Chapter One

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The Same Names And Phrases Used To Define And Describe The Abrahamic Seed Group In Both Testaments, Proves The Abrahamic Covenant Provides Healing And Prosperity Now, During The Church Age, As Well As During The Old Testament Era.

 The Unbroken Force of the Abrahamic Blessings of Healing and Prosperity
During the New Testament Era, More Fully Demonstrated

      In previous volumes, we demonstrated that the Abrahamic Covenant provided healing and prosperity in addition to salvation for the Abrahamic Seed Group.  We also demonstrated that Christians compose the present day "membership roster" of the Abrahamic Seed Group.  Then, we demonstrated that the new (KAINOS) covenant is the completion of the Abrahamic Covenant by Jesus on Golgotha.  In this volume, we demonstrate more fully, the healing and prosperity guaranteed to the Abrahamic Seed Group, in both the Old and New Testament eras continues without interruption.  We accomplish this in three ways.

 1.  We demonstrate more fully from Scripture that the Abrahamic Seed Group is the same group in both the Old and New Testaments and this group is still covered by God's healing and prosperity covenant with Abraham.

 2.  We demonstrate from Scripture how Jewish Christians are incorporated into the unbroken flow of healing and prosperity provided by the Abrahamic Covenant.

 3.                  We demonstrate from Scripture how Gentile Christians are incorporated into the unbroken flow of healing and prosperity provided by the Abrahamic Covenant.

The Abrahamic Covenant Provided the Foundation for Healing and Prosperity,
in Addition to Salvation During the Old Testament Era

      "God, the Father of the universe, who has exercised his boundless wisdom, power, and goodness, in producing various beings of different capacities; who created the earth, and appointed divers climates, soils, and situations in it; hath, from the beginning of the world, introduced several schemes and dispensations for promoting the virtue and happiness of his rational creatures, for curing their corruption, and preserving among them the knowledge and worship of himself, the true God, the possessor of all being, and the fountain of all good."

     In pursuance of this grand and gracious design, when, about four hundred years after the flood, the generality of mankind were fallen into idolatry, (a vice which in those times made its first appearance in the world.) and served other gods, thereby renouncing allegiance to the one God, the maker and governor of heaven and earth, He, to counteract this new and prevailing corruption, was pleased, in his infinite wisdom, to select one family of the earth to be a repository of true knowledge and the pattern of obedience and reward among the nations; that, as mankind were propagated, and idolatry took its rise and was dispersed from one part of the world into various countries, so also the knowledge, worship, and obedience of the true God might be propagated and spread from nearly the same quarter; or, however, from those parts which then were most famous and distinguished.  To this family he particularly revealed himself, visited them with several public and remarkable dispensations of providence, and at last formed them into a nation under his special protection, and governed them by laws delivered from himself, placing them in the open view of the world, first in Egypt, and afterwards in the land of Canaan.

     The head or root of this family was Abraham, the son of Terah, who lived in Ur of the Chaldees, beyond Euphrates.  His family was infected with the common contagion of idolatry, as appears from Joshua 24:2, 3: "And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood (or river Euphrates) in old time; even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.  And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, &c."  And the Apostle Paul intimates as much, Romans 4:3-5: "For what saith the Scripture?  Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteous-ness.  Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.  But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."  Abraham is the person he is discoursing about; and he plainly hints, though he did not care to speak out, that even Abraham was chargeable with not paying due reverence and worship to God; as the word...ungodly, properly imports.

     But, though Abraham had been an idolater, God was pleased, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, to single him out to be the head or root of that family or nation which he intended to separate to himself from the rest of mankind for the forementioned purposes.  Accordingly he appeared to him in his native country, and ordered him to leave it and his idolatrous kindred, and to remove into a distant land to which he would direct and conduct him, declaring at the same time his covenant or grant of mercy to him, in these words, Genesis 12:2, 3: "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 be blessed."  So certainly did God make himself known to Abraham, that he was satisfied this was a revelation from the one true God, and that it was his duty to pay an implicit obedience to it.  Accordingly, upon the foot of this faith, he went out, though he did not know whither he was to go.  The same covenant, or promise of blessings, God afterwards at sundry times repeated to him; particularly when it is said, Genesis 15:5: "And he (the Lord) brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now towards heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be."  Here again he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness.  Also, in Genesis 17:1-8, he repeats and establishes the same covenant, to be a God unto him and his seed after him; promising him the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and appointing circumcision as a perpetual token of the certainty and perpetuity of this covenant.  Thus Abraham was taken into God's covenant, and became entitled to the blessings it conveyed; not because he was not chargeable before God with impiety, irreligion, and idolatry; but because God, on his part, freely forgave his prior transgressions, and because Abraham, on his part, believed in the power and goodness of God; without which belief or persuasion that God was both true and able to perform what he had promised, he could have paid no regard to the Divine manifestations; and consequently must have been rejected as a person altogether improper to be the head of that family which God intended to set apart to himself.

     And as Abraham, so likewise his seed or posterity, were at the same time, and before they had a being, taken into God's covenant, and entitled to the blessings of it.  Genesis 17:7: "I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy SEED AFTER thee, &c."  Not all his posterity, but only those whom God intended in the promise; namely, first, the nation of the Jews, who hereby became particularly related to God, and invested in sundry invaluable privileges; and, after them, the believing Gentiles, who were reckoned the children of Abraham, as they should believe in God as Abraham did.

     For about two hundred and fifteen years from the time God ordered Abraham to leave his native country, he, and his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, sojourned in the land of Canaan, under the special protection of Heaven, till infinite wisdom thought fit to send the family into Egypt, the then head-quarters of idolatry, with a design they should there increase into a nation; and there, notwithstanding the cruel oppression they long groaned under, they multiplied to a surprising number.  At length God delivered them from the servitude of Egypt, by the most dreadful displays of his almighty power; whereby he demonstrated himself to be the one true God, in a signal and complete triumph over idols, even in their metropolis, and in a country of fame and eminence among all the nations round about.  Thus freed from the vilest bondage, God formed them into a kingdom, of which he himself was king; gave them a revelation of his nature and will; instituted sundry ordinances of worship; taught them the way of truth and life; set before them various motives to duty, promising singular blessings to their obedience and fidelity, and threatening disobedience and apostasy, or revolt from his government, with very heavy judgments, especially that of being expelled from the land of Canaan and "scattered among all people from one end of the earth unto the other," in a wretched, persecuted state, Deuteronomy 28:63-68; Leviticus 26:3, 4, &c.  Having settled their constitution, he led them through the wilderness, where he disciplined them for forty years together, made all opposition fall before them, and at last brought them to the promised land.

