SECTION H. M5 be made an offering for sin by the prophets, and since feeding uponsin-offerings was common to the Jewish religion ; Lev. vi. 25, 20. the thoughtful hearers might arrive at something of the sense and meaning of our Saviour in this figurative language. But suppose the Jews, when he first spake it, could not well understand him, consider they had abused his person, and Be- tided his doctrine, and having so far rejected the light, they de- served to be left in darkness, amidst figures and parables as Christ himself declares ; Mark iv. 11, 12. I add vet further, there are several things which Christ in bis life-time spoke' in prophetic or parabolic language, for this reason; as I hinted. before, that they were not fit and proper to be spoken too plainly at that season ; but lie left the expressions to be explainedby the events. The death of Christ, which was not far off, and the ministry of the apostles quickly afterward representing his death as a propitiation for oar sins, give us a plain clue to lead us into the sense of Christ in these figurative or prophetic speeches, all which are so happily accommodable to these ideas and doctrines of Christ's atonement for sin, and our faith therein, as gives much satisfaction to the thinking reader, that they were designed and intended hereby. I confess indeed the papists are mistaken, when theyimagine this discourse of. our Saviour directly regards. the Lord's-supper, and their idle and absurd doctrine of transubstantiation ; yet these speeches of his were greatly explained to his disciples even before his death, when he appointed bread to be broken as an emblem of his flesh which was wounded for us, and wine which was poured into the cup to, be an emblem ofhis blood shed for us, and required us to eat anddrink this bread and wine, as repre- sentatives of his death, and of our communion and participation of the blessings of it, by faith or dependance on him. All this is natural and easy. But if we sink these expressions into Agrippa's sense,, of a mere receiving the doctrine of Christ, Dal life. Our Saviour foretelling and describing in figurative languagehis bloody death, which was to make atonement for sin, foretels and describes also that faith in him which should then be esteemed necessary to salvation, under those figures of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. J grant the expressions are in the present tense, but this is frequent in the prophetic language when future things are designed. But till this event should be accomplished, and this doctrine more plainly preached to men, a general trust is the person of Christ for all the benefits which are to be derived from him, may be represented by eating and drinking, as all that was needful and sufficient to make men spiritually alive ; And let it be observed Clint even this amounts to something more than mere re- ceiving his doctrine, for it is a feeding or living upon him and trusting in his person as an all -sufficient Saviour, and a vital union with him, as our body lives by our food being united to us. All this answer may be reduced to a shorter compass by explaining the words of Christ thus: " Except ye are madeparta- kers of my atoning sacrifice, orsin-offering, by trusting therein so far as it is evidently revealed and preached to the world, whether in a more or less explicit vaanner, ye have nospiritual nor eternal life iu you. xka
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