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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XVII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page110"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter contains articles of agreement covenanted and concluded
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upon between the great Jehovah, the Father of mercies,
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on the one part, and pious Abram, the father of the faithful, on
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the other part. Abram is therefore called "the friend of God,"
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not only because he was the man of his counsel, but because he
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was the man of his covenant; both these secrets were with him.
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Mention was made of this covenant
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:18"><I>ch.</I> xv. 18</A>),
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but here it is
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particularly drawn up, and put into the form of a covenant, that
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Abram might have strong consolation. Here are,
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I. The circumstances
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of the making of this covenant, the time and manner
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:1">ver. 1</A>),
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and the posture Abram was in,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:3">ver. 3</A>.
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II. The covenant
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itself. In the general scope of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:1">ver. 1</A>.
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And, afterwards,
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in the particular instances.
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1. That he should be the father of
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many nations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:4,6">ver. 4, 6</A>),
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and, in token of this, his name was
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changed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:5">ver. 5</A>.
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2. That God would be a God to him and his
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seed, and would give them the land of Canaan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:7,8">ver. 7, 8</A>.
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And the seal of this part of the covenant was circumcision,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:9-14">ver. 9-14</A>.
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3. That he should have a son by Sarai, and, in token thereof,
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her name was changed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:15,16">ver. 15, 16</A>.
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This promise Abram received,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:17">ver. 17</A>.
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And his request for Ishmael,
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:18">ver. 18</A>)
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was answered,
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abundantly to his satisfaction,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:19-22">ver. 19-22</A>.
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III. The
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circumcision of Abram and his family, according to God's appointment,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:23-27">ver. 23</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge17_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge17_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge17_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Covenant with Abraham Renewed.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1898.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And when Abram was ninety
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years old and nine, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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appeared to Abram, and said unto
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him, I <I>am</I> the Almighty God; walk
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before me, and be thou perfect.
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2 And I will make my covenant between
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me and thee, and will multiply
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thee exceedingly.
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3 And Abram fell
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on his face: and God talked with
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him, saying,
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The time when God made Abram
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this gracious visit: <I>When he was ninety-nine
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years old,</I> full thirteen years after the birth of
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Ishmael.
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1. So long, it should seem, God's
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extraordinary appearances to Abram were
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intermitted; and all the communion he had
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with God was only in the usual was of ordinances
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and providences. Note, There are
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some special comforts which are not the
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daily bread, no, not of the best saints, but
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they are favoured with them now and then.
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On this side heaven they have convenient
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food, but not a continual feast.
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2. So long
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the promise of Isaac was deferred.
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(1.) Perhaps
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to correct Abram's over-hasty marrying
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of Hagar. Note, The comforts we sinfully
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anticipate are justly delayed.
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(2.) That
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Abram and Sarai being so far stricken in age
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God's power, in this matter, might be the
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more magnified, and their faith the more
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tried. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:36,Joh+11:6,15">Deut. xxxii. 36; John xi. 6, 15</A>.
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(3.) That a child so long waited for might be
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an <I>Isaac, a son indeed,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:1">Isa. liv. 1</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The way in which God made this covenant
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with him: <I>The Lord appeared to Abram,</I>
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in the <I>shechinah,</I> some visible display of God's
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immediate glorious presence with him. Note,
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God first makes himself known to us, and
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gives us a sight of him by faith, and then
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takes us into his covenant.</P>
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<P>
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III. The posture Abram put himself into
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upon this occasion: <I>He fell on his face while
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God talked with him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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1. As one overcome
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by the brightness of the divine glory,
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and unable to bear the sight of it, though he
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had seen it several times before. Daniel and
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John did likewise, though they were also acquainted
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with the visions of the Almighty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+8:17,10:9,15,Re+1:17">Dan. viii. 17; x. 9, 15; Rev. i. 17</A>.
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Or,
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2. As one ashamed of himself, and blushing to
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think of the honours done to one so unworthy.
