name on a child was generally that of his circum- cision. It was thus in the case of Johnc, as also in that of Jesus : the solemnity of that rite giving an additional weight to the name imposed.
But it is to the rite itself, that is, to circumcision, that we shall confine our attention at this time : for, in point of importance, it seems to have been the first and greatest of all the ordinances among the Jews. We propose to shew, I. The nature and intent of circumcision —
It was originally given to Abraham as a seal of the covenant of grace —
[God made a covenant with Abraham, to give him a numerous posterity, with the land of Canaan for their inheri- tance ; and at last one particular Seed, " in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed." This promise Abraham believed ; and he looked forward to that peculiar Seed as the true and only source of blessings to himself. In consequence of this faith, he was accepted of God ; who engaged to treat him as a righteous person, through the righteousness of the Saviour imputed to himd. And in token that he would exe- cute every part of this gracious covenant, he appointed him and all his posterity to be circumcised. This is the account which St. Paul himself gives of this ordinance : he calls it a "sign" and a " seal :" a " sign" to Abraham and his seed, that they were the Lord's peculiar people ; and a " seal" to them, that God would be his and their God, provided they walked in the faith, and in the steps of their father Abraham e. As a sign, it shewed them their engagements to God ; and as a seal, God's engagements to them.]
But, as continued to the Jews, in and after the days
of Moses, it was a seal of the covenant of works —
[The Mosaic covenant differed materially from that of Abraham, and yet the same ordinance was a seal to both. The rite of circumcision was absolutely indispensable to allf: it was invariably the rite, by which, and by which alone, any persons, whether infants or adults, were initiated into that covenant. And in what light were they taught to view it? We answer, as binding them to an observance of the whole law of Moses, and as suspending their salvation on their per- formance of this condition. In this light St. Peter viewed it,
c Luke i. 59—63. d Rom. iv. 3, 18—25. e Rom. iv. 11, 12. f Gen. xvii. 14. It was equally enjoined by the law. Compare Exod. xii. 48. with John vii. 22.