            Here I may observe that God did not choose the Israelites out of any partial-regard to that nation, nor because they were better than other people (Deuteronomy 9:4, 5) and would always observe his laws.  It is plain he knew the contrary, (Deuteronomy 31:29; 32:5, 6, 15).  It was indeed with great propriety that, among other advantages, he gave them also that of being descended from progenitors illustrious for piety and virtue and that he grounded the extraordinary favours they enjoyed upon Abraham's faith and obedience; Genesis 22:16, 17, 18.  But it was not out of regard to the moral character of the Jewish nation that God chose them; any other nation would have served as well on that account; but, as he thought fit to select one nation of the world, he selected them out of respect to the piety and virtue of their ancestors; Exodus 3:15; 6:3-5; Deuteronomy 4:37.

     It should also be carefully observed that that God selected the Israelitish nation, and manifested himself to them by various displays of his power and goodness, not principally for their own sakes, to make them a happy and flourishing people, but to be subservient to his own high and great designs with regard to all mankind.  And we shall entertain a very wrong, low, and narrow idea of this select nation, and of the dispensations of God towards it, if we do not consider it as a beacon, or a light set upon a hill, as raised up to be a public voucher of the being and providence of God, and of the truth of the revelation delivered to them in all ages and in all parts of the world; and, consequently, that the Divine scheme, in relation to the Jewish polity, had reference to other people, and even to us at this day, as well as to the Jews themselves.  The situation of this nation, lying upon the borders of Asia, Europe, and Africa, was very convenient for such a general purpose.

     It is farther observable that this scheme was wisely calculated to answer great ends under all events.  If this nation continued obedient, their visible prosperity, under the guardianship of an extraordinary Providence, would be a very proper and extensive instruction to the nations of the earth;  and no doubt was so; for, as they were obedient, and favoured with the signal interposition’s of the Divine power, their case was very useful to their neighbours.  On the other hand, if they were disobedient, then their calamities, and especially their dispersions, would nearly answer the same purpose, by spreading the knowledge of the true God and of revelation in the countries where before they were not known.  And so wisely was this scheme laid at first, with regard to the laws of the nation, both civil and religious, and so carefully has it all along been conducted by the Divine providence, that it still holds good, even at this day, full 3600 years from the time when it first took place, and is still of public use for confirming the truth of revelation.  I mean, not only as the Christian profession spread over a great part of the world has grown out of this scheme, but as the Jews themselves, in virtue thereof, after a dispersion of about 1700 years over all the face of the earth, every where in a state of ignominy and contempt, have, notwithstanding, subsisted in great numbers, distinct and separate from all other nations.  This seems to me a standing miracle; nor can I assign it to any other cause but the will and the extraordinary interposal of Heaven, when I consider that, of all the famous nations of the world who might have been distinguished from others with great advantage, and the most illustrious marks of honour and renown, as the Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, who all, in their turns, held the empire of the world, and were, with great ambition, the lords of mankind, yet these, even in their own countries, the seat of their ancient glory, are quite dissolved and sunk into the body of mankind; nor is there a person upon earth can boast he is descended from those renowned and imperial ancestors. Whereas a small nation, generally despised, and which was, both by Pagans and

pretended Christians, for many ages harassed, persecuted, butchered, and distressed, as the most detestable of all people upon the face of the earth, (according to the prophecy of Moses.  Deuteronomy 28:63, &c.); and which, therefore, one would imagine, every soul that belonged to it should have gladly disowned, and have been willing the odious name should be entirely extinguished; yet, I say, this hated nation has continued in a body quite distinct and separate from all other people, even in a state of dispersion and grievous persecution, for about 1700 years; agreeably to the prediction, Jeremiah 46:28: "I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee; but I will not make a full end of thee." This demonstrates that the wisdom which so formed them into a peculiar body, and the providence which has so preserved them that they have almost ever since the deluge subsisted in a state divided from the rest of mankind, and are still likely to do so, is not human but Divine.  For, no human wisdom nor power could form, or, however, could execute such a vast, extensive design.  Thus the very being of the Jews, in their present circumstances, is a standing public proof of the truth of revelation" (AC Vol. III; Matthew-Revelation Vol. II; Romans To The Revelations pp. 6-8).

Words and Phrases Used to Define the Abrahamic Seed Group in the Old Testament

     "The nature and dignity of the foregoing scheme, and the state and privileges of the Jewish nation will be better understood if we carefully observe the particular phrases by which their relation to God and his favours to them are expressed in Scripture.

     As God, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, was pleased to prefer them before any other nation, and to single them out for the purposes of revelation, and preserving the knowledge, worship, and obedience of the true God, he is said to choose them, and they are represented as his chosen or elect people.  Deuteronomy 4:37; 7:6; 10:15: "The Lord had a delight in thy fathers—and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people."  1 Kings 3:8: "Thy servant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen, a great people that cannot be numbered."  1 Chronicles 16:13: "O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen ones;"  Psalms 105:6; 33:12: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance;"  105:43; 106:5: "That I may see the good of thy chosen or elect, that I may rejoice in the goodness of thy nation;"  Psalms 135:4; Isaiah 41:8, 9; 43:20; 44:1, 2; 45:4: For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name." Ezekiel 20:5: "Thus saith the Lord, in the day when I chose Israel, and lifted my hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt."  Hence, reinstating them in their former privileges is expressed by choosing them again.  Isaiah 24:1: "For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land;" Zechariah 1:17; 2:12.

     The first step he took in execution of his purpose of election was to rescue them from their wretched situation, in the servitude and idolatry of Egypt; and to carry them, through all enemies and dangers, to the liberty and happy state to which he intended to advance them.  With regard to which the language of Scripture is: 1. That he delivered; 2. Saved; 3. Bought, or purchased; 4. Redeemed them. Exodus 3:8: "And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them unto a good land."  So Exodus 6:6: "I am the Lord, and I will bring you from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid (deliver) you out of their bondage.  So Exodus 5:23; 1 Sam. 10:18.

     As God brought them out of Egypt, invited them to the honours and happiness of his people, and by many express declarations and acts of mercy engaged them to adhere to him as their God, he is said to call them, and they were his called.  Isaiah 41:8, 9: "But thou, Israel, art my servant,—thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof."  See ver. 2; chap. 51:2; Hosea 11:1: "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."  Isaiah. 48:12: "Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called."

     And as he brought them out of the most abject slavery, and advanced them to a new and happy state of being, attended with distinguished privileges, enjoyments, and marks of honour, he is said—1. to create, make, and form them; 2. to give them life; 3. to have begotten them.  Isaiah 43:1: "But thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not."  Ver. 5: "Fear not, for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and will gather thee from the west."  Ver. 7:  "Even every one that is called by my name; for I have created him       for my glory; I have formed him; yea I have made him."  Ver. 15: "I am the Lord, your Holy One; the creator of Israel, your king."  Deuteronomy 32:6: "Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people?—Hath he not made thee, and established thee?"  Ver. 15; Psalms 149:2; Isaiah 27:11: "It is a people of no understanding; therefore, he that made them will have no mercy on them; and he that formed them will show them no favour; 43:21; 44:1, 2: "Yet hear now, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb."  Ver. 21, 24: "Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb," &c.

