•^ 
 
 PRINCETON , N. J. 
 
 % 
 
 Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Agneiv Coll. on Baptism, No. 
 
 5==;<co 
 
 '=^001 
 
 ' UOBKItT"»« 
 BOOXSHr./.h 
 
 ' N'l Auliiiua St 
 KDl.NH riM 
 
"dissertations 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ABRAHAMIC COVENANT, 
 
 SHEWING ITS CONNEXION 
 
 ■VVITH THE 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT DISPENSATION, 
 
 IN RELATION TO 
 
 THE ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 AN ESSAY ON CHRISTIAN FORBEARANCE. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.— Gen. xiiL 18, 
 
 If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to 
 the promise. Gal. iii. 29. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 PRINTED FOR OGLE, ALLARDICG AMD THOMSON, AND A. BLACK 
 
 M. OGLE, GLASGOW; T. HAMILTON, AND R. OGLEj 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 1817. 
 
INTRODCJCTION 
 
 J\. FRIEND of mine, happening lately to fall in witfi 
 one who was proposing to publish a book to the world, 
 inquired what was the motive he had in view ? whe- 
 ther profit or fame, or both ? To which the intended 
 author promptly replied, that he trusted it was neither, 
 but utiliti/ alone. Now, though this be not the place 
 to indulge in commendations either of men or of things,, 
 but simply to give an account of what is intended in 
 the following sheets ; yet the sentiment drawn forth by 
 the above interrogation is so unquestionably just and 
 proper in itself, that we cannot but take the liberty to. 
 approve of it, and to wish, in our turn likewise, from 
 the bottom of our heart, that, having a similar object 
 in view, we were more and more under its influence. 
 What, alas ! are all the empty titles, the vain and 
 perishing honours or wealth which a world can bestow, 
 compared with the condition of a benefactor of man- 
 kind ? To live, not to himself, but to God, is the.glo- 
 if of a Christian ; and to spend the few years which 
 are allotted him in this world of sin and misery, not for 
 the aggrandizement of himself, not to purchase himself 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 a name amongst his brethren, but really to be useful to 
 them, in one way or other, is what he ought continual- 
 ly to have in view. 
 
 As to the particular subject of the following inquiry, 1 
 am well aware, that prejudice against it runs exceed- 
 ingly high in many of my brethren ; and that it has 
 been no uncommon thing to talk of some who have 
 lately seen it their duty to change their sentiments in 
 regard to it, as if their imagination w^ere disordered, 
 and of others, as if their situation were such as to lay 
 them under a kind of constraint to act as they do. 
 Whether or not these objections, as they apply to others, 
 be well or ill founded, it is not for me to decide ; but 
 in as far as they may be brought against myself, I cer- 
 tainly feel concerned to remove every thing of the 
 kind, particularly as I conceive it to be truth^ and not 
 the petty interests of a private individual, that are here 
 at stake. 
 
 In answer, therefore, to the first insinuation respect- 
 ing a disordered state of the mind, without passing en-- 
 comiums more or less, a thing rather indelicate in one 
 who is personally concerned, the following inquiry is 
 humbly referred to, as a criterion whereby any one 
 may judge of this matter. Nor is it less a matter of 
 thankfulness to an independent mind, to be in a situa- 
 tion independent of any one, God alone excepted, so 
 that he might be under no temptation of espousing auj 
 principle but such as flows from the deliberate con- 
 viction of his own mind. 5uch, I am happy to say, is 
 my situation, though I by no means intend to boast of 
 it as being great or flattering in itself: but only, as it 
 renders me independent of all oth^s, save of him in 
 whom I live, move, and have my being ; so, whatever 
 be my views, I boldly declare that a dependent situa- 
 tion caa never be urged against me as the cause of 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 my change, as I know it to have been done against 
 some others *. 
 
 There is yet another advantage which I now hap- 
 pen to possess, the lack of which has been bitterly 
 complained of, a^nd perhaps too justly, in others, and 
 this is, the giving ones-self time to investigate the sub- 
 ject with coolness and _]deliberation. It is now several 
 years since my mind was led, in a providential manner, 
 presently to be related, to attend particularly to the sub- 
 ject ; and though, duinng that period, I have had a 
 taultiplicitj of objects to engage my attention, yet I 
 trust that the views contained in the following investi- 
 gation, will not only manifest my attention to this one ,ia 
 particular, but warrant me with some grace in subiuit- 
 ting the result to the public. 
 
 The manner in which I was led to the consideration 
 of this subject was simply as follov/s. In the first placc,- 
 let it be observed, that I am not ashamed to acknow- 
 ledge myself to have been trained up from my infancy, 
 arnd to have professed when I came to years, the prin- 
 ciples of Pedo-baptists ; and from all that I could col- 
 lect either from reading or meditation, &c. I conceived 
 
 * The idea in regard to situation, may be extended beyond a 
 merely dependent one. When a person's situation has been 
 thought to be uncomfortable, when his affairs, either in reguid to 
 the world or the church, have been involved in perplexities, and 
 when he was apprehensive that he would be made a subject of 
 discipline, in any or all of these cases, a change is considered as 
 necessary ; and let the unhappy subject, under such circumstances, 
 though they be not real but supposed only, turn to what hand be 
 may, still judgraelit,. or rational and personal conviction are sup. 
 posed to have no part j but he is considered as being necessarilv 
 driven to the change as the last shift by which he might emanci- 
 pate himself out of all his difficulties. Though, indeed, it be- 
 comes none to be high minded but to fear, it is yet with peeuliat 
 satisfaclion th^t I <;-.u plead an extr.iption from all the above evils,. 
 
Vt INTRODUijrTiO'. . 
 
 tiiat I held those principles upon the most tenable 
 grounds. One day, however, as I happened to be read- 
 ing Dr Macknight's view of the Abrahamic covenant^ 
 without the smallest reference to the subject of baptism, 
 (the Doctor indeed never mentioning it, and to my mind 
 it was the most distant at the time), I could not help 
 being struck with the following quotations, John viii. 39. 
 Rom, iv. 16, ix. 8. But as they occur in the course 
 of the Doctor's reasoning, I presume it will be neces- 
 sary to give it at large. Speaking of the promises 
 given to Abraham respecting his seed^ after, sona^ re-, 
 marks upon the original expressions, he says, that ' he 
 « (Abraham namely), was to be the father of many 
 
 * nations by the constitution or appointment of God ; 
 
 * and that he was to be so exceedingly fruitful by pro- 
 *, creating children, that nations were to be made of hin^, 
 « and kings were to, come out of him. In this diversi- 
 
 * ty of expression, God intimated to Abraham, that he 
 
 * was to have two kinds of seed j one by the constitu- 
 
 * t' .n or appointment of God, in respiect of which he 
 
 * w\is to be a father of many tiations ; and another by 
 *. natural descent, in respect , of which he ivas to be ex' 
 ^ ceeitifig/y fruitful in children. This account of Abra- 
 
 * ham's seed merits attention, because the promises in 
 ' the covenant being made, not to Abraham alone, but 
 
 * to his seed, in their first or literal meaning they be- 
 
 * longed to his natural seed, but in their second or high- 
 ' est meaning, they were promises to his seed by faith. 
 
 * The distinclion of Abraham.'^ seed into two kinds, 
 
 * is intimated by our Lord himself, John viii, ?!}. where 
 
 * he told the Jews who sought to kill him, that not- 
 
 * withstanditig they were the natural oiTspring of Abra- 
 
 * ham, they were not his cMldren^ unless they did the 
 
 * works of Abraham. Tl;ie same distinction is taught 
 ^ still more plainly bv the apostle Paul, who calls Abra- 
 
INTRODUCTIOIC, "*'J^ 
 
 « ham's natural progeny, his seed hij the hw, the law of 
 « marriage ; but his seed by the appointment of God, 
 
 < who gave believers of all nations to him for seed, that 
 i which is hj the faith of Ahraham^ Rom. iv. 16. that 
 « the promise might he sure to all the seed^ not to that only 
 
 < which is by iJte law, but to that also which is by the faith 
 
 « of Abraham^ who is the father of us all. In like manner, ' 
 « the same apostle, by telling us, Rom. ix. 8. the children 
 *■ of the fleshy these are not the children of God, but the chil- 
 
 * dren of tlie promise are counted for the seed, hath insmu- 
 « atcd that Abraham had two kinds of children or seed, 
 « and that the seed by the promise, a father of many na- 
 
 < tions I have constituted thee, are the children of God to 
 
 < whom alone the promises in the covenant in their se- 
 
 * cond and highest meanings belong.' 
 
 Often before, had I read these passages as they oc- 
 cur in the Scriptures, without their producing any re- 
 markable eiFect. On this occasion, however, it was 
 otherwise, for occurring as they did, in a professed 
 treatise on the covenant with Abraham, the grand source 
 whence Pedo-baptisis draw ail their authority for the 
 baptizing of their infants, I could not but a][jply thenri 
 to that subject. * If there be two distinct seeds, thought 
 
 * I, a natural and a spiritual, to which of them do we^ 
 "'Gentiles belong? Not to the natural, but to tlie 
 < spiritual, provided we be possessed of the faith of 
 ^ Abraham. But then again, I thought, if we ourselves 
 ' be connected with Abraham only by faith, and if this 
 
 * connection be only spiritual, and not carnal, how 
 ' comes it to pass that our children, who are connected 
 
 * with us only by carnal descent, can be included in a 
 
 * covenant which' we ourselves had no right to till we 
 ^ believed ? Would not this be connecting carnal things 
 
 * with spiritual, and to the spiritual part of Abrai:am's 
 
 * seed joining a carnal part, which scrms incompatible. 
 
VUl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 * not to saj with these passages merely, but with the 
 t very nature of the thing ?' 
 
 Though I consideicd this as a key, which, of itsslf,. 
 in a manner, unlocked the whole business, and might 
 well warrant Christians to question the propriety of 
 infant baptism^ founded upon the supposed connexion 
 between a spiritual people and a carnal oiTspring; yet as 
 I saw many difficulties still -to be overcome, and many 
 false glosses still to be removed, I could by no means 
 rest contented till I had examined this subject in such a 
 manner as at least to satisfy my own mind, and con- 
 cerning the general result of which, I now feel equally 
 pressed till I lay it before the public. 
 
 At the commencement of this inquiry, I laid down 
 two principles with myself, the one, not to contend for 
 the mastery, but for truth alone ; the other, not to do 
 even this in a dictatorial, overbearing, or controversial 
 manner ; for, thought I, the ivrath of man nvorketh not the 
 righteousness of God ^ and if truth be on our side, it has 
 surely strength enough to stand on its own legs, with- 
 out requiring such pitiable props as the spleen and gall 
 of its pretended abettors. And, moreover, I was as- 
 sured, that it is only when truth comes thus adorned in 
 its own native simplicity, that ever it can be rationally 
 expected to produce important, general, or lasting re- 
 formation in the earth. 
 
 By the adoption of the first principle, I found myself 
 to be happily at liberty from all sects and parties, theo- 
 ries and/ systems, known amongst men. Truth being 
 my object, it mattered nothing to me who held, or who 
 opposed it, provided that I but discovered it. In the 
 mouth, even of an enemy, I was determined to recog- 
 nize it, for even here it is as ointment poured forth, and 
 as gold, equally precious and valuable, according to its 
 proportion, as any where else. Hence to search' for it 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 as for hid treasures, to buy the truth at every market 
 where it can be had, and never on any account to part 
 with it, I considered as the grand object of every ra- 
 tional and progressively improving mind *. 
 
 As I found the first principle pre-dispose me to the 
 reception of truth, so I found the second dispose me to 
 maintain it in love — to hold it for myself alone, and not 
 for another — to allow any who might differ from me, 
 the same right to do so that I claimed to myself in dif- 
 fering from them — and withal, not en such accounts to 
 disunite in matters wherein we are agreed, but in these, 
 walking by the same rule, we may confidently expect 
 that wherein we are otherwise minded, God will reveal 
 even this unto us. 
 
 From these principles I was necessarily led to be 
 free, both in stating my own sentiments, and in detect- 
 ing what I considered to be wrong in my brethren. 
 But in both, I trust, I have been enabled to act with • 
 that rectitude and impartiality which principles like 
 these alone can inspire. What I state as my own sen- 
 timents and views of divine truth, I by no means place 
 on a level with divine truth itself, but only as a fallible 
 creature's views of it ; yet such as he must hold, for 
 himself at least, with all the firmness of which he is 
 capable, till he see reason for being otherwise minded 
 on any point. Hence, liberty to think for myself is all 
 that I demand. And this I conceive to be such an in- . 
 
 * Fas est, et ab hoste doceri, VlR. 
 
 Seize upon truth where'er 'tis found. 
 Amongst your friends, amongst your foes. 
 On Christian or on heathen ground. 
 The flower's divine where'er it grows, 
 Neglect the prickles, and assume the rose. 
 
 Dr I. Watts. 
 
X iATRODUCTloN. 
 
 valuable blessing, that fiot only do I require it ior ni}- 
 self, but most freely grant it to all others without 
 exception: As I was c^termined to be iT\odelled by 
 no system short of the truth itself, flowing from per- 
 sonal conviction ; so, far be it from me to wish any 
 modelled to any scheme of my devising ; but let us 
 be alike' directed by the truth alone, each being ra- 
 tionally and personally convinced, and thus snail we 
 meet upon bases which are immoveable as the hea- 
 vens. 
 
 ■ When at any time I differ from others, it is not 
 merely because I luisfi to differ, but betausc I conceive 
 myself to have reasons for so doing ; and without which, 
 as a rational and accountable being, I do not consider 
 myself to have a right to do so at any time. It is not 
 selfish caprice, but the eternal principles of right, which 
 must alone determJne us in every case,. And how op- 
 posite soever to our pre-conceived notions these may 
 turn out, wc must not be backward to embrace them, 
 lest, haply, we should be found even to fight against 
 God. Were I to consult merely my own feelings, I 
 might truly say, that so far from being inclined to dif- 
 fer from any, I could rather wish to live at peace with 
 all; there being no object so desirable, in my apprehen- 
 iion, as that of an universal philanthropy, and none so 
 distressing as that of divisions and discords amongst 
 brethren. God is my witness, tliat it is long since I 
 not only said, but felt with all the sensibility of my 
 soul, that, to be at variance with any person, far more 
 my Christian friends, would be worse than death to 
 me. 
 
 When 1 said that I wished to differ, from none with- 
 out good reason for it, I was aware, I trust, that a de- 
 praved mind, when it had any particular object in view, 
 could easily frame reasons to itself ; and though found- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 ed upon downright sophistry, -imagine them to be such 
 as would not only stand the test of ages, but right in 
 themselves, and such as even, God could not but ap- 
 prove. Hence to resign as much as possible my own 
 will, and to pray to be directed by the unerring spirit 
 of the living God, which is promised for 'the express 
 purpose of guiding his people'' into all truth, has been 
 another principle wlilch I laid down as a foundation 
 one. But though, indeed, this has been the case, I by 
 no means claim exemption from error j but this I am 
 certain of, however, that I hold no error, knowing it to 
 be such, nor any sentiment, so far as I ^recollect, but 
 what my mind fully approves. 
 
 As' to the manner in which the subject is treated in 
 the following pages, it is such as appeared to me to be 
 the best adapted to the attainment of the end ; that, 
 since the great bulwark, in the account of Pedo-baptists, 
 is the Abrahamic covenant, it was necessary to begin 
 here, in order to ascertain whether it was really as im- 
 pregnable in this particular, as they represent it to be. 
 Respecting the result of the investigation, it does not 
 become me to pass a judgment. I can only say I have 
 done what I could, not to oppose any particular party 
 of professing Christians more than another, but to esta- 
 blish truth in opposition to error ; and its success must 
 be determined by others, not by ones-self. 
 
 The rent state of the seamless coat of Christ, or, in 
 other words, the contentions and divisions amongst those 
 who profess to be his followers, is such as has deeply 
 affected the mind of me, his most unworthy advocate ; 
 and therefore, in addition to what is said in the sequel 
 on this subject, I would here earnestly beseech the Fa- 
 ther to hearken, and speedily to answer tlie prayer of 
 the Son, that his j:eof/e might all be one, to the intent thai 
 the world might knou- that the Father luiih sent him ! 
 
XU INTRODUCTIO>r. 
 
 As I know there are^sonie who look with fear and 
 trembling upon all investigations of this nature — some 
 who are settled on their lees, and who exultiugly boast 
 that thej have taken a standing in regard to them — 
 and others, who as absurdly precipitate into every new 
 started theory, particularly if it come from certain 
 quarters ; so, a word or two respecting each, is deemed 
 necessary as a preparative to the following treatise. 
 
 And respecting the firsts we would remark, that 
 there is surely nothing in the whole word of God which 
 ought to excite such feelings in any who profess to be 
 regulated by its authority. Such feelings, indeed, can- 
 not exist, but in the midst of the most woeful igno- 
 rance ; and it so happens, that, if they shall be allowed 
 to predominate, there remains no possible means by 
 which this ignorance can be cured. If they proceed 
 from indifference about knowing the mind and will of 
 God on any matter, then the subjects of them ought to 
 question whether ever they knew God, or really re- 
 verenced his authority. But if they proceed from the 
 idea, that they are matters only of a lesser nature, and 
 not absolutely necessary to the salvation of the soul, 
 and that bestowing too much attention to them would 
 likely prove hurtful, in leading away the mind from 
 attending sufficiently to more important matters ; an 
 opinion this not uncommon in the world, and confirm- 
 ed by ten thousand woeful occurrences ; and yet after 
 all, from what we have known and experienced, wc 
 must declare it to be founded on the grossest mistake. 
 Qualifying, therefore, the above expression, " bestow- 
 ing too much ^attention," Sec. and regarding it as indi- 
 cative of extremes which would cause any thing be- 
 come a snare, we cannot help blessing the Lord for 
 leading us to give all the attention we have done to tha 
 subject in hand. We have found by experience that it 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIU 
 
 has not been a matter of dry or barren speculation with 
 US', it has not bereaved our soul of good, it has not ren- 
 dered us more insensible to those precious doctrines on 
 which alone the salvation of the soul depends ; but on 
 the contrary, it hath enlarged our views, and furnished 
 us with conceptions, to which we confess ourselves to 
 have been entire strangers before. Indeed, if truth and 
 not mastery were the only object of pursuit, there would 
 be no cause to dread the investigation of any subject, 
 be what it may. 
 
 As to the stcor.d class of objectors to investigations of 
 this_ kind, there can be but two conditions in which we 
 can' be placed that could lead us to take such high and 
 positive grounds on any subject ; and these are, either an 
 absolute certainty that we are right, or else, a foolish 
 -and dangerous determination to maintain the opinions 
 we have espoused at all hazards, be they right or wrong. 
 If it flow from the first, I acknowledge that a persua- 
 sion of the goodness of our cause might inspire us with 
 firmness and confidence ; but I hardly see how it could 
 justify us to treat our opponents in the manner, or even 
 leave no room for further improvement in subjects on 
 which so much can be said on both sides. Nay, I can- 
 didly confess, supposing my mind not to be biassed to the 
 one side more than to the other, that such languai;'' 
 would have come with much better grace from tJie 
 mouth of an adult, rather than a Pedo-baptist, consider- 
 ing that the former has both express precept and ex- 
 ample for his conduct, whereas the principles of the 
 latter amount to no more than simple inference drawn 
 by fallible men. But, to be plain, in none of them da 
 I relish such dogmatical sentiments, for there is no man, 
 however knowing, but has still room for improvement 
 even in the things he knows, and much more in those 
 branches -of them which may have escaped his observa- 
 
S.1V INTRODUCTION. 
 
 lion, and of which he may be as ignorant as a child. 
 Even a Newton ! that star of the first magnitude, which 
 illuminated a benighted world, demonstrating truths 
 which were never before known — even he had more 
 moderate ideas of himself ! He modestly said a little be- 
 fore his death, and of course subsequent to all his bright 
 discoveries, ' I do not know what I may appear to the 
 ' world ; but to myself, I seem to have been only like 
 * a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself 
 ' in now and then finding a pebble, or a prettier shell 
 '■ than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all 
 ' undiscovered before me.' 
 
 But if such high grounds were adopted in the m-iin- 
 taining of an ^taw, what would be the. consequence ? 
 C.GJicermng that subject, says the dogmatical objector, / 
 have taken my standing. So might the antediluvians 
 have said in opposition to Noah, that they had taken 
 their standing ; and so might the Sodomites in opposi- 
 tion to Lot— rthe priests of Baal in opposition to Elijah 
 — the unbelieving Jews in opposition to Christ — and the 
 superstitious partizans of the great whore in opposition 
 to the reformers in the fifteenth century. Yea, we 
 kriov>' for certain, that all of them,, by their conduct, 
 did say so ; and what was the consequence ? While the 
 history of each will account for itself, let the emphatical 
 words of our blessed Saviour to the Pharisees, those im- 
 placable enemies of his, be particularly noticed. He 
 takes them at their word. As they had taken a stand- 
 ing in opposition to him—" Well, there," as if he had 
 s»aid, "• ye shall, remain, for ye shall ^/V in your sins, 
 and whither I go, thither ye cannot come." And who 
 does not recollect the r; wful denunciation against the in- 
 corrigible adherents of falsehood, mentioned in the se- 
 cond chapter of the second epistle to the Thessalonians? 
 •cr. 1 1 . For this cause God shall send them strong delusiotiy 
 
INTRODUCTION. iV 
 
 that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned 
 ivho believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous- 
 ness. Upon the "whole then, there is, truly, something 
 so foolish, so grieving, so awfully absurd and dangerous 
 in this sentiment, that it is our earnest prayer that we 
 may never hear it again maintained. 
 
 As to the third class of whom we were to take 
 notice, we cannot, properly speaking, call them opposers 
 to investigation, though they virtually oppose it in the 
 most dangerous form, by not thinking it worth their 
 while to investigate at all ; Ijut, in a mechanical sort of 
 manner they get into the vortex of novelty, because 
 they will it ; and mistaking bold and confident assertions 
 for positive proofs, it is not a little to their astonishment 
 that all their brethren do not follow them. Heuce to be 
 virulent and acrimonious, ill-natured, and never dis- 
 posed to allow another to think for himself, if in any 
 thing he dlifer from them, are tempers almost insepa- 
 rable from the precipitate and obsequious proselyte. 
 And, alas ! for them, unhappy and Inconsistent mortals, 
 have we not seen them ir.anifesting the same turn of 
 naiad against that principle to-day, wliich, by their me- 
 chanical sort of circuit they embraced to-morrow ; and 
 to-morrow, strange to tell, directing all their hostilities 
 against what they held to-day ? And withal, they con- 
 tend, that it is for the sake of truth they thus act. But 
 little do they know that truth is more deeply wound-ed, 
 and more insuperable barriers put in the way of its pro- 
 gress, by this very behaviour of theirs, than by all the 
 scoffings of the infidel. Do they reklly imagine, that 
 men, even of common sagacity, have' not penetration 
 enough to see thipugh their vain pretexts ? To credit 
 them, indeed, it is always truth that they are holding ;, 
 but will they ever make us believe that truth veers 
 about likp the air in the atmosphere, to every point to 
 
5SV1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which they may turn their face; or in other words, that 
 it is one thing to-day, and another to-morrow ? No, 
 they never shall. Truth is one universal and eternal 
 principle. It doth not draw in contrary directions. It 
 doth Jiot require more than oae discovery. And when 
 once learned, it cannot be again unlearned, merely as 
 caprice or fashion may dictate. When we behold our 
 brethren therefore, running seemingly without thought 
 or reflection into every new started theory, and perpetual- 
 ly changing as often as their leaders may choose to bid 
 them ; when they appear to '* count it their very right.^ 
 eousness," as one expresseth it, " to be given to change ;" 
 and when they hold all their successive schemes, how 
 opposed soever they may be the one to the other, with 
 the same degree of certainty, even absolute certainty 
 — wc cannot help connecting tlieir state with that of the 
 man, out of whom the iniclean spirit had departed, who 
 "walked through dry places seeking rest^ but finding none. 
 Such people's religion seems to consist more in some* 
 thing yet to be distJovered, than in any thing already 
 known. All their old theories they discard as errone- 
 ous ; that only is true which they at present hold ; and 
 if it should so happen, as it very likely will, that they 
 shall discover something new in future, then their pre- 
 sent truths, how tenaciously soever they now maintain 
 them, will, like the former, be abandoned as errors4 
 Thus, in the most inconsistent and irrational manner, do 
 they allow themselves to go on, under pretext that they 
 are the almost sole abettors of the truth, constantly op- 
 posing, not only themselves, but their brethren who 
 wish to live at peace with them, and exhibiting to the 
 world at the same time, though it may escape theiv own 
 observation, the most false representation of that very 
 truth about which they so vehemently contend. 
 TTpon the whole then, I shall just add, that if the 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVU 
 
 following treatise can be only proved, either in wh6le 
 or in part, to the conviction of the author, to be found- 
 ed on error, that he shall not consider his honour, false- 
 ly so called, bound to maintain it, but shall rather thank 
 the person, whoever he may be, who shall have the 
 kindness to point out his foibles ; and, abandoning what 
 he ought to abandon, he shall rejoice in having it in his 
 power to embrace the opposite truth. But while he is 
 thus free in avowing his readiness to be convinced of 
 his error, he must be thus honest in boldly declaring, 
 that it is only what he A/Vmj-^^ conceives to be error, 
 after it has been pointed out, and not what every cap- 
 tious and fretful mind would be eager in wishing us to 
 reckon so. Nay, we forewarn such plainly, that they 
 may look long before they see us approximating one 
 step nearer them, on account of any such dastardly 
 means. And to others we would say, that if they 
 really wish to do us good, by convincing us of our er- 
 ror, if so be that we are in one, they must do it upon 
 entirely other grounds than those of carryi|ig us back 
 to the old beaten paths, every corner of which we have 
 explored a thousand times. Not that we have an itch 
 for novelty, but for reason ; and it is because we have 
 found reason to have deserted, or more strictly speak- 
 ing, never to have existed in those paths, that we art- 
 compelled to relinquish them. 
 
 I have just a debt to acknowledge before I enter upon 
 my plan, and though it be a near relation, even a bro- 
 , ther according to the flesh, to whom I ov/e it, yet it is 
 so justly due, that if I never shall have it in my power 
 to repay him in kind for the assistance he has given in 
 this inquiry, I must at least publicly acknowledge it, and 
 tell the world freely, that if it possesses any merit, it is 
 not wholly mine, but tliat he £.lso is entitled to a share. 
 
 c 
 
Xvai INTRODUCTION. 
 
 But, alas ! merit ! why should we speak a word re- 
 specting this ? If we could, indeed, perform works of 
 supererogation, it might then come with some pro- 
 priety ; but in our condition as creatures, and sinful 
 creatures too, we are convinced that we never can serve 
 our Maker as we ought, far less to merit anj thing 
 good at his hand. Discarding all such claims, there- 
 fore, that he may be graciously pleased to accept of 
 this feeble attempt to serve him with his own, is the 
 prayer of our inmost soul. 
 
 A Co7npendions Viciv of the Plan of the follow'ttig JVorh. 
 
 Having been led, as has been stated, by a casual, 
 or perhaps more properly speaking, by a providential 
 circumstance, to investigate the subject of baptism, 
 according to the key already laid down, of the distinc- 
 tion between the two seeds of Abraham, it appeared 
 necessary, before any. decision could be warrantably 
 passed, to obtain as distinctly as possible a knowledge 
 of the following things. 
 
 1. The nature of the covenant which God made with 
 Abraham, in which it is expressly said, that he was to 
 be a God to A/Vw, and to his seed after him. 
 
 2. Of the persons included in the covenant, called 
 his seed, which, according to the words of our blessed 
 Lord, are distinguished into carnal and spiritual. 
 
 S. Tht privileges to which they had a right by their 
 interest in the covenant. 
 
IN^TRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 4. The permafieficj/ of tiie covenant ia all its. parts, 
 or in other words, whellier the same state of things is 
 to remain under the Christian, as under the legal dis- 
 pensation, or if the J be altered, in what does the altera- 
 tion consist ? whaL lhiijQ,s are abro";at'-d, and what re- 
 main ? 
 
 5. T\\Q distifigtiishlng ox characterislic marks oi I.li5 two 
 dispensations, find whether the latter, in any leipsci, 
 resembles the former, in what maj be denominated its 
 carnal parts, whelher it respects ordinances or subjects. 
 
 <j. Were these important articles but fairjj and im- 
 partially examined, might they not lead to conclusions, 
 Avhich, by the blessing of God, might be the happy 
 means of putting an end to that dreadful controversy, 
 which has for so many ages so agitated and convulsed 
 the, whole of the religious world ? 
 
 7. It must always be a source of grief to any person 
 who loves truth, and who wishes truth alone to prevail, 
 to see even good people, supporting what they imagine 
 to be truth by improper means. As on no subject has 
 this method been more abundantly adopted than on the 
 one now before us, it is our design to bestow a little 
 attention upon it, and to assign a particular chapter for 
 the consideration of the various false glosses, unwarrant- 
 able conclusions, and very improper treatment which 
 the abettors of both sides of the question have recipro- 
 cally given each other. 
 
 8. And finally, as we may perhaps differ from noany, 
 if not from most of our baptized brethren, respecting 
 various points connected with the ordinance itself, and 
 as we see no inconsistency in Christians who are united 
 in other respects, though they do not see eye to eye in 
 this, still to walk together in love and unity, we shall, 
 therefore, for the consideration of various topics of this 
 jjature, assign also a place. 
 
XX INTRODUCTIOX. 
 
 These various particulars, it is conceived, comprise 
 the substance of all that we mean to advance ; but that 
 the design may be more fully manifest, we shall here 
 again briefly enumerate the several heads, giving an 
 analysis, in a general way, of the several topics to be 
 discussed under each. And, 
 
 1 . As to the nature of the covenant God made with 
 Abraham, from the sublime views which are given of 
 it in the New Testament, we have no doubt that it in- 
 cluded spiritual as well as temporal blessings, and that 
 they are to be taken in a higher sense than many have 
 assigned to them, that is to say, only temporal posses- 
 sions in the land of Canaan. This will, of course, lead 
 us back to the original promise, to the primary forma- 
 tion of the covenant with Abraham ; and a commentary 
 on what is recorded in the book of Genesis in relation 
 to these transactions, will be necessary to complete our 
 purpose in this place. 
 
 2. As to \ht perso7JS included in the covenant, a seed 
 spiritual and carnal, not' merely answerable to the same 
 respective natures of the covenant, but, in the nature of 
 the thing, excluding none, even the most distant regions 
 of the earth from the church of the living God, and 
 calculated to give a hope not only to those descended 
 from the loins of faithful Abraham, but to the most 
 guilty and forlorn amongst the nations, and to all that 
 are afar offy even to as many as the Lord our God shall call. 
 This chapter will consist of several different parts. We 
 ^hiW first investigate the grounds we have for asserting 
 that there are two kinds of seed included in the Abra- 
 hamic covenant, then treat of these-separately, and after 
 that, make a few general remarks upon the whole. 
 
 3. Hinder our third head, ih& privileges of the cove- 
 nant will be considered. And these being likewise 
 twofold in their nature, nanxely,^ spiritual and temporal^ 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXl 
 
 it will hence follow, that thej would be actually en- 
 joyed by all within its bonds in exact correspondence to 
 the particular situation they held therein. If spiritual, 
 they would no doubt enjoy spiritual blessings in addi- 
 tion to the good things of this life ; but if only carnal, 
 higher enjoyments than such as are of a carnal or tem- 
 poral nature, they could not possess. Our order, in the 
 consideration of this topic, will be much the same as in 
 our last. 
 
 4. That the same state of things as was established 
 by the legal dispensation, or even by the covenant with 
 Abraham, was not to continue, is manifest by the apostles 
 decree in the assembly at Jerusalem ; and that it was 
 not to be wholly overturned, is equally obx-ious from 
 Christ's declaration, that he came not to destroy the /aw 
 and the prophets. Was there, therefore, any alteration 
 in the covenant ? or if there was, in what did that al- 
 teration consist ? Why was it continued the same till 
 Christ came ? and why was there an alteration at that 
 period rather than at any other? and what was the state 
 of things after the alteration took place ? Answers to 
 these questions, and to all that they necessarily involve, 
 will form the basis of our fourth principle. 
 
 5. Under our next head, however, this last idea will 
 more naturally find a place, as it will evidently appear, 
 from the whgle genius of the gospel, and particularly 
 from the epistle to the Hebrews, that the two dispensa- 
 tions are most strikingly different, and that our blessed 
 tord, when speaking of the kingdom* of this world, 
 said with peculiar emphasis, now is my kingdom not from 
 hence. As if he had said. Formerly, indeed, it resem- 
 bled them, but now it is different -a new order and 
 constitution of things has taken place. Hence it cometh 
 not with observation, but, like the wind, it is known 
 only by its effects. It is now purely spiritual, and in 
 
i^ill IIvTRODUCTION'. 
 
 the hearts of men ; even the people he makes wiliiug ia 
 the day of his power. In such a strain will ouxjifth 
 article run. 
 
 6. These points being established, will the conclusion 
 be rash, to say, that, in conformity to this new and 
 spiritual order of things, we are henceforth to know no 
 man after the flesh ; that though we have known Christ 
 aftej" the fiesh, yet now henceforth are v/e to know hiin 
 ijo more ; and that, as that which is born after the flesh 
 is fi£sh, and that which is born after the Spirit is spirit, 
 so, to be heirs of the covenant iu the spiritual sense, we 
 must be bora again ? Here then, we must enter into 
 particular reasoning with our brethren, concerning the 
 subject of Pedo-baptism. We must endeavour to draw 
 their various arguments into a focus, in order to ascer- 
 tain Whether or not they will tally with this undeniable 
 principle. And if we shall find them to agree, then we 
 must maintain that they are right ; but if it shall hap- 
 pen to be otherwise, right they cannot be, whether they 
 may think so or not. We shall, tlierefore, in this case, 
 candidly speak our sentiments, calmly endeavouring to 
 correct enor, not by angiy expressions or high sound- 
 ing v>'ords, but simply by the exhibition of the truth. 
 
 7. Our seventh chapter will be occupied in correct- 
 in"- various abuses which have been run into on this 
 subject, viz. the false glosses,-the unwarrantable conclu- 
 sions, and the very unchristian-like treatment which 
 many abettors of both sides of the question have reci- 
 procally bestowed on each other. For this purpose, 
 we shall first take a brief review of the various passa- 
 ges of holy writ, which are generally brought forward 
 in support of Fedo-baptism. We shall then consider 
 the charades of error and heresy which have been reci- 
 procally employed in regard to this subject, in order to 
 elj^w how falsely they are foa:ided. 
 
JNTRODUCTION. XXnt 
 
 8. As for our eighth and last particular, under it we 
 propose to consider se\*^cral points respecting the ordi- 
 nance itself, as, first, the mode ; secondly, the propriety 
 of persons who have been known to have had a long 
 standing in the profession of the Christian faith, and 
 who were baptized in infancy, being re-baptized after' 
 wards when they caniej^o have their minds better In- 
 formed respecting this OTdinance. 
 
 Considerations relative to the impropriety of Chris- 
 tians separating from one another oa account of matters 
 of this nature, will come next in course. These \v - 
 shall include in an appendix. And here, without suf- 
 fering ourselves to be influenced by human opiniow 
 either on the one side or on the other, we shall have 
 immediate recourse to the Scriptures, from wivich we 
 hope to demonstrate that it is no light matter for Chris- 
 tians thus to act In regard to one another ; and that the 
 very essence of such conduct, must, in fact, consist in 
 the grossest mistake of this grand first principle, name- 
 ly, the stepping out of our own particular sphere^ and as- 
 suming the prerogatives of the Judge of all the earthy seeia- 
 ing to forget that the rights of conscience are not in- 
 trusted into the hand of any man or set of men ; but 
 that as every man has an unquestionable right in all 
 matters of conscience to judge for himself, so the pre- 
 cept runs, every man to his oiun master^ he siandeth or 
 falleth. As upon these principles, therefore, lue could 
 not justify ourselves in separating from our brethren, 
 merely on account of our differed ice of sentiment res- 
 pecting baptism, so we would be equally far from jus- 
 tifying them, should a separation be insisted for on their 
 part. That matters may be rightly understood between 
 us, however, and that none m;iy have any secret grudge 
 because we do not act like others vs^ho have esponsed 
 Baptist sentiments, in going away of their own uccord, 
 
3CX1V INTRODUCTION, 
 
 we shall candidly assign our reasons for our so doin^^ 
 leaving it v/ith themselves to decide whether we be right 
 or wrong. 
 
 These are the leading topics we intend to consider in 
 the following pages. And it is our earnest desire, that 
 a double portion of the spirit of all gruce may be pour- 
 ed out upon us, to enable us toJjlustrate a subject of so 
 vast importance, both for the a^^ncement of the glory 
 of God, and for the comfort and edification of his dear 
 people. And if these objects be only in any tolerable 
 measure obtained, richer will be the re^iard, than if 
 kingdoms and empires had been placed within our 
 .reach I 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVEKANT. Pagt 
 
 Sect. I. General Observations, - - 1 
 
 II. Commentary on Gen. xii. 1, 2, 3. S 
 
 III. Do. on Gen. xii. 7. xiii. 14,— 17. 16 
 
 IV. Do. on Gen. xv. - - ' 24 
 V. Do. on Gen. xvii. - - 28 
 
 VI. General remarks upon the foregoing 
 
 Sections, - - -. 4S 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 or tHE PERSONS INCLUDED IN THE COVENANT, 
 GALLED THE SEED OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 Sect. I. Shewingthatthescedof Abraham isof two 
 
 kinds, namely, carnal and spiritual, 71 
 II. Of the LITERAL seed, of Abraham, - 92 
 
 III. Of the SPIRITUAL seed of Abraham, 109 
 
 IV. General remarks upon the foregoing 
 
 Sections, - - - 123 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE COVENANT. 
 
 SecI*.. I. Of the privileges enjoyed by the CARNAL 
 
 seed, . - _ 133 
 
 II. Of the privileges enjoyed by the SPIRITUAL 
 
 seed, - - - H'2 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THE PERMANENCY OF THE COVENANT IN ALL 
 
 ITS PARTS. 150 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 OF THE DISTINGUISHING AND CHARACTERISTIC MARKS 
 OF THE FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS, 1*8 
 
CHAPT|:R VI. rage 
 
 CONTAINING PARTICULAk REASONINGS WITH PE- 
 DO-BAPTISTS, AND UNDENIABLE CONCLUSIONS 
 FROM THE FOREGOING ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Sect. I. Of the argument for Pedo-baptism, drawn 
 from the circumstance that we convey 
 to our children a depraved and polluted 
 nature, - - 18S 
 
 ll. Of the argument for Pedo-haptism, 
 
 drawn from the Abrahamic covenant, 193 
 III. Of the argument for Pedo-baptism, 
 
 drawn from the baptizing of households, 219 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AN EXAMINATION OF SEVERAL DETACHED PASSA- 
 GES COMM>ONLy ADDUCED IN SUPPORT OF PE- 
 DO-BAPTISM, &C. 
 
 Sect. I. - - - - 22! 
 
 II. Of the reciprocal charges which have been 
 brought bj the abettors of both sides 
 of the question, with a view to discard 
 their respective systems, - 201 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 • ir THE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE, AND OF THE 
 subject OF, RE-BAPTIZING. 
 
 Sect. I. Of the mode of the ordinance, - 305 
 
 II. Of the subject of re-baptizing, - ?H 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND FORBEARANCE. 
 
 Part I, Of general principles, - - 321 
 
 II. Of particular principles, - - 383 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 P. I. 1. 13. before premises, tdid rhe 
 
 It. 2. from the bottom, for magnificence, read munificence. 
 
 I 14. 10. read commuuication 
 
 i5. 5 for Sth, read siii. 
 
 144. II for on, read of 
 
 184. IT- for resaming, read resigning 
 321. 3. from the bottora,/br tound, read forcei 
 

 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF THE AB RAH A MIC COVENANT 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 General Observations. 
 
 x\.S the covenant with Abraham has been variously in- 
 terpreted, and very different, and even opposite infer- 
 ences deduced from hence, it may not be improper, be- 
 fore entering upon a more minute investigation of the 
 subject, to advert in few words to this in the first place. 
 While there are some who consider it as nothing else 
 than the covenant of grace, spiritual in its blessings, eter- 
 nal and unchangeable in its nature, and comprehending 
 every individual of the Lord's redeemed people ; there 
 are others who look upon it as merely a carnal transac- 
 tion, earthly and temporal in its nature, and not extend- 
 ing beyond the posterity of Abraham according to the 
 flesh. From sentiments so different respecting a pre- 
 rnises, it is surely not to be wondered at that the conclu- 
 sions should be as much so. 
 
 It would have been well, if those who adopt the first 
 view, had defined what they mean by the covenant of 
 grace ; for till this be done, there can be no certainty in 
 \ single step of our reasoning with them, nor is it pos- 
 
 ' A 
 
 '^^^4 
 
■^ GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 sible to say whether their conclusions be right or wrong. 
 For my part, if I have any just conceptions of this subject, 
 I would define the covenant of grace as comprehending 
 the whole scheme of salvation, from its very commence- 
 ment to its completion. I should suppose that it includ- 
 ed all the purposes of God in devising a method of re- 
 covery for his fallen creatures, and all the various doc- 
 trines which developed and made known those purposes 
 to men. I should suppose this covenant to be unchange- 
 able in its nature, and securing, beyond a doubt, the 
 blessings of eternal life to all within its bonds. I should 
 suppose it as comprehending all the redeemed of the 
 Lord from amongst men, and them only ; and as dis- 
 criminating with the ut^Bost accuracy between them, and 
 such" as are his only by profession, and not in truth. 
 In one word, the idea that I should affix to the covenant 
 of grace, should be the salvation of sinners in reality^ and 
 not in appearance — the doctrines of grace, as it were, re- 
 duced to practice — God executing in time, what he pur- 
 posed in eternity — accomplishing the whole of his plan, 
 without the smallest possibility of any part of it misgiv- 
 ing or proving abortive. 
 
 Such is the idea I should form of this subject ; and I 
 should be exceedingly jealous of any hypothesis that 
 should lead me to form any lower notions of such a glo- 
 rious plan. I should rejoice in a covenant which is un- 
 alterable in its nature, and which secures blessings be- 
 yond a doubt to all v/ho are within its bonds. But oh ! 
 I should tremble at the idea of a covenant that can be 
 broken, recognizing as its heirs at one time, such as it 
 does not, however, secure to the inheritance of the bles- 
 sing. 
 
 But is not this, discouraging as it is, something hke 
 what our brethren maintain, who are for asserting that 
 the covenant with Abraham, particularly that part of it 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 3 
 
 which includes his natural posterity, is the covenant of 
 grace ? According to this, will they not fee heirs ? But 
 if they are all heirs, why do they not all obtain the itihe^ 
 ritance ? Are not the gifts and callings of God, through- 
 out the whole of this covenant, without repentance ? 
 
 Such, however, is the foundation upon which our 
 brethren build the whole of their systenij as it respects 
 the situation which infants are to hold in the church. 
 They consider it, even this part, to be the covenant of 
 grace, and of course unalterable in its nature, and inca- 
 pable of changing with the other things which were done 
 away in Christ. 
 
 ' Now, that this view of the immutability of the cove« 
 nant of grace, is consistent with itself and with the nature 
 of the subject, none will deny ; but that the other part 
 of their system, namely, that of making children during 
 their infancy heirs of this covenant, and casting them off 
 when they come to years, provided they do not manifest 
 faith in the Saviour, seems to me, not only incongruous 
 in itself, but incompatible with the very nature of the 
 thing. If it be, indeed, the covenant of grace,' as is zeal- 
 ously maintained, eternal and immutable in its principles, 
 why does it thus alter almost in every instance, respect- 
 ing* its subjects \ How few amongst the thousands born 
 even of believing parents, when come to years, can prove 
 their title to its blessings, any more than those descend- 
 ed of unbelievers ? To distinguisn the one from the 
 other, therefore, in such a remarkable manner in their 
 infancy, and to place both on a level when they come to 
 years, such a change and revolution, we humbly pre- 
 sume, exists no where save in the minds of those who 
 espouse such a theory *. 
 
 * An inconsistency very much a-kin to tliis, respecting infants 
 foo, is also chargeable upon many Baptibts. They will lell you, 
 that though they consider qH the natural descendents of falkn 
 
.4' GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 On the other hand, hotvever, candour obliges us to 
 ■ acknowledge, that Pedobaptists, though they may be 
 
 man to be born children of wrath and disobedience, and henee 
 urge the necessity of a change ere they can be partakers of spirit- 
 ual blessings ; yet they are ' much inclined to judge favourably 
 ' of the state of all infants dying in infancy.' Now, upon this 
 'we would here remark, without either affirming or calling in 
 question the possibility of their salvation, as it regards the so- 
 ^•ereign pleasure of Jehovah, that the change in their state,, which 
 death is here supposed to produce, is at least fully as untenable 
 as any thing advanced concerning infants by the other side of the 
 fjuestion. Such charity, as Mr Pirie well observes, is entirely iti- 
 consistent with itself. * If they die, it assigns them a place in 
 ' hfaven ; if they live, it ranks them with the children of wrath.' 
 And we might add, that, upon this scheme, there appears to be 
 no more necessary than the barbarity of an Herod^ to send whole 
 districts to heaven ;, and that though such cruelty might be the 
 cause of much weeping, lamentation, and woe upon earth, yet 
 would it be the occasion of no little joy and rejoicing in heaven. 
 Upon the whole then, would it not be much better to consider 
 tlie matter thus ? — The doctrine of human depravity as univerial 
 and inviolable, salvation as alone of the sovereign pleasure and 
 good will of God ; and hence, without restricting him to any plans 
 which human wisdom could devise, might we not conceive it 
 possible for him to have his chosen or elected ones amongst all 
 descriptions of men, infants as well as adults ; and that it is ac- 
 cording to this discriminating and wise plan, which directs all tlie 
 operations of his hand, that they are admitted into heaven, and not 
 that confused jumble which foolish man would assign to him. 
 Would it not be well too, to lay it down as a first principle, that, 
 whether in the case of the final salvation of such elected ones as 
 die in infancy, or in the case of such infants as receive his bles- 
 sing while they live, there must always be an exertion of divine 
 power fitting the subjects for whatever is intended with them, or 
 in other words, converting them ? Thus, if he btstow upon them 
 heaven, he makes them meet for heaven ; or if he bestow upon 
 them the blessings of spiritual grace, he makes them spiritual sub- 
 jects of his. grace. And hence it will follow, that no arguments 
 drawn from exceptions of this nature, can ever be allowed to con- 
 tradict general truths. What happens in one, two, or a thousand ' 
 instances, can never be applicable to all, unless it extend to all. 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 5 
 
 wrong in the grand point respecting their infant posteri- 
 ty, are yet certainly to be justified in assigning a higher 
 sense to God's transactions with Abraham than what re- 
 lated merely to a present life. That celebrated patriarch 
 was called by the will of God to the performance of 
 duties, the most painful and trying to human nature, and 
 truly if he had had nothing else to support his mind, but 
 a few temporal promises, relating too, to his descendents, 
 but scarcely in any shape to himself, they would have 
 proved a burden for him too heavy to have been borne. 
 But when we are told that Abraham " was strong in faith, 
 giving glory to God ;" that he *' staggered not at the 
 promise of God through unbelief * ;" but " against hope 
 believed in hope, that he should be the father of many 
 nations f ;" and this, not only when as yet the promised 
 seed was not born, and humanly speaking there was lit- 
 tle probability of the event, but even when he offered 
 him up a sacrifice at the command of God ; for he 
 ** counted that God was able to raise him up, even from 
 the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure if." 
 When we read of these things, I say, and connect here- 
 with what our blessed Lord himself testifies of Abraham, 
 that " he saw his day and was glad § •" we cannot but 
 be astonished at the conduct of those, who, for the sake 
 of supporting a favourite system, would try to divest this 
 subject of its better part. 
 
 - It is a melancholy symptom, indeed, to see people, ap- 
 parently so wrapt up in their own respective views, that, 
 rather than grant their opponents any thing, as they con- 
 ceive, which might militate against themselves, will, 
 through a false and mistaken zeal, deny even palpable 
 facts. The covenant with Abraham, and, indeed, the 
 whole of the former dispensation, have been by many, 
 
 ■'^ Rom.iv. 20. f Ver. 18. 
 
 : Heb.xiT 17,-10. ' , § John vlii. ,56. 
 
6 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 represented in such a carnal and earthly point of view, 
 that, truly, under the direction of such guides, we are 
 utterly at a loss to conceive what ideas the people of that 
 dispensation really had of spiritual things. Nor is the 
 one side only to blame for this want of candour, for both 
 have endeavoured to support their respective tenets by 
 similar means ; and both, to their shame, have, in the 
 most indiscriminating manner, run down almost all the 
 sentiments of their opposite brethren. 
 
 Hence it comes to pass, that a point of difference be- 
 tween such contending parties, frequently shifts its 
 grounds, and acquires a new form ; the natural conse- 
 quence of which is, that the difference, instead of be- 
 ing amicably adjusted, becomes wider still, and still 
 more irreconcileable ; and thus will continue till such 
 time as it shall be again reduced to its original princi- 
 ples, and rendered no wider than the simple difTerence 
 concerning the subject itself. 
 
 The original point of difference between Baptists and 
 Pedobaptists, regards only the subjects of the ordinance 
 —a question which, perhaps, might have been easily 
 decided at the first, but which has now assumed such 
 an intricate appearance, as almost to terrify people from 
 attempting an investigation of it. 
 
 The first thing we must therefore attempt is, to 
 brinf the matter within narrow bounds ; and in order 
 to this, we must endeavour in the outset to get rid of 
 all the loose jargon which has been but too industri- 
 ously dealt out by both sides. I recollect well, that 
 when my mind was first led to reflect upon the subject, 
 I found the confusion and intricacy in which it appear- 
 ed to be involved, the most perplexing and discouraging 
 tiling imaginable. I bless the Lord that it is now in 
 some measure otherwise. The idea of divesting the 
 <iubject, in the first place, of all secondary and collateral 
 
GENERAL OBSEllVATIONS. 
 
 argnments, and of adhering scrupiilously to that point 
 on which it must necessarily hinge — this was the first 
 thing which yielded consolation to my mind. 
 
 With these views then I begin the present work. ; 
 and I trust I can appeal to the Searcher of hearts, that 
 it is the love of truth alone, and for the sake of satis- 
 fying my own mind, and not any preconceived notions, 
 by which I am chiefly actuated. Indeed I find my 
 mind so happily free of prejudice, either for the one 
 side or the other, that it is a matter of equal indiffe- 
 rence with me to embrace either, in proportion as it ap- 
 pears to be founded on truth. 
 
 The form, I say, which this subject has assumed, naust 
 necessarily render' it much more perplexing, and even 
 unsatisfactory, to those who take a side, as well as vastly 
 more difficult for the man of moderation and candour, 
 who regards all alike, to investigate it for the rational 
 conviction of his own mind. As God has, however, 
 promised to " guide the meek in judgment *," ^^^ are 
 not left, even in this case, entirely without hope. 
 
 We have just stated, that the principal difference be- 
 tween Baptists and Pedobaptists, regards the subjects of 
 the ordinance ; and we here remark, that if it were pos- 
 sible to make it appear that the principles upon which 
 either side found their opinions, are untenable from the 
 word of God, then all secondary and collateral arguments 
 must consequently fall with them. 
 
 As it is upon the tenor of the Abrahamic covenant, 
 that those who hold the Pedobaptist side of the question, 
 chiefly rest the authority of their practice ; and as the 
 whole depends, even in their own account, upon this co- 
 venant being in reality the eternal, unconditional, and 
 unalterable covenant of grace •, so, an investigation of this 
 
 * Psal.xxv, D, 
 
8 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 important point, will of course forxn the subject of our 
 next, and some following sections. 
 
 Order tut/ steps in thtj ivord^ and let not any iniquity have 
 dominion over pie. O Lord J Psal. cxix. 133. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Abrahantic Covenant. 
 
 VV E are now about to enter on a subject, which, ire 
 the present da}', seems to be much involved in obscuri- 
 ty, and is^ the source of no little contention in the 
 churches of God. So much is this the case, that truly 
 no person who is a friend to peace, and good-will to 
 men, has any temptation to enter upon it, unless it %vere 
 to act like Moses, by endeavouring to set his contend- 
 ing brethren at one again *. 
 
 As differences of this nature may be often found to 
 proceed from various causes, and perhaps from none 
 more frequently, than that of ignorance and partial ac- 
 quaintance with the subject about which they are agita- 
 ted ;, so, conceiving this to be the case here, it is our in- 
 tention to enter into it with considerable minuteness. 
 And for this purpose, we would not begin by deducing 
 arguments from the subjects in general, but, before at- 
 tempting any thing of this kind, we wish if possible to 
 examine it to the bottom, by detailing at large the 
 whole of God's transactions with Abraham, and com- 
 inenting qn them briefly as we go along. 
 
 That ^ve may therefore the better enter on a subject 
 of so vast interest and importance, I conceive that the 
 following judicious remarks from Dr Macknight, in his 
 c ijy on the Abrahamic covenant, may be both necessa- 
 
 * Acts vii. iZS. 
 
THE ABRAHAMie COVEHANT. 9 
 
 ty and useful. ' To understand these promises,' saySi 
 he, * in the whole extent of their meaning, the reader 
 
 * should recollect, that in the early ages, before the art 
 
 * of writing v/as invented, the most approved method 
 
 * of communicating and preserving knowledge, was by 
 ' allegory ; that is, by making sensible objects which 
 ' were present, or not very distant in point of time, re- 
 
 * presentations of things which are not the objects of 
 
 * sense, or which are future, but which have some affi-t 
 
 * nity to the things made use of to represent them. In 
 
 * this method of instruction, the characters and actions 
 
 * of remarkable persons, and the ordinary events of their 
 
 * life, were on some occasions considered as prefigura- 
 ' tions of more distant persons and events^ to which 
 ' they had a resemblance.' This the Doctor terms na- 
 tural allegort/y and considers Abraham, in respect of the 
 faith and obedience which he exercised in uncircumci- 
 sion, as a type of believers of all nations ; and hence is 
 he called their father. He shews that Melchizedec, Da- 
 vid, and Jonah, irt like manner typified Christ in cer- 
 tain events of their life ; and adduces even Paul him- 
 self. Gal. iv. 24«. as declaring that Abraham's wives and 
 sons were allegorical representations of the two cove- 
 nants, and of the persons placed under Uiese covenants, 
 
 * The characters, actions, and events which constitu- 
 ' ted the natural allegory, though existing apparently 
 
 * in the ordinary course of things,' he observes, ' were 
 ' ordered of God, so as to be fit emblems of those fu- 
 ' ture persons and events, the knowledge of which God 
 ' intended to communicate to the world.' 
 
 He remarks farther, that there is in Scripture what 
 may be called the instituted allegory ; that is, certain ac- 
 tions appointed or instituted by God, to be performed 
 under such and such circumstances, for the purpose of 
 
10 rilE ABRAHAMIC COVEKANT. 
 
 prefiguring future persons and events. Of this sort were 
 all the Levitical sacrifices, particularly the paschal 
 lamb, John xix. 36. and all the rites of worship appoint- 
 ed by Moses, which, as the apostle tells us, Heb. x. 1. 
 were shadows of good things to come. 
 
 * This account of the ancient Scripture allegory I 
 
 * have given,' adds he, > because from what our Lord 
 ^ and his apostles have said concerning the promises in 
 ' the covenant with Abraham, it appears that that trans- 
 
 * action, besides its first meaning which terminated in 
 ' the persons and events literally spoken of, had an al- 
 
 * legorical or second and higher meaning, which was to 
 ' be accomplished in persons and events more remote, 
 ' For example, Abraham's natural tkscendents by Isaac, 
 ' though he was not yet born, were considered in the 
 
 * covenant as types of his seed by faith. In like man-' 
 
 * ner, Isaac's supernatural birth, accomplished by the 
 ' power of God, typified the regeneration of believers 
 
 * by the same power ; and the land of Canaan, promi- 
 ' sed to the natural seed as theif inheritance, was- an 
 ' emblem of the heavenly country, the inheritance of 
 ,*• the seed by faith. In short, the temporal blessings 
 
 * promised in the covenant to the natural seed, had ail 
 ' an allegorical or second meaning, being images of those 
 
 * better blessings which God intended to bestow in a 
 
 * more remote period on Abraham's seed by faith.' 
 
 Having availed ourselves of these general remarks, 
 which appeared to be exceedingly necessary in order to 
 a right understanding of the subject, we now proceed to 
 consider it somewhat more particular!}', in that order ia 
 which it occurs in the history. 
 
 In the xiith chapter of Genesis, at the beginning, we 
 are informed that Abraham received a promise to this 
 r'fl^ct, before he left Ur of the Chaldees. * I will ma^^ 
 * Verses 2, 3. 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 11 
 
 (^ thee a great nation^ and I tuill bless thee^ and male thy 
 name great j and thou shalt he a blessing. And I ivill bless 
 them that bless thee^ and curse him that curseth thee ; and 
 in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 
 
 From the preceding verse we learn, that these pro- 
 mises had been given for the purpose of encouraging 
 Abraham to comply with that heavenly mandate ad- 
 dressed to him : * Get thee out of thy country y and frojn 
 thy kindred^ and from thy father's house^ unto a laird that I 
 ivill shew thee. This calling of Abraham was not only 
 of the greatest importance in itself, but also emblema-- 
 tical of the gracious sovereignty of God, in eiFectually 
 calling all Abraham's spiritual children from the king- 
 dom of Satan, to the kingdom of his own dear Son. It 
 was important in itself, in as much as that, by means 
 thereof, provision was noade for maintaining the purity 
 of the church of God, in opposition to the prevailing 
 idolatry of the times. But there seems to have beea 
 another, a higher, and yet more important object, if we 
 may so speak, to be obtained by it ; and that was, the 
 accomplishment of that promise, on which not only the 
 purity, but the very existence of the church depended. 
 That Satan, who had seduced and ruined mankind, 
 should be himself ruined and destroyed by one born in 
 our nature, was evidently foretold in that well known 
 passage, " the seed of thp woman shall bruise the head 
 of the serpent f." As yet however the promise had re- 
 mained in its original and general form, till God assu- 
 red Abraham, that he intended to make him the illus- 
 trious progenitor, of this most illustrious personage. 
 Hence his descendents, particularly that branch through 
 whom the promised seed was to come, were to be se- 
 parated and distinguished from all tl^e other nations of 
 the earth. And that this end might be the more eftec» 
 * Ver. 1, I Geu.iii. 15. 
 
1'2 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 tually obtained, the great founder of that peciiliar peo- 
 ple was himself separated from his kindred and his fa- 
 ther's house, long ere any of them were jet born. He' 
 was called to go forth into a strange country, " a 
 place," as the apostle informs us, " which he," or ra- 
 ther his descendents, ^' should afterwards receive for an 
 inheritance * j" but in which he himself " had none in- 
 heritance ; no, not so much as to set his foot onf." 
 His more remote descendents indeed might dwell at 
 case, but as for himself, he was a stranger and a pil- 
 grim on the earth, " sojourning in the land of promise 
 as in a strange country ; dwelling in tabernacles with . 
 Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same pro- 
 vnise t." 
 
 To reconcile and support the mind under so great 
 present sacrifices, it was necessary that the prospect of 
 some future good should be presented to it, which, by 
 the exercise of faith and hope, might fully compensate - 
 for all the privations it sustained. We find according- 
 ly such a glorious support to have been afforded. *' I 
 will bless thee," saith God, " and thou shalt be a bles- 
 sing. I will make of thee a great nation, and thy name 
 great. I will bless him that blesseth thee, and curse 
 him that curscth thee ;" and to such honour will I raise 
 thee, that '* in thee shall all the families of the earth, b^ 
 blessed." 
 
 These promises of encouragement are conceived in 
 general terms. Abraham was first himself to be blessed, 
 and then to become a blessing ; and the blessing was to 
 be so diffusive as to extend to the utmost Hmits of the 
 habitable globe. 
 
 Taken in their literal meaning, these promises de- 
 monstrate the grandeur and magnificence of God, an4 
 «ihew how easy it is for him, when he calls any to works. 
 * Heb. xi.8. f Actsvii.5. \ Heb.xi.P. 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 13 
 
 of difficulty, to make all difficulties vanish before them 
 by the superior grace he bequeaths. In this sense he 
 blessed Abraham so exceedingly, that in the course of a 
 few years the land was too narrow to contain him and 
 Lot. Yea, he was rich, not only in silver, and in gold, 
 and cattle * ; but at the battle of the kings he armed no 
 less than three hundred and eighteen trained men, who 
 were born in his own house, and pursued them to Dan f. 
 
 Thus God, by blessing Abraham so remarkably, ren- 
 dered him a blessing ; for by his means was Chedorla- 
 omer and his confederates discomfited, and he « res- 
 cued all the goods, and his brother Lot and his goods, 
 ■ and the women also, and the people \" 
 
 And I ivill make of thee a great nation ^ ver. 2. Of the 
 literal accomplishment of this promise we need say no- 
 thing more than refer to Abraham's descendents by Ja- 
 cob, who so grew and miiltiplied in Egypt, that, though 
 they came there but ** few in number §," and though 
 every means was taken to oppress and keep them low, 
 yet it was by hundreds of thousands of valiant men in 
 Israel that they were led forth ; and their growing power 
 and glory subsequent ta this, are vi^ell known. In the 
 times of the judges, and in the reigns of David and So- 
 lomon, their numbers were immense. And Paul, speak- 
 ing even of the literal Israel, applies the words of the 
 promise ^, saying, " though the number of the children 
 of Israel be as the sand of the sea." 
 
 A7id 1 will bless thee^ and make thy name great. As the 
 father and the founder of a mighty nation, he was so in 
 the literal sense ; and as the father of believers in the 
 spiritual. Great is the renown of Abraham in both 
 these respects. The Jews, his natural descendents, glory 
 in their connection with him, and those who believe 
 
 * Gen.xiii. 2. | Chap. xiv.H. X Gen. xiv. U,— 16. 
 
 S Gen. xlvi. 27. 'T Compare Gen. xxii. 17. Uom. ix. 21. 
 
^^^ THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 count it their highest honour to be related to him in the 
 spiritual sense. Of both, therefore, though for very 
 different reasons, is he had in everlasting remembrance, 
 and so his name has become great throughout all the 
 world *. 
 
 j^nci thou shah be a blessing. This follows upon being 
 blessed himself. It is the parent only who is rich, who 
 can enrich the child ; the man of power who can defend j 
 the man of wisdom and knowledge who can instruct j 
 and in vain do we look for the communications pf bles- 
 sings, except to a quarter where those blessings exist. 
 
 How Abraham became a blessing in a literal respect, 
 we have already seen. And he was to be so in a spirit- 
 ual respect, in as much as that from him the Messiah was 
 to descend, in whom alone men were to be blessed with 
 all " spiritual blessings in heavenly places f ." 
 
 Ver. 3. And Iivill bless them that bless thecy aftd curse 
 him that curseth thee. This mode of speech was very 
 common in the prophetic language. It occurs in the 
 prediction of Noah concerning his sons, and in that of 
 Isaac concerning Jacob and Esau, chap. ix. 25, 26. and 
 xxvii. 29. In the prophecy of Balaam it likewise occurs, 
 «' Blessed be he that blesseth thee, and cursed be he that 
 curseth thee," Numb. xxiv. 9. And the Lord, in de- 
 livering his statutes to the people, and promising to send 
 his angel before them, says expressly, " If thou shak in- 
 deed obey his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will 
 be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary un- 
 to thine adversaries," Exod. xxiii. 22. 
 
 These predictions were accordingly fulfilled, first in 
 the literal sense, by its going ill with those nations which 
 opposed Israel, and ivell with such as were favourable to 
 them. And secondly, in the spiritual sense, by the 
 
 * Vid. Prideaux'3 Ccn. Pari I, B. iv. p. 1233. Edin. Edit, 
 t Eph. i. j". 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. li> 
 
 Lord's determination to punish and destroy all who 
 either manifest an hostile disposition, or treat with con- 
 tempt or neglect the offers of his grace. But if the 
 denunciatory part be thus verified, no less so must that 
 which includes the faithfulness of God in the communi- 
 cations of his bounty and grace to his people. As his 
 enemies were to be cursed, so his people were to be 
 blessed by being mercifully delivered out of their hands. 
 As it was only in the way of obedience that God had 
 promised to vouchsafe his favour, Numb. xxiv. 9. so, says 
 Solomon, « "When a man's ways please the Lord, the' 
 Lord will make even his enemies to be at peace with 
 him *." For " I will bless them that bless thee, and 
 curse him that curseth thee," saith the Lord ; " and in 
 thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." 
 
 But it was not in Abraham personally, but in his seedf , 
 even Christ, that men were to be blessed, and to call 
 him blessed. Abraham was to be blessed as the great 
 progemtor of him who was to come as the Saviour of the 
 world. And a blessing being thus in his family, which 
 was to bless men } men of all nations were accordingly to 
 call h'lm blessed J. 
 
 Upon no other principle but that of a spiritual nature 
 can this passage be explained, that all the families of the 
 earth should he blessed in Aoraham. Nor does it even 
 mean that every individual of the families of the earth 
 shall be so blessed j for believers only are they who are 
 blessed with beheving Abraham, while the wicked shall 
 be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God^ 
 
 In what the nations were to be blessed, through the 
 blessing of Abraham, is not here mentioned ; but Paul 
 informs us, Gal. iii. 1 4. that it v/as the Gentiles receiv- 
 ing the promise of the Spirit through faith. 
 
 * PfoViXvi, 7,, t See chap, xxiu 18; \ PsaL Ixxii. 17, 
 
16 
 
 SECTION III. 
 The Subject continued. 
 
 JL HE next transaction with Abraham respects the /?v- 
 mise of the land of Canaan ; and it took place, first upon 
 Abraham's arrival in that country, and afterwards upon 
 his separation from Lot. The first is contained in the 
 Tth verse of the 12th chapter, the other in the 8th, 
 from the 14th to the 17th verse inclusive. And the 
 Lord ajipeared unto Ahram^ and said. Unto thy seed will I 
 give this land. And again, the Lord said unto Abraniy 
 after that Lot was separated frofn hiniy Lift up now thine 
 tyesy and look from the place where thou arty northward, and 
 southward, and eastwardy and westwardyfor all the land 
 •which thou seesty to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for 
 ever. Arise y walk through the land in the length of it, and 
 in the breadth of it, for 1 will give it unto thee. 
 
 " Concerning the first or literal meaning of this pro- 
 mise," as Dr Macknight observes, " there can be no 
 doubt ; as little can there be any doubt concerning its 
 fulfilment to Abraham's natural seed, according to that 
 meaning." But it appears to me a very important ques- 
 tion to ascertain what might be the design of God, in 
 granting any particular region of the earth, as a temporal 
 inheritance to his people. If he had had no particular 
 or special design in it, but meant merely to assure them, 
 that, in addition to the salvation of their souls, he would 
 also provide for their bodily wants j might not the ge- 
 neral promise that was given to Noah, or something of a 
 similar nature, have fully answered the purpose ? 
 
 In speaking of the calling of Abraham from his kin- 
 dred and his father's house, we observed, that one prin- 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. iV 
 
 *:ipal reason of this appeared to be, to mark him out ia 
 an especial manner as the great progenitor of him on 
 whom the hopes of all mankind depended. And we 
 conceive that it was just to prepare the way for the ac- 
 complishment of tliis grand event, that ever the land of 
 Canaan was promised for a possession to him and his 
 posterity. Had it been part of the plan of God, to have 
 fulfilled the promise concerning the seed who was to be 
 the Saviour of the world, immediately, or within a very 
 short period after it was delivered, there would have 
 been no necessity of such a grant of temporal possessions' 
 as we see here to have been given. But when it was 
 not to be accomplished till many generations afterwards j 
 not till Israel had multiplied and increased as the dust 
 of the earth ; yea, not till He who was to come should 
 be typified in all his threefold offices — by a regularly in- 
 stituted priesthood — and by a succession of prophets and 
 of kings, who should both verbally, and also by their 
 actions, describe his character and work in all their parts j 
 and thus, that he might not only be distinguished as the 
 seed of Abraham, but the distinguished Personage of that 
 seed, — such a constitution as that of a temporal inheri- 
 tance became absolutely necessary. 
 
 That this view is correct, will farther appear from this 
 circumstance, that the promise was not given to Abra- 
 ham as a solitary individual, but to his seed likewise. 
 And it will be further corroborated still, when it is con- 
 sidered, that by the event, it appears, that it was rather 
 for the sake of the seed, and that at a considerably dis- 
 tant period, than for Abraham himself, that the promise 
 was given. Neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Jacob, 
 ever inherited this promise, or saw it fulfilled. Yea, 
 were they not distinctly told that they never should^ 
 nor yet any of their descendents, iii/ four hundred t/eart 
 
 C 
 
18 TflE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 had run their round * ? Why then was such a promise 
 ever granted or introduced in the covenant with Abra- 
 ham ? Was it not a new thing in the church, to which 
 nothing similar ever had bcjen, or should be in any suc- 
 ceeding period to the end of the world ? Does it not 
 then appear almost to a demonstration, from the singu- 
 larity of the circumstance on the one hand, and from its 
 occurring at the time that the promise of a Saviour was 
 restricted to a particular family, on the other, — and 
 when to these are added the special care which Pro- 
 vidence always manifested in securing their possession 
 of that land till the Saviour came, that this was the par- 
 ticular design for which the promise of it was given ? 
 
 There is but one thing that I know of which seems 
 to militate against this view, and that is, the land of 
 Canaan being promised to Abraham and his descendents 
 for an everlasting possession. The clause everlasting, 
 seems, no doubt, to extend their possession of that land 
 far beyond the period to which we have referred. But 
 it ought to be observed, that, as it regards a subject, 
 which, in its nature cannot signify an absolute eternity, 
 it must therefore be explained by other passages of a si- 
 milar nature vfhere the same word occurs, concerning 
 the duration of which there is no doubt. It is the same 
 word in the Hebrew, namely, tsSiP, which is used fre- 
 quently to signify time indefinitelij, as weW past ^ as future ff 
 and whirh occurs in all those passages in the Mosaic ri- 
 tual, where the various ordinances are said to be given 
 for a statute for ever. And hence, though the same 
 word denotes eternity in the strict and absolute sense, 
 when applied to subjects which v.'lll evidently bear that 
 Ricjning (as the eternity of God, for instance, Psal. xc. 2.) 
 ^:- Gen. XV. 13. 
 
 f See Park. Ileb. Lex. untkr Cs'-jy II. where a variety of 
 -p'iiiigti are quoted. 
 
THE AfiRAIIAMIC COVENANT. 19 
 
 yet when employed in the vague or general sense, as in 
 the case before us, its true signification can only be as- 
 certained, either by ranging the subject to which it is 
 applied with that class of subjects to which it naturally 
 belongs, or by examining the history of providence in 
 order to determine whether the event to which it al- 
 ludes be already past^ or yet to come. For various reasons 
 afterwards to be specified, I would class the everlasting 
 possession of the land of Canaan, here guaranteed to 
 Abraham and his descendents, with the statutes and or- 
 dinances instituted by Moses ; all of which, it is'^ well 
 known, though likewise termed everlasting, were abro- 
 gated and done ^jjpiy by the coming of Christ. And if 
 this arrangement be accurate, it will hence follow that 
 the Israelites' possession of the land of Canaan, though 
 termed eternal in the grant, would likewise terminate at 
 the same time. Accordingly, when we have recourse 
 to the other method of determining points of this nature, 
 to wit, the investigation of history, which is in other 
 words, an illustration of the eternal purposes of the Al- 
 mighty; we have it confirmed by incontestable evidence 
 that the event is not to be sought for as yet to come, but 
 as past long ago. Facts have determined, and that near- 
 ly two thousand years since, that the descendents of Abra- 
 ham were not for ever, even in this life, to possess the 
 land of Canaan ; but were, after the grand purpose for 
 which it seems to have been given them came to be ac- 
 complished, removed from it into different regions of the 
 world, and have thus continued ever since, dispersed 
 throughout countries * to which they have now no na- 
 
 * As in the most of controversial writings, the different parties 
 seem to be exceedingly quick sighted to spy each others faults, 
 and often magnify as no inconsiderable error, what cannot, when 
 weighed in the balance of impartial justice, be reckoned an error ; 
 so, to prevent violations of this kind here, I would thus take the 
 
i;0 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 tural or instituted right, more than the people ainongst 
 whom they sojourn. "■;, 
 
 It is true, that it was for their unbelief, and for their 
 horrid sin in crucifying the Lord of glory, that the Jews, 
 the natural branches were broken off, and the Romaiis 
 permitted to take away their place and nation. But may 
 not this be considered not only as a signal punishment 
 on that nation for the wickedness of their conduct ; but 
 also as the means by which God intended to fulfil the 
 purposes which he had formed in himself before the 
 world began ? Nor would this have been any new or un« 
 common plan of procedure with God,Jbut the very same 
 on which he seems to have acted fi^ipi the beginning. 
 "When he intended to put the descendents of Abraham 
 in possession of the land of Canaan, for instance, it was 
 not till its original inhabitants had filled up the measure 
 of their iniquities ; and that, when they were driven 
 lience by the victorious armies of Israel, his judgments, 
 evidently inflicted upon them for their wickedness, were 
 -SO blended with the plans he had predetermined to ac- 
 complish, that unless we had been informed of them, or 
 taken the events for Our interpreters, we could not have 
 distinguished the one from the other. In like manner 
 does this seem to have been the case with the Israelites 
 themselves. When the purposes for which Jehovah 
 •jeems to have given them a place in Canaan came to be 
 
 start, and explain what I mean by the above expression, tountries 
 io nvhich they have 7ioiu no natural right, &c. I do not mean, by the 
 .^article no-a/ in this connection, to sSy, that the Jews ever had 
 :;ach a right as we are here tpeaking of, to the countries through 
 •which they are dispersed, but only that they once had such a 
 -right to Canaan, and which no others could have cither to that or 
 any other land, unless they obtained it in the same way. I mean, 
 :Tioreover, to say, that though the Jews once had such a right, 
 they seem to have it no longer ; but are now in this respect en- 
 t.ieiy on a par with the other nations among whom they sojourn. 
 
THF, ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 21 
 
 accomplished, and he intended to remove them from it. 
 It so happened that in the ordinary course of his provi- 
 dence, he needed only signally to punish them for the 
 crimes of which they had been guilty, and his purpose 
 was completely effected. 
 
 Nor would it be any argument to the contrary to 
 say, as indeed many have done, that, as it was on ac- 
 count of their wickedness and unbelief that the Tews 
 were cast out, so whenever they shall come to see their 
 sins, so as to be humbled for them, and shall turn unto 
 the Lord, they shall be again restored to their own 
 land. Were the persons who espouse such sentiments 
 but duly to consider the matter, they would soon per- 
 ceive many and insuperable dilHculties attending the 
 idea of a literal restoration, which are all happily re- 
 moved by taking the fact simply as it stands. There 
 would not only be a literal restoration of the land, and 
 that without any apparently specific end now to be ob- 
 tained by it, but there would be also a restoration of 
 the Mosaic worship and ritual, the royalty of David, 
 and, in one word, all the peculiarities and appendages 
 •which pertained to the former dispensation *'. It would 
 imply too, that the believing Gentiles would have also 
 a right to it as well as the Jews ; for if the Jews, the 
 natural branches, were broken off because of unbelief 
 and the Gentiles grafFed in by faith ; and if, when the 
 former shall, through faith likewise, be made parta- 
 kers of the sap and fatness of their o-.va olive, shall 
 be restored to the land of Canaan ; it would imply, 1 
 say, that the believing Gentiles too, who are now made 
 all of/f in Christ Jesus, had also a right to the same in- 
 heritance. Yea, it would imply that God was really 
 unfaithful to his promise, and that he had actually suf- 
 fered it to fail in the case of the many thousand Je-,vs, 
 * Isa.lxv.20,21. Hos. iii.5. 
 
22 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 , who believed in the first preaching of the gospel, who, 
 ihstead of being thus distinguished on account of their 
 faith, were involved in all the calamities common to 
 their unbelieving countrymen ; the previous, faithful, 
 and friendly warning of their blessed Master, an atten- 
 tion to which would no doubt, in some measure, melio- 
 rate their sufferings, alone excepted. In-short, it would 
 imply that there is always to subsist in the church of 
 Christ, a distinction between Jews and Gentiles ; that 
 the middle wall of partition has never yet, nor ever 
 will be broken down ; or else if it be, and that both 
 are on a level, and made one in Christ Jesus, as the 
 Scriptures assert, that all who are thus distinguished asi 
 the true Israel of God, to whatever nation they may 
 have formerly belonged, shall be joint partakers of this 
 blessing as a common interest. And hence it will come 
 to pass, that they shall be gathered from the east and 
 from the west, from the north and from the south, to 
 sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not in the 
 kingdom of heaven and of glory, the blessed antitype 
 of Canaan, but in the literal Canaan, and that for the 
 purpose of returning to what the apostle styles, the 
 nueah and heggarly elements of this •world *, Gal. iv. 9. 
 
 All this, we say, would be manifestly implied in taking 
 the restoration of the Jews to their own land, after they 
 are made one with the Gentiles by faith in Christ Je- 
 sus, in a literal sense. But is it possible that any 
 can thus understand it ? Would it not be better then to 
 consider the restoration of Canaan entirely in a spiri- 
 4ual sense, as a prophetic representation of the conver- 
 •■ion of God's ancient people to the Christian faith ? 
 and, extending our ideas beyond tlie narrow limits of 
 the land of Palestine, consider Canaan in this sense, as 
 comprehending the heathen nations also, wliich are 
 * Gal. iv. 9. 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 23 
 
 given to Christ " for an inheritance, and the uttermost 
 ends of the earth for a possession * ?" And thus, do we 
 not perceive, bj the admirable providence of God, one 
 most beautiful design in all his plans, from the begjin- 
 ning to the end ? — P'irst, in calling Abraham, in select- 
 ing his descendents, and in giving them his statutes, or- 
 dinances, and certain worldly possessions, which might 
 keep them together in one place, till a certain end he 
 had in view in all this was obtained ; and then, when 
 his purposes were answered, suffering them, in Sie 
 same admirable manner, to be scattered throughout all 
 the regions of the earth, and there to remain in ihiiv 
 dispersed, cast-off, and forlorn condition, " without a 
 king, and without a prince, and without sacrifice f ,'* 
 &c, till the fulness of the Gentiles should come in.— 
 And then, when the gospel had penetrated into those 
 dark and urearj regions into which the Jews had stray- 
 ed, like prodigals from their father's house, and by its 
 blessed influences, changed the whole face of nature, so 
 to speak, from a waste howling wilderness, into the 
 garden of Eden, the Jews, struck with this miracle, be- 
 gin to recollect themselves. In it they see their sin, 
 which was the cause of their dispersion ; and along 
 with it, the mercy of their ancient God, unmerited and 
 unsolicited, extending to others noVless criminal and 
 wicked than themselves. With them therefore they 
 cast in their lot, saying, " whither thou goest we will 
 go, and where thou lodgest we will lodge ± ;" for v^'« 
 perceive '* that God is in you of a truth §." Andj 
 hence, instead of needing to engage in long and weari- 
 some journies, ere they could worship in an acceptable 
 manner the God of their fathers, they find that the Sa- 
 viour liimself had long ago freed them from that obli- 
 
 * Psal, ii. 8. t Hos. iii. 4- 
 
 1 Ruth i. 16', § 1 Cor. xiv. 25. 
 
24- THE ABRAKAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 gadon, bj declaring " that the hour cometh, and now 
 ,is^ when men shall neither in this mountain," (moimt 
 Geriiim, to-wit) " nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the 
 Father ; but that the true worshippers should in every 
 jilace, without distinction, worship the Father in spirit 
 and in truth ; for the Father^ jseeketh such to worship 
 hipi *." The fulness of the Gentiles being thus come 
 in,' and every one calling himself by the name of the 
 God of Jacob, the Jews, now converted by the same 
 truth^ retain no longer their ancient enn>ity at the Gen- 
 Ihles, but seek a place in their communion, and count it 
 an honour as well as a privilege to be incorporated into 
 the sanie body. And thus whenever '.the happy change 
 may happen to take place, they will count themselves at 
 home ; and instead of looking and longing for a restoration 
 to the earthly Canaan, they will have their eyes directed 
 to that better and heavenly country, of which Canaan 
 was the type ; and with patience wait the Lord's time 
 to be transported thither. — Such are our views of this 
 irfiportant subject. 
 
 We now comie to a third transaction of God with 
 Abrahaniv which occupies the whole of the xvth chap- 
 ter ; but this we shall consider in our next section. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 The Subject cont'mued. 
 
 Jl he subject of the ensuing section is contained in the 
 xvth chapter of Genesis. Because Abraham had been 
 ctiUed, both in a temporal and spiritual point of view, 
 
 * Johniv. 21,— 33. 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 25 
 
 \ to lead a life of peculiar difficulties and dangers ; to 
 strengthen and encourage him therefore, the word of the 
 Lord came to hinif ver. 1. Saying, Fear not Abram^ I am 
 thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 
 
 Fear not) Abrantf I am thy shield. To see how re«' 
 markably this promise was fulfilled in its literal mean* 
 ing, we need only to recollect the various dangers to 
 which Abraham himself was exposed, and the much 
 more numerous and complicated train of sufferings 
 with which his descendents were visited, first by their 
 Egyptian oppressors, then by their wars with the sur- 
 rounding nations j by their various captivities ; by their 
 internal commotions amongst themselves ; and, lastly, 
 by their final dispersion. But these things' considered, 
 is not their very existence in the present day, the most 
 demonstrative proof that God has, for nearly these 
 four thousand years, shielded not only the parent, but 
 the children * ? 
 
 And, as to its spiritual sense, tire fact that God has 
 always had a seed to serve him in every generation j a 
 few, who reflected a divine light even in the darkest 
 times, who even in the hottest persecutions were not 
 afraid to confess his name ; . and as in all times past, so 
 
 * See this most beautifully illustrated in the case of the pa. 
 triarchsj in the cvth Psalm. " He hath remembered his covenant for 
 eiifr, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations ; 
 which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac ; 
 and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an 
 everlasting covenant ; saying, Unto thee will I give the land of 
 Canaan, the lot of your inheritance : when they were but a few 
 men m number ; yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they 
 went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another 
 people, he suffered no man to do them wrong ; yea, he reproved 
 kings for their sakes ; saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do 
 my prophets no harm." 
 
