SERMON XXXV. 489 Twill grant indeed, that manyofthe ceremoniesofthe Jew- - ish church; had also someother intendments, viz. To distinguish the nation of Israel from the Gentile world, and to peep them in subjection to God, who was their political head or ping, aswell as their God, to preserve them as a nation in his favour, and re, store them when they had offended him as their governor and king : But ä few considerations will give us sufficient evidence, that these are mere subordinate designs of God in the Jewish law, and especially in his institution of theceremonies of atone< went andpriesthood. First Consideration. The Jewish ceremonies are often represented as types or figures of gospel-blessings by the apos- tie Paul ; 2 Cor. iii. Gal. vi. Col. ii. lieb. vii, viii, ix, x. The levitical ceremonial rites were but the letter, of which the gospel of Christ is the spirit or meaning : Those were but as a veil to cover the good things of the gospel ; they were but weak and poor rudiments or elements of learning, to leadus into the know- ledge of gospel -blessings. " The law was our school-master to bringus to Christ. They were but a shadow of things to come, whose substance or body is Christ: They served but to the ex- ample and shadow of heavenly things : that is, the thingsof the gospel : They were a figure for the time present ; a shadow of those good things to come, which the JIoly Ghost signified by them." The great end ofthese Jewishceremonial appointments in the sense of this inspired writer, was, that they should stand but as types and figures of things under the gospel; as emblems of the various offices of the Messiah that was to come, and emi- nently of his priesthood and propitiation. Now the substance is superior to the shadow. Second Consideration. This is more evident still, if we con- sider that many of the defilements which were to be removed by these sacrifices and purifications, were of an external andcorpo- real nature, which, considered in themselves, were generally innocent as to moral guilt, and did not want such sort of bloody purgations5. Thence we may reasonably infer, that these external defilements of the body, did typify and represent the * It may be worthy our notice here, [hat blood is no very proper liquid for purification of any defilements, unless it be, as it represents death to be an atone.. Ment for the guilt of sin, which is a. moral defilement of the soul. And yet Heb. ix. 22. Almost all things under the iota onepureed by blood e One would think water should be 'a much better cleanser; But we findthis purging or cleaning signifies atonement for sin, when the very next words give os the reason why blood is appointed, ois. because pardon orremission is the thing sought; for with. out shedding of blood is no rOuladon. it is plain therefore, that to a guilty and defiled soul or conscience, every thing is defiled ; as Tit. i. 15.. But when both the people' and their sacred utensils were sprinkled with blood, it denotes that all things are sanctified and pure,_ to those those souls partake of the atouemcgt of Christ, and whose sins are remit. ted through bis bloody death.
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