(2.) Ifrael's captain general is here described by his relation to them; Thy GOD, The Lord thy God. This relation is ftated upon the ground of a new covenant difpenfation, even a covenant of promise in Chrift Jefus. Of this covenant there was an oldteftament difpenfation, under which this people of Ifrael were; and a new-teftament difpenfation, under which we are: The former was a darker, and this is a clearer and brighter difpenfation of the fame new covenant. The old covenant of works being broken and violated by the fin of man, God could not in honour come under this relation again to finners but upon the ground of a new covenant established in Chrift: This covenant of promise was first discovered to Adam in Paradife, afterwards to Abraham and others. The promise of that new covenant was fealed by the blood of Chrift typically, under the old teftament, by the facrifices then offered; and actually at Jerufalem, when he gave his life a ransom for many. Upon the footing of this covenant, I fay, it is, that he afferts this relation, The Lord thy God. But more particularly, for explaining this relative defignation, Thy God, we may

take a four-fold view thereof.

pe

;

1. As it is expreffive of the ancient federal relation betwixt God, and Ifrael of old, the church of the Jews under that difpenfation. He became their God, and they were chofen of him to be his culiar people, beyond all other people in the world as you fee, Deut. vii. 6. For thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God: The Lord thy God hath choJen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people upon the face of the earth. He made known his mind with refpect to the way of falvation to them, and they to others, Pfal. clvii. 19, 20. He fhewed

fhewed his word unto Jacob, and his ftatutes and bis judgments to Ifrael; he hath not dealt fo with any nation. And having taken them vifibly into a covenant relation, he establishes his covenant with them and their feed, Deut. x. 15. The Lord had delight in thy fathers to love them, and be chofe their feed after them. And thus he faid to Abraham, Gen. xvii. 7. I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy feed after thee, to be a God to thee, and to thy feed. Hence fays God to them, You only have I known of all the families of the earth. All this is faid of them, even with refpect to their churchftate, abftract from the fingular faving privileges of true believers among them, who through grace were enabled to improve thefe great advantages they enjoyed above other people. By virtue of this relation that he stood in to them, he engaged, as the Lord their God, to put out the nations of the Canaanites before them by little and little.

2. You may view it as expreffive of the prefent federal relation that God ftands in to the visible church under the new-teftament, even to us Gentiles, as fucceeding to the Jews in their church-privileges, together with fuperadded advantages, in so far as the new-teftament difpenfation does excel that of the old. As it was faid to the Jewish church, The promife is to you and to your children, Acts ii. 39. and that to them belong the adoption, and the glory, the covenant, and the promife, Rom. ix. 4. So in like manner do they belong to the chriftian church, we being grafted in among them, to partake of the root and fatnefs of their olive-tree, Rom. xi. 17. Hence flows a common intereft that all the members of the vifible church have in God as their God, and Chrift as their head; not only as an head of eminency,

but

but as an head of influence and government. All the common influences fhed among the members of the visible church come from this fource, and from thence refult alfo many excellent privileges, all which are fealed in baptifm, which fucceeds to the feal of circumcifion among the Jews. Baptifm feals to us, and to all the vifible church, a common general right to God's covenant, fo as we may warrantably plead the promises, and that promife in particular, I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; which is the fundamental promife. Great are the privileges that belong to the vifible church, that do not belong to thofe that are without God commits to them his ministry, his oracles and ordinances; by the means of which, he brings forth children, and gathers his elect, fo as out of the church vifible there is no ordinary poffibility of salvation, Acts ii. laft. As all the baptized members of the visible church, have a sealed intereft in the covenant of promife, fuch as lays them under fpecial obligation to believe in Chrift; fo they have a claim, beyond the rest of the world, to God as their God in Christ, and as their Saviour: Yea, all the church visible are faid to be in Chrift, John xv. 2. even these branches that bear not fruit, and that shall be taken away, and caft into the fire. Baptifm feals our ingraftment into Chrift, that is, an engraftment common to all that are members of the visible church, befides the faving fpiritual ingraftment of true believers. Now that common relation that you all have to God, as church members, tho' it be common to believers and unbelievers, yet it is in itself a special privilege, whereby you are exalted above the rest of the world that are without the church, and gives every one of you a right to plead this promife

to

to be accomplished to you in a spiritual fenfe, The Lord thy God will put out thefe nations before you by little and little, even fuch nations of fpiritual enemies as were typified by the Canaanites that Ifrael had to deal with. But then,

3. You may view this relative defignation, Thy GOD, as expreffive of the special relation he stands in to the church invifible militant here upon earth; I mean, to true believers, the living members of Christ, and true Ifrael of God, whom he makes fo, by becoming their God in a way of fovereign free grace in and through Jefus Chrift, in whom they have a peculiar intereft in God as their God, and a special title to all the promises of the new covenant as their charter, all the promises thereof being Yea and Amen in Chrift Jefus. Now,, it is in this fenfe efpecially that I confider this defignation, The Lord thy God; because it is the fpiritual intent of the text that I treat, namely, as it does typify and reprefent the spiritual deliverance of the true Ifrael of God from their spiritual enemies, in order to their poffeffion of the heavenly Canaan; yet not excluding the great appearances the Lord makes for his church visible on earth, collectively confidered. And here it is proper you obferve, that tho' this title, The Lord thy God, be oftentimes in fcripture spoken of with respect to a vifible church, a mixt people of good and bad; as when he fays to Ifrael, I am the Lord thy God, that brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and boufe of bondage; and whereas in many inftances it is fpoken collectively of the whole body of the church: Yet this rule is to be obferved, that where the Lord is mentioned in relation thus to a mixt people, all the privileges that flow from fuch a relation of God to that people, are but common privivileges,

vileges, I mean, common to all that vifible church. Thus the privilege of bringing out of the land of Egypt, was a common privilege, common to all that people, good and bad among them them; and fo' was this privilege of cutting off the nations of the Canaanites before them in a literal fenfe, and poffeffing them of the earthly Canaan: And therefore, tho' God be called the God of a church or people collectively, which infers many excellent privileges, tho' common to them all, as was fhewed above; yet he is not their God in the fame refpect as he is the God of the believer, or of the true Ifrael. As they are not all Ifrael that are of Ifrael (for the whole vifible church, God's profeffing people, are of Ifrael; but only true believers are Ifraelites indeed, and Jews inwardly, the true fpiritual circumcifion) fo these true Ifraelites have a course by common, having a special and peculiar propriety in God as their God, which infers fpecial and peculiar privileges. And hence,

4. You may view this defignation, Thy God, as expreffive of all the bleffings that are imported in this special relation that he ftands in to his true Ifrael. And indeed the privileges imported thus in the word, Thy God, are innumerable and unfpeakable: His being their God, imports that they have an interest in all that he is, and all that he hath, and all that he can do, and is wont to do for these whofe God he is. Here is a field that would take a long eternity to travel through. Happy is the people whoje God is the Lord. All happiness in time, and for ever is imported in it: His being their God, imports all the relations that he can be in to them, for making them holy and happy for ever in himself;

that

i. e. They have privileges above others, as Benjamin had above

his brethren.