IT is written in the prophet Micah, that
"the Lord shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar
off (from
From this passage, which is only a specimen of
the general tenor of the law and the testimony, we are informed,
Such is the revealed purpose of the Most High.
But a consummation like this requires preparation; and that, too, a very long
one; especially as it is to be developed upon certain moral, as well as
political, principles. When the time shall come for the kingdom to be
possessed, it will be said to the heirs of it, "Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world." From this, it appears that the work of preparing the
kingdom takes from the foundation of the world to the resurrection of the dead.
All this time the kingdom is preparing; but when the King descends, and rebukes
the nations, and wastes the
The reader will probably inquire, what does this
work of preparation consist in that it should take so long a time? This is an
important question, and, in reply, I remark that if physical force only were
employed in preparing the kingdom, it need not take so long. A kingdom may be
set up in a few days, and abolished as speedily, as we have witnessed in our
own time. But it is not so with the
A kingdom is the dominion of a king. An empire
is also the dominion of a king, but with this difference: the kingdom proper,
or "the first dominion," is restricted to a regally
constituted territory; while the empire, or secondary dominion, though
belonging to the same king, extends over other peoples, multitudes, nations,
and tongues, than those of the royal domain. This is illustrated in the case of
the British kingdoms and empire. The constitution regal territories; but the
empire is a secondary dominion of the same united crowns, extending over
Canada, Hindostan, and other parts of the globe, with all the nations,
languages, and people, they contain.
There are various elements necessary to the
constitution of a well-organized kingdom. In the first place, a kingdom must
have a territory. This is only saying, in other terms, that something must
be somewhere. To maintain the opposite would be to contend that something is
nowhere. A kingdom is not located in feeling, or, in heart; though a belief of
its future existence, a comprehension of its nature, or an attachment to it,
may exist there. It must have a place, a locality, as well as a name.
It would be highly absurd to say that the
In addition to a territory, a kingdom requires subjects,
which compose the nation over whom there is the king. But, simply to set up a
man and call him "king" would be unwise. It would be consonant only
with the barbarism of savage tribes. A well-regulated monarchy requires
gradation of ranks, and orders of the best men, with whom the king may divide
his power, and glory, and adininister the laws of the kingdom. These laws
should be in conformity with the provisions and spirit of the constitution;
which defines the principles, and creates and combines the elements, of the
State.
Now it is worthy of remark, that the subiects
of a kingdom do not possess the kingdom. They are simply the inhabitants of the
territory, who are defended against external aggression, and protected as
civilians by the power, and laws, of the State. The possessors of the kingdom
are the king, and those with whom he is pleased to share his authority. This is
an important distinction, and must not be forgotten in studying "the
things of the
From this brief view, then, of the nature and
constitution of a kingdom, its elements may be stated as consisting of:
Now, "the kingdom of God and of his
Christ" will consist of all these things; and will be as material an
institution -- as real and terrestrial a monarchy as that of
In studying the things of the
The hope of these things, whose seeds were sown
in the constitution of the world at the beginning, was the hope of the gospel
then in its most general enunciation. The subjects and territory of the empire,
and the rulers thereof, were plainly marked out. The earth, and the conquered
seed of the serpent, obedient to the victorious seed of the woman, was the
gospel of the kingdom in its most simple form. No particular portion of the
globe, however, was indicated as the territory of a kingdom. The Spirit. began
with universals; but as the world became older, the particulars of the promise
were unfolded to the eye of faith. But never, from the foundation of the world
to the sealing up of the testimony of God, was such a kingdom, or dominion,
promised as that which is believed in, and glorified in the "sacred"
psalmody of the Gentiles. Earth, and not the skies, is the region where alone
it will appear. I shall show this abundantly; and thereby prove that they who
sing such ditties as those of which the following is a specimen, sing what
ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be:
With thee we'll reign, with thee we’ll rise,
And kingdoms gain beyond the skies!"
"According to your faith be it unto
you." This is the first principle of religion delivered by the Great
Teacher himself. It is just and right it should be so. No one can blame God for
not bestowing upon them what they do not believe in; and, consequently, do not
want, or seek after. This is precisely the position of the present generation
of religionists in relation to the
"THE PROMISE MADE OF GOD UNTO THE FATHERS."
"The Hope of
There is no one, I suppose, who reads the
scriptures but admits that Paul was persecuted; being imprisoned, scourged,
arraigned, and manacled, because he preached the gospel of the kingdom in the
name of Jesus. This is admitted by all. It matters not, then, in what terms he
states the cause of his trials, it will all amount to this declaration,
namely, "For the gospel I am called in question, and am judged, and bound
with this chain."
But we will let the apostle state his case in his
own words. When he stood before Ananias, the high priest, and the council of
the Jews, he cried out, "On account of the hope and resurrection of
dead persons I am called in question" (Acts 23:6). But it may be asked
here, "Concerning what hope was the question between the apostle and his
persecutors?" He tells us in his defence before Agrippa: "I stand and
am judged," says he, "for the hope of the promise made of God
unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God
day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am
accused of the Jews"(Acts 26:6,7). Now, from this statement, it appears:
But we have a still plainer avowal, if possible,
of the identity of this national hope with the hope for which the apostle
suffered so much. The Lord Jesus had appeared to him after his arraignment
before Ananias, and said to him, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast
testified of me in
But what was the hope of
Now who can be so dim of vision as not to
perceive that the subject-matter of the hope of
But, one might say, if the hope the apostle
preached, and the hope of the twelve tribes, were the same hope, why was he
persecuted by the Jews? The answer is, because Paul and the rest of the
apostles testified that Jesus whom they had crucified was the king whom God had
anointed to be the Judge of Israel in His Kingdom, of which they were the
natural born citizens. They had been constituted "a kingdom of priests,
and a holy nation," by the covenant of Sinai; and had on that occasion
accepted Jehovah as their king. They were therefore the
This mortified the Jews exceedingly. They
despised Jesus because of his poverty and ignominious death. A suffering and
crucified king was a reproach to the nation in their esteem; and to be put on a
level with Gentiles, whom they regarded as "dogs," filled them with
indignation and madness against the preachers of such pestilent heresies. But
it was the apostolic mission to withstand their fury with "the testimony
of God"; and to establish their preaching by what is written in the law of
Moses and the prophets, and by what they had seen and heard, and which was
attested by the power of God exhibited in the miracles they performed.
We have, then, arrived at a great truth, namely,
that the "one hope of the gospel" preached by the apostles to the Jew
first, and afterwards to the Greek, was "the hope of
The apostle Paul, who will be our interpreter,
tells us that the promise, which is the subject of the "one hope,"
was made to "the fathers." This is a phrase which signifies sometimes
the predecessors of the generation of the apostle's time, who were contemporary
with the prophets (Heb. 1:1); and at others the fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.(Exod.4:5)
It is in the latter sense the apostle uses the phrase in connection with
"the promises"; for speaking of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he says:
"These all died in faith not having received the promises";
that is, the things contained in the promise: and after adding "a cloud of
witnesses," who lived in after ages, and who illustrated their faith in
the promise made to the fathers, he concludes by saying, "These all,
having received a good report through faith, received not the promise:
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not
be made perfect" (Heb. 11:13,39,40), by a resurrection from the dead to
inherit the kingdom. They must rise from the dust before they can receive the
promise. They are imperfect now, being in ruins. But when they are re-fashioned
by the Spirit of God, and spring forth glorious, incorruptible, and powerful
men, "equal to the Elohim," they will have been "made perfect,"
and fit for the
The study of the promises unconnected with the
study of the fathers is impossible. Those who are ignorant of the biographies
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be ignorant of the gospel; for these
patriarchs were the depositories of the promises (Heb
After what has been advanced, no more, I think,
need be said upon the importance of the subject before us. I shall, therefore,
proceed now to a more particular illustration of the glad tidings of the
kingdom by an exposition of
THE PROMISE MADE TO ABRAHAM.
