76 THE 'ATONEMENT OF CHRIST; [SERM. XRXV. that had been put to death' in sacrifice : And thus God made it appear to them, that their nakedness was cover- ed, and the shame of their guilt removed, by a blessing derived from the beasts that were slain. The skins of the sacrifices being put upon their bodies, might abate some- thing of their former fear, and encourage them to appear before God, who were terrified a little before, at the thoughts of their guilt and nakedness. Their deserved death was transferred to the sacrificed animal ; and the skin of the animal sacrificed, was transferred to themas a covering for their guilt and shame. These are noobscure intimations of benefit and safety to be derived to sinners, from some atonement to be made for sin. If we will hearken to St. Paul, he explains the first promise, when he says, Heb. ii. 14, that " Christ took flesh and blood upon him, that -he might, by his own death destroy the devil, who had the power of death, or had introduced it into the world." Here the Saviour's heel was bruised, and the head of the serpent broken nor can it be well supposed, how the death of Christ should destroy the works of the devil, but by making an atonement for the sins of men ; for which sins divine justice had put them under his power or tyranny. I will not presume to say, that Adam himself could read so much gospel as this in those first words of pre- mise; or that he knew in so explicit and distinct aman ner, the designs and ends ofa sacrifice, when God taught him the practice : Yet it is very probable, that the great God condescended to give a much farther explication both of the first words' of comfort concerning the seed of the woman, and of his own appointment of sacrifices, and of the reason of them, than Moses has written, or than we who live at this distance of time can ever cer- tainly know. III. Suppose what I have yet offered, be too obscure a foundation for this doctrine, yet let us consider that the following train of ceremonies, which were appointed by. God in the Jewish church, when he separated a pecu- liar,people to himself, are plain significations of such an atonement for sin as our Lord Jesus has made, and they confirm the meaning of the first institutionof sacrifices. I willgrant indeed, that manyof the ceremonies of the Jewish church, had also some other intendm4nts, viz
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