George Paxton I.5

SECT. V.

ORIGIN OF THE RIGHT WHICH ANCESTORS HAVE TO REPRESENT THEIR POSTERITY IN A RELIGIOUS COVENANT.

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THE Right of Ancestors to bind their posterity by their lawful engagements, arises from the law of Nature, and is coeval with the creation of man: For the notion that ancestors have a right to bind their posterity has generally prevailed in the world. Now it is difficult, if not impossible, to account for the general prevalence of this doctrine, without allowing that it hath some foundation in truth and reason. Admitting, however, that the notion first sprung from mere fancy and imagination, that it was quickly adopted and improved by artful men, to answer their own purposes, and so became universal; yet it should seem strange, that an infinitely wise and good God should in no age interpose his authority to undeceive men upon a point of so interesting a nature. This doctrine influences the faith and practice of men in the simplest state of society, when they act according to the genuine and undisguised impulse of their nature. We have a proof of this in the covenant which Abimelech and Phichol, the captain of his host, made with Abraham, and afterwards with Isaac. It is almost needless to observe, that it does not affect the argument, whether these Philistines were the same or different persons*. In this covenant, Abimelech and Phichol were the representatives of their nation, stipulating for their safety, and consequently, engaging for the safety of Abraham, Isaac, and their people, even to the third generation. Since Abimelech plainly acted for his people, for kings had not learned to speak of themselves in the plural number, and since the term of duration is, in the first covenant, extended to the third generation, and unlimited in the second, the children of the con-

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* Gen. l. 25; comp. Exod. xiii. 19.

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tracting parties must have been comprehended in their intention, and laid under the same obligation as themselves. And, to this day, the rudest tribes act upon the same principle, and enter into covenants for themselves and their posterity. But this principle becomes more visible, and is better defined, as society advances in knowledge and refinement.

We have already mentioned the covenant, by which the dying Joseph engaged his brethren to carry up his bones from Egypt to the land of promise*. He, with the authority of a patriarch and a deliverer, assumed that generation to be the representative of their succeeding race; and they consented to act in their name; for Joseph well knew, that the persons of whom he took the oath, would, every one, be gathered to their fathers, long before the deliverance of their nation from Egyptian bondage took place: and so it actually happened; for “all that generation died” before the appearance of Moses. This instance furnishes several important facts. A congregation of Israel, without any delegation, act in the name of their posterity, undertaking that the bones of Joseph should be carried up with their people from the house of bondage. Their posterity acknowledge the obligation, and do as their fathers had engaged. The children did not quarrel with their ancestors for bringing them under this yoke; nor endeavour to excuse themselves from the seemingly idle labour of transporting a dead man’s bones, through so tedious and dangerous a journey, because they had no voice in choosing their representatives, nor in the agreement with Joseph, and because an oath is a personal obligation, and cannot affect the descendents of the swearer. Unacquainted with the refinements of modern casuistry, Moses and Israel thought only of fulfilling the covenant of their fathers.

When Israel took possession of Canaan, the Gibeonites, to secure their lives and property, imposed upon the heads of the tribes, and enticed them into a covenant, which was ratified with the oath of God. Although this treaty was contrary to the command of Heaven, and highly disagreeable to the congregation, it was not to be broken. The obligation which arose from a positive precept, must yield to one more sacred still, which owes its existence to his nature and perfections; and the inclinations of the people must submit to their duty. After the lapse of many ages, Saul, in a paroxysm of intemperate zeal, put some of the Gibeonites to death; but God, in whose name the original parties swore, resented the deed; and was not appeased till seven sons of the murderer

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* Gen. xxi. xxii. xxiii. and xxvi. xxviii.

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were delivered up to capital punishment. In this affair, there is nothing extraordinary or peculiar to the Jewish system. One people enters into a treaty offensive and defensive with another, and confirms it in the most solemn manner. This treaty, which the contracting parties intended should bind the latest posterity, is violated after many generations; and the treachery is signally punished. There is surely nothing extraordinary or peculiar in all this. The history of other nations records many instances of the same kind. The only peculiarity is the answer of the Oracle to David’s enquiry, which does not affect the obligation. The immediate revelation, on the contrary, seems to strengthen the argument: for it directly recognizes the obligation, which was assumed without even asking counsel at the mouth of the Lord; a circumstance which precludes all idea of peculiarity. Now, the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworn unto them.* All the other circumstances of this transaction are in the ordinary course of human affairs. Besides, That could not be peculiar to Israel, in which another entire people were concerned who were not of the lineage of Abraham, and whose latest generations were represented in that covenant, and bound to observe it: for no man will pretend that Israel was the only party that was bound to fulfil their engagements. That could not be an extraordinary and inimitable agreement which contradicted the divine commandment. The history of nations does not contain a more common occurrence than this league with the Gibeonites. In this covenant we trace, with absolute certainty, the doctrine for which we contend; and ascertain its lawfulness from the approbation of God. It also furnishes a proof that a society is not terminated, and its obligations annulled, with the constituent generation, but continues the same in their descendents, and remains accountable for their obligations. The congregation of Israel was the same, and not another, though many generations separated the persons who entered into this treaty with the Gibeonites, from the sanguinary tyrant by whom it was broken; or else, how could David and his people be punished for breaking the original contract? “The soul that sinneth it shall die.”

