to facrifices, came, by degrees, to be particularly afcertained; for God had reafons worthy of himself, not to fix all things concerning them at once.—. -As to the ufe of facrifices, -efpecially expiatory ones, I fhall only note, that as they interveened between the promise of the Meffiah's sufferings and the accomplishment of it, fo they had a refpect unto both. They looked forward to the decease which he fhould accomplish at Jerufalem, and held it up, in PROSPECTIVE, unto the faith of the offerer. They looked backward to the making of the promife, and ferved as memorials to bring it to remembrance; as well as pledges of its future, but certain accomplishment *. * CLOPPENBURG. Schol. Sacrific. cap. 4.-I intended to have given an extract from this chapter, and fome other parts of his works; but, the whole is fo excellent, I found myself at a lofs, when I began to felect, and in danger of omitting the most valuable parts. I heartily with, that the reader, capable of understanding his works, were poffeffed of them. He would find much acute criticism; many thoughts, not more new than juft; genuine zeal for foundnefs in the faith, tempered with candour even to the very enemies of it. Perhaps Profeffor Mark never did a better service to the Church, than in collecting and fuperintending the publication of his grandiather's works.-Works that afforded Witfius fome of the beft hints which are to be found in his Oeconomia; and Witfius's extracts filled me with avidity to perufe the whole; and, when I was gratified, the flock agreed with the fample. G 2 Expiatory Expiatory facrifices have nothing to recommend them, on the principles of nature, indeed; hence bloody facrifices were derided, as madnefs, by the greatest fages of heathen antiquity: But they have ends worthy of divine wifdom, on the principles of gospel grace. Taken in connection with the promife, from which they ought never to be feparated, they afford a ftriking view of the guilt and demerit of fin, in the truggles and groans of the expiring animals; as alfo, in the fire coming down from heaven to confume the flefl. Who knows the power of his wrath!--They alfo afford a view of the fubftitution of Chrift in the law-room of finners: The innocent, meek, dumb lambs endured pangs and fire to prefigure the Lamb of God, who taketh away the fin of the world. Thus, they afforded hopes of pardon, acceptance, and eternal life unto fuch as offered them by faith in Jefus Chrift. Another ufe of them was, a typical confirmation of the promiles of the Covenant of Grace, and to turn it into a Teftament, typically, till it fhould be afterwards really ratified by the blood of Jefus Chrift. In one word, by facrifices God applied Chrift's death and righteoufnefs righteoufnefs, to Old Teftament faints, in much the fame manner as he applies the fame now by the facraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper*; but the latter mode of application is, by much, the cleareft. SECONDLY, We fhall now attend unto the CONTINUANCE of this Church in the enjoyment of the privileges, and dif charge of the duties above defcribed: And fhe continued, in fome meafure of conformity unto her original conftitution, for near the space of one hundred and twentyeight years. Probably it was in the hundred and twenty-ninth year, that Cain and Abel offered thofe facrifices, from which the former took occafion to flay the latter : For Seth, who came into the world foon after the death of Abel, was born in the hundred and thirtieth year of Adam's life. The defection, into which a part of this Church was immerfed, did not confift fo much in the corruption of worship, in respect of its external form, as in the want of faith in, and love to God; which produced want of love among the worshipers * Vide Difput. Sedan. Tom. I. p. 796. themselves, themfelves, while the obfervance of ordinances was fome way kept up among them. Palling by the Jewish fables about the fuperior excellence of Abel's facrifice, we may fatisfy ourselves with treading on hallowed ground. The Apoftle obferves a fuperior principle, even faving faith: "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent facrifice than Cain." That is a SLAIN SACRIFICE; for fo the word imports He looked forward to the death of Chrift: Whereas, it is probable, Cain offered only a thank-offering; without faith in,' or even any respect to the Redeemer's expiatory facrifice. Perhaps not unlike the Pharifee, who was willing to thank God that he was not as other men. Again, Abel offered the firftling of his flock, and of the fat of it; the first-born, being the chief in his poffeffion, and being afterward appropriated to the fervice of God by divine institution. But Cain, fo far as we know, made no fuch choice: He was fo void of love to God, that he thought he might be put off with any thing. His ambition feems to have equaled his unbelief and enmity; there fore, he is tranfported with fury, and pined away with envy, at the rejection of his own facrifice, and the acceptance of Abel's. Adam had certainly the fame power to exercife ecclefiaftic difcipline in his family, as Noah had afterwards; both families being domeftic churches. God took the reproof of Cain, however, into his own hand: But reproof, or cenfure of any kind, indeed, will not iflue in reformation, though managed with divine precedence itself, where the heart is unrenewed. Cain's corruption fwelled like a ftemmed torrent, at the divine admonition; and fecret malice fuddenly rofe into determined murder, which, at laft, difgorged itself on innocent Abel. Abel, the first who left this world, dies a faint; the first-fruits of victory, to the feed of the woman, over death, and him who had the power of death, that is the devil. Cain lived a guilty criminal, tormented by the dreadful fentence of the Supreme Judge, roufing up his guilty confcience into a flame of abfolute and final defpair. How preferable! How infinitely preferable was the lot of the former to that of the latter! If it be far better to depart and be with Christ, than to live in a ftate of grace, in the |