assembly and church of the first-born; and Rev. xxi. 27. There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they who are written in the Lamb's book of life. In this holy community, the spiritual seed of Abraham will remain to all eternity, separated from the wicked, and united to one another by the indissoluble bond of the warmest love and friendship for ever.

The second article of the fourth promise is contained in these words: I will be their God. This implies,

1. That Abraham's natural seed were in general to know and acknowledge the true God as their God. Moreover, this promise being connected with their possession of Canaan, in the following manner, Gen. xvii. 8. I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God, it signified that the title of Abraham's seed to possess Canaan, depended on their continuing to worship and obey God.—How this promise, in its first or literal meaning, was accomplished, we learn from Moses, who insinuates that Abraham's posterity in Canaan and in Egypt, acknowledged and worshipped the God of their fathers, by those natural acts of piety which reason dictated, till they came to Sinai, where, by the ministry of Moses, God gave them a ritual of his worship, formed according to a pattern shewed to Moses on the mount. From that time forward, Abraham's posterity, while they remained in Canaan, continued to worship the true God, according to that ritual. On some occasions, indeed, they deviated into idolatry. But they were always soon reclaimed, by the punishments which God sent on them. Besides, at no time did the whole nation to a man follow after idols. In the times of the greatest corruption, there were many who abhorred idols. Thus it was in the reign of Ahab, when Elijah thought himself the only worshipper of the true God remaining in Israel. For there were even then seven thousand men left, who had not bowed the knee to Baal, 1 Kings xvii. 19. Thus it was likewise during the Babylonish captivity, when Shadrach and his companions were cast into a burning furnace, for refusing to worship the image which Nebuchadnezzar set up. Moreover, by the punishments sent on the Israelites for departing from the law of Moses, they were at length so thoroughly cured of their propensity to idolatry, that after their return from Babylon, even to this day, their abhorrence of idols hath been extreme. They have long ago been

driven out of Canaan by the Romans, and have continued in a state of dispersion ever since. But these evils did not befall them, because they had forsaken the law of Moses, being more zealous of it then than ever; but because they crucified the Christ, and rejected the gospel. In short, notwithstanding they have continued long in this last dispersion, and have suffered innumerable evils for their faith, not only from Mahometans and heathens, but from Christians also, they have continued to know and worship the God of their fathers, by such rites of the law of Moses, as they could perform out of Judea: so signally hath the promise in the covenant, that God would be the God of Abraham's natural seed in their generations, been accomplished.

This promise in its second and higher meaning hath been fulfilled in Abraham's spiritual seed likewise. From the beginning, there have been in all nations, many who have known the true God, and have worshipped him by pious affections, by prayer, and by a sincere desire to know and to do his will; a worship more acceptable to God than any worship by bodily rites, Through this spiritual worship, believers of all nations, whether they be Jews or Gentiles, are by the promise of God, that is by a free gift, entitled to the possession of the heavenly country, of which Canaan was the type -And as all who believe in Christ, are Abraham's spiritual seed, and the true Israel of God, the promise, that he would be a God to Abraham's seed, in their generations, hath been remarkably fulfilled in them also. For the knowledge and worship of the true God have been more effectually spread through the world, and preserved among mankind by the disciples of Christ, than by the disciples of Moses.

That the preservation of the knowledge and worship of God in the world by the spiritual seed, was promised in the covenant, appears from Jerem. xxxi. 33. This shall be the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And from Isa lix. 20. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them who turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. 21. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, My spirit which is upon thee, and my words which I 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. According to the prophets, therefore, one of the particulars, included in God's promise, that he

would be a God to Abraham's seed in their generations, was, that the knowledge of himself which he gave first to the natural seed in the law, and after that to the spiritual seed in the gospel, would never be lost in the world. With admiration and gratitude we behold the accomplishment of this promise, in the preservation of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, and in the continuance of the worship of the one true God, among Jews and Christians to this day.

This promise, however, will not be completely accomplished, till Abraham's spiritual seed are all introduced into the heavenly country, their eternal inheritance. When that grand æra arrives, the spiritual seed joining the general assembly of the first born, shall know and worship God more perfectly, than ever they did in any period of the church on earth, Rev. xxii. 3. His servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.

2. The promise, that God would be the God of Abraham's seed in their generations, implied that he would reside among the natural seed; not indeed by any image or corporeal representation of him, for every thing of that kind they were forbidden to make; but by a visible symbol of his presence, abiding with them constantly, to which they would direct their worship.