 D 
 
26 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 the many who are now living witnesses for him, not 
 only simply declare that God has been^ and still is, their 
 shield, but that, in defiance of earth and hell, it shews 
 that he can work, and that none can hinder him. 
 
 God promises farther to be an exceeding great reward 
 to Abraham. A person may be defended or shielded 
 from danger ; but he may escape, as Job says, *' only 
 with t)ie skin of his teeth *.'* In addition therefore to 
 mere preservation, God promises here to reward his 
 people ; and Oh ! how munificent is the reward he pur- 
 poses to bestow ! As if the whole universe were too 
 simall, and too insignificant for the capacious ' soul of 
 man, the infinite Creator of the universe proposes to re- 
 ward it with nothing less than Himself ! 
 
 As all the unregenerate seed of Abraham, as well as 
 the sinners of the Gentiles, cry with the many^ *< Who nvill 
 shew us any good ? what shall we eat, and what shall we 
 drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed?" — as they 
 seek their portion in the creature, and not in the Crea- 
 tor ; and as it is only the spiritually-minded who say, 
 '^ Lord, lift thou up upon us the light of thy counte- 
 nance 'y for whom have we in heaven but thee, and 
 there is none upon earth that our souls desire besides 
 thee ;" so this part of the promise cannot be taken 
 otherwise than in a strictly spiritual sense. 
 
 But how strange and nnaccoilntable are the opera- 
 tions of the human mind, that notwithstanding such en- 
 couragements, it should at times, even in good people, 
 seem to overlook all the goodness and loving-kindness 
 of the Lord, and brood only on its own distresses, per- 
 haps too as often imaginary as real, which, by the way, 
 it aggravates a thousand fold. One should have ex- 
 pected that Abraham, in the answer he returned for 
 this goodness and munificence of the Lord, would have 
 * Job xix. 20. 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 27 
 
 at least said something in connexion with the subject. 
 But, no : Abraham was as yet going childless, and his 
 chief solicitude was about the obtaining of an heir, ver. 
 2,3. 
 
 Happy is it for us, however, that the Lord does not 
 copy after our example. He did not, like Abraham, 
 deviate from the subject he proposed, but removed all 
 his fears respecting a stranger heiring his possessions, 
 by the comfortable assurance, that one who should 
 come forth of his own bowels should be his heir ; and 
 that he should have even! a progeny countless as the 
 stars for multitude, ver. 4, 5. 
 
 It is said, ver. 6. that Abraham believed the Lordy and 
 that he counted it t» him for righteousness. But to this we 
 shall not at present attend, as it will more naturally 
 come under consideration afterwards. 
 
 The promise of the land of Canaan is again repeats 
 ed, ver. 7. 16. 18, And because Abraham, ver. 8, de- 
 sired to know, (surely by some sensible representation), 
 whereby he should inherit that blessings the Lord gave him 
 the solemn tokens of his covenant, and confirmed it to 
 him with an oath, ver. 9, — 18. 
 
 It would be deviating too much from the subject we 
 have in view, to attempt a full investigation of all the 
 matters contained in this chapter ; neither is it necessa- 
 ry, as they have been again and again very successfully 
 done by others. But we Would remark, from what oc- 
 curs in the 13th and 15th verses, that, under the em- 
 blem of possessions in the land of Canaan, Abraham 
 must have understood a better, even an heavenly coun- 
 try J otherwise the land, from what is there said, 
 though it had been even the primeval paradise itself, 
 could have been no flattering prospect to him, nor yet 
 ?o his descendents, till the fourth generation. 
 
 The next transaction is contained in the xviith chap- 
 
28 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 ter, where the covenant is renewed, Abraham's name 
 changed, circumcision instituted, and Isaac promised. 
 As this would however lead us into particulars of too 
 important and complicated a nature to be huddled up 
 in the end of the present, we shall rather make them 
 the subject of another section. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 The Subject continued* 
 
 X H E subject of this section is continued in the xviith 
 chapter of Genesis — .Ver. 1. Abraham's age is stated 
 to be at this period, ninety'nine years ; and the Lord is 
 said to have ' appeared to him, calling himself the Al- 
 mighty God, and giving him this injunction, W^alk before 
 ■me, and be thou perfect. 
 
 As every one conversant with Christian duty, and the 
 principles whence that duty must flow, well understands 
 the import of this injunction, it is not our intention to 
 enter upon it here. 
 
 The covenant which God gaVe to be between him- 
 self and Abraham, is therefore the next thing of course, 
 ver. 2. 4. 7. And it may be remarked, that both the 
 covenant itself, and the blessings contained in it, are 
 precisely the same as those of which we have been 
 speaking. If indeed there be any difference, it consists 
 in minuteness of detail. Abraham is styled, the fatJur 
 of mc^ny natienst ver. 4. And again, ver. 5. his name 
 was 46 more to be called Abram, but Abraham ; for a 
 father of many nations, saith God, have I tnade, or consti- 
 tuted thee. And this agrees with what has been already 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 29 
 
 observed, chap. xii. 3. that in him should all the fami- 
 lies of the earth be blessed. To the same purpose he 
 says, ver. 6. And I ivill make thee exceeding fruitful, and 
 J will make nations of thee^ and kings shall comt out of 
 thee. 
 
 With regard to the literal meaning, it does not appear 
 very applicable to this passage ; not as it respects «a- 
 tions here mentioned as descending from him, for in this 
 sense he was the founder of but one nation ; to-wit, the 
 nation of the Jews": nor yet as a constituted head or 
 father ; for Abraham, in this sense, like every person 
 else, was naturally the father of his descendents, with- 
 out being made or constituted so. 
 
 Taking then the passage in its spiritual signification, 
 what a grand view does it present us with of the cove- 
 nant ®f grace ; that, whereas the dark places of the 
 earth have long been full of the habitations of cruelty, 
 they shall all shortly be covered with the knowledge of 
 the Lord, as the v/aters cover the channel of the deep. 
 The gospel is just to the nations what it is to indivi- 
 duals^ a system of general universal utility, calculated 
 and designed for every individual of the human race, 
 and addressed to every one without a single exception. 
 It is to the nations, to all the families of the earth, to the 
 human kind, wherever their lot may happen to be cast, 
 that the blessed promise here extends. And what a 
 beautiful corroboration have we of it, not only in the 
 passages quoted below *, but, when the steps came to 
 be laid for its actual accomplishment, in Christ's com- 
 missioning his apostles to go into all the world, and 
 preach the gospel to every creature. 
 
 By this promise therefore are our souls animated, and 
 our expectations enlarged. We rejoice to think, that 
 though Jesus, *' the desire of all nations," was rejected 
 ♦ Psal. ii. Ixxii. Isa. xlix. 18,-26. &• al. freq. 
 
so THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 and despised by one of them when he came in the flesh, 
 that yet every nation under heaven shall bow to his 
 sceptre. The kingdoms are his'. They pertain to him 
 as a matter of right ; not only as an inheritance given 
 by promise, but as a possession legally purchased by 
 his sufferings and death. His gospel shall therefore 
 spread abroad, and by means thereof shall the nations 
 be brought under him. They shall not be merely 
 converted to him by bearing his name, but they shall 
 be made a willing people in the day of his power. Sa- 
 tan, the god of this world, shall be cast out, shall fall as 
 lightning from heaven, never more to arise, and the 
 glorious kingdom of our blessed God erected in every 
 country where he had his seat. And as this shall be 
 only brought about by the publication of the truth, it 
 is hence the duty of Christians to do all that ia them 
 lies to hasten it forward. 
 
 Again, not only nations^ but li'tngs were to come out 
 of the loins of Abraham. May not this, in the spiri- 
 tual sense, to say nothing of the literal, be aptly appli- 
 ed to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords, and to all the spiritual subjects of 
 his kingdom, who indeed are pot treated like servants 
 or subjects, but arc heirs, and of royal dignity, being 
 heirs of God, and joint heirs y/ith Christ, and made 
 kings and priests unto the Father ? 
 
 We next notice certain properties here ascribed to the 
 covenant. It is styled an everlasting covenant, ver. 7. 
 and the land 6f Canaan said to be given for an ever- 
 lasting possession to Abraham and to his seed. For the 
 meaning of the word Qbiy, here so rendered, we refer 
 to what we have already said in a preceding section. 
 We there remarked that this word, though the only 
 one in the Hebrew language which signifies eternity in 
 the proper sense, yet being frequently employed to sig- 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 31 
 
 nify time indefinitely, its true meaning can only be: 
 ascertained by a due attention to the subject to which 
 it is applied. Taking the covenant, therefore, which 
 God is here said to establish between himself and 
 Abraham, and Abraham's seed in their generations, in 
 the strictly spiritual sense, as signifying the covenant 
 of grace, then the word ta'jiy will be applicable, in its 
 most unlimited sense, as expressive of eternal duration. 
 And truly the covenant in this view we would extol in 
 the highest strains, and say with David, that it is not 
 only *' an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things 
 and sure," but that it ** is all our salvation, and all our 
 desire *•" In this view likewise would we understand 
 the apostle's assertion, Rom. iv. 15. " that it" (justifi- 
 cation, to- wit) *' is of faith, that it" (the inheritance, 
 namely) " might be by grace ; to the end that the pro- 
 mise might be sure to all the seed." In this view, in 
 short, do we recognize all the doctrines of the gospel, 
 as being eternal in their nature, and including the gifts 
 and callings of God, which are without repentance. 
 The recovery of fallen man by a Redeemer, regene- 
 ration or the new birth, faith in God's promises, justifi- 
 cation in his sight, sanctification, perseverance in lioli- 
 ness, and final glorification in the eternal world, are 
 doctrines of the gospel which stand or fall together, and 
 which render all who embrace them the true seed of 
 Abraham, in the sense of which we are speaking, and 
 to whom the promise cannot be but sure : *' for all that 
 the Father hath given to Christ shall come unto him, 
 and of all that he hath given him he shall lose nothing, 
 but shall preserve zndi raise it up at the last day f." 
 And we tuay just add on this part of the subject, that 
 God gave not only a simple promise to Abraham and 
 his seed, in the sense we have specified, but ** willing' 
 * 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. f John vi. 37. 39. 
 
32 THE ABRAHAMIG COVENANT, 
 
 more abundantly to manifest unto these heirs of the 
 promise the immutability, qf his counsel, confirmed it 
 by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it 
 was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong 
 consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon 
 the hope set before us." 
 
 But though this be evidently the true meaning of thfe 
 original word here rendered everlasting, when applied to 
 the covenant in its most extended and spiritual sense, 
 yet it cannot be disputed that it has a more limited sig- 
 nification in several other passages in this very chap- 
 ter. For the sense in which we understand it, when ap- 
 plied to the possession of the land of Canaan, see what 
 we have said on this subject in our third section. And 
 for the same reasons, we would understand it with the 
 same limitations, when applied to the covenant of cir- 
 cumcision, ver. 13. But of this we shall speak more 
 particularly, when we come to that part of our subject 
 which treats of the changes which took place at the in- 
 troduction of the new dispensation. 
 
 The next thing claiming our attention is, that the co- 
 venant was not only established with Abraham him- 
 self, but also with his seed. And I will establish my co- 
 venant hetiveen me and thee, and thy seed after theCy in their 
 generations, and so on. But as this will be also the sub- 
 ject of a subsequent part of our work, we shall say no- 
 thing on it here, but reserve the full discussion of it for 
 its proper place. 
 
 We come therefore to the institution of the rite of 
 circumcisiony ver. 9, — 14. And God said unto Abraham^ 
 Thou shah keep my covenant therefore , thou, and thy seed af- 
 ter thee, in their generations. This is my covenant which 
 ye shall hep between me and you, and thy seed after thee ; 
 every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye 
 * Heb.vi.l7,lS. 
 
THE ABR'AHAMIC COVENANT. 39 
 
 jhail circumcise the flesh- of your foreskin ; and it shall be 
 a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that 
 is eight days old shall be circiiittcised among yotiy every man 
 child in your generations ; he that is born in the house^ or 
 bought with money of any stranger which is not of thy seed. 
 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy 
 Tnoney^ must needs be circumcised ; and my covenant shall 
 he in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the tin- 
 circumcised man child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not 
 circumcised, that soul shall he cut off from his pecjile : he 
 hath broken my covenant. 
 
 What was thus required was immediately complied 
 with, as we learn from the conclusion of the chapter. 
 Ver. 23. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, (\nd all that 
 were born in his house., and all that were bought with his 
 money, every male among the men of AbraharrCs house, and 
 circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the self-same day, 
 as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years 
 old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his 
 foreskin. And Ishmael his son ivas thirteen years old when 
 he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the self- 
 same day was Abraham circumcised, and Islunael his son ,» 
 and all the men of his house, born in the house, or bought 
 with money of any stranger, ivere circumcised with him. 
 
 Without entering into the controversy which has 
 been agitated amongst the learned, respecting the origi- 
 nal institution of this rite, what especially demands our 
 attention, and will also be of more use than any deci- 
 sions of this nature, is, to try to ascertain the grand de-^ 
 sign of its institution. Indeed, with regard to the time 
 of its institution, we must plainly say, and that, though 
 in opposition to so great authority as that of tliQ late 
 Lord President Forbes *, that it does not appear to us 
 
 * See his Works, vol. i. p. 151. Sec. Edinburgh edit. ; ako .k> 
 >iph. centra Ap. B, i. §22. & Antiq. B. viii. ex. §3. 
 
 E 
 
34< th£ abrahamic covenant. 
 
 to have been one of the ogigiaal institutions enjoined on 
 Adam after the fall, and which* must therefore have 
 been practised by his descendents ; for this good reason, 
 that if this had been the case, Abraham and his family 
 must have known and attended to it long before the 
 period mentioned in this chapter. It is frorn this time 
 henceforward, and never before, that the Scriptui-es 
 speak of it as an institution of divine appointment, or 
 indeed so much as mention it at all ; and therefore, the 
 collateral circumstances which may lead some to draw 
 buch conclusions, how plausible soever they may ap- 
 pear, are by no means to be admitted when they are 
 rendered so exceedingly suspicious by a palpable truth. 
 J freely confess, for my part, that the Scriptures ap- 
 pear to me to represent circumcision from this lime 
 lor ward in such a light, that it is no part of my sys- 
 tem, till I see better reasons for it, to admit such a po- 
 sition. But without saying more on this affair, let us 
 enter upon tlie discussion of the subject itself". 
 
 With regard to the design of the ordinance, there ap- 
 pears to be several leading principles held forth to view. 
 1 . It is manifest from this passage, that it was intend- 
 ed to be a sign or token of the covenant which God here 
 established with his people. And thus it would serve 
 as a remembrancer of the certainty of its fulfilment on 
 his part, as well as a test of obedience on theirs. 
 
 In relation to the first of these ideas, Paul says that 
 it was *' a seal of the righteousness of the faith of 
 Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumcised," 
 Rom. iv. 11, The faith which the patriarch had in his 
 uncircumcised state, we formerly noticed, chap. xv. 6. ; 
 but having reserved our remarks on it for another place, 
 we shall attend a little to it here. It was there said, 
 that Abraham believed the Lord^ and lie counted it to him 
 for righeotisness. On which words, the apostle Paul 
 
TflE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. Z:> 
 
 r 
 
 gives a most beautiful divine comment, in the ch^ter 
 now alluded to in his epistle to the Romans. The sub- 
 ject of which he is speakipg, is that of justification by 
 faith, without the works of the law. And he adduces 
 this instance of Abraham's justification, while he was 
 yet uncircumcised, to establish his point. He enters at 
 great length into the subject, and discusses it with 
 much ability. He first lays it down as a maxim, that 
 where works have any part in the ' matter of justifica- 
 tion, then the reward cannot be gratuitous, but may be 
 claimed as a matter of right, ver. 4. But, on the other 
 hand, when works are entirely excluded, and faith th^ 
 only thing required, then the faith itself, or perhaps the 
 object of it, or perhaps, with more propriety still, the 
 two united, are counted to him for righteousness. In 
 the next place, he does as much as say, (see v?r. 6, 7, 
 8.) that they, and they onli/ are blessed, and freed from 
 all the direful consequences of sin, who are justified by 
 this means. Resuming then the subject he had started 
 in the 29th verse of the preceding chapter, (which see), 
 he asks, ver. 9, 10. " Cometh this blessedness then 
 upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision 
 also ? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham 
 for righteousness. How was it then reckoned ? when 
 he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision ? Not iu 
 circumcision, but in iincircumqision. And he received 
 the" mark * " of circumcision, a seal of the righteous- 
 
 * So we conceive (ryifniov ought to be rendered in this passage ; 
 tor being joined with VJ^tiOjitij?, circi/rncrsion, it refers merely to 
 what was done in the administration of that rite, and not smne 
 representation of it, as the word fig» would teem to convev. If 
 it had not been the governttig word, it would have indeed been 
 all the same whether rendered oy the one or by the otUer. For 
 it would be equally good sense to say, he received the siglf, circunci-^ 
 /i:"., a seal of the righteousness cf fuithy Sec, as that " he receihed 
 
S6 THE ABRAHAMIC COVl^-ANT. 
 
 ness of the faith, and hj consequence of the blessed- 
 ness which he had, yet being llncircumcised." Than 
 this mode of reasoning, \*h4t could be more convincing 
 or more in point to his subject ? 
 
 But as the apostle mentions circumcision as a seal of 
 the righteousness of the faith which Abraham possess- 
 ed in his uncircumcised state, the question comes to be, 
 wbether was it the same to his descendents as to him- 
 self ? If thej indeed had all been partakers of like 
 precious faith with him, there is no question but it 
 would have been the same. But when it was intended 
 also as a mark of national distinction, and dispensed 
 not only to the descendents of Abraham, and that while 
 they were yet incapable of forming any conceptions of 
 it, but to the strangers and sojourners likewise, ivhether 
 born in his liouse^ or bought -with his inoney^ I candidly con- 
 fess that what it intended to signify or seal to them^ if no= 
 
 the mark of circumcision." B\it 5r£g<T»^>i? being the genitive, we 
 are not at liberty to adopt the former rendering, nor to retain 
 the word sign, as in the common translation, without invol- 
 ving ourselves in a kind of absurdity. When we speak of the 
 sign of any thing, we are surely not t8 be blamed for inquiring 
 what this sign is. Now, by this rule, if circumcision had a sign, 
 what was that sign .?,{ The knife, I should suppose ; the same as 
 chirurgical instruments are the sign of chirurgical operations, wa- 
 ter the sign of drowning, and a gibbet the sign of hanging. Mr 
 Wardlaw, eviJently from not adverting to these circumstances, 
 has, in my opinion, gone into a very unwarrantable interpretation 
 of this passage. He considers circumcision here as both a sign 
 and a seal; and occupies several pages of his Lectures (which see) 
 in order to shew the various respects in which the blessings of the 
 covenant of grace, were signified and sealed by it. But it does not 
 appear thn*: the apostle represents'it in this light at all.. His sense 
 ceems evidently to be, that, by what is here denominated the 
 mark of circumcision, is simply circumcision itself; and it is this, 
 and nothitig else, which is the teal in the apostle's account of the 
 matter. 
 
Tmi;4i©ilAHAMrC COVENAXT. 37 
 
 thing of a carnal nature is to be admitted, is not so very 
 clear. Nor have I ^y idea that we need to inquire 
 what conceptions an igporant or unthinking multitude 
 might form of it ; for if we could only ascertain dis- 
 tinctly the design of God in its institution^, this would be 
 quite sufficient. It appears to me, I must own, that, as 
 the covenant of which circumcision was a token, con- 
 sisted of various parts, and evidently included temporal 
 as well as spiritual blessings ; so it would not only be 
 viewed, in reference either to the one or the other, ac- 
 cording as the persoas themselves happened to be car- 
 nal or spiritual, but that it was designed of God in this 
 two-fold sense, to represent the corresponding parts in 
 the covenant i\nd I question not but that the self- 
 same principle would run through every,.,other part. 
 The land of Canaan, for instance, was included in the 
 covenant ; and being a goodly land, " a land flowing," 
 as the Scripture expressethit, " with milk and honey ; 
 a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains, 
 and depths, that spring out of the vallies and hills ; a 
 land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and 
 pomegranates, of oii-olivc, and honey ; a land wherein 
 there was bread without scarceness, and lack of no- 
 thing ; whose stones were iron, and out of whose hills 
 thou mayest dig brass * ;" I doubt not but that many 
 of the carnal Israelites, having got possession of it, 
 though not by their own power or might, would yet 
 bless themselves for the goodness of their fortune, and 
 say of it. This is cur rest, here nvill lue siaij. But, ah ! 
 to the spifitually-minded, Canaan, with all her fair 
 prospects, was still incapable of satisfying the longing 
 desires of their soul. Viewed as their only portion, it 
 was lighter than vanity. It was totally destitute of 
 any real good, except whea taken in connexion with 
 ^ Deut. viii. 7, — y. 
 
38 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 the chief good, and as affording types ^nd shadows of 
 better things to come. And hence, to the former, the 
 threatening to dispossess them of a portion they so 
 highly valued, in case of disobedience, would be ex- 
 ceedingly terrific^ as the idea would be of coming short 
 of the rest which it typified, to the latter. 
 
 2. We mentioned a test of obedience as a second design 
 of the ordinance. In the 9th verse, God requires of 
 Abraham to keep his covenant ; thou^ saith he, and thy 
 seed after thee^ in their generations. And in the next 
 verse, he informs them what it was he required of 
 them, and how they were to testify the obedience of 
 their faith, by observing, as a perpetual statute, the or- 
 dinance of circumcision. *^ This is my covenant, 
 which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy 
 seed after thee ; every man-child among you shall be 
 circumcised.'' 
 
 Thus was it a test of their obedience ; and see with 
 what an awful sanction it was enforced : ver. l*. *' AnO. 
 the uncircumciscd man-child, whose flesh of his fore- 
 skin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off fron^ 
 his people ; he hath broken my covenant *." 
 
 * ]. Some may be apt to think this an exceedingly hard law. 
 But as the conduct here supposed, evidently indicated a contempt 
 of the divine authority, amounting to a breach©^ covenant on the 
 part of the offender, the apparent severity of the sanction vanishes 
 entirely. 
 
 2. It would seem also to appear from this passage, that it was 
 the uncircumcised subject himself, who was to suffer for the 
 breach of God's holy covenant ; and as this might happen to an 
 mfant of little more than eight days old, it would add not a little 
 to the idea of its severity. But from what is said of Moses in 
 the fourth chapter of Exodus, concerning the circumcision of his 
 t;c)n, it is manifest that God acted, even in this, in the most rea- 
 sonable manner.- When the subject v.'as an infant, as in the case 
 here alluded to, then it was the parent's sin, and he was ofcourse 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 39 
 
 3. Again j this ordinance being instituted at the time 
 that the promise of a Saviour was restricted to a parti- 
 cular family, and abrogated when this promise came to be 
 accomplished^ we should Suppose that a third design of its 
 institution was to point to this event. And this it did 
 by constituting a kind of national distinction between 
 the progenitors of the Saviour, and the other nations of 
 the world. Hence we read of the uncircumcised Phili- 
 stines ^ Edomites, Amonites, and Moabites*^ &c. And 
 hence Paul, in his epistles, repeatedly uses the words 
 circumcision and uncircumcision, in the same manner as 
 he does those of Jew and Genti.'e, or Jew and Greeh^ as 
 comprehending the whole human race f It would do 
 
 to be responsible ; but, when an adult, the sin would He at his 
 own door, and he was therefore to be answerable^ The whole then 
 evidently amounts to this, to secure obedience to the holy com- 
 mandments of God, and to shew that it is an evil thing, ah^ bitter, 
 to depart from him, even in any instance whatsoever. 
 
 ♦ Judges xlv. 3. Jer. ix. 26. We meet with a hint in Brown's 
 
 Dictionary, Perth edit, respecting this subject, worth the noticing. 
 It is there said, ' For the last 38 years of the Israelites' abode in 
 
 • the desert, the Hebrew children were not circumcised. It was 
 ' not there so necessary to distinguish them from other nations,' 
 
 &c. See art. Circum. The following quotation from Josephus, 
 
 the Jewish historian, tends to corroborate this idea most forcibly. 
 His words arcj ♦ The fore-mentioned son (lihmael) was born to 
 ' Abraham when he was eighty-six years old. But when he was 
 
 • ninety-nine, God appeared to him, and promised him that he 
 
 • should have a son by Sarai, and commanded that his name should 
 
 ♦ be Isaac ; and shewed him, that from this son should spring great 
 
 * nations and kings, and that they should obtain ail the land of Ca- 
 
 * naan by war,, from Sidon to Egypt. But he charged him, in ord»"r 
 ' to keep his posterity unmixed with others, that they should be cir- 
 
 * cumcised in the flesh of their foreskin, and that this should be done 
 ' on the eighth day after they were born.' Vid. Jewish Anliq. 
 B.I. ex. §5. , 
 
 t Gal. ii. 7, 8, 9. Rom. iv, 11, 12. •& al. freq. 
 
4«0 TII£ ABRAHAMIC C»VE»A>'T. 
 
 this also, first, by bt^lng restricted to the males, it would 
 shew that the promised seed tvas to' be a male; and 
 then, by cutting oft', first thff Berithy or the animals se- 
 lected fit the ratification of '^he Covenant, chap. xv.'9. 
 and then the foreskin of the marles throughout their ge- 
 nerations, it would point out the cutting off of the pro- 
 mised seed, G-«»d's true Berit/i, whose blood was to 
 cleanse from all sin, 1 John i. 7. 
 
 4. And this brings us to remark further, concerning 
 the design of the ordinance, that it seenris to have had 
 yet a higlicr and more spiritual signification, even to 
 the persons who practised it, and denoted the cutting off 
 of the sins of the flesh. Hence it was used figurative- 
 'ly by the prophets, to signify the circumcision of the 
 lieart *. And hence Paul's remarkable words, '' f He 
 is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that cir- 
 cumcision which is outward in the flesh ; but be is a 
 Jew who is one inwardly : and circumcision is that of 
 the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, v/hose 
 praise is not of men, but of God." Not that the apo- 
 stle is here denying that the literal circumcision ivas 
 circumcision, nor yet that the descendents of Abrahatn^ 
 who had this mark literally in tlieir flesh, ".verc his de- 
 scendents, (so I take the word Jew here to ' signify )y 
 but he is drawing a contrast between tJiis kind of de- 
 scent, and thif kind of circumcision, and that which is 
 spiritual, in the heart, and not in the letter, as the 
 whole connexion evidently shews. . It is therefore evi- 
 dent, that the words circumcision and iwcirci/mcisicn, in 
 the spiritual sense as well as in the literal, are used as 
 collective nouns, and in this sense are just synonymous 
 with believer and unbeliever, righteous and wicked, and 
 so on. 
 
 Upon the whole then^ if these two last views be cor- 
 * Jer. iv. 4. 'D-ut.-y. ]r;. f Rom. ii. '2--i, 20. 
 
tHR^UHfAHAMIC COVENANT. 41^ 
 
 iect, what a beautiful harmOny does it shew us in the 
 truth of God 1. an order and necessitj of things which 
 has existed, and will exist, «ven from the beginning to 
 the end. It shews, that without the shedding of blood 
 there could he no remission^ and that even then, except 
 men were converted, and became new creatures, circum- 
 cised in the heart as well as in the flesh, their literal cir- 
 cumcision or connection with Abraham, or even with 
 their Messiah, a greater than Abraham, could profit 
 them nothing. 
 
 We might now speak, of the subjects of this ordi- 
 nance, but we conceive it will be better to reserve this, 
 with the things we have already mentioned, to the fol- 
 lowing chapter. 
 
 In the 15th verse, Sarah's name is changed from Sa- 
 rai to Sarah. This change of her name is just similar 
 to that which was made on Abraham's ; and though 
 neither differed essentially from what they were before, 
 yet this new adjunct is very important in its nature, 
 and wonderfully assimilates the one to the other. As 
 Abram signifies a father^ or father of elevatioriy and 
 Abraham the. father of a multitude, so Sarai signifies a 
 lady or princess, and Sarah a princess of a multitude. 
 Accordingly, ver. 16. God saith to Abraham concern- 
 ing her, as he had formerly done concerning himself, / 
 ivill Ij/ess hery and give iliee a son also of her ; yeoy I -will 
 hless hery and she shall be a mother of many nations : kings 
 9f people shall he of her. 
 
 At this gracious promise, Abraham, who had been 
 going sorrowful on account of being childless, ch. xv. 
 2,3. was so overcome with joy, that he fell prostrate 
 on the ground, and gave vent to the feelings of his 
 heart by laughter ; and he said within himself, Shall a 
 child he horn to him that is an hundred years old ! and shall 
 
 F 
 
4-^ THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 Sarah, who is ninety, bear! ver. 1?.' Tes, saith the Lord; 
 Sarah, th\) wifey shall bear thee a son indeed ; for nothing 
 is impossible with mc *. Ami thou shalt call his name 
 Isaac ; and I -will establish mij covenant -with him for an 
 everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him, ver. 19. 
 Abraham had been expressing, ver. 18. his anxious 
 solicitude, that Ishmael might live before God. Which 
 expression I take to mean, from the connexion m 
 which it occurs, a desire that he might be included 
 amongst God's people, and have a place in the covenant 
 . or promise which respected the numerous seedf- This 
 I think evident, from the answer given in the words 
 just quoted respecting Isaac, and from what occurs m 
 the verse following. <■ No, my friend, Abraham,' as 
 if God should have said ; ' no, this cannot be ; it 
 - would overturn the whole plan of my dealings with 
 ' thee. Not with Ishmael, therefore, but with Isaac 
 t will I establish my covenant, and with his seed after 
 ' him. And as for Khmael, lo ! 1 have heard thee even 
 ^concerning him. ' Lo ! 1 have blessed him also, and 
 'will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceed- 
 
 * ingty. Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make 
 
 * of him a great nation. But notwithstanding this, mark 
 
 * what follows. Though I shall be thus munificent to 
 
 * Ishmael, because he is thy seed, ch. xxii. 13. remem- 
 *ber that I do not include him in my covenant^ but 
 
 * my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah 
 
 * shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next yearj.' 
 ver. 19,20,21. 
 
 * Gen. xviii. 14. 
 
 f before thee. It is the same word as that used in the first com- 
 nundtnent, and which certainly, there at least, denotes the face 
 or ^prcser:ce cf God, in a peculiar sense. See Park. Heb. Lex. un- 
 Jer ri3S, and IV. 
 
 t Here it may be proper to remark, that Pedobaptists,seemlrj- 
 
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 4:?. 
 
 The next transaction of God with Abraham, is con- 
 tained in the xxiid chapter,^3fter the account of the of- 
 fering up of his son Isaac, ver. 15, 16, 17, 18. And tlie 
 
 ly with a view to support their system, give this whole account re- 
 specting Ishmael, though I do not suppose they intend it, a very 
 false gloss. They first take it for granted that Ishmael was in thu 
 covenant, or the church, which, in their tense of the words, cer- 
 tainly signify the same thing ; and then, that hy mocking at the wean- 
 ing of Isaac, they represent him as having apostatized, for which 
 reason they suppose him to have been cast out. But do-we not 
 see from the account of the sacred historian, that it is not trut 
 that he was ever in the covenant ; and even though it had been 
 true, still, would not the principle be false ? for where do we find, 
 in all the account of Ishmael's separation, anything analogous to 
 the approved scriptural discipline of a church ? The whole ac- 
 count of this matter is contained in the xxist chapter of Genesis ; 
 and let any one read it with attention, marking every circum- 
 stance there narrated concerning Hagar and Ishmael, particularly 
 God's own tender dealings toward them, as well as Abraham's anxi-. 
 ous solicitude for the v/elfare of his son, and say, if it be possible, 
 that these two persons were cast out as heathens and publicans 
 from the church of God. Did not the authority which ordained 
 exclusion from the church, ordain also certain steps to be taken, 
 previous to this last expedient ? But where do we find any thing 
 like this occurring here ? The truth perhaps is, the mistake may 
 have originated in a wrong interpretation of what the apostle 
 says on this subject, in his epistle to the Galalians. Seie chap, 
 iv. from ver. 22. to the end. The apostle declares that the whole 
 was allegorical. He speaks of two covenants, the one from 
 INIount Sinai, the other from Mount Sion ; the one answering to 
 the Jerusalem which then was, the other to the Jerusalem which 
 is above. The one was in bondage, the other free. And as that 
 which is free was to succeed that which was in bondage, so Abra- 
 ham's wives and sons caine to be the most appropriate emblems 
 by which to represent such important matters. And thus do we 
 see verified what we formerly observed from Dr Macknight, * that 
 ' the characters, actions and events, which constituted the natural 
 
 ♦ allegory, though existing apparently in the ordinary course of 
 
 * things, were ordered of God, so as to be fit emblems of those 
 ^ future persons and events,' which should occur in the course gf 
 
ii THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 
 
 atigel of the Lord called unto Abraham mtt of heaven the se- 
 cond titney and said, By mijitelf have I sworn, saith the 
 Lord ; for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not 
 withheld ihy son^ thine only son ; that in blessing I ivill 
 bless thee, and in multiplying I ivill multiply thy seed as the 
 
 divine providence.— In interpreting subjects of this nature then, 
 we shall certainly err, unless we take the allegorical represen- 
 tation into account. And we shall err even here, if wc make 
 the original emblem speak more than what the particular thing it 
 was intended to represent, requires. Going upon this principle in 
 the case before us, it would be no difficult matter to demonstrate, 
 that even the Abrahamic covenant was completely abrogated. 
 For if Ishmael was in this covenant, and if he was cast out, the 
 apostle is proving that the circumstance of his expulsion was em- 
 blematical of the expulsion of the Jews from the church of the 
 living God; yea, of a complete overturn of their whole system. 
 Or, upon another view, it would even prove that they were never 
 in this covenant, if so be that it is the gospel covenant, which 
 raaketh free in Christ Jesus ; for it was as bond persons that they 
 were cast out, persons resembling Ishmael, the son of a bond-maid, 
 and not as the descendcnts of Isaac, the son of the free woman, 
 and child of the promise. Thus, upon their own principles, not- 
 withstanding their contentions about the Abrahamic covenant, 
 and about the interest they assign to his descendents therein, from 
 this chapter, upon their view of the matter, we are compelled to 
 confess, that there was a lapse of nearly two thousand years — to- 
 wit, from the time of Abraham to the coming of the Messiah, in 
 which there was not a single individual included in it. They 
 were alt that time in the situation of Ishmael, and as if they had 
 been born of the bond-woman, and not of Sarah, who was free. 
 I mention these things, merely to shew how easy it is, by plausi- 
 ble representations, to pervert the Scriptures, and also to demon- 
 btrate the necessity of adopting right principles of interpretation. 
 Is it not then making the sign speak more than the thing signified 
 requires, to raise such a theory upon the circumsfk'nce of Ish- 
 mael's* expulsion ? He was cast out,, it is true ; but from what- 
 ever cause that might have been, all that we need to attend to 
 here is, that this event prefigured the great change which was to 
 take place in the then existing dispensation. 
 
THE AB-RAHAMIC COVENANT. 45 
 
 Stars of the heave)^ and as the sand nvhich is upon the sea 
 shore ; and thy seed shall pqfsess the gates of his enemies ; 
 and in thy seed shttll all the nations of the earth he blessed^ 
 because thou hast obeyed my voice. 
 
 This renewal of the promise, as the reward of the 
 faith and obedience of Abraham, differs but little from 
 what has been already observed. The blessing and the 
 numerous seed are the same, only the reduplication of 
 the words, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in viulti- 
 jplying I will multiply thy seed^ and the comparison that 
 they should be as the stars of the heaven^ and as the sand 
 upon the sea sJiore^ may be applied both to the spiritual 
 and literal Israel. The first is an Hebrewism, denoting 
 in general the superlative number, and may be transla- 
 ted gf'eatly bless, or greatly multiply. The second is 
 ouoted by Paul from the prophecies of Isaiah indeed, 
 in his epistle to the Romans, chap. ix. 27. and applied 
 to the descendents of Abraham according to the flesh. 
 
 The next expression, thy seed shall possess the gate of 
 his enemies^ is evidently a prediction, not only of the 
 victories to be obtained over the Canaanltish nations 
 by the Israelitlsh arms, bixt also of the spiritual con- 
 quests of the Redeemer, the seed of Abraham by emi- 
 nence, as is manifest, amongst other passages, from the 
 2d verse of the cxth Psalm. * 
 
 The last article runs thus : and in thy seed shall all the 
 nations of the earth be blessed^ ver. 18. This is precisely 
 of the same import to what was expressed, chap. xii. 3. 
 where it is said, " in thee," that is is to say, in Abra- 
 ham, "shall all the families of the earth be blessed." 
 Only here we are informed, that it was not in x\bra- 
 ham personally, but in his seed, that this blessedness was 
 to take place. And v/ho this seed was, we are not left 
 to doubt, since an inspired apostle explains it at great 
 kngth to be Christ. See Rom. iv. and Gal. iii. And 
 
^6 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 this again accounts for what Christ himself says*, that 
 " Abraham rejoiced to see- his day;" and that '' he saw 
 it, and was glad." 
 
 Having thus completed our design respecting our 
 comment on this important subject, before we proceed 
 to the discussion of the other topics we proposed, we 
 would make a few general remarks upon the whole. 
 But having already enlarged so much, we shall leave 
 this to be the subject of a separate section. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 General Ohservatiotis on the foregoing Sections. 
 
 JTIaving finished what we intended by way of com-, 
 ment on the various transactions of God with Abra- 
 ham, we shall now make a few general remarks upon 
 the whole. 
 
 1. Our first general remark then is, that these vari- 
 ous transactions, though consisting of many parts, seem 
 to constitute but one covenant. Indeed, I confess my- 
 self disposed to Iqok upon them in no other light than 
 as a further development of the first promise, Gen. iii. 
 15. and intended principally to promoter its accomplish- 
 ment. For whicli reason, I candidly acknowledge that 
 I cannot but difi'er from Mr M'Lean, an author how- 
 ever for whom 1 feel vex'y much respect, both for 
 making what is called the coveha7it of circumcision a co- 
 venant distinct ht/ itse/f and also for taking such a view 
 of the subject as to render it necessary for him to do 
 .^o. He is of opinion, or rather asserts it as an incon- 
 irovertible fact, ' that the Scriptures speak of more co- 
 * •Jo]^ viii. 56. 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 4' 
 
 * venants thaa om being made with Abraham.' Ac- 
 cordingly, after declaring that * he knows no^ifFerence 
 
 * between a simple promise, and a promissory covenant, 
 
 * save that the latter was usually confirmed by sacri- 
 
 * fice, oath, &.c. ;' — he endeavours to make out no less 
 tlian three distinct covenants in the transactions with 
 Abraham * i the first consisting of the promise of all 
 nations being blessed in him ; the second, that of the 
 land of Canaan ; and the third, the covenant of circum- 
 cision. Now, upon the hypothesis that there is no dif- 
 ference between a simple promise and a promissory co- 
 venant, it will hence follow that, as all covenants are 
 promises^ so all promises are covenants ; and therefore, 
 instead of limiting even those given to Abraham to the 
 number of three, we should have no fewer than six co- 
 venants, all in their nature fully as distinct as those 
 specified by Mr M'Lean. There would be, 1. The pro- 
 mise or covenant of blessing Abraham personally. 2. 
 That of blessing all nations in him. 3. The promise 
 or covenant of a carnal seed. 4. That of a spiritual. 
 5. The promise of the land of Canaan. And lastly, 
 the promise that Jehovah would be a God to Abraham, 
 and to his seed after hirh. And t© these, if you 
 please, you might add a seventh, if indeed it be pro- 
 per to view it as distinct from the others, to-wit, 
 the rite of circumcision. And, moreover, by apply- 
 ing this rule to other parts of Scripture, what a mul- 
 tiplicity of covenants should we there behold, and 
 what a detached, and at the same time complicated 
 system should we make those lively oracles, which are 
 so remarkably distinguished for their simplicity ! Eut 
 really, might not all Mr M'Lean's difficulties on this 
 head, in a great measure vanish, by attending, besidei 
 what we have said above, to the following considera* 
 
 * See iiisKeview of Mr Wardlaw's Lectures, pp. 16, 17. 
 
48 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 tion, ndmely, that it is by no means the case that the 
 inspired writers speak of this covenant always, if in- 
 deed at all, in iht plural number j for the apostle Peter, 
 in addressing his coiinti-ymen the Jews, Acts iii. 25, 
 says expressly, " 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." Nor will it do to 
 explain this away by the detaching scheme, by saying, 
 ,that it is but one of the covenants of whiclv the apostle 
 is here speaking, to-wit, that of blessing all nations in 
 Abraham. For, first, though it should be said that the 
 covenant in this passage means only that spiritual co- 
 venant which had respect to believers of all nations^ as 
 well as those amongst the Jews ; yet still let it be con- 
 sidered, in the next place, to whom it was that the apo- 
 stle addressed these words, and what was the situation, in 
 respect to the covenant, in which he placed them. They 
 were Jews indeed, but they were unconverted Jews ; yet 
 because Jeivs^ they are styled the children of the pro- 
 phets, and of the covenant which God made with their 
 fathers, &c. And as to the two passages which Mr 
 M*Lean produces, Rom.ix. -i. and Eph. ii. 12. where 
 the words occur in the plural, it is yet to be proved 
 whether the Abrahamic covtnant is the only covenant 
 there spoken of; and till this be doiie, i^othing decisive 
 can be drawn from hence. 
 
 I remarked further, that I differed from Mr M'Lean 
 for another reason, namely, that of taking such a view 
 of this subject, in connexion with baptism, as to in- 
 volve himself in a kind of necessity to do as he has 
 done. For my part, I do not conceive that there is any 
 call for liaving recourse to such methods of interpreta- 
 tion, tcf establish the point at issue between him and his 
 ©pponents, as I hope to make appear in its proper 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 49 
 
 jjlace. Even a bad cause, it must be confessed, may 
 be rendered exceedingly specious by improper means ; 
 but where the cause is good, there is surely no 'tempta- 
 tion to have recourse to doubtful disputation in support 
 of it. 
 
 Upon the whole then, is not the plan of viewing the: 
 various transactions of God with Abraham as but one 
 covenant, and as having the most immediate connexion 
 with the revelation which went before, much more sim- 
 ple and satisfying to the mind, than that of ranging them 
 all into. so many separated and detached portions. Yea, 
 .1 am convinced, that the more we view a unity of na-^ 
 ture and design in the revelations of God, we shall be 
 both the better qualified to interpret them, and the 
 greater blessedness will they convey to our souls. 
 
 2. But we would remark, in the next place, that 
 though we contend for a unity in these transactions, we 
 are by no means for discarding a due discrimination be- 
 tween their various parts. Yea, this is the very princi- 
 ple upon which we have endeavoured to proceed, and it 
 seems as if absolutely necessary to a right understand- 
 ing of the subject. We have already seen, that these 
 transactions consist of various parts, and that spiritual 
 and carnal, heavenly and earthly, temporal and eternal 
 properties are, in these transactions, equally applicable 
 to the blessings and to their subjects. If Abraham 
 was to be blessed, the blessing of him personally did 
 not exclude those who were also to be blessed in him — ■ 
 if he was to have a seed by natural descent, this did 
 Mot interfere with that which he sbould have also by 
 faith — if temporal blessings were promised to him, 
 these did not necessarily lituit his expectation from the 
 hope of better things to come. In all these respects, 
 we see the parts of a covenant, which, though very 
 
 G 
 
50 General observations 
 
 different iti their nature, are all at the same time indis" 
 pensably necessary ; even the most carnal, temporary, 
 and insignificant, if I may use the expression, no less 
 proper for the constituting of the wKole, than tiie most 
 spiritual, durable, and important. 
 
 3. This leads us to remark, in the third place, ths 
 design ivhy things so very op2)'jsite in their nature should 
 yet be influded in one and the same covenant. The 
 articles we consider particularly of this description are, 
 a carnal jwsteritif^ and carnal possessions in a certain land. 
 These were both neiv articles, sealed and conveyed in 
 these transactions. And the reason or design of them 
 we have indeed hinted at before, but we shall now be a 
 little more particular. The promise given to our lir'.>t 
 parents immediately upon the fall, may be considered 
 as containing the whole gospel in embryo. And as it 
 contained the promise of a seed, evidently a partaker 
 of the human nature, (so I consider the expression, 
 '• the seed of the woman," to mean), it was therefore 
 necessary, frcrm the very nature of the thing, that some 
 plan should be afterwards revealed to promote its ac- 
 complishment. Such a plan I accordingly consider the 
 covenant of Abraham to be. And, as by the first pro- 
 mise, we were led to expect a Saviour, who should par^ 
 tk'ipate of our nature, so here we see provision made 
 for its fulfilment. All the reasons then which prompt- 
 ed God to devise such a constitution in the plan of 
 mercy, as that the Saviour cf the tuorld should be man^ 
 form just so many reasons for appointing Abraham's 
 natural posterity, in a certain sense, to be his peculiar 
 people, till the seed came. The same reasons are also 
 applicable to their possessions of the land of Canaan. 
 If there had been no design, such as we have mention- 
 ed, on the part of God, why does he introduce, in such 
 a remarkable manner, the natural posterity of Abra- 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 5i 
 
 ham, and withal give them, not a promise merely, but 
 actual possession of the land of Canaan for many cen- 
 turies afterwards, till the great promise was accom- 
 plished J and then, from that period down to the pre- 
 sent day, — a space nearly as long, — should scatter them 
 among the other nations of the earth, without any 
 certain dwelling place ? To deny our principle, and yet 
 to account in a sober and rational manner for these 
 things, I conceive impossible, Biit adniitting the prin- 
 ciple, what a satisfaction does it afford to the mind, and 
 how reasonable and important does it represent all the 
 ways of God, as flowing from a wisdom which ^s in- 
 scrutable as it is unerring. Upon this principle, even 
 a carnal posterity, and even the land of Canaan, a parr 
 nal inheritance, both which, viewed in themselves, are 
 indeed blessings not to be despised, but when contrast- 
 ed with spiritual and eternal objects, are lighter than 
 vanity ; acquire a magnitude and importance well enti- 
 tling them to attention. A carnal posterity, if it be a 
 blessing to a man, by not suffering his memory to pe- 
 rish from the earth, is unspeakably more so, when, 
 through this natural descent, He was to come, on who:n 
 the hopes of the whole world, from the beginning to 
 the end, were to centre. And carnal possessions too, 
 if they be a blessing to men, considered as individuals, 
 by affording a regular supply of their returning wants, 
 they were doubly more so to the people of Israel, con- 
 sidered as a nation ; yea, and to all other nations 
 through their means, by serving 'as a great receptacle 
 which might keep them together, and preserve them a 
 distinct people from all the other nations of the earth, 
 and thus laying a foundation for confirming the great 
 promise, when it actually came to be accomplished, be- 
 yond all doubt. Whereas, if they had been allowed 
 to mingle with the other nations of the earth, or if no 
 
53 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 certain portion of tlie earth had been assigned them for 
 an habitation, but had been destined all along to wan- 
 der and rove about in the manner they do at present ; 
 under what different circumstances should we have had 
 the whole accomplishment of this great event present- 
 ed to us ? Truly, if we but rightly understood the 
 matter, instead of contending with one another, we 
 would bless the Lord, first, for appointing even Abra- 
 ham's natur^ seed^ for securing the birth of the long 
 expected Saviour ; and then, for the granting to them 
 the inheritance even of the land of Canaan, which, by 
 their possessing for so long a period, both themselves 
 and all the world might know Jesus of Nazareth to be 
 He. 
 
 4. This leads us of course, to a fourth reflection, 
 which regards the dealings of God with the descendents of 
 Abraham in after times. We have seen the promise li- 
 mited, in the family of Abraham to Isaac, and in 
 Isaac's family to Jacob ; and even though both parents 
 seemed desirous in their turn to have it otherwise *, yet 
 God's eternal purpose and decree would by no means 
 permit it. We have now to observe, that no limitation 
 of this nature, though it was so numerous, ever took 
 place in the family of Jacob. He had children by con- 
 cubines as well as by his lawfully married wives, and 
 that even to the number of twelve sons, most of whom 
 manifested as much wickedness and opposition to God, ' 
 as did either Ishmael or Esau, yet notwithstanding, they 
 were all counted the children of the promise, and were 
 honoured ever afterwards to be the twelve heads of the 
 tribes or families of Israel. There is nothing like that 
 of absolute rejection, or similar to that of Ishmael's or 
 Esay's, ever took place in this family at any period. 
 It is true, God was often displeased with them on ac- 
 count of their rebellions, and often threatened to pu-, 
 * Gen. xvii. 18. See p. 4-. and ch. xxvii. 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 53 
 
 nish them, yea, and often put those threatenings int® 
 execution ; but it is equally true, that though he slew 
 the fathers, even in thousands, he still preserved their 
 children, and retained them still a distinct people from 
 all the nations of the earth. Though thousands, and 
 tens of thousands, on various occasions, fell by the 
 sword^ the famine or the pestilence, yet the family, 
 strictly speaking, was still preserved, because a bless* 
 ing was in it. 
 , It is remarkable too, that when the purposes of God 
 came to be more fully disclosed, and the promise of the 
 Saviour was restricted to a particular tribe^ that his pro- 
 vidence seems to have been exercised for the preservation 
 of that tribe in a particular manner. By the prophe- 
 tic impulse which operated on Jacob immediately before 
 his death, he was enabled to foretel many things which 
 afterwards came to pass, and among others, that the 
 Messiah, under the designation of Shiloh, xvas to come 
 of the tribe of Judah*. And what was more astonish- 
 ing still, the prediction of the destination of tlie land, 
 which was afterwards divided by lot, was such as tend- 
 ed rhuch to secure to Judah the accomplishment of this 
 promise. When we consider therefore the awful strug- 
 gle for supremacy between the ten tribes, and the tribes 
 of Judah and Benjamin, we cannot sufficiently admire 
 the local situation of the tribe of Judah, as the wisest 
 of projects that could be possibly devised for effecting 
 what was thus intended. Nor is it undeserving of no- 
 tice, that ileroboam^ the .first king of the revolt from the 
 house of Judah, evidently saw through this. And 
 therefore, in order to prevent the bad effects, as he sup- 
 posed, which 'might flow from the subjects of his king- 
 dotn going up to worship at Jerusalem, he erected two 
 calves, placing the one in Dan, and the other in Beth-el, 
 •3.vA desired the people to go and worship there, under 
 * Gen. xlix.-lO. 
 
54e GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 pretext that it was too much for them to go so far as 
 Jerusalem *. But this became a sin unto Israel ; and, 
 as it was a matter of mere human device, it soon came 
 to nothing ; and Jerusalem was sti/l the place to which 
 the tribes, the tribes of the Lord, went up^ Accord- 
 ingly, when the prophet Ahijah]- intimated the Lord's 
 determination to cut off Jeroboam^ it was at the same 
 time declared, that he should never want a man to sit 
 on the throne of David. Though the sin of Solomon 
 had been so provoking as to occasion the rending of the 
 ten tribes from the house of Judah, yet, as neither the 
 original grant of the promise, nor its accomplishment, 
 depended in the smallest on human merit, it was not 
 therefore considered as a reason why the Lord should 
 repent him of what he had purposed. As he had de- 
 clared by the mouth of his holy prophets, that the Mes- 
 siah should come of the tribe of Jttdah^ his faithfulness 
 was engaged to make it good, provided the promise 
 was not conditional J. 
 
 We may observe too, that God's care over this par- 
 ticular tribe, was further illustrated in the different cap- 
 tivities with which he visited them on account of their 
 sins. There were various captivities of the Hebrews, 
 both before and in the time of their kings, which, for 
 the sake both of illustrating the subj^t we are now 
 upon, and for giving the reader one connected view of 
 
 * 1 Kjngsxii.2C,— 29. • 
 
 t 1 Kings xiv. 7, — 1(3. comp. with ch. xi. 30, — 3.9. 
 
 \ See the original grant of this promise 1o t^e bou.se of Laiud, 
 recorded in the.viith chapter of ihe 2d book of Samuel, from ver. 
 12. to 16. An account which remarkably accords with the facts 
 stated in the passages to which we have referred in the 1st book 
 of Kifigs. ' It is also expressly applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 as the grand and ultimate object of the whole, in the first chapter 
 of the Gospel by Luke, ver. 32, 33. which passages sec. 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 55 
 
 them, it may not be improper here, briefly to enume- 
 rate. The various^ Wars which fell out between them 
 and the surrounding nations, in which at any time they 
 happened to be defeated, and part of them, more or 
 less, taken prisoners, are reckoned so many captivities 
 of that people. See several of a more partial nature 
 in the passages mentioned in the margin*. — These were 
 the captivities under the government of the Judges ; but 
 those which happened afterwards, under that of the 
 kings, were of a still more serious nature. 
 
 It was not till Solomon had sinned, in leading the 
 people into idolatry, that the Lord rent the ten tribes 
 out of his hand. Nor was it till Jeroboam had com- 
 mitted a similar trespass, that the government of the 
 ten tribes was also taken from him and his family for 
 ever, .and invested in the hands of Baashaf. But we 
 see in the case both of Israel and of Judah, that sin is 
 a leaven, which, when once begun to operate, will not 
 be impeded in its progress, till it has pervaded the 
 whole mass. Neither the signal displeasure manifest- 
 ed by the Lord against the house of Judah, in rending 
 the ten tribes out of their hands, nor yet that against 
 Israel, in the case of Jeroboam, were sufficient to deter 
 that people from walking in ways of their own choo- 
 sing. Being even mad on idolatry, the then prevailing 
 sin of the whole world, they dared to persist in the 
 practice of it at all hazards. For which cause, the 
 Lord not only afflicted them with internal comnaotions 
 among themselves, but brought up foreign enemie?; 
 against them, who discomfited them in battle, plunder- 
 ed their treasuries, and led most of them captives to 
 distant lands. 
 
 The principal captivities with which they were vi- 
 sited subsequent to this period, were^Jirst, those which 
 * Judges iii.iv.vi. f 1 Kings xv. 27. 29. 30, 
 
16 GENERAL OBSERVAXrONS 
 
 happened to tlic ki;igdom of Israel^ first by Tiglatb-Pi}.> 
 leser, king of Assyria, in the rcign of Pekah, king of 
 Israel *, then by Shalmaneser, about liineteen years af- 
 terwards, who came up against Suw^r/flt, and having be- 
 sieged, he took it, and carried Israel away captives, and 
 dispersed them throughout various provinceii^of the As* 
 Syrian enijjirej-. And thus, it is generally conjectu- 
 red, a termination was put to the kingdom of Israel ; for 
 the ten tribes, who were thus taken captives, are sup* 
 posed never to have returned. And indeed we never 
 read of another king reigning in Israel after Hoshea, 
 .under whose reign this defeat and captivity took 
 place. 
 
 Secofid/j/, the captivities of JudaJi. As to these, there 
 w^ere several of a lesser or partial nature, prior to that 
 great and decisive one effected by Nebuchadnezzar, and 
 known by the captivity of the seventy years. In the 
 fifth year of king Rehoboara, son of Solomon, Shishak, 
 king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem with a 
 mighty army \ and, having reduced the city, he took 
 away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of 
 the king*s house, and the shields of gold which Solo- 
 mon had made|. 
 
 Again, in the reign of good king HezeJciah, there 
 was a most dreadful attempt made by Sennacherib, king 
 of Assyria, against Jerusalem ; but the faith and prayer 
 of that pious prince, and of the propliet Isaiah, were 
 the ^eans of preserving Jerusalem from the formida- 
 ble forces of the enemy ^. 
 
 Subsequent to this, however, in the several reigns of 
 Jehoiakim^ JeJioiaJcin^ and Zedekiah^ the three last kings 
 
 * 2 Kings XV. 29. f 2 Kings xvlii. 9, 10, 11, 12. 
 
 I Compare 1 Kings xiv. 25, 26. with 2 Chron. xii. 2, — 4. 
 § Compare 2 Kings xviii. 17, — 37. and chap. xix. with 2 Chrci*. 
 xxxii. 1,-23. 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. &7 
 
 who reigned in Jerusalem, did Nebuchadnezzar as of- 
 ten reduce the city, plundering and spoiling it of all its 
 precious substance. The account of the first, to-wit, 
 the overthrow of Jehoiakim, is recorded in the begin- 
 ning of the xxivth chapter of the 2d book, of Kings. 
 The words are remarkable. Ver. 2. *' And the Lord 
 brought against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands 
 of the children of Ammon ; he sent them against Ju- 
 dah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, 
 which he spake by his servants, the prophets. Surely, 
 at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Ju- 
 dah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sin of 
 Manasseh, according to all that he did ; and also for the 
 innocent blood which he shed, (for he filled Jerusalem 
 with innocent blood), which the Lord would not par- 
 don." 
 
 The same chapter contains an account of the disas- 
 ters of the second also. In the 10th verse, it is said, 
 " At that time," three months to-wit after Jehoiakin's 
 accession to the throne, ver. 8. "the servants of Ne- 
 buchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against Jeru- 
 salem, and the city was besieged." Ver, 12. *« And Je- 
 hoiakin, the king of Judah, went out to the king ot- 
 Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his 
 princes, and his officers, and he took them prisoners. 
 And he carried thence all the treasures of the house of 
 the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and 
 cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon, 
 king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as 
 the Lord had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, 
 and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, 
 even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and 
 smiths : none remained save the poorest sort of the 
 
 people of the land," &.c. This was the captivity 
 
 under Jehoiakin. 
 
 H 
 
58 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 But the severest of all is that we have yet to notice, 
 which happened in the reign of Zedekiah. This was 
 the sevenit) years captivity^ predicted by the prophet Je- 
 remiah several years before it came to pass*. It con- 
 sisted in a total overthrow of the whole Jewish state. 
 Jerusalem was burnt to ashes, and the whole country 
 laid waste ; Zedekiah himself taken prisoner ; his chil- 
 dren slaughtered before his eyes ; his eyes put out, fet- 
 tered with chains, and carried to Babylon f, &cc. 
 
 Such was the unhappy end of both these contending 
 parties, Israel and Judah. Having both provoked the 
 Lord, the Lord in his own time punished both of them 
 thus signally ; but yet, we must say> it was still infi- 
 nitely less than their iniquities deserved. Amidst all 
 the severity of chastisement, however, the tenderness 
 of his care over that tribe of whom the Messiah was to 
 spring, is truly conspicuous. We may say here, as our 
 blessed Lord did on another occasion : ' Suppose ye 
 * that the ten tribes who were first carried captives into 
 ' strange lands, and were never permitted to retiuai? 
 ' were sinners aboveX the other two tribes, who after- 
 ' wards suffered the same fate, but who were destined 
 ' to a captivity only of seventy years ? / tell yotty nay ; 
 ' but so it happened, in order to shew forth the wonder- 
 ' ful works of God.' Whatever might be the cause 
 for his not restoring the ten tribes, we are furnished 
 
 * Jer. XXV. 11, 12. It may be objected by infidels, that, as 
 
 the prediction of this event happened so shortly before the period 
 of its accomplishment, the whole might be written afterwardi 
 under a pretext of divine prescience. But let it be observed, that 
 not only the captivity, but their restoration is predicted by. the pro- 
 phet, and the term of their captivity limited, with the greatest 
 precision, to seventy years : considerably previous to which period, 
 this prophet was numbered with his fathers. 
 
 f 2 Kings XXV. \ Luke xiii. 2. 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 59 
 
 with reasons the most sufficient for his recalling the 
 captivity of Judah, *' as streams in the south ;" and for 
 ** filling their mouth with laughter, and their tongues 
 with singing, when they could say among the heathen, 
 that the Lord had done great things for them *." His 
 wrath was not only thus pacified toward them for all 
 that they had done, but they were going again to take 
 possession of that inheritance to which they, had a right 
 by the promise to Abraham ; they were going to re- 
 store their ancient worship, to rear again the palaces of 
 )$ioB, to repair the waste places, and the desolations of 
 rtiany generations ; they were going *' to declare the 
 name of the Lord in Sion, and his praise in Jerusa- 
 lem f" — Jerusalem^ to which '' the people are gathered 
 together, and the kingdoins, to serve the Lord," to serve 
 hinty till He came for whom all the promises were made, 
 and broke down every such distinction, teaching, that 
 henceforth they should neither in this mountain, nor 
 yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father ; but that, through 
 all the world, wherever the true worshippers w^ere, 
 there he was to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, 
 John iv. 21.23. 
 
 This, we conceive, was the great end for which the 
 promise was ever given ; and the dispersion and total 
 loss of the ten tribes, while the others were restored, 
 and preserved for so long a series of years, even till the" 
 promise came to be actually accomplished, seems to con- 
 firm it beyond a doubt. 
 
 5. The sjjiritual genius and nature of the promises of 
 the Abrahamic covenant, and which indeed ran through 
 the whole of the former dispensation, will form the 
 basis of our 7iext reflection. And this we consider to 
 be the more necessary, as there are not wanting those 
 who have spoken of it in the most contemptuous mau- 
 * I'sal. cxxvi. t Psai. cii,2J. 22. 
 
60 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 ner, and who seem to glory in ascribing to it the epi'- 
 thets of carnal, ivorldly, earthly, typical ^ and so on, as if 
 there had been almost nothing spiritual in it, or as if the 
 way to eternal life, under that dispensation, had been 
 so wrapt up in metaphorical and dark sayings, that not 
 one amongst a million could possibly discern it. We 
 indeed confess it to be true, that the apostle Paul, par- 
 ticularly in his epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of that 
 dispensation, employs such terms ; but it is not in the 
 same sweeping sense that many of his thoughtless imi- 
 tators have unwittingly adopted, as persons contending 
 for the mastery. None could have a juster view than 
 that holy and spiritual apostle, of the earner and world- 
 ly nature of the services of the tabernacle and temple ; 
 but we shall woefully mistake his meaning if we infer 
 from thence, that life and immortality, said to be brought 
 to light by the gospel, were not sufficiently made known 
 to save thousands, and tens of thousands, even under 
 that dispensation, dark as it was. For my part, when 
 I read the Old Testament Scriptures, and behold the 
 uniform piety and trust in God, manifested by many 
 of the saints therein recorded, and that in the most 
 common affairs of life, I cannot help thinking that 
 Christians in these times, notwithstanding all the light 
 they enjoy, have reason to blush and to be ashamed for 
 coming so far short of what was known and practised 
 even by the ancients. 
 
 We are fully sensible indeed, that that dispensation 
 did contain promises of a carnal nature ; and that tem- 
 poral possessions in the land of Canaan, temporal deli- 
 verances from the Egyptian yoke, and temporal threat- 
 enings in case of disobedience, foi'med very important 
 parts thereof. But upon the supposition that these 
 were its principal matters, as the apostle says respecting 
 the law, so may we say concerning the promise, " Where* 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 61 
 
 *, 
 
 fore then scrvetli the promise* ?" Of what avail was it 
 : to Abraham to be told, that though the fair land of Ca- 
 naan could not be given to himself, yet his descendents 
 at a verj distant period should possess it ? Was there 
 any thing in such a promise, if you divest it of all spi- 
 ritual ideas, that could possibly support the mind of any 
 one ? or was it at all a compensation 'Wofthy of God 
 to bestow, for all the severe trials, difficulties and hard- 
 ships, which Abraham had been called to endure in all 
 his peregrinations in strange lands ? To have remained 
 in Ur of the Chaldees, in his father's house, and among 
 his own kindred, or to have returned when he found 
 himself -M^sadly disappointed — surely either of the two 
 had been more desirable than the other. But Abraham 
 did not think so. He chose his wandering life because 
 it was the will of God, and because there vv^ere assu- 
 rances given him that it should not be always^ so. For 
 even while he sojourned as a pilgrim upon earth, dwell- 
 ing in tabernacles or tents, slender moveable abodes, 
 which could hardly shelter their inhabitants either from 
 the inclemency of the weather, or from the ravages of 
 savage beasts, and which could be struck and carried 
 about with them whithersoever they went — while this 
 was his situation, we say, and while he endured it with 
 patience, " he looked for a city^'' an object forming a 
 /lontrast to the state he was then in, a city which hatii 
 foundations^ sure and immoveable basis, and not like the 
 stakes and cordsy which were necessary to bind his then 
 habitation to the earth, " a city which hath foundations, 
 whose builder and maker is God\." This, this was the 
 object which bore up his mind. And it must have been 
 spiritual and heavenly in its nature, for it was not to 
 be enjoyed here ; for here " he had no possessions, no, 
 
 * Gal.iii. 19. t Heb.xi.lO. 
 
62 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 not SO much as to set his foot on *," save the cave of 
 Machpelah, which he purchased of the sons of Heth, 
 in which to bury his dead f . 
 
 Nor was Abraham singular in his expectations of 
 eternal blessedness in a future state ; for even Sarah too, 
 who was the weaker vessel, and on that account the 
 more liable to despondency ; even she, and Isaac also, 
 and Jacob likewise, with their respective families, all 
 found something in the promise, which not only supported 
 them while they led a similar life, but which even rai- 
 sed their minds above the desire of earthly possessions. 
 Accordingly we read of one and all of them, Heb. xi. 
 13, — 16. " 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. And truly if they had been mindful 
 of that country whence they came, they might have 
 had opportunity to have returned ; but now they desire 
 a better country, that is, an heavenly : wherefore God 
 is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath pre- 
 pared for them a city." 
 
 Oh ! after this, should we not expect to hear all the 
 earnalizers of this glorious covenant rather humbly 
 confessing their ignorance, their folly, and their guilt, 
 than still attempting to overturn a matter which is so 
 clearly established upon the basis of inviolable truth. 
 As the queen % of Sheba shall rise up in the judgment 
 with that untoward generation which lived in the days 
 of our blessed Saviour, and shall condemn it, by her 
 more teachable disposition under circumstances vastly 
 disproportionate ; so, let such beware, lest the spiritual 
 
 * Actsvii. 5. f Gcn.xxiii. 
 
 I Malt.xii.4'2. 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. ^'-^ 
 
 and fifeavenly conversation of these servants of the 
 Lord, and that under a dispensation which they deno- 
 minate a carnal one, do not condemn them for their car- 
 nal and ungodly ivalk, even under a dispensation which, 
 according to their own account, is a dispensation of spi- 
 rit and of light. . "■^ ^« 
 
 6. This leads us to make one remark more, which 
 respects the law, and the Jewish ritual, which were af- 
 terwards subjoined to the promise. The apostle assures 
 us, that the one does not oppose the other ; though, to 
 set them in direct opposition, the one to the other, is the 
 common way in which the subject is treated. The one 
 is represented as the ministration of death and condem- 
 nation, shewing no compassion to the guilty ; but, like 
 the merciless man mentioned in the parable, taking his 
 debtor by the throat, and saying, Pay me what thou ow- 
 est *. But the other is represented as a dispensation of 
 mercy, tender mercy, unmerited and unsolicited, ema- 
 nating from the throne of God, flowing from his gene- 
 rous heart, as an expression of his mere good will and 
 pleasure to his miserable creatures, and extending itself 
 even to the most guilty and hell-deserving of the chil- 
 dren of men. Thus death is said to come by the one, 
 and life .by the other. And what can be more opposite 
 to each other than life and death, condemnation and 
 pardon, a free and full forgiveness, or condign punish- 
 ment, without the smallest admixture of mercy ? 
 
 Now that there is a law revealed in the Scriptures, 
 • with properties and sanctions such as have been descri- 
 bed, I should suppose that no one, who has read them 
 with discernment and the fear of God, can entertain a 
 doubt. But that this was the law, in this sense of the 
 word, given by Moses to the children of Israel, and as 
 comprising all the statutes and ordinances w^hich he en- 
 * Matt, x.viii. 2S. 
 
04- GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 joined, nothing, I suspect, can be more contrary to the 
 truth. The law, in the sense in which Moses was its' 
 legislator, was peculiar to ' the Jewish people, and was 
 abrogated and done away by the coming of Christ. But 
 the li\y, in the sense in which it condemns men as trans- 
 gressors^ in the -iight of God, unlike to the other in 
 point of restriction, it extends to all inatikitid. Gentiles 
 as well as Jews ; and in point of duraticn, being of a 
 moral nature, its obligations are eternal. 
 
 It is not true of the Mosaic law, that there were no 
 intimations of mercy made known in it ; for to what 
 purpose were the sacrifices, and all that train of rites 
 and ceremonies under that dispensation, but just sym- 
 bolical representations of such designs ? In what other 
 light can they be considered, than the gospel adapted to 
 the then particular state of the church, and as convey- 
 ing the same great and leading truths, only in a dilFe* 
 rent way ? All had their use in pointing to Christ, and 
 to serve till he came. But as they were not the sub- 
 stance, but shadows only, it was necessary that the lat- 
 ter should be removed to give place to the former. 
 Hence the apostle says, Gal.iii. 21. "If there had 
 been a law given which could have given life, verily 
 rifrhteousness should have been by the law." . 
 
 Suppose him here to be speaking of the law of Mo- 
 ses, in the sense in which We have taken it, as I do 
 think he is, his assertion does by no means contradict 
 what we have said respecting it. A righteousness as 
 full and as free as that made known by the gospel, wa» 
 indeed pointed out by the law, in this sense ; but there 
 was nothing in that dispensation which coxxld procure it. 
 The sacrifices, and all the other rites, pointed to some- 
 thing which was to be done in the dispensation which 
 was to succeed,'"but which they were unable to effect 
 of themselves ; and therefore it was with the greatest 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECTIQhfS. 65 
 
 propriety that the apostle should say of the law, even 
 :in this sense, that it did not give life. The work which 
 •Christ was to finish on the cross^ was fhat which thty in 
 that dispensation were to \oo\s. forward to for life, as ive 
 in this, arc to take a retrospective view of the same 
 object, for the same purpose. "'^ 
 
 We therefore see that the religion taught in thp Scrip- 
 tures is one ; one way of death, and one way of life, 
 made known throughout the whole, ^s by one man sin 
 entered into the luorld, and decith by sin ; so death passes 
 through to all his descendents, as sinners likewise. And 
 as in Adam all die, so in Christ alone shall all he made 
 alive *. T^e first clause of this last passage contains 
 .an assumed-truth which tne apostle considers incontro- 
 vertible, namely, that all men have sinned, and are con- 
 sequently liable to death through the frst man. And 
 from this assumed fact, he infers that life could only be 
 by the second. Now, without supposing the last clause- 
 to countenance in the smallest the idea of universal re- 
 demption, as has been asserted, it contains an absolute 
 fact, supported by the whole of revelation, that there is 
 life for the guilty in Christ, but in none other ; so that 
 if men who " are dead in trespasses and sinsf " are made 
 alive at all, it is, as the apostle declares, in Christ Je- 
 sus. Nor was this any novel doctrine started by the 
 apostle ; for " to him bear all the prophets witness." 
 Abraham saw his day afar off, and was glad. Yea, 
 long before Abraham, he was known as the seed of the 
 jvoman, which should bruise the head of the serpent. 
 And he shall be known, for his name is worthy of ever- 
 lasting remembrance. — He shall be known as the Savi- 
 our and the Great One, elevated on his cross, like the 
 ;brazen serpent in the wilderness, crying, " Look unto 
 
 * Rem. V. li:. I Cor. XV. 22. f Eph. ii.l. 
 
 I 
 
66 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 me all ye ends of the earth," look unto me, '' and be 
 ye saved ; for I am God, and there is none else." 
 
 To obtain clear and distinct perceptions of the law in 
 this two-fold sense then, is an object of the greatest im- 
 portance that can be imagined. As the Scriptures 
 assure us that the one was abrogated, and as the other 
 from its^'very nature never could, but still is, and ever 
 will be binding on moral agents, and as by the one 
 comes death, and by the other life, either of which is 
 to be the everlasting portion of every child of Adam ; 
 so there can be no subject more noble in itself, or more 
 deeply claiming our attention from personal interest. 
 
 The principles of morality are exceedingly- brief and 
 clear, and such as can be easily understood by all men, 
 though to our shame it must be said, we are continual- 
 ly chargeable with violations thereof. Love, love to 
 God which knows no limits, and love to our neighbour, 
 in the same manner, and perhaps to the same degree as 
 we love Ourselves, is the sum and substance of the 
 whole *. Wherever therefore this principle occurs 
 
 * The degree of love the children of men are to exercise to one 
 another, seems to be pointed out by Solomon, in Prov.xxiv.il. 
 As self-preservation is a most natural principle, so we are there 
 taught not to hold the life or welfare of our neighbour less sacred 
 than our own. Natural self-love, therefore, and the love of our 
 neighbour, are principles, which, though distinct in themselves, do 
 not however, when properly understood, ruu counter to each 
 other. The first indeed seems to require no argument to induce 
 men to an observance of it, but as an assumed truth it may be 
 well employed as the strongest of all arguments to induce to an 
 observance of the second. Both our Lord himself, and his servant 
 Paul, evidently make use of it in this light. Luke vi. 31. Eph, 
 v. 28, 29. We meet with a circumstance in that very interest- 
 ing Narrative of the Hon. John Byron, which seems clearly to 
 demonstrate how natural it is for the human mind to act in behalf 
 of its neighbour, when it acts promptly, and without affording it- 
 self time to indulge in insidious reflections. The circumstance is 
 
©N THE FOREGOING SEI^TIONS. 67 
 
 throughout the jvhole word of God, whether in th6 law 
 of Moses or in the prophets, in the Gospels or Epistles, 
 that is the moral law, the law which can never be chan- 
 ged, the law of which it is said, *' Though heaven and 
 earth should pass away, yet one jot or tittle of this can- 
 not fail." 
 
 And here it may be observed, that even the gospel 
 itself contains something of a moral principle in it, and 
 binds to the duties of love both to God and our neigh- 
 bour, by motives the most powerful which can be cgn- 
 ceived. Love to God afid our neighbour is enforced 
 by the consideration not of his authority merely, but of 
 his love to us. And this is again enhanced by the con- 
 sideration that it is manifested, not only to creatures 
 before whom he makes all his goodness to pass, but as 
 sinners whom he purposes to redeem by the precious 
 blood of his own dear Son. It is this moral principle 
 in the gospel which gives it such hold upon men. They 
 are not at liberty to treat it with scorn or contempt, 
 without at the same time heightening their condemna- 
 tion. It differs from the law denominated nioral^ in that 
 it declares a full and free pardon to all who believe it, 
 though previously lying under the curse of the othej-. 
 And because this matchless grace revealed in it, is not 
 only unmerited on the part of ihe sinner, but procured 
 at a price of such infinite value, and consequently de- 
 
 this : — The Indians among whom he was, were, on account of 
 some superstition, going to throw him over board the canoe, for 
 casting his limpet shells into the sea. But having landed shortly" 
 thereafter, as he was going to eat a large bunch of berries he had 
 gathered from a tree, ' One of the Indians,' says he, ' snatched 
 
 * them out of my hand, and threw them away, making me to un- 
 
 * derstand that they were poisonous. Thus,' continues he, ' in all 
 
 * probability, did these people now save my life, who a few hours 
 
 * before were going to take it froin me, for throwing away a shell,' 
 pag.123. 
 
as GENE'RAL OBSKRVATIONs 
 
 monstrating the love of God, in a manner wliich never 
 had beeft done before, th» despising of this therefore,. 
 sea/s^ in a way which the violation of the moral law- 
 was incapable of doing, the eternal condemnation of 
 such "deluded mortals. Hence the words of Jesus, 
 " This IS the condfemnation, that light is come into the 
 world, and men loyed darkness rather than the light, 
 because their deeds are evil," John iii. 19. And hence 
 those of Paul, ** If any man love not the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, let him be Anathema Marantha," that is to say, 
 accursed when the Lord cotnes^ 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 
 
 As then the publication of tlie gospel, or the glad 
 tidings of pardon to guilty men, has been the principal 
 ©bject God has had in view, from the first to the last of 
 the revelations he has given them ; and as the gospel 
 was not only made known in this dispensation-which was 
 latterly established by Christ and his apostles, but in 
 the first promise, in the covenant with Abraham, and in 
 the Mosaic ritual and ordinances ; it must therefore be 
 exceedingly improper to talk, as many do, of an indis- 
 criminate abrogation of all that went before this dis- 
 pensation established by the Son of God in person. 
 In the very nature of the thing it could not be ; for 
 what is binding in thisy as it flows from moral princi- 
 ples, was likewise binding in the former ; and though 
 heaven and earth may change, there can be no altera- 
 tion respecting this, while His authority who enjoined 
 it endures, and while subjects endure, who must be ru- 
 led and regulated by the laws of the Most High. Ought 
 we not then to reverence his authority more, than, in 
 order to support our particular systems,, to discard any 
 part of those obligations which still stand in force ? 
 
 7. But as we intend to enter more fully into thia 
 subject in another part of our work, we shall say no- 
 thing further on it here, but shall conclude by a reflc; 
 
ON THE FOREGOING SECi;iONS. .69 
 
 4ipn or two upon the grace and faithfulness of God, in 
 'first freely giving, and then fulfilling his prdipgiises to 
 jfnen. 
 
 Oh, then, what marvellous grace is this, when we 
 had rendered ourselves obnoxious to divine wrath, and 
 were literally in the situation of the rebel angels, to 
 tvhom no mercy was shewn, to have the glad tidings of 
 pardoning mercy sounded in our ears ! If the thing be 
 great in itself, and If the manner of effecting it can en- 
 hance its value, surely the grace of God, which has 
 thus appeared unto men, bringing salvation, has heights 
 and depth's, breadths and lengths, which are absolutely 
 unfathomable to a finite mind. It never can be in time, 
 for it will take eternity itself to investigate, appreciate, 
 and celebrate the glories of such unutterable grace. 
 Till that bright morning arise however. Oh to be but 
 increasingly sensible of its value, that we may become 
 increasingl^rliker him from whom it flows, as from an 
 inexhaustible fountain I 
 
 And, again, let the faithfulness of God to all the gra- 
 cious promises he hath given, convince us of our un- 
 faithfulness ; and let it, like a two-edged sword cutting 
 both ways, humble us on the one hand, and stimu- 
 late us on the other, to be imitators of God as dear 
 children. What reason have we to rejoice that the 
 Lord's ways are not as our waj^s, nor his thoughts like 
 our thoughts ! Like Israel of old, we are ever ready 
 to say, " All that the Lord hath coinmanded will we 
 do, and be obedient," while our consciences can too of- 
 ten testify to our face the hypocrisy of our lips. But 
 the words which have gone out of His mouth, cannot 
 return to him void. They are not yea and nay, but 
 have one uniform language, in which, blessed be his 
 name ! the good of his creatures seems to be as much 
 consulted as liis ovvn glory'. The praises of his faiUi- 
 
« 
 
 ^0 GENERAL OBSERVATION*, &C. 
 
 fulness then, uttered by Zgcharias under the direction 
 of God's unerring Spirit, when his mouth was opened, 
 and his tongue loosed, are the most appropriate that can 
 be here used. " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; 
 for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath 
 raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his 
 servant David • as he spake by the mouth of his holy 
 prophets, which have been since the world began ; that 
 we should -be saved from our enemies, and from the 
 hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy promi- 
 sed to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant ; 
 the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that 
 he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of 
 the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 
 in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days 
 of our life." 
 
 The redeemed of all ages and nations, then, collected 
 from the four quarters of the earth, from tljp first down 
 to the last straggling sinner who shall be brought into 
 the family of God, will be so many monuments of his 
 faithfulness and grace, which shall endure not only to 
 millions of ages hence, but to eternity itself. What an 
 honour and what a privilege will it then be, to be made 
 pillars In the temple of our God, to go no more out, 
 but to be eternal monuments, bearing Inscriptions of 
 that grace made known to the children of men since 
 the world began ! If ainbition for earthly glory so In- 
 spire the human breast, as to excite men to engage In 
 pursuits the most perilous In order to obtain It — assu- 
 redly there Is not an object In the whole extejit of crea- 
 tion worthy of a name or a place in their affections In 
 comparison with thi«;. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 OF THE rERSONS INCLUDED IN THE COVENANT, 
 CALLED THE SEED OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Shewing that the seed of Abraham is of two kinds y namely y 
 carnal and spiritual. 
 
 AN entering on a subject such as the present, it may be 
 proper to ©bserve, that the existence of a seed to Abra- 
 ham at all, was a work entirely of a supernatural kind. 
 Early intimations had indeed been given that he should 
 see his seed, and that his seed should be exceedingly nu- 
 merous, even as the stars of the heavens, the dust of the 
 earth, or the sand upon the sea shore. But between the 
 uttering of this promise and its accomplishment, even in 
 its first stage, there was not only a long period allowed 
 to intervene, but matters were permitted to take such 
 a turn, as to render its accomplishment, to all human 
 appearance, impossible. The old stocks Were both per- 
 mitted to die of age, ere the tender scion which was to 
 propagate and perpetuate their kind sprung forth. But 
 God, " who redeemeth the souls of his people from de- 
 struction, can also renew their youth like the eagles *," 
 * Psal.ciii.'4> 5. 
 
I 2 THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, 
 
 when he hath any important end to be answered by 
 it. Hence it is said of Abraham, Rom. i v. 19, — 21. 
 '' That he, being not weak in faith, (though in body), 
 considered not his own body now dead, when he was 
 about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of 
 Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of 
 God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving 
 glory to God, being fully persuaded that what he had 
 promised he was able also to perform." And again, 
 Heb. xi. 11, 12. " Through faith also Sarah herself 
 received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of 
 a child when she was past age, because slie judged him 
 faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there 
 even of one," of Abraham to-wit, '' nncl him as good as 
 dead^ so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and 
 as the sand which is by the sea-shore innumerable." 
 
 In our illustrations of the covenant with Abraham, 
 we have seen that this innumerable progeny, both in 
 point of promise and accomplishment, constitutes one of 
 its most important parts. We observed, that he was 
 not only to have a seed, of which he was to be the fa- 
 ther in the strict and literal sense of the word, but that 
 he was constituted or appointed to be also tiie father of 
 believers of all nations, from the beginning to the end 
 of the world. 
 
