felves with Cain's race, and joined with them in their apoftofy and wickedness. This was the caufe of the flood; from which Noah and his family were preferved in the ark; which was another figure of falvation by Chrift's righteoufnefs in the church; and God's covenant with Noah, and every living thing, having the rainbow for the fign of it, was fubfervient unto God's defign of grace revealed in the promife. There seems alfo to be fomething of the gofprl in that faying of Noah, Gen. ix. 26. 27. "Bleffed be the Lord God of Shem," &c. "God fhall enlarge Japhet, and he shall dwell in the tents " of Shem." Something is here intimated of Ifrael, the pofterity of Shem, their being the church and people of God, and of the promised feed his coming of Shem; and then of the Gentiles their becoming fellow-heirs with the Jews, and partakers of the promise in Chrift by the gospel. But, left the controverfy that the Lord had established in the earth fhould fail, when the world of the ungodly are. thus destroyed, Ham is preserved in the ark, and fo it broke out again in Noah's family. After fome time the pofterity of Japhet, and perhaps many of the feed of Shem, joined with the curfed apoftate race of Ham, in that matter of building the tower. That which they propofed was a firm union among themselves, and greatnefs in the earth, a great name. Thus, as the race of Seth mingled themselves with Cain's feed, to fulfill the luft of the flesh, or fenfuality; fo the pofterity of Shem and Japhet joined themselves with the race of Ham, to fulfill the pride of life, to make themfelves great and famous in the earth. And this union also difpleafed the Lord, fo that he gives it as the reafon of his confounding their language, Gen. xi. 4. 6. “Behold, the peo"ple is one." : This confounding their language was a dreadful judgment upon that generation; for, as it utterly difappointed their worldly defigns, fo it put an effectual ftop to the continuance and propagation of the knowledge of the true God, and the promifed feed among them and from that time God fuffered their pofterity, the nations, to walk in their own ways; they became vain in their imaginations, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into images made like to corruptible things, and worshipped the creature. This became foon fo univerfal, that, when God called Abraham, he was ferving other gods, Jof. xxiv. 2. Thus God ftraitened them by the confounding of their language, and ftraitened Japhet not to be enlarged till the time of giving the gift of languages. But the Lord would not thus fuffer the controversy that he had established by his promife utterly to fail in the earth; fo be called Abraham, of the feed of Shem, and gave him the promife of Chrift, and feparated him, and his feed Ifaac and Jacob, and the children of Ifrael, from the nations, till Chrift the promised feed should come of him. We must carefully confider the promise made to Abraham: for now the revelation of Chrift the feed became more clear, and the distinction betwixt the Old Teftament and the New, must be understood in a great measure by the due understanding of this. It must be agreed among Chriftians, that own the authority of the New Teftament, that Chrift is that feed promised to Abraham," in whom all the nations of the earth fhould be "bleffed," Gen. xii. 3. and xxii. 18. compare Gal. iii. 16. So that here the gospel is preached before unto Abraham, Gal. iii. 8. By the nations in this promise we cannot under. stand all and every one in the nations; nor can we confider them as fuch political bodies of men in the earth; but, according to the New-Teftament explication, "It is a great multi"tude of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," Rev. vii. 9. and v. 9. For otherwife, if that promife should be accomplished before the coming of Chrift, there would be an end of all vifible controverfy between the feed of the woman and of the ferpent; which we have ground to think cannot be. See Luke xii. 49.—53. John xvii. 20. 21. Matth. xxiv. and xvi. 24. 1 Cor. xv. 19. 2 Tim. iii. 12. The apoftles fhew plainly, that this promise to Abraham had the beginning of its accomplishment in their day, and that to a wonder; and yet there was then no whole nation, nor any one nation, in a national capacity, bleffed in Christ. But this will be evident, if we confider, that the bleffedness spo. ken of in this promise is spiritual and eternal, and must be acknowledged fo to be by them that take the New-Testament account of it, Gal. iii. 8. 9. 14. "And the fcripture fore"feeing, that God would justify the Heathen through faith, "preached before the gospel unto Abraham, faying, In thee "ball all nations be bieffed. So then they which be of faith, "( are bleffed with faithful Abraham.-That the blessing of "Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jefus Chrift; "that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through "faith." It is manifeft, no nation of this world can, in a national capacity, be the fubject of juftification by faith; and and of the promise of the Spirit, which we receive through faith; and it is as certain, that every perfon in the nations of the world is not to partake of this bleffedness. What remains, therefore, but that it should be those who are redeemed by Christ out of every nation? And thus we find out the intent of the writings of the prophets about the nations: for these are enlargements upon this promife to Abraham. Thus far, then, God's promise to Abraham was fpiritual and eternal. And here lay the object of that faith whereby Abraham was juftified, and eternally faved; even as his fpiritual feed of all nations are blessed with him, in the faith of the fame thing, that was then to be found in the promise, but now in the accomplishment of that promife, as is decla red in the gospel. Yet there was fomething in this promise peculiar to Abraham, and not common to him with all believers; and that was, that Christ should come of his feed, Gal iii 16. Heb.ii. 16. That this might be evidently fulfilled, it was neceffary that Abraham's feed according to the flesh, of whom Chrift was to come, fhould be preserved distinct from other people, till the promised feed, Chrift, fhould come of them. And of this that was peculiar to Abraham in the promife of Chrift, there came another promife, which we may fee Gen. xii. 2. 