* *1 \ 
 
"/0^\asr^**£, - 
 
 
ScS^F'SI* 
 
4 ^ *\tfur 
 
GRACE AND TRUTH; 
 
 OR THE 
 
 GLORY AND FULNESS 
 
 REDEEMER DISPLAYED 
 
 IN AN ATTEMPT TO 
 
 EXPLAIN, ILLUSTRATE, AND ENFORCE, 
 
 THE MOST REMARKABLE 
 
 TYPES, FIGURES, AND ALLEGORIES, 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 BY THE REV. MR WILLIAM M'EWEN, 
 
 LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, DUNDEE. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 Printed by Z>. Schaw and Son, Lavnmarket, 
 
 FOR J. OGLE, PARLIAMENT SQUARE ; M. OGLE, WILSON STREET, GLASGOW J 
 
 R. OGLE, NO. 295. HOLBORN ; AND T. HAMILTON, NO. 37. 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 
 
 1811. 
 
. 
 
THE AUTHOR'S CHARACTER. 
 
 > »Q << 
 
 JL HE favourable reception which the following per- 
 formance has met with from the public, in the various 
 editions of it, shows, in much stronger light, the dis- 
 tinguished excellency of it, than any thing else that 
 could be advanced. The late Rev. Dr Erskine, so 
 remarkable for his candour, intelligence, and preci- 
 sion, speaking of this book, says, in a printed note, 
 " Hervey of the Church of England, and M'Ewen 
 " of the Secession, are agreeable writers. But to 
 " attempt their manner is dangerous, without an un- 
 " commonly lively imagination, solid judgment, and 
 u correct taste. Luxuriances of style, generally over- 
 t6 looked in original geniuses, appear ridiculous in 
 " their servile imitators." > 
 
 < His talent in preaching was much admired ; his 
 propositions were few and weighty ; his explications 
 clear and accurate; his proofs plain and decisive; 
 his illustrations beautiful and entertaining ; his appli- 
 cations close and searching. He possessed the most 
 unaffected devotion towards God, and in a diffusive 
 love to all men : in modesty, humility, and can 
 in a gravity of deportment, tempered with becoming 
 cheerfulness ; in purity of manners, and integrity af 
 conduct, was a pattern to all around him. 
 
IV THE AUTHOR S CHARACTER. 
 
 ( His hearers had abundant reason to believe that 
 he lived above this sordid world, even while he was 
 in it. In imitation of the great apostle of the Gen- 
 tiles, that most amiable and accomplished preacher, 
 he was peculiarly careful to cultivate a spirit of zeal 
 and devotion in all his discourses. Accordingly, he 
 was fervent in spirit, as well as cogent in argument. 
 When he argued, conviction flashed ; when he ex- 
 horted, pathos glowed. And by distributing to each 
 of. his audience a portion suitable to their several 
 states, he endeavoured rightly to divide the word of 
 truth/ 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 THE candid reader, who shall be pleased to peruse the fol- 
 lowing Essay, is desired to take notice, that as the dis- 
 course itself is not of the argumentative kind, it is taken for 
 granted, as a preliminary maxim, That the grand doctrines of 
 Christianity concerning the mediation of Christ, and the ines- 
 timable blessings of his purchase, were typically manifested to 
 the church, by a variety of ceremonies, persons, and events, 
 under the Old Testament dispensation. It is true, there are 
 some who affect to call this truth in question, and yet pretend 
 to be the friends of a divine revelation ; but with what sincerity 
 it is not difficult to perceive. To suppose that the gospel is a 
 new invention, and hatch c re of the apostles, or that 
 
 the religion of Jew's and Christians is entirely different, is sig- 
 to them both; for as a ; are, when 
 
 cut in two, will seem at first to preserve some faint rem,: 
 life in both its parts, but in a short time will totally expire ; 
 so, if the system of the true religion be- cut asunder, and the 
 faith of Jews "be wholly severed and detached from the faith of 
 Christians, instead of having one religion of Jews, and another 
 of Chrutki ill in reality have no true religion at all 
 
 surviving. But we do not propose so much as to enter on any 
 dispute on this head, as the foil atise was not i;.: 
 
 ed by the author either for the conviction of infidels, or 
 the confutation of false opinions, ion of them 
 
 who have obtained precious faith. Such persons it will not be 
 difficult to persuade, that 
 good things to come, but the body : s of Chris: 
 
 To exhibit a compc iew of the p ordi- 
 
 3 
 
 * For the display and . ment, that 
 
 ^as emblematical')- preached, I in a figure exhibi: 
 
 - practised by the -ancient iih gTeat plea 
 to that adnr*. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 tive of the person and mediation of the Son of God, is the de- 
 sign of the following sheets. For, though there are some books 
 on this subject already published in our language, it must be 
 owned! they are far from being judiciously executed. The loose- 
 ness of their method, and inaccuracy of their style, are perhaps 
 the true reasons why they are so much neglected, and so little 
 known. For it might be thought, the theme they treat of, if 
 properly handled, would recommend itself to a: more univerdal 
 perusal than suet, writings have hitherto obtained. 
 
 It cannot be denied, that the doctrinal system the author 
 lias chosen to follow in this small work, though once reputed 
 orthodox in the Protestant churches, is now fallen into great 
 contempt with many, who sustain themselves the only judges 
 of sentiment and composition. But should this little treatise 
 be accepted with the saints, (if wits will pardon the expression,) 
 the censures of others need not excite either anxiety or surprise. 
 Tor so long as the devil is suffered to deceive the nations, and. 
 so long as the heart is unconvinced of sin, we may assure our- 
 selves, the doctrines of complete justification and everlasting 
 acceptance with God, in the righteousness of Immanuel, freely 
 imputed to wretched sinners, and of banctification of heart, and 
 iiewness of life, through the power of the blessed Spirit giving 
 testimony to the word of his grace, will meet with opposition* 
 
 Some have conceived an invincible aversion to all allegories 
 of every kind, on account of the ridiculous and distorted fan- 
 cies, the false and mis-shapen glosses of scripture, of which, it- 
 must be confessed, the humour of allegorizing, not properly 
 restrained, has been exceeding fertile. To hunt for allegories 
 every where, and to labour at giving a mystical turn to those 
 passages of holy writ that are the most plain and literal, indi- 
 cates a vitiated taste, that nauseates wholesome food. Many 
 of the ancient fathers have been guilty of this fault; and espe- 
 cially Origen, a man of an extraordinary genius, has been not 
 unjustly blamed on this account. Yea*, some men have carried 
 the humour of allegorizing to such an exorbitant pitch, as to 
 rummage the Heathen mythology itself for the sacred truths 
 of religion, and allegorize even that most empty book, the Me- 
 tamorphoses of Ovid. But though some have transgressed all 
 bounds of sobriety in their mystic interpretations, we must not 
 
PREFACE. Vli 
 
 immediately discard all figurative senses of the scripture, nor 
 even censure a discreet investigation of them. For, at this rate, 
 we behoved not only to condemn the infallible apostle of the 
 Gentiles, but also Jesus Christ himself, who compares himself 
 to the manna, to the brazen serpent, and io Jonah in the belly 
 of the fish . 
 
 In order to settle the proper limits of allegorical interpreta- 
 tion, two things must be observed, which our author, in the 
 course of this work, appears to have steadfastly kept in his eye. 
 First, To make a proper divine allegory, type, or figure, it is 
 necessarily required that there be a resemblance, less or more, 
 betwixt the literal history, person, or thing, and the spiritual 
 doctrine, truth, or mystery, which is supposed to be represent- 
 ed. Secondly, There must be some good reason to think that 
 this resemblance is not merely casual, or the child of fancy, but 
 actually intended by the Holy Ghost. And where even both 
 these requisites are found, the utmost care should be taken not 
 to strain the type or allegory beyond the bounds of a just and 
 reasonable comparison, lest, instead of following the clue, we 
 stretch the thread till it breaks. 
 
 In this age of disputes, it must doubtless be a considerable 
 recommendation of a performance, when the reader is inform- 
 ed, that while the author discovers the most zealous attach- 
 ment to the cause of truth, and appears a devoted champion 
 of the evangelical doctrines, he is careful not to lay a dispro- 
 portionate stress upon any thing by which one Christian may 
 be distinguished from another. Professing Christians, agreed in 
 many things, agreed in laying Jesus Christ tbe one and only 
 foundation of present holiness and future happiness, are not 
 here taught or stirred up to bite and devour one another. No 
 oil is here administered to increase the flame, or keep awake the 
 conflagration of animosity and dispute, which have so long and 
 so sadly disturbed the peace, and hindered the union of the pro- 
 fessed friends of the truth as it is in Jesus ; nor are any pro- 
 blematical questions here determined with authoritative airs, 
 that may be a new bone of contention in the church. These 
 are employments, whoever are engaged in them, and whatever 
 be their motives and pretences, our author was far from ap- 
 proving. 
 
vai preface; 
 
 The conciseness, the propriety, the energy, with which the 
 several important and interesting subjects here taken into con- 
 sideration are treated, will, I persuade myself, both entertain 
 and edify the intelligent reader, and delight his taste ; while 
 his judgment is informed, his heart improved, and his practice 
 directed. 
 
 In order to remove those suspicions which often arise con- 
 cerning the authenticity of posthumous works, I think it incum- 
 bent on me to acquaint the public, that the following sheets 
 contain the substance of what the author originally composed 
 and delivered from the pulpit, in the form of sermons. To 
 contract the force and spirit of a subject into a small compass, 
 and exhibit it to the mind in one clear and easy view, was a 
 branch of study he was remarkably fond of. Therefore, though 
 his diligence and accuracy in preparing for his public appear- 
 ances were singular and uncommon, he frequently employed 
 his leisure moments in digesting his sermons, after they had 
 been preached, into the form of little essays. This method he 
 pursued, with particular application and assiduity, with regard 
 to the whole of these discourses. he made on the types, figures* 
 and allegories of the Old Testament. 
 
 His design on these heads being executed in the form and 
 dress in which they now appear, he began to entertain serious 
 thoughts of offering them to the public. This/induced him to 
 review and examine the whole with a critical attention, and to 
 make such alterations and improvements as appeared necessary, 
 in the view of gratifying a further aim at public service ** 
 Thus prepared and corrected, he was pleased, amidst the famU 
 liarities of our long and intimate friendship, to indulge me with 
 the perusal of the manuscript. I read it with eagerness and de- 
 light. Such instructive, animating, and evangelical composi- 
 tions seemed to me finely calculated, under a divine blessing, 
 to be productive of considerable good. I could not, therefore, 
 forbear urging upon the author an immediate publication of so 
 
 * In Decenber 1758, Mr M'Ewen published an ordination sermon, 
 entitled, The great matter and end of gospel-preaching, from 2 Ccr. iv. 5. 
 A general satisfaction was expressed by all who were present at the de- 
 livery of this sermon, which has been roach esteemed by many who have 
 read it, on account of the evangelical strain of doctrine that runs through 
 it, and the clear, nervous, and pathetic manner of his address. 
 
PREFACE. UC 
 
 excellent a work. After further consideration, and fresh appli- 
 cations to a throne of grace for that wisdom which is profitable 
 to direct, he became resolved. 
 
 In a short time, coming to Edinburgh on another account, 
 he settled every thing with the gentlemen who are now * he pub- 
 lishers relative to the printing of it. The manuscript he left in 
 my hands, except a few sheets that he proposed to carry home 
 with him, and take under a repeated perusal. At Leith, on his 
 way home, he was suddenly taken ill. His disorder soon issued 
 in a most violent fever, which put an end to his life and labours, 
 in the 28th year of his age, and the seventh of his ministry. 
 
 He was truly a most accomplished and amiable person ; and 
 if the Lord had been pleased to spare him, it is very likely he 
 would have soon risen high in the public esteem, on account of 
 his growing worth and abilities. But as my present business is 
 only to satisfy the public with regard to the progress the author 
 himself had made towards the publication of this work before 
 his death, in order to ascertain the authenticity of it, and not 
 to write an account of his life, or delineate his character, I must 
 beg leave to refer the reader to that description given of bim in 
 a short paragraph, which appeared in the Edinburgh newspa- 
 pers immediately after his death, and which may be seen at the 
 bottom of the page *. 
 
 * At Leith, died of a sudden illness, on the 13th January 1762, the 
 Rev. Mr William M*Ewen, minister of the gospel at Dundee. A good 
 genius, a clear head, a lively fancy, cultivated by a liberal education, 
 improved by close study, and enlarged by an early acquaintance with 
 real and vital religion, laid the foundation of that amiable, important, 
 and useful character lie maintained throughout the whole course of his 
 ministry. Courteous and condescending, meek and humble in his owa 
 eyes ; far from affecting human applause, he aimed at an object infinitely 
 more noble, the honour that cometh from God alone, which made him 
 both faithful and diligent in his holy vocation. Conciseness of method, 
 and perspicuity of style, added to solidity of judgment, rendered his 
 preaching equally instructive to the wise, and intelligible to the ignorant. 
 Warm with zeal for God, and compassion for men, his constant endea- 
 vour was to display the amiable excellencies of the incarnate Creator to 
 the needy souls of perishing sinners. Not neglecting in his own conduct 
 what be recommended to the practice of others, his life was a fair and 
 beautiful transcript of his doctrine. Cut down in the prime of life and 
 public usefulness, his death is universally lamented, as a severe and af- 
 flicting loss to his friends, his congregation, and the church of God. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 This publication hath been delayed so long after his death, 
 that it may perhaps seem necessary to make some apology for 
 that delay. 'But it would be tedious to enumerate a variety of 
 circumstances which have concurred to occasion it. 
 
 I conclude with assuring the public, that no one sentiment 
 of the author, throughout the whole performance, has been 
 either changed or suppressed. 
 
 May the God of all grace follow the piece with his special 
 blessing, give it an extensive spread, and make it subservient to 
 the glorious cause of evangelical truth, real holiness, and Chris- 
 tian chanty. 
 
 JOHN PATISON. 
 
 Edinburgh, 
 Sept. 26. 1763 
 
 :} 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 BOOK I.— TYPICAL PERSONS. 
 
 I. Christ and Adam compared 
 II. The history of Noah 
 
 III. The history of Melchizedec 
 
 IV. The history of Isaac 
 V. The history of Jacob 
 
 VI. The history of Joseph 
 VII. The history of Moses 
 VIII. The ordinance of the priesthood 
 IX. The history of Joshua 
 X. The history of Samson - 
 XI. The history of David 
 XII. The history of Solomon 
 XIII. The history of Jonah 
 
 BOOK 11.— -TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 I. The vision of Jacob's ladder - 
 
 II. The vision of the burning bush 
 
 III. The pillar of cloud and fire 
 
 IV. The manna in the wilderness 
 V. The rock in the wilderness 
 
 VI. The brazen serpent 
 VII. Thoughts on the vail of Moses 
 VIII Of sacrifices - 
 IX. The ordinance'of the passover 
 X. The ordinance of the scape-goat 
 XI. The ordinance of the red heifer 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 XII. The ordinance of the year of jubilee - . iee 
 
 XIII. The law of the leper 172 
 
 XIV. The law of the near kinsman - 183 
 
 XV. The holy nation of Israel - - - - 188 
 XVI. The victory over the nations of Canaan - 193 
 
 XVII. The allegory of Hagar and Sarah - - - 196 
 
 BOOK III.— TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 I. The law of the cities of refuge - 203 
 
 II. The tabernacle in the wilderness ... 209 
 
 III. The temple of Solomon 218 
 
 1. The ordinance of the ark and mercy-seat - 221 
 
 2. The ordinance of the golden tabic - - 227 
 
 3. The ordinance of the golden candlestick - 230 
 
 4. The ordinance of the golden altar - - ' 234 
 
 5. The ordinance of the brazen altar - - 237 
 
 6. The ordinance of the brazen laver - - 240 
 
 7. The ordinance of the anointing oil - - 243 
 V. The land of Canaan - - - 246 
 V. The holy city of Jerusalem, and the holy hill of Zion 250 
 
 1. The feast of tabernacles - - - - 253 
 
 2. The fast of anniversary atonement - - 259 
 
 3. The feast of first-fruits and of Pentecost - 264 
 
 4. The feast of the new moons - - - 270 
 
 5. The metaphorical priesthood of all Christians 273 
 
GRACE and TRUTH, &c. 
 
 BOOK FIRST. 
 
 TTPICAL PERSONS. 
 
 L — Christ and Adam compared. 
 
 f I^HE almighty Creator had now finished the univer- 
 sal frame of nature. He saw the heavens shining 
 in all their glory ; he beheld the earth smiling in all her 
 beauty: the sea was stocked with fish; the air with 
 fowls ; the field with beasts. But still the master-piece 
 of this inferior world was wanting ; a creature endued 
 with reason, of upright stature, and qualified at once to 
 rule over the rest of the creation, and correspond with his 
 Creator : " And the Lord God formed man of the dust of 
 " the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
 " life, and he became a living soul, ,, (Gen. ii. 7.) Thus 
 far we are told by the Hebrew lawgiver. And we arc 
 further informed, by the great apostle of the Gentiles, 
 that this first man, whose name was Adam, was the type or 
 figure of " him that was to come," (Rom. v. 14.) For 
 aught we know, it might not so much as enter into the 
 heart of Adam to conceive of this divine mystery ; and 
 Moses himself, the inspired penman of that truly ancient 
 and authentic history, might not perhaps advert to it. 
 But since God hath revealed it to us by his Spirit, let us 
 attend where the resemblance lies, of the first to the se- 
 B 
 
14 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I, 
 
 cond Adam ; which we shall obviously find, whether we 
 view him as the first man, the first father, the first lord, 
 the first husband, or the first covenant-head. And let us 
 learn to contemplate the glory of that illustrious person, 
 who was so early typified ; while we admire the depth 
 of God's foreknowledge, in ordering matters so, that the 
 history of the first man, who was of the earth, and earth- 
 ly, was a prophecy of the second man, who is the Lord 
 from heaven. 
 