 ' This distinction of Abraham's seed^into two kinds,' 
 as Dr Macknight observes, * is intimated by our Lord 
 'himself, John viii. 39. where he told tlie Jews who 
 ' sought to kill him, that notwithstanding they were the 
 ' natural offspring of Abraham, they were not his chil- 
 ' dren^ unless th^y did the works of Abraham. The 
 ' same distinction is taught still more plainly by tlic 
 * apostle Paul, who calls Abraham's natural progeny. 
 « his seed by the law, the law of marriage ; but his seed 
 '• by the appointment of God, who gave believers of all 
 
CARNAL AND SPIRITUAL. /3 
 
 * nations to him for seed, that which is by the faith of 
 
 * Abraham. *' That tlie promise might be sure to all 
 
 * the seed, not to that only which is by the law, but to 
 
 * that also which is by the faith of Abraham, who is the 
 
 * father of us' all," Rom. iv. 16. In like manner, the 
 ' same apostle by telling us, Rom. ix. 8. " The children 
 
 * of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the 
 
 * children of the promise are counted for the seed," hath 
 
 * insinuated that Abraham had two kinds of children or 
 
 * seed, and that the seed by the promise, (a father of 
 ' many nations I have constituted thee), Gen. xvii. 5. 
 
 * are the children of God, to whom alone the promises 
 ' in the covenant, in their second and highest meanings, 
 ' belong.' 
 
 To these passages we may ad<l that noted one of John 
 the Baptist, which he addressed to the Pharisees and 
 Sadducees who came to his baptism, " O generation 
 of vipers I who hath warned you to flee from the wratlx 
 to come ? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repen- 
 tance, and begin not to say within yourselves, we have 
 Abraham to our father, for I say unto you, that God is 
 able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham,""' 
 Mat. iii. 7, — 9. and Luke iii. 7, 8. The same distinc- 
 tion is in like manner manifest, Rom.iv. 12. " And 
 the father of circumcision to them who are not of the 
 circumcision only^ but who also walk in the steps of 
 that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being 
 yet uncircumcised." 
 
 Agreeably to this distinction between a spiritual and 
 carnal progeny belonging to Abraham, does the whole 
 scheme of salvation proceed. As the apostle declares 
 that it is not the children of the Jlesh who are the chil- 
 dren of God, so to constitute this I'elation in the spirit- 
 ual sense, something hiore is necessary than mere na- 
 tural descent. It was tlie pride, and I may add, the 
 
 K 
 
ti <rH€ SEED or ABRAHAM, 
 
 ruin of the Jevvs^ to plumfe themselves on their descent 
 from Abraham the friend of God ; but the gospel, as a 
 system which stains the pride of human glory, leaves no 
 room for any to glory on such accounts. The doctrine 
 of human depravity, and of regeneration or the new 
 birth, are doctrines as clearly taught, 1 will be bold to 
 assert, as any contained in the Scriptures of truth. Ac- 
 cordingly, even upon the seed of Abraham according to 
 the flesh, were these doctrines inculcated, and shown to 
 be of indispensable obligation to them, as much as to 
 the Gentiles. Whatever privileges therefore the form- 
 er might enjoy above the latter, in having " tlie * oracles 
 of God committed to thein, and in being Israelites, to 
 whom pertained the adoption, and the glory, and th^ 
 covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of 
 God, and the promises ; yea, of whom as concerning 
 the flesh, Christ came, who is God over all, and blessed 
 for ever :" — they were still both on a level as to their 
 state before God. If the one were sinners^ dead in 
 trespasses and sins f , and needed the regenerating in- 
 fluences of the Spirit of the living God, the other also, 
 when tried by their own Scriptures J, were no less found 
 to be all under sin, that every mouth might be stopped, 
 and the whole world become guilty before God, to the 
 intent that there might be one way of salvation, and 
 but one only, for all men. 
 
 It remains now to be inquired into, that, since the 
 natural descendents of Abraham were, in a manner, re- 
 cognized by God as his people, as well as himself, upoii 
 what principle they were so, and to what extent the re- 
 lation between God and them actually proceeded. And 
 here I would remark^ that it is exceedingly dangerous 
 to take up things merely by their sound, and from such 
 slight analogy, to affix specific and determined meanings 
 * Rom. iii. 2. ix. 4, 5. t Eph.ii. 1. | Horn. iii. 
 
CARNAL AND SPIRITUAL. 75 
 
 to them, whicli, perhaps, they may not be able to bear 
 upon a closer investigation. 
 
 I grant, indeed, that God is said to be the God of 
 Abraham, and of his seed after him ; bat when you 
 take this as referring to his desccndents in the literal 
 sense, is it necessary to affix a spiritual signification to 
 this relation, and to suppose it impossible for God to be 
 a God to any, in any other sense ? We find that Nebu- 
 chadnezzar is styled his servant, and Cyrus his anointed, 
 apparently for no other reason, than that he selected 
 and employed them as instruments in his hand for ac- 
 complishing a particular work *. Again, as he created, 
 upholds, and governs all things, he is hence called *' the 
 God of the whole earth j" and the psalmist, speaking 
 of this very subject, calls all the creatures his ser- 
 vants f . 
 
 We have seen that there was one very important 
 reason for which the Lord selected the seed of Abra-^ 
 ham, which was, that the Messiah might come of hi? 
 loins %. And might not this be also a reason for his 
 styling himself their God in the common and general 
 sense, without implying actually the spiritual relation ? 
 But as I am aware, that this is the grand point upon 
 which Pedo-baptists rest the whole of their reasoning, I 
 doubt not but they will be exceedingly averse to admit it. 
 We hear the questions daily reiterated, Do you suppose 
 that God would call himself the God of any one that 
 he did not consider as his ? or yet recognize as his peo- 
 ple any who were not sq in reality ? To which we an- 
 swer. No, most certainly ; we do not suppose either th^ 
 one or the other. When he styled Nebuchadnezzar 
 his servant, the one was, fven speaking most strictly, 
 the master, and the other the servant in that particular 
 business in which he was employed. And the same 
 » Jer. XXV. 9. Isa. xlv. 1. f Psal. cxix. 91. % Heb. ii. IG, 
 
76 THE SEED OJB ABRAHiMW, 
 
 may be said of Cyrus, and so of the rest. And as for 
 the natiltal descendents of Abraham, it was certainly a 
 very important matter that they should be selected as the 
 Progenitors of the Lord's Anointed, and well meriting all 
 the appellations which were given them. Whether there- 
 fore they be called God's peculiar People, Treasure, 
 Inheritance, or His People simply ; and he their God, 
 Redeemer, Portion, and so on ; the honour he conferred 
 upon them, and the deliverances he wrought in their 
 behalf, fully justify all such expressions. Besides, we 
 do not deny that God had a people, a true, spiritual, 
 and believing people or seed among the Jews in all 
 ages, and even in the darkest times ■■, and that he was 
 the God of such, in the true spiritual sense of the word, 
 none will deny. But the question between us and the 
 Pedo-baptists is, whether those passages wherein the re- 
 lation between God, as the God of Israel, and the peo- 
 ple of Israel, as his people, is stated, was indeed a spi- 
 ritual relation, and nothing else ; or whether, besides 
 this spiritual relation which necessarily subsisted be- 
 tween God and his spiritual subjects, there was also a 
 relation which subsisted between them as a nation, 
 which as necessarily behoved to be" of a different kind. 
 
 As I freely profess myself to be of the latter opi- 
 nion, and as I know that Pedo-baptists, in general, are 
 of the former ; I would briefly state, in addition to what 
 I have said, some further reasons for my opinion, hop- 
 ing at the same time, that if they do not convince them, 
 they will in due time favour us with theirs. 
 
 One reason, therefore, is, that it does not seem to be 
 the way of God, nor even to accord with the scheme of 
 salvation revealed in his word, to recognize nvhole nations 
 as his, in a spiritual sense. Upon this principle, what 
 should we make any nation at any period to ^^hich his 
 gospel has 3'et come ? Take for example that very n^- 
 
"•ARNAL AND SPIRIItUAL. 7T 
 
 tion in which our lot has been cast, and ^uppose, that 
 because God, and to his name be the praise^ nits many 
 spiritual and sincere worshippers in it, that thei-efore 
 the wliole is to be regarded as his in the same spiritual 
 sense. Would this be any thing like the fact, when 
 iniquity rtuis down our streets like a mighty torrent, 
 and when there is so much cause for sighing and cry- 
 ing for the abominations that are done in the midst of 
 us ? But whether or not we, even regarded as a nation, 
 are worse than the nation of the Jews, almost at any 
 period, let any one read the whole history of that peo- 
 ple, and say if he can . 
 
 But another reason why nations camiot be con- 
 sidered as spiritual in their national capacity, is, that it 
 does not seem to accord with the scheme of salvation 
 revealed in the Scriptures. Conversion to God is there 
 held out as being absolutely necessary to constitute a 
 person his spiritual subject. But upon this principle, 
 so far as it regarded the home-born Jews, the mere cir- 
 cumstances of natural birth, and circumcision on the 
 eighth day, are evidently substituted in the room of 
 conversion. And as for others, whether they were 
 voluntary sojourners among them, or slaves bought 
 with their money, or captives taken in war, the cere- 
 monial of circumcision alone is rendered equally effica- 
 cious. Nothing more, to give them a place in Israel, 
 seems to have been required of them. 
 
 But this (jrdinance, it will be said, had a spiritual 
 meaning in it ; and beyond a doubt, whenever it was 
 dispensed, its spiritual meaning would be explained in 
 order that it might be preserved from generation to ge- 
 neration. Our views, of this ordinance we have giv^en 
 elsewhere, nor have we any scruple in admitting that 
 its administration would always be accompanied with 
 -suitable instructions, whenever the administrators them- 
 
TS THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, 
 
 selves happened to be suitable persons. But if at any 
 time, it had perchance fallen into the hands of such as 
 the sons of Eli — alas I it was but sorry instruction that 
 could have been expected. 
 
 It is not, however, with the sense of the ordinance 
 that we have here so much to do, as with the subjects 
 of it ; the former, as wc have just hinted, having been, 
 considered already, we shall say a word or two respect- 
 ing the latter in this place. When we attend to its 
 original institutiorf as it respects the subjects, we find 
 that it runs thus. *' And he that is eight days old shall 
 be circumcised among you, every man-child in your 
 generations ; he that is born in the house, or bought 
 with money of any stranger which is not of thy seed. 
 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with 
 thy money, must needs be circumcised." 
 
 Now, after these words, can any who has not a par- 
 ticular system of his own to support, still either tena- 
 ciously or dogmatically assert, that the spirituality, even 
 of the subjects, is the only thing which exclusively en- 
 titled any to this ordinance ? Waving this however for 
 argument's sake^ as a necessary requisite in the case of 
 infants of eight days old, and suppose that in their case, 
 the faith of the parent was all that was required ; yet 
 still, upon this hypothesis, what would you make in the 
 case of those bought with their money from any stran- 
 ger, to whom circumcision was to be administered, as 
 well as to the other ? I know it will be said, that they 
 never could be admitted to that, or any other ordinance, 
 without a profession of their faith in the God of Abra- 
 ham ; and that, as the Israelites were commanded to 
 extirpate idolatry from among them, they never could 
 receix'-e any, either as strangers or sojourners, nor yet 
 as slaves, who did not acknowledge the one only living 
 and true God. But even granting this to have been the 
 
CARNAL AXD SPIRITUAL. 79 
 
 case, a thing which is not said however iu the original 
 institution of the ordinance, what kind o# spiritual sub- 
 jects was it likely to create ? When a master intended 
 to hire, or raihsr jiurchase servants, which was the pre- 
 vailing custom in those days, it behoved to be made a 
 stipulation in the bargain, that slaves thus transferred 
 from one to another, should not be averse to such ac- 
 knowledgments. And even supposing that in every 
 case, such acknowledgments were obtained, still we 
 ask, was this all that was sufficient to constitute them 
 spiritual ? or will it be supposed that, in such cases, 
 circumcision was not administered immediately, but 
 that time was granted that they might be instructed ill 
 due order, so that their profession might not be a mat- 
 ter of necessity, but of choice ? But upon this hypo- 
 thesis, baseless as it is in the word of God, what if 
 some never did repent, or profess faith in the God of 
 Israel ? In that case, they would of course still be un- 
 circumcised, and this very circumstance would have 
 been considered by Jehovah as a breach of his cove- 
 nant. See Gen. xvii. l** 
 
 'But why allow, such unfounded conjectures ever to 
 enter our minds ? Beyond a doubt, if we attend to this 
 subject simply as it stands in, the word of God, without 
 prejudice, and without particular systems of our own 
 to support, we shall have very different views respect- 
 ing it from those we have supposed. Supposition in- 
 deed will not need to have a place ; and facts will be so 
 abundant, that we need not mistake. Without think- 
 ing mor^ lightly either of the ordinance of circumci- 
 sion itself, or of the subjects to whom it was admini- 
 stered, than Pedo-baptists do, or at least ought to do, 
 I confess that to me it appears, in some respects, to 
 wear an aspect the very opposite of what they main- 
 tain. It seems to be a darling theme with them, to re- 
 
to THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, 
 
 present circumcision as the sail of God*s covenant, bjr 
 which they intend the covenant of grace ; and to insi- 
 nuate, that all to whom it was administered were in 
 this covenant, at least by profession, till such time as 
 by their ungodly walk they gave evidence to the con- 
 trary. Then they represent such as being cut off from 
 the church of the living God ; and tJie cases of Ish- 
 mael, and Esau, and the unbelieving Israelites in the 
 wilderness, are generally referred to. 
 
 Now against these various reprcsentatioiis, I have se- 
 veral very weighty objections. I have none indeed 
 against the idea of the covenant being the covenant of 
 grace, provided you understand by this expression, in a 
 general nitanner, the scheme of the salvation of guilty 
 men ;. but if it be taken in a restricted sense, as imply- 
 ing no more than what usually goes under this name, I 
 cannot acquiesce in it. Nor is this without reason. For 
 the covenant of grace, in this restricted sense, always 
 implies, and indeed is limited to the secret purposes of 
 God, styled his gifts and callings, which are without 
 repentance, and which secure beyond a doubt the eter- 
 nal salvation of all its subjects*. 
 
 I object, in like manner, to that assertion, that all to 
 ivhoin circumcision ivas administered^ ivere in the covenant^ 
 if by the covenant you understand the promise which was 
 given to Abraham respecting his seed^ and which was li- 
 mited to one solitary individual in his family. Ere cir- 
 cumcision was at all appointed, we read that Abraham 
 had no fewer than three hundred and eighteen trained 
 servants able to go to war, and probably by the time 
 tliat that ordinance was instituted, he might have a 
 great many more ; yet, though all these had the ordi- 
 nance of circumcision administered to them, not cue of 
 them was in the covenant in this sense. Yea, even Ish- 
 * See more to this purpose, Ch, I. Sect. ]. 
 
CARNAL AND.^PIRITUAL, 4i 
 
 -nael, his own son, and his sons by Keturah, and his 
 grand-son Esau, though all, sprung fjom the loiws of 
 ?\braham, were equally utter strangers to it. 
 
 This leads us of course to a third objection, whicii 
 militates against the idea of cutting off persons included 
 in this covenant or promise, for their improper con- 
 duct. Not that I am going to deny that God actually 
 threatened to punish, and often did punish them for 
 their offences ; but my intention is, to correct the un. 
 founded assertion, in the case of Ishmael and Esau at 
 least, that their luichedness excluded them. We read 
 of the former, tliat lie mocked at the weaning of Isaac, 
 and the thing being offensive in the sight of Sarah, she 
 requested Abraham to cast him and his mother out of 
 his family ; adding as a reason, for the son of this bond- 
 •woman shall not be heir ivith my son^ even ivith Isaac. To 
 which I would reply, ' No, indeed, Sarah, you say 
 ^ rightly, the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir 
 ' with thy son ; for it was respecting thy son, and him 
 
 * alone, that the promise was made. The son of the 
 ' bond- woman had neither right nor title to the promise ; 
 
 * and therefore thou doest him no injury wheu thou se- 
 ' curest it to its rightful heir.' 
 
 Such we conceive to be the true meaning of the ac- 
 • count concerning Ishmael. And really had it been for 
 his wickedoess. before God that he was cast out, I do 
 not see how we can account for God's tender dealings 
 manifested towards him and his mother, throughout the. 
 whole of this event, without either calls on the part of 
 God, or evidence of repentance, on theirs. See Gen. 
 xxi. 
 
 As for Esau, tlie next person generally brought in on 
 this subject, what can be more express than these words 
 of an inspired apostle—*' The children not being yet 
 torn, neither having done good or evil, that the purpose 
 
 t 
 
-82 THE SEED feF ACRAHARf, 
 
 of God according to election might stand, lie saith, Ja- 
 cob have I loved^ bat Esan hdv^ I leafed *." What is 
 particularly noticeable in this passage is, an election 
 and reprobation, a love and hatred, flowing from the 
 mere good pleasure of the agent, without anj consider- 
 ation of moral good or evil in the objects. The best 
 commentators are agreed, as indeed it is evident from 
 the passage, that it was not an election or reprobation 
 to eternal life or condemnation, which is here referred 
 to in the case of these two brothers; but that it was 
 the birth-right, or the right of primogeniture, the re- 
 striction of the promise in which of their lines the 
 Messiah was to come. This was the election and re- 
 probation, this the love and hatred ; and as this was de- 
 termined in God's own mind, without any regard to 
 worthinesss or demerit in the objects tliemselves, yea, 
 even before they existed, it is surprising enough that 
 this event should be so much mistaken, and charged 
 upon the profanity of Esau. 
 
 Here should have followed also the rejection of the 
 sons of Abraham by Keturah ; for it is an absolute 
 truth that they were likewise separated, and se/it away 
 ffom his son Isaac^ •while Abraham yet lived j-. But as 
 there are no charges of an immoral nature brought 
 against them, I suspect this to be the reason why Pedo- 
 baptists have not availed themselves of this occur- 
 rence. 
 
 The case of the unbelieving Israelites in the wilder- 
 ness, is therefore the next circumstance which is had 
 recourse to. And respecting this, we would remark, that 
 it is not true that they were dealt with as offending 
 members, in a church capacity' ; but as their sin impli- 
 ed in it a contempt or disregard of the promised land, 
 so they were punished in kind, ks one should say, hy 
 * Rom. ix. 11.13. t Gen, XXV. 6. 
 
CARNAL AND SPIRITUAL. SS 
 
 the declaration, that none of those who were particular- 
 ly chargeable with this offence should ever see it. " This 
 we concei%'e to be the plain statement of the matter ; and 
 more We do not suppose it possible, without violence, 
 to make it speak. Totally unlike to the Scripture dis- 
 cipline of a church, there was no room left for repen- 
 tance. The people afterwards indeed saw their error, 
 wished then to be obedient, and the threatening to be 
 reversed, and therefore proposed to go up, and take 
 possession of the land at once. But God had sworn in 
 his wrath, that they should not enter into his rest ; and 
 therefore, not an individual of all the six hundred thou- 
 sand who were brought out of Egypt, save Caleb and 
 Joshua, were permitted to enter therein. Their car- 
 cases, according to the divine denunciation, fell in the 
 wilderness. They were destined to the severest pu- 
 nishments in that barren land. And for the accomplish- 
 ment of this, forty years was the period allotted, 
 that they might be wholly worn out and reduced to no- 
 thing, even in the common course of nature*. But when 
 we read of such characters as those of Moses, Aaron 
 and Miriam, Eliazar and Ithamar, Phinehas, and those 
 who prophesied in the camp ; when we see the Lord, at 
 one time, punishing them for their sins by his fiery-fly- 
 ing serpents, and then again healing them by an insti- 
 tution he was graciously pleased to appoint j when we 
 behold the symbol of his glorious presence still mani- 
 fested in the camp ; this divine oracle consulted, and re- 
 sponses returned ; sacrifices, ablutions, and other cere- 
 monial rites attended to ; solemn worship, prayer, 
 praise, reading and expounding of the law daily obser- 
 ved ; Moses, and Aaron, and others, though still in the 
 wilderness, dying in the hope of a glorious immortdi- 
 ty : when we consider these things, we say, as so many 
 
 * If the xclh Psalm was penned by iVIoiCa, as ia 'generally sup- 
 '^osed, how illustrative is it of tliis circumbt-ince -^ 
 
8i THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, 
 
 incontrovertible facts, how is it possible to reconcile 
 tKem with the idea that Israel, during all this time, was 
 still in a state of offending members under church dis- 
 cipline, and who of course could not be enjoying the 
 rights and privileges of the house of God j yea, not 
 have any well grounded hopes for an eternal state ? 
 
 The circumstance of the Lord's depriving the rebel- 
 lious Israelites of their enjoyment of the promised land, 
 we grant, was a signal instance of his awful displeasure 
 with them, and well calculated, as we are reminded in 
 the New Testament, to make both them and us to fear, 
 lest we should come sliort of that better rest which still 
 remaineth for the people of God. But it does not any 
 where api)ear\o be hinted, that all the thousands who 
 died under this displeasure of the Almighty, died under 
 his eternal displeasure ; though no less seems to be im<- 
 plied by the manner in which many treat the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 The apostle says indeed, that it was on account of 
 their unbelief that they could not enter in ; but as Moses^ 
 and Aaron, and others, equally conspicuous for true 
 godliness, happen to be amongst the number of those 
 chargeable with unbelief, their unbelief must of course 
 be restricted to a particular thing. Moses, we are as- 
 sured, believed in the Lord as his God ; but, on one oc- 
 casion, he did not sanctify the Lord before the people, 
 for which offence the Lord svvare that lie should not 
 enter into his rest. Yet this denunciation, affecting ai 
 it was, did not imply the everlasting exclusion of Mose.s 
 from the presence of the Lord, for in every other part 
 of Scripture, he is always spoken of as holding a very 
 distinguished place in the world of glory. 
 
 Igrant, thatthis must have exceedingly affected Moses, 
 and put him much more upon his guard^ to beware of 
 actiner in such a manner as to come short of the eternal 
 rest. But this seems all that was irltendedj for Mose* 
 
CARKAi, AND SPIRITUAL. SB 
 
 Still enjoyed the spiritual loving-kindness of the Lord, 
 Jiotwithstanding this severe sentence, so far ftom being 
 ever repealed, that it w^s actually «xecuted. 
 
 And what we have said of Moses, may be said of 
 Aaron, and Miriam, and the sons of Aaron, yea, and 
 of every one who was spiritual among them. Though 
 they provoked God by their unbelief, in one instance, 
 so as to cause him swear even in his wrath that they 
 should not enter into his rest ; yet we may be assured 
 that by the sanctifying influences of his grace, such an 
 affecting dispensation would be the very means of se- 
 curing them to the eternal rest. It would cause them 
 like Paul, to keep under the body, and to bring it into 
 subjection, lest after all their pretensions to religion 
 they should be found to be but cast-aways. Their 
 fear of coming short of the eternal rest, must have been 
 awfully excited by their actual privation of the tem« 
 poral ; and ia as much as the former was of infinitely 
 more importance than the latter, their attention to act 
 so as to please God must have been proportionally in- 
 creased. — This seems to have been the case with the 
 church of Corinth. The apostolic rod, which was not 
 used for their destruction but edification, wrought in 
 them the most marvellous effects. " Behold," says 
 the apostle, '* this self-same thing, what carefulness it 
 wrought in you; yea, what clearing of yourselves ; yea, 
 what indignation at yourselves ; yea, what fear ; yea, 
 what vehement desire ; yea, what zeal ; yea, what 
 revenge 1" 2 Cor. vli. 11 *. 
 
 * O 1 beautiful I Awaked from their carnal security bv the for- 
 mer epistle and apostolic rod, as by a peal of thunder; like eiect- 
 rified persons they are at once roused from their dormant £tate 1 
 Formerly they could connive at a vile incestuist, ackmowledge 
 him as a brother, yea, even glory in him 1 (I suppose he must 
 have been rich 1) But now, but now they shewed themselves to 
 be clear gf {hat matter : Now their indignation, which, had they 
 
So THE SEED 01- ^BiRAHAM, 
 
 From this event we may also learn, that God, deal- 
 ing with his people as rational beings, generally speak- 
 ing, adapts the measure and nature of his blessings, to 
 the measure and nature of tlieir faith. This seems to 
 have been the principle in regard to many of the mira- 
 cles of healing performed by our blessed Lord. " As 
 your faith, SO be it unto you," was a very common 
 mode of address on such occasions. From tlie report 
 circulated of the Lord Jesus, that he was a man mighty 
 in word and deed, speaking as never man spoke, and 
 healing all manner of diseases, thousands, and tens of 
 thousands flocked to him from all quarters of the coun- 
 try. And all who had any sick with divers diseases, 
 and they that were lunatic, or vexed with unclean spirits, 
 or dumb demons, or blind, or halt, or lame, leprous, or 
 palsied, or withered, were brought unto him, in order 
 to be healed by Iiim. And faith in his ability to per- 
 form such cures as they severally stood in need of, was 
 invariably required. But though many believed in Je- 
 sus as the Saviour of the body, as able by his miracul- 
 ous po^er completely to eradicate from thence the most 
 inveterate diseases, yet this did not imply their invari- 
 able belief in him as the Saviour of the soul. Nay, 
 we are certain that many, notwithstanding they obtain- 
 ed the former, gave the most decided evidence that they 
 were strantjcrs to the latter *. 
 
 remained in their lorraer state, would have been directed against 
 the apostle for telling them the truth, they tum all against them- 
 selves. Yea, they even fear, lest God should swear in his wratli, 
 and make tho dead corpses which were now among them on ac- 
 count of this matter, to be but emblems of what he would do in 
 the world to come. For which cause, they "jebement/y desire above 
 all things, to have the sanctiQed use of such a dispensation. And 
 this again fires thcra with 'x^eal for God and his cause. And never 
 can they forget the just revenge they ought to take on themselve-i. 
 * As m the case ofnic ten lepers and others. 
 
<tARNdi;AKD SPIRITUAL. B7 
 
 Now, may it not be so likewise in the case we have . 
 been considtriag ? We have seen that it was oa account 
 of their uabeiief, that they could not enter ialo the pro- 
 mised land. But as this unbelief did not extend to every 
 piinclple of their faith, Imt was restricted to a particular 
 instance ; so, many who might afterwards have faith in 
 this one point, and so obtain by their faith possession of 
 what others by their unbelief lost, might yet be destitute 
 of that faith which was necessary for the obtaining of 
 that inheritance, of which Canaan was bat a type. As 
 the former could not enter ilito the earthly inheritance 
 because of unbelief in that particular, so neither could 
 the latter be able to enter into the heavenly inheritance, 
 though they indeed had entered the earthly, unless their 
 faith rose towards the contemplation and belief of higli- 
 er objects than they either saw or enjoyed in the land 
 of Canaan. Canaan earthly, was but a type or preii- 
 guration of Canaan heavenly ; and to rise from the one 
 to the other, it was necessary to liave ur-derstood and 
 believed it in this sense. 
 
 These observations, as I should suppose, having over- 
 turned in a satisfactory manner those positions which 
 called them forth, I would here subjoin a quotation, 
 corroborating all we have said respecting the two-fold 
 seed of Abraham, from that well known, pious, evan- 
 gelical, impartial and masterly writer, Dr John Owen. 
 I now well recollect of having read the passage in the 
 Doctor's own works several years ago, when I had 
 more leisure than I have at present for general reading 
 on theological subjects ; but it having entirely escaped 
 my memory, till I saw it in Mr McLean's answers to 
 Mr Wardlaw, I acknowledge myself a debtor to Mr 
 M'Lean for enabling me to bring it forward on the pre- 
 sent occasion. 
 
 ' Two privileges,' says our author, ' did God grant 
 
55 THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, 
 
 unto Abraham, upon his separation to a special inte- 
 rest in the old promise and covenant. ^ 
 
 ' Ij-^, That, according to the flesh, he should be the 
 father of tlie Messiah, the promised seed, who was the 
 very life of the covenant, the fountain and cause of all 
 the blessings contained in it. That this privilege waS 
 temporary, the thing itself doth demonstrate. 
 
 ' 2dly, Together with this, he had also another pri-- 
 vilege granted unto him, namely, that his fa'ith^ where- 
 by he was personally interested in the covenant, should 
 be the pattern of the faith of the church in all genera- 
 tions ; and that none should ever come to be a mem- 
 ber of it, or a sharer in its blessings, but by the same 
 faith that he had fixed on the seed that was in the 
 promise, to be brought forth from him in the world. 
 On the account of this privilege, he became the father 
 of all them that believe ; for they that are of faith, 
 the same are the children of Abraham, Gal. iii. 7. 
 Rom. iv. 11. and thus he became heir of the world, 
 ver. 13. in that all that should believe throughout the 
 world, being thereby implanted into the covenant 
 made with him, should become his spiritual chil- 
 dren. 
 
 ' Answerable to this two-fold end of the separation of 
 Abraham, there was a double seed allotted unto him.* 
 A seed according to the flesh, separated^to the bring- 
 ing forth of the Messiah according to the flesh ; and 
 a seed according to the promise^ that is, such as by faith 
 should have interest in the promise, or all the elect of 
 God. Multitudes afterwards were of the carnal seed 
 of Abraham, and of the number of the people sepa^- 
 rated to bring forth the Messiah in the flesh ; and yet 
 were not of the seed according to the promise, nor in- 
 terested in the spiritual blessings of the covenant, be- 
 cause they did not personally believe, as our apostle 
 
CARNAL AND SPIRITUAL. 8.^ 
 
 ^ declares, Heb. iv. Ai^d mawj afterwards, who were 
 
 * not of the carnal seed of Abraham, nor interested in 
 
 * the privilege of bringing forth the Messiah in tht- 
 '• flesh, were yet destined to be made his spiritual seed 
 
 * by faith, that in them he might become /leir of the 
 
 * ivorU, and all nations of the earth be blessed in him. 
 
 ' Now, it is evident that it is the second privilege 
 
 * and spiritual seed, wherein the church to whom the 
 
 * promises were made is founded, and whereof it doth 
 ' consist, namely, in thera who by faith are interested 
 
 * in the covenant of Abraham, whether they be of the 
 ' natural seed or no. And herein lay the great mistake 
 
 * of the Jews of old, wherein they are followed by their 
 
 * posterity unto this day. They thought no more was 
 
 * needful to interest them in the covenant of Abraham.^ 
 
 * but that they be his seed according to the flesh ; and 
 
 * they constantly pleaded the latter privilege, as the 
 ' ground and reason of the former. 
 
 ' It is true, they were the children of Abraham ac- 
 
 * cording to the flesh ; but, on that account, they can 
 ' have no other privilege than Abraham had in the flesh 
 
 * himself ; and this was, as we have shewed, that he 
 
 * should be set apart as a special channel, through whose 
 ' loins God would derive the promised seed into the 
 ' world. The former carnal privilege of Abraham 
 ' and his posterity, expired on the grounds before men- 
 
 * tioned ; having answered its end, the ordinances oi." 
 *• worship which were suited thereunto, did vnecessarily 
 *• cease also ; and this cast the Jews into great perplexi- 
 *• ties, and/proved the last trial that God made of them. 
 ' For whereas both these, namely, the carnal and spiri- 
 ' tual privileges of Abraham's covenant, had been car- 
 ^ ried on together ia a mixed way for many generations, 
 
 M 
 
90 THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, 
 
 ' coming now to be separated, and a trial to be made 
 ' who of the Jews had interest in both, who in one on- 
 'ij ; those who had only the carnal privilege of being 
 ' children of Abraham according to the flesh, contend- 
 ' ed for a share, on that single account, in the other 
 ' also, that is, in all the promises annexed to the cove- 
 
 * nant. But the foundation of their plea was taken 
 
 * away, and the church unto which the promises be- 
 ' long, remained with them that were heirs of Abra- 
 ' ham's faith only. Tlie church unto whom all the 
 ' spiritual promises belong, are only those who are heirs 
 ' of Abraham's faith, believing as he did, and thereby 
 ' interested in his covenant.' 
 
 Such we*e the sentiments of the venerable Owen, re- 
 specting the Abrahamic covenant. It is true, he was a 
 Pedo-baptist in principle ; but he is here writing with- 
 out any view to that much controverted subject. And 
 it so happens, that, in the course of the illustration of 
 the subject he had in hand, he lays down principles 
 vihich are certainly right and incontrovertible in them- 
 selves, and which to me appear utterly incompatible 
 with the tenets which even /le himself must have held as 
 a Pedo-baptist. How then, it will perhaps be asked, 
 how did it happen, that such a man as Dr Owen 
 could be so inconsistent with himself? How could a 
 man of his discernment and integrity act so far be- 
 side himself, as to maintain principles which did not. 
 only differ, but which were positively opposite to 
 and destructive of each other ? To which I would, re- 
 ply, that Dr Owen, with all his learning an4 ability, 
 •was yet but a man ; and being only a man, he was 
 therefore fallible, and perhaps he never brought the two 
 ends of. his system together. It is well known too, 
 that he was a very scholastic divine, and human sys^ 
 
 i 
 
CARNAL AND SPIRITUAL. 91 
 
 terns, even in his writings, are not altogether out of the 
 question. And rfioreove^r, though he thought for him- 
 self on many subjects, I daVe say, as much as any man 
 either before or since, yet this was not the case uni- 
 versally. Might not popular preconceived notions 
 therefore, partiar investigations of truth, and the omis- 
 sion of weighing all the materials collected in an even 
 balance, to see whether or not they would tally, account 
 for the whole charge which can be brjjught against this 
 great and good man ? 
 
 But in this I speak solely for myself, without wish- 
 ing . to urge my opinions as a standard for my bre- 
 thren. All that I ask, is liberty to think for myself, 
 and to express myself according to my own conviction ; 
 a freedom, I am sure, I withhold from none. I must 
 therefore say, that there is something so simple, and so 
 satisfactory in the representation here given of the Abra- 
 hamic covenant, by Dr Owen, as really to cause me to 
 look with a suspicious eye upon any system that would 
 lay its votaries under a constraint to controvert it. Yea, 
 I would go further, and plainly confess, that if I cannot 
 hold Pedo'baptism and this view of the covenant consis- 
 tently at the same time, there would appear a greater 
 inconsistency in my view, yea, and a greater loss which 
 would not be compensated, to give up the latter for the 
 former, than the former for the latter. Yea, it is not 
 merely comparative loss or g(iin, but absolute right or 
 nvrongf that would be here at stake. If the doctrine 
 concerning the two seeds of Abraham here stated so 
 clearly both by Drs Macknight' and Owen from the 
 Scriptures of truth, must be given //p, in order to main- 
 tain infant-baptism^ I must confess, for my part, that it 
 would be giving up what I see to be the revesiled wilj^ 
 ^f God ; and therefore, instead of taking so un warrant- 
 
92 THE LITERAL SEED 
 
 able and dangerous, a step, I would abandon the otliw 
 as a crazy fabric of man*s own erection ; for it is im- 
 possible that his blessed word can contradict itself. 
 
 We might mention several other Pedo-baptist writers 
 as concurring with our views on this subject, when bap-* 
 tism is out of the question ; but without taking up our 
 time unnecessarily with references of this kind, we shall 
 rather go on to make a few remarks, j^rj/, upon the two 
 seeds in the Abrahamic covenant, and then^ in a more 
 general way, upon the whole. Remarks upon the lite- 
 ral seed of Abraham, will be the subject of our next 
 section. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Of the LITERAL Seed of Abraham. 
 
 JLN speaking of this subject, I would remark in \\\& 
 first place, that all the natural descendents of Abraham 
 were not included in the covenant which God made 
 with him. None but Isaac, as we have already remark- 
 ed, in the family of Abraham, and none but Jaccb in thr 
 family of Isaac, were included in the covenant, or, wliich 
 is the same thing, were children of the promise. Though 
 Abraham was himself a believer, this could not alter 
 the purposes of Jehovah, or endow Abraham with c? 
 
OF ABRAFiAM. ^^ 
 
 power to convey that right to any but to those for whom 
 it was prepared. All his other descendents, yea, and 
 the whole of his numerous household, were indeed cir- 
 cumcised. But this seems not to have been on the 
 ground that they were in the covenant, or heirs of the 
 promise, either spiritual or carnal, but because they 
 were of his family ; for it had been enjoined as a posi- 
 tive institution that every jnale in his house, seemingly 
 independent of any other consideration, whether of his 
 seed, or whether they were bond servants, or strangers 
 sojourning among them, should be circumcised. Thus 
 circumcision would mark out, as a sort of distinguish- 
 ing characteristic, all who belonged to the family of 
 Abraham. Nor was this, though apparently the literal 
 and priitiary idea of the ordinance, at all inconsistent 
 with its spiritual significations, any more khan the spiri- 
 tual use the apostle makes of the games among the an- 
 cient Greeks and Romans, when applied to divine sub- 
 jects. 
 
 The natural descendents of Abraham, strictly speak- 
 ing, comprise several people and nations. It was pre- 
 dicted that twelve princes should descend from Ishmael, 
 and that, though his hand should be against every man, 
 and every man's hand against him, yet he should dwell 
 in the presence of all his brethren. This has accord- 
 ingly come to pass ; and the peculiar manners of the 
 Hagarenes, Nabnthaans, Itiireans^ Arabs, Scenites, and 
 Saracensy though undesigned by themselves, bear the 
 most evident tokens of being the descende9ts of this an- 
 cient patriarch, and of course aiFord no slender evidence 
 to the truth of our holy religion *. 
 
 * See this subject treated at large by Bishop Newton on the 
 Prophecies, V-'ol. I. 
 
94 THE Li'tfiKAL SEED 
 
 What became of his descendents by Keturah, whether 
 they remained a people distinct by themselves, or were 
 incorporated with other nations, I am not prepared to 
 say * ; but if they were ,as prolific as the other bran- 
 ches of his family have proved, how astonishing be- 
 yond conception has tliat part of the promise been ac- 
 complished, that his seed should be as the dust of the 
 earth ! » 
 
 But it is with the descendents of Abraham in the 
 line of Isaac and of Jacob that we have chiefly here to 
 do. Tliej/ only were the children of the promise in the 
 strict sense of the word. And though there was a di- 
 vision in the family of the one, no such thing happened 
 in theJfamily of the other. Esau was separated from 
 Jacob because he \\ as not a child of the promise, and 
 erected a kingdom by himself. But Jacob had no less 
 than twelve sous, none of whom were excluded, but 
 honoured to be the twelve beads, as we have observed, 
 of the twelve tribes or families of Israel. It is the his- 
 to'ry of this people we are going to consider, and in do- 
 ing so, we would ^rj-f advert to the design of their se- 
 lection, first, from the rest of the nations at large, and 
 then from their brethren of the same family : I mean 
 from Ishmael and Esau. 
 
 We have already remarked, that this peculiarity of 
 separation first began in the calling of Abraham away 
 from his kindred and his father's house. The people 
 of the Chaldees, or Assyrians, among whom Abraham 
 dwelt, were idolaters by profession. But to this, Abra- 
 ham's father's family seems to have been an exception. 
 Nahor, who was either grand-father or brother to Abra- • 
 
 * Compare Gen. xxv. 1, 2, 3. with 1 Chron. i. 32, 33. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. S5. 
 
 ham, for there were two of that name *, was evidentl/ 
 3 worshipper of the true God, for the God of Abraham, 
 subsequent to the period of his calling, is also styled. 
 the God of Nahor. 
 
 Abraham thus called, might have returned whence 
 he came if he had chosen, for there was opportunity af- 
 forded him f ; but knowing too well the designs for 
 which he had been called, he durst not avail himself of 
 such a circumstance, without both fffending and defeat- 
 ing the purposes of Jehovah. He remained therefore a 
 stranger in a strange land. And the Lord blessed him, 
 and gave him a posterity, the destination of whom lie 
 was careful to secure before his death. Ishmael, and 
 his sons by Keturah he sent aivay %vhile he yet lived %; but 
 all his goods and his riches, both in men-servants and 
 maid-servants, in silver, and gold, and cattle, were com- 
 mitted to Isaac as their rightful heir ; so that he was not 
 only an heir of promises yet far distant, but the im-. 
 mediate possessor of the whole of his father's substance. 
 
 Of him Esau and Jacob sprung. But as it has been. 
 observed, the purpose of God designed that tbe elder 
 should serve the younger, that the birth-right and the 
 blessing should both be entailed upon Jacob, and that 
 his family and not his brother's, should be the line to 
 which the promises belonged. 
 
 Jacob had twelve sons, eight by the two daughters of 
 Laban, Leah and Rachel, who were lawfully connected 
 with him in marriage, and four by his two concubines, 
 
 * In the genealogy recorded in the xi. chap, of Gen. the first 
 Nahor is the son of Serug, the second, son of Terab, father hke- 
 wise of Abraham and Haran. It then runs thus, Serug the father 
 of Nahor ; Nahor the father of Terah, and Terah the father of 
 Abratn, Nahor and Haran, i» 
 
 t Heb.xi. 15. % Gen.xxv. 6. 
 
06 THE LITERAL SEED 
 
 Bilhah and Zilpah, who were the maids of his two 
 wives*. 
 
 The sons of Jacob, though all equally included in the 
 promises, were not, however, all on a level, as it res- 
 pected the genuineness and morality of their character. 
 It is well known that Reuben - and Judah were both 
 guilty of incest, and that all the brethren, Benjamin 
 excepted, hated poor Joseph, and '* could not speak peace- 
 ably to him f ," for no other reason than that, because 
 the Lord was with him. 
 
 By a variety of singular turns of providence, they were 
 led into Egypt — there oppressed for a long season — de- 
 
 * The following Table of Jacob's family, it is conceived, mav 
 be useful to some readers. 
 The children which Leah bare, wers 
 
 1 Reuben, 
 
 2 Simeon, 
 
 3 Levi, 
 
 4 Judah, 
 
 9. Issachar, 
 
 10 Zebulun, and also a daughter whose name wii Dii;a!., 
 Those of Rachel, were 
 
 11 Joseph, 
 
 12 Benjamin. 
 
 Those of Bilhah, Rachel'' s maid, were 
 
 5 Dan, 
 
 G Naphtali. 
 
 Those of Zilpah, Leah's maid, were 
 
 7 Gad, 
 
 8 Asher. 
 
 Excepting Benjamin, whose birth is mentioned chap. xxxv. IS. 
 the rest are all to be found in the end of the xxix. and xxx. chap, 
 as having taken place before they left Laban. From the above 
 statement, the reader will also perceive the propriety of that ob- 
 servation of old Jacob when he was a dying, •' Simeon and Levi 
 are brethren,^* ficc. xlix. 5. xliii. 30. 
 
 t Gen. xxvii. 4. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 97 
 
 livered from rt — conducted through the wilderness— 
 and at last put in possession of the promised land. 
 
 With respect to nations^ God generally deals with 
 them in their national capacity, even in this life ; bles- 
 sing or punishing them according to their deserts. It 
 was thus that he punished the old woild, the cities of 
 the plain, overturned successively the great empires 
 which held all the nations in subjection, threatened the 
 destruction of Nineveh, gave the Jews a settiem^^nt in 
 the land of Canaan, and at last cast them out. When 
 the promise of that land was first uttered, it was inti- 
 mated that four hundred years must elapse ere it could 
 be accomplished ; aad this was given as a reason, that 
 the " iniquity of tl>e Amorites is not yet full *." But 
 that the Jews, though professors ®f the worship of the 
 only true God, might not glory over these idolatrous 
 and wicked nations, they were positively informed, that 
 if they should be guilty of like crimes, the land would 
 also vomit them out, as it had done its former inhabi- 
 tants f. 
 
 The way in which God has blessed or punished na- 
 tions, has generally been by sending peace and plenty 
 among them ; or by visiting them with war, pestilence 
 and famine, which overturned, depopulated, humbled, 
 and brought them to their senses. All these instru- 
 ments were employed in delivering his people from 
 Egypt, in preserving them in the wilderness, and in 
 giving thejm an establishment in the promised land. 
 
 * Gen. XV, 16. 
 
 f In illustration of this fact, see what Bishop Newton says res- 
 pecting the curse denounced upon Ca«aa«, the sohof Noah, and 
 father of the Canaanites. It refers as much to the conduct of that 
 people, (for they were to be a cursed people) as to the punishment 
 'Consequent thereupon, Vol. I. 
 
 N 
 
09 THE LITERAL SEED 
 
 The* nations were so sensible that there was some-» 
 tiling more than human in all this, that even the hard- 
 ened Pharaoh was forced to acknowledge the finger of 
 God, and many of the other nations compelled to apply 
 to their imaginary deities to protect them from the arm 
 of the Lord of Hosts. And to keep the Israelites them- 
 selves in their proper situation, duly were they remind- 
 ed that it was not by their sword, or their bow, or any 
 might of their own, that they had obtained their victories. 
 
 Never to any nation had the Lord dealt as to that of 
 Israel. And all that he had promised to Abraham the 
 founder of it, he accomplished ; and the accomplishment 
 was so wonderful, as must have struck the beholders with 
 admiration. He had indeed promised to be their God: 
 but little did they know, perhaps, that he was to dwell 
 among them by symbols of his visible presence, and 
 that the ark of his testimony, which was afterwards 
 erected, was to be such a manifestation of his power 
 and glory. The words of Moses as applied to the 
 Israelites shortly before their crossing of the Jordan^ 
 are astonishingly applicable to them as a nation through- 
 out the whole of the period they were united in that 
 capacity. *' Remember the days of old, consider the 
 years of many generations : ask thy father and-he will 
 shew thee, thy elders and they will tell thee : When the ~> 
 Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,, 
 when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds 
 of the people according to the number of the children 
 of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob 
 is the lot of his inheritance. He found, him in a desert 
 land, and in a waste howling wilderness ; he led him 
 about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of 
 iiis eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth 
 over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings,' taketh 
 them^ beareth them on her wings ; so the Lord alone 
 
OF ABRAHAM. ^'9 
 
 .<Iid lead hin"v, and there was no strange god with hiin. 
 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that 
 he might eat the increase of the fields, and he made 
 him to suck, honey out of the rock, and oil out of the 
 flinty rock. Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with 
 fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, 
 ivith the fat of kidneys of wheat, and thou didst drink 
 the pure blood of the grape *." 
 
 To a people thus blessed and honoured -by their Ma- 
 ker, it was but a natural expression of their love, that 
 they should in their turn honour and reverence him. 
 God, by becoming their God, constituted them his peo- 
 ple i and that they might know what kind of reverence 
 was due to so glorious a Majesty, he promulgated to 
 them his laws. 
 
 It has been thought by some, that the law delivered 
 at Sinai demanded nothing more than external obedience, 
 and that if this had been only adhered to, they should 
 not only have secured, on the part of God, a perfor- 
 mance of all the promises, but that he, demanding no- 
 thing more, would be perfectly satisfied with such ex- 
 terior worship and obedience. To us, however, it ap- 
 pears in a very different liglit. We even question if 
 ever such obedience was required by God at any pe- 
 riod, or on any occasion, of any of his moral creatures. 
 What, for instance, could be more carnal or external- in 
 its nature, than the obedience of a servant to his mas- 
 ter ? But that even this was not to be a mere bodily 
 service, but to flow from the heart, and to be done, not 
 as to men, but to the Lord, is abundantly evident from 
 Scripture. And tims extensive and spiritual, and de- 
 manding nothing less than the homage of the heart;, 
 should we consider the whole of God's commandmenls. 
 When, therefore, we speak of his promulgating laws, 
 * Deut. xxKii. 7, — 14. 
 
100 THE LITERAL SEED 
 
 we do not suppose that those laws were designed to re- 
 gulate merely their conduct in life, while the principles 
 of the heart were left out of the question. To love the 
 Lord their God with all their heart, and soul, and 
 strength, and mind, this was the first and great com- 
 inandme:it. And that, God has an indisputable claim 
 upon all his intelligent, and therefore accountable crea- 
 tures, for such worship and reverence, is abundantly 
 clear from the nature of the thing. If he created and 
 supports them, and if he had no other reason for his so 
 doing but his own glory, this would not only be the 
 least thing that they could do, but to act otherwise 
 would be defeating the very eud for which they wer^ 
 made. 
 
 But he had still a higher claim upon the people of 
 Israel. He had not only selected them to be /«'/, in the 
 covenant he gave to Abraham, but he had delivered 
 them from the land of Egypt, and from the house of 
 bondage. He had signified also his designs to cast out 
 the nations before them, and to give them fields which 
 they sowed not, vine-yards, and olive-yards, and or- 
 chards which they planted not, cities which they built 
 not, wells which they digged not, houses filled with all 
 good things, a land flowing with milk and honey, and in 
 •which they might drink, abundantly the pure blood of 
 the grape. Surely then, love and gratitude to so migh- 
 ty a Deliverer, so kind a Benefactor, were but the na- 
 tural returns of sensibility and reason, on the part of 
 the receivers ; and whether therefore they were so in- 
 genuous as to render them or not, their duty was the 
 same, and their guilt a thousand-fold aggravated, in case 
 of non-performance. 
 
 Affain, God was not only to be the God of the natioa 
 of Israel, but he was to be their King. As a king, he 
 enacted laws, appointed judges to carry them into ef«. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 101 
 
 feet, and could always be consulted, and his mind ob- 
 tained hj the Shechznah, or visible representation of his. 
 glorious presence, which he had placed among them. 
 
 Thus were they as a nation more complete in them- 
 selves than any other nation of the earth. Their seeking 
 to be conformed to others therefore, either in regard of the 
 object of their worship, or of the power b^- which they 
 were to be regulated and governed, were crimes the 
 raost heinous in their nature of which they could be 
 guilty. This would have been in effect denying the 
 Lord who had redeemed them, and calling in question 
 his right to prescribe such laws and statutes, as, in his 
 own infinite wisdom, he saw to be best. On this basis, 
 therefore, lay tlie great controversy between God and 
 that nation. As the whole world had been given to 
 idoUtry, and had changed the glory of the incorruptible 
 God irlo an image made like to corruptible man, and to 
 winged fowls, and quadrupeds, and crawling reptiles * ; 
 the commuaicatiou which Israel had with other nations, 
 and the savne natural depravity of heart, made them ea- 
 ger to learn their ways. Not satisfied therefore with 
 the Lord's own appointments, to choose him for their God 
 and their King^ they must needs have gods of their own 
 invention, and kings from among themselves^ \ik.Q the 
 other nations of the earth. 
 
 Often, therefore, was that nation sunk into so dismal 
 a state by their propensity to these sins, that it was dif- 
 ficult to find almost any true and spiritual worshippers 
 among them. And often were their prophets commis- 
 sioned with the most doleful tidings, that the Lord had 
 seen their wickedness, and behold it was worse than 
 Sodom ; and that therefore he would root up, and ex- 
 ternuuate them from the land, that they might know 
 
 * Rom. i. 23, 
 
102 THE LITERAL SEE1> 
 
 and be confounded, and never open their mouHh any 
 more, because of their shame and their iniquity ' 
 
 Hence their repeated wars, their subjugations hy ottit:r 
 nations, and tJieir consequent captivities. It was decla- 
 red in the laws of the Lord, that the man that doeth them 
 should live by them. And accordingly, when the whole 
 nation had avouched the Lord to be their God, as he 
 had done them to be his people, and were careful to 
 walk in all the commandments, statutes, and ordinances 
 which he had given them, the peace and prosperity of 
 .the whole nation in such seasons of obedience, is very 
 remarkable. Instances of this will be found in the 
 times of the judges, and of the piojus kings of Judah ; 
 the former being careful to walk in the ways which the 
 Lord had directed ; the latter, to correct the abuses into 
 which the people had run, and to re-establish that an- 
 cient worship from which they had swerved. And thifs it 
 was, even with the whole nation, when the administra- 
 tion of justice and judgment were observed by tlie 
 kings, princes, and governors of the land, even tliough 
 at no period can it be reasonably supposed that the heart 
 of every individual was right with God, A fact this, 
 which cannot be controverted, and which tends much to 
 shew in what light Israel, as a nation, were the people 
 of the Lord, and how the blessings he had promised 
 were to be secured to them in their national capacity. 
 
 When thus speaking of their distinction, as a nation, 
 from the other nations of the world, it is necessary to 
 be observed, that they were never allowed to conform 
 to others, but that others sojourning among them, beho- 
 ved necessarily to conform to. them, <* else there could 
 be no intercourse between them. Nor did such permis- 
 sion extend further than to individuals, and that to thos^ 
 
 * See the whole of the prophecies of Ezekitl, particularly «h. 
 Kvi. and the prophecies in general. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 103 
 
 «n]y sojourning in their own land ; for supposing that 
 whole nations had wished to have formed an alliance 
 with Israel, and to have become one with them, the 
 people of Israel, for very important reasons which we 
 shall presently notice, were not at liberty to form any 
 such alliances *. ,* 
 
 * This was an error into v/hich ?ome of the Jews ran however, 
 as we learn from Josephus, Jewish Antiq. B. XIII. c. ix. § 1. and 
 
 X. § 3. We conceive the following observations on this subject 
 
 by Mr Pirie, to be exceedingly just. Speaking of the difference 
 between the Old and New Testament states of the church, he 
 asks, wherein did it consist ? * This deserves particular attention,' 
 he says. ' The Gentiles, we have seen, were admitted to both ; 
 ' but not on the sam^ footing. The civil polity, or law of the 
 
 * state, did not admit Gentiles to become naturalized subjects of 
 
 * the Jewish commonwealth. Canaan, by the kw, was divided 
 
 * among the tribes of Israel, according to their families, and what- 
 
 * ever portion of the land was assigned by lot to a family, it was 
 ' hereditary to that family, so that it could not be alienated, even 
 
 * to a brother Jev/, but for a time ; much less could it become the 
 ' property of a stranger for ever, or even for a single day, Gen- 
 ' tiles then could only be admitted among Israel in the character 
 " of strangers and sojourners, incapable of being fellow-heirs, or of 
 ' holding landed property among them. Servants they might be, 
 ' according to the law, or they might trade with the Jews occa- 
 ' sionally, but brethren they trould not be. So high, so strong was 
 
 * the wall of, partition reared by the political law of that nation' 
 
 * between Jev/s and Gentiles,' — See his Letters to Mr M'Lean, 
 p. 92. 
 
 These observatipn?, as wa have already noticed, v;e conceive to 
 be just ; but we cannot avoid here detecting a principle held by 
 Mr P. which is not only incompatible with his sentiments as given 
 above, but which it is impossible to understand what he really 
 means by it. He says, in the first place, that the land of Canaan 
 was never promised nor designed for any but the believing seed of 
 Abraham. Then he maintains, that Gentiles were never admitted 
 into church fellowship with the Jews, but upon the profession of 
 their faith, which, by consequence, must have entitleci them to be 
 reckoned among the number of this spiritual seed. And yet, after 
 
lO* THE LITERAL SEED 
 
 But ive mentioned, that in speaking of the natural 
 seed of Abraham, to whom the promises belonged, it 
 was necessary to distinguish, not merely betweeii them 
 and the other nations of the world, but belween them 
 and their brethren, who, though of the same family^ 
 had neither right nor title to the same privileges. Both 
 Ishmael and Esau, though descendents of Abraham 
 equally with Isaac and Jacob, were not however inclu- 
 ded among the people whom the Lord chose for him- 
 self; and therefore, being separated, they became fouiid- 
 lers of nations distinct by themselves. The Ishmaelites 
 or Midianites, as they aie sometimes called in Scrip- 
 ture *, or Arabs, Sce-iites, Saracens, &lc. as we find 
 them denominated in after times-^-a most numerous 
 and powerful people, were the descendents of Ish- 
 mael. And as for Esau, he was also the founder of a 
 nation, namely, the kingdom of EJom. The Edomites 
 were also numerous and powerful, but though they ma- 
 nifested their enmity to their brethren the Israelites, 
 they were not able to prevail ; so that in them, the an-, 
 cient prediction, that the elder should serve the younger, 
 was accomplished in their final subjugation by the Is- 
 raelltish arms^ 
 
 And as for the other children which Abraham had by 
 Keturah, though we cannot affirm that they became a 
 people distinct by themselves, certain we are that they 
 were separated from the seed to which the promise be- 
 all, we find him here declaring, as facts obliged him to do, that 
 these spiritual children of Abraham were incapacitated, evidently 
 on account of their not being related to him according to the fleshy 
 though they were hy'faith, ' to hold landed property in Canaan for 
 a single day.' Thus loose, inconsistent, inexplicable I is Mr Firie's 
 theory on this subject. — See the whol'? of his re asoning on article 4* 
 of his 5th Letter, and indeed his work throughout. 
 
 * Gen. xxxvii. 28. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 105 
 
 longed, even from the beginning ; and we have every 
 reason to believe that what was thus done by the sanc- 
 tion of Abraham, would be scrupulously adhered to by 
 his after desceridents. 
 
 In contemplating the many thousand d,escendents of 
 Abraham, as many, or more perhaps, by those who 
 were never in the covenant, by Ishmael, and Esau, and 
 his six sons by Keturah, as by those who were in it; it 
 is gloomy and even contradictory to think, accor(Jing to 
 the common interpretation, of the covenant, being the 
 covenant of grace, (we mean in the sense of which we 
 are speaking), and of course devoting to eternal per- 
 dition all who were not within its bounds, and saving^ 
 as it necessarily must do, all who were, however 
 wicked and profligate as we have seen the lives of some 
 of them to have been. But there are contrary facts in 
 existence, which, when only known, would lead any re- 
 flecting mind to question all such interpretations, and all 
 such systems as are built upon them. Jethro, Moses' 
 father-in-law, who was a Midianitish priest, doubtless 
 was a wise and good man, and one who feared the Lord, 
 though he was not in the line of those ^vho were reck- 
 oned in the covenant*. It is very probable that he was 
 
 * Here, I doubt not bv:t some will be ready to cry out — a thing 
 not uncomrvon in the present day — ' Did you ever hear such ig- 
 *. norance ? He seems to be entirely unacquainted with his sub- 
 
 * ject I Do ive maintain that no person could be saved, but such as 
 
 * were in reality within the precincts of the Jewish church ?' To 
 which I would reply — Ignorant of what you may really iL>ish to be 
 «t, I humbly confess myself to be ; but of what are the fair and 
 legitimate consequences of your^riticiples, I absolutely deny that this 
 is the case. I do not say that you assert, in so many words, that 
 none but such as were in the Jewish church could be saved. But 
 don't you assert, that the covenant which was given to Abraham, 
 and to them through him, to be the covenant of grace ? And have 
 we not already proved, that neither Ishmael, nor Abraham's sons 
 by Keturah, nor yet Esau, nor any of their de?cendents, had any 
 
 o 
 
106 THE LITERAL SEE© 
 
 a descendcnt of Abraham ; for as the Ishmaelltes were 
 called Midianites in the passage already alluded to *, 
 and as the Midianites must therefore have descended, 
 either from Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar, or 
 from Midian, one of his sons by Keturah ; whichever 
 of them it might be, it proves that Jethro, provided he 
 was a Midian, as we know he was a priest among 
 them, was a descendent of Abraham ; and that though 
 in the line of those excluded from that covenant in the ac- 
 ceptation of which we speak, he was not excluded however 
 from what is, strictly speaking, the covenant of grace. 
 
 Job may be considered as another instance of the 
 same truth. It is generally supposed that he lived 
 prior to Moses ; but that it was subsequent to that of 
 Abraham, is pretty evident from the circumstance of 
 one of Job's friends, Bildad, being a Shuhite, evi- 
 dently a descendent of Shuah, one of Abraham's sons 
 by Keturah +. Who were the progenitors of Job, is 
 more than we can say ; but certain it is, that he was 
 not a descendent of Abraham in the line of Jacob, and 
 consequently not a child of the promise. Nor was he 
 a sojourner among them, but lived in the east country, 
 in that country to which Abraham sent the sons of the 
 concubines. Yet was he a spiritual worshipper of the 
 God of the whole earth ; and though not <^f that line 
 to whom the promises were given, yet was he not ex- 
 right or title to that covenant, at least in this sense ? Now if it be, 
 as you maintain, the covenant of grace, and restricted to one par- 
 ticular branch of Abraham's descendents, and if all the others were 
 cut off from having any interest thefein, it then follows of course, 
 that none couid be saved but the members of the covenant : —And 
 that it would save them infallibly, is as demonstrable as the other. 
 
 * Gen. xxxvii. 28. 
 
 I Job and his friends dwelt in the east, and thither it v/as that 
 Abraham sent his children, Gen. xxv. 6. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 107 
 
 *. luded from the blessings of eternal life, which he knew 
 and believed were to come through the Redeemer, Job 
 xix. 25. &LC. 
 
 Those descendents of Abraham who were not of the 
 promise, carrying with them the knowledge of the true 
 God, might preserve it ambng them for many genera- 
 tions, by which means thousands of them might be sa- 
 ved. Indeed, it is so gross to suppose that exclusion 
 from the promise of God to Abraham, as it respected 
 his family, or retention in it, was retention or exclusioa 
 from the family of God, as it respected their eternal 
 state, that it requires very little argument in order to 
 correct it. 
 
 This leads us again to repeat some of the reasons 
 why Abraham's family by Isaac and Jacob appears to 
 have been selected and distinguished, not only from the 
 nations in general, but from the numerous branches 
 which sprung from the same root. The distinguishing- 
 reason, we humbly apprehend, as indeed we have main- 
 tained all along, was the descent of the Messiah in that 
 particular line ; nor do we suppose that ever there 
 would have been any such selection, had it not bean for 
 the accomplishment of this grand event. There has no- 
 thing happened similar to il, either before or since ; and 
 the event has shewn, that though the Jews have remain- 
 ed, even to the present times, a distinct people, yet their 
 distinction is not of that kind which could now promote 
 the end for which they were at first set apart. They 
 are still distinguished as a people, it is true, but jum- 
 bled together as to tribes ; so that, supposing the Mes- 
 siah not to have come, it would be impossible now to 
 distinguish him in the ordinary, and of course the most 
 satisfactory way, when he does come. He was to come 
 of the tribe of Judah, and of the family of David ; 
 but, not to mention the predictions of the time^ as given 
 
108 THE LITERAL SEED 
 
 hy Daniel, even the familjr and the tribe can never be 
 ascertained as the accomplishment of prophecy, with- 
 out regular registers and records from the first to the 
 latest period. And if the Jews in the present day have 
 nothing of this kind to produce, it forms, in our opi- 
 nion, the strongest presumption that their Messiah has 
 indeed come, and that it is in vain for them to look for 
 another. Still, however, not to say much of the pro- 
 phecies of the time, we say, that down to the period ia 
 which we assert he did come, such registers and records 
 were regularly kept ; and whenever they came to fall 
 into disuse^ it was the clearest demonstration that Pro- 
 vidence had no more to do with them, and therefore 
 permitted them to fall to the ground, like the other pe- 
 culiarities of their system ; which, we say, were first 
 appointed for the sake of bringing forth the Messiah, 
 and received in general their completion by his ad- 
 vent. 
 
 As there are many things recorded of the natural de- 
 scendents of Abraham subsequent to this era, however, 
 s<j a word or two respecting these may not be improper. 
 The Scriptures say, that they were cast off because of un- 
 belief, but that when they shall turn to the Lord their 
 God, and worship him with a true heart, they shall be re- 
 ceived in again. But it is worthy to inquire, why do they 
 still remain a distinct people ? Why, though scattered 
 through so many different nations, who differ so much 
 from each other in customs, manners, and religion, &c. 
 do they yet differ from them all, and are one amongst 
 themselves, scattered as they are in all the regions of 
 the earth ? This fact is so striking, that you may knovir 
 a Jew to be a Jew in any region of the world ; for what 
 they are as to their distinguishing peculiarities in any 
 one place, that they are all the world over. Thus we 
 consider them, though not designing it themselves, as a 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 109 
 
 witness for God — as a standing testimony to the truth of 
 his gospel — a miracle daily performed, so to speak, in 
 the face of the whole world, which all the cavils of 
 scoffers and infidels will never be able to overturn. On 
 the same score of evidence, we may refer also to the de- 
 scendents of Abraham by Ishmael, the history of whom 
 well illustrates the accuracy with which the ancient pre- 
 dictions concerning them have been accomplished, as has 
 been both ably and clearly shewn by Bishop Newton on 
 the prophecies. 
 
 Thus have we finished what we intended to say re- 
 specting the natural seed of Abraham, In our next 
 section, we shall make a few remarks respecting liis spi- 
 ritual seed, or seed by faith. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 • Of the spiritual Seed of Abraham, 
 
 xjLs a spiritual seed is something entirely diftbrent from 
 a natural, it is necessary, in the first place, to shew in 
 what the difference consists, and to describe the manner 
 in which men are constituted spiritual. Here then it 
 ought to be observed, though indeed it be a truth ge- 
 nerally admitted, that all men are naturally on a le^^el 
 before God. The universal depravity of human nature 
 is a doctrine clearly taught in Scripture ; and certain 
 epithets are employed to distinguish those who are still 
 labouring under this native depravity, from such as 
 have been happily freed from it by the gospel of the 
 grace of God. The two great heads of these respective 
 bodies are distinguished from each other ; the one being 
 
HO THE SPIRITUAL SEED 
 
 Styled the earthly, the other the heavenly Adam *. And 
 in conformity to the heads, so are the members. They in 
 like manner partake of the 'nature of their respective 
 heads ; for those who are of the earthly man, are earth- 
 ly, and speak of the earth ; and those who are of the 
 heavenly, are heavenly, and have their conversation in 
 heaven, whence also they look for the Saviour f. 
 
 To constitute men partakers of the first natiure, it is 
 only necessary that they be born of men ; but to con- 
 stitute them partakers of the second, it is necessary that 
 they be born of God. 
 
 The change thus produced, in bringing men out of 
 darkness into God's marvellous light, is always accom- 
 panied with a belief of the truth. As Abraham belie- 
 ved in the Lord, and it was counted to him for righte- 
 ousness ; so they also believing in the same object, arc 
 hence counted Abraham's children, and their persons 
 are justified in like manner. To be believers of the truth 
 of God, therefore — to be born again — to be created 
 anew in Christ Jesus — to be justified, adopted, and sanc- 
 tified — are terms nearly of the same import, or insepa- 
 rable the one from the other, and all relate to one and 
 the same character. Such was the character of Abra- 
 ham as a spiritual parent, and such is the character of 
 liis spiritual children. 
 
 Abraham, by the grace of God, was enabled to ex- 
 ercise faith in a most remarkable manner j and God, 
 that he might put an honour upon his own work, con- 
 stituted him the father of all believers, from the begin- 
 ning to the end of the world. This situation, in its ori- 
 ginal appointment, has something very peculiar in it. 
 When his name was changed from Abram, which sig- 
 nifies a father by eminence, to Abraham, which denotes 
 the father of a multitude, this was assigned by Jeho- 
 * 1 Cor. XV. 45. + John iii. 31. Phil. iii. 20. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. Ill 
 
 vah as a reason, " For a Father of many nations I have 
 made (or constituted) thee," Gen. xvii. 5. The word 
 father^ in this passage, should not only be connected 
 with the change of the name, but with *3*nn3, which 
 our translators have rendered made^ and which properly 
 signifies to be constituted or ojjpointed to a particular 
 thing *. It thus denotes the sense in which Abraham 
 was the Father of many nations, and distinguishes be- 
 tween the relation in which he stands to them, and that 
 in which he stood to his natural posterity. The last 
 was a relation of an ordinary kind, and denoted no more, 
 even in Abraham, than what it does in any other human 
 character. The first however is far otherwise. Here 
 there is no relation by natural descent, nor any, but such 
 as flows from a similarity of internal principles and dis- 
 positions, and wlrich can be alone produced by the power 
 of the truth upon the mind. Hence, that very truth 
 which Abraham believed, is said to beget others to a 
 belief of it likewise ; and on this account, all believers 
 being the children of faith, and begotten of the truth, 
 Abraham is styled their father f. It is an appointment 
 
 * Macknight says, * In the Hebrew it is Nathattecba, — Bedi te, 
 — I ha've given thee. LXX. rt^unct ai,—posui te—I have placed or 
 constituted thee.' And we find Parkhurst also giving the same sig- 
 nification to the word, as it occurs in other places, though he has 
 np remarks on it in this passage. 
 
 t See this connexion between Abraham as a spiritual father, and 
 believers as his spiritual children, most explicitly .stated by Paul, 
 Gal. iii.G, 7. " Even as Abraham believed God, and it was ac- 
 counted to him for righteousness. Know j^e, therefore, that they 
 which are oi faith, the same are the children of Abraham." That 
 is to say, his spiritual children ; for the apostle cannot once be 
 supposed as denying the relation which subsisted at the same time 
 between Abraham and his natural descendents. But really this is 
 so evident, and so accordant with the principles of common sense, 
 that we never should think of making* the remark, if some in the 
 present day were not so foolish as to call it in question. 
 
y 
 
 112 THE SPIRITUAL SITED 
 
 or constitution of thi^ kind, and not natural descent that 
 the word ^^nna evidently means. 
 
 In regard to the extent of this appointment, it i? said, 
 that he wis to be made the Father of many nations. But 
 that the word many Vas not to be limited, as signifying 
 only z part, the apostle puts beyond a doubt, when he 
 declares that Abraham had a pj:'omise that he should be 
 "heir of the •whole world, Rom.iv. 13. When God de- 
 vised the scheme of salvation by the mission of his Sou 
 into the world, he said, *' It is but a light thing that h? 
 should redeem his people Israel, but that he should be 
 for salvation to the ends of all the earth." He had ac- 
 cordingly *' the heathen given him for an inheritance, and 
 the uttermost ends of the earth for a possession," Psal. ii. 
 And still, in conformity to this design, Christ himself 
 commissioned his apostles to go into all the tuorldy and 
 preach the gospel to every cxt^inxt. 
 
 Thus, though salvation was of the Jews, blessed be 
 God, it was at no period of the world entirely confined 
 to them. Being free as the air we breathe, and bright 
 as a morning without clouds, it was not to be monopq- 
 lized by them, or any other who should receive it, but 
 diffused abroad as a common interest, a gladening mes- 
 sage sent to the nations, in which all are equally con- 
 cerned, and from the blessings of which, even the most 
 guilty and hell -deserving are not excluded. 
 
 The means of salvation, it is true,' for a long season, 
 were in a manner confined to Israel ; but, in contem- 
 plating the spiritual Israel, we must extend our thoughts 
 beyond the boundaries of that nation, and include all 
 the true worshippers of God throughout the whole 
 world from the beginning to the end. In the antedilu- 
 vian age, there were many who believed in the promi- 
 sed Saviour ; and Jude* relates a prediction of Enoch., 
 
 * Chap. v. 14. 
 
OF ABRAHAM* 113 
 
 from ■which it appears that they even understood the 
 doctrine of a judgment to come. Believers in that age 
 were distinguished by several remarkable characters. 
 It is said of Abel, that he sacrificed in faith* ; and when 
 Enos was born, that mefi be^an to call upon the name oj 
 the Lord\. And of Etioch it is said, that he walked 
 with God ; and of Noah^ that he was a just man, and 
 perfect in his generation J. There is nothing in the 
 Mosaic account of that period said respecting the num- 
 ber of God's spiritual worshippers ; but considering 
 that the epoch itself extended nearly to two thousand 
 vears, and that the lives of men were so exceedingly 
 prolonged as to afford them much opportunity to propa- 
 ga^ the truth, tliey would perhaps make greater ad- 
 vances in this respect than we are aware of. Biit if 
 truth sjiread, we know that so did corruption, add that 
 to such a degree, that a holy and righteous God, bur- 
 dened, as it were, by the wickedness of his, creatures, 
 determined to cast off that burden, by destroying them 
 all with a flood. Though Noah and his family were 
 the only persons preserved from this dreadful catastro- 
 phe, I hardly think it probable that there were no other 
 spiritual worshippers at that time besides him upon the 
 earth. Be this as it luay however, we may be assured 
 that Noah, who was a preacher of righteousness to the 
 old world, would be careful to lay the foundations of 
 the new world, so to speakj by commvmicating God's 
 purposes of grace, and of the world to come. And if 
 Noah was not the means of bringing a goodly number 
 to the knowledge of tiie truth, (considering tliat he li- 
 ved six hundred years previous to the flood, and three 
 hundred and fifty after it, and had that extraordinary 
 event to refer to), he must have been one of the most 
 *Pk'b. xi.-3, t Gen. iv. 26. t Gen. vi. 9. 
 
 P 
 
ll* THE SPIRITUAL SKi-D 
 
 unsuccessful preachers ever divinely commissioned. Xn 
 regard to the more immediate descendents of this patii- 
 arch, it appears beyond a doubt, that the fear of the 
 Lord was in many of them. Eten many of tlie descen- 
 dents of Canaan^ who are generally considered as having 
 been all devoted to perdition, in consequence of the 
 curse pronounced upon their great predecessor Ham, 
 even many of them appear to have been by ho means 
 ^destitute of this principle. Compare the' genealogy of 
 Ham, Gen. x. with what is narrated respecting Abra- 
 ham and Abimelech, king of Gerar, chap. xx. And 
 let us not forget, that at this time even God himself 
 bears them witness, that they were not so profligate and 
 abandoned as what is generally imagined, by saying, 
 their iniquity is not yet full^ chap. xv. 16. 
 
 Again, in looking into these genealogies, we find that 
 £/z was a descendent of Shem, in the second generation. 
 Now this Uz. was no doubt the founder of that province 
 or country in the east, which went by the same name, 
 and in which the patriarch Job dwelt. But it ought to 
 be observed, that between Uz and Abraham, there were 
 no fewer than eight generations, and for the reason al- 
 ready adduced, Job must have been further distant 
 still. Supposing it then to have been ten or twelve ge- 
 nerations, that is to say, about the descent of Israel into 
 Canaan — a space, I suppose, of nearly six hundred years, 
 what views does it give us of the state of religion in 
 these places during that period ? Are we not assured that 
 Job was a man -who feared God and eschewed evil, and one 
 who was exceedingly careful to train up his children to 
 walk in the same paths ? Yea, does not the whole con- 
 troversy, which afterwards took place between Job and 
 his friends, not only evince that Job was not solitary, 
 but that they entered most deeply into the principles o^ 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 1 ^ '' 
 
 )(;ligion, and reasoned in a way even superior to what 
 many are capable of doing in the present day, notwith- 
 standing their superior advantages ? From these facts, 
 we would then observe, that if these were the elFects of 
 the oral instructions of those times, transmitted from 
 father to son, and if these blessed effects endured for so 
 many generations — still proceeding upon the same prni- 
 ciple, what countless numbers miglit have been thus 
 horn to the Saviour. 
 
 We noticed that the worship of the true God seems 
 also to have been preserved by that line of Shem's de- 
 scendents in which Abraham came ; for the God of A- 
 braham is likewise styled the God of Nahor. And for 
 the same purpose, we may refer to the account given in 
 the xxivth chapter of Genesis, respecting Abraham's 
 choosing a wife to his son. Principle, it should seem, 
 restrained him from seeking one among the daughters of 
 Canaan. He therefore sent to his father's house ; and, 
 lo ! when his servant came and related to them Iiis mes- 
 sage, we find him amongst a people who knew and ac- 
 knowledged the Lord, and who spoke in this manner, 
 yer. 50. " The thing proceedeth from Jehovah ; we 
 cannot speak unto thee, good or bad i" that is, we evi- 
 dently perceive the Lord's hand in it, and we cannot, 
 ''\\i: will not presume to gainsay him*. The sons of 
 
 * This statement of the piety of Abraham's ancestors, is gene- 
 lally thought to be contradicted by what Joshua says, chap. xxiv. 
 14, 15. when addressing- the elders of Israel. But as he speaks 
 not only of the strange gods which their fathers served on the 
 other side of the flood, but i?i Egypt, and by consequence subse- 
 quent to the calling and separation of Abraham, I hardly think it 
 fair to fix the attentiou solely on Abraham's pr^ge/ikors, and in a 
 general and sweeping manner, declaim against them all as super- 
 ,v/itious and filthy idolaters. It is a fact well known, that in those 
 tlays they had what were called teraphim, or household gods, a sort 
 •! iiTiages which were almost iu every family, and which are sup- 
 
116 THE SPIRITUAL SEED 
 
 Abraham by Keturah having been also favoured' with 
 similar privileges, they would hence carry tlie know- 
 ledge of the true God, and of his various transactions 
 with Abraham, and indeed of all the instructions they 
 had received, with them into the east, whither they 
 were sent. We find accordingly that one of Job's friends 
 was a Shuhite, evidently a descendent of Shuah, one of 
 the sons of Abraham thus dispersed ; and the same inay 
 be remarked concerning that excellent youth, Elihu. Hfe 
 was a Buzitc, a descendent of Buz, son of Nahor, bro- 
 ther to Abraham *. 
 
 This investigation, had we time to pursue it, would 
 not only be delightful in itself, but highly useful ; as it 
 would open to the mind one connected view of the fa- 
 mily of God, and shew how erroneously those judge, 
 who are for confining the whole knowledge of the true 
 God then existing amongst men, to the Israclitish na- 
 tion. But on this we cannot proceed further at pre- 
 sent. As it is with the Israelitish nation, we have chief- 
 ly to do in our reasonings with Pedo-baptists, we must 
 of course attend to this subject especially. 
 
 Two different principles, therefore, are here to be 
 noticed — the one, that all the uatural posterity of Abra- 
 ham, in the line of Jacob, were actually i« the cove- 
 nant — the other, that notwithstanding this, they were 
 not all spiritual : and by consequence, many who were 
 included in the covenant, in the literal sense, had no 
 
 poieJ to have derived their origin from the Shechinah, or Cheru- 
 birn, which the Lord himself placed at the east of the garden of 
 Eden, Gen. iii. 24-. That the use of these teraphim, may have 
 given rise to tlye idolatry which afterwards ensued, I sec no rea- 
 ^un to doubt; but that they were devised with the express view 
 oi worshipping the Lord by means thereof, I should presume, i^ 
 equally clear. SeeGcn.xxxi. 
 
 * Compare Jcbxxxii. 2. with Gen. xxii. 2L 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 11^ 
 
 manner of right to it, in the spiritual. How else caa 
 we account for these words of our Saviour, Matt. viii. 
 11,12. "That many shall come from the east and 
 west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and 
 Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven ; but the childien of 
 the kingdom shall he cast out i"' From which passage 
 two things are evident j the first, that the children of 
 the kingdom were the Je'tvs. For it is between them, 
 and the centurion who applied to Christ in behalf of 
 his servant who was sick of the palsy, that the con- 
 trast, in respect of their faith, is here made, as we learu 
 from verse 10th. The other circumstance equally ob- 
 vious, is, the exjpulsion even of these very children of 
 the kingdom. Now, the question comes to be, on what 
 account were they expelled ? To which we reply, it 
 was manifestly for their want of faith. " When Jesus 
 heard it," (the centurion's account of himself, namely), 
 " he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I 
 say unto you, 1 have not found so great faith, no, not in 
 Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come," 
 &.C. If then the Jews were really the children of the 
 kingdom, and were, for want of faith, excluded from a 
 participation of its blessedness in the world of glory, 
 does not this shew that the interest they had in it here 
 below, arose from some other source than that of per- 
 sonal conversion to God, and belief of the truth ? Here 
 they were positively *' the children of the kingdom ;" but 
 ihere^ " they shall be cast out into outer darkness, where 
 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." What then 
 was their situation here as the children of the kingdom, 
 when it shall fare so ill with them hereafter ? Whether 
 were they spiritual or carnal persons ? Whether were 
 they the children of the kingdom by faith in Christ Je- 
 sus, or merely by their natural descent from Abraham ? 
 ^t was by the last, most undoubtedly ; and for want of 
 
lis THE SPIRITUAL SEED 
 
 the other it was, that they could hot be admitted into 
 the kingdom of glory. Had they all been the spiritual 
 seed of Abraham, as they were his natural, they would 
 have been most assuredly as readily admitted into the 
 kingdom of heaven and of glory, as, by being his natu- 
 ral seed, they were into the kingdom which God esta- 
 blished upon earth with Abraham and his seed, till 
 Christ should come. Hence all those, even among the 
 jTeWs, who were related to Abraham, not merely in the 
 flesh, but in the spirit, had a place assigned them, not in 
 the kingdom of Israel, and land of Canac^n only, but in 
 that which both typified, and which was the grand and 
 ultimate object of their faith. So we read of the thou- 
 sands who were sealed out of every tribe, in the book of 
 the Revelation *. These' are the spiritual Israel, se- 
 lected from amongst the carnal ; and with these the 
 apostle John connects *' the multitude which no man 
 can number," the redeemed *' of all nations, and kin- 
 dreds, and people, and languages.'* 
 
 It is the whole family of God thus created anew in 
 Christ Jesus, the redeemed of all nations. Gentiles as 
 well as Jews, who are the seed of Abraham in the spi- 
 ritual sense of the word. And O what an exalted 
 view of the greatness and grandeur of this family are 
 we presented with in the Scriptures of truth I It was 
 but a light thing for the Saviour to redeem such of his 
 people as belonged to the Israelitish nation : he was to 
 be for salvation even to the ends of the earth. The 
 bulk' of the Jewish nation, far from regarding the salva- 
 tion even of their own souls, yet pluming themselves 
 on account of their external privileges, hence became 
 proud, self-conceited, censorious, and disposed to say to 
 others, "Stand by, for we are holier than thou." On this 
 account too, they would have no dealings with Sitmari- 
 '* C'l.ip. vii. 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 119 
 
 tans — counted sinners among the Gentiles as an unclean 
 thing — vehemently opposed their admission into the 
 kingdom of heaven, contradicting and blaspheming. 
 But God, who was found of others besides them, and 
 that not onlj before, bijt even after they had been se- 
 lected to be his peculiar people, such as Jethro and Job, 
 &.C. shewed his impartiality and his readiness to accept 
 all, in every nation, ''who fear him and work righteous- 
 ness," Acts X. 25. He gave therefore the severest check 
 to the bigotry of the Jews, first, by the reception of 
 Cornelius and his companions into the church, and af- 
 terwards by commissioning his servant Paul to go far 
 hence among the Gentiles^ and to preach the glad ti- 
 dings even unto them. When the Jews rejected the 
 doctrine of the apostles, counting themselves unworthy 
 of eternal life, as the Scripture expresseth it, they said, 
 *' Lo I wc turn to the Gentiles." To the Gentiles ac- 
 cordingly they did turn ; travelling far hence among 
 the nations, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of 
 God. And the eifect was, that though some mocked 
 and persecuted those heralds of the truth, yet others 
 received with meekness the ^ingrafted word, which was 
 able to save their souls. Disciples were converted, 
 churclkcs planted, ordinances instituted, apostolical in- 
 structions written, circulated, and designed to be trans- 
 mitted to posterity, when their authors should be gone j 
 • so that by these, though they be dead, they yet speak. 
 But gloriously as the truth triumphed in the aposto- 
 lic age, it was only an earnest of what should be in lat- 
 ter times. The first fruits of the Gentiles were then 
 admitted into the church ; but there was a whole har- 
 vest, or a fulness of them spoken of, to be reserved till 
 the time appointed of the Father, and with them, his 
 redeemed from among the tribes of Israel are also to be 
 gathered in. 
 
