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THOUGHTS 
 
 O N T H E 
 
 Cherubimical Mystery; 
 
 Or an Attempt to prove. 
 
 That the Cherubims were Emblems 
 of Salvation, 
 
 By the BLOOD of JESUS. 
 
 Whom he hath appointed heir of all things : by whom alfo 
 he made the worlds. Htb. i, 2. 
 
 He is before all things , and by him all things confijl . 
 
 By JAMES RELLY. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed in the Year M.DCC.LXXX, 
 
t 3 ] 
 
 A* 
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Cherubimical Myftery, &c. 
 
 H E firft mention made of cherubims, 
 in the facred writings, is in Gen. iii. 24. 
 when, upon Adatris being diverted of 
 dominion, and driven out of the garden of 
 Eden, for breach of covenant, the cherubims 
 were placed at the end of the garden, to pre- 
 vent his return thither. 
 
 The next mention we have of cherubims, is 
 in Exod. xxv. 18. where God commanded Mofes 
 to make two cherubims of beaten gold, in the 
 ends of the mercy-feat j and fo to adjuft them, 
 that, covering the mercy-feat with their wings, 
 and having their faces turned the one to the 
 other, they might both be looking towards the 
 mercy-feat. Solomon is alfo faid to have made 
 cherubims of olive-tree ; and, overlaying them 
 with gold, to have placed them in the inner 
 houfe, even in the facred oracle : the doors 
 and walls of which houfe round about, were 
 alfo ornamented with cherubims carved upon 
 them. 
 
 A 2 
 
 But 
 
[ 4 ] 
 
 But yet, the defcription of the cherubims, 
 refpedting their figure, is very obfcure, until we 
 come to the prophet Ezekiel ' s account of them, 
 who tells us, “ They had the likenefs of a 
 <c man : each of them had four faces ; the face 
 tc of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right 
 e< fide, and the face of an ox, on the left fide j 
 “ they alfo each of them had the face of an 
 “ eagle. They had flraight feet, and the foie 
 “ of them was like the foie of a calve’s foot, 
 “ and they fparkled like the colour of burnifh- 
 “ ed brafs. They each of them had four 
 “ wings, and under their wings they had the 
 “ hands of a man, on their four fides.” — 
 After this manner the prophet defcribes them ; 
 nor is the variation or difference between this 
 and 'Johns account of them (Rev. iv.) at all 
 material. The apoflle, indeed, calls them 
 beafls j fo the prophet had called them crea- 
 tures. The apoflle fays, they were four, and 
 that they were in the rnidfl of the throne, and 
 round about the throne, and that they were full 
 of eyes before and behind. The firft beafl was 
 like a lion, the fecond like a calf, and the third 
 had the face as a man, and the fourth was like 
 a flying eagle : and the four had each of them 
 lix wings about him : and they were full of 
 eyes within, and they reft not day nor night, 
 faying, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty ! 
 which was, and is, and is to come. 
 
 From 
 
[ 5 1 
 
 From thefe defcriptions, I propofe to attempt 
 an explication of the Cherubimical Myftery : 
 by fhewing, The origin of the cherubim, and 
 the medium of their appearance. — The reafon 
 and fpirit of their figure j and their connection 
 with the wheels, as feen in the prophet’s vifion ; 
 with a view to a proper evangelical ufe of the 
 doCtrine. 
 
 “ And I looked (faith the prophet) and be- 
 “ hold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a 
 “ great cloud, and a fire infolding itfelf, and a 
 “ brightnefs was about it, and out of the midft 
 <c thereof as the colour of amber, out of the 
 (l midft of the fire. Alfo, out of the midft 
 ts thereof came the likencfs of four living crea- 
 “ tures, and this was their appearance, they 
 “ had the likenefs of a man, &c.” — In the 
 fides of the north is fituated the city of the 
 great king — The title of the great king was 
 given by the ancient Greeks to the Perfian mo- 
 narch, as the moft powerful of their neigh- 
 bours : and even, before this aera, we find the 
 king of AJJyria afluming the title of great king. 
 But the Hebrew nation, who were inftru&ed 
 not to give flattering titles to men, conftantlv 
 applied the title of Great King to the Lord 
 their God. 
 
 The city of the great king, as fituated in the 
 fides of the north, is generally applied (I think) 
 to the literal Jerufalem ; and the 14th chapter 
 of Ifaiah is expounded fo as to ferve this pur^- 
 pofe.' — The Lucijer ) fon of the morning, there 
 
 de- 
 
r 6 ] 
 
 defcribed, as faying in bis heart, “ I will 
 <c afcend into heaven ; I will exalt my throne 
 <c above the ftars of God j I will fit alfo upon 
 <c the mount of the congregation, in the fides 
 ‘‘ of the north.” — This Lucijer (I fay) is 
 commonly fuppofed to be the king of Babylon. 
 
 But this hypothefis is liable to more objec- 
 tions than one *, it is an error in geography to 
 make Jerufalem north of Babylon ; the reverfe 
 being true. It does not appear to have been 
 the defign of the king of Babylon , at any time, 
 to fix his throne at Jerufalem ; nay, when he 
 led his armies againft her, it was rather with a 
 view to diveft her of power, to raze her foun- 
 dations, and to lay her glory in the duff, than 
 to make her the houfe of his kingdom, or the 
 place his throne fhould be eftablifhed. 
 
 Hence, the reafon and fpirit of the 14th of 
 Jfaiah , muft be looked for elfewhere, than in 
 any thing applicable to the literal Jerufalem , 
 and to the king of Babylon. But, by fuch 
 who are attached to the letter, and who never 
 go any further in their enquiries after truth, it 
 will be. here urged, that the Pfalmift intends 
 the literal Jerufalem ; where he fays, “ Beau- 
 “ tiful for fituation, the joy of the whole earth, 
 “ is Mount Zion on the hdes of the north is 
 “ the city of the great king.” — If this be ap- 
 plied to the JeruJalem which is above, who is 
 free with her children, and who is the mother 
 of us all, it is indeed juft and glorious. But it 
 
 may 
 
[ 7 ] 
 
 may not, with propriety, bear a literal applica- 
 tion : for, refpe&ing the Jernfalejn which was 
 below, and which was ever in bondage with 
 her children, it does not appear that fhe excel- 
 led in the beauty of her fituation, nor that fhe 
 was the joy of the whole earth ; nor that fhe 
 flood in the fides of the north ; nor that any 
 prince who ever governed in her was fliled the 
 great king : for where fhe is at any time, by 
 way of eminence or diflin&ion, called the city 
 of God, the holy city, &c. it is only in a typi- 
 cal fenfe that fhe is thus called, as fhe was a 
 figure of the perfect church, the fpiritual Je- 
 rufaiem : for, literally, fhe hath very different 
 characters in the fcriptures. — I come now to 
 propofe, that the north, in the fides of which 
 is the city of the great king, and the north 
 from whence the cherubims originated, is rather 
 to be underflood allegorically than otherwife ; 
 it refpeCts the nature and perfon of man. — For 
 God being to the whole creation of intelligent 
 beings, both celeflial and terreflrial, what the 
 fun, as a figure, is to the latter; thofe beings 
 may be denominated north, fouth, &c. juft as 
 they, from their dignity of nature, or flation, 
 may be fituated more or lefs in the fhine of 
 divine favour, and in the enjoyment of the 
 glory of God. 
 
