Abftinencies of the Jews are apt to be look'd upon as abfurd by those with whom they converse, that will not be at the pains to confider the Grounds upon which they were at first instituted, and that they are no longer practicable, nor defign'd to be practis'd, by their Original Institution.

2. Circumcifion, Purifications, Abstinencies, Sacrifices, and other Rites enjoin'd by the Law of Mofes, were not required for their own fake, or for any real Vertue and Efficacy fuppofed to be in the things themselves, to recommend Men to God's Favour, but were inftituted to fignify the inward Purity and Inte→ grity of the Heart, and by outward Obfervances and fenfible Things, to lead a carnal and fenfual People to the Knowledge and Practice of things Spiritual. The Children of Ifrael are fometimes faid to be fanctified, that is, to be separated and fet apart for God's Honour and Service by these Rites and Ceremonies, both because they were hereby distinguish'd from other Nations, and because this Ritual Worship was appointed as a means to lead them to internal Sanctity and Holinefs of Mind, and to procure in them an Awe and Reverence of that Majefty, by whofe Commandment it was to be observ'd,

Circumcifion was appointed as a Federal Rite, and as a Token and Pledge of the Covenant between God and Abraham, and his Seed after him, of which the Meffias was to be born. And as it was a Sacrament of the Covenant between God and the People of Ifrael, fo it had respect to the Nations whom they were to root out; these Nations were notorious for the Sins of the Flesh, Lev. xviii. 24. and there is a peculiar Significancy in the Rite of Circumcifion of the Reftraint and Excifion of Carnal Lufts. It was declar'd by Mofes himself to fignify the Circumcifion of the Heart, Lev. xxvi. 41. Deut. x. 16. xxx. 6. and likewife by the Prophets, Jer. iv. 4. vi. 10. Ezek. xliv.7. They expound Circumcifion in a Myftical and Spiri

tual

tual Senfe; and according to this Notion of Circumcifion, St. Paul maintains that the true Circumcifion is among the Christians, whereof the Jewish Circumcifion of the Flesh was but a Figure, Rom. ii. 28. Phil. iii. 3.

The Pardon of Sin upon Repentance is exprefs'd in Scripture by cleansing and purifying, Pfal. xix. 12. h. 2. Ifai. i. 16. Jer. iv. 14. Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26. by which is denoted to us, that the outward cleansing of the Flesh was defign'd to put Men in mind of the inward Purification and Cleansing from Sin and from Unrighteoufnefs, because this defiles the Soul, and makes it loathfom in God's Sight, 2 Cor. vii. 1. Fam. iv. 8. Unleavened Bread was an Emblem of Sincerity and Truth, I Cor. v. 8,

Abstinency from things in a Legal Account, Common and Unclean was appointed to restrain Men by Symbolical Inftructions from Sin, which pollutes the Mind, and the Moral i Signification of fuch Prohibitions is imply'd in the Proverb alledg'd by St. Peter concerning Dogs and Swine, which are two of the Animals prohibited the Jews, 2 Pet. ii. 22.

Sacrifices and Offerings were to reprefent to them, that they depended upon God for all they had, and therefore they were to offer fomething of every kind in acknowledgment that they had receiv'd all which they enjoy'd from him. They were likewife defign'd to fignify to them that their Sins deferv'd Death, even Everlasting Burnings. The daily Sacrifices were to be Remembrances to them of that acceptable and living Sacrifice, which they were to offer to God, a broken and a contrite heart, and an innocent and blamelefs Life, Pfal. iv. 4, 5. cxli. 2. And the Scriptures frequently testify how little Pleasure God took in the Sa

Quid ergo eft? In Animalibus mores depinguntur humani, & Aftus & Voluntates. in Animalibus per legem quafi quoddam humanæ vitæ fpeculum conftitutum eft. Novatian, de Cib. Judaic. Cap. 3.

crifices

crifices of Beafts, and in Burnt-Offerings, Incenfe, and Oblations, and how fmall regard he had to them He never required these things for themselves and upon their own account, or because there is any thing acceptable to him in them, Pfal. xl. 6. 1. 8. li. 17, To do Juftice and love Mercy is more acceptable to God than all Sacrifices, Prov, xxi. 3. Jer. vii. 22, 23. This is fo evident throughout the whole Old Testament, that the Scribes and Pharifees in the most fuperftitious and corrupt Age of the Jewish Church, could not but confefs that the Love of God and of our Neighbour is of more account in God's Sight than all the Sacrifices and Oblations in the World, Mark xii. 37. The Ceremonial Part of the Law was always to give place to the Moral: Thus Acts of Charity were to be done, tho' it happen'd that they were perform'd by the Violation of the Jewish Sabbath, and the Prophets were, upon neceffary Causes, held exempted from the Legal Obfervances. For I defired Mercy and not Sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than BurntOfferings, Hof. vi. 6.

