themselves were actually come, the fhadow of them became unneceffary. This law comprehended facrifices, with all their appendages: Now, it was foretold of the Meffiah, that he fhould make the facrifice and the oblation to ceafe, at the fame time when he finished tranfgreffion and made an end of fin, and brought in an everlafting righteoufnefs. Nor is there any one thing in which the Apoftles are more explicit, than in refcinding the Jewish holy-days (all except one whole day in feven, which they, by their practice, determined to be the first day of the week): "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, How turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye defire again to be in bondage? Ye obferve days, and months, and times, and years." To another church, faid the fame Apoftle, "Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat or in drink, or in reípect of an holy-day, or of the new-moon, or of the Sabbaths, which are a fhadow of good things to come; but the body is of Chrift."The facraments, by which the Covenant was ratified in the Old Teftament Church, are alfo changed under the Gofpel economy. Circumcifion was continued in the Old Teftament Church, as it was a bloody ordinance, and befpake the neceffity of fhedding the blood of Chrift, unto the remiffion of fin: But that which rendered it fit for that difpenfation rendered it unfit for this: The fountain of Chrift's blood being now opened. As circumcifion is

now

now null in fact, fo alfo of right; for, as the
Synod of Jerufalem determined, Gentiles are
exempted from the obfervation of it: And,
by the time Paul wrote to the Hebrews, Jews
were exempted likeways. The legal teachers
of that age made the obfervance of circumci-
fion a part of their justifying righteousness: But,
faid the Apostle, "Behold, I Paul fay unto you,
That, if ye be circumcifed, Chrift shall profit
you nothing: For I teftify again unto every
man that is circumcifed, that he is a debtor to
do the whole Law." But it is inconfiftent with
the goodness of God, and the pastoral care of
our Lord Jefus Chrift, to imagine that he re-
moved a privilege from the Church, without
fubftituting an equivalent in the place of it:.
But there is no room for fuch an impeachment,
as baptifin takes the fame place, under the
Gospel œconomy, which circumcifion held in
the Old Teftament Church. Hence, the pro-
mife fealed by circumcifion is now fealed by
baptifm Said Peter, "Be baptized every one
you, in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift,
for the promife is unto you, and unto your chil-
dren." Now, this is exactly correspondent un-
to God's declaration refpecting circumcifion :
"Thou fhalt keep my covenant THERE-
FORE, thou and thy feed after thee, in their
generations: This is my covenant, which ye
fhall keep, between me and you, and thy feed
after thee, Every man-child among you fhall
be circumcifed." -As to the facrament of

of

A

the Lord's Supper, the Apofle declares, that it takes the place of the paffover, in the Gospel Church, in like manner: "For even Christ, our paffover, is facrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feaft;" namely, the Gospel feast. Thefe Old Teftament ordinances were abolished, of right, at the refurrection of Chrift; but, as it took fome time to wean his ancient people from thofe things which once bore the ftamp of his inftitution, he exercised his fovereignty, in putting them off by degrees, until the deftruction of Jerufalem; by which they were alfo abolished in fact.-The lawgiver, as well as the fceptre, are alfo now removed from Judah. The fceptre departed from the tribe of Judah and houfe of David, in the Babylonish captivity; and the lawgiver, or Sanhedrim, in the deftruction of Jerufalem: And with the latter, the inftrument of government in the theocratical ftate, even the judicial law, as far as it was peculiar to the Jewish nation.

5. THERE was, in confequence of thefe things, a moft favourable change as to the internal state of the Church, which likeways com menced at the refurrection of Chrift. The New Teftament Church excels the Old, in refpect of the gracious communications of the Holy Ghoft; Such as, light inward and fubjective, correfponding to thofe fuperior meafures of external revelation which are beftowed upon her in the books of the New Teftament:

Teftament: "We all, with open face, (without the apparatus of typical glaffes, or miniature drawings) behold the glory of the Lord, that we may be changed into the fame image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." The Gospel Church is likeways endued with fuperior measures of life and vigour. The Old Teftament is ftyled the ministration of death; but this economy is eminently the DISPENSATION OF THE SPIRIT; and the Spirit giveth life. We are not to imagine, that the former difpenfation is denominated the miniftration of death, as if all had been doomed to death who died under it; for it was the means of bringing many unto the full enjoyment of eternal life. Neither is it fo called, as if it had denounced nothing but death; for it prefented LIFE as well as DEATH,-the BLESSING as well as the CURSE, unto thofe who enjoyed the inftitutions of it.—But it bears the defignation of the MINISTRATION OF DEATH, as death was threatened in that part of it which exhibited the Covenant of Works, in its penalty and curfe: The Covenant of Works (which, for Gofpel ends, was exhibited in that difpenfation) being greatly predominant in it. It bore this name alfo, as there were but fparing communications of the Holy Ghoft, as a spirit of life in that difpenfation. This was one caufe of much deadnefs and langour among the worshippers. On the other hand, the power of Chrift's refurrection is more abundantly

Uuu 2

abundantly felt fince he rofe from the dead: He has verified his promife, "Becaufe I live, ye fhall live alfo.”—The liberty of the Gof pel Church is alfo greatly enlarged beyond that of the former economy. Fear and bondage abounded under it; but liberty and confidence in this. Though there was a promise of payment of their debt, by the furety; yet, as it was not actually made, fo there was an intimation of the debt-bond in the Law, which could not but ftrike the confcience with terror: But now the bond is taken up, and actually cancelled by the death of Chrift. Inftead of thunders from Sinai, we have an invitation from Zion, to draw near, with true hearts, in the full affurance of faith. There is an internal liberty of foul, correfponding to the external liberty from the ceremonial law, which confifts in more clear and diftinct views of the regenerating and juftifying grace of God, revealed in the promifes of the New Covenant. We find, indeed, many exalted inftances of freedom in accefs, under the former œconomy, on special occafions; but, for the greater part, they were fhut up in bondage, compared with the more glorious liberty of the children of God.The Gofpel Church is alfo favoured with more exalted me afures of holiness and fanctification, as he gives more full and exact views of the standard of it in the perfon and law of our Lord Jefus Chrift.

II. THE