apoftacy from God, the impiety, the ingratitude, and enormous crimes committed by the people of Judah, made their resemblance to the men of Sodom and Gomorrah complete, and expofed them to no less a punish, ment than that inflicted upon thefe cities. Such was their amazing progrefs in fin, from which neither the light of nature, the dictates of confcience, the promises, the threatenings, and the prefence of God, could reftrain them. Their metropolis, Jerufalem, was filled with violence and ftrife; mifchief, forrow, and wickednefs were in the midft thereof; deceit and guile departed not from her streets.Alas! that, in this refpect, as a people, we have foolishly followed the example of the Jews, by imitating those who have been notorious tranfgreffors; and, far from acting up to our character as Chriftians, we have fadly degenerated from the strictness of our former profeffion and practice.The attention of these rulers and people is demanded to what follows.

Hear the word of the Lord; give car to the law of our God. The word of the Lord, and the law of our God, to which attention is required, feem here to be fynonimous expreflions; in both of which, the meffage delivered in the following part of this prophecy is intended. They particularly refer, to the reproof adminiftered to the profefling people of God, on account of their grofs hypocrify and formality in the duties of divine worship; and the repeated calls given them to the exercife of true repentance, as indifpenfably neceffary to avert the juft judgments of Jehovah. Ifaiah was perfectly convinced, that what he was about to deliver was indeed the word of Jehovah, and the law of God, which he had communicated to him in fuch a manner, that he was fully fatisfied that it juftly deferved thefe defcriptions. In order, therefore, to awaken the most folemn attention to the truths he had received in commiffion to deliver, he declares, that we are not to hear the word of man, but the word of the Living God, whom we are bound,

by

by the strongest ties, to reverence and obey. Some learned men have obferved, that there are ten dif ferent names given to this fupreme Lawgiver in fcripture three of which denote his eternal independent existence; three of them are expreffive of his glorious power; three of them fignify his univerfal government; and one of them points out his fupreme excellence, and high exaltation. The word here tranflated God is in the plural number, in which it frequently occurs in the Old Teftament, and is fuppofed to be derived from one that fignifies mighty or ftrong. This reminds us, that the law, to which we are called to give ear, proceeded from the Almighty, who is able to fave and to deftroy, and confequently merits the moft ferious confideration. From what follows, it appears, that the prophet especially intended, the law given by Mofes to the people of Ifrael refpecting the worship of Jehovah. In this view, the import of the invitation before us will be to this effect: Ye rulers, and men of high rank, who may imagine ye are exempted from concern in this meffage, I call for your attention in the first place. And as men are ever prone to confider the word of God as directed rather to others than themselves, ye who are the people may think it wholly relates to your rulers, I therefore next call on you to give audience. Hearken then ye, of every condition, who pretend to obferve the inftitutions and facrifices enjoined in the law of the Lord, and I will fhew you the fum, the spirit, and defign of that law, which was not intended merely to require you to prefent before the Most High numerous offerings, to obferve many folemnities, and to make many prayers, with the performance of which, if ye are fatisfied, ye neglect its chief aim. Besides prefiguring future good things, it was promulgated, to direct you to worship the Lord our God with pure. hearts and clean hands, in the faith of the accomplishment of his promifes; and to lead you to evidence that faith, by a strict regard to justice and charity through the whole of your conduct.

Either ye do not know and confider this, or ye wilfully pervert the law of God to the worst of pur pofes.I befeech you then, brethren, diligently to take heed to the falutary inftructions contained in the fubfequent part of this prophecy. Though they were not primarily addreffed to you, they are written for your learning; and from them, through the divine bleffing, you may derive much benefit.

11 To what purpofe is the multitude of your facrifices unto me? faith the LORD: I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beafts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

In answer to an objection that might naturally occur to the juftice of the preceding charge, drawn from the multitude of facrifices prefented to God by his ancient people, the prophet informs them, that the offerings which they brought could not be acceptable to Jehovah. The word tranflated facrifices denotes all thofe victims, which, having been flain, and laid on the altar, were in part, or altogether, offered unto the Almighty. It is here inquired concerning thefe facrifices, To what purpose were they multiplied? In the law of Mofes, various animals, fuch as oxen, rams, goats, and lambs, were appointed to be offered in facrifices, and required to be often repeated on different occafions. In obedience to that law, facrifices continued to be prefented to the Lord by the people, to whom this inquiry is propofed, respecting the end they had in view in their offerings. They were not demanded on account of any intrinfic worth or excellence of which they were poffeffed, or on account of any pleasure or benefit that could accrue to God from them, however numerous and expensive they might be to the offerers. The rites contained in the ceremonial law were intended, to preferve the posterity of Ifrael from the idolatrous practices of neighbouring nations,

nations, to which they were remarkably prone; tó excite in them the expectation of good things which were to come; and to point out to them in what manner the Lord of all would be worshipped. At the time referred to, that people prefented multitudes of facrifices unto Jehovah, regardless of the difpofitions and defigns with which they brought them; and therefore reproof is administered to them, by the inquiry here propofed.This question, my friends, we ought to confider as directed to ourselves, refpecting the facrifices of praife, and of doing good, required of us under the New Testament; and it ought to remind us, of the high importance of attending to the designs we have in view in discharging the duties of divine worship. It is by no means fufficient, that they be regularly performed, without confidering the end at which we aim. Not only fhould our actions proceed from good principles, and be good in themfelves, but they must be done for valuable and important purpofes; not to gratify our own humour, not to promote our felf-intereft, not to comply with cuftom, or to obtain the applause of others, but to testify our fubjection to the divine authority, to acquire the divine approbation, and to advance our best interests.

I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beafts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. It is true, thefe feveral kinds of offerings were inftituted by the bleffed God himself, to typify, in different refpects, the one perfect facrifice of the great Meffiah, which was to be offered in the fulness of time; and to reprefent the indifpenfable neceflity of atonement and purification, in order to the enjoyment of the divine favour. Among the various facrifices offered by the children of Ifrael, the burnt-offerings only are here mentioned, which were ordered to be entirely confumed on the altar whereon they were prefented, no part of them being referved, either to the perfon who brought the

victim,

victim, or to the prieft who facrificed it, excepting only the fkin. Though the facrifice of expiation, the peace-offering, and the facrifice of thanksgiving, are not particularly mentioned, they are doubtlefs included in the offerings of fat beafts, which the Lord faith he rejected and loathed; which feems to be the import of the expreffion, I am full. He had not to reprove them for the fewness of their facrifices and burnt-offerings, which they brought continually before him, but for their hypocrify and formality in his fervice. If you inquire, How the great God could reject thofe facrifices which he himself had appointed? The answer is obvious: Their rejection proceeded not from want of divine inftitution, for they originated from his own authority; and the offerings of the people, under that difpenfation, were prefented in compliance with the command of God, who ftrictly enjoined them, and always approved of them when rightly performed. They were abhorred, on account of the formality and hypocrify wherewith they were offered, their being foolishly preferred to the fpiritual obedience due to the moral law, and trusted to for righteoufnefs by many, who looked upon them as the foundation of their acceptance with God. They were always well-pleafing to the divine Majefty, when prefented with holy difpofitions of heart, in reference to the great objects they were intended to reprefent; but when offered by finners, who, under the mask of hypocrify, held faft their iniquities, and difcovered no becoming regard to the ends of their inftitution, he declares, in the words before us, he was full of them.Let us then, in all the exercises of divine worship, endeavour to act under the influence of this interefting truth, The fa'crifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, whereas the prayer of the upright is his delight.' It is the heart of the worshipper that he principally regards; and all the external homage which does not proceed from love to God, and a facred regard to