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He looks upon himself with humility,
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and upon God with reverence, and, in
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token of both, <I>falls on his face,</I> putting himself
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into a posture of adoration. Note,
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(1.) God graciously condescends to talk with
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those whom he takes into covenant and
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communion with himself. He talks with
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them by his <I>word,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:22">Prov. vi. 22</A>.
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He talks
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with them by his <I>Spirit,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+14:26">John xiv. 26</A>.
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This honour have all his saints.
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(2.) Those that
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are admitted into fellowship with God are,
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and must be, very humble and very reverent
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in their approaches to him. If we say we
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have fellowship with him, and the familiarity
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breeds contempt, we deceive ourselves.
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(3.) Those that would receive comfort from God
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must set themselves to give glory to God
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and to worship at his footstool.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The general scope and summary of
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the covenant laid down as the foundation on
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which all the rest was built; it is no other
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than the covenant of grace still made with
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all believers in Jesus Christ,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Observe here,</P>
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<P>
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1. What we may expect to find God to us:
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<I>I am the Almighty God.</I> By this name he
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chose to make himself known to Abram
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rather than by his name <I>Jehovah,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+6:3">Exod. vi. 3</A>.
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He used it to Jacob,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:3,43:14,48:3"><I>ch.</I> xxviii. 3; xliii. 14; xlviii. 3</A>.
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It is the name of God that is
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mostly used throughout the book of Job,
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at least in the <I>discourses</I> of that book.
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After Moses, <I>Jehovah</I> is more frequently
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used, and this, <I>El-shaddai,</I> very rarely; it
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bespeaks the almighty power of God, either,
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(1.) As an avenger, from
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<B><I>sdh</I></B> <I>he laid
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waste,</I> so some; and they think God took
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this title from the destruction of the old
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world. This is countenanced by
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+13:6">Isa. xiii. 6</A>,
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and
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+1:15">Joel i. 15</A>.
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Or, (2.) As a benefactor <B><I>s</I></B> for
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<B><I>asr</I></B> <I>who,</I> and <B><I>dy</I></B> <I>sufficient.</I> He is a God
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that is enough; or, as our old English translation
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reads it here very significantly, <I>I am
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God all-sufficient.</I> Note, The God with whom
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we have to do is a God <I>that is enough.</I>
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[1.] He is enough in himself; he is self-sufficient;
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he has every thing, and he needs not any
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thing.
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[2.] He is enough to us, if we be in
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covenant with him: we have all in him, and
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we have enough in him, enough to satisfy
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our most enlarged desires, enough to supply
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the defect of every thing else, and to secure
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to us a happiness for our immortal souls.
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See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:5,6,73:25">Ps. xvi. 5, 6; lxxiii. 25</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. What God requires that we should be
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to him. The covenant is mutual: <I>Walk
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<A NAME="Page111"> </A>
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before me, and be thou perfect,</I> that is, upright
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and sincere; for herein the covenant of grace
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is well-ordered that sincerity is our gospel
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perfection. Observe,
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(1.) That to be religious
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is to walk before God in our integrity;
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it is to set God always before us, and to
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think, and speak, and act, in every thing, as
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those that are always under his eye. It is
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to have a constant regard to his word as our
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rule and to his glory as our end in all our
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actions, and to be continually in his fear. It
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is to be <I>inward with him,</I> in all the duties of
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religious worship, for in them particularly we
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walk before God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+2:30">1 Sam. ii. 30</A>),
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and to be
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<I>entire for him,</I> in all holy conversation. I
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know no religion but sincerity.
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(2.) That
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upright walking with God is the condition of
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our interest in his all-sufficiency. If we neglect
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him, or dissemble with him, we forfeit
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the benefit and comfort of our relation to
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him.
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(3.) A continual regard to God's all-sufficiency
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will have a great influence upon
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our upright walking with him.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge17_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge17_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge17_6"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 As for me, behold, my covenant
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<I>is</I> with thee, and thou shalt be a father
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of many nations.
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5 Neither
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shall thy name any more be called
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Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham;
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for a father of many nations
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have I made thee.
