into the world, born of a woman, and of his offering himself a sacrifice for sin, Adam and Eve were respited from death, and had a new trial appointed to them, under a more gracious covenant than the first; a covenant better adapted to their nature, now that it was weakened by sin. Their temporary respite from death, God intimated by saying to the woman, In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and to the man, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground. And their having a new trial appointed, was insinuated in the declaration, that the seed of the woman was to bruise the head of the serpent. For if they were still to live under the first covenant, the serpent's contrivance for their destruction would have taken effect inevitably. It could only be frustrated by their having an opportunity, under a new covenant, of regaining the life which they had forfeited by their first disobedience. Farther, that this gracious new covenant was procured for them by the death of the seed of the woman, was intimated by the bruising of his heel at the time he bruised the serpent's head. For although they might not, in that dark expression, discern the death of the seed of the woman as a sacrifice for their sin, God may have revealed it to them, together with its happy consequences. And the important discovery being made to them, in order that it might be perpetuated among their posterity, God may have appointed them to worship him by the sacrifice of beasts. It is true, Moses hath not said, that God ordered our first parents to offer such sacrifices; yet his telling us, that God accepted the sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock, which Abel offered to him, implies, that such a command was actually given by God; otherwise, the worshipping him by the sacrifice of beasts would have been will-worship, consequently it would not have been accepted by him.

Farther, as the bruising of the head of the serpent by the seed of the woman, and the serpent's bruising his heel, were of all the discoveries made to mankind in the first age, the most important, may we not suppose, that to teach mankind the meaning of the serpent's bruising the heel of the seed of the woman, namely, that it signified his death as an atonement for the sins of men, God commanded Abraham to offer up his only son as a burnt offering?—That this was its meaning, Abraham might conjecture from the extraordinary nature of the command: Or if, by the strength of his own reason, he could not discover this, the angel who spake to him after Isaac was laid on the altar, may have

made it known to him. For our Lord himself assures us, that Abraham saw his day with joy, John viii. 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.

2. And in the view of Christ's coming and offering himself a sacrifice for sin, all Adam's posterity are included in the gracious new covenant under which he was placed, after he was respited from death. For if Adam's posterity were included in the covenant under which he fell, so far as to be liable to death for his offence, it is reasonable to think, that they are likewise included in the new covenant which was made with him; and that thereby they have an opportunity given them, of regaining that bodily life which Adam forfeited for them.-Besides, if the law under which Adam's posterity now live, be the law of works, to what purpose hath God allowed them to come into existence? By obedience to that law none of them can obtain life, but for the smallest act of transgression must perish. This, then, is one of the great blessings which are procured for man. kind by Abraham's seed, Christ. In the prospect of his dying as a sacrifice for sin, they have obtained a trial under a more gracious covenant than the first; and this favour is not confined to any one nation or race of men, but is extended to all the posterity of Adam, without excepting any of them. So that, in respect of this happy effect of his coming into the world in the human nature, he may truly be said to have died for all. See 2 Cor. v. 15. note 1.

3. By dying as a sacrifice for sin, Abraham's seed, Christ, hath obtained for all the nations of the earth deliverance from death, the curse of the law which Adam brake: so the apostle assures us, Gal. iii. 13. Christ hath bought us off from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. His meaning, however, is not that any of Adam's posterity is to escape temporal death, but that they are all to be raised from the dead by Christ, in order to their receiving reward or punishment according to what they have done in this life, whether it hath been good or bad. They who, by giving the obedience of faith, have fulfilled the gracious requisitions of the new covenant under which they were mercifully placed; and who, when they failed in particular instances, have repented of these failures, shall be pardoned and rewarded with eternal life; but they who have neither given this obedience, nor repented of their sinful courses, shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

4. As the reward of his dying for the sins of men, Abraham's seed, Christ, after his resurrection, was exalted to the government of the world. Wherefore seeing he exercises that government with the greatest wisdom, and power, and goodness, for the benefit of mankind, all the nations of the earth have, by his government of the world, been greatly blessed in him. And in particular, they have been blessed in him with the influences of the Spirit, to enable them to overcome the evil propensities of their nature, and to fulfil the requisitions of the law of faith, under which he hath placed them. In one word, all the nations of the earth being indebted to Abraham's seed, Christ, for every blessing of providence and of grace which they enjoy, or hope to enjoy, they have been greatly blessed in him.