The descendants of Noah were beginning to tread
in the foot-steps of the antediluvians. They became ambitious of making "a
name" for themselves, irrespective of the name of the Lord. This
their way was their folly; yet their posterity approved their endeavour.
Idolatry was beginning to prevail; and they proceeded to build a city, and a
tower, whose top should reach to heaven, in honour of their god. But the Lord
came down and put a stop to their enterprise by confounding their language, and
scattering them abroad over the earth.
Noah had lived 292 years after the flood, when
three sons were born to Terah, a descendant of Shem, Terah being 70 years old.
Shem was a worshipper of the true God, whom Noah styled "the Lord God of
Shem." (Gen. 9:26) Terah, however, seems to have departed from the simplicity
of the truth; and was, probably, engaged in the mad scheme of making "a
name" for the sons of men in the
While Terah's family dwelt in
At this interview in Haran, the Lord said to
Abram, " I will make of thee A GREAT NATION, and I will bless thee
and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them
that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the
families of the earth he blessed" (Gen. 12:2,3). Alluding to this
promise, the apostle says, that in making it, "the gospel was
preached to Abraham" -- the glad tidings of blessedness to the nations,
when Abraham and his descendants should be great, and renowned throughout the
earth. Abraham believed this gospel promissorily announced to him by the Lord
God. Nor was his faith inoperative. It was a living, moving faith -- a faith
through which he obtained a good report. By the influence of that faith, which
embraces the things hoped for, it is testified that Abraham "when he was called
to go out into a country which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed;
and he went out, not knowing whither he went. For he looked for the city
having foundations, whose architect and builder is God."(Heb. 11:8,10) He
turned his back on
Let us pause here in the biography of Abram, and
consider this promise. Here was a country, lying between the Euphrates and the
Mediterranean, in which were Abram and all his house, with his flocks and
herds, and which was in the actual possession of warlike tribes, living in
cities walled up to heaven. Concerning this country, the Lord, to whom heaven
and earth belong, said to Abram, I will give it to thy Seed, when as yet
he had no child. But it is particularly interesting to know who is intended by
Abram's Seed in this promise. Is it the "great nation" spoken
of in the former promise? or is it some particular personage to wh6m the
Having built an altar at Sichem to commemorate
the Lord's promise concerning his Seed's inheritance, and sojourned there a
while, he removed to a mountain between
Having been driven into
This was an amplification of the promise given at
When Abram had resided nearly ten years in the
Land of Canaan, the whole country was in arms east of the Jordan, and to the
north and south of Abram's encampment. A rebellion had broken out against
Chedorlaomer, king of
At this crisis, the word of the Lord came
to Abram in a vision, and comforted him with the assurance, saying, "Fear
not, Abram, I am thy shield, and thine exceeding great reward."
Abram was now eighty-five years old, and he had no child. How, then, could the
promise made of God at
Abram, having first sought the
In reply to this, he was commanded to take
"a heifer of three years old, and a ram of three years old,
and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon." Having killed them, "he
divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another, but the
birds divided he not." This sacrifice was representative of the qualities
of the Christ, concerning whom confirmation was about to be made, attestative
of Abram's and his Seed's possession of the land in the fulness of the times
afterwards to be arranged. From the time of the sacrifice until the going down
of the sun, Abram was engaged in watching the carcases, so as to keep off the
birds of prey. It is probable that the sacrifice was exposed about three hours;
at all events, "when even was come," (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:42) and
the sun was going down, Abram fell into a state of figurative death, by a deep
sleep, and horror of great darkness coming over him.
This is a very remarkable feature in the case
before us. Abram had built altars, and had called upon the name of the Lord
before; but there were no such attendant circumstances as these. Here, however,
he stands watching the exposed sacrificial victims until even ; and then is
laid powerless in the similitude of death, and of the intense darkness of the
grave. While he was in this state, the Lord revealed to Abram the fortunes of
his descendants in the ensuing four hundred years; the judgment of the nation
that should oppress them ; their subsequent exodus from bondage with great
wealth; his own peaceful death in a good old age; and the return of his
descendants into the Land of Canaan again. The following are the words of the
testimony: "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land
that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four
hundred years; and also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge: arid
afterwards shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy
fathers in peace; thou shall be buried in a good old age. But in the
fourth generation they shall come hither again for the iniquity of the Amorites
is not yet full."
I suppose the reader need hardly be informed that
all this was literally accomplished. Jacob and his family, consisting of
seventy persons, migrated into
But God had said to Abram at
What shall we say then? Shall we dare to say that
God hath lied to Abram, or that He meant something else than what He promised?
Far be it from the writer or the reader to insult God by any such insinuation;
but rather let us say with the apostle in reference to this particular
incident, that "God cannot lie"; that in promising to Abram an
everlasting possession of the Land of Canaan; and, nevertheless, afterwards
declaring that he should die and be buried, and his posterity be oppressed for
four hundred years --"He promised" to him a resurrection to
"eternal life" before the arrangement of the times (Tit. 1:2). If
Abram were sentenced to die, how could the promise of God concerning the land
be fulfilled, unless he were raised from the dead? And as he is to possess it for
ever, when he is raised, he must be also made incorruptible and immortal to
enable him to possess it everlastingly. The promise of eternal life,
then, consists in promising a mortal man and his son possession of a
terrestrial country for ever; and this promise to the two becomes a promise
to all who believe it, and are constituted one in them.
Abram understood this, and so do all who become
Abraham's seed through Jesus as the Christ, concerning whom the promise was
made. The apostle says he saw the promises in their fulfilment afar off, but
was persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that he was a stranger
and pilgrim in the Land. And, in saying such things, he plainly declared that
he was seeking a country. And truly, if he had been mindful of the Mesopotamian
Chaldea from whence he migrated, he might have returned if he had pleased. But
no; he desired a better country than that beyond the Euphrates -- that is, the
Land of Canaan under a heavenly constitution: wherefore God is not
ashamed to be called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God of all
whose faith is like theirs in word and spirit: for He hath prepared for them a
city (Heb. 11:8-16).
This manner of teaching the doctrine of a
resurrection namely, by promising, or declaring something that necessitates
it -- is not peculiar to the case before us. There are other instances;
one, however, will be sufficient at present. I refer to the dispute between
Jesus and the Sadducees. The latter, who admitted as authority only the
writings of Moses, denied the resurrection of the dead. In proving it,
therefore, to their conviction, it was necessary to demonstrate it from his
testimony. This Jesus undertook to do. He first stated the proposition, saying,
Moses has shown that the dead are raised. He then directed their
attention to the place where Moses teaches this resurrection (Exod. 3:6). It is
there written, "I, the Lord, am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob"; in recording this, Moses teaches the resurrection of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "But," says one, I see nothing said about
resurrection there." Nor did the Sadducees. "No," continues the
objector, "nor about the dead either; for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are
not dead, but alive in heaven, where Christ, and Lazarus, and the thief are.