 Of thofe beings, the angels excel in dignity 
 and flrength ; abound mofl in power and glory; 
 and dwelling more immediately in, and enjoy- 
 ing' 
 
[ 8 l 
 
 sng more abundantly the prefence of God, they 
 have among them , as the chambers of the fouth, 
 perpetual warmth, verdure, and fruitfulnefs. 
 
 But man, being originally from nature and Na- 
 tion, lower than the angels, and more remote 
 from the views and enjoyments of the brightnefs 
 and glory of God, is as the colder north, lefs 
 warm, lefs fruitful, lefs verdant: and yet, fuch 
 is the will of the Almighty, fuch the riches of 
 our Creator’s love towards us, that he hath 
 made choice of the Tides of the barren north 
 for his habitation ; there to raife the mount of 
 the congregation, there to build the city of the 
 great King ! and this he effected, by taking on 
 him not the nature of angels, but the feed of 
 Abraham . 
 
 Man, from his firft creation, being confider- 
 ed as the north, it is not unnatural to fuppofe, 
 that the whirlwind, which the prophet faw 
 coming from thence, intended man’s fall and 
 rebellion againft God, which was fudden and 
 rapid as the whirlwind. Whirlwinds are often 
 faid to come out of the fouth, which the fcrip- 
 tures reprefent as according to nature: but, 
 except in the prophet’s vifion of the cherubim, 
 I remember not to have read of a whirlwind 
 coming out of the north. Hence, the account 
 is ufhered in with a note of attention and 
 wonder; Behold, a whirlwind came out of 
 the North ! &c. This is, atleaft, an intima- 
 tion that it related to fomething extremely rare 
 
t 9 ] 
 
 and lingular, the repetition of which was not 
 to be expedted. Nor is there any thing fo 
 fully pointed out by fuch a figure, as is the 
 great tranfgreflion, which man having once 
 committed, hath it not in his power to commit 
 again. 
 
 The great cloud may intend that dark and 
 clouded ftate wherein the human foul was in~ 
 volved upon its departure from God, and which 
 rendered all the profpedts and expeditions of 
 man unfpeakably gloomy and dreadful. 
 
 The fire infolding itfelf, denotes guilt, the 
 natural fruit of iniquity, and which the ferip- 
 tures compare to fire ; whilfl: the brightnefs 
 round about, may imply convidion ; confiding 
 of remembrance, reflection, and confcioufnefs, 
 and aptly confidered as a brightnefs diftindt 
 from the fire. 
 
 The colour of amber fhining out of the 
 midft of the fire, is not without its fignificancy. 
 The origin of amber hath been controverted, 
 whilft, refpedting its qualities, as more demcn- 
 ftrable, there is a general agreement. 
 
 That amber is originally liquid, may, as I 
 think, be gathered from its containing flies and 
 other infedts, which, upon its being broken, 
 may be difeerned in its mod iolid parts. That 
 which is gathered from the lea, may probably 
 be confolidated, partly by the falts, and partly 
 by the fermentation and fridfion of the waves : 
 hence it is emblematical of punifhment for fin, 
 B which 
 
( 1 ° ) 
 
 which receives its force from the tumultuous 
 diftrefles of the guilty mind. The wicked are 
 compared to the troubled fea, whofe waters 
 cannot reft. 
 
 Amber, is an inflammable fubftance, and 
 greatly bituminous, and is in this a figure of 
 the punifhment due to fin, which, in the fcrip- 
 tures, is reprefented under the fimilitude of fire, 
 burning pitch, and brimftone. 
 
 Amber, is alfo of note for its eledtrical pow- 
 ers, another figure of the punifhment of fin, 
 which punifhment being juft and equitable, 
 draws into its vortex, for chaftifement and an« 
 nihilation, every evil work, word, and thought. 
 
 The natural colour of amber is a pale yel- 
 low ; and the prophet feeing this colour in the 
 midft of the fire, it denoted that guilt hath its 
 punifhment in itfelf, and yet each diftinguifh- 
 able from the other. 
 
 Upon the above hypothefis I raife this pro- 
 pofition. The whirlwind coming out of the 
 north, with the cloud of fire, &c. were em- 
 blematical of the fall, with all its dreadful 
 confequences ; convidlion, guilt, gloom, horror, 
 defpair, death and hell, as the punifhment 
 thereof. 
 
 Out of the midft of this appearance the 
 prophet faw the likenefs of four living crea- 
 tures come forth, tc and this was their appear- 
 “ 3nce, they had the likenefs of a man.” — 
 The cherubims had, indeed, their origin from 
 
 the 
 
[ “ ] 
 
 the Father of Lights : but the medium of their 
 manifeftation, and the only given reafon of 
 their utility, was from the fall of man, unto 
 which they owe their appearance, ufefulnefs, 
 and indeed the apparent reafon of their exig- 
 ence ; God having purpofed in himfelf to glo- 
 rify the riches of his grace by thofe means. — We 
 read nothing of the cherubims until after Adam's 
 tranfgreffion : for, though they exifted with 
 God before (unto whom were known all his 
 works from the foundation of the world) yet 
 the reafon and time of their appearance were 
 not come until fin entered; but then they were , 
 immediately appointed to guard the way of the 
 tree of life. 
 
 As I expedl it will not be controverted, 
 that the cherubims or living creatures, which 
 the prophet faw, are the fame with thofe which 
 John beheld in his vifion, mentioned before, 
 
 I fhall, firft, confider the defcription according 
 to the latter, and that, as I judge, will throw 
 fome light upon the former. 
 
 John fays, “ That the firft was like a lion, 
 <c the fecond like a calf, the third had a face 
 “ as a man, and the fourth was like a flying 
 tc eagle : each had fix wings, and were full 
 “ of eyes : and they reft not day nor night 
 “ from faying, holy, holy, holy Lord God 
 cc Almighty ! which was, and is, and is to 
 ec come.” 
 
