SECT. In confequence of the doctrine, that the II. typical facrifice was made fin for the Jews, and that the antitype Chrift was in a fimilar manner made fin for us; the fame Hebrew word is used to exprefs either the offering for fin, or fin itself".

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perfons are made righteous and acceptable unto God. Sc condly, by infufion or communion with his Spirit, which fanctifies our nature, and enables us to do fpiritual fer"vices." Life of Chrift, p. 240.

And lastly, Mr. Parkhurft; "Righteoufnefs" is "im puted to finful man through faith in Chrift, by which his paft fins are forgiven or covered, or he is cleared, acquitted, << or abfolved from his past fins, and is himself accepted as "righteous, to life eternal. This evangelical righteousness

is opposed to that laft mentioned, (viz. inherent righte "oufnefs). It is feveral times called dialogum Ots, as being "that method, which God hath exhibited in the Gospel, of "man's juftification, or being made righteous through the "merits and death of Chrift, whence it is once termed the

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righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: and "Chrift is styled our Righteoufnefs, as being the procurer "of righteousness to us through his merits and fufferings, "for he is JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Greek Lexicon, vox Δικαιοσύνη.

Heb. Non. See Parkhurft's Heb. Lex. The fame belief, that the fin and the curfe due to it were transferred from the offender to the victim, was preferved among the Egyptians. "Their mode of facrificing," fays Herodotus,

is as follows. Having brought the appointed victim to "the altar, and having kindled the fire, they pour out a li"bation of wine upon the head of the beast; and, after folemnly invoking the Gods, proceed to flaughter it. They

"

"next cut off its head, and skin it. Then baving imprecated

ce the

1

II.

2.

The fame idea is fomewhat differ- CHAP. ently expreffed in the account given of the scape-goat. "Aaron fhall lay both his "hands upon the head of the live goat, "and confefs over him all the iniquities of "the children of Ifrael, and all their tranfgreffions in all their fins, putting them goat. 66 upon the head of the goat, and fhall fend "him away by the hand of a fit man into "the wilderness, and the goat fhall bear upon him all their iniquities'."

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"the direft curfes upon the bead, they carry it out into the "market, and fell it to the Greeks. But if no Greeks hap

་་

pen to be present, they throw it into the river. The purport of the curfe is, that, if any evil impends either over the "facrificers, or over the land of Egypt, it may be averted from "them, and light upon the head of the beaft. This rite is "adopted by all the Egyptians, and hence they refuse to "tafte the head of any animal." Herod. lib. ii. c. 39. A fimilar notion appears alfo to have prevailed among the Perfians. "Animal, quod immolaturi erant (fcil. Persæ), "prius execrabantur. CLASENII Theol. Gent. pars i. c. 7.

The scape

Levit. xvi. 21. It is a fingular fact, that the Hindoos have a ceremony, which they call Afwamedha jug, exactly resembling this Mofaical rite, excepting only, that the victim is a horse instead of a goat. See Halhed's Code of Gentoo Laws, Pref. p. 16. Whether this ceremony naturally occurred to the Hindoos, from their belief in our fallen nature, and the confequent neceffity of an atonement, or whether they borrowed it from fome of the difperfed Jews of the ten tribes, is a queftion which opens a curious field for speculation.

From

SECT.

From these remarks it is fufficiently evi11. dent, that the facrifices under the Law are univerfally types of the one great facrifice of Chrift. As "Mofes took the blood of "calves, and of goats, with water, and "fcarlet wool, and hyffop, and fprinkled "both the book and all the people,—so "Chrift was once offered to bear the fins " of many "."

3. The next point to be confidered is the perfon, who under the Law offered up the facrifices. This was the high-prieft, and fubfervient to him a number of other inferior minifters. But there was one ceremony, the performance of which belonged exclufively to the high-prieft; and with which no other either of the clergy or the laity was permitted to interfere. The account given by St. Paul of this ordinance is as follows. "Into the fecond "tabernacle went the high-priest alone "once every year, not without blood, "which he offered for himself and for the "errors of the people; the Holy Ghost "thus fignifying, that the way into the "holiest of all was not yet made manifest,

u Heb. ix. 19, and 28.

ir.

"while as the first tabernacle was yet CHAP. 'ftanding, which was a figure for the "time then prefent; in which were offered "both gifts and facrifices, that could not "make him, that did the fervice, perfect, "as pertaining to the confcience; which "stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings and carnal ordinances, im

posed on them until the day of reforma"tion. But Chrift being come, an high

priest of good things to come, by a greater " and more perfect tabernacle, not made "with hands, that is to fay, not of this 'building; neither by the blood of goats "and calves, but by his own blood; he "entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

St. Paul here interprets the high-priest to reprefent Chrift; the outer tabernacle, this world; and the inner tabernacle, the world to come. The Epiftle which contains this paffage is addreffed to the Hebrews; nor could they think fuch a mode of interpretation forced and unnatural, having been prepared for it by fimilar images in their own prophets. The fublime vision of Ifaiah is a manifeft allufion to the

* Heb. ix. 7.

y Ifaiah vi.
tem-

F 4

II.

SECT. temple of Jerufalem; and the defcription of heaven, as given by Ezekiel, is entirely drawn from the furniture of the tabernacle. To heighten the resemblance, there was a vifible manifeftation of God under the femblance of a bright cloud, between the cherubim that were placed in the holy of holies; and with regard to the cherubim themselves, it has been conjectured, and not without probability, that they were emblems of the ever-bleffed Trinity in Unity. Their peculiar formation, and, above all, the etymology of their name 2, feem to confirm this opinion. To preferve that uniformity, which is fo necessary and becoming to the word of God, St. John in his Revelation adopts the fame images, and paints the habitation of the Almighty under the fame emblems, fo well known to his brethren, the Jews.

4.

The paffo

ver.

a

4. Nearly allied to the Levitical facrifices is the inftitution of the paffover; and analogous to it, under the Christian difpen

* The figure of the cherubim was compounded of a bull, a lion united with a man, and an eagle; the word

is literally, ficut magni, the fimilitude of the mighty Ones. See Parkhurft's Heb. Lex. 372.

fation,