reversion, and never have it in poffeffion at all, Now therefore as Abraham knew, that this everlafting poffeffion of all the land of Canaan was to be his after death, he muft understand it to have belonged to his feed after death too; which would plainly fhew him, that by his feed here, he was to understand his imitators, and not his defcendants. This would likewife farther appear to him from hence, that God here promifes this everlasting poffeffion of Canaan to his feed" in their generations," ver. 7. or which is the fame thing, in all their generations: whereas God had told him, ch. XV. 16. that none of his feed fhould have any poffeffion in Canaan, till the fourth generation. See paraphrafe and notes, N°. V. on Gen. xvii. 5. and on ver. 8.

2. The condition of the promise was, "Walk "before me, and be thou perfect," ver. 1. Now as Abraham understood, that this was the condition, on the performance of which alone, the everlasting poffeffion of all the land of Canaan would continue to him; he muft of course understand, that it was only on the fame condition that it would continue to others. The promise of this everlasting poffeffion was not abfolute, as the promise was, ch. xv. 16. which ran thus; that "in the "fourth generation they fhall come hither again." The promise therefore of the everlasting poffeffion of Canaan could not belong to any of his feed, that did not perform the condition. And would Abraham imagine that that promise would not belong to any of the other families of the earth, who hould perform this condition? fuch as Melchizedech, Lot, Job, &c. purely because they did 2ot defcend from him? Surely he would be far

from

from arrogating any thing fo prefumptuously to himfelf; or from imputing any thing fo injurious to the Almighty. For fhall the Judge of all the earth do wrong, and become a respecter of perfons? or, fhall not he that is unchangeable, ever bear the fame refpects to the fame objects? Accordingly God tells Abraham, that this his everlafting covenant, or the covenant to give the everlasting poffeffion of Canaan on walking before God, and being perfect, fhould be made with Isaac after him (an imitator of him), and not with Ishmael, ver. 19, 21. (who profanely mocked at this fon of the promife, Gen. xxi. 9, 10. Gal. iv. 29.) and at his everlafting poffeffion.

3. The promife is not only to give the everlafting poffeffion of Canaan to Abraham, but to his feed. At the beginning of this Note, I have obferved that fons or children, fometimes fignify imitators in the antediluvian period. And both the former arguments drawn from this chapter, prove it must be understood fo here. But I'will now in the third place farther fhew, that imitators is more remarkably the meaning of the word feed, through the period, that is now under our Confideration, wherever the connection does not neceffarily oblige us to interpret it of natural defcendants. See No. V. The paraphrafe and notes on Gen. xvii. 8. Thus is it to be underftood in that famous promife made to Abraham, "In thy feed fhall all the nations of the earth be "bleffed;" Gen. xxii. 18. and in the parallel promifes made to Ifaac, Gen. xxvi. 4. and to Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 14. In all which places feed does not fignify natural defcendants, or even Jesus Christ himfelf, one of their natural defcendants; but fig

nifies

nifies imitators: the fenfe being," And in (being, "or becoming) thy feed, (that is, thy imitators, "in walking before me, and being perfect) all "the nations of the earth fhall be bleffed ;" (that is, fhall have the curfe removed from them, and the original bleffing reftored to them.) That the meaning of feed in this promife is Abraham's imitators, and not Jefus Chrift, one of his natural descendants, as has been hitherto thought, is plain from these confiderations: 1. That the New Teftament Writers never quote this promife as applicable to Jefus Chrift; which they could hardly have omitted, if by feed in thefe places Jefus Christ had been intended. Nay, they are fo far from this, that none of them ever mention Jefus Chrift's being a fon of Abraham, but only in his genealogy, Matth. i. 1. Luke iii. 34. Whereas they often mention Jefus Chrift's being a fon of David; he being very often prophefied of under that appellation in the time of David, and ever after, as long as prophecy continued, among the Jews. 2. That the New Teftament Writers ever interpret feed in thofe promises that were made to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, in the places in Genefis, just now quoted, to be imitators, and not defcendants; fee Rom. iv. 12-18. ix. 7—13. Gaf. iii. 6—11, 16, 19, 26-29. As alfo St. Peter in like manner calls the imitators of Sarah, her daugh-, ters, 1 Pet. iii. 6. 3. Because the New Teftament Writers make no manner of difference between God's faying, " In thee, and in thy feed, 66 fhall all the families of the earth be bleffed:" which yet could not be thought the fame precife fenfe, unless they understood it thus: "In thee, "that is, in imitating thee, and in thy feed,

"that

"that is, in being thy imitators, fhall all the "families of the earth be bleffed :" or thus: in my bleffing thee, fhall all the nations of the earth be bleffed alfo, that imitate thee: which is in effect the fame. See Gal. iii. 7, 8. (quoted from Gen. xii. 3. xviii. 18.) compared with ver. 16, 29. It must be owned indeed, that St. Paul in one place, namely, Gal. iii. 16. fays, " And to thy feed, "which is Christ;" by which Jefus Chrift has been hitherto univerfally understood. But Christ there, does not fignify Jefus Chrift; but the people anointed by the fpirit: or, in other words, the children, feed, or imitators of Abraham, both Jews and Gentiles, ver. ult. But to prove this, and to give a full account of St. Paul's whole thread of argument in that chapter, in order to make this interpretation out, would require more room than can be allotted to it here; and I will therefore referve it for a Differtation, N°. VI. at the end of this volume, where the reader may fee all that I have to offer to his confideration on this head; and by which, I hope, that dark and difficult chapter will ftand in a clear light for the future. See the Expofition on feveral portions of Genefis, N°. V.

NOTE (33).

"Gave him a new name, fignifying the matter "of his promife," Gen. xvii. 5. That name was Abraham. See Expofition on feveral portions of Gen. No. V. particularly on Gen. xvii. 5.

NOTE

NOTE (34).

"Or as a mark in their flefh; and as a fign, ❝ and feal, that God would give them the double adoption he had promifed them."

66

That it was a mark in their flesh, is fufficiently plain.

That it was to be in the flesh of all the males that were a fettled part of Abraham's family, is as plain; because it was enjoined to Abraham, to his fons, to him that was born in his houfe, namely, the fons of his fervants, and to him that was bought with his money, from any ftranger; and for the future, all males that were born to him, to his fons, or to his flaves, were to be circumcifed the eighth day. See Gen. xvii. 10-15. 23-27. From hence it is plain, that circumcifion was not enjoined to any imitator of his, that was not of his family; or to an hired fervant, who was but a fluctuating and an unfettled part of it.

That it was a fign to Abraham's family, to diftinguish it from all other families, is also plain; for that is the meaning of its being a token, or a fign, as is evident from the ufe of the word fign generally throughout Mofes's writings. So God always fays of fabbaths, and circumcifion, that he had given them to the Ifraelites for figns; they being the two things that peculiarly diftinguished them from all other nations. Exod. xxxi. 13, 17. Ezek.

XX. 12, 20.

That confequently it was enjoined only to fuch as were capable of a double adoption, namely, to a temporal, and to an everlasting poffeffion, is likewife plain; because it was for that reafon that

Ishmael,