 B 2 
 
 This 
 
[ 12 ] 
 
 This I would explain as follows — The num- 
 ber four intends the four principal particulars 
 of redemption by our Lord Jefus Chrific — The 
 face of a man denotes Chrift’s incarnation, or 
 the Word made flefh — The face of the calf, 
 ox, or heifer, was fignificant of his facrifice — 
 The lion, ever victorious, is prince of the fo- 
 reft, and, at his roar, the whole nation of 
 beats tremble : this likenefs is manifeftly the 
 fymbol of power, and implies our Lord’s re- 
 furredion, when he gave proof of his having 
 trodden down ftrength, of his having fubdued 
 and deftroyed fin, and hell, and death, with him 
 who had the power of death, even the devil. 
 The refurredion of Jefus had power to unbind, 
 juftify and difcharge from all fin, the helplefs 
 fons of men : yea, at his refurredion, he had 
 all power in heaven and in earth given into his 
 hand, and therefore fitly reprefented by the 
 lion. 
 
 The eagle, from the ftrength of its pinion, 
 foaring above the reach of human eye, and 
 from its piercing fight, has always been confi- 
 dered hieroglyphical of the fublime, the exalt- 
 ed, and the glorious, and therefore beautifully 
 points out our blefled Lord’s afcenfion. — Thus 
 thefe four faces, in their myftic defign, bear 
 witnefs to the great falvation. 
 
 Their being full of eyes before and behind, 
 fhews the redemption of our Lord Jefus Chrift 
 
 look- 
 
[ *3 ] 
 
 looking backward to Adam , and forward to his 
 offspring, even to the end of time. 
 
 Their wings intend the divine attributes; 
 mercy, truth, righteoufnefs, peace, wifdom and 
 love ; upon the confent and harmony of which 
 the Redeemer and his Redemption afeend above 
 all heavens. 
 
 Ezekiel faw but four wings to the cherubim, 
 becaufe the rich difplay of divine wifdom and 
 love, in the redemption of mankind, was re- 
 ferved for the New Teftament hate, the heights 
 and depths of which were manifefted to the 
 apoftles, and hence it was that John faw fix 
 wings. 
 
 The prophet difeovered under the wings of 
 the cherubim the hands of a man, which im- 
 plies that authority and qualification derived to 
 the Saviour from the harmony of the divine 
 attributes in his great and finifhed falvation.— - 
 From whence, as the reward of his toils, he 
 merited and was qualified to receive gifts for 
 men, even the rebellious, that the Lord their 
 God might dwell among them. — From hence, 
 alfo, he has obtained that all power in heaven 
 and in earth fhould be put into his hands. 
 
 It is faid of thofe which John faw, that they 
 were full of eyes within, which denotes inward 
 light and confcious purity. As all human 
 righteoufneffes are compared to fepulchres, 
 which, though they be beautified and whiten- 
 ed without, are within full of rottennefs, filth, 
 
 and 
 
[ 14 J 
 
 and darknefs, fo in contradiftindtion to the 
 righteoufnefs of man. — The righteoufnefs of 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift is reprefented, in the 
 beauties of holinefs, as full of eyes within : 
 for, when he undertook the caufe of man, 
 and yet to vindicate the ways of God with 
 him, he drew not his bow at a venture, but 
 purfued his plan in fure and certain hope, 
 confcious of the equity and righteoufnefs of 
 his proceedings and fuccefs ; every face of his 
 falvation was full of eyes within, light, life, 
 health and purity. 
 
 It is alfo laid of thofe which 'John faw, that 
 they reft not day nor night, but inceftantly cry, 
 holy, holy, holy, &c. — This fhews, that the 
 redemption of mankind by our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift (that glorious work and labour of love !) 
 is the fource of everlafting praife unto God and 
 to the Lamb. — Ail his works praife him, but 
 peculiarly that work of wifdom and love 
 where he hath faved us, and called us with an 
 holy calling; not according to works of righ- 
 teoufnefs as wrought by us, but according to 
 his own purpofe and grace, given us in Jelus 
 Chrift, before the world began. From this 
 grace the Almighty receives the moft fpiritual 
 and continual praife. — This blefted grace can 
 aferibe unto the Father of Lights, not only 
 wifdom, mercy, and love, but holinefs, and 
 that in perfed harmony, and confident with his 
 
 infinite 
 
[ is J 
 
 infinite perfections : hence the perpetual cry of 
 holy, holy, holy. 
 
 It was upon this glory given to God, and 
 not before, that the four-and-twenty elders fell 
 down before him that fat on the throne, and 
 worfhipped him that liveth for ever, and ever, 
 calling their crowns before his throne, faying, 
 “ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory 
 £t and honour and power; for thou haft crea- 
 <£ ted all things, and for thy pleafure they are 
 C£ and were created.” 
 
 From the above we are taught, That the 
 elders have their matter, fpirit, and right of 
 praife, from the great redemption. — When the 
 faces of faivation, in truth and juftice, aferibe 
 holinefs to God, and rejoice in his purity 
 thereby, preaching the everlafting gofpel, and 
 giving proof to man of the harmony of the 
 divine properties in Jefus Chrift, by whom all 
 things confift, then it is that all thofe who re- 
 joice in that faivation, fhout forth the praifes 
 of the Lord, and beings taught to know him, 
 who was from the beginning, they learn the 
 end and defign of their creation. 
 
 From the remarks which I have already 
 made, I truft it will be feen that John's de- 
 feription of the beafts, is exadtly coincident 
 with Ezekiel's defeription of the cherubim j 
 both containing, in my judgment, the fame 
 myftery, without any material difference in the 
 defeription. 
 
 I have 
 
[ ] 
 
 I have already hinted, that though the faces 
 of falvation were ever before the divine pre- 
 fence, God having from everlafting appointed 
 us to falvation by Jefus Chrift, yet it was by 
 means of the fall of man that the divine 
 decree, refpedting this matter, was revealed to 
 him. — 'Though the grace and glory of our 
 Lord Jefus Chrift, comprehended in the Che- 
 rubimical Myftery, was the eternal delight of 
 the Moft High, and what he had as the firft 
 and principal in view when he made the 
 worlds. — Yet, until the fall, neither the ex- 
 cellence nor neceflity of this grace appeared. 
 
 Thus we may confider the cherubims com- 
 ing out of the whiflwind, the cloud, the fire, 
 &c. to be the revelation of Chrift, refpe&ing 
 the method and glory of his falvation, mani- 
 fefting itfelf by means of the fall : then man- 
 kind had the firft fpecimen of God’s wonderful 
 working, where, out of the eater, he brought 
 meat, and out of the ftrong, fweetnefs ; and, 
 without controverfy, taught us that all things 
 work together for our good. 
 
 The cherubims, as lymbols of falvation by 
 Jefus Chrift, were placed at the eaft end of the 
 garden of Eden, accompanied by a flaming 
 fword which turned every way to defend the 
 way of the tree of life : but of this I fhall have 
 occafion to Ipeak hereafter. 
 