They are all living; and therefore God is their God." This is very good
Platonism, but very bad logic, and egregious nonsense. When Jesus quoted the
passage, it was to prove that "the dead are raised." The question
therefore is, How does this testimony of Moses prove it? In this way --
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are dead; but "God is not the God of the
dead," yet He is called "their God": therefore in order to be their
God, they must be made alive, "for God is the God of the living":
hence, to style Him "God of Abraham" teaches the resurrection by
implication; "for all live to him" in the age to come (Luke
20:27-38). But why call Him the God of these fathers now? By anticipation; for,
says the apostle, "God, who makes alive the dead, styles the not being
as being" -- that is, God's promise is so certain to be fululled, that
He speaks of what is to be as though it were past. He has promised to
raise Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who, while dead, have no being; and as He
cannot lie, their restoration to being is inevitable. God therefore speaks of
them as though they had already been raised from the dead, and "is not
ashamed to be called their God." God is not the God of dead men who are
not to rise again. He is the God only of those who become His children by being
the children of the resurrection, and who can die no more, because they are
equal to the angels (Luke
But to return to
In commenting upon these things, the apostle
saith, "The covenant previously confirmed by God, the law which came into
existence four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should
make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance (the land of
The apostle styles this Judaizing and preaching
"another gospel." It was the beginning of that awful apostasy, the fruit
of which we behold in the ecclesiastical system of our day. He contended
strenuously against this perversion of the truth in all places. The Judaizers
argued that a right to
Seeing that he threw the law out of the question
altogether, he anticipates the objection, viz., if this be so, wherefore, then,
serveth the law? Of what use is it? To this he replies, "It was added
because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was
made." It was "a schoolmaster" until Christ; but when
"the things of the name of Jesus Christ" were manifested for faith,
or, as he expresses it, "after that faith is come,"
The apostle lays great stress upon the covenant
of promise being prior both to circumcision and the law of Moses; consequently
Abram could not derive his title to Canaan and the world from either of them;
for the promise was given before he became the subject of the righteousness
which is by faith of it; and he was constituted righteous before the promise
was made a covenant and confirmed; and this confirmation was fourteen years
before the institution of circumcision, and 430 years before the promulgation
of the Law of Moses. "Faith," says the apostle, "was reckoned to
Abraham for righteousness when he was in uncircumcision"; and then it was,
he was constituted the father of many nations, and Heir of the World.
The promise, before it became a confirmed
covenant with Abram, indicated the country he is to inherit; but it did not
point out its territorial frontiers. This deficiency was supplied at the
confirmation. It was to extend from the
But the frontiers of the territory were
afterwards more particularly marked out at the time of the captivity in
Now, let it never be forgotten in the
investigation of the things of the
Here, then, is a noble domain, lying between
Assyria, Persia, Arabia, the Red Sea, Egypt, and the Mediterranean; capable,
when peopled by an industrious, enlightened, and well and strongly governed,
nation, of commanding the commerce and sovereignty of Asia, and the wealth of
Europe and America. Such is the land, containing, according to the survey of
the British Government, 300,000 square miles, concerning which God said to
Abram, "To thee will I give it and unto thy seed for ever."
But, the apostle says, that the covenant,
confirmed 430 years before the law was promulgated, was "concerning
Christ" especially. It was the Father's Covenant, of which Christ was the
Mediator. This being the case, his death was necessitated; for so long as he
was alive, the covenant had no force. Neither Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, nor
himself, could inherit the land for ever, until the covenant was ratified by
his death. Hence, his was "the blood of the New Covenant, which was shed
for many"; that they which are called might receive the remission of sins,
and obtain the promise of the inheritance for ever. (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:15-17)
The covenant of promise, then, was typically confirmed 430 years before the
law; and finally dedicated by the death of the mediator; this being
accomplished, the covenant could not be disannulled, or added to.(Gal. 3:15)
But when we look at Jesus in the light of this Divine Covenant, we perceive
some grand and important deficiencies in its effects, if the history of the
past is to be taken as the criterion of its accomplishment. In the historical
view of the covenant, we are led to the conclusion that it has not been carried
out at all; and that its beneficiaries have received none of their Father's
estate. Look at Abraham. He has received nothing. The same is true of all who
believed the things hoped for from his day to this. Even the Lord Jesus, who
has been perfected, has received nothing of what is assigned to him in the
covenant. "I will give," said God, "this land to thy Seed for
ever." Now look at the facts in the case. "Jesus came to his own,
and his own received him not." (John 1:11) What is to be understood
by this? What is signified by "his own " twice repeated in this text
? The facts in the case supply the answer. Jesus came "unto his own
things" (kingdom, or realm); but his own people, the Jews, who are "the
children of the kingdom," did not receive him, but rejected and crucified
him. "But to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, to them who believe in his name."
But what constituted the land of
When Jesus was crucified, and buried, his enemies
conceived that his claims to the realm and throne of David were extinct. The
common people would have taken him and made him king, if he would have
permitted them; but the rulers, already possessed of the vineyard, hated him;
for they knew that if he should obtain the kingdom they would be cast out. They
rejoiced, therefore, at his death. But their joy was soon turned into dismay;
for God raised him from the dead. And for what purpose? In the words of the
apostle, God raised up Christ to sit upon David's throne; (Acts
But, even after his resurrection, when he was
made both Lord and Christ, though "heir of all things," yet were not
all things subjected to him. He received neither the land not the sceptre; but
ascended to heaven, having received nothing promised in the covenant. He left
the land, the kingdom, Abraham, and all the prophets, behind him. In after
years, the land was reduced to a wilderness, its cities laid waste, and the
Hebrew commonwealth dissolved. It became the battle ground of Crusaders,
Saracens, and Turks; and until this day has been subjected to the worst of the
heathen. Forty centuries have passed away since God confirmed His promise of
the land to Christ, who has been waiting nineteen hundred years at His right
hand for its fulfilment. Is Jesus never to possess the land from sea to sea,
and from the rivers to its extremities? Are Turks and Arabs, and a motley crew
of Papists, Greeks, and Fellahs to perpetuate its reproach for ever? Or is a
Gentile dominion to be established there to lord it over
Where is there a believer of the gospel of the
kingdom to be found who will affirm it? Millions of "professing
Christians" imagine something of the kind; but they are infidels, and
insulters of God -- not believers in the "covenants of promise." To
affirm any other destiny for
Hence, the second advent is as necessary as the
first. The appearing in sinful flesh was necessary for the dedication of the
covenant by the death of the "Mediator"; and the second appearing in
the spiritual nature in power and great glory, for his effectual carrying out
of all its provisions. For it is manifest that this cannot be done except by
One who is all-powerful. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all constitutionally in
them, are the beneficiaries. The things promised them are eternal life, the
The accomplishment of these, and many other
things to be hereafter developed, makes the future pre-millennial advent of
Christ a necessity. There is no room for opinion upon the subject; for Opinion
implies doubt. It is a matter of absolute certainty; and the belief of it is as
essential to a participation in the
ABRAHAM THE HEIR OF THE WORLD
Abraham and Christ are inseparably associated as
co-heirs of the covenant of promise. Hence, they are joint-heirs of the country
mentioned in the covenant. But out of this arises a question of considerable
interest, namely, when they jointly possess the
The reader knows what it is to be in a house,
and he is aware that he must pass into it before he can be in it.
This is the literal. Now, suppose we call the house a man; and in answer
to the question, "Where is he? " we say he is in the man, this
would be to speak figuratively, but still scripturally and intelligibly.
Before, however, a person or a nation, or a multitude of nations could be said
to be in the man Abraham, and in the man Christ Jesus, it is
equally clear that they must pass into Abraham, and into Christ.
Now although many nations may literally come out of one man, a multitude of
nations cannot literally be packed into one man. When, therefore, nations and
individuals are said to be in Abraham and in Christ, it is manifest it must be
in a figurative sense. Hence, " in thee," "in him,"
and "in Christ " are figurative expressions, or terms of
constitution. They are things of stubborn import. They do not express a
feeling, but a relationship which is predicated on belief and obedience.