 To begin with the creation of our general ancestor : 
 Adam was the first man in the world of nature, who, 
 being formed out of the dust of the ground, by the im- 
 mediate hand of his Creator, was without father, and 
 without mother ; and, in a sense peculiar to himself^ is 
 called the'" son of God," (Luke iii. 38.) He was also 
 a creature perfectly new, to whom there was nothing like, 
 and nothing equal, among all the visible works of God; 
 for his person, consisting of a visible body, and an invisible 
 soul, was made after the image and in the likeness of 
 God, which chiefly consist in knowledge, righteousness, 
 and holiness. Now, sure it is not difficult to perceive, 
 that all these characters exactly agree to the second man, 
 who is the first-born among many brethren in the world 
 of grace, — -without father as man, — without mother as 
 God» His body was formed (not indeed of the dust of 
 the ground, but in a manner equally unexampled and mi- 
 raculous) of the virgin's substance, by the immediate 
 power of God ; and so soon as a reasonable soul was 
 united to it, in the womb of the virgin, both were, that 
 very moment, assumed into the divine person of the Son 5 
 wherefore, in all propriety, that holy thing which was 
 born of her was called " the Son of God ;" (Lukei, 35.) 
 or, to use the expression of an Old Testament prophet, 
 was " a new thing created in the earth;" ( Jer. xxxi, 82.) 
 
CHRIST AND ADAM COMPARED. 15 
 
 In the man Christ Jesus is found rrore of the divine like 
 cecs ;, an all rhe saints, than all the holy angels can dare 
 to br.ast. w For which of them have been called; at any 
 " time, the brightness of the Father's glory, and the ex- 
 " press, imsge of 'his person ? or, to which of them has 
 " he said, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten 
 u thee ?" (Heb. i. 3. 5 ) Adam, indeed, might resemble 
 his Creator, as the image on the coin resembles the king 
 upon the throne ; but Jesus Christ resembles God, as the 
 prince and heir to the crown retembles his royal fat:, 
 being not only like him, but of the same nature and sub- 
 stance with him. And though, in shadowing forth the 
 constitution of Immanuel's persor all similitudes must be 
 infinitely defective, yet the uaioa of Adam's soul and 
 bedy is, perhaps, the best natural emblem of it we can 
 ct to find. Nor does it seem unlawful for us to as- 
 sist our conception of 'this high mystery by this natural 
 union, inasmuch as the Holy Gi-iost h.mself, in the scrip- 
 tures of the New Testament, seems to allude unto ir, 
 when he cails bis humanity the fie ih, and his divinity the 
 spirit. In the former he was manifested, in the latter he 
 was justified, (I Tim. iii. 16.) In the one he was put- 
 to death, and in the oiher he was quickened, (1 Pet. 
 iii. IS.) If the constitution of the first Adam's person 
 was an incomprehensible mystery in nature, the constitu- 
 tion of the second Adam's person is no less an incompre- 
 hensible mystery of grace. 
 
 As Adam was the first man that God created, so he 
 was the first father and progenitor of all other men, who 
 are every one born in his image, as they come into the 
 world of nature, and breathe the vital air. Just so, from 
 Jesus Christ, the everlasting Father, all who come into 
 the world of grace derive their spiritual being; his image 
 they bear. (1 Cor. xv. 49.) and from him " the whole 
 
16 TYPICAL PERSONS, BOOK J. 
 
 " family in heaven and in earth is named," (Eph. iii. 15.) 
 Though here also there is a considerable disparity betwixt 
 the earthly man and the heavenly Adam. The first man 
 is not the immediate, but the remote father of our flesh; 
 — for, " one generation goes, and another comes ;'' but 
 Jesus Christ is the immediate Father of all his saints, who 
 in every age receive from him the light of life, as the sil- 
 ver moon, and all the sparkling stars, receive light imme- 
 diately from the sun, the fountain of the day. The jint 
 Adam, as Moses relates, " was made a living soul," (1 Cor. 
 xv. 45.) that he- might convey a natural life to them who 
 had not received it : But the second Adam, as the apostle 
 declares, u was made a quickening spirit,'* to impart a 
 spiritual life to them who had lost it, and were dead in 
 trespasses and sins ; and, at the resurrection of the just, 
 to quicken also their mortal bodies. For, u as in Adam 
 " all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." 
 
 Once more ; — Adam was the first lord and king of the 
 world. " Being made a little lower than the angels, he 
 tJ was crowned with glory and honour. He had domi- 
 •' nion over the works cf God's hands ; and all things 
 " were put under his feet : all sheep and oxen, the beasts 
 " of the field, and whatsoever passeth through the paths 
 " of the seas," (Psal. viii. 3. 4. 5.) But, alas ! the do- 
 minion of this lord of the inferior creation was' short- 
 lived ; '* for being in honour, he continued not," (Psal. 
 xlix. 12.) — Nevertheless, in the person of Jesus Christ, 
 God-man, the primeval sovereignty of the human nature 
 is most amply restored ; for, he is made " head over all 
 11 things unto his body the church, both in the heights 
 " and depths," (Eph. i. 22.) The jurisdiction of Adam, 
 though wide, was not universal ; but the kingdom of 
 Jesus Christ ruleth over all. He can, if he pleases, ex- 
 tinguish the stars and the sun, which shine by his per- 
 
CHRIST AND ADAM COMPARED. 17 
 
 mission ; and u of his government and peace there shall 
 " be no end/ (Isa. ix. 7.) 
 
 Now, let us come to the marriage of our great proge- 
 nitor. God saw that it was not " good for man to be 
 u alone," (Gen. ii. 18.) He casts him into a deep. 
 Isleep ; opens his side ; takes from him a rib ; by his 
 creative power forms a woman of it ; closes the wound ; 
 presents the newly formed creature to her husband, who, 
 being awaked, knew what was done unto him, and with 
 wonder acknowledged this last and best gift of Heaven, 
 to be " bone of his bone," and " flesh of his flesh." 
 u For this cause," says the sacred historian, •■ shall a man 
 4 * leave his father and mother, and cleave unto his wife." 
 —-Now, may we be allowed to allegorize this real histo- 
 ry ? Does not the apostle seem to say, that this is spoken 
 of Christ and the church ? (Eph. v. 3£.) Let us modest- 
 ly pursue the allegory a little. The c^cond Adam, that 
 he might give life and being to his beloved spouse, the 
 church, the mother of all that are truly living, was con- 
 tent to sleep the sleep of death. This sleep of death wa ; 
 not the effect of nature, for he died not of old age, or 
 sickness ; but he was voluntarily cast into it, and was de- 
 ed by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
 God, to be crucified and slam. His side was opened with 
 a spear, and from the gaping wound came water and blood, 
 " that he might sanctify, and cleanse, and present to him- 
 11 self a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or 
 u any such thing," (Eph. v. 27.) By this sleep of death, 
 into which he was cast, he becomes at once her husband 
 and her father ; for she is a part of himself, of his body, 
 of his fksh, and of his bones, (Eph. v. 39-) When he 
 awaked at his resurrection, his wounds were • he 
 
 found himself a glorious conqueror ; he faw the % trav 
 of his soul, and was satisfied. He ackr.cw: : 1 
 
 3 
 
iS TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK X, 
 
 tion, and betrothes her to himself for ever in loving. kind- 
 ness, in mercies, and in faithfulness. A bloody spouse 
 was the church to thee, O dying Redeemer ! So match- 
 less was his love, he left his Father and his mother to 
 cleave to his unworthy bride — left his Father in heaven, 
 when he came from thence into this lower world, and 
 consented to be forsaken for a season — left his mother on 
 earth, when he ascended on high as the Captain of our 
 salvation. He left the blessed virgin that bare him, to 
 provide for herself; he left the church of the Jews, al- 
 though his mother-church, that he might cleave unto the 
 Gentile church, gathered out of all nations. 
 
 Lastly, Adam was the first covenant-head, and public 
 representative, it is true, the hints of this transaction 
 are but sparingly given in the book of Genesis. How=» 
 ever, the truth of it is clearly evinced from the tenor of 
 divine revelation ; and it is evident, that, before the law 
 was given by Moses, a law was given to Adam ; because 
 death reigned from Adam to Moses, and there behoved 
 to be a law by which this death did reign. For, as the 
 inspired apostle argues, with the greatest force of reason, 
 " Sin is not imputed where there is no law," (Rom. v. 
 13.) Was there then a law before the covenant of Sinai ? 
 It was surely none other but the law of works, which God 
 gave to the first man ; in whom, as their covenant-head, 
 his posterity were either to stand or fall. Full well we 
 know the doleful event. " But, as by one man's disobc- 
 " dience many were made sinners, so, by the obedience 
 " of one> shall many be made righteous," (Rom. v. 19.) 
 The first Adam, through pride, disobeyed the most easy 
 precept ; and the last Adam obeyed the most difficult 
 command. The first Adam, being a man, affected to be 
 as God : the second Adam, being God, was found ia 
 fashion as a man. The first Adam was assaulted by the 
 
CHRIST AND ADAM COII^ARED, 19 
 
 cevil in paradise, and was overcome : the second Adam 
 was tempted in the wilderness, by the same malicious 
 spirit, but he was a conqueror. The first Adam, break- 
 ing the law in one point, was guilty of all : the last 
 Adam, observing it in every point, did magnify and make 
 it honourable. The moment we became the children c£ 
 Adam, by natural generation, we die for a sin which we 
 could not personally commit : the moment we become 
 the children of Christ, by regeneration, we are mads 
 alive, by a righteousness which we could not actually 
 work out. In Adam we are condemned for one sin ; 
 but in Christ we are justified from innumerable offences. 
 In the first book of the Bible we have a melancholy re- 
 lation, how the first Adam was so far from being able to 
 transmit life and happiness to his posterity, or to give 
 them to eat of the tree of life, that himself was driven 
 out from the terrestrial paradise, and debarred from all 
 access to that sacramental tree : but, in the last book of 
 the sacred oracles, we are presented with a view of the 
 second Adam, in a far more glorious place than that 
 happy garden, and hear him declaring from his own 
 mouth, " To him that overcometh, will I give to eat 
 " of the tree of life, that is in the midst of the paradise 
 "of God > ,, (Rev. ii. 7.) 
 
 For ever blessed be the glorious name of God, that 
 what the first Adam could not keep, the second hath 
 amply restored to us : " For as in Adam sin hath refgn- 
 " ed unto death, so grace hath reigned through righte- 
 • € uousness unto eternal' life, by Je^us Christ our Lord ;" 
 (Rom. t. 21.) who is not only come, that " we might 
 " have life, but that we might have it more abundant 
 (Jw.n x. 10.} 
 
gO TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK*^ 
 
 II. — The History of Noah* 
 
 That Noah was a figure of Jesus Christ, seems 
 not obscurely hinted, in his very name given him by his 
 religious' father, not without prophetic instinct. It 
 signifies rest, comfort; and, as some have observed, grace, 
 when its letters are a little transposed. So Christ is our 
 consolation, our rest, and by him grace reigns unto eter- 
 nal life Of him we may truly say, with the strictest pro- 
 priety, " This same shall comfort us concerning our work 
 " and toil of our hands," (Gen. v. 29«) Noah " was a 
 U just man, and perfect in his generations, and walked 
 *'< with God," (^Gen. vi. 6.) when the wickedness of men 
 was grown to the, most exorbitant height, and all flesh 
 had corrupted their way. He dared to be good, when 
 all were turned degenerate ; and, fearless of reproach or 
 violence, he admonished them of their wicked ways, 
 preaching righteousness in their assemblies, (2 Pet. ii. 5.) 
 So Christ preserved his integrity in every the smallest in- 
 stance, in an evil and adulterous generation, preaching 
 what he practised with not unlike success to Noah. For, 
 it is written of him in the Psalms, w I have preached 
 " righteousness in the great congregation : lo, I have 
 * { not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest," (Psal. 
 xl. 9.) In some seasons of the Almighty's vengeance, 
 we are informed that the righteousness of Noah, Daniel, 
 and Job, could not deliver a sinning people, nor yet their 
 nearest relations, from the lifted stroke," (Ezek. xiv. 4.) 
 Truly Noah, though righteous, could not, by his righ- 
 teousness, avert the waters of the flood. But the righ- 
 teousness of our adorable Redeemer is of such infinite 
 value and perfection, as to deliver from death an innu- 
 merable multitude of transgressors. 
 
 But let us chiefly consider that memorable history of 
 
THE HISTORY OF NOAH. 21 
 
 Noah, his preparing an ark for the sating of his house ; 
 the antitype of which remarkable event, we are informed 
 by the apostle Peter, is *' our being saved by baptism 
 u (not the jutting away of the filth of the Mesh, but the 
 " answer of a good conscience towards God) by the resur- 
 " rection of Jesus Christ," (1 Pet. iii. 21. 22.) The 
 long-suffering of God was now tired out, and his Spirit 
 ceased to strive with rebellious men, whom all means had 
 proved ineffectual to reclaim: The time was come, when 
 the threatened vengeance was to descend with resistless 
 fury. Noah, being long before warned of God, had pre- 
 pared an ark against the approaching deluge ; for he 
 believed God ; and, being moved with fear, he obeyed 
 the commandment of the Lord. He despised the jeers 
 of the unbelieving world ; and considered not the huge 
 difficulties he behoved to surmount, before he could get 
 a vessel constructed, of such bulk as would contain, in its 
 capacious hold, all sorts of beasts and birds, together with 
 their necessary provisions for so long a time as he was to 
 be there a prisoner. That God who commanded him, 
 that God in whom he believed, and whom -he feared, 
 enabled him also both to begin and finish. The ship is 
 built, the cargo is taken in, the flood comes, and the wa- 
 ters prevail above the tallest trees, and loftiest mountains. 
 The sinful race of men is buried in a watery grave. But 
 the ark, the peculiar care of Heaven, though without 
 helm or mast, rides triumphant over the foaming billow ; 
 is preserved from dashing on the craggy rocks, or 
 foundering in the mighty waters. At length a dove, 
 fetching in her mouth an olive leaf, (Gen viii. 11.) in- 
 forms the inhabitants of the ark that the waters were 
 abated. They are at last released from their tedious con- 
 finement. The venerable patriarch, overwhelmed with 
 gratitude for such a wonderful preservation amidst the 
 
•22 
 
 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK T. 
 
 howling waste, sacrifices unto the Lord, who smells a 
 savour of rest, (Gen. viii. 21.) and renews with him his 
 gracious covenant, that he will no more curse the ground 
 ibr man's sake. A glorious rainbow is seen over his head 
 .stamping the clouds, (Gen. ix.\]S.) which, from that 
 lime, became a peaceful sign that the waters shall never 
 more cover the face of the earth ; and that, though the 
 waves should toss themselves against the sandy shores, 
 they shall never prevail. 
 
 Who sees not, in this whole transaction, a lively pic- 
 ture of the method of our salvation by Jesus Christ, from 
 a far more dreadful flood, that shall, sooner cr later, de- 
 scend upon the head of every sinner ? In Jesus Christ 
 we have the antitype of Noah, both floating in the ark, 
 standing at the altar, and compassed with the rainbow. 
 Indeed, he is at once the ark that saves us from the 
 floods of divine wrath, the sacrifice that atones the in- 
 censed justice of God, and the rainbow that makes our 
 clouds of every sort to wear sweet smiles. Though 
 Noah's ark, and sacrifice, and rainbow, were things 
 different from himself, and from one another, in Jesus 
 Christ they are all conjoined. 
 
 What mortal wit would have contrived such an expe- 
 dicpt as the ark of Noah, to save from an universal de- 
 luge ? There is no doubt but the whole scheme appeared 
 very ridiculous to the generality of the world. Noah 
 himself was not the contriver of this project. It was 
 wholly planned by God. Even so, if men and angels had 
 tortured their invention to save a guilty world, they could 
 never have so much as suggested that method, which 
 the wisdom of God has failen upon in the mediation of 
 Jesus Christ. So far does it transcend the thought 
 men, that naturally they cannot receive the mystery of 
 
THE HISTORY OF NOAH. 23 
 
 God's will. For it is " to ihe Jews a stumbling-block* 
 w and to the Greeks foolishness, " (1 Cor. i. 23.) 
 
 In this wonderful vessel were found only eight souls, 
 (1 Pet. iii. 20.) the little family of Noah; and how small 
 was that number to the myriads that perished in the 
 waves ! Even so, the flock of Christ is but a little flock; 
 for, though " many are called, yet few are chosen, " 
 (Matth.xx. 16.) O! how unsearchable are his judgments! 
 —It was, no doubt, very strange to see the wildest beasts 
 and birds dwelling peaceably together under the same 
 roof, in that time of common danger; but not more 
 strange than what happens every time when sinners arc 
 converted unto God, and enter into his sanctuary. For, 
 in Jesus Christ, the men of ravenous natures forget their 
 natural ferocity, and " put on, as the elect of God, bowels 
 " of mercy, humbleness of mind, meekness, and long- 
 u suffering ;" and, to use the lofty style of the prophet, 
 " the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard 
 u shall lie down with the kid, and the young lion and 
 u the fattling together : they shall not hurt nor destroy 
 u in all my holy mountain, '' (Isa. xi. 6.) 
 
 Dreadful, to be sure, were the buffetings of the rolling 
 -surges on the sides of the ark, when heaven and earth 
 seemed to conspire its ruin; but, beifig protected by a 
 superior providence, the vessel, though heavy laden, wea- 
 thered the storm, preserved alive all the creatures that 
 were within her, and at last rested upon the mountains of 
 Ararat. So did the waves and billows of the Father's 
 wrath go over thine head, O suffering Saviour, and the 
 floods of ungodly men made thee afraid ; (Psal. xviii. 4.) 
 but thou wast more than a conqueror, and at last did find 
 thy rest on the mountains of eternal glory, having both 
 saved thyself and all that are found of thee : thou art our 
 " hiding-place from the storm, and a covert from tht 
 
24? TYPICAL PERSONS, BOOK I< 
 
 u tempest. If it had not been the Lord who was on our 
 €l side, the waters of God's wrath had swallowed us up 
 * { quick : then the waters had overwhelmed us, the 
 •' stream had gone over our soul : the proud waters had 
 " gone over our soul," (Psal. exxiv. 4.) 
 