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6 And I will
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make thee exceeding fruitful, and I
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will make nations of thee, and kings
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shall come out of thee.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The promise here is introduced with solemnity:
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"<I>As for me,</I>" says the great God,
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"behold, behold and admire it, behold and
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be assured of it, my covenant is with thee;"
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as before
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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<I>I will make my covenant.</I>
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Note, The covenant of grace is a covenant
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of God's own making; this he glories in
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(<I>as for me</I>), and so may we. Now here,</P>
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<P>
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I. It is promised to Abraham that he
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should be a <I>father of many nations;</I> that is,
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1. That his seed after the flesh should be
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very numerous, both in Isaac and Ishmael,
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as well as in the sons of Keturah: something
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extraordinary is doubtless included in
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this promise, and we may suppose that the
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event answered to it, and that there have
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been, and are, more of the children of men
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descended from Abraham than from any one
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man at an equal distance with him from
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Noah, the common root.
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2. That all believers
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in every age should be looked upon
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as his spiritual seed, and that he should be
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called, not only <I>the friend of God,</I> but <I>the
|
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father of the faithful.</I> In this sense the
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apostle directs us to understand this promise,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:16,17">Rom. iv. 16, 17</A>.
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He is the father of
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those in every nation that by faith enter into
|
|
covenant with God, and (as the Jewish
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writers express it) <I>are gathered under the
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wings of the divine Majesty.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. In token of this his name was changed
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from <I>Abram, a high father,</I> to <I>Abraham, the
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|
father of a multitude.</I> This was,
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1. To put
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an honour upon him. It is spoken of as the
|
|
glory of the church that she shall be <I>called
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by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord
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|
shall name,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+62:2">Isa. lxii. 2</A>.
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Princes dignify their
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favourites by conferring new titles upon
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them; thus was Abraham dignified by him
|
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that is indeed the fountain of honour. All
|
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believers have a new name,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+2:17">Rev. ii. 17</A>.
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Some think it added to the honour of Abraham's
|
|
new name that a letter of the name
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<I>Jehovah</I> was inserted into it, as it was a disgrace
|
|
to Jeconiah to have the first syllable of
|
|
his name cut off, because it was the same
|
|
as the first syllable of the sacred name,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+22:28">Jer. xxii. 28</A>.
|
|
Believers are named from
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Christ,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+3:15">Eph. iii. 15</A>.
|
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2. To encourage and
|
|
confirm the faith of Abraham. While he
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|
was childless perhaps even his own name
|
|
was sometimes an occasion of grief to him:
|
|
why should he be called a high father who
|
|
was not a father at all? But now that God
|
|
had promised him a numerous issue, and had
|
|
given him a name which signified so much,
|
|
that name was his joy. Note, God calls things
|
|
that are not as though they were. It is the
|
|
apostle's observation upon this very thing,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:17">Rom. iv. 17</A>.
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|
He called Abraham <I>the father
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|
of a multitude</I> because he should prove to be
|
|
so in due time, though as yet he had but one
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|
child.</P>
|
|
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_7"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_8"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_9"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_10"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_11"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_12"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge17_14"> </A>
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<P>
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|
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 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 thee, and to thy seed after thee.
|
|
8 And I will give unto thee, and to
|
|
thy seed after thee, the land wherein
|
|
thou art a stranger, all the land of
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Canaan, for an everlasting possession;
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|
and I will be their God.
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|
9 And God
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|
said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep
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|
my covenant therefore, thou, and thy
|
|
seed after thee in their generations.
|
|
10 This <I>is</I> my covenant, which ye
|
|
shall keep, between me and you and
|
|
thy seed after thee; Every man child
|
|
among you shall be circumcised.
|
|
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of
|
|
your foreskin; and it shall be a token
|
|
of the covenant betwixt me and you.
|
|
12 And he that is eight days old
|
|
shall be circumcised among you, every
|
|
man child in your generations, he
|
|
that is born in the house, or bought
|
|
with money of any stranger,
|
|
which <I>is</I> not of thy seed.
