Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

ON THE

COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND JUDAII,

IN THE REIGN OF ASA.

2 CHRON. XV. 12

-14.

HE

TERE I fhall attend-I. Unto the Parties Covenanting.-II. The Matter of the Covenant. III. The Manner of Covenanting. IV. The Punishment of Idolaters.-V. The Occafions of this Tranfaction.-VI. The Confirmations of it.-Deducing fome Inferences from the whole.

FIRST, I must attend unto the PARTIES Covenanting.

1. THE Party unto whom they engaged is, "The Lord God of their Fathers." As their fathers covenanted for their feed, as well as for themfelves; fo thefe covenanters looked back unto that covenant-relation in which God Ggg 2 ftood

ftood unto them. And when they took up this character, as that on which they believed, and to which they vowed, their deed amounted to an explicit renovation of all thofe covenants into which their fathers had entered. As they had covenanted with this God in the loins of their fathers, fo they alfo make a folemn recognition of all thofe fœderal engagements in their own perfons.-The Party unto whom they vowed is alfo denominated, "The Lord God of Ifrael;" i. e. of the congregation of Ifrael, from its firft erection until that time, as well as Ifrael their father. The God of all who are Ifraelites indeed. He also bears this name in oppofition to the gods of the nations round about, as well as the calves of Dan and Bethel, which Jeroboam had fet up in Ifrael itself. The intent of this character was, to teach them, that, though Jeroboam had faid of his calves, "Thefe be thy gods, O Ifrael!" yet Jehovah had the fole claim unto that ho

nour.

2. THE Party vowing is Judah and Benjamin, with strangers out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and the tribe of Simeon. Judah and Benjamin continued in the worship of the true God, when the greater part of the ten tribes revolted from it, as well as from their allegiance to the house of David. Many of the ten tribes, however, fell off again from the worship of the calves to

that

that of the true God, on this occafion; and took part in this Covenanted Reformation.

SECONDLY, The MATTER of this Covenant falls under our confideration in the next place. The bond is not inferted at length, indeed, but the scope of it is easily gathered from what is declared. The comprehenfive duty to which they engaged is, to "SEEK the Lord God of their fathers." This includes the internal motions of the foul towards God, as the chief good ;--the fearch of the understanding into the mystery of his truth, and the glory of his perfections;-the motions of the affections in following hard after God: "When thou didft fay, SEEK YE my face; my heart faid unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I SEEK.” -"With my fpirit within me will I SEEK THEE early.' This duty alfo includes an obfervance of all divine inftitutions, and that with the utmost care: For God can neither be fought nor found but in the way of his own inftitutions. The original word, expreffive of duty, is the fame in this Covenant as in the foregoing one; the object is a little diverfified, in a fuitableness to their peculiar circumftances. It was fit to mention the COMMANDMENTS of the Lord in David's days, beçanfe fome new ones had been given unto the Church by his ministry: It was fit to mention the Lord God of their fathers at this time, becaufe Jeroboam had introduced ftrange gods in his room. THIRDLY,

THIRDLY, The MANNER in which they covenanted is the next branch of our fubject.

1. THEY did it WITH ALL THE HEART. That is, they did it in fincerity, in oppofition to feigned profeffions of faith and obedience. Their duty correfponded with the divine rule; for it required them to love God with all their heart and with all their foul; the former denoting the understanding, that governing faculty; and the latter the will*. The law extended to all the people, and to all of the man; to each faculty and power of the foul, and to every member of the body. Hence we may conclude, that this was not a ftate covenant in the commonwealth: For matters of ftate can only affect the outward man.

It is

*Some learned men explain the terms HEART and SOUL otherways. Mr Romaine, for example (Sermons on Mark xii. 28-31), understands the first of the affections; but it is taken for the understanding, Job ix. 4. Pfal. xcv. 10. If. vi. 10. STOCKIUS: And, when placed before foul, it is most natural to explain the former of the intellectual powers; fee Ainfworth on Deut. vi. 5. Dr Pocock on Hofea, p. 307. Mr Romaine alfo infinuates, that "the term rendered soUL never denotes the immaterial and immortal spirit; but is conftantly ufed for the parts concerned in carrying on the circulation of the blood, and in which the appetites of the hu man frame are placed." But though it be granted, that the word is fometimes taken in an inferior fenfe; yet it muft alfo denote the immortal fpirit, Gen. xxxv. 18. And when placed in fuch a connection as in this text, it denotes the will and affections, Gen. xxii. 3. 1 Kings xix. 3.

incompetent

incompetent for ftatefien to penetrate into the

heart.

2. THEY rejoiced at the oath of God: "They fware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with fhouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets *." Thefe inftruments were ufed in the duty of praife, which preceded, or followed the folemn action. This is much more natural than to fuppofe, that the facred bond was announced with the found of trumpet. Times of covenanting have ever been feafons of gladnefs and rejoicing; fo far is it from being true, that this folemn fervice is dull and infipid: But this demonftration of joy was adapted to the difpenfation under which they covenanted with God. It would be fallacious to a degree, however, to conclude in favour of inftrumental mufic in divine worship,

* The inftruments of praise, under the typical difpenfation, were many. The learned Mr Foord enumerates no fewer than fixteen different kinds (Praf. ad Expofit. p. 2.); but others reckon they were not fo many. Schindler mentions only feven. Probably the fame inftruments had different names: If fo, Schindler's calculation will be found most correct. But the truth is, as the whole of the inftrumental mufic which was used in the worship of God feems to have been confined to the tabernacle and temple, and to have perished with the latter; fo that we can, with certainty, determine little or nothing concerning it. No one thing can be more imaginary than the attempts of the Popish Churches to revive this part of the Jewish ceremonies, when in abfolute uncertainty as to the nature of it; and efpecially after the folemn burial of them all in the deftruction of Jerufalem.

on

« AnteriorContinuar »