleſſings; But a Right to them was evermore grounded upon a ſpiritual Relation to Abraham, and Intereſt in that Promiſe which the Covenant of Circumciſion was but an Hand-maid to: And therefore thoſe that reſted in their carnal Priviledges, and ſought eternal Happineſs from them, did pervert their true End, and could never obtain what they followed after.
Laſtly, To conclude; The Covenant of Circumciſion did belong to the Body of the carnal Seed, even to the Jewiſh Church; The Foundation of their State is laid therein, and their Right and Priviledg is thereby expreſly ſtated, in their Generations; And therefore, as we readily grant the Promiſe, now under conſideration, to belong to the Seed of Abraham after the Fleſh; ſo we do with good Reaſon affirm, that it muſt be taken in ſuch a ſence as we may find verified in that People and Nation, unto whom it did belong; and that ſhall no ways contradict, or interfere with, the general Deſign of the Goſpel, or the plain and indiſputable Sence of other Texts of Scripture.
§. 5. Theſe things being premiſed, we ſhall now come more cloſe to the Words themſelves, and enquire what that Good, and Bleſſing is, which by them is enſured unto this Seed of Abraham.
That this Promiſe, I will be their God; with that foregoing in Gen 17. 7. do give a general Aſſurance of ſome Good to the People in Covenant, is evident; but that they are Promiſes of ſome particular Good, or Bleſſing, that is of an higher Nature then is comprehended in any other Promiſes of the Covenant, is not to be ſuppoſed; For, the true Import of this general Promiſe is; That God hath ingaged himſelf, and all the Properties of his Nature, for the exact fulfilling of all the Promiſes of the Covenant now made with them, according to the true Tenor, and Conditions of the ſaid Covenant. All the divine Perfections See Mr. Whiſt. Prim. Doctr. p. 124.are laid in as Pledges, that the Promiſes ſhall not fail on God's Part; ſeeing as need requires they ſhall be all exerted for the Good and Advantage of this People in fulfilling the Promiſes given to them: But ſtill theſe Communications of God to them, and Actings for them, both in reſpect of the Bleſſings he will beſtow, as alſo the Terms and Conditions on which they ſhall be beſtowed, are limited by the Covenant he hath made with them, and the Nature, and Extent of the Promiſes thereof.
And this will more plainly appear to be the true Sence, if we duly weigh the Terms of the Promiſe enquired into; (I will be their God, i. e. a God to them; They ſhall have Intereſt in all the Perfections of my Nature) For,
Either God is obliged by this Promiſe to communicate himſelf, in the higheſt Degree poſſible to all thoſe to whom it is made, and to do the utmoſt for them that may be done, without implying a Contradiction to his Being, and, the infinite Perfections thereof, and ſo to bring them abſolutely to the utmoſt Degree of Happineſs, that omnipotent Goodneſs can raiſe them to; or elſe the Good promiſed muſt fall under ſome particular Limitation: If it fall under any Limitation; (as certainly it doth) Thoſe Bounds muſt be ſet, either by the Import of the Terms in which the Promiſe is made, as conſidered abſolutely, and by themſelves; or ſome other way: The firſt cannot be affirmed, for the Terms are general, and indeterminate; Therefore it is ſome other way to be limited; and that muſt be by the particular Promiſes, and Conditions of that Covenant, unto which this general Promiſe doth belong; And if ſo, then there is not, nor can be, any greater Good promiſed thereby, then what the Nature of that Covenant admits of, and its particular Promiſes give a Right in, to them that are Parties concerned.
And theſe things being ſo; None can from hence prove a Grant of ſpiritual Bleſſings to, nor yet a Right in Goſpel Ordinances for, the carnal Seed of Abraham, or of any Believer, as ſuch; unleſs he could produce a particular Promiſe which did contain ſuch a Grant, or give ſuch a Right, unto them.
§. 6. So then, That which is principally intended, and fully expreſs'd in this Ingagement, is no more than the neceſſary Reſult of any Covenant-Tranſaction of God with Men; For where his Truth is once ingaged in a Promiſe, there all the Properties of his Nature are ingaged reſpectively, for the making good of that Promiſe: And therefore, Such a Promiſe as in its own Nature, contains no more, than a general Aſſurance of any Covenant that God makes with Men, cannot by it ſelf be the diſtinguiſhing Character of any one Covenant, in Oppoſition to, or Contradiſtinction from, another; neither doth it determine of what kind the promiſed Bleſſings are, or the way wherein they ſhall be injoyed.