These are literal and actual things; for there is no scriptural faith without
belief of the letter, or written, or spoken, word; nor any obedience without
conformity to prescribed action. To pass, or to be introduced, into a man is to
sustain a relationship towards him of faith, affection, and allegiance, as
prescribed.
No person, or nation, can introduce themselves
into a man; their induction, in other words, must be according to prescription,
and not according to their own appointment. God, or he to whom, as His
"Apostle," or Ambassador, He has committed all authority, is the only
person that can prescribe the formula of induction. Mankind are
diseased, and cannot cure themselves. "The blessing of Abraham" is
for their restoration to health and happiness. They are, therefore, the
recipients of favour, and not the prescribers, or legislators, in the case. The
nature of the inducting formula is determined by the kind of subject to be
induced. If the subject to be passed into Abraham and Christ be an individual,
the formula is spiritual; that is, it places him in a moral and domestic or
family relationship to them; but if the subject be a nation or a multitude of
nations, then the formula is civil and ecclesiastical, or political. A person
in Abraham and Christ (and a man cannot be in one without being in the other)
is the subject of adoption by a spiritual formula, which will be
perfected in "the redemption of his body" at the resurrection; while
nations in Abraham and Christ are adopted by a political formula, which is
perfected in the blessings of good government, peace, equitable laws
righteously administered, the enlightenment of all classes in the knowledge of
God, universal prosperity, and so forth.
The formula of spiritual adoption is exhibited in
the gospel. It requires a man to believe "the promise made of God to the
fathers" concerning the land of Canaan, the Christ, the blessedness of the
nations in Abraham and his seed, eternal life by a resurrection, etc and to be
baptized into the Father Son and Holy Spirit. When an individual has done this,
he is in Abraham and Christ, and an heir with him of the promises he believes.
So that "the seed," though spoken of one person -- that is, of
Christ -- comprehends all the believers of the promises, who, by adoption are "in
him." The phrase " the seed " is therefore used in an
individual and federal acceptation. Hence, whatever is promised to Abraham and
Clirist is also promised to their federal constituents-to the sons of Abraham,
and brethren of Christ, by adoption into the family of God.
But the formula of national, or political,
adoption has not yet been promulgated to the world. No people has ever been
politically in God but
But a greater fallacy was never entertained.
There are no Christian nations; neither indeed can there be until the formula
of political adoption shall be made known. The nations are now in Satan
their father, and in his vicegerent the Lord Pope. Hence, it may be
said to them as Jesus said to the rulers and clergy of
But a time is coming when the Antichristian,
Mohammedan, and pagan nations of the world will all become the people of God,
and, therefore, Christian. This is evident from the testimony of scripture,
which saith, "In that day shall there be a highway out of
Accordiug to this testimony, it is proved that
the nations, or families, of the earth will become the people of God as well as
Israel, who will have the pre-eminence among them as the inheritance of the
Lord; and so Israel and the nations will constitute a kingdom and empire, which
will then compose "the World," and be blessed in him and
Abraham ; whose subjects will reciprocate the benefits bestowed upon them, and
serve their god-like rulers with heart-felt loyalty, and blessings upon his
name for ever.
But when we contemplate the nations now in Satan,
and Israel scattered to the four wiuds, and compare their present condition
with what is to be when they all serve Christ and are blessed in him and
Abraham, we perceive the womb of futurity to be pregnant of a mighty chang; and
one, too, which cannot be effected by mild and persuasive measures. The time
for persuasives has passed away. The nations turn a deaf ear to everything
which is not in harmony with their lusts. Hence, coercion can alone bring them
to wait for the divine law. For this reason, it is testified of Christ --
"He shall break in pieces the oppressor" and "will execute
vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. And
the nations shall see and be confounded at all their (
This testimony shows that the nations will be
reduced to abject submission, even the most powerful among them. Their courage
and means of resistance will have departed; for by the sword of the Lord and of
The nations being prepared by coercion, the
formula of political adoption is promulgated to them. This is contained in the
law which goes forth from
Such is "the world" of which
Abraham and his Seed are the heirs. Speaking of the latter in this relation,
the apostle says, Whom God hath appointed heir of all things, and on account of
whom he constituted the Ages (Heb. 1:2) "--the Age of Jubilees, and the
Jubilee Age. And to the joint-heirs of Abraham and Christ he says, " Let
no man glory in men : for all things are yours the world, life, death, things
present and things to come ; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ
is God's." (1 Cor
Thus, then, there are three parties, yet
constitutionally one family, who are heirs of the world as it will be
politically organized in the Future Age -- namely, Abraham, Christ, and the
believers in the promises made to them, called saints, who are in Abraham as
their father, and in his Seed as their elder brother. These are the
inheritors of the kingdom and empire attached to the
It was fourteen years after the confirmation of
the covenant, and when Abram had attained the age of ninety-and-nine, that the
Lord appeared to him to repeat His promises, and to appoint the token of
the covenant. On this occasion, God talked with him, and changed his name from
Abram to Abraham, as an everlasting memorial that He had made him heir of the
world, by constituting him a father of a great multitude. "Behold,"
said God, "my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many
nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be
Abraham; for a father of many nations have I constituted thee." And
besides this constitutional fatherhood, the Lord assured him that though so
old, he should be prolific of multitudes which should descend from his own
loins. "I will make thee," said he, "exceeding fruitful, and I
will make nations of thee; and kings shall come out of thee." The Lord
then announced, that the covenant He had confirmed should be established
between Him and Abraham, and his fleshly descendants in their generations for
an everlasting covenant; and that He would be a God to him and to them.
He also again declared His oft-repeated promise, saying, I will give unto thee,
and to thy seed after thee, the land wherem thou art a stranger, all the
In the passage from which this is taken, God
says, "I will make my covenant between me and thee"; and
afterwards, Behold my covenant is with thee." The " will
make" refers to a covenant subsequent to that confirmed fourteen years
before. That to be made was the token of that which was already made;
and "the seal of the righteousness of the faith which Abraham had
when it was counted to him for righteousness." (Rom.
But "God is able to graft them in
again" (Rom. 11:23) and testifies by His prophets, saying, "A new
heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you, 0 Israel; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,
and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers; and ye shall be my people; and I will be your God. I will also save
you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn, and will
increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the
tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of
famine among the heathen." (Ezek. 36:26-30; 39:25-29) In this testimony,
while Moses exhorted them to circumcise the foreskin of their hearts,
the Lord says that He will change their hearts Himself; not, however, by
"the foolishness of preaching," for that has failed even by the mouth
of apostles energized by the spirit, but by means in reserve which will
astonish Israel and the world, and of which He has spoken at large in the holy
scriptures. I will anticipate this part of the subject so far as to say, that
the Lord has left on record an illustration of the manner in which He changes
the heart of a nation, and plants them in a land flowing with milk and honey,
in the history of Israel's exode from Egypt, and their settlement in the land
of Canaan. This is a representation on a small scale of how He intends to graft
them in again, as He has declared by the prophets.
In after times circumcision came to be performed
as a mere custom, or ceremony. An institution of God, that was appointed as a
memorial of His promise concerning the everlasting possession of Canaan
and the world; and of that righteousness by faith of the promise which could
alone entitle to it: and which was to express the faith of those who practised
it -- degenerated into a mere form which was observed, like infant sprinkling,
by "the pious" and most ungodly characters alike. But it is evident
that circumcision, being instituted after the covenant of promise was
confirmed, and after Abraham had obtained a title to it by a
righteousness of faith, could confer upon the person circumcised no right to
possess the things promised for ever: and certainly none to reprobates who
practised it, as Turks and wild Arabs do now, because their fathers have done
it before them, time immemorial to them.
