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uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins, the imperfections and miscarriages of their holy services, which would have hindered the efficacy of the high priest's mediation on their behalf, if God had not been reconciled to them and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness, in the midst of a sinful people, who defile not only themselves, but God's sanctuary also, 17 Ezekiel xxiii. 38, 39.* And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy [place,] until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and 18 for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out of the holy place unto the altar that [is] before the LORD, to the brazen altar in the court of the tabernacle, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put [it] upon the horns of the 19 altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon -it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

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And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy [place,] and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, 21 he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, that is, sins of all sorts, both of the friests and people, putting them upon the head of the goat, charging them, and the punishment due to them, on the goat, which, though only a ceremony, yet being done according to God's appointment, was available to this end: and the priest shall send [him] away by the hand of a fit man into the wil22 derness, to denote the removal of their sins far away: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.† 23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy [place,] and shall leave them 24 there: the Jews say, never to be worn any more. And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his golden garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make, or rather, having made, an atonement for himself, and for the people, by the 25 foregoing sacrifices. And the fat of the sin offering shall he

Accordingly, in v. 20. it is called. A reconciliation for the sanctuary. In allusion to this, the apostle argues, Heb. ix 23. that heaven itself would be polluted by the entrance of such sinful creatures as we, were it not for the blood of Christ, that better sacrifice, by which we are purified.

† Herein he was a type of Christ, on whom the Lord laid our iniquities, Isa. liii, 6. and who bore our sins in his own body on the tree, 1 Peter iį. 24.

26 burn upon the altar. And he that let go the goat for the scape goat, being polluted by touching the beast charged with the sins of all the people, shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 And the bullock [for] the sin offering, and the goat [for] the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy [place,] shall [one] carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, 28 and their dung. And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

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And [this] shall be a statute for ever unto you: [that] in the seventh month, on the tenth [day] of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, [whether it be] one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among 30 you: For on that day shall [the priest] make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, [that] ye may be clean from all your 31 sins before the LORD.* It [shall be] a sabbath of rest unto

you, and ye shall afflict your souls by a statute for ever.† 32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen 33 clothes, [even] the holy garments: And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and 34 for all the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.||

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REFLECTIONS.

HE apostle, Heb. ix. 7-12. hath so plainly traced an analogy between the institutions of this day, and the atonement of Christ, and his intercession founded on the efficacy of his sacrifice, that none can reasonably deny the former to have been a type of the latter. Let us learn then, to be thankful for the atonement and intercession of Jesus Christ; and consider the nature and meaning of it by the light of this important chapter:

It is observable, that this was the universal atonement, and the only sacrifice that was offered for all the sins of the priests and the people, and for all the accidental errors in the service of the sanctuary, and that degree of pollution which even the most sacred things were exposed to in consequence of their being among a sinful people.

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Accordingly, the Jews always observed this day in the midst of their greatest de

This is expressed so frequently to show the great importance of it.

That this chapter may be better understood, compare it with the eighth and nintà apters of the Hebrews.

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He is our great high priest, who is perfectly pure and holy, tho did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He needed not to offer sacrifices for himself, but he offered one for all the people; not the blood of bulls and goats, which could not take away sin, but his own precious blood. The Lord was pleased to lay on him the iniquities of us all. He bore away our transgressions, as the scape goat did the sins of the people, never to be remembered any more. In all sin offerings, which were presented with a proper disposition of mind, the guilt of the offender was consid→ ered as transferred to the beast, and the beast was put to death in his stead. Thus Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree.

Let us be deeply sensible of the evil of our sins, confess them with humble, penitent hearts, while we lay our hands on the head of this great sacrifice. Let us adore the mercy of God in appointing and accepting it, and by faith lay hold on it; rejoicing in these tokens of pardon and acceptance in this new and living way. Especially should we rejoice, that Christ, by his ownblood, is entered within the veil, where he ever lives to make intercession for us. Now we may come boldly to the throne of grace, to seek mercy, and grace to help in every time of need, seeing Jesus Christ the Son of God, is passed into the heavens for us. By the efficacy of his blood are those heavenly places sanctified for us, and our way into them is opened. Let us be daily looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, as gone to appear in the firesence of God for us, and as entered there with his own blood: and may that blood be as efficacious to subdue the power of sin in our hearts, as it is to expiate our guilt in the presence of God! Amen.

CHAP. XVII.

God having instituted the great sacrifice, some directions are here. given relating to the staying of beasts, and what should be done with their blood.

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ND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This [is] the thing which the 3 LORD hath commanded, saying, What man soever [there be] of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, for sacrifice, or that killeth [it] out of the camp, 4 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD, before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that? man, he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from

$ among his people :* To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer, or were used to offer, in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them [for] peace offerings unto the 6 LORD. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD, [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, demons, or evil spirits,† after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout 8 their generations. And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man [there be] of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering 9 or sacrifice of peace offering, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.

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And whatsoever man [there be] of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood at his own table, which many idolaters did in a very superstitious manner; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among 11 his people. For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood, the life of all living creatures depends upon the blood,is preserved and nourished by it, and extinguished when that is gone; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul; I have set it apart for a better use, and therefore it 12 must not be eaten. Therefore I said unto the children of Is rael, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood, as idolaters were used to do after they had sacrificed their beasts; hoping thereby to have 13 familiarity with their deities, and revelations from them. And whatsoever man [there be] of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust, lest other beasts should lick it up, or men should convert it to idolatrous 14 purposes. For [it is] the life of all flesh; the blood of it [is] for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh for the

This was probably intended to prevent any idolatrous customs which they might have seen in Egypt or learned from their neighbours.

†The original word is Goats; either they imagined that they appeared in that shape, or they were worshipped through that medium, especially in Egypt. Some think all the flesh for common food was to be killed before the tabernacle, to prevent their offering any of it or its blood to idols. If this be the sense, it could only relate to their condition in the swilderness, and would not be a statute for ever.

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life of all flesh [is] the blood [thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

And every soul that ignorantly eateth that which died [of itself,] or that which was torn [with beasts, and was not sufficiently bled, whether it be] one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even then shall he be 16 clean. But if he wash [them] not, nor bathe his flesh; then shall he bear his iniquity, the punishment of his disobedience.

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REFLECTIONS.

hence learn, that whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do, all should be done to the glory of God. He required that the Israelites should pay some peculiar acknowledgment to him in their daily food; offer him the blood, and perhaps kill the animals intended for food, at his tabernacle; this was designed to show them that, the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the beasts of the forest are his, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. May this teach us to glorify God in the use of his creatures to sanctify them with the word and prayer. Let our acknowledgment of God's goodness at our meals be a solemn thing let the heart be impressed with reverence and gratitude to him, who spreadeth our table and filleth our cup, and giveth us all things richly to enjoy.

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2. Let the regard shown to the blood, or life, of a beast, as an expiation, remind us of the blood of sprinkling, that precious blood of Christ, by which atonement was made for sin in this ancient constitution there is a reference to this great sacrifice and propitiation. This should be thankfully remembered by us; and while we rejoice in our freedom from these ordinances, let us pay a believing regard to that blood which cleanses from all sin, and by which we obtain eternal redemption.

3. Let us learn to be upon our guard against any violation of the divine laws, especially a presumptuous one. Sins of inadvertency are here taken notice of, as by them some degree of pollution was contracted, and forms of purification were appointed for them. Let us be very regular in observing all divine in stitutions; keep close to divine precepts; and especially be careful that we do not sin with a high hand, not wilfully violate the laws of the gospel, which are all reasonable, just, and good. Let it be our daily prayer, Lord, keep thy servants from presumptuous sine!

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