120 THE SPIRITUAL SEED 
 
 Hltlierto the gospel of the kingdom lias been pu- 
 blished but partially among the nations. But we live 
 in the triumphant expectation, that it shall yet be diffu- 
 sed, extending from sea to sea, and from the river to the 
 ends of the earth. Yea, our hearts exult within us, in 
 beholding the dawn of this glorious period beginning to 
 break forth. We behold, witli joy, men running to and 
 fro throughout the whole earth, and the knowledge of 
 the Lord encreased — the Scriptures translated into eve- 
 languagfe, so that men may read, every one in his own 
 tongue wherein he was born, the wonderful works of 
 God. — , 
 
 And it is by a steady perseverance in these means, that 
 we can rationally expect an accomplishment of the end. 
 Though both the latter-day glory, as it respects the na- 
 tions, and the in-gathering of the Jews, be equally the 
 subject of prophecy ; yet we shall err most egregiously 
 if we imagine, that in effecting either the one or the 
 other, they shall differ in any thing from what they re- 
 spectively were in the conversion of myriads, at the 
 first promulgation of tlie gospel. The doctrines of the 
 cross, which were a stumbling-block to the proud Jews, 
 and foolishness to the learned Greeks, were yet the 
 power of God unto salvation to every one that belie- 
 ved, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. And it is 
 by the same means still that a people are to be made 
 willing in the day of the Saviour's power. Truth alone . 
 is to be exhibited, and by Truth alone is he to subdue 
 the nations, and his people under him. 
 
 Thus must a spiritual or believing seed, whether 
 Jews or Gentiles, always have regard to the truth 
 which begets them ; and by the faith of wliich they 
 live, overcome the world, worship God in the spirit, 
 and rejoice in Christ Jesus ; by which also they are 
 
OF ABRAHAM. 121 
 
 justified, adopted, sanctified, and matured for eternal 
 
 glory- 
 
 Many, it is true, in every age, profess to be of the 
 truth, who nevertheless are not ; but these exceptions 
 make no difference in regard to the general rule, that 
 the spiritual children of Abraham are such only as 
 know God, and are known of him. Mere profession 
 here makes nothing to the purpose j for if any man 
 have not the same spirit of faith that Abraham had, he 
 can be none of his spiritual children. The whole elect, 
 indeed, in one sense, I mean as it regards the eternal 
 purposes of God, are the children of God. But as it 
 is also an undeniable truth that all men are born ene- 
 mies to God, and can never be admitted into his king- 
 dom of grace here, or of glory hereafter, till they are 
 converted or born again ; it must hence follow as a con- 
 sequence, that even God himself never recognizes any, 
 not even the elect whom he means to save, as his spiri- 
 tual children, till they are such in reality. And may 
 not this, by the way, correct all that has been said, both 
 by Baptists and Pedo-baptists, about what has been 
 styled elect infants ? What meaning can there be in the 
 term when applied to infants, to prove what either the 
 one or the other assert ? Because all the elect of God 
 were once infants ere they could be men, does this prove 
 that all infants are therefore elect ? Or, because some 
 of the elect may die in infancy, is this any thing like a 
 certain data that could authorize us to say, that there- 
 fore all dying in infancy are elect ? By no rules of right 
 reasoning will it be possible to assert either, nor yet to 
 deny as a general principle our position, that God re- 
 cognizes none as his spiritual children, till they really 
 are such. Even in the case of infants, the only case 
 pn which the contrary can be argued with any degree 
 
12'-^ GENERAL REMARKS 
 
 of plausibility, I have no doubt but that this takes 
 place even here. How easy is it with God, who hath 
 immediate access to the heart and mind of all his crea- 
 tures, and who can operate upon them in thousands of 
 ways altogether unknown to us, when,in the course of his 
 providence, the present transitory slate of any one whom 
 he means to save, should terminate the next moment af- 
 ter it is begun — how easy is it for him, we say, to pro- 
 duce a change in such a soul, and, from a mere child of 
 Adam, create it anew in Christ Jesus ? But though the 
 Lord may do this in one, two, or a thousand instances, 
 unless we have his word for it that he does it in every 
 case, it would be very daring in any to assert so *. 
 
 Having thus spoken of the distinction between the 
 carnal and spiritual seed of Abraham, and also in our 
 two last sections treated of each separately, we shall go 
 on in our next to make a few remarks upon the whole. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 General Remarks upon the foregoing Sections. 
 
 1. J.F the view we have given of the distinction be- 
 tween the carnal and spiritual seed of Abraham be 
 found to be correct, as I humbly conceive it will, we 
 will thence be furnished with materials to oppose to 
 that sentiment which some hold, namely, that there is 
 no more but one seed^ to- wit, the spiritual, ever recogni- 
 zed in the covenant with Abraham. It is granted in- 
 deed, that the apostle speaks of but one seed, in the 
 * See more on this subject, note, p. 3. 
 
UPON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 12?J 
 
 third chapter of his Epistle to the Galatians ; but if we 
 attend both to the very words he employs, and to the 
 scope and design of the passage, we shall see but little 
 jeason, I presume, for drawing any such conclusion as 
 xve have stated. 
 
 The important, and, I may add, principal object the 
 apostle has there in view, is to prove, in opposition to 
 the judaizing teachers, who maintained that the Gen- 
 tiles could not be saved, unless they were circumcised 
 and observed the law of Moses, the doctrine of justifi- 
 cation by faith. And this he does by a variety of ar- 
 guments in the beginning of the chapter ; and then pro- 
 ceeding to adduce the case of Abraham, and his spiri- 
 tual children, he says, ver. 6, 7. " Even as Abraham 
 believed God, and it was accounted to him for righte- 
 ousness. Know ye therefore, that they which are of 
 faith," whether Jews or Gentiles, " the same are the 
 •children of Abraham." But as this last sentence might 
 be considered as merely an assertion without proof, the 
 apostle goes on to shew the ground of it in that which 
 follows. " And the Scripture, foreseeing that God 
 would justify the heathen through faith, preached be- 
 fore the gospel unto Abraham, saying. In thee shall all 
 nations be blessed." On which passage, I would say 
 nothing more than quote Dr Macknight's commentary, 
 as I judge it to be fully in point. ' For God, the au- 
 ' thor of the Scriptures,' says he, ' having predetermi- 
 ' ned that he would justify the nations by faith, preach- 
 
 * ed the good news tp Abraham, before the law was 
 ' given, and even before Abraham was circumcised j 
 
 * saying. Gen. xii. 8. Surely in thee all the nations of the 
 
 * earth shall be blessed^ with the blessing of justification 
 
 * by faith. *' So then," as the apostle adds, *' they 
 
 * which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham," 
 — blegsed, not only with the promise of the life which 
 
124- GENERAL REMARK? 
 
 now is, but of that which is to come — with the bless- 
 ings of justification and eternal life, flowing to thenv, 
 though in themselves guilty and condemned criminals, 
 as believers of the divine record. 
 
 In the next verse *, he shews that the law could not 
 thus bless transgressors, but behoved to curse them ; and 
 then demonstrates from the Jewish Scrijjtures, that no 
 man can be justified by the law in the sight of God, 
 for those Scriptures declare, that the just by faith, and 
 they only, shall live, ver. 11. and Hab. ii. 4'. But, that 
 none might thence complain of the dispensations of 
 grace, as being calculated, in their nature, to frus- 
 trate good works, those very Scriptures, which declare 
 that the just by faith shall live, declare also, ver. 12. 
 that *' though the law be not of faith, yet the man that 
 doeth them shall live in them." If this obedience to 
 the law, however, be that spiritual, perfect, and person- 
 al obedience, requiring us to love the Lord our God, 
 with all our heart, and soul, and strength, and mind, 
 &.C. where is the individual, since the fall, who hath 
 ever conformed to these demands, or who is able, upon 
 the fair, just, and impartial rules of moral rectitude, to 
 expect justification in the sight of God ? As none can 
 thus perform the things contained in the law and live, 
 the doctrine suggested by the apostle in the next verse, 
 namely, the substitution and sacrifice of Christ in the 
 room of the guilty, is of universal and individual con- 
 cern. ** Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of 
 law, being made a curse for us ; for it is written, 
 (Deut. xxi. 23.) Cursed is every one that hangeth on a 
 tree." 
 
 * This deliverance Christ hath wrought,' says Dr 
 Macknight, * that the blessing of justification by faith, 
 * promised to Abraham, might come on the nations 
 * Ver. 10. 
 
UPON THS FOREGOING SECTIONS. 1*5 
 
 ' through Christ Jesus, Abraham's seed, (see ver'. 16.); 
 
 * and that ive Gentiles might receive the promised gifts of 
 
 * the Spirit through faith, as the evidence of our being 
 'justified by faith, and of our being the sons of God.* 
 Chap. iv. 5, 6, 7. 
 
 ' Brethren^ in confuting those who affirm that the 
 ' blessing of the nations in Abraham, and in his seed, is 
 ' to be accomplished by their conversion to Judaism, / 
 
 * speak according to the practice of men : No one setteth 
 ' asidey or altereth a ratified covenant, though it be but the 
 
 * covenant of a man *.' No one, that is to say, no neu- 
 tral person, setteth aside or altereth a ratified covenant. 
 This can be done by none save the contracting parties 
 themselves ; but if they should only will it, the same 
 power (namely, their will) by which they confirmed 
 the matter, can enable them to disannul it, but no other. 
 And this being the case, even in human covenants, how 
 much more must the immutability of God appear in 
 transactions which bear his signature ? 
 
 If then the promises of the covenant, concerning the 
 nations being blessed with justification by faith, were 
 declared and confirmed, long before the law of Moses 
 existed, that which came after could have no power ei- 
 ther to disannul, or to add to that of which it was not 
 a party. To suppose this, was to mistake the very de- 
 sign for which the law was given, and to put it in a 
 place it was never intended to occupy, and which must 
 of course frustrate the very end of its appointment. 
 The laiv nvas not against the promises of God, ver. 21. It 
 was only added to the promises, because of the people's 
 transgression, 19.; and appointed to serve as a peda- 
 gogue, or conductor of children, S*. — this being the 
 state of the Jews in that dispensation, chap. iv. 1, 2, 3. 
 till the seed should come to ivhom it was promised, chap, iii., 
 * Macknight in loc. 
 
126 GENERAL REMARKS 
 
 19, that all nations should be blessed in him. — An4 
 this seed being Christ, ver. 16. nuhom God sent forth in 
 the fulness of time, made of a nvomany made under the latu ; 
 for the express purpose of redeeming those who were un- 
 der the law, that they might receive the adoption of sons^ 
 ch. iv. 4,5 : — The law having thus served its design, can 
 have no longer place, not onlj over the Gentiles, of 
 whom, properly speaking, it never had a hold, but even 
 over the Jews, to whom it was given — They, the belie- 
 vers of them, being henceforth no longer servants, but 
 sons, sons arrived at the age of majority, and freed from 
 the government and tutorage of the law, and the ele- 
 ments of this world, under which, while minors, they 
 
 were kept in bondage Such we apprehend to be the 
 
 scope of the whole of the apostle's reasoning in this 
 passase. 
 
 The expression he employs, when speaking of the 
 seed of Abraham, to whom liTlevvise the promises were 
 made, is what we shall next attend to. As the apostle 
 says, ver. 16. " Now, to Abraham and his seed were 
 the promises made ; he saith not, and to seeds, as of 
 many ; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ ;" 
 some have asserted, that there was hence only one kind 
 of seed, to-v.it, the spiritual, ever recognized in the 
 Abrahamic covenant. To make out this however, as 
 the apostle seems to 'explain his own meaning by the 
 word Christ, in the end of the verse, they have found it 
 necessary to interpret that word as a collective noun in 
 ,this passage, as>a name here^used inclusive of his peo- 
 ple, the head being intended to express the whole body 
 connected with it, and 1 Cor. xii. 12. is considered as a 
 parallel passage, to which also reference is made*. 
 
 Now, all that I would say of such an interpretation, 
 as it concerns the passage in hand, is, that it is exceed.^ 
 * See Mr Wardlaw's Lccturee. 
 
 I 
 
UPON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. 127 
 
 ingly forced, and very much akin to" that which many 
 give of that noted passage in the xviiith of Matthew, 
 respecting the church. Some, because it is no part of 
 their system to consider the brethren at large as the 
 church, particularly in matters of discipline, have, in 
 the most forced, arbitrary, and unnatural manner, ex- 
 plained the word church there as implying only the of^^ 
 fice-bearers or rulers. And I conceive this to be pre- 
 cisely the case here ; for I do not believe that any one, 
 unless he hath some system of his own to support by 
 it, would ever betake himself- to such an interpretation. 
 I would therefore seriously ask, leaving such to be our 
 judges, if the following interpretation by Dr Mac- 
 knight be not only much more natural, but much more 
 agreeable to the design of the apostle ? He first says in 
 his translation, Now^ to Abrahatn nuere the promises spo~ 
 ketiy and to his seed. He doth not say^ And in seeds,, as 
 concerning manyy but as concerning one person, and in thy 
 teed,, who is Christ *. Then fqllows his commentary : 
 
 * Now, to Abraham were the promises made, that in 
 
 * hini all the families of the earth shall be blessed i and 
 
 * * Who is Christ, 'O5 iti Xg«s-«s. Here the apostle, regarding the 
 meaning rather than the form of the antecedent v'Tri^ftxti, hath pat 
 the relative pronoun «s in the masculine gender, notwithstanding 
 its antecedent is a neuter word. This change of the gender of 
 the relative the apostle hath made, pursuant to his affirmation, 
 that in the promise to bless all the nations of the earth in Abra- 
 ham's seed, God spake of one puerion only.' — Macknight. 
 
 This sense of the passage, to me, appears both so self-evident, 
 and so natural and easy, that I well recollect, that since ever I was 
 capable of thinking on it in the smallest, however confused my 
 ideas might have been in the main, this was the light in which it 
 struck my mind. And I am decidedly of opinion now, that to 
 give up a matter which has both reason and common sense so evi- 
 dently on its side, for the arbitrary and forced interpretations of 
 system-iaakers, would be as absurd a, it would be ridiculous. 
 
128 GENERAL REMARKS 
 
 * to his seed, that in it likewise all nations, the Jews not 
 ' excepted, shall be blessed. God doth not say, And in 
 ' seeds, as speaking concerning matiy, but as speaking 
 
 * concerning one person, he saith. And in thy seed ; the 
 
 * nations are to be blessed, not through the whole of 
 ' Abraham's seed, but through one of them only, who 
 
 * is Christ.' 
 
 Upon the whole, therefore, I have just to remark, 
 that, as the apostle is not here speaking of the distinc- 
 tion between the carnal and spiritual seed of Abraham, 
 but simply of the manner in which both Jews and Gen- 
 tiles are incorporated into the society of the latter, to- 
 wit, by faith in Christ Jesus ; so, this is not tlie place 
 to look for such distinction ; nor ycL can his silence on 
 it here be justly interpreted as a denial of it altogether, 
 particularly as it is so clearly revealed in other places. 
 
 Further, it has always struck my mind, as being ex- 
 ceedingly inconsistent for any to affirm, as those Pedo- 
 baptist writers certainly do, that none but the spiritual 
 were recognized in the covenant, and yet to include all 
 their natural offspring, w^ho, we are sure from Scrip- 
 ture, are not spiritual, but carnal ; being dead in tres- 
 passes and sins, and children of disobedience and of 
 wrath, even as others, Eph. ii. 1, 2, 3. But of this 
 more afterwards. 
 
 2. We would remark in the second place, that the 
 want of attending to the distinction betwj'.n the carnal 
 and spiritual seed in the covenant with Abraham, has 
 led many to adopt principles respecting the Christian 
 dispensation, which are altogether imfounded in the 
 Scriptures of truth. That the kingdom of Christ is not 
 of this world, is an undeniable fact ; but any system 
 which admits depraved and corrupt men into it the mo- 
 ment they are born, must needs connect it with this 
 world in the very nature of the thing. And whatever 
 
UPON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. .129 
 
 ^TBi^ba] shew of spirituality, some may think propet to 
 give it, still we know that it is a mere nonentity, if our 
 children, be they descended of whom they may^ in their 
 natural state, are to be regarded as subjects of this spi- 
 ritual kingdom. 
 
 But the connecting of the kingdoms of this world^ 
 with the kingdom of our blessed Lord, is not a subject 
 of speculation only, but one that has been acted upon 
 and avowed by many writers. This, this is the very 
 principle upon which the whole of Dr Taylor's treatise 
 on the Abrahamic covenant seems to go^ ^regarding 
 whole nations as Christian, after the introduction of 
 Christianity into them. And indeed it must be owned, 
 that this he does with a great deal more consistency 
 with himself^ though with equally as little with the 
 Scriptures, than his brethren, who are for maintaining 
 one part of his system, while they would deny the 
 other. 
 
 That writer, after a long paragraph ^ in which he enu- 
 merates a variety of the glorious and eternal blessings 
 of the covenant of grace, proceeds to speak thus re- 
 specting the actual reception and possession of them, by 
 the sinful children of men *. ' And all this blessedness 
 
 * our God and Father, of his mere grace, hath bestowed 
 
 * upon us freely and generously, as he hath given us 
 ' our breath and being, the light of the sun, and the 
 ' common accommodations of this present life. It is an, 
 ' entailed inheritance, which, by a solemn grant, he has 
 ' annexed to our being, and to which we have a right 
 ' as heirs to an entailed estate ; a right which, in itself, 
 ' comes to us clear, full and certain, by the free gift of 
 
 * God ; and therefore is the object of the strongest faith 
 
 * and assurance. It is our birthright, (Heb. xii. 16, 17.) 
 
 * Pag. 28. Edin. edit, 
 
 R 
 
130 GENERAL REMARKS 
 
 * to which wc and our children were born, and to which 
 ' we have a right as soon as born. For the gospel co- 
 
 * venant made with Abraham, was not only made with 
 
 * him, but also with his seed for ever. It was a grant 
 ' to him and his heirs, insomuch, that every one of his 
 
 * heirs had a virtual right, at the time when the grant 
 ' was made, and an actual right to the blessings of it, so 
 ' soon as they came into being. And therefore his heirs 
 
 * arc to be considered parties in the covenant as well as 
 
 * himself.' 
 
 He goes oi> to make a few reflections respecting the 
 capacity of infants to inherit such blessings ; but if the 
 fact indeed be as has been stated, he might have saved 
 himself the trouble, for who doubts the capacity of any 
 one to heir an entailed inheritance ? But while such 
 reasoning may satisfy some, who, while they are consi- 
 dering such a subject as this, think on nothing else but 
 how to support it, it is impossible that it can satisfy 
 others, who wish to embrace no doctrine of Scripture 
 in a detached manner, uor to hold any opinions which 
 subvert one another. And, that this is the case here, is 
 as evident as the light of day ; for while Dr Taylor, and 
 others, abettors of his system, maintain that the chil- 
 dren of believers are born heirs of God's covenant of 
 grace, and must, by consequence, be in a state of salva- 
 tion, where is room left for many undeniable doctrines 
 of Scripture, such as the universal depravity .of human 
 nature, the method of a sinner's acceptance with God, 
 the necessity of faith, repentance, regeneration, or the 
 new birth, and many others which we cannot name, far 
 less discuss in this place ? Now, while these doctrines 
 seem all to be discarded, as it respects the children of 
 believers at least, by the system we have mentioned, 
 and an hereditary and consequently national Christiani- 
 ty, put in their place ; how happily do we free our- 
 
UPON THE FOREGOING SECTIONS. JHl 
 
 selves of all these inconsistencies and errors, by such a 
 view of the subject as w^e have given ? We are here for 
 distinguishing between the things that differ. We are 
 not for calling a carnal seed spiritual, neither a spiritual 
 carnal ; but are for keeping them as distinct in our sys- 
 tem, as they are in their very nature, and as the Scrip- 
 tures represent them to be. 
 
 3. Our third remark is this, that, as we can assign a 
 most important reason why a carnal seed w^as ever in- 
 cluded in God's transactions with Abraham, namely, 
 that the Messiah might descend from him according to 
 the flesh ; and this having been accomplished, we think, 
 and we conceive we think with a good deal of reason, 
 that such a dispensation would cease of course. But it 
 remains with our brethren, who maintain a Very contra- 
 ry doctrine, and roundly assert that a carnal seed", (if we 
 dare venture to call the sinful and depraved offspring of 
 believers such), has not ceased, nor ever will cease to be 
 recognized as the Lord's peculiar people, equally under 
 the new,' as under the old dispensation ; it remains with 
 them, we say, to point out, if they are able, as impor- 
 tant an end to be yet answered by the retention of a 
 carnal seed, as that which it had during the time we 
 consider It to have been in force. And perhaps it may 
 assist them a little in this inquiry, if they would extend 
 their Investigations somewhat beyond the period of A- 
 braham, and see whether there was any thing like a 
 carnal seed ever recognized in the manner, till God re- 
 stricted the first promise within narrower limits than 
 ever It had been ; saying to Abraham, that in him, and 
 in his seed, meaning Christ, all the families of the earth 
 should be blessed. With us, it is a point of no small 
 Importance, that If there was never the like before, and 
 the reason for It then so very evident as we have seen, 
 and if th&re cannot be adduced some as impoftant and 
 
132 GENERAL REMARKS, Stc. 
 
 evident reason for it still, it is altogether unlikely that 
 a carnal seed has now any place in this covenant. 
 
 •i. But again, fourthly, though we are for distin- 
 guishing between the two seeds of Abraham, and are 
 of opinion that the carnal, having served its purpose, is 
 now no longer retained, we are far from supposing that 
 the covenant made with him and his seed, is therefore 
 dissolved. No ; by no means. That covenant, though 
 consisting of various parts, some of which, when once 
 fulfilled, must necessarily wax old, and vanish of course, 
 is still an everlasting covenant in the strictest sense of 
 tJie word, as it respects the spiritual seed, and the eter- 
 nal inheritance which shall be made sure to that seed. 
 This part of the covenant, is that new and better cove- 
 nant, as Paul calls it, established upon better promises 
 than the old and faulty cov^enant of Horcb ; and where- 
 in, God willing more abundantly to shew unto these 
 spiritual heirs of promise the immutability of his coun- 
 sel, confirmed it by' an oath. So that by two immuta- 
 ble things, the promise and the oath, in which it was 
 impossible for God to lie, we might have strong conso- 
 lation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope 
 set before us, the hope of an inheritance eternal in the 
 heavens ; which hope we have as an anchor of the 
 soul, both sure and stedfast ; and which entereth into 
 that which is within the veil, whither the Forerunner i-j 
 for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever, 
 after the order of Melchisedec *. 
 
 Having thus treated of the persons included in the 
 covenant, we come now to thie third general branch of 
 our subject — namely, iht privileges to which they liad z. 
 right by their interest therein. 
 
 * Heb. viii. 6, 7. &. vi. 17,— -20. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE COVENAM,, 
 
 -L HE seed of Abraham, included in the covenant, be- 
 ing two-fold in its nature, namely, carnal and spiritual^ 
 and the blessings two-fold likewise, they would accord- 
 ingly be actually enjoyed by all within its bonds in ex- 
 act correspondence to the particular situation they held 
 therein. If spiritual, they would no doubt enjoy the 
 rich provision of spiritual blessings therein bequeathed, 
 in addition to the good things of this life ; but if only 
 carnal, higher enjoyments than such as were of a carnal 
 nature they could not possess. That w^e may therefor-e 
 preserve ourselves from confusion, we shall treat these 
 two kinds of privileges separately. — We shall accord- 
 ingly begin with the last first. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Of the privileges enjoyed btj t}\e cara'AL ^eed. 
 
 Isaac was the only child of promise in the family of 
 Abraham, and Jacob in that of Isaac ; but as both 
 were evidently believers, and consequently spiritual, 
 they are hence to be viewed in the one capacity as well 
 as in the other. And the same observation will hold 
 good, as it respects all the spiritual Israelites from that 
 
134- or THE PRIVILEGES ENJOYED 
 
 period, down to the advent of the Messiah. In treat- 
 ing of the privileges enjoyed hy the carnal seed, there- 
 fore, we do not mean to assert that all the natural de- 
 scendents of Abraham, included in the promise, were 
 onlj/ carnal, for this would be contradicting matter "of 
 fact ; but we mean to treat of such privileges only, as 
 either were, or might be enjoyed by such as were only 
 carnal, not however excluding even the spiritual, as it 
 regarded their carnal and temporal concerns. 
 
 With these views we therefore proceed ; and accord- 
 ingly we find that Isaac, the son of the promise in the 
 family of Abraham, was made heir of all the carnal or 
 earthly possessions that his father had. He gave gifts 
 unto his other children, but Isaac succeeded in the pos- 
 session as the heir. 
 
 But further, Abraham being a man devoted to God 
 himself, a pious and religious parent and head of a fa- 
 mily, he would of course train up his children and do- 
 mestics in the fear of the Lord. In addition to a very 
 extensive portion of the good things of this life then, 
 his son Isaac, and indeed the whole of his household, 
 would be blessed with the means of grace. They 
 would enjoy early, seasonable, ^ncl wholesome instruc- 
 tion, recommended by all the influence of the good ex- 
 ample of one who vyalked before God in a perfect way, 
 and who performed such acts of faith and obedience, 
 that he obtained the distinguished appellations of " The 
 friend of God," and " The father of the faithful," 
 throughout all generations. 
 
 xA-iid in addition still to verbal instruction and good 
 example, they had God's ordinances instituted and dis- 
 pensed among them : a kind of instruction peculiarly 
 adapted to that period of the world, and which was 
 therefore calculated to convey the strongest and most 
 lively impressions of the things signified to the mind. 
 
BY THE CARNAL SEED. 135 
 
 The rite of sacrificing was in use from the beginning, 
 was retained in the Abrahamic dispensation, and was to 
 coniinue till the great sacrifice should be offered up ; 
 which, by its efficacy, should so atone for the guilt of 
 men, as to render other sacrifices unnecessary, and 
 which, by its typical fulfilment of those shadowy re- 
 presentations which went before, should cause them all 
 to vanish as the splendour of the sun does the shades of 
 night. In this rite were they forcibly reminded of their 
 guilt before God, of the necessity of an atonement dis- 
 tinct from themselves, of the awful demerit of sin in 
 the shedding of the blood of the innocent victim, and 
 of the inflexibility of divine justice in requiring satis- 
 faction either from the principal or the surety. 
 
 To this glorious and instructive rite, there was added 
 in the Abrahamic dispensation the rite of circumcision. 
 This was also a significant ordinance. As it consisted in 
 a cutting off of the foreskin of their flesh — was t6 be 
 administered to every male throughout their generations 
 — first instituted in connexion with the promise of the 
 Messiah in tii^ line of Abrahatn, and again abrogated 
 when that promise came to be accomplished ; it fitly 
 pointedf out, that the promised seed or Saviour should be 
 a male, should for sin be cut off as a sin-offering in the 
 flesh ; and thus, marking his descent from Abraham, it 
 vsrould of course terminate in him for whose sake it 
 seems alone to have been appointed. It is granted that 
 it had a spiritual meaning, and was even •' the seal of 
 the righteousness of the faith which Abraham possess- 
 ed in his uncirciimciscd state." But that even this did 
 not exclude its relation or reference to the Saviour, is 
 evident from the several statements in the book of Ge- 
 nesis. This rite was instituted when God promised 
 particularly that Abraham should be the father of many 
 nations, chap. xvii. But it w^as only through the Savi- 
 
i^<5 OF tHE *»RIV1LEGES ENJOYED 
 
 our that this was to take place. Abraham was to be 
 the father of the Saviour, acrording to the flesh ; and 
 to the Saviour vras given the heathen for his inheritance, 
 and the uttermost ends of the earth for a possession, 
 Psal. ii. But when Abraham believed in the Lord, and 
 had his faith counted to him for righteousness, it was 
 the promise of a r.umerotis seed and heir sjjrung of his onvn 
 loins that he believed, as is clear from the account in 
 the xvth of Genesis. Moreover, as this ordinance had 
 indeed a spiritual signification, and was used frequently 
 to denote the circumcision of the heart, every intelli- 
 gent Israelite, having access to come to the knowledge 
 of this, would hence be admonished respecting the na- 
 tural depravity and wickedness of the heart, and re- 
 specting the change absolutely necessary to be produced 
 ere they could serve God with acceptance. 
 
 Thus it was with the Israelites during the patri- 
 archal age, till the time of Moses, whom God raised up 
 to work deliverance for his people, and to institute a 
 new and complete system of laws, which might regu- 
 late both their religious worship and civil polity. .The 
 laws instituted by Moses were various ; but those deli- 
 vered from the fiery mount, hold the most conspicuous 
 place. The ten commandt7ients^ of which those precepts 
 consist, thoiigh each of them be distinct from all the 
 others, and are ranged under two classes, have only one 
 principle running through the whole ; and this principle 
 is love. On this principle, therefore, rested the whole 
 of the law of Moses ; not only the ten commandments ut- 
 tered by Jehovah himself, and written with his own fin- 
 ger oh two tables of stone ; but equally all the other 
 precepts he authorized his servant to deliver. All the 
 prophets likewise rati in the same strain ; and as for 
 the new dispensation under which we have the happi- 
 ness to be placed, it has so much of this principle in- 
 
BY THE CARNAL SEED. 137 
 
 t«woven with it. v.Hous branches, that it may be em- 
 phaticallj denominated the dispensation of love. Whe- 
 ther, therefore, we examine ^1 laws of the Israelites 
 as regulatmg divine worship, or their conduct to one 
 another we find that love was the predominant princi- 
 ple which pervaded everj part ; and that the little seL 
 fish conceits and peculiarities on which men are ever 
 apt to value themselves, and which extinguish everv 
 pnnaple of extensive and universal benevolence, arc 
 nobly discarded, and the affections of the heart inculca- 
 ted to be placed on their proper objects. As God him- 
 self IS love, and as emanations of this heavenly princi- 
 ple ate contmually issuing from his throne ; so he is to 
 be loved supremely above every other object, and other 
 objects only m proportion as they imitate and resemble 
 
 But though we might thus trace, in a general man- 
 ner, the various privileges, both of a civil and religious 
 nature which must have been enjoyed by every Israel- 
 ite, they will be seen to better advantage, by being 
 brought mto one view, in the case of the Ipostle PauL 
 Speaking of himself merely as a Je^^ he says*, 
 Tliough I might also have confidence in the flesh '' 
 namely, as the Judaizing teachers boasted to have by 
 their descent from Abraham. Therefore, " if any other 
 man thmketh that he hath whereof he might trust in 
 
 the flesh I more: circumci.ed the eighth day, of the 
 took of , ,^ ,, ^,^ ^^^ ^^ ^^Z^^^ J,^^^^^^ 
 
 of the Hebrews ; as touching the law, a Pharisee ; con- 
 cerning zeal, persecuting the church ; touching the 
 righteousness which is in the law, blameless." And 
 again, still disputing with these false teachers, he saysf, 
 I speak as concerning reproach," the reproach, name- 
 *K^'^'^''^'^' t2Cor.xi.21,22. 
 
 ; S 
 
138 OF THE PRIVILEGES ENJOYED 
 
 Ij, thai^4hose false accusers brought upon Paul and his 
 companions, " as thourb they had been weak. Hovv- 
 beit," says he, " wherehi' joever any is bold (1 speak 
 foolishly) I am bold also. Are they .^cbrews ? so am 
 I. Are they Israelites ? so am I. Are they the seed 
 of Abraham ? so am I," &.c. Their rites and privi- 
 leges he yet further enumerates in the ixth chapter of 
 the epistle to the Romans, ver. 4, 5. *' Who are Israel- 
 ites, to whom pertaineth the adoption^ and the glory* 
 and the covenants, and the giving of the lav.', and the 
 Service of God, and the promises ; whose are the fa- 
 thers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ 
 came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." 
 They are likev/ise said, ch. xi. 28. " As concerning tl-e 
 gospel, to be enemies for the sake of the Gentiles," 
 v.hose admission into the church they vehemently oppo- 
 sed ; *' but as touching the election," — rthe election, I 
 presume, of the seed of Abraham, first in the line of 
 Isaac, and then of Jacob, to be God's peculiar people^ 
 of whom the Messiah was to come j — " to be beloved 
 for the fathers' sakes*." 
 
 * That this is not atr election to eternal life, or to the actual 
 enjoyment of spiritual blessings, which ace precisely the same 
 thing, I should suppose pretty clear from this circumstance, that 
 the elected, and consequently beloved persons, are said still to be 
 enemies to the gospel. And, moreover, in no other passage in the 
 whole Bible, that I'fecoUect, is election to eternal life, or spiritual 
 blessings, ever sjrohen of as running in an^ hereditary channel, from 
 parents to children. And we may just add, that as the Bible does 
 not teach it, neither i\o we see it verified by fact ; but that a gracious 
 and "inscrutable sovereignty manifestly runs through the whole. 
 For tl-.e sense in which the Jews are leloi^ed for their fathers' sake, 
 the ivth, vth, vith &. viith chapters of the book, of Deuteronomy 
 may cast some light. And as the passage refers particularly to 
 ♦"heir dispersed slate, in consequence of their sin and unbelief, per- 
 haps the 4.2d verse of the xxvlth chapter of Le'.ilicus may greatly 
 conduce to the same purpose. 
 
BY THE CARNAL SEED. 1'59 
 
 These being the principal passages in which the 
 rights and privileges of the Jewish people are enumera- 
 ted, instead of going in quest of more, as they are per- 
 fectly sufficient for our purpose, we shall rather make 
 2 few reflections ppon the whole. 
 
 As to the first, then, respecting what the apostle re- 
 lates of himself, every thing of which the most bigots 
 ed, zealous, and enthusiastic Jew could possibly avail 
 himself, in point of national and na,tural distinction, is 
 there mentioned by the apostle^- He was circumcised 
 the eighth day ; of the stpcly of Israel, of the tribe of 
 Benjamin ; an Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as touching 
 the law, a Pharisee ; concerning zeal foi: the religion 
 and tradition of his fathers, persecuting the church ; 
 and, as touching the righteousness of the law, blame- 
 less. What had ^ny of them more in which they could 
 glory ? What account does the apostle now make of 
 such distinctions ? And after all, \vhat was his situation 
 in the sight of God, in the siaht of that God who look- 
 elh not on the outward appeairance, but into the heart, 
 and judgeth every man according to his real state ? His 
 privileges were indeed such as he once gloried in ; but 
 now that he had obtained juster views of the matter, 
 he considered himself as even speaking foolishly, when 
 he imitated others in their confident boasting, and count- 
 ed all but dung and dross for the excellency of the 
 knowledge of God in Christ Jesus. Had there been 
 therefore any real spiritual advantage to have been ob- 
 tained by a literal descent from Abraham, verily Paul, 
 by his birth, was in a situation which bade the fairest 
 for it. But of such a thing, he makes no mention. He 
 only enumerates the various privileges to which all ac-. 
 knowledge he had a right by birth ; but never once 
 hints, as Dr Taylor and ethers have done, of his being 
 "3, subject of God's covenant of grace bv descent. Yea, 
 
UO OF THE FRIVILEGES ENJOYED 
 
 he avows the contrary. He declares elsewhere that he 
 w»s alivt^ or imagined himself to be alive, as men na- 
 turally do, ivitJiotit the law once ; hut thaty when the com- 
 mandment came, sin revived, and he died. He then saw 
 himself to be a sinner and undone, without an interest 
 in the Saviour. And thus were all his flattering ideas 
 about lineal descent from Abraham, and the various 
 privileges and blessings consequent thereupon, forced to 
 give way to his own individual concern about religion, 
 and to that glorious truth, that God was in Christ Jesus 
 reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto 
 men their trespasses. It seems to be undeniable in- 
 deed, that throughout all these passages, he goes upon 
 the principle, that natural descent is nothing, and can 
 do nothing for our eternal safety ; and that personal and 
 individual interest in the blessings of salvation, obtain- 
 ed through the belief of the truth, is all in all. 
 
 But while we are thus guarded respecting a subject 
 unquestionably of the vary last importance, let none 
 imagine that we are hence for discarding all distinctions 
 of this kind, or for undervaluing them as if not real 
 blessings in themselves. By no means ; far be it from 
 us to do either. We know that they are blessings, and 
 that not of an inferior nature ; and would to God we 
 could but duly appreciate them according to their real 
 and intrinsic worth I Thousands of gold and silver, 
 yea, kingdoms and empires, are nothing, compared with 
 the lot of that man, be his"*outward condition in this 
 world what it may, who has access to know the doc- 
 trines of his God and Saviour from his youth. This 
 was the situation of the Israelites ; and in this, we ap- 
 prehend, lay the chief of their privileges. The Jews 
 had many advantages above the Gentiles ; but most of 
 all, as the apostle says, " in having the oracles of Go^ 
 
BY TifE CARNAL SEED. lil 
 
 committed to them *." To them also pertained the 
 adoption, and the glory, and* the covenant, Iml the ^l 
 ving of the law, and the service of God, and the pro- 
 mises ; and as these were all emblematical in their na- 
 ture, so, when rightly understood, they were a source 
 of the richest spiritual blessings to the soul. But to be 
 thus acquainted with them, every Israelite surely had 
 access. They had line upon line, and precept upon 
 precept, here a^ little, and there a little. To them God 
 spoke at sundry times, and in divers manners, by thr 
 prophets. And those messengers of the Mo;;^ High, 
 were not only commissioned to deliver new revelations, 
 but to expound and enforce those already given. The 
 service of God too, in which the daily sacrifice, and the 
 three annual feasts, the ablutions and purifications, &.c. 
 were to be punctually observed, were all calculated to 
 convey instruction to the mind. The wise, righteous, 
 and impartial laws likewise, which were to regulate 
 even their civil polity, were none of the least of bles- 
 sings. Wise counsels even from men, from inspired 
 prophets and others, in whom was the fear of the Lord, 
 would give such a tone to all their public concerns, that 
 the blessing could not be but sensibly felt. But to have 
 immediate access to God himself, and in all cases of 
 emergency which proved too hard and difficult for them, 
 to the symbols of his glorious presence which he had 
 placed amongst them, what an additional national and 
 church blessing was this ! Deliverance from the Egyp- 
 tian bondage too, their preservation in the wilderness, 
 and their settlement in Canaan, with all the blessing'. 
 connected with it, were so many privileges gratuitously 
 bestowed upon them. 
 
 Thus have we enumerated some of the privilcr;cs of 
 
 ■ « * Rom. iii. 2. 
 
142 or THE PRIVILEGES Enjoyed 
 
 the carnal seed of Abraham ; and though several of 
 them have been of a spiritual or religious nature, yet 
 sire they all of such a description as can be properly 
 enough enjoyed by those who are only carnal. The 
 mere external enjoyment of any of the blessings we 
 have enumerated, does not necessarily imply the actual 
 possession of internal grace ; and therefore, as every 
 Israelite had access to the former, but those only vtho 
 were born again to the latter ; so the distinction we are 
 here drawing is far from being without'Youndation, Of 
 this, more however in our next section. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Of the Privileges enjoyed hij the SPIRITUAL ^ecil. 
 
 jTjLS every Christian is a compound being, consisting 
 not only of a body and soul, like the rest of his bre- 
 thren of mankind, but of an old life derived from his 
 connection with the first man, and of a new or spiritual 
 life hid with Christ in God ; so long therefore as thesa 
 are both to be maintained, his wants, and the bountiful 
 supply of them from the hand of a munificent God, in 
 which consisteth his privileges, must by consequence be 
 of a mixed nature. Though the spiritual children of 
 Abraham are not of the world, yet as they are, for 
 many wise reasons, designed for a season to be in the 
 world, so while here they have a variety of bodily 
 wants to be supplied in common with other men. God 
 
BY THE SPIRITUAL SEED. 14^3 
 
 therefore, who causes his sun to shine on the evil and 
 on the good, on the just and on the unjust, hath in ge- 
 neral decreed, for the sake of his people, that while 
 the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and summer 
 and winter, shall never cease. To some of them indeed, 
 he hath granted large portions of the good things of 
 this life. So we read of Job, that he was the greatest 
 of all the men of the east ; his substance being seven 
 thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred 
 yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very- 
 great Iiouseliold ; and that though, by an adverse dis- 
 pensation, he was reduced to the extremest distress, and 
 stripped of all that he had, that yet at his Iktter end he 
 had double the possessions he had at the beginning. 
 Abraham too was blessed of God, and enriched with 
 silver, and gold, and cattle, and a very numerous house- 
 hold. And Jacob was so overpowered with the good- 
 ness of God in this respect, that he exclaimed, in his 
 return to the land of his nativity, '* With my staff I 
 passed over this Jordan, and now — I am become tivo 
 bandsy And who does not recollect that the grandeur 
 and magnificence of Solomon were even proverbial 
 among the nations ? ' 
 
 Now all this may teach ns, that no rank in society, 
 how elevated soever it may be, is absolutely incompati- 
 ble with the life of God in the soul ; though it still 
 holds as a general principle, that not many wise men 
 after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are 
 called ; but that God revealeth himself to babes com- 
 paratively^ and hath chosen the poor of this world to 
 be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom *. 
 
 Though God promised to Abraham, that his natural 
 descendents should possess the land of Canaan as their 
 
 * 1 Cor. i. 26. & James ii. 5. 
 
U-t or THE PRIVILEGES ENJOYED 
 
 inheritance in this transitory state, yet as that seems 
 only to havd been for certain reasons peculiar to them- 
 selves, so, in speaking of the temporal good things 
 which the spiritual Israel of God in general enjoy, we 
 do not think it would be proper to take the promise of 
 that land to Abraham and his literal deseendents, for 
 our pattern. Though the heathen, for instance, be pro- 
 mised to Christ for an inheritance, and the uttermost 
 ends of the earth for a possession, yet this is to be ta- 
 ken only in a spiritual sense ; nor is there a promise in 
 the whole Scriptures, on any particular portion of tli£ 
 worjd more than another, to which the converted among 
 ilie nations are to resort. 
 
 It then follows that the general covenant with Noah, 
 that " while the earth should remain, seed time, and 
 harvest, and summer, and winter, should never cease ;'* 
 and the grant, tliat " every moving thing that liveth 
 shall be meat for man, even as the green herb was from 
 the beginning *," are the only examples and patterns to 
 which we can refer. And to these agrees the doctrine 
 of our Saviour, when speaking of the same subject f. 
 " Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or 
 what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye 
 shall put on. Is not the life more than" meat, and the 
 body more than raiment ? Behold the fowls of the air ; 
 for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into 
 barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are 
 not ye much better than they ? And why take ye thought 
 for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
 grow : they toil not, neither do they spin ; and yet I 
 say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was 
 not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so- 
 clothe the grass of the fields which to-day is in the field ^ 
 
 * Gen.ix.3. f Matt, vi, 25. &c. 
 
BY THE SPIRITUAL SEED. 145 
 
 and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
 more clothe you, O ye of little faith ?" 
 
 If, then, religion hath the promise,of the life that now 
 , is, as well as of that which is to conie ; if in the keep- 
 ing of the commandments, there is a great, a present 
 reward ; if God even mitigates and shortens the judg- 
 ments he sends upon the earth for the sake of his elect; 
 if he would not have destroyed Sodom, had he found 
 only ten righteous in it ; if he feed the ravens that cry 
 unto him, and give meat in due season to all who wait 
 upon him— surely so many demonstrations of his good- 
 ness, clearly evince that " the Lord is very pitiful, and 
 of tender mercy, and will not suffer those who trust in 
 him to lack any good thing *." 
 
 But as it is not by miracle we are to expect the sup- 
 ply of our wants, but by the ordinary means God hath 
 appointed, by tilling, sowing, and labouring with our 
 hands ; we must be up and doing our duty, and be di- 
 ligent in business at the same time we are fervent in 
 spirit ; knowing that if any will not work, neither should 
 he eat ; and that he who provideth not for his own, and 
 especially for those of his own house, hath denied the 
 faith, and is worse than an infidel f. 
 
 Such are the ternporal privileges of believers ; and 
 we have the experience of one who says, *' I have been 
 young, and now am eld ; yet have I never seen the 
 righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread." 
 No, indeed ; the hand of the diligent maketh rich, and 
 qualifieth him to stand before kings, and not before 
 jnean men :};. 
 
 With respect to tlieir spiritual privileges, eye hath 
 
 * James V. 11. Sc PstI.xxxIv. 10. 
 
 i Rom. xii. 1 1. Sc 1 Tim. v. 8. 
 
 { Psal, xxxvii. 'i5. Prov, x. 4. & 'xxii. 29. 
 
14f6 OF THE PRIVILEGES ENJOYED 
 
 not seen, nor ear heard, neither could it enter into the 
 heart to conceive the things which God hath prepared, 
 and revealed in the Scriptures, for them that love him. 
 As their situation was once the most deplorable, being 
 \vithout God, and without Christ, and without hope in 
 the world, so now, through grace, is it most blessed in- 
 deed, having obtained peace with God through their 
 Lord Jesus Christ *. 
 
 We might here enumerate all the blessings of the 
 new covenant, or covenant of grace ; or, in other words, 
 that old covenant which was formed and planned in .the 
 councils of eternity, ere the world began, and which is 
 termed new, because it was never ratified, so to speak, 
 save in a symbolical and typical manner, till the shed- 
 ding of the blood of Christ in this new dispensation, 
 which is the blood of this new and everlasting cove- 
 nant. This covenant which regards the salvation of the 
 guilty, and which is indissoluble and eternal in its na- 
 ture, extends to the whole elect of God who ever have, 
 or do, or shall exist in the world. It knows no distinc- 
 tion between Jew and Gentile, barbarian, Scythian, 
 bond or free, male or female. The only distinction it 
 recognizes, is a distinction of character, alone produced 
 by the belief of this very gracious expedient. And as 
 it is character alone which it recognized, so there ar« 
 certain terms it applies to those who possess the cha- 
 racter, to distinguish them from others. In plain lan- 
 guage, devoid of all figures, they are distinguished as 
 believers, righteous, justified, sanctified, &.c. In figu- 
 rative language, they are called Jews, Israelites, the 
 circumcision, the children of God, and children of the 
 promise, and seed of Abraham, and so on. But it is to 
 be observed, that to these figurative expressions, there 
 
 ^*lCor. ii.9. Eph. ii. 12. and Rom. v. 1. 
 
BT THE SPIRITUAL SEED. 147 
 
 are generally annexed some qualifying phrases, which, 
 on the one hand, shew that they are not used in the li- 
 teral sense, and on the other determine the sense in 
 which thej are employed. When the term Jew^ for 
 in'stance, is employed in this spi^tual sense, they are 
 said not to be Jews outivardli/^ but inwardly*. Circum-^ 
 c'tsion is distinguished in like manner, ai\d also by a 
 nvorshipping of God in the Spirit \. Israel^ by the ex- 
 pression, that they are not all Israel who are of Is- 
 rael:}:. And when they are represented as the children 
 of God, or children of the promise, or seed of Abraham, 
 then we are referred to the typical signification of the 
 hirth of Isaac, who was the child of the promise ; and 
 thus are we led to conclude, from tlie ivth chapter of 
 Galatians, that his supernatural birth by the power of 
 God typified the regeneration, or new birth, produced > 
 in the souls of men by the same power ^. Thus we 
 see in the case, both of Abraham and of Isaac, that 
 while the one was constituted the father of all belie- 
 vers, the circumstances attending the birth of the 
 other, were of such a nature, as figuratively to repre- 
 sent this relation, which subsists between Abraham and 
 his spiritual children. 
 
 * Rom. iii 28, 29. f FHiL iii- 3. % Rom. ix. 6. 
 
 § This is evidently tlie light in which the apostle there places 
 the subject. It is Isaac's birth only, and Ishmael's, which are 
 there spoken of as being typical. And the one typified the real, 
 spiritual, and free-born people of God in all ages. The other, the 
 state of the Jews as a nation, from the days of Abraham, or more 
 properly speaking, of their great legislator, till the coming of 
 Christ. And as it was the very nature of that dispensation to 
 convince df sin, and so keep the sinner in bondage, till he found 
 an escape by faith in the promised seed which was yet to come j 
 the type, Ishmael, and the bond-njaid, would also fitly repre- 
 sent the moral state of the whole human race in |;he sight of 
 God. 
 
lis OF THE Privileges eJjjoyed 
 
 In speaking of the privileges of the spiritual people 
 of God, therefore, we ought just to pursue the same- 
 method in both dispensations ; for all tlie blessings of 
 the new dispensation existed in the old, under a varie- 
 ty of types, and shac^ws, and symbolical representa- 
 tion : so that, were we to draw a contrast between 
 the two, we might see that in point of clearness indeed, 
 tins which succeeds, excels much that which went be- 
 fore, but that still one and the same object, and of 
 course privilege, v^as common to both. It is upon this 
 principle that, the apostle, in writing to the Hebrews, 
 proceeds ; and hence we contend eaniestly for that ad- 
 mirable unity which runs through the whole of the 
 plan of mercy. All was designed to teach \.he same 
 heavenly truths ; to bring in the whole world as guilty 
 before God ; to shew that there is but one way of sal- 
 vation, and one only, for Jews and Gentiles, old and 
 young ; for those born of believing parents, and those 
 who are not ; and that such as are converted in every 
 age and nation, and they only, are to be reckoned in the 
 spiritual sense ; the children of Abraham by faith, 
 and heirs, to whom the inheritance in this highest 
 and most excellent sense shall undoubtedly be made 
 sure. 
 
 For the further illustration of this subject, the 
 reader is referred, in the Jirst place, to the epistle to 
 the Hebrews, in which he will find the subject as it re- 
 gards the spiritual import of the former dispensation, 
 explained by an infallible guide ; and in the next place^ 
 to all the epistles addressed to the churches, in which 
 both the present privileges and future prospects of be- 
 lievers are so fully detailed, that, to do justice to the 
 subject, it would be necessary to quote a great propor- 
 tion of them verbatim. 
 
BY THE SPIRITUAL SEED. 149 
 
 Conceiving these hints to be sufficient however for 
 such as choose to investigate the subject for them- 
 selves : without enlarging on them therefore, we 
 shall proceed to the consideration of the next thing 
 proposed, which regards the permanency of the cove- 
 nant in all its parts. This will accordingly be the sub- 
 ject of the next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 tliJL PERMANENCY OF THE COTENAWT 
 ]y ALL ITS PARTS, 
 
 N our fourth general head, we proposed to treat of the 
 permanency of the Abrahamic covenant in ;^1 its parts ; 
 or, in other words, whether the same state of things is 
 to remain under the Christian, as vinder the legal dis- 
 pensation ; or if they be altered, in what does the alter- 
 ation consist ? — what things were abrogated, and what 
 remain*? 
 
 That the same state of things as was established by 
 /the legal dispensation, or even by the covenant with 
 Abraham, was not always to continue^ is manifest from 
 the apostles' decree in the assembly at Jerusalem ; and 
 that it was not to be wholly overturned, is equally ob- 
 vious from our Lord's declaration, that he came not to 
 destroy the law and the prophets- Was there therefore 
 any alteration in this covenant, or if tliere were, in 
 what did the alteration consist ? Why was it continued 
 the same till Christ came ? Why was an alteration made 
 at that period, rather than any other ? In what did the 
 alteration consist ? And what was the state of things 
 after it took place ? — ^Answers to these important ques- 
 tions will form the subject of the present chapter. / 
 
 We shall begin, therefore, with inquiring into the 
 nature of the Abrahamic covenant respecting its perma- 
 nencij. In our investigation of this subject, in chap. I. 
 we have seen tliat the covenant with Abraham consist- 
 
THE PERMANENCY, ficc. 151 
 
 cd of various parts ; the principal of which were a car- 
 nal seed and carnal possessions, and a spiritual seed and 
 spiritual possessions ; the first relating entirely- to the 
 life which now is, the latter to that also which is to 
 come. From its very nature then, it is evident that 
 the carnal part, and all other things connected with it, 
 as a dispensation, must have had but a. limited duration,, 
 and behoved to terminate in time. What these things 
 were, therefore, is surely an object worthy of regard, 
 and the nextlhing in course demanding our attention. 
 
 That the covenant with Abraham was closely con- 
 nected with^the law afterwards instituted by Moses, 
 seems clear from what the apostle says, that it nvas add- 
 ed^ on account of transgressions^ till the seed camcy Gal. iii. 
 19. But we have already referred to a declaration ot 
 our blessed Lord, thai the law and the prophets weic 
 not to be destroyed ; and the apostle Paul, in that very 
 chapter just quoted, says a great deal to prove the in- 
 dissoluble nature of the Abrahamic covenant also. Arc 
 we from these two texts then to infer, that neither the 
 law on the one hand, nor the covenant with Abraham on. 
 the other, were hence to undergo any alteration, but 
 that both were to remain the sam^ in all their parts, to 
 the end of the world ? As the epistle to the Hebrews 
 evidently shews the very reverse, as it respects the law, 
 and the apostolic decree, Acts xv. in abrogating circum- 
 cision^ which, we are assured, ivas not of Aloses^ but of 
 the fathers *, we have hence divine ^authority for an aj- 
 alteration in both, and the question comes -to br /' 
 what ? 
 
 In attempting an answer to this question, I do not 
 pretend to say that I shall be so minute as to mention 
 every particular ; being convinced that if we shall only 
 
 * John vii. 22. 
 
152 THE PERMANENCY OF THE COVENANT 
 
 have the happiness to strike the leading points, it will 
 be perfectly sufficient for our purpose. 
 
 As the covenant ■with Abraham was distinguished 
 into two principal parts, carnal and spiritual, so may 
 the whole of the Mosaic law be distinguished into two 
 likewise, namely, ceremonial and moraL 
 
 There seems to me therefore to be an amazine affini- 
 ty between the carnal part of the covenant, and the ce- 
 remonial part of the law ; and ^g^ii^j between the spirt' 
 tual part of the covenant, and the tnoral part of the law i 
 go much so, that really had they been given all at once, 
 and not one part suspended for four hundred and thirty 
 years after the other, it would have appeared quite 
 consistent, and a beautiful harmony would have run 
 through it as a whole. 
 
 If these observations be just, it will hence follow, 
 that the corresponding parts of the law and the promise, 
 must stand or fall together ; and that, from their nature, 
 the spiritual and moral parts must outlive the carnal 
 and ceremonial, yea, endure wlien time shall be no lon- 
 ger ; while the other, from their nature, must termi- 
 nate in time. 
 
 In answer to the question therefore, xvhich respects 
 the tivje^ when such alterations were to take place, we 
 can with confidence say, that the ceremonial part of the 
 law received its fulfilment in the advent and work of 
 Messiah ; and, for our part, we see no reason to enter- 
 tain a doubt respecting the abrogation of the carnal 
 part of the covenant, occurring at this period likewise. 
 In a former part of this inquiry *, we trust we have 
 shewn to satisfaction, that the carnal possessions granted 
 to Abraham and his seed, in the covenant God made 
 with him, as matter of fact, were taken from them at 
 that time j so that we have now only to prove the ab^ 
 * Chap. I, Sect. 3. 
 
I.V ALL ITS PARTS. 15S 
 
 xogtition of the other carnal part, that is to say, Abra- 
 ham's- seed according to the flesh. 
 
 We have elsewhere remarked, that there does not ap- 
 pear ill the whole oralles of truth, another transaction 
 similar to that in which God gave a partievilar portion 
 of the earth to his church and people ;v and" the sffgula- 
 }ritij of his promise to Abraham respecting his seed in a 
 particular line, seems so much a-kin to .this, that we 
 •cannot but class th^^, together. We sajr.thl^this pro- 
 mise vf^.^ ''singular, for nothing similar^'had ever been 
 
 in the church before ; and it remains. a matter of dis- 
 
 I':. '■ *' , . 
 
 pute between Baptists and' Pedo-}>aipti§tSy Jtyhetber any 
 
 thing like it ei.Isted afterwjafds. >,^Jb'?anbe questioned, 
 by none, I will venture tQ,:fsay,\tl)a,trthe promise to 
 Abraham respecting /kV se^d, was .given at" the time that 
 fhe promise of the Sa'J'iour was restricted to his family. 
 Nor was it nil his seed, but his seed only in a certain 
 line that had any interest thereirj. As- the apostle there- 
 fore, in enurherating the priyileges of the Jews, Rom. 
 ix. mentions this among the rest, *' whose are the fathers, 
 and of v/hom, as concerning tlie flesh, Christ came," 
 does it not hence appear, that this was the principal rea- 
 1- son why ///<v/, in contradistinction from all others, were 
 '' selected ? If it had been merely as descendents of be- 
 lieving parents, why not include all the children ? If 
 this had been all the purpose to have been gained, had 
 not all an equal right ? Yea, more, were not all on a 
 level, as it regarded their moral situation in the sight of 
 God ? Whatever difFemnce there might be afterwards, 
 there was none surely when they came into being ; and 
 therefore, when we see Ishmael, and his brethren by 
 Keturah, and Esau also, all born aliens to this promise, 
 we are compelled to inquire after a more satisfactory 
 s,olution of the matter tliun that allbrded by the Pedo- 
 
 U 
 
loi . THE PERMANENCY OF THE COVENANT 
 
 baptist scheme. If it had been merely to mark a pri- 
 vilec,^e extending to all tb« children of believers, all 
 certainly inig/ii and nuould have been included. But as 
 this was by no means the case^his could not be the 
 principal, if at all the design in the selection. All tnig/tt 
 have been included within the bonds of the covenant in 
 the sense of Pedo-baptists, that is, as marking them 
 out as the children of believers ; but all <wfre not^ yea, 
 could fiotjy in the sense of being progenitors of the Savi- 
 our. Afid yet, that this was t\K' sole reason why 
 ever such a selection was made, seems demonstra- 
 ble from the fact itself, that those in the line of primo- 
 geniture, and those only, were from the first included 
 in the selection. ^ 
 
 This being the casfe', it Will hence follow, that when- 
 ever the design which gave rise ,to the selection of a 
 certain line of Abraham's natural seed came to be ac- 
 complished, that all distinctions of this mature would 
 temiinate of course. . The professed people of God 
 would not be any longer distinguished by natural de- 
 scent, even from so great a character as Abraham ; but 
 whether they were Jews or Greeks, barbarians, Scy- 
 thians, bond or free, they would be all one in Christ 
 Jesus, who had been represented as the *' desire of all 
 n;:tions," the grand centre of union, who should unite 
 all ia himself. 
 
 Is it not truly remarkable then, that v.-hen Christ ap- 
 peared according to the ancient predictions, and accom- 
 ])lished the great work which had been assigned him, 
 that the Jews should have,\from that period, and never 
 before, been cast off as a nation — casj; off, never again 
 to be admitted in the same manner, or for the same 
 purpose, but in exact conformity with the Gentiles, by 
 personal faith in Christ Jesus ? Nor can tlie immediate 
 or ostensible cause of the rejection of the Jews, namely, 
 
IN ALL ITS PARTS. 
 
 iBr> 
 
 thfeir Vykkedness and unbelief, be any argunnient to the 
 contrary ; for, as we hava. seen elsewhere *, such cir- 
 cumstances do not affect the purposes of Jehovah, but, 
 mysterious and inexplicable as it may appear, it is by 
 concatenations of such things that his purposes come to 
 be accomplished f. Whatever therefore may be thfe 
 opinion of others, to me it appears, that the events ot 
 providence are as clear and as satisfactory demonstra- 
 tions of the divine, decrees, as if they had been reveal- 
 ed declarations. The simple fact , then, that the Jews 
 as a nation were cast off from being God's peculiar 
 people, after the' coming of Christ, but never before, 
 and the view the New Testament gives of their resto- 
 ration as being solely spiritual, arid not at all of a poli- 
 tical or carnal nature, is demonstration, in our view, 
 perfectly sufficient, that at that period, all that was car- 
 
 * See pag. 20. 
 
 f As an additional instance to those referred to in the above 
 note, we might select the sufferings and deatli of our blessed 
 Lord. ,j(That he was to suffer and die, that the whole world might, 
 not perish, was a point clearly understood and determined from 
 the beginning. But fhat tl:^ilwas to be accomplished through the 
 intervention of the ,\viclcedness oimen^ facts have abundantly de- 
 monstrated. Though the Jews therefore, in all that they did to 
 the imitiaculate Jesus, did nothing but what \Vas determined be- 
 fore to be done, yet In vahi do they attempt to plead the purposes, 
 the eternal*and irreversible purposes of God, as an excuse for their 
 conduct. No, no : Well they knew, as Peter told them, that it 
 was by wicked hands thnt they crucified and slew the Lord of 
 glory. God's purposes in all such matters therefore, are one thing, 
 and the motives influencing the conduct of men, (, which conduct 
 by the bye'^ and the consequences connected with it, is just the 
 fulfilment of these purpor.es),_are entirely another. Nor does the 
 one in the smallest interfere with the other. Men act so freely, 
 as if th^re were no such purposes, and the purposes again are by 
 their action^ so eircctually accomplished, as if they had had no- 
 thii'-i'^lse in vie>y. 
 
}56 THE PERMANENCY OF THE COVENANT 
 
 nal in regard to the promise of the seed, was complete- 
 ly done awaj. The end had been obtained, the grand 
 rnd, of a Saviour being born into the world ; and as 
 this could not be effected but by means of carnal de- 
 scent, so whenever it came to be^ccomplished, such aa 
 appointment was no longer necessary. 
 
 Nor was this at all singular, or any thing more than 
 wh3;t took place in like manner with the whole class of 
 those subjects with which we consider this to have been 
 related, ^^acrifices for instance ceased in l:ke^ mci.mer, 
 when the great Sacrifice was offered up. Circumcision 
 too seems to have answered its purpose, and likewise 
 terminated in him. The Vv'liole of tlie ceremonial law, 
 and all the laws regulating the Jewish polity, likewise 
 fell of course. In short, there remained notliing which 
 had the mark of the then existing system ; but being 
 all shadows of goc-d things to come, so whenever the sub- 
 stance prefigured by them appeared, the shadows flew 
 away. AH that was in its nature mutable, or had an- 
 swered its particular end, underwent a change at that 
 period ; and all that was immutable,.or of a general and 
 spiritual nature, remained^ and will remain to the end 
 of the world. ^ 
 
 Thus the gospel, which Vv'as before preached to 
 Abraham, was the same as that preached to us still ; 
 and the law which was four hundred and thirty years 
 after, could not disannul or make it of none effect. 
 Yea, not only the peculiar doctrines of he gospel, but 
 the moral precepts of the law, are likewise still stand- 
 ing in their full force. And in this respect was not the 
 law, any more than the promise, ever destroyed'. Love td 
 God and our neighbour Avas what the law required ; and 
 fhis, so far from being abrogated in the new dispensa- 
 tion, is rather enforced by additional motives. Yea, we 
 may go further. We may assert with the greatest^m- 
 
IN ALL ITS PARTS'. 157 
 
 phasis, that neither of these could possibly be abrogated. 
 If sinners were saved under that dispensation at all, it 
 must have been bj the intervention of the gospel. The 
 way of life to them and to us could not be ditFerent ; it 
 could ^not be two, but one only. And therefore, to ab- 
 rogate what was life to them, would be death to us. 
 And as for the law of love, it was morally impossible 
 that it could ever cease. Creatures must first cease to 
 be, before they can lawfully cease to love. To love 
 God and our nejghbour, is the very end of our being. 
 And to be chargeable with defects here, as all certainly 
 are, is calcula>ted to make us feel the necessity of these 
 glad tidings, which hold forth pardon even to the guil- 
 
 Having thus given our views with regard to the 
 things which are mutable, and those which are perma- 
 nent in the covenant, we shall go on in our next chap- 
 ter to treat of the distinguishing and characteristic 
 marks of the two dispensations, in order to ascertain 
 whetiier the latter in any respects resembles the former, 
 in what may be denominated its carnal parts, whether 
 regarding ordinances or subjects. 
 
UIAPTER V. 
 
 TliE BTSTINCUISHING AND CIIARACTERlSfflC MARKS OT 
 THE FORMER AND L*fTTER DISPENSATIONS. 
 
 i. X our investigations of the present subjcQJtjOur thoughts 
 will necessarily be, turiltd to a variety of particulars. 
 Though the period of the former dispensation rriight, 
 in one respect, comprise all the intervening space be- 
 tween the giving of the first promise, till the conoing of 
 the Messiah, we shall consider it rather from the time 
 of Abi-aham down to the same period ; and this, both 
 because the dispute we have in view chiefly rests here, 
 and because several new regulations were formed at that 
 lime, and afterwards by Moses, as parts of the same 
 system, but which together formed a system in many 
 Ivspects peculiar to itself. 
 
 We have already remarked, that from tlie whole ge- 
 nius of the gospel, and particularly from the epistle to 
 the Hebrews, it evidently appears that the two dispen- 
 sations are exceedingly different. They differ particu- 
 larly in respect of their subjects, and in the manner in 
 which they were respectively established. As these are 
 both very important matters, they require to be treated 
 somewhat particularly. 
 
 1. First tlien, they differ In respect of their subjects. 
 The subjects of the one, as we have already seen, be- 
 ing both spiritual and carnal ; those of the other, as we 
 are going immed'atcly to prove, being anhj spiriti'.rd. 
 
DISTINGUISHING MARKS, Sec. I'JU 
 
 2. Secondly, in the manner In which they were re- 
 spectively established, they also dlller. I'he one em- 
 ploying carnal weapons for its establishment and sup- 
 port ; the other whofty disclaiming these, and makino- 
 use of such only asare spiritual. 
 
 Nor need any be astonished at these things, for these 
 different methods were not at all inconsistent with the 
 respective dispensations in which they were employed, 
 "but rather admirably adapted for attaining the particu- 
 lar end each had in view. 
 
 As to the first point of dluerence, namely, in respciL 
 of their subjejctsy we have already fully proved the cue 
 to consist of a carnal, as well as a spiritual part, and we 
 are now going to shew how diiferent from this it is in 
 the other. 
 
 When Jesus Christ sent forth his apostles to bring ;(!i 
 nations into subjection under him, the only means he 
 authorized them to make vise of, was. tl]e preaching of 
 his word. Indeed, if he had intended any other method, 
 he would have needed to have employed both more nu- 
 merous, and more powerful instruments ; but, accord- 
 ing to the design he had in view, the insti-uments he 
 employed, though in themselves but earthen vessels, yet 
 possessing the treasures of his miraculous grace, they 
 were quite sufficient to effect all that he intended. 
 
 John the baptist, the harbinger of Jesus Christ, and 
 first great prophet of this new dispensation, began bj 
 preaching that *' the kingdom, or reign of heaven, was 
 at hand." And when the Lord Jesus Christ sent out 
 his servants, first the seventy, and afterwards the 
 twelve, they were commissioned to testify the same 
 thing. 
 
 Thus, a new dispensation was about to be erected, 
 distinguished by the name of the kifigdom, or reign of 
 heaven. It was this which excited the attention of the 
 
160 DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF 
 
 Jews to the doctrine of the baptist, and which caused 
 them to send priests and Levites from Jerusalem, to in- 
 quire of him who he was *. The Jews in general were 
 expecting thfc Saviour about this time ; and therefore, 
 John, by publishing this new doctrine, as the proto-he- 
 raid of this new dispensation, had all eyes fixed upon 
 him. 
 
 But the difference between the former and the latter 
 dispensations, is more directly alluded to, on a certain 
 occasion, by our Lord himself. In that memorable in- 
 terview he had wdth Pilate, the Roman governor, at the 
 mock trial which preceded his crucifixion, h'e gave it as his 
 d}'ing declaration, that his kingdom was not of this world. 
 ^ If my kingdom," says he, " were of this world, then 
 would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered 
 to the Jews ; but fjsiv is my kingdom not from hence." 
 John Xviii. 36. Now, from this passage two things arc 
 evident. 1. That th^ kingdoms of this world defend 
 themselves by means suited to their nature. Because 
 they are carnal, they employ carnal weapons in their 
 defence — they fight. And again, it is plain from the 
 particle now, that Christ once had a kingdom partaking 
 of this nature ; but he declares that it is so no longer. 
 " Now is my kingdom not from hence." It has now 
 nothing carnal or worldly in its origin. Its establisJwietit 
 and support too, differ most materially from what they 
 once were. To extend liis empire, so to sj:»eak, in for- 
 mer times, fire and sword were necessary, because a 
 wicked nation was to be punished, and worldly posses- 
 sions were to be obtained, both of which objects were 
 equally the subject of divine prediction, and well ac- 
 corded with the use of such means. But now in the 
 latter times, these things have no longer any place. 
 There are no national judgments, should the nations 
 * John i. 19. 
 
FOJ?M£i< IND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. 1 (i 1 
 
 among whom they sojourn be even as wicked as Sodom, 
 to be inflicted by Christians. Like their blessed Ma- 
 sti"!", they are not to cry, nor make a noise, nor cause 
 iheir voice to be heard, in a tumultuous manner, in the 
 streets. Truth alone must now- wage the wai-, and 
 trut^ alone must'Win the victory. Nor must the he- 
 ralds of truth employ weapons that are carnal, even for 
 tlie preservation of their very life. A man may law- 
 fully give skin for skin, yea, all that he hath, for the 
 preservation of his life in other matters ; but here, if 
 he cannot escape by simple flight — the only means pre- 
 scribed in God's word — he must e'en die for it. Nor 
 need any be afraid that this would have a tendency to 
 diminish the number of the godly. So far from this, 
 it would certainly increase them. It is now a spiritual 
 kingdom of which they are subjects, and truth and er- 
 ror are at issue ; and what could give truth such a glo- 
 rious conquest, as to see it so firmly maintained, that its 
 advocates, rather than relinquish it, should regard not 
 their very lives unto the death ? The composed, pa- 
 tient, and firm death of a holy martyr for the truth, is 
 a more powerful sermon in its defence, than all he 
 could have said in the course of a long life. And that 
 thousands should be converted by such means, is na 
 way wonderful. It is only an effect consequent upoa 
 its cause. 
 
 Upon this principle then, the blood of Christians 
 themselves may have been shed ; but all the blood shed 
 by such as__ have professed the Christian name, might 
 well have been spared. Poor deluded mortals ! what 
 have they been all along dallying about ? If they had 
 attended to this one declaration of their professed Ma- 
 ster, *' My kingdom is not of this world," &.c. they 
 ^ould have- at onc^ perceived that it could never be de- 
 
 X 
 
162 DISTINGUISHING .MARKS OT 
 
 fended by such means. Yea, it is evident that such 
 means employed by Christians, under pretence either of 
 extending or defending the religion of Jesus Christ, is 
 doing more is support of error, than it is well possible 
 to express. It is giving the most false view of the king- 
 dom of heaven and of truth, and withal, causing people 
 to imagine that they either are subjects, or can become 
 subjects of this kingdom short of real conversion. 
 
 Now, this is another thing most clearly insisted on in 
 this new dispensation. When our Lord was conversing 
 with Nicodemus, he told him expressly, that unless a 
 man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God*. 
 And why ? Because this kirlgdoni, unlike to the king- 
 doms of the earth, cometh not with observation. It is 
 spiritual, and not an object of the organs of sight. They 
 who are born again, as our Saviour says, and they only, 
 can perceive it, and are admitted into it as subjects 
 thereof. Nor can we sufficiently admire the precision 
 of the apostle Johnon this subject, when speaking even 
 of the Jews. *' Christ," says he, " came to his own,'* 
 to-wit the Jews, " but his own received him not." As 
 there was the exception of a few however, he therefore 
 declares, that *' to as many as received him, to them 
 gave he power to become the sons of God, even to 
 them that believe on his name ; whidi were born, not 
 of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
 man, but of God." From our Lord's discourse with 
 Nicodemus, we find the doctrine of regeneration, or the 
 new birth, taught ; here we see it exemplified. But 
 exemplified in whom ? In sinners of the Gentiles, and 
 such as were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, 
 and strangers to the covenants of promise ? No : but 
 in members and heirs of both. In a people who were' 
 born to God, Ezek. xvi. 20. and who were God's pecu- 
 * John iii. 
 
FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. 163 
 
 liar treasure in a certain sense ; a nation whom he chose 
 in preference to eveiy other nation of the earth, to 
 dwell among them, and to be their God. It is to such 
 a people that our Saviour declares the. necessity of a 
 new birth, and of such a people that John narrates 
 the fact as having taken place. Does not this therefore 
 teadh us, that though all Israel were acknowledged as 
 subjects of the former dispensation, yet only those who 
 were subjects of the new birth, were, or could be, sub- 
 jects of the latter dispensation ? All the Jews were 
 Christ's own when he came to them. They were ac- 
 knowledged by him as his people. They were even 
 brethren according to the flesh. But he came to esta- 
 blish a new dispensation in many respects diiFerent from 
 that which had formerly existed, particularly in its sub- 
 jects ; and therefore, even members of the former 
 could not be members of this, unless they came by their 
 membership in the regularly established plan, which is 
 conversion. 
 
 I am fully aware, that^the same is asserted to have 
 been the case even in the former dispensation. But ne- 
 ver, that I recollect, have I yet seen any proofs produ- 
 ced. On the contrary, can it be denied that all Israel, 
 on account of their mere natural birth, were considered 
 by the Lord as his people ? In that passage already al- 
 luded to, Ezek. xvi. 20. a passage by the way for which 
 some Pedo-baptists profess very much regard*, is it not 
 positively asserted that even the idolatrous Israelites, 
 the only persons of whom the prophet is there speak- 
 ing, had born sons and daughters to the Lord ? If then 
 they were born to the Lord, by what birth were they 
 his ? Or were they recognized as the Lord's, because 
 they were the children of believing parents ? On the 
 
 * Dr Taylor, and the editors of the last edition of course, as 
 we may well presume from \\\z\x advertisement prefixed to it. 
 
164 DISTINGUISHING MARl<fs OF 
 
 contrary, were not their fathers idolaters, and that b/ 
 the vilest kind, " who sacrificed their children to be de- 
 voured," and caused them to '* pass through the fire," 
 to their gods^ ? And is it not equally evident, tha'. 
 mere natural birth is the only birth here spoken of ; and 
 that being Israelites, and belonging to that nation whom 
 the Lord had chosen for himself, they were therefore 
 said to be born to him ? 
 
 The same thing is also asserted respecting such Gen- 
 tiles as were admitted into the fellowship of the Jews. 
 It is said that they also were never admitted upon any 
 other ground, than by a profession of faith in the God 
 of Israel. But here too, instead of adducing direct 
 proof, or yet fair deductions from reasoning, the whole 
 is made to rest in the wide field of conjecture. Those 
 who wish to see this subject more fully illustrated, may 
 turn to what we have said in Ch. II. Sect. 1 . And to our 
 remarks there, we would just add in this place, that 
 though it is a truth that the Lord always had some spi- 
 ritual worshippers in Israel, and even always required 
 such to worship him ; yet it does not appear, y^rj/, from 
 the case of a whole natural seed being acknowledged by 
 him as bis people, and secondly^ from the case of stran- 
 gers and slaves being obliged, in the first instance, to in- 
 corporate themselves with that nation by the rite of cir- 
 cumcision, in order to their having intercourse with 
 them, that any thing more was required to give them a 
 place in Israel. It is true, they were to abandon idola- 
 try and every other species of will-worship. But it is 
 equally true, that even while they were most deeply 
 sunk in these, God still acknowledged them as his peo- 
 ple f. And this he did not merely for one or two gene- 
 
 * See ver. 21. 
 
 + See the xvith of EzeVik-l, to which we have already referred, 
 
FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. 165 
 
 rations, bxit for many ; even till Christ came and over- 
 turned the whole of this part of that dispensation, by 
 establishing another upon very different principles. 
 
 Whether therefore it can be shewn, that conversion 
 was indispensably required in order to membership in 
 the former dispensation, we are confident it is so in or- 
 der to membership in the latter ; and we even question 
 whether a single instance can be produced in all the 
 New Testament, in which this did not appear as the 
 first thing which gave any title to a place in this new 
 dispensation. We have seen it required in our Lord's 
 doctrine to Nicodemus. We have seen it exemplified 
 in the Jews who believed on him. And when we turn 
 to the Gentiles, do we not see the apostles preacfilng, 
 men converted, churches planted, and all proceeding 
 upon the same plan of apparent personal religion, in or- 
 der to personal interest in this new dispensation ? The 
 case of infants, which is the only exception to this that 
 can be alleged, will be considered immediately. But 
 here we are going only upon positive facts ; and facts, 
 as logicians used to say, are stubborn things. 
 
 Thus then do the two dispensations differ most essen- 
 tially in respect of their subjects, and of the manner in 
 which their subjects were constituted. By mere natu- 
 ral descent, sons and daughters were born to the Lord, 
 in the former dispensation ; but in the lattei*, they are 
 box'n not of blood, nor of the will of the fle^h, nor of 
 the will of man, but of God. In that dispensation, 
 aliens could be added, as in the case of slaves, for in- 
 stance, at the entire will of a master, if he chose to 
 purchase them ; but in this, none can be admitted, nei- 
 ther bond nor free, who do not appear themselves to be 
 
 and, amongst oilier passages wLich m\<^\i\. be mentioned, the 1st i-C 
 Isaiah. . 
 
16(> DISTIKGUISHING MARKS O^ 
 
 made free from the law of sin and death *. In this 
 there may be counterfeits, it is granted, and many may 
 seek admission into it, who are utter strangers to an in- 
 ward change of heart ; but such exceptions do not alter 
 the case, that such a change is required, nor do they by 
 any means form a paramount to what we find in the 
 other dispensation. Here there is still a profession, 
 though not real, a personal and voluntary profession 
 too ; but there, all personal and voluntary considera- 
 tions seem to have been out of the question, and the 
 subjects bound to submit to it upon the pain of non- 
 employment. A stranger could not sojourn in Israel, 
 unless he became a Jew, nor a Gentile of any nation 
 perform even the work of a menial servant, without 
 becoming altogether such as themselves. I^ovv, that 
 there is nothing like either of these in this new dispen- 
 sation, we solemnly aver. The case of infants then, as 
 we have just hinted, may be considered as the only ex- 
 ception, and on this important subject wc shall therefore 
 say a few words. 
 
 We stated formerly, that it appears to us, that the 
 sole reason why children were included in the former 
 dispensation, was for the sake of bringing forth the 
 Messiah in a particular line. And this we think evi- 
 dent from the circumstance, that children never appear 
 to have been connected with the churcft of God in the 
 same manner, prior to the days of Abraham. That the 
 race of the godly should in general run in the line from 
 parents to children, rather than in any other, is not to be 
 wondered at ; for the means of instruction which they 
 indisputably enjoy above others, are surely adapted to 
 such an end f. But though such a circumstance might 
 
 * Rom. viii. 1, 2. 
 
 f This brings to our recollection one of the most strange re- 
 flections of a certain Pedo-bapiist, who has appeared repeatedly a.- 
 
FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. 167 
 
 ]iave existed prior to the days of Abraham, and maj 
 continue to exist even to the end of the World, yet this 
 does not necessarily prove that the same state of things 
 existed through the whole of this threefold period, noc 
 yet does it prove, that because children were evidently 
 included in the second or Abrahamic period, that they 
 were therefore inherently endowed with those gracious 
 principles we have seen to be indispensably necessary, 
 ere any can become subjects of the spiritual king- 
 dom. 
 
 If we are therefore correct in our idea, as it respects 
 the reason why" children had a place in the dispensation 
 established with Abraham, we think it should follow of 
 course, that if there car.not be some as important reason 
 for the i-etention of children in the church still, it would 
 certainly terminate when the object for which it was 
 chiefly appointed came to be accomplished. And what 
 tends the more to confirm us in this, is the mighty dif- 
 ference between the two dispensations, as to their parti- 
 
 a champion in that ca^ise, ever ^ve remember of hearing. As if 
 Baptists denied the possibility of their children's conversion, even 
 when grown up, or as if they were to be converted by any other 
 means than through the instrumentahty of the truth, it was insi- 
 nuated, in the case of Mr Carey's sons, the Baptist missionary in 
 India, that upon his own principles, there luas an exception from the 
 general rule. What is the general rule then ? Is it that none of the 
 children of Baptists, but all the children of Pedo-baptists, shall be 
 saved ? Or is it, that any of them shall be saved by any other 
 means than by a personal belief of the truth ? Now, if it be alone 
 through the instrumentality of the truth, who enjoy such advan- 
 tages of being early instructed in the knowledge of it, as the chil- 
 dren of believers, whether they be Baptists or Pedo-baptists ? But 
 if the Lord should be pleased in either case to bless the means of 
 his own appointment, of the training up our children in his fear, 
 could it with any propriety be said that it was a deviation from the 
 general rule ? If it be his rule to save only by means of the truth*, 
 in our humble opinion, it proves the very reverse. 
 
168 DISTINGUISHING MARKS Of 
 
 cular nature and design. The former was adapted is 
 every respect to answer the end we have assigned to it. 
 An iiifaut seed was absolutely necessary for the accom- 
 plisliment of the promise, as it respected the Saviour. 
 The la7id of Canaan too, as a place in which they might 
 all be kept together, and separated at the same time 
 from all other nations, was no less important ; while 
 circumcision^ a rjte to be observed throughout (heir ge- , 
 Derations, fitly marked them out as the descendcnts of 
 Abraham. And thus when Messiah should appear, 
 there would be no occasion for saying respecting other 
 nations, Lo, here is Christ, or lo, there ; but these cir- 
 cumcised descendents of Abraham were the people of 
 whom, and the land of Palestioe the particular spot 
 •where the Messiah should be born. 
 
