CHAPTER V.

That the development of the foregoing principles is more full and clear in the New Testament than in the Old-That a more excellent and real sacrifice is provided-That the Holy Spirit is more fully and freely promised-The harmony of the Old and New Testaments upon other points-The true reason why this is not observed.

HERE, then, is a brief view, taken from the holy Scriptures, of the grand principles of your religion, and of ours. Neither can there be any thing more important than these four points. They comprise the Essentials of Religion. And, on these, how exact is the agreement between the representations of the Old Testament and those of the New! The principles, I say, are the same. The only difference is, in the development of them—which, in the New Testament, is more full, clear, and connected.

a

1. Because all that was signified and prefigured, in all the multiplied rites and sacrifices of the Mosaic Law, is embodied in Christ; in Whom, as in a focus, meet all the scattered rays of divine truth and glory, which were before divided and dispersed and dimly seen-here a little, and there a little. Those rites and ceremonies were 66 shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." (Col. ii. 17.) He is at once the Priest and the Sacrifice, the Altar and the Ark of the covenant: the bird that was slain for sin, and the living bird which, stained with the blood of the sin-offering, rose and soared away, bearing upward to heaven the tokens of a full atonement made. He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Rom. iv. 25.) And, owing to the dignity of His Person, such was the unspeakable value of His Sacrifice, that, thereby, those blessings are substantially obtained and secured to us, which were only dimly shadowed forth by the sacrifices of the Law: "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." (Heb. x. 4.) But it may be justly argued: "If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from

dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. ix. 13, 14.) Indeed, the multitude and repetition of those sacrifices is a sufficient proof of their inadequacy, considered in themselves. But they pointed to that great and glorious Messiah, to whom your fathers looked forward with earnest expectation, who, being "cut off, but not for Himself," was appointed "to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness :" (Dan. ix. 2426,) and who, according to the prophecies, appeared once, in the fulness of time, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. "God hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. v. 21.) For "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (Gal. iv. 4, 5.) In their reference to this one Sacrifice consisted the true value of all the sacrifices of the Law; and, therefore, when a sufficient time had been allowed to proclaim the excellence and sufficiency of this one offering to the people of Israel at large, God took care, in His providence, that all the offerings of the Law should cease.

Observe also, that, in this one Sacrifice, of such infinite dignity and value, we have an intelligible manifestation of the union and harmony of those Divine Perfections, which was, indeed, strongly and clearly asserted under the former dispensation, but could not then be clearly seen or understood. In the death and sacrifice of His only begotten Son, we have at once the brightest display of God's holy abhorrence of all sin, and His boundless compassion to lost and perishing sinners. Here God appears indeed, "The sinner's friend, and sin's eternal foe." And, to sum up all, this display of boundless and unmerited mercy-even to the chief of sinners, is (in the wisdom and power of God) the appointed and effectual mean of making them holy; for by the cross of Christ we are crucified to the world, and the world unto us. (Gal. vi. 14.) "The law of the

Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned

sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Rom. viii. 2-4.) It is the constraining influence of the dying love of Christ, and of the tender mercy of God revealed in this His unspeakable gift, that makes sin hateful, and holiness lovely in our eyes; and so sweetly disposes and inclines our hearts to forsake all sin, and to follow after that holiness, without which no man can see the Lord. Thus is the New Testament the completion of the Old,-as presenting to us, in the Person, work, and sufferings of Christ, all that was declared in the Law, but not explained; and all that was proved to be wanting for our peace and salvation, but not obtained.

2. In addition to this consummation of the doctrine and design of Sacrifice, and (therein) the last and brightest display of the glory of the Divine Character, we have also in the New Testament, a more clear, and free, and encouraging promise of the Holy Spirit. Upon this point it is only necessary to state some of the declarations of that Mediator and Redeemer, through Whom, and for whose sake, this precious gift is bestowed. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh

ye

receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.-For if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give THE HOLY SPIRIT to them that ask him?" (Luke xi. 9, 10, 13.) "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If shall ask any thing in my Name, I will do it. If ye love me keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come unto you. THE HOLY GHOST WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, He shall teach you all things, &c." (John xiv. 13-18, 26.) The Holy Ghost, indeed, is the great promise of the New Testament, even as the Messiah was the great promise of the Old; and we are assured,

:

"The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts ii. 39.)

Some of your brethren have objected, that, while we allow the religion you profess to have been given you by God Himself, we are yet persuading you to desert it for another. But is it not evident, that we call upon no faithful disciple of Moses and the prophets to embrace a new religion? We only entreat him to observe and receive the completion and consummation of the old. The prophets, when they gave unto your fathers revelations from God, in addition to those contained in the Pentateuch, surely did not teach you a new religion, nor persuade you to forsake Moses? No, they only enforced, and further explained, the same religion; they added to the authority of what Moses wrote, instead of detracting from it. Each succeeding prophet added some important and glorious communications from the Most High. So, also, the writers of the New Testament added some still more important and glorious communications to all that had gone before: and they completed the sacred Volume. But they still taught the very same religion with Moses and the prophets as indeed is evident from the conduct of Jesus Christ Himself, who never contradicted or denied the authority of Moses and the prophets, but always maintained and supported it, and rebuked the wickedness of the Scribes and Pharisees who dared to make it void. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matt. v. 17, 18.) And when the Scribes and Pharisees came unto Him, saying, "Why do thy disciples transgress the traditions of the elders?"—" He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"-"Ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."—" Ye hypocrites! well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matt. xv. 1-9.)

And again, He says expressly, "Had ye believed Moses, ye would also have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John v. 46, 47.) The Apostles in this respect followed the example of their Master, "Witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come." (Acts xxvi. 22.) And to this day, all real Christians do read, and search, and love, and reverence the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and strenuously maintain their authority against the cavils and scoffs of Infidels.

So far, then, as you adhere to Moses and the prophets, your religion is the same as ours. So far as you disagree with them, we certainly differ from you, and must in faithfulness tell you,—and out of the reverence with which we regard the Sacred Writings of the Old Testament,that your religion is a fond invention of men, a mass of fables and traditions, with which you are dishonouring the God of your fathers, and awfully deluding your own immortal souls. So far, I say, as you disagree with Moses and the prophets, we must differ from you; and we earnestly entreat you to forsake all such vain additions, and to keep close to the Word of God in its simplicity and purity. We entreat you to take heed, lest you make void the Word of God by merely human explanations and traditions, contrary to the express commandment of God by Moses: "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." (Deut. iv. 2.)

Shall it be said that Christians have more reverence and love for your own Scriptures-for Moses and the Prophets than you yourselves have? This may sound somewhat strange to you at first; but, if you seriously and impartially enquire, I believe you will find that it is really the case.

It would have been very easy, by pursuing the comparison, to have shown the exact agreement between the Old Testament and the New, upon a great variety of other points. Even upon those doctrines which are most abstruse and mysterious, we should find corresponding statements, and corresponding difficulties also, when