after the Spirit. Hence it appears that we must be children of promise, in order to belong to the church of Christ. We must have embraced the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus ; we must, " by means of the promises, have been made partakers of a divine nature h ;" and been led by them to " purify ourselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit1." These things are the inseparable attendants of a spiritual birth ; and are therefore necessary to make us real members of the church of Christ. The mere circumstance of being descended from Christian parents, or having received the seal of the Christian covenant, or making a profession of the Christian faith, will not constitute us Christians. St. Paul, in reference to this very history, makes this distinction, and leaves no doubt respecting the truth or importance of it : " All," says he, " are not Israel, who are of Israel : neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children : but In Isaac shall thy seed be called : that is, They who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God ; but the children of promise are counted for the seed*."]
3. That they alone shall finally possess their Father's inheritance —
[Whether there was an undue mixture of warmth in Sarah's spirit, or not, we are sure that, as far as respected the words that she uttered, she spake by a divine impulse : for St. Paul, quoting her words, says, " What saith the Scripture I Cast out the bond-woman and her son; for the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman1." And this he declares to be a general sentence ; a sentence of expulsion passed on all who remain under the covenant of works, and an exclusive grant of heaven and happiness to the children of promise. It is not the persecuting son only, but the bond-woman herself, the mother, the whole Jewish Church, the collective body of natural and unconverted men, wherever they be, all must be " cast out :" no regard will be shewn either to their privileges or professions : if they live and die in their natural state, they can have no part or lot with the children of God. They only who in this world rested on the promises as the one ground of their hope and joy, shall expe- rience their accomplishment in the world to come. Doubtless, if we may so speak, it will be grievous to our heavenly Father to disinherit so many of his professed children ; for he swears that " he has no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but rather that he turn from his wickedness and live :" but still his decree is gone forth, and cannot be reversed: we must be living members of Christ's church below, before we can inherit his kingdom above.]
h 2 Pet. i. 4. i 2 Cor. vii. 1. k Rom. ix. 6—8. ' Gal. iv. 30.