 All things, man in particular, being made 
 for Jefus Chrift, defigncd as an inheritance for 
 
 a be- 
 
r >7 3 
 
 a beloved foil, fubjedts for a prince, a flock for 
 the fhepherd, and a bride for the bridegroom, 
 they were deftined to a ffate of eternal depend- 
 ance on him. Man being originally formed for 
 the glory of Chrift, his firft creation ftate, re- 
 fpedting righteoufnefs and holinefs, was limply 
 figurative. Hence the apoftle tells us, that 
 Adam was a figure of him that was to come. 
 
 Adam , while he lived in the figure only, 
 knew not the intent of his exigence, nor that 
 there was before him a greater good than 
 he yet enjoyed. Naturally fuppofing that his 
 innocence entitled him to the favour of God, 
 he muff neceffarily conclude, that his continu- 
 ance in the flate of innocence would fecure to 
 him that favour. This idea originated in Adam 
 from the entrance of the law, notwithffanding 
 it entered for other purpofes ; and though it 
 was immediately fuperfeded by the gofpel, in 
 the promife of the woman’s feed, to bruife the 
 ferpent’s head, yet the taint remains, the pre- 
 judice is confpicuous in his offspring, who ge- 
 nerally fay, that if Adam had obferved the pre- 
 cept, he and his pofterity would have been 
 faved by his obedience : and that Adam> being 
 a free agent, inffead of tranfgreffing as he did, 
 might have continued in his righteoufnefs, and 
 thereby lecured eternal life to himfelf and to 
 his offspring. 
 
 But this, in my judgment, is fuch an egre- 
 gious miftake, as betrays an abfolute ignorance 
 
 C of 
 
t 18 ] 
 
 of the fcriptures, and of the power of God. — 
 The apoftle fays, “ If there had been a law 
 
 given which could have given life, verily 
 “ righteoufnefs fhould have been by the law,” 
 Gal. iii. 21.-— Hence I argue, the infufficiency 
 of the law given to Adam , to give him life, 
 was becaufe it had no fuch appointment: it 
 was not given him for that end, as appears 
 from Rom. v. 20. “ Moreover, the law entered 
 “ that the offence might abound.” — From hence 
 it may be inferred, that Adam's obedience, had 
 he perfifted in it, would not have intitled him 
 to eternal life : forafmuch as the falvation of 
 Jefus was not an incidental affair, dependant on 
 contingencies, but a matter fixed in the fore- 
 knowledge, and by the determinate counfel of 
 God, who had not appointed us, unto wrath, 
 but to obtain falvation by our Lord Jefus Chrift : 
 nor was it poffible that any effort of the crea- 
 ture fhould fruflrate this decree of the Creator; 
 therefore he could at no time obtain falvation 
 by the works of his own hands. 
 
 Human wifdom hath feigned, and tradition 
 keeps it in countenance, that God promifed fal- 
 vation to Adam on condition of his obedience : 
 but this is not the dodtrine of the fcriptures ; 
 nay, from thefe the contrary is manifeft, as ap- 
 pears from obfervations already made. 
 
 Nor does it follow, becaufe Adam was threat- 
 ened with death on the day he eat of the for- 
 bidden fruit, that he was to inherit eternal life 
 
 on 
 
[ 19 ] 
 
 on condition of his abftinence : this being, at 
 beft, but negative holinefs; and, with the na- 
 ture of things, inconfiftently entitled to reward. 
 Moreover, the apoftle allures us, that the pro- 
 mife was not through the law. 
 
 As to the pretence that Adam had a freedom 
 of will, and that the choice of good or evil 
 was in his power; I reply, the power, or even 
 the poflibility of choofing evil, is incompatible 
 with a perfect ftate. Hence I infer, that Adam y 
 as a perfect man, could have no difpolition to 
 choofe the evil. 
 
 If it depended on the creature’s choice whe- 
 ther he would be faved by his own righteouf- 
 nefs or not, then was it in the creature’s power 
 to confirm or difannul the decrees of his Crea- 
 tor ; than which to imagine, there can be no- 
 thing (in my judgment) more abfurd and im- 
 pious. 
 
 To fuppofe the fame perfon having an equal 
 freedom of choice towards good and evil, is an 
 abfurdity much more glaring than that of a 
 hermaphrodite in the human kind. It is a 
 creature in equilibrio, between good and evil, 
 and yet not fo, becaufe he chofe the evil rather 
 than the good : thefe and many more are the 
 inconfiftencies deducible from the notion of 
 free-agency in man. 
 
 I am aware of what will be deemed a full 
 anfwer to this, i. e. “ The balance in man had 
 “ not inclined to evil but for the interpofition 
 
 C 2 “of 
 
[ *> ] 
 
 u of an enemy,” — To which I anfwer, a fort, 
 defcribed as above, could not be taken but from 
 a traitor within, or from the will of the prince 
 to difmantle and give it up. — I am confirmed 
 in this from a faying of our Saviour’s : “ For 
 “ the prince of this world cometh, and hath 
 e< nothing in me.” — Jefus being a perfect man, 
 had not the evil feed in him, and therefore 
 when tempted was not overcome. — Adam , ori- 
 ginally, had not the evil feed in him, and there- 
 fore could not have been overcome by tempta- 
 tion : nor can the fubtilty nor force of the 
 enemy ef¥e<ft any thing againft perfection. 
 
 The caufe, therefore, of the lapfe muff be 
 fought for elfewhere, and the Pfalmirt explains 
 it as follows : “ Thou turned: man to dertruc- 
 <c tion.” — As the hufbandman turns his vine- 
 yard to deftrudtion, by negledting its fences and 
 culture ; fo that, inftead of the vine and the 
 fig-tree, thorns and thirties over-run it j and 
 the wild boar of the wood having accefs, up- 
 roots every pleafant plant. 
 
 The aportle fays, “ The creature was made 
 “ fubjeCt to vanity, not willingly, but by rea- 
 <c fon of him who fubjedted the fame in hope,” 
 Rom. viii. 20. That Adam was the creature 
 here intended, will not (as I fuppofe) be quef- 
 tioned : and in that he was made fubjeCt to 
 vanity, it implies that he did not fubjeCt him- 
 felf to it. — He was made fubjeCl not willingly — 
 This muft intend either the will of him who 
 
 made 
 
[ 2 » ] 
 
 made the creature fubjedt, or the will of the 
 creature himfelf ; but the firft cannot be in- 
 tended, whether the power who fubjedted the 
 creature be fuppofed to be gracious or malig- 
 nant. 
 
 I am aware of the common received opinion, 
 that it was fatan who fubjedted the creature to 
 vanity; but, furely, it cannot be faid of him 
 that he adted unwillingly in the affair. — Nor 
 can it be faid of the Almighty, where he is 
 fuppofed to have fubjedted the creature to va- 
 nity, that he did it unwillingly, as it would 
 imply him under a neceffity of adting contrary 
 to his will : it mufl therefore intend the will of 
 the creature himjelf . — From thence I infer, that 
 the will of the creature was not concerned in 
 his fubjedtion, nor was it the confequence of 
 his choice, for that would neceffarily imply 
 that the creature had, from creation, an evil 
 bias, which confifts not with the purity of the 
 Creator. 
 