This meaning of the promise is suggested by God himself, Levit. xxvi. 11. And I will set my tabernacle amongst you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12. And I will walk among you, and be your God, and ye shall be my people. Accordingly, in fulfilment of this promise, God resided among Abraham's natural seed in the wilderness, by a pillar of cloud and fire, which after the tabernacle was erected, rested on it while they continued encamped. But when they journeyed, it went before them. This visible symbol of the divine presence among the Israelites, was called the glory of the Lord. And from that glory God gave responses to the Israelitish judges and kings, when they consulted him. How long this visible symbol of the divine presence continued among the Israelites, is not known. If it remained till the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, it departed then, and never returned.

This promise, in its second meaning, hath been accomplished to Abraham's seed by faith likewise; for in no age of the world, have good men been without the presence and assistance of the spirit of God; as may be known from God's saying concerning the wicked antediluvians, Gen. vi. 3. My spirit shall not always

strive with man. In the Christian church, this promise received a remarkable accomplishment, by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles and first preachers of the gospel, and by the spiritual gifts with which all the primitive churches were enriched. These were more honourable tokens of the divine presence, than the glory in the tabernacle, because they were appropriated to individuals, who on that account, were called temples of the Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. vi. 19. and habitations of God through the Spirit, Eph. ii. 22. But this promise will receive its chief accomplishment in the heavenly country, where the pure in heart shall see God. Matth. v. 8. Rev. xxi. 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

3. The promise, that God would be a God to Abraham's seed in their generations, implied that he would be their constant protector, and bestow on them all the blessings which men expect from the objects of their worship.-The preservation of Abraham's natural seed in Egypt, their deliverance from their Egyptian oppressors, their miraculous sustentation in the wilderness during forty years, their introduction into and possession of Canaan, their return from their captivities, but above all, their not perishing as a people in their last long dispersion, are illustrious proofs that this race hath always been the objects of God's care, that they are still beloved for their father Abraham's sake, and that they will be preserved a numerous and distinct people, till the whole purposes of their separation from the rest of mankind, are accomplished.

This promise hath been fulfilled to the spiritual seed likewise; for, notwithstanding the sincere worshippers of God, from the very beginning, have been persecuted by the wicked, and in these persecutions, great numbers of them have been put to death, they have never been utterly destroyed. By the support which God on many occasions hath given to his suffering servants in times of persecution, many have been excited to imitate their virtues; and, by the ordinary care which he taketh of them at all times, the generation of the servants of God hath been, and will be preserved in the world to the end. Nay, we have reason to expect, that at length the effect of that most wise and powerful government which God exercises over the world, will be to diminish the wicked, and to multiply the virtuous till they exceed the wicked in number, as was before observed, page 16. And

with respect to the present happiness of good men, it hath ever been acknowledged that their virtues, in all ordinary cases, make them much more happy than the wicked can be by enjoying the pleasures of sin; and in extraordinary circumstances, if they are more afflicted than others, their felicity will be greater in the heavenly country, according to Christ's promise, Rev. iii. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as Ialso overcame and am set down with my Father on his throne.

Before we conclude our account of the third and fourth promises in the covenant with Abraham, we will endeavour to shew, First, that Isaiah and Ezekiel have foretold the general conversion of Abraham's natural seed to the Christian faith, under the idea of their restoration to their own land; and their practising the Christian worship, under the idea of their worshipping God in Canaan, according to the purity of the Mosaic ritual; and their happiness in their converted state, under the idea of their employments and enjoyments in the earthly country. Secondly, That Isaiah's new heaven and new earth, chap. lxv. 17. and Ezekiel's temple, chap. xli. 1. and the land which he allotted to the twelve tribes, chap. xlvii. 13.-23. and the city whose dimensions he hath described chap. xlv. 6. are the same with the new heaven and new earth, and the heavenly Jerusalem, which John saw in his vision, related Rev. chapters xxi. xxii. consequently that the new heaven and the new earth, of which the prophets and the apostle have spoken, are the heavenly country, promised in the covenant to Abraham's spiritual seed.

1. First then, that Isaiah and Ezekiel have foretold the general conversion of Abraham's natural seed to the Christian faith and worship, under the idea of their restoration to their own land, and of their worshipping God there, according to the Mosaic ritual, and their happiness in their converted state, under the idea of their felicity in the earthly Canaan, must, I think, be acknowledged, when it is considered that these prophecies, literally understood, contain particulars which cannot be supposed to happen, if the Israelites, after being restored to their own land, are to live as formerly under the institutions of Moses; Such as, that they shall be absolutely free from transgressions, and be all righteous. Ezek. xxxvii. 23. Neither shall they defile themselves, with any of their transgressions. 24. They shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes and do them. So also Isa. lx. 21. Thy people shall be all righteous. Farther, these prophecies literally understood foretell, that when the Israelites