 The question then comes to be, is there any thing 
 like this to be obtained by the retention of infants in 
 the *church still ? We do not suppose that any, even the 
 most strenuous advocates for the subject, will venture 
 to say so." Indeed, all that they propose by their 
 scheme, amounts to very little. They will tell you, 
 when you come to get your children baptized, ' that the 
 
 * blessing of Abraham is come upon the Gentiles — that 
 
 * as God promised to be a God to him and to his seed, 
 
 * so believers under the gospel have the same promise, 
 ' that he will be likewise a God to them and to their 
 ' seed — that by the administering of this ordinance, we 
 ' do not consider any spiritual blessing to be conferred 
 ' on our children, or yet that it is an indication of their 
 ' final salvation, for they ivere not all Israel^ who are of 
 
 * Israel : but we only administer the token of the cove- 
 ' nant, leaving it with God to make it manifest who 
 •• among them shall be accounted for the seed *.' 
 
 * As a farther corroboration of the very small amount of the 
 Pedo baptist principles, even in their own account, see the sum an^ 
 
FORMER AND (LATTER DISPENSATIONS. 169 
 
 This, to the best of our recollection, is the substance 
 af ail that is proposed. And though we have ihany 
 things to say of such a representation in general, we 
 will not enter upon .them in this place, but shall con- 
 tent ourselves with making a few remarks, bj way of 
 contrast, between this and the former dispensation. 
 
 We here say nothing concerning the sense in which 
 we conceive the blessing of Abraham to be come upon 
 the Gentiles ; but as our brethren suppose it to consist 
 in some nameless or particular blessings, (I am at a loss 
 to say which), conferred upon the offspring of Gentile 
 believers, we shall take them upon this score, to see 
 whether the copy they draw in any measure corresponds 
 with the original. 
 
 1. Was then the promise to Abraham, that God 
 would be a God to him and to his seed, suspended upon 
 such a superficial and slim foundation, as our brethren 
 would here represent the connexion between them and 
 their seed ? I say stqjerficial and j/zVw, for certainly such 
 any system must be, which proposes to go no further 
 than the merely administering of the token of the co- 
 venant to such as it does not consider at the same time 
 really to be heirs thereof. Such a connexion between 
 believers and their seed, seems to me to amount to no- 
 thing ; because, notwithstanding the seal with which it 
 
 substance of the whole that Philalethes maintains, comprised in 
 the foUowiug sentence of Crito. ' I now add,' says Crito, ' the 
 ' better city \yas promised to the fleshly seed of Abraham ; not as 
 
 * merely such, but as also elect, these enjoyed it.' ' Here I beg 
 ' to remark,' says Philalethes, ' that this quotation comprehends 
 
 * the whole of the hypothesis which I hold, and as I hold it.' 
 And again, at the bottom of the next page, * I am happy to find, 
 ' however, that he now admits that the better city was promised 
 ' to the fleshly seed of Abraham, though not to all of them, which 
 
 * ^i all thvit I contend for.' Edin. Evang, MagiVoL iii. pp. 2S0. &(;. 
 
170 DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF 
 
 is contended for, the whole is made to depend, even ac- 
 cording to their own account, on the future conversion 
 of the individuals. If it were a matter only verified 
 in fact, that when they grow up, all the natural off- 
 spring of believers were invariably believers likewise, 
 then such a token might with propriety be administered 
 to them, even while in infancy ; for in this case, it would 
 truly be a previous token of what should afterwards 
 come to pass. But when only a part of this posterity, 
 even suppose it to be the greater part, are converted by 
 the truth, would it not be better to suspend the admini- 
 stration of the token, till the proper subjects had mani- 
 fested themselves ? 
 
 But it will be said, was it not thus administered to. 
 the posterity of Abraham ? True. But we have al- 
 ready proved that the circumstances of Abraham differ- 
 ed very materially from those of any other believer, at 
 any other period of the world. Abraham had two kinds 
 of seed. He was not to have a carnal seed only, of 
 whom the blessed Saviour was to descend, but he was 
 constituted or appointed to be the father of believers of 
 all nations and ages. It was therefore necessary, from 
 the nature of the thing, to include with himself Abra- 
 ham's natural seed, and to distinguish them from the 
 other nations by such a mark as circumcision was, till 
 the design of their appointment came to be accomplish- 
 ed. But the other species of Abraham's seed was dif- 
 ferently propagated. And it is worthy of remark that 
 ii/if, and not believers themselves, throughout the suc- 
 ceeding periods of the church, is accounted the father. 
 We Gentiles may be the children of Abraham in the 
 spiritual sense, but in the same way that he was, we 
 never can be fathers. If we literally have children, 
 then we are their fathers, the same as Abraham was the 
 father of his natural posterity ; but though we may 
 
FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. l7l 
 
 ourselves be the children of Abraham in the spiritual 
 sense, btj faith in Christ Jesus^ this does not however 
 constitute our natural offspring his children likewise, 
 unless thej conae to it by the same means. 
 
 We then take it, that the confounding of these two 
 things, distinct enough, most certainly, in themselves, 
 has been the cause of all the difficulties and errors on 
 this subject. We plainly perceive that our brethren 
 have not adverted to the fallacy of their own reasoning. 
 Had they only attended to the distinction between Abra- 
 ham's two kinds of seed, and inquired with themselves 
 to ivhich of them do we Gentiles belong ? they would 
 not only have been led into a very different kind of me- 
 ditation from what it appears they have gone into, but 
 all the direful consequences of disputing and wrangling 
 with one another would have been happily prevented. 
 Oh ! when I reflect on the dismally controversial spirit 
 which has been manifested on this subject, and perceive 
 how easily matters might have been adjusted and brought 
 to an amicable settlement, even by attention to this sin^ 
 gle pointy though I could claim a victory, (a weakness, 
 alas I too, too common among controversial writers), I 
 could rather feel disposed to shed a tear. I trust that it 
 is not for victory, but for truth that I write ; and in- 
 stead of triumphing over my brethren, it is rather my 
 wish, if they have erred, in the spirit of meekness to 
 do alHhat in me lies, to make the error manifest by the 
 exhibition of truth, leaving it to themselves, in the pre- 
 sence of Him who shall judge the quick and the dead, 
 which they shall choose. 
 
 The answer our brethren would have been led to give 
 to the above question, would hax'e served as a key to 
 unlock the whole business. The question was — To 
 which of the seeds do we Gentiles belong ? And the 
 answer they would have given it, ' Not to the natural. 
 
ni2 DISTINGUISHING MARKS or 
 
 * but to the spiritual, provided we be possessed of the 
 ' faith of Abraham.' But then they would have rea- 
 soned, ' If we ourselves be connected with Abraham 
 ' only by faith, and if this connexion be only spiritual 
 'and not carnal, how comes it to pass that our children, 
 ' who are connected with us only by carnal descent, can 
 
 * be included in a covenant wliich we ourselves had no 
 
 * right to till we believed ? Would not this,' they would 
 say, ' be connecting carnal things with spiritual, and to 
 ' the spiritual part of Abraham's seed, joining a carnal 
 
 * part, which is perfectly incompatible with the nature 
 ' of the thing * ?" 
 
 2. Thus it is evident, in the second place, that to fol- 
 low up the contrast, it would be connecting together 
 spiritual and carnal subjects, which by no means accords 
 with the nature and genius of the gospel. The two, it 
 is undeniable, were blended in the former dispensation ; 
 but in the latter, a carnal subject, as such, has no place. 
 
 3. And lastly, therefore, if the contrast were com- 
 pleted, it would connect the kingdom of our Lord 
 with the kingdoms of this world, and lay a foundation 
 for Christianizing whole nations, as all must be sensi- 
 ble that this was the case in Israel. National Christi- 
 anity indeed has its very basis in the now obsolete Jewish 
 system ; and in vain do those calling themselves dissen- 
 ters, attempt to invalidate one part' of this unscriptural 
 state of things now under the gospel, while they up- 
 hold another. The connecting of carnal members with 
 the spiritual body of Christ, which consists of believers 
 of his word, may indeed have several gradations, but 
 one and the same spirit must necessarily be operating 
 in all. If you admit the propriety of now receiving a 
 carnal infant seed into the church, upon the ground that 
 circumcision was administered to such in the forme- 
 
 * See Introduction. 
 
FORMER AND LATTER BISPENSATIONS. 173 
 
 dispensation, you pave the way, by the most natural 
 transition, drawn from the same source, to a complete 
 national establishment. Indeed the one seems, from its 
 very nature, to stand or fall with the other. Yet I know 
 from experience, that it is possible to conceive them to 
 be so completely distinct, that the one may be viewed 
 as the grand source of innumerable errors, while the 
 other may be considered as perfectly scriptural. A lit- 
 tle closer reflection however, would soon convince peo- 
 ple of their mistake. National Christianity ! Though 
 this may sound exceedingly harsh in the ears of soine 
 people, what is it in the main but the principles of Pe- 
 do-baptists carried to their proper length ? That re- 
 markable saying of our Lord, *' My kingdom is not of 
 this world," and that description of its subjects, "They 
 are not of the world, even as I am not ef the world *," 
 are not ^ more opposed by the one than by the other. 
 The one lays the foundation, and the other only erects 
 the edifice upon that which was laid. Supposing the 
 scheme of Pedo-baptists but once to exist, through pro- 
 cess of time what were they to do, to be consistent with 
 themselves, with all those whom they baptized, or 
 Christianized as many call it, in their youth, but to ac- 
 knowledge them as Christians, and to give them a place 
 in the church afterwards ? Was not this the plan in Is- 
 rael ? Accordingly this, so far as I know, is denied by 
 none of them. But many of our brethren, who indeed 
 are aware of the fallacy of religious establishments, 
 yet blind to that system (the Pedo-baptist, to-wit) 
 which seems to have given rise to these, appear to be 
 so far convinced of the error of their principles hov>?ever, 
 as to hold them upon a new, but sorry are we to say, 
 more inconsistent ground. Like their brethren in the 
 estal)lishment, they look upon the whole natural off- 
 ^ John \vi). K). 
 
n* DISTINGtJISHiNG MARkS OF 
 
 spring of believers to be //; the covenant, quoting conti- 
 nually that passage, " The pi-ouiise is to you, and ti' 
 your children," &.c. But then, as it is part of their 
 system to maintain purity of communion, by exercising 
 the discipline of God's house towards offending mem- 
 bers, they represent this iatcrcit which tlicir children 
 have in the covenant, as limited in point of duration 
 entirely to the period of infancy andyoutli. If they 
 give evidence that they are unbelievers when tliey grow 
 up, they are to be separated from the church ; but by 
 all means, they are always to be considered as mem- 
 bers of it in the first instance *. Nay, some even go 
 the length of regarding them spiritual members, on ac- 
 count of the alleged connection between them and their 
 parents ; and with a good deal of sectarian glee, they 
 will run over such passages as these, " Else were your 
 children unclean, but now are they holy. — If the root 
 be holy, so are the branches," &.c. as if they quoted 
 
 * I have had frequently occasion to notice inconsistencies j and 
 tkough i set out with the full determination to offend none whom 
 I ought to love in the bowels of Christian affection, yet I am ap- 
 prehensive that this will hardly be the case, on account of the 
 plain speech I am necessitated to employ. An inconsistency yet 
 iHOic glaring than any wc have noticed, here presents itself to 
 view. Notwithstanding all the ado which our brethren make 
 about their children's interest in the covenant ahd place in the 
 church, we have never yet seen them reduce their principles to 
 practice, and really regard them as church members, as they pre- 
 tend. ' As members,' they say, ' both of God's covenant and 
 ' church, they are initialed by baptism j' but more we never hear 
 of them, perhaps for six, eight, ten, twelve, twenty or thirty years, 
 and of many of them, alas I never at all. And when we do hear 
 of any of them, it is only in the wayof applying for admission into 
 fhe church, though it is said they were members of it from the 
 first. ' Do not facts then demonstrate, and that more strongly than 
 feny thing which can be said to the contrary, wliit even their own 
 sentiments are in rc";ird to this matter > 
 
FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. 175 
 
 them in their precise and undeniable sense, and as if no 
 other more scriptural and consistent interpretation could 
 be given of them * . 
 
 That these are the express views of some Pedo-bap- 
 tists, could be easily shewn from their writings ; and 
 we surely may be credited when we say, that we have 
 found many since our thoughts have been turned to 
 this subject, maintaining precisely the same in conversa- 
 tion. But personal attacks we wish to deal in as little 
 as possible, for which reason we decline referring to 
 particular instances, and would affectionately beseech 
 our brethren, if any of them may think, it meet still to 
 defend their principles, to go upon something of the 
 same plan, and favour us with one connected view of 
 them, without much regard to personalities in the af- 
 fair. If Pedo-baptism after all be really scriptural, (a 
 thing which we must say, however, we have no pre- 
 sent grounds for supposing), we are convinced that it 
 can be made clear, and the grievous and wearisome con- 
 troversy brought to a happy termination, only by such- 
 means. 
 
 Let us now examine, by the unerring standard of truth, 
 the principles at which we have hinted. We have given 
 it as our decided opinion, that the most consistent view 
 in which we think Pedo-baptist principles can be held, 
 is that of national Christianity. It is thus that Dr 
 Taylor treats the subject, and it must be confessed, that 
 he is on this account pretty consistent with himself, 
 though by no means is he consistent with the truth. 
 For v/hile that single saying of the faithful and true 
 Witness has a place in our Bibles, *' My kingdom is 
 not of this world," we defy all who were ever born of 
 
 '^ See Chap. VII. Sect.l. where these pa-sage^,. amongst others 
 of a s'ifflfi'lar mature, are explained. 
 
176 DISTIKGUrSHING MARKS OF 
 
 women, to prove that Christianity, established by hu- 
 man laws is scrijHural. 
 
 But what kind of subterfuge is this, to which our 
 brethren have betaken tjiemselves, since because they 
 dare not from principle maintain the validity of religi- 
 ous establishments, to limit the duration of children's in- 
 terest in the covenant, if so be they ever had such an 
 interest ? and what are the grounds on which they 
 propose to proceed ? It is, as we have before noticed, 
 from the circumstance of the rejection of Ishmael and 
 Esau, and the unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness. 
 If these cases however are the only grounds upon which 
 such a sentiment has been formed, we trust that a can- 
 did attention to what we have already said on this sub- 
 ject, (Chap. II. Sect. 1.) will shew that it is founded 
 entirely on mistake. From what we have there said, 
 our readers will perceive, we trust, that these instances 
 do not give the smallest countenance to such a theory. 
 They will perceive, that the cases of Ishmael and Esau 
 can make nothing for the point ; theyhaving been se- 
 parated from the seed to which the promise belonged, 
 not so much on account of the want of faith, as on ac- 
 count of the want of a joint interest with that seed. 
 And, moreover, as the Lord had also purposes with 
 them of a very special and important nature, so, for the 
 accomplishment of these alone, had there been no other 
 reason, it was necessary that such a separation should 
 have taken place. But, that they do not afford even 
 the shadow of a reason for the scheme here proposed, is 
 evident to me, first, from the circumstance of Ishmael 
 being declared, and that at a considerable period previ- 
 ous to the alleged cause of his rejection, that he should 
 not be heir with the child ivho should be born ; and second- 
 Iv, from the fate of Esau, in this particular, being de- 
 
FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIQJ^S. l77 
 
 tfirmined before he was born^ or had yet done good or evily 
 as the Scripture expresseth it. And as to the case of 
 the unbelieving Israelites, we consider it equally inap- 
 plicable as the other ; but without saying any thing 
 further upon it here, we would refer wholly to what 
 we have said in the place above alluded to. BefoVe we 
 dismiss this subject entirely, however, we shall say a 
 few things respecting it in a general way. 
 
 We suppose then, that our brethren, who are for 
 maintaining the scheme of cutting off such children 
 from the church as give no evfdence of their faith, will 
 not scruple to re-admit them upon a subsequent profes- 
 sion. Will it not puzzle them however to demonstrate, 
 that this was the tenor upon which the separation of 
 Ishmael and Esau proceeded ? Yea^ is it not clear, on 
 the contrary, that the Scriptures represent their separa- 
 tion as having taken place, in order to effect a particu- 
 lar purpose, and as having been all at once irreversible 
 and final ? They were separated, never again to be join- 
 ed with the children of the promise, neither they, nor 
 their descendents as a body, in all their successive gene- 
 rations. Upon the same tenor went also the denuncia- 
 tion aeainst the Israelites in the wilderness. It was 
 
 O 
 
 likewise irreversible and final. There was no place 
 given for repentance ; so that, of all the thousands in Is- 
 rael, none entered the promised land, save Caleb and 
 Joshua, the only exceptions against whom the threaten- 
 ing had not gone forth. 
 
 It is evident too, that the laws instituted by Moses 
 respecting disobedient and froward children, partook 
 more of the nature of civil legislation, than of church 
 discipline. It is a principle inseparable from the latter, 
 that excommunication is never to be had recourse to in 
 the first instance, nor even at all, till the culprit ha^ 
 
 7. 
 
|7S DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF 
 
 been otherwise dealt with ; and it is only after he has 
 stood out against all salutary means of reformation, that 
 he is to be cast out and accounted a heathen man and a 
 publican. And even after all, should he manifest signs 
 of repentance in any subsequent period, the brethren, 
 are bound to receive hitn with cordial affection, confirm- 
 
 "^ing their love to such a soul, lest he should be swallow- 
 ed up of over much sorrow *. Nor further than sim- 
 ple excommunication does this power pidrmit them to 
 
 ' go. Though the subject whom they separate may speak 
 all manner of evil agai.Tst them, and persecute them 
 with all the fury of a vet unco?iverted Saul, they art 
 notwithstanding to bear it patiently, and not to touch ?. 
 hair of his head to do hihi hurt, though they should 
 have it in their power. They are on no account, as the 
 disciples of Christ, and acting in his service, either in- 
 dividually or in their collective capacity, to shed the 
 blood of any one. How different in all these respects, 
 however, was the former dispensation ? It was not mere 
 exclusion,- but positive deatli, which was the penalty an- 
 nexed to many crimes. Israel was not only a church,- 
 but a nation distinct by itself ; and as Jehovah was their 
 king and head, so he gave them laws by which their 
 conduct might be regulated, even in their national capa- 
 city. Church and state, under that dispensation, were 
 blended ; and as it is impossible to maititain the peace 
 and order of s state without corporeal punishments, so 
 there were laWs enacting these, that those who wrought 
 confusion in Israel might be set forth as examples of 
 warning to their brethren. But never, except by the 
 apostolic rod, which' was peculiar to the apostolic charac- 
 ter and age, were there any corporeal punishments in- 
 flicted in the new dispensation. And it is worthy of 
 Kimark, that what punishments they did inflict, were 
 * 2 Cor. ii. 7. 
 
FORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. K^ 
 
 Rpt of an ordinary, but of an extraordinary and miracu- 
 lous nature. Had they been of the former description, 
 and to have been employed in succeeding ages, this 
 would have been interfering witlj^the magisterial power, 
 and never could have been practised, save upon Old 
 Testament principles, by the union of church and state, 
 which would have completely contr.adicted that saying 
 of our blessed Lord, that his kingdom is not of this 
 'World. 
 
 The only othei* distinction between the two dispensa- 
 tions we have yet tp notice, is that respecting the ordi- 
 nances. Concerning these, considerable opposition has 
 existed between Baptists and Pedo-baptists ; the first 
 alleging the ordinances of the former dispensation to be 
 wholly of a carnal nature, as those of the latter to be 
 entirely spiritual. While the second, on the contrary, 
 maintain, and I confess with a good deal of apparent 
 reason, that there appears as much carnality, if you 
 take the ordinances simply by themselves, in the latter 
 dispensation as in the former. It is urged, and for my 
 part I conceive conclusively, that there appears to be as 
 little spirituality in the mere act of immersing in wa- 
 ter, the only mode Baptists aver the ordinance can be 
 .attended to, as in the administration of circumcision. 
 
 Without therefore pretending to be arbiters in this 
 affair, we would simply give our own views of the sub- 
 ject. 'Considering the admirable unity of design which 
 pervades the whole of divine revelation, we would be 
 far from supposing any of the ordinances, under either 
 '^dispensation, though they may indeed possess characters 
 peculiar to themselve^ not to inculcate the same gene- 
 ral truths. In speaking of the ordinance of circumci-P 
 sion, though we considered it as having a reference to 
 some things which were not strictly spiritual, we were 
 hpweyer far from excluding spiritu;<.l significations from 
 
ISO DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF 
 
 it altogether. And the same maybe said of all the 
 other ordinances under the law. The paschal lamb was 
 primarily designed to commemorate the deliverance 
 vouchsafed toMsrael, in the preservation of their first- 
 1, when all the first-born of the Egyptians were 
 
 sWin by the destroying angel. But it pointed to Christ, 
 as a secondary and higher signification, through the 
 shedding of \yhose blood deliverance from sin and wrath 
 should be obtained. The laws respecting cleanness and 
 uncleanness,.\v\)S\.^ they primarily pointed out the cere- 
 monial qualifications of such as could be admitted into 
 the worship of God, signified in a spiritual sense that 
 moral purity, which is the delight of Him who desireth 
 truth in the inward part, and which is expressed in the 
 New Testament by a worshipping of God in the spirit. 
 The sins of ignorance fitly pointed out those daily short- 
 comings of the glory of God, with which his most spi- 
 ritual and devoted servants were chargeable, and the ne- 
 cessity of continually having recourse, for pardon and 
 forgiveness, to the blood of Jesus, who is the Media- 
 tor of the new covenant, the advocate within the veil, 
 exalted as a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance 
 unto his people, even the remission of their sins. The 
 Irazen serpent erected in the wilderness, evidently for a 
 purpose, which suited the local situation^of Israel at the 
 time ; though its existence was to be but temporary, it 
 yet had a higher meaning, and pointed to the elevation 
 of Christ upon his cross, by faith in whose blood men 
 should be delivered from a worse evil than the sting of 
 the fiery-flying serpents, even from sin and its infinite 
 consequences, as an infinite evil, committed against such 
 tin infinitely great, holy, and munificent Being as God 
 is. The law of the lepers too, and in one word, all the 
 other institutions which can be named, while they ha^ 
 iqvidently a first or primary signification, had also a ss- 
 
i ORMER AND LATTER DISPENSATIONS. IS I 
 
 condary or higher purport, in which consisted their ver j 
 life and essence, and without attention to which they 
 can never be rightly understood. 
 
 With respect to the ordinances of the New T^ta^ 
 ment, it must be confessed thly are both fewer in iwini- 
 her, and vastly more simple than those of the Old. 
 Concerning the mere outward observance of them how- 
 ever, there can be little or no difference between the one 
 and the other. The luater used in Laptism is but wa- 
 ter still, and the ceremony either of immersing or sprin- 
 kling, has nothing spiritual in it, further than the sub- 
 jects attending to it really extend their ideas beyond the 
 merely sensible objects, to those spiritual and heavenly 
 realities, which it is impossible can be the objects of 
 sense. The bread and nuine in the ordinance of the sup- 
 per too, and the bodily exercise of receiving them, have 
 nothing spiritual in themselves, nor differ in the least, 
 €xcept in the imagination of those who admit the wild 
 doctrine of transubstantiation, from bread and wine 
 eaten and drunken on any other occasion. It is only 
 the mind which reflects on the grand design of its insti- 
 tution, and which sees through these sensible objects 
 the body and blood of its dying Saviour, that gives any 
 title to the idea of spirituality in the smallest. These 
 ordinances may be attended to, as, alas ! we ,have too 
 much reason for supposing that they actually arcy and 
 that in an unexceptionable and scriptural manner, while 
 there is no proper or sci'iptural idea of their significa- 
 tion and import present to the mind. Though the or- 
 dinances of the New Testament are alleged to be spiri- 
 tual, as those of the Old carnal, yet the one does not se- 
 cure spirituality in the observer more than the othen 
 The allegation, indeed, we consider to be entirely false. 
 No where does it appear to have any foundation either 
 in Scripture or reason. As to their mere outward oh- 
 
JS2 DrSTINGUIS|fiING MARKS OF 
 
 servance,all the ordinances appear to be on a level, and 
 there were none of them destitute of a spiritual im- 
 port, when the mind reflecting was truly under the in- 
 fluence of spiritual impressions. 
 
 The only difference between the one class of ordi- 
 nances and the other therefore, I confess myself able tp 
 perceive, is simply the following. Those of the Old 
 Testament, while they had a spiritual and heavenly im- 
 port, referred also to something which was temporal 
 and earthly. But those of the New, have only one kind 
 of reference, and this being spiritual in its nature, so 
 the overlooking of this distinction has no doubt led to 
 all the mistakes which have been committed on this 
 subject. It ought to be remarked too, that it is only 
 the objects of the reference; or things signified^ and not 
 those which are sensible, in which the spirituality of 
 these ordinances consists. 
 
 We mentioned pauciii/ and simpl'icitrj as being distin- 
 guishing characteristics between the Old and New Tes- 
 tament ordinances. The former dispensation was bur- 
 dened with an innumerable train of ordinances ; this, 
 properly speaking, has but t-t^'o only. Nor is the sim- 
 plicity of these less to be admired, than their paucity 
 of number. There is but one elenjent used in baptism, 
 la the ordinance of the supper there are two employed. 
 Nor are the things signified by them either numerous 
 or hard to be understood. Like circumcision, baptism 
 is an initiatory ordinance ; and as, in the New Testa- 
 ment, we have no example of its being administered to 
 any who did not profess faith in the Saviour, we hence 
 infer that it ought always to be joined with believing ; 
 and that one of its principal designs is, to afford an op- 
 portunity to the newly converted, to declare publicly 
 their persuasion of the truths of which they have re- 
 cently come to the knowledge. Thus while baptism, 
 
FORMER ANp ]t-4TTER DISPENSATIONS. 183 
 
 being an Initiating ordinance, and to be attended to but 
 once, would usher th^ converted, so to speak, into the 
 fellowship of the godly ; the ordinance of the supper, 
 by its frequent repetition, was designed to represent the 
 nourishment, the heavenly and spiritual nourishment, 
 which the soul continually requires. 
 
 As we are thus speaking of ordinances, we shall hete 
 make the following remark in regard to them, with 
 which we shall close the chapter. It is a practice very 
 common with many to represent some ordinances of the 
 New Testament as having come in the room of those of 
 the Old, to which they are supposed to bear some re- 
 semblance ; but with what propriety we are not so very 
 certain. Not that we have any objection to the thing, as 
 running counter with any part of our system, but as it 
 does not appear to be a self-evident truth, and no good 
 reasons have we ever heard assigned for it, it is hence the 
 least thing we can do, to inquire into a matter of this 
 kind for ourselves. 
 
 Baptism is said to have come in the room of circum- 
 cision^ and our Lord's supper* in that of the passo- 
 ver. But if it be examined into, it will perhaps be 
 found, that the analogy between circumcision, as it was 
 practised among the Israelites, and baptism, as practi« 
 sed by the apostles and first Christians^ is exceedingly 
 faint,- consisting in but one point of agreement, that is 
 to say, in being dispensed but once to the individual, 
 in which respect it cannot be denied that it was in both 
 •initiatory. In regard to tke other, that Christ is sty- 
 led our passover who' was slain for us, is a truth which 
 none can question ; but that he is so styled in relation 
 to the ordinance of the supper, and that this ordinance 
 was instituted with a view to substitute the other, is a 
 very different point. The passover was appointed 
 when there was a certain primary object to be o|>tain* 
 
IS-t DiSXIhGUlSlIIKG MARKS, Sl-C. 
 
 ed by it ; but only in a secondary, though it niubt bf? 
 allowed, higher sense, it pointed to the Saviour. But 
 to what else did the daily sacrifice, and all the oblations 
 which they offered from year to year, on the great day 
 of atonement, allude ? To say then that the Lord's 
 stip^r is a substitute for the passover, merely because 
 that ordinance, in its secondar}^ signification, had a refCir 
 T-fiice to Christ's death, and because this was instituted 
 at the last passover Christ ate with his disciples, would 
 it not be equally as correct to say, that it is a substi- 
 tute for the daily sacrifices, and particularly for that 
 which was offered on jthe great day of atonement, 
 which all terminated, properly speaking, at the same 
 time ? The fact however seems plainly to be, that each 
 liad a particular end of its own to serve, and was ac- 
 cordingly instituted for this particular purpose, without 
 any idea of the one resuming its place, and the other 
 stepping in to make up the deficiency. The ordinance 
 of the supper is represented in Scripture neither as a 
 sncrament, whereby allegiance is supposed to be sworn 
 to the Saviour, nor yet as a substitute in the place of 
 the passover, or any other institution under the law; 
 but simply as a commemoration of the great event of 
 Christ's pouring out his soul unto death, and, in a spi- 
 ritual sense, giving his body to be meat, and his blood 
 to be drink for the souls of his pe6ple. 
 
 We come now to the sixt/i thing proposed, which 
 was to wind up our arguments, with a view, if possi- 
 ble, to bring the subject of dispute betwe^ Baptists 
 and Pedo-baptists to an issue. This will accordingly be 
 the subject of our next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER yL 
 
 CONTAINING PARTICULAR REASONINGS WITH THE PEDO" 
 BAPTISTS, AND UNDENIABLE CONCLUSIONS FROM 
 THE FOREGOING ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 J\s our object in the chapter upon which we are en- 
 tering will be, as far as in us lies, to bring the subject 
 of dispute between Baptists and Pedo-baptists to a ter- 
 mination, it will be necessary* in the first place, briefly 
 to advert to the different views, even among Pedo-bap- 
 tists, in regard to this subject. Though most of them 
 hold their principles on the grounds of the Abrahamic 
 covenant, yet this is not the case with all. There are 
 other considerations at least which many of them blend 
 with these, and which together, in their estimation, af- 
 ford authority quite sufficient for the baptizing of their 
 infants. We have heard many reason,not only upon the 
 principle that the promise is to believers and their chil- 
 dren, buU upon the principle of their having conveyed 
 to their children a depraved and polluted nature ; and 
 that therefore it is their duty, not only to profess faith 
 in the merits of the Saviour for themselves, but for 
 their children also, whom they dedicate to him by bap- 
 tism, praying, that as they have been the means of con- 
 veying to them their corrupt nature, so he may be gra- 
 ciously pleased to deliver them from its direful conse- 
 quences, by washing and purifying them according to 
 
 Aa 
 
186 rARtlCULAR REASONINGS 
 
 the merits of His blood. And here it is to be obser- 
 ved, that it is not so much divine authority, as the sup- 
 posed propriety of the thing, upon which these go. 
 There are otherfj, however, who from viewing the sub* 
 ject diiFerently, represent the divine authority for it, as 
 being all in all. These are such as hold it upon the 
 ground of the Abrahamic covenant. The first thing 
 they do, is to make out this covenant to be the cove- 
 nant of grace ; and then finding that God made it not 
 only with Abraham, but with his seed, a part of which 
 is Gentile believers, they hence infer that their seed 
 also is in this connected with themselves. The manner 
 in which they reason concerning this matter, is as fol- 
 lows. If, under the former dispensation, children were 
 circumcised in consequence of their connection with be- 
 lieving Abraham, we know that new, under the gospel, 
 the blessing of Abraham is come upon the Gentiles ; 
 and therefore, whosoever among them believe, have a 
 right to baptism for their children, the same as belie- 
 ving Abraham had a right to circumcision for his. Nay, 
 further, the covenant, they say, is the covenant of grace, 
 and was made, not only with Abraham personally, but 
 with his seed likewise ; and therefore his seed, being 
 positively parties in the covenant, have an indisputable 
 right to the administration of its token. There are 
 others again, who endeavour to support the .propriety 
 of infant baptism, though it must be owned in conjunc- 
 tion with the above, from the circumstance of families 
 and househclds being mentioned as baptized in the New 
 Testament. 
 
 Though these different points be completely distinct 
 in themselves, we do not mean to say that each has its 
 respective abettors, and that we are hence to look for 
 Pedo-baptists only of the first, or second, or third de- 
 scription. On the contrary, the whole of the above 
 
WITH THE PEDO-BAPTISTS. 187 
 
 sentipients, so far as we know, arc held indiscrimi- 
 nztely hj most. And how often does it happen, that, 
 in arguing, when they are beat out of one of them, 
 they will betake themselves to either or both of the 
 other. We mention them however as distinct topics, 
 which in reality they are, and under which may be 
 comprehended the most of the arguments which have 
 been brought in support of infant-baptism. 
 
 According to this plan, we shall therefore prosecute 
 ©ur subject. 
 
 1. First then let us attend to the argument for Pedo- 
 baptism, drawn from the fact, that we convey to our 
 children a depraved and polluted natiire. It may be 
 observed, that the whole of this argument proceeds ra- 
 ther in the plaintive strain, or in what logicians term a 
 petitio principii^ than in going in quest of proof. It rea- 
 sons rather upon the propriety of the thing, than at- 
 tempts to bring, thus saith the Lord, for the practice it 
 urges. And upon this ground we must therefore take 
 it up. 
 
 I own that there is something exceedingly soothing, 
 and at the same time plausible, in the topic we are go- 
 ing to consider. But as all that can be reasonably look- 
 ed for, can be obtained independently of baptism, and 
 above all, as the practice here objected to is calculated 
 in its nature, not only to give the most false represen- 
 tation of that ordinance, but of thje spiritual nature of 
 Christ's kingdom in general ; so we must proceed in un- 
 folding these evil§, without suffering our minds to be 
 biassed by collateral considerations, which at best 
 can make nothing at all for the point in support of 
 which they are brought forward. 
 
 We say, that all that can be reasonably looked for in 
 regard to our children, can be obtained independently of 
 baptism. That they are coticeived in sin^ and kroughi 
 
188 rARTICULAR REASONINGB 
 
 forth in tniqxiitijy is a truth demonstrable from Scripture, 
 and we are glad when we have it in our power so cor- 
 dially to unite with those who have adopted opinions 
 different from ours j and what we would here particu- 
 larly rqquest of them is, that they would see to it, that 
 no part of their system shall ever be allowed to clash 
 with such a clearly revealed truth, and a truth more- 
 over, which they themselves acknowledge. 
 
 Now having acknowledged (themselves being belie- 
 vers) that they convey to their children a depraved and 
 corrupt nature, what do they expect by dedicating them 
 to the Lord by baptism ? That it is the duty of belie- 
 ving parents to pray for their children, none will deny j 
 and even as soon as born, they may lawfully lay their 
 case before the Lord, particularly beseeching him, that 
 as, through their instrumentality, they not only exist, 
 but exist as depraved and guilty creatures, so, through 
 the instrumentality of the blood of his own dear Son, 
 they may be made partakers of the divine nature. It 
 is their duty to pray, not only that they may be preser- 
 ved in the world, if the will of God be so ; but as no 
 human being, even in the last stages of provocation and 
 of guilt, much less any only entering upon life, is ab- 
 solutely excluded from the hope of the gospel, they 
 may hence pray for all those spiritual blessings to their 
 souls, for which the gospel makes such a rich provision. 
 And what more than this, pray, dp our brethren pro- 
 pose by baptizing them ? Do they meaq^to assert, that 
 by the administration of this ordinance, some spiritual 
 blessing or other is really communicated to their chil- 
 dren ? If there be any thing more than simply praying 
 for these spiritual good things, we hope they will be 
 kind enough to specify them ; but if nothing more be 
 intended, why attend to this ordinance more than any 
 other, merely to offer up prayers ? 
 
WITH THE PEDO-BAPTISTS. 1^9 
 
 But from several considerations it appears^'that some 
 spiritual blessings seem really to be expected by our 
 brethren, in attending to this ordinance ; for how often. 
 do we hear them urging the c^,pacity of children to re- 
 ceive such blessings ; and withal, quoting the circum- 
 stance every now and then of our Lord taking up chil- 
 dren in his arms, and blessing them ? Does not this ta- 
 citly evince, that they expect something of a similar na- 
 ture to take place in respect td their children in bap- 
 tism ? But as It has been well remarked, it was not aH 
 children whom the Saviour thus blessed ; and really till 
 this be shewn, exceptions of this nature prove nothing. 
 And besides, as the Scriptures do not annex a blessing 
 necessarily with the observance of this ordinance, may 
 not a blessing be as reasonably expected, yea, and a 
 great deal more so, in answer to the effectual fervent 
 prayer of the righteous^ than by the attending to any or- 
 dinance, be what it may, particularly if that ordinance 
 is not scriptural ? 
 
 We also hinted, that this practice gives a false repre" 
 sentation of the ordiTiance itself. In the conclusion of ibe 
 immediately preceding chapter, we have shewn that the 
 partlcHlar design of it appears to be a public avowal, 
 made by the newly converted, of their^ conviction of tht 
 truths of the Christian doctrine. And in proof of this^ 
 we refer to all the cases in the New Testament, where 
 baptism is spoken of, and we are convinced that it will 
 be found that this was the tenor upon which they Inva- 
 rijbly proceeded. 
 
 If then this was the plan upon which the apostles and 
 first Christians went, we ask, is It still the same upori 
 which our brethren mean to go, in baptizing their in- 
 fants ? They will perhaps reply, that though it was 
 thus most unquestionably in respect to the newly con- 
 verted themselves, yet along ivith themselves their house- 
 
190 PARTICULAR. REASONINGS 
 
 /to/ds ivere (tlso baptized^ and it is after their example tJiat 
 •we mean to walk. That even this, however, is not so 
 decisive as many may suppose, we hope immediately 
 to shew ; but here we shall take them up upon another 
 principle. Can it then be denied, that the baptizing of 
 infants, even though it be upon the faith of their pa- 
 rents, is still giving a false representation of the ordi- 
 nance, if the administration of the ordinance, as may 
 be seen in the New Testament, be always connected 
 with a personal profession of faith in the subjects ? At 
 the very utmost, in this case it would be profession only 
 by proxy. And supposing it once to become general, 
 then indeed you may still have the form of the ordi- 
 nance attended to, but you never in any case could have 
 the spirit of it preserved, which consists in a public avowal 
 of truths which one believes for himself ; for it would be 
 always the parent who would make the profession, and 
 that by way of substitute for the prineipal ; but never 
 the principal, I mean in the administration of this ordi- 
 nance, for himself. Thus would we, in fact, divest it 
 of one of its most beautiful, instructive, and important 
 designs, and substitute in its place what, strictly speak- 
 ing, is but a mere shadow ; for, is it not demonstrative, 
 that among the thousands baptized in infancy, all said 
 to be baptized into the faith, not a tenth part seem ever 
 to know any thing of it, or to be at all concerned about 
 it when they come to years ? Nay, considering that the 
 few who do come to the knowledge of the truth, come 
 to it not on account of their being baptized, but on ac- 
 count of subsequent instructions with which they have 
 been favoured, and which were blessed for the very end 
 of causing them to know and believe ; considering these 
 things, we say, and along with these, the fact of what 
 the lives of all of them without exception, previous to 
 the period of their conversion, were, without God, and 
 
WITH THE tEDO-BAPTISTS. l&l 
 
 without Christ, and without hope in the world, and that 
 notwithstanding they were baptized in their infancy — 
 considering these tilings, is it not a pity, we say, that 
 their baptism was not suspended till it could be done in 
 that instructive and significant way, in which it appears 
 to have been practised by the apostles of our blessed 
 Lord ; that is to say, when they came newly to the 
 knowledge of the truth ? To baptize in any other situ- 
 ation, whether it be itifantSy or persons who have had a 
 iong statidltig in the Christian faiths taking the Scripture 
 alone, and not the authority of men for our rule, seems 
 equally foreign from the original design of the ordi- 
 nance. 
 
 We mentioned moreover, that the practice we are 
 here considering, gives a most false representation of the 
 spiritual nature of ChrisVs kingdom in general. We need 
 hardly repeat that saying of the faithful and true Wit- 
 ness, in which he testifies to Pilate, that his kingdom is 
 not of this world. As little need we mention, we pre- 
 sume, that description of his subjects, that they are i\ot 
 of the world, even as He was not of the world, these 
 being truths absolutely undeniable. But the questioa 
 is, what station do our brethren assign to the children 
 whom they baptize ? Are they members of the churcli, 
 or are they not ? If they should assert the former, de- 
 claring, as we know ma'ny do, that they are members, 
 then we ask, of what description ? Whether are they 
 spiritual or carnal ? And as we know, from their own 
 confession^ that they convey to their offspring a depra- 
 ved and polluted nature, and which is indeed the topic 
 we are now discoursing on, we are assured that carnal 
 they must acknowledge thejn to be. But if this be ad- 
 mitted, (as how can it be denied, but upon the pririciple 
 of insanity alone ?) then we boldly aver, that they ace 
 
U')2 rARXiCULAR REASONINGS 
 
 ^ot subjects of that kingdom, which Christ declares tioi 
 to be of this world ;' for the subjects of this kingdom 
 are not of the world, they are not carnal but spiritual ; 
 and if we Ihus prove a carnal offspring not to belong to 
 the spiritual kingdom^of -Christ, we leave our brethren 
 to'make it out, if they'can, that they ai'e really mem- 
 bers of his spiritual body, his church. Or upon the 
 principle that they are spiritual, a position which some 
 go even the length to assert, would it be too much to 
 say, that if this really be the case, then no further 
 change is necessary — they are spiritual — they are pass- 
 ed from death unto life. Conversion in their case is 
 absolutely unnecessary. God has inverted his own 
 corrstitution ; so that it is no longer that which is born 
 of the flesh is flesh, but positively that which is born of 
 the flesh is spirit ; and depraved and corrupt men no 
 longer beget children in their own likeness, with incli- 
 nations and propensities similar to their own, but in the 
 likeness of God, consisting in knowledge, righteousness 
 and true holiness. And what would be the greatest 
 wonder of all this, is, that notwithstanding they would 
 thus bear the image of God at the first, that image 
 W'ould soon change into the likeness of men j and after 
 such a marvellous retrograde change had been produ- 
 ced, they in their turn, though now in the likeness of 
 man, would beget children in the likeness of God. And 
 so it would go on, from one generation to another, be- 
 ginning fairly and ending foully, the change"^ always in 
 the retrograde foriu, and always the perfect antipode of 
 the Scripture. 
 
 But having said enough throughout the whole of this 
 inquiry to expose this truly inconsistent and unscriptu- 
 raWdc^? "^ve shall not insist on it further here, but shall 
 proceed in our next section to the consideration of the 
 
WITH THE PEDO-BAPTISTS. 193 
 
 <«econd argument we noticed, which respects the propri- 
 ety, and even scriptural nature, as it is asserted, of in- 
 fant baptism, drawn from the Abrahamic covenant. 
 
 SECTION It. 
 
 t)f the argument for Pedo-haptism^ drawn from the 
 Abrahamic covenant. 
 
 JL HIS, it may be remarked^ is the grand source svhenct^ 
 the practice of infant baptism seems to have arisen. It 
 goes entirely upon the principle of circumcision having 
 been administered to infants under the former dispensa- 
 tion." The only way, of course, in which it can be satis- 
 factorily proved either to be right or wrong, is, by tra- 
 cing the connexion between the two dispensations, in or- 
 der to ascertain whether they resemble each other in 
 this particular point. This, accordingly, has been our 
 principal aim in all that v/e have hitherto said. With 
 what success therefore we have exposed fallacious rea- 
 soning, must alone be judged of by a candid perusal of 
 all that we have advanced. To bring the arguinent, 
 however, if possible, to a termination, we would here 
 attend to it in direct form. 
 
 It is asserted by Pedo-baptists, that the covenant 
 made with Abraham, is the covenant of grace ; that by 
 consequence, it was not liable to change like the old co- 
 venant of Sinai ; that it was made, not only with Abra- 
 ham personally, but likewise with his seed ; that they 
 were patties in the covenant as well as himself ; and 
 
 Bb 
 
1D4 ARGUMENT FOR PEDO-BAPTrSM, 
 
 that, as Gentile believers arc the seed of Abraham in 
 the spiritual sense, so thej have not onlj a right to the 
 token of the covenant, which they sg^^is baptism, for 
 themselves, but likewise^for tlieir children, the same as 
 believintr Abraham had a ri':;]iL to circumcision for him- 
 ■ self and children. 
 
 Tlicse are the topics in whicli \vc conceive the whole 
 of the argument to consist, and which we shall there- 
 fore attend to in due order. 
 
 With respect to the Abrahamic covenant's being the 
 covenant of grace, we have already given our mind 
 fully on this point ; and instead of making any repeti- 
 tions here, we would refer in general to what we have 
 said in the preceding pages. We have noticed that that 
 covenant consisted of a mixed nature ; and that really, 
 according to any idea we have of the covenant of grace, 
 this made with Abraham, cannot, strictly speaking, be 
 ■considered such and nothing else. 
 
 The constituent parts of the Abrahamic covenant, we 
 have seen to be exceedingly dissimilar in their nature, 
 including blessings, as well as subjects, not only of a 
 spirit'ial, but of a carnal description ; for which cause we 
 decidedly diifer from Pedo-baptists, not only in regard 
 to their views of the covenant, but also in regard to 
 their representation of its subjects. To make out but 
 c«if description of subjects, has been the principal at- 
 tempt of that great champion of their system, Mr Pi- 
 xie ; and I find that my worthy friend, Mr Wardlaw, 
 has thought proper to tread in the same steps. But, in 
 my opinion, ail that they have said on the subject, had 
 been completely overturned by what even a brother of 
 their own, I mean the great Dr Owen, published to the 
 world long before either of them existed. The passage 
 I allude to, may be seen in our 87th page, &c. The Doc- 
 tor, though a Pedo-baptist, is not speaking there of bap- 
 
DRAWN FROM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 19^ 
 
 tism, but combating Jewish errors ; and it so happens, 
 whether from the similarity between these, and those into 
 which our brethren have run, that in effecting his pur- 
 pose in regard to the former, he also cuts up the latter, 
 root and branch. We have ''also shewn that Dr Mag- 
 knight does the same. And froin what both these emi- 
 nent divines have clearly provfed'^^frorri the Scriptures of 
 truth, we are firmly, and at tlie same time rationally 
 convinced, that it never can again be maintained, that 
 Abraham had only one kind of seedy to-nvit the spiritualy 
 ever recognised in the covenant. 
 
 It is not denied, that God established his covenant, 
 not only between himself and Abraham, but likewise 
 between himself and Abraham's seed ; yet that this 
 had, first, a literal sense, and included all the natural de- 
 scendents of Abraham, in the line of Jacob, let any one 
 read what we have said in the preceding pages, and con- 
 trovert it if he can. But it has been our care, as indeed 
 the subject itself suggests, not to rest in the mere lite- 
 ral interpretation of this glorious covenant, but to stretch 
 our minds towards higher objects, as it respects both 
 blessings and subjects. These more exalted objects are 
 spiritual objects. We fully admit, with all the freedom 
 which even the most strenuous Pedo-baptist can de- 
 mand, that such objects were included, yea, formed a 
 "most important part in tlie Abrahamic covenant. But 
 then we differ from them in this other respect. We 
 maintain that these spiritual blessings are only suited 
 for the spiritual subjects j and that the spiritual sub- 
 jects are such only as are in the covenant, not merely 
 by a natural connexion with Abraham, that is to say, 
 his seed according to the flesh, but by a spiritual con- 
 nexion, that is, his seed in the spiritual sense, or by be- 
 lieving the truth of God. Many who were connected 
 v;ith him by the first mode, may also have been con- 
 
106 ARGUMENT FOR PEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 ncclcd with him by the second ; and thus there would 
 exist between them a double connexion. They would 
 Ire the seed of Abraham, not only according to the flesh, 
 but his seed by faith. Qftgtile believers, however, can 
 be his seed only in the .latter respect ; and considering 
 that /te, and not themselves, is always styled the father 
 of this spiritual family, the literal interest so hotly con- 
 tended for of the children of Gentile believers in this 
 covenant, seems to be a mere nonentity. What interest, 
 pray, had we ourselves in it, before we believed? Had 
 we been Jews, born prior to the advent of the Messiah, 
 the period, we conceive, at which all that was carnal in 
 the covenant came to a termination, we might then have 
 pleaded such an interest. But even then it would have 
 been only an interest of a carnal nature ; for if we had 
 not been connected with Abraham, otherwise than in a 
 carnal respect, we could have had no title to privileges 
 which were conveyed through a very diflferent channel. 
 As Gentiles, however, previous to the period of our con- 
 version, what was our situation ? Let Paul answer. 
 *' Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and stran- 
 gers to the covenants of promise ; yea, without God, 
 and without Christ, and without hope in the world *." 
 This, assuredly, was our situation, as really as it was that 
 of the Ephesians. And it was not till, like them, we 
 had been quickened from our death of trespasses and 
 ijins, that we were made to sit in heavenly places in 
 Christ Jesus, and made fellow-citizens of the saints, and 
 of the houseliold of God. 
 
 But if it was thus with ourselves, v/hat else can it be 
 with our children ? Do they not partake of identically 
 the same nature with ourselves ? And is it 'not true of 
 them equally as it was of us, that they are corrupt, that 
 thqre is naluially no fear of God before their eyes, and 
 * Eph. ii. 12. 
 
DRAWN FROM THE ABRAIIAMIC. COVEN ANT. 197 
 
 that therefore they go astray as soon as born, speaking 
 lies ? If they have not been the subjects of a radical 
 change, of a new birth, or new creation, as the Scrin^^ 
 tures frequently term it, is i^t not a palpable fact, that 
 all that.they can derive from us can never raisei thcni 
 higher than what we ourselves were ? Childreh arc 
 born to us, not as believers, but as men ; and it is our 
 nature as men, and not our faith as believers of God's 
 word, which we convey to them ; or, in other words, 
 which constitutes all the connexion naturally subsisting 
 between them and us. To join them with ourselves, 
 therefore, in things -spiritual, merely on account of this 
 carnal connexion, seepis to me truly the most inconsis- 
 tent thing imaginable — an idea, apparently so absurd 
 and unscriptural, that we may be well assured that it 
 never could have arisen, but from the grossest miscon- 
 ception of the subject on which it is supposed to })e 
 founded. This subject is the Abrahamic covenant ; 
 and the mode of reasoning we consider so erroncoTis, 
 proceeds upon the following principle. This, covenant 
 is asserted, without any qualifying consideration, to be 
 the covenant of grace. It is- hence indissoluble in ils 
 nature, and therefore exists equally under the Christian 
 as under the legal dispensation. And that as it was 
 made with Abraham's seed, no less than with hinifcli;, 
 a part of which is Gentile believers, it is therefore ima- 
 gined that their natural offspring likewise are included 
 along with themselves, as the natural posterity of Abra- 
 ham unquestionably was under the former dispensation. 
 But such an inference seems to proceed entirely from y. 
 misapprehension of the matter. 
 
 The^j^iJ'/ error seems to be the unqualified assertion 
 respecting the covenant's Tjeing made the covenant of 
 (1-race. This, however, if they would only allow them- 
 selves to reflect, they would soon perceive to be au cr- 
 
198 ARGUMENT FOR FEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 TOT ; for this covenant, I mean the covenant of grace, 
 would not only be indissoluble in its nature, but it 
 would infallibly secure to the inheritance of its blessings 
 all who were within its bonds. That many however 
 were included in the Abrahamic covenant in th? literal 
 sense, (for it is indisputable that all his natural descen- 
 dents in the line of Jacob were so), who were never in 
 it in"' the spiritual, and by consequence were never par- 
 takers of its spiritual blessings, is a fact which it is im- 
 possible to deny. 
 
 Upon this principle of our brethren then, who main- 
 tain in a general and indiscriminating manner, that the 
 Abrahamic covenant is the covenant of grace, and who 
 will by no means allow themselves to take into consi- 
 deration its literal signification, are we here presented 
 with the most strange and heterogeneous mass which 
 can possibly be conceived. We have, in the first place, 
 a J^;V/V«a/ covenant, recognizing as its subjects many 
 v/ho were onlj/ carfial. Then we have a covenant, said 
 to be indissoluble in *its nature, changing nevertheless, 
 or dissolving every now and then, the connexion sub- 
 sisting between it and its members. We are presented, 
 in short, with the free, sovereign, and unconditional co- 
 venant of grace, in a manner acting perfectly out of 
 character with itself, first declaring that its subjects are 
 not so constituted by hereditary descent, but by the so- 
 vereign good will and pleasure of the Almighty alone ; 
 then we have it immediately retracting wha^ it h^d said, 
 and declaring the very reverse ; and, after iiaving got 
 all the natural posterity of Abraham in the line of Ja- 
 cob, and along with them all the natural posterity of 
 Gentile believers thus within its bonds, we bear it in 
 effect telling them, that though it is indeed an indissolu- 
 ble covenant, they must not however place any depen- 
 dence on their positive interest therein for their eteriial 
 
DRAWN FROM THE ABRAHAMIC.^COVENANT. 199 
 
 safety ; for it is not those who are actually within the 
 bonds of this indissoluble covenant, but those who are 
 born again, and those only, who shall finally be saved. 
 In nothing less than all thes|e absurdities do odi|lgethreii 
 involve themselves, by the hypothesis we mMfe been 
 considering. 
 
 Their second error seems to be, that of placing them- 
 selves in a manner on a level with Abraham, and vain- 
 ly imagining that, because Abraham and his seed were 
 included in the covenant, so they and their seed are to be 
 so in like manner. This we call a placing of themsehes 
 en a level luith Abraham. But it ought to be recollected 
 that Abra:ham was a person, and that by God's ow^n 
 constitution, entirely different from them ; and it will 
 be well for them, if they have only a place amongst 
 the children of his family, without supposing that thei/^ 
 as well as he^ can he fathers of this covenanted race. 
 ^ The mistake of our brethren seems to be entirely ow- 
 ing "^ to their not admitting the twofold nature of the 
 Abrahamic covenant. And of course, not taking into 
 account the distinction v/hich subsists between them, as 
 being in the covenant only by faith, and the carnal Jews 
 who were in it, no less than such of them as were spi- 
 ritual, by their mere descent from Abraham, it was ex- 
 ceedingly natural for them to do as they have done. 
 But the question comes to be. Is their mode of proce- 
 dure right, or is it wrong ? Is it right in us Gentiles, 
 who are ojirselves connected with Abraham in no other 
 way than by faith, along with ourselves to include our 
 children also, and to bring in them for a participation of 
 benefits, to which we ourselves had no manner of right 
 till we believed, and this for no other reason, than mere-' 
 ly because they are ours ? If you should reply that the 
 Jews did so, I cordially acquiesce ; but I ask, upon 
 what ground did they proceed in sq doing ? Were they 
 
200 ARGUMENT FOR rEDO-BAPTlsM, , 
 
 in your express circumstances ? Or did their clrcniTk- 
 stances differ from yours ? And if they did, in what 
 - did tlie difference consist ? Answers to all these inte- 
 resting questions, 1 humbly conceive, I have stated fully 
 in the |)receding parts of this work,v«* but for their more 
 ample elucidation, in a part of our subject which should 
 not be allowed to perish by sterility, we shall here sib- 
 join a few things more. 
 
 Between the Jews and Gentiles then, there was really 
 a difference, and that of the most conspicuous kind. It 
 consisted in the whole of the former, in the line of Ja- 
 cob, being recognized as the seed of Abraham, and in- 
 cluded in the covenant, which God gave to him and his 
 seed after him, throughout their generations ; whereas' 
 none of the latter are ever reckoned his seed, or regard- 
 ed as members of the covenant ut all, till they be- 
 lieve. 
 
 According to this view, therefore, it is .maintained, 
 that Abraham had two kinds of seed, a carnal and a 
 spiritual^ equally included in the covenants The carnal 
 were all his natural descendents, all of them without a 
 single exception in the line of Jacob ;" the spiritual arc 
 all who believe, and who therefore a,re spiritual, whe- 
 ther amongst his natural posterity the Jews, or amongst 
 the nations of the Gentiles to the uttermost ends of the 
 earth. 
 
 As then^ under the first cla^^s of a covenanted seed, 
 were comprehended all tlie natural posterity of Abra- 
 ham, in the line of Jacob ; so when that seed is spoken 
 of as being in the covenant, as is frequently the case in 
 both the Old and New Testament, we are not to marvel 
 if it should be said that their children, even litg^ally con- 
 sidered, should be so in like manner ; for in fact this was 
 their express situation. And to them apply most aptly 
 the words of Dr Taylor, when speaking of the Gentiles. 
 
BRAWN FROM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENA.N!T. 201 
 
 "V, 
 
 tliat they ivere born heirs to ity as to an entailed inheritance. 
 But such language is by no means applicable to us. 
 Here, our children have no part with ourselves, unless 
 they believe as we dp. It was upon this, that our own 
 personal interest in the covenant depended. We were 
 not the children of Abraham, nor a't all in the covenant, 
 till we believed ; and how do we think it possible to 
 alter the nature and constitution of things as it respects 
 them ? Our children, though they be ours, thev are not 
 Abraham's, unless they believe ; and short of this, as 
 Gentiles, it is impossible they can have any connexion 
 with him; And therefore, to talk as many do, of the 
 children of Gentile believers, and of such children ha- 
 ving a place in the covenant as well as themselves, is 
 the most vague kind of speech imaginable, and what 
 the Scripture never so iftuch as countenances. Of the 
 Jeivs indeed, it is said. Acts ii. 39. the promise is (o i/ou 
 and to j/cur children ; and again, chap. iii. 25, Te are the 
 clnldren of the prophetSy and of the covenant which God 
 made with our fathers, &.c. And we are aware that a 
 great proportion of the Old Testament, speaking of the 
 same people, runs expressly in the same strain. But 
 the Gentiles, to the best of our recollection, are not so 
 spoken of. Throughout the New Testament, for it is 
 here chiefly we have to go for information on this head, 
 believers are in general reminded only of their own 
 personal connexion with Abraham ; and the most that 
 is said respecting their children is, that they should train 
 them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; 
 no doubt with a view, that by the divine blessing at- 
 tending their instructions, they may come in due tirn.? 
 to be also th(i. children of Abraham, by faith in Christ 
 Jesus. But as being his children, 6r seed, or subject-, 
 ©f the covenant which God made with Abraham, in the 
 
 C c 
 
202 ARGf'r.IENT FOR PEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 state in which tliej are born, tliey are no vvliere repre- 
 sented. 
 > It pay then be said, by some superficial investiga- 
 torsij if the difFerence beUween the Jews and Gentiles be 
 really such as has beejri stated, the former had manifest- 
 ly the advantage of the latter. To which we reply, no 
 such thing. Abraham's seed amongst the Gentiles, are 
 his seed in the highest and moyt exalted sense. They 
 are his seed by conversion and the new birth, by faith in 
 Christ Jesus ; they are passed from death unto life ; 
 they are justified, adopted, sanctified, and thus prepared 
 for eternal glory. But the Jews were his seed, and in 
 the covenant, in their collective capacity, only in a lite- 
 ral sense, as the progenitors of the Messiah ; but 
 tliough they were his kinsmen according to the flesh, 
 and a nation whom the Lord did choose to be his pecu- 
 liarly above all other nations of the earth, yet unless 
 they were in the covenant, and related both to . (their 
 great progenitor, and also to their Messiah, in a higher 
 sense than what flows merely by blood, it would avail 
 them nothing to say within themselves, Jfe are the chil- 
 dren of the prophets ; we have Abraham to our father ; 
 salvation is of the Jews ; and of us sprung the Saviour of 
 the whole earth ; for all this may be true, as literally it 
 was, and yet without this higlier connexion they miglit 
 be, as, alas ! we have too much cause to fear many of them 
 were, eternally lost. Where is then the comparison be- 
 tween the privileges of the seed of Abraham now un- 
 der the gospel, and those which his merely literal seed 
 enjoyed under the former dispensation ? La ! they will 
 not bear a comparison. 
 
 But let us understand our sticklers. fThe compari- 
 son they mean to draw is not so much between Gentile 
 believers themselves^ and those of the former dispensa- 
 tion, as between the children of such as are believers 
 
DRAWlf^FROM THE ABRAHAMIC COVSNANT. 203 
 
 now under the gospel, and the covenanted Jews in an- 
 cient times. It is here, and here only, they make the 
 contrast, as they know from the avowed principles of 
 those they are opposing, that yielding the palm'.in fa- 
 vour of the latter, is readily acknowledged. It is part 
 pf the system of their opposite brethren freely to avow, 
 that now, under the gospel, children, merely as such, 
 have no place in the covenant with Abraham. They 
 consider it as now consisting of an entirely spiritual na- 
 ture ; as recognizing none but such as really are spiri- 
 tual ; and as blessing them with all sjnritual blessings in 
 heavenly places in Christ Jesus ; so that, if our brethrert'' 
 wish to reason with us fairly, this is the principle upon 
 which they must take us up. 
 
 But, will they not be apt to say, we do not admit 
 your principle of withholding from children, the chil- 
 dren of believers, a place in the covenant ? Children 
 were unquestionably subjects of it under the former 
 dispensation, and we ask, and we ask we know with 
 an absolute silence of Scripture, When they ivere cast 
 out ? 
 
 But before there be any triumph allowed, let us seri- 
 ously inquire whether they really were ever in that cove- 
 nant of which you speak. Is not the covenant the co- 
 venant of grace ? To make out the Abrabamic cove- 
 nant to be nothing else than the covenant of grace, we 
 know is the great bulwark of Pedo-baptists. And we 
 hope they will not be disposed to relinquish that sta- 
 tion now. 
 
 Well then, upon the principle that it is the covenant 
 of grace, we resume an argument we formerly made 
 use of, we lay it down as an undeniable axioni in the 
 divine science, that this covenant, in, the first place, 
 must itifallibly include all the elect of God, and none else ; 
 gnd then, in the next place, that it must infallibly secure- 
 
204; ARGUMENT FOR PEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 to such the blessings of eternal life^ wiiliout the smallest pos- 
 ^ihillti/ of a doubt of its being otheriuise, from causes either 
 en God's part or theirs. Such is the idea we entertain 
 of the' covenant of grace. We consider it as embra-. 
 cing within its bosom the eternal and irreversible pur- 
 poses of God ; his gifts and callings which are without 
 repentance. The question then comes to be, was it thus 
 M'ith the Abrahamic covenant, as it respected the seed ? 
 To which I promptly answer both that it woj, and that 
 it was not. That covenant, paradoxical as some may 
 reckon it, was the covenant of grace, and it was not the 
 x:ovenant of grace. In the sense in which all the na- 
 tions, the Jews not excepted, were to be blessed in 
 Abraham, that is to say, with the blessing of justifica- 
 tion through faith in Jesus Christy as the apostle clearly 
 t>tatcs it, it was indisputably the covenant of grace. But 
 in the sense in which all Abraham's natural posterity, 
 in the line of Jacob, were included as within its bonds, 
 evidently for the sake of bringing forth the Messiah, it 
 was not, nor could it be, the covenant of grace. And. 
 why so ? Because grace is not hereditary ; it does not 
 run in blood, but entirely in the channel of the free and 
 sovereign pleasure of the Almighty. Atid here it be- 
 comes us rather silently to adore what we are unequal 
 to comprehend, than to summon to the bar of our shal- 
 low reason, the procedure of Him who must do all 
 things right. lierc it is that he takes one of a city, and 
 two of a family, and brings them to Sion, without 
 deigning to give any account of his matters. 
 
 These things are so palpable, that we are not a little 
 surprised that our brethren, who we are convinced 
 maintain the same doctrines when system is out of the 
 question, should be so inconsistent with themselves as to 
 maintain quite the reverse here. But as it is not with- 
 out at least an ostensible rcuson, we must accordingly 
 
DRaWn from the ABRAHAMIQ CpirEN'ANT. 20i> 
 
 examine it, in order to determine whether it be right o;f 
 wrong. 
 
 We have just observed, that the principle of not 
 reckoning children in the covenant now undcr.^he Chri- 
 stian dispensation, has been violently opposed, notwith- 
 standing the irrefragable argument vvith vi^hich it is g.c- 
 companied, namely, that Christ's kingdom is not of this 
 world ; that it is not carnal, but spiritual ; and there- 
 fore, in the very nature of the thing, cannot embrace 
 children in its bosom, as subjects thereof, unless it can 
 be said of them that they are spiritual. This, accord- 
 ingly, is precisely the very thing that is done in effect. 
 Both the acrimonious Pirie *, and the more temperate 
 Wardlaw, maintain equally that there was but one seed, 
 to-wit the spiritual, ever recognized in the Abrahamic 
 'covenant, which covenant, without any qualification 
 whatever, according to them, is the covenant of grace ; 
 and yet, strange is it to tell, that children, depraved and 
 polluted children, in the very state in which they are 
 born, form one of the most conspicuous parts of this 
 spiritual seed. Thus do they, in effect;, maintain on the 
 one hand, the spirituality of children, and that in oppo- 
 sition to the clearest evidence to the contrary ; and on 
 the other^ they manifestly overturn all that the Scrip- 
 tures can say, respecting the universal depravity of hu- 
 man nature. 
 
 ' Now, how indiscreet soever it may be deemed, wc 
 will be bold to maintain, that upon their principles the 
 whole of their system necessarily behoves to be new- 
 modelled. Either they must relinquish tlicir present 
 
 * That this is not an epithet of our own coining, but such as he 
 assumes to himself, will appear from the last paragraph of his tenth 
 tetter to Mr M'Lean ; and the black, sentence with which the pas- 
 sage concKides, but too evidently demonstrates with vhat propric- 
 'v it was applied. 
 
'206 ARGUMENT FOR PEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 scheme of infant bapti^,- or to make other parts of 
 thefr system to tallj therewith, they must embrace 
 views of the various doctrines of the gospel, which are 
 directly the opposite of those which they presently 
 hold, and which, by the way, the gospel clearly incul- 
 cates. Nor will this demand, if it is but impartially 
 considered, appear too much. It is merely wishing our 
 brethren to be consistent with themselves. But of the 
 propriety or safety of such consistency, we must be 
 free enough to express our doubts ; for a consistency 
 with themselves here, does not necessarily imply a con- 
 sistency with the truth. On the contrary, it implies the 
 very reverse, and involves in it this most unwarrantable 
 of all hypotheses, that system is to be regarded in prefe- 
 rence to truths and that truth is to he sacrijiced for the 
 sake of system. 
 
 That this is not saying too much in regard to the pre- 
 sent contest, we shall pledge our all to make it evident. 
 We would lay it down as an incontrovertible maxim 
 then, that in the Abrahamic covenant^ all Abraham's natu~ 
 rat posterity^ even as siichy in the line of Jacobs ivere posi- 
 tively included in it without a single exception. And in this 
 sense we maintain, that it was not, nor could it be the 
 covenant of grace ; for this very good reason, formerly 
 assigned, that grace is not hereditary. Our brethren, 
 therefore, who maintain the contrary, must do so upon 
 the principle, either that the posterity of Abraham al- 
 ready specified, as such merely, were never in tlie cove- 
 nant^ or else they must do it upon the principle, that 
 grace if hereditary. Either the one or the other of these 
 is indispensable. And which soever of them they may 
 think proper to adopt, we are confident it would be op- 
 posite to the plain existence of the fact. As it respects 
 the first, words cannot be plainer than those employed 
 in Scripture, confirming the covenant to these descen- 
 
DRAWN FROM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 20l 
 
 dents of Abraham, in contr'^^tmction to the other 
 branches of his family. In his own immediate family, 
 expressly is it said, Not with IsJimael, but ivith IsaaCy will 
 I establish my covenant* . And in the family bf his son 
 Isaac, Jacob was the beloved in this respect, and Esau 
 the not beloved ; and their fate, as to their interest in 
 this covenant, as it respected them merely as descen- 
 dents of Abraham, was determined ere they v^^re born, 
 or yet had done good or evil. As Isaac Vv^as the alone 
 child of promise in the family of Abraham, so in like 
 manner was Jacob in that of Isaac. The assertion, 
 therefore, of many Pedo-baptists, particularly Messrs 
 Pirie and Wardlaw, that Ishmael and Esau were exclu- 
 ded from this covenant on account of their behaviour, 
 is the most unfounded that can possibly be conceived, 
 and stands directly opposed to the plain matter of fact, 
 that neither of them were ever in this covenant, as it re- 
 spected the natural descendents of Abraham. It was 
 to Isaac and to Jacob that it was solely restricted, in , 
 these two families ; and their brethren, though chil- 
 dren of the same believing fathers, had no manner of 
 right to it, neither by birth, nor by any other means, 
 but were, and all their descendents likewise, as entirely 
 strangers and aliens to it, as the other nations, with 
 whom the promised seed were strictly prohibited from 
 forming any alliances. But in the family of Jacob it 
 was not so, nor in any of his descendents, till the ad- 
 vent of Christ. His family, though so numerous, and 
 in pQint of real moral excellence not a whit before the 
 others, had none excluded from it. They were ap.'born 
 heirs of the covenant. And all their descendents as a 
 body, even in the times of the greatest degeneracy, are 
 recognized by God as his people ; are said to be born 
 
 * See Gen. xvii. 19, — 21. and also what \v$ have said on ti.at 
 '.<assafre ia our comment, p. \2, 
 
208 ARGUMLNT FOR rtDO-BArTISr.T, 
 
 to him, Ezek. xvi. 20^" thougli it be evidcat that ii*? 
 other birth is there intended but that of a natural one, 
 and equally so, that their jianmedirite parents were not 
 believers, but, on the contrary, were a set of the most 
 vile, cruel and superstitious idolaters. Yet because they 
 were Abraham's children, in the line of Jacob, and as 
 such were therefore "children of the covenant, Jehovali, 
 that his covenant iniglit not be broken, even at the dis- 
 tance of many hundreds of years, still recognized them 
 as his people, notwithstanding all their provocations and 
 their guilt ; yea, and continued uniformly to do so, till 
 his Anointed came, for the sake of whose fleshly birth, 
 the}- secern to have been set apart. 
 
 We hope therefore from these positive facts, that our 
 brethren will never attempt to establish their system cf 
 the Abrt'.ham'tc coveiianVs being the covenant of grace, upon 
 the principle that Abraham's natural posterity, in the 
 particular line we have specified, were not in the cove- 
 nant ; for this would be contradicting the most palpa- 
 ble tnrths. Admitting these truths therefore, as in duly 
 they are bound to do, the only other principle upon 
 which their cause can be defended, is that oi grace being 
 hereditary. This is therefore the next point we must at- 
 tend to ; and. 
 
 According to the Abrahamic covenant's being with- 
 out any qualifying consideration the covenant of grace, 
 it is surely not tot) much to say, that it would of course 
 save eternally all who were within its bonds. We have 
 seen that, according to the true scriptural account of 
 tHis*subjcct, the whole of Abraham's natural posterity, 
 in the line of Jacob, were actually included in this co- 
 venant ; and do not our brethren, supposing that it ex. 
 ists still in. the same sense as formerly, maintain, that 
 all the children of believers are nov^ in it in the same 
 manner ? Thus' then, according to undeniable scriptural 
 
DRAWN FROM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 209 
 
 representation on the one hand,* aiis^ what 
 
 is conceived to be nothing less thaMMXallible inference 
 on the other, we have a covenaitt, maintained to be the 
 covenant of grace, including a whole carnal race ; and 
 the question isj what does tliis alleged covenant of grace 
 really do with those who are within its bonds ? Does it 
 save them all indiscriminately, or is there a distinction 
 made between those who believe and those whb be- 
 lieve not ? And is the preference given decidedly in fa- 
 vour of the former, while the latter are regarded as ha- 
 ving neither part nor lot in the matter ? 
 
 We know it is undeniable, that the covenant of grace 
 goes upon this last principle ; and therefore, the simple 
 fact that any were included in the Abrahamic covenant 
 who did not believe, (and we know the Scriptures 
 speak of many, for the Jews are always represented as 
 having been a perverse people), -is proof perfectly suf- 
 ficient to convince every rational mind, that this cove- 
 nant was not the covenant of grace, m the sense in luhich 
 it really included, such. On the contrary, had it been the 
 covenant of grace, such could not have been included. 
 And yet, that such were included in the Abrahamic co- 
 venant, and that such necessarily behoved to be inclu- 
 ded in it, according to the purpose of God in investing 
 his Messiah with our nature, we should suppose to be 
 demonstrably proved by what we have already advan- 
 ced throughout this inquiry. And this grand object ha- 
 ving been obtained, we should conceive we have proved 
 with equal clearness, that the same state of things, as 
 it respected a carnal seed, was not any longer to r^ 
 main. 
 
 If it should therefore be asked, what do you make of 
 the Abrahamic covenant now ? our ansvs^ is. Express- 
 ly what our brethren would wish to make it, that is to 
 
 Dd 
 
-'10 .'w^GLMEN'! FOK PEDO-BAPTISJil, 
 
 saj, simj^ly the covenant of i^yacc. But this, we conceive,- 
 it was not be'foref ^t^^s not the covenant of grace 
 simply^ but along with this, it liad another part of a car- 
 naVnature attached to it, which we consider now to be 
 done away. We consider it therefore now to be left 
 purely spiritual^ ^ Christ himself declares ; otherwise 
 it could not be the covenant of grace simply, but beho- 
 ved to" be of a mixed nature ; an idea however, with the 
 Scriptures of the New Testament in our hand, we are 
 far tVoin admitting. 
 
 What is then the precise point of^ difference here ex- 
 isting between us and our brethren ? Both maintain, in 
 words, that the covenant is the covenant of grace. In 
 this respect therefore we are agreed, but still we differ 
 when we come to speak of its subjects. To make it 
 purely the covenant of grace, \yithout any ad-mixture 
 or alldy therefore, we "maintain that its subjects must 
 be such as participate of a gracious principle ; that they 
 must be spiritual ; and that, on this account, children, 
 who we are assured are by nature children of wrath, 
 cannot be considered subjects thereof. We of course consi- 
 der none in the covenant, but such as shall eternally 
 participate of its blessings. But in these respects do 
 our brethren differ from us. True, they have verbal 
 assertions, that none but the spiritual were ever recog- 
 nized in this covenant. But so inconsistent are they 
 with their own avowed principles, that it seems to ap- 
 pear nothing to them, in effect, to deny all that they 
 imd -formerly maintained, respecting the spirituality of 
 this covenanted seed, in order to give their carnal poste- 
 rity a place in it likewise. And a place, for argument's 
 sake, we shall therefore allow them. But when you 
 have got thealthus introduced, you surely cannot speak 
 as formerly, about -the spirituality of that seed whiclj 
 the covenant alone recognizes. You insisted that youf 
 
it; and a place we have gi\cn tJii^. But now you 
 have brought yourselves under the^^cessity, either to 
 
 DRAVVyrROM THE ABRAHAfJIC COVEN4.NT. 211 
 
 jliiJdren, as'well as 3'-ourselves,^8niTOld have a place in 
 
 t||^. 
 
 give up that part of your system, in which you main- 
 tain the spirituality of the coveiianted seed, whicn in 
 truth would be giving up the idea qf this covenant's 
 being the covenant of grace entirely ;^or you must main- 
 tain, and that in opposition to the clearest Scriptures, 
 'hat your children are^' spiritual ; otherwise, according 
 ven to your own hypothesis, they can have no place in 
 fhe covenant. Now, which of them would ye do ? Or 
 would you, for the' love of system, dare to do either, 
 liow opposed soever they were to the truth ? Only think 
 what sort of a covenant you would make by the first 
 scheme, when you began to admit it as a principle, that 
 the subjects of it did not necessarily behove to be spiri- 
 tual ; but that childreff, in the very state in which they 
 are born, with all their depraved propensities and incli- 
 nations, and without so much as possessing one gracious 
 principle, could be members thereof. You surely can- 
 not say it would be unreasonable to maintain, that upon 
 this ppnciple, if the covenant admits of such latitude in 
 regard to children, it may surely do the same in regard 
 to men ^ for what is corruption and the want of grace 
 more in a man than in a child ? Thus then you would 
 overturn all the doctrines of the gospel, yow wou-ld open 
 the sluices of wickedness, you would buoy up your 
 fellow-mortals in the most delusive hopes, and by one 
 stroke of your pen, you would in a moment undo all 
 that an infinitely wise God has thought it meet to take 
 thousands of years to perform. 
 
 But supposing you adopted the other scheme, to- 
 wit, that children are spiritual, • as |ess detrimental, 
 what would be the result ? Would ye not still be 
 opposing the truth of God ? Would ye not be in pf- 
 
214- ARGUMENT FOR PEDO-iJ APTISM, 
 
 ingly mistaken, if they suppose that the connexion be- 
 tween Abraham and his covenanted seed, even literally 
 considered, was capable^«|f suffering any interruption 
 throughout their successrvc generations, on account of 
 the uhgodly character ■of some of tlieir descendents ; 
 and yet this must have been the case, if their principle 
 of casting such out of the covenant be true. But it is 
 not true. As to the alleged cases of Ishmael and Esau 
 having been cast out of the covenant^ on account of the 
 wickedness of their conduct, we have shewn. Chap. II. 
 Sect. 1. that it proceeds entirely, on mistake ; for the 
 fact positively i^, that from the first 'moment of their 
 existence, they never were in the cove'Mnt ; and this 
 being the case, it was impossible that they could be cast 
 out of it. But with those who were included in it, the 
 case was simply this. They were ever and anon all re- 
 garded, even i\\ the most corrupt times, as a covenanted 
 people, a people whom the Lord had chosen in prefe- 
 rence to all others, beyond a doubt for this particular 
 purpose, that in process of time all the earth should be 
 blessed in the seed of AbralRiam, namely Christy whom 
 they should be the instruments of bringing into the 
 world. This appears to have been the reason why A- 
 braham's natural descendents, in a certain ' line, as a 
 whole, were ever recognized by God as his people. But 
 his acknowledgment of them in this sense, was not lia- 
 ble to continual interruptions, or to any thing analo- 
 gous to what is alleged in the cases of Ishmael and 
 Esau. Having once established his covenant with Abra- 
 ham, in the line of Isaac and Jacob, evidently for the 
 purpose of investing Iiis Messiah with the human na- 
 ture, there were no chasms, no interruptions ever suffer- 
 ed to take place ; but it proceeded in one rectilineal 
 course, excepting none of the descendents of Jacob, for 
 a space of nearly two thousand years . 
 
DRAWV FROM TH?E ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 215 
 
 But upon the supposition of Pedo-baptists, that Ish- 
 mael and Esau were in the covenant, and were cast out 
 on account of their wickedness and unbelief, we might 
 surely expect to "find something similar in the subset 
 quent history of that people. 'If we have irtstances of 
 two, acting in such a manner as to^^ender their exclu- 
 sion from the covenant necessary, iso very recently from 
 its commencement, vyre may surely expect to mc0t with 
 many more of a similar nature, in after times. But 
 this is so far from being the case, that we have in the 
 very next generation, several characters no less tHan 
 infamous, sonje of them guilty even of incest, as Reu- 
 ben and Judah ; some of murder, as Simeon and Levi, 
 in the q^se of the Shechemites ; and the whole of them, 
 Benjamin excepted, conspiring with cruel hatred against 
 the innocent Joseph ; and yet there were none of them. 
 excluded from the covenant. Nor does any thing simi- 
 lar to what is here insinuated, or to what took place in 
 regard to Ishmael and Esau, at all appear inany of their 
 subsequent history. The case of the Israelites in the 
 wilderness, is not in the least similar. Though they 
 could not enter Canaan themselves, their children how- 
 ever entered it. But with the descendCnts of Ishmael 
 and Esau it was not so. These parents, having no por- 
 tion among the promised seed themselves, begat a pos- 
 terity which never to the latest generations; had any 
 joint interest with that seed, nor could ever come in for 
 a participation of its blessings, as the children of the 
 xinbelieving Israelites in the wilderness naturally did. 
 In regard to the one, they were^as a body for ever se- 
 'parated from having any interest with the promised 
 seed ; whereas, in regard to the other, as a body they 
 were retained, and the children, notwithstanding the 
 punishments occasionally inflicted upon the parents, suc- 
 ceeded i'hroug'hnnt ihftir geiK^ratiotv -till to be regarded 
 
216 ARGUMENT FOR PEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 as the covenanted 56001,^11110111 any interruption in con- 
 sequence of the disobedience of the parents. Indeed, 
 as it r^i^pected their actual^nterest in the covenant, the 
 question was not whether tbcv were descended imme- 
 diately pf. believing or mi"bclicving parents, but whether 
 were they the seed^pf Abraham in the line of Jacob, 
 and to what tribe m3:,t1iey belong ? And if they could 
 only make out their relation to any one of the twelve 
 tribes, their interest in the covenant, as God's peculiar 
 people,* (we mean in the literal sense only), was unde- 
 niable upon this ground alone, independently it should 
 seem of any other consideration whatsoever. It was 
 not because that either they, or their immediate proge- 
 nitors, were spiritual, but because theywere Abraham's 
 literal seed, in that particular line to whom the promise 
 was made, that they had a place in the covenant. And 
 this seems to have been the precise'*principle upon which 
 Jehovah acknowledged them to be his, as a nation ; for 
 frequently does he complain of them for their want of 
 faith, at the very time he recognizes them as his peo- 
 ple ; proofs of which may be seen in abundance in all 
 the prophets. Nor ought it to be forgotten, that this 
 covenanted seed, in the sense of which we are speaking, 
 were the descendents of but ofie man, and that the 
 •wfio/e of his descendents in one particular line, chosen 
 in prefer^ce to those of the others, not only before 
 they manifested either faith or obedience, but before 
 they existed. Though Abraham was a believer him- 
 self, therefore, unless faith had been semi-hereditary, if 
 ■we may be allowed the expression, all his descendents 
 in one particular line could not have been included with' 
 himself, while all those of the others were rejected. 
 Does not this evidently shew then, that the covenant • 
 relation of these descendents of Abraham, was not of a 
 spiritual, but of a literal nature ? Besides, if it had becB 
 
DRAWN FROM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 217 
 
 of the former, why were Abraham*s descendents onlj^/ 
 and not those of any other person, included in the co- 
 venant in the same manner ? ^^^ A.braham the only 
 spiritual person then existing upon the earth ? So far 
 from this, we know it is maints^ned by Pedojjj^ptists, 
 that all his household who were circumcised were belie- 
 vers, af least so far as profession goes j and considering 
 what a goodly number of them there were, is it- not. 
 sui-prising that the descendents of one, to-wit of Abra-- 
 iiam, should bear such a conspicuous place in this spiri- 
 tual family, as Pedo-baptists exclusively consider it, 
 while those of at least three hundred and eigliteen are 
 hardly ever not&ed ? Surely there must be a cause for 
 all this, something entirely different from what Pedo- 
 baptists have ever yet assigned. Upon their principle 
 of connecting the children of believers with themselves 
 in the Abrahamic covepant, and maintaining i% to be 
 the covenant of grace hi the sense in which it includes 
 such, we should expect to see the descendents of Abra- 
 ham's faithful servant, Eliezer, as also those of Job, 
 Jethro, and many others, bearing as conspicuous a 
 place, and as great a proportion in point of number, as 
 those of the one man Abraham. But the truth of the 
 matter is, this could not be : for it was not witli them, 
 even as believers, but with him solely, that the cove- 
 nant was made in respect of his children. And being 
 with only a part, even of his children, and not the 
 whole, therefore it is that this part is particularly noti- 
 ced, as the apostle Matthew pointedly observes, for no 
 less a space than ihree times fourteen geueratioas. Mat. 
 
 i.n/ *' 
 
 Now therefore vfre resume our question, and we ask, 
 what is it in the Pedo-baptist's scheme that in any re- 
 spect resembles this ? As to the extent of their chiU 
 
 E r 
 
218 ARGUMENT FOR PEBO-BAPTISM> 
 
 dren's interest in the covenant, there is no resemblanct: 
 whatever. So far from extending to many generations, 
 it does not even extendAa the whole life of the indivi^ 
 duals themselves. They are born heirs to it, one part 
 of their system says, while another maintains that they 
 are not, but all must depend upon their future conver- 
 sion. While infants, they are baptized as heirs of God's 
 covenant, and members of his church. But here ac- 
 cordingly it stops ; for when adults, something more is 
 required, and without this something they cannot have 
 a place, neither in church nor covenant, though they 
 were born with an indissoluble right to both. 
 