And hence it is that you find this Promiſe, equally and indifferently annexed both to the Old Covenant and the New; the Covenant of Works and that of Grace: The Truth of this will be manifeſt by a diligent Conference of Heb. 8. with Jer. 31. and this with Gen. 17. and Exod. 6. 7. and Deut. 26. 17, 18. There is no Reaſon therefore to conclude, Becauſe we find this Promiſe in the Covenant of Grace, every Covenant in which it is found, muſt be of the ſame Nature, for the Covenant is not meaſured by this Promiſe; but è contra, its ſpecial Import, is limited by the Covenant to which it belongs.
§. 7. Thus far I have indeavoured to ſet before you the Genuine Sence, and true Interpretation of this great Promiſe in the Covenant of Circumciſion, and to give you the Reaſons by which it is confirmed; And it may add ſome farther Light to what hath been ſaid, briefly to repreſent the Hiſtory of its Accompliſhment, from the holy Scriptures, which take, as followeth.
The Lord did abundantly bleſs Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob, and guided them with his Eye in all their Peregrinations from Nation to Nation, and from one Kingdom to another People; and when he brake the whole Staff of Bread in the Land of Canaan, and the adjacent Countrys, he made Proviſion, by a wonderful Series of Providences, for the Suſtentation of Jacob's Family, by ſending Joſeph before them into the Land of Egypt, and for their Sakes raiſing him unto a Capacity, not only to ſecure them from Want, but alſo to preſerve the Lives of thouſands more: And when the Houſe of Jacob was by this means brought into the Land of Egypt, the Lord was with them there; and when the time of the Promiſe drew nigh, he cauſed them to increaſe and multiply exceedingly; and tho' the Egyptians ſought by all means to oppreſs them, and dealt ſubtilely with them, yet by all their Artifice and Cruelty they could make no Earnings of their Work, for the more they oppreſſed them, the more they grew: And in the midſt of their calamitous Diſtreſs Moſes was brought forth, whom the Lord had deſigned for a Deliverer and a Saviour unto them; and in order thereunto he was preſerved in a miraculous manner from all Dangers and Temptations, from his Birth to the time that he was ſent about his great Work. And in the time when the Bondage of Iſrael grew to its Extremity, the Lord's Eye was ſtill open upon them, and he heard their Cry, and remembred his Covenant with their Fathers, and ſent Moſes and Aaron to deliver them; Then was his Bowe made quite naked, Hab. 3. 9. in a Courſe of Miracles, by Signs, and Wonders, and mighty Works, for which his Name is celebrated unto all Generations; and in that very day which he had ſet in the Promiſe to their Fathers, he brought them out of the Land of Egypt, and delivered them from the Houſe of their Bondage with an high Hand; yea he divided the Red-Sea before them, and led them thro' the Deep as on dry Land, but buried Pharaoh and all his Hoſt in the ſame Waters that had been as a Wall on the Right-hand and on the Left, while the redeemed of the Lord paſſed over: He guided them alſo in the Wilderneſs, and afforded the viſible Token of his Preſence with them, in a Pillar of Cloud by Day, and of Fire by Night: From his Right-hand there went forth a fiery Law for them, becauſe he loved them, by which he formed both their Civil, and Eccleſiaſtical Polity; wherein they were immediately ſubjected to himſelf, and made a Kingdom of Prieſts and an holy Nation; and the Lords Tabernacle was pitched in the midſt of them, ſo that there was no Nation under Heaven that had God ſo nigh, as the Lord their God was unto them in all that they did call upon him for. Moreover he gave his good Spirit to inſtruct them, which was poured upon Moſes, Aaron, and Miriam, with the ſeventy Elders, and thoſe Prophets which from time to time, God raiſed up among them: He fed them alſo with Manna from Heaven, and gave them Water out of the Rock to drink; and all the time of their forty Years Travel in the Wilderneſs, their Feet were not ſwollen, neither did their Garments wax old: He dryed up Jordan alſo, and brought them into the Land of Canaan, and drove out before them Nations more in number, and mightier than they; and there he bleſſed them with the Bleſſings of Heaven above, and of the Earth beneath; ſo that there failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had ſpoken concerning them; Joſh. 23. 14. but their State was made proſperous and happy, bcauſe the Lord was their God; Pſal. 144. ult. And notwithſtanding all their Provocations, he had Compaſſion upon them, when in their Diſtreſſes they cryed unto him; and delivered them, ſo that the Scepter did not depart from Judah, nor a Law-giver from between his Feet untill Shiloh (i. e. Chriſt) came. Much of this you have ſumm'd up in Neh. 9. Pſal. 105 and Pſal. 144. with Act. 7.
