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olive-tree," the figure means their being reintroduced to the same church, though under a new form, from which their ancestors were ejected. I have now here represented their being "grafted in again" as signifying their being "put into their former Jewish church state," but only their being restored to the church of God, in its New Testament form. It should be recollected, that the church which had Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob for its original stock-(we might go even further back, but this is the point of time to the Apostle's reasonings usually refer)that this church existed for more than four centuries before its national constitution was formally organized at Sinai. The natural offspring of these patriarchs, along with proselytes from among the Gentiles, formed all along the visible church of God; at times indeed in a state of fearful corruption, but still containing in it his true spiritual people, until "the time of restoration." Then "the wicked were to be shaken out of it." Those "children of the stock of Abraham" who were not his children by faith, though, on account of their fleshly connection with him, denominated "the natural branches," were to be cut off; and Gentiles, becoming by faith children of Abraham, were to be grafted in, in their room, and to " partake of the root and fatness of the olive-tree;"—that is, to share in the special and enlarged privileges of the church, of which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the original stock; which was rooted in the covenant made with these patriarchs; and which, though varying its form and external constitution and aspect, has been substantially the same from the beginning. I might venture to say, that the whole style of prophetic representation of that which was to come, proceeds upon the principle of the substantial identity of the church;—and with this the language of the New Testament writers agrees.-I have before referred to the terms in which the prophets describe the church as, at the fulness of time, to be visited, restored, and purified. It is ridiculous to speak of this as if it meant its entire annihilation, and the substitution of another in its room. Some of the passages are very remarkable. Let one suffice. Speaking of the coming of the Messiah, the "Messenger of the covenant," the proph

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et Malachi says, chap. iii. 2, 3.-" But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." This purification of his church was effected, by casting out the wicked in wrath, and by bringing the remnant through the fire, in mercy: See the subsequent verses, and Zech. xiii. 8, 9.-When the prophet adds, Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years," ,"-there can be no doubt that he refers to the spiritual worship of the New Testament church. But this is not the worship of a church entirely new, but of the old church renovated and purified ;-and it is compared, in its acceptableness, to that of the church in former times, in the purest and best periods of her ancient history. When the Gentiles are brought in to the church of Christ, they are described as having been previously "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel," but as now "no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Eph. ii. 12. 19.

But it would be endless to dilate. Enough has been said in support of my first position.

II. My second is, that we ought to bear in mind, what was the previous state of things in regard to children, and their connection with their parents in the application of the sign and seal of the covenant.-What this was, I need not repeat. I merely remind the reader of it. The connection, and the symbolical recognition of it, existed not only amongst Jewish families themselves, but extended to the case of Gentiles professing the faith of Abraham,proselytes to Judaism. A head of a family was received into the community of Israel, with his household. When I say, with his household, I mean his infant children, and such of the adults as professed the same faith with himself. I make this restriction, because the notion which some have entertained, that adults in a family were, upon the conversion of the head, compelled, upon pain of death, to

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go over with him to the new religion, is so revolting to every principle of justice and reason, involving the establishment, by divine authority, of a system of persecution unto death for conscience sake,-that I cannot assent to it; nor do I conceive that there is any thing in the record, that may not be fairly explained, without the admission of a supposition so monstrous. But on this I must not here insist.* What I wish the reader now to

*When any interpretation of a divine law proceeds on a supposition, that is diametrically at variance with the grand moral principles of the Bible, and the divinely sanctioned rights of conscience, I feel myself warranted, in not merely suspecting, but concluding, that it involves some mistake. The author of " Eugenio and Epenetus," previously to the publi cation of that work, submitted to me, as a friend, some parts of the manuscript, requesting my remarks. I offered a few strictures in reply. These are repeatedly referred to in the work, though, in conformity with my de sire, without the mention of my name, which, as the remarks were but brief and hasty, I did not wish at the time to be introduced. I have now no objections to avow myself the writer of the following paragraph, at p. 85 of those "Conversations," designed to illustrate, by a parallel case, what I conceive to be the true spirit of the injunction that "all the males" of Gentile proselytes should be circumcised, before these proselytes themselves could be admitted to eat the passover.-"Suppose the government of any country to enact a law, that all foreigners desirous of settling in the country as subjects, should, in order to their enjoying the privileges of subjects, have a particular marx affixed in their forehead or right hand Apply this enactment to the case of the head of a family having, let us say, twenty adults. Suppose four of these are unwilling to receive the necessary mark: would it be at all rational interpretation of the law, that therefore he could leave these four, and settle in the country with the remaining sixteen, who were willing to accompany him on the prescribed condition? The obligation arising from such a law would never be interpreted as amounting to'You must have a mark affixed to the body of every adult, as well as every infant, now in your family. You cannot settle in the country, if but one of these refuses to submit to this mark, not even on the ground of that one being excluded and left behind.' It would be understood as amounting only to this- No one who does not receive this mark must come with you; for none such can be admitted to the privileges of subjects '-The application of this to circumcision is obvious. When all the members of a man's family are required to be circumcised, on the head of the family passing into the communion of Israel, all that is implied appears to be, that, as many as passed with him into this communion, and became partakers with him of its privileges, must have this mark put upon them."