     Thus, as God created the whole body of the Jews, and made them to live, they received a being or existence.  Isaiah 43:19: "We are; thou hast never ruled over them; (the heathen;) they were not called by thy name."  Or rather thus: "We are of old; thou hast not ruled over them; thy name hath not been called upon them."  It is in the , HAYINU ME-O'LAM, LO MASHALIA BAM; and are therefore called by the apostle, "things that are," in opposition to the Gentiles, who, as they were not formerly created in the same manner, were, "the things which are not;" 1 Corinthians 1:28: "God has chosen things which are not, to bring to nought things that are." Farther—

     As he made them live, and begat them, (1) He sustains the character of a Father; and (2) they are his children, his sons and daughters, which were born to him.  Deuteronomy 32:6: "Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people?—Is he not thy father that hath bought thee?"  Isaiah 43:16: "Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not.  Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer," &c.  Jeremiah 31:9: "For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.”  Malachi 2:10: "Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?"

     And, as the whole body of the Jews were the children of one father, even of God, this naturally established among themselves the mutual and endearing relation of brethren, (including that of sisters,) and they were obliged to consider and to deal with each other accordingly.  Leviticus 25:46; Deuteronomy 1:16; 2:8; 15:7: "If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren—thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thine hand against thy poor brother;" 27:15; 28:15; 19:19; 22:1; 23:19; 24:14; Judges 20:13; 1 Kings 12:24; [Acts 23:1].  And in many other places.

     And the relation of God, as a father to the Jewish nation, and they his children, will lead our thoughts to a clear idea of their being, as they are frequently called, the house or family of God.  Numbers 12:7: "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house."  1 Chronicles 17:14: "I will settle him in my house, and in my kingdom for ever."  Jeremiah 12:7: "I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage."  Hosea 9:15: "For the wickedness of their (Ephraim's) doings, I will drive them out of my house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters; Zechariah 9:8; Psalms 93:5.  And in other places; and, perhaps, frequently in the Psalms.  See 23:6; 27:4, &c.

     Farther; the Scripture directs us to consider the land of Canaan as the estate or inheritance belonging to this house or family.  Numbers 24:53: "Unto these, (namely, all the children of Israel,) the land shall be divided for an inheritance."  Deuteronomy 21:23: "That thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance."  See the same in many other places.

     Here it may not be improper to take notice that the land of Canaan, in reference to their trials, wanderings, and fatigues in the wilderness, is represented as their rest.  Exodus 33:14: "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest."  Deuteronomy 3:20; 12:9: "For ye are not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you;" ver. 10; 25:19; Psalms 95:11: "Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest."

     Thus the Israelites were the house or family of God.  Or we may conceive them formed into a nation, having the Lord Jehovah, the true God, at their head; who, on this account, is styled their God, governor, protector, or king; and they his people, subjects, or servants.  Exodus 19:6: "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation."  Deuteronomy 4:34: "Hath God essayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation?"  Isaiah 51:4: "Hearken unto me my people, and give ear unto me my nation."

     And it is in reference to their being a society peculiarly appropriated to God and under his special protection and government, that they are sometimes called the city, the holy city, the city of the Lord, of God Psalms 46:4: "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High."  101:8: "I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord."  Isaiah 48:1, 2: "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel; for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel."

     Hence the whole community, or Church, is denoted by the city Jerusalem, and sometimes by Zion, Mount Zion, the city of David.  Isaiah 62:1, 6, 7: "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace—and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth," 65:18, 19 : "I will rejoice in Jerusalem. and joy in my people;"  64:10; Ezekiel 16:2, 3;  Joel 3:17; Zechariah 1:14; 8:3, &c.; 8:1.  Isaiah 28:16: "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation," &c.; 61:3; Joel 2:32.  Obadiah v. 17: "But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance," &c.; ver. 21.

     Hence, also, they are said to be written or enrolled in the book of God, as being citizens invested in the privileges and immunities of his kingdom.  Exodus 32:32: "Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin; and, if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book thou hast written."  Ver. 33: "And the Lord said—Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book;" Ezekiel 13:9.

     And it deserves our notice that, as the other nations of the world did not belong to this city, commonwealth or kingdom of God, and so we are not his subjects and people in the same peculiar sense as the Jews, for these reasons they are frequently represented as strangers and aliens, and as being not a people.  And, as they served other gods, and were generally corrupt in their morals, they have the character of enemies.  Exodus 20:10; Leviticus 25:47: "And if a sojourner, or a stranger, wax rich by thee, and thy brother sell himself to the stranger."  Deuteronomy 14:21 : "Thou mayest sell it to an alien."  Isaiah 61:5: "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen."  And in many other places Deuteronomy 32:21: "I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people;"  Isaiah 7:8; Hosea 1:10, 2:23: "I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people: and they shall say, Thou art my God."  Psalms 74:4: "Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregation;" 78:66; 78:2; 89:10; Isaiah 42:13; 59:18.  Romans 5:10: "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God;" Colossians 1:21.

     The kind and particular regards of God for the Israelites, and their special relation to him, are also signified by that of husband and wife; and his making a covenant with them to be their God, is called espousals.  Jeremiah 31:32: "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, (which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord;") 3:20; Ezekiel 16:31, 32.  Hosea 2:2: "Plead (ye children of Judah, and children of Israel, chap. 1:11) with your mother; plead, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband;" that is, for her wickedness I have divorced her, (Isaiah 62:4, 5.)  Jeremiah 2:2: "Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in the land that was not sown."  3:14: "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you;"  Isaiah 62:4, 5.

            Hence it is that the Jewish Church, or community, is represented as a mother; and particular members as her children.  Isaiah. 50:1: "Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement!" &c.  Hosea 2:2, 5: "For their mother hath played the harlot."  Isaiah 49:17: "Thy children (O Zion) shall make haste," &c.; ver. 22, 25; Jeremiah 5:7; Ezekiel 16:35, 36.  Hosea 4:6: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge—seeing thou hast forgotten the law of God, I will also forget thy children."

     Hence, also, from the notion of the Jewish Church being a wife to God her husband, her idolatry, or worshipping of strange gods, comes under the name of adultery and whoredom, and she takes the character of a harlot.  Jeremiah 3:8: "And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery."  Ver. 9: "And it came to pass, through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks;"  13:27; Ezekiel 16:15; 23:43; Jeremiah 3:6: "Backsliding Israel is gone up upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot."

     As God exercised a singular providence over them in supplying, guiding, and protecting them, he was their shepherd, and they his flock, his sheep.  Psalms 77:20; 77:52; 80:1: "Give ear, O shepherd of Israel."  Isaiah 40:11: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd."  Psalms 74:1: "O God, why hast thou cast us off forever?  Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?" 79:13; 95:7; Jeremiah 13:17: "Mine eye shall weep sore—because the Lord's flock is carried captive."  See Ezekiel 34:throughout; and in many other places.