 From these considerations, does it ftbt then follow, 
 that all the noise which has been made respecting the 
 baptizing of infants^ as drawn from the Abrahamic co- 
 venant, has been exceedingly improper? We may almost 
 affirm, that if our brethren would but impartially re- 
 examine the subject without any regard to system, they 
 will find matters so very different from what they have 
 been accustomed to conceive, that they will be astonish- 
 ed at their own folly. But be this as it may, we must 
 think for ourselves. It is not to OQe another, but to 
 God, that we are amenable. As no man therefore dare 
 with impunity shut out light when he may see it, so it 
 is to be earnestly desired that Christians would grant to. 
 one another the free liberty of conscience, that none 
 may be exposed to the temptation of so doing. It is 
 only by acting thus, that we can prove ourselves to be 
 genuine disciples of Him, who enjoined it upon his fol- 
 lowers not to aspire to the foolish rank of leaders^ but 
 to be contented with the situation of brethren, know- 
 ing that one is our Master, who well deserves the ho- 
 nour, even Christ. 
 
 In our next section, we shall take up the argument 
 
DRAWN FROM TH£ ABRA^AMIC COVEKANT. 219 
 
 for Pedo-baptism, drawn from the example of house- 
 holds being baptized, as meutioned in the New Testa- 
 ment, i'^p '* 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Of the argument for Pedo-baptismy drawn from the baptizing 
 of Households in the New Testaitient. 
 
 V-/N entering upon this subject, we may remark by the 
 vvay^ that it is long since we have been of opinion that 
 it is impossible arguments drawn from this source, ac- 
 cording to the information afforded us in Scripture, ei^ 
 ther for the one side or the other, can be conclusive. 
 We have no objections however to meet our brethren 
 even upon this ground, and to reason with them in a 
 fair and candid manner. We suppose then that it is 
 not upon this ground alone, that any of them rest the 
 authority of their practice j but that this is had recourse 
 to, merely as a corroboration of what they reckon to 
 be taught in other parts of Scripture. If this be the 
 case, then the doctrine must stand or fall entirely by its 
 own merits ; or at most, all that this can do, is only to 
 render it more probable. Were we to proceed accord- 
 ing to this conjecture, therefore, we should not give this 
 argument so much as a hearing, but should refer entire- 
 ly to what we have said respecting the other points ,; 
 for if we have met and fairly overturned the foundation 
 arguments, it is altogether impossible that collateral 
 ones can any longer stand. But though we might avail 
 ourselves of this advantage, an advantage by which we 
 
218 ARGUMENT FOR PEBO-BAPTISM, 
 
 dren's interest in the covenant, there is no rcsemblanct 
 whatever. So far from extending to many generations, 
 it does not even extend -la the whole life of the indivi-, 
 duals themselves. They are born heirs to it, one part 
 of their system says, while another maintains that they 
 are not, but all must depend upon their future conver- 
 sion. While inflnts, they are baptized as heirs of God's 
 covenant, and members of his church. But here ac- 
 corditigly it stops ; for when adults, something more is 
 required, and without this something they cannot have 
 a place, neither in church nor covenant, though they 
 were born with an indissoluble right to both. 
 
 From these considerations, does it not then follow, 
 that all the noise which has been made respecting the 
 baptizing of infants^ as drawn from the Abrahamic co- 
 venant, has been exceedingly improper? We may almost 
 affirm, that if our brethren would but impartially re- 
 examine the subject without any regard to system, they 
 will find matters so very different from what they have 
 been accustomed to conceive, that they will be astonish- 
 ed at their own folly. But be this as it may, we must 
 think for ourselves. It is not to oqc another, but to 
 God, that we are amenable. As no man therefore dare 
 with impunity shut out light when he may see it, so it 
 is to be earnestly desired that Christians would grant to 
 one another the free liberty of conscience, that none 
 may be exposed to the temptation of so doing. It is 
 only by acting thus, that we can prove ourselves to be 
 genuine disciples of Him, who enjoined it upon his fol- 
 lowers not to aspire to the foolish rank of leaders^ but 
 to be contented \vith the situation of brethren, know- 
 ing that one is our Master, who well deserves the ho- 
 nour, even Christ. 
 
 In our next section, we shall take up the argument 
 
BRAWN FROM THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 219 
 
 ibr Pedo-baptism, drawn from the example of house- 
 holds being baptized, as mentioned in the New Testa- 
 
 ment. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Of the argument for Pedo-baptisniy drawn from the haptizing 
 of Households in the New Testaf?ient. 
 
 V-/N entering upon this subject, we may remark by the 
 way, that it is long since we have been of opinion that 
 it is impossible arguments drawn from this source, ac- 
 cording to the information afforded us in Scripture, ei* 
 ther for the one side or the other, can be conclusive. 
 We have no objections however to meet our brethren 
 even upon this ground, and to reason with them in a 
 fair and candid manner. We suppose then that it is 
 not upon this ground alone, that any of them rest the 
 authority of their practice 5 but that this is had recourse 
 to, merely as a corroboration of what they reckon to 
 be taught in other parts of Scripture. If this be the 
 case, then the doctrine must stand or fall entirely by its 
 own merits ; or at most, all that this can do, is only to 
 render it more probable. Were we to proceed accord- 
 ing to this conjecture, therefore, we should not give this 
 argument so much as a hearing, but should refer entire- 
 ly to what we have said respecting the other points ; 
 for if we have met and fairly overturned the foundation 
 arguments, it is altogether impossible that collateral 
 ones can any longer stand. But though we might avail 
 ourselves of this advantage, an advantage by which we 
 
220. ARGUiMJiNT fOR PliDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 jiiight also save ourselves a great deal of trouble, jcr- 
 lest our brethren sliould deem it unfair, we shall wilU 
 ingl^dispense with th^Jfee, and endure the other, in 
 order to give our views of this subject fully. And for 
 this purpose, we must^U the first place inquire into the 
 sjyecific id^a to be attached to the nvord household in SaijJ- 
 ture. tt , *$^ ,' 
 
 It^requentlj occurs in the Old Testament, witli the 
 evidferil latitude of including, not merely the children, 
 but servants, and all who were in the family. This 
 was unquestionably the sense of it in that passage 
 wherein it occurs in the book of Job. *' And there 
 were born unto him, seven sons and three daughters. 
 His substance was seven thousand sheep, aiul three thou- 
 sand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five 
 hundred she-asses, and a very great household * .^^ Here 
 it would even seem that the term household is used to 
 distinguish the servants which Job had, from his sons 
 and daughters, mentioned in the preceding verse. But 
 this idea is still more clearly exhibited in that noted 
 passage, in which it first occurs in Scripture, Gen. xviii. 
 19. where it is said respecting Abraham, '* For I know 
 him, that he will command his children and his household 
 after him," &c. This appears likewise to be its parti- 
 cular signification in Philippians iv. 22. '* All the saints 
 salute ypu, chiefly they that are of Cesar's household.'': 
 But though this be evidently the sense of the term in 
 the passages to which we have alluded, yet I should 
 suppose that in the generality of other passages where 
 it occurs, it rather includes the children likewise. 
 
 Now, if we examine the privileges to which house- 
 holds, in this sense of tlie expression, had a right, wo 
 shall find them to be the following. The feast of the. 
 passover was to be observed, without any restriction, by 
 > Chap, i. 2, 3. 
 
FROM THE BAPTIZING OF HOUSEHOLDS. 221 
 
 the whole of a man's household, Exod. xil. 4. Not 
 merely the children, but even strangers had a right to 
 partake thereof, provided, tliOTi'were circumcisfed, ver. 
 48. In this sense likewise was atonement to be made 
 for households. Lev. xvi. 17. 
 
 According to these principles therefore, would not 
 our brethren, who are for maintaining the jpropriety of 
 baptizing their children, from the example of households 
 having been baptized in the New Testament, be led 
 much further than they seem to be aware of ? Is it not 
 a principle with them to restrict the term wholly to 
 their children ? and do they not by this means inadver- 
 tently give it the very opposite sense which it bears, at 
 least in some passages ? While their system leads them 
 to consider it as including none save their children, lo ! 
 we find it in the Scriptures' including all, children ex. 
 cej)ted. And never do we find it at all employed in their 
 sense, as comprehending cfil?/ the children, and mt the do' 
 mestics, but evidently in all those passages where the 
 children are included, the domestics are not excluded. 
 From all this, it would then appear, that the Scriptures 
 represent the very reverse on this head, of what our 
 brethren In eiFect maintain. For while they would re- 
 present the term as restricted ivholly to children, the 
 Scriptures on the contrary sometimes employ it as in- 
 cluding all excepting them ; and even when they are in- 
 cluded, never is it with the exception of the rest of the 
 family. 
 
 From these undeniable facts it will therefore follow, 
 that the example of whole households having been bap- 
 tized, can never be urged as a warrant for baptizing 
 only the children of a family ; for the term is never 
 used in this sense in Scripture. It sometimes includes 
 domestics and not children, but never children and not 
 domestics. When whole households therefore are said 
 
222 ARGUMENT tttOlt PEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 to have been baptized, a'ccordiun; to the most comraon 
 and uniform application of the term, we can have no 
 doubt but that scrvantspB w^ell as children, must have 
 been partakers of that ordinuucu. But vvliether there 
 were ififants in those households, oi' whether the house- 
 holds, supposing ^hem to consist cither of children or 
 servants, vi^ere baptized merely on actoiint of the faitk 
 «f tJieir respective heads, are very dilferent questions — 
 questions indeed which ought to be fairly solved, ere 
 we can be authorized to speak in the same confident 
 manner which many do on this point. A solution of 
 them however, is what we shall not attempt in this 
 place, having it in view to take up subjects of this na- 
 ture in the chapter which follows. At present, our 
 princijlal inquiiy respecting households, is the significa- 
 tion of the term, and what must undoubtedly have been 
 the fact in relation to it. If it was never employed in 
 the sense necessarily excluding domestics, whether ser- 
 vants or^^slaves, but, on the contrary, included them 
 equally with the children of a family ; it is then de- 
 monstrable, that when households are said to have been 
 baptized, all the members of those particular families 
 must have participated alike of that ordinance. And 
 therefore to restrict it, as is universally the case with 
 Pedo-baptists, to one particular order of a family, name- 
 ly to children, is using a freedom witK the term, which 
 we are fully persuaded Scripture by no means warrants. 
 What we would here call the attention of our brethren 
 to therefore, is not whether there wer6 children in those 
 households said to have been,, baptized in primitive 
 times, but simply to the sigiiillcatlon of the term when 
 employed by the sacred writers. ,\nd we do insist upon 
 it, that if they never use it in ilsc restricted sense as in- 
 cluding only the children of a family, but evidently 
 employ it, on all occasions, as comprehending the very 
 
FNOM THE BAPTIZI'^fG OF HOUSEHOLDS. 225 
 
 4ueanest servant or slave who might be in It, our bre- 
 thren are entirely wrong la taking th^ example of the 
 baptizing of households as a warrant, for baptizing their 
 children only. If it be a warrant at all for anj' thing of 
 the kind, it would go further than we have-^^yet either 
 heard maintained, or seen practised. It woum go the 
 length of including ail their domestiesequall^ with their 
 children, and of bringing the former forward equally 
 with the latter, in order to have the name of Christ na- 
 pied upon them. If children have a I'iglit to the ordi- 
 nance of baptism, from the circumstance of whole 
 households being baptized, so have servants, if there 
 be any in the fainily ; for these were likewise, on eve- 
 ry occasion, reckoned among the members of the house 
 hold : and every argument which can be produced from 
 such instances, to prove the propriety of baptism to the 
 former, will apply with equal force to prove its propri- 
 ety to the latter likewise. 
 
 These three species of arguments having been duly 
 considered, we shall proceed briefly to consider their 
 amount. 
 
 Under the consideration of the first, we have seen, 
 that all that can be obtained or reasonably looked for 
 by the baptizing of our infants, may {be obtained equal- 
 ly without it — that the act of applying water to the 
 body, cannot convey spiritual grace — and that the not 
 baptizing of infants, is no impediment in the way of be- 
 lieving parents from laying their case before the Lord, 
 and praying for every blessing their sinful and, wretch- 
 ed state may really stand in need of. Baptism, as a re- 
 ligious ordinance, to be administered to children, and 
 prayer offered up in their behalf, are certainly two very 
 different things. The last may be lawful, yea, posi- 
 tively binding, as part of Christian duty in general^ 
 l?Vkt the propriety or legality of the first must arise from 
 
S2i ARGUMENT FOR PEDO-BAFTISM, 
 
 soiiie other coaiiideration entuely different from the one' 
 here urged. 
 
 The -second argument however might have been ex- 
 pected, a j)riorij to have been more conclusive ; but 
 even here, we have seen that, according to the common 
 and indiscriminate interpretation of the Abrahamic co- 
 venant bj Eedo-hd|>tists, it would necessarily contradict 
 a great portion of sacred truth, and overturn many of 
 the doctrines most clearly taught in Scripture, on which 
 account, conclusions drawn from hence for the scheme 
 of infant baptism, never can be admitted. That cove- 
 nant, most undoubtedly, in the sense in which it inclu- 
 ded all the natural descendents of Abraham, in the line 
 of Jacob, was fiot the covenant of grace ; or, if it was, 
 then they must have been all gracious persons, other- 
 wise they could not be subjects of a gracious covenant. 
 But respecting this point, let the history of that people, 
 as recorded in Scripture, speak for itself. 
 
 Being necessitated then to explain this covenant, both 
 by a iiterai, and sjnritual signification, we find according- 
 ly, that this plan answers all the purposes which the 
 nature of the subject seems to demand, and which can 
 by no means be objected to without involving one's self 
 in the greatest contradictions and absurdities it is possi- 
 ble to conceive. 
 
 Moreover, as we can render a specific and distinct 
 reason why even a carnal posterity was necessarily in- 
 cluded under the former dispensation, (namely, for the 
 bringing forth of the Messiah), but are unable to con., 
 ceive any such object to be obtained by the retention of 
 them still, we look upon the conclusion to be most fair- 
 ly drawn, that a carnal pcsterity has no manner of place in 
 this latter disjjensation. Believers themselves, and not 
 the offspring propagated by them as men, are the only 
 seed of Abraham whom the covenant now recogni/c^ 
 
FROM THE BAPTIZfVS OF HOUSEHOLDS. 225 
 
 Nor does their connexion with Abrahaiii, as believers^ 
 necessarily imply the connexion of their children like- 
 wise. Naj, as it is only by faith that they themselves 
 have any relation to Abraham, as the constituted father 
 of the faithful, it implies the very reverse ; it tacitly 
 declares to every child of Adam, that though he be a 
 man, he is not a saint. Yea, more, though the imme- 
 diate descendent of parents who are so, yet as for him- 
 self he has no connexion with Abraham, unless it could 
 be said of him also that he believes. But if the con- 
 nexion betv«een Abraham and his spirftual children be 
 only thus formed, as we are firmly convinced the Scrip- 
 ture> represent no other, it will follow as a matter of 
 course, that the station which Pedo-baptists assign to 
 their children in the Abrahamic covenant, has no exist- 
 ence whatever in the Scriptures of truth. And there- 
 fore, to insist for baptism to them, on the ground that 
 they are in the covenant, or connected with Abraham 
 in any respect, merely because they have been bom of 
 religious parents, is taking a number of things for 
 granted, which first ought to have been proved, and lay- 
 ing the foundation of a system which we do not hesitate 
 to say, when all considerations are taken jinto account, 
 is the most unscriptural, contradictory, and absurd that 
 can possibly be imagined. And we would seriously 
 ask our brethren, if the children of believers be really 
 connected with Abraham in a spiritual sense, merely on 
 account of their connexion with them, to what length 
 do they consider this connexion to go ? What blessings 
 are specifically obtained by it ? And whether does it se- 
 cure, or even make any thing towards their eternal safe- 
 ty or not ? These, without dispute, are questions high- 
 l}'- important in themselves ; and the proper solution of 
 them will no doubt lead to more correct views of this 
 subjeci, than may have been hitlierto entertained. 
 
.126 APXUMENT'*|j» PEDO-BAPTISM, 
 
 Having thus seen the inconclusive nature of the two 
 first arguments, the imbecility of the third, founded 
 .*^pon\he citcunistance of household, will be no less ap- 
 parent. Here it is also taken for granted, that the 
 word household always includes only the children of a fa- 
 mily, children in^infancy too ; whereas, we have found 
 the sacred writers employing it invariably in that sense 
 which includes equally with the children, and sometimes, 
 with the exception of them, all" the domestic servants, 
 slaves, sojourning strangers, or any others who might 
 be in the house at the time. Besides, it equally takes 
 for granted the grandest point of all. It supposes that 
 the household were baptized merely on the faith of their 
 respective heads — a point which ought to have been 
 fully proved, before a single conclusion was allowed to 
 be drawn from such premises. These things combined 
 therefore, we are led to conclude, that if the circum- 
 stance of households proves any thing, it proves that 
 servants and others connected with the family, no less 
 than children, had a right to baptism on the same 
 grounds with them. But even this it can by no means 
 authorize, unless it could be proved that the members 
 of these households were baptized on the faith of their 
 respective heads ; a circumstance which must be previ- 
 "ously determined, ere any thing further can be said on 
 this head. 
 
 We would remark then upon the whole, that neither 
 from one or other of these three species of arguments 
 separately, nor from them all taken together, do we see 
 any thing like the principles of Pedo-baptism taught. 
 On the contrary, even the most invulnerable point 
 thereof, the Abrahamic covenant, appearing to contain 
 principles, which in their nature cut up that whole sys- 
 tem by the very roots, we must hence be allowed to ex- 
 press our convictions on this subject, and to give it li 
 
FIVOM THE BAPTIZING OF HOUSEHOLDS. 227 
 
 place, in our judgment at least, among those doctrines, 
 which have not the infallible word of God, but human 
 authority alone for their origin and support. W|p how- 
 ever anathematize none. Let every man be fully per- 
 suaded in his own mind. Blessed be God that it is not 
 to one another, but to Him we are responsible. We have 
 all an undoubted right to think for ourselves ; and should 
 we even think differently from others, still no authority 
 merely human has a right to call us in question ; for this 
 would at once be usurping the rights of conscience,it would 
 be putting ah end to all inquiry, it would be destroying 
 the analogy which should subsist between religion and 
 the other works of God, making of rational creatures 
 mere machines, and sapping the very foundation, not to 
 say of one doctrine merely, but of the whole extent of 
 that beautiful religious system taught in the Scriptures^ 
 From all which evils, may the Lord ever preserve his 
 bwn ! 
 
 m 
 
CIlAPTEIlf VII. 
 
 i.y exami.vatiox of sevekal-^betached passages 
 
 COMMONLY ADDUCED IN SUPPORT OF FEDO-BAP- 
 
 TIS'M, Sec. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 £ remarked in tlic Introduction, lliat it must al- 
 ways be a source of grief to anj i:)erson who loves 
 truth, and who wishes truth alone to prevail, to see 
 even good people supporting what they imagine to be 
 truth, by improper means ; and that, as on no subject 
 has this method been more abundantly adopted, than on 
 the one now before us, it is therefore our design to be- 
 stow a little attention upon it, and to assign this parti- 
 cular place for the consideration of the various false 
 glosses, unwarrantable conclusions, and Tcry improper 
 treatment v/hich the abettors of both sides of the ques- 
 tion have reciprocally given each other. We shall 
 therefore in the present section attend to the first point, 
 which is a brief review of the various passages of holy lurii 
 generalli) brought foriacrd in support of I^do- baptism. 
 And to preserve some kind of order, we shall endea- 
 vour to range them into the three following classes. — 
 Class J*?/* j/, to contain all -diose passages in which a con- ^ 
 nexion between believers and their children seem to 
 spoken of CXzss second^ those passages in which they 
 
EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAG^iES, &C. 229 
 
 seem to be distinguished from the children of the un- 
 godly. — ^And the third class, those which are rather of 
 a miscellaneous nature, and do not properly coaie under 
 either of the two foregoing heads. 
 
 1 . We accordingly begin with class first ; and here, 
 at our entrance, we have to detect that false principle 
 we have so frequently adverted to, that of taking things 
 for granted which should first have been proved, and of 
 quoting them by the sound rather than by the sense. 
 
 Though it be allowed on all hands, that the Israelites 
 were indeed a very rebellious, perverse and wicked peo- 
 ple, and very seldom gave evidence that many of them, 
 I mean comparatively, were really under the influence 
 of the truth; yet when reasoning on the subject of bap- 
 tism, oul: brethren seem invariably to take for granted, 
 that in all those passages where the connexion between 
 the parents and the children is spoken of, that it is a 
 connexion between believers and tJieir seed. Now, than 
 this there can be nothing more opposite to the truth. 
 Take for example that noted passage, Ez.ek. xvi. 20. 
 we have already had occasion to quote, and see whether 
 there be any thing like what they assume at all allow- 
 able. The connexion between the people there sjjoken 
 of, and Jehovah as their God, is unquestionably mani- 
 fest, as is likewise the connexion between them, as the 
 children of God, and of their children as his children. 
 But does it hence follow, that this was a spiritual coji- 
 nexion, or rather that they were at all believers, be- 
 cause such things are recorded of thern ? See also what 
 we have said on it, page 1C3. 
 
 A number of other passages might here be quoted 
 for the same purpose ; but instead of loading our pages 
 with mere texts without ideas, we shall rather endea- 
 vour to catch the prmciple upon which such a conexion 
 is founded, than to transcribe from, any Concordancf; 
 
250 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 simply the plsfces where it is to be found. When chil- 
 dren, seed, offspring, &.c. are spoken of, we ought al- 
 ways to attend to the connexion of the passages where 
 thc}^ occur ; for unquestionably they have not one uni- 
 form meaning only in the sacred Scriptures, but are 
 , ijsed both in a literal and in a s^piritual sense, even when 
 applied to men. There seems to be one very evident 
 circumstance pervading the whole Scriptures on this 
 subject, and that is, the connexion^etween the Israelites 
 and their three great progenitors, Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob ; and this is the connexion much more frequently 
 spoken of, than that of their lineal descent one from 
 another in their successive generations. And it seems 
 rather to have been on account of their being the de- 
 scendents of these three patriarchs, with whom the co- 
 venant was originally formed, that they were recognized 
 as children thereof, than on account of their immediate 
 descent, throughout their successive generations, from be- 
 lieving parents. And what puts this matter beyond all 
 doubt, is, that frequently those original transactions are 
 referred to in the subsequent dealings of God with that 
 people 5 whereas, there are but very few instances if 
 any, strictly speaking, wherein the personal virtues of 
 the parent are noticed as the cause of procuring bless- 
 ing to the children. That there is something however 
 like such a connexion, we will not dogmatically deny ; 
 for this seems to be the principle upon which the second 
 commandment, the 17th verse of Psal. ciii. and several 
 other passage's run. But we suppose that it is pretty 
 generally agreed, that the good or evil mentioned in 
 such passages, as conveyed from parent to child, is ra- 
 ther oh account of the child, in general, choosing to 
 walk in the paths of the parent, by which it receives 
 the blessing or the curse, as the just reward of its eivn 
 deeds, rather than as a legacy, so to speak, procured 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. '231 
 
 and left by the parent. The passage concerning the 
 sour grapes, in the prophecies of Ezekiel, goes evldeut- 
 ly upon the same plan. „, 
 
 There are a number of other passages however, whict^ 
 speak, of seed, of children, and of offspring. Sec. evi- 
 dently in a spiritual sense. As, fov instance, '* All thy 
 children shall be taught of the Lord,and great shall be 
 the peace of thy children. — As for me, this is my cove- 
 nant with them, saith the Lord : My Spirit that is upon 
 the^, and my v^rords which 1 have put In thy mouth, 
 shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth 
 of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, 
 saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever*. — And 
 their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their 
 offspring among the people ; all that see them shall ac- 
 knowledge them, that they are the seed wliicli the Lord 
 hath blessed f. — For I will pour water upon Him that 
 is thirsty, and floods upon the dty ground : IwiJl pour 
 my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upuu thuie 
 offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, 
 as willows by the water courses t, bfc. — Xiiey shall 
 fiot labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for they 
 are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their off- 
 spring with them §.'' 
 
 Now, when the spiritual meaning only Is In leaded, It 
 is altogether unallowable to connect a race merely car- 
 nal, or to reason upon the principle as if the seed, chil- 
 dren, or offspring, were born only by carnal generation. 
 In such passages, seed being used figuratively, it is per- 
 fectly natural to extend the metapliojf, and to apply the 
 expression, i/ii/ seed, ar.d thi/ seed''s seed, Sec. even in a 
 spiritual sense, without positively referring to the car- 
 aal issue of a man's body : — for, first, it is no unnatu- 
 
 * Isa.Iiv. 13. lix.21. f Ch.lxi.9. 
 
 t Ch. xliv,3,i, § Ch.l:vv,23. 
 
-32 EXAMINATION OF DZTACIIED PASSAGES, 
 
 r.al straining jbt'^he metaphor ; and secondly, it is not at 
 all inconsistent, buL on the contrary, is the very method 
 by -which even this spiritual progeny is progressively 
 propagated. They are not, in the spiritual sense, more 
 than in the natural, brought into existence all at once. 
 The truth is preserved amongst men from generation to 
 generation, and those who receive it, are represented as 
 being all participants of one and the same nature, and 
 thus forming a genus, seed, or kind, distinct by them- 
 selves. 
 
 Having made these remarks on the subject in gene- 
 ral, VV3 shall proceed to the consideration of particular 
 passages, in order to be a little more minute. We shall 
 accordingly begin with that famed one, in the second 
 chapter of the Acts, ver. 39. " The promise is to you, 
 and to your children." 
 
 And here, witliout reciting all the keen and acrimo- 
 nious debates which this passage has given rise to, we 
 shall rather attempt explaining it in a sober and rational 
 manner, as the context shall appear to suggest. 
 
 The ^^Tjij/zj- to whom the apostle is addressing him- 
 self, therefore, claim the first attention. They were 
 Jews, the natural seed of Abraham, and part of that "* 
 covenanted people or nation, whom the Lord had cho- 
 sen in preference to all other nations, for certain rea- 
 sons, to be a pcculi:ir people to himself. But they 
 we're unbelieving Jews, persons wliom the apostle could 
 charge with the murder of the Lord of glory, and 
 who had given their full consent to all that the 
 Scribes and Pharisees proposed, concerning the imma- 
 culate Jesus, " crying, Away with him, crucify him, 
 crucify him ; not this man, but Barabbas : his blood be 
 upon us, and On our children." 
 
 This being their character, their immediate situation'^ 
 was that of persons in a m.anner giving up the ghost. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 233 
 
 Wing almost overwhelmed with black despair. The 
 apostle had boldly charged thenti with the sin of cruci- 
 fying the Savipur, had demonstrated kis resurrection 
 and exaltation as events which had taken place, in spite 
 •of all the precautious which had been adopted for their 
 prevention : Therefore^ concludes he, let' all the house of 
 Israel kuow assiiredlij^ that God hath made that same Jesus 
 luhoin ye have crudjiedy both Lord and Christ. 
 
 Now, ivhen thcij heard this, and reflected on the conse- 
 quences which must thence result from the resurrection 
 and exaltation of one whom they had put to death as a 
 malefactor, they -were pricked in their heart ; they were 
 afraid lest the awful imprecation of his blood being 
 upon them and their children, should now be verified^ 
 and therefore, with the greatest emotion, they cried unto 
 Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren^ 
 what shall we do P To which Peter replied. Repent, and 
 be baptized every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
 for the remission of sins, and ye sJuill receive the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you and to your children, 
 and to all that are afar off, as you, by your conduct, have 
 undoubtedly proved yourselves to be, even to as many ns 
 the Lord our God shall call. The Saviour came not to 
 call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Guilty 
 as you are, you are not beyond the reach of his sove- 
 reign power and grace ; for the promise, or gospel, does 
 not exclude you ; yea, on the contrary, it is a device of 
 infinite Wisdom, adapted to persons in your very situa- 
 tion. Nof are your children or little ones even beyond 
 its reach, though you have done all in your power to 
 render them so ; for these glad tidings are free as the 
 air you breathe, extending to every individual of the 
 human kind, and to your children of course ; there be- 
 ing no creature far or uear, to whom they shall comej 
 
234) EXAIiPllSfATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 who may warrantably consider himself as excluded from 
 the hope of mercy. 
 
 Such appears to us to be a fair representation of the 
 gemiine spirit and purport of this passage. We con- 
 ceive it as not at all natural, and as a matter exceeding- 
 ly dubious indeed, that the apostle should have intended 
 by the expression of the promise being to those Jews 
 and to their children, the inseparable connexion which 
 should subsist in all ages between believers and their 
 children. The expression, upon this supposition, would 
 imply that they, and their children, were already in the 
 covenant ; an idea however, which, if you take the cove- 
 nant to be the covenant of grace, does not appear at all 
 consistent on the following account. For first, in the 
 apostles' view, their actual interest in this covenant 
 seems to be suspended on their actual faith and repen- 
 tance y and on their saving themselves^ ver. 40. from that 
 nrHoivard generation. Secondly, all the nations, or those 
 in the text, said to be afar ojf^ would be in this cove- 
 nant, and that in their national capacity, equally as they : 
 for the promise, if it was originally to Abraham and 
 his seed, was likewise to the nations in general, for all 
 the natiotis were to be blessed in him. So that, thirdly, 
 the grand point contended for from this passage, name- 
 ly, the connexion between believers and their seed, as 
 they are called, seems to have no existence ; for unfor- 
 tunately the example they would here produce, does 
 not happen to be an example of believers^ but of unbelie^ 
 verSf at least at the time the words were addressed to 
 them. 
 
 The 20th and 21&t verses of the third chapter of the 
 first epistle general of Peter, constitute another passage 
 to which we must here advert, as we know too well 
 that some produce it as an example of the connexion 
 contended for. . The principle upon which the doctrijie 
 
IN SUrPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM, 235 
 
 ,s urged from this passage, arises from tlid?*circumstance 
 of the preservation of Noah's family along with him- 
 self, at the time of the general deluge. And this again, 
 because baptism is here said to be an antitype of that 
 event. But surely such an important doctrine ought 
 by no means to be assumed from such a superficial view 
 of a confessedly difficult text. We shall therefore en- 
 ileavour to ascertain its true meaning, before we say a 
 word respecting this subject, either on the one side or 
 on the other. 
 
 And, first^ let us attend to the kind of baptism here 
 spoken of. 
 
 Secondly^ to the manner in which it can be said to save 
 Any ; and. 
 
 Thirdly^ to the means by which this is effected, name- 
 ly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 
 1 . As to the first then, we would remark, that we 
 shall e?;ceedingly err if we take baptism in every pas- 
 sage in which it occurs, and in this perhaps no less than 
 any, in its literal sense. The apostle himself indeed, 
 seems to guard us against this, by the explanatory 
 clause he immediately subjoins, not the putting qivay of 
 the filth of the fieshy but the answer of a good conscience 
 toward God. By the introduction of this clause, it Evi- 
 dently appears, that the apostle did not wish his readers 
 to understand baptism in the common sense of the word, 
 and which consisted in the cleansing or washing away 
 defilements of the body. It is not this kind of baptism 
 he intends, but a baptism connected with the maintain- 
 ing, even in the midst of persecution, of o good conscience 
 before God. 
 
 If we attend to the preceding context, we shall see 
 this rem'ark confirmed in the clearest manner. In tlie 
 beginning of the chapter, the apostle had been exhort- 
 ing to the conscientious discharge of mutual duties. At 
 
^-'36" EXAMINAXrON OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 the 8th and 9th verses, he enjoins it as a general 
 maxim, that Christians, in their intercourse with one 
 another, are to be sympathizing, lender hearted, and. 
 courteous : never rendering evil for evil, nor railing for 
 railing, but contrariwise blessing j to the end that they 
 might obtain the inheritance to which they were called. 
 He then assured them of the divine protection promised 
 to the righteous, and of the certainty of threatened pu- 
 nishment against the wicked, ver. 12. But w/zo, says 
 ,he, ver. 13. ivill harm you if ye be followers of that which 
 is good ? Good conduct will even disarm your persecu- 
 tors ; for, " when a man's ways please the Lord, the 
 Lord (in general) will make even his enemy to be at 
 peace with him." But^ and if ye suffer for righteousness 
 sake, hapyy are ye * ; and be not afraid of their terror^ nei- 
 ther be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, 
 and be ready alivays to give an answer to every man that 
 asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness 
 and fear. Having a good conscience, that whereas tJiey 
 speak evil of you as evil doers^ they may be ashamed that 
 falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ, For it is 
 better^ if the will of God be so that ye are to suffer, that 
 ye suffer for well doing than evil doing.''^ 14, — 17. 
 
 Above all, to support their minds in this their suffer- 
 ing condition, he brings the previous sufferings of 
 Christ, and the glory which followed, immediately be- 
 fore their view. And having hinted at his resurrection, 
 here termed a quickening by the Spirit, ver. 18. he pro- 
 duces an instance of very ancient date, to confirm all 
 that he had said respecting both the righteous and the 
 wicked. This instance is what happened to Noah and 
 his family on the one hand, and the men of that gene- 
 ration on the other, in the case of the general deluge. 
 And it may be remarked in general, that the whole. 
 * See Matt. V. 10,11,12.. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 237 
 
 consisted in the complete pre'servation.of the former^ 
 and total overthrow of the latter. 
 
 As a proof of this general state of the fact, he de- 
 clares, that that disobedient and untoward generation, 
 who would not hearken to the preaching- of Noah at 
 the time that God exercised his long-suffering patience 
 toward them while the ark was a preparing, were then 
 in prison^ or in hell, as a punishment for their disobedi- 
 ence ; while, on the contrary, Noah and his family, 
 amounting only to eight souls^ ivere effectually saved bi/ 
 ivaier. 
 
 Thus far we have proceeded on what seems to be 
 pretty clear and evident grounds ; but what may be the 
 precise meaning of that which follows, there is more* 
 'room for conjecture, and by consequence doubt. Ta- 
 king the passage in its connexion, however, I should 
 suppose that the baptism spoken of, ver. 21. as the anti~ 
 type of the matters above specified in ver. 20. * and which 
 the apostle here distinguishes from mere ivater baptism^ 
 is the same as that to which our Lord himself referred, 
 when addressing the ambitious disciples, and also*when 
 
 * Ver. 11. The relative u being in the neuter gender, its ante- 
 cedent is by some considered to be vSatTsj, which is likewise neu- 
 ter ; but, in our opinion, this does not clear the passage of its dif- 
 ficuUy in any respect, like that of considering the circumstances 
 respecting Noah, specified in the preceding verse, as the antece- 
 dent. And it is ma.nifest that this would be equally grammatical, 
 it being a rule in almost every language, that ' when the relative 
 respects- a whole sentence, it is put in the neuter gender.' The 
 sense will therefore be, 'fi, " To which circumstance," (namely, 
 that of the preservation of Noah and his family, by means of the 
 ark), mvri'rvTtov ^xTtn^fix, " the antitype baptism, doth also now 
 save us, (not that kind of baptism however, which consisteth in 
 washing away the filth of the flesh, but that which consisteth in 
 the obtaining of the answer of a good conscience toward God), by 
 the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 
 
238 EXAMINATION Of DETACHED PASSAGI,^, 
 
 ]je said, / have q baj)t'ism''io be Inptized luiih, arid how am 
 I straitened '4i^ it he accot^plisJied* ? The baptism to 
 wliigh our Lord refers in these passages, is unquestion- 
 h\y sufferings ,- and as this is the grand topic the apo- 
 stle is discoursing on here, we do not perceive liow it 
 would be in the least straining the point, to restrict its 
 interpretation to tliis signification alone. And what 
 would incline us the more to do so, is the effect said to 
 be produced by the baptism the apostle is here speak- 
 ing of on the persons to whom he writes. These ef- 
 fects are positively said to be salvation through the re- 
 surrection of Jesus Christ. This is accordingly the se- 
 cond thintj to which we were to attend for the illustra- 
 tion of this difficult passage. 
 
 2. And our inquiry here must be, in what respecti 
 baptism can be said to save any ? Baptism, taken accord- 
 ing to its common acceptation, cannot properly be said 
 either to be the salvation or condemnation of a man. 
 Where it is attended to in faith in the Son of God, in- 
 deed, it must be a duty pleasing in his sight, and such 
 as he will own and accept through his merits ; but no 
 where do we find it in Scripture, so far at least as our 
 present recollection serves us, save in this passage, ever 
 represented as the salvation of believers. The very 
 Contrary seems to be insinuated, Markxvi. 16. where it 
 is said. He that believeth and is bajJtizedy shall be saved ; 
 but he that believeth not, evidently notwithstanding he 
 should be baptized, shall be damned. But baptism, on 
 the other hand, taken for affliction, is frequently repre- 
 sented as exceedingly conducive to this important end j 
 and by a very chaste metaphor of taking the end for 
 the means, a thing very common in every species of 
 discourse, it may with propriety be said to be the sal- 
 vation of the godly. Paul, speaking on this subject^ 
 * Compare ?JaU. xx. 22, 23. Mar. x. 38. 39. awd Luke xii. 50, 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 239 
 
 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. terms these " afflictions^^ut light and 
 momentary ;" and adds, that nevertheless " they work 
 out for us a far iriore exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory;" and this again, " While we look not. at the 
 things which ai'e seen, but at the things which are not 
 seen ; for the things which are seen are temporal, but 
 the things which are not seen are eternal." 
 
 Exactly similar therefore to what Paul here says, do 
 we conceive the salvation of which Peter speaks, in the 
 passage under consideration to be. The heVieving soj'ottr- 
 ners to whom he writes, were called to endure a great 
 fight of afflictions. Being Jews, they were therefore ex- 
 posed to persecutions on every hand. Compelled to fly 
 from the devouring sword in their own land, they found 
 themselves equally destitute of shelter whithersoever 
 they went. As it was with their great Master, so like- 
 wise was it with them. The heathen raged ; the peo- 
 ple imagined vain things ; they rose up with one accord, 
 even to extirpate his blessed name from the earth. As 
 those in Judea efFetted, as they supposed, by his cruci- 
 fixion, the total destruction of the Master ; so those of 
 the nations, stimulated by their example, imagined that 
 by similar means, they would crush his rising fame, and 
 deter every one, throbgh the fear of persecution, from 
 any longer defending his, cause. But the attempt was 
 vain. For while incontrovertible eviden.ce could be ad- 
 duced in proof of this one subject which the apostle 
 here introduces, namely the resurrection of the blessed 
 Saviour, persecution, so far from being an impediment 
 in the way of believers, would invariably be the means 
 of accelerating their progress. To us, therefore, and 
 we repeat it again, it appears extremely evident, that 
 this is precisely what the apostle is representing in the 
 case before us. He had lirst spoken of the sufferings 
 to which the believers to wiiom he wrote, were expo- 
 
240 EXAMINATION OP Dl.TAGHED PASMlGES, 
 
 sed ; then instancing the " Saviour himsel^^ 
 
 as not only " put to death in wm ileshybut quickened 
 by the Spirit ;"— He lab lly brings in the example of 
 Noah and the antideluvians^ as a general illustration of 
 the important facts on which he was here insisting. The 
 salvation of Noah and his family by water, he represent- 
 ed as a type, the antitype of wliich was the preserva- 
 tion of, believers amid the overwhelming billows of 
 persecution. As the former were saved by means. of 
 the ark being borne up by the mighty flood, so the lat- 
 ter were preserved from sinking into eternal perdition, 
 by being enabled to preserve a eonscicuce void of of- 
 fence, even in the midst of persecution, both towards 
 God and towards man. Though many of them might 
 actually fall by the hands, of their persecutors, still this 
 could have no influence in rendering their eternal state 
 more insecure ; for in all such cases, they wepe --never 
 to consult their ov/n will, but the will of their heavenly 
 Master, and with meekness to say, as they had been 
 taught, " Whether it be right in the sight of God to 
 hearkea unto men more than unto God, judge ye *." 
 Thus would their very persecutions, which were like 
 raging billows, and like baptisms ia deep waters, so far 
 from retarding, rather be the means of securing their 
 salvation. 
 
 3. But we were to inquire in the last place, tulii/ it is 
 that this kind of baptism is attended nvith suth blessed effects.'* 
 Paut states, a general reason why it is so in the passage 
 alluded to, in the ivth chapter of 2 Corinthians. But 
 Peter is more explicit, declaring it to be by the resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus Christ. Paul speaks only of the exercise 
 of Christians in general, in having their mind called ofF 
 by affliction from the contemplation of things which are 
 seen and temporal, toward those which are unseen and 
 * Acts iv. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 2il 
 
 eternal ; but Peter particularizes the precise principle 
 upon which Paul's heavenly mindedness can possibly suc- 
 ceed, and shews that it must be from first to last, entirely 
 through the resuffection of the Saviour. The sim^l^s fact 
 of his having been raised "after having been violently put 
 to death as a transgressor, was such a firm ground of 
 confidence, that the hope of believers can never be lost, 
 that earth and hell ^ vain combine their force to de- 
 prive them of it. Was Noah in reality saved ? Has 
 the Saviour been raised indeed ? Answers to these ques- 
 tions are calculated to dissipate every fear. And the 
 man who has faith in them, is raised above the level of 
 his fellow-men who are yet in unbelief j he is like 
 Noah in the ark. *' The floods of ungodly men cannot 
 make him afraid ; for the Lord will send strength from 
 above: He will draw them out of many waters*." 
 For if we believe that Christ died and rose again, then 
 we are assured that those also who sleep in Christ, God 
 will bring with him j and that if we suffer -v^'ith himj 
 we shall be also glorified together. 
 
 Thus signally does the baptism of persecution save 
 through faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 And how can it be otherwise ? for if I believe that 
 Jesus died and rose again, then by consequence I 
 must believe that he i? the true Messiah. And if 
 this be admitted, then I must believe that the whole 
 of his religiet} is true likewise. But if his religion 
 , be true, and yet, through fear of persecution, I should 
 ^ot dare to avow it, then, in this case, I would have 
 to consider myself as sealing my own condemna- 
 tion ; for does not that religion teach, that whoso- 
 ever will not confess the Saviour before men, him 
 
 11 not he confess before his Father who is in heaven J 
 
 * Psal. x/Iii.i. 16. 
 
 Hh 
 
242 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 In tills case too, I could not have the amwer of a good 
 conscience toward God. For on account of the abundance 
 of evidence to the truth on the one hdnd, and my own 
 infidelity on the other, it would stnite me for denying 
 tlie Saviour. And thus by saving myself from the 
 baptism of persecution, I should inevitably expose my- 
 self to a baptism which would be infinitely worse, even 
 the wrath and displeasure of Alrtiighty God, in the 
 eternal world. Thus, from the admission of a first 
 principle, I am led on to the admission of a second, and 
 a second leads on to a third, a third to a fourth, and so 
 on, till I am brought either to give up religion altoge- 
 ther as a Cunningly devised fable, or else to maintain 
 it with all the firmness of one fully persuaded of its 
 heavenly origin, and that in opposition to all that my 
 fellow-mortals can either say or do unto me. This last 
 accordingly I do ; having learned from this religion not 
 to fear them who can only kill the body, but him who 
 is able to cast both soul and body into hell fire. And 
 in this object of my choice, I find the resurrection of the 
 blessed Saviour, to be my principal, my on/t/ support, 
 first, by way of evidence, and then by way of hope. For 
 he arose, not as a private individual, but as a pattern 
 and examplar of the resurrection of his people, testify- 
 ing that by whatever means they should die, there 
 should be hope in their death, and that it is utterly out 
 of the power of earth and hell to deprive them of such 
 a hope. 
 
 Such are the viev.'s we have ventured to suggest on 
 this diflficult passage. And if they should be found to 
 be correct, we humbly apprehend that they will tend 
 not a little to remove the difficulties, as well as be the 
 means of preventing it from being employed, without 
 good reason, in support of a doubtful theory. But so 
 entirely without foundation do we consider the addu-. 
 
In SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 24$ 
 
 cing of this passage, as a proof of infafit iaptism,to be, that 
 we shall particularly consider it, according to its own 
 merits, independently of the views we have here given. 
 It is insinuated, that because Noah's family were pre- 
 served from the effects of the deluge as well as himself, 
 and this again being conjoined with the subject of bap- 
 tism, hence arises an argument for the baptism of in- 
 fants. But this conclusion we hold to be most fallaci- 
 ous, for the following reasons. 
 
 1 . The children of Noah were not in their infant 
 state. They had arrived at the years of maturity, had 
 taken to themselves wives, and of course were them- 
 selves accountable, and not their parent, for the conduct 
 they might pursue. 
 
 2. But secondly, it does not appear that they were 
 really preserved on account of the faith of their pa- 
 rent, but, on the contrary, it would rather seem, by the 
 becoming behaviour of two of them shortly after, that 
 they had faith for themselves personally, or at any rate 
 jf this was not the case, that they were preserved along 
 with Noah, for certain reasons not explained. 
 
 3. Therefore, thirdly, supposing those reasons to be 
 really on account of something in the parent, might we 
 not consider them as rather of a nature including only 
 general things, than as specifically connecting a man's 
 posterity, even in the covenant of grar^i, along with 
 himself? Thus we read of Elijah, thai he could shut 
 and open heaven, that at his prayer the heavens gave 
 no rain for the space of three years and six months, and 
 
 ^that again, when he prayed, t^e heavens were opened, 
 and poured out .their rain in XDundance. In this man- 
 ner therefore, whole nations might be said to be saved 
 or punished on account of the faith and pra;y er of Eli- 
 jah ; but it would be certainly straining the point to con- 
 nect them with him, as it respected their preservation, 
 
2ii EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 •y. 
 
 ill the covenant of grace, and equally so to consign 
 them, as it respected the,ir punishment, to eternal per- 
 dition. Thus therefore l^oah's family might have been 
 connected with himself upon mere general principles ; 
 or more particularly perhaps, that through their means 
 the earth might be speedily replenished^ and that in the 
 ^inc of one of them the Messiah might descend. Be- 
 sides, there was no little wisdom displayed in preserving 
 more than a solitary individual, as by this means more 
 ample testimony would necessarily be furnished for suc- 
 ceeding ages, to establish the truth of such an extraordi- * 
 nary event. 
 
 4'. We must therefore remark, in the fourth place, 
 that between th^; tyjje and the antiti/pe^ according to the 
 common explanation, there appears scarcely the lea it 
 analogy ; and what is perhaps worse, the passage is still 
 left wholly unexplained, and involved in all the dillicuU 
 ties in which it was found. 
 
 5. Hence we must observe, in the last place, that un- 
 less it can be better explained than has yet been done^ 
 and proved beyond a doubt to be referring to baptism 
 in the literal sense, it never can with propriety be em- 
 ployed by Pedo-baptists in support of their system ; nor 
 even then, unless they can make the type and the anti- 
 type to coirespond in that particular point which is the 
 subject of cHspute, namely, the covenant connexion 
 which is said toxsubsist between believers and their in-* 
 fant offspring. 'x^ 
 
 Second class of pannages. Under this class were to be 
 somprehended those passages which seem to distinguish^ 
 between the children of Lslievers and imbelievcrs. 
 
 A very famed passage ol tX^s description is contained 
 in 1 Cor. vii. l-t. The apostle, speaking of the duties 
 incumbent upon either believinV man or woman, who 
 aiight be joined, previous to theirVqnversion, to an un- 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. Si^ 
 
 believing partner^ proceeds to reason upon the sv\bject 
 thus. First, that they ought not to separate on that ac- 
 count, ver. 12, 13. For^ says he, ver. 14;. the unbelieving 
 husband is sanctified by the ivife^ and the unbelieving ivife 
 is sanctified by the husband j else were your children un- 
 clean^ but naiv are they holy. 
 
 Concerning this passage, we would only femark, that 
 while Baptists cm the one hand, contend that holiness 
 here, as applied to children, signifies only their legitima- 
 cy^ and Pedo-baptists on the other, that it signifies no- 
 thing less than a federal holiness, a holiness running iu 
 blood, descending from parent to child ; we would re- 
 mark, I say, that to us the following view of the late 
 ingenious and judicious Macknight, appears to be the 
 best we have yet seen. For various important reasons 
 given in his fourth preliminary essay, he renders the 
 Greek preposition m in this passage, by the English pre- 
 position to ; so that, according to him, the passage runs 
 thus. For the itfidel hush And is sanctified to the wife, and 
 the infidel ivife is sanctified to the husband ; othernvise^ cer- 
 tainly^ your children were taiclean^ whereas^ indeed, theif are 
 holy. His commentary runs thus, * For the infidel hus- 
 
 * batid is sanctified, is fitted to remain married to the be- 
 
 * lieving wZ/f, -by his affection for her; and the infidel 
 
 * nuife is sanctified to the believing husband, by her affec- 
 ' tion for him, otherwise certainly your children would be 
 ' neglected by you as unclean ; ivhereas indeed they are 
 
 * clean - they are the objects of your aiFection and 
 
 * care.' 
 
 To the text and commentary thus quoted in the Doc- 
 tor's own words, we insert from him likewise the fol- 
 lowing note. 
 
 ' Other %vise certainly your children are unclean. — Our 
 
 * translators seem here to have understood the terma 
 
 * sanctified, unclcan^^iXid. holy, m a federal sense, which in- 
 
248 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED P\SSA'5ES^ 
 
 * deed is the common opinion. But first, it is not true 
 
 * iu a federal sense, that the unbelieving party in a mar- 
 
 * riage js sanctified by the believing party v for cvident- 
 
 * ]y no pne hath any right to the blessings of the gos- 
 
 * pel ppvenaat, by the faith of those to whom they are 
 ' married. In the second place, it is as little true, that 
 
 * the children procreated between believing and unbe- 
 
 * lieving parents, become unclean by the separation of 
 '' their parents, and clean by their continuing together, 
 
 * as the apostle asserts, if by unclean we understand ex- 
 
 * elusion from the covenant, and by clean admission into 
 'it. For the title which children have to be members 
 
 * of the covenant, depends not on their parents living 
 
 * together, but on the faith of the believing parent*. I 
 
 * therefore think, with jElsner, that the words in this 
 
 * verse have neither a federal nor a moral meaning, but 
 ' are used in the idiom of the Hebrews, who by Sanctis 
 
 * jied^ understood what was fitted for a particular use, 
 
 * and by unclean what was unfit for use, and therefore 
 
 * to be cast away. In that sense, the apostle, speaking 
 
 * of ineat^ says, 1 Tim. iv. 5. It is sanctijied (fitted for 
 
 * your use) by the ivord of God and prayer. Ver. 4. Eve^ 
 
 * ry creature of God fit for food is goody and nothing fit for 
 
 * food is to he cast away as unclean. The terms in the 
 
 * verse thus understood, afford a rational meanings 
 
 * namely, that when infidels are married to Christians, 
 
 * if they have a strong affection for their Christian 
 
 * spouses, they are thereby sanctified to them, they are 
 
 * But on the faith of the hf lie vhig parent. Suchj it appears, wr.3 
 the Doctor's opinion on this subject. But would it not have been 
 better for him to have expressed himself here, as he had done a 
 few lines -above, and fairly to have owned that ' evidently no one 
 h-ith any right to the blessings of the gospel covenant,' by the 
 fiiith of those of whom they are born, equally as ' by the faith of 
 »hose to whcm they are married ?' 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PED(^BAPTISM. 2iT 
 
 ' fitted to continue married to them ; because their af- 
 ' fection to the Christian party will insure to that partj 
 ' the faithful performance of every duty ; and that if 
 ' the marriages of infidels and Christians were tO; be 
 
 * dissolved, they would cast away their children as ««- 
 ^ cleati^ that is, losing their affection for^theirii they 
 ' would expose them after the barbarous custom of the 
 ' Greeks, or at le^ast neglect their education ; but that 
 ' by continuing their marriages, their children are holy^ 
 
 * they are preserved as sacred pledges of their mutual 
 ' Jove, and educated with care.' 
 
 Another very noted passage to the same purpose, Is 
 that in the xith chapter of the epistle to tlie Romans, 
 ver. 16. For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also 
 holy ; and if the root be holtjy so are the branches. 
 
 When 1 first heard this passage produced in favour of 
 infant baptism, in consequence of a federal holiness said 
 *to subsist between the parent and the child, I confess I 
 was not a little struck at the idea, and the inore so, as 
 It differed so much from the notions I had entertained 
 of it, and which I do still entertain, as upon further re- 
 flection I conceive them to be more rational. 
 
 There were just two principles upon which I used 
 to explain the passage, and which to me still appear to 
 be happily free from that arbitrary and forced construc- 
 tion I here object to. The first was tliat of considering 
 it simply as a figure, intended to convey a general 
 truth, by means of which the ajDOStle might convey 
 most clearly his design to his readers. The second 
 was to illustrate it wholly by the context, "wherein there 
 is no mention made of that particular subject for which 
 it is produced ; but, on the contrary, every thing to 
 prove, that it is only personal faith which can give any 
 a personal interest to the blessings in the covenant of 
 grace. 
 
248 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 As a general principle it is true, that a sample taken 
 out of a whole must resemble that whole, and that if 
 a root be holy, so are also the branches. See examples 
 of .this truth taught in the fdillowing Scriptures, Matt, 
 vii. 16, — 20. and James iii. 11, 12. 
 
 And that this general truth was consonant to the apo- 
 stle's design in this passage, must appear evident to any 
 one at first view. The subject of which he is here speak- 
 ingyis tlie rejection of the Jews and reception of the Gen- 
 tiles. These form a contrast in the apostle's account, 
 in several of the preceding verses. But he speaks of 
 an in-galhering, as well as a rejection of that ancient 
 people, and passes several strictures relative to the ef- 
 fect that both were to have upon the ,Gentile§. *' If 
 the fall of them," says he, " be the riches of the world, 
 and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, 
 how much more their fulness ?" ver. 12. This the apo- 
 stle spoke concerning the Gentiles, that he -might stir 
 up his brethren the Jevv's to emulaiion, and might be 
 the happy means of saving some of them, ver. 13, 14. 
 Then resuming, ver. 15. the same kind of reflection he 
 had thrown put in the 12 th, he says, '•'• For if the cast- 
 ing away of them be the reconciling of the world, what 
 shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead ?'? 
 After which follows the passage in quesfion. For if the 
 jirst fruit be lioUjf the lump is also ho 't/ ; and if the root be 
 holyy so arc the branches. 
 
 Fiom the connexion in which this passage occurs, it 
 would then appear that, by \\\& first fruits, we are either 
 to understand converts from among the Gentiles in tlie 
 early ages of Christianity, or those from among the 
 Jews at the same period-; or perhaps both ought to be 
 kept in yiew, and then the first fruit thus understood^ 
 will be answcfable on the one hand to the fulness of th& 
 
IK SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISIV^« 249 
 
 Gentiles^ and on the other to the in-gathering of the 
 Jews, which were both to take place in latter times. 
 
 As for the other figure taken from the vegetabli; 
 world, the connexion between a root and its branches 
 must be obvious to all. If the root be sound and 
 healthy, the branches will be so in like manner ; but if 
 the root be corrupt, the branches must partake of cor- 
 ruption likewise. In this respect, the one mui"* ^.Iways 
 keep pace with the otherl'' 
 
 The question then comes to be, what is the root, and 
 who are the branches the apostle has particularly in 
 view by this figurative language ? There ar'^ ^ariou§' 
 passages of Scripture which represent Jesus Christ 'to' 
 be the root and offspring of David ; and what he was 
 to David in respect of a root, that certainly he is to the 
 whole of his people. But there is another passage, Jer. 
 xi. 16. in which the same kind of figure is employed^ 
 which some suppose to refer to Abraham as the root. 
 Israel and Judah are there represented as '* a green olive 
 tree, fair, and of goodly fruit ;" but becaiise of their 
 lewdness, the Lord is said to have kindled a fire, and 
 the branches of it are broken. As Abraham was then 
 the founder of that nation, so he is considered by many 
 in relation to this figure, as the root ; and that it is to 
 him, under the same metaphor, that the apostle alludes 
 in the passage before us. To which interpretation, 
 there can be certainly no objection, provided it be kept 
 in view that Abraham is to be considered as a root in a 
 twofold sense, carnal and spiritual ; and that it is only 
 in the latter, that the figure can be applicable in this 
 passage. For as the believing Gentiles are the princi- 
 pal persons liere spoken of, and along with them are 
 connected believing Jews, it is demonstrably evident 
 that Abraham was never connected with.either of them 
 in, this character, but in the spiritual sense. 
 
 li 
 
'JoO EXAM^NAXrON OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 According to these intfjrpretations therefore, the sense 
 of the^J^ssage must be sufficiently manifest. Iha first 
 frnit of belic^'ing Jews and Gentiles, would refer to the 
 full harvest of believers of both classes, which was to 
 take place in latter times. The qualities or characters 
 of the full harvest, here represented by the expression 
 the lump or mass, would in this respect correspond with 
 the -liifif *fU{t ; so that, if the one was holy and devoted 
 to Lhe Ilbrdjlike the first fruits under the law, the other 
 w6nld be so in like manner ; and tlierefore, from this 
 passage, we are taught to think soberly in regard to the 
 l^Ucr d?!^^glory, and to view it in all respects as corre- 
 slotVadiag with the sample afforded by the first fruits, in 
 which it consisted in the conversion of individuals, by 
 means of a personal conviction of the truth, and not the 
 indiscriminate vocation of whole nations to the assump- 
 tion of a name where there existed nothing of the reali- 
 ty. By this we perceive also what we are to under- 
 stand by the root and the branches. Being only spiritual 
 m-.ttters Vwhich are here spoken of, the connexion be- 
 tween the one and the other must by consequence bi^ 
 understood of this nature only. Whether therefore 
 Abraham or Christ be considered as the root, the mean- 
 iag will be the same; the root will be spiritual, and the 
 branches also. Divesting the passage of all figures 
 then, it will amount simply to what is clearly taught in 
 other parts of Scripture, namely, that Abraham is the 
 sfpiritual father of all vvlio believe, whether Jews or 
 Gentiles, and that all who believe are spiritual chil- 
 dren, and are therefore in this partakers of the nature 
 alid qualities of the parent. Or should any rather pre- 
 fer to cofisider Christ as the root, still they will find 
 that when the figure is stripped of its metaphorical sig- 
 nification, it will come to one and the same thing. 
 We would therefore ask, in the last place, that fron- 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM, 2H 
 
 the passage thus iexplained, explained as we conceive 
 without any unnatural, arbitrary, or' forced^ meaning 
 given to the words, wlierein docs it at .all apipear to 
 give any countenance to those notions which ^edo-bap- 
 tists deduce from it ? On the contrary, we will be bold 
 to affirm, that it will be impossible for them to find, 
 either in this or in any other part of Scripture, tliat fe- 
 deral connexion they so vehemently contend for, if by 
 this connexion they intend, as Aye know they do, the 
 spiritual interest of a carnal posterity, in a spiritual co- 
 venant, in consequence of the faith of their parents. 
 Yea, we are certain we are noj: assuming 'too high 
 grounds here, when we roundly assert, that before such 
 a point can be proved, they must first get rid of that 
 undeniable and most clearly inculcated doctrine, t/w uni" 
 mersal depravity of human nature. 
 
 Conceiving these to be the principal passages belong- 
 ing to the second class^ without spending time in the con<. 
 sideration of others of which these may serve as a spe- 
 cimen, we shall rather proceed to the consideration of 
 the third and last class of passages, which were to con- 
 sist of such a general nature, that they could not be 
 well reckoned under either of the foregoing. 
 
 And here we would remark, that because several 
 passages of Scripture speak of certain children as ha- 
 ving been blessed in their early infancy or youth, this 
 is hence urged as a reason why all children, of believers 
 at least, ought to be baptized. The cases generally al- 
 luded to, are Samuel, Jeremiah. John the Baptist, and 
 the children whom our Lord himself took in his arms 
 and blessed, in the presence of the multitude. Eat 
 such instances surely, while they indeed display in a 
 ■very conspicuous manner the riches of the Saviour's 
 grace, can never be an example for Pedo-baptism, uij- 
 ■^ss they had been represented with such a view. The 
 
 I 
 
252 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 paucity of their number indeed, overturns the argument 
 of itself i for unless it can be said of all children, or at 
 least of as many as have the ordinance pf baptism ad- 
 ministered to them,^that they in like manner are bless- 
 ed and endowed with gracious principles, no arguments 
 can be drawn from the one to the other. Besides, it 
 was by no means in the act of attending to this ordi- 
 nance that these children were blessed ; neither do we 
 x-ead of any of them having been baptized, even after 
 the blessing was conferred. What then is there in these 
 passages that can at all countenance infant baptism ? 
 Much encouragement indeed they afford for Christians 
 to confide in God in behalf of their children ; but it is 
 easy to conceive of this in a general manner, as indeed 
 we are constrained from these passages to do, without 
 considering all our children as therefore spiritual, and 
 lieirs of the covenant of grace, in consequence of their 
 connexion with us. 
 
 The next passage to which we shall attend, is con- 
 tained, 1 Cor. X. 2. And ivcre all haiHi^ed unto Moses in 
 ihe cloudy and in the sea. 
 
 The chief argurtient commonly deduced from this 
 text is, that as all the Israelites were baptized into Mo- 
 ses in the cloud, and in the sea, and as they carried their 
 children along with them, they would all be baptized in 
 like manner. Hence arises, it is said, the propriety of 
 Pedo-baptism. 
 
 But concerning this subject, there are two weighty 
 considerations which ought to be taken into account be- 
 fore any such deduction can be allowed. The first is, 
 to ascertain the sense in which Israel was baptized into 
 Moses in the cloud, and in the sea. The second to in- 
 quire whether baptism, as that particular institution en- 
 joined by Christ upon his apostles, was specifically the 
 same as that, and whether that^ in this defined sense ^ 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BXpTISM, 25i 
 
 was observed and admiiaistered to infants in succeeding 
 generations, till it came to be absorb^ed in the baptism 
 of Christ as its antitype. In nothing l^ss than these 
 particulars do, we consider the merits of this question to 
 consist ; for it is not frpm the mere sound of the word 
 baptize in this passage, but from the sensd in which it is 
 used, in conjunction with the. custom Which prevailed in 
 that dispensation, bj which alone the argimient, in re- 
 gard to it, is to be decided. 
 
 In what sense then were the Israelites bVptized into 
 Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea? Or rath^, it may be 
 asked as a question more likely to illustrate \thc oilier, 
 for what particular piirpose does the apostle \ introduce 
 this subject, and affirm them to have been sot In the 
 preceding context, the apostle had shewn frora his own 
 example, the absolute necessity of an unweatled and 
 constant perseverance in the paths of righteousness. He 
 was constrained " to keep under his body, and tk bring 
 it into subjection, lest that by any means, after Ve had 
 preached unto others, he should hiiuself be a, cast 
 away." 
 
 Such strictures upon his own case, were finely csScu- 
 lated for the introduction of the same subject, as it\rc- 
 garded the Corinthians. But to make it strike voith 
 still greater force, he produces the example of the An- 
 cient Israelites, from whose history, both as standing 
 high in the divine favour, being blessed with many 
 great and distinguished privileges,- and as a perverse arid 
 rebellious race, on whom he was constrained to pour dut 
 his judgments, they might learn the necessity not Ito 
 trust in any gifts or privileges they might enjoy, while 
 they could wantonly disobey the holy commandment 
 of the Lord, ver. 1, — 12. 
 
 The apostle, in enumerating the privileges of the an- 
 cient Israelites, tacitly represents them, to have beeal 
 
254. EXAMINATION OF DI-TACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 very great, ^and i;l fact very nearly analogous lo those 
 still enjoyed" by Christians under the gospel. By means 
 of the pillar of cloud and of fire, they v/ere protected 
 from the furj of their enemies ; and by faith they 
 passed through the Red Sea as on dry ground, whidi 
 the Egyptians assaying to do, 'were drowned. They 
 were likewise all baptized unto Moses in the cloud, and 
 it^ the sea ; aad did all eat the same spiritual meat, and 
 did all drink the same spiritual drink, which we'illhri- 
 stians partake of in the ordinance of the supper ; for 
 they, ate of /he manna in the wilderness as we do of the 
 loaf, both v/'hich symbc4ically represeilt' the true bread 
 which came down from heaven ; " and they drank " 
 as we do pf the cup, " that spiritual Rock that follow- 
 ed them ; and that Rock was Christ," says our apostle ; 
 or ratlier, as his meaning m.ust be, a typical representa- 
 tion of his blood. 
 
 Now, these their privileges being then so great, as a 
 geneiia: truth it was applicable to them, as well as to 
 others, that " to whom much is given, of them the 
 more will be required." The privileges conferred upon 
 the Israelites did not secure them from the displeasure 
 of God in case of disobedience. Hence we read, that 
 " v/ith many of them," though thus highly favoured, 
 ') God was not well pleased ; for which cause they 
 v.ere overthrown in the wilderness." 
 
 What then arc we Christians tw learn from the re- 
 liearsal of these things ? " These things," saith the 
 apostle, " have become examples to us, to the intent 
 that we should not lust after evil things, as they also 
 luifted," &.C. And again he adds, ver. 11. '<; Now all 
 these things happened unto them for ensamples ; and 
 ihcy are written for our admonition, upon whom the 
 tfnds of the world are come. Wherefore, let him that 
 Ihinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." 
 
IN sufport,6f pedo-baptism. 255 
 
 Having tWiis represented what we conceive to be the 
 sense of the passage/in general^ w@>*shall now endeavour 
 to be a little more particular, in order to discover if 
 possible its true sigpification, in' relation to the subject 
 in hand. And for this purpose we shall consider the 
 various expressions in the order they occur. 
 
 The first then is, *' Moreover, brethren, I would not 
 that ^e should be ignorant, how that all our fathers 
 were under the cloud, and air passed, through the sea." 
 Our fathers. As the Corinthian church was compo- 
 sed chiefly of converts from among the Gentiles, the 
 apostle could not call the ancient Israelites their fathers, 
 at least in a literal sense, therefore his meaning must 
 be, either that they were their predecessors in the 
 church of God, or that they were the fathers of the 
 apostle and his brethren, as Jews. 
 
 Were under the cloudy and all passed through the sea. 
 Both these circumstances were the unspeakable privi- 
 lege of that ancient people, as will be seen to the best 
 advantage by considering their deplorabJe situation in ' 
 Egypt, the protection, the pillar of cloud and of fire af- 
 forded them, and their miraculous passage through the 
 sea, which completed their deliverance from that house 
 of bondage. 
 
 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the 
 sea. What may be the precise meaning of the word 
 baptize in this passage, as connected with the cloud and 
 the sea^ I own is not very clear. From the account gi- 
 vtn of the Israelites in the book of Exodus, it appears 
 that they were exceedingly slow to believe the divine 
 mission of Moses the servant of God, and probably 
 they never fully admitted it, notwithstanding they had 
 seen many miracles performed by him, till they had 
 experienced the divine power by the cloud protecting 
 them from the fury of their enemies, and by the sea divi- 
 
„Cb EXAMpATlON OF DETACHED PASSAGED, 
 
 ' To boUi places, the nantf^of Meribah was given ; but' 
 ' the latter was called Meribah Kadesh, to distinguish it 
 
 * from Meribah of Rephldim. It is of the miracle per- 
 ' formed in Rephidim which the apostle speaks ; for'he 
 ' says, the greater part of them who drank of the rock, 
 
 * vvere cast down in the wilderness. 
 
 * Rock ivhlch followed them.— The rock here, as in thv 
 - former clause, is put for the -water from the roch. This 
 
 * it seems came forth from it in such abundance as to 
 ^ form a brook, which is said, Deut. ix. 21. to have de- 
 ' sceudcd out of the mount, that is, out ofHoreh, Exod. xvn. 
 ^ 5, 6. for before that miracle there was no brook ni 
 ^ these parts. The issuing of the water from the rock, 
 ' is said to have been like a river, Psal. Ixxviii. 16. cv. 
 ' -il.. The truth is, 600,000 men, with their womea, 
 '- and children, and their cattle, required a river to sup- 
 <■ ply them with drink. Aj;cording]y the river from the 
 ^ rock followed them. For as Wall observes, (Crit. 
 ' Notes, Vol. I. p. 106.) from Horeb, which was an 
 ' high mountain, there may have been a descent to tbe 
 ^ sea ; and the Israelites during the thirty-seven years 
 ' of their journeying from Mount Sinai, may have gone 
 
 * by those tracts of country, in which the water from 
 ' Horeb could follow them, till in the thirty-ninth year 
 
 * of the Exodus they came to Ezion Gaber, Num. 
 t xxxiii. 36. which was a part of the Red Sea, a great 
 <- way down the Arabian side, where it is supposed the 
 ' waters from Horeb went into the sea. The country 
 
 * through which the Israelites journeyed so long a time, 
 ' being watered by this river, produced no doubt herb- 
 
 * age "for the cattle of the Israelites, which in this de- 
 <• sert must otherwise have perished. But in the four> 
 
 * tieth year of the Exodus, leaving Ezion Gaber to go 
 ' Into Canaan by the east border of Edom, they no soon- 
 -er entered the desert of Zin, which is Kadesh, thsm 
 
 k 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 2i59 
 
 ^ they were a second time distressed Tot want't>f wa- 
 * t«r.' 
 
 ^fid that Rock was Christ. That is to say, it was a 
 type of Christ, as the grand source whence proceeds all 
 spiritual and heavenly blessings. It would appear from 
 what the apostle says in this passage, that the Israelites 
 were taught to consider all these things in this light. 
 
 Having thus given what we conceive to be the sense 
 of the passage, let us next enquire whether it can be 
 employed, with any degree of probability, in support 
 of the system of Pedo-baptists. The word a//, which 
 occurs so frequently in this passage, is the chief point 
 they insist on. Without appearing to be much concern- 
 ed about the sense in which baptism is here used, they 
 seem to express themselves with no little emotion con- 
 cerning this term, and exultingly s^y^A/id they ivere all 
 baptized^ young and old, infants and adults^ male and fe- 
 Tiiale. Perhaps, they might have added, in this enume- 
 ration, since they will come to particulars, in the sense 
 of the apostle at least^ though not in theirs, ar,d iheir 
 cattle and their baggage. 
 
 The writer from whom we have quoted the abo%'e 
 remark, goes on to make a great ado concerning the 
 idea of the Israelites separating their children from 
 them, at the period of their going to be baptized in the 
 cloud and in the sea ; an idea, we will venture to say^ 
 which never needed so much as to enter their minds, and 
 which, notwithstanding that we consider Pedo-baptism 
 to be unfounded in the word of God, we cannot but 
 look upon in the present instance, had it occurred, to 
 have been exceedingly absurd and cruel. * Who could 
 
 * have dared,' says he, ' to have separated the lirtle 
 
 * children from the camp of Israel, and said, we are 
 ' now to be bapti/.ed, and we can only partake of this 
 ' pr.dinance properly, believing i'p t;;e Lord and his, sej- 
 
260 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 ' vant Moses. You infants are incapable of this faith, 
 
 * and must therefore be reit behindj and be separated 
 
 * from the church*.' To vvhicli I would simply reply. 
 Who that understands the matter aright'i'would ever 
 consider this as necessary ? Separate their children in 
 such an important concern as that of which the apostle 
 is speaking I I\ o j ,'by no means I Tlieir children were 
 the most precious part of all their temporal property. 
 They were fleeing- from the face of an enemy, and had 
 the prospect of a safe defence, by being taken under 
 the cloud of God, and l?y walking in the paths he was 
 going to prepare for them in the midst of the sea, both 
 which circumstances the apostle figuratively represeuls 
 as a baptism; and must the helpless infant in such a si- 
 tuation be separated from the tender and provident re- 
 gards of the parent ? They were not taught to act thus 
 even with their silver, or their gold, or their cattle ; 
 but were to take all these under the cloud, and througli 
 the sea, along with themselves : how much more there- 
 fore their children ? — -Surely had this passage been but 
 properly understood, it of any never could have been 
 brought in support of a system to which it does not op- 
 pear in the smallest to refer. Indeed, though it is not 
 bur inclination to deal in any prognostication of the 
 kind, yet here we have no difficulty in saying, tliat if 
 people will go to Scripture with their own several pre- 
 possessions, and illustrate those divine oracles- by their 
 respective systems, instead of taking the whole simply 
 as it stands, it will be a thousand to one if even in a 
 single point they determine rightly. As to the author 
 of the above mentioned sentiments, we ai^e unable to 
 conceive how it could have been otherwise, but tliat his 
 mind, by those views he entertained, must have been 
 darkened as to the grand scope and design of the pas^ 
 
 * See Br.-jwr.'s Diet. Perth edi*. under the article Bapti-.^ra. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDG-BAPTISM. 261 
 
 sage. The^cred writer is not teaching here what he 
 would teach. Not a word respecting infant baptism^ ei- 
 ther directly or indirectly, drops on ..this occasion fron^ 
 the apostle ; and yet, in the hands of this author, he 
 would seem to speak, of nothing else. All the favour- 
 ers of Sion, no doiibt, long for her prosperity ; but, ah ! 
 tlie prospect is dark, of gathering all her children into 
 one, unless men act very differently in their investiga- 
 tion of sacred truth than the generality seem to do. 
 
 There are several other passages referring to children, 
 which have been brought forward of late in support of 
 this doctrine, with as little appr/rent propriety as those 
 we have just considered. They are that class of pas- 
 sages from which some contend tliat children had not 
 only a right to baptism, but are really to be considered 
 as members of the church. Mr Walker of Dublin 
 seems to be the principal person who has given them a 
 kind of form. To his little desultory piece on baptism^ 
 he has these words for his motto. And they all brought 
 us on our ivay^ ivith wives and children^ till n.ve nvere otit 
 of the city ; and nve kneeled doivtu on tJie shore and praTj- 
 ed*. His subsequent sentiments sufficiently evince what 
 he meant by this passage. He declares in plain lan- 
 guage indeed, that, in the apostolic writings, it appears 
 to him, that ' the children of those who were members 
 ' of the several churches are considered as bearing that 
 ' relation to the churches, which occasions the apostles 
 ' to address them with exhortations and admonitions, 
 ' such as they never addressed to those whom they did 
 ' not consider as disciples.' p. 8. He then descants at 
 considerable length on the 1st and 4th verses of thevith 
 chapter of the epistle to th-e Ephesians. We have only 
 to remark, that the drift of his reasoning here is merely 
 to corroborate what he had avowed in the words we 
 * >^\cis xxt, 5. 
 
L'62 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 have quoted. To make the children of whom the apo- 
 stle speaks, first members of the church, and yet in a 
 state of childhood, is his grand obJLCt ; and he seems to 
 think his* point obtained by endeavouring, in pretty 
 strong language, to represent the impossibility, upon 
 Baptist principles^ .to attend to' the apostolic injunction 
 in this passage.' J' have just to inform Mr Walker, 
 however, that he isvjn an egregious mistake, if he sup- 
 pose that this view of the passage is absolutely necessa- 
 ry to the spiritual edification of the soul in speaking 
 from it. No, indeed ; I am one of many, who can bear 
 testimony to the contrary, having heard it lately dis- 
 coursed on in the most edifying manner, without any 
 reference to his view, by my worthy and judicious pa- 
 stor, Mr Innes. Yea, I will go further : 1 will not he- 
 sitate to say, that if Mr Inncs could have been so inju- 
 dicious as to have urged opinions like Mr Walker's, in 
 connexion with the excellent things he advanced, instead 
 of more strongly impressing the mind with r^he imppr^ 
 tance of the subject by such means, their effect would 
 rather have resembled^ the " dead flies in the apotheca- 
 ry's ointment, which cause it to send forth an un- 
 grateful savour *." The very introduction of such 
 doubtful disputations, would have enervated all that he 
 had said, and so far from edifying, it would have engen^ 
 tiered strife. 
 
 But not to rest in general asserlioii>, kv Ub cxautiue 
 the grounds upon which' Mr Walker here proposes to 
 proceed. ' I know,' says he, p. S. '^ the reply which 
 
 * some make, that when the apostle, writing (for in- 
 
 * stance) to the Ephesisn church, gives that exhortation, 
 
 * diildrsn, obey your parents in the Lord,'' gcc. he iid- 
 *■ dresses only tho^e adult menibers of the Ephesian 
 ^^church, whose parents were living. That such are 
 
 * Eccl-.x. 1, 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 263 
 
 ' included in the admonition, I readily admit. But wheii 
 
 * I read immediately in the 4th verse, And ye^ fathers, 
 *• provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in 
 
 * the nurture and admonitiott of the Lord^ — I cannot but 
 
 * think we are to understand children in a state of child- 
 
 * hood, under parental discipline and instruction ; and it 
 
 * seems to me to be putting a great force upon tlie pas- 
 ' sage, to interpret the same eiipression in the Istv^rse, 
 ' in a sense which excludes those whom it evidently is 
 
 * intended to include in the 4th verse. In fact, when 
 ' that epistle was sent to the Ephesian church, any of the 
 
 * parents who complied with the exhortation addressed in 
 ' the latter verse to them, would necessarily lead their 
 
 * children to consider the admonition given in the for- 
 ' mer as directed to themselves.' 
 
 I agree with Mr Walker, that we ought scrupolously 
 to adhere to it as a general rule, not to- explain the word 
 of God by any unnatural or forced interpretation. I can- 
 not avoid thinking, however, that he himself has inad- 
 vertently run into this very fault by the scheme he pro- 
 poses. When we find the Epistle inscribed *, " To the 
 saints who are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ 
 Jesus," will not Mr Walker's plan of considering as 
 members of this believing f and holy society, those whom 
 we find in this very epistle, (ch. ii. 1, — 3.) to be the 
 farthest from this character, be incomparably more for- 
 ced than the interpretation he is opposing ? If we are 
 to consider with him the children addressed in chap. vi. 
 children ia non-age, and yet church members, then we 
 are bound to consider them as also included in the in- 
 scription, and as possessed of characters which the 
 
 * Eph.i.l. 
 
 t It is 9r«5-o«5, letievfs. In the originBl, and i? so rprL!er"d, 1 Tim, 
 iv. 12.. ft aim. 
 
26^1' EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 Scriptures absolutely deny to all, who are born simply 
 after -^e flesTi."' Have w®^ot then the best of reasons 
 tor still retaining that vCT)r interpretation which Mr 
 AValkertonsiders so faulty ?'^' 
 
 But let us next enquire whether it be so unnatural 
 and forced as he w;ould seem to reprfeseiii:. The aposlle 
 is here discoursmg'of relative durics in general. Ha- 
 ving described the duties of husbands and wives, (ch. v. 
 22, — 31.) he proceeds to consider those of parents and 
 children, chap. vi. 1, — 4. As the duties the apostle is 
 inculcating, are purely of a relative nature, he passes 
 over those incumbent upon the parents, while as yet, 
 there could be no return on the part of the children. 
 He proceeds here, as he does in every other place where 
 the same subjects are treated, in the natural order of ri- 
 sing from the inferior to the superior. Wives are first 
 addressed, then husbands ; children, tlien parents ; and 
 servants, then masters *. 
 
 The i-eason the apostle assigns in the end^f verse 1. 
 serves not a little, in my view, to confirm the interpre- 
 tation which has been given of itv '' Children, obey 
 your parents in the Lord ; for this riglity'' ox just. What 
 can be the design of this address to the reason and un- 
 derstanding of these children ? Surely' it implies that 
 they were in a situation in ^v^ich they iQJght be apt to 
 consider themselves as freed froni filial duties. And what 
 situation was this* so liltely to be, as that of members 
 of a Christian church; "while their parents were yet 
 alive, and perhaps unbelievers j while they, on the con- 
 trary, had received the word in faith, and had been made 
 free born children in the family ^of Ood ? Now, as ser- 
 vants were not to act otherwis,e than on the fair princi- 
 ples of right^ be their masters either believers or unbe- 
 
 * Compare with this ijassage, CqI. iii. 18. to the l-\ v-r. 't" • ' . 
 ^v. 1 Petti iii. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 26S 
 
 iievers, 1 Tim. vi. 1,2. so her^- the apostle shews that 
 the same rule binds children in every condition. The 
 Pharisees indeed had a tradition by which they pretend- 
 ed to grant licenses of this nature * ; but here we clearly 
 perceive that there is no such thing in the churches of 
 Christ. Christian youths are not to spurn at the reve- 
 rence due to their parents, because their parents may 
 not be of tlieir mind in regard to the doctrines of the 
 gospel ; neither are they to despise such as may be of 
 tlieir mind, and united with them in the same Christian 
 societies. By this precept, believing children are to 
 obey, even their unbelieving parents, in every thing con- 
 sistent with their duty to the Lord, as a matter of right 
 ovjustice. They are to honour them with obedience, 
 and, if need be, with maintenance, recollecting that 
 this is the only proper return for the maintenahce and 
 education which they received from them. And also as 
 it is to them, under God, they owe their very existence, 
 what can be riiore just and equal than such obedience ? 
 
