The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1870-05-03

In nay communication which yun did mo the IA
vur TO publish, ! alluded t0 a scfm0a preached 10
Boston by the Hry. 4. y. Jencks TO ana attentive
ana approving audience. With this favorable
notice the seinion Nas published IN the Watch
man Reflector. Nov. 25 1868, The subject was
the covenant Of eirculncissior. Nj. Jeheku claims
the yorsos aud 9,lGun, xvi, are part Of that
covenant. On these verses he claims that the
covenant gave to the Jows the land Of Canaan
for an everlasting possession, that Is, as long
as time las is The word everlasting is used 70
express the pcpctuily Of the passover the all
Aaronic priesthood aud other Jewish feHh.) Mr..
which, he SAYS, Ia an agreement between two
or more parties containing mutual stipuations
between the parties. In the covenant Of eircum-
cission Almighty God is the party OF the first
part and Abraham and bis seed The party Of de
second part The lonor OF being the national
father Of an everlasting posteiily WAS conferred
by the covenant Of circumeission while that Of
being the spiritual father Of all believers was
conferred BY the covenant Of grace, as recorded
in Gen vi, Abraham was Is years old when
God call him out Of ", assuring him that in him
ana HIS b0th al klt iNliilhth u tlt tAIlH
be blessed. Abraham believed God and his faith
was counted TO him for righteousness | could
have referred to many more statements contain
cd in that sermon equally erroneous. have re-
fefred to these to call the attention Of sunday
school teachers and superintendents to exanna-
ton Of the scriptures Mr.. Jencks has not given
a true definition Of covenant. He says, a
covenant is an agreement containing mutual
stipulations between two or more parties" 1t is
not an agreement between two or more parties.
1t Is one-sided fling entirely coyoncnt, not
We unless there be two grantors. A. can deed
his farm to I. without any shpulations on the
part Of b., and without b. knowledge. When
4. has executed his deed conveying his farm to
b., and put it on record, the title is therein b.,
what may properly be called covenant of grace
that is the covenant Of A. So with the conyen-
ant Of circumcision. God says, "1his is my
covenant, and in Gen XIV, God made covenant
conveying the land Of Canaan to Abraham's seed
not in Gen xviii as M Jcncks states, There il
not a covenant recorded in the Bible that can be
truly called the covenant Of Abraham, or the
AbrHhsms covenant. The deed conveying the
fcl [ Of Ephron TO Abraham was not Abrahams
covenant. IN Gen, xvii, the words, ting coven-
ant" il used ninc times. The words IN Cen, xii
and xy,5, are promises not covenant. II is an
error to call those void, the first old covenant
az MI. Jencks does. lie calls those promises the
covenant Of grace. The words are referred 10 as
a promise, not a covenant, Romans, ", 10, Gal.
w., II, Is, %, VI, ., 81 %, Heb tx, Is. Ny views
~ here expressed may be erroneous. Yet il they
should lead 10 a moro careful examination Of the
teripnro by the Sunday teacher and children, it
would be all | can hope to accomplish. As far 40
ala able TO discover the effect Of Sunday
a. they mo now conducted, there is no advance
uent ia the knowledge OF the scripture.