 But the creature was made fubjedt to vanity 
 by reafon of him who fubjedted the fame in 
 hope ; i. e. as I humbly conceive, by reafon of 
 Jefus Chrift, who being originally appointed 
 heir of all things, all things, Man in par- 
 ticular, being made for him, thefe were the 
 appointed means by which he was to gain pof- 
 feffion of his own. — As the figure mufl necef- 
 farily give place to the fubftance, it was requi- 
 Jite that the creature fhould be fubjedted to va- 
 nity, 
 
r 22 ] 
 
 nity, that the purpofe and grace given him in 
 Chrift Jefus, before the world began, might 
 take that place unto which it was appointed. 
 
 If the Saviour is the perfon by reafon of 
 whom the creature was fubjedted to vanity, the 
 inference is eafy refpedting that will and power 
 which fubjedted him, though done by theagency 
 of him, who adding as an enemy, nor fought 
 nor expedted ought lefs than the ruin of the 
 creature. That the ferpent, or fatan, did it, is 
 what the fcriptures affirm, but the will of God 
 limits the power of fatan, and the vvifdom of 
 God over-rules all his devices ; fo that fatan’s 
 doing it, is no denial of his doing it by the de- 
 terminate will of God, and by reafon of Chrift. 
 The fubtilty and enmity of the ferpent to God 
 and Man being made, in this particular, to 
 fubferve the purpofe of grace. Thus Chrift 
 appointing, over-ruling, and conducting, may 
 be confidered as the power, by reafon of whom, 
 and by whom, the creature was fubjedted to 
 vanity in hope, though effedted by the agency 
 of another. — I am aware that fundry affedt to 
 make wide diftindtions between appointment 
 and permiffion, and, as they relate to man, 
 fuch diftindtions may be juft; but, furely, when 
 applied to the Divine Being, they are unwar- 
 rantable, yea abfolutely wrong. 
 
 Man, defedtive in knowledge, fore-know- 
 ledge, in wiidom and power, may permit what 
 he does not appoint ; yea, what may be con- 
 trary 
 
t 2 3 ] 
 
 trary to his choice, becaufe (by him) not to be 
 prevented. 
 
 But fuch diftinCtions are by no means appli- 
 cable to him who is in himfelf the fulnefs of 
 all perfection. However men philofophize, or 
 play the fophift, it is impoffible, to common 
 fenfe, to feparate neceffity from fore- knowledge. 
 God foreknew that Adam would fall ; but it 
 was impoffible for infinite wifdom to be mifta- 
 ken, Adam muff fall, nor was it in himfelf 
 to prevent it. All power is of God ; therefore 
 whatfoever is to the fore-knowledge of God, 
 is fo in confequence of his own appointment. 
 Fore-knowledge may be confidered as the con- 
 fcioufnefs which the Divine Being has of his 
 decrees, they being infallible, not to be fru- 
 ftrated nor altered, and therefore, with all their 
 fruits and confequences ever before him, irre- 
 verfible and unavoidable. Nor doth he permit 
 but what tends to fulfil his decrees. Hence, 
 all affedtations to diftinguiffi between the decree 
 and the permiffion, in God, have more fubtilty 
 than fimplicity, as expedients contrived by the 
 wifdom of this world to exculpate the Almighty 
 from the charge of aCting inconfiftent to the 
 rules which human prudence dictates to him. 
 But common fenfe fays, what God permits he 
 foreknew, and what he foreknew he had de- 
 creed. 
 
 I have obferved, that Chrifi: was the perfon 
 bv reafon of whom, or on whofe account, the 
 
 crea- 
 
t 2 4 ] 
 
 creature was made fubjedt to vanity j and that 
 notwithftanding it was done by fatan, yet he 
 being made to ferve the glory of Chrift in that 
 particular, and employed to fulfil the decree, 
 the text reprefents the perfon, by reafon of 
 whom it was done, as the doer of it himfelf, 
 and fays, “ That he did it in hope 
 
 In hope of bleffing them with a new and 
 better creation. — Thus He, who fat upon the 
 throne, faid. He, would make all things 
 new, notwithftanding his having, at the firft, 
 pronounced them very good. — A manifeft in- 
 dication, that the original ftate of man was not 
 planned for eternity ; was not built for conti- 
 nuance, but to ferve the purpofe of God’s love 
 to his Son, and to mankind, as comprehended 
 in him. 
 
 He fubjedted the creature to vanity, in hope 
 of attaining that glory and honour that had 
 been decreed him, as the Saviour of men : the 
 way to which was through his death on the 
 crofs. But the humiliation of Jefus hath its 
 propriety from a previous fubjedtion of the 
 creature to vanity, which fenfe (among others) 
 is admitted in our Lord’s own words : “ Ought 
 “ not Chrijl to have fuffered thofe things V ' — 
 And again, “ Thus it behoved him to jufferd 
 — Here the fubjedtion of the creature to vanity 
 is manifeftly pre-fuppofed, and rendered as a 
 reafon of his lufferings and death ; yea, and of 
 an obligation that he was under thus to fufifer 
 
t 2J ] 
 
 and die, that he might enter into his glory. 
 This being the hope in which he fubjedted the 
 creature to vanity, and which hope he perfe&ly 
 obtained. 
 
 Where there is no law th?re is no tranfgref- 
 fion. — 'Without law, man originally could not 
 have finned : the law therefore entered that the 
 offence might abound. Undoubtedly the firfl 
 entrance of the law, in fubftance, was in God’s 
 ordinance to Adam : “ Thou fhalt not eat of 
 “ it ; in the day thou eateft thereof, thou fhalt 
 tc furely die.” — The defign of which was not 
 to prevent his fall, nor was it intended as a mi- 
 niftration of life to him, on condition of his 
 obedience, but it entered that the offence might 
 abound ; abound to every work, word and 
 thought of every man ; abound with judgment 
 and condemnation, to the total redu&ion of the 
 creature, until every feeming avenue of falva- 
 tion, by man’s own obedience, fhould be fhut 
 up from him, and from his pofterity for ever. 
 
 When lull: had conceived, it brought forth 
 fin j the prohibition contained in the law ope- 
 rating on creature curiofity, produced inclina- 
 tion, and llimulated to defire ; from the con- 
 junction of the prohibition with this defire (the 
 latter of which is increafed by the plainnefs 
 and pofitivenefs of the former) the offence 
 proceeded, abounding to Adam and to all his 
 offspring. 
 