|
|
13 He that is
|
|
born in thy house, and he that is
|
|
bought with thy money, must needs
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page112"> </A>
|
|
|
|
be circumcised: and my covenant
|
|
shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
|
|
covenant.
|
|
14 And the uncircumcised
|
|
man child whose flesh of
|
|
his foreskin is not circumcised, that
|
|
soul shall be cut off from his people;
|
|
he hath broken my covenant.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The continuance of the covenant,
|
|
intimated in three things:--
|
|
|
|
1. It is
|
|
established; not to be altered nor revoked.
|
|
It is fixed, it is ratified, it is made as firm as
|
|
the divine power and truth can make it.
|
|
|
|
2. It is entailed; it is a covenant, not with
|
|
Abraham only (then it would die with him),
|
|
but with his seed after him, not only his
|
|
seed after the flesh, but his spiritual seed.
|
|
|
|
3. It is everlasting in the evangelical sense
|
|
and meaning of it. The covenant of grace
|
|
is everlasting. It is from everlasting in the counsels
|
|
of it, and to everlasting in the consequences
|
|
of it; and the external administration
|
|
of it is transmitted with the seal of it
|
|
to the seed of believers, and the internal administration
|
|
of it by the Spirit of Christ's
|
|
seed in every age.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The contents of the covenant: it is a
|
|
covenant of promises, exceedingly great and
|
|
precious promises. Here are two which
|
|
indeed are all-sufficient:--
|
|
|
|
1. That God
|
|
would be their God,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
|
|
All the privileges
|
|
of the covenant, all its joys and all its
|
|
hopes, are summed up in this. A man needs
|
|
desire no more than this to make him happy.
|
|
What God is himself, that he will be to his
|
|
people: his wisdom theirs, to guide and counsel
|
|
them; his power theirs, to protect and
|
|
support them; his goodness theirs, to supply
|
|
and comfort them. What faithful worshippers
|
|
can expect from the God they serve believers
|
|
shall find in God as theirs. This is
|
|
enough, yet not all.
|
|
|
|
2. That Canaan should
|
|
be their everlasting possession,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
God had before promised this land to Abraham
|
|
and his seed,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:18"><I>ch.</I> xv. 18</A>.
|
|
But here, where it
|
|
is promised for an everlasting possession,
|
|
surely it must be looked upon as a type of
|
|
heaven's happiness, that everlasting rest
|
|
which remains for the people of God,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+4:9">Heb. iv. 9</A>.
|
|
This is that better country to which
|
|
Abraham had an eye, and the grant of which
|
|
was that which answered to the vast extent
|
|
and compass of that promise, that God
|
|
would be to them a God; so that, if God had
|
|
not prepared and designed this, he would
|
|
have been ashamed to be called their God,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:16">Heb. xi. 16</A>.
|
|
As the land of Canaan was secured
|
|
to the seed of Abraham according to
|
|
the flesh, so heaven is secured to all his
|
|
spiritual seed, by a covenant, and for a possession,
|
|
truly everlasting. The offer of this
|
|
eternal life is made in the word, and confirmed
|
|
by the sacraments, to all that are
|
|
under the external administration of the
|
|
covenant; and the earnest of it is given to
|
|
all believers,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:14">Eph. i. 14</A>.
|
|
Canaan is here said
|
|
to be the land wherein Abraham was a
|
|
stranger; and the heavenly Canaan is a land
|
|
to which we are strangers, for it does not yet
|
|
appear what we shall be.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The token of the covenant, and that
|
|
is circumcision, for the sake of which the covenant
|
|
is itself called the <I>covenant of circumcision,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+7:8">Acts vii. 8</A>.