     Upon nearly the same account, as God established them, provided proper means for their happiness, and improvement in knowledge and virtue, they are compared to a vine and a vineyard, and God to the husbandman who planted and dressed it; and particular members of the community are compared to branches.  Psalms 80:8: "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it."  Ver. 14: "Return, we beseech thee, O Lord of host; look down from heaven; behold and visit this vine, and the vineyard which thy right hand has planted."  Isaiah 5:1, 2: "Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song, touching his vineyard.  My well-beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill; and he fenced it," &c.  Ver. 7: "For the vineyard of the Lord—is the house of Israel;"  Exodus 15:17; Jeremiah 2:21;  Psalms 80:11:  "She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river."  Isaiah 27:9-11: "By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged;—Yet the defenced city shall be desolate,—there shall the calf feed,—and consume the branches thereof.  When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding; therefore, he that made them will have no mercy on them."  Jeremiah 11:16: "The Lord hath called thy name a green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit," &c.;  Ezekiel 17:6; Hosea 14:5, 6; Nahum 2:2; and in many other places.  Romans 11:17-19: "And if some of the branches were broken off," &c.  "Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."

     As they were, by the will of God, set apart, and appropriated in a special manner to his honour and obedience, and furnished with extraordinary means and motives to holiness, so God is said to sanctify or hallow them.  Exodus 31:13: "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,  Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you;"  Ezekiel 20:12; Leviticus 20:8: "And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them; for I am the Lord which sanctify you;" 21:8; 22:9, 16, 32; Ezekiel 37:28.

     Hence it is that they are styled a holy nation, or people, and saints.  Exodus 19:6: "And ye shall be to me—a holy nation."  Deuteronomy 7:6: "For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God;" 14:2; 26:19; 33:3; 2 Chronicles 6:41: "Let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness."  Psalms 34:9: "O fear the Lord, ye his saints."  50:5: "Gather my saints together unto me."  Ver. 7: "Hear, O my people," &c.; 79:2; 148:14: "He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of his saints: even of the children of Israel," &c.

     Farther, by his presence among them, and their being consecrated to him, they were made his house or building, the sanctuary which he built.  And this is implied by his dwelling and walking amongst them.  Psalms 114:2: "Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion."  Isaiah 56:3-5: "Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: —for thus saith the Lord—Even unto them will I give in my house, and within my walls, a place and a name."  Jeremiah 33:7: "And I will cause the captivity of Judah and of Israel to return,—and will build them as at the first." Amos 9:11:  "I will raise up the tabernacle of David—I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old."  Exodus 25:8: "And let them, (the children of Israel,) make me a sanctuary: that I may dwell among them." 29:45, 46: "And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will be their God," &c.  Leviticus 26:11, 12: "And I will set my tabernacle among you:—And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people;"  Numbers 35:34: 2 Samuel 7:7; Ezekiel 43:7, 9: "And he said unto me—the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I dwell in the midst of the children of Israel," &c.  Hence we may gather that dwell, in such places, imports to reign and may be applied figuratively to whatever governs in our hearts;  Romans 7:17, 20; 8:9, 11.

     And not only did God, as their king, dwell among them, as in his house, temple, or palace; but he also conferred upon them the honour of kings, as he redeemed them from servitude, and made them lords of themselves, and raised them above other nations, to reign over them; and of priests, too, as they were to attend upon God, from time to time, continually, in the solemn offices of religion, which he had appointed.  Exodus 19:6: "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, or a kingly priesthood."  Deuteronomy 26:19: "And to make thee high above all nations—in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be a holy people unto the Lord thy God." 28:1; 15:6: "For the Lord thy God blesseth thee—and thou shalt reign over many nations."  Isaiah 61:6: "But ye, (the seed of Jacob,) shall be named the priests of the Lord; men shall call you the ministers of our God."

     Thus the whole body of the Jewish nation were separated unto God; and, as they were more nearly related to him than any other people, as they were joined to him in covenant, and felt access to him in the ordinances of worship, and, in virtue of his promise, had a particular title to his regards and blessings, he is said to be near unto them, and they unto him;  Exodus 33:16.  Leviticus 20:24: "I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from other people;" ver. 26; 1 Kings 8:52, 53.  Deuteronomy 4:7: "For what nation is there so great, that hath God so near unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?"  Psalms 148:14: "The children of Israel, a people near unto him."

     And here I may observe that, as the Gentiles were not then taken into the same peculiar covenant with the Jews, nor stood in the same special relation to God, nor enjoyed their extraordinary religious privileges, but lay out of the commonwealth of Israel, they are, on the other hand said to be far off.  Isaiah 57:19: "I create the fruit of the lips: peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord, and I will heal him."  Zechariah 6:15: "And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple."  Ephesians 2:17: "And came and preached to you, (Gentiles,) which were afar off, and to them that were nigh, (the Jews.)

     And as God had, in all these respects, distinguished them from all other nations, and sequestered them unto himself, they are styled his peculiar people.  Deuteronomy 7:6: "The Lord has chosen thee to be a special (or peculiar) people unto himself."  14:2: "The Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth;" 26:18.

   As they were a body of men particularly related to God, instructed by him in the rules of wisdom, devoted to his service, and employed to his true worship, they are called his congregation or Church.  Numbers 16:3; 27:17; Joshua 22:17. 1 Chronicles 28:8: "Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel the congregation, the Church, of the Lord;" Psalms 74:2.

     For the same reason they are considered as God's possession, inheritance, or heritage.  Deuteronomy 9:26: "O Lord, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance;"  ver. 29; Psalms 33:12; 116:40; Jeremiah 10:16. 7:7: "I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage.  I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies."  And many other places.

     Whether I have ranged the foregoing particulars in proper order, or given an exact account of each, let the studious of Scripture knowledge consider.  What ought to be specially observed is this; that all the forementioned privileges, benefits, relations, and honours, did belong to ALL the children of Israel without exception.  The Lord Jehovah was the God, King, Saviour, Father, Husband, Shepherd, &c., to them ALL.  He saved, bought, redeemed; he created, he begot, he made, he planted, &c., them ALL.  And they were ALL his people, nation, heritage; his children, spouse,     flock, vineyard, &c.  They ALL had a right to the ordinances of worship, to the promises of God's blessing, and especially to the promise of the land of Canaan; ALL enjoyed the protection and special favours of God in the wilderness, till they had forfeited them; ALL ate of the manna, and ALL drank of the water out of the rock, &c.  That these privileges and benefits belonged to the whole body of the Israelitish nation is evident from all the texts I have already quoted; which he, who observes carefully, will find do all of them speak of the whole nation, the whole community, without exception.

