Iiaac, and Zacob, bur the God l:1mtelt rhe God of as a Eenefadtoy, People or Perſon, tO Avraham, Gen. 17. 7. I will be 4 God to thee and thy Seed, that Hu, of thee and of th Seed. oP - : MEET Yy 3. Abraham, Iſauc, and Zacob, doth not frgnifie part of Abraham, Iſaac and Facob, but their entire Perſons, which confiſt of Bodies as well as Souls, 4. God is nt the God of the Dead; he doth nor ſhew Kindneſs ro them if they be Dead, and ſhall Rite no more, 5. In this Lite, Avi aham, Iſ.cuc, and Jacob, received no ſuch ſiznal Kindneſs trom God, bur cthers might receive, as great Kindneſs as any ot them did. Hence now our Lord proverh, as the Immortality of rheir Souls, ſo the ReſurreGtion alſo of theirBodies, that God might theiv "himſeit che God of w : . : : ic God of whole Abraham, Iſaac, and Facob, Gerrard faich, The Argument of this Text is made clear, by Heb. 11. 15, it herefore God 3s not aſhamed to be called their God, for he hzth prepared for oo 4 City, This is that which made God to be truly called _ God ;, becauſe he hath prepared for them a City, which City ey could never poſſeſs withour a Reſurredtion. It is yet furcher added by ſome, That God's Promiſe ro Abraham of the Land cf Canaan was in theſe Terms, Gen. 13. 15. To thee will I give it, ard thy Seed for ever : Not only to thy Seed, bur to thee; 1o to Iſrac, Cen. 20. 3. tO Facob, Gen. 35. 12. Exod. 6. 4, 8. Deut. 11. 21. The Promiſes ſeemed nor to be fulfilled in giving cheir Poſterity the Earthly Canaan, which Abrah.um, Iſaac and Facob lived notto enjoy, bur ro extend to the Ref prepared for the Peopic or God; the City mentioned by rhe Apoſtle, Heb. 11. 15. which God bad Prepared for them, to juſtine kithſelf ro be thoir Got, Now thiscould nor be prepared for their S5ts meerly, which were 2ut a part of rhem, and hardly capable of p-rfet Happinels wichour 2 Re-union with the Body, chere being in it fuch an innate Defire : Nor was it reaſonable, that rhe Bodies of theſe Saints, having been Sharers with their Souls in their Labours, thould have no Share in their Reward : Therefore from that Co- venant of Gud with Abraham, Iſaac and Facob, our Saviour firm ly proverh their Reſurre&ion. Lube adderh, Fir all live unto him. Not live unto him only as their End, but inthe ſame Senſe, as Pat fairh, Rom. 6. 10. of Chriſt, In that he Iiveth, he liveth unto Gd : Thar is, with God. So faith Lube, 45raham, Iſrac and Frcvb, tho' Dead at preſenr, Live with God, and they, andall che Chil- dren of Abraham ſhall Live to God; that is, with God to all E- rernity. Matthew addeth, When the multitudes heard this, they were aſtoniſhed at his Dorine, Poor People, they had been uſed ro hear Diſcourſes from the” Phariſees, about the Traditions of the Elders, Rites, and Ceremonies, waſhing Hands before Met, and the neceſſity of waſhing Pots and Cups, and the Sadduces declaiming againſt rhe Dottrines of Angels and Spirits, and the Reſurre#ion ; they were aſtoniſhed ro hear one inſtructing them in things con- cerned their Souls, the Reſurre&ion and Life Eternal, and Con- turing their great Teachers from Books of Scripture owned by themſelves; for the Sadduces, tho' rhey had no great Regard to the Prophets, yer they owned, and payed a great Deference to the Books of Moſes.
| time r9 Come. 2, He dorh not
34 But when the Phariſees had heard that he had put the Sadduces to filence, they were gathered to-
gether. 35 Then one of them which was a lawyer, asked hm a queſtion, tempting him, and ſaying,
36 Maſter, which zs the great commandment in the law ?
37 Jeſus ſaid unto him, * Thou {halt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy ſoul, and with all thy mind. ;
38 This is the firſt and great commandment.
29 And the ſecond zs like unto it, * Thou ſhalt love thy neighbour as thy ſelf.
40 * On rheſe two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Mark relateth this Hiſtory more fully, chap. 12, from ver, 28, to 34. And one of the Scribes came, and having heard them reaſon- ing together, and perceiving that he had anſwered them well, ashed him, Which us the fir$ Commandment of all? And Feſus anſwered him, The fir of all the Commandments is, Hear, O Tjrael, The Lord thy God is one Lord ;, And thou ſhalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thyſoul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy lirength: This is the fir Commandment. And the ſecond is like, namely this, Thou ſhalt love thy Neighbour as thy ſelf : There is no other Commandment greater than theſe. And the Scribe jaid unto him, Well, Maſter, thou ha$t ſaid the truth ; for there is one God, and there is none other but he. And to love him with all the Heart, and with ali the Underſtanding, arid with all the Soul, and with all the Strength,
and to love his Neighbour as himſelf, is more than all whole Burnt-Of-
ferings and Sacrifices. And when Jeſus jaw that he anſwered diſcreet- ly, he faid unto him, Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God. And no Man after that durſt ask him any Queſtion. Luke omitcerh this Hiſtory, only ſubjoinerh co our Saviour's Anfwer to the Sad- duces, chap. 20. ver. 39, 49+ Then certain of the Scribes anſwering, ſaid, Maſter, thou haſt well ſaid. - And after that, they * dur$F not as him any Queſtion at all, There are different Opinions of In- rerpreters concerning the Deſign of this Scribe, called by Ifirthew 4 Lawyer, in coming co Chriſt with this Queſtion. Some think char he came upon the ſame Errand withthe others, co entanzle him in his Speech. Others, thathe came merely out of a defire to be more tully inſtructed by him, and char Tempting here 11- nifies no more than Tying him; nor for a bad end, bur as lie Queen of Sheba came to prove $9/o,mm with hard Queſtions, ©
have an Experiment of his Wiſdom. Our Savtour's fatr rrearins Hhh2 him;
Chap. RXI..
ſay, I am the Lord of Abraham, of. Now where-ever God. ſtiles any People, or Perſon, it always fignifieth, God and one thar doth, and will do Gocd to fuch 4 It is a foederal Expreſſion ; as where he {aich
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