before thegiving of the Law. 2,57 the promife,. Gen. 21. V. 12. chap. 22. v. 9. ) Accounting that God was able even toraife him up froth the dead,from whence alfo he received him in afigure. The defign of the Apoftle in this difcourfe isto fee forth and commend the faith of 'Abraham, from the fruits andeffects of it, in the wh le courfe.of bin obedience CALLED. but he faith it upon, and refolves it into his call ; By g ther is it my prefent purpofe toopenparticularly the difcourfe of the Alfoftle, which mull be referred to its proper place ; only becaufe what we do now, is iii aftrbferviency unto the right.tiuderftanding of this Epiffle, I havelaid down this account given us therein of the call of Abraham, and hisfaith and obedience;,thewn asthe reafon of our mulling onit,and the foundation whereon what we do therein isbuilt; Neither [hall 3 now at large declare thenature ofthis Call of Abraham, with the feveral occurrencies that accompanied it; partly becaufe iois already touched upon ina former Exercita- tion, and partly becaufe I have,elfe -where handled it more largely, and cleared it from the corrupt traditions and opinionsof the Jewsconcerning it. But becaufe thiswas the root on which the JudaicalChurch didgrow, theflock whereintoall Malaita! In- ftitutions ofworfhip were infrrted and grafted, it is neceffary that we give a brief Hi- Jtorical account concerning it. Abraham; hewas firft called by his Parents Abram ; that is, an High Father ; not without a fignal prefaging providence ofGod. For asof old they gave fignificant names unto their children, fotherein theyhad refpeét unto their preterit condition, or fome profped they had given them by the Spirit of Godof things future, wherein they or theirs thould be concerned. So have we the reafons given us of the names of Cain, Gen. 4. v. 5. ofSeth, v. 28. of Noab, chap. 5.v. 29. of Peleg, chap. to. v. 25. and offundry others. And ifwe may not fuppofe that the Parents ofAbraham were di- reded to give him this nameof an HighFather, by theSpirit of Prophefie, yet confa- dering its fuitablenefs untowhat God had defigned him for, and its readinefs toyield unto that Change which Godmade afterwards in it, unto a great ftrengthningof his faith and fignihcancy in a way of infteudion unto future generations, we multgrant that it was done by the defigning holy wife Providence of God. Forhe was an High Father indeed, as being the Father of our LordjefusChri(t according to theAA. In proce( oftime, upon the folemn eflablifhment of the Covenant with him, God changed this name of i=371Dí into i=11at3 Gen. 17. v. 5. , Neither (hall thy name anymore be calledAbram, but thyname /hall be Abraham. And on the like 'account did God alfo change the names ofCome other perlons,or fuperadded new namesunto thofe where- by they were called before, as oflfrael unto Jacob, Gen. 33. v.28. upon his prevalenry withGod at a Prince; Jedidiab untoSolomon, 2Sam. 12. a. 25. becaufe the Lord loved him. And manydoubtlefs had newnames given unto themby themfelvesor others, or Come letter orfyllable changed in their names, withall altering their fignification, up- on emergent oecafions. Hence have we fo many in the OldTefament, whom we find in leeveral places expreffed by divers names, or varied in one place from another. Now this change in thename ofAbraham was not, as the Jews fancy, to honour him with the additionofa letter out of theTetragrammaton .; but for the addition ofa new Prophetical fignificancy mito it ; as God himfelf exprefly declares, Thy name fball be Trull 0+13 pitch 113 )11:7;11.123Abraham, for afather of a multitude ofnations have I made thee. According as he Paid before, v. 3. Thou fiait beafather ofa multitude ofna- tions, Grt in his name denoting Val a multitude, that. is, of Nations, God himfelf expounding his own intention and defign. And herein is a folemn prefigurationof the implanting ofBelievers ofall Nations, into the CovenantpndFaith of Abraham ; for this name he receivedupon the folemneltablifhment ofthe Covenantwith him, as the Apofle explains the place, Korn. ç. v. 11, 12, 13, t4,15,16,17. All then that believe, are taken into the Covenant ofAbraham. And as unto the priviledges ofit, and inheritanceto beobtained by it, they are no lefs his children' and heirs, then thole who proceeded from his loinsaccording to the flels, ashath been manifefted in our Exercitationconcerning the Oneneffof theChurch. And herein alfoGod manifefied what was his defign inhis Call, and feparation unto himfelf, even tomake and conftitute him; and hisPofterity, the means ofbringing forth thepromifed feed, wherein all Na- taons were to bebleffed. Abraham being the tenth Generation 'fromNoab, excluftvè, was theCon ofTerah, of ¢. 5 whom it is laid, Gen. 11, 26. that Terab livedfventyyears, andbegat Abram, Nahor and Haran : not doubtlef in thefame year, but then the eldcA of .them was born, who ever hewas. IfAbrahamwas theeldeft, as he is firft expreffed, he was born 292 years L 1 after
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