What obligation, then, did this sign of the
covenant, and seal of Abraham's justification by faith without circumcision,
impose upon the circumcised? Let the apostle answer the question. "I testify,"
savs he, "to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to the
whole law." (Ga. 5:3) This was a fearful obligation for a man to he
brought under, who sought to be justified, to the end that he might obtain an everlasting
inheritance in the land of Canaan, which implies the acquisition of eternal
life and glory. The law was weak tbrough the flesh; and gave only the knowledge
of sin. It was an unbearable yoke of bondage; and a law which no man horn of
the will of the flesh had been able to keep without sin. If, then, a man sought
to obtain a right to an everlasting possession of the land by obedience to it,
he had undertaken an impossibility; for the law, on account of human weakness,
could give no one a right to live for ever; and without life eternal a man
could not everlastingly possess the land; and this life no one can attain to
who is not justified from all his past sins; for if in his sins he is under the
sentence of death, as it is written, "the wages of sin is death." The
apostle speaks directly to the point; for he says, If there had been a law
given, which could have given (a title to) life (eternal), verily
righteousness (or justification from past sins to life) should have been by the
law" (Gal. 3:21)"for if righteousness had come by the law, then
Christ is dead in vain." (Gal. 2:21) He says explicitly, "By the law
shall no flesh be justified." A circumcised person is therefore bound to
keep that which he cannot possibly keep; and which if he did keep could not
benefit him, because justification to life is by faith in the promise, and not
by conformity to the Mosaic law.
The relation of the Jews to eternal life as
individuals, and to the everlasting possession of Canaan in blessedness and
peace as a nation, is manifest. They are circumcised, and therefore bound to
keep the whole law; by which law they seek to be justified. But how vain and
impossible is their enterprise. The law says, Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do
them"; (Deut. 27:26) and so unexceptional is this sentence, that it even
cursed the Lord Jesus, saying, "Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a
tree"(Deut 21:23) and in this way he was made a curse for men.(Gal 3:13)
Now, the law teaches that without the shedding of blood there is no remission
of sins, and prescribed certain sacrifices which must be offered upon an altar
in Jerusalem, and there only. To say nothing of other impossible things, these
offerings, which are indispensable, the Jews neither do, nor can, present.
These are things, then, they do not continue in, and therefore they are cursed
by the law, and condemned by Moses in whom they trust. They are under sentence
of death, and of eternal exclusion from all inheritance in Canaan and the
world. They may possibly believe in the promise made to Abraham, that God will
give the land to him and the Christ; but they deny that Jesus is the person
named in the covenant, which is tantamount to rejecting the covenant itself.
While circumcision obliged Israel to keep the
whole law; in which there was an annual remembrance of national offences; it
gave them through that law only a tenant at will occupancy of the land
of Canaan; and that not to the extent which pertains to its everlasting
possession. This appears from the words of Moses, as it is written, "If
thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law, ye shall be plucked from
off the land whither thou goest to possess it." The condition of their
tenancy was their good behaviour. If they served God according to the law of
the land He had given, He would bless them in their basket and store; but if
they served other gods, He would let in the worsbippers of those gods upon
them, and expel them from the country. Israel has rebelled; and therefore they
are in dispersion, until the time appointed shall come to remember the covenant
made with the fathers; and therefore to remember the land. (Deut. 28:58,63)
The national tenancy of Canaan under the law
being leasehold, no purchases of freehold estates could be made in the land. If
Israel had been a freeholder, the case would have been different. But the land
belonged to the Lord; and they had no more right to grant it away in parcels
for ever, than the tenant under a twenty-one years' lease has to cut up his
holding into lots, and sell them to purchasers for ever. Israel were the Lord's
tenants; and the law said to them on the part of their Landlord, "The land
shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine, and ye are strangers and
sojourners with me"; so that "in all the land of your possession
ye shall grant a redemption for the land." Hence, if poverty compelled a
man to sell his farm, it was always redeemable by himself, or kin, according to
certain conditions; but if neither could raise the money to redeem, the estate
was not lost to the original owner; for though it remained in the hands of the
purchaser, he was obliged to return it for nothing at the year of jubilee (Lev.
25:23-28). Even under the New Constitution, when the nation obtains everlasting
possession, the servants of the Prince will have to surrender his territorial
gifts at the year of liberty; while his sons will possess them for ever. (Ezek.
46:16-18)
The covenant of promise confers a more extensive
holding of the country than the law of Moses. At no time of their occupation
did Israel possess all the land from the Euphrates to the Nile, as promised in
the covenant; and even if they had, such holding would not have been in the
sense of the covenant, for they have not held possession according to the limits
defined "for ever." "All the land of Canaan for an everlasting
possession" is the promise; but the indisputable fact is that Israel have
only possessed a part of it for a limited and turbulent period. In
Solomon's days, when the nation was at its zenith under the law, the land was
jointly possessed by Israel, the Tyrians, and the remains of the Hittites,
Alnorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, etc.; but when the age of the
covenant arrives, Israel under Shiloh will possess it all; "and there shall
be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts."
No uncircumcised person was permitted to be a
member of Abraham's family. Home-born, or purchased, slaves, as well as sons,
were to be alike circumcised, or else to be cut off; for he that was uncircumcised
on the eighth day after the first circumcisions were instituted, or not at all,
had broken the Lord's covenant. This was a great calamity; for none but
circumcised persons can inherit the promises. This may startle; but it is
strictly true. It will, however, be remembered that true circumcision is of the
heart. Circumcision of the flesh is but an outward sign of Abraham's
circumcision of heart; and every one who would inherit with faithful Abraham
must be circumcised of heart like-wise. When he was circumcised of heart his
faith in God was imputed to him for remission of sins that were past. His
former idolatry, etc., was forgiven, and the body of the sins of his flesh put
off. Now, a man believing what Abraham believed, with the same effect on his
disposition and life, is also circumcised of heart, when, in putting on
Christ, he is " circumcised with the circumcision made without hands
by the circumcision of Christ," performed on the eighth day according to
the law. In putting on Christ, his faith is counted to him for righteousness as
Abraham's was. "The body of the sins of his flesh," is cut off. The
foreskin of his heart is circumcised, and he is the subject of
"circumcision in the spirit"; and his praise, though not of men, is
pronounced of God. (Rom. 2:29)
Now, I respectfully inquire, will a man who
understands the signification of circumcision of the flesh, and the nature of
circumcision of the heart jeopardize his reputation for soundness of mind by
saying that infant-sprinkling, even if a spiritual practice, was divinely
appointed in the room of circumcision in flesh or spirit? That the immersion of
a man of the same faith and disposition as Abraham's is connected with
circumcision, I have shown; to such a man, immersion into the glorious name is the
tohen of his justification by faith, as circumcision of the flesh was to
Abraham. It is, indeed, a substitute for circumcision of the flesh; but the
accompaniment also for circumcision of the heart: and as all of Abraham's faith
were to be cut off from his people who were not circumcised in flesh, so all of
his faith now will be cut off who are not immersed; for immersion is the
appointed means of putting on the circumcision of Jesus Christ by which the
body of the sins ot the flesh are put off (Col. 2:11,12) But this is a very
different affair to infant-rhantism coming in the room of circumcision of the
flesh. Suppose it did, then the law of circumcision must have become the law of
the substitute -- that is, of infant-sprinkling. The rhantized subject, then,
is bound to keep the whole law, and in default thereof comes under its curse.