     And that all these privileges, honours, and advantages were common to the whole nation, is confirmed by this farther consideration; that they were the effect of God's free grace, without regard of any prior righteousness of theirs; and therefore they are assigned to God's love as the spring from whence they flowed; and the donation of those benefits is expressed by God's loving them: they are also assigned to God's mercy, and the bestowing of them is expressed by God's showing them mercy.  Deuteronomy 9:4-6: "Speak not thou in thy heart, after that the Lord hath cast them out before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land.—Not for thy righteousness or the uprightness of thy heart dost thou go to possess their land," &c.  "Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people."

     Deuteronomy 7:7, 8: "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any other people; but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out" (of Egypt.) 33:3: "He loved the people;"  Isaiah 43:3, 4; Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 3:1; 9:15.

     It is on account of this general love to the Israelites, that they are honoured with the title of Beloved;  Psalms 60:5: "That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy right hand, and hear me;"  Psalms 108:6.  Jeremiah 11:15: "What hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many!"  7:7: "I have forsaken my house,  I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hands of my enemies," (and in their present condition at this day the Jews are still, in a sense, beloved, Romans 11:28.)  Exodus 15:13: "Thou, in thy mercy, hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed," &c.;  Psalms 98:3; Isaiah 54:10. Micah 7:20: "Thou shalt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old."  Luke 1:54, 55: "He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed for ever."  Agreeably to this, he showed them mercy, as he continued them to be his people, when he might have cut them off.  Exodus 33:19: "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."  And when, after their present state of rejection, they shall again be taken into the Church, this too is expressed by their "obtaining mercy," Romans 11:31.

     In these texts, and others of the same kind, it is evident the love and mercy of God hath respect not to particular persons among the Jews, but to the whole nation; and therefore it is to be understood of that general love and mercy whereby he singled them out to be a peculiar nation to himself, favoured with extraordinary blessings.

     And it is with regard to this sentiment and manner of speech, that the GENTILES, who were not distinguished in the same manner, are said not to have obtained mercy.  Hosea 2:23: "And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy, and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” Farther, it should be noted, as a very material and important circumstance, that all this mercy and love was granted and confirmed to the Israelites under the sanction of a covenant, the most solemn declaration and assurance, sworn to and ratified by the oath of God.  Genesis 17:7, 8: "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant; to be a God unto the and to thy seed after thee.  And I will give unto 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."  Genesis 22:16-18: "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in  multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of 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."  This covenant with Abraham was the Magna Charta, the basis of the Jewish constitution, which was renewed afterwards with the whole nation; and is frequently referred to as the ground and security for all their blessings.  Exodus 6:3-7: "I appeared unto Abraham, Isaac," &c.  "And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan.  I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, and I have remembered my covenant, and will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God;"  Deuteronomy 7:8.  Psalms 105:8-10: "He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.  Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac, and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting COVENANT;" Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 16:8; 20:5 (AC Vol. III; Matthew-Revelation.  Vol. II: Romans To The Revelations pp. 8-13).

 The Gentiles Are Taken Into and Incorporated Into the Same Abrahamic Covenant During the New Testament Era

     "But though the Jewish peculiarity did not exclude the rest of the world from the care and beneficence of the universal Father; and though the Jews were commanded to exercise benevolence towards persons of other nations; yet, about the time when the Gospel was promulgated, the Jews were greatly elevated on account of their distinguishing privileges; they looked upon themselves as the only favourites of Heaven, and regarded the rest of mankind with a sovereign contempt, as nothing, as abandoned of God, and without a possibility of salvation, unless they should incorporate, in some degree or other, with their nation.  Their constitution, they supposed, was established for ever, never to be altered, or in any respect abolished.  They were the true and only Church, out of which no man could be accepted of God: and consequently, unless a man submitted to the law of Moses, how virtuous or good soever he were, it was their belief he could not be saved.  He had no right to a place in the Church, nor could hereafter obtain life.

     But the Jewish dispensation, as peculiar to that people, though superior to the mere light of nature, which it supposed and included, was but of a temporary duration, and of an inferior and imperfect kind, in comparison of that which was to follow, and which God from the beginning (when he entered into covenant with Abraham, and made the promise to him) intended to erect, and which he made several declarations under the Old Testament that he would erect, in the proper time, as successive to the Jewish dispensation, and, as a superstructure, perfective of it.  And as the Jewish dispensation was erected by the ministry of a much nobler hand, even that of the SON of GOD, the Messiah, foreordained before the world was made, promised to Abraham, foretold by the prophets, and even expected by the Jews themselves, though under no just conceptions of the end of his coming into the world.  He was to assume and live in a human body, to declare the truth and grace of God more clearly and expressly to the Jews, to exhibit a pattern of the most perfect obedience, and to be obedient even unto death in compliance with the will of God.  When Christ came into the world, the Jews were ripe for destruction: but he published a general indemnity for the transgressions of the former covenant, upon their repentance,...Thus he confirmed the former covenant with the Jews as to the favour and blessing of God; and enlarged, or more clearly explained it, as to the blessings therein bestowed;...

     That the Gospel is the Jewish scheme enlarged and improved, will evidently appear, if we consider that we, Gentiles, believing in Christ, are said to be incorporated into the same body with the Jews; and that believing Jews and Gentiles are now become one, one flock, one body in Christ.  John 10:16: "And other sheep I have which are not of this (the Jewish) fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one flock, (so the word POIMAN signifies, and so our translators have rendered it in all the other places where it is used in the New Testament.  See Matthew 26:31; Luke 2:8; 1 Corinthians 9:7.  And here also it should have been translated flock, not fold,) and one shepherd."  1 Corinthians 12:13: "By one Spirit are we all baptized in one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles."  Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye all are ONE in Christ Jesus;" that is, under the Gospel dispensation. Ephesians 2:14-16: "For he is our peace, who has made both (Jews and Gentiles) one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us, (Jews and Gentiles.)  Having abolished by his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."

     And that this union or coalition between believing Jews and Gentiles is to be understood of the believing Gentiles being taken into that Church and covenant in which the Jews were before the Gospel dispensation was erected, and out of which the unbelieving Jews were cast, is evident from the following considerations.

     First, that Abraham, the head or root of the Jewish nation, is the father of us all.  Romans 4:16, 17: "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, (the Jews,) but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, (the believing Gentiles,) who is the father of us all, (as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed;" that is to say, in the account and purpose of God, whom he believed, he is the father of US ALL.  Abraham, when he stood before God and received the promise, did not, in the account of God, appear as a

private person, but as the father of us all; as the head and father of the whole future Church of God, from whom we were all, believing Jews and Gentiles, to descend, as we were to be accepted and interested in the Divine blessing and covenant after the same manner as he was, namely, by faith.  Galatians 3:6, &c.: "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Know ye, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.  For the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify (would take into his Church and covenant) the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.  So then they which be

of faith (of what country soever they are, heathens as well as Jews) are blessed, (justified, taken into the kingdom and covenant of God,) together with believing Abraham," (and into that very covenant which was made with him and his seed.)  In this covenant were the Jews during the whole period from Abraham to Moses, and from Moses to Christ.  For the covenant with Abraham was with him, and with his seed after him,"  Genesis 17:7: "To Abraham and his seed were the promises made," Galatians 3:16.  And the apostle in the next verse tells us that (the promises or) the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law which was (given by Moses) four hundred and thirty years after could not

disannul, that it should make the promise (or covenant with Abraham) of none effect; consequently the Jews, during the whole period of the law, or Mosaical dispensation, were under the covenant with Abraham; and into that same covenant the apostle argues, Romans 4 and Galatians 3, that the believing Gentiles are taken.  For which reason he affirms that they are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens, with the saints, that is, the patriarchs, &c.  And that the great mystery, not understood in other ages, was this.  That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body with his Church and children, the Jews, Ephesians 2:19; 3:5, 6.