 When we are told, in the sacred history, that a dove 
 alighted on the ark with the olive-leaf, what should hin- 
 der us to think of the holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, who 
 alighted upon him, in the waters of Jordan, in the like- 
 ness of that gentle bird ? and who brings glad tidings of 
 great joy to all the inhabitants of the ark, when he as- 
 sures them, by the most incontestable proofs, that the win- 
 ter of wrath is past, and the rain is over and gone, (Song 
 11. 1 1.) — The holy fire is now gone forth at the appoint- 
 ed season; and, beholding the dismal desolation, he offers 
 an atoning sacrifice of every clean bird and beast ; and 
 the Lord smeiled a savour of rest. — This naturally leads 
 us to think of him who gave himself for us an offering, 
 and a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour, (Eph. v. 2.) 
 So well pleased is God with Jesus Christ, that with him 
 he establishes his covenant, and with all his seed, that they 
 shall never come into condemnation. Hear what himself 
 declares, by the mouth of the holy prophet Isaiah : — 
 " This is as the waters df Noah unto me ; for, as I have 
 «' sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over 
 " the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth 
 " with thee, nor rebuke thee, O thou afflicted, tossed with 
 u tempest, and not comforted," (Isa. liv. 90 — See how 
 the frowning clouds now smile with the glorious colours 
 of the rainbow, the cheerful token of God's covenant. 
 It is a bow, but it has no arrow ; and the face of it is 
 turned away from us in token of reconciliation. Such is 
 the glorious transformation of all your afflictions by Jesus 
 Christ, O ye heirs of righteousness. They are clouds 
 
THE HISTORY OF MELCHIZEDEC. 2$ 
 
 indeed, dark clouds, but so far from drowning, they shall 
 even fructify your soul, and make you revive as the corn. 
 What before was an indication of wrath, and a cause of 
 fear, is now a token of love, and an encouragement of 
 faith. A rainbow for ever encompasses the throne of your 
 God (Rev. iv. 3.), though from it should proceed light- 
 nings, and thunders, and voices. Though, like that 
 mighty angel in the Revelation (chap. x. 1.), he should 
 be clothed with a cloud in the dispensations of his pro- 
 vidence, his sunny face will produce a rainbow round 
 about his head. He is ever mindful of his covenant, 
 and you need not fear the terrors of his glory. 
 
 III.— The History of Melchizedec 
 
 Now we shall come to the short but comprehen- 
 sive history of Melchizedec ; the figurative meaning of 
 which is not only hinted to us in the sacred oracles, but 
 the Holy Ghost condescends to enter on a very particular 
 explication of it, (Heb. vii.) The narrative related by 
 Moses is shortly this. (See Gen. xiv. 17 — 24.) The 
 patriarch Abram had, with his little army, surprised and 
 defeated the forces of the confederated kings, who had 
 plundered Sodom ; and, among other prisoners, had car- 
 ried away captive his kinsman Lot, who, living in that 
 wicked city, was now a very singular blessing to his sinful 
 fellow-citizens, being the occasion of their rescue from 
 the invaders of their country. As he returned from the 
 slaughter, he was met by the king of Sodom, with ano» 
 ther king of a very different character : his name was 
 Melchizedec, which, though a very fine one, for it signi- 
 fies king of righteousness j was not unsuitable to his real 
 character, and is a proper admonition to all other Icings 
 for what they should be distinguished. The name of his 
 C 
 
26 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 city was Salem. Whether it was that Salem where 
 Jehovah afterwards had his tabernacle, or another place 
 of the same name, is not precisely determined. How- 
 ever, we are assured, that, upon this occasion, he brought 
 forth bread and wine, not as a sacrifice to God, O ye 
 Papists, but to refresh the patriarch's men, fatigued with 
 toil. But the most extraordinary circumstance of all is, 
 that, though living in that wicked Country, he was priest 
 of the Most High God, and vested with regal dignity. 
 When all around him were sunk in superstition and ido- 
 latry, this illustrious Gentile retained the knowledge of 
 the true God, and thought it no disparagement of his 
 kingly honour to officiate in the solemn rites of his holy 
 worship. The hospitable monarch was a no less religious 
 priest. As in the former capacity he brought forth bread 
 and wine ; so, in the latter, he blessed the renowned pa- 
 triarch, and received from him tithes of all. Thus far 
 the sacred history. — But from what parents he descend- 
 ed, when he was born, or when he died, who were his 
 predecessors, or who succeeded him, are questions we 
 are not permitted to resolve. And even the silence of 
 scripture is expressive ! For, he was " made like unto 
 " the Son of God," both in what Moses relates concern- 
 ing him, and in what he conceals from the curious in- 
 quirer. Let us carefully observe these two heads of re- 
 semblance, and we shall easily understand how David in 
 spirit says of the Messiah, " Thou art a priest for ever, 
 after the order of Melchizedec," (Psal. ex 4.) 
 
 We shall first begin with what Moses relates of this ex- 
 traordinary man. To whom can this name Melchizedec 
 so properly belong, as to the King that reigns in righ- 
 teousness; who, righteous himself, has wrought for all his 
 subjects a justify ingnghteousness by the merit of his blood, 
 and works in all his subjects a sanctifying righteousness by 
 
THE HISTORY OF MELCHIZEDEC. 27 
 
 the power of his spirit? — He, he is King of Salem, which 
 is, by interpretation, King of Peace. Peace is the dispo- 
 sition for which he was renowned, who, with his dying 
 breathy implored forgiveness to his bloody murderers: 
 peace is the grand blessing he died to purchase, and lives 
 to confer. O glorious peace, of which righteousness is 
 the foundation, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the insepa- 
 rable attendant ! Hail, ye subjects of his auspicious go- 
 vernment, who call the blessings of his purchase all your 
 own ! Lo, in your princely Qaviour, the great Jehovah 
 lays aside his vindictive wrath, and becomes your loving 
 Father ; the angels no more stand aloof, but commence 
 your ministers and guardians ; the inferior creatures are 
 turned into your faithful friends and allies ; the Jews and 
 Gentiles, forgetting their former enmity, join in the most 
 cordial friendship ; and conscience, no more an accuser, 
 whispers peace in the gentlest accents. Though " in the 
 " world you should have tribulation, yet in him you shall 
 H have peace." O Prince of peace, extend the borders of 
 thy peaceful kingdom far and wide, and let the wished 
 period come when the nations shall learn war no more J 
 O let thy peace rule in our hearts through these tumul- 
 tuous scenes of life ; and bring us at last to these calm 
 regions of joy and felicity, where peace extends her dove- 
 like wings for ever and ever ! — " He brought forth bread 
 " and wine," to refresh the hungry and thirsty soldiers, 
 when returning from the slaughter of the kings. Such 
 is the refreshment which the true Mclchizedec affords, 
 and will afford to all that are truly engaged in the spiri- 
 tual warfare. He " has prepared of his goodness for the 
 ** poor." O w come unto him, and you shall never hun- 
 H ger; believe on him, and you shall never thirst. Eat of 
 u his bread, and drink of the wine which he has mingled." 
 Happy they who shall conquer in thy holy warfare, for 
 2 
 
ZO TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK K 
 
 they H shall eat of the hidden manna, and the Lamb in 
 <' the midst of the throne shall feed them." — " And he 
 - 4 was priest of the Most High God." An honour not 
 usually appropriated to those that sit on thrones; /or God 
 himself was pleased to provide against the blending of 
 these offices in the commonwealth of Israel. Witness thy 
 fate, Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 18.), who, snatching at the 
 censer, lost the sceptre. And shall the triple-crowned 
 pfiest of Rome, who exalts himself above all that is called 
 God, go always unpunished! But of Jesus Christ a pro- 
 phet testifies, " He shall sit and rule upon bis throne," 
 (Zech. vi. 13.) as once he was a king upon his cross,— 
 " And he blessed Abram." So Christ, our royal priest, 
 was sent of God to bless the children of Abram, not with 
 a verbal, but real benediction, in turning every one of us 
 from our iniquity ; and " men shall be blessed in him." 
 " Consider/' in the last place, " how great this man 
 " was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the 
 u tenth of the spoils ;" and, as we may say, even Levi, 
 who received tithes from the people by the command* 
 ment of God, was tithed in the loins of his progenitor. 
 A most convincing proof, that this Melchizedec waa 
 both a greater man than Abram, and a greater priest 
 than Aaron. But we Christians have a great High- 
 Priest, in whose presence Abram must not glory ; Levi 
 has no pre-eminence. To our Melchizedec, the royal 
 " priesthood, the holy nation, the peculiar people, 1 ' 
 do pay, not only tithes, but all they have and are, when 
 they present their " bodies a living sacrifice, holy and 
 " acceptable unto God* which is their reasonable ser- 
 ** vice," ( Rom. xii. 1 ) 
 
 But the circumstances which Moses conceals, are no less 
 worthy of our notice than those he reveals. In vain you 
 ask his genealogy, his birth, his death, or the ceremonies 
 
THE HISTORY OP MELC'HIZ'EDEC. 29 
 
 of his consecration : for those are buried in darkness; the 
 Ghost Intending ro sign:;y, that Jesus Christ is real- 
 truly what this mysterious king is in the history. 
 V iiout father — not as he was God, but man. With- 
 out mother — not as he was man, but God. Without de- 
 scent — lor having no predecessors in office, he needed not 
 prove that he was sprung from the priestly tribe, which 
 was an essential qualification in t.he Levitica; pries* heed. 
 Having neither beginning of days, nor en 1 of life — for 
 being set up from everlasting, he abideth a priest cor.ti- 
 nually • tor, though he died, yet even in death he was a 
 priest; and now he ever liveth to nuke intercession for 
 them. Whac shall we say more ? In the order of Aaron 
 were many" priests, who, like other mortals, resigning 
 their breath by the stroke of death, their priestly honour 
 was laid in the dust with them. We know from whence 
 they arose ; with what carnal ordinances and ceremonies 
 they received their inauguration ; what sacrifices they 
 offered; in what holy places thty officiated; who assisted 
 them in their various functions; and who succeeded them 
 when they either died, or were deposed from their office. 
 But the pricat after the order of Melchizedec being pos- 
 sessed of immortal life, and called of God without exter- 
 nal ceremonies to his high office, himself was the sacri- 
 fice,, himself >vas the alt3r, himself was his tabernacle and 
 temple, assisted by none, nor succeeded by any. In Mel- 
 chizedec, whom Moses speaks of as though he had been 
 immortal, we have but indeed a fainc shadow, and not the 
 very image of the things themselves, that are found in 
 Jeius Christ. But let the faimr.ess of the resemblance 
 remind us of the greatness of the mysteries. " For, who 
 *' shall declare his generation." 
 
30 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK,!. 
 
 IV. — The History of Isaac. 
 
 Next we shall glance at a very extraordinary piece 
 of history, of the most difficult commandment that was 
 ever given to any of the human race ; yet was it punc- 
 tually obeyed, and the obedience amply rewarded. It is 
 the story of Abraham's offering up his son Isaac at the 
 commandment of the Lord. (See Gen. xxii. 1— 19.) 
 The famous patriarch had endured many trials, and pro- 
 ved the sincerity of his faith by a long course of obe- 
 dience, and steadfast dependence on the divine veracity, 
 from the time he was called to leave his native Ur in the 
 land of Chaldea. Long did he count him faithful who 
 had promised that he should have a son, in whom all na- 
 tions should be blessed, even when the accomplishment of 
 the premise seemed next to impossible. At last the ex- 
 pected child is born, a son of his old age ; he flourishes 
 apace, and is now flushed with the radiant bloom of youth, 
 both lovely and beloved. The joyful father might now 
 think that the most troublesome scenes of life were hap- 
 pily finished, and that it remained for him only to die in 
 faith and peace. But how greatly would he have been 
 mistaken ? The sorest, the sharpest trial yet remained : 
 ** For it came to pass, after these things, that God did 
 «« tempt Abraham. And he said, Take now thy son, 
 H thine only sor/Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee 
 €t into the land of Moriah, and offer hire there f >r a 
 «* burnt- offering, upon one of the mountains which I 
 " shall tell thee of," (Gen. xxii. 1.2.) Shocking pre- 
 cept! mysterious mandate! Did ever such a message from 
 God wound a p*rent\s ear ! Had the voice from heaven 
 denounced *hat Isaac was to die a natural death, and to 
 be searched awav by a sudden stroke, the tidings had been 
 mournful and agonizing. But uow much more, when it 
 
THE HISTORT OF ISAAC. 31 
 
 is declared, that the hand of violence must be lifted up 
 against him ; that he must be offered up for a burnt-sa- 
 crifice, butchered, mangled, and reduced to ashes ! But 
 the crowning circumstance that sets forwaid the calamity, 
 and renders it worse than a thousand deaths ; the father 
 must be the priest to bind, to kill, to cut, to bum his 
 beloved sun ! Abraham, what were the thoughts of thy 
 heart, when your ears first heard such dreadful orders? 
 You were accustomed to hear the voice of God speaking 
 in more soothing accents. Hadst thou not been an ex- 
 traordinary believer, into what a tempest had all thy soul 
 been tossed ? Hqw might reason, natural affection, and 
 religion, have all conspired to persuade thy disobedience? 
 u Offer up thy son, thine only son Isaac, for a burnt- of- 
 " fering ! Can this be the voice of God ? Sure it must 
 u be the voice of some wicked spirit, that would impose 
 11 upon my credulity, and urge a father to imbrue his 
 u hands in filial blood. But stay : the revelation is un- 
 u questionable. It was the very voice of God. I am 
 " not permitted so much as to doubt of this. Surely, 
 u then, it must have some other meaning than I first 
 u thought. Surely the merciful God cannot mean that 
 u I should really kill my Isaac. Take now thy son, 
 " thine only son, and offer him up for a burnt-oiK. : ng. 
 11 Alas! my Isaac, was it for this I received thee by spe- 
 " cial promise ? Was it for this thy mother brought thee 
 " forth when she was past her age, and I called thee by 
 u a name expressive of joy and laughter ? How ill dost 
 il thou now answer thy name ! Thou art not a son of 
 " laughter, but of soiro>v. O God, why c .uldst thou 
 u not racher have demanded all my numerous flocks and 
 u kids, to smoke in one great burnt-offering ? Or, if a 
 44 human Sacrifice delighted ^hee more, why should my 
 
32 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK f. 
 
 " Isaac, rather than any other, be the victim ? O that 
 " I could redeem his life with my own blood ! 
 
 " And must I too be the priest ? Must he bleed by a 
 4i father's hand ? Ah ! what will the world say ? They 
 t{ will never believe me, when I tell them it was by thy 
 " order I did it. What will Sarah say ? But, chiefly, 
 u what will come of thy own promise ? How will he be 
 ** the father of many nations when he is no more ? O ye 
 " nations! I thought that in this my Isaac you would all 
 " be blessed : but now farewell for ever all such pleasing 
 u hopes. Isaac must die, and the promise fails for ever* 
 "more!" 
 
 But so strong was the faith of this eminent believer, 
 that either such misgiving thoughts were altogether stran- 
 gers to his mind, or they were soon repelled. He wisely 
 considered, that what God had commanded could not be 
 wrong ; and what he had promised could not be false : 
 " Be hushed all unbelieving fears ; for he who gave an 
 6t Isaac from the barren womb to fulfil his promise, can, 
 " if he please, for the same reason, restore him from the 
 " burning altar. Come then, without delay, obey the 
 " high command, believing that what he has promised 
 *' he is able also to perform. " 
 
 No sooner had the early dawn begun to appear in the 
 eastern sky, than the resolved patiiarch springs from his 
 couch, saddles an ass, takes with him the intended victim 
 and servants, as much wood as he thought necessary, and 
 proper utensils for the future sacrifice* Three days they 
 travelled on this strange journey, and aU that space he 
 looked en his son as dead; but the steady purpose of his 
 soul was not shaken 1 . On the third day the fatal hills of 
 Moriah are descried at a distance, the servants are left be- 
 hind, the wood is laid on Isaac, and Abraham carries trie 
 £re and the knife. And now, after some endearing eonver- 
 
THE HISTORY OP ISAAC, 33 
 
 sation, they arc arrived at the appointed place. The al- 
 tar is built; the wood is laid in order; the plot is doubt- 
 less revealed to Isaac by his sedate father ; and Isaac* 
 though fully able to have made resistance r or delivered 
 himself by flight, is not recorded to have attempted the 
 one or the other; for the same almighty power that 
 touched the patriarch's heart, and made him willing to 
 give the deadly stab, did also, beyond all doubt, make 
 Isaac no less willing cheerfully to receive it. He is bound 
 like another victim ; he is laid upon the altar, and the 
 hand now grasps the fatal knife to be lodged in his guilt- 
 less breast; when, lo, a heavenly voice forbids the Woody 
 deed, and the patriarch's willing mind is accepted for th# 
 actual sactifice. His fear of God is highly applauded, 
 and by his works his faith was proved to be perfect. 
 " Abram, you spared not your son for the sake of my 
 " Command, but I spare him for the sake of thy obe- 
 "dience. Receive him again with my blessing. He shall 
 u be the progenitor of the Messiah, and all the nations 
 *' shall be blessed in him. 5 ' A ram, caught by the horns 
 in the thicket, supplies the room of Isaac, and the grate- 
 ful patriarch acknowledges the happy prnvidence, i:j call- 
 ing the name of the place Jehovah- Jireh. And after- 
 wards it became a common proverb, " In the mount of 
 " the Lord it shall be seen," (Gen. xxii. 14.) 
 