The immersion of a believer amounts to nothing. To such a person it is no
token. What shall we say, then, of the rhantism of an infant? Is the
sprinkling, and marking it with the sign of a cross a token to it, or to
otbers, that it is "justified by faith, and has peace with God through the
Lord Jesus Christ?" Or is it a sign of the faith of its godfathers and
godmothers, or of its parents, of their being justified by faith, and
circumcised of heart? Or is it a token that the clerical administrator has
faith in the covenant of promise? Nay, rather, it is a token of the astounding
ignorance of the letter and spirit of the gospel, and of the Judaism of all
concerned; and a striking illustration of that "strong delusion"
spread over the face of all people as a covering veil. (2 Thes 2:11; Isa 25:7)
THE ALLEGORY.
Abraham had two sons-Ishmael, tlie son of Hagar,
an Egyptian handmaid; and Isaac, the son of Sarah. Ishmael was fourteen years
old when Isaac was born. He was born in the ordinary course of things, and
therefore said to be "born after the flesh"; while Isaac was born out
of the usual course, Sarah being ninety and Abraham a hundred, she being also
strengthened of God, according to the promise, and consequently said to be
"born after the Spirit." Hagar was a bondwoman; but Sarah was free:
yet, had it been left to Abraham, he would have made Ishmael his heir as well
as Isaac, for he loved them both. But Ishmael manifested an evil spirit towards
Sarah and Isaac, which he had imbibed from his mother. Moses says he mocked
Isaac, or spoke contemptuously of him; which the apostle terms persecuting him,
and characteristic of those of Ishmael's class. Sarah's indignation was fired
at this; "Wherefore, she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and
her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with
Isaac." Although Abraham was exceedingly grieved at this, God approved of
Sarah's decision; and informed him that Christ should descend from Isaac, and
not from Ishmael, saying, "In Isaac shall thy Seed be called;"
nevertheless, because Ishmael was his son, he would make a nation of him also
with twelve princes for its fathers.
This fragment of Abraham's history has a
signification beyond what appears on the face of it. The apostle informs us
that the incidents are allegorical. That is, that the two women and
their characteristics, represent two covenants; and the two sons
of Abraham by them two seeds , or classes of persons. The covenants are
"the one from Mount Sinai in Arabia," and the other the covenant
confirmed of God 430 years before that of Sinai was promulgated; and which,
being a matter of promise, the subject of which is Christ as the inheritor of
Canaan, and its future king in Jerasalem, now at the right hand of God, is said
to be "Jerusalem which is above." The apostle says that Jerusalem is.
the subject of both these covenants; but in different periods of her history.
During her existence as the metropolis of the Hebrew commonwealth under its
Sinaitic constitution, she was represented by Hagar the bondwoman; because the
covenant from Sinai "gendered to bondage"; and in consequence the
citizens of the commonwealth were in bondage with the mother city. They were
entangled with the yoke of bondage," "under the rudiments of the
world." They were bound to keep the whole law, by which they sought to be
justified, and as they could not do it owing to the weakness of the flesh, they
came under the curse.
But this state of things was only provisional.
God did not intend the Hebrew commonwealth to exist perpetually under the
Sinaitic constitution. Israel was not always to be in bondage to the law of
Moses. A great revolution was predetermined of God, which should result in the
abolition of the Arabian covenant, and the dispersion of Israel among the
nations. This is allegorically styled "casting out the bondwoman and
her son"; which was necessary for the good and all-sufficient reason
that the Sinaitic constitution of the commonwealth of Israel was not adapted
for the people and state when Christ should sit upon the throne of his father
David, and the saints should possess the kingdom. The law of Moses enjoined
ordinances concerning the flesh, such as "the water of separation,"
(Num. 19; Heb. 9:13) which would be quite incompatible with the realities of
the Age to Come. Under the law there was "a remembrance again of sins
every year" (Heb 10:3) but under the New Constitution from heaven,
"the sins and iniquities of the people will be remembered no more."
(Jer. 31:31-34) The Sinaitic constitution was faulty; it was therefore
necessary that it should give place to a better, which shall be established on
better promises.(Heb.8:6,7) Hence, the bondwoman was to be cast out to make
room for a more perfect arrangement of the commonwealth.
Since the expulsion of Israel by the Romans,
Jerusalem and her children are in the situation of Hagar and her son, while
wandering in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. She is divorced from the Lord as
Hagar was from Abraham, and "being desolate she sits upon the
ground,"(Gen. 21:16; Isaiah 3:26) and bewails her widowhood. But there is
to be "a restitution of all things." Jerusalem is to become a
free woman as Sarah was; and to take her stand in the midst of the earth as "the
city whose architect and builder is God." She will then "remember
the reproach of her widowhood no more. For her Maker will be her husband; the
Lord of Hosts is his name ; and her Redeemer the Holy One of Israel (even
Jesus), the God of the whole earth shall he be called." (Isaiah 54:
4-5) She will then be the metropolis of the world: and her citizens, or
children, will be more numerous than those she rejoiced in under the law, as a
married wife. The period of her glory will have arrived, the twelve tribes be
again the united, peaceful, and joyous inhabitants of the land; the
"greater than Solomon," their king; and his city, "the heavenly
Jerusalem," which "is free, and the mother of us all."
But, while Hagar represents Jerusalem under the
law; and Sarah Jerusalem under the new constitution of the Hebrew commonwealth;
Ishmael represents Israel, glorying in their fleshly descent from Abraham, and
boasting in the law; and Isaac, those of Israel and the Gentiles, who regard
the flesh as profiting nothing, and who are the sons of Abraham by believing
the promises made to him and to his seed. Hence, Ishmael and Isaac represent
two seeds or classes of mankind, who shall not be heirs together of the promise.
Indeed, their natures are so opposite that it would be impossible for them to
fulfil in concert the destiny marked out for those who are to inherit the
promises. The Ishmaelite-seed are wild men; whose hands are against all who
believe the truth. They are mockers; for as Ishmael mocked Isaac, so Israel
mocked Jesus, and spoke reproachfully of him and his brethren, who are one. The
kingdom to be established is a righteous dominion, and requires righteous men
for its administration; as it is written, "He that ruleth over men must
be just, ruling in the fear of the Lord." (2 Sam. 23:2) It is
impossible, therefore, that the Ishmaelite seed can be heirs of the promise.
All the honour. glory, and power of the state were in their hands under the
Arabian covenant; and cruel and unjust was the use they made of their position.
They put Jesus to death; and persecuted those to whom "he gave power to
become the sons of God," believing on his name; and were "contrary to
all men; forbidding the apostles to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be
saved." (1 Thes. 2:15,16) They were then "first"; but
power was destined to change hands, when they who were "the first shall
be the last." They had killed the heir that the inheritance might be
theirs; but they have been destroyed, and the vineyard now remains to be
bestowed upon others, who shall render its Lord the fruits in their
seasons.(Matt. 21:38,41) Thus, as in the case of Ishmael and Isaac, "he
that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit,
even so," says the apostle, " it is now"; and, we may add, ever
will be, until the times of the restitution of the State when "the last
shall be first," and beyond the reach of evil.
