lest we intrude upon the world by introducing our own vague, and unauthorized opinions, instead of what is predicted by the Spirit of truth. We will now take a view of some of those general prophecies of scripture which state the fundamental principles on which the church is founded, and on the fulfilment of which her future greatness and glory depend. In Gen. iii. 15. we have the first promise, and the first revelation of the gospel that ever was given to a fallen world. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." The seed of the woman is Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin, having been miraculously conceived, and not begotten by natural generation. He is therefore not the seed of the man, but of the woEve not being a covenant head, her seed, which was Christ, was born out of the limits of the broken covenant, and consequently he was born in a state of perfect innocence. (Luke i. 35. compared with Heb. vii. 26 -28. and 1 Pet. i. 19.) In Christ, all who ever will be saved, are comprehended as his spiritual seed; and Christ is here spoken of as the head of his church, and as one with his church. Christ in this capacity or character is said to bruise the Serpent's head, and the Serpent is said to bruise his heel. The Serpent is the Devil, or Satan, taken in connection with all the wicked in every age and nation of the world, who will be lost; these wicked men are the Serpent's seed, who, with Satan, as their head, are always at enmity with, and opposed to Christ and his church, and they will bruise the heel of Christ as the head of the church, and representative of his people.

man.

It is evident that in this text, Christ, and Satan are represented as competitors for a kingdom. Satan had involved Adam and his posterity in a state of rebellion against God, and brought them under his dominion;Christ, the seed of the woman, is engaged in this promise to deliver them from the fatal dominion of the Serpent, and to reinstate them in the favor of God, and bring them back again to a state of obedience to their Creator. It is engaged in this promise, that Satan's head shall be bruised, or wounded, which means, that Christ will mortally wound him, dethrone him, and put him down, and take his kingdom from him; and bring mankind into subjection to God. But it is stated also that a remnant

of mankind should be lost, which is called the seed of the Serpent; but this remnant will be very small, and only sufficient to injure the cause and kingdom of Christ in a very small degree, such as a bruise or wound on the heel, which does not affect the life, and is eventually but very little inconvenience to the body. Thus it is plain, from the statement of this text, which exhibits the whole plan of the gospel, in miniature, that a very small injury will be received by the fall, and that a very small remnant of mankind will be lost through the wicked exertions of Satan to destroy them; and with all his malevolent opposition to Christ and his cause, the church will only receive a little bruise on her heel, and mankind will be generally brought into the glorious kingdom of the seed of the woman.

We may further observe, that the doctrine of universal redemption is evidently contradicted in this text; because the seed of the Serpent will forever be at enmity with Christ and the gospel, and will be lost; their number will be but few; yet there will be enough to bruise the heel of Christ, and to contradict the doctrine of the universal restoration of all men. The reader will also notice that generally speaking, all the promises after this, speak in round terms, without any exception; but this is the original, and the radical promise of the gospel, in which there is expressly stated a small exception to the universal effect of the gospel among mankind, and admits of a small remnant as the seed of the Serpent, and this exception must be carried through the whole of the promises with respect to the universality of Christ's kingdom, as this is the original ground on which all the promises are made.

Christ's bruising the Serpent's head, and the Serpent's bruising Christ's heel, are generally applied to Christ, and Satan, individually, and personally, when Christ died on the cross. It is thought, that he then bruised the head of the Serpent; and that the Serpent bruised his heel. And it is indeed virtually true that Christ did bruise the Serpent's head on the cross, by making a complete atonement for sin; but it is not true in fact. By making the atonement, he prepared the effectual weapon by which Satan will be defeated; but it is by the application of the atonement that his head will be broken. If the death of Christ were not applied for the salvation of

the elect, Satan would still hold his dominion; but the application of the atonement by faith to sinners, is what will destroy his kingdom, and bruise his head. Thus we clearly see, that although Christ has been crucified, and the effectual weapon fully prepared, the Serpent's head is not yet bruised, for Satan still reigns over the world; and he could still say, consistent with truth, as he once said to Christ, "All the kingdoms of the world are given to me." (Luke iv. 5, 6.) The application of Salvation to a few, would no more defeat Satan, than the taking of a few prisoners from the Macedonian phalanx would have defeated Alexander the great. Christ has never yet done any thing, but prepare the effectual weapon, (to wit, the atonement) and took a few prisoners from Satan; he has bruised his heel, but he has not yet touched his head; Satan reigns over the world still (except a little flock,) with infernal triumph and glory.