|
|
It is here said to be the
|
|
covenant which Abraham and his seed must
|
|
keep, as a copy or counterpart,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
|
|
It is called a sign and seal
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:11">Rom. iv. 11</A>),
|
|
for it was,
|
|
|
|
1. A confirmation to Abraham and
|
|
his seed of those promises which were God's
|
|
part of the covenant, assuring them that they
|
|
should be fulfilled, that in due time Canaan
|
|
would be theirs: and the continuance of
|
|
this ordinance, after Canaan was theirs, intimates
|
|
that these promises looked further
|
|
to another Canaan, which they must still be
|
|
in expectation of. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+4:8">Heb. iv. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. An obligation upon Abraham and his seed to
|
|
that duty which was their part of the covenant;
|
|
not only to the duty of accepting the
|
|
covenant and consenting to it, and putting
|
|
away the corruption of the flesh (which were
|
|
more immediately and primarily signified by
|
|
circumcision), but, in general, to the observance
|
|
of all God's commands, as they
|
|
should at any time hereafter be intimated
|
|
and made known to them; for circumcision
|
|
made men <I>debtors to do the whole law,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+5:3">Gal. v. 3</A>.
|
|
Those who will have God to be to
|
|
them a God must consent and resolve to be
|
|
to him a people. Now,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Circumcision
|
|
was a bloody ordinance; for all things by
|
|
the law were purged with blood,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+9:22">Heb. ix. 22</A>.
|
|
See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+24:8">Exod. xxiv. 8</A>.
|
|
But, the blood of Christ
|
|
being shed, all bloody ordinances are now
|
|
abolished; circumcision therefore gives way
|
|
to baptism.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was peculiar to the males,
|
|
though the women were also included in
|
|
the covenant, for the man is the head of the
|
|
woman. In our kingdom, the oath of allegiance
|
|
is required only from men. Some
|
|
think that the blood of the males only was
|
|
shed in circumcision because respect was
|
|
had in it to Jesus Christ and his blood.
|
|
|
|
(3.) It was the flesh of the foreskin that
|
|
was to be cut off, because it is by ordinary
|
|
generation that sin is propagated, and with an
|
|
eye to the promised seed, who was to
|
|
come from the loins of Abraham. Christ
|
|
having not yet offered himself to us, God
|
|
would have man to enter into covenant
|
|
by the offering of some part of his own body,
|
|
and no part could be better spared. It is a
|
|
secret part of the body; for the true circumcision
|
|
is that of the heart: this honour God
|
|
put upon an uncomely part,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+12:23,24">1 Cor. xii. 23, 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
(4.) The ordinance was to be administered
|
|
to children when they were eight days
|
|
old, and not sooner, that they might gather
|
|
some strength, to be able to undergo the
|
|
pain of it, and that at least one sabbath
|
|
might pass over them.
|
|
|
|
(5.) The children
|
|
of the strangers, of whom the master of the
|
|
family was the true domestic owner, were to
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page112"> </A>
|
|
|
|
be circumcised
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>),
|
|
which looked favourably
|
|
upon the Gentiles, who should in
|
|
due time be brought into the family of Abraham,
|
|
by faith. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:14">Gal. iii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
(6.) The
|
|
religious observance of this institution was
|
|
required under a very severe penalty,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
The contempt of circumcision was a contempt
|
|
of the covenant; if the parents did
|
|
not circumcise their children, it was at their
|
|
peril, as in the case of Moses,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+4:24,25">Exod. iv. 24, 25</A>.
|
|
With respect to those that were not
|
|
circumcised in their infancy, if, when they
|
|
grew up, they did not themselves come under
|
|
this ordinance, God would surely reckon
|
|
with them. If they cut not off the flesh of
|
|
their foreskin, God would cut them off from
|
|
their people. It is a dangerous thing to
|
|
make light of divine institutions, and to live
|
|
in the neglect of them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And God said unto Abraham,
|
|
As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt
|
|
not call her name Sarai, but Sarah <I>shall</I>
|
|
her name <I>be.</I>
|
|
16 And I will bless
|
|
her, and give thee a son also of her:
|
|
yea, I will bless her, and she shall be
|
|
<I>a mother</I> of nations; kings of people
|
|
shall be of her.
|
|
17 Then Abraham fell
|
|
upon his face, and laughed, and
|
|
said in his heart, Shall <I>a child</I> be
|
|
born unto him that is a hundred
|
|
years old? and shall Sarah, that is
|
|
ninety years old, bear?