 O the inconceivable power of faith that can render the 
 most difficult duties so easy I Nor is there a better way 
 for the children of Abraham to ensure their dearest enjoy- 
 ments, and improve them to the highest advantage, than 
 by resigning them, totally resigning them, to the sovereign 
 will of God. But surely a higher mystery was coBtaii "d 
 iii this extraordinary occurrence. Who can forbear here 
 to think of the adorable mystery of redemption by Jesus 
 Christ 1 " For God so loved the world, as not to spare 
 
34 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK I. 
 
 i% his own Son, but to deliver him unto the death for us all," 
 (Rom. viii. 32.) Methinks the language of this whole 
 transaction was as if God had said, " Ye children of men," 
 u hear you what my faithful servant and friend has done 
 " upon this mountain, in cheerfully sacrificing his only 
 " son to testify his love to God. By the same method 
 * 1 will declare my love to a perishing world, by giving 
 €t my only begotten Son to fall a sacrifice for sin. In 
 u this mountain shall the sword of justice awake against 
 " him by his own consent ; and what has now been done 
 u only in a figure, shall be really transacted at the ap- 
 " pointed time. Mean while let rams, and other beasts, 
 u be sacrificed as a memorial of this grand burnt-offer- 
 " ing ; but let no human blood smoke on my altars." 
 
 But more particularly to enumerate the important pre- 
 dictions of this prophetical history. It contained, first of 
 all, a lively intimation, that, in the fulness of time, a human 
 sacrifice should be offered up. Indeed it is but just and 
 equal the nature that sinned should suffer ; for, how can 
 the blood of harmless beasts atone for the sins of guilty 
 men ? And this might seem to have been confessed by the 
 horrid custom that obtained in the Gentile world, of sa- 
 crificing men to appease the wrath of their deities. But 
 the living and true God discharged such direful offerings 
 under the severest penalties; not only for their evident 
 barbarity, but because they encroached upon the plan of 
 his infinite wisdom, and anticipated the great propitiation, 
 who was to be a human sacrifice, although he was no or- 
 dinary person, as Isaac was not an ordinary son. Like 
 Isaac, he was Son and Heir, the Son of God, and the 
 Heir of all things. A beloved son ; for he was daily 
 his delight before the mountains were brought forth ; 
 and oftener than once it was declared, by a voice from 
 ihe excellent glory, !! This is rny beloved Son, in whom 
 
THE HISTORY OF ISAAC. 33 
 
 ** I am well pleased," (Matt. xvii. 5.) An only Son ; 
 for angels and saints, though styled the sons of God, have 
 no claim to such a sonship as the filial Godhead is pos- 
 sessed of. Isaac, thy birth was altogether extraordinary, 
 both by the father's and mother's side, surpassing the 
 ordinary course of nature ; but still more amazing is the 
 generation of our atoning sacrifice, whose Father, as 
 God, was the all-glorious Jehovah, and whose mother 
 was a virgin. The event of his birth, like Isaac's, was 
 long foretold, and ardently„expected before it happened: 
 but, though long delayed, the promise was punctually 
 fulfilled at the appointed time. His name imported joy 
 and gladness. In Jesus, the true Isaac, our mouths shall 
 be filled with laughter, and our tongue with melody. 
 
 Ask you the manner of his death ? Behold it in this 
 lively type. For, as Isaac carried the wood, so the be- 
 loved Son of God carried his cross. O ye children of 
 men, your iniquities were the heavy load he bore in his 
 own body on the tree. These, like the wood that was 
 intended to reduce Isaac to ashes, rendered him com- 
 bustible to the fire of divine wrath. 
 
 It was for no crime that Isaac was to suffer death in 
 this tragical manner; yet such was his filial piety, such 
 was his reverence of the high command, that he made no 
 attempt to save his life, though he was able to have done 
 it, being arrived at his youthful prime. Even 90, the in- 
 nocent Redeemer, in whom was found no cause of death, 
 no not by his very judge, he abhorred not the ignomi- 
 nious cross; he spared to employ all the legions of angels, 
 that were ready at his beck; he never attempted to make 
 his escape when his time was come, which he had often 
 done before. Though he had thoroughly digested in his 
 mind the doleful circumstances of his crucifixion, he be- 
 trayed not the least unwillingness to submit to his heaven- 
 
3fr TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 ly Father's will, even when his human heart shrunk at 
 the bitter cup. " I lay down," says he, " my life : no 
 u man taketh it from me. This commandment have I 
 " received from my Father," (John x. 17. 18.) " Father, 
 u not my will, but thine be done," (Luke xxii. 42.) 
 
 It was by his father's hand alone that Isaac was to 
 breathe out his soul by a mortal wound ; and by him 
 alone wa? the funeral pile to be lighted up. For these 
 purposes, we are informed in the sacred history, he carried 
 the fire and the knife. It was not the envy of the Jews ; 
 It was not the covetousness of Judas; it was not the irre- 
 solution of the cowardly Roman judge, that chiefly con- 
 signed our Isaac over to the tormenting' cross; but being 
 delivered, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge 
 of God, these only proved the sinful executioners of the 
 high decree. Thy burning anger against the sins of men, 
 O heavenly Father, was the fire that preyed upon his 
 holy soul. Thy justice, inflexibly severe, was the keen 
 flashing sword which awaked against him, and drank his 
 vital blood. " It pleased the Father to bruise him ; 
 u thou didst put him to grief," (Isa. liii. 16.) And, 
 truly, the sufferings of our dying Redeemer were many of 
 them of such a nature as none but God could inflict,, even 
 as none but God could have endured them. 
 
 Beyond all peradventure, the scene where these things 
 were transacted by Abraham, being in the land of Moriah, 
 could not be far distant from the horrid eminence of Cal- 
 vary, or the lovely heights of Zion. It is a circum- 
 stance by no means unworthy of our careful attention, 
 that the true propitiation was offered up nearly in the 
 same place where the beloved son of Abraham was to 
 expire upon the altar. Ye mountains of Moriah, your 
 name; may now be Jehovah-Jireh for better reasons 
 than when the ram was caught by Abraham in the 
 
THE HISTORY OF ISAAC. 37 
 
 which he offered for his. Isaac ; for God has now provided 
 himself a Lamb, and in these mountains the Lord was seen 
 putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 
 
 It was not possible for a mortal creature to give a 
 higher document of love to God, than by sacrificing, for 
 his sake, a dearly beloved and only son. The whole his- 
 tory is so amazing, that we know not whether we should 
 most admire the strange commandment or the unparallel- 
 ed obedience. Even so, it was not possible for the im- 
 mortal God to give a nobler demonstration of love to 
 men, than by delivering fox their sake his only begotten 
 Sen to die for their offences: the whole transaction, from 
 first to last,. is of such uncommon nature, and so foreign 
 to every human plan for acceptance with God, that to 
 the wise Greeks it was mere foolishness, and to the Jews 
 a stumbling-block. As Abraham could not, without 
 faith, have acquiesced in the precept, no more can we, 
 without faith, acquiesce in the gospel plan. He consulted 
 net with Sarah when he was called to obey ; and when 
 we are called to believe, we must not consult with vain 
 philosophy. Though in the mystery of redemption there 
 . depth of wisdom, thy line, O reason, is too short to 
 id its bottom. Reason, especially in- its depravei 
 State, may not unhtl\ be compared to the patriarch's ass, 
 which staid at the foot of the hill, but ascended not with 
 Isaac to the sacrifice. It is the province c.{ faith alone 
 to ascend this hill of the Lord., a -hend the love 
 
 of God, which passeth know ledge. 
 
 Isaac, it is true, was noc sacrificed * and therr was no 
 ntid that God should raise him from the d« ad .s the 
 patriarch p haps expected. But a6 he was, hi a marner, 
 a dead man, during all the three days p hat in^crvenec' be- 
 fwjxt *he sentenj being passed against h : m, and the re- 
 versing of it b\ .ue heavenly voice, it may be truly said, 
 D 
 
39 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 that " in a figure he was received from the dead," (Heb. 
 xi. 19.) Exactly so, our true Isaac was received on the 
 third day from the dead, not in a figure only. Like 
 Isaac, he felt no harm : but, " O death, he was thy 
 plague; O grave, he was thy destruction." (Hos. 
 xin. 14.) Like Isaac, he returned to his Father's house 
 from whence he came, and became a father of many na- 
 tions, who are begotten again to a lively hope by his 
 resurrection from the dead ; for thus the prophet Isaiah 
 foretels, with admirable plainness and propriety, " When 
 €i thou, O heavenly Father, shalt make his soul an offer- 
 4i ing for sin ; he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his 
 u days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
 "hand," (Isa. liii. 10.) 
 
 Forbear, ye children of men, anxiously to inquire, 
 " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and how 
 4t shall I bow myself before the high God I Shall I give 
 " my first-born for my transgression, and the fruit of my 
 " body for the sin of my soul ? For lo, he has given his 
 " first-born to atone for your transgression, and the Son 
 €i of his love to expiate the sin of your souls by the sa- 
 *' crifice of himself. Thus hath he showed you what is 
 <" good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but 
 " to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with 
 "thy God?" (Mic. vi. 6. 7- 8.) 
 
 V.— The History of Jacob. 
 
 The history of Jacob's life is also stored with very 
 remarkable incidents, not unlike to those which befe! 
 cur Lord Jesus Christ, or which have befallen the church, 
 which is his body, and his other self, in all ages of the 
 world. The truth of this will easily appear in the fol- 
 lowing parallel. 
 
♦THE HISTORY OF JAfOE. 
 
 38 
 
 1. The patriarch Jacob 
 was chosen by God, who 
 loved him before he was 
 born, to be the progenitor 
 of the Jewish nation, who 
 also were chosen in him ra- 
 ther than the posterity of 
 Esau, called, in the style of 
 the prophet, " the border 
 " of vvickedness, and the 
 ° people against whom the 
 11 Lord hath indignation 
 41 for ever." 
 
 2 From this patriarch 
 the Jews, the peculiar 
 g [< of God, are named 
 Israelites 
 
 i From him sprung the 
 twelve patriarch-, who 
 were the lathers of thai 
 holy nation according to 
 the flesh. 
 
 4. Many and great were 
 the hardship* which this 
 patriarch conflicted wnh, 
 dining the cr>un>e of his 
 piigi image; foi it appears 
 that he was the most af- 
 filed ot A\ his race, both 
 on ccount of the treatment 
 he met with trom Esau, 
 from L-ibin, and from vJod 
 himself 
 
 5. Very early he began 
 
 1. The Lord Jesus 
 Christ, being from all 
 everlasting the peculiar ob- 
 ject of the Father's love, 
 was chosen by him, before 
 the mountains were brought 
 forth, tc be the Father of 
 the nations of them who 
 are saved; who are also 
 chosen in him ; that they 
 should be holy, and distin- 
 guished from the world.that 
 lies in wickedness. 
 
 2. From Jesus Christ, 
 the chosen generation are 
 named Christians. 
 
 3. And the twelve apos- 
 tles of the Lamb are the 
 fathers of the holy natioa 
 according to the spirit^ 
 
 4-. Behold and see, was 
 ever any sorrow like unto 
 his ? tor his whole life was 
 a continual war with woe. 
 He was afflicted by the 
 world, harassed by thr 
 Gevil, and persecuted even 
 by God himbcif. 
 
 5. Early, very early, he 
 
40 
 
 TYPICAL PERSONS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 to struggle with his rough 
 brother Esau, who carried 
 his. enmity to such a high 
 pitch as to resolve to mur- 
 der him, for no other fault 
 than excluding him from 
 the privilege of birth-right, 
 which himself had justly * 
 forfeited, by selling it for 
 a morsel of meat ; and 
 therefore, when he would 
 afterwards have inherited 
 the blessing, lie could not 
 by all his tears in >uce his 
 father to bestow it upon 
 him. 
 
 6, In vain shall you 
 think, O profane Esau, to 
 thwart the unalterable de- 
 cree ; for the elder shall 
 serve the younger, and the 
 posterity of Jacob shall 
 put garrisons in thy strong- 
 holds. 
 
 7. Wi'h his staff he pass- 
 ed over Jordan, an exile 
 
 felt the effects of the 
 world's undeserved malice. 
 Andhisrough brethren, the 
 Jews, were so highly incen- 
 sed against him, as to im- 
 brue their hands in his 
 blood. And wherefore 
 did ye thus hate him, O fz 
 malicious Jews? It was be- 
 cause you gloried in your 
 birth right, and could not 
 endure -that the kingdom 
 of God should, according 
 to his ,doctrine, be taken 
 from you, and transferred 
 to the desp ; sed Ge utiles, 
 though you had justly for- 
 feited 11 t^e to such a glo- 
 rious prt ro;ntive, by your 
 grc at or tempt of spiritual 
 and heavenly blessings. 
 
 6. Bwtbe of good cheer, 
 ye children of Jesus Christ, 
 your Lord and Master has 
 overcome the world. And 
 the time shall come, when 
 the saints of the Most High 
 shall tske the kingdom ; 
 and it shall be said, Who 
 is this that cometh from 
 Edom, with dyed garments 
 from Bozrah ? 
 
 7. With the staff of his 
 cross he passed over the 
 
THE HISTORY Otf JACOB/ 
 
 41 
 
 from his father's house; he 
 8erved tor a wife, and re- 
 turned again with much 
 substance, having multi- 
 plied into two bands. 
 
 Jordan of death; and, wan 
 dering in exile from hea- 
 ven, nis Father's house, 
 he took on him the form 
 of a servant (such was his 
 love to the church) ; and 
 afterwards he was followed 
 by the two bands of Jews 
 and Gentiles. 
 8. He spoiled Laban of 8. The devil, suspecting 
 Ins substance and idols, that this was the strong 
 But when he followed ilter man who was to spoil his 
 to rummage Jacob's goods, and utterly abolish 
 tents, he found nothing the idols, he fiercely as- 
 that belonged to him. And saalted him; but when the 
 .i'he departed from Ja- prince of this world came 
 cob, the angels of God met unto him in the day of his 
 him, and he called the temptation, he found no- 
 place Mahanaim. But the 'thing in him; and when he 
 conr-ict which Jacob had left our Saviour, the an- 
 
 with God was by far the 
 most mysterious affliction. 
 
 . was I he patriarch in 
 greater distress^ R. 
 from his family, an 
 alone, expecting his bro- 
 ther Esau to come upon 
 him wita four hundred 
 arm f . d men, he pours out 
 his prayer to God ; ard 
 there wrestled a man with 
 lii/:. till the breaking of the 
 
 r o whom he wept and 
 made supplication. Bul.at 
 
 gels came and minis 
 unio him. But the con, 
 flict which our Lo!d had 
 with the wrath of God, 
 was lh< t of ail his 
 
 afflictions. It ivas the live- 
 ' .nighty an- 
 ger that made him sweat 
 blood : when retired 
 his disciples, and expecting 
 the multitude to come up- 
 on him with swords and 
 staves, he offered up pray- 
 ers and supplications, with 
 3 
 
42 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 last he is victorious ; his strong cries and tears, to 
 life is preserved ; and he him that was able to save 
 obtains the blessing, him from death. But at last 
 
 he prevails to obtain the 
 blessing, having endured the 
 wrath of God. 
 
 And as Jacob was obliged to go down to Egypt in his 
 old age, to preserve his life from a cruel famine; so Christ 
 'Jesus fled into Egypt when he was a child, to preserve 
 his life from a bloody tyrant. Afterwards was the say- 
 ing of the prophet fulfilled, w Out of Egypt have I call- 
 " ed my Son," (Matth. ii, 15.) And, lastly, as Jacob 
 left the world blessing his sons, so Christ left the world 
 blessing his apostles. 
 
 But he "was also a type of the mystical body of Christ, 
 and, indeed, of every saint ; whether you view him as 
 chosen in the womb, striving at his birth, buying the 
 birth-right, meeting the angels of God, wrestling with 
 the angel of the covenant, or buried in Canaan after a 
 troublesome life. Behold in all these an emblem of every 
 one who is an Israelite indeed. 
 
 His election in the womb signifies how all the seed of 
 Jacob are chosen to salvation. " Was not Esau Jacob's 
 " brother," (Mai. i. £.) his elder brother, and indeed a 
 stronger child ? for his hairy skin portended the vigour 
 of his constitution. Yet was he not chosen to inherit the 
 patriarchal blessing. The happy persons whom he chooses 
 to inherit the blessings of eternity are so far from being 
 better than their other fellow-creatures, that, for the mo6t 
 part, they are greatly inferior both in the endowments 
 of the mind, and outward worldly distinctions. " Even 
 €i 6o, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight !"— * 
 (Matth. xi. 26.) 
 
THE HISTORY OP JACOB, 43 
 
 His struggling at his birth, when he took hold of his 
 brother's heel, might be intended to signify, that every 
 true Israelite must strive, before he come to the possession 
 of those blessings that are designed for him in the purpose 
 of God. Electing love indeed prevents, but not excludes, 
 our fighting the good fight of faith, and laying hold up- 
 on eternal life. Miserably shall they be disappointed, who 
 dream of seizing the kingdom of heaven without violence. 
 When the husbandman can reasonably hope that indo- 
 lence will fill his barns wiih plenty; when the soldier caa 
 think that victory will present him with her palms, with- 
 out striking a blow'; then may the yawning Christian, 
 whom it grieves to work out his own salvation with fear 
 and trembling, expect to reap fruit unto life eternal, and 
 tread upon the high places of his spiritual foes. 
 