 D But, 
 
[ 26 ] 
 
 But, left it ftiould be objected, that this doc- 
 trine makes God to aft from fovereignty, to 
 the irreparable lofs of his creatures, let it be 
 underftood, that where fin abounded, grace 
 much more abounded j fo that the glory of 
 God, and the eternal welfare cf mankind, have 
 been much more promoted by man’s death in 
 Adam, and his life in Cbrift, than they could 
 pofiibly have been by his continuance in the 
 jftate wherein he was created. 
 
 This revolution being ordained and appointed 
 to ferve the decree of falvation, by the blood 
 of Jefus, is not to be refpefted as a matter of 
 accident, a meer fruit of the human will ; nor 
 as the produce of fatan’s power, cunning, and 
 enmity ; but that it was effefted by the will of 
 God, a death by him appointed to be the gate 
 of life. 
 
 Man being originally formed for the glory of 
 Chrift, and to be an inhabitant in his kingdom, 
 it was not intended that he fhould continue in 
 this world, becaufe the kingdom of Chrift is 
 not of this world. — It is a fond miftake to fup- 
 pofe that Adam , on condition of his obedience, 
 might have lived for ever in this world ; nor is 
 there the leaft fhadow of fuch an implication 
 contained in thofe words j L e. “ In the day 
 “ that thou eateft thereof thou fhalt furely 
 “ die.”— -Since, as Adam lived feveral hundred 
 years after that tranfaftioQ, it is manifeft that 
 
 natural 
 
[ 27 ] 
 
 natural death, or that of the body, was not 
 intended in the threatning. 
 
 It is indeed faid, that in the midft of the 
 garden, wherein the man was placed, there 
 grew a tree which had life-giving virtues, and 
 of which, if the man had eaten, he might 
 have lived for ever : but this tree, it feems, 
 was not thought of by Adam before his fall ; 
 and, no fooner was he fallen, than he was 
 driven out from the garden, and his return 
 prevented by the awful cherubim and flaming 
 iword, which turned every way to defend the 
 way of the tree of life, led; the man, putting 
 forth his hand, fhould take and eat and live for 
 ever. 
 
 This is a myfdery, the explication of which 
 I conceive to be as follows : the tree of life 
 was Jefus Chrift : but Adam , before his lapfe, 
 being righteous and holy in himfelf, could have 
 no fenfe of the free grace of his God, nor of 
 his everlafling falvation in Jefus : conveniency 
 and neceffity of thefe were not yet known to 
 him, therefore he had no defire to eat. But 
 when none other profpefr, than that of the 
 fhadow of death, remained to his view, when 
 fallen a prey to the furies, guilt and defpair, it 
 was revealed to him, that the woman’s feed 
 was to be his falvation : then was he difpofed 
 to put forth his hand to take and eat of the 
 tree of life, and for ever, as implied in 
 
 the facred text. 
 
 D 2 Yet, 
 
[ 28 ] 
 
 Yet, as the terms ufed in the promife are 
 literally ambiguous, and rather feemingly im- 
 port deftru&ion to the ferpent, than deliverance 
 to man, Adam might be naturally enough in- 
 duced to imagine, that though falvation was 
 intended him, through the woman’s feed, or 
 the Lord’s Meffiah, it might be conditional, and 
 required the putting forth of the hand, in re- 
 pentance, contrition, new obedience, See. in 
 order to his being benefited thereby; and, by 
 thefe means, attempt to re-enter paradife there, 
 by putting forth his hand to take and eat of the 
 tree of life, and live for ever. 
 
 When Mofes is read, the text fays, “ Left 
 * c he put forth his hand and take alfo of the 
 <c tree of life* and eat and live for ever.” — 
 But, when Jefus is read, the text fays, “ Who- 
 “ foever liveth and believeth in me, fhall never 
 “ die.” — And again, “ He that eateth me, fhall 
 f( live by me.” — Thus, Jefus is the tree of life 
 which grows in the midft of the paradife of 
 God. 
 
 When God drove Adam out of Eden, it was 
 not with the defign that he fhould never, on 
 any account, eat of the tree of life, or of 
 Chrift, but to prevent in him every fhadow of 
 title to eat thereof, from human merit. — 
 “ Lest he put forth his hand and take,” 
 faid God ; which putting forth of the hand, as 
 it implies a creature with the utmoft 
 
 metaphorical power maa^ne of to diftinguifh 
 
 human 
 
[ *9 ] 
 
 human righteoufnefs j for thus we read in the 
 prophet : “ If thou take away from the midft 
 <c of thee, the yoke, and the putting out of 
 ** the finger.” — Left Adam , by human efforts, 
 or works of righteoufnefs done by himfelf, 
 fhould attempt to eat of the tree of life, or, 
 on the authority of fuch preliminaries, prefume 
 to depend on God’s Mefliah for eternal felicity. 
 —I fay, to prevent his afpiring to happinefs by 
 thefe means, God drove out the man from 
 Eden , and not only thence, but out from him- 
 felf, alfo from every pleafing hope of falvation, 
 fuggefted by means of felf-fuffi’ciency. And, 
 to keep him under this convi&ion, to deter him 
 from attempting an entrance by thefe means, 
 God placed before him the cherubim, with 
 the flaming fword, which turned every way to 
 defend the way of the tree of life. 
 
 The revelation of God, or the holy ferip- 
 tures, are compared to a fword, a two-edged 
 fword ; quick, fharp, and powerful, piercing 
 even to the foul and fpirit ; and here to a flam- 
 ing fword, turning every way to keep the way 
 of the tree of life. — The word which God had 
 fpoken to Adam , containing a promife of fal- 
 vation to mankind by the woman’s feed, was 
 (in my judgment) the flaming fword, intended 
 in the text. This revelation, or word of pro- 
 mife, being engaged for the glory of Chrift, 
 as the alone Sa^ur, and to prove and defend 
 his falvation as free, and without works of 
 
 righ- 
 
I 3° ] 
 
 righteoufnefs as done by us, flands here con- 
 nected with the faces of falvation, and waves 
 as a flaming fword, aweing man from the put- 
 ting forth of his hand, or from approaching to 
 eat and live thereby ; i. e. from attempting to 
 attain unto the righteoufnefs of God, by the 
 eftablifhment of his own righteoufnefs. 
 
 However awful and terrible the cherubim 
 and flaming fword might be to Adam ' s flefh, 
 they were yet the gofpel of God to his fpirit, 
 and defigned to inflruCl him in the method of 
 grace and falvation by Jefus Chrift. — They 
 taught him, that, by means of Chrift’s incar- 
 nation, facrifke, refurreftion and afcenfion, he 
 might eat of the tree cf life, and live for ever, 
 there being none other means of re-entering 
 paradife, or of his approaching the tree of life 
 left him but by the cherubim. — Nor was it 
 poflible for him to come in by them, while he 
 retained the thought of availing himfelf by the 
 putting forth of the hand, or by any virtue, 
 work, or device of his own j becaufe of that 
 flaming fword, which is ever attendant on the 
 cherubim ; that revelation or word of God, 
 which maintains that there is none other name, 
 named in heaven or on earth, than the name 
 of Jefus, that contains falvation. 
 