     Secondly.  Agreeably to this sentiment, the believing Gentiles are said to partake of all the spiritual privileges which the Jews enjoyed, and from which the unbelieving Jews fell: and to be taken into that kingdom and Church of God out of which they were cast.  Several of the parables of our Lord are intended to point out this fact; and many passages in the epistles directly prove it.

1.  Matthew 20:1-16.  In this parable the vineyard is the kingdom of heaven, into which God, the house-holder, hired the Jews early in the morning; and into the same vineyard he hired the Gentiles at the eleventh hour, or an hour before sun-set.

2.  Matthew 21:33, 34.  The husbandman to whom the vineyard was first let were the Jews; to whom God first sent his servants, the prophets, ver. 34-36, and at last he sent his Son, whom they slew, ver. 37-39, and then the vineyard was let out to other husbandmen; which our Saviour clearly explains, ver. 43: "Therefore I say unto you, (Jews,) the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation (the believing Gentiles) bringing forth the fruits thereof."  Hence it appears that the very same kingdom of God, which the Jews once possessed, and in which the ancient prophets exercised their ministry, one after another, is now in our possession; for it was taken from them and given to us.

3.  Romans 11:17-24.  The Church or kingdom of God is compared to an olive-tree, and the members of it to the branches.  "And if some of the branches (the unbelieving Jews) be broken off, and thou (Gentile Christian) wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;" that is, the Jewish Church and covenant. Ver. 24: "For if thou (Gentile Christian) wert cut out of the olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted, contrary to nature, into the good olive-tree," &c.

4.  1 Peter 2:7-10: "Unto you Gentiles who believe, he (Christ) is an honour, TIMA, but unto them which be disobedient, (the unbelieving Jews,) the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and also a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence.  They stumbled at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed, (they are fallen from their privileges and honour, as God appointed they should, in case of their unbelief.)  But ye (Gentiles, are raised into the high degree from which they are fallen, and so) are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of the heathenish darkness into his marvellous light."

     Thirdly.  The Jews vehemently opposed the admission of the uncircumcised Gentiles into the kingdom of and covenant of God, at the first preaching of the Gospel.  But if the Gentiles were not taken into the same Church and covenant in which the Jewish nation had so long gloried, why should they so zealously oppose their being admitted into it?  Or why so strenously insist that they ought to be circumcised in order to their being admitted?  For what was it then, if the Gentiles were called, and taken into another kingdom and covenant, distinct and quite different from that which they would have confined wholly to themselves, or to such only as were circumcised?  It is plain the Gentiles might have been admitted into another kingdom and covenant without offence to the Jews, as they would still have been left in the sole possession of their ancient privileges.  And the apostles could not have failed in using this as an argument to pacify their incensed brethren, had they so understood It.  But, seeing they never gave the least intimation of this, it shows they understood the affair as the unbelieving Jews did, namely, that the Gentiles, without being circumcised, were taken into the kingdom of God, in which they and their forefathers had so long stood.

     Fourthly.  It is upon this foundation, namely, that the believing Gentiles are taken into that Church and kingdom in which the Jews once stood, that the apostles drew parallels, for caution and instruction, between the state of the ancient Jews and that of the Christians.  1 Corinthians 10:1-13: "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses, and did all eat of the same spiritual meat, and did all drink of the same spiritual drink; but with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.  Now those things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; neither let us provoke Christ, as some of them provoked," &c.  Hebrews 3:7, &c.: "Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith,  To-day, when or while you hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me: wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief." Chapter 4:1, 2: "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  For unto us hath the Gospel been preached, as well as to them," that is, we have the joyful promise of a happy state, or of entering into rest, as well as the Jews of old.  Ver. 11: "Let us labour, therefore, to enter into the rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."

     Fifthly.  Hence also the scriptures of the Old Testament are represented as being written for our use and instruction, and to explain our dispensation as well as theirs.  Matthew 5:17: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." And when our Saviour taught his disciples the things pertaining to his kingdom, he opened to them the Scriptures, which were then no other than the Old Testament: Luke 4:17-22; 18:31; 24:27: "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself."  Ver. 45: "Then opened he their understandings, that they might understand the Scriptures." Thus the apostles were instructed in the things pertaining to the Gospel dispensation.  And always, in their sermons in the Acts, they confirm their doctrine from the Scriptures of the Old Testament.  And in their Epistles they not only do the same, but also expressly declare that those Scriptures were written as well for the benefit of the Christian as the Jewish Church.  Romans 15:4: After a quotation out of the Old Testament, the apostle adds:—"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning; that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."  1 Corinthians 9:9: "It is written in the law of Moses, that thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn."  Ver. 10: "For our sakes, no doubt, this is written."  1 Corinthians 10:11: "Now all these things (namely, the before-mentioned privileges, sins, and punishments of the ancient Jews) happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition; upon whom the ends of the earth are come."  2 Timothy 3:16, 17: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (AC Vol. III; Matthew-Revelation. Vol. II; Romans To The Revelations pp. 16-19).

 The Same Words and Phrases Used to Define the Abrahamic Seed Group in the Old Testament Are Used to Define Them in the New Testament Also

       Sixthly.  Agreeable to this notion, that the believing Gentiles are taken into that Church or kingdom; out of which the unbelieving Jews are cast, the Christian Church, considered in a body, is called by the same general names as the Church under the Old Testament.  Israel was the general name of the Jewish Church; so also of the Christian. Galatians 6:16: "As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God."  Revelations 7:3, 4: Speaking of the Christian Church, the angel said.  "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.  And I heard the number of them that were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty-four thousand, of all the tribes of the children of Israel." Revelations 21:10-14: "He showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, (the Christian Church,) having the glory of God—and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, (as comprehending the whole Church.)  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Jews was another running title of the Church in our Saviour's time, and this is also applied to Christians.  Revelations 2:8, 9: "And unto the angel of the (Christian) Church in Smyrna, write, I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty; and I know the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews (members of the Church of Christ) and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."  And again, chapter 3:9.

