"So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free." Gal. iv, 31.
Our introductory remarks will commence with verse 21. "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, (Sinai covenant,) do ye not hear the law? (or Sinai covenant?) For it is written, that Abraham had two sons; the one by a bond-maid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bond-woman, was born after the flesh; but he of the free-woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. (Being the Capital of the Country—promised to Abraham and his seed—to be in bondage after Christ should come.) 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 an husband.
"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what saith the scripture? Cast out the bond-woman and her son: for the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir with the son of the free-woman. So then, brethren," &c.
The Promissory, the Abrahamic, and the Sinai covenants, are illustrated by the situation and character of those two women under the care of Abraham. Now in our elucidation of this subject, we shall inquire:
I. What were the peculiar blessings included in the promises made to the progenitor of the children of the free-woman? To this inquiry, it must be said:
1. That the first blessing promised him, was the multiplication of his children or natural seed. Here, however, the Scriptures must be our guide; and in their examination, a few passages must serve as a specimen of many. Gen. xxii, 17. "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore." Gen. xii, 2; xiii, 16; xv, 5; xvi, 10; xxvi, 4. "And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven." Gen. xxviii, 14. "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth." These passages are too plain to need comment. They clearly prove the multiplication of Abraham's natural seed, (typical of the heirs of salvation,) to have been included in the promissory covenant.
2. The Scriptures being our guide, it may be seen with equal clearness, that the gift of the literal land of Canaan, was the second blessing included in the promissory covenant. To reduce this proposition to a moral certainty, we will introduce a few passages of Scripture: Gen. xxii, 17. "Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." Gen. xxvi, 3. "For unto thee, and unto thy seed I will give all these countries." Gen. xxviii, 13. "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed." Gen. xiii, 14, 15, 17. "And the Lord said unto Abraham, . . . Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward; and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." Verse 17. "Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee,"
Permit me here to pause, and call your attention to Gen. xv, 13. "And he (the Lord) said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs." Now compare this with the other passages quoted, and tell me, what land was not theirs; if the gift of the New Earth was intended?
Gen. xv, 16. "In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Gen. xxxv, 11, 12. "And God said unto him, (Jacob,) I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply: a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins. And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land." Ex. iii, 16, 17. "The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt; and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." Ex. vi, 2–4, 8. "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known unto them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I will bring you (Israel) in unto the land concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage." One quotation more must suffice under this head. Ex. xxxiii, 1–3. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I swore unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: and I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; unto a land flowing with milk and honey." . . . See Deut. iv, 1; vi, 1–3; vii, 12, 13; viii, 1–20; ix, 3–6; xi, 8–12, also, verses 21, 31; xxvi, 1–3, also, verses 8, 9, 15; xxvii, 3; xxx, 20; xxxi, 3, 7, 29; xxxii, 49; xxxiv, 1–4.
Josh. xviii, 3. "And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land (the New Earth) which the Lord God of our fathers (will give you? No!) hath given you?"
3. A third blessing included in the promissory covenant, was the gift of Christ; which required the fulfillment of the two previously noticed, in order to give him, in the manner designated, for the benefit of man. We have here introduced a fact, which Gal. iv, 4, 5 will prove. "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Also, see chap. iii, 16, 29. Christ was to consummate the promise, as we also learn from the following. Gen. xxii, 18. "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Gen. xviii, 18. "Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him." Gen. xii, 3. "And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Ps. lxxii, 17. "His name shall endure forever: . . . and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed." Paul in commenting on these quotations, [Gal. iii, 16,] says, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." From these passages, it appears that Christ was the principal Agent, included in the everlasting covenant; as all the families of the earth were to be blessed in him. But how could he be made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, according to the promise, if God had not have multiplied Abraham's natural seed, and have given the literal land of Canaan, in which to keep that tribe distinct? Hence there were so many items in making up the everlasting covenant, and were means by which the ultimate end was to be secured.
