fation, which produced the facrifice of the Son of God, had a much nobler, and a more appropriate original. It was the refult of the greatest mercy conducted by infinite wisdom, and rests on no other foundation than the immutability of that divine counsel which was confirmed by an oath; that everlafting covenant for man's redemption entered into by the adorable Three in Deity, before the world began. This was the fource of that gracious undertaking, which prepared a body for the promised Redeemer, in which he might do and fuffer the will of God, by giving himself a ransom for man; and from this all-fufficient and meritorious facrifice, which in the purpofe of God was offered from the foundation of the world, proceeded not only the inftitution and acceptance of those offerings which we read of as brought to the Lord by his own people, but alfo the corruption and abuse of this inftitution, which prevailed among the heathens, and gave rife to all their abominable fuperftitions. For, as has been justly observed in a late excellent publication, "had there been no true religion, "there could not have been any that is falfe. Had "there been no divine inftitutions, fuperftition "would have had no foundation, on which to have "raifed its imaginary fuperftructure. The very "abufe of facrifice therefore proves the divinity of "its origin. For to the perverfion of facred tradi"dition, are the corruptions of heathenifm to be "traced

"traced up:* And as the Deity repeatedly and "formally disclaimed all virtue, confidered as inhe"rent in the facrifices themselves, the Divine ap"pointment of them could have no other object in “view, than to direct the eye of the offerer to that

great atonement, which the blood of the flain ani"mal was defigned to shadow forth; being the ap"pointed emblem of that precious blood, which ac

cording to the eternal purpose, was to redeem "the life of man. In like manner," fays the fame learned author," the offering up that commemo"rative facrifice, which characterizes the Christian "altar, is an acknowledgement on our parts, that 66 our

See p. 303. of the Rev. Charles Daubeny's volume of Difcourfes on the great Doctrine of Atonement, where we meet with the following very appofite note." The more this fubject, the most fruitful in the whole "compass of literature, is inveftigated, the more fatisfied fhall we be, that "the images of heathen idolatry were but the corruptions, according to the "imaginations of men at different times, of that primitive fymbolical re"presentation, originally fet up at the fall, for the purpose of preferving the «faith, and characterizing the worship of the true religion. The reader has "only to go far enough back, and he will arrive at the fame divine foun"tain, to which the pure ftream of patriarchal religion, and the corrupt of heathenish fuperftition are to be traced up. Mr. Maurice, in his "Differtation on the Oriental Trinities (which by bringing the counterfeits, "the Pagan Triads, to prove the realities, thereby makes the corruption of "revelation bear teftimony to the truth of it) has done much in affifting “the reader in this interesting research. If the reader would be further "affifted, he will find more useful, because more correct information upon "it in the Trinitarion Analogy, by that most excellent divine, the late Wil"liam Jones;" to be found in vol. I. of his Theological, Philofophical and Miscellaneous works, published in 1801.

one

† Pp. 360, 361.

"our lives were forfeited, and have been redeemed "by the body and blood of Chrift, actually offered 66 up on the cross. Bread and wine are but the "inftituted emblems, deriving all their fpiritual "efficacy from the relation they bear to that im

portant tranfaction, which they were appointed "to represent. Thus the typical facrifice of the Jewish temple, and the commemorative one of "the Christian church, direct our thoughts to the "fame divine object of contemplation; each in its "peculiar way furnishing a figurative exhibition of "the recovery of man from the effects of the fall, "through the mediation of that divine perfon, who by the all-fufficient facrifice of himself, became "the Redeemer of a loft world."

We have now taken a fhort view of the Jewish economy, or law of Mofes, in the light wherein St. Paul represents it; not only as a neceffary addition to the patriarchal religion, for preserving God's people from the idolatry and wickedness of the heathen nations, but also as "a fchoolmafter unto Chrift," leading men by the difcipline of its types and fhadows to the knowledge of real and fubftantial truths; in which capacity, our Lord himfelf tells us-that "the law prophefied until John the Bap"tift ;" till he fucceeded it in that office,-who feeing Jefus coming to him, fpoke the very language of its inftitutions, when he faid-" Behold the Lamb "of God, which taketh away the fin of the world."* This

St. John, i. 29.

This too has been the language of prophecy from

the very beginning of the world; and as foon as we look into the prophetic writings of the Old Teftament, we find them unfolding the defign of the Redeemer's coming, and the process of the redemption wrought by him, in the fullest and most particular, manner. We are told, that a great Perfon was to come, bringing peace and falvation to all nations; who fhould be Immanuel or God with us ;-born of a virgin poor and obfcure, yet one whom David calls bis Lord;-the Lord to whom the temple belonged, -the mighty God,-a great King,—an everlasting Priesta Prophet like unto Mofes, but much greater; who should be anointed by the spirit of the Lord God, to preach the gofpel to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and comfort to the mourners, and to heal the broken-hearted ;-who fhould work miracles of the moft merciful and beneficent kind; and yet, notwithstanding all his power and goodness, should be rejected by the greater part of his nation; be despised and afflicted; a man of forrows, and acquainted with grief; accufed by falfe witneffes; betrayed by an intimate friend; fold for thirty pieces of filver; treated by his enemies in the moft barbarous manner, and at laft put to a shameful and tormenting death; while all the time, he fhould be led like a lamb to the flaughter, not opening his mouth, but to pray for his enemies, and make interceffion for the tranfgreffors. All these and many more circumftances of

the fame pointed fo clearly to tell what really happened in the land of Judah, and were fo punctually fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, that it is aftonishing how the Jews could overlook the ftriking evidence afforded by fo many plain and literal predictions. Perhaps at the time when these things were paffing before them, and they themfelves were promoting the accomplishment of this awful myftery, they might have been fo blinded by pride and prejudice, as not to fee or confider what had been done, or what they themselves were doing. But after they had got time to reflect on all that had happened, and to compare it with what had been prophefied; we may indeed wonder how they failed to perceive where the truth lay, and honeftly to confefs, in the words of one of our Lord's first dif ciples-" we have found him, of whom Mofes in "the law and the prophets did write, Jefus of Na"zareth, the fon of Jofeph."*

It was to Mofes and the prophets that Abraham is represented in the parable, as referring the rich man's unbelieving brethren for the evidence of a future flate; and when Jefus gave this direction to his incredulous countrymen-" Search the fcrip"tures, for in them, ye think ye have eternal life, "and they are they which teftify of me;" they were the writings of Mofes and the prophets, the only fcriptures then known, which thus bore teftimony

* St. John, i. 45. + St. Luke, xvi. 29-31. St. John, v 39

to