to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. (Exodus vi. 4.) Stephen notices that though God promised to give the land to Abraham for a possession, and to his seed after him, yet that he gave him none inheritance in it-no, not so much as to set his foot on. (Acts vii. 4, 5.) And how does St. Paul argue from all this? Why, "that these all died in FAITH, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were PERSUADED of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country." (Hebrews xi. 13, 14.) His words before Agrippa plainly evince his expectation to have been that this promise should be fulfilled to the patriarchs, by a resurrection: "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come,-for which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" (Acts xxvii. 6-8.) Here the promise to the fathers, and the resurrection from the dead are both evidently in the mind of the Apostle, as connected together: and what was this promise to the fathers? There is no express mention to them of a resurrection; and though several things are included in the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; yet is there not one of them which requires a resurrection from the dead to fulfil it, excepting the promise of the land. It was this, therefore, which must have led Paul to couple the promise to the fathers with the resurrection from the dead.

There are not wanting plain and explicit references to the subject in the New Testament. To give an example or two, Zacharias prophesied at the circumcision of John the Baptist, that Jesus was raised up "to perform the mercy to* our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he sware to our father Abraham," &c. And that the performance of this mercy to them respects the resurrection is evident from Matt. viii. 11. "Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven:" which kingdom will hereafter be shown to be the kingdom of Christ. It was this kingdom, concerning which the disciples asked him, after his resurrection, "Whether he would at that time restore it unto Israel," (Acts i. 6.) But it

* In our version the word "promised" is supplied, which, though giving a good sense in itself, diverts attention from the resurrection. It is not merely the mercy promised to the fathers that Jesus came to perform; but more directly to perform the mercy to them, which in due time he will effect.

would be anticipating the subject of a future chapter, to enlarge upon this point here.

It may nevertheless be objected to this view, that the possession of Palestine, by the posterity of Israel, from the time of Joshua until the captivity, and again till their final dispersion, is a fulfilment of the promise. Now it is plain, if a correct view has been taken of the sentiments of St. Paul and others, that they did not consider this as a fulfilment of the original promise; but there are further considerations which require notice on this head. First, it must be observed that the inheritance of the land under Joshua is expressly promised to Abraham, in the first instance, as a token and pledge that he should inherit it, for he asks: "Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" That is, he requires a sign or token in the way of assurance; then the Lord directs him to take an heifer of three years old, a she goat, &c., and divide them; and after they are disposed in order, according to the form of entering into solemn covenant, a horror of great darkness comes on Abraham, and the Lord informs him that his seed should be a stranger in a land not theirs, and that afterwards God would judge that nation and bring them out with great substance; that in the meanwhile Abraham should go to his fathers in peace; but in the fourth generation his posterity should come hither again. And after this is seen the burning lamp, the symbol of the Lord's presence, passing between those pieces; and it is immediately added,—that in the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates," &c. (Genesis xv.) This is the frequent manner of God, (as will be shown more at large in the fourth chapter of this volume) to grant a sort of inchoate fulfilment or prelibation of a promise, as the token and pledge of a more complete one. Thus he promises to Sarah a child at a "set time appointed," (Gen. xvii. 21; xxi. 2,) as the pledge that in her seed all nations should be blessed: whilst yet we see that the chief burden of the promise is sustained and carried forward to a seed yet to come; in that the promise is afterwards renewed to Jacob, the son of that seed given as a pledge to Sarah, that in his seed should all nations be blessed. So that the birth of Isaac would be an event for believers afterward to look back upon, and encourage themselves from it in regard to the future. And in like manner the possession of Canaan under Joshua would serve in the way of retrospect for the faithful in after ages to strengthen themselves in the persuasion, that there remaineth still a rest for the people of God; even as the Lord subsequently holds out to them, by his Spi

*

rit in the Apostle. And as the great deliverance of the people from Egypt and their occupation of Canaan under Joshua, were but as an antepast of that greater deliverance and subsequent occupation which Israel shall hereafter experience; so, consistently with this appointment, it is intimated that the time would arrive when this former deliverance should no longer be reverted to, or come into mind, being forgotten or cast aside, like all other mere types and shadows. For the prophet twice declares: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands whither he had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their Fathers."†

Now it is the general character of a merely inchoate fulfilment, that in some eminent particulars it falls short of the terms of the promise. For example, the land in the present instance is covenanted from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates; which the Israelites did at no time, under Joshua, possess. Nor did they ever at any other period possess it to this extent, unless indeed we except a short period under Solomon: though this does not answer to the terms of the grant, since the territory surrounding Judea was not held absolutely by displacing the Canaanitish or other heathen inhabitants, but by subjecting them to tribute. Again, it is promised-"To thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever: (Gen. xiii. 15.) And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession." (Gen. xv. 8.) Now it would be trifling with the verity of God, who declares that not one jot or tittle shall pass away of all that he hath spoken, to allege that a merely temporary, and limited, and constantly interrupted occupation of the land, like that of Israel from the time of Joshua to Titus Vespasian, could possibly be the accomplishment of the promise here made in its proper and complete sense. It must, therefore, have a respect to that future occupation, of which the prophet Amos says:"They shall no more be pulled up out of the land." (Chap. ix. 15.)