4. A fourth blessing included in the promissory covenant, was the earth renewed. (Typified by Canaan.) Heb. xi, 8–10, 12, 13, 16, 39, 40. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should afterward receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city [Chap. xii. 22; Gal. iv, 26; Rev. xxi, 1, 2; Heb. xiii, 14] which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Verse 12. "Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith not having received the promises, (or the extent, verses 10, 16,) but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Chap. xiii, 14. Verse 16. "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city." Verse 39. "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promises: God having provided better things for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." (i. e., without Christ should not have a resurrection.)18The extent of this promise in our version, is expressed in very definite language. 2 Pet. iii, 10–13. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise; and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. Looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Ps. cii, 25, 26. "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed."
Again: Isa. lxvi, 22. "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain." Isa. lxv, 17. "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." Rev. xxi, 1. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away."
Having examined the promissory covenant, its basis, or foundation, next claims our attention.
A covenant, or contract, is supposed always to embrace parties. The covenant under examination, includes God, the covenantee, Abraham, and his seed as covenanters. Consequently there were conditions to be performed by the individual parties.
Having noticed the conditions on the part of the covenantee, we wish to ascertain those on the part of the covenanters; for evidently, they must exist, and be the same, under every dispensation to which the promises apply. For as evidently, there is no limitation to the promissory; so there can be none to its basis. It is left bounded by the existence of that to which it applies. The measure of one, is the measure of both.
Now as the promissory embraced a restitution, it must have been based on the same conditions on which the first dominion was suspended. And we cannot be at a loss to know what they were, with the comment on the first and great commandment before us; viz., "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," &c. Whether this was the first in order, or the first in importance, it must have been the rule of man's life, when he proceeded from the hands of his Maker, and was given him to regulate his conduct towards the Divine Being, when he had neither associate nor descendant. For when he had an associate, a second rule of love was given him to regulate his conduct toward the society of which he was a part; hence it was written, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." In these, are summarily contained the ten commandments. Matt. xix, 17, gives our Lord's answer to the inquiry of the young man in which he is instructed to keep the commandments, as the conditions of life. See also Rev. xxii, 14. Now if life is given by keeping the commandments, death must be incurred by violating them. And they being the conditions of life, must be the thread on which the first dominion was suspended; and as the first dominion was promised to Christ, (Micah iv, 8) and through him to Abraham and his heirs, the promissory covenant must have been based on the ten commandments. Indeed, the very letter of the commandments as they stand in the decalogus, puts this point beyond all dispute. The fourth commandment refers to the creation; and this being the only reason assigned for keeping it, does refer us back to the Eden state; or first dominion: therefore the ten commandments must have been the basis of the promissory covenant.
Our evidences on this part of the subject multiply, and they brighten. We have not only a scripture analogy to teach us a probable truth, but we have express declarations in the Word of God, sufficient to reduce this probability to a moral certainty. Therefore waiving all arguments which might be drawn from an analogy of scripture, we hasten to notice those scriptures which expressly state the covenant on the part of Abraham's seed. Turn with me to Deut. iv, 12–14. "And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments, (therefore they were a covenant whilst in a verbal form,) and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time (when he, Moses, received the tables, Ex. xxiv, 12; xxxiv, 27,) to teach you statutes and judgments, (a very suitable time to give statutes and judgments, the constituent part of the Sinai covenant,) that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it."
Still bear in mind, that this land was included in the promises to Abraham and his natural seed; and then turn to 1 Chron. xvi, 15–19. "Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations: even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob, for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; when ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it." This cannot have any reference to the Sinai covenant; for it is not true that they were few when that was formed; for Moses hath said, (Deut. x, 22,) "Thy fathers went down into Egypt with three-score and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude." See Ex. i, 7, 9, 20; xii, 37; xviii, 21, 25. Therefore 1 Chron. xvi, 15, &c., must have reference to Deut. iv, 13. There it is distinctly stated that He (God,) commanded them to keep the ten commandments for a covenant; and here (in 1 Chron.) it is said, that the promissory, made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, included the land of Canaan. Hence the covenant for the land, was based on the ten commandments; as they were spoken with an audible voice, before they were written, and whilst Israel were Abraham's natural seed, according to the promissory covenant. Therefore the argument is conclusive, that the ten commandments were the conditions both of Abraham and his seed.