§. 8. In all theſe Reſpects (with others of like Nature before inſiſted on) there was a Glory, 2 Cor. 3. 7,—11. upon the Miniſtration of the Old Teſtament; The Jew had a great Advantage, and there was Profit of Circumciſion; but chiefly in that to them were committed the Oracles of God; Rom. 3. 1. and Chap. 9. 4. Their's were the Covenants of Promiſe; and the ſolemn Worſhip of God was maintained among then; For Salvation was of the Jews; Joh. 4. 22. and in theſe things was this Promiſe fulfilled, That the Lord would be a God to them Many to whom the Lord was a God according to the Tenor of the Old Covenant, dyed in their Sins, and were eternally loſt; But thoſe to whom he is a God, according to the Tenor of the New Covenant, receive from him, the Bleſſings of a new Heart, Remiſſion of Sins, and eternal Salvation.in their Generations; And yet all this lies ſhort of an actual, perſonal, and ſaving Intereſt in the Covenant of Grace; as the Apoſtle Paul argues at large in his Epiſtle to the Romans, and particularly in Chap. 9, 10, 11. Neither could he have affirmed that the committing of the Oracles of God to them was the chief Profit or greateſt Benefit of Circumciſion, if ever God had appointed it to be the Seal of their Intereſt in the Covenant of Grace; which undoubtedly is much greater than any external Benefit or Advantage: But moreover,
This Priviledg the Jews had, That as the Son of God was to be made Fleſh of the Seed of Abraham; and to be manifeſted among them, being made a Miniſter of the Circumciſion for the fulfilling of the Promiſes made unto the Fathers: Rom. 15. 8. ſo alſo, the firſt Tender of the Grace, and Salvation of the Goſpel, did of Right belong unto them: The preaching of Repentance and Remiſſion of Sins in Chriſt's Name was to begin at Jeruſalem: Luk. 24. 47. And as this was an Argument of God's great Favour, ſo it might be unto them a great Incouragement to receive the Goſpel, and expect Salvation by Chriſt according to the Tender made therein; And for this End is it urged by Peter, Act. 2. 38, 39. Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the Name of Jeſus Chriſt for the Remiſſion of Sins, and Ye ſhall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghoſt. For the Promiſe is to you and to your Children, &c. The Promiſe which he hath a particular Reſpect to, is that before cited, of the Salvation of all who in the day of the Goſpel call upon the Name of the Lord, and the pouring out of his Spirit upon all Fleſh, &c. ſee ver. 17, 21. (The Promiſe of the Spirit is alſo mentioned by Paul, as the great Bleſſing of the Goſpel Gal. 3. 14.) The Spirit was then to be poured out upon many in the miraculous and extraordinary Gifts thereof; and upon all true Believers in a New-Teſtament Meaſure; accordingly the Apoſtle exhorts them to the Obedience of the Goſpel, that they might obtain the Remiſſion of their Sins, and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghoſt; which he aſſures them of, upon the Terms propoſed, For (ſaith he) the Promiſe is to you, and your Children: You are in no wiſe excluded from the Hope of this Bleſſing, tho' you have been the Betrayers and Murtherers of Chriſt himſelf; but on the contrary, you (as Jews) have a ſpecial Intereſt in the Promiſe, ſo far as that its Accompliſhment is to be begun among you, and the firſt Offer of its Bleſſing belongs to you; An actual Intereſt in the Promiſe unto Salvation, they could not have until they believed, and repented; but as before explained, the Promiſe was to them while Unbelievers; and in a like ſence the, the Apoſtle Paul ſaith of them, That the Covenants, and the Promiſes (as well as the giving of the Law, and Levitical Service) were theirs Rom. 9. 4. Their Covenant brought Salvation to them; but it was the receiving of it by Faith, when ſo tendered, that gave them particular Intereſt in it. And the Intereſt of their Children, or Poſterity, in the Promiſes, can reach no farther then their's, from whom it is ſuppoſed to be derived. And it is the ſame thing in Effect, that Peter urgeth upon the ſame People, to perſwade their Obedience to the Doctrine of Chriſt, Act. 3. 25, 26. Ye are the Children of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which God made with our Fathers, ſaying unto Abraham, and in thy Seed ſhall all the Kindreds of the Earth be bleſſed. Ʋnto you firſt, God having raiſed up his Son Jeſus, ſent him to bleſs you, in turning every one of you from his Iniquities.
