his unwavering faith, justifying righteousness was imputed to him, and he was called "the friend of God." In this character he stands at the head of all true believers in God-thus prefiguring the Christian covenant-and he therefore merits the designation "father of the faithful." He afterwards received the rite of circumcision-thus prefiguring the law of "works"-but it was only a "seal of the righteousness of the faith" which he had before his circumcision, and was given in order "that he 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 who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised." Rom. 4:11, 12. Thus, he represents both dispensations.

If this venerable patriarch received through righteousness and faith a promise and pledge of the gospel, why, then, should the law of works, which was represented by his circumcision, be given at all, or why should it come first in the order of fulfilment? The answer is given by the apostle, "It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made" (Gal. 3:19), or until the time should

arrive for the fulfilment of the second part, which was to come with the appearance of the "seed unto whom the promise was made."

"For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect. . . . Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all (as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations)." Rom. 4:13-17. It is apparent that in the mind of the apostle the chief burden of the Abrahamic covenant lies, not in its literal fulfilment under the law, but in its spiritual fulfilment under the gospel. The promise of a universal blessing was not to come by his seed through the law, yet "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." "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Gal. 3:16, 14. “And this I say, that the covenant [of

Abraham concerning a universal spiritual blessing] that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, can not disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect." Ver. 17.

The law system, which was parenthetically introduced between the giving of the universal promise and its fulfilment, had its part in preparing the way for Christ, as we shall see in a future chapter; but it was in its very nature temporary, and the time arrived when the divine manifestations could no longer be confined to the literal seed of Abraham; and now, thank God! "the children of the promise are counted for the seed" (Rom. 9:8), "even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." Ver. 26. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29.

How clear the thought that the redemption plan was made known unto that worthy progenitor of Israel! To this fact Christ himself bore witness in the words, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad." John 8:56.

In the book of Hebrews the apostle designates the law system a "shadow of good things to come." Heb. 10:1. It will be noticed that this

is just the reverse of their order as prefigured in Abraham; for the gospel was represented in him first, by his faith and righteousness, and the law secondly, by his circumcision. The divine plan of redemption which shone from heaven on that ancient worthy necessarily cast its shadow of the law on this side of him; but it is manifest that in the ascending scale the order must be reversed, for in approaching a light we always encounter the shadows before reaching the substantial objects that project them. But shadows have t least this value: they proclaim unmistakably the reality of their object and the existence of a light somewhere.

"Thus shadow owes its birth to light."

-Gay.

CHAPTER VII.

THE REVELATION TO ISRAEL.

Reference has already been made to the fact that the knowledge of the one true and living God was conserved, during a polytheistic age, in the family of Abraham. But more than this, the Almighty designed to begin with the Israelitish nation a series of divine manifestations and revelations preparatory to the establishment of the most glorious religion possible to mankind, a religion whose ultimate object is to bless and elevate all the nations of the earth. In the providence of God, Israel was to become the instructor of the human race.

In our consideration of the necessity and the requirements of an objective revelation we saw that such a manifestation of the divine could not in the nature of things be given universally and that therefore it would probably be restricted to a limited number under favorable circumstances. Now we wish to show that in the case of the Israelites just such favorable circumstances occurred. The devout believer, however, feels inclined to attribute even those propitious external conditions to providential care. One can hardly read the narra