178 The Gofpel of Circumcifion. 2. To give him a Seed. 3. To provide an Inheritance both for him and them. And thefe three general Heads will comprize and take in thewhole Myftery . of Circumcifron. I. The firft part of the Covenant is this, that Godwould be aGod to bim and bis Seed : And this indeed is molt comprehenfive, and includes . all the reft. I will eftablifh my Covenant, and be a God to thee and thy. Children after thee, Gen. 1.7..7.. And what is it for God to be a God to.. a Man? thy God, or aGod to thee ?, It is, when he gives to a poor Creature afpecial intereît and Propriety in himfelf; fo that God in his. Al-fnfficiency and Efficiency is ours, and we are his. All his Attci- butes and Works are ours, for our Good. I will be thy God, that is, all my Attributes (hall be thine, and for thy Good, a really as they are mine for my Glory. The infinite W,Wifdom of Godihall contrive their Good, whofe God he is ; the infinite Power . of God !ball effect it : The infinite Loveof God is theirs ; his Mercy, Truth, and all his Attributes are theirs. As his ef]'ential Power : So his working-Power, or his amual-Power. As he will be all to them : So he will work all for them. Now this, as I faid, includes and infers all the refi= ; This is the firft and molt general. 2. That be wouldgive him a Seed'; that was another part of the Co- venant, Gen. 17. 5, 6. Thou ¡halt be a Father ofmany Nations, thy Name- ¡hall be no more called Abram, but Abraham. I will make Nationsof thee. As God did lengthen out his Name; fo he would lengthen out his Fofterity, even to length of Time. But nowwhat is this Seed the Lord promifed to Abraham? The Q1ellion is, whether it be ;a weer natural Seed, or a fpiritual Seed ? Certainly it was not meetlya natu- ral Seed ; it is true, that is one thing; that was the Shell and out- fide of it; but the Kernel of this Promife was a fpii itual Seed. There was a four-fold Seed promifed toAbraham, above a natural Seed, and fhall prove each Particular out of plain Scripture. a. Thatgreat Seed, who was not only the Seedof theWoman, but the Son of God : This was the fiat and chief Seed here intended, Gal. 3. 16. He faith not as to Seeds, but to thy Seed, which vs Chrift, fach a Seed in whom all Nations are bleffed. Now it is in Chrift only that all Nations areBlefl'ed, therefore He was this promifed Seed. TheLord had not before limited the Seed-Meffiah to any . particular Family, but left it at large (fo far as appears) among the whole Race ofMankind. It was fahl to Adam, the Seed of the Woman; there was then no fur- ther Limitation till Noah's Time. And then in Abraham's Time,, the Lord limits the Covenant to his Seed. It was afterwards confined to yudab,
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