I believe that none pretend that the Sinai covenant was of force, until the tables were received. Deut. ix, 10. "And the Lord delivered unto me, two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words which the Lord spake with you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire; in the day of the assembly." Consequently they were spoken whilst Israel were Abraham's natural seed according to the promissory covenant; and hence, the conditions were the same on the part of Abraham, that they were on the part of his seed. See Gen. xviii, 19; xxvi, 5. We wish to introduce one testimony more. Deut. vii, 9, 12. "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." (The same covenant is brought to view here, that is in 1 Chron. xvi.) Verse 12. "Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, (here the Sinai is referred to,) and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he swore unto thy fathers." (Here is brought to view the promissory.)
We anticipate that the objector will quote Deut. v, to confute our arguments; but it should be remembered, that both the Horeb and the Abrahamic covenants, are included in this chapter. The three first, fifth, (that which is included in a parenthesis,) twenty-seventh and thirty-first verses, have direct reference to the Horeb covenant; but the remainder of the chapter, with a few exceptions, includes the basis of the promissory, which was spoken on Sinai or Horeb, with an audible voice.
A mass of testimony on this part of our subject, might be adduced; but sufficient has already been said. Therefore we pass to notice some arguments in favor of this covenant's being endless in its duration.
"This, we contend is the original meaning of the term, everlasting.
What else would it be understood to mean, by the man who was not warped by prejudice for or against any particular system? There is not the least doubt but he would understand it to mean endless duration. And what such an one would understand it to mean, is doubtless its true meaning. The Scriptures are not written in a language of their own, but in the common language of men; otherwise they would be no revelation to them. But the unlimited meaning of this word is denied, because it is sometimes used in the Scriptures in a limited sense. But does it therefore follow, that it has only a limited meaning; or that endless duration is not its proper meaning? I feel prepared to say, and think I shall be able to maintain, that in its proper signification, it means endless duration. This is provable by the plainest and most unequivocal arguments.
This word is used in the Bible when things are spoken of, known to be endless in their duration; and that too, when this very unlimited duration was designed to be expressed by it. It would be a task to mention all the passages in which this word is used in connexion with the names of Deity and his attributes. When his unlimited existence is to be expressed, then is he called the everlasting God, the God that is from everlasting to everlasting. And the unlimited meaning of this word is more emphatically marked, from the consideration of its being used, when applied to the Deity, to distinguish the true God from idol gods whose existence is but for a time.
Hence it follows, that this word signifies endless duration, or the original languages in which the Scriptures were written had no word expressive of this idea. For where the sacred writers would, most emphatically and especially, call the attention to the eternity of God, they would certainly use the strongest term they could find in the language in which they wrote. At such times we find them using this term. Now to suppose that the Hebrews and Greeks had no word expressive of the idea of endless duration, is to suppose they had no such idea; which is not true. Therefore they had such a word, and, for the reasons given above, it must have been the very word we have here under consideration. Since then it must be considered that this word, when used in connection with the names and attributes of Deity, signifies endless duration, the only remaining question is, Is this word in these connexions, used in its own primary and proper signification, or is it used in a borrowed and accommodated sense? To suppose the latter, would be grossly absurd. What! a word, limited in its real meaning, borrowed to express unlimited ideas! A word of comparatively weak import, accommodated to convey ideas infinitely strong! The eternity of God, emphatically expressed by a word of a limited meaning! This would be the art of sinking to perfection. But how the inspired writers could suppose such a term would convey an exalted idea of God, I cannot conceive. This borrowed term would sink rather than elevate the idea. And they had better have used no qualifying word at all, than one which properly signified less than the idea they wished to convey. From the whole it follows that this word when connected with the names and attributes of the Deity, signifies endless duration; and that when used in this connexion, it is used not in an accommodated, but in its true and proper meaning, therefore the original and proper signification of this word, is endless duration.19Whenever therefore it is used in any other sense, it must be considered as a figurative or accommodated mode of speech."