5. Many nations of the earth have been blessed in Abraham's seed, Christ, with the knowledge of the true God, and of the way of salvation, and of the rewards and punishments of a future state. For these, with the other doctrines of true religion, Christ made known to his holy apostles and prophets by inspiration; and through the fidelity and diligence with which they published these things to the world, the knowledge of them was given to many nations in the first age, and hath been continued among them ever since, and even spread in the world, by the stated ministry of the word. Nevertheless, all the nations of the earth have not as yet heard the gospel; nor have all obeyed it to whom it hath been preached. But the prophets have foretold, and we believe that in some future period the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God, by means of the gospel preached every where, and received every where. So that, as was foretold, Psal. Ixxii. 17. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

These are the blessings which were to come on all the nations of the earth, through Abraham's seed, Christ, because Abraham obeyed God's voice in offering up his only son Isaac as a burntoffering. By this, however, God did not mean that Abraham's obedience procured these blessings for the nations through Christ; but that as the reward of his obedience in the affair of Isaac, God promised that the person, through whom these blessings were to come on the nations, should be one of Abraham's seed. This interpretation is agreeable to the plain meaning of the words, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice,

CONCLUSION.

Having explained God's promises to Abraham, both in their literal and allegorical meaning, and having shewed in what manner they have been already fulfilled, or are yet to be fulfilled to the heirs thereof, it will be useful to look back and take a view of the great discoveries, which were made of God's gracious purposes respecting mankind, in that ancient oracle which God himself hath dignified with the appellation of his covenant with Abraham. First then, in promising to bless Abraham exceedingly, it appears that God declared his intention to bestow on him the great blessing of justification by faith, that is, his intention both to pardon his sins, and to reward him as a righteous person for his faith. In consequence of his pardon, Abraham is to be delivered from death, the punishment of sin, by being raised from the dead. And with respect to his reward, it will consist in the everlasting possession of that heavenly country, of which the earthly country promised to him and to his natural seed, was the emblem and pledge.-2. By constituting Abraham the father of many nations, God declared that he will consider all in every nation who imitate Abraham in his faith and obedience, as Abraham's seed, and perform to them the blessings promised in the covenant to Abraham's seed; consequently, believers of all nations are like Abraham to be justified by faith; they are to be pardoned, and to obtain the everlasting inheritance of heaven, after being raised from the dead. Also in heaven they are to have God for the object of their worship, and the source of their happiness to all eternity. And these blessings, which are all to come on them through Abraham's seed, Christ, are in the covenant, declared to be the common privilege of believers of every age and nation, as Abraham's seed, whether they have lived in any visible church of God on earth or not.-3. But, which is of the greatest importance in this matter, it is expressly declared, that the blessings promised in the covenant, are not to come on any, but on those whose faith is accompanied with habitual obedience. This God declared concerning Abraham himself, Gen. xviii. 19. I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. Thus it appears, that the principal doctrines, precepts,

and promises, which were afterwards made known to the world more plainly in the gospel, were discovered to the Israelites in the covenant which God made with their father Abraham: so that, properly speaking, it was the gospel of the Israelites, and the rule of their justification.

It is true, the discoveries in the covenant with Abraham are not very obvious to us, because we are not accustomed to the allegorical method of instruction used in ancient times. But that method being familiar to the Israelites, they were at no loss to know, that the temporal blessings promised to the natural seed of Abraham, were emblems of those eternal blessings which belong to his seed by faith, and were in fact promises of these blessings to them. Farther, seeing the temporal blessings promised to the natural seed, were all things future, and some of them at a great distance in point of time, their coming to pass exactly as they were promised, hath become to us both a proof and a pledge, that the eternal blessings of which they are the prefigurations, shall be fulfilled to the spiritual seed in due season. For instance, Can any person of good sense and candour, who considers by what wonderful exertions of the divine power, Abraham's natural seed were brought out of Egypt, preserved in the wilderness during the space of forty years, and then put in possession of Canaan, the country promised to them in the covenant, entertain the least doubt of God's willingness and power to raise all Abraham's spiritual seed from the dead, and to introduce them into the heavenly country, of which the introduction of his natural seed into the earthly country, was both an emblem and a pledge?