benefits or privileges that God had given or granted, or would do so at any time, unto his church.

3. In process of time, God was pleased to confine this church, as unto the ordinary visible dispensation of his grace, unto the person and posterity of Abraham. Upon this restriction of the church covenant and promise, the Jews of old managed a plea in their own justification against the doctrine of the Lord Christ and his apostles. "We are the children, the seed of Abraham," was their continual cry; on the account whereof they presumed that all the promises belonged unto them, and upon the matter unto them alone. And this their persuasion hath cast them, as we shall see, upon a woful and fatal mistake. Two privileges did God grant unto Abraham, upon his separation to a special interest in the old promise and covenant:First, That according to the flesh he should be the father of the 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, having a limited season, time, and end, appointed unto it, the very nature of the thing itself doth demonstrate; for upon this actual exhibition in the flesh, it was to cease. pursuit hereof were his posterity separated from the rest of the world, and preserved a peculiar people, that through them the promised Seed might be brought forth in the fulness of time, and be of them according unto the flesh, Rom. ix. 5.

In

Secondly, Together with this, he had also another privilege granted unto him, namely, that his faith, whereby he was personally interested in the covenant, should be the pattern of the faith of the church in all generations; and that none should ever come to be a member 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 into the world. On the account of this privilege, he became the father of all them that do believe: for "they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham," Gal. iii. 7, Rom. iv. 11: as also "heir of the world," Rom. iv. 13, in that all that should believe throughout the world, being thereby implanted into the covenant made with him, should become his "spiritual children."

4. Answerably unto this twofold end of the separation of Abraham, there was a double seed allotted unto him;-a seed according to the flesh, separated to the bringing forth of the Messiah according unto 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. Not that these two seeds were always subjectively diverse, so that the seed separated to the bringing forth of the Messiah in the flesh should neither in whole nor in part be also the seed according to the promise; or, on the contrary, that the seed according to the promise should none of it be his seed after the flesh. Our apostle

declares the contrary in the instances of Isaac and Jacob, with the "remnant" of Israel that shall be saved, Rom. ix., x., xi. But sometimes the same seed came under diverse considerations, being the seed of Abraham both according to the flesh and according to the promise; and sometimes the seed itself was diverse, those according to the flesh being not of the promise, and so on the contrary. Thus Isaac and Jacob were the seed of Abraham according unto the flesh, separated unto the bringing forth of the Messiah after the flesh, because they were his carnal posterity; and they were also of the seed of the promise, because, by their own personal faith, they were interested in the covenant of Abraham their father. Multitudes afterwards were of the carnal seed of Abraham, and of the number of the people separated to bring forth the Messiah in the flesh, and yet were not of the seed according to the promise, nor interested in the spiritual blessings of the covenant; because they did not personally believe, as our apostle declares, chap. iv. of this epistle. And many, afterwards, who were not of the carnal seed of Abraham, nor interested in the privilege of bringing forth the Messiah in the flesh, were yet designed to be made his spiritual seed by faith; that in them he might become "heir of the world," and all nations of the earth be blessed in him. Now, it is evident that it is the second privilege, or spiritual seed, wherein the church, to whom the promises are made, is founded, and whereof it doth consist,—namely, in them who by faith are interested in the covenant of Abraham, whether they be of the carnal seed or no.

5. 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 were 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 according 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 showed, that he should be set apart as a special channel, through whose loins God would derive the promised Seed into the world. In like manner were they separated to be a peculiar people, as his posterity, from amongst whom He should be so brought forth.

That this separation and privilege was to cease when the end of it was accomplished and the Messiah exhibited, the very nature of the thing declares; for to what purpose should it be continued when that was fully effected whereunto it was designed? But they would extend this privilege, and mix it with the other, contending that, because they were the children of Abraham according to the flesh, the whole blessing and covenant of Abraham belonged unto them. But as our Saviour proved that in the latter sense they were

not the children of Abraham, because they did not the works of Abraham; so our apostle plainly demonstrates, Rom. iv. ix. x. xi., Gal. iii. iv., that those of them who had not the faith of Abraham had no interest in his blessing and covenant. Seeing, therefore, that their other privilege was come to an end, with all the carnal ordinances that attended it, by the actual coming of the Messiah, whereunto they were subservient, if they did not, by faith in the promised seed, attain an interest in this of the spiritual blessing, it is evident that they could on no account be considered as actual sharers in the covenant of God.

6. We have seen that Abraham, on the account of his faith, and not of his separation according to the flesh, was the father of all that believe, and heir of the world. And in the covenant made with him, as to that which concerns, not the bringing forth of the promised Seed according to the flesh, but as unto faith therein, and in the work of redemption to be performed thereby, lies the foundation of the church in all ages. Wheresoever this covenant is, and with whomsoever it is established, with them is the church; unto whom all the promises and privileges of the church do belong. Hence it was, that at the coming of the Messiah there was not one church taken away, and another set up in the room thereof; but the church continued the same, in those that were the children of Abraham according to the faith. The Christian church is not another church, but the very same that was before the coming of Christ, having the same faith with it, and interested in the same covenant.