 His buying the birth-right for pottage, ludicrous as it 
 seems, perhaps may denote the high esteem which all the 
 true seed of Jacob have of spiritual blessings. O wretch- 
 ed exchange ! to barter, for the satisfaction of a moment, 
 what was more valuable than an hundred lives ! Profane 
 Esau, was it nothing valuable to inherit the blessing of 
 Abraham, to be the progenitor of the Messiah, and to en- 
 tail on thy posterity the true knowledge of God ? All this 
 was undervalued when the birth-right was despised. Ye 
 Esaus of the world, take to yourselves your present sensual 
 gratifications, and esteem nothing good out present satis- 
 factions; fill your bellies with the hidden treasure of God, 
 and, for the short-lived pleasures of sin, renounce your 
 part in heavenly felicities, and bury, without one sigh, 
 each glorious hope But let the house of Israel 'abour 
 for the meat that endures to everlasting- life ; let them 
 implore the cheerful light of God's countenance ; let 
 them enjoy the vision of his face in righteousness ; and, 
 when inspired with these blissful expectation*, all sublu- 
 
4i TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 nary joys shall, in comparison, be no more regarded than 
 was thy pottage, Jacob, in comparison of the birth-right. 
 His receiving the blessing from his father in the gar- 
 ments of Esau, which his mother arrayed him with, may ' 
 be viewed as a faint shadow of our receiving the blessing 
 from God in the garments of Jesus Christy which all the 
 children of the promise do wear. When found in Christy 
 and clothed with the perfumed robes of righteousness 
 imputed, the garments of our elder brother, our gracious 
 God and Father will forget our sinful imperfections, and, 
 beholding no iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel,, 
 will bless us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. 
 It was not the feigned venison, but the borrowed gar- 
 ments, that procured the blessing. Even so we are not 
 blessed by God for our good works, however pleasing 
 unto him, but for the righteousness of our Redeemer ; 
 for, should we presume to appear in the presence of Jeho- 
 vah, without this most necessary precaution of putting 
 on the Lord Jesus Christ, our performances, however 
 specious, could meet with no acceptance, but the evil 
 which Jacob greatly feared would come upon us ; we 
 would procure to ourselves a curse, and not a blessing. 
 
 His meeting the angels, after his interview with La- 
 ban, when.he called the name of the place Mahanainiy 
 was not only designed to animate his courage amidst the 
 dangers that surrounded him in that journey, but also to 
 hint unto us what is the distinguished privilege of all the 
 children of Jacob in their militant state; for, a the angel 
 * of the Lord- encamps round about them that fear him," 
 (Psal. xxxiv. 7-) The despiser of his birih-right. whose 
 resentment Jacob dreaded, comes indeed escorted by 
 four hundred rrien. But what were these to Jacob's in- 
 visible guard ? This honour have all his saints, w ho come 
 to the innumerable company of angels, the ministrant 
 
THE HISTORY OF JACOB. 45 
 
 spirits of the heirs of salvation, and the bright guardians 
 of the just. 
 
 His wrestling with the angel, who doubtless was the 
 captain of the host that appeared to him in the likeness 
 of a man, (a prelude of his future incarnation,) over 
 he obtained the victory, and from whom he re- 
 ceived the blessing, when he wept and made supplie;. 
 may be considered as aiigore cf that great h^ht of auc- 
 tion which -the be! may lay their account 
 1 the night of this world. Even the Lcrd himself 
 :. . him with his right hand a» an 
 But as the mighty wrestler with Jacob aw 
 no greater strength than might be overcome, so God, 
 i faithful, will proportion the trials of his people to 
 the strength he has given them. And by their strength 
 (which yet is not their own) they shall prevail; for he 
 that is in appearai.ee against them is really fcr them, and 
 stronger for them than against them If he casts down, 
 it is but with his left, but he upholds them with his 
 right hand. Mysterious but comforting truth ! hard 
 to express, but sweet to know. Never was Jacob more 
 hdppy than when he seemed most »iserable, nor more 
 strong than when he seened most weak ; for at once ne 
 was lamed and bksssd, conquered and victorious. A 
 lively emblem this of what usually befals the remnant of 
 Jacob ! for, " happy is the man whom God correcteth." 
 The love of the Lord towards the children of Israel is 
 written in the most rigorous dispensations : when they 
 are weak, then are they strong ; and what he takes away 
 from them in one way, he restores to advantage in ano- 
 ther. O happy they, who think it no solitude to be 
 alone with God ! Glorious thiugs are spoken cf thee, O 
 duty of prayer ! He who can prevail with God needs 
 not fear that man should prevail against : 
 
46 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK F. 
 
 His burial in Canaan, the land of promise, afkr a life 
 of singular affliction, may represent the distinguished lot 
 of all the faithful, chosen, and called,, who, after a short 
 cqurse of pilgrimage, harassed with anxious cares and 
 sorrows, do rest in the promised land of the heavenly 
 Canaan, And, truly, the beloved Jacob had shared no 
 happiness to be compared with hated Esau's, if in this 
 li^ only he had hope. Who would riot rather judge 
 that Esau was beloved of God, and Jacob hated, if love 
 or hatred could certainly be known by that which hap- 
 under the sun? And were the Christian to I 
 his views bv the grave, should his hopes terminate in 
 death, ah ! then he were the most wretched of his race, 
 and, at his best estate, he were altogether vanity. 
 
 O eternal joys above ! O glorious rewards ! reserved 
 in heaven for those who seek fuc glory, honour, and bliss- 
 ful immortality, by patient continuance in well-doii;,; ; 
 without you, even pure and undefiled religion couid 
 scarce compensate the afflictions of this present life, to 
 which we are exposed as men and Christians. But these 
 assert the glorious prerogative of religion, and the supe- 
 rior happiness of saints, Though the days of their pil- 
 grimage, like Jacob's, be few and evil, yet still they are 
 a people saved by the Lord, who has blessed them, and 
 they shaii be blessed. 
 
 VI. — The History of Joseph. 
 
 The history of Joseph's life is doubtless one of the 
 most trtte<taining and eventful^ which all antiquity, can 
 boast of. Upon it are inscribed, in most lively charac- 
 ters, at once the terrible effects of malice and envy, and 
 the watchful care of Providence over the cause of in- 
 jured virtue and innocence. But the most remarkable 
 
THE HISTORY OP JOSEPH. 47 
 
 tiling that claims our attention here, is the surprising 
 likeness between the whole narrative and the history of 
 Jesus Christ, of whom it may truly be said, " The arch- 
 " ers have sorely grieved him, but his bow abude in its 
 " strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong 
 " by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob," (Gen. 
 x\ix. 23. 24.) 
 
 He was the beloved son of his father Jacob ; and truly 
 he seems to have been worthy of such paternal fav ur ; 
 for, detesting the wickedness of his brethten, he reported 
 their faults. This, wi h his prophetic dreams which he 
 told them of, so stung them with envy and resentment, 
 that they could not speak peaceably to him, nor look at 
 him but with disgust and aversion. Their causeless anger 
 is turned into obdurate hatred of their brother, and soon 
 they find an opportunity of wreaking their bloody rage. 
 He is sent by his father to inquire of their welfare when 
 feeding their flocks in the wilderness; and cr^d.ng no 
 harm, as he was innocent, and stranger to offence, he 
 carefully inquires after them, till at last he finds them out. 
 But ah ! u he looked for brethren, and behold murder- 
 u ers \ Wrath is cruel* and anger is outrageous, but who 
 ?• can stand before baleful envy ? M (Prov. xxvii. 4 ) 
 Transported with this blind fury, they forget at once 
 that they were brethren, children, and men ; and take 
 horrid counsel against the darling youth, to imbrue their 
 hands in his guiltless blood. One more merciful than 
 the rest moves, that they cast him into a pit, rather than 
 murder him outright ; for he intended, by this artifice, 
 at once to indulge their fury, and to elude it, b) finding 
 means to restore him again to his father. The motion 
 takes. They strip him of his garment with many co- 
 lours, and, regardless of the anguish of his soul,~ r ney let 
 tim down into the pit $ but themselves, O cruel mongers! 
 
48 , TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 €i sat down to eat and drink, for they were not grieved 
 €e for the affliction of Joseph," (Gen. xxxvii. 25. Amos 
 vi. 6.) Here they designed to leave to him to perish mise- 
 rably in mournful solitude ; but Providence reserved him 
 to better things ; for, lifting up their eyes, they see ap- 
 proaching a company of merchants who were of Ish- 
 mael's race, and carried balm and myrrh from Mount 
 Gilead into Egypt ; and Egypt's future lord is sold unto 
 the merchants, for twenty pieces of silver, by his savage 
 brethren, who dipped his garment in blood, to show it 
 to their father, and cloke their matchless villany, by pre- 
 tending that some wild beast had devoured him. Such 
 were once the men, O ye Jews, in whom ye glory as your 
 progenitors ! The innocent sufferer is sold a second time 
 to Potiphar in Egypt, in whose service he acquitted 
 himself so well as to gain the good graces of his master, 
 who reposed in him the most entire confidence, and 
 intrusted him with the sole management of his affairs. 
 But soon, alas ! the temptations of his mistress are 
 likely to prove no less dangerous than the malice of his 
 brethren. He preserved indeed his chastity by the fear 
 of the Lord; but incurring the undeserved suspicion of 
 a base crime, lie is committed to the dungeon by his too 
 partial master, as before he had been cast into the pit by 
 his cruel brethren. But " the king sent and loosed him, 
 ** and the ruler of the people set him free," (Psal. cv. 20.) 
 For as he exposed himself to ail his troublesome adven- 
 tures by telling his own dreams; so, by interpreting the 
 dreams of others, he laid the foundation of his subsequent 
 grandeur. On a sudden, his prison is turned into a palace, 
 his irons a chain of gold. Potiphar's servant is become 
 Potiphar's lord. He, " whose feet were hurt with fet- 
 <s ters, now binds ihe princes at pleasure, and teaches the 
 u senators wisdom," (ver. 18. 22.) And as. he moves 
 
THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH. 49 
 
 along the crowded streets, a herald proclaims before hi en, 
 11 Bow the knee," Gen. xli. 43.) And now he feeds, 
 from his hoarded granaries, the starving nations ; for he 
 wisely provided against the approach of the famine he fore- 
 told. The subjects of Pharaoh acknowledge him the sa- 
 viour of their lives. His unkind brethren, impelled by 
 hunger, and hard necessity, come also among the suppli- 
 cants, to fulfil his dreams, which they once vainly ima- 
 gined they had rendered for ever abortive. Ke remem- 
 bered the traces of their countenances ; and, by various 
 harsh methods, he explores the sincerity of their repent- 
 ance, and acquaints himself with the circumstances of 
 their family. At last his bowels yearning towards them, 
 and piteous of their misery, as being sufficiently chasti-ed, 
 he makes himself known to them ; buries in oblivion their 
 past misdemeanours, and transports them to dwell with 
 him, where he nourishes them like a father in the mid 1 -* 
 pf a terrible and extensive famine. — And thus what was 
 intended by the wickedness of men as the means of ex- 
 tirpating the name of Joseph out of the earth, was over- 
 ruled, by the wisdom of God, for bringing about his 
 glorious exaltation, for saving the lives of much people, 
 and even the lives of those who sought his death. 
 
 Which things are an allegory . For Jems Christ is the 
 true Joseph, H you view him as a beloved Son ; an affec- 
 tionate brother; a trusty servant; an illuminated prophet; 
 a resister of temptations ; a forgiver of injuries ; but 
 chiefly if you consider h:m as an innocent sufferer ; an 
 exalted Prince , and an universal Saviour. 
 
 Like Joseph, he was a behoved Son, whom God the 
 Father has blessed above all his brethren. Jacob .n.idt 
 for Joseph a garment of divero colours ; and God prepa- 
 red forCh' j curiously wrought in the lo e. pirts 
 of tke earth. Like Joseph, he is an affectionate brother. 
 E 
 
50 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 He came to seek his brethren in the wilderness of this 
 world, though they received him Hot He knows them 
 when they know him not; and his bowels yearn towards 
 them, even when he seems severe. He rftay deal roughly 
 with them at first, but he will have mercy upon them at 
 the last. He liberally supplies their wants without money 
 and without price ; and at last will bring them to dwell 
 with him in the heavenly Canaan, where they shall be- 
 hold his glory, and be abundantly satisfied with the fat- 
 ness of his house. Like Joseph, he was a trusty servant, 
 acquitting himself dexterously in every part of the work 
 that was given him to do : even as the prophet also fore- 
 tels, " Behold my servant shall deal prudently ; he shall 
 " be exalted, he shall be extolled, and be very high," 
 (Isa. lii. 1 3.) Like Joseph, he is a most illuminated pro- 
 phet, in whom the Spirit of God is — none so discreet 
 and wise as he — the true Zaphnathpaneah, or revealer of 
 secrets, who is worthy to take the sealed book of God's 
 decrees, and open its seven seals. Like Joseph, he was 
 a resister of temptations ; for he was solicited in vain to 
 spiritual adultery by the great enemy of salvation, when 
 he said unto him, *' All these will I give thee, if thou 
 " wilt fall down and worship me/* (Matt. iv. £).) Though 
 this harlot world hath cast down, wounded, and slain 
 many strong men, our Joseph overcame her; his heart 
 inclined not to her ways; he went not astray in her paths, 
 though in the encounter he was stripped of his mortal life, 
 which he willingly resigned. Like Joseph, he was and is 
 a forgiver of injuries ; for as on the cross he implored 
 forgiveness to his murderers with his expiring breath, so 
 on the throne he gave repentance unto Israel, and remis- 
 sion of sin, many of them whose hand had been very deep 
 in that bloody tragedy of his crucifixion, bein^ brought 
 to a sincere profession, that, M Verily, they were guilty 
 
THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH. 51 
 
 u concerning their brother," (Gen. xlii. 21.) and the 
 blood which they impiously shed, spoke better things 
 than that of Abel. 
 
 But chiefly ]^i us view him as an innocent sufferer, 
 whose Sufferings issued in glory to himself, and universal 
 good to men. Joseph is mortally hated of his brethren, 
 and the butt of their envy, because he exposed their 
 i courses, and foretold his own advancement. For 
 iime reasons was Jesus Christ ha'ed by the Jews ; 
 ai d Pilate knew that for envy they delivered him. Jo- 
 seph was derided of his brethren as an idle fantastic 
 xcr; and Jesus Christ was esteemed a doting enthu- 
 a madman, and one beside himself. Joseph his bre- 
 Lonsptred against him to take away his life; and of 
 Christ it is prophesied, " Why do the Heathen 
 " rage, and the people imagine a vain thing, to plot 
 last the Lord, and against his Anointed? (Psal. ii. 
 Joseph's brethren stripped him of his garments which 
 his father made for him ; and of Jesus Christ it is said, 
 " They parted my garments among them, and cast lots 
 " for my vesture,' 7 (Psal. xxii. IS.) Joseph was cast in- 
 to a pit, but he remained not long there; J;sus Christ was 
 laid in the grave, but he saw no corruption. Joseph was 
 sold for a servant by the advice of the patriarch Judah; 
 and Jesus Christ was, by the apostle Judas, sold for 
 thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave : A goodly 
 price he was prized at by them! Joseph was unjustly ac- 
 cused in Egypt, and cast into a dungeon with two noted 
 criminals, Pharaoh's butler and baker : Jesus Christ was 
 unjustly condemned in Canaan, and crucified between 
 two thieves. Joseph adjudged the one criminal to death, 
 and the other to life, from the same omens ; Jesus C 
 adjudged one of the thieves to everlasting life, while the 
 other was allowed to perish after the same deserts. Jo- 
 
52 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I , 
 
 seph entreated the person whom he delivered to remem- 
 ber him when he came to his glory; but the person whom 
 Jesus Christ delivered prayed him, " O Lord, remember 
 u me when thou comest into thy kingdom," (Luke xxiii. 
 42.) Joseph indeed could but foretel his companions de- 
 liverance ; but Christ Jesus effected by his own power 
 what he foretold, " To-day shalt thou be with me in 
 " paradise/*' (ver. 43.) 
 
 Such were the patriarch's unparalleled afflictions ; but 
 as he soon emerged from these deep plunges of adversity, 
 becoming of a forlorn prisoner a prime minister of state; 
 so Jesus Christ was taken from prison and from judgment, 
 and " receives from God the Father honour and glory, 
 11 and a name above every name ; that at the name of 
 11 Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, things 
 " in earth, and things under the earth; 'and every tongue 
 " confess, that Jtsus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
 " the Father," (Phil. ii. 9- 10. 11.) Behold, ye mistaken 
 Jews, how vain were all your machinations to frustrate 
 his predictions. Even yoa yourselves became subservient 
 to fulfil the grand design, when you killed the Prince 
 of life, who wa?, by suffering death, to enter into his 
 glory. Here the patriarch's speech to his penitent bre- 
 thren may fitly be applied : " As for you, ye thought 
 <J evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring 
 " to pass as at this day, to save much people alive," 
 (Gen. 1. 20.) 
 
 For, as the sufferings and glory ©f Joseph issued in the 
 common salvation of the lives of Pharaoh's subjects, and 
 the family of Jacob, who was a Syrian ready to perish, 
 even so thy sufferings, and thy glory, O thou once 
 humbled but now exalted Redeemer, were ordained for 
 the salvation of the world, both Jews and Gentiles, from 
 a far more dreadful destruction than a famine of bread or 
 
THE HISTORY OF MOSES. £>3 
 
 water ! Go unto this Joseph for the supply of your nu- 
 merous want?, ye that are ready to perish. His fulness 
 shall never be exhausted, be their number ever so great 
 who receive out of it. O that his glory might be the joy 
 of our heart, and the grand theme of every tongue ! With 
 what cheerfulness ought we to forsake the stuff of all 
 terrestrial things, when Joseph is alive, that we may be 
 with him where he is, and enjoy these blessings that are 
 " on the head of Jesus Christ, and on the crown of ihe 
 11 head of him that was separated from his brethren I" 
 
 VIL — The History of Moses. 
 
 Though Christ and Moses may seem, indeed, in 
 one view, to be as unlike one another, as the gospel and 
 the law, as the ministration of righteousness, and the 
 ministration of condemnation, we may, however, ob- 
 serve, in the character and history of this extraordinary 
 man, a great resemblance to that of Jesus Christ ; whe- 
 ther we consider him as a deliverer, a mediator, a law- 
 giver, or a prophet. 
 