7. "I will make of thee a great nation "Unto thy feed will I give this land." See likewife Gen. xiii. 14. 15. and Gen. xv. from y 13. It is evident this promife was temporal, as the other is fpiritual and eternal, and fell to be accomplished before that other. And this temporal promise was given as a pledge of the accomplishment of the eternal promife, and carried in it a type, or earthly pattern, of the heavenly things of that promife. For the land of Canaan, promised as an inheritance to his feed according to the flesh, was a type of the heavenly inheritance: and fo Ab raham, Ifaac, and Jacob, took it to be, Heb. xi. 8. 9. 10. 14. 15. 16. And the feed of Abraham according to the flesh, that became a nation, and inherited Canaan's land, is evidently a type of Abraham's fpiritual feed of all nations, the heavenly nation, that inherits the heavenly country. And the difference betwixt thefe two was typified by Ifhmael, the fon of the bond woman, and Ifaac, the fon of the free woman, in Abraham's family, Gal. iv. 21. 31. This twofold promife laid the foundation of a twofold relation to God; the one fpiritual and eternal, betwixt God and them that believed the fpiritual promise, and all the chil dren dren of Abraham according to the fpirit, in all the nations of the earth; the other earthly and temporal, betwixt God and the feed of Abraham according to the flesh; which it behoved fo far to continue till Chrift came, as the end defigned by it required. Of both thefe God fpeaks to Abraham, Gen. xvii. when he gives him the covenant of cir cumcifion, to be kept by him, and his feed after him, in their generations. This circumcifion was a fign of Chrift's being to come of Abraham's feed according to the flesh; and it reprefented the fhedding the blood of that promised feed, and the putting off the body of the fins of the flesh, and was a feal of the righteoufnefs of faith to them that believed in the feed to come: fo that, by the nature of it, it fell to be done away by the coming of that promised feed: and therefore it belonged to the temporal promife, and the temporal relation betwixt God and Abraham's feed according to the flesh, as that promise and relation was fubfervient, and had a reference unto the eternal promife, and the relation arising therefrom. And thus God made the covenant of circumcifion with Abraham, to be a God unto him, and to his feed after him, in their generations (Gen. xvii. 7.1 1. &c.); by this means feparating Abraham and his feed, that were to be a nation, and inherit Canaan, to be a peculiar people to him above all people, and inclofing the promise of Chrift among this circumcifed people, till that promifed feed fhould come. But hitherto Abraham's twofold promife was not accomplished therefore when God gave him the covenant of circumcifion, he made himself known to him only by the name of God Almighty, able to accomplish all that he had promifed. Abraham's faith was exercifed with many feeming impoffibilities ftanding in the way of the accomplishment of both the promises; yet it was victorious; and he became therein a noble pattern to all that should believe; and "died "in faith, not having received the promises," as did alfo Ifaac and Jacob after him; the temporal promise not being yet fulfilled; and it behoved it to be fulfilled before that which is fpiritual and eternal. Now, when the Lord proceeded to fulfill the temporal pro. mife made to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, to make their feed a nation, and give them the promised land, he did it by means of a covenant, even that which he made with them "when he took them by the hand, to bring them out of the "land of Egypt," by the mediation of Mofes, Exod. xix. 3.-8. This is called the old covenant, Heb. viii, on ac count count of the temporal relation between the Lord and that nation, which is done away. It is alfo called the law, Gal. iii. 17. Heb. x. 1. because of the law therein given to the nation of Ifrael; and the firft teftament, Heb. ix. 15. on account of the typical adoption, and the temporal inheritance, which was firft given before the promife of the eternal inheritance was fulfilled. And when he proceeded, in the fulness of time, to fulfill that great fpiritual and eternal promife, of bleffing all nations in Chrift, he does it by means of another covenant, even that which he makes by the mediation of Jefus Chrift with Abraham's fpiritual feed of all na tions, redeemed from fpiritual bondage and the wrath to come, by the blood of the Lamb, the truly holy and heavenly nation. This is called the new covenant, Heb. viii. because of the new fpiritual and eternal relation betwixt God and this new nation, made up of all the nations of the earth; which could not be, without making old that covenant whereby he flood peculiarly related to one nation, and whereby the uncircumcifed nations "were without God in the "world," Eph. ii. from y 13. And it is called the new teftament, on account of the true adoption, Gal. iv. 1.—7. and the eternal inheritance therein given to as many of all nations as the Lord calls, now when the first inheritance iş done away, Heb. ix. 15. This is the better covenant; as much better, as the fure promifes of fpiritual and eternal bleffedness to all nations in heavenly places in Chrift, upon which it is established, are better than the promises of temporal bleffings in earthly places to the nation of Ifrael, upon which that firft covenant was established; as much better, as the whole people within the bond of this covenant, whose fins God remembers no more, who all of them know him, and in whofe hearts his law is written, that they may never depart from him, are better than that covenanted nation, which continued not in that fame covenant whereby it was related to God, and was caft off by him; and as much bet ter, as the blood of the Son of God fealing this covenant, is better than the blood of beafts dedicating the firft, and as his mediation is better than the mediation of Mofes. And thefe are the two covenants or teftaments of which the Apoftle fpeaks, Gal iv. Heb. viii. and ix. Our divines are very fhy to use the fcripture expreffion in this cafe, and fhun to call them two covenants, but think they exprefs the thing better, when they call them two dif penfations of the covenant of grace. And they take this way |