 Parents, on the other hand, are next exhorted not to 
 provoke their children to wrath, but to '' bring them up 
 in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Here 
 children are evidently considered as yet situated under 
 parental correction and instruction ; and their duties of 
 unreseryed and cheerful obedience in such a situation, 
 are taken for granted, and not expressed. But the apo-- 
 stle regulates the duties of the parents, as they are the 
 only persons here supposed to act, just as he had done 
 those of the children who are supposed to have attained 
 that age of being capable to act for themselves, ver. 1. 
 He binds it on Christian parents to train up their chil- 
 dren in " the nurture and admonition of the Lord." That 
 is to say, to instruct them in religious and all other use- 
 ful knowledge, and not even to spare the roU of correc- 
 
 * Comp. Matt, xv, 5^Q. with Mark vii, 11,-13. 
 
 LI 
 
264" EXAMINATION OV D£TACIIED PASSAGES, 
 
 Scriptures absolutely deny to all, who are born simply 
 after t^ flesli. Have wS^not then the best of reasons 
 tor still retaining that vCTy interpretation which Mr 
 AValker qpnsiders so faulty ? "^ 
 
 But let us next enquire whether it be so unnatuiul 
 and forced as he would seem to rep; The aposlle 
 
 i^ here discoursing of relative durie-. m ^eueral. Ha- 
 T. ing described the duties of husbands and wives, (ch. v. 
 '22, — 31.) he proceeds to consider those of parents and 
 cliildren, chnp. vi. 1, — 4. As the duties the apostle is 
 inculcating, are purely of a relative nature, he passes 
 over those incumbent upon the parents, while as yet 
 there could be no return on the part of the children. 
 He proceeds here, as he does in every other place ^here 
 the same subjects are treated, in the natural ppder «f ri- 
 sing from the inferior to the superior. Wives' are first 
 addressed, then husbands ; children, then parents ; and 
 servants, then masters *. 
 
 The reason the apostle assigns in the ead4of verse 1. 
 serves not a little, in my view, to confirm the interpre- 
 tation whicli has been given of ih " Children, obey 
 your parents in the Lord ; for this righty'' or just. What 
 can be the design of this address to the reason and un- 
 derstanding of these children ? Surely it implies that 
 they were in a situation in %v'Iiich they rnight be apt to 
 consider themselves as freed from filial duties. Andwliat 
 situation was this' so likely to be, as that of members 
 of a Christian churcli, while their parents were yet 
 alive, and perhaps unbelie\crs j while they, on the con- 
 trary, had received the word in faith, and had been made 
 free born children in the, family, of "Ood ? Now, as ser- 
 vahts were not to act otherwise than on the fair princi- 
 ples of right ^ be their masters either believers or unbe- 
 
 * Compare with this np.ssage, Cel. iii. 18. to tbe l>t vcr. ui' 'h. 
 W. 1 Tett. iii. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 265 
 
 iievers, 1 Tim. vl. 1,2. so her^ the apostle shews that 
 the same rule binds children in every condition. The 
 Pharisees indeed had a tradition by which they pretend- 
 ed to grant licenses of this nature * ; but here we clearly 
 perceive that there is no such thing in the churches of 
 Christ. Christian youths are not to spurn at the reve- 
 rence due to their parents, because their parents may 
 not be of their mind in regard to the doctrines of the 
 gospel ; neither are they to despise such as may be of 
 their mind, and united with them in the same Christian 
 societies. By this precept, believing children are to 
 obey, even their unbelieving parents, in every thing con- 
 sistent with their duty to the Lord, as a matter of right 
 oxjustice. They are to honour them with obedience, 
 and, if need be, with maintenance, recollecting that 
 this is the only proper return for the maintenahce and 
 education which they received from them. And also as 
 it is to them, under God, they owe their very existence, 
 what can be more just and equal than such obedience ? 
 
 Parents, on the other hand, are next exhorted not to 
 provoke their children to wrath, but to '' bring them up 
 in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Here 
 children are evidently considered as yet situated under 
 parental correction and instruction j and their duties of 
 unreseryed and cheerful obedience in such a situation, 
 are taken for granted, and not expressed. But the apOf 
 stle regulates the duties of the parents, as they are the 
 only persons here supposed to act, just as he had done 
 those of the children who are supposed to have attained 
 that age of being capable to act for themselves, ver. 1, 
 He binds it on Christian parents to train up their chil- 
 dren in " the nurture and admonition of the Lord." That 
 is to say, to instruct them in religious and all other use- 
 ful knowledge, and not even to spare the roil of correc- 
 
 * Comp. Matt, xv, 5^6. with Mark vii, 11,-13. 
 
 LI 
 
266 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 tion -when necessary, Thej are to consider tliem at the 
 first as ignorant, totally ignorant of God and divine 
 things, and to adapt their instructions accordingly. And 
 the foibles that are inseparable from their vain minds, 
 are to be timeously corrected by the chastening rod ^ 
 for, as the wise man says, '* He that spareth the rod ha- 
 teth the child *." That fathers may not chastise after 
 their own pleasure however, but for the profit of their 
 children, the apostle in this, and in other passages, lays 
 down the rule how it is to be done. Severity must be 
 tempered with tenderness ; though kept in their proper 
 place, yet must they be encouraged. It will require 
 line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little 
 and there a little, to furnish their young minds with 
 ideas which will fit them, through the divine blessing, 
 either to be received into the church of God, or qualify 
 them to be useful members of society. But through 
 the patient use of such means, success need not be de- 
 spaired of ; for we know who hath said, *' Train up a 
 child in the way he should go, and when he is old he 
 will not depart from it." 
 
 Upon the whole then, I would now ask, what is there 
 in all these duties incumbent upon parents toward their 
 children, which it is impossible to perform, unless they 
 be considered as church members ? They must be consi- 
 dered as disciples^ it is maintained, from their earliest in- 
 fancy ; and none can discharge this bounden duty if, 
 with the Baptists, they refuse to consider them in this 
 character. Nay, it is roundly asserted, that the very 
 foundation of this duty is systematically assailed by 
 Baptist principles f. But wc ask, how so ? And what 
 is it that authorizes Mr W. to use such strong lan- 
 guage ? Will it be his concordancial references to the 
 
 * Prov. xiu.24'. 
 i Mr Walker's Thoughts on Baptism, p. ]0, & 11. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISftC. 26t 
 
 %'arious passages in which the word admonition occurs ' 
 But If admonition signifies ivarmng, as he seems to ad- 
 mit, can none be warned, and even warned .from the 
 Lord, without being considered his professed people, 
 and members of his church ? Upon this principle, what 
 should we then make of the mission of the prophet 
 Jonah to the Ninevites, or of the prophetic warnings of 
 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekieli, and others, to Moab, Tyre 
 and Sidon, Assyria, Egypt, and the surrounding na- 
 tions ? Could the Lord not commission his servants to 
 warn them, unless they were his professed people ? or 
 rather, more in conformity, it would seem, to the spirit 
 of Mr Walker's remarks, do none stand in need of warn- 
 ing^ but such as in word indeed profess his name, but 
 in works deny him ? Such notions in religion as too 
 many have espoused now-a-days^ we confess ourselves 
 utterly at a loss to account for. 
 
 We own indeed, that we have no objections that chil- 
 dren should be considered as disciples or pupils, if it 
 can add any thing to the success in teaching them ; but 
 this is a very different thing from regarding them as 
 spiritual, or at least as members of the church of 
 Christ, which is his spiritual body. The relation be- 
 tween the teacher and the pupil is of a mutual nature, 
 and it is only necessary that such a relation should sub- 
 sist, in order to give effect to instructions, of whatever 
 kind they may be. Upon this principle it is, that 
 teachers instruct children at school, and masters their 
 apprentices, in the various branches of their respective 
 callings. And it is upon the same principle that the 
 apostle here enjoins Christians to train up their children 
 in the nurture and admonition of the Lord j that is to 
 say, they are to take this important concern into their 
 own hand, as the fittest persons for such a work. Being 
 instructed themselves in the doctrines of the gospel. 
 
268 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 and in the infallible precepts of gospel morality, the/ 
 are the only persons of course who can teach them to 
 others.. Wliile the church then is represented as the 
 pillar,vand ground of the truth, by exhibiting the truth 
 to the world, every separate family,^will enjoy the same 
 privilege in a manner within itself, by tlie faithful dis- 
 charge of this apostolic injunction. And as the divine 
 blessing is promised to. accompany the faithful declara- 
 tion of his word to the world, so we have every reason 
 to expect it in an especial manner here ; and hence it is 
 that churches are mostly furnislied with members from 
 amongst the families of the godly. Not that they arc 
 naturally better than others, but that they have more 
 attention bestowed upon them ; and the faithfulness, as 
 well as the goodness of God, bind him to bless the or- ' 
 dinances or means of his own appointment. 
 
 The next passage we shall consider, is contained Col. 
 ii. 11, 12. " In whom also," namely Christ, *' ye are 
 circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, 
 in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the 
 circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism; 
 wherein alsQ ye are risen with him,, through the faith 
 of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the 
 dead." ' Here,' says Dr Erskine, in his sermon on in- 
 fant baptism*, 'the apostle, to withdraw the Colossians 
 ' from the rites of the ceremonial law, and particularly 
 
 * from circumcision, to which the Jews warmly urged 
 ' them to adhere, observes, that they were complete in 
 ' Christy all spiritual blessings being in him, and all 
 ' ordinances necessary to their happiness or comfort, 
 ' being appointed by him ; that in him they had the 
 ' thing signified by circumcision, being sanctified in 
 
 * him, and so having put off the body of the sins of the 
 
 * flesh : and that, though circumcision was completely 
 
 * Erskine's Sermons, Vol II. p. 202. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PED0-2APTIS.M. 269 
 
 * abolished under the gospel, they and tlieiv infant seed 
 
 * had baptism in its room, to represenf- and to seal to 
 
 * them the blessings of the covenant of grace. The 
 ^ apostle's argument,' he adds, ' would have been in- 
 
 * complete and inconclusive, could the Jews have alle-. 
 
 * ged, that, under the old dispensation, their infants had 
 
 * promises belonging to them, and a claim to cfrcumci- 
 
 * sion as the seal of these promises ; but that now thej 
 ' were deprived of both, and baa nothing equally valu- 
 
 * able substituted in their room.' 
 
 Thus far Dr Erskine ; and it is but fair to acknow- 
 ledge, that with his general view of the passage we 
 heartily acquiesce. But he seems here to assert more 
 than the text authorizes, which, for the truth's sake, we 
 are bound to point out. Than the assertion, ' Though 
 
 * circumcision was completely abolished under the gos- 
 ' pel, they and their infant seed had baptism in its 
 ' room,' nothing can be more unhappy in the place 
 where it stands. For first, the text does not at all au- 
 thorize it. There is not a syllable either in text or 
 context, respecting children. The apostle says indeed 
 respecting ^'the saints and faithful brethren in Christ*," 
 to whom he is writing, that they themselves " were 
 circumcised with the circum€isfon made without hands," 
 that is to say, with spiritual circumcision, but not a 
 word does he speak concerning their children. Again., 
 their being complete in Christ, did not consist in having 
 their children nominally connected witli them in the co- 
 venant of grace, but in themselves being personal par- 
 
 'takers of thfe Saviour's grace, and in the boundless 
 grace of the Saviour answering all their individual 
 exigencies.. In opposition to all who would derooute 
 from the Saviour's glory, by representing him as a 
 creature, the apostle declares him, ch. i. 15, — 19. to be 
 * Chap. i. 2. 
 
^70 EXAMINATION OF DltlACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 Ihe supreme God. And the expression he employs ift- 
 the 19th verse'''of the first chapter, he resumes in the 
 9th verse of the second, which verse contains a general 
 truth, and is the foundation of that which immediately 
 follows. For the apostle having ^ep^ared that in Christ 
 dwelleth all the fulness of the Gbahead bodily, imme- 
 diately adds, " and ye are complete in him, who is the 
 Head of all principality and power." Such then is the 
 completion of the Cftriistian. it does not consist in 
 nameless or ideal blessings, extending to the offspring 
 of believers, but in real and substantial blessings com- 
 municated to their own soul, through the belief of the 
 truth. As the apostle John says, '* They beheld his 
 glory, and received of his fulness grace for grace **" 
 
 We therefore humbly apprehend, and that in opposi- 
 tion to so great authority as Dr Eiskine's, the apostle's 
 argument to be both complete and conclusive, notwith- 
 standing he b>2 considered as never having had Pedo-bap- 
 tism in his view. Tlie superiority of the latter over 
 the former dispensation, does not consist in the number 
 or external grandeur df its ordinances, but in having the 
 substance in the place of the shadow, the thing signified 
 instead of the sign. 
 
 This is the grand principle upon which its real supe- 
 riority is founded, and, 1 may add, tire only principle 
 upon which the apostle seems here to proceed. The 
 superiority of the Gentiles over the Jews did not consist 
 in their having' ordinances substituted in the room of 
 such as were rendered obsolete by the introduction of the 
 gospel, but in obtaining, in reality, the things spiritually 
 represented in these ordinances. Thus drcumcisiotif for 
 'example, the very subject the apostle here adduces, 
 though abrogated and rendered void by the new dispen- 
 sation, converts to this dispensation would yet suffer no 
 * John i. U. 10. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 271 
 
 abridgment of privileges, so long as they could 'enjoy orve 
 of the grandest designs implied in circumcision, that is to 
 say, the circumcision cf the heart. 'jThis is evidently what 
 he means by their being " circumcised with the circum- 
 cision m:.de without hands." This circumcision con- 
 sisted in their " pitting off the body of the sins of the 
 flesh," or in other words, their renouncing the old man, 
 which is corrupt, and their puttijcig on the new man, by 
 their conversion to Christianity;^-' And because baptism, 
 in those early ages, was always connected, or followed 
 upon the first profession which any made of the doctrines 
 of the gospel, the apostle here refers to it, vcr. 12. in- 
 sinuating that the circumcision he had mentioned in the 
 preceding verse, was presupposed, by their being "buried 
 with Christ in baptism, wherein also they are," figura- 
 tively, " raised with him, through the faith of the ope- 
 ration of Gpd, who hath raised him from the dead." 
 Thus do we clearly perceive, that the apostle, neither in 
 the circumcision of which he is here speaking on the one 
 hand, nor baptisni on the other, has children in the 
 smallest in his view, but restricts both to such as werj? 
 circumcised in tkeir heart, and baptized accordingly," as a 
 consequence of their personal profession of the faith in- 
 to which they had been begott€;n through the operation 
 of God. 
 
 As connected with the passage just now discussed, we 
 proceed to consider Rom. xv. 8. where Christ is styled: 
 a minister of the circumcision. How this text is made to 
 bear on the point of Pedo-baptism, I confess myself at a 
 loss to say, having never heard it accounted for ; but 
 certain I am that it has been adduced in support of that 
 ' system, and asserted in the most confident manner, as 
 confirming it beyond the possibility of a doubt. What 
 a pity it is that the grounds of such a positive assertion 
 were not producedj for then we could have judgec^fo.i: 
 
272 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 ourselves ; however, as this is not the case, we shall at- 
 tempt the elucidation of the passage notwithstanding, to 
 the Ijest of our abilitj*. 
 
 Well.then, when we read of Jesus Christ as a minister 
 of thetcircumcision^ are v.e not naturally led to inquire. 
 And 'ix>bo ivere the circumcision of whtph Christ was a mi- 
 nister ? And to this question the division of the aposto- 
 lic charge completely furnishes us with an answer. The 
 twelve apostles were iwce wise called ministers of the 
 word, and the subjects of their charge were divided into 
 two classes, namely, the circumcision and the uncircumci- 
 sion *. Now if we consult the history of our blessed 
 Lord, we shall find that it was only to \\\q first class that 
 he was sent in regard to liis personal ministry, notwith- 
 standing he was to be for salvation to all the ends of the 
 earth. At a very early period Moses intimated to the 
 Israelites that the Lord would raise up a prophet from 
 amongst their brethren like unto him, who should teach 
 and instruct them as he had done ; so that for the ac- 
 complishment of this very prediction it was necessary 
 tliat Jesus Christ, to whom undoubtedly it referred, 
 slioMd appear as a teacher and a prophet to that parti- 
 cular people. Accordingly we read, that when he 
 came, " he came to his oiunj- j" that he was not sent 
 save to the lost sheep of the house of Israel % ; and that 
 when he sent forth the twelve to preach the gospel, he 
 commanded them expressly, *' saying. Go not into the' 
 way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans 
 enter ye not ; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel ^." All which passages abundantly shew in what 
 respects Christ was a minister of the circumcision., 
 
 The next object then comes to be, to ascertain the • 
 design of the apostle in introducing such an expression 
 
 * Gal. ii. 7, S, P. f .Tuhn i. 11. 
 
 \ IMat. .\\. JJ.. « Mdt. X. 5, 6. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTlSM. 27S 
 
 in the passage now under consideration. The apostle i? 
 here, as the context evinceth, maintaining the unanimity 
 among Christians, shewing, by aivariety of arguments, 
 chap. xiv. that Christians ought not to separate from 
 each other on account of difference of sentiments. Then 
 after having suggested some of the most beautiful and 
 apposite reflexions in the beginning of chap. xv. he con- 
 cludes, ver. 7. '' wherefore receive ye one another," in- 
 to your communion, namely, " as Christ also hath re- 
 ceived us" all, whether Jews or Gentiles, into his fami- 
 ly, " to the glory of God." The Jews had no right to 
 object to the admission of the Gentiles into the church, 
 on account of their not attending to many things they 
 considered as sacred, and as little had the Gentiles any 
 right to oppose the admission of the Jews on account of 
 their scrupulously attending to meats and days^ and a va- 
 riety of other things from which they justly considered 
 tliemselvcs as forced by the gospel of Christ. It was 
 not their prerogative to judge one another in these 
 things ; but he who thought he had faith in the obser- 
 vance or non-observance of them *' was to haVe it for 
 himself before God," chap. xiv. 22. Whilst onb^ be- 
 lieved that he might eat all things alike, and another 
 who was weak, and of course could not take to himself 
 that latitude, had therefore to content himself with 
 herbs ; this was equally the rule for them both, " Let 
 not him that eateth despise him that eateth not, and let 
 not him which eateth not judge him that eateth ; for 
 God hath received both the one and the other," ver. 23. 
 " Wherefore," as the apostle asserts, chap. xv. 7. *' we 
 are bound to receive one another, as Christ also hath 
 received us, to the glory of God." 
 
 But as to the union of Gentiles and Jews into one 
 body, it might be urged as an objection, as the apostle 
 
 Mm 
 
274 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 here insinuates, that if Christ meant to receive the for-^ 
 mer, he would have preached to them himself. But 
 ' to this objection,' as Dr Macknight observes, ' the 
 ' apostle replied, that Jesus Christ wasborn a Jew, and 
 ' preached to the Jews only, because thereby, in the 
 ' end, he most effectually accomplished God's promises 
 ' to the fathers, concerning the blessing of the nations in 
 ' Abraham's, seed *.' Though our blessed Lord did not 
 preach to the nations personally, he was not, however^ 
 forgetful of them, for he commanded in general his gos- 
 pel to be preached to every creature ; and, in particu- 
 lar, he commissioned his servant Paul, as his chosen ves- 
 sel, to go far hence amongst the Gentiles, bearing hi& 
 name, and proclaiming through the blood of his cross 
 the remission of sins. Thus were the *' Gentiles made 
 to glorify God for his mercy," to glorify him for ma- 
 king the once crucified, but now exalted Redeemer, the 
 head of the,; heathen — to rejoice together with his peo- 
 ple — to praise the Lord ; yea, exceedingly to praise him 
 for his merciful kindness, which was . great towards 
 them f. 
 
 Now, after such a delightful representation, is it not 
 painful to be under the necessity of still recurring to the 
 old subject, and of enquiring what connexion has this 
 passage with the point in hand ? Assuredly if it go a 
 single step in proof of Pedo-baptism, there is not a sub- 
 ject in the universe but what it may prove ! 
 
 As we did not finish entirely the subject respecting 
 households in the preceding chapter, we shall accordingly 
 resume it, and give the remainder in this place. When 
 formerly speaking on this subject, we saw that the term 
 
 * His view and illustration of the xv. chap, of the epistle to ths 
 Romans. 
 
 t Compare with this text 2 Sam. xxii. 44'. 50. and Psal. xviii, 
 43. 49. and also Psal. cxvii. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 27.5 
 
 household always includes the whole of the domestics of 
 the family, no less than the children ; yea, tha,t in se- 
 veral instances it includes the fo|Kner, but not the latter^ 
 but never the latter and not the former. Here we are 
 therefore to enquire upon what principle does it appear, 
 that the households mentioned in the New Testament 
 were baptized ? Whether was it on account of the faith 
 of the respective heads of those households, or on ac- 
 count of their personal faith ? And again, whether there 
 were children in those families, or even servants ^jj9.nd 
 whether they were both placed on a level, and had bap- 
 tism administered to them equally, as circumcision was 
 administered to the children ^nd domestics of Abraham's 
 household of old ? Answers to these questions, we con- 
 ceive, in as far as the Scriptures may guide us, will fur- 
 nish us with all the information necessary on this head. 
 
 We begin accordingly with that of Zaccheus^ as it is 
 the first in order, see Luke xix. 1, — 10, This passage 
 we advert to, not because baptism is spoken of, but be- 
 cause at the conversion of Zaccheus, salvation is said to 
 have come to his house. But to understand the subject 
 aright, it will be necessary briefly to review the narra- 
 tive at large. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ, a man mighty in word and 
 deed among the Jews in those days, in the course of his 
 public ministry, *' entered and passed through Jericho," 
 ver. 1. His fame had created general attention, and 
 amongst the rest, Zaccheus, the subject of this liistory, 
 was desirous to see Jesus who he was, ver. 3. But 
 being little of stature, he found it impossible to get an 
 advantageous view of him, while he remained on a level 
 with his companions. He therefore thought of going 
 before, in order to choose a proper situation, that he 
 might see Jesus as he passed. He climbed up accord- 
 ingly to a sycamore-tree ; and here it was, to the astonish- 
 
276 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 ment of the whole multitude, that Jesus manifested his 
 concern to see Zaccheus, as much as Zaccheus had done 
 to see him ; and therefore, looking up, he said unto 
 hini, " Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to- 
 day I must abide at thy house. ^^ 
 
 The honour thus conferred upon Zaccheus, who, 
 though he was rich, yet was a sinner, and noted for fil- 
 ling an office held in universal abhorrence among the 
 Jews, excited their envious minds with indignation at the 
 conduct of the Saviour. But he here shewed that wis- 
 dom was justified of her children. Zaccheus, though 
 an hard-hearted ufirelenting extortioner before, by the 
 gracious look and order of his Master, now manifested 
 that he was changed into the same image ; for having 
 come down and received him joyfully, he stood and 
 said unto the Lord, " Behold, Lord, the half of my goods, 
 I give to the poor, and if I have taken any thing from 
 any man by false accusation, I restora him four-fold." 
 
 Hereupon Jesus was presented with the finest oppor- 
 tunity of exposing, and putting to the blush his constant 
 and invidious adversaries. Tlierefore, immediately upoh 
 Zaccheus' confession, he turned to tliem, " and said con- 
 cerning l:^im," Why do ye oppose my going to be a 
 guest with this man, to abide at his house ? He is not a 
 sinner of the Gentiles as ye suppose, for this day is he 
 converted. Salvation has come to his house this day, 
 so that in going to him, I am going to be entertained 
 by a true son of Abraham according to the faith. 
 
 Such appears to us to be the true spirit and meaning 
 of the passage. The introduction of the word house in 
 the 9th verse, seems to have been occasioned by the 
 opposition manifested to Christ's inviting himself to abide 
 at the house of Zaccheus^ ver. 5. And the Saviour, to 
 shew that there was no good grounds for the objection 
 that was urged, evinceth that the house was not now 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 277 
 
 what it formerly was, but that Zaccheus, the head of it, 
 was converted, had obtained salvation, and was made a 
 true son of Abraham, and that therefore, he was acting 
 in character to go to such a house. ^ 
 
 In no other sense than that now specified, can we un- 
 derstand salvation having- come to the house of Zac- 
 cheus, if by salvation be intended any thing more than the 
 means of salvation. But we are decidedly of opinion that 
 more is intended, and that therefore, by the expression 
 house^ we must understand the head of the house, which 
 we have accordingly done, as it is his conversion only 
 of which we have any evidence. Those who desire 
 more on this subject, may consult Poole, Scott, and 
 other commentators. 
 
 In regard to our considering the 10th verse as ad- 
 dressed to the people, the passage itself fully justifies 
 our conduct, for Zaccheus is there spoken of as the 
 third person, which could not have been the case if Je- 
 sus had not been speaking to others concerning him *. 
 
 The next account respecting households, is that of 
 Lydia, Acts xvi. 14, 15. " And a certain woman named 
 Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who 
 worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord open- 
 ed, that she attended unto the things which were spoken 
 of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her house- 
 hold, she besought us, saying. If ye have judged me to 
 be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide 
 there. And she constrained us." 
 
 The very scanty mformatiou' this passage affords in 
 relation to the subject in hand, fully justifies the opinion 
 we have long entertained respecting the whole of this 
 class, namely, that nothing decisive can be gathered from 
 thfm, either for the one side or the other. However^ 
 * Vid. Campbell on the Gospels, in loc„ 
 
'218 EXAMINATION- OK DLTACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 as thej have been employed both by Baptists and Pe- 
 ,flo-baptists in support of their respective tenets with 
 sucli an air of certainty, it is necessary for the sake of 
 tf„uth that they should be attended to, and each made to 
 rest simply on its own merits. 
 
 In the case before us, we freely own it was not very 
 ■likely that Lydia had any children with her in Philippi, 
 for according to the account, she was a citizen of Thy- 
 atira, and had only dispie thither in the course of her 
 busmess ; and. being a devout person, and one who wor- 
 shipped God, it was too precious an opportunity to let 
 slip the meeting of tlie religious at the river side on 
 the Sabbath-day. 
 
 ^The effects produced on the heart of Lydia, were 
 such as warranted Paul to administer unto her the ordi- 
 nance of baptism, as Peter had done under similar cir- 
 cumstances to Cornelius and his Gentile brethren *. 
 
 As we have expressed our opinioij respecting the 
 household of Lydia, that it was unlikely there were 
 children in it, so we acknowledge that little ipore czn 
 be said respecting the baptizing of iier household, which 
 will be at all likely to decide the question eitliQr on the 
 one side or the other. The baptism of her household is 
 here recorded, it is true ; but there is not a word re- 
 specting who composed that household^ whether it con-' 
 sisted of infants cr adults ; or whether they were bap- 
 tized on account of the faith of Lydia, or on account 
 of their own faith. Yet information in regard to these 
 points, which God, in his infinite wisdom has thought 
 it meet to withhold from us, is absolutely necessary 
 ere any assume the high and dictatorial lang'uage, which 
 alas ! is too frequently done on this very subject. Some 
 have supposed, that the household of Lydia was bap- 
 tized on account of //^r faith, from the circumstance of 
 * AetVx^ 44,— 4S. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 279 
 
 her employing the sthgu/ar number, when she sai4j 
 *' If ye have judged me * to be faithful to the Lord, 
 come into my house and abide thete." But this is too 
 far-fetched and forced.^ an interpretation to decide a 
 question of such importance ; and we may even appeal 
 to the common sens^ of those who urge it, that if they 
 were in Lydia's circumstances, judging it proper to in- 
 vite the servants of the Lord to their house, whether 
 they would not adopt expressly the same language, not- 
 withstanding their children or domestics had been bap- 
 tized along with them even on account of their oivn 
 faith. If Lydia was the mistress of the house, as we 
 see no room to question it, this alone accounts for her 
 mode of speech on the occasion, without needing to have 
 recourse to any hypothesis which the rules of sobriety 
 and good sense will by no means warrant. But on the 
 other hand, Mr M'Leanf thinks that he makes this 
 passage very clear, and places it beyond all manner of 
 dispute, as proving his side of the question, by referring 
 to the 40th verse, where it is said concerning Paul and 
 Silas, that " they went out of the prison, and entered 
 into the house of Lydia, and, when they had seen the 
 brethren, they comforted them and departed." Tlie 
 brethren here he supposes in the same arbitrary man- 
 ner, as we have just seen to be of Lydia s household. 
 But upon this supposition may it not be asked, and was 
 this.solitary family the wliole of the concern the apostles 
 had at tliat time in that city ? Or were lh(?y going in a 
 mean and selfish manner to repay a debt alone incurred 
 by the generosity of their hostess, and to comfort only 
 
 * I here allude to a sentiment which dropped from Mr Ewinj 
 in the course of the last baptism he administered' publicly in thu-; 
 place. 
 
 t Vid. his Commission, p. llo. second edit. 
 
280 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 her and her familj, while all the other brethren who 
 were wont to meet for prayer at the river side were to 
 be overlooked ? Would it not be much better then, to 
 consider the brethren in this passage, as referring to all 
 the believers in Philippi, than in any forced or arbi- 
 trary manner, evidently for the sake of supporting a 
 system, give it a sense which it will by no means bear? 
 We are not called to contend thus for the faith. Nay, 
 we must bear it in ourihind as a general maxim, that he 
 that striveth for the mastery must strive lawfully, or 
 else it is impossible he can be crowned. 
 
 Thus I confess, whatever others may think, I leave 
 this subjeet as I found it, deciding clearly neither for 
 the one side nor the other, unless we shall be allowed 
 to interpret it by other passages similar in kind, which 
 accordingly we propose to do ; not formally, however, 
 but merely as we go along. 
 
 - The next account of the baptism of households, is 
 that of the jailor, Acts xvi. 3 1,— 54-. " And they said, 
 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the 
 word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house, and 
 he took them the same hour of the night, and washed 
 their stripes ; and was baptized, he and all his straight- 
 way. And when he had brought them into his house, 
 he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God 
 with all his house." 
 
 The chief difficulty here, arises, not from the cir- 
 cumstance of the jailor's household being baptized along 
 with himself, for tlie jjrinciplc cannot be more explicit- 
 ly stated upon which they were so ; but from the 
 apostle's address to him, '* Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thi^ house.'^ Now, 
 the natural question would appear to be, was the jailor's 
 house to be saved as well as himself, upon Jils individual 
 
IN SUPPO&T OF PEDO-BAPTisM. ^281 
 
 belief on the Saviour? Or if this was i](ot the ca^e, 
 what then may have been the cause and the purport o£ 
 this appendage, and thy house P It strikes me, (but I 
 mention it merely as!?a probabSe conjecture), that the 
 jailor's family, amidst the dreadful catastrophe that had 
 happened in consequence of the earthquake, were equal- 
 ly alarmed as himself in regard to the concerns of their 
 soul ; for it is likely they all-inhabited that very dwel- 
 ling, " the foundations of whi«ci|were shaken j" were 
 probably witness too, to the cruel treatment the apostles 
 had received the preceding day ; were equally astonish- 
 ed with him when they discerned the. finger of God in 
 the event, for they were, no doubt, the persons who as- 
 sisted in fetching the " light," and accompaning ytlie 
 trembling jailor, and witnessed him falling prostrate 
 before them, and perhaps were as ready as ' he was, to 
 cry put, " Sirs, what mUst we do to be saved ?" As 
 our Lord, therefore, frequently answered questions 
 which were put by one of his disciples, but which re- 
 lated to them all, in conformity to their general interest 
 therein ; so may the apostles' answer to the question of 
 the Philippian on the present occasion, be considered. 
 It is more than probable that they were agitated and 
 concerned as he was on the present occasion ; and that 
 the apostles had access to know it we have no room to 
 doubt, for we are expressly told that he brought them 
 out, ere he put the question, *' Sirs, what must I do to 
 be saved ?" Hereupon, most probably, the apostles be* 
 held a whole family in the jaws of despair, and as one 
 only had put the question, these servants of the Most 
 High, in imitation of their great Master, answer him 
 in such a manner as to excite hope at the same time in 
 the rest. Upon this supposition, therefore, their answer 
 was most wise. And had it been otherwise, and re- 
 
 Nn 
 
 k 
 
282 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 stricted to the querist himself, it might have had such 
 an effect upon some of the others as to have snapped 
 the brittle thtead of life in a moment, and thus have 
 placed them beyond the reach o^hope. 
 
 But however these things jnaaj be, we are certain 
 as to their baptism, that they were all personally in- 
 terested 'in the blessings of salvation, by a personal be- 
 lief of the doctrines declared to them ; for words can- 
 not be plainer than those in ver. 34. that the jailor, 
 ** having been baptized, and all his straightway, brought 
 the apostles into his house, set meat before them, and 
 rejoiced^ believing in God ivith all his house.'''' And I must 
 just here add, that the speedy evidence of faith being 
 thus produced in the family of the jailor, tends not a 
 little to corroborate the supposition we have hazarded 
 respecting them. And, moreover, if they had not been 
 present on the occasion, how ctould the apostles, stran- 
 gers in Philippi, and particularly the jail, have possibly 
 known whether the jailor had a family or not ? 
 
 The next instance we meet with, is that of Crispus 
 the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth. But this 
 case is so very clear, that we need to do nothing more 
 than quote the passage, Actsxviii. 8. " And Crispus, 
 the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord 
 with all his house ; and many of the Corinthians hear- 
 ing, believed, and were baptized." 
 
 Nor does the case of Stephanas and his household seem 
 to be a whit more doubtful. In this case Paul was the 
 baptizer, 1 Cor. i. 16. and he bears them witness that 
 they were the first-fruits of Achaia^ and that they addicted 
 themselves to the ministry of the saints., chap. xvi. 15. 
 
 Now, from the state of these three last instances of 
 the baptism of households, are we not warranted to con- 
 clude what must have been the state of the first ? Whe- 
 ther is it more reasonable to regard the silence in the 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 288 
 
 •ne, as proving all that is contended for bjriPedo-baptists, 
 than to consider the others as a key by jyhich to inter- 
 pret that silence ? Surely, between the degree of reason- 
 ableness in these two cases, there can be no comparison. 
 Taking the last, therefore, as expletive of the first, we 
 conclude that the household of Lydia, though it is not 
 expressed, must have been believers as we find the Others 
 to have been ; and if so, then all arguments for Pedo- 
 baptism, drawn from this sourc^ must be entirely nu- 
 gatory. 
 
 Having thus finished what we intended in regard to 
 the baptizing of households, we proceed to the consider- 
 ation of another set of passages which occur in the 
 course of Paul's reasoning in his epistles to the Romans 
 and Galatians. These, it may be observed, form the 
 subject of Mr Wardlaw's lectures. We shall not here, 
 however, attempt to make any formal answer to them ; 
 this having been done very ably by another *. Nei- 
 ther do we propose to say all that might be said on 
 this important subject. All that we intend, is a very 
 brief view, in order to discover whether it has any con- 
 nection either more immediately or remotely with the 
 subject of Pedo-baptism. ' 
 
 The passages we allude to, are contained in the 4th 
 chapter of the epistle to the Romans, and in the third of 
 that to the Galatians. The apostle seems to be treating 
 of the same subject in both, which is, the doctrine of 
 justification by faith without the works of the law. To 
 both these passages we have spoken somewhat already f. 
 We have seen that the apostle proves the point for 
 which he is contending, in the 'clearest manner possible, 
 by the circumstance of Abraham having been justified 
 
 * Mr M'Lean. 
 
 t See p. 34. &c. and chap. ii. sect. 4. 
 
284 EXAMINATION QF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 through faith, while he wasyetuncircumcised, Rom. iv. 1 0, 
 He then procejeds to specify a particular reason luhy the 
 ordinance of circumcision was ojiven. Though it was 
 '* a seal of the righteousness of me faith" which Abra- 
 ham possessed prior to it, it was not to be regarded in 
 his case so much in a personal as in a federal point of 
 view, namely, " that he might be the Father of all 
 them that believe^ though they be not circumcised, that 
 righteousness might be imputed to tliem also," ver. 11. 
 But Itst the Jews might consider this statement as ex- 
 cluding them, the apostle immediately shews that this 
 federal connection between Abraham and believers of 
 the uncircumcision, was not entirely confined to them, 
 biit that by circumcision he- was l\k.c\\'ise fecleral/j/ a fa- 
 ther *' to them who are not of the circumcision o/i/j/y 
 but who also wsjlk in the footsteps of the faith of our 
 father Abraham, which he had in uncircumcision," 
 ver. 12*. 
 
 From these verses it is therefore manifest, that cir- 
 cumcision was given to Abraham as a seal, assuring and 
 confirming, that all uncircumcised Gentiles who believ- 
 ed, were to be reckoned as his children ; and were to 
 obtain righteousness through faith, as he had done, even 
 in their uncircumcised state. And it is no less e\ndent 
 in regard to the Jews, that this federal relation between 
 Abraham and believers, does not extend to them o//, 
 but to such only as are possessed of like precious faith 
 with Abraham, which he had in uncircumcision. 
 
 The apostle next proceeds to prove his position, 
 '* that justification is by faith without the woiks of the 
 law," from this circumstance, that '' the promise that 
 Abraham should be the heir of the world," that i$ to. 
 
 * This verse, in my opinion, clfearly intimates the distinction 
 between tM^two seeds of Abraham ; but for a more particular view 
 ef which, the reader is referred to chap. II. of this work. 
 
IW SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 285 
 
 •:. . J, tl.c whole believing tucrld^ whether Jews or Gen- 
 tiles, " was not made to Abraham, oc to his seed through 
 t!ie law, but through the righteousness of faith," ver. 
 .13. It was upon Abrahaiii's believing'the promise of 
 God, that " he should have an heir who should come 
 forth of his own bowels," and " a seed," doubtless 
 spiritual a§ well as natural, *' who should resemble the 
 stars of the heavens for multitude," that " his faith" 
 was originally " counted to hiih for righteousness * j" 
 and, therefore, the law, which was not till four hun- 
 dred and thirty j-ears afterwards, could not alter the 
 constitution establi'shcni by the promise, ** that right- 
 eousness or justification should be by faith alone f." 
 The apostle then declares, ver. 1 1, that if a right to the 
 inheritance of the blessings connected with justifi.cation 
 *^ were by the law, then faith would be rendered void, 
 i\nd the promise," which r<?stricted them to the instru- 
 mentality of faith alone, " made of none effect." But 
 this promise of blessing believers of all nations, Gen- 
 tiles as well as Jews, with the blessing of justification 
 in this world, and of life eternal in the world to come, 
 we are assured. Gal. iii. 17, was ratified in the cove- 
 nant witfi Abraham by God himself concerning his Sou 
 Jesus Christ ; and tliat therefore, " the law, which was 
 four hundred and thirty years after the pri^mise, can- 
 not disannul it, that the promise should be mtide of 
 none effect." No, indeed. Even the simple promise 
 of Jehovah, who is not a man that he should lie, nor the 
 son of man that he should repent, effectually secured its 
 immutability. But God inclining to afford to the heirs 
 of promise greater security still, in a manner, gave not 
 only the simple promise, but 'accompanied arid confirm- 
 ed the promise with*an oath J. It was therefore vain, 
 
 * See Gen. xv. 4, 5, 6. f Gal. iii. 17. 
 
 See Gen. xjtii. 16, 17. and Heb. vl. 13. ta'the end,a 
 
286 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 in the^^udaizing teachers to insist, as we are informed. 
 Acts XV. 1. that " Except the Gentiles were circum- 
 cised, after the mannqr of Moses, they could not be 
 saved*;" *'^sL' 
 
 By this it would appear, that tney imagined an ob- 
 servance of the law would save them, particularly when 
 conjoined with the merits of Christ. But the apostle 
 proves in his letter to the Galatians, the impossibility 
 of such a scheme, and testifies that every one who sub- 
 mitted to circumcision upon such terms, was a debtor 
 to do the whole law ; that they had fallen from grace, 
 and that Christ had become to them of none effect *. 
 To the same purpose he reasons in the passage before 
 us. So far from the lav»f conferring the blassings al- 
 leged, " it worketh out wrath to every transgressor j'* 
 but in the promise, " where there is no law, there can 
 be no transgression," the subjects under the promise 
 being forgiven their iniquities. " Therefore it is bj 
 faith that it might be by grace, in order that the pro- 
 mise might be sure to all the seed, not to that seed only 
 which is of the law," believing Jews namely, *' but to 
 that also which is of the faith of Abraham from among 
 the Gentiles, for he is the father of us all, according 
 to what is written," Gen. xvii. 5. Surely a father of 
 many nations I have constituted thee. See Rom. iv. 
 15, 16, '17. 
 
 The apostle proceeds in thi verses which follow, to 
 declare the strength of Abraham's faith in the promise 
 that he should have a son, and instances the imputation 
 of righteousness which he obtained by means hereof, as 
 the pattern of the imputation of the same blessing to 
 all who " believe on him who raised up Jesus our Loi'd 
 
 from flie dead," ver. 17,-245. *"* 
 
 % 
 :^ * Chap. V. 3, 4. 
 
IN SUFFORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 23T 
 
 Having thus analysed the first of these passages from 
 whi^h Pedo-baptism is so strenuously contended for, 
 may it not now be asked, wherein does it appear to im- 
 ply any such doctrine? But without tarrying here to 
 descant on reflections of this nature, let us proceed to 
 the consideration of tlie other passage, and then, by 
 seeing more clearly, we shall draw such conclusioas as 
 may be necessary. i 
 
 Gal. iii. Here it may be observed as in the forniQr 
 instance, that the apostle is proving precisely the same 
 doctrine, namely, justification by faith without the 
 works of the law, as is manifest from ver. 2. The ex- 
 ample of Abraham's justification is again adduced ; and 
 as the apostle has here to reason against the doctrines 
 of the Judaizers, who were for imposing the yoke of 
 circumcision upon Gentile believers, so his arguments 
 chiefly turn upon this point. Passing, however, over a 
 few of the first verses, as of too general a nature for 
 our present desigii, we shall begin at that part which 
 is more immediately connected lierewith. In the 6th 
 verse, the apostle intimates, as he had done in his epistle 
 to the Romans, that Abraham, the father of all be- 
 lievers, was justified by faith v/ithout works, '' for he 
 believed God," saith he, " and it was accounted to him 
 for righteousness." He then shews, ver. 7. that they 
 who, like him, believe in God, are Abraham's children, 
 namely in a spiritual sense, whether they be Jews or 
 Gentiles. *' Know ye, therefore, that they which are 
 of Jhith, the same are the children of Abraham." And 
 in ver. 26. he shews that to be the children of Abra- 
 ham in this sense, and the children of God, are synony- 
 mous terms, " For ye are all t^e children of God by 
 faith in Christ Jesus.'- " For as many of you as have 
 been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," ver. 27. 
 And this privilege of being children of Abraham and 
 
286 EXAMINATION Of DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 in the,, Judai zing teachers to insist, as we are informed. 
 Acts XV. 1. that " Except the Gentiles were circum- 
 cised, after the manner of Moses, they could not be 
 
 By this it would appear, that "tnej imagined an ob- 
 servance of the law would save them, particularly when 
 conjoined with the merits of Christ. But the apostle 
 proves in his letter to the Galatians, the impossibility 
 of such a scheme, and tfetifies that every one who sub- 
 mitted to circumcision upon such terms, was a debtor 
 to do the whole law ; that they had fallen from grace, 
 and that Christ had become to them of none effect *. 
 To the same purpose he reasons in the passage before 
 us. So far from the lav>^ conferring the blessings al- 
 leged, " it worketh out wrath to every transgressor j'* 
 but in the promise, " where there is no law, there can 
 be no transgression," the subjects under the promise 
 being forgiven their iniquities. " Therefore it is by 
 faith that it might be by grace, in order that the pro- 
 mise might be sure to all the seed, not to that seed only 
 which is of the law," believing Jews namely, *' but to 
 that also which is of the faith of Abraham from among 
 the Gentiles, for he is the father of us all, according 
 to what is written," Gen. xvii. 5. Surely a father of 
 many nations I have constituted thee. See Rom. iv. 
 15, 16,l7. 
 
 The apostle proceeds in the verses which follow, to 
 declare the strength of Abraham's faith in the promise 
 that he should have a son, and instances the imputation 
 of righteousness which he obtained by means hereof, as 
 the pattern of the imputation of the same blessing to 
 all who '' believe on him who raised up Jesus our Lord 
 from the dead," ver. 17,-24.. ^* 
 
 m 
 
 * Chap. V. 3, 4. 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM. 23T 
 
 Having thus analysed the first of these passages from 
 wh^<gh Pedo-baptism is so strenuously ..contended for, 
 miay it not now be asked, wherein does it>^ppcar to im- 
 ply any such doctrine.,? But without tarrying here to 
 descant on reflections of this nature, let us proceed to 
 the consideration of the other passage, and then, by 
 seeing more clearly, we shall draw such conclusioas as 
 may be necessary. ;j. 
 
 Gal. iii. Here it may be observed as in the forni^r 
 instance, that the apostle is proving precisely the same 
 doctrine, namely, justification by faith without the 
 woi-ks of the law, as is manifest from ver. 2. The ex- 
 ample of Abraham's justification is again adduced ; and 
 as the apostle has here to reason against the doctrines 
 of the Judaizers, who were for imposing the yoke of 
 circumcision upon Gentile believers, so his arguments 
 chiefly turn upon this point. Passing, however, over a 
 few of the first verses, as of too general a nature for 
 our present desiga, we shall begin at that part which 
 is more immediately connected herewith. In the 6th 
 verse, the apostle intimates, as he had done in his epistle 
 to the Romans, that Abraham, the father of all be- 
 lievers, was justified by faith without works, '' for he 
 believed God," saith he, *' and it was accounted to him 
 for righteousness." He then shews, ver. 7. that they 
 who, like him, believe in God, are Abraham's children, 
 namely in a spiritual sense, whether they be Jews or 
 Gentiles. " Know ye, therefore, that they which are 
 oifaithy the same are the children of Abraham," And 
 in ver. 26. he shews that to be the children of Abra- 
 ham in this sense, and the children of God, are synony- 
 mous terms, '' For ye are all the children of God by 
 faith in Christ Jesus;'' " For as many of .you as have 
 been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," ver. 27. 
 And this privilege of being children of A^praham and 
 
288 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES^ 
 
 of Gpd by faith in Christ Jesus, is not confined to one 
 description of men, " For in Christ Jesus there is nei- 
 ther Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, 
 there is neither male nor femali||t'' but all who believe^ 
 of whatever age, nation, or lan^age, are one united 
 body of which ^hii^.t is i^e head. So that those who 
 are Christ's by this .spiritual union, are at the same 
 time " Abraham's seed, and h^irs according to the 
 promise," in the highesf sense of the word, see ver. 
 28,29. To them belong the incorruptible, undefiled, 
 and unfading inheritance of which Peter 'Speaks*, even 
 the everlasting possessions of the heavenly country^ 
 which were typified and shadowed forth by the earthly 
 possessions of the land of Canaan to Abraham's natural 
 seed. 
 
 To confirm this grand object is what the apostle has 
 in view, as is clear from the close reasoning he employs 
 in the intermediate verses. But these we do not in- 
 tend to illustrate here, this having been sufficiently 
 done already for the purpose we have in view, in the 
 place to which w'fe formerly alluded. Hoping that the 
 reader will therefore take the trouble of reviewing what 
 v/e have there said, we shall proceed to enquire wliat 
 connection these passages have with the subject of Pe- 
 do-baptism. Does the apostle so much as hint at this 
 subject ? No. How then do some suppose that it can 
 be clearly proved from hence, and that it is impossible 
 to interpret these passages aright, without considering 
 this as an undeniable principle ? The cause seems evi- 
 dently to originate in' the want of the scriptural dis* 
 tinction between the literal and spiritual seed of "Abra- 
 ham. If this were butV)nly attended to, then all dif- 
 ficuities concetaaing tlic subject of baptism would vanish 
 •^f course. The whole of the Pfedo-baptist system rest? 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM-, 
 
 »ipon the idea that the children of believers arc the chil-* 
 dren of Abrahkm no less than themselves j a position, we 
 have seen, the apostle most guarded against. Again 
 and again does 'ixe tell us, that believers themselves are 
 Abraham's seed, but never does he give the most dis- 
 tant hint that their seed are any thing more than -what 
 he declares in the epistle to the Ephesians, " By nature 
 children of wrath even as others." 
 
 We must therefore join most heartily with Mr 
 M'Lean^ in deploring the conduct of those who would 
 endeavour to make the Holy Ghost speak another /lan- 
 guage from what he intends. Far kre we from sup- 
 posing, however, that any Christian could do this know- 
 ingly ; yet as it appears to have been done in the pre- 
 sent instance, we conceive there is great reason for our 
 brethren to re-consider the matter, in order to discover 
 whether there may not have been some flaw in their 
 leading views. But if they will still maintain that there 
 was never any but a spiritual seed recognized in the co- 
 venant with Abraham, and yet, that their children to 
 this very day are members thereof, we intreat them fo 
 try whether they can reconcile this part of their system 
 with the doctrine of human depravity in general, and 
 with the other doctrines of the gospel which point out 
 the absolute necessity of a radical and divine change be- 
 fore any of the children of men can enter the kingdom, 
 of God. Of all the passages therefore contained in the 
 Scriptures of truth, those we have^beeh now consider- 
 ing are the most tinlikely in our view to prove the 
 doctrine of Pedo-baptisrn. Yea, they go to prove the 
 very reverse. Yet are they perpetually had recourse 
 to in support of that syStem, but with what propriety 
 we leave every candid and impartial investigator of the 
 v.'ord of God to judge. This is nothing less than taking 
 
 Oo 
 
290 EXAMINATION OF DETACHED PASSAGES, 
 
 up the argument of the other side of the question, a?' 
 Mr M'Lean justly observes ; and which, by a train of 
 ingenious and intricate reasoning, is made to conclude in 
 favour of a subject at v^hich the apostle does not so 
 much as hint. 
 
 The only other texts we have yet to notice, are the 
 addresses to the seven churches of Asia, contained in 
 the second and third chapters of the Revelation. Be- 
 cause some of those churches were infested with hy- 
 pocritical professors, having amongst them those who 
 " called themselves Jews, and were not, but did lie ;" 
 it is hence inferred that they were exactly similar to' 
 the church of ancient Israel, and that none were recog- 
 nized as Jews even in it, though they might call them- 
 selves by that name, but such as were so in a spiritual 
 sense. Such an argument, however, does not once de- 
 serve a consideration. It is never had recourse to, in- 
 deed, but in desperate cases, and where they feel them- 
 selves pressed to account for the alleged spirituality 
 of the members of that ancient church ; and then, with- 
 out directly answering the point at issue, they recur to 
 this as a general salvo. The same has been argued 
 respecting the persons who composed what has been 
 called the circutndsion, from the apostle applying that 
 term, Phil. iii. 3. to believers. But it cannot be doubt- 
 ed that he there uses the term in a spiritual or mystical 
 sense ; nor as little can it be doubted that it had also a 
 primary or literal signification, and in this sense dis- 
 tinguished between Jews and Gentiles in a national ca- 
 pacity, as is evident from Gal. ii. 7, 8;, 9. These pas- 
 sages are surely explanatory of one another, and if more 
 be still contended for from the expression in the Re- 
 velation, we are confident it can serve no other end than 
 as an apology for impure communion. 
 
 Having thus completed our view and illustration o^' 
 
IN SUPPORT OF PEDO-BAPTISM, 291 
 
 the various passages produced in support of Pedo-bap- 
 tism,:.we shall proceed in our next section to consider-^ 
 the charges which have been mutually had recourse t# 
 m order to discard each others system. 
 
 SECTION .11. 
 
 Of the reciprocal charges which have been hrotight by tht 
 abettors of both sides of the question^ nvith a view to dis- 
 card their respective systems. 
 
 X HE discovery of truth alone ought to be the grand 
 object of all our investigations, and if we shall have the 
 happiness to hit on the truth, it will surely he attended 
 with evidence sufficient of itself, by which we shall be 
 enabled to convince the thinking and rational part of 
 mankind, without needing to have recourse to that most 
 unfair practice, of fixing certain stigmas on the systems 
 from which we may differ, and of ascribing to them 
 consequences which they by no means involve. This 
 remark, which is applicable to all subjects, civil or reli- 
 gious, is peculiarly so to that we have now in hand. 
 Here it is that the different combatants have manifested 
 no little dexterity in raking up all the errors, faults, or 
 improprieties into which they may have respectively 
 gone, and confounding these with the merits of the 
 point at issue between them, with no small degree of re- 
 ligious zeal, as they are pleased to term it, they indis- 
 criminately place their whole system on a Ie\el with 
 >vhat may be erroneous parts of it. 
 
29* RECIPRpCAL CHARGES BROUGHT 
 
 the spirituality of the Abrahamic covenant ? And here 
 1 must ai3(^er for myself, whatever be the opinion of 
 otheis on this head. I confess myself to be of those 
 principles, that is to say, I do not see the baptizing of 
 infants to be scriptural, and yet I do not deny the spirit- 
 uality of the Abrahamic covenant. Yea, I will go far- 
 ther. I will solemnly aver, that I never had such a 
 consistent spiritual view of this subject while I was of 
 opposite sentiments, as I have now obtained through 
 the goodness of God leading me to view it in the man- 
 ner I have related in the preceding parts of this work. 
 But here, by the way, is it not as great an evil to make 
 that spiritual which is only carnal, as it is to make that 
 carnal which is spiritual ? It will never surely be main- 
 tained that the one v/ould be nearer the truth than the 
 other. Let our brethren then who bring the charge of 
 denying the spirituality of that covenant, see to it whe- 
 ther they be not making it too spiritual ; for if they 
 should err here, as there is indeed every reason to con- 
 clude they do, though it may be considered as an error 
 on the right side, yet will it ItJe! them to equally er- 
 roneous views of what God intended by it, as an errcy: 
 on the other side. 
 
 3. Thirdly, How do Baptist principles lead to the non- 
 sanctification of the Lord's day ? If some who profess 
 those principles should profane the Sabbath, or not set 
 apart the whole of that day to the Lord, does such con- 
 duct necessarily flow from ^he principles which lead us 
 to decide respecting baptism, or is it not rather to be 
 attributed to the effect of other principles held in con- 
 junction with these ? For my part, as I have said be- 
 fore, I have no objections to own with the charge of 
 being of Baptist principles, in as far as they respect the 
 unscriptural nature of that ordinance when applied to 
 infants, and yet I have no idea of denying the sancti^- 
 
BV BOTH SIDES OF THE QUESTION. 295 
 
 Cation of the Sabbath. I conceive it to have been wise- 
 ly appointed by the great Head of the church, to be a 
 means of supplying his people with spiritual nourish- 
 ment and growth in grace. And as an emblem of the 
 eternal Sabbath to be enjoyed in the sanctuary above, 
 we ought to say with David, '* Blessed ate they that 
 dwell in thy housCi, there they shall still be praising 
 fchee. For a day in thy courts is better than a WDu- 
 sand ; I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of 
 my God, than to dwell in the tents, in the palaces of 
 wickedness *." 
 
 A seventh part of our time to be devoted particular- 
 ly to the service of the Lord, is a moral duty in itself — 
 was appoitited from the beginning. Gen. ii. 2, 3. ■ and 
 from all the information of the New Testament, seeuis 
 never to have been deviated from, excepting in tlie 
 change of the day. Moreover, because some profes- 
 sing Christians have abominably unholy and ungodly 
 lives, is the charge therefore to be brought against the 
 religion they profess, or against some corrupt principles 
 they hold in conjunction herewith ? Not against the 
 former surely, though here it is that infidels always fix 
 the charge, but against the latter. For the lives of 
 *iuch people belie their profession, and every precept 
 of the religion they profess condemns them to their face. 
 Let Christians therefore see to it, that they are not in 
 this joining with the infidel, in endeavouring to sub- 
 stantiate the charge we are now considering. 
 
 4. In the fourth place, how do the Baptist principles 
 carnalhe the whole of the former dispensation ? Here I 
 should suppose, that even Pedo-baptists will not venture 
 to affirm, that that dispensation was ivholly spiritual., 
 The apostle himself, indeed, speaks of carnal things 
 cennected with it. In drawing a proper line of dis.» 
 * P<5al.lsxxiv. 4, 10, 
 
■)i9^ RECIPROCAL CHARGES BROUGHT 
 
 Unction then between what was spiritual and what cat - 
 nal, is it fair that we should be taxed with denying the 
 one altogether ? For my part, if 1 could conceive of 
 any, whether Baptist 6r Pcdo-baj5tisl, disposed to ques- 
 tion the existence of spiritual matters in that dispensa- 
 tion, I would not hesitate to say he was wrong, as the 
 examples of the faith of Abraham, Job, Moses, &.c. do 
 ilearly evince. But \Vould the person not be equally 
 erring, who from such examples would declare the 
 whole to have been spiritual ? Here then, as in a for- 
 mer instance, it is impossible to decide the merits of 
 the question, without examining their respective tenets, 
 and bringing these to the touch-stone of the word, for 
 it is to the law and to the testimony ; and if the sen- 
 timents of any man agree not herewith, it is because 
 he has not divine light in himi 
 
 5. But fifthly, how do these principles " incapacitate 
 us for the discharge of parental duties, or of bringing up 
 our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ? 
 How do they systematically assail the very foundation 
 of this duty ?" Can this duty not be discharged, sim- 
 ply in obedience to the apostolic injunction ? Or is it 
 necessary to set aside this injunction, as the very sug- 
 gestion of the charge would seem to imply, and to en- 
 force it entirely upon another principle, that, to wit, of 
 their interest in the covenant with Abraham ? But this 
 'last is the grand point in dispute, the other is not dis* 
 puted at all. It stands clear and valid^ and the pro* 
 fessing Christian who is chargeable with defects in re- 
 gard to it, may be convicted of his sin at once ; where- 
 as taking him up upon the other ground, he may be- 
 take himself to subterfuges froui uliich it is impossible 
 to beat him out. With what grace could it be urged 
 upon a brother who was defective liere, " We per,, 
 leive, brother, that you are deficient in the discharge of 
 
By BOTH SIDES CJF THE QJJESTIOK. 297 
 
 hat most important duty of instructing your chilc^renia 
 religious knowledge. Now, this must proceed from 
 your erroneous notions in regard to their situation in the 
 covenant of grace. Do but allow yourself tOvbe cor- 
 X'ected here, and we arc morally certain it will be other- 
 wise." Such mode of reasoning is certainly implied in 
 the objection. It aflirmatively implies the certain^ t)f 
 attaining the end, by the adoption of the opposite prin- 
 ciples. Now we ask, is the end in reality a single 
 ■whit better secured by the espousal of the one more 
 than the other ? Were we to descend to particular in- 
 stances, should we not find as many, yea, and a great 
 deal more neglect of the religious education of children 
 among those who baptize them in infancy, than among 
 thos6 who delay their baptism till they be personally 
 convinced of the truth of our holy religion, and profess 
 faith in the only Saviour for themselves ? Nay, is there 
 any comparison between these two systems, for ration- 
 ally leading to such instruction ? That of the Baptist 
 system, speaking even as a neutral person, when right- 
 3j- understood, has something in it which must render 
 godly parents exceedingly zealous for the religious in- 
 struction of their children ; for besides the express in- 
 junction to this duty, their principles, which continually 
 lead them to look upon their children's true state, as 
 being children of wrath, must mightily stimulate them, 
 that so under God they may be the means of their con-- 
 version ; whereas the system of the others, by which 
 they consider their children as being already in the co- 
 venant of grace, and by consequence in a state of safety, 
 has every thing in it, in my apprehension, to render pa- 
 rents in regard to this duty, careless and remiss. 
 • Thus do we see by a fair investigation of principles, 
 how exceedingly unfounded the charge really is : And 
 
29$ RECIPROCAL CHARGES BROUGHT 
 
 now, though we might with as good a grace heap charges 
 upon the other side, we shall not give vent to our evil 
 passions in so doing, but shall simply beseech our bre- 
 thren to beware of, acting any longer in the manner 
 they have done in regard to this subject. 
 
 6. The last charge we were to notice, was the ivani 
 sfxeal for the conversion of sinners. And here, I sup- 
 pose, it would become us all better, rather than bring- 
 ing it as a charge against 'tone another, each of us to be 
 deeply humbled for our woeful short-comings in this 
 raspect. If we perceive our brethren deficient in this, 
 our zeal for the Lord is not to be manifested by 
 yarring at them, but in lending an active hand towards 
 the furthering of his neglected cause, remembering that 
 cur work in the vineyard is increased in proportion as 
 the labourers are few. Here then, we ought all to be 
 up and doing the work of the Lord ; and truly, if we 
 had more zeal amongst ourselves, our good exam- 
 ple might be the means of stimulating our brethren, 
 and at all events, we should find our hands so much oc- 
 cupied in the pursuit of more important objects, that 
 we would not have leisure for lodging complaints against 
 one another of this nature. Such complaints, to me, I 
 confess, always convey the idea of weariness of tlic 
 work in those who make them. Instead of it appear- 
 ing to be a work of love, by which they are animated 
 and inflamed to endure hardiness as good soldiers, by 
 such conduct it appears to be a work of drudgery, too 
 heavy to be borne, and hence they angrily complain 
 against their brethren for not assisting them. It would 
 be desireablc, it is true, were all the Lord's people to 
 appear as one united body, having nothing but one in- 
 terest and one cause common to them all, in which there 
 were no seeking every man his own things, but every 
 man the things of others, his neighbour's good to edifi- 
 
 I 
 
BY BOTH SIDES OF THE QJJESTION. 299 
 
 cation — even the things, that are Christ's, that he might 
 be all and in all. Till this period arrive, however, and 
 we have every reason to hope that it shall, the duty of 
 such as are looking and longing for its accomplishment, 
 is certainly the reverse of that of complaining in an ir- 
 ritating manner against their brethren. If their bre-. 
 thren be faulty in the respect we are considering', it is 
 certainly their duty to endeavour to convince them of 
 their error by an opposite conduct ; and this, they may 
 rest assured, will be attended with infinitely better ef- 
 fects, than what would accompany even the most for- 
 cible things they could urge by way of complaint. 
 
 But still the question recurs, how do Baptist prin^ 
 ciples impede the zeal of Christians in the conversion 
 of sinners ? Do we not know for certain, that there are 
 in existence societies even of this description, I mean 
 our Baptist brethren in England, whose exertions in this 
 respect have been incalculable ? so that instead of they 
 needing to copy after our example, we have rather reason 
 to copy after theirs. Facts of this nature must then 
 bring the matter within a narrower compass ; they must 
 convince us, that the evil complained of Is not peculiar, 
 nor at all to be ascribed to those principles, but that it 
 flows from some other source entirely distinct from them, 
 and v/hich may be seen to have much more extensive 
 influence, pervading Christian societies even of various 
 descriptions, much more than we may be aware. Does 
 it not then come to be an act of positive injustice^ to as- 
 cribe to any set of principles, effects which do not be- 
 long to them, and to decry those principles as erroneous 
 and dangerous, upon no other ground than this false al- 
 legation ? Is it not then to be sincerely wished, that 
 Christians would only consider what they are about ? 
 
 Another grievous evil, which it is here proper to 
 notice, is, that of endeavouring, as it would appear. 
 
300 RECIPROCAL CHARGES BROUGHT 
 
 to misunderstand one another's reasoning on this 
 subject. I ha^je enumerated about fifty different pla- 
 ces in Mr Pirie's Letters to Mr M'Lean, which, in 
 my judgment, come under this description, and can be 
 attributed to nothing save a captious and cavilling 
 spirit. See, besides, how angrily he speaks on tlic 
 subject. ' It is highly probable that the Baptist ideas 
 ' will prevail. Dipping is a novelty in this country. 
 
 * Mankind, too, are fond of a showy, ritual religion, 
 ' chiefly if it points out an easy way to heaven. Such 
 ' is that of the Baptists. The weak, the splenetic, the 
 
 * fanciful, the fond of novelty, the lovers of. pleasure 
 ' must naturally embrace such a religion. The Soci- 
 ' nians or half Deists also, are mostly Baptisis in prin- 
 '. ciple. These two ideas combined, will, probably, in 
 
 * a short time, form the reigning religion. I have not 
 ' the vanity to think that any thing I can say shall 
 
 * reach conviction to the Baptists. The illusions of 
 ' fancy are not easily dissipated by reasoning and argu- 
 
 * ment. The moment these people are dipped in wa- 
 
 * ter, they too often shut their eyes against the light of 
 
 * truth — to be opened no more, while the ear can listen 
 
 * with attention to nothing but the cry of the party — 
 
 * plunsre and be saved. When the young disciple has 
 
 * been taught to exclaim against infant-baptism, which 
 ' he calls Roman-sprinkling, and to cry, what can in- 
 
 * fants do ? can an infant believe ? he has learned his 
 ' whole lesson, and is dubbed an adapt in Christian 
 
 * knowledge.'' These are expressions to be found in 
 his preface. With such a frame ■ of mind did this 
 author begin ; and the subsequent parts of his book 
 shew how much he remained under its influence. 
 
 Under this head also, the late controversy recorded 
 in the third volume of the Edinburgh EvangelicaL Ma- 
 gazine, between Crito and Philalethes, may with pro- 
 
BY BOTH SIDES OF THE QUE&^lON. 301 
 
 priety be noticed^ for almost the one half of what there 
 occurs consists of mutual recrimina|tions ; llie one af- 
 firming ' that his words had been mistated, his mean- 
 ' ing misrepresented, and his argument misunderstood ;' 
 while the other, strenuously denying these allegations! 
 retaliates in his turn, ' that his antagonist, so far from 
 
 * repelling, has not even met his argument.' And in- 
 deed, I must confess, after the most careful perusal I 
 have been able to bestow on these papers, that there 
 appears to be too much reason for these loud complaints. 
 In the mean time, what a melancholy view do the pa- 
 
 ,pers on both sides afford of the lamentable sectarian 
 spirit so prevalent throughout the whole of Christen- 
 dom ! A spirit which astonishes even heathens ! ' Rica,' 
 as we learn from the Persian letters, ' having been to 
 ' visit the library of a French convert, writes thus to 
 ' his friend in Persia concerning what had passed. 
 
 * Father, said I to the librarian, what are these huge 
 
 * volumes which fill the whole side of the library ? 
 ' These, said he, are the interpreters of the Scriptures. 
 ' There is a prodigious number of them, replied I ; the 
 
 * Scriptures must have been very dark formerly,-and 
 
 * very clear at present. Do there remain still any 
 
 * doubts ? Are there now any points contested ? Are 
 ' there, ansv/ered he with surprize, are there ? There 
 
 * are almost as many as there are lines ? You astonish, 
 ' me, said I, what then have all these authors been 
 "• doing ? These authors, returned he, never searched 
 
 ^* the- Scriptures for what ought to be believed, but for 
 
 * what they did believe theiiiseU'cs. They did not con- 
 
 * sider them as a book, wherein were contained the doc- 
 ' trines which they ought to receive, but as a work 
 ' which might be made to authorize their own ideas. 
 
 * For this reason, they have corrupted all the meanings, 
 
 * ai;d hu^ e put every passage to the torture, to make ii 
 
302 REWPROCAL CHARGES BROUGHT 
 
 * Speak their own sense. 'Tis ii country whereon 
 
 * people of ail sects make invasions, and go for pillage ; 
 ' it is a field of battle, where, when hostile nations meet, 
 ' they engage, attack,, and skirmish in a thousand dif- 
 ' fere'nt ways *.' 
 
 Wliat a just, and at the same time, what a dismal 
 representation of real matter of fact is this ! * How long 
 ' will such spiritual gladiators,' as Mr Newton some- 
 where remarks, * continue to slash one another for the 
 ' amusement of the public !' No wonder that such con- 
 duct should astonish a heathen, for we may rest as- 
 sured that if such a passion could enter the world of 
 spirits, it would excite astonishment even in the angels. 
 
 These strictures I have taken the liberty to suggest 
 with all the freedom of a friend. And it is hoped they 
 will not be considered as improper, as our chief desire 
 is, not to speak lightly of our brethren, but really to 
 awaken them to a consideration of what they are about. 
 Nothing can afford us greater pleasure, than to see the 
 doctrines of the word of God investigated ; but let this 
 be always done, not in the way of controversy or spe- 
 culation merely, but in the way of removing real dif- 
 ficulties by casting light ,on the subject. This point, 
 however, both the brethren of whom we are speaking, 
 seem to have entirely missed. The papers of both 
 sides are conceived in such dark snd ambiguous lan- 
 guage, the thoughts so iliogically arranged, extraneous 
 matters, particularly those of the self- vindicatory kind, 
 which is made always to keep pace with the degree of 
 
 * See Dr Campbell's Lectures on Systematic Theology and 
 Pulpit Eloquence, whence we have transcribed the passage. A n 
 author, whose works ought to be in the hand of every Chrjitian 
 given to disputation ; for, next to the Scriptures, his performan- 
 ces, above all others we have ever seen, contain the best princi- 
 fles of conduct in all such matters. 
 
BY BOTH SIDES OF THE QJJESTION, 303 
 
 blame each attaches to his fellow, so permitted to enter 
 the body of their arguments, that we are positively at 
 a loss to saj where they begin, or where they end. 
 As it is not then for the mastery we ought to write, so 
 neither ought we to defend at all hazards those parti- 
 cular tenets we may have espoused. Truth can''*never 
 suffer by fair and open investigation. If we have been 
 in the right formerly, all that our brethren/fcan say, 
 will but tend to confirm us the more in our views ; but 
 if we have been in the wrong, let us not think it a dis- 
 honour, but our bounden duty to acknowledge it freelj'. 
 What other object ought Christians to have in view 
 but the pursuit after truth ? When we perceive two 
 parties opposing each other then, we may be fully as- 
 sured that the truth does not rest with them both. 
 But this very circumstance ought to create diflidence On 
 all hands. It should set them both about searching and 
 sifting the matter to the very bottom, and desiring in 
 good earnest that they may see the truth, that so they 
 may be one in Christ Jesus ; for it may be there is a flaw 
 on the one side as well as on the other. And when the 
 truth is thus discovered, they will not need to charge 
 each other to come over to his respective side ; for if 
 such particular and impartial investigation were but 
 fairly to be adopted, there would be ten thousand to 
 one, if both should not be under the necessity in some 
 respects of shifting his ground, and thus forming in a 
 manner a mutual exchange. But alas ! instead of this 
 rational mode of procedure in a work of so vast im- 
 portance, do we not behold many who have scarcely 
 learned to lisp in matters of religion, setting themselves 
 up as geniuses of the profoundest knowledge, who had 
 actually made a discovery of all that can be discovered, 
 and the language of whose conduct virtually is, See, 
 WC exhibit before your eyes, the whple of the infallible 
 
30* , RECIPROCAL CHARGES, &.C. 
 
 standard of truth, and if ye do not 'conform to the pat- 
 tern we show, it is because Christ's word hath no place 
 in you ? Nor is this a disposition peculiar to one de- 
 nomination of Christians merely, but it less or more 
 pervades all denominations, and is one of the grandest 
 barriers in the way of Christian union and improve- 
 ment. ' 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 J»F THE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE, AND OF THE. 
 SUBJECT OF RE-BAPTIZING. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 Of the mode of the Ordinance. 
 
 A. HE state of the argument respecting this subject is as 
 follows. The one side conceive, that as water is the 
 clement to be employed, and as the things signified by 
 it in the ordinance of baptism are frequently represent- 
 ed in Scripture by the figurative language of pouringf 
 sprinkling, ivashing, &.c. ; so, whichever of these modes 
 be adopted, it comes to be a matter of comparatively 
 small importance, provided the grand and spiritual de- 
 sign of the ordinance be properly understood. The 
 other side, however, contend for the mode of immersion^ 
 in opposition to all others, and allege that they demon- 
 stratively prove their position from the derivation and 
 use of the original word, and from the uniform practice 
 of apostolic and primitive exatnple. As it is not our 
 intention, however, either to lead or to be led by mere 
 assertions, we must accordingly examine these tenets in 
 order to enable us to render a reason for whichever 
 principle we may see it proper to coincide with. 
 
306 OF TJIE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE. 
 
 We take it for granted then, that with regard t6 the 
 design of the ordinance and the element to be employed, 
 there is no difference on either side ; and that the only 
 point- of difference respects the manner in which this 
 element is to be applied, whether it is to be by im- 
 mersion, washing, sprinkling, or pouring. 
 
 The first, exclusively, is the opinion of all Baptists 
 so far as we know, and they adduce two arguments in 
 particular in support of it. 1. That it is the express 
 signification of the original word ; and 2^/y, that they 
 have apostolic example for their conduct. 
 
 As to the first of these, it will be readily ad- 
 mitted, that the original word /iavTt^v generally sig- 
 !nifies to dipf plunge^ or immerse. We say generally, for 
 we have the authority of a very eminent lexicographer, 
 (Parkhurst), who considers this signification as limited, 
 and whose words are, after the definition just given, 
 
 * But in the New Testament it occurs not strictly in 
 
 ♦ this sense, unless so far as this is included in sense 
 ' II. and III. below.' (which see). Dr Campbell, 
 however, seems to restrict it entirely to this sense, and 
 quotes TertuUian, the oldest of the Latin fathers, as 
 rendering it by tingere, the term used for dying cloth, 
 which is by immersion * ; and in conformity to this, it 
 is contended that the whole phraseology, in regard to 
 this ceremony, concurs in evincing the same thing. 
 The original 'expression, it is said, is always baptizing 
 in, or into a thing, and the baptized person is said to 
 come up out of, or from the water f . 
 
 But though the definition of the word to baptize may 
 be as we have stated in a general sense, yet as applied 
 to that religious ordinance instituted by our blessed. 
 
 * Campbell on the Gospels, Matt. iii. 11. 
 f iyi*Lean's Commission, p. 109. &c. 
 
OF THE MOnt OF tHE OftDIJtANCE* 307 
 
 iiOl'd^ this mode is conceived to be incompatible with 
 several examples recorded in Scripture^ It is positively 
 denied, as in the case of the eunuch for instance. Acts 
 viii. that there was a sufficiency of water for this, in all 
 the way whither he went in the desert of Gaza. In 
 like manner, Peter's mode of address respecting Cor- 
 nelius and his brethren, " Can any man yor^zV/'water 
 that these should not be baptized," is, with much ap- 
 parent reason supposed, that in their case water was to 
 be brought. And there is no person of candour but 
 must abhor the pitiful shifts to which some betake 
 themselves in order to be uniform on this head, in the 
 case of the Philippian jailor. Mr Pirie records an 
 instance of this sort, though it must be confessed it rs 
 in his old acrimonious manner, which occurred at New- 
 burgh, the place of his residence. He informs us of a 
 preacher of the Baptist connection of Edinburgh, who 
 happened one day to be preaching from the xvi. of the 
 Acts, and who, in order to support his favourite idea 
 of immersion, had really the face to account for it, by a 
 canal which he supposed might lead between the jailor's 
 house and the prison. Now, when we attentively ex- 
 amine and weigh all the circumstances of this event, 
 how that it happened during the night, the earthquake 
 occurred, the jailor and his family had the word of the 
 Lord spoken to them, believed, washed the wounds of 
 the apostles, and straightway were baptized, and how 
 all these things seem to have taken place prior to the 
 jailor's bringing the apostles into his house, and setting 
 meat before them, we confess it appears altogether un- 
 likely that they were baptized by the mode 'of immer- 
 sion. But here, we are aware it will be said, how else 
 could they ie baptized, for is not to dip^ plungey or im- 
 merse, the very signification of that word ? This we do 
 not question as to its geueral acceptation, but these cir- 
 
308 ©F HUE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE, 
 
 cumstatices in particular cases, tend not a little to shake 
 us in regard to its signification when applied to a reli» 
 gious ordinance, and certainly demand another kind of 
 solution than mere dogmatical assertions in regard to 
 the etymology of the word. If etymology is to be fol- 
 lowed, as one * justly remarks, it ought not to be re- 
 stricted to this particular ordinance, but be equally ap- 
 plied to other ordinances, in order to determine upon 
 what grounds we proceed when we have recourse to 
 this species of argument. The word Aw^tm*, it has been 
 observed, the term in the original employed to denote 
 the ordinance of the supper^ signifies ^full meal, and fre- 
 quently a feast or sumptuous entertainment. Thus it 
 occurs Matt, xxiii. 6. Mark vi. 21. Lukexiv. 12. In 
 the last quotation, it is indeed distinguished from tt^i^tv, 
 dinner, or meal eaten in the morning ; but here, as in 
 the other passages, it evidently signifies a feast or en- 
 tertainment. Now, if etymology, or the literal signi- 
 fication of a term is to be had recourse to for determin- 
 ing subjects of this nature, will it not hence foUow, that 
 arguments drawn from the common use and acceptation 
 of the word 3e«TMv, must be equally conclusive in direct- 
 ing our practice in regard to the ordinance of the supper, 
 as those drawn from the common acceptation of fixvriCti^ 
 in regard to the ordinance of baptism ? And, therefore, 
 reasoning on the former, in the manner which is com- 
 monly done on the latter, we would hence have to con- 
 clude, that in the ordinance of the supper we must po- 
 sitively receive a full meal, for any thing short of this 
 would not be coming up to the signification of the ori- 
 ginal word }«T»«v. Accordingly it appears that the 
 church of Corinth understood it in this light. But the 
 apostle corrects the abuse into which they ran on this 
 account, expressly declaring that such a practice as that. 
 * Piric's Letters to M'Lean, p. 1S8. 
 
OF tHE- MODE Ot tH£ ORDINANCE. 30ft 
 
 of Indulging themselves in a full meal when met for the 
 celebration of that ordinance, was not attending to it at 
 all *. Although, therefore, we have not the same for- 
 mal refutation of our brethren's reasoning on the word 
 /3fl6XT<^«, yet the instances we have mentioned of the 
 eunuch, Cornelius, and the jailor, in our apprehension, 
 create such difficulties as lead ns to suspect t^Ut this 
 word is not to be taken in its literal or common signi- 
 ficatipn, when applied to a religious ordinance, more 
 than the other. 
 
 As to what Mr M*Lean says on the import and de- 
 Mgn of baptism, we admit it to be ingenious, similar, 
 indeed, to what Macknight has on the subject, and 
 heartily agree with it, considered in the light of doc- 
 trine. But as in our opinion, the passages he quotes 
 from Rom. vi. and Col. ii. wherein believers are repre- 
 sented as being ^' buried with Christ in baptism," ought 
 to be taken in a spiritual sense only, we hardly see how 
 they can be in any respect conclusive in determining 
 questions which regard the mode of that ordinance. It 
 is evident, indeed, that the apostle's language is highly 
 figurative in botli these passages, and in the former 
 ver. 5. it is manifest there is a mixture of metaphor, or 
 to speak more properly, he employs two fiew metaphors, 
 expressive of the same general truth of which he had 
 been speaking in the preceding verses, '* For if we have 
 been planted together in the likeness of his death, we 
 shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." And 
 so he says, chap. viii. 17. " If so be that we suffer with 
 him, that we may be also glorified together." Be- 
 lievers are, by the prophet, called '' Trees of right- 
 eousnessf ," therefore are they here said to be "planted." 
 And still in confoi'mity to the same phraseology, Paul 
 says of himself, 1 Cor.iii. 6. '• I have planted, Apollos 
 
 * ICor. xi.20. S.--C. f Tsa.lxi. J. 
 
310 OF THE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE. 
 
 watered.*? An4 in the 9th verse of that chapter, he 
 again uses a mixture of metaphor, and says to the Co- 
 rinthians, '* Ye are God's husbandry^ ye are God's build- 
 ing.''^ To be ** planted," therefore, in the passage be- 
 fore us, is to be made *' Trees of rigliteousness" in th,e 
 husbandry or vineyard of God. And as the death and 
 interment of Christ, was not only a fit emblem of bury- 
 ing seeds in the earth in order to their growth, but thc 
 sole gause, to preserve the metaphor, why any of the 
 degenerate plants of a strange vine could be transplant- 
 ed into this vineyard of God; they are therefore said to 
 be " planted together in the likeness of his death," that 
 is to say, his death and interment not only prefigured 
 their implantation as trees of righteousness into the 
 spiritual vineyard of God, but they were, as the old di- 
 vines used to say, the procuring cause of it. More- 
 over, so intimate is the union between Christ and his 
 people, that all that hath happened to him, may be con- 
 sidered as happening to them. Hence the apostle pro- 
 ceeds, ver. 6. to declare that they were crucified with 
 him. Then he remarks, ver. 8. that as crucified per- 
 sons, they are dead or died with him. In like manner, 
 he says of himself on this subject. Gal. ii. 20. " I am 
 crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but 
 Christ liveth in me j and the life which I now live in 
 the fl.esh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who 
 loved me, and gave himself for me." 
 
 Now, from all the expressions, as it has been justly 
 remarked, to contend for the mode of literal immersion, 
 on account of the apostle's saying in a spiritual sense, 
 that believers were buriedf.with Christ by baptism ; it 
 might be^ equally contended that they were literally 
 crucified with him likewise, for it is impossible to shew 
 that the one is more figurative than the other. 
 
 The following note from Dr Marknight. in mv opi- 
 
OF TbE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE, 311 
 
 iiion, sets this whole subject in a pretty clear light. 
 
 * Believers being considered as members of Christ's 
 
 * body on account, of the intimate union which subsists 
 
 * between them and him, every thing happening to him, 
 
 * is in Scripture said to have happened to'them. Thus 
 
 * the Jews are said to htput to death in the body of Christ *', 
 ' and our old man is said to be crucified nvith.^Jirist, 
 *■ Rom. vi. 6. ; and we are said to have died together 
 
 * with Christy ver. 8. and to be buried together luith him 
 
 * bj/ baptism^ ver. 4. and to be dead with Christ from the 
 <• elements of the worlds Col. ii. 20. and to be risen with 
 
 * Christy Eph, ii. 4, — 6. and even to be circumcised with 
 ' Christy Col. ii. 11. on which account, believers of all 
 
 * nations are called 7rs^iTfl(Ku, the circumcision^ Philip, iii. 3. 
 ' These expressions the apostle took great delight in, 
 ' because they make us sensible that Christ became 
 ' man, was circumcised, crucified, and buried, and rose 
 ' again to deliver us from punishment, and to procure 
 ' for us a blessed resurrection to immortality. More 
 ' particularly, as Christ suffered death for us, we are 
 ' said to have been actually put to death in him,^ 
 
 Upon the whole then, if the things we have stated 
 are not convincing to the mind, we must just remark, 
 that we leave this kind of dispute to those who liave 
 more liking to it than we have, or rather to some more 
 friendly hand who will endeavour to remove our dif- 
 ficulties ; for to speak the truth, though we are not 
 opposed to the idea of immersion having been practised 
 in primitive times, yet we can by no means perceive 
 this to have been the case so universally, as not to have 
 our difficulties on the subject. The three instances we 
 have specified — the contrasting of ^»7iTiC,M with SijTrvoi' — 
 and the apostle's meaning in the passages we have been 
 
 * The place wheocc this quotation is taken is Rom.vii.l. 
 iQote 2. 
 