To show the bearing of the foregoing reasoning, upon the main question under consideration, viz., the meaning of the term, everlasting, when applied to the covenant, "we need only add, that when the proper signification of any word is ascertained, that word should be always understood according to that signification, unless there is something in the manner of its being used, that restricts, or modifies its meaning." And therefore, as there cannot be anything in this covenant, that would operate to restrict or modify the meaning of this word, when applied to it, therefore this covenant, termed the everlasting, must be endless in its duration. We would not be understood to say, that every item in this covenant separately considered from the great whole, was endless; for there were parts, that were means, to last only until they had secured their end; viz., the multiplication of Abraham's natural seed, and the gift of Canaan; the end for which they were promised, was the first advent of Christ; at his death if not before, they ceased. But who can separate the means from the end, until they have secured their end, and yet obtain the end for which they were given? I am thinking, that it would be quite as difficult, as it would to bring a clean thing out of an unclean.
We would say further, if there were appendages affixed to any of the ten commands, to make them applicable to the peculiar circumstances of Abraham or his seed, they could apply only to those means which were given to secure the first advent of Christ; and could be disposed of in the same manner, and at the same time, without affecting the ten commandments, any more than the cessation of those means affected the promissory covenant. Therefore the promises, singly and collectively, and with their basis as a whole, were endless. It is not pretended in the foregoing arguments, that those means which apply to time, were, or that anything else relating to time, would be endless; this would be an absurdity; for time bears no proportion to eternity. But those means in their relation to the covenant, were stamped with infinite consequences.
II. We come now to inquire, what is to be understood by these representatives: the bond-woman and her son?
There is not the least doubt but that the Apostle understood them to represent the Sinai covenant. For the purpose of familiarizing the subject, we inquire,
1. Was there any defect in the promissory covenant? The answer is at hand: No! 2. Was the Abrahamic covenant defective, that there was a call for the Sinai covenant? The answer must be given: It was not. What then could be the cause of this loud call? If Moses might be permitted to answer this question, he would tell you that God said unto him, Israel is a "stiff-necked people, therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of thee a great nation." Therefore if we understand Moses, Israel had ceased to be Abraham's natural seed, according to the promissory covenant. See Ex. xxxiv, 9. How? By violating the conditions on the part of Abraham and his seed. This would make null and void the promissory covenant, so far as they were concerned in it. Here then appears the cause of the call for the Sinai covenant. Israel must be consumed, or be made again the natural seed of Abraham. The Sinai covenant was instituted for this purpose. Who does not therefore, see that the Sinai covenant, does not alter their relation to the Abrahamic, or ten commandments; but that it only brings the lost child back to his parent; which does not diminish, but increases his obligation to regard the parental rules. So Israel had an addition of ritual services to keep with the ten commands, as the result of their transgression. This transgression is implied in Ex. xxxii, 9–14. "And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. (Why make of Moses a great nation? Because of his promise to Abraham, to whom he had said, 'I will multiply thy seed'.) And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, For mischief did he bring them out to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, (i. e., remember the promises thou hast made to them,) thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of, will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." (So he did not consume them, but instituted the Sinai covenant, to preserve them. See Ex. xxxiv, 9, 10; Deut. vi, 20, 21, 24.) The reason why the Lord hearkened unto Moses, is assigned in Ex. xx, 14. "But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen in whose sight I brought them out."
The reasons for the institution of the Sinai covenant, are recorded in Ex. xxxii, 7, 8, 31. The truth of this assertion may be doubted, therefore we will here pause, to inquire, which of the two following positions we ought to take, to ascertain the truth of this assertion.
