17 This chapter contains articles of agreement betwixt the great Jehovah, the father of mercies, and pious Abram, the father of the faithful.Mention was made of this covenant, Gen 15:18.
but here it is particularly drawn up.Here are,

1. The circumstances of the making of this covenant, the time and manner, Gen 17:1.
   and the posture Abram was in, Gen 17:3.
   
2. The covenant itself, in the particular instances.
   1. That he should be the father of many nations, Gen 17:4. Gen 17:6.
      and in token of that his name was changed, Gen 17:5.
      
   2. That God would be a God to him and his seed, and would give them the land of Canaan, Gen 17:7-8.
      and the seal of this part of the covenant was circumcision, Gen 17:9-14.
      
   3. That he should have a son by Sarai, and in token of that her name was changed, Gen 17:15-16.
      This promise Abraham received, Gen 17:17.
      And his request for Ishmael, (Gen 17:18.) was answered abundantly
      to his satisfaction, Gen 17:19-22.
      
3. The circumcision of Abraham and his family, according to God's appointment, Gen 17:23-27.
   

17:3 And Abram fell on his face while God talked with him - Either,

1. As one overcome by the brightness of the Divine glory: Daniel andJohn did so likewise. Or.
2. As one ashamed of himself, and blushing to think of the honours doneto one so unworthy. He looks upon himself with humility, and upon God with reverence, and, in token of both, falls on his face.

17:4 The promise is here introduced with solemnity: As for me, saith the Great God, Behold, behold and admire it, behold and be assured of it, my covenant is with thee. And thou shalt be a father of many nations - This implies,

1. That his seed after the flesh should be very numerous, both in Isaacand in Ishmael, and in the sons of Keturah. And the event answered, for there have been, and are, more of the children of men descended from Abraham, than from any one man at equal distance with him from Noah, the common root.
2. That all believers, in every age, should be looked upon as his spiritualseed, as the father of the faithful. In this sense the apostle directs us to understand this promise, Rom 4:16-17. He is the father of those, in every nation, that, by faith, enter into covenant with God, and (as the Jewish writers express it) are gathered under the wings of the divine majesty.

17:5 In token of this, his name was changed from Abram, a high father, to Abraham, the father of a multitude. This was to confirm the faith of Abraham, while he was childless; perhaps even his own name was sometimes an occasion of grief to him; Why should he be called a high father, who was not a father at all? But now God had promised him a numerous issue, and had given him a name which signified so much; that name was his joy.

17:7 And I will establish my covenant - Not to be altered or revoked; not with thee only, then it would die with thee but with thy seed after thee; and it is not only thy seed after the flesh, but thy spiritual seed. It is everlasting in the evangelical meaning of it. The covenant of grace is everlasting; it is from everlasting in the counsels of it, and to everlasting in the consequences of it; and the external administration of it is transmitted, with the seal of it, to the seed of believers, and the internal administration of it by the Spirit to Christ's seed in every age. This is a covenant of exceeding great and precious promises. Here are two which indeed are all - sufficient, that God would be their God. All the privileges of the covenant, all its joys, and all its hopes, are summed up in this. A man needs desire no more than this to make him happy. What God is himself, that he will be to his people: wisdom to guide and counsel them, power to protect and support them, goodness to supply and comfort them; what faithful worshippers can expect from the God they serve, believers shall find in God as theirs. This is enough, yet not all.

17:8 And I will give thee Canaan for an everlasting possession - God had before promised this land to Abraham and his seed, Gen 15:18.But here, it is promised for an everlasting possession, as a type of heaven, that everlasting rest which remains for the people of God. This is that better country to which Abraham had an eye, and the grant of which was that which answered the vast extent of that promise, that God would be to them a God; so that if God had not designed this, he would have been ashamed to be called their God, Heb 11:16. As the land of Canaan was secured to the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh; so heaven is secured to all his spiritual seed for a possession truly everlasting. The offer of this eternal life is made in the word, and confirmed by the sacraments, to all that are under the external administration of the covenant, and the earnest of it is given to all believers.

8 

8:51 If a man keep my word - So will my Father consult my glory.We keep his doctrine by believing, his promises by hoping, his command by obeying. He shall never see death - That is, death eternal. He shall live for ever. Hereby he proves that he was no Samaritan; for the Samaritans in general were Sadducees.

8:54 If I honour myself - Referring to their words, Whom makest thou thyself?

8:56 He saw it - By faith in types, figures, and promises; as particularly in Melchisedec; in the appearance of Jehovah to him in the plains of Mamre, Gen 18:1; and in the promise that in his seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.Possibly he had likewise a peculiar revelation either of Christ's first or second coming.

8:57 Thou art not yet fifty years old - At the most. Perhaps the gravity of our Lord's countenance, together with his afflictions and labours, might make him appear older than he really was.Hast thou seen Abraham - Which they justly supposed must have been, if Abraham had seen him.

8:58 Before Abraham was I AM - Even from everlasting to everlasting.This is a direct answer to the objection of the Jews, and shows how much greater he was than Abraham.

8:59 Then they took up stones - To stone him as a blasphemer; but Jesus concealed himself - Probably by becoming invisible; and so passed on - With the same ease as if none had been there.