And ſuitable hereunto, we find the Apoſtles in all Places, where they came with the glad Tydings of the Goſpel, firſt applyed themſelves unto the Jews; as holding it neceſſary that the Word of God ſhould firſt be preached unto them, Act. 13. 46, 47.
§. 9. From that Account which hath been given of the Covenant of Circumciſion, the Nature, and Promiſes thereof; theſe Corolaries do follow;
1. That this was a Covenant of Grace and Mercy, as having its Original from the meer Goodneſs, and undeſerved Favour of God towards Iſrael, Deut. 7. 7, 8. whereby many excellent Priviledges were given to them, which no other Nation under Heaven had a Right in, but themſelves; and theſe were conferred on them in Purſuance of the great Deſign of God's Grace in the Covenant of Redemption by Chriſt: Yet was it not that Covenant of Grace, which God made with Abraham for all his ſpiritual Seed, which was before confirmed of God in Chriſt, and thro' which all Nations (that is, true Believers in every Nation) have been ever ſince, now are, and ſhall be, bleſſed with the ſpiritual and eternal Bleſſing of Abraham.
2. Altho' it be granted, This Covenant had ultimately a reſpect to ſpiritual Bleſſings, as it was diſpoſed in the manifold Wiſdom of God in a Subſerviency to the Covenant of Grace, and as added to the Promiſe until the fulneſs of Time came; yet was it not immediately and directly, a Covenant of ſpiritual Bleſſings, nor could it ever convey to the carnal Seed of Abraham, as ſuch, a Right, and Intereſt in them.
3. Notwithſtanding the Promiſes made in this Covenant of Circumciſion, and the Separation of Iſrael to be the peculiar People of God, in Purſuance of them, whoſe Church-ſtate was compleated by the Covenant in the Wilderneſs, when the ſet Time for the fulfilling of thoſe Promiſes in that reſpect was fully come; Yet for the preſent this Covenant did not confine the ſolemn Worſhip of God (by Sacrifices or otherwiſe) to Abraham's Family; nor were other holy Men then living, under any Obligation to incorporate themſelves thereinto, by Circumciſion, or at all to take upon them that Sign or Seal of this Covenant of Peculiarity that God now made with Abraham; which yet without doubt they ſhould have done if in its firſt Inſtitution it had been given ſimply, and directly, as a Seal of the Covenant of Grace; for then by reaſon of their Intereſt in that Covenant, both in point of Duty, and Priviledg, it had equally belonged unto them, as to the Seed and Family of Abraham.
§. 10. But, from the ſacred Hiſtory it is evident, That the Command by virtue of which Circumciſion was adminiſtred, extended no farther than to Abraham, and his Family; And therefore we have no ground to conclude, that Lot (tho' nearly allyed to Abraham) was circumciſed, ſeeing there is nothing in the Command of God, or firſt Inſtitution of Circumciſion that obliged him thereunto, or intereſted him therein; and yet there is no Doubt to be made of his Intereſt in the Covenant of Grace: Neither was Lot the only righteous Man then living in the World, beſides thoſe of Abrham's Family; for of the Patriarchs, Heber, Salah, and Shem were now living; and as they had their diſtinct Families, and Intereſts, ſo there is no Queſtion but the pure Worſhip of God was maintained in them; and they promoted the Intereſt of true Religion to the utmoſt of their Power while they lived; Yea Melchiſedeck was in Being about this time (whether he was Shem before named, or another, it concerns not us to inquire, much leſs to determine; but this is certain that it was he) who was the Prieſt of the moſt high God, and King of Salem, and in both theſe reſpects the moſt eminent Type of Jeſus Chriſt that ever was in the World; a Perſon greater than Abraham, for Abraham paid Tythes to him, and was bleſſed by him; Now conſidering that he was both King and Prieſt, there is no doubt but there was a Society of Men that were ruled by him, and for whom he miniſtred; for a Prieſt is ordained for Men in things pertaining to God; and this Society was at this time, as much a Church of God as Abraham's Family was, and as truly intereſted in the Covenant of Grace as any therein; yet were they not concerned as Parties in this Covenant of Circumciſion, nor to be ſigned thereby; And hence it is manifeſt, that Circumciſion was not at firſt applyed as a Seal of the Covenant of Grace, nor did an Intereſt therein preſently render a Man the proper Subject of it.
