s26 7tiri SACRIFICE Or CHRIST. madeby the blood of Christ, as typified by the Jewish sacrifices and propitiations i And when these are said to sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, that is to remove bodily or outward im. 'purities, so as to set the offender right in the sight of God as King of the nation, or visible head of the church, dwelling in the holy of holies on the mercy seat, how mach moré shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit ofered'himself without spot to God, purge 'your consciences froth dead Works, that is, remove the guilt of those works from the conscience which deserved death ? Heb. ix. 13, 1t. I would enquire further, what is the meaning of John the baptist, the fore-runner of Christ, when in John i. 29. he says, upon his sight of Jesus, Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world? Does he call him a Lamb, because be takes away sin by his doctrine of pardon upon repentance, and by'his death confirms this doctrine ? .Did lambs ever take away sin in this manner, by doctrine and martyrdom ? Is there any sense in which a lamb takes away sin, but as an atoning sacrifice by his bloody death ? And how can this be applied to, Christ in this place, in any other sense ? And this is plainly ex- pressed by the apostles John and Peter : If we consult Peter ; 1 Yet. i. -18, 19. he says, " Ye were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish." And John tells us in Rev. v. 8, 9. " The elders fell down before the Lamb, and said, thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." But I would pursue this secoñd query a little further still. What is the true meaning of this sort of expressions, when God himself uses them to Eliphaz, and the other friends of job, who had nothing to do with Judaism, and probably were born before Moses ? " Take seven bullocks and seven rams, and offer up for yourselves,, said he, a burnt-offering, for my wrath is kindled against you ; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept, lest I deal with you after your folly." here is an atonement plainly, enjoined, that God might honourably pardon them. What doll[ Balak the king of Moab mean by his question pit to Balsam, as it is recorded by Micalt,the prophet, chapter v. fi, 7. " Will the Lord be pleasedwith thousands of rams, or with tea thousands rivers of oil? Shall I givemy first-bornfor my transgression, or the fruit of my bodyfor the sin of my -.soul? Does not this language plainly sitIiify an atonement for sin ? Though Balaatn by the prescription of moral duties shews him, that all these expensive and bloody sacrifices are not suffi- cient to please God without holiness*. It is plain therefore, that others besides Jews, use this language in the same sense." ai Since I have mentioned this text to shew the sense and meaning of Balak in his euquuien, it is oecesaary 1 should more at large explainBalaamn's answers
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