The triumph of Satan over the world would truly be a fatal stroke on Christ's head, and all that the gospel has yet done in the world, would be only a bruise on the Serpent's heel, were it not for the Millennium. But the vast glory of the gospel in the latter day, and the universal triumph of the cross over the whole world for a thousand prophetic years will effectually turn the scale. It will level the stroke against the very head of the Serpent, and Christ in the glorious conquest of his church over mankind, will only suffer a small loss of a few of the fallen race of Adam, to wit, the seed of the Serpent, whom his sovereign council consigned over to destruction, as an awful warning to the Universe, of the fatal effects of rebellion against the government of God. This small retrenchment, appointed for wise reasons, no doubt, as a petty set-off from the universal restoration of the fallen race, operates on the church as a bruise on the heel, in consequence of the effects of that enmity, spite, and malice, that will forever exist between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman. The cause of Christ, his church, and kingdom, has been suffering in the world, for nearly six thousand years, and will suffer until the Millennium commences, and until then Satan will reign in triumph. Pagans, Papists, Mahometans, Jews (in their present state) and infidels, and wicked men of every description, are all engaged in the Serpent's cause, and the poor degraded little flock of Christ has to

go daily in sackcloth and suffer all the obloquy and scorn that the seed of the Serpent can cast upon them. Good God! were it not that this glorious promise is to be fulfilled in the destruction of Satan's kingdom, our adorable Redeemer, and his glorious cause would suffer eternal disgrace and infamy; and the Serpent, and his cursed crew would triumph over the world in spite of all the blood of the cross. But let the church only wait a few years longer (and I believe it will be only a few) and she will be clothed in her nuptial robes, and her glorious Bridegroom will assume his exalted prerogative as King of Kings and Lord of Lords; then shall she know what is meant by these emphatical words "The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the Serpent."

From this original promise we pass on to the promise which God made to Abraham. Gen. xii. 3. "And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." In chap. xxii. 18. this promise, or covenant, was confirmed to Abraham by an oath. "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, (v. 16.) that in blessing I will bless thee-and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." This promise was renewed to Isaac, chap. xxvi. 4. “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. It was again renewed to Jacob, chap. xxviii. 14. "In thee, and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." This remarkable promise was a special part of that noble covenant which God made with Abraham, which was the foundation of the Jewish church, and by which Abraham was constituted the father of the nation of Israel, and the spiritual father of all believers. It is evident from the construction of St. Paul, (Gal. iii. 16.) that Abraham's seed was Christ. Therefore, the promise is, not only that Abraham should be the progenitor of Christ, but also, that all the families of the earth should be blessed in Christ. This is a very extensive promise indeed. David alludes to this promise in Psalm Ixxii. 17. "His name shall endure forever-as long as the sun; and men (or rather, all families and nations) shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him bless-、 ed." To this covenant there is an allusion in Jer. xxxi. 1. "At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall be my people." To this covenant St. Peter alludes in Acts iii. 25, 26. and also St. Paul in Gal. iii. 8, 9, 14-18. and in Rom. iv.

3

It is very evident that according to the promise of this covenant, Jesus Christ will be a blessing to all the nations, and families of the earth; and that the blessing of the Messiah is not to be confined to the nation of Israel; but it is to be extended over the whole race of Adam. What shall we say? will the blessings of the gospel of Christ be extended to all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, without exception? No; but the exception will be comparatively so few and trifling that it is considered as not worth naming. General rules mostly admit of exceptions, but they are so small that they are not counted worthy of being mentioned. So we say, that mankind is a race of rational intelligent beings; so they are generally, but not universally; there is a small number of lunaticks and idiots among them, yet the general rule holds good. So it is said of Sennacherib's army "When they arose early in the morning behold, they were all dead men." That is, the most of them were dead, a few of them remained, and fled to Ninevah. (2 Kings xix. 35.) On this same principle Matthew and Mark say that all the disciples forsook Jesus and fled, when he was betrayed; yet it appears (John xviii. 15, 16) that John and Peter did not forsake him. Jacob prophesied that the sceptre should not depart from Judah till Shiloh would come; (Gen. xlix. 10.) yet there was an exception of seventy years of the Babylonish captivity, when Judah was governed by the kings of Babylon. God said to Noah "Seed time and harvest shall not cease while the earth remaineth;" yet there has been several instances of drought and famine in several parts of the earth; yet the promise generally stands good. The evangelist John says Christ came to his own, and his own received him not; that is, the generality of the Jewish nation did not receive him, but a few of them did. He also said, the whole world lieth in the wicked one; (Greek) vet Christ's little flock is an exception. Christ said "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." The seed of the Serpent are excepted. When Jesus came riding into Jerusalem amidst the hosannahs of the multitude, the Pharisees said "Perceive ye how you prevail nothing? behold the world is gone after him." The chief priests, and the lawyers, and scribes, and the members of the Sandhedrim, were exceptions to this general rule. 661 20 the way of all the earth," said David; vet Enoch and Elijah are exceptions. See also Heb. ix. 27.