312 OF THE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE. 
 
 just considering, present difficulties in our view whicU 
 at least demand attention. Nor will they be removed 
 by a round of dogmatical assertions respecting the ori- 
 ginal Word, for here, we should presume, we haVe heard 
 all that can be said. Nor would even other well 
 authenticated instances, which, however, we shall re- 
 joice to see brought forward, altogether remove our 
 scruples on this point, for these particular cases ought^ 
 in a rational manner, to be accounted for by themselves, 
 without having recourse to the puerile and pitiable shifts, 
 into which some, through the heat of their zeal of ha- 
 ving things to be in that particular manner they would 
 like, have been betrayed. In the case of the eunuch^ 
 for instance, if it cannot be proved from geographical 
 accounts, histories or travels, ancient or modern, that 
 there was a river, or other natural collection of water 
 in the place where he is said to have been baptized, of 
 sufficient capacity for the immersion of the body, we 
 really do not think it justifiable to attempt the solution 
 of the difficulty upon the principle which some have 
 done, namely, that the rivulet might have been dammed. 
 This would have been fine Work I would it not ? for 
 Philip and the eunuch ? And how unlike to the work 
 of him, who, in another ordinance, no less sacred, made 
 a very small portion of the elements employed, repre- 
 sent to the soul all the rich provisions of his heavenly 
 grace ! Though it be contended that baptism by im- 
 mersion was emblematical of the death, burial, and re- 
 surrection of Christ, &.C. yet we may be assured that 
 its emblematical signification, eveii though administer- 
 ed in this v/ay, could not be understood unless the mind 
 had been informed respecting it. If, therefore, it re- 
 quired instruction in order to understand its true nature 
 and design, the accuracy of ideas respecting it, must 
 rather have depended on the accuracy of the instructions 
 
OF THE MOBE OF TIIE*0'^I>]^KANCE. 31S 
 
 -iiForded, than' qn any mode, be what that might, of ad- 
 ministering the Ordinance. The bread and wine, in like 
 manner, in the ordinance of the supper, are emblema- 
 tical of the broken body and shed blood of the Redeem- 
 er ; yet it is not the mere act of partaking of bread and 
 wine, in what manner soever this may be done, but the 
 idea in the mind as the result of instruction, that can 
 put us in possession of proper conceptions respecting 
 it. It is therefore our belief at present, and must con- 
 tinue Pi" be so till we shall see the contrary proved in a 
 sober and rational manner, that the eunuch, Corneliu-:, 
 imd the jailor, and those connected with them, were 
 baptized by some other mode than that of immersion ; 
 nor can we sconceive that they would have been at any 
 loss, notwithstanding, as to the grand and spiritual de- 
 sign of this ordinance, considering that they were under 
 the immediate tuition of apostles and other inspired men. 
 Instruction by ordinances are like parables, and parables 
 again are like verbal hieroglyphics, and though all of 
 them are admirably calculated to convey instruction ia 
 the strongest possible manner, yet do they require a 
 key in order to understand them. As, therefore, the 
 person would be but trifling, who would attempt to ac- 
 count for every circumstance ia a parable, and not only 
 trifling, but pursuing the very plan which would effec- 
 tually prevent him from seeing its grand design ; so, 
 we find it impossible to separate a similar idea from our 
 minds, ia regard to those who seem to lay such a stress 
 on the mode of this ordinance, as if what Christ requir- 
 ed, and what he designed by it, could not be obtained 
 but by attending to it in a certain manner. Now, our 
 brethren will please observe, that if the Scriptures re- 
 present this subject in that strong, important, and con- 
 vincing point of view which they would inculcate upon 
 
314 OF THE MODE OF THE ORDINANCE. 
 
 US, we shall be exceedingly obliged to them if they 
 would only produce the proof, that we may distin- 
 guish between the voice of man and the voice of God 
 in this particular ; and we trust, that if they make it 
 apj)ear that the Scriptures inculcate those things they 
 so strenuously insist on, we shall not be backward to 
 obey the heavenly mandate. 
 
 Upon the whole then, the reader will easily per- 
 ceive from what has been said, that wc cannot but de- 
 plore the taunting and scoffing air which some have as-^ 
 sumed on this subject, in regard to the other modes 
 which many Christians have conceived it their duty to 
 practise — scoffing at the terms spr'mklir.g^ pourings &.c. 
 9S if they were not terms employed b^ the Holy Spi- 
 rit, to signify the operation of his benign and heayealy 
 grace upon the heart of his people. 
 
 SECTION IT. 
 
 Of the subject of Re-baptizing. 
 
 JlIere, we are aware, that our brethren the Baptists,. 
 ■will be ready to condemn this inquiry from its very 
 title, for wc know it is strongly alleged that nothing 
 is Christian baptism, but what accords with their view 
 of the subject. Wc hope, however, they will give us 
 credit when we say, that it is not in order that we may 
 differ from them^ but in order that we may investigate 
 and determine for ourselves, that ever we thought of 
 considering this matter here. 
 
OF THE StJBJECt OF RE-%APTIZING. 3lS 
 
 Respecting this subject, we remarked elsewhere, that 
 it is an initiatory, appointed to be administered to the 
 disciples of the Lord Jesus immediately upon their con- 
 Version to the faith of his gospel. The baptism of John 
 even did not differ in this respect. His Was the bap- 
 tism of repentance, and hence we read *' that there went 
 ■out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusa- 
 lem, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their 
 sins *." The confession of sins was necessary in order 
 to his baptism, and invariably wherever such confessions 
 were made, such penitents were straightway baptized. 
 As the harbinger of the Lord, he preached to the peo- 
 ple, *' Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," 
 and whosoever gave credit to his doctrine, were there- 
 upon baptized into the profession of it, confessing their 
 sins. The apostles of our Lord went upon precisely 
 the same plan. The three thousand who were convert- 
 ed on the day of Pentecost, were baptized and added 
 \.o \hQ chuxchXhc selfsame day \. And the same was 
 also the case with the eunuch, Cornelius, Lydia, and the 
 jailor, Paul himself, and those whom he baptized, the 
 Ephesian elders, and in short, all who received the word 
 during the whole period of the Apostles' ministry. Im- 
 mediately upon their reception of the doctrine of the 
 apostles, they had this ordinance administered to them 
 as an initiatory rite, by which they were introduced in- 
 to the profession of the belief of certain truths which 
 they had never either believed, or professed to believe 
 - previously. Thus it is manifest, that baptism, as prac- 
 tised by the apostles, was '^he grand initiatory rite by 
 which ihe newly converted^ made their first public 
 avowal of their belief of the doctrines of the gospel, 
 and professed themselves to be disciples of hipi who had 
 * Matt.iii.5. Mark i. 5. + Acts ii: II. 
 
516 OF THE SUBJECT OF RK-BAP TIZING. 
 
 died for their sins, anc^ risen again for tltt^ justification,, 
 and wlio had receis'ed all power in heaven and in earth. 
 that as the great l^ad of his church, he might regulate 
 and govern it;. 
 
 Since ,thei|| baptism, in the dajs of the apostles, was 
 uniformly administered to nenvly converted persons, and 
 to such oiily^ it comes to be a subject of no inconsider- 
 able importance to ascertain wliether, in the case oi 
 those who have been known for many years to have 
 professed the Christian faith in a consistent and irre- 
 proachable manner, it ought to be again administered 
 upon their view^s coming to be changed in respect of 
 this ordinance. And here it is to be taken for granted, 
 that if it had so happened, that their mind had been 
 rightly informed in respect of this point at the period 
 of their conversion, they would have willingly sub- 
 mitted to it. But this not having been the case, 
 till ten, twenty, or perhaps thirty years from that 
 period had been suffered to elapse, would the receiving 
 of baptism under such circumstances then, be at all si- 
 milar to the instances we have in the Scriptures ? Or 
 rather, would it not be giving a. false representation of 
 this ordinance, and be rather apparently baptizing men 
 into baptism itself^ than into the faith of doctrines they 
 had so long professed ? Here then, for we must express 
 our sentiments freely, here lies the chief difficulty with 
 us. We find it impossible for us to separate from the 
 idea of baptizing under such circumstances, the idea ot 
 giving the lie to the whole of one's former profession, 
 and of beginning entirely anew, as if he had known or 
 professed to know nothing of Christianity before. If 
 baptism is an initiatory ordinance, how is it possible to 
 initiate a person into the profession of that which h-s 
 has for many year«; actually professed already ? Nor i* 
 
bF THE SUBJECT OF RE-BAPTIZING. 3lt 
 
 it mere profession In behalf of tvliich #e arejiere con- 
 tending. The character we have more immediately in 
 view, is that of a person who has professed Christianity 
 not merely in the vague sense of the ^'prd, in -which 
 whole nations have been considered as Christians, but 
 as a true and sincere follower of the Lord, and one who 
 is desirous in eveiy thing to do only that which is pleas- 
 ing in his sight. This is the person of whom we arc 
 speaking, and the point to be deterniined respecting him 
 is, whether he is to be i-e-baptized upon the change ot 
 his views respecting this ordinance being administered 
 to infants. This indeed, is what he once held to be 
 proper, but now he considers it as not so, therefore he 
 desists from it. Is this not therefore enough ? Must 
 he not only give up the baptizing of his children, but 
 be baptized himself, and thus declare publicly, if the 
 ordinance has any meaning, tliat ail his former profes- 
 sion was fallacious and vain ? 
 
 Eut here we are aware it •vvill be asked, was then 
 this person of whom you speak ever baptized ? Did he 
 ever receive Christian baptism ? we mean that bap- 
 tism enjoined by Christ and » his apostles in the New 
 Testament ? We are aware also, that supposing these 
 questions should be answered in the affirmative, it will 
 be immediately replied. Then the Scripture teaches «/;- 
 fant baptism ! Now, as we consider this objection to be 
 nothing less than a mere quirk, so it must be answered 
 accordingly. In our turn, we must say to such an ob- 
 jector, then, upon your principle, do not the Scriptures 
 teach that a person should be baptized fourteen, twenty 
 or thirty years after he hag, been converted? If the 
 Scriptures do nut teach infant baptism, we are certain 
 that neither do they teach nor afford an instance of bap- 
 tism being administered in such circumstances as these. 
 As therefore, in our opinion, to assert Xh»Iast would 
 
318 OF tHE SUBJECT Or RE-B APTIZING. 
 
 be equally as unscriptural as to assert thej/frj-/, the only 
 difficulty with us comes accordingly to be, which of 
 these two practices ought then to be adopted ? As to 
 that of re-baptizing In the circumstances we have sup- 
 posed, we do not perceive how we could be exempted 
 from the charge of exceeding the bounds of scriptural 
 example; so We are of opinion, that the only evil to be 
 rectified, is that of baptizing our children^ and that to 
 refrain from this whenever we are convinced of its un- 
 scriptural nature, is both the best way for persons in 
 our circumstances of manifesting our regard for the 
 authority of Christ, and of striking at the root of the 
 evil which has got in amongst us. And it is because 
 the other plan seems both to do more than the word of 
 God warrants, or the nature of the subject requires, 
 that we have entered into our present train of reason- 
 ing in this place. 
 
 In addition to those evils already inentioued, of go- 
 ing beyond due bounds in regard of scriptural example, 
 as w^ell as giving a false representation of the ordinance 
 itself, there is another great and important evil of which 
 it is necessarily a cause, and that is, divisions among the 
 people of God. When a person who is a member of a 
 church of Christ comes to be baptized, after he has pro- 
 fessed the gospel for a number of years, his baptism, 
 in the nature of the thing, does not so properly initiate 
 him into the profession of the Christian faith, as into a 
 profession of a different kind, and which seems to con- 
 sist chiefly in constituting a difference between him and 
 the brethren with whom he was formerly connected. 
 Thus, while it seems to'^Ho nothing more satisfactory, 
 does it lay a foundation for extending and still protract- 
 ing the horrible evil of evea-real Christians dividing 
 >and separating from one another. It thus gives occa- 
 sion for mtn to range themselves under different lead- 
 
OF THE SUBJECT OF RE-BAPTIZING. 3I& 
 
 £rs, and to call themselves by different names, bj which 
 they may be distinguished tiie one from the other, but 
 which, according to the apostle's determination of such 
 subjects, is a certain indication that they are so far car- 
 nal *, 1 Cor. iii. 4'. And what is a consecjuence ever 
 to be lamented in such cases, is, the. exultation and 
 triumph manifested by both parties in proportion as. 
 either of them may gain over proselytfes to their re- 
 spective sides. On these accounts we therefore con-^ 
 ceive, that for persons in surh a situation, when they 
 come to have their views changed in regard to infant 
 baptism, it would be acting fully as scripturally, and 
 vastly more in conformity to their Christian profession, 
 for them merely to refrain from baptizing their chil- 
 dren, for this would be removing to all intents and 
 purposes the grand source of the error, and would be 
 laying a foundation for bringing all matters right, while 
 at the same time the other evils would be avoided, in 
 the course of a very few years. 
 
 We repeat it again, however, that we have no ex- 
 pectation, but that this reasonable mode of procedure 
 will be violently opposed by such as assume too high 
 grounds in regard to this subject, and who seem to, 
 imagine every thing concerning it to be clear and de- 
 
 * It has been with much regret that, in the course of this in- 
 quiry, we have been under the necessity of conforming to the 
 estabUshed custom of distinguishing between Christians by differ- 
 ent names. If our sense could have been equally undetstood, the 
 reader may rest assured that he would not have been troubled 
 with the terms Baptist or Pedo-baptist^ as epithets which distinguish 
 some of the people of God : Nor have we regard for the one term 
 more than for the other, for it is not as Baptists or Pedo -baptists, 
 that wc wish to know Cluistians, but as persons who have tasted 
 that the Lord is gracious, and amongst whom, through whose 
 marveliou'j loving -kindness, there exists the most endearing an^ 
 indissoluble union. 
 
320 OF THE 9D3JECT OF RE-BAPTIZING. 
 
 monstrable truths. As we have no inclination to enter 
 the list or combatant with any, liavvc\er,-al] we would 
 ask of them therefore is, that if thcjr would shew us 
 from Scripture either an example or precept for the 
 baptizing of persons in such a situation, we shall thank 
 them for the information ; and till some such clear and 
 irrefragable evidence is produced, it is hoped that Chris- 
 tians will .iiijhis matter thinly and "act deliberately, 
 without suffering themselves to be hurried into a prac- 
 tice which, at best, is equally as doubtful as that they 
 may be at present pursuing. If our brethren can cast 
 any light on^ the subject, their debtors we shall con- 
 sider ourselves for so doing. But should we see 
 reason for differing from them still, we do not perceive 
 how we would be giving any just grdiSnds of offence, 
 as we are certain our conscience bears us witness that 
 we do not deal thus in retjard to them. 
 
AP PEN Dr X, 
 
 OF CIIRTSTIAX UNITY AND FORBEARANC 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Of General Principles. 
 
 W HAT attentive observer is there, who is not stung 
 to the very heart with all the unhappy differences which 
 exist among the people of God ? The number of sects 
 and parties into which they are divided, is almost infi- 
 nite. And what is worse, like the Jews and Samaritans 
 of old, they will have no intercourse with one another. 
 They more nearly resemble the independent states of 
 the ancient Greeks, among which were p'erpetual con- 
 tentions and discords, than that one body of redeemed 
 sinners, which the Scriptures represent them as consti- 
 tuting. Does church history consist of any thing else 
 almost, but the doleful detail of the lamentable dif- 
 ferences, the mutual and mean jealousies, and the hos- 
 tile-like conduct of the professed followers of the 
 Lamb ? As in societies formed upon maxims merely 
 of human policy, so here, we behold one party rising 
 on the ruins of another, and this, after having flourish- 
 ed for a season, is found to give place to a more powers 
 ful foe. fv 
 
 Ss 
 
322 OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 -. % 
 
 To trace the various serpentine courses into which 
 Christians have wandered in the violence of their oppo- 
 sitiop! 6ne to another, would be a work as extensive as 
 it would be foreign to our present purpose. All that 
 we intend to do, therefore, is to examine a few of the 
 principles which must necessarily have given rise, as 
 •well as still continue, to protract this great and crying 
 evil. ' 5 
 
 That Christians are necessarily to be conformed lo 
 each other in everi/ respect, is a position we must set 
 out with doubting, as we see nothing analogous to it in 
 any of the other works of God. When we inquire 
 into the world of nature, and arrange the various ma- 
 terials with which she furnishes us into their respective 
 classes and orders, though we indeed perceive such ge- 
 neral marks of agreement between them, as sufficiently 
 to justify the propriety of our conduct in regard to this 
 point, yet still, when they are more minutely consider- 
 ed, such differences will be found, as manifestly to dis- 
 tinguish each individual from all the rest of its order. 
 So that, if men were foolish enough to proceed upon 
 the same rule here, that many affect to do in regard to 
 religion, instead of classifying, they should divide and 
 subdivide, not to say every class, but every individual 
 of every class, into the minutest principles, and the re- 
 sult would be found, that no two particles were exact- 
 ly alike. But because of this variety, are they there- 
 fore void of utility ? Or would any man be so foolish 
 as to reject the provision with which the great Author 
 of nature provides him, such as food and raiment, be- 
 cause they did not come up to his wild and preposterous 
 notions of absolute uniformity ? 
 
 But in matters relating merely to the present life, men 
 conduct themselves more like rational beings than in 
 matters of religion. Though objects are thus varied 
 
OF GENERAL J^RIIJCIPLES. 323 
 
 in the world of nature, yet no person ever thinks of 
 casting out with his neighbour bri this account. Every 
 individual has his own particular make and conforma- 
 tion of body. There are not two faces alike, two hand- 
 writings, two tones of voice in different individuals ; and 
 yet ,we never heard of any so absurd as to be displea- 
 sed with his friend, because that in these respects he 
 was not framed and modelled entirely after his likeness. 
 Do we not find also a variety as to sex, complexion, 
 taste and size ? Yea, do not naturalists tell us, that 
 there are not two hairs, two leaves, two piles of grass, 
 two atoms of any description, when reduced to their 
 ultimate, their elementary particles, that perfectly 
 agree ? Would not the demand of uniformity in these 
 respects therefore, be a demand utterly to annihilate 
 the whole universe to a single individual, yea, more, to ' 
 a single atom of that individual ? 
 
 Now since the glorious works of nature are thus va- 
 ried, and since this endless variety is of itself the stamp 
 which they all bear of their great Original, shall men, 
 Christian men too, ever think of altering this admira- 
 ble order which their Father and their God has consti- 
 tuted in the universe ? Or is it in any respect to be 
 wondered at, that our minds, faculties which are in 
 a manner beyond our controul, should not be exactly 
 alike, since our bodies are thus fearfully and wonder- 
 fully constructed, and since all nature bears the equally 
 paradoxical stamp of its first great Cause, variety and 
 harmony ? Nor can we imagine that these admirable 
 evidences of the finger of God will terminate here. 
 Could we take a glance into the world of spirits, and 
 contemplate the glories of that stale, should we not 
 there behold the most striking analogy in this respect 
 to all that we now see or hear ? As love and affection, 
 emanating from the throne of God, and published to 
 
S^-i- OF G£N£RAL FRUiUi^Lr-S. 
 
 guiltj men in the gospel of^ his Son, is the only centr^ 
 of union in the church here below ; so is it expressly 
 the.,same principle which knits all hearts into one in 
 the temple above. But as the objects of theit contem- 
 plation are infinite, and as all have not the same facul- 
 ties, nor havcmade the same progress in research, there 
 must be diversities, and harmonious discords, so to speak, 
 tiiough still all under tlir operation of one and the same 
 spirit. 
 
 Were men mere machines indeed, or brute creatures, 
 destitute of the rational faculties, the scheme of redu- 
 cing all to one uniform rule in every respect, might 
 probably succeed. But as well deprive us of life alto- 
 gether, as, with this invaluable blessing, and with the 
 other, which is even more so, attempt to reduce us all 
 to the standard of any individual. To be capable of 
 thinking is our glory as men, and to think soberly, that 
 is to say, to think as the word of God directs, without 
 at the same time imposing our individual views, even of 
 divine truth, upon the consciences of our brethren, is 
 our glory as Christians. 
 
 But it may be said, if every individual has thus a li- 
 berty of thinking for himself, is there at all any likeli- 
 hood that the jarrings, discordances, and divisions in 
 the church of God, will ever come to an end ? Now, 
 supposing we were not able to answer in the affirma- 
 tive, what then ? Must we therefore not think at all^ 
 because we may perchance think differently from our 
 brethren ? But supposing again that men could be found 
 so mean,/and so entirely destitute of every principle of 
 religion and common sense, as to conform to this de- 
 mand, still, we ask, to what length would you wish to 
 carry it ? Who are the persons you would have to walk 
 Sit liberty, and who would you thus fetter hands and 
 feet, that you might do with them whatsoever thou 
 
dF GENERAL PRINCIPL£»P 325 
 
 listest ? Were it put in the power of our own choice, 
 xvould not every one of us covet to be tl^is Son of li- 
 berty ? And if the privilege were to be extc:nded to a 
 /ew more, would hot every partizan.wish that it were 
 at least himself, and the pai-ty to which he belongs ? 
 But if there were more than one thus permitted to think 
 for themselves, would thfey not still be in danger of 
 falling into the same snare by and byfe^ of ,,hai^g a dis^ 
 cordancy of sentiments'? Or supposing it to be restrict- 
 ed to one, still would not that *individual>vuil^ss he 
 were Under the influence of an infallible guide, be in 
 danger at times of disagreeing with himself? But hap- 
 py is it for us^ that God has not laid us under any such 
 interdict, though nothing less is indeed tlie grand point 
 at which all true party-men aim. 
 
 As we have seen that it is not essential to our exist- 
 ence as men to be all precisely of one visap-e, size, or 
 shape, in respect of our bodies, so in like manner as 
 little is it necessary to our possession of the rational fa- 
 culties that these should operate exactly alike in every 
 individual, and that the generations which succeed 
 should not have it in their p'o\ver to add to the aggregate 
 sum of ideas collected by their forefathers. Yea, who 
 does not perceive that the very introduction of such a 
 position would inspire us with fear and trembling, and 
 totally incapacitate us for the rational discharge of every 
 moral obligation ? If uniformity of sentiment is abso- 
 lutely necessary, what if at some unguarded moment a 
 new reflection should dart into our minds from which 
 we found it impossible to free ourselves ; in this case 
 we would be under the necessity of either acting the 
 hypocrite and dissembler, or be exposed to the severest 
 of all fates, viz. that of being cast out of the church. 
 
 It will perhaps be said that I mistake the idea that 
 is meant to be conveved, and that this representation of 
 
526 OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 unity of sentiment is altogether going to extremes 
 which were never so much ds thought of. How far 
 then would you be disposed to go ? Would the simple 
 acknowledgement of the doctrine of Christ, namely^ 
 that " we believe and are sure that he is the Son of the 
 living God,*' and a life and conversation in all respects 
 correspondent with such a profession, be all you would 
 then demand ? No, say you ; thtre must be also a 
 unity in regard to church order. What order would 
 you then be for ? The most scriptural, it will be re- 
 plied. But then, will not this notion of the most scrip- 
 tural order be varied according to all the different and 
 even contradictory opinions men have formed upon the 
 subject ? Here then, were we to follow out the inquiry, 
 we should at once find ourselves launched into a bound- 
 It^ss ocean, to which " neither sun nor stars would for 
 many days appear*," but where rocks, shoals, and 
 quicksands exist in such abundance, as imminently to 
 endanger the lives of all its adventurous and rash navi- 
 gators. We should find ourselves, in short, in a field 
 of battle, carried to be witnesses of all the desolating 
 campaigns which the revolution of several centuries has 
 produced ; and after the most dreadful struggle between 
 armies and champions of all descriptions, we should 
 still be as far as ever almost, at a loss to say in whose 
 favour the victory ought to be declared. 
 
 These reflections we the more readily suggest, not 
 that we have no fixed principles in regard to church 
 order, but because we are decidedly of opinion that the 
 Scriptures never represent this as the bond of union 
 among Christians. As little do they afford us much 
 room either to complaia or to glory, that matters either 
 are or are not, in this respect, such as we might prefer. 
 But what they give us liberty to rejoice in, is to see 
 Christians living at peace and harmony with one ano- 
 * Acts xxvii. 20. 
 
OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 327 
 
 tiier, and, like their benevolent Father who is in hea- 
 * ven, extending their love to all who bear his image, 
 .uid even with much- long-suffering au^ patience bear- 
 ing with those who perhaps, through the whole course 
 of this mortal life, may never see as they do. 
 
 But to return to the contended for unity of sentiment 
 with which we set out, we readily grant, that how va- 
 ried soever the material objects of nature may be, yet 
 there is a natural principle in the human mind, which 
 has been distinguished .by modern philosophers under 
 the title of Common Seme, which will not permit us to 
 differ so materially in respect of the decisions of our 
 minds. Mankind have, in general, the same ideas of 
 colours, sounds, sweet, bitter, hard, soft, and so on, with 
 every other object that comes under the cognizance of 
 our senses, unless it be in cases where these are de- 
 ranged. Truth, in like manner, would be always one 
 to the mind, as these qualities are to our various organs 
 of sense, provided we could come to the same certainty 
 in respect of it that we can in respect of the objects of 
 sense. There are indeed some truths partaking of the 
 same nature, which have been called axioms, as, for 
 instance, that two and two make four, a whole is great- 
 er than a part, and two halves make a whole, and so, 
 on ; and it so happens that there are never any differ- 
 ences respecting these. But truths which are the pro- 
 duct of reasoning are always liable to be the subjects o£ 
 difference, in proportion to the different lights in which 
 different individuals take them up. Were it possible 
 for us, however, to enter upon their investigation en- 
 tirely free of prejudice, and in the first place, to furnish 
 ourselves with all the information which may be lying 
 scattered throughout either the Scriptures or the world 
 of nature, before we allowed ourselves to draw conclu- 
 sions, these would n«t be sq discordant as they fre- 
 
S28 OF GENEI^AL PRINCirLES. 
 
 qxientlj are. Some are prejudiced in favour of tlittu 
 old forms and manner of conceiving of objects j and 
 others, wholly disregarding these, set their imaginations 
 to work, and devise liew systems, and then have re- 
 course to Scripture in order to prove them. And till 
 these evils be rectified in the churcH of God, w^e do'nbt 
 expect to see either much progress in real useful know- 
 ledge, nor love and concord among the brethren. 
 
 This, leads us to observe another thing Christians' 
 ought to attend to, and that is,vhoIding the truth in 
 love. We have just observed that one, and perhaps the 
 principal cause of difference about truths which are the 
 product of our reasoning faculties, is the different lights 
 in v/hich different individuals take them up ; but as it 
 is sometimes in a manner entirely beyond their power 
 to act in these matters othei'wise than they do, let us 
 beware of treating them either with contempt or ridi- 
 cule, or yet of ascribing to them the worst of motives. 
 If we have the truth on our side, let us maintain it in 
 peace ; and I am certain this will do more for its esta- 
 blishment, and will likewise be a greater blessuig to 
 ourselves, than if we indulged in all the asperity we 
 were capable of exercising. For my part, I am wholly 
 at a loss to conceive what kind of ideas those have 
 either of themselves or of their brethren, or yet of the 
 (lispensation of grace, who seem to imagine that they 
 alone have discovered and maintain the truth, and who 
 are for taxing all others with sin who do not see mat- 
 ters in the very same light. If it is indeed the true 
 grace of God that they have discovered, they ought to 
 recollect that these- discoveries may have been owing to 
 some circumstances in the mysterious leadings of divine 
 Providence, and not to any thing in themselves ; and, 
 therefore, instead of being elated, they ought to be 
 bumbfed in the sight of God, -^^p thus maketh thcn^ 
 
OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 32,0 
 
 o differ. Would it be a whit more inconsistent in a 
 converted person to triumph over the rest of his bre- 
 tlirfen who arc yet in their sins, and to treat them in 
 such a manner as would only excite their corruptions, , 
 and rivet them the more in their hatred of the gospel, 
 than such foolish treatment of one 'another among Chri- 
 stians ? The Scripture indeed saith, " Every one to his 
 own Master (meaning God) he Standeth oi falleth," 
 Kom. xiv. 4. But does not the conduct of almost all 
 say, We are your master, and these are the rules we 
 prescribe you, and if you do not conform to these, we 
 will condemn you with the greatest severity ? 
 
 But here again we would inquire, is it really the fact 
 that, between two contending parties, the truth must be 
 necessarily either on the one side or on the other, or 
 perhaps on neither, but that it is altogether impossible 
 that both can be holding it so as to be pleasing God ? 
 If this question could b^e satisfactorily answered, not- 
 withstanding to whatever line of conduct it might lead, 
 it would certainly, in great measure, bring to a happy 
 termination the various contentions which have so long 
 agitated and rent the church of God. But as it cannot 
 be answered directly, neither said of any man, or set of 
 men, that he or they alone, to the exclusion of all others, 
 maintain what is right, a more generous spirit than is 
 generally to be found among the various coutendtng 
 partisans of every sect, ought undoubtedly to be cul- 
 tivated. So long as we behold truth partly maintained 
 on both sides ; so long as both are able to render a rea- 
 son for what they do, such, at least, as satisfies their 
 own minds in the presence of a holy and heart searching- 
 God, though not to the conviction of their opposite bre- 
 thren ; and so long as God, by his blessing gives coun- 
 tenance to both, ard rerjders them a blessing in the world, 
 
 1^" 
 
330 OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 it will Still be our duty to seek to be preserved fronv 
 the sin of party-zeal, and to acknowledge with humi- 
 lity and gratitude whatever is so manifestly the doing 
 
 ' of the Lord, wherever we shall behold it. 
 
 We are fully aware that these observations, though 
 founded, not only on undeniable matters of fact, but on 
 what constitutes the very basis of all true religion, 
 namely, on the right which every one possesses in these 
 matters of judging for himself, will yet be exceedingly 
 unwelcome to some. Though the whole family of hea- 
 ven and of earth is only one in Christ, and though it 
 was one of the last petitions which Jesus while on earth 
 presented to his Father, that his disciples might all be 
 united,' that by their union and their love the world 
 might be convinced that he came from the Father ; yet 
 strange is it to tell, that it has now become a principle 
 with some to reverse these sentiments of the Saviour, 
 
 ' and to make it a part of their system to divide and sub- 
 divide the church of God even into twos and threes, and 
 without any regret to separate even these, by boldly 
 asserting, " That even two cannot walk together unless 
 they are agreed *." And here we would have it to bq 
 
 * Though we have no desire of dealing wi' harsh or bitter lan- 
 guage, yet the gross perversion of this sacred text is too gl^Tring 
 to be passed over in silence. It occurs in Amos iii. 3. and il is a 
 difference between Jcbo%-ah himself and his people Israel, and not 
 any differences Between his people among themselves, which is 
 there mentioned, though this last be the general, and almost the 
 exclusive application of the passage. And even here it is applied 
 so very vaguely, that it may be made to signify every thing or 
 nothing. When brethren differ in respect of any thing almost, 
 foh 1 it is contended there must be a separation, ibr how can two 
 walk, together except they are agreed ? Well, since you wish to 
 know, Paul tells you how it can be done. Respecting personal 
 differences he says, " Fut on therefore, as the elect of God, holy 
 and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, huinb'cncss of mind, 
 
OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 33,1 
 
 known, that we do not charge one particularr sect more 
 than another with this improper conduct ; for the evil, 
 alas ! has spread far and wide, so that individuals en- 
 joy not the liberty of thinking for themselves, or if 
 they do, and happen to think diiFerentiy from their bre- 
 thren, they are exposed to the danger of being exclud- 
 ed their society. 
 
 meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving 
 one another J if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ 
 forgave you, so also do ye," Col. iii. 12, 13. Or if they are differ, 
 ences respecting modes and forms of worship, &c. read what he 
 says in the xiv. chapter of his epistle to the Romans. Yea, when 
 divisions or schisms were running very high in the church at Co- 
 rinth, one saying he was of Paul, another of ApoUos, and a third 
 of Cephas, and so on, he quashes all their altercations, by exhort- 
 ing them to live at peace and harmony with one another, 1 Cor. 
 i.lO. 
 
.'EN I) 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Of Particular Principles. 
 
 J-N farther prosecuting the present subject, our reflec- 
 tions will be chiefly of two kinds. The one regarding 
 tke principles upon which individuals ought to unitCj 
 and so forming societies or churches. The other, the 
 principles upon which such societies or churches ought 
 to recognize one another. 
 
 Respecting the first, the belief of the confession of 
 Peter, namely, ** That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
 the living God," is positively all that is required of the 
 sinful children of men to a full and complete title to all 
 the blessings of the gospel. ** Whosoever belie veth that 
 Jesus is the Christ is born of God," saith the apostle 
 John, *' and every one t|iat loveth him that begat, 
 loveth him also that is begotten of him *." Thus we 
 perceive that the union of Christians is as natural as 
 it is endearing. In the very nature of the thing, love 
 to the members must keep pace with our degree of 
 >W. * 1 John V. 1. 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 35$ 
 
 love to the head ; for if we indeed love him who begat, 
 we caiinot but love them who are begotten of him. 
 Now, how does love operate ? Surely not bj standing 
 at a distance from, or by biting and devouring one ano- 
 ther. " Love worketh no ill to his neighbour," Rom. 
 iiii. 10. '' It doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh 
 not her own, is not easily provoked," 1 Cor. xiii. 5. 
 " A righteous man is merciful even to his beast, where- 
 as the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," Prov. 
 xii. 10. But v/e' speak not here of the difference be- 
 tween the righteous and the wicked, but of the one 
 spirit of love, tenderness, and sympathy which must ne- 
 cessarily pervade the children of God in all ages and 
 climates. As the blessed Saviour is universal Lord, so 
 all the saved in every age and nation, own him to be 
 such. They love him v/ith their whole hearts, and it 
 is in a manner inseparable from their very being to have 
 any other principle in regard to their bret?iren. Love 
 to him who begat, makes the heartof Christians through- 
 out all the world vibrate in the most pe«ifect harmony. 
 with love to those also who are begotten of him. 
 
 But we remark farther, that the principle of Chris- 
 tian union is not only natural in itself, but that the 
 Scriptures afford such abundant evidence in support of 
 it, as really to evince that there must be no little cri- 
 minality on the head of those who would dare to op- 
 pose it. Not to mention the sentiment of our Lord in 
 regard to the man who was prohibited by his disciples 
 from casting out demons, we would refer to his own in- 
 tercessory prayer, as the most indubitable evidence on 
 this head. *' Neither pray I for these alone, but for 
 them also who shall believe on me through their word, 
 that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, 
 and I in thee, that the world may believe that thou hast 
 sent me," John xvii, 20, 21. As nothing can be more 
 
.33* OFtARTj^CULAR i'RINCIPLES. 
 
 evident than, thiarit was the design of the Saviour that 
 there should subsist the most perfect harmony among 
 his followers, so, the reason assigned for it is such as 
 ought to Jje deeplj impressed upon the heart of all. 
 The reason is nothing less- than that of an evidence of 
 his divine mission to the world that lieth in wickedness. 
 Hence it follows, that wherever there is an opposite 
 conduct to this design of the Saviour, his authority is 
 not only disregarded, but the world is deprived of a 
 privilege to which they have a right by the seal of Hea- 
 ven, and which, by the blessing of God, might be con- 
 ducive to their' conversion. In the early ages of the 
 gospel, the afiection manifested by Christians toward 
 one another, made the world to take knowledge of them, 
 and to conclude that they had been with Christ. But 
 alas ! it is so very different in the present day, that it 
 comes to be a problem well worthy of discussion, whe- 
 ther there is any likelihood that it ever shall be other- 
 wise. To trace the causes and origin of this evil, and 
 to state the principles from which Christians must have 
 swerved when they began to walk in devious paths of 
 their own, seem to bid the fairest for its solution. 
 
 The principal cause which must have given rise, as 
 well as protracts the differences amongst Christians, in 
 our view, is that of an intoleranee of spirit whereby 
 they will not allow each to think for himself, but con- 
 demn and anathematize one another with the most un- 
 relenting severity, not unfrequently magnifying the 
 veriest trifles as if they were the grossest errors ; and 
 hence they conceive themselves warranted to separate 
 and stand aloof from those very persons with whom they 
 are one after all, in the bonds of the gospel. We are 
 aware that this conduct must have taken its rise on ac- 
 count of pri^iciples having been introduced into the 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 33S 
 
 church, to which some could not give their assent. 
 Now, as there were "examples of this nature even in the 
 ctays of the apostles, we would do well to, attend to th& 
 manner in which such matters were trfeated by those - 
 infallible guides. It is to be ]mrticularly observed, that 
 every error was not placed upon tlie same level, nor 
 was the same line of conduct to be pursued toward every 
 aggressor. In relation to this subject, Jude * says ex- 
 pressly, " Of some have compassion, making a differ- 
 ence, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the 
 iire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." 
 The difference here enjoined, by Jude, in regard to the 
 treatment of offenders, is doubtles's equally applicable 
 to errors whether of sentiment or of conduct, on which 
 account we must trace a few exainples, in order as muca 
 as. possible to come at precision on this point. ^ 
 
 As to errors of conduct then, throughout the whole of 
 Scripture, and especially the apostolical epistles, gross 
 ^^immorality, indeed, is uniformly condemned with the 
 greatest severity. But a person might be chargeable 
 with other species of misconduct, so as even to be 
 marked by the brethren, and they charged to '' have no 
 company with him, and yet he was not to be accounted 
 as an enemy, but admouislied as a brotherf." 
 
 So, in like manner, differences of sentiment in some 
 cases were not permitted to have the smallest place^ but 
 Christians were to separate from those who were not of 
 the same mind m this respect. We shall err most egre- 
 giously, however, if we suppose this to have been tlic 
 case universally. On the contrary, there were, and might 
 be many differences in respect of sentim^ent, and yet 
 Christians were not to separate, but to gp oa with their 
 brethren with whom they were united in other respects. 
 Wha,t then is th^ preciserpoint of distincl ion between 
 * Yer. 22, 23. ' '' t 2 Thess. iii. 14, 15. 
 
3^S Of PARTICtJLAR PRINCIPLtS^ 
 
 these two classes of difference of sentiment : Just the 
 old distinction between essentfals and tion-essentials^ if the 
 captiousness of the present times did not decry all sucti 
 distinctions as erroneous and unscriptural. But as we 
 feel no itch for such terms more th^a that they'are the 
 signs of ideas, so if we can convey our meaning ecjually 
 without them, we most willingly let them go. 
 
 Of the first kind of difference of sentiment, is that of 
 which the apostle John speaks in his second epistle, 
 ver. 10. saying to the elect lady and her children, " If 
 there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine^ 
 receive him not into your house, neither bid him God 
 speed." The doctrine concerning which this supposed 
 messenger might be lacking, was, as we learn from the 
 seventh and ninth verses, the doptrine concerning Christ, 
 " For many deceivers are entered into the world, who 
 confess not that Jesus Clirist is come in the flesh." 
 " Beloved," says the same apostle, I epist. iv. 1. " be- 
 lieve not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they 
 are of God, because many false prophets are gone out 
 into the world. Hereby know ye the spirit of God : 
 every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come 
 in the flesh, is of God ; and every spirit that confes- 
 seth not that Jes,us Christ is come in the flesh, is not of 
 God.'* 
 
 On the same score of erroneous sentiments, Peter 
 speaks of some who should " privily bring in damnable 
 heresies," 2 Pett ii. 1 . ; and Paul says in writing to 
 Titus, chap. iii. 10. "■ A man that is an heretic, after 
 the first and second admonition, reject." Now, what 
 were those destructive heresies of which Peter speaks ? 
 They consisted in a ** denying even of the Lord that 
 bought them." Thus, therefore, Peter evidently agrees 
 with the apostle John, and both fully authorize Chris- 
 tians to have no manner of religious fellowship with 
 
UF PAlVriCULAR PRINCirLLS. ?>37 
 
 siicli as Ljiiber ^' deny that Christ is come in the ficsh," 
 or who' would rob him of his divine character, which is 
 indeed the princi^pal gem of his crown. But this isav 
 very different cause of separation from the generality o£ 
 those upon which Christians in the present day insist. 
 In tfutli it is not a separation amongst Christians them- 
 selves, but merely a separation between them and such 
 as have no manner of right, on account of the principles 
 they hold, to assume the name. 
 
 Paul,- in h^is second letter to Timothy, chap. iii. 
 1, — 5. describes another set of characters from whom he 
 commands Christians to turn away. In his letter to the ' 
 Romans, chap. xvi. 17. he earnestly entreats that the 
 persons who cause divisions, contrary to the apostolic 
 doctrine, should be carefully avoided. Concerning the 
 false teachers in the churches of Galatia, he says, Gk\. 
 V. 12. " I would they were even cut off which trouble 
 you." The Philippians he ,exhort3 in the following 
 manner. " Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, 
 l>e\vare of the concision," chap. iii. 2. And to the Co- 
 iossians he writes, *' Beware lest any man spoil you 
 tlirough philosopliy and vain deceit, after the tradition 
 of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not aftei: 
 Christ." Tiie apostle Jude, in like manner, ver. 19. 
 makes mention of certain characters who even separated 
 themselves from the fellowship of the saints. And 
 what kind of characters were they ? They were such as 
 the saints must have separated from their societies, had 
 they not gone away of their own accord. *' These be 
 they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the 
 spirit." But still all this does not come up to what we 
 see practised in the present day. 
 
 Again, when we turn to what the apostle Paul says, 
 '2 Cor. vi. 17. or the apostle John in regard to the apo- 
 ■alyptic Babylon, v,e still find separation urged upon 
 
 U u 
 
338 OF PARTICULAR PRINCfPLLS. 
 
 one and the same principle. Paul indeed deScribus 
 what he means by ** separating" in the iTth ver. by 
 exhorting the Corinthians, ver. H. " Not to be un- 
 equally yoked together with unbelievers ; for what fel- 
 lowship," saith he, ^' hath righteousness with unright- 
 eousness ? and what communion hath light with dark- 
 ness ? and what concord hath Christ with Belial ? or 
 what part hath he that believeth w ith an infidel ? and 
 what agreeqient hath the temple of God with idols ? 
 for ye are the temple of the living Godf as God hath 
 said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I 
 will be their God, and they shall be lify people." 
 '•'• Wherefore come out from among ^them, and be ye 
 separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclqan 
 thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father un- 
 to you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith 
 the Lord Almighty *." The voice from heaven, which 
 John describes, in like manner, assigns a similar rea- 
 son for the exhortation, '' Come out of her, my peo- 
 ple," Rev. xviii. 4. It was for the sake of not par- 
 taking of her sins^ that they might avoid her punish- 
 ment. Now, what were the sins of this mystical har- 
 lot ? This is an important question, and as we shall have 
 further occasion for it by and by, we wish it to be par- 
 ticularly attended to. Let it be then observed, tli::t 
 there were not only innumerable sins of the most gross 
 and immoral nature, but as if all these were not enough^ 
 there was the sin of enslaving the souls of men. But 
 after all, when wc compare this with what we see in 
 the present day, there appears to be no analogy in the 
 smallest. It is not Christians separating from Chris- 
 tians which we here behold, but from spiritual tyrants 
 — from a system which makes merchandize of the 
 souls of men, by the sale of indulgences — a systerr. 
 * 2Cor.vi. 14,— IS. 
 
OF PARTICIJLAR PRINCIPLES. 339 
 
 which is. wrong in its very foundation, regardhig another 
 besides Christ as its great Head — a system, in short, 
 wjbich takes away the key of knowledge from the peo^ 
 i)Jd, and v.'hich places on a level with the divinely in- 
 spired oracles, their own dogmas, most of which are 
 evidently the product of men of corrupt minds. These 
 are some of the things for which Christians are exhort- 
 ed to " come out of her ;" and is not separation in such 
 circumstances most essential indeed ? 
 
 Thus we perceive, that neither on account of senti- 
 ment on the one hand, or of conduct on the other, were 
 professing Christians to regard it as a light matter in 
 separating from one another. The examples of the 
 first kind which we have seen, regard what have not 
 improperly been termed, as already observed, the es~ 
 sentials of religion, that is to say, doctrines, the denial 
 of whickimchristianizes a person altogether ; so that 
 this In the apostles' account was the grand, the sole rea- 
 son why a man was either received, retained, or ex- 
 cluded from the society of the godly. Conformity to 
 one another in matters such as these was absolutely in- 
 dispensable 5 and if there was not conformity to one ano- 
 tker here, it was on account of nothing less than want 
 of conformity, one or other of them, to the image of 
 God in the spirit of their mind. 
 
 But it will be said, if there is to be a separation on 
 account of such matters, will. not this in its very nature 
 lay a foundation for a difference among Chi-istians ? 
 1 o which we would reply. Yes, it may among profes- 
 sing Christians, but not amongst those who are Chris- 
 tians in deed and in truth. Amongst these, there can 
 be no difference, as happily there Is none, in regard to 
 such important matters. These are matters most surely 
 believed by them all, yea, and upon the belief of which 
 is their whole claim to the Christian character suspend- 
 
S40 OF PARTICULAR TJCLNCIPLES. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 cd. Wlierever we behold a person, therefore, denyla> 
 as the Jews do, that the Messiah is come, qt that he i-^ 
 truly and properly God as well as man, as many have- 
 impiously^done, such characters cannot be reckoned H^ 
 having any title to the appellation of Christians, for in 
 truth they are not. Supposing then, that true Chris- 
 tians should either themselves separate, or expel such 
 from tlieir society, and that such should form a society 
 by themselves under the same uaine, yet this could 
 not be reckoned as constituting- two distinct Christian 
 communities ; for the truth is, the one should be hold- 
 ing principles which are subversive of Christianity al- 
 together, and therefore, to be consistent with them- 
 selves, they ought to give up all connection with the 
 title of course. 
 
 It may be further said, that if such communities as 
 have been supposed were but once to exist^jis it not 
 possible that real Christians might mingle with them ; 
 and therefore, if the separation contended for were t* 
 take place, would not this be constituting a difference 
 among the people of God ? In answer to this, however, 
 it ought to be observed, that though the possibility of 
 real Christians being to be found in such circumstances' 
 be fully admitted, yet that they can allow themselves 
 such liberties as flowing from a mind properly inform- 
 ed in respect of the teuets of tliose with whom they as- 
 sociate, seems most doubtful indeed. It is essential ta 
 the character of a Christian, for instance, to acknow- 
 ledge the God-head of Christ ; yet for want of con- 
 necting this part of the Christian system with the 
 system of those with whom a Christian may associate, 
 it is possible that he may be found amongst men vjjtio 
 deny this fundamental article. Again, in order to have 
 correct notions of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, it ii- 
 essential to view it as wholly spiritual, and compleic^ly 
 
OF PARTfc*IJLAR PRINCfPLEi. 2|4'1 
 
 di'stlnct from the kingdoms of this world ; but for want 
 of attending to this speciality of charscter in his king- 
 dom, it is possible that Christians may be found con- 
 nected with a system which blends the two together. 
 Tiikewise, to acknowledge the supremacy of Christ as 
 the head of all things to the church, is essential to our 
 entertaining proper ideas of the high character he sus- 
 tains ; but for want of connecting this i)art of tiie Chris- 
 tian faith with the pi-etensioas of the pcyish hierarchy, 
 it is possible for Christians to be found even in the bo- 
 som of the man of sin, *^ who opposcth and exaltetli 
 himself above all that is called God, or that iWworsliip- 
 ped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of CioJ, 
 shewing himself that he is God *." 
 
 But it is a question which is surely not dlllicuU of 
 solving, whether, if they understood their own systems, 
 rould they any longer remain in them ? Because, were 
 we to answer in the negative, there is little doubt buc 
 «W'e should be right, for it seems impossible that the 
 sheep of Christ, who hear his voice, should have any 
 hesitation of relinquishing a situation at his heavenly 
 direction ; and the more so, when they v/ould perct:lve 
 tliat by their remaining in it, they would be giving 
 their assent to doctrines or practices which are so evi- 
 dently subversive of his revealed will. Were it al- 
 lowable for a person to give his own experience on a 
 subject of this nature, we could ss in regard to esta- 
 blishments, this being the only case of the three in- 
 stances we have specified in which we have been con- 
 cerned, that it would be impossible for us now to have 
 any longer connection with them ; and this, not so much 
 on account of the corruption which exists in those 
 churches, for corruption, alas ! may exist in any church, 
 but because in their very constitution they connect tht? 
 
M2 OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 kingdoms of this world with the kingdom of our bles- 
 sed Lord ; a circumstance which requires no sti^ngth of 
 reasoning, but simply attention to tliis one passage, 
 " My kingdom is not of this world," to sea how very 
 unscriptural and inimical to real re^gion all SI: ns 
 
 must be. To separate from such societies thtici ic, is 
 not properly speaking separating from churches of 
 Christ, for as Christ's kingdom is not of this world, so- 
 cieties such as these, which blend the two together, must 
 needs be some othgr thing than that spiritual and hea- 
 venly kingdom he came to erect. 
 
 But iJiough separation in respect of such unscriptural 
 systems is not only allowable, but most important and 
 proper for the maintaining of his religion pure and en- 
 tire, yet this is still a very different thing from that of 
 Christians separating from o:ic another about matters 
 which are of a far more doubtful nature. Before the 
 tenets we have specified can be at all admitted, the 
 whole of the New Testament would behove to be new ' 
 modelled ; but certainly differences in respect of other 
 things which are not incompatible with any part of re- 
 vealed truth, ought not to be placed on the same level. 
 In the New Testament indeed, such points of difference 
 are frequently alluded to ; but not in a single instance 
 can it be shewn that Christians might lawfully separate 
 from each other in regard to them. In the Corinthian 
 church, for instant. , there were several differences of 
 this nature ; and as they are particularly treated by an 
 inspired apostle, v/e cannot do belter than examine these, 
 in order to arrive at certainty in regard to the line we 
 ought to pursue. And here, without going in quest of 
 something of our own to say, we would rather take tlie 
 liberty of inserting a few of Dr Campbell's sentiments 
 on schism, as being at least as well adapted to our pre- 
 sent purpose as, any thing we could devise. 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 343 
 
 That eminent author, after shewing from several pas- 
 sages .an the gospel by John, that the word 'Lx^'^f^ot, is 
 uspd to signify a difference in opinion expressed in 
 words, proceeds to remark farther, ' But it is not bare- 
 
 * ly to a. declared difference in judgment, that even the 
 ' metaphorical use of the word is coniined. As breach 
 
 * or rupture is the literal import of it in our language, 
 ' wherever these words may be figuratively applied, the 
 ' term ir^^^^* seems likewise capable of an application. 
 
 * It invariably prc-supposes that among those things 
 
 * whereof it is affirmed, there subsisted an union former- 
 ' ly, and as invariably denotes that the uniort subsists 
 
 * no longer. la this manner the apostle Paul uses the 
 
 * word, applying it to a particular church or XUhristian 
 
 * congregation. Thus he adjures the Corinthians by 
 
 * the name of the Lord Jesus, that there be no divisions 
 
 * or schisms among them *, ii» fm n sv uutv o-xtcr^iitTsi ; and 
 
 * in aijother place of the same epistle f, he tells them, 
 
 < / /lear that there are divisions or schisms among you^ 
 
 < oi.y.H0 cry^iauxTci iv vf^iv vTra^^iiv. In order to obtain a pro- 
 
 * per idea of what is meant by breach or schism in this 
 
 * application, we must form a just notion of that which 
 
 * constituted the union whereof the schism was a vio- 
 
 < lation. Now, the great and powerful comment which 
 ' united the souls of Christians, was their mutual love. 
 
 < Their hearts^ in the emphatical language of holy writ, 
 
 * were knit together in love %. This had been declared 
 . < by their Master to be the distinguishing badge of their 
 
 ' profession. Bi/ this shall all men know that ye are my 
 
 < disciples^ ij ye have love one to another §. Their par- 
 y taking of the same baptism, their professing the same 
 
 * faith, their enjoying the same promises, and their join- 
 
 * iCor.i. 10. t Chap. xi. 18. 
 
 ; Col.ii.2. § John xiii. 35», , 
 
3ii OF PARTlCULAr. I'liUiOlTLLS,. 
 
 * ing ill the same religious service, formed a co-iaectic/rt 
 
 * merely external and of little sTj^nificance, unless, a'l^ret?-- 
 « ably to the' apostle's exprcsion *, it was r 
 
 * grounded in lov.'. As this, therefore, is the grca;. 
 
 * criterion of the Christian character, and the ' foundu- 
 
 * tion of the Christian ufnity, -whatever alienates the af- 
 ' fections of Christians from one another, is manifestly 
 ' subversive of. both, and msv consequently, witli the 
 
 * greatest truth and energy, bi denominated schism. It 
 
 * is not so much Avvhat makes an outward distinction or 
 •" separation, (though this also may m a lower degree 
 
 * be so denonjinated), as what produces an alienation o&^^ 
 
 * the heart, which constitutes schism in the sense of the 
 
 * apostle, for this strikes directly at the vitals of Chris-: 
 
 * tianity. Indeed, both the evil and danger of the 
 
 * former, that is, an external separation, is principally 
 
 * to be estimated from its influence upon the latter, that 
 ' is, in producing an alienation of heart, for it i^s.iu the 
 
 * union of afFcction among Christians, that the spirit, 
 
 * the life., and the power of religion are principally pla- 
 
 < ccd. 
 
 *■ It may be said, dots it not rather appear, from tlie 
 
 * passage first quoted, to denote such a breach of that 
 
 * visible unity in the outward order settled in their as- 
 
 < semblies, as results from, some jarring iu their 'rcli- 
 
 * gious opinions, as by consequence in the expressions 
 
 * they adopted ? This, I own, is what the words iu im- 
 
 * mediate connection, considered by themselves, would ' 
 
 * n afar ally suggest. / beseech t/cu, brethren^ that ye all 
 
 * sueah the same thing, and that there be no divisionSy 
 ' (schisms), among you, and that ye be jierfectly joined to^ 
 
 * gether in the same mind, and in the same Judgment f . It 
 « cannot be denied that a certain unanimity, or declared 
 i- assent to the great articles of the Christian profession, 
 
 ■,♦ Eph.iii. 17. j I Cor. i, Ifl. 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 345 
 
 "^ was necessary in eVerj one^ in order to his being ad- 
 
 * mitted to, and kept in the communion of the church. 
 
 * But then it must be allowed on the other hand, that 
 
 * those articles were at that time few, simple, and p^r- 
 
 * spicuous. It is one of the many unhappy consequen- 
 
 * ces of the disputes that have arisen in the church, and 
 ' of the manner in which these have been managed, that 
 
 * such terms of communion have since been multiplied 
 
 * in every part of the Christian world, and not a little 
 
 * perplexed with metaphysical subtilties, and scholastic 
 
 * quibbles. Whether this evil consequence was, in its 
 
 * nature unavoidable, or, if it was, in what manner it 
 
 * might have been avoided, are questions, though im- 
 
 * portant, foreign to the" present purpose. Certain it 
 
 * is, however, that several phrvises used by the apostles 
 
 * in relation to this subject, such as ofttp^mi, ro xvto 
 
 * (p^oiitivTti, and some others, commonly understood to 
 
 * mean unanimous in opinion, denote more properly, 
 
 * coincidittg in affection, concurring in love, desire, hatred, 
 
 * and aversion, agreeably to the common import of the 
 
 * verb q>gcniv, both in sacred authors and in profane, 
 
 * which is more strictly rendered to savour, to relish, 
 
 * than to be of opiniou. 
 
 * Further, let it be observed, that in matters whereby 
 « the essentials of the faith are not affected, much great- 
 
 < er indulgence to diversity of opinion was given, in 
 ' those pure and primitive times, than has been allowed 
 
 < since, when the externals, or the form of religion came 
 ' to be raised on the ruins of the essentials, or the 
 
 * power, and a supposed correctness of judgment made 
 
 < of greater account than purity of heart. In the 
 
 < apostolic age, which may be styled the reign of cha- 
 ' rity, their mutual forbearance in regard to such dift'er- 
 <^- ences, was at once an evidence, and an exercise of this 
 
 Xx 
 
346 or PARTICULAR PRINCIPLLS. 
 
 j 
 
 * divine principle. Him that is iveah in the faiths says 
 » our apostle, receive ye^ but mt to doubtful dispuiatiGtis, 
 
 * for one belteveth that he may eat all tilings^ another ivho 
 ' is nveaky eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth^ despise 
 
 * him that eateth not ; and let not him ivho eateth not^ judge 
 
 * him that eateth *. One man esteemeth one day above 
 
 * another ; another esteemeth every day alike. As to these 
 
 * disputable points^ let every man be fully persuaded in 
 
 * his own tnindj- ,• and, as far as he hunsclf is con- 
 
 * cerned, act according to his persuasion. But he does 
 
 * not permit even him who is in the right, to disturb 
 
 * his brother's peace, by such unimportant inqniri^'l. 
 
 * Hast thou faith, says he, the knowledge and convic- 
 
 * tion of the truth on the point in question ? have it 
 ' to thyself before God. Happy is he ivho condemneth not 
 
 * himself in that thing ivhich he alloiveth %• And in ano- 
 
 * ther place. Let us, tlurefore, as many as he jKrfect, be 
 ' thus minded, and if in any thing ye be otherivise minded, 
 
 * God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, nuhere' 
 « to nve have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, 
 < let us mind the same thing §. We are to remember, 
 ' that as the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, so nei- 
 ' ther is it logical acuteness in distinction, or gram- 
 ' matical accuracy of expression, but it is righteousness, 
 
 * and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost ; for he that in 
 
 * these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God, and 
 
 * approved of men ^. 
 
 * Now, if we inquire by an examination of the con- 
 ' text into the nature of those differences among the 
 
 * Corinthians, to which Paul affixes the name c^ia-uxru, 
 
 * nothing is more certain, than tliat no cause of dif- 
 
 * ference is suggested, which has any the least relation 
 
 * Rom. xiv. 1, 2, 3. | Ver. 5. \ Ver. 22. 
 
 § Phil. iii. 15, 16. 1[ Rom. xiv. 17, IS. 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 347 
 
 * ^o the doctrines of religion, or any opinions that might 
 
 * be formed concerning them. The fault which he 
 
 * stigmatized with that odious appellation, consisted 
 
 * then solely in an undue attachment to the particular 
 ' persons, under whom, as chiefs or leaders, the people 
 ' severally ranked themselves, and thus, without ma- 
 ' king separate communions, formed distinctions among 
 ' themselves, to the manifest prejudice of the common 
 
 * bond of charity, classing themselves under different 
 ' heads. Nonv this I say^ adds the apostle, that every 
 ' one of you saith^ I am of Paiil^ and 1 of ApoUoSy and I of 
 ' Cephas^ and I of Christ *. It deserves to be remarked, 
 ' that of the differences among the Roman converts 
 
 * concerning the observance of days, and the distinction 
 
 * of meats, which we should think more material, as 
 ' they more nearly affect the justness of religious senti- 
 ' meats, and the purity of religious practice, the apostle 
 
 * makes so little account, that he will not permit them 
 ' to harass one another with such questions, but enjoins 
 
 * them to allow every one to follow his own judgment ; 
 ' at the same time that he is greatly alarmed at dlffer- 
 ' ences among the Corinthians, in which, as they result 
 ' solely from particular attachments and personal 
 ' esteem, neither the faith nor the practice of a Chris- 
 ' tian appears to have an immediate concern. But it 
 > v/as not without reason that he made this distinction, 
 
 * The hurt threatened by the latter was directly against 
 
 * that extensive love commanded by the Christian lawj 
 
 * but not less truly, though more indirfectly, against the 
 
 * Christian doctrine and manners. By attaching tliem- 
 
 * selves strongly to human, and consequently fallible 
 ' teachers and guides, they weakened the tie \\ hich 
 
 * bound them to the only divine guide and teacher, the 
 
 ' * i Cor. i. 12. 
 
S48 OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 * Messiah, and therefore to that also which bound them 
 ' all one to another.' 
 
 From this quotation, which, though long, requires 
 no apology on account of the excellency of the matter, 
 several important principles may be observed. In par- 
 ticular, the important distinction respecting the signifi- 
 cation of the original terms rendered by our translators 
 the Same mind and same judgment ^ ought especially to be 
 noticed. And were it necessary, the doctor's opinion 
 might be corroborated by the concurrence of ahnost all 
 critics on the Greek language. In particular, Leigh 
 says of the verb (p^cnuf * that it is a general word com- 
 
 * prehending the actions and operations both of the un- 
 ' derstanding and lyf//, and that it is in the Scripture ap- 
 ' plied to both, but most commonly to thfe actions of 
 ' the nvill and affections^ which ai'e particular motions 
 ' of the nvilliT 
 
 It evidently signifies a disj^osition of the mind towards 
 a particular object, in the following passages, Matt. 
 xvi. 23. Rom. viii. 5. xii. 16. Phil. iii. 19. Col.iii. 2. 
 
 On 1 Cor. i. 10. Macknight has the following obser- 
 vations. ' That ye be compactly joined^ ly ru uvru tm, by 
 
 * the same mina^ that is, by mutual good affection ; for 
 ' the same mindy in the sense of the same oj^inion, is not 
 ' to be expected in any numerous society. We have 
 ' the sam^ direction, Rom. xv. 5. thus expressed, the 
 
 * same disposition toivards one another. See also 1 Pet. 
 ' iii. 8.' 
 
 * And by the same -^lu^An, judgment. This word de- 
 ' notes that practical judgment which precedes volition. 
 
 * The meaning is, that in our deliberations we should 
 ' yield to each other from mutual affection, and from a 
 
 * love of peace. Accordingly, the heathen moralists 
 ' described true friendship, as cemented by the same 
 
 * inclinations and aversions, idem velle, et idem nolle^ gtc' 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 349 
 
 Now, if the fact be thus, does it not shew how great- 
 "^y those err, who are for insisting on a perfect unifor- 
 mity of sentiment in respect of what they consider as 
 religious ordinances ? And particularly when uniformity 
 here is made the grand criterion and bond of religious 
 fellowship ? For my part, if I am not altogether de- 
 ceiving myself, I think my conscience bears me wit- 
 ness, that there is no part of religion as taught in the 
 Scriptures, which I would have any hesitation in re- 
 ceiving ; and yet, I confess, that my mind would re- 
 quire to be modelled entirely anew efe I could embrace 
 or relish a number of things pretended to be drawn 
 alone from that source. It is the magnifying of cir- 
 cumstances trivial in themselves, and the giving to them 
 such an air of importance, as if on them the whole of 
 our salvation depended, that seems to be the bane of 
 Christian union in the present day. On©) while we be- 
 hold this uniou^suspended upon the difference betweea 
 what have been called Baptist and Pedo-baptist Chris- 
 tians ; another while we behold the standard shifting 
 its position, and including along with this, a number of 
 other things which appear to have had no existence, 
 neither in the Scriptures nor any where else, till they 
 appeared as ideal spectres only in the minds of some 
 more fanciful than wise, who brought them forward. 
 There was a period, when in England, the doctrine oT 
 non-conformity, and in Scotland, tlie solemn league and 
 covenant, were reckoned the bond of union among Chris- 
 tians. Then the burgess oath, and after that the power 
 of the Magistrate in ecclesiastical matters, came to be** 
 agitated with the same view. And more recently stiil, 
 what have been called the ordinances of salutation, 
 public discipline, exhortation by the brethren, &e. have 
 been maintained upon the same ground, urged, indeed, 
 so strenuously in some churches, that it has been posi- 
 
350 OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 lively asserted that these matters must be introduced 
 though five hundred should go away. 
 
 The point then that falls to be considered here, is 
 not respecting the scriptural .on unscriptural nature of 
 any or all of these ; but it is, whether do the Scrip- 
 tures represent them in the same important light our 
 brethren would affect to do ? If these are to be the 
 bonds of Christian union, and if the Lord has no in- 
 tention of deceiving his people, (as far be such a thought 
 from our minds), why has he not commissioned his 
 servants to S;peak plainly ? Is not the opposite of per- 
 spicuity evidently implied, in the perpetually shifting 
 standard of different individuals,, and even of the same 
 individuals at different times ? Now, can a shifting 
 standard be a divine standard, or yet the standard of 
 truth ? 
 
 Amidst sx^ jarring sentiments ^respecting the stan- 
 dard of union, which are as varied as ^hoh.e of weights 
 and measures in different countries and provinces, is 
 there not to be found on^e more simple, more easy of 
 comprehension, and which would supersede the neces- 
 sity of all others, by its remaining unalterable and un- 
 changed to the latest generation of men destined to in- 
 habit this globe ? * To employ, as the fundamental 
 
 * unity of all measures, a type taken from nature itself, 
 ■* a type as unchangeable as the globe on which we 
 
 * dwell — to propose a metrical system, of which all the 
 
 * parts are intimately connected together, and of which 
 
 * the multiplys and sub-divisions follow a natural pro- 
 
 * gression, which is simple, easy to comprehend : — this 
 
 * most assuredly is a beautiful, great, and sublime idea, 
 
 * worthy of the enlightened age in which we live.' 
 
 Such were the ideas v.'hich influenced the French 
 National Institute, when they chose as the base of the 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 351 
 
 * whole, metrical system, the fourth part of the terrestrial 
 meridian between the equator and the north pole. 
 
 Now, let us sanctify this thought, and endeavour to 
 ascertain whether the Sci-iptures do not afford some- 
 thing equally simple, natural, and unchangeable, as the 
 standard of unity among Christians. And, in order to 
 this,;we have to preserve in our minds but one idea 
 only, namely, the principle upon which additions were 
 made to the churches in the days of the apostles.^ In 
 those daySj being happily freed from distinctions into 
 sects and parties, character alone was made the cri- 
 terion, and not those refinements and subtilties of sen- 
 timent varied according to the disposition of every 
 leader which succeeded in after times. This was the 
 principle upon which Paul, out of the midst of a bene- 
 volent heart, desired again and again, grace, mercy and 
 peace to be multiplied to all the cliurches of the saints, 
 yea, to the whole Israel of God. Upori.this principle 
 likewise it was, that even a greater than Paul prayed 
 for the unity of his people, saying, '' Neither pray I 
 for these alone, but for them also who shall belicue on 
 me through their word, that they all may be one, as 
 thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also 
 may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou 
 hast sent me." 
 
 Here, let it be noticed, that the bond of union among 
 Christians, is belief in the Saviour^ and not in the dif- 
 ferent and jarring dogmas of men. 
 
 In order to restore the pristine unity, we must there- 
 fore recur to the original standard, and by no means al- 
 low ourselves either to dictate more to our brethren, or 
 suffer them to impose more upon us. 
 
 Thus united upon a simple definite principle, we shall 
 hence know the bond of our union, we shall glorify God 
 in each other's behalf,, for the manifestation of his grace 
 
3J2 OF FARTICQLAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 in thus calling us out of darkness into I1I5 marvellous 
 light, we shall love as brethren, we shall be pitiful and 
 courteous, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even 
 as God for Christ's sake Jiath forgiven us, and thus 
 shall we convince the world that there is s reality in 
 our religion. 
 
 This standard of unity is both the most exulted, at 
 the same time that it is the lowest and most condescend- 
 ing that can exist. It is beautiful, great, and sublime, 
 as the French say of their metrical standard, and to de- 
 viate'^ from it either to the right hand or to the left, 
 iilust be attended with all the evil consequences which 
 have ever existed in the church. 
 
 But it will be asked, how is it possible thus to main- 
 tain the unity of the body in the bond of peace, to ex- 
 ercise love towards one another, and to go on together, 
 notwithstanding difference of sentiment .' Nothing can 
 be easier than to answer such a question. If the sub- 
 ject of difference do not involve in it the principal, the 
 only point of your union, whence, pray, can the dif- 
 ficulty arise ? Respecting such matters we must say 
 as our Lord did to Peter, when he asked him how of- 
 ten his brother might trespass against him and yet be 
 forgiven, " till seven times ? Nay, bvit till seventy 
 times seven." There were no hasty steps to be adopt- 
 ed that might tend to dissolve the connexion subsisting 
 between them, but being filled with a love which 
 " beareth all things, believeth all things, hopetli all 
 things, and endureth all things," the utmost patience 
 was to be exercised, leaving it to God to determine, in 
 the day in which he shall judge every man according 
 to his works, who was in the right, and who in the 
 wrong. In these matters of dill^erence, what occasion 
 is there for contending and fighting so much about 
 them ? Is it not sufStient that wc are all amenable te 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 353 
 
 the impartial decisions of God ? Must vre likewise be 
 •so to one another ? Are we to be the umpires of ano- 
 ther man's liberty ? Or do the Scriptures not teach, 
 *' To his own master every man standcth or falleth ?" 
 Though it be therefore the duty of every Christian, 
 in the spirit of meekness, to watch over his brethren, 
 there is, however, a wonderful distinction between this 
 situation and that of a judge. Decisions in mattes of 
 conscience, each may lawfully draw for himself; but 
 decisions for one another, we have no manner of right 
 so iriuch as to attempt. The free exercise of conscience 
 is the indisputable right of every individual, and all the 
 restriction which even God has laid upon it, is, that it 
 be regulated according to the tenor of his holy word. 
 
 Nor let any imagine, that by thus granting liberty 
 to our neighbour, we would necessarily be sacrificing 
 truth. How could this ever happen, if every one held 
 truth as he ought to do for himself alone, and not for 
 his brother ? " Hast thou faith ?" saith the apostle, 
 ♦* have it to thyself before God," recollecting at the 
 same time that thy brethren have the same account to 
 make, and therefore must think for themselves. But 
 their liberty does not infringe upon yours ; neither, 
 should you even think differently on some subje;ts, 
 does it imply that such differences should be followed 
 by open rupture. For Christians to come the length 
 of separating from Christians, we are confident the 
 word of God affords neither precept nor e;xample. But 
 as it is character alone which affords any right to the 
 fellowship of the saints, so it is on account of character 
 alone that any can be excluded. 
 
 The only exception to this rule, if il* may be called 
 an exception, is, when brethren are not inclined to al- 
 low one another to think for themselves, but who are 
 
 -«■ y 
 
[JS4) Of PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 for urging their own particular views, and that iipoii 
 divine authority, without anj regard to those who may 
 differ from them. In such a case there behoves of ne- 
 cessity to be a separation ; but woe to that party who- 
 ever they may be, who would thus lay a burden upon 
 the neck of the disciples. We have seen it to be a 
 principal feature in the character of Antichrist, that he 
 enslaved the sculs of tnen, znd vfc'aave all the world to 
 judge, whether this is not assuming the Antichristian 
 character in its most direct form. 
 
 But here it must be observed, that as no man is dis- 
 posed willingly to acknowledge that he luaintains prin- 
 ciples of spiritual tyranny, so neither let it be supposed, 
 that the man who by his principles lays his brethren 
 under gallings of conscience, is granting to them that 
 liberty to which they have a right by the gospel of 
 Christ, by telling them that if they cannot correspond 
 with his principles they must just go away. Would 
 not this be an admirable method for promoting the 
 union of Christians ? Were all to act upon it, as all 
 have an equal right to do so, or rather no right at all, 
 would it not absolutely bring their association down to 
 individuals ? Those sentiments can be granting no li- 
 berty to a man to think for himself, that expose to the 
 necessity of a separation if he should happen to think 
 differently. What should we think of that govern- 
 ment which pretended to grant toleration to all its sub- 
 jects, and at the same time declared to those who did 
 not conform to the particular mode of worship esta- 
 blished by law, that they must go out of the kingdom 
 to enjoy it ? ^ 
 
 Again, theip is a sentiment respecting forhearatue 
 which some at present hold, that we cannot avoid no- 
 ticing in this place. They seem to imagine that it 
 ought to be exercised only for a limited space, other- 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 355 
 
 v«/ise their progress in what thej term a going forv<rard, 
 will be apt to be checked by the dull or the stubborn. 
 Now, respecting the alleged desire of. pushing on to- 
 ward improvement, I most readily applaud it ; while, 
 at the same time, I cannot but deplore such a senti- 
 ment respecting an article which may be most injurious, 
 not merely to the stubborn and the dull, which here 
 seem below notice, but to the weak, the conscientious, 
 and perhaps even more intelligent than themselves. 
 Oh ! how unlike is such a sentiment to those of the 
 apostle ! *' To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I 
 niight gain the Jews ; to them that are under the law, 
 as under the law, that I might gain them that are under 
 the law ; to them that are without law, as without law, 
 (being not without law to God, but under the law to 
 Christ), that I might gain them tlaat are without law ; 
 to the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the 
 weak : besides those things that are without, that 
 which Cometh upon me daily, the care of all the church- 
 es. Who is weak, and I am not weak ? who is offend- 
 ed, and I burn not * ?" 
 
 Upon the whole then, as there is not a single pas- 
 sage in Scripture that would justify such a sentiment, 
 and as it would by no means retard real improvement 
 to act upon the principles of true gospel liberty, it is 
 sincerely to be hoped that Christians will recollect 
 themselves, and proceed no farther than the word of 
 God evidently warrants them. 
 
 In regard to the subject of unity among the churchts^ 
 we profess to have only a few things to say, which, 
 however, were they only to be attended to, they might 
 perhaps be the means of circumscribing the evil. It i'i 
 fully admitted that those societies only which ha^ e 
 * 1 Cor. ix. 20,--22, 2 Coi-. xi. 2S, 29. 
 
356 OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLE:. 
 
 Scripture for their basis, have any right to be deno- 
 minated churches of Christ. As in the same Chris- 
 tian society, there can be no connection between be- 
 lievers and unbelievers, so as little can there be any 
 connection between the kingdoms of this world and the 
 kingdom of Christ *. It is not a unity among church- 
 es thus heterogeneous in their nature, therefore, in be- 
 half of which we plead, but merely a unity among 
 those which are alike in regard to the grand and' con- 
 stituent principles upon which they are formed. But 
 ■what are these, it will then be asked, that we may 
 know precisely what you intend ? Witliout therefore 
 entering into any discussion respecting church govern- 
 ment,'! own, after the most careful examination I have 
 been able to give the subject, that the Scriptures ap- 
 pear to me decidedly to exhibit that which has been 
 called the congregational form. Now, it is among 
 churches of this description that we think a union 
 should subsist ; nor do we conceive the various de- 
 nominations at present extant, any more necessary than 
 that Christians should be separated all into individuals. 
 Yea, we would go farther, we would even call in ques- 
 tion whether a single reason can be assigned that would 
 justify even the very existence of a plurality of such 
 denominations, that would not equally justify the se- 
 paration of Christians to the greatest possible extent. 
 Indeed, though we would be far from entertaining 
 harsh sentiments of our brethren, yet, on account of 
 the self-interested conduct which the advocates of each 
 party manifest for its honour and success, and this even 
 at the destruction of others, we are strongly of opinion 
 that if the desire of being leaders of parties were less 
 prevalent, there would be both fewer distinctions, and 
 fewer contentions. 
 
 * See 2 Cor. vi. 14. to the end, and John xviii. 36. 
 
OF PARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 357 
 
 Now, supposing Christians of diiFereut denominations 
 were to relinquish this improper situation, as in duty 
 thej are bound, would not this of itself be such an ap- 
 proximation towards unity, that it would require but a 
 step or two more for its completion ? When Christians 
 had first learned to detest each for himself the title of 
 leader J they would soon come to allow the right each 
 had to think for himself, and even though on man;/ 
 points they should happen to think. dilFerently, not to 
 be at perpetual war one with another. They would 
 soon come to view the cause of Christ among the dif- 
 ferent parties of Christians as one interest ; this again 
 would insensibly infuse into them the idea that they 
 were but one body, so that if any part of it were 
 honoured, whether in their particular community or out 
 of it, all would rejoice as members thereof. 
 
 Now, is this representation merely ideal ? Oh I no. 
 Good cause have we to hope in God that it shall in 
 reality be verified. Yea, we bless his holy name that 
 there are not a few v/ho earnestly desire it. And should 
 the most of these be but pbscure individuals, still we 
 have cause to hope that " he will cause their light to 
 rise in obscurity, and their darkness to be as the noon- 
 day." It is a thing impossible that God should be 
 deaf to the prayers of his people and his Son. 
 
 In this place, there are four or five classes of Bap- 
 tists, and I do not know how many ludependerit^^^ all 
 professing to belbng to the same great family, and what 
 is more, have their churches founded upon one and the 
 same constitution ; amongst none of them yet, except 
 two of the Independent churches, is there any manner 
 of communication. The world around, and stranp-ers 
 from a distance, marvel at this, and ask the grounds of 
 the differences, which no one can distinctly tell. V/hat 
 
3j3 of particular rA'iNCIPLES. 
 
 a pity is it, hoyi^ev^r, as they are not unsocial, but lia^,'c. 
 all connection less or more with Christians in other 
 places, that they do not seriously lay it to heart to esta- 
 blish some kind of relation with all those who are in 
 the same place ! This we ]:now many would desire ; 
 and what,, if party distinctions did not run so high, 
 would be more easy to effect ? If each party did noL 
 seek their own, but the things that are Christ's only, 
 how exceedingly comforting and -edifying would such a 
 delightful scene be ! Nor let any suppose that this 
 would gender strife, if they all understood aright the 
 doctrine of gospel liberty. If Christians as individuals, 
 are to have no commuuication with any but such as are 
 of their peculiar seritimpnts, and if churches are to stand 
 opposed to churclies, except the few v;ho may be form- 
 ed upon their particular mode, does this not imply that 
 the kingdom of Christ is divided, or else if it is entire, 
 that one only is right, and all the others are wrong ? 
 Upon this principle too, could heaven admit any save 
 Christians of one party only ? — for if their principles 
 must be so rigid as to permit them to hold communion 
 with none but one class here, where is the promise in 
 the whole word of God, that such a peculiarity and 
 •aversion of mind shall terminate at death ? The same 
 .principle which shall unite Christians in elernity, ought 
 unquestionably to unite them in time. And we are 
 fully satisfied that this union might be effected with- 
 out any hazard of the smallest disagreement, were all 
 but seriously disposed to give up contending for their 
 own selfish peculiarities, and allow a free toleration in 
 these matters for each to think for himself. 
 
 But union among churches, if it be proper to express 
 ourselves so, might yet be more easily obtained. There 
 ■Would be no occasion for altering any of their internal 
 
OF PAIVTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 359 
 
 arrangements, if the brethren themselves did not see it 
 to be proper. For it is not with these that their asso- 
 ciation would have to do,* but with the spiritual edifi- 
 cation of their immortal souls, and with the extension 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom, topics we conceive very 
 distinct from the other. 
 
 Now, xvere some association such as we have sug- 
 gested but fairly to be adopted, one important benefit 
 it would immediately effect, would be, that it would 
 lessen the desire of party proselytism, and thus remove 
 the snare to the assumption of the leader. Is it not 
 strange enough to reflect, that Christians can form con- 
 nections with Christians at a distance, but seem to 
 count it an evil to be so connected at home ? If numes 
 and parties were but buried in oblivion ; if leaders had 
 but the holiesty to descend to the level of brethren^ we 
 are morally certain such a phenomenon would no longer 
 be seen. 
 
 But again,* another benefit which would result from 
 the adoption of s\ich a principle, is, that CiU'istians 
 would then be put in a situation to make real, manly, 
 and sanctified improvement. As matters are at present, 
 each party think tliemselves wiser than their neigh- 
 bours ; and each has a champion to fight all their battles, 
 a casuist to solve all their doubts, a monitor, whose of- 
 fice it is, to warn and to prejudice them against think- 
 ing favourably of any but themselves. But here, the 
 spell would be broken. Darkness, ignorance, pre- 
 sumption, and conceit, ashamed, would hide their heads. 
 Men would think freely, and because unfettered by any 
 imman yoke, they would think more rightly. The 
 Scriptures would be investigated for the sakd of alone 
 knowing what they contain, and whether as individuals, 
 ilif y collectfd 7nu.rh or little infcrmalion from them. 
 
360 OF l-ARTICULAR PRINCIPLES. 
 
 it would in the end come to be a sort of common stock, 
 like the manna among the Israelites of old, out of 
 which each might receive more than he could consume. 
 And we submit it to every rational understanding, whe- 
 ther jangling and contention, and an enslaving turn of 
 mind, are not the very bane of improvement. 
 
 Here it will perhaps be insinuated, that such bles- 
 sed eifects are not to be expected in the present state of 
 society ; with which insinuation I readily agree. And 
 It is because of our sense of its most lamentable aspect, 
 that we have endeavoured to detect several of its pre- 
 vailing evils, by probbing them to the bottom. But 
 because matters are so bad, is all hope of amendment 
 therefore to be given up ? Though the generality should 
 even spurn at such a subject, still this is no reason 
 v/hy those who are otherwise minded should not en- 
 deavour to meliorate the evil to the utmost of their 
 power. The very smallest beginning is better than no 
 beginning; and who knows what blessed effects the Lord 
 may cause to flow from the weakest attempt to restore 
 to its pristine simplicity, his long forgotten cause ? An 
 upright, simple, and honest heart, a heart that is as de- 
 sirous to be corrected of its own errors as it is to cor- 
 rect those of its neighbour, seems all that is necessary 
 for the task. But without principles of this nature, 
 the attempt would be vain. If Christians are not hear- 
 tily grieved at the long state of warfare which has ex- 
 isted in the churches, and are disposed in good earnest 
 to follow only the things which make for peace, and 
 things whereby one may edify another, it is impossible 
 that any happy consequences could result from it. 
 They ought therefore to count the cost before they be- 
 gin, rememberiiag that a cause once frustrated, is more 
 
OP PARTICULAR fRIKei?L£S. SQl 
 
 difficult of revival than one which has never been at- 
 tempted. 
 
 Upon the whole then, since there are many in the 
 present day who can deliberately, argue in behalf of 
 Ghristian disunion, it seems to be high time for those 
 who are otherwise minded, to shew that, in proportion 
 as they advance in the divine life, they lose the in- 
 clination for contention, and are in the true way to unity, 
 and can breathe forth the true spirit of the gospel, 
 ^' Glory to^ God in the highest, on the earth peace, and 
 goo4 will toward men," 
 
 THE END,