Feb 15, 2010
Charles Hodge on the Abrahamic Covenant(s)
It is to be remembered that there were two covenants made with Abraham. By the one, his natural descendants through Isaac were constituted a commonwealth, an external, visible community. By the other, his spiritual descendants were constituted a church. The parties to the former covenant were God and the nation; to the other, God and His true people. The promises of the national covenant were national blessings; the promises of the spiritual covenant (i.e., the covenant of grace), were spiritual blessings, reconciliation, holiness, and eternal life. The conditions of the one covenant were circumcision and obedience to the law; the condition of the latter was, is, and ever has been, faith in the Messiah as the Seed of the woman, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. There cannot be a greater mistake than to confound the national covenant with the covenant of grace, and the commonwealth founded on the one with the church founded on the other.
Charles Hodge, Church Polity (New York: Scribner, 1878), 66-67.
This sounds very similar to Nehemiah Coxe, a 17th century Particular Baptist, and John Tombes, a 17th century Anglican Credobaptist. If you don't know who Coxe is, you can learn about him here.
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