, CHAPTER V. ß47 VIII. Here is a remarkable controversy and dispute among christians, whether' the promise or covenant, made by God to, and with the seed of Abraham in Gen. xvii. and in many other places, where God promises to be the God of Abraham and his send, is to be construed to extend to his carnal, seed, the Jews, in any of the spiritual blessings signified thereby ? Or whether the spiritual blessings signified thereby, belong only to his spiritual seed, who are the imitators of his faith and obedi- ence, whether they be Jew or gentile. And then it is debated also, whether the spiritual seed of Abraham, under the New Testament, that is, true christians have any spiritual blessings promised, or entailed to their children by the strong assertions of St. Paul, concerning their interest in Abraham's covenant, and whether their carnal seed or offspring, have any general and in- definite title to spiritual blessings, by virtue of these and the like promises to Abraham, as the father of the faithful : But I am notwilling to embarrass this short essay with any such long and unhappy controversies. IX. Let it be observed that these three early dispensations ofgrace, are called the patriarchial dispensations, because they were first communicated to those three patriarchs, Adam, Noah and Abraham. CHAP. V. TheMosaical Dispensation; or, the Jewish Religion. I. The same gracious covenant or gospel, was revealed further to the seed of Abraham, or the Israelites by Moses, together with all thesame seals or emblemsof sacrifice and circumcision, which signified atonement for sin, and sanctification or purificationof our nature, God was pleased to discover this to Moses, as a fourth edition of the covenantof grace, and by him to the faniily of Jacob, who was ..the grandson of Abraham; that is, to the nation of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai ; but not to the other notions of mankind : Though the other nations might and did reap considerable advantages by God's setting up this one nation in the earth as a beacon on a hill to spread the light of true reli- gion far around. This was called the Levitical or -Mosaicalor Jewish dispensation. And it is plain from lieb. iv. 2. That the gospel, that is, the true covenant of grace, or way of salvation, was preached unto them, as well as unto us, though their dis- pensation is oftentimes for special' reasons, called the law in scripture. It is necessary to take notice here, once for all, that the word as law,f0 is used in various senses in S!. Paul's epistles. Sometimes it signifies the moral law, or ten commandments, sometimes the five books. of Moses, and sometimes, the whole Old Testament; sometimes it means the peculiar covenant of Sinai, and at other times, it includes the whole Jewish dispensation, or the covenant of grace, as it was exhibited to them, with all its legal or Levitical' appendices. Now it is only the connection in whiéh this word stands, that can distinguish and ascertain to us, in which of these senses the word " law" is used and I hope
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=