 Man, like a thief or a robber, is always 
 lurking and prying to get in fome other way 
 than by the cherubim, tccpj,under the tree of 
 life, to eat and live : but tne word of the Lord, 
 
 or 
 
[ 3i J 
 
 or the flaming fword, flill prevents him, by 
 turning every way to keep the way of the tree 
 of life. — The word of God Hands armed to 
 oppofe every other way to the tree of life than 
 the cherubimical way, and refolutely and in- 
 fallibly refills every human attempt to enter, 
 eat and live, by other means than the che- 
 rubim. 
 
 We read no more of the cherubim until 
 God commanded Mofes to form their likeneffes, 
 as follows : ct Thou fhalt make a mercy-feat of 
 ct pure gold j two cubits and a half fhall be 
 “ the length thereof, and a cubit and a half 
 
 “ the breadth thereof : and thou make two 
 
 “ cherubims of gold, of beaten work fhalt 
 “ thou make them, in the two ends of the 
 “ mercy-feat ; one cherub on the one end, 
 “ and the other cherub on the other end, even 
 * c of the mercy-feat : and the cherubims fhall 
 “ flretch forth their wings on high, covering 
 “ the mercy-feat with their wings : and their 
 sc faces (hall look one towards another, toward 
 u the mercy- feat fhall the faces of the <phe- 
 (c rubim be, and thou fhalt put the mercy- 
 
 feat above upon the ark, and in the ark 
 
 “ thou fhalt put the teffimony which I fhall 
 tc give thee/' 
 
 That the gofpel of falvation, by and in Jefus 
 Chrifl, was taught in all thefe things, admits 
 of no controverfy.— Firfl, the ark itfelf was a 
 figure of Chrifl, is manifefl from its ufe, being 
 
 a cliefl. 
 
[ 32 J 
 
 a cheft, coffer, or veflfel, either to keep in fe~ 
 crecy, or to preferve from lofs and ruin, fuch 
 valuables as were endearing to the Preferver. — 
 Such was the ark formed for the prefervation 
 of the feeds of the creation in Noah and his 
 family, and of the creatures who were with 
 him. — Such was the ark, though made of bul- 
 rushes, or flags, in which Mofes himfelf was 
 preferved from the deftrudtion unto which the 
 Hebrew male children were doomed by an 
 Egyptian tyrant. — Such was the ark which the 
 fame Mofes made according to the pattern Shewn 
 him in the Mount, and which was ordained to 
 contain and preferve the tables of the law, 
 Aarons rod, and the pot of manna. 
 
 The myftery of the rod took its rife from 
 hence : The princes of the congregation, to the 
 number of two hundred and fifty, ftirred up by 
 Korah and his affociates, gathered themfelves 
 together againft Mofes and Aaron j their pre- 
 tence was, that the brothers took too much au- 
 thority and fandlity upon them, feeing that the 
 congregation were all holy, and the Lord among 
 them. — Thus tacitly accufing them of lifting 
 themfelves up, from carnal motives, above the 
 congregation of the Lord, they appeared deter- 
 mined to abridge their power. — But this difpo- 
 fition of theirs brought wrath from the Lord 
 upon them ; the earth opened its mouth and 
 fwallowed up Korah and his company quick 
 into the pit > and, among the others, a fire 
 
 from 
 
[ 33 ] 
 
 from the Lord brake forth, which quickly con- 
 fumed them. — This occafioned another and 
 more univerfal murmuring among the people, 
 which was chaftifed by a plague, whereof died 
 fourteen thoufand and feven hundred ; and, but 
 for the interpofition of the atonement, they had 
 been all dead men. 
 
 To heal thofe murmurings, and to prevent, 
 for the future, the heavy chaftifements which 
 had hitherto followed them, the Lord com- 
 manded that the chief of each tribe fhould take 
 a rod, and that Mofes fhould write each perfon’s 
 name upon his rod, and Aaron % name upon the 
 rod of Levi ; and that thofe rods fhould be laid 
 up before the Lord in the Tabernacle of Wit- 
 nefsj declaring, that the man whom he would 
 choofe from among them, to minifter in holy 
 things before him, and to govern the congrega- 
 tion, He (the Lord) would caufe his rod to 
 bloffom, that the people by that token (know- 
 ing the Lord’s choice) might have no coloura- 
 ble excufe for their murmuring. 
 
 “ And it came to pafs, that, on the morrow, 
 <c Mofes went into the Tabernacle of Witnefs, 
 “ and behold the rod of Aaron , for the houfe 
 *' of Levi , was budded, and brought forth 
 “ buds, and bloomed bloffoms, and yielded 
 <£ almonds.’’ — And the Lord commanded that 
 Aarons rod fhould be kept for a teftimony 
 againft the rebels ; and that Mofes, by this rod, 
 fhould quite take away their murmuring from 
 
 E before 
 
[ 34 ] 
 
 before the Lord. — The rod accordingly was 
 put into the ark. 
 
 But there was more intended by this rod than 
 that it fhould be a fign of whom the Lord had 
 chofen to govern his church ; it was defigned 
 to take away their murmuring ; not by a lite- 
 ral prevention of it through fome pbyfical 
 change, for this it did not effedt, as appears 
 from their manifold murmurings after this 
 tranfadtion. 
 
 The rod, in fcripture language, denotes 
 chaftifement : the princes of the congregation 
 were figures of the people, but Aaron was a 
 figure of Chrift. — The trial by rods was a re- 
 velation of the myftery of the divine will re- 
 fpedting his choice o£ a chaftifement for fin, 
 relative both to the objedt and method. 
 
 In brief, Aarons rod was an emblem of 
 Chrift’s fuftaining the chaftifement of our peace. 
 The prophet fays, “ The chaftifements of cur 
 “ peace were laid upon him,” — And in the 
 Pfalms we read concerning him : “ If his 
 <£ children forfake my laws, &c. I will vifit 
 <c their offences with a rod, &c. neverthelefs, 
 tc my loving kindnefs I will not utterly take 
 ** from him, nor fuffer my faithfulnefs to fail.” 
 --And fo far was the Captain of our Salvation 
 from repining at the rod, or the vifitation of our 
 offences upon himfelf, that the deliverance of 
 mankind was the joy that was fet before him, 
 when he endured the crofs, and defpifed the 
 j fliame. — 
 
[ 35 ] 
 
 fhame. — Again, he fays, “ Thy rod and thy 
 “ ftafF they comfort me.” — And again, “ He 
 £C fhall drink of the brook in the way, there- 
 <c fore fhall he lift up his head.” — All which 
 implies, that it was not contrary to his choice 
 that the judge of Ifrael was fmitten on the 
 cheek with a rod. 
 