 First, Let us view Moses as a deliverer of hl< nation 
 from the bondage of Egypt. To this end he was born ; 
 and when his life was sought by a bloody tyrant, who 
 murdered his feliow-infants, he was miraculously preser- 
 ved by his reputed mother, who gave him a royal educa- 
 tion. But when he was come to years, and capable of 
 judging for himself, he despised the pleasures of a court, 
 and chose rather to claim kindred with oppressed slaves, 
 because they were the people of God, than with the 
 daughter of Pharaoh, by whose right, perhaps, he might 
 have inherited the crown of Egypt. At last, though his 
 very brethren thrust him away, saying, " Who made thee 
 " a ruler and a judge ?V (Acts vii, 25.) he accomplishes 
 
 3 
 
51 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 their rescue from the land of Nile, spoiling the Egyptians 
 of their gold and silver, destroying their first-born, and 
 drowning, in the Red Sea, the flower of their army; and 
 all this by means of the blood of a Iamb whieh he shed, 
 and by his wonder-working rod. Even so, the birth of 
 the Deliverer, who came to Zion to rescue from the op- 
 pression of far worse enemies than the Egyptians or the 
 Romans, was signalized with the cruel butchering of the 
 infant* in Bethlehem by Herod's ministers of blood. But 
 the persecuted babe finds a safe retreat in Egypt, whither 
 he was conveyed by the guardian care of his supposed 
 father. And, when he was come to years, he disdained 
 an earthly crown, when the Jews would have taken him 
 by force, and made him a king ; as before he had in a 
 sort left for a time the co»rt of heaven, the bosom of his 
 Father, and the .songs of hymning cherubims, to endure, 
 in these regions of mortality, affliction for the people of 
 God ; for, as Moses had a respect to the recompense of 
 reward, so ci he, for the joy that was set before him, 
 ' " endured the cross, and despised the shame," (Hebi 
 xii. 2.) And though " his brethren understood not at 
 " first, that God by his hand would deliver them," 
 (Acts vii. 25.) and refused him as an impostor, at last he 
 accomplishes their redemption from the cruel bondage 
 of the devil, whose power he destroyed, by shedding his 
 own blood, and by sending the rod of his strength out of 
 Zion. By these despised means does the Captain of sal- 
 vation bring many sons to glory through raging seas of 
 affliction, through waste and howling wildernesses of va- 
 rious temptations, till they arrive in that happy country 
 which God had espied for them, which is the glory of all 
 lands. 
 
 As by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, 
 it is further to be observed, that he acted the part of a 
 
THE HISTORY OF MOSE9. 55 
 
 # 
 
 mediator between God and Israel, both when they fought 
 with Amalek, when they received the law, and when 
 they made the calf in Horeb : in all which instances he 
 may be viewed as a lively type of the one Mediator be- 
 tween God and man, the man Christ Jesus. When the 
 militant church is fighting in the valley of this world (as 
 an Amalek shall never be wanting from generation ta 
 generation,) their victory depends not so much on their 
 own prowess and martial skill, a^on the lifting up the 
 hands of our great Intercessor, who, like Moses, appears 
 in the presence of God upon a high mountain and eminent, 
 even far above all heavens. Behold, all ye who are fight- 
 ing the good fight of faith, how your great 'Mediator's 
 hands are lifted up towards the throne of God ! The 
 hands of Moses could not long endure to be stretched out ; 
 they were heavy and weak, and behoved to be strength- 
 ened and supported. But Jesus Christ fainteth not, nei- 
 ther is weary, though his hands be stretched out still : 
 therefore shall ye prevail who fight under his banner, and 
 have reason to say, " Thanks be unto God, who giveth us 
 " the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord," (1 Cor,xv. 
 57.) And as the law was ordained by angels in the 
 hand of Moses as a mediator, (for they to whom it was 
 published were afraid, by reason of the fire, and dreadful 
 sound which they heard, and went not up to the mount ; ) 
 «o Jesus Christ our Lord standsbetwixt theterrible majesty 
 of an angry God, and feeble guilty man, unable to ap- 
 pear in the presence of his glory : like Moses, he engaged 
 his heart to approach unto God. But Moses only report- 
 ed the law to the people, he fulfilled the law. Moses 
 quaked, and Christ was sort amazed, insomuch that he 
 sweated blood from all the pores of his body. Be not 
 afraid, ye redeemed of the Lord, " ye believe in God, be- 
 u lieve also in him." Though our God be a consuming 
 
56 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK F. 
 
 xire, the all-gracious Mediator hath quenched the flames, 
 and hushed the storm of wrath by his seasonable inter- 
 position, and the fiery law is now turned into a directing 
 light. And, lastly, he acted the part of a mediator, 
 when they made the calf in Horeb. When the anger of 
 the Lord was justly incensed against them for that enor- 
 mous crime, Moses said unto the people, " I will go 
 " unto the Lord, peradventure I shili make an atone- 
 " ment for your sin. And Moses returned unto the 
 €S Lord, and said, This people have sinned a grievous sin. 
 " But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin ; if not, blot 
 " me out of the book which thou hast written,'* (Exod. 
 xxxii. 30 — 32.) Perhaps he intended to seek that the 
 almighty vengeance might rather fall on his own head, 
 than that the whole nation should perish, though he was 
 not certain whether the offered propitiation would be 
 accepted. But Jesus Cnrist has not only offered himself 
 to die for the guilty race, but has actually made the 
 atonement which Moses proposed to make, and is set 
 forth for a propitiation through faith in his blood. 
 
 Next, Let us view him as a lawgiver, as the children 
 of Israel sung, " Moses commanded us a law, the inherit^ 
 P ance of the congregation of Jacob ; and he was king 
 " in Jeshurun," (Deut. xxxiii. 4. 5.) But we Chris- 
 tians may say, in the language of the prophet, " The 
 " Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our King, the Lord 
 " is our Lawgiver: he will save us," (Isa. xxxiii. 22.) 
 A law is now gone forth out of Zion ; but, Moses, not 
 like thine, consisting of carnal ordinances — a law, not of 
 works, but faith-^-a law, for which the isles of the Gen- 
 tiles shall wait — a law, which is not so much obeyed by 
 doing as by believing, and which never will stand in need 
 of reformation or repeal. 
 
 But, lastly, Let us view him in his prophetic charac* 
 
THE HISTORY OP MOSES. 5? 
 
 ter, ©f whom it is testified, u There arose no prophet 
 " since in Israel like unto Moses, to whom the Lord sp- ke 
 " face to face," (Deut. xx.iv. 10.) Yet M^ses truly 
 said unto the fathers, " A prophet shall the Lord your 
 " God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me ; 
 " and him shall yon hear in all things" (Dcut. xviii. 
 15.) Though we had not .he express authority of aa 
 apostle for the application of this prediction tc ihc 
 Apostle and High-Pritstof our p<ofes-ion, we can sea cely 
 be at a loss to see how it can agree to none other He, 
 he is that prophet that should conae into the world, of 
 whom Moses wrote, and who is like unto him, if you 
 consider the stock from whence he sprung ; for he was 
 raised from among his brethren, not assuming the nature 
 of angels, but the nature of man, and of the seed of 
 Abraham. The meekness of his temper, which excelled 
 the meekness of Moses, as far as the meekness of Moses 
 excelled the meekness of other men. The Hebrew law- 
 giver, meek as he was, cannot be altogether freed from 
 sallies of impatience; but the meek and lowly Jesus*, who 
 calls us to learn of him, was never indecently transported 
 with rage, nor uttered one word unadvisedly with his lips, 
 though upoB the most provoking occasion. The lustre 
 of his face ; for, not to mention his transfiguration on 
 the mount, when his face did shine as the sun, he is in his 
 » divine person the brightness of his Father's glory, which, 
 like Moses, he covered with the veil of his flesh, when he 
 descended into our world, that he might be qualified for 
 holding familiar converse with men upon earth, his terror 
 not making them afraid. For if the face of Moses, the 
 servant, did shine with such dazzling glory, by a 6hort 
 abode in the presence of Jehovah on an earthly mount, 
 that the Israelites could not endure to behold him with- 
 out a veil, how much less could the feeble eyes of mor- 
 
S8 TYPICAL PERSONS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 tal men have endured the face of Christ the Son, . ao, 
 abiding from everlasting in the presence of Jehovah, 
 was daily his delight, had he shone forth in all the blaze 
 of Deity, without the thick veil of his flesh ! The clear- 
 ness of his manifestations. Of Moses, indeed, it is said, 
 C: With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparent- 
 c< ly, and not in dark speeches, and the similitude of the 
 " Lord shall he behold ;" whereas it was usual for the 
 prophets of inferior rank to receive the intimations of 
 the divine will in dreams when they were asleep, and ec- 
 stasies when awake. But of this prophet, in the Mew 
 Testament church, his harbinger declares, " No man hatfe 
 11 seen God at any time ; but the only begotten Sen, 
 * c which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared 
 *• him," (John i. 18.) His fidelity in executing his 
 commission : for, " the words the Father gave unto him, 
 €< he gave unto them ; and as the Father gave him com- 
 " mandment, so he spake. Moses, indeed, was faitr 
 " all his house as a servant, bit Christ as a Son over his 
 ** own house," (Heb. iii. 5. 6.) The opposition he met 
 with from Jews and Gentiles. He endured the centra- 
 diction of sinners against himself, even as Ja/nes and 
 Jambres withstood Moses. Ai.d as his nearest rela*'ons 
 quarrelled with him for marrying Z ipporah,the Ethiopian 
 woman, so did the Jews with Christ for espousing the 
 Gentile church. The miracles he wrought. *'■ It was ne- 
 " ver so seen in Israel." Like Moses, he fed the Israel- 
 ites in the wilderness, and their leaving was as miraculous 
 as their eating. 
 
 What Moses did literally, the same Christ does spiri- 
 tually, for the beloved Israel. He sweetens their bitter 
 wafers, cures their diseases, supplies their wants. Like 
 Moses, he fasted forty days ; and, like Moses, he died 
 at the commandment of the Lord, 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD. 59 
 
 VIIL — The Ordinance of the Priesthood, 
 
 As the sun paints the clouds with variety of glo- 
 rious colours, which, in their own nature, are but dark 
 and lowering vapours exhaled from the earth ; so, when 
 the Sun of Righteousness arises, even the carnal ordi- 
 nances and commandments of the law, dark and earthly 
 as they seem, are gilded by his beams, and wear a smi- 
 ling appearance. By his kindly influence, who is the 
 light of the world, the most barren places of the scrip- 
 ture rej^ ice, and blossom as the rose. What portion of 
 sacred writ is more apt to be perused without edification 
 and delight, than what relates to the Levitical priesthood ; 
 the qualifications of their persons, their apparel, their 
 xronsecration, and different parts of their function ? And, 
 indeed, it must be confessed a very hard task to recon- 
 cile, with the wisdom of God, the enjoining such num- 
 berless rite?, purely for their own sake. But when we 
 consider that Aaron and his successors were figures of 
 our great High-Priest, we must acknowledge that these 
 injunctions are neither unworthy of God, nor useless to 
 man, but are profitable for doctrine, and instruction in 
 righteousness. We shall instance in a few things. 
 
 And, first, We shall take notice of the laws relating to 
 the persons of Aaron and his sons. Whosoever he was 
 that approached to God in the character of an high-priest, 
 he behoved, according to the law of Moses, to be of the 
 stock of Israel, the tribe of Levi, the family of Aaron, 
 having his genealogy well attested, his body sound, his 
 life temperate, (for he was not to drink wine, or other 
 intoxicating liquors;) his wife must be either a virgin, or 
 the widow of a priest, but by no means a divorced wo- 
 man, or an harlot ; and, lastly, it was absolutely forbid- 
 den that he should go out of the sanctuary to mourn for 
 
60 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 the dead, unless they were his nearest relations. Let us 
 apply these things to our High-Priest. It must, indeed, 
 be acknowledged, that he was neither of the tribe of Levi, 
 nor of the family of Aaron ; for, " it is evident our 
 " Lord sprang out of Judah, and Moses says nothirig of 
 " the priesthood belonging to that tribe," (Heb. vii. 14.) , 
 In this respect, to be sure, he differs from them in a very 
 essential point, which, however it disqualified him from 
 officiating in the temple, (" for, if he were on earth, he 
 " should not be a priest,") (chap. viii. 4.) yet does not 
 in the least infer his incapacity to be a priest of a higher 
 order than the order of Aaron, that is, of the order of 
 Melchizedec, who joined in one person the priest and the 
 king. The character and office of a Levitical priest he 
 never assumed when he was upon earth, as, indeed, he 
 could not have any claim unto it. What shall we say 
 then ? That he is inferior to Aaron and his successors on 
 this account ? Nay, the difference of his tribe is. the most 
 convincing proof of the supereminence of his order. — 
 Like Aaron, he was taken from among men, and was an 
 Hebrew of the Hebrews ; and never any priest of them . 
 all could boast of such an illustrious pedigree as Jesus 
 Christ. Which of them all was born of a virgin ? and 
 rt to which of them said God at any time, Thou art my 
 " Son, this day have I begotten thee ?" (Heb. v. 5.) 
 
 The genealogy of the ancient priests behoved to be 
 firmly documented ; but they had no such illustrious 
 proofs of their being the sons of Levi as Christ had of 
 his being the Son of God, which the Father attested, 
 both by the voice from heaven, and by the mighty works 
 he enabled him to do. The soundness of their body was, 
 no doubt, intended to prefigure the integrity and perfec- 
 tion of the soul of Jesus Christ ; for the least deformity 
 here had rendered him utterly incapable of propitiating 
 
the Deity, by the sacrifice of himself: for " such an 
 high-priest became us, who," though falsely accused o£ 
 many sins, was never convinced of any, but " was holy, 
 " harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners," (chap.vii. 
 26.) and a lamb without blemish, and without spot, eveu 
 in the pure eyes of God. Their restriction to marry a 
 wife in the virginity may perhaps denote, that the hu- 
 man nature which our great High-Priest, Jesus the Son 
 of God, deigned to wed to his divine person, was not de- 
 flowered with sin, but a pure, uncorrupted, and holy thing. 
 But, beyond all doubt, we are natively led to think of the 
 whole church, and every member of that society, being 
 presented as chaste virgins unto Christ. In vain does the 
 harlot-church of Rome, that great whore that sits on 
 many waters, claim the high prerogative of being the 
 only spouse of Christ. Hear what the apostle declares 
 of the followers of the Lamb : " These are they which 
 " were not defiled with women, for they are virgins : 
 " these were redeemed from among men, being the first- 
 " fruits to God, and to the Lamb," (Rev. xiv. 4.) 
 
 The abstinence from wine and strong drink, which was 
 commanded, was not only designed to inculcate the strict- 
 est temperance, (which is a most necessary virtue to the 
 discharge of any important trust that requires the faculties. 
 of the mind to be in their most vigorous state;) but it 
 may be also viewed as an implicit intimation of that per- 
 fect command of himself which our great High-Priest had 
 in the discharging of his office, never forgetting what he 
 was about in the smallest instance, being always found of 
 quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, but by no 
 means a gluttonous man, and a wine^bibber, as the hypo- 
 critical Pharisees maliciously affirmed. The prohibition 
 of going out of the sanctuary to mourn for the dead, was 
 a prediction, that when Jesus Christ should pass into the 
 
62 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK R 
 
 heavenly sanctuary, he should leave all his sorrows be- 
 hind him, and dwell for ever in the presence of God, 
 where there is fulness of joy. Moreo/er, it clearly signi- 
 fies, that he was to abolish death and the grave. Hence- 
 forth let no unmanly tear be shed for the blessed dead, 
 who die in the Lord. That most calamitous event to the 
 eye of sense, is to the eye of faith the most happy revo- 
 lution in the lot of the just. 
 
 Nor are the laws about their priestly garments less in- 
 structive and significant. The curious materials of the 
 ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, might represent 
 the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the lustre of those 
 divine graces which adorned his sacred humanity. The 
 names of the twelve tribes he bore first upon his shoul- 
 ders, and then upon his breastplate, as a memorial before 
 the Lord continually, engraven on precious stones, and 
 disposed in comely order, is no obscure emblem of the 
 saints, whom our High-Priest carries both on the shoul- 
 ders of his almighty power, and on the breast of cordial 
 love, according to the most pathetic prayer of the spouse, 
 ** Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine 
 u arm," (Song vii. 6.) These names were engraven on 
 precious stones ; for such are all his saints, though dis- 
 allowed of men, and trampled under foot as naughty 
 pebbles ; yet are they chosen of God, and precious, and 
 they shall be his in the day that he makes up his jewels. 
 No tribe was wanting in that most costly breastplate; for 
 Jesus Christ knows them by name whom he redeems, both 
 great and small, and there is no respect of persons. — 
 They were arranged in comely order ; for M he is not 
 4f the God of confusion, but of order, as in all the 
 «• churches of the saints," (1 Cor. xiv. 33.) They were 
 irmly set, and not slightly put into the breastplate; for 
 all the faithful are so firmly united unto Jesus Christ, that 
 
THB ORDINANCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 not the smallest jewel can be picked from the breastplate 
 of our Aaron, by the joint efforts of earth and hell. It 
 was not lawful for the Israelites to enter into the most 
 holy place in their own persons, but in the person of their 
 high-priest they entered every year, as their names were 
 graven on his shoulders and heart, and presented uoto 
 Jehovah. Even so, in Jesus Christ, the holy Christia/i 
 nation, who live upon the earth, are entered into the holiest 
 of all, and even sat down with him in heavenly places. — 
 Shall we mention next the Urim and the Thummi*: 
 Moses was commanded to put into the breastplate of 
 Aaron ? Be it so, we cannot certainJy determine the na- 
 ture or form of this divine workmanship, denoted by such 
 an uncommon phrase; we are certaiu, however, tha,t in 
 Jesus Christ we have that priest who stands up with Urim 
 and Thummim, and bears the judgment of Israel before 
 the Lord continually. In him are found the clearest 
 light of wisdom, and the greatest perfection of hc^. 
 In him that prayer is fully answered, " Give the king 
 ** thy judgments, O Lord, and the king's son thy righ- 
 u teousness," (Psal. lxxii. 1.) The curious girdle sig- 
 nifies the alacrity wherewith our High-Priest discharged 
 every part of his office ; for girding up the loins of his 
 mind, he did, with all his might, what his har.d found. 
 Aaron's girdle was indeed of costly texture, gold and 
 purple, blue and scarlet. But of Jesus Christ it was pro- 
 phesied, " Faithfulness shall be the girdle of his loks, and 
 " righteousness the girdle of his reins," (lea. xi. 5.) 
 The beloved apostle John beheld him equipped with this 
 priestly ornament, when he saw him in the visions of God 
 walking in the midst of the seven golden candle tl 
 clothed with a long white garment down to the foot, and 
 girt about the paps with a golden girdle. The golden 
 bells, suspended around the hem of Aaron's under-robe, 
 F 2 
 
Q4f TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 may signify the sweet sound of the gospel which is gone 
 unto all the earth. O greatly blessed are the people who 
 hear this joyful sound, sweeter to the ear of faith than 
 music, in its softest strains, to the ear of the body ; and 
 an undoubted sign that our High-Priest is alive, though 
 we see him not, and lives for ever more in the presence 
 of Jehovah, to make intercession for us. 
 