The parallelism of this illustrative case appears from the very reason assigned for the injunction-" For no uncircumcised person shall eat thereoff." If the declared object of the law is perfectly attained, without the monstrous supposition adverted to in the text, of every adult member of a household being compelled, upon pain of death, to follow the faith of its head, are we not fairly warranted to conceive the supposition erroneous?" In the supposed parallel case," says Mr. Innes, in reply, "of a person enjoying, on certain conditions, the privileges of a particular community, there is one very important point omitted, viz. that it was an essential part of the law,

bear in mind, is simply this-that the connection of children with their parents, of which I have been speaking, existed of old, and was interwoven with all the thoughts, and feelings, and practices of the ancient church. It had place in the reception of proselytes. It pervaded and characterized the entire style and language of their sacred books. The connection of this observation with our argument will appear immediately when we have remarked,

III. In the third place,-The language of the prophets, in looking forward to New Testament times, appears to assume, or even to affirm, the continuance in those times of the same connection that existed of old.

Jeremiah, speaking of the blessedness of the house of Israel, when they shall turn to the Lord in the latter days, says, in the the name of Jehovah :--" I will gather them out of all countries whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away

that if any one of a man's family did not receive the mark he was to be cut off, i. e. to be put to death. The case alleged supposes, that it was an optional thing in the members of the family to submit to the prescribed mark or not; and that if any of them did not, they might leave the family, while the head of it was not to blame. Now this is a case totally different from the institution of circumcision. According to it, a man was deeply criminal if he had not all his males circumcised. Such as were not so, were not authorized to separate from him, but were commanded to be put to death." -Ineed not say much in answer to this, because it is only a re-affirmation of his interpretation of the law, Granting that being "cut off from his people" means being put to death; as the design of the law was to prevent any uncircumcised person from partaking of the passover or being a member of the Israelitish community, which was the church of God, the punishment I understand to apply to such as should presume, without circumcision, to intrude themselves into the congregation of the Lord. This is evident, from the nature of the case; from the original law, that "every uncircumcised manchild should be cut off from his people," which manifestly signifies every manchild found in connection with the congregation of Israel, the very phrase "from his people" implying this; and from the fact of the judgments of God being denounced against Israel by the prophets, for having, amongst other evils, brought strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in his sanctuary, to pollute it."

from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."*—I cannot readily imagine any consistent interpretation of this passage, if it does not contain a promise of spiritual blessing to the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, now in a state of dispersion, and likewise to their children after them, in their generations; or, as the prophet Ezekiel expresses it (chap. xxxvii. 25.) to their children, and to their children's children, for ever." And, as this language respecting the Jews is used in prospect of their union with the Gentiles in the New Testament church, when they shall acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ; it follows, that the terms employed concerning them are descriptive of the state and privileges of all the subjects of the new covenant, Gentiles as well as Jews. The pas

sage, then, as referring to gospel times, seems to contain an intimation, that the same connection should then continue between the people of God and their offspring, which had existed from the days of Abraham.

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The prophet Isaiah, predicting the glory of the church in the latter days, gives the following, among other declarations, of the blessedness of God's people :— They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them." Isa. lxv. 23. They are "the seed of the blessed of the Lord," that is, as I apprehend, the spiritual seed of the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, aud Jacob, who were peculiarly the blessed of the Lord;—“ and their offspring with them;" that is, connected with them. in the promise of the covenant, as in the days when it was made with these blessed of the Lord, and partaking with them of his blessing. This appears to be assigned as the reason of their "not bringing forth for trouble,' -the blessing of the Lord resting on the offspring in connection with their parents.

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In replying to any argument, candor always requires, that we bear in remembrance the precise point which it is intended to establish. The above passages are adduced, simply to show, that the prophets, in anticipating the spiritual times of the New Testament church, employ lan

* Jer. xxxii. 37-40,

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