* See the argument of the Apostle. Heb. iv. 8, 9, &c.

+ See Jer. xvi. 14, 15, and xxiii. 7, 8. The parallel might be carried out further; for the circumstance that Isaac was a child of promise, is declared to be typical of all believers; and the horror of great darkness which Abraham experienced, as it indicated the affliction which his posterity was to experience just prior to their deliverance in Egypt, so was it further significant of the time of Jacob's trouble, that "great tribulation" to be experienced by the Church just before the time of its final deliverance.

+ See Joshua xvi. 10; xvii. 13. and 1 Kings iv. 21, 24; ix. 20, 21.

In discussing, however, this promise, as made to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it must again be borne in mind, that Christ is pre-eminently THE seed. Consequently the promise of the inheritance must respect HIм, as well as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the other children of the promise: for indeed "all the promises of God are in him yea, and in him Amen." We consequently find, that the land of Palestine is specially called "Immanuel's land," in connexion with the promise to Israel, that a virgin should conceive and bear a child to be called Immanuel. We shall, indeed, upon more close investigation, find a length and breadth in this part of the covenant, beyond what we have yet noticed. For the promise of Palestine, in the extent already pointed out, is after all, but as a splendid enclosure within a much more vast inheritance-a sanctum sanctorum, standing in relation to the whole world, like 'as Goshen did to the rest of Egypt. For the Apostle says, "that the promise to Abraham was, that he should be heir of the world," (Rom. iv. 13;) and this cannot, apparently, be gathered out of the original grant, excepting from the fact, that he should be the father of many nations, and that out of him should come that company of kings who should be rulers over all other nations; (Gen. xvii. 4; xxxv. 11;) just as it is interpreted by the Psalmist, that they should be "princes in all the earth." (Psalm xlv. 16.) In the repetition of these promises to Sarah, the reading of the Septuagint and Vulgate is remarkable. The English is "And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her; (mark the word 'also' here, as showing that this is not the seed primarily intended,) yea, I will bless her, and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall be of HER," (Gen. xvii. 6.) But the Septuagint understand the latter part of the verse as relating, not to Sarah, but to the Seed, viz.—Και ευλογησω ΑΥΤΟ [το τεκνον] και εσται εις εθνη, και βασιλεις εθνων εξ ATTOT STOVTα—“And I will bless him, and he shall be for the nations (or Gentiles) and kings of nations (or Gentiles) shall be of him." Grounded, therefore, on this portion of the covenant was the expectation, in regard to Christ, that he should "rise to reign over the Gentiles," (Rom. xv. 12;) thus also expressed by the Psalmist "Arise, O God, judge the earth; for thou shalt inherit all nations." Psalm lxxxii. 8.

3. The third particular of the covenant yet remains to be considered.

The great and only real source of happiness to the creature is the enjoyment of God himself. Without this, none can be truly blessed; and the more open and unclouded is the mani

* Compare Isaiah vii. 14, and viii. 8.

festation of the Deity to the spiritual man, the more abundant is the blessedness enjoyed. That the immediate enjoyment of God forms part of the happiness promised to Abraham and his seed, may therefore be inferred from the mere fact that God blesses him, and declares, that "in blessing he WILL bless him;" (Gen. xxii. 17;) for the possession of the world, and of a countless offspring, and the having a numerous company of kings proceed out of his loins, were, in itself, a vanity, unless the enjoyment of God accompany the gift.

But we are not left to deduce so important a conclusion from inference only. The Lord expressly declares, "fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield, and thy EXCEEDING GREAT REWARD!" (Gen. xv. 1.) And again: "I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee:-and I will be THEIR God," (Gen. xvii. 7, 8.) "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whithersoever thou goest," (Gen. xxviii. 15;) "and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." (Gen. xxii. 17.) In these promises is comprehended all spiritual blessings. Here is protection against enemies, in that God is "to be with" his people, and "to compass them about as with a shield;"-here is the assurance of victory over all their enemies, "that they may serve without fear before him;"—here is their present and final bliss, in the enjoyment of God as their exceeding― EXCEEDING great reward!

When

These things necessarily imply the personal sanctification of the people of God: for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord;" nor can God walk with any, or prove a reward to them, until there be in them a certain meetness of spirit, to enable them to delight in God. But these things may be more directly inferred from the express terms of the covenant. Isaac prays, in the behalf of Jacob: "God give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed after thee, that thou mayest inherit the land," it is inferable that this blessing is needful, in its spiritual bearing, to enable any to be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance with the saints in light; and that, except they are thus blessed, they cannot inherit the land.*

* The same thing is implied in the apostolic command, "Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother, (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth," or land, (Ephes. vi. 1, 2.) The apostle here points out the connection between the obedience of faith and the possession of the land. That he refers to the promise to Abraham in the words, "that thou mayest live long on the earth," is evident, first, in that length of days was by no means enjoyed by the most holy of the primitive Christians, whether old or young; and, secondly, in that the Jews were immediately about to be ejected from that land.