It is true, the former carnal privilege of Abraham and his posterity expiring, on the grounds before mentioned, the ordinances of worship which were suited thereunto did necessarily cease also. And this cast the Jews into great perplexities, and proved the last trial that God made of them; for whereas both these, namely, the carnal and spiritual privileges of Abraham's covenant, had been carried on together in a mixed way for many generations, coming now to be separated, and a trial to be made (Mal. iii.) who of the Jews had interest in both, who in one only, those who had only the carnal privilege, of being children of Abraham according to the flesh, contended for a share on that single account in the other also,—that is, in all the promises annexed unto the covenant. But the foundation of their plea was taken away, and the church, unto which the promises belong, remained with them that were heirs of Abraham's faith only.

7. It remains, then, that the church founded in the covenant, and unto which all the promises did and do belong, abode at the coming of Christ, and doth abide ever since, in and among those who are the children of Abraham by faith. The old church was not taken

away, and a new one set up, but the same church was continued, only in those who by faith inherited the promises. Great alterations, indeed, were then made in the outward state and condition of the church; as,—(1.) The carnal privilege of the Jews, in their separation to bring forth the Messiah, then failed; and therewith their claim on that account to be the children of Abraham. (2.) The ordinances of worship suited unto that privilege expired and came to an end. (3.) New ordinances of worship were appointed, suited unto the new light and grace then granted unto the church. (4.) The Gentiles came in to the faith of Abraham together with the Jews, to be fellow-heirs with them in his blessing. But none of these, nor all of them together, made any such alteration in the church but that it was still one and the same. The olive-tree was the same, only some branches were broken off, and others planted in; the Jews fell, and the Gentiles came in their room.

And this doth and must determine the difference between the Jews and Christians about the promises of the Old Testament. They are all made unto the church. No individual person hath any interest in them but by virtue of his membership therewith. This church is, and always was, one and the same. With whomsoever it remains, the promises are theirs; and that not by implication or analogy, but directly and properly. They belong as immediately, at this day, either to the Jews or Christians, as they did of old to any. The question is, With whom is this church, founded on the promised Seed in the covenant? This is Zion, Jerusalem, Israel, Jacob, the temple of God. The Jews plead that it is with them, because they are the children of Abraham according to the flesh. Christians tell them that their privilege on this account was of another nature, and ended with the coming of the Messiah; that the church unto whom all the promises belong are only those who are heirs of Abraham's faith, believing as he did, and thereby interested in his covenant. Not as though the promise made to Abraham were of none effect; for as it was made good unto his carnal seed in the exhibition of the Messiah, so the spiritual privileges of it belonged only unto those of the Jews and Gentiles in whom God had graciously purposed to effect the faith of Abraham. Thus was and is the church, whereunto all the promises belong, still one and the same, namely, Abraham's children according to the faith: and among those promises this is one, that God will be a God unto them and their seed for ever.

EXERCITATION VII.

OF THE JUDAICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

1-4. Of the Judaical distribution of the Old Testament. 5-11. The original and nature of their oral law and traditions. 12-14. The whole disproved. 15-20. Agreement of the Jews and Papists about traditions, instanced in sundry particulars.

1. THE apostle, dealing with the Hebrews about the revelation of the will of God made unto their fathers, assigns it in general unto his speaking unto them " in the prophets," chap. i. 1. This speaking unto them, the present Jews affirm to consist of two parts:-(1.) That which Moses and the following prophets were commanded to write for the public use of the church; (2.) What, being delivered only by word of mouth unto Moses, and continued by oral tradition until after the last destruction of the temple, was afterwards committed unto writing. And because those who would read our Exposition of this Epistle, or the Epistle itself, with profit, had need of some insight into the opinions and traditions of the Jews about these things, I shall, for the sake of them that want either skill or leisure to search after them elsewhere, give a brief account of their faith concerning the two heads of revelation mentioned, and therein discover both the principal means and nature of their present apostasy and infidelity.

2. The Scripture of the Old Testament they call PP, and divide it into three parts:-(1.) in, "The Law;" (2.) DN, "The Prophets;" (3.), "The Writings by divine Inspiration," which are usually called the "Hagiographa," or holy writings. And this distribution of the books of the Old Testament is in general intimated by our Saviour, Luke xxiv. 44, Πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα ἐν τῷ Νόμῳ Μωσέως, καὶ Προφήταις, καὶ Ψαλμοῖς· — All things written in the Law, and the Prophets, and the Psalms;" under which last head all the poetical books of the Scripture are contained. Thus Rabbi Bechai, in Cad

The Law (so - התורה שלשה חלקים תורה נביאים כתובים :Hakkemach

sometimes they call the whole volume) " is divided into three parts, the Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings." All are comprised generally under the name of the Law; for so they say in Midrash Tehillim, Ps. lxxviii. 1, n d'aɔnı nın binibip;-"The Psalms are the Law, and the Prophets are the Law;" that is, the whole Scripture. This distribution, so far as it is intimated in the words of our Saviour, doth evidently arise from the nature and subject-matter of the books themselves. And this was the received division of the books of the Old Testament whilst the Judaical church stood and continued; but the post-Talmudical doctors, overlooking or neglecting