No one but God had the right, or the power, to
appoint "the heir of all things." Abraham could not appoint
him, neither could he be self-appointed. Abraham wished that Ishmael might be
the heir; or, as be expressed it, " O that Ishmael might live before
thee." But God would not consent to this. He therefore promised to give
him one for the heir, whom he should call Isaac; and of whom He said, "I
will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his
seed after him." (Gen. 17:19) But Isaac was not only born of promise; he
believed the promises likewise, for the scripture saith, "By faith Isaac
blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come." Now it is
written, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called" -- that is,
Christ shall descend from him, and all who believe the promises, and put
on Christ, shall be considered as "in Isaac"; and being thus
"the children of the promise," shall be "counted for the
seed," (Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 4:28) who shall inherit the land and the
world for ever. " The seed," then, is a phrase that must be
under-stood in a two-fold sense-first, as referring to Christ; and secondly, to
all who are constitutionally in him. Isaac is representative of both:
for Christ was in his loins, and all "in him" must be
constitutionally in Isaac also.
For want of understanding the scripture doctrine
of the two seeds, some very fatal mistakes have been made by many well-meaning
persons. They have gone so far as to deny that the seed of Abraham after the
flesh will ever be restored to the land of Canaan, which is in effect to
deny the fulfilinent of a vast proportion of "the testimony of God."
The seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman, indicated before the Flood,
were afterwards distinguished in the seed of Ishmael, and the seed of Isaac.
"The children of the flesh are not the children of God; neither are they
all Israel, who are of Israel." (Rom 9:8) This is true; but it does not
therefore follow that there is nothing more to be done with "the children
of the flesh" than to burn them up. To carry out the allegory, God has
yet to make of the Ishmael-seed a great nation; for though Ishmael was an
outcast and a wanderer in the wilderness, God promised that he should be great,
and dwell in the presence of his brethren.(Gen. 17:20; 16:12) The children of
Abraham according to the flesh are "the children of the kingdom"
(Matt 8:12; 13:38) as well as the children of the promise; only, these two
classes of children stand in a different relation to the government and glory
of the commonwealth, and to the dominion of the nations in the age to come. The
Ishmael-children were cast out of the government by the Romans; but the
children in Isaac will "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father," when the kingdom is restored again to Israel. (Acts 1:6)
"In the regeneration when the Son of Man
shall sit on the throne of his glory," the children in Isaac will reign as
"sons" while the children of the flesh will be the king's
subjects, or "servants." This distinction is apparent from the
following testimony: "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom
thou mayest make princes throughout all the earth"; (Psalm 45:16) of whom
it is said, "If the Prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the
inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by
inheritance. But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his
servants then it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance
shall be his sons' for them."(Ezek.46:16,17) The sons of the prince
are joint-heirs with him; but the servants of the prince are only leaseholders
for a certain number of years. If the natural Israel are not restored to
Canaan, the spiritual Israel, that is to say, the prince and his sons, would
inherit a kingdom without subjects to serve them. This would be like the Royal
family reigning in Windsor Castle over the realm of Britain after all its
inhabitants had expatriated themselves to the United States. It requires more
than a staff to make a regiment; so also it requires a multitude of
people as well as princes, priests, and kings, to constitute a Kingdom in
Canaan, or in any country.
Now, the children in Isaac become the children of
the heaveuly Jerusalem by believing "the exceeding great and precious
promises" set forth in "the manifold wisdom of God." They hope
to see Canaan and Jerusalem under the new covenant, which will constitute them
both heavenly. They are even now said to have "come to Mount Zion, and
unto the city of the living God, and to the heavenly Jerusalem"(Heb 12:22)
but it is as yet only in spirit, that is, by faith and hope: and as the city
and land will be made heavenly by the Lord from heaven, their glorious
attributes are in truth "above"; to believe, then, in what
will be brought down to the city from above, is for the children of the promise
in Isaac to stand related to "Jerusalem which is above, the mother of them
all."(Gal. 4:28) Hence; the apostle exhorts them, saying, "If then ye
be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth
at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on
the earth. For ye are dead (to earthly things) and your hfe is hid with
Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Col. 3:1-4)
PARABLE OF THE SEED
Abraham was ninety-nine years old, and Ishmael
thirteen when they were circumcised. (Gen 17:24,25) Isaac was born when Abraham
was one hundred. Between the circumcision of his household and the birth of
Isaac, while he was yet living "in the plain of Mamre which is
Hebron," the Lord appeared to him, and again promised Sarah a son. At this
crisis Sodom and Gomorrha were destroyed, and the Dead Sea formed. After this
catastrophe, Abraham journeyed from Hebron towards the south country, and
dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar of the Philistines.(Gen.
20:1) On his arrival there, he entered into an agreement with the king of the
country, which they confirmed by an oath, by which he was permitted to dwell in
any part of Philistia he pleased, and a certain well of water was restored to
him, called Beer-sheba, which had been violently taken away by the king's
servants. (Gen. 20:15; 21:25,31)
After this arrangement, Isaac was born according
to promise. On the day he was weaned, Abraham made a great feast. It was then
Ishmael was detected mocking at Isaac, which caused his and Hagar's expulsion
from the family. These being cast out, Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba,
and there "called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God."
Having thus settled himself, "he sojourned in the Phllistines' land many
days." (Gen 21:33,34) How long he continued there may be learned from the
following considerations. In his speech before the Sanhedrim, Stephen says:
"When Abraham's father was dead, he removed him into this land wherein ye
dwell"; (Acts 7:4) that is, he returned from Philistia to "Hebron in
the land of Canaan."(Gen 23:1,2) Now Terah, Abraham's father, was seventy
years old when Abraham was born; so that when Isaac was born at Beer-sheba,
Terah was a hundred and seventy. But Terah lived two hundred and five years,
and then died at Haran; and it was after his death that Abraham removed to
Hebron, where Sarah died, aged one hundred and twenty-seven. Now she died two
years after Terah; so that it was in this two years that Abraham left
Philistia. But Stephen says it was when Terah died he moved to Canaan,
which makes the "many days" he sojourned in the Philistine's
land thirty-five years from the birth of Isaac. This simple statement of
facts removes a difficulty which has puzzled chronologists exceedingly. Moses
says Terah died in Haran aged two hundred and five;" and Stephen is made
to say that Abraham removed from Haran to Canaan when Terah died, thereby
making Sarah a resident of the country only two years! This is the fault of
the English version, which renders the original Greek word , "from
thence" instead of afterwards, as it ought to be.and as it is
translated in Acts 13:21. "Abraham," said Stephen, "dwelt in
Haran; and afterwards" --How long after? -- When his father was dead, he
removed him -- "Where from? From Beer-sheba of the Philistines. Where to?
To Hebron "in this land wherein ye dwell." Thus Moses and Stephen
agree.
Now, at some time while Abraham was sojourning in
the land of the Phllistines, God appeared to him for the purpose of putting his
faith to the proof; and of giving him in the person of Isaac, a lively
representation of what was to befall his seed, the Christ, then in the loins of
Isaac, before he should be exalted to inherit Canaan and the world. The trial
was a very severe one. He was commanded to take Isaac, "his only son whom
he loved," into the land of Moriah; and "offer him there for a
burnt-offering upon one of the mountains," which God should point out.
Moriah was itself a mountain upon which Solomon afterwards built the temple; (2
Chron. 3:1) and the land, or region, around, is celebrated by the mounts,
afterwards called Zion, Olivet, and Calvary. The mountain chosen of God is not
named; I can only therefore express my opinion that it was Calvary. It took him
till "the third day" to arrive at the place, a distance of
forty miles in a straight line from Beersheba. This will not be surprising when
it is remembered, that he rode upon an ass, accompanied by two young men,
beside Isaac, who conveyed the wood, and other necessaries for the journey.