In modern times this principle is completely established. It were endless to mention all the cases in which posterity are bound by the civil contracts of their fathers, in which they neither had nor could have any share. Any man may grant an annuity out of his own property to the person he wishes to favour, and to his descendents to the latest generation; which is certainly a partial devotement of himself and his

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* 2 Sam. xxi. 1, 2.

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offspring, to the interest and service of the annuitant. It is true, that his successor may refuse to serve himself heir, and so avoid the payment, but he must abandon the inheritance at the same time. This, however, is no valid objection to the application of this instance to religious vows; for have not Seceders succeeded to the principles and profession of their ancestors, serving themselves heirs to that noble inheritance, as far as the nature of things will permit? But many cases occur which are not liable to the same objection. A Nation grants a pension to some meritorious servant, and to his heirs and successors. In process of time the original parties die, and an entire new set of men occupy the political stage; yet the Nation is confessedly bound to fulfil their engagements in which they had no voice, and which, perhaps, commenced before any one of the individuals which now compose it was born. The same observation may be made upon the treaties of Nations, in which it is quite common for the parties to conclude a lasting—a perpetual peace*; and not for themselves only, but in express words “for their heirs and successors” also†. These examples show, in the clearest manner, that the right of ancestors to represent and bind their posterity is an established principle in the jurisprudence of modern nations.

This natural right is admitted into revealed religion, by a special command from heaven; because that which is proper and necessary in civil affairs is not, for that reason, lawful and proper in the service of God. Covenanting is a duty which is taught by the light of nature; yet Abraham was called by God to enter into covenant with him. By this call, the Patriarch was reminded of his duty, and the whole church instructed in the propriety of introducing engagements of this kind into religion. The power of representing posterity was granted by a positive constitution, probably for the same reason. The law of Nature does not require men to enter into covenants with one another, but leaves it to their own discretion. But the profession which we make, and the duties to which we engage in covenanting with God, are all required by the Moral Law, which religious persons are very apt to consider as abundantly sufficient. On this account the Almighty required his people, by a voice from heaven, to enter into covenant, and submit to a superadded obligation to do his will.

This command was first directed to Abraham, the illustrious Father of all genuine Believers, when he was called out of Ur of the Chaldees; “Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a

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* See public Papers in the New Ann. Reg. for 1783.

† New Ann. Reg. 1795, Russian Treaty.

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land that I will shew thee—and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed*.” After many years the Lord appeared again to Abram and renewed his covenant, favouring him with a more clear and extensive revelation of his gracious designs. “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.”—“And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee, in their generations†.” This was the deed of settlement by which the Jewish church was formed into one worshipping society, and her privileges secured till the coming of Christ. Abraham had a personal interest in this covenant, which is expressed in these words; “I will bless thee, and thou shalt be a blessing‡.” “After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Fear not Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward§.’” By these revelations his present and eternal salvation was fully secured. To his natural offspring the Testimony and the Law of God were, by this covenant, almost exclusively committed till the fulness of time. They had the promise of Canaan, where the true religion was to be long maintained, and where, separated from the rest of the nations, they were to dwell alone. “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God||.”

But, it comprehended also, the privileges of his moral posterity. Abraham was honoured to be the father both of the Old and New Testament church. What other meaning do these words convey? “And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed:” words which undoubtedly refer to the last dispensation of mercy, and which comprehend all his spiritual seed. That the covenant was established with Abraham, as the Father of the New Testament church, is indisputable. In the New Testament scriptures the Gentile believers are called the children of Abraham, while the unbelieving Jews, his natural posterity, are declared to have forfeited that honour; “Jesus said unto them, if ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham¶.” Our relation to that Patriarch, as professing Christians, and our interest in his covenant, is clearly asserted by the Apostle; “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he

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* Gen. xii. 1, 3.