|
|
18 And
|
|
Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael
|
|
might live before thee!
|
|
19 And
|
|
God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear
|
|
thee a son indeed; and thou shalt
|
|
call his name Isaac: and I will establish
|
|
my covenant with him for an
|
|
everlasting covenant, <I>and</I> with his
|
|
seed after him.
|
|
20 And as for Ishmael,
|
|
I have heard thee: Behold, I
|
|
have blessed him, and will make him
|
|
fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly;
|
|
twelve princes shall he beget,
|
|
and I will make him a great nation.
|
|
21 But my covenant will I
|
|
establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall
|
|
bear unto thee at this set time in the
|
|
next year.
|
|
22 And he left off talking
|
|
with him, and God went up from
|
|
Abraham.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The promise made to Abraham
|
|
of a son by <I>Sarai,</I> that son in whom the
|
|
promise made to him should be fulfilled,
|
|
that he should be the father of many nations;
|
|
for <I>she also shall be a mother of nations, and
|
|
kings of people shall be of her,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
1. God reveals the purposes of his good-will
|
|
to his people by degrees. God had told
|
|
Abraham long before that he should have a
|
|
son, but never till now that he should have
|
|
a son by <I>Sarai.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. The blessing of the
|
|
Lord makes fruitful, and adds no sorrow
|
|
with it, no such sorrow as was in Hagar's
|
|
case. "I will bless her with the blessing of
|
|
fruitfulness, and then thou shalt have a son
|
|
of her."
|
|
|
|
3. Civil government and order are
|
|
a great blessing to the church. It is promised,
|
|
not only that <I>people,</I> but <I>kings of
|
|
people,</I> should be of her; not a headless rout,
|
|
but a well-modelled well-governed society.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The ratification of this promise was
|
|
the change of <I>Sarai's</I> name into <I>Sarah</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
the same letter being added to her name
|
|
that was to Abraham's, and for the same reasons.
|
|
<I>Sarai</I> signifies <I>my princess,</I> as if her
|
|
honour were confined to one family only.
|
|
<I>Sarah</I> signifies <I>a princess</I>--namely, of <I>multitudes,</I>
|
|
or signifying that from her should
|
|
come the Messiah the prince, even the prince
|
|
of the kings of the earth.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Abraham's joyful, thankful, entertainment
|
|
of this gracious promise,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
Upon this occasion he expressed,
|
|
|
|
1. Great
|
|
humility: He <I>fell on his face.</I> Note, The
|
|
more honours and favours God confers upon
|
|
us the lower we should be in our own eyes,
|
|
and the more reverent and submissive before
|
|
God.
|
|
|
|
2. Great joy: He <I>laughed.</I> It
|
|
was a laughter of delight, not of distrust.
|
|
Note, Even the promises of a holy God, as
|
|
well as his performances, are the joys of
|
|
holy souls; there is the joy of faith as well
|
|
as the joy of fruition. Now it was that Abraham
|
|
rejoiced to see Christ's day. Now he
|
|
saw it and was glad
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:56">John viii. 56</A>);
|
|
for, as
|
|
he saw heaven in the promise of Canaan, so
|
|
he saw Christ in the promise of Isaac.
|
|
|
|
3. Great admiration: <I>Shall a child be born to
|
|
him that is a hundred years old?</I> He does
|
|
not here speak of it as at all doubtful (for
|
|
we are sure that <I>he staggered not at the promise,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:20">Rom. iv. 20</A>),
|
|
but as very wonderful
|
|
and that which could not be effected but by
|
|
the almighty power of God, and as very <I>kind,</I>
|
|
and a favour which was the more affecting
|
|
and obliging for this, that it was extremely
|
|
surprising,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+126:1,2">Ps. cxxvi. 1, 2</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. Abraham's prayer for Ishmael: <I>O
|
|
that Ishmael might live before thee!</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
This he speaks, not as desiring that Ishmael
|
|
might be preferred before the son he
|
|
should have by Sarah; but, dreading lest he
|
|
should be abandoned and forsaken of God,
|
|
he puts up this petition on his behalf. Now
|
|
that God is talking with him he thinks he
|
|
has a very fair opportunity to speak a good
|
|
word for Ishmael, and he will not let it slip.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
1. Though we ought not to prescribe
|
|
to God, yet he gives us leave, in prayer, to
|
|
be humbly free with him, and particular in
|
|
making known our requests,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+4:6">Phil. iv. 6</A>.
