which the Apostle here affirmeth, namely, that when God made the promise of being a God, that is, a great and blessed Benefactor, such as no creature, one or more, could be, unto " Abraham and his seed," or children; by "seed," or "children," he did not mean all those, without exception, who should carnally descend from him, but, as the next words plainly insinuate, such who should resemble him in his faith, as children commonly do the parents of their flesh, both in the lineaments of their natural faces, as likewise in the temper or complexion of their minds. By the way, when the Apostle saith, "For they are not all Israel that are of Israel;" and so again: "Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children;" he doth not imply or suppose that the greatest part of them were such, I mean Israel or Abraham's children, in his emphatical sense, because he expresseth himself thus: "They are not all Israel, neither are they all children." Negative or exclusive particles do not always suppose or take for granted whatsoever in the same kind is not particularly denied or excluded; but sometimes simply and precisely deny or exclude without any connotation or implication at all in this kind. As when the Apostle saith, "For all men have not faith," he doth not suppose that most men or the greatest part of men have faith, but simply denieth that all men have faith. But let us make some brief observations from the words lately opened by the way :

1. From those words, "Not as if the word of God hath taken no effect," so understood as hath been showed, it may be observed, that sometimes such consequences which pretend to a legitimacy of descent from words spoken are yet spurious and illegitimate. (Rom. vi. 1, 2; iii. 5, 31; John xxi. 23, &c.)

2. Upon the same account, only somewhat more particularly, it is observable, that such events now and then come to pass, which seem to contradict the word of God in the Scriptures, and yet really and in truth are far from it. (Rom. xi. 1; John xii. 34.)

3. Whereas the Apostle rejects such a supposition as this, that the "word of God" should be "of none effect," not only or simply as a non-sequitur, or that which followeth not upon any thing that he had either said or meant, but as that which is in itself erroneous and dangerous; it is observable, that any

opinion or saying whatsoever, involving in it a non-performance of any promise or word of God, is unsound, and of a dangerous tendency and consequence. (Rom. iii. 3, 4.)

4. From this clause, " For they are not all Israel that are of Israel," as it hath been expounded, it is observable, that though faith and holiness commonly shoot forth in some of the branches of a natural propagation or descent, where there is or hath been a godly ancestry or parentage, yet seldom or never do they appear in all. (Rom. xi. 1, 2, 15, 16.)

5. From the same clause, as supposing that the Jews conceived all, or at least the greatest part of, those to be Israel, the true Israel of God, who were naturally descended from Israel; the observation is, that men frequently stretch the intentions of God, in his collation of outward privileges, beyond the truth. Or thus: Men under the enjoyment of outward privileges are apt to think more highly of themselves than there is cause, and to conceit themselves something when as indeed they are nothing, as this Apostle speaks elsewhere. (Philip. iii. 3; Rom. ii. 3, 13; Jer. vii. 4.)

6. And lastly: From these words, "Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children," which imply that the Jews, more generally, thus argued and judged; it is observable, that the Scriptures, in respect of the phrase and manner of expression in many things, are so framed and drawn up by God, that by men of carnal minds they may easily be wrested to their destruction. (2 Peter iii. 16; 2 Cor. iii. 14, 15.) It followeth,

But, In Isaac shall thy seed be called-Meaning, that God himself declared who or what persons of Abraham's natural seed his intent was should be counted for his children, namely, such children that should inherit the promises, as also who should not be counted for such, in these words, spoken by himself unto Abraham: "But in Isaac shall thy seed be called." (Gen. xxi. 12.) It is frequent in Scripture to mention words spoken by a person without mentioning either the person speaking them, or sometimes the person to whom they were spoken. (See Gal. iii. 11, 12; Acts i. 4, &c.) The Apostle here entereth upon his main demonstration, intending to prove, that the rejection of such of Abraham's posterity by God, who, according to his doctrine, either were, or were likely ere long to be, rejected by him, doth in no consideration at all, by no tolerable consequence, make the word of God of none effect," but rather, as he

speaketh elsewhere, "establish it." The argument or prosyllogism by which he proveth this, may be thus formed :—

The rejection of such Jews only, or of such of Abraham's seed to whom God made no promise, no absolute promise, of being their God, of justifying, blessing, or saving them, cannot make the word or promise of God to Abraham and his seed of no effect.

But such are those Jews, and only such, namely, to whom God hath made no promise, &c., whose rejection is either asserted or supposed by me in my doctrine. Ergo, the rejection of only such as these, maketh not "the word of God of none effect;" and, consequently, neither is my doctrine guilty of such a crime, either for asserting or supposing it. The process of this argument from the first to the last is very pregnant and clear. The major proposition the Apostle taketh for granted, as well he may; and therefore insisteth not upon any proof hereof. The minor is the ball of contention between him and his opposers, the Jews; therefore, for this he runneth, and that by the way of this argument:

If none of those Jews who, according to my doctrine, are rejected or likely to be rejected by God, have any promise from God that he will be their God, that he will justify, bless, or save them, then cannot the rejection of these make the word or promise of God of none effect.