† Ch. xvii. 7, 9.

‡ Ch. xii. 2.

§ Ch. xv. 1.

|| Ch. xvii. 8.

¶ John viii. 39.

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might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also: and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but also walk in the steps of our father Abraham—who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “I have made thee a father of many nations*.”) The Apostle writes in the same manner to the Galatians; “Know ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham†.” Nothing can be more evident than that, according to these words, all believers of every age and nation are the spiritual children of Abraham, whom God owns and accepts as such, that they may be blessed with him. This was intimated to himself, before the institution of circumcision and the giving of the law, by the glad tidings of salvation contained in the promise; “In thee shall all nations be blessed.” But, if believers are the children of Abraham, merely because they have the same principle of faith in their hearts, and the same profession in their mouths, it will not be easy to assign a reason why they are called his children, rather than the children of such eminent saints as these; Noah, Daniel, and Job, of whom God himself speaks in terms of singular approbation. But it plainly appears, that he was a Representative of the whole church, an honour to which no other Christian was ever exalted. For when God took him into covenant with himself, he ordained him the father of all the faithful. Thus, the covenant made with him is the grand charter of New Testament privileges, as well as of those enjoyed under the former dispensation,—the foundation upon which the New as well as the Old Testament church is built. To this, not only the Revelations of the Covenant of Grace, which were afterwards made to the holy Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord, but those also which were imparted to the inspired writers of the New Testament, constantly referred. The great Apostle of the Gentiles calls the Revelation of the Covenant of Grace, the “Blessing of Abraham;” and insists that Christ redeemed us from wrath and punishment by his own precious blood, that this blessing might be freely vouchsafed to believing Gentiles, and particularly, that they who live under the Gospel Dispensation, whether Jews or Gentiles, might receive a plentiful communication of the gifts, graces, and comforts of the promised spirit, as the pledge and token of their title to the eternal inheritance: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through

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* Rom. iv. 11, 12, 16, 17.

† Gal. iii. 7.

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faith*.” Nor was there a promise ever given to sinful men which was not included in the covenant made with him and his spiritual seed; “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ†.” And these promises which were made to Abraham and his seed, or the covenant made with them, is declared to be the Covenant of Grace, which was finally ratified by the blood of Christ: the very covenant, well ordered in all things and sure, which God makes with believers of every dispensation, and which is all their salvation, and all their desire. This is emphatically the Promise, which principally referred to Christ, in whom believing Jews and Gentiles should be united as the true children of Abraham,—the free promise of pardon, life, and salvation, through faith in Christ. And those who are really united to the Saviour, though descended from the Gentile nations, are the federal and genuine children of Abraham, and so are heirs according to the promise made with him and his spiritual seed, of which Christ is the head: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise‡.” The equal interest of the Gentile and Jewish churches, in the Abrahamic covenant, is farther confirmed by another passage in the same epistle: “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise§.” Isaac was born by virtue of the covenant made with his father; and so also are all who believe in Christ for salvation: and the interest of both in that promise is perfectly equal. The words of Peter, addressed to his nation, are no less decisive; “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even, as many as the Lord our God shall call¶.” By the promise the Apostle means the Covenant of Abraham, which was no more to be confined to the Jews, but extended to all the families of Adam, however far from God and from his covenant they might be, even to as many of them as the Lord our God should call to the faith and fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ. The same promise is to the Gentile nations and to their children, to be fulfilled in its proper season, by which they were to become interested in the promise even as Isaac was. The incorporation of the Gentiles into a church state under the covenant of Abraham, as his spiritual children through faith in Christ, together with those of his natural offspring that believe, and their admission to an equal share in all the blessings and privileges of that covenant, and of the church state into which the divine favour had brought them, are beautifully described in the metaphor of the olive tree: “For if the first fruits be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are

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* Gal. iii. 13, 14.

† Ch. iii. 16.

‡ Ver. 29.

§ Ch. iv. 28.

¶ Acts ii. 39.

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the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree*.”

From these observations it appears, that the Abrahamic covenant, so far from being repealed, is established by the New Testament dispensation, and takes effect among believing Gentiles as well as the Jewish people. That ancient promise is the fountain from whence have issued the two streams of the Old and New Testament dispensations. That venerable Patriarch is the root which furnishes life and nourishment to the goodly branches of Jewish and Gentile churches, which have grown in a grateful and refreshing shade over the face of the whole earth. In fine, this covenant is the ground upon which the New Testament church stands, and the tenure by which she holds all her privileges. It was a transaction which comprehended both Jews and Gentiles; and the solemn and singular circumstances attending it respected both. The charge which Jehovah gave concerning the seed of Abraham, contains nothing inapplicable to the Gentile churches; and even the grant of Canaan to the Patriarch’s natural seed is a type of the gift of heaven to all his spiritual seed, and therefore has an indirect respect to the Gentiles also.