1. Ought we to form an opinion, from the order of the chapters? 2. Or ought we to form our opinions from the order of events? i. e., Ought we to go by, or be governed by, the order of the record of facts and events, or by the order of the events, simply? Now if we take the first, we can make two positions appear very plausible. But by taking the latter, we can prove only one. Now, has truth two sides? Does it partake of variegation? Is God the author of confusion? or is he the author of harmony, and his Word consistency? By which of the two positions above, shall we come to the true conclusion, and get at the true position? If we may be permitted to reply, we answer, By the position, by which we can prove one position; (for truth must be univocal;) for if we are to go by the order of chapters, or, the order of the record of events, we are to believe that Moses entered the tabernacle, something over six or eight months before it was reared, or built!! See Ex. xl, 1, 2; & xxxiii, 9, &c.
Taking the latter position, we gather the following conclusions, which we believe to be the true position; viz., that six days after the Lord spake the ten commandments, he called unto Moses, to come up into the mount, and receive the tables and the law, which he had written on them; also that during those six days, Moses was on the mount, but not where God was; hence, God said, Come up to me into (or on the top of) the mount. It also is evident, that Aaron made the call within those six days, because Moses longer delayed to return, than they expected. Therefore the Lord (knowing that Israel had worshiped a molten image, contrary to the conditions binding on them,) said unto Moses, Come up to me, and I will give thee a law which I have written. It also appears evident, that Moses did not receive the tables, until he had fasted forty days, and forty nights, because of Israel's transgression; for it is stated, that the Lord gave them unto him, when he had made an end of communing with him. This communication, was evidently, the ritual and judicial law which Moses was to write in a Book, (Ex. xxxiv, 10–27; xxi; xxiii; xxiv, 3–8,) to accord with the form of the law on stone.
The purpose for which the Sinai covenant was given, is beautifully illustrated in Deut. xxix, 13. "That he may establish thee to-day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." From similar passages, it appears that the Sinai covenant, was not formed for the multiplication of Abraham's natural seed; or for the gift of Canaan; but to constitute Israel again, the natural seed of Abraham, according to the everlasting covenant. Ex. xxxiv, 9, 10. They were re-instated by the addition of ritual services to these means (Ex. xxxiv, 11; xxiii, 30. Deut. vii, 12, 13,) by which the ultimate end, or Christ, was to be obtained. After which a new covenant was to be made with them, to give them the consummate end. For as no stream can rise higher than its fountain; so no imperfect law, or covenant, could secure the renewed earth. This could only be obtained through Christ, who gives the earnest until the redemption of the purchased possession.
Permit me to pause here, and inquire, What were the ritual services given for? they were unlike the ten commands; neither could they take away sins; therefore they must have been added to the ten commandments, because of transgression, to preserve natural life, so that Israel might be Abraham's natural seed, until Christ should come, who was to be of the tribe of Judah.
Having shown for what end the Sinai covenant was instituted, we come to inquire what it was. We have shown that it was not the ten commands, by proving them to be the basis of the promissory; and that by violating them, Israel was thrown out of the promissory, and re-instated by the Sinai. It has been stated also, that the ritual services were given for the preservation of natural life. But what were the constituent parts of the Sinai covenant, is what now claims attention. We answer, All the ritual services, commonly called the ceremonial law; together with the form of the ten commandments, taken on Sinai, after being transgressed, in their original, or verbal form.
This written form was given them, to accord with written ceremonies, that they might be added; for you cannot add a written contract to a verbal, so as to make the verbal one binding. And besides this, a written contract in order to be valid, must show by its contents, some cause why it was formed. This is the probable reason why the ten commandments, and the statutes and judgments were written alternately in the Book of the law. At any rate, one cause why the ten commandments were written on tables of stone, was that ritual services might be added. This form may have been abolished by him who nailed the ceremonial law to his cross; and that too, without affecting in the least degree the ten commands.
I do not wish to be understood to say, that nothing plausible or specious, can be brought up in favor of the ten commandments being the Sinai covenant; many plausible quotations have been made on this argument, especially one from Deut. ix, 9. But let it be remembered that we are not to wound one excellency with another; or make the Scriptures speak with divers tongues; therefore no argument can be made to bear against the many Scriptures which sustain the positions taken.