him, as to render it almost the daily subject of his renewal, and so dear to him, that he selects it on the most solemn occasions to connect it with the dignity of his person, the glory of his presence, and the grace of his revelation.

The blessings of the second covenant were not confined to any separate portion of Adam's posterity. They are, through the bounty of its Author, the birthright of every individual, who is invited to receive the inheritance obtained by the obedience and sacrifice of the surety, and who is directed to pray for that faith which shall enable him to believe unto salvation, with an assurance that he shall be heard through the Mediator, who will send the spirit of adoption into his heart, sealing him an heir of the kingdom of glory. This has been the silent, but effectual operation of the charter of mercy from the period of its first promulgation to the present moment, and it will continue so whilst the church of Christ remains militant here on earth. The blessings, the duties and privileges of it belong to all who embrace it by faith in the Redeemer. The apparent differences which may have obtained in successive ages amount only to this, that the various stages of the fulfilment of some of its most important parts, have caused a diversity in the mode by which the knowledge of it has

been conveyed to men, or in the manner in which they professed their belief in it.

Before the deluge, it was only preached by the rite of sacrifice. After that awful event God renewed and confirmed his engagements with Noah, the visible head of the visible church, and, therefore, the type and representative of the real head of the invisible one. "And I, behold I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after your seed after you; between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”* This republication of God's gracious intentions is accompanied by a partial or entire revocation of the curse of barrenness originally inflicted on the earth. Man continues to eat bread in the sweat of his face, but the ground does not refuse to yield her strength. His food is no longer restricted to the green herb, or bread the fruit of his labour; but he is authorized to eat the flesh of every animal, and the blood only, which is the life, is excepted in this extension of mercy; and the bow of God is set in the clouds as a token or seal of this covenant, between the Author of it and mankind throughout all generations.

These blessings were bestowed after Noah had taken and offered of every clean beast,

* Gen. ix. 9 and 17.

and every clean fowl, for a burnt offering unto the Lord, who smelled a sweet savour.

These particulars teach us that the mercies of God are only given or extended through the sacrifice of propitiation, which ascending as incense before him, is most grateful and acceptable; that as the spiritual blessings of the covenant have been the same to every generation, so they have always been bestowed for the same cause, and for that only, the blood of reconciliation poured forth for the remission of sins, and the salvation of them that believe; that the mercies which God bestows, he confirms to those interested in them by a perpetual testimony of his good will towards them, and by a token, which being independent of the agency of any created being, was not only a proof of the divine goodness in its first establishment; but is a repetition of the promise, and a renewal of the engagement, as often as God causes it to be exhibited to our view. He not only looks upon it and remembers his covenant, but he calls upon us to consider it, and recollect that he is mindful of his declarations of peace towards us.

But whilst the sacrament of this covenant established between God and every terrestrial creature reminds us of his grace and mercy,

and assures us of his truth to all generations; it also warns us of his faithfulness to his denunciations of wrath, as well as to his promises of pardon and favour. We cannot be reminded of the occasion of this pledge of his goodness, without being warned of the wickedness of the preceding generation, which had been cut off by the waters of a flood because of their iniquities. It gives consolation, but it assures us of the dreadful consequences of sin, and admonishes us, that if God has restrained himself from inflicting the same destruction on transgressors, he is not without the means of punishing those who rebel against him and provoke his wrath,

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CHAPTER IX.

Of the Types connected with Abraham.

AFTER an interval of rather more than four hundred years, God called Abraham from the land of his fathers, to travel into Canaan, and sojourn there. This was the commencement of a particular covenant, entered into with Abraham and his seed after him, by which certain privileges were bestowed upon him and his race; peculiar duties were required of them, and corresponding benefits secured to them; yet, these were only partially communicated to Abraham and his immediate descendants. The great promise, and many accompanying revelations of favour, were given to them; but the more explicit development of the grace of God, intended to be displayed under this covenant, was reserved for the ministration of Moses, as the completion of it could only be accomplished in that of Jesus Christ, our only Saviour.

But although these blessings were not so