Though the covenant made with Abraham equally respected his natural and moral descendents, the tribes of Israel, and the nations of the Gentile world, it pleased God to renew his covenant with the former, according to that which he made with their renowned ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, while he abandoned the latter, for many ages, to heathen darkness. The foundations of the Jewish church were laid at Sinai, when God promised to be their God, and they vowed to be his peculiar people†. But this solemn event was not a distinct, independent proceeding, unconnected with the covenant of Abraham, but one of the blessings which it contained. It was the application of that general promise to one branch of his posterity, or a renovation of it adapted to their peculiar circumstances, according to the original design of the divine Lawgiver. All the wonders which the arm of Jehovah wrought in favour of Israel, and all the blessings he bestowed upon them, were an accomplishment of the “truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which he had sworn to their fathers from the days of old.” On the same ground he required Israel to engage in his service. To shew them the folly of seeking salvation by the works of the Law, to which they discovered the usual propensities of human nature, and to

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* Rom. xi. 16, 17.

† Exod. xix. 3, &c.

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reconcile them to the free covenant of their fathers, he revealed himself in flaming fire. The thunders, the lightnings, the blackness, and darkness, and tempest, at which Sinai shook, and Israel trembled in their tents, the emblems of the glorious holiness and terrible majesty of Jehovah, were intended to show that people, that though they were now to receive a more complete system of laws than their fathers possessed, yet they were, like them, to be favoured with access to God, and enjoy the blessings of his favour, only upon the footing of his gracious promise. The laws which they received, and the allegiance which they vowed to God, far from disannulling the promise which had been made to Abraham at his departure from Chaldea, powerfully incited them to believe in that everlasting covenant. For the law delivered at Horeb was a rule of life, corresponding to the promise by which the people of Israel were to walk: “A promise which every believing Israelite regarded as a sufficient security, not only for his pardon and acceptance with God, but likewise for whatever was necessary for the acceptable performance of duty.”

In this renovation of the Abrahamic covenant at Horeb, the congregation of Israel represented their posterity. The words of Moses are express; “And he declared unto you his covenant which he commanded you to perform—Take heed unto yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you*.” The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day†.” These words Moses addressed to Israel immediately before the renovation of the covenant at Horeb, when he used the following memorable terms; “Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; but with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day‡.” When that people in after times apostatized from God, they are always charged with breaking the covenant made at Horeb. But this charge must have been unjust, if they were not parties; for no man can break a covenant which he never made either in his own person, or by his representative. Here the Ancestors of Israel, with the Divine approbation, exercised the right of devoting their posterity to God in a religious covenant. The solemn deed was renewed when the ministry of Moses was finished, when the Law was completed, and when they were now within sight of Canaan, ready to enter into their promised rest. “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel, in the land of

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* Deut. iv. 13, 23.

† Ch. v. 2, 3.

‡ Deut. xxix. 14, 15.

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Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb*.” This covenant in the land of Moab, had a particular respect to that at Sinai, and was properly a renovation of it; for, said Moses to the congregation, “Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God, that thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day: that he may establish thee this 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 this passage also, it appears, that the power of Israel to represent their succeeding race arose from the covenant made with Abraham;—and from that part of it which did not refer to the Jewish people in particular, but which belonged equally to Jews and Gentiles: “Thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations‡.” For, neither the duty of covenanting itself, nor the power of representing posterity, has any respect to the sacrifice and oblation, nor to the gift of Canaan. There is nothing typical in their nature; nothing local. There is nothing in this power of representing posterity which restricts it to the peculiar circumstances of Israel. It may, with equal facility, be extended to any church in any country; and applies as well to the New Testament dispensation as to the Old. It was fully as competent for our fathers to represent us in their radical covenant, as for Israel at Sinai to represent their succeeding generations, provided they had the same warrant. The purposes of this representation are of a spiritual and eternal nature. These are described in very striking language by God himself; “Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice§.” Here is nothing ceremonial, typical, or local, but duties and privileges which will apply to the church under any dispensation, and in every part of the globe.

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* Deut. xxix. 1.

† Ver. 10, 12, 13.

‡ Gen. xvii. 9.

§ Deut. xxvi. 17.