|
|
Whatever is the matter of our care and fear
|
|
should be spread before God in prayer.
|
|
|
|
2. It is the duty of parents to pray for their
|
|
children, for all their children, as Job, who
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page114"> </A>
|
|
|
|
offered burnt offerings according to the number
|
|
of them all,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+1:5">Job i. 5</A>.
|
|
Abraham would
|
|
not have it thought that, when God promised
|
|
him a son by Sarah, which he so
|
|
much desired, then his son by Hagar was
|
|
forgotten; no, still he bears him upon his
|
|
heart, and shows a concern for him. The
|
|
prospect of further favours must not make us
|
|
unmindful of former favours.
|
|
|
|
3. The great
|
|
thing we should desire of God for our children
|
|
is that they may live before him, that
|
|
is, that they may be kept in covenant with
|
|
him, and may have grace to walk before him in
|
|
their uprightness. Spiritual blessings are the
|
|
best blessings, and those for which we should
|
|
be most earnest with God, both for ourselves
|
|
and others. Those live well that live before God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. God's answer to his prayer; and it is
|
|
an answer of peace. Abraham could not say
|
|
that he sought God's face in vain.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Common blessings are secured to Ishmael
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:20"><I>v.</I> 20)</A>:
|
|
<I>As for Ishmael,</I> whom thou art
|
|
in so much care about, <I>I have heard thee;</I>
|
|
he shall find favour for thy sake; <I>I have
|
|
blessed him,</I> that is, I have many blessings in
|
|
store for him.
|
|
|
|
(1.) His posterity shall be
|
|
numerous: <I>I will multiply him exceedingly,</I>
|
|
more than his neighbours. This is the fruit
|
|
of the blessing, as that,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:28"><I>ch.</I> i. 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They
|
|
shall be considerable: <I>Twelve princes shall
|
|
he beget.</I> We may charitably hope that
|
|
spiritual blessings also were bestowed upon
|
|
him, though the visible church was not
|
|
brought out of his loins and the covenant
|
|
was not lodged in his family. Note, Great
|
|
plenty of outward good things is often given
|
|
to those children of godly parents who are
|
|
born after the flesh, for their parents' sake.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Covenant blessings are reserved for
|
|
Isaac, and appropriated to him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:19,21"><I>v.</I> 19, 21</A>.
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If Abraham, in his prayer for Ishmael, meant
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|
that he would have the covenant made with
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|
him, and the promised seed to come from
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|
him, then God did not answer him in the
|
|
letter, but in that which was equivalent, nay,
|
|
which was every way better.
|
|
|
|
(1.) God repeats
|
|
to him the promise of a son by Sarah:
|
|
<I>She shall bear thee a son indeed.</I> Note, Even
|
|
true believers need to have God's promises
|
|
doubled and repeated to them, that they may
|
|
have strong consolation,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+6:18">Heb. vi. 18</A>.