 The blooming, bloffoming, and fruit of 
 Aarons rod, intends the happy confequences 
 refulting from the fufferings and death of Jefus. 
 — The forrows and fufferings of Jefus teem 
 with light, life, and immortality to the fons of 
 men. — Thefe, cloathed upon with the garment 
 of falvation, are the fruit of his perfect obedi- 
 ence and bloody toil. — This was the rod which 
 put away the murmurings of the people from 
 before God, by expiating the guilt, and blotting 
 out the remembrance thereof for ever. — Hence, 
 the figure of this grace and love in Aarons 
 rod, as a facred depofitum, was placed in the 
 ark of the covenant, in the tabernacle of wit- 
 nefs. 
 
 The manna alfo, as typical of Jefus, the 
 bread of life, was preferved in the ark. — When 
 the Ifraelites were fed with manna, in the wil- 
 dernefs, if they kept it over night it dank, 
 became corrupt, and bred worms (the fabbath 
 excepted) : but, when a pot of this manna was 
 put into the ark, it was preferved in purity for 
 many generations. — This was defigned to teach 
 them, that their fpiritual food, and that eternal 
 E 2 life 
 
[ 36 ] 
 
 life which God had given them, was treafured 
 up in the Mefliab, in whom all the treafures 
 of wifdom and of knowledge were hidden, 
 and that it was not in themfelves. — Hence, 
 they were not to lay up grounds of comfort and 
 confolation again it the morrow, but to have 
 their purity, peace and joy in the Meffiah, and 
 therefore always to be found looking unto him 
 as the author and finifher of our faith j while, 
 laying afide every weight, they run the race fet 
 before them with patience. 
 
 The tables of the teftimony were alfo depo- 
 lited in the ark, by exprefs command from the 
 Mod High : “ And thou (halt put into the 
 <c ark the teftimony which I fhall give thee,” 
 Exod. xxv. 15. — And again ; “ Take this book 
 “ of the law and put it in the fide of the ark 
 “ of the covenant of the Lord your God, that 
 te it may be there for a witnefs againft thee,” 
 T)eut. xxxi. 26. 
 
 A witnefs ! of what ? Not on their fide, for 
 it was againft them : it teflified againft all their 
 righteoufnefles that they were but filthy rags, 
 and that they were altogether incapable of 
 keeping the law contained in the tables : even 
 Mofes himfelf, the meekeft of the fons of men, 
 had fuch ungodlike pafiions, that the tables 
 were not fafe in his hands : they could only 
 (in perfection and fafety) be kept in Chrift, 
 of whom the ark was defigned a figure. — In 
 the pierced fide of Jefus were the tables to be 
 
t 37 ] 
 
 depofited ; there was the law to be magnified 
 and made honourable ; there to be kept as a 
 witnefs againft all the righteoufnefies of man. 
 
 This is further exemplified in the burial of 
 Mofes : we are told that God himfelf buried 
 him in a valley overagain ft. Beth-peor which 
 implies the houfe of the gaping or opening, or 
 the orifice in the fide of Jefus ; for certainly 
 here it is that Mofes lies buried. 
 
 Mofes y and the body of Mofes y as terms 
 fometimes ufed in the fcriptures, are to be un- 
 derftood figuratively, as reprefenting the law 
 given by him. — Thus in the definition which 
 we have in the Epiftle to the Hebrews , of the 
 fervant and fon : “ Mofes as the fervant, faithful 
 “ in the houfe of God, who, notwithfianding, 
 “ was not to continue in the houfe for ever,” 
 certainly intends the law given by him which 
 was to give place to the gofpel, to that grace 
 and truth which came by Jefus Chrift. 
 
 Again j the apoftle faith, “ Mofes hath in 
 “ every city them that preach him.” — And 
 again, when Mofes is read, “ The veil is on 
 “ their hearts/’— Thefe all intend the law 
 which is called Mofes , from its being his mini- 
 ftry ; fo, by the body of Mofes , we are to un- 
 derhand the whole of the law in its fulnefs of 
 reafon and fpirit. — This body was buried in the 
 valley of the Lamb’s humiliation, having in 
 profpedt the blood and water from his pierced 
 fide, and is fpiritually the burial of the body of 
 
 Mofes 
 
[ 33 J 
 
 Mofes in the valley overagainft Beth-peor , or 
 the houfe of gaping, or the opening. — God 
 himfelf buried him j nor on the day that the 
 account was written did any man know of his 
 fepulcbre. — But in thefe latter days, God fpeak- 
 ing to us by his Son, has fhewn us that the body 
 of Mofes (refpedting the precepts, requifites, 
 and curfes of the law) was buried in the obe- 
 dience, forrows, and bufferings of Jefus j and 
 therefore the believer in Jefus now knows of 
 the fepulcbre of Mofes. 
 
 We alfo read in Jude of Michael , the arch- 
 angel, difputing with the devil about the body 
 of Mojes, which I underftand thus : fatan, 
 whofe enmity and rage are ever pointed againfl 
 the free falvation of man, by Jefus Chrift, 
 challenged Michael to fhew him the fepulchre 
 of Mojes : he contended that a free falvation 
 was inconfiftent with the law, or body of Mojes , 
 arguing, that that body was not yet dead and 
 buried, as no man knew of his fepulchre j 
 i. e. that the law had not its full and final ac- 
 complifhment in the obedience, forrows, and 
 bufferings of Jefus, and therefore was neither 
 magnified nor made honourable by that falva- 
 tion, fo that the body of Mofes had not a juft 
 and honourable burial. — Such was, is, and will 
 be the language of an enemy to the ways oi 
 God with man. 
 
 But, to return from fuch unnecefiary digref- 
 fions, as they may probably be thought by fome 
 
 who 
 
[ 39 ] 
 
 who may read them, and to draw nearer to the 
 fubjefl: propofed.— -Taking it for granted that 
 the ark, with its contents, were figurative of 
 Chrift, his perfon, purity, paffion, and falva- 
 tion, we have to obferve, that the mercy-feat 
 was placed over the ark, to fignify that mercy 
 is built upon Chrift, and on his fulfilling all 
 righteoufnefs. 
 
 From the mercy-feat being made of pure 
 gold, many ufefui hints might be given, fuch 
 as of the purity, extenfion, durablenefs, &c. of 
 divine mercy ; but I would, if poflible, avoid 
 being prolix in the extreme.- — The cherubim 
 being beaten out of one piece of gold with the 
 the mercy-feat, denotes that the cherubim, or 
 the faces of falvation, originated from love and 
 mercy, as properties in the divine nature. — - 
 The cherubim having their faces directed to the 
 mercy»feat, exhibits a reafon wherefore mercy 
 fhould be adminiftred thence, wherefore God 
 fhould in faithfulnefs and juftice forgive man 
 his fins, and cleanfe him from all unrighteouf- 
 nefs. 
 
 FINIS.