 The pomegranates that were curiously wrought be- 
 twixt the bells, and equal to them in number, may be an 
 emblem of those fruits of righteousness with which the 
 preaching of the gospel is attended. The fair mitre that 
 adorned his head, with the venerable, inscription on the 
 plate of gold surrounding his temples, may put us in 
 mind of Jesus Christ, wbo is the only crowned priest ; 
 and not only holy, but Holiness itself unto the Lord ; 
 yea, he is himself the holy Jehovah, and fountain of 
 holiness unto his people. For " this is the name where- 
 by " he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness,** 
 (Jer. xxiii. 6.) 
 
 Such were the garments for glory and beauty the ty- 
 pical priesthood were commanded to wear, and such their 
 giystical signification. Let us come next to the manner 
 ^>f their consecration. The Hebrew lawgiver is directed 
 to bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle 
 of the congregation: there they were washed with water; 
 arrayed with the priestly vestments; anointed with the 
 costly oil, which it was death to counterfeit ; and, last- 
 ly, sanctified by th,e offering up of peculiar sacrifices, 
 whose blood was put upon the extreme parts of their 
 bodies. Though every minute circumstance in these ve- 
 nerable rites may not be capable of application to Jesus 
 Christ, it is sufficient if we can observe a general analogy. 
 Aaron was washed in water, to signify that he was be- 
 fore polluted ; and Christ was baptized, not indeed be- 
 
THE ORDINANCE OP THE PRIESTHOOD. Dp 
 
 cause he was himself polluted, but as it became him to 
 fulfil all righteousness. Aaron was arrayed with the ap- 
 pointed vestments ; and Christ was clothed with the gar- 
 ment of our flesh, curiously wrought in the lower parts of 
 the earth. Aaron was anointed with oil, wherewith the 
 inferior priests were but sprinkled ; but Christ is anoint- 
 ed with the Holy Ghost, which God gives not by mea- 
 sure unto him. Aaron was consecrated with the blood of 
 beasts ; but Christ was sanctified by his own blood, and 
 made perfect through sufferings, by which he learned 
 obedience, though he was the Son of God. 
 
 The different parts of their function is the last thing 
 that demands our attention. " Every high-priest taken 
 " from among men," in the manner above described, " is 
 M ordained for men in things pertaining unto God, and 
 " to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sin," ( Heb. v. 1 . ) 
 This, indeed, was the most distinguishing part of their of- 
 fice, and fundamental to all other functions that are ap- 
 propriated to them. However, they were also appointed 
 to bless the people ; to pray for them ; to instruct them 
 in the knowledge of the divine will ; to oversee the 
 service of the tabernacle ; to blow the trumpets both in 
 peace and war ; and to judge betwixt the clean and the 
 unclean. But we see Jesus our High-Priest, giving him- 
 self an offering and a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savour, 
 more grateful unto God, and more appeasing to his in- 
 censed justice, than all the victims that ever smoked in 
 the worldly sanctuary, or than all the gifts that ever were 
 presented there, or than all the incense that ever fumed 
 from the golden censer. Put off your robes, ye legal 
 priesthood, your work is finished, your office is entirely- 
 superseded. What ye could not do by multiplied cbk- 
 tions, Jesus Christ has done by one sacrifice. The vail 
 U now rent, and the temple now destroyed. The shadow 
 F 3 
 
$6 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 has given place to the substance. Perhaps it was not 
 without a mystic signification, that Zacharias, a priest of 
 Aaron's order, and the father of John, the harbinger of 
 Christ, was struck dumb when officiating in the temple, 
 so that he could not speak unto the people when he came 
 forth of the holy place. Might it not be a silent omen, 
 that a ^dispensation was now commencing, in the days of 
 Messiah, wherein none of Aaron's order should open their 
 mouths any more to bless the people, saying, " The Lord 
 *' bless thee, and keep thee : the Lord make his iace to 
 " shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : the Lord 
 44 lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee 
 peace ?" (Numb. vi. 24. 25.) Jesus is that priest whom 
 God hath sent to bless us ; who prays for hi9 people ; * 
 •whose lips keep knowledge to instruct us in the will of 
 God. Jesus is that prie6L who oversees the service of the 
 tabernacle, being head over all things to the church, 
 which is his body. Jesus is that priest who now blows 
 the great trumpet of the gospel, and who shall descend 
 shortly from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
 archangel, and with the trump of God, to gather the 
 congregation of the righteous. Then all who have him 
 not for their priest, to wash and sprinkle them with his 
 hyssop and blood, shall have him for their priest to pro- 
 nounce them utterly unclean. 
 
 IX.— The History of Joshua. 
 
 The names of Joshua and Jesus are scarcely more like 
 .han their achievements. This captain, so famous in 
 the sacred history, was nominated to be the successor of 
 Moses, and ordained,by God's command, to this high post, 
 in the presence of all the congregation of Israel. He re- 
 ceived the name of Joshua before, when sent to spy out 
 
THE HISTORY OF JOSHUA. 67 
 
 trie land, his former name being Oshea ; and he is the 
 first of the typical persons who was called by the very 
 name, by which, in future ages, a greater Saviour than 
 he was commonly known. Perhaps it was not without 
 hs meaning that he was the servant before he was the 
 successor of Moses ; for it might signify that our Jesus 
 was first to become the servant of the law before he 
 should abolish it. But, passing this, let us take a more 
 particular notice of the most memorable passages of that 
 marvellous campaign. 
 
 And the first thing that presents itself to our view is his 
 passing the Jordan,, which was miraculously driven back, 
 to afford a safe passage to the chosen people. In this ri- 
 ver God was pleased, for the first time, to magnify his 
 servant Joshua in the sight of all the tribes of Israel ; and 
 in this river it pleased God to give the first most public 
 testimony to Jesus Christ, when the heavens seemed to 
 open at his baptism, and the Holy Ghost descended in the 
 likeness of a dove, and a voice from the excellent glory 
 proclaimed his high character* But the chief thing to be 
 observed here is the resemblance betwixt the passage of 
 Israel over Jordan into the promised land, under the con- 
 duct of Joshua, and the passage of all the redeemed through 
 death into the heavenly inheritance. Long had they tra- 
 versed the vast and howling wilderness, the haunt of ra- 
 venous beasts and poisonous serpents, where their hearts 
 many a time were like to faint for thirst and hunger ; but 
 cow the land flowing with milk and honey receives them, 
 and their wanderings in the pathless desart are for tver 
 ended. Though Jordan overflows his banks, their march 
 is not obstructed. O powerful presence of Jehovah ! 
 *' The sea saw it, and fled, and Jordan was driven back," 
 j(P*aL cxiv. 3.) \nd now they have taken their farewell 
 of the weary wilderness ; we hear no more of the rairacu- 
 
68 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 lous cloud that conducted them, nor of the manna that 
 fed them forty years. Such is the safety of all true Is- 
 raelites, when marching to their promised rest under 
 the conduct of the Captain of their salvation. Death is 
 the Jordan through which they pass from the wilderness 
 of this world into the blissful regions of immortality. But 
 when they pass through these waters, they shall not over- 
 flow them ; for he who dries up the waters of the sea by 
 his rebuke will be graciously present with them till they 
 gain the safe shore of Immanuel's land. Then shall the 
 ordinances be discontinued, and the Bible superseded, 
 which are so necessary, in their wandering state, to support 
 their lives, and guide their paths ; as the cloud vanished, 
 and the manna stayed, when the fine wheat of Canaan sup- 
 plied the Israelites with food, according to the promise. 
 It is not Moses, but Joshua, who leads through Jordan. 
 Jesus, thou art the only conqueror of death. What will 
 they do, when they come to the swellings of Jordan, who 
 are not under thine auspicious conduct ? Thanks be to 
 God who gives us the victory over death, not through 
 Moses or the law, but through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Twelve stones are left by the Hebrew captain, as a me- 
 morial of this great deliverance ; and twelve apostles 
 were appointed by the Captain of our salvation to be 
 witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of 
 the Jews, and in Jerusalem. 
 
 From the banks of Jordan, let us now come to the 
 walls of Jericho, the accursed city. Never was town or 
 garrison besieged in such a manner before or since. No 
 mounts are raised, no battering-rams are applied to the 
 walls, no attempts are made to sap the foundations ; but, 
 by the direction of the Lord of hosts, the army marches 
 in silent parade round the walls. Their martial music is 
 not the soufld of their silver trumpets, but of rams horns, 
 
THE HISTORY OF JOSHUA. 69 
 
 blown by their priests. Ridiculous, weak, and foolish, 
 as this new method of assault might seem to the unbelie- 
 ving sinners of Jericho, they soon found that the weakness 
 of God is stronger than men, and that the most contempt- 
 ible means, when God ordains them, shall gain their end, 
 in spite of all opposition. " What ailed thee, O sea, 
 " that thou fleddest? Jordan, that thou wast driven 
 4C back ?" (Psal. cxiv. 5.) and ye walls of Jericho, 
 that ye fell flat to the ground, when compassed seven 
 days ? It was not owing to the sword of Israel, nor even 
 to the sound of the trumpets, but to the power of Israel's 
 God, accompanying this feeble mean, prescribed for the 
 trial of their faith, and proof of their obedience. For, 
 O the power of faith ! had their walls threatened the 
 clouds, and been harder than adamant, firmer than brass, 
 down must they tumble on the evening of the seventh 
 day. Thus are the strong-holds of sin, and every high 
 thing that exalts itself against the New-Testament Joshua, 
 cast down, by the mighty weapons of the Christian war- 
 fare, which are not carnal. The feeble voice of the 
 gospel, when faithfully preached, though not with a sil- 
 ver sound, or with excellency of speech, shall be mighty 
 through God to triumph over all opposition ; so it was in 
 the days of the apostles ; so it has been in every distant 
 age ; and so it shall be till the victory is complete. 
 Thus, Babylon, shall thy proud towers be levelled with 
 the ground, though seemingly fearless of assault. " For 
 M the day of the Lord shall be on every high wall, and 
 " on every one that is proud and lifted up," (Isa. ii. 12.) 
 Though the kings of the earth should give their strength 
 to the beast, our Joshua shall prevail, by the foolishness 
 of preaching, and the sound of the gospel trumpet ; and 
 at the appointed time the strong-lunged angel shall cry, 
 " Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen," (Rev. xiv. 8.) 
 
70 TYPICAL PERSONS, BOOK I. 
 
 The saving of Rahab and her household is tire next re- 
 markable occurrence. Who would have expected to find, 
 in this city of destruction:, even a strong believer, whose 
 faith should be celebrated by one apostle, and her Works 
 by another ? and who should have also the honour to 
 make one of that illustrious line whence the Messiah 
 should arise i But so it was. Though once a notorious 
 sinner, and called Rahab the harlot to this day, yet she 
 was a believe of the promise that God made to Israel, 
 and proved by her works that her faith was genuine ; for, 
 protecting the messengers of Joshua at the hazard of her 
 life, she preferred the interests ©f the church of God to 
 those of her country, which she knew very well was im- 
 possible so be faved. Though we can by no means justify 
 the dissimulation by which jshe saved the spies from the 
 pursevants of the king of Jericho ; yet, as God has for- 
 given her for being once a harlot and a liar, so must we 
 also forgive those blameable parts of her conduct, of 
 which she ha9 long since truly repented. Well does Jo- 
 shua answer his name, in saving not the race of Israel only, 
 but Rahab, though a cursed Canaanite, with all her house- 
 hold, though sinners of the Gentiles. Was it not a dark 
 prelude of Jesus Christ, our better Joshua, his saving the 
 Gentile world from the wrath to come, as well as the 
 preserved of Jacob ? Might it not portend, that publicans 
 and harlots ,and such notorious sinners, should be received 
 among the first into his heavenly kingdom ? and that the 
 harlot Gentiles, who formerly were serving divers lusts, 
 and living in the most abominable idolatries, should be in- 
 corporated into the holy society of the church, and es- 
 poused as a chaste bride to Jesus Christ, as Rahab became 
 a proselyte to the Jewish religion, and the wife of Naas- 
 son, an illustrious. prince in the chief of their tribes? 
 Perhaps the scarlet thread, which* at the direction of the 
 
THE HTSTORY OP JOSHUA, 7 1 
 
 spies, she hung forth of her window, as a discriminating 
 signal, by which all under her roof were exeemed from 
 the dismal desolation ; perhaps, I say, it might be an in- 
 timation, though a very obscure one, that the shedding of 
 Christ's red blood should prove the means of salvation to 
 the Gentile world, and of making ptace betwixt the 
 Jews and them, who were formerly at variance, and har- 
 boured mutual hatred. Red was the colour of salvation 
 to Israel in Egypt, when the sprinkling their doors with 
 blood protected them from the destroying angel's sword ; 
 and red is the colour of salvation to Rahab in Canaan, 
 when the hanging a scarlet thread over her windows was 
 her security from the destroying sword of Israel. Happy 
 they wbo have the blood of Christ upon them, not for 
 destruction, (as the Jews who murdered him, and impre- 
 cated this dreadful vengeance on themselves, and their pos- 
 terity,) but for salvation, (as all them who believe,) Ra- 
 hab's safety was confirmed by the cath of men ; but their' s 
 by the oath of God, for whom it is impossible to lie. 
 Destruction approaches # not these doors ; death enters not 
 these windows, where the blood of Christ is found. 
 
 In vain did the kings of Canaan conspire to oppose the 
 victorious Joshua after the destruction of Jericho ; for at 
 last he bids his captains set their feet upon the necks of 
 the hostile princes, in token of full conquest. Nor was it 
 strange he should be able to do this, when the very hea- 
 vens befriended him, by casting down prodigious hail- 
 stones to kill his flying enemies ; and their most glorious 
 luminaries, the sun and moon, were obedient to his voice, 
 and stood still in their habitation, till the vengeance writ- 
 ten was executed upon the devoted nations. Such is that 
 complete victory over all the enemies of God aBd his 
 people, which he shall gain who goes forth conquering 
 and to conquer. It is the distinguished honour of all his 
 
T£ TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I, 
 
 faithful soldiers to tread upon the devil, the world, and 
 the lusts of the flesh. These are the dragons and the lions 
 which they trample under their feet ; these are the kings 
 they bind with chains ; these are the nations they shall 
 dash in shivers as a potter's vessel with a rod of iron. And 
 a time is coming when the upright shall have dominion 
 over the wicked ; for so is his will, whom not only the 
 sun and moon, but all the numerous hosts of heaven and 
 earth obey* 
 
 At last the favoured nation of the Jews are brought 
 into their promised rest, under the conduct of their va- 
 liant general. Jle puts them in quiet possession of that 
 happy country which before he had spied out for them. 
 This Moses could not do. So Jesus Christ hath intro- 
 duced us, not into a temporal rest, like then, O Joshua ; 
 but into a spiritual and eternal rest, an incorruptible and 
 undefiled inheritance, which the law could not do, ha- 
 ving become weak through the Hesh. 
 
 X. — The History of Samson. 
 Let us now glance at the prodigious feats of 
 Samson, that mighty and renowned judge of Israel, 
 whose birth, life, and death, were all so extraordinary, 
 that, as some suppose, the fabulous tales of Hercules, so 
 famous in Greece, are but this true history metamorpho- 
 sed, and dashed with fiction. It may, indeed, seem odd 
 to insert a person, whose vices were so glaring and un- 
 manly, in the catalogue of the illustrious types of Jesus 
 Christ ; for the hints of his religious and saintly disposi- 
 tion in the history of tt)e Judges, are so dubious and spa- 
 ring, that one would be tempted to suspect whether he 
 was a saint at all. But the honourable character he was 
 vested with by God, and the signal deliverances of his 
 
THE HISTORY OF SAMSON. 73 
 
 people he was enabled to achieve, afford us more than a 
 presumption that he was not wholly a stranger to the fear 
 of the Lord. Above all, his reputation as a believer is 
 firmly established by a New Testament writer, who ranks 
 him among the eminent worthies, who " lived and died in 
 " faith ; who by faith subdued kingdoms, wrought rigli- 
 u teousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of 
 " lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge 
 ** of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed 
 " valiant in fight, and turned to flight the armies of the 
 " aliens," (Heb. xi. 33, 34.) Be it so, that, on account 
 of the criminal weakness t)f his mind, which wrought his 
 own destruction, he is rather a figure of the sinner ; yet 
 if we consider the prodigious strength of his body, which 
 wrought salvation in Israel, he is justly esteemed a figure 
 of the Saviour. 
 