            Seventhly.  In conformity to this sentiment, (namely, that the believing Gentiles are taken into that Church, covenant, and kingdom, out of which the unbelieving Jews were cast,) the state, membership, privileges. honours, and relations of professed Christians, particularly of believing Gentiles, are expressed by the same phrases with those of the ancient Jewish Church; and therefore, unless we admit a very strange abuse of words, must convey the same general ideas of our present state, membership, honours, and relations to God, as we are professed Christians.  For instance:—

I.  As God chose his ancient people the Jews, and they were his chosen and elect, so now the whole body of Christians, Gentiles as well as Jews, are admitted to the same honour, as they are selected from the rest of the world, and taken into the kingdom of God, for the knowledge, worship, and obedience of God, in hopes of eternal life.  Romans 8:33: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" &c.  Ephesians 1:4: "According as he hath chosen us (Gentiles, chap. 2:11) in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love."  Colossians 3:12: "Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies," &c.  2 Thessalonians 2:13: "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation: through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth."  Titus 1:1: "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness."  2 Timothy 2:10: "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory."  1 Peter 1:1, 2: "Peter to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience." 2:9: "Ye (Gentiles) are a chosen generation," &c. 5:13: "The Church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you."

II. The first step which the goodness of God took in execution of his purpose of election, with regard to the Gentile world, was to rescue them from their wretched situation in the sin and idolatry of their heathen state (by sending his Son Jesus Christ into the world to die for mankind, and thus) to bring them into the light and privileges of the Gospel.  With regard to which the language of Scripture is: 1st, that he delivered; 2nd, saved; 3rd, bought or purchased; 4th, redeemed them.  Galatians 1:4: "Who gave himself for our sins. that he might deliver us from this present evil world," the vices and lusts in which the world is involved.  Colossians 1:12, 13: "Giving thanks to the Father, who has delivered us from the power of (heathenish) darkness, (Acts 26:18; 1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 4:18; 5:8,) and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."  And thus, consequently, we are "delivered from the wrath to come;" 1 Thessalonians 1:10.

     1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."  7:16: "What knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?" that is, convert her to the Christian faith.  10:33: "Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they maybe saved."  Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith."  1 Thessalonians 2:16: "Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved."  1 Timothy 2:4: "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."  2 Timothy 1:9: "Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace."  In this general sense, saved is in other places applied to both Jews and Gentiles: particularly to the Jews, Romans 9:27; 10:1; 11:26.  Hence God is styled our Saviour.  Titus 3:4, 5: "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us."  1 Timothy 1:1: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour;"  2:3; Titus 1:3. Romans 11:11: "Through their (the Jews') fall, salvation is come to the Gentiles."  And as this salvation is by Jesus Christ, he also is frequently called our Saviour.

     Acts 20:28: "Feed the Church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood."  1 Corinthians 6:19, 20: "And ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price."  7:23: "Ye are bought with a price."  2 Peter 2:1: "False prophets shall bring in damnable heresies. even denying the Lord that bought them."  Revelations 5:9: "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed (bought) us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."

     Titus 2:14: "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity." 1 Peter 1:18: "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain (heathenish) conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ."  And at the same time he redeemed or bought us from death, or the curse of the law.  Galatians 3:13; and the Jews, in particular, from the law, and the condemnation to which it subjected them; Galatians 4:5.  Hence frequent mention is made of the redemption which is in Jesus Christ;  Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:12, 15.  Hence also Christ is said to give himself a ransom for us; Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45.  1 Timothy 2:6: "Who gave himself a ransom for all."  That is, that he might redeem them unto God by the sacrificial shedding of his blood.—See the note under 76.

III.       As God sent the Gospel to bring Gentiles, Christians, out of heathenism, and invited and made them welcome to the honours and privileges of his people, he is said to call them, and they are his called. Romans 2:6, 7: "Among whom are ye also called of Jesus Christ.  To all that are at Rome called saints;" 8:28.  1 Corinthians 1:9: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son;" 7:20.  Galatians 1:6: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you;" 5:13.  Ephesians 4:1: "I beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called;" 4:4.  1 Thessalonians 2:12: "That ye walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory."  4:7: "God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."  2 Timothy 1:9: "Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling; not according to our works," &c.  1 Peter 1:15: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation."  2:9: "Ye (Gentile Christians) are a chosen generation—to show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light."

     Note—The Jews also were called.  Romans 9:24: "Even us, whom he has called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." 1 Corinthians 1:24: 7:18: "Is any man called being circumcised;" Hebrews 9:15.  But the calling of the Jews must be different from that of the Gentiles.  The Gentiles were called into the kingdom of God as strangers and foreigners, who had never been in it before.  But the Jews were then subjects of God's kingdom, under the old form; and therefore could be called only to submit to it, as it was now modeled under the Messiah.  Or they were called to repentance, to the faith, allegiance, and obedience of the Son of God, and to the hope of eternal life through him; whom rejecting, they were-cast out of God's peculiar kingdom.

IV.       And as we stand in the relation of children to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, hence it is that we are his brethren, and he is considered as the first born among us.  Matthew 28:10; John 20:17: "Jesus saith—Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God;"  Hebrews 2:11, 17.  Romans 8:29: "That he might be the first-born among many brethren."

V.        And the relation of God, as a Father, to us Christians, who are his children, will lead our thoughts to a clear idea of our being, as we are called, the house or family of God or of Christ.  1 Timothy 3:15: "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God."  Hebrews 3:6: "But Christ, as a Son over his own house, whose house are we, (Christians,) if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."  Hebrews 10:21: "And having a great high priest over the house of God," &c.  1 Peter 4:17: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God, (that is, when the Christian Church shall undergo sharp trials and sufferings;) and if it first begin at us, (Christians, who are the house or family of God,) what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel?"  that is, of the infidel world, who lie out of the Church.  See Romans 1:5; 15:18; 1 Peter 1:22;  Ephesians 2:19: "We are of the household (domestics) of God."  3:14, 15: "I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named," &c.

VI.              Farther, as the land of Canaan was the estate or inheritance belonging to the Jewish family or house, so the heavenly country is given to the Christian house or family for their inheritance.  Acts 20:32: "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."  Colossians 3:24: "Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance."  Hebrews 9:15: "He is the mediator of the New Testament, that they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."  1 Peter 1:3, 4: "God has begotten us again—to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us."  Hence we have the title of heirs.  Titus 3:7: That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."  James 2:5: "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith. and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?"  See Romans 8:17; 1 Peter 3:7.

     And as Canaan was considered as the rest of the Jews, so, in reference to our trials and afflictions in this world, heaven is considered as the rest of Christians.  2 Thessalonians 1:7: "And to you who are troubled, (he will give) rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven."  Hebrews 4:1: "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  For unto us hath the Gospel been preached, as well as to them;" that is, we have the joyful promise of entering into rest as well as the Jews of old.  Verse 9: "There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God;" that is, for Christians now in this world, as well as for the Jews formerly in the wilderness, which is the point the apostle is proving, from ver. 3 to 10.

