The order and quality of Gods promises made vnto Abraham. CHAP. 16.
NOw must we examine the promises made vnto Abraham: for in them began the oracles presaging our Lord Iesus Christ the true God, to appeare: who was to come of that godly people, that the prophesies promised. The first of them is this: The Lord said vnto Abraham: get thee out of thy countrey, and from thy kinred, * 1.1 and from thy fathers house vnto the land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and will blesse thee, & make thy name great, and thou shalt be blessed, I will also blesse them that blesse thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in them shall all the families of the earth bee blessed. Here wee must obserue a double promise made vnto Abraham: the first that his seede should possesse the land of Canaan, in these words; Goe vnto the land that I will shew thee, and I will make thee a great nation: the second of farre more worth and moment, concerning his spirituall seede, whereby hee is not onely the father of Israel, but of all the nations that follow his faith: and that is in these words: And in thee shall all the families of the earth bee blessed. This promise was made in Abrahams seauentie fiue yeare, as Eu∣sebius (a) thinketh: as if that Abraham did presently there vpon depart out of Charra, because the Scripture may not be controuled, that giueth him this many yeares at the time of his departure. But if it were made then, then was Abraham with his father in Charra: for hee could not depart from thence, vnlesse hee had first inhabited there. Doth not this then contradict Steuens saying; That God ap∣peared vnto him in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charra? But we must conceiue * 1.2 that this was in one yeare, Gods promise to Abraham first; Abrahams dwelling in Charra next, and lastly his departure: not onely because Eusebius his computa∣tion is thus, accounting foure hundred thirty yeares from this yeare vnto the Israelites freedome out of Egipt, but also because the Apostle (b) Paul mentio∣neth it * 1.3 like-wise.
L. VIVES.
EUsebius (a) thinketh] These are his words: Arius the fourth raigning in Assyria, and T•…•…a∣lassion in Sycionia, Abraham being seuentie fiue yeares old, was spoken vnto by God, and receiued the promise. (b) Paul] Galat. 3. 17. The law which was giuen foure hundred and thirty yeares after the promise made vnto Abraham.