 The circumstances of his birth so much resemble those 
 of Jesus ChristVs, that we can scarcely pass them over in 
 silence. Both Jesus Christ and he were conceived in an 
 extraordinary manner beside the course of nature ; their 
 birth and future importance were declared by a mes- 
 senger from the invisible world to their female parents, 
 that they should be Nazarites unto God, and Saviour6 of 
 Israel. Only whereas Samson's mother was but a barren 
 spouse, the mother of Jesus was an unspotted virgin. The 
 angel that appeared to Manoah's wife refused to tell his 
 name when importuned ; but the angel who appeared to 
 the wife of Joseph declared who he was without being 
 asked. Samson was but a legal Nazarite from the womb, 
 and many a time he seems to have acted a part very un- 
 worthy of such a sacred name ; but Jesus Christ was that 
 in substance which Samson and other Nazarites were only 
 in shadow ; " holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from 
 H sinners, (Heb. vii. 26.) purer than snow, whiter than 
 G 
 
74 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 " milk, more ruddy in body than rubies, his polishing 
 u was of sapphire," (Lam. iv. 7.) He was, during his 
 whole life, dedicated to the service of God, abstracted 
 from the affairs of the world, denied to the gratifications 
 of sense, and pure from all uncleanness. And lastly, that 
 the resemblance betwixt him and that religious order 
 might be more complete, whereas, at the expiring of their 
 vow, they were obliged, by the divine law, to offer as 
 many sacrifices as though they had been lepers, even 
 though they had fully complied with all their restric- 
 tions ; so Jesus Christ, that he might fully pay his vow 
 to the mighty God of Jacob, offered himself a sacrifice, 
 though he had no sin of his own to be expiated. And, 
 perhaps, it is more than a conjecture that his education 
 in the village of Nazareth, which occasioned his being 
 called a Nazarene, in the common style of the country, 
 was intended, in the secret providence of God, to be an 
 intimation to all that he was the true Nazarite, in whom 
 the ancient laws of Nazariteship were to receive their 
 end : and thus, according to a holy evangelist, it was ful- 
 filled that is written in the prophets, <l He shall be call- 
 ■■ ed a Nazarene," (Matth. ii. 23.) 
 
 We shall now come to take notice of some of the most 
 singular actions of this illustrious Danite, which are as 
 uncommon as his extraordinary birth presaged. Whether 
 his marriage with a Philistine was any dark figure of the 
 calling of the Gentiles, I will not determine. But his 
 encounter with the young lion that roared against him, 
 when he had no defensive weapon in his hand, in which 
 he was victorious, (a prelude of his future victories,) seems 
 not unlike that first prelusive battle our Redeemer had 
 with the roaring lion of hell, who met him in the wil- 
 derness, and roared against him by three most hideous 
 
THE HISTORY OF SAMSON'. 75 
 
 temptations, but was totally routed and overcome by the 
 Lion of the tribe of Judah. 
 
 Kail Sod of the Most High, heir of both worlds, 
 Queller of Satan, on thy glorious work 
 Now enter, and begin to save mankind. 
 
 Miltox. 
 
 £nd whereas the dead carcase of the lion is recorded to 
 have become an hive of bees, who, by some strange in- 
 stinct, chose here to make their honey, this may at least 
 put us in mind what are the happy ciTCCt- cf t"C re- 
 quests of our Redeemer, The law roared against him 
 by its threatenings, but he overcame it by his complete 
 satisfaction. Death roared against him, and thought to 
 swallow him ; but, O (Jeath, he was thy plague. Be not 
 afraid of the condemning law, ye that believe in the Son 
 of God ; tremble not at the thoughts of death. These 
 roaring lions are quelled by your almighty Redeemer, 
 who has seen the travail of his soul, and is satisfied, as 
 Samson did eat of the honey which he found in the car- 
 case ; and who also invites his people to partake with him 
 in his repast, as it is said, " Eat ye that which is good, 
 u and let your soul delight itself in fatness/' (Isa. Iv. 2.) 
 To have beheld a flight of eagles alighted on the carrion 
 would have been no uncommon occurrence ; for <c where 
 M the carcase i?, there will the eagles be gathered to- 
 gether," (Matth. xxiv. 28.) But for bees to take up 
 their quarters in a dead carcase, and there to deposit 
 their delicious stores, is so unlike the natural disposition 
 of these clean and prudent insects, as to afford the matter 
 of that famous riddle which this great champion pro- 
 pounded to his friends, on occasion of this extraordinary 
 adventure, and which they were not able to guess the 
 meaning of, till, according to the proverb then used, they 
 
76 TYPICAL PERSONS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 ploughed with his heifer. That swarms of Christians 
 should be associated together, and live by the death of 
 Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, whose flesh 
 is meat indeed ; that glory should come to us by his dis- 
 honour, riches by his poverty, strength by his weakness, 
 life by his death ; that the most unlikely means should 
 bring about the most glorious and beneficial ends j that 
 our most terrible enemies should be meat for us ; that 
 what promises nothing but stench and putrefaction, should 
 yield sweet comfort and refreshment ; these are the things 
 "Which, by the gospel, are declared into us. Here, Sam- 
 son, thy riddle unfolds itself, which none can understand 
 aright, who plough not with God's heifer, that is, the 
 Spirit of God, who searcheth all things, and reveals what 
 the natural man receiveth not, nor knows. 
 
 It was strange the Israelites did not join together, un- 
 der such a redoubted champion, to shake off the shameful 
 yoke of the Philistines. But they were so lost to all sense 
 of shame and gratitude, as to treat the deliverer of their 
 country like the betrayer of it. They bind (by his own 
 consent) their judge and avenger, and traitorously deliver 
 him up to their tyrants and oppressors. But their joy 
 was short in their prisoner. For, bursting their bands, 
 and casting away their cords, with a very contemptible 
 weapon, he deals death and desolation at every blow, and 
 makes a most terrible carnage. For the Spirit of the 
 Lord came upon him, and strung his arm with more than 
 mortal vigour, and the promise was literally fulfilled, 
 " That one should chase a thousand," (Jos. xxiii. 10.) 
 Even so, the avenger of the human race, the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, was basely delive r ed up by his own countrymen, 
 who had received many favours from him, into the hands 
 of the Gentiles. But, without his own consent, Judas, 
 with all his rout, could not have bound him. O Saviour 
 
THE HISTORY OF SAMSON. 77 
 
 of the world ! thy love to men, and obedience to Gcc, 
 were the invisible but mighty cords that held thee fast. 
 These, and not the nails that transfixed thy hands and 
 feet, hindered thee to save thyself, and come down from 
 the cross. But the triumphing of the wicked was short ; 
 for, when they vainly imagined they had him sure and 
 safe, fastened to a cross, and laid in :he grave, he starts 
 up a dreadful adver-ary, the cords of death are not able 
 to hold him ; out of weakness he is made strong ; and 
 though all nations compassed him, ye: m the name of the 
 Lord he did destroy them. And how contemptible was 
 the instrument he used in this mighty work ! As when 
 Samson, who wanted not spears and swords, was directed 
 to use no other weapon but the jaw-bone of an ass ; so 
 Jesus Christ, who could have commanded the seculai* 
 arm to spread the conquest of his gospel, or have or- 
 dained strength out of the mouths of eloquent orators, 
 and profound philosophers, yet chose contemptible fisher- 
 men, and perfected praise out of the mouth; of babes and 
 sucklings. 
 
 I might mention, in the next place, his marvellous 
 escape from Gaza, where he was watched all night by his 
 enemies ; but he eluded their vigilance, and, unhinging 
 their massy gates, he took away upon his shoulders part 
 of the battlements of that strong city, for they v?ere not 
 the Lord's, and carried them to the top of an h.il, the 
 enemies having no power either to resist or pursue 
 An emblem of our mighty Saviour sleeping in the 
 chamber of the grave, where he was watched by the 
 jealous Scribes and Pharisees, who vainly imagined to 
 hinder his resurrection. But, when they least expected, 
 he arose ; he burst the gates of death ; and, leading cap- 
 tivity captive, he ascended on high. 
 
 But the manner in which he died is perhaps what most 
 
78 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I, 
 
 entitles him to be the type of Jesus Christ, who, like 
 Samson, was betrayed and sold by a pretended friend, 
 bound, blindfolded, insulted, and made his grave with 
 the wicked. Like Samson, he willingly resigned his 
 breath ; but, by his death, death was abolished, prin- 
 cipalities and powers were spoiled, and, O ye enemies of 
 salvation, destructions have a perpetual end. Thy death* 
 O Jesus, is our life, and by thy cross we triumph over 
 these wicked lusts that have shorn the locks of our 
 strength ; have bound us with fetters of iron ; have put 
 out the eyes of our mind, and made us dwell in darkness, 
 and toil at the abhorred drudgery of the devil. Happy 
 they who are avenged of these cruel enemies, though^ 
 like thee, O Samson, they should die with them. 
 
 XI. — The History of David. 
 
 There is scarcely a more amiable and consummate 
 character to be found in the compass of sacred history 
 than David's, notwithstanding some blemishes with 
 which it is tarnished. What mouth is not opened in the 
 praises of this good king, the first of the kind that sway- 
 ed the Jewish sceptre, who is honoured to be the penman 
 of these devout and rapturous compositions, styled The 
 Psalms, where the graces of poetry strive with the beau- 
 ties of holiness, and which are justly esteemed the trea- 
 sure of the world, and a complete system of revelation in 
 miniature ? When we consider that fervent devotion, that 
 submission to the divine will, that delight in God*s law, 
 and zeal for his worship, that spirit of forgiveness in the 
 case of personal injuries, and the other lovely graces that 
 breathe through all his writings and history, we must cer- 
 j?.inly allow him to have been a saint of the first. magni- 
 tude. But it is chiefly to be observed, to the honour of 
 
THE HISTORY OF DAVID. TO 
 
 this illustrious king, so much talked of in the Bible, that 
 he was at once a prophet, a progenitor, and a figure of 
 the Messiah. The last particular is so evident from in- 
 numerable places, where David and his Lord exchange 
 not only words and speeches, but^lso names, that, taking 
 for granted this obvious truth, we shall briefly hint at the 
 most remarkable parallels betwixt them. 
 
 Perhaps his very name David, which signifies beloved, 
 may intimate that Christ his antitype should be the be- 
 loved both of God and of men. But it is certain the place 
 of his birth was always held to be the same where Christ 
 should be born. Might not this be one reason why Da- 
 vid (who was a prophet, and knew that himself was a type 
 of Christ, and that he should be born in the same village) 
 discovered such a fondness for Bethlehem, as to be seized 
 with ardent longing even for a draught of water from its 
 well ? Much was this little village aggrandized by giving 
 birth to King David, but more by giving birth to Jesus 
 Christ ; for so the prophet sings : " But thou, Beth- 
 €i lehem-Ephratab, though thou be little among the 
 €i thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come 
 " forth unto me, that is to be ruler of Israel, whose 
 tc g°i n g s forth have been of old, from everlasting." 
 
 From the place of his birth, let us come to the quali- 
 fications of his person, both in body and mind. The rud- 
 diness of his complexion is very particularly noticed by 
 the sacred historian. And, besides the comeliness of his 
 person, his prudence and valour recommended him at 
 court, when he had no higher title than " the son of Jesse 
 " the Bethlehemite." But, above all, his character is 
 crowned by that most ample commendation God was 
 pleased to giv^ him when he removed Saul : " I have 
 " found a man after mine own heart, that shall fulfil all 
 * my will," ( Acts xiii. 22.) And where shall ;hese il- 
 
80 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK 4. 
 
 lustrious endowments be found in their highest perfection 
 but in the person of the Son of David, who is white and 
 ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand, fairer than the 
 children of men, the mighty God, the prudent servant of 
 the Lord : and, lastly, who " came to do thy will, O 
 u God, thy law was in the midst of his heart," (Psal. 
 xl. 8.) 
 
 Let us next compare their sufferings, and we shall find 
 a surprising resemblance. We might, first, take notice of 
 his lurking in obscurity for a long time in his father's 
 house, where he tended the flocks of sheep, before he was 
 a shepherd of men. But though the like obscurity was 
 the fate of Jesus Christ for a long track of years, when 
 he dwelt in his father's house ; perhaps it is not so pro- 
 per to mention this particular under the head of David's 
 afflictions ; for we can scarce doubt but it was* the most 
 happy period of his whole life, when he followed the 
 ewes with young. From the time he began to attract 
 the observation of the world, what was the greatest part 
 of his life but a continual war ? His own brother made 
 him a very surly speech, to deter him from his first public 
 adventure in encountering Goliah of Gath, insinuating, 
 that the sole motive he had in visiting the camp, at that 
 juncture, was pride and naughtiness of heart ; which puts 
 us in mind of the coarse reception our gracious Redeemer 
 met with from his brethren according to the flesh, 
 who received him not, but loaded him with the most 
 odious imputations, and virulent reproaches, and always 
 put the worst construction upon his words and actions. 
 We are also told that some or his nearest relations believed 
 not on him. 
 
 And as to the persecutions he endured under the ty- 
 rant-reign of Saul, (which were the occasion of many 
 sweet psalms, transmitted even to our times,) the like- 
 
THE HISTORY OF DAVID. 8l 
 
 ness betwixt them and tho3e of Jesus Christ, under the 
 tyrant-reign of Herod, is greater than one would think at 
 first view. David's life is sought after by his own king ; 
 and what was the quarrel ? It was the fear that David 
 should succeed to the crown, as was revealed to the pro- 
 phet Samuel: so Jesus Christ is persecuted by Herod, 
 king of Judea, from a foolish supposition that he could 
 elude the high decrees of heaven, and falsify the scrip- 
 tures of the prophets. In David's quarrel the innocent 
 priests in Nob were cruelly butchered ; and the innocent 
 babes in Bethlehem in the cause of Christ. " Cursed be 
 * their anger, for it was cruel,*' (Gen. xlix. 7.) But 
 both the bloody tyrants shared the same success ; for, as 
 all attempts to seize the person of David were vain, so 
 Herod's bloody plot against the life of Christ proved 
 abortive. But when we are remembering David, and all 
 his afflictions, we must not forget that very singular one 
 which befel him, when he was compelled by an unnatural 
 son, and rebellious subjects, to rly from his royal city; and 
 with his sorrowful friends, passed over the brook Kidron 
 in a melancholy plight. It was over this same brook 
 the Son and Lord of David passed to that fatal garden 
 where he was apprehended, in company with his sorrow- 
 ful apostles ; and what was no small addition to David's 
 distress, his own familiar friend, in whom he confided, 
 and that servant that eat his bread, played the traitor, and 
 lift up his heel against him ; — a circumstance which was 
 not wanting in the case of Jesus Christ, betrayed by one 
 of his apostles. Who knows not that the same scriptures 
 are applied to Judas in the New Testament, that are in 
 the Old spoken of Ahithophel ? u Let his habitation be 
 " desolate, and let another take his office," (PsaL cix.) 
 a. Acts, i. 20.) It is true, the Son of David knew from 
 the beginning who should betray him, which David knew 
 
82 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 not : but in other respects the parallel is very near ; for 
 both these cursed traitors were alike in their former cha- 
 racter and trust, alike in their execrable villany, and alike 
 in their tragical end. 
 
 Having enumerated some of David's typical ajHictions, 
 let us come to his renowned achievements both in war 
 and peace, wherein also he seems to have been designed 
 an emblem of the same glorious person. His victory over 
 that proud insulting - Philistine who defied the armies of 
 the living God, is none of the least exploits for which 
 he stands recorded in the rolls of fame. He heard his 
 blasphemous railing ; he saw the unmanly terror of the 
 Israelites, who all declined the single combat of thii 
 vain boaster ; he was informed of the great rewards the 
 victor should receive from the king, and, not in the least 
 intimidated by his fierce appearance, he resolves to ac- 
 cept the challenge in the name of the insulted God of 
 Israel. Armed with no weapons but his staff and sling, 
 he lays the vaunting warrior prostrate in death ; adding 
 withal this indignity to his huge corpse, of severing his 
 head from his body with his own sword. 
 
 Let the vaunting Goliah be an emblem of the devil, 
 who has the power of death. A great reward is proposed 
 to the person who shall encounter and overcome this 
 formidable enemy, by the King of heaven. No man, no 
 angel, dared the arduous enterprize. But Jesus Christ de- 
 scending to visit his brethren, and see our camp, and mo- 
 ved with a becoming zeal for the glory of God, and the 
 salvation of the human race, and for the joy that was set 
 before him, he prepares himself for the mortal combat. 
 His brethren, indeed, despised him, and used him rudely, 
 but he was not deterred from his merciful design. He 
 borrowed no armour from us, for he only partook of our 
 infirm fleshly nature ; but, by his own strength and wis- 
 
THE HISTORY OF DAVID. 83 
 
 dom, he obtained the victory with the staff of his cross; a 
 most unlikely weapon ! for God was his shield and glory, 
 and the uplifter of his head. " By death," which was 
 like the devil's sword, he destroyed him that had the 
 11 power of death : w (Heb. ii. 14.) and the saying of the 
 prophet is fulfilled, " 1 will save them by the Lord their 
 M God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, 
 M nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen," (Hos. 
 i. 7.) We might also observe how his taking the strong- 
 hold of Zion from the Jebuzites might be an emblem 
 of Christ's conquering the Gentile church. His desiring 
 to find a place for the God of Jacob to rest in may be 
 .considered in the same light. This, O Saviour, was thy 
 gracious design in visiting our regions of mortality, to 
 find a place of rest, among the sinful race of men, for that 
 God, whose throne is the highest heaven, and his footstool 
 the earth ; to find not a shadowy rest upon an earthly 
 mountain, or in a material structure, but a real, a glorious, 
 an everlasting rest, in the temple of his body the church, 
 that God the Lord might dwell for ever among them. 
 
 Great was the glory to which the king of Israel was 
 raised from small beginnings; and the prudence of his ad- 
 ministration, when he was lifted out of the dust, proved 
 him not to have been unworthy of such high dignity. It 
 is true, we must allow him to have committed no small 
 errors in some particular acts of government ; but as to 
 the main of his conduct, he received this honourable tes- 
 timony, " He fed them according to the integrity ©f his 
 u heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his 
 " hands." (Psal. lxxviii. 72.) Even so, the humble Sa- 
 viour, who might truly say, " Mine heart is not haugh