to the work, to fay it is finished, and procure true reft to the fouls of his people, Mat. xi. 28. XIII. The third bleffing of the Old Teftament, is the familiar and clear demonftration or display of the divine majefty: fuch as was made in the appearances of angels, when they declared the will of God; nay, and of God himself, when he prefented himself to the view of the patriarchs and prophets under a vifible appearance. But that glorious epiphany or manifestation of God before the affembly of the whole people, when he came to give his law, and to establish his covenant, is of all others the most remarkable. This prerogative of Ifrael was indeed fo great, that no people on earth ever enjoyed any thing like it, Deut. iv. 32, 33. "For afk now of the days that are past, which were before thee, fince the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one fide of heaven unto the other, whether has been any fuch thing, as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God fpeaking out of the midft of the fire, as thou haft heard, and live?" There were likewise the confpicuous fymbols of the divine prefence in the pillar of cloud and fire, in the facred and heavenly fire, in the cloud of the fanctuary, and many other things of a fimilar nature: wherefore God is faid, " to have had his fire in Zion and his furnace in Jerufalem," Ifa. xxxi. Which vifible fymbols of the divine familiarity gradually ceafed upon the manifeftation of Chrift in the flesh, of which they were appointed to be types and figures. 9. XIV. The fourth blefling of the Old Teftament confifted in the ceremonies and in the daily use of them. I own, that, in a certain refpect, the ceremonies were a grievous yoke, and belonged to the faults or defects of that testament: but there was likewife a remarkable reprefentation of Chrift in them, and of the grace that was to be obtained by him. And because God was pleafed in thofe times to fet his mysteries before them in riddles, parables and figures; it was the extrarordinary happiness of Ifrael, that they had continually before their eyes these pictures of the divine goodness, and of a Saviour to come, while other nations were left to themfelves. And the rather, as the elect were inftructed by the patriarchs, and the prophets, and by thofe, who had been taught by them, in their mystical fignification, according to the measure of thofe times. And in them they had not only a prefiguration, but also a confirming seal of the coming of the Meffiah, to whom they all led as by the hand, and without whom they had been a ludicrous farce, and unworthy of God, 1 Pet. i. 10- 12. XV. And for this reafon it is, that the fcripture so often VOL. II. mentions mentions this thing, as a great bleffing granted to the Ifraelites. Pfal. cxlvii. 19, 20. " He fhewed his word unto Jacob, his ftatutes and his judgments unto Ifrael: he hath not dealt fo with any nation," Ifa. xlii. 21. " Jehovah is well pleafed for his righteousness' fake," that is, for his truth and goodness, he will magnify (him by) the law and make it (him) honourable: Hof. viii. 12. I have written to him the great things of my law. Which is not only, nay I may venture to fay, not principally, to be underftood of the moral, or even the forenfick or judicial law; but chiefly, of the doctrine of grace, which was prefigured by the ceremonial law. For, the principles of the moral law, implanted in man at his creation, ftill remain in the confcience of men, though no new revelation had been fuperadded: and for the fafety of bodies politic, many things have been happily devifed by wife men. But as to the mysteries of the ceremonial law, these were the peculiar privilege of the people of God; and, on account of them, the Ifraelites looked on themselves as having the pre-eminence above all other nations. XVI. For the fame reason, the godly affifted at those ceremonies with so much delight and chearfulness of foul, and on the contrary accounted it the greatest part of their unhappiness, if at any time they were banished from their country, and forced to live at a distance from these holy things for it was their continual prayer, that they might be allowed to live in the house of God for ever: See Pfal. xxiii. 6. Pfal. xxvii. 4. Pfal. xlii. 2, 5. Pfal. lxxxiv. 2, 3. Pfal. lxxxix. 15. As without all doubt, they learned from these ceremonies, their uncleannefs and guilt, which tended to the faving humiliation of their foul; fo in them also they beheld the expiation of guilt and the fanctification from fin, the abfolution or purging of the confcience. True that was only typical by the ceremonies, but it was true and fpiritual through him, who was prefigured by them. XVII. Which things being fo, thofe perfons feem too much to depreciate thofe falutary inftitutions of God, who scarcely ever confider them, but as an unfupportable burden, and a handwriting contrary to those who observed them, and as the penalty of breach of covenant; and infift, that what God declares Ezek. xx. 25. is to be applied to them, namely, that he gave Ifrael ftatutes that were not good, and judgemts whereby they ihould not live. But the celebrated Dr John a Marck, who was formerly my intimate colleague, has vindicated this paffage in fuch a manner, as entirely to fuperfede any defence of mine. We acknowledge, that there was fomething in the ceremonies, which was both grievous, and teftified their imperfection, and that the expiation of fin was not yet perfected; but of these things we fhall speak in their place. But at the fame time, we infift, that they they had a reference to the gospel, and were a picture of Christ and his benefits, and feals of grace: neither are we to think, that they were effects of his wrath in fuch a manner against Ifrael, as if they were not given as tokens of a fingular favour to that people. The Jews themselves really were, and at this day are still fenfible of this; for though they acknowledge, they cannot find out the reafon for these ceremonies, yet they affirm, that a more secret wisdom is contained in them, than they can perceive. To this purpose Abarbanel in Legem. Fol. 197. col. 2. writes concerning them: " Lo! the principal intention in them, is to be as a book of fublime wisdom and divine doctrine, which students in the law may contemplate, till they perfect their fouls by thofe apprehenfions and notions." XVIII. The fifth and last blessing of the Old Teftament is an almost uninterrupted fucceffion of infpired men, by whom the the church in those days inftructed in all their doubts were without any hazard of being deceived. For, in the