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|
Again, Children of the promise are children indeed.
|
|
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|
(2.) He names that child--calls him <I>Isaac,
|
|
laughter,</I> because Abraham rejoiced in spirit
|
|
when this son was promised him. Note, If
|
|
God's promises be our joy, his mercies promised
|
|
shall in due time be our <I>exceeding</I> joy.
|
|
Christ will be laughter to those that look for
|
|
him; those that now rejoice in hope shall
|
|
shortly rejoice in having that which they
|
|
hope for: this is laughter that is not mad.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He entails the covenant upon that child:
|
|
<I>I will establish my covenant with him.</I> Note,
|
|
God takes whom he pleases into covenant
|
|
with himself, according to the good pleasure
|
|
of his will. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:8,18">Rom. ix. 8, 18</A>.
|
|
Thus was
|
|
the covenant settled between God and Abraham,
|
|
with its several limitations and remainders,
|
|
and then the conference ended: <I>God
|
|
left off talking with him,</I> and the vision disappeared,
|
|
<I>God went up from Abraham.</I> Note,
|
|
Our communion with God here is broken
|
|
and interrupted; in heaven it will be a
|
|
continual and everlasting feast.</P>
|
|
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|
<A NAME="Ge17_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge17_27"> </A>
|
|
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|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Circumcision of Abraham, &c.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1898.</TD></TR>
|
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
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</TABLE>
|
|
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<P>
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|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 And Abraham took Ishmael his
|
|
son, and all that were born in his
|
|
house, and all that were bought with
|
|
his money, every male among the
|
|
men of Abraham's house; and circumcised
|
|
the flesh of their foreskin
|
|
in the selfsame day, as God had said
|
|
unto him.
|
|
24 And Abraham <I>was</I>
|
|
ninety years old and nine, when he
|
|
was circumcised in the flesh of his
|
|
foreskin.
|
|
25 And Ishmael his son
|
|
<I>was</I> thirteen years old, when he was
|
|
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
|
|
26 In the selfsame day was
|
|
Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael
|
|
his son.
|
|
27 And all the men of his
|
|
house, born in the house, and bought
|
|
with money of the stranger, were circumcised
|
|
with him.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here Abraham's obedience to the
|
|
law of circumcision. He himself and all his
|
|
family were circumcised, so receiving the
|
|
token of the covenant and distinguishing
|
|
themselves from other families, that had no
|
|
part nor lot in the matter.
|
|
|
|
1. It was an implicit
|
|
obedience: He did <I>as God had said to
|
|
him,</I> and did not ask why or wherefore.
|
|
God's will was not only a law to him, but a
|
|
reason; he did it because God told him.
|
|
|
|
2. It was a speedy obedience: <I>In the self-same
|
|
day,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+17:23,26"><I>v.</I> 23, 26</A>.
|
|
Sincere obedience is not
|
|
dilatory,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:60">Ps. cxix. 60</A>.
|
|
While the command
|
|
is yet sounding in our ears, and the sense of
|
|
duty is fresh, it is good to apply ourselves to
|
|
it immediately, lest we deceive ourselves by
|
|
putting it off to a more convenient season.
|
|
|
|
3. It was a universal obedience: He did not
|
|
circumcise his family and excuse himself,
|
|
but set them an example; nor did he take
|
|
the comfort of the seal of the covenant to
|
|
himself only, but desired that all his might
|
|
share with him in it. This is a good example
|
|
to masters of families; they and their
|
|
houses must serve the Lord. Though God's
|
|
covenant was not established with Ishmael,
|
|
yet he was circumcised; for children of believing
|
|
parents, as such, have a right to the
|
|
privileges of the visible church, and the seals
|
|
of the covenant, whatever they may prove
|
|
afterwards. Ishmael is blessed, and therefore
|
|
circumcised.
|
|
|
|
4. Abraham did this
|
|
though much might be objected against it.
|
|
Though circumcision was painful,--though
|
|
to grown men it was shameful,--though,
|
|
while they were sore and unfit for action,
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page115"> </A>
|
|
|
|
their enemies might take advantage against
|
|
them, as Simeon and Levi did against the
|
|
Shechemites,--though Abraham was ninety-nine
|
|
years old, and had been justified and
|
|
accepted of God long since,--though so
|
|
strange a thing done religiously might be
|
|
turned to his reproach by the Canaanite and
|
|
the Perizzite that dwelt then in the land,--yet
|
|
God's command was sufficient to answer
|
|
these and a thousand such objections: what
|
|
God requires we must do, not <I>conferring
|
|
with flesh and blood.</I></P>
|
|
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