April 25

Genesis xvii. — 3. And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying,

4. As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram; but thy name shall be Abraham: for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee; and kings shall come out of thee.

7. 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.

10. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you, and thy seed after thee: Every man-child among you shall be circumcised.

Galatians iii. — 16. 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.

17. And this I say, That the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

18. For, if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

This wonderful argument proves the identity of the system of grace in the Old Testament and the New. The gospel is, in reality, older than the law. When Jehovah entered into a covenant with Abraham to bless all nations in his seed, that promise looked forward to Christ. Between the giving of the promise and its fulfilment, the law came in as a means of training and discipline. It was our schoolmaster, or, more exactly, our pedagogue, — the name given to a guardian who every day led the child to the teacher, and kept him under proper restraint in going and coming. So the law led to Christ; and this in two ways: its commands caused men to realize the failure of self-made righteousness, of attempts at character; and its sacrifices fixed in the human mind and in human speech the idea of an atonement. With the coming of Christ, the Jewish system, with all that was local or national or typical.

19. Wherefore, then, serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

20. Now, a mediator is not a mediator of one; but God is one.

21. Is the law, then, against the promises of God? God forbid! for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

22. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

23. But, before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25. But, after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

In it, passed away; but the original platform of the gospel remained, and Christ carried this out to the full meaning of the promise, abolishing in his kingdom the distinctions of race, of sex, and of condition. Baptism into this kingdom has taken the place of circumcision under the law, and carries with it all the blessings of the covenant to ourselves and to our children.

Circumcision was practised among the ancient Egyptians, perhaps for sanitary reasons; but to Abraham it was a sacred token, signifying the renewal of his nature through the consecration of himself and his household unto God. The use of any such symbol in religion is both to assist our faith, and to remind us of our obligation. The covenant brought to Abraham duties as well as privileges; and all God's promises to us are conditioned upon our fidelity to him. Let us, therefore, do our duty while we trust his grace.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 10, 59, 84, 88.

O thou faithful God, who keepest covenant and mercy forever! we awake this morning to the light of thy love, to the sense of thy gracious protection, and the joy of thy presence; and we bring to thee our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Oh! keep us this day from sin: bless us in our home, in our labors, in our studies; bless all our friends with both temporal and spiritual good; and remember all men in mercy. May we be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises! May we all be the children of thy grace!

O Lord, who hast taught us not only to pray, but

to give thanks for all men! we beseech thee to accept our unfeigned thanks and praises for the grace thou hast wrought in thy saints, and through them bestowed on thy holy Church from the beginning of the world. For all thy servants who have departed this life with the seal of faith, we praise and magnify thy glorious name; most humbly desiring of thy mercy and goodness that we may continue in their holy communion; and that, following with all diligence their holy examples, we may together with them attain to the resurrection of the just, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.