Their progress was therefore slow. "On the third day Abraham lifted up his
eyes, and saw the place afar off." He then caused the party to halt. He
told the young men to stay there with the ass: "and I and the lad,"
said he, "will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."
But if he were going to slay Isaac, how could Isaac and he come again to
them? The apostle explains this, saying, "By faith Abraham when he was
tried offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his
only begotten" of Sarah. "Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall
thy Seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the
dead; from whence also he received him in a parable " (Heb 11:17-19)
Abraham fully intended to slay Isaac; but he firmly believed that God would
raise him from the dead again; because all the promises God had made him were
to be accomplished in Isaac's Seed; as it is written, " My covenant will I
establish with Isaac and his seed after him": therefore, said Abraham to
the young men, "we will come again to you."
The parable, or representation, of what was
afterwards to happen to Isaac's Seed, the Christ, now began. "Abraham took
the wood of the burnt~offering, and laid it upon Isaac, his son";
while he carried the fire and the knife. Isaac went on with great readiness,
not in the least suspecting that he was the proposed victim. "My
father," said he, as they jogged along; and he said, " Here am I, my
son." "Behold," said Isaac, "the fire and the wood; but where
is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" And Abraham said, "My son, God
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering."
Having arrived at the place, built an altar, and
laid the wood in order, he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon
the wood. He then stretched forth his hand, and took the knife, to slay his
son. At this crisis, when Isaac was expecting instant death at the hand of his
father, who loved him as his only son, the angel of the Lord called to him out
of heaven, and commanded him to do the lad no harm. A ram caught in a thicket
by the horns was appointed as a substitute for Isaac, who was therefore
substitutionally slain; but by his personal deliverance from death, restored to
Abraham as by a resurrection. Abraham called the place of this memorable and
instructive transaction, Jehovah-jireh; and upwards of 400 years afterwards, it
was known by the name of "the Mount of the Lord." (Gen 22:14)
But before we dismiss the parable of the Seed, it
is to be remarked, that it was not completed in the figurative resurrection of
Isaac. The sacrificial death and resurrection of Christ had been represented ;
but then, after these events, what was to be his destiny? The answer to this
question is found in the closing incident of the parable. Moses testifies that
"the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second
time." The first time he announced from heaven the acceptance of the
son's sacrifice; but the second time the Lord spoke from heaven, had reference
to Christ's triumph over his enemies, and his possession of the world, as
preached to Abraham in the gospel at the beginning;. "By myself have I
sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not
withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in
multip1ying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy Seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies; and in thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice." Thus, the parabolic representation was
finished, "and Abraham returned to his young men; and they rose up, and
went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt there."
SUMMARY OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH.
Abraham is the father of all them who believe,
and who walk in the steps of that faith which he had while yet
uncircumcised. This is the apostle's testimony. I think I need scarcely say,
yet it may be useful to do so, that no one can walk in the steps of
Abraham's faith who does not believe the same things. This is self-evident.
It is to be to Abraham according to his faith; and this is the rule for
everyone else. We shall inherit what we have faith in. If we have an
understanding faith in the truth, we shall inherit the truth; but if we believe
in what is not true, and therefore visionary, we shall inherit nothing but the
whirlwind. Now, if it be asked, What is the truth?-the answer is, the
things which Abraham believed, with the acknowledgment that Jesus is the
Seed spoken of in the promises made to him. It is, therefore, essential to our
salvation that we be familiar with the matters of his faith. To make this as
easy as possible then, I shall here subjoin a summary of the faith which was
counted to him for righteousness. I would just remind the reader here that
Abraham was justified because he believed on God. This does not mean
because he believed in the existence of God. This is implied. To believe on God
in the scripture sense is the "being fully persuaded that what he has promised,
he is also able to perform"; and because this was the case with Abraham,
" therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." Furthermore,
this persuasion does not consist in saying, "Whatever it is God has promised
I know not, but of this I am persuaded, He will perform it.,' This is not the
sort of persuasion God accepts. He requires men to acquaint themselves first
with what He has promised, and then to consult the testimony He has given until
they are fully persuaded, as Abraham was. "Now," says the
apostle, "it was not 'written for Abraham's sake alone, that his full
persuasion of the divine promise was counted to him for righteousness; but for
us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on God. (Rom. 4:11,23)
In studying the life of Abraham, his biography
presents him--
These four particulars are affirmable of all
Abraham's spiritual children. Born of the flesh, they are denizens of the
world, and heirs of condemnation; then they believe the gospel; afterwards they
are justified by faith from past sins; and subjected to a subsequent probation
by which their faith is tried and made perfect. It is worthy of remark here,
that Abraham believed the gospel ten years before his faith was counted to
him for righteousness. This appears from the fact that the gospel was
preached to him at Haran; and it was not until the occasion of the confirmation
of the covenant at Hebron, that the Lord vouchsafed him an acquittal from all
his past sins; which is implied in the testimony that "he believed in the
Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." This fact ought to
teach the reader, that it is not at the instant a man believes that he is
justtfied. A man may believe the truth for many years, and yet not be the
subject of the righteousness of God. If so, it may then be asked, "When,
or at what point of time, and how, is a man's faith in the truth counted to him
for remission of sins ? " As to the manner of its imputation, this must
necessarily differ from the case of Abraham. The angel of the Lord announced to
Abraham his justification by word of mouth; but under the present
arrangement of things, this is not to be expected. The angel sent to Cornelius
did not pronounce his justification; but simply put him in the way of attaining
it. I trust the reader has not forgotten the use of the key in his case.
The scriptures say that through Jesus is now
preached the remission of sins to those who believe the gospel of the kingdom;
and that justification by faith is through his Name. That is, God has appointed
an institution through which remission of sins is communicated to believers of
the things of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus: so that instead of
sending an angel to announce to each individual that his faith is counted to
him for righteousness, as in the case of Abraham, He has caused a general
proclamation to be made, that "through Christ's name"
believers may obtain the remission of sins. Now, there is but one way for a
believer of the gospel to get at this name, to wit, by being "baptized
into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The
answer to the question, then, is this, that a man's faith in the gospel is
counted to him for righteousness in the act of being baptized into the name.
There is no other way than this, and a believer of the truth will die in
his sins unless he submit to it.
The "articles," then, of Abraham's
faith were these---
Such was the faith of Abraham in outline and such
must be the faith of all who would inherit with him. In conclusion, I would
direct the reader's attention to the fact, that Abraham was the subject of a
twofold justification, as it were; first, of a justification by faith;
and secondly, of a justification by works. Paul says, he was justified
by faith; and James, that he was "justified by works." They are both
right. As a sinner he was justified from his past sins when his faith
was counted to him for righteousness; and as a saint, he was justified by works
when he offered up Isaac. Of his justification as a saint James 'writes,
"Abraham our father was justified by works, when he offered Isaac his son
upon the altar. Faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made
perfect. And the scripture was fill-filled which saith, Abraham believed
God, and it was imputed unto his for righteousness: and he was called the
friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and NOT by faith
alone.(James
I have termed it a twofold justification by way
of illustration; but it is, in fact, only one. The two stand related as cause
and effect; faith being the motive principle it is a justification which begins
with the remission of sins that are past, and is perfected in obedience
unto death. The idea may be simphfied thus. No exaltation without probation. If
a man believe and obey the gospel his past sins are forgiven him in Christ;
but, if after this, he walk in the course of the world his faith is proved to
be dead and he forfeits his title to eternal life.But if, on the other hand, a
man become an adopted son of Abraham, and "by a patient continuance in
well-doing seek for glory, honour, and incorruptibility, (Rom. 2:7) he will
find everlasting life in the Paradise of God.