But true it is, that none of those Jews whose rejection is either affirmed or supposed in my doctrine have any such promise. Ergo.

The consequence in the major of this syllogism also is too pregnant with evidence of truth to be denied. Therefore, the Apostle passeth over this likewise without proof. For the proof of the minor, he, 1. Supposeth that which is plain enough, and which his adversaries knew well enough, namely, that such Jews, or such of Abraham's seed, who according to his doctrine were spurious, and rejected by God, were only such who rejected Jesus Christ, and peremptorily opposed the doctrine of justification by faith in him. 2. He proveth that such Jews as these. had no such promise made or appertaining unto them, as whereby God should stand engaged to be their God, or to own them for such children of Abraham, to whom he ever engaged himself upon such terms. This he undertaketh to demonstrate from two famous oracles uttered by God himself of old; the

one unto Abraham himself in person, (Gen. xxi. 12,) the other unto Rebecca, the wife of Isaac. (Gen. xxv. 23.) To this latter he subjoineth a testimony from one of the Prophets, for a more ample declaration of the mind of God herein, as we shall see when we come to verse 13. By both these oracles, as well jointly as severally, he proveth that the persons, whether Jews, or of any other nation, with whom, under the name of Abraham's seed, God covenanted to be their God, to justify and save them, were not such who should seek to be justified by works, or the law, but by faith. The tenor of the former of these oracles is contained in the words recited.

But, In Isaac shall thy seed be called-The occasion of these words, spoken, as hath been said, by God himself unto Abraham, was this: Sarah, taking notice that Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar his servant, proved a scoffer, and misused her son Isaac, made it her earnest request unto Abraham, that, together with his mother, he might be turned out of doors. Abraham, being very much dissatisfied with the motion, and loath to put in execution what Sarah herein desired, received a command from God, however, to hearken unto her, and perform her request; giving him this reason to satisfy him in the business: "For in Isaac shall thy seed be called." As if he should have said, "Let it not be so grievous unto thee to part with thy son Ishmael out of thy house, because I have a mysterious and great design in appointing thy son Isaac to be thine only heir, and cutting off Ishmael from all hopes of being a sharer with him in thine inheritance." This, or some like sense to this, to be the true sense, at least one sense, intended by God in those words, the Apostle himself plainly declares in the words immediately following by way of interpretation.

Verse 8. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed-I confess that, without ploughing with the Apostle's heifer in this place, it would have been very hard for a man to have found out that divine riddle in those words which he findeth. But we need not be jealous of his interpretation, knowing from whom he received it. Well, then, saith he, the meaning of God, at least his principal meaning, in those words spoken unto Abraham, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called," was this, or to signify, teach, and declare this: 1. That the children of the flesh are not the children of God.

2. That the children of the promise are, and shall be," counted for the seed;" that is, the children of God. For that is to be minded, that the Apostle doth not here give, or intend to give, the grammatical or literal sense of those words, "But in Isaac shall thy seed be called," but the mystical or typical sense only. And by this interpretation which he gives, he plainly signifieth that the said words were not spoken or meant by God in a literal or grammatical sense, or not in these senses only, but rather in a sense typical, mystical, and allegorical. The type, mystery, or allegory contained in the words of that oracle, he unfoldeth in this eighth verse, as the word T&TE51, that is, showeth; being a word familiarly used by this Apostle to give notice of an explication or interpretation ensuing. (Rom. vii. 18; x. 6, 7; Philemon 12, &c.) The mystery, or spiritual secret, typified in the said oracle, the Apostle declareth to be the mind or counsel of God concerning such persons of mankind whom he purposed to own in the relation of children, and to confer the blessing or great inheritance of righteousness and salvation upon; and whom, on the other hand, he purposed to disown and exclude from all part and fellowship in these blessed privileges. Those, in the first place, whom he purposed to disown, and to exclude from the grace and privilege of sons, the Apostle, in his interpretation of the oracle, describes by this character or relation, that they are "children of the flesh :" "They which are children of the flesh, these are not the children of God." By "children of the flesh," opposed to "children of the promise," in the latter part of the verse, he clearly meaneth such persons who seek after and expect spiritual privileges, adoption, justification, salvation, &c., in a fleshly way; that is, by works, or by the observation of the law; as, by "children of the promise," he must needs mean such who depend upon the gracious and free promise of God for these heavenly accommodations. Elsewhere he useth "flesh" and "works" synonymously, and as mutually exegetical the one of the other: "What shall we say then that Abraham, our father as pertaining to the FLESH, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by WORKS, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God." (Rom. iv. 1, 2.) Evident it is, that by xaτa σapxa, according to the flesh, in the former verse, and by epywv, by works, in the latter verse, he meaneth one and the same thing; and that he doth expound Abraham's finding somewhat "according to the