Again; To ſuppoſe that all good Men then living, ſhould have been circumciſed, as Abraham was, and their Offspring bound to keep this Covenant in their Generations, as his were, would neceſſarily fruſtrate one great (if not the greateſt) End of Circumciſion, and the Covenant thereof, which was the ſeparating of one Family, and People from all others in the World, for the bringing forth of the Meſſiah, that promiſed Seed, of them, and among them, for the eſtabliſhing of all the Promiſes made unto the Fathers. And moreover the Promiſe of this Covenant touching the Inheritance of the Land of Canaan could never have been made good to them all; And yet certainly the ſealing of that Promiſe, was one thing intended in Circumciſion. From the whole it appears;
That as on the one hand, there was a poſitive Command which made it neceſſary to circumciſe many that never had Intereſt in the Covenant of Grace; ſo, on the other hand, from the firſt Date of Circumciſion there were many truly interſted in the Covenant of Grace, who were under no Obligation to be circumciſed. So far it is from Truth that a New Covenant-Intereſt, and Right to Circumciſion, may be inferred the one from the other.
§. 11. I ſhould here have put a cloſe to this Chapter; but that I judg it may be convenient in this place, briefly to touch upon that Notion of Infant's Church-memberſhip, which is much ſpoken of with Reference to thoſe Times, the Hiſtory of which we have already paſt thro'; And the rather, becauſe of the Light we may receive from the things already diſcourſed, to guide us to a right Underſtanding of the true State of the Queſtion about it; By many ſuch a thing is affirmed to have been from the Beginning, and great Weight is laid upon it in the Controverſie about the right Subjects of Baptiſm; It being judged to afford a ſufficient ground for applying the Seal of the Covenant to the Infant Seed of Believers. For my own part I find not in the Scriptures Occaſion given for any long Diſcourſes about it; and I ſhall not deſire to be wiſe above what is written; And therefore I ſhall endeavour in few Words to repreſent ſome things grounded upon the records of matter of Fact, in the Scripture, which I conceive may be ſufficient to determine our Thoughts, as to the Iſſue of our preſent Enquiry about it. And they are theſe that follow:
§. 12. Firſt; The term Church in the Scriptures is not (that I find) applyed to any particular Society of Men united in one Body, in order to the maintaining of the publick and ſolemn Worſhip of God among themſelves; before the Children of Iſrael were compleately formed into a Church-ſtate, by the Covenant that God made with them in the Wilderneſs; They are called the Church in the Wilderneſs, Act. 7. 38. Yet I doubt not but all good Men before that time did belong to that general Aſſembly, and Church which Chriſt hath redeemed with his Blood, and made the Members of his Body; and I grant that we may (uſing the Term in a more laxe ſence) call any Family or Society of Men truly worſhiping God, a Church of God. Nevertheleſs, if we conſider the Circumſtances relating to the different State of things in thoſe different Times, it will appear, that no Society before the Jewiſh Church was formed, can be called a Church in ſo ſtrict, and proper a ſence as they might; for no other were ſo formed into a Church-ſtate as they were.