3. All the Jewish Worship appointed by the Mofaical Law was Typical of Chrift and his Gofpel. By a Type we are to understand the Likeness and Refemblance which one thing has to another, as that of the Impreflion to the Seal, or of the Shadow to the Substance, or of the Picture to the Man whom it reprefents. Thus the Death of Chrift was typify'd or refembled, or reprefented and prefigured by the Death of the Beasts which were facrificed; they were Signs appointed to keep up the Remembrance that Chrift was to be facrificed, and were very apt and proper to put Men in mind of it.

It was acknowledg'd by the Jews, and receiv'd from the Beginning as a certain Rule for the Interpretation. of Scripture, that there was a Typical as well as a Literal Sense of it, relating to the Meffias and his Kingdom. Circumcifion was to fignify to them that Chrift

was

J

was to be born of the Seed of Abraham, to whom Circumcifion was first enjoin'd, upon the Promise made to him of Ifaac, from whom Christ was to descend : And the Blood fhed in Circumcifion was Typical of that Blood which Chrift was to fhed for us.

The most probable Account of the Original of Sacrifices, is, that they were at first of Divine Institution, and were appointed foon after the Fall of Man as Types of the Sacrifice of the Death of Christ, who was promis'd to be fent to die for the Expiation of Sin. For though there be a Natural Reason why we fhould not offer unto the Lord our God of that which doth coft us nothing, but fhould honour the Lord with our subftance, 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. Prov. iii. 9. and fhould prefent fome part of the best of what we have, in Devotion and Gratitude to him, from whom we have receiv'd the Whole: Yet no fufficient Reafon can be given why Beasts should be flain in Sacrifice, before they were used, as far as it appears, for Food by Men, or how it should be imagined that God would accept of the Blood of any Creature, or be pleas'd with the taking from it that Life which he had given it; or why a peculiar Efficacy towards the Expiation of Sin was fuppofed to be in the Blood, unless it had been upon the Account of the Blood of Chrift, which was typically prefigur'd by the Blood of Beasts. By Faith whereof, Abel offer'd his Sacrifice, and was accepted, Heb. xi. 4. And in this first instance of Sacrifices and Oblations, they are mention'd, not as then first used, but as received and accustomed A&ts of Worship, to which Cain as well as Abel knew himself obliged. The Pafchal Lamb was a plain Type of Chrift, for which Reason Christ is ftyled, the Lamb of God, and our Paffover, which is facrificed for us, Joh. i. 29. 1 Cor. v.7. And for the fame Reason, the Feast of the Paffover was appointed to the Ifraelites just before their Efcape out of Egypt to be a Type to them of that Deliverance which Chrift was to accomplish, of which

their Deliverance out of Egypt was but a Figure. Aaron was a Type of Chrift, and all the Sacrifices he offered were Types of Chrift's Sacrifice upon the Crofs: The legal Sacrifices freed the Offenders from temporal Punishments, Levit. vi. 7. and thereby typified Christ's Sacrifice upon the Cross, by the Merit whereof we are delivered from eternal Damnation. They were appointed to take away the legal Uncleannefs, to restore Men to a state of legal Purity, which was typical of moral and spiritual Purity, and to put the legal Worshippers into fuch a condition as the Law required to qualifie them for the legal Service and Worship; and herein they were Figures of that one Sacrifice, which was to be offered up once for all, in atonement for the Sins of all Mankind, Heb. ix. 14. whereby Men might be rendred capable of paying God an acceptable Service in Spirit and in Trush. and of offering the Sacrifices of Praife and good Works, the fpiritual Sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jefus Chrift, Heb. xiii. 15, 16. 1 Pet. ii. 5.

14.

Legal Purifications were typical of that Purification which is by the Blood of Chrift, Tit. ii. 1 John i. 9. And the fmoak of the Incense afcending, fignified how the Prayers of the Saints come up before God, Rev. v. 8. viii. 3, 4. The State and Dif penfation of the Gofpel is exprefs'd by the Prophet Malachi under the Figure of Incense, and a pure Offering, Malach. i. 11.

The whole Epiftle to the Hebrews is written upon this Subject, to fhew that all the Legal Rites and Ceremonial Worship, were but Shadows, and Types, and Figures of Chrift, and of that Redemption, Righteousness, and Sanctification, which was to be wrought by him, and that therefore they were to ceafe when in him they had received their Accomplishment. Their Incense and Purifications, their Sacrifices, their Temple, and the Priests themselves, were all but fo many Types of Christ and his Kingdom under the Gofpel. Christ