VII.     Thus Christians, as well as the ancient Jews, are the house or family of God: or we may conceive the whole body of Christians formed into a nation, having God at their head; who, on this account, is styled our God, governor, protector, or king; and we his people, subjects, or servants.

VIII.    And it is in reference to our being a society peculiarly appropriated to God, and under his special protection and government, that we are called the city of God, the holy city.  Hebrews 12:22: "Ye are come unto—the city of the living God."  Revelations 11:2: "And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." This city is described in some future happy state; Revelations 21.

     Hence the whole Christian community or Church is denoted by the city Jerusalem, and sometimes by Mount Zion. Galatians 4:26: "But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all."—In her reformed, or future happy state, she is the New Jerusalem;  Revelations 3:12; 21:2; Hebrews 12:22: "Ye are come unto Mount Zion," &c.; Revelations 14:1.

     Hence also we are said to be written or enrolled in the book of God, or, which comes to the same thing, of the Lamb, the Son of God.  Revelations 3:5: "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life."  22:19: "And if any man take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city," &c.; which shows that the names of such as are in the book of life may be blotted out, consequently, that to be enrolled there is the privilege of all professed Christians.

     And whereas the believing Gentiles were once strangers, aliens, not a people, enemies; now (Ephesians 2:19) "they are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints."  1 Peter 2:10: "Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God."  Now "we are at peace with God;" Romans 5:1.  Now we are reconciled and became the servants of God," the subjects of his kingdom; Romans 5:10: 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19.—[That is, all those who have turned to God by true repentance have received remission of sin, and are walking in the way of righteousness, with a believing, obedient, loving, and grateful heart.—A. C.]

On the other hand, the body of the Jewish nation, (having, through unbelief, rejected the Messiah, and the Gospel, and being therefore cast out of the city and kingdom of God,) are, in their turn, at present represented under the name and nation of enemies.  Romans 11:28: "As concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake."

IX.       The kind and particular regards of God to the converted Gentiles, and their relation to Jesus Christ, is also signified by that of a husband and wife; and his taking them into his covenant is represented by his espousing them.  2 Corinthians 11:2: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

     Hence the Christian Church or community is represented as a mother, and particular members as her children.  Galatians 4:26-28: "But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all.  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath a husband.  Now we, brethren, as Israel was, are the children of promise."  Verse 31: "So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free."

     Hence also, from the notion of the Christian Church being the spouse of God in Christ, her corruption and her idolatry come under the name of fornication and adultery.

X.        As God, by Christ, exercises a particular providence over the Christian Church, in supplying them with all spiritual blessings, guiding them through all difficulties, and guarding them in all spiritual dangers, He is their shepherd, and they his flock, his sheep.  John 10:11: "I am the good shepherd."  Verse 16: "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd;"  Acts 20:28, 29; Hebrews 13:20.  1 Peter 2:25: "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned to the shepherd and bishop (overseer) of your souls."  5:2-4: "Feed the flock of God," &c.

XI. Nearly on the same account as God, by Christ, has established the Christian Church, and provided all means for our happiness and improvement in knowledge and virtue, we are compared to a vine and a vineyard, and God to the husbandman, who planted and dresses it; and particular members of the community are compared to branches.  John 15:1, 2: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it," &c.  ver. 5: "I am the vine, ye are the branches."  Matthew 15:13: "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up."  Romans 6:5: "If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Matthew 20:1.  The vineyard into which labourers were hired is the Christian as well as the Jewish Church: and so chap. 21:33; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9.    1 Corinthians 3:9: "Ye are God's husbandry." Romans 11:17: "And if some of the branches (Jews) be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive-tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive-tree," &c.  See also ver. 24.

XII. As Christians are, by the will of God, set apart and appropriated in a special manner to his honour, service, and obedience, and furnished with extraordinary means and motives to holiness, so they are said to be sanctified.  1 Corinthians 1:2: "Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus."  6:11: "And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but we are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."  Hebrews 2:11: "For both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one;" 10:10.

XIII.    Farther; by the presence of God in the Christian Church, and our being by profession consecrated to him, we, as well as the ancient Jews, are made his house or temple, which God has built, and in which he dwells, or walks.  1 Peter 2:5: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, &c.  1 Corinthians 3:9: "Ye are God's building."  Ver. 16, 17: "Know ye not that ye (Christians) are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you: if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."  2 Corinthians 6:16: "And what agreement hath the temple of God (the Christian Church) with idols?  For ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said: I will dwell in them, and walk in them."  Ephesians 2:20-22: "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles, &c., Christ Jesus being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together, for a habitation of God through the Spirit."  2 Thessalonians 2:4: "So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, SHOWING HIMSELF that he is God."

XIV.    And not only does God, as our king, dwell in the Christian Church, as in his house or temple; but he has also conferred on Christians the honours of kings; as he has redeemed us from the servitude of sin, made us lords of ourselves, and raised us above others, to sit on thrones, and to judge and reign over them.  And he has made us priests too, as we are peculiarly consecrated to God, and obliged to attend upon him, from time to time continually, in the solemn offices of religion which he has appointed.  1 Peter 2:5: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood."  Ver. 9: "But ye (Gentile Christians) are a chosen generation, a royal (or kingly) priesthood."  Revelations 1:5, 6: "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father," &c.

XV. Thus the whole body of the Christian Church is separated unto God from the rest of the world.  And whereas, before, the Gentile believers were afar off, lying out of the commonwealth of Israel, now they are nigh, as they are joined to God in covenant, have full access to him in the ordinances of worship, and, in virtue of his promise, a particular title to his regards and blessing.  2 Corinthians 6:17: "Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."  Ephesians 2:13: "But now, in Christ Jesus, ye, who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh, by the blood of Christ."

XVI.    And as God, in all these respects, has distinguished the Christian Church, and sequestered them unto himself, they are styled his peculiar people.  Titus 2:14: "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."  1 Peter 2:9: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people."

XVII.   As Christians are a body of men particularly related to God, instructed by him in the rules of wisdom, devoted to his service, and employed in his true worship, they are called his Church or congregation Acts 20:28: "Feed the Church of God."  1 Corinthians 10:32: "Giving none offence to the Church of God;" 15:9; Galatians 1:13; and elsewhere.  Ephesians 1:22: "Head over all things to the Church:"—and particular societies are Churches.  Romans 16:16: "The Churches of Christ salute you:"—and so in several other places.

XVIII. For the same reason they are considered as God's possession or heritage. 1 Peter 5:3: "Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock."  The reader cannot well avoid observing that the words and phrases by which our Christian privileges are expressed in the New Testament are the very same with the words and phrases by which the privileges of the Jewish Church are expressed in the Old Testament: which makes good what St. Paul says concerning the language in which the apostles declared the things that are freely given to us of God.  1 Corinthians 2:12, 13: "We (apostles) have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are given to