2. Before Abraham's time, there was no Inſtitution of an outward Sign, or, Seal of any Covenant to be applyed either to Infants or adult Perſons; And therefore there could be no Inauguration of this kind, or ſolemn Right of Initiation to Church Priviledg then in Uſe among them. All that can be ſaid of the Children born in thoſe Families and Societies, muſt iſſue in things of another Nature: viz. That they were under a more ſpecial and gracious Providence of God than others, as being Members of a Family peculiarly intereſted therein: They had alſo the Benefit of continual Prayers for them, and the Advantage of early and diligent Inſtruction, being brought up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord; and ſo preſerved from many Snares and Temptations that others are liable to, by the Diſcipline they were under; And being provoked to Religion by the pious and holy Example of thoſe they converſed with; as ſoon they were capable of it (if, when grown up, they did not break thro' all theſe Fences, and revolt to a wicked and irreligious Life) they actually joyned with that Family and Society to which they belonged, in the ſolemn Worſhip of God.
3. If we conſider Church-memberſhip in ſuch a Notion of it as will agree to that time wherein Circumciſion was firſt inſtituted, we can by no means conclude that a Right to Circumciſion did reſult therefrom; For certainly the Patriarchs, and other good Men then living, and their Families, were as truly Church-members, as Abraham and his Family; yet were they not therefore to be circumciſed, but the particular, Law and poſitive Inſtitution of this Ordinance, did alone determine the Subjects thereof. And moreover;
4. It was not Memberſhip in Abraham's Family ſingly and ſimply conſidered, that brought a Perſon under the Law of Circumciſion, without reſpect to other Circumſtances of Time and Sex expreſly ſet down in the Inſtitution; For Circumciſion was to be applyed to the Males only, tho' the Right of Church-memberſhip belonged as as well to the Females as to them: And it is no ſatisfactory Anſwer to ſay the Female is not a Subject capable of Circumciſion; For if it had pleaſed God to have made Church-memberſhip the reaſon and ground of applying this Seal of the Covenant, he could eaſily have appointed ſuch a Sign, as all Members had been capable of; Beſides, how doth it appear that the Females were utterly uncapable of any kind of Circumciſion? Save that God required no ſuch thing: Vitriacus reports that the Jacobites uſe Circumciſion of both Sexes; and ſo do the Habaſſines; and therefore the thing Breerw. Inquir.in it ſelf is not impoſſible; that which hath been done, may be done: Moreover we find the circumciſing of the Males was limited to the eighth day; it might not be done ſooner, nor delayed longer: and the Slaves that were bought with Mony muſt needs be circumciſed, tho' they were no Church-members, nor the Children of ſuch; from all which it is manifeſt, that they proceeded not upon a Notion of Church-memberſhip, but were ſtrictly governed by Divine-Inſtitution in the matter of circumciſing or not circumciſing.
5. To conclude; It is granted that the Jewiſh Infants were born Members of that Church; This Priviledg they had in the Fleſh; But this evidently belongs unto the national and typical Church-ſtate of that People; which State by the Goſpel is diſſolved, and is ſo inconſiſtent with the Miniſtration thereof, that the Poſition of the one, neceſſarily infers the Abolition of the other; And therefore this Right and Priviledg of the Jew which was in the very Foundation of their national Church-ſtate, as ſeparated from the Gentiles, cannot be transfer'd into, becauſe it will not comport with, the Goſpel-diſpenſation.
Beſides, It is evident throughout the whole Goſpel, that Right of Memberſhip in the Jewiſh Church, could never give to any, either Infant or Adult, a like Right of Memberſhip in the Goſpel Church; nor was there ever any one received thereinto, co nomine, becauſe he had ſuch a Right according to the State of the Old Covenant. And there is good Reaſon to conclude, that the carnal Seed of Believers can derive no higher Priviledg from the Covenant of Circumciſion, then the carnal Seed of Abraham obtained thereby: And if it could not bring the one into the Goſpel Church, nor give them a Right to Baptiſm without an actual Compliance with the Terms of the Goſpel, by Repentance and Faith, it can by no means do ſo for the other, tho' we ſhould ſuppoſe them concerned in it, as indeed they are not.
It remains therefore; That as Circumciſion of old Time was adminiſtred according to the poſitive Law, and expreſs Will of the Lord; ſo ought Baptiſm to be now, and no otherwiſe; neither can I ſee any ground to conclude for Paedobaptiſm, until ſuch a divine Law can be produced for the warrant of it, as was of old given, for circumciſing the Male Infants of the Jews.