first ages, the patriarchs might be confulted, to whom God immediately revealed himself, and who in a state of such longevity, were generally many at a time, or at least were almost contemporary with one another. After them fucceeded Mofes. He was followed by a long fucceffion of prophets, even to the time of the Babylonish captivity, if we except fome very few and fhort intervals, fuch as are mentioned, i Sam. iii. 1. and 2 Chron. xv. 3. Under the Babylonish captivity flourished Ezekiel and Daniel after this laft came Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi, not to say any thing now of Nehemiah and Ezra. And after the Holy Spirit ceafed to dictate things to be written for the canon of the church of Ifrael, yet even to the coming of Christ, he ceased not to move, in an extraordinary manner, the minds of fome by his divine inspiration, as is evident in Simeon, in Zachariah the father of John the Baptift, and in Anna the prophetefs. But under the New Teftament, after the canon of Scripture was completed by the apoftolic writings, those prophetic enthusiasms or impulses gradually expired. CHA P. XII. Of the Imperfections falfely afcribed to the Old Teftament. HAT the Old Teftament required no deficency to be fupplied, appears even from this, because otherwise a TH Sf2 place place would not have been fought for a second: as the apostle, Heb. viii 7. proves to a demonftration. Having therefore treated of the bleflings and privileges of that teftament, it is proper, that we now confider its imperfections and defects. Not that we would detract any thing from the divine grace, as it was difplayed in the times of old, (becaufe the ancient fathers both acknowleged and actually experienced, that it was suffcient for their falvation) but that we may fet a higher value on the infinite riches of the divine bounty, which were reserved for the more aufpicious age of the New Teftament. II. But in handling this, two prudential precautions are to be premised. ift, That, in order to overvalue our own condition, we do not too much undervalue that of the ancients. 2dly, That, by duly acknowledging our own privileges, lefs' than they deferve, we may be found unthankfully to undervalue the grace of God. of God. And because fome have erred in both these extremes, we propose to manage this fubject in the following method. In this chapter we fhall confute what some perfons, who in other respects are learned and orthodox, seem to have advanced with too little caution against the Old Testament : and then fhew from fcripture, in what things it was really defective. III. We here pafs over unregarded the herefy of the Socinians, who affert, with the utmoft effrontery, that there was no promife of eternal life in the Old Teftament; that Jefus Chrift was the first and only preacher of that important truth: a blafphemy we have already confuted. At prefent our business is with brethren, whom we esteem in the Lord; only we must always give the preference to the facred truth. It does not become us nor any Christian, to multiply disputes without cause and to wreft things, well or tolerably faid, to a worse meaning than they will bear, and when we have wrested them, invidioufly to expose them: a manner of procedure this not to be ufed with enemies, much lefs with brethren. It is, however, incumbent on all, to endeavour to fpeak with the utmoft caution, and perfpicuity they are able; nor fhould any one take it amifs; if things, which are fpoken improperly and harshly, and lefs confiftently with the truth, are modeftly, calmly, and without any party zeal, taken notice of and corrected: efpecially if they have escaped from perfons of character in the church; and are urged by fome with a warmth not to be commended, as if they excelled the common doctrine of the reformed churches by the commendation of a purer and more fublime knowledge fo if any perfon that does not affent to them in all all refpects, is scarce accounted a learned and unprejudiced divine. IV. In the first place, I imagine, that these following words of a celebrated interpreter have juftly given offence to learned men; "the fcope of these words is to fhew, that though very great temporal benefits were bestowed on the Ifraelites, yet before the last times, none that were true and permanent: nor was falvation itself actually discovered to them," Coccei. Ult. Mof. p. 886. V. Who that reads or hears thefe words, would not be led by their very found to imagine even this, that though the Ifraelites really enjoyed temporal privileges, fuch as poffeffion of the land of Canaan, a peaceable government, a flourishing kingdom, profperity as fubjects, long life, and the like, yet they had no benefits, that were true and permanent: by which one can scarce forbear thinking, that they had no communion with the Meffiah, nor part in his peculiar bleffings, as reconciliation with God, peace of confcience, reformation after the image of the divine purity, foretaftes of the joys of heaven, and a happy removal of the foul from this to an immortal life? For, these, if any, are defervedly and ufually called true and permanent benefits, and falvation itself. Whoever therefore affirms, that very great temporal privileges, and, in the fame breath denies, that fuch as were true and permanent were bestowed on, and falvation itself difclofed to the Ifraelites, fpeaks in fuch a manner as to suggest to the mind of the reader, that the spiritual bleffings of the foul, and eternal life were neither bestowed on, nor discovered to them.. VI. And it is alfo fcarce poffible for the reader not to be confirmed in that fufpicion, if in another part he reads, that the only delight the Ifraelites had, was that they could extend their meditations to the felicity of the latter times, which yet they were not to fee with their own eyes. But the fame author's preface to the Pfalms inculcates this in a fet, premeditated difcourfe, not far from the begining. "This, indeed, was their only folace; for, while they were finging moft of the Pfalms, they were, in the type of David, either finging before hand the afflictions and exaltation of Christ, or reaching forward to the latter times; and deploring their prefent forlorn cafe, were endeavouring to change it into the joy of the future time, nay, affuming the difpofition, the joy, the zeal, and haring in the combats and victories of those who were to fee what themselves did not, to hear what themselves did not hear. This, I fay, was their only comfort. For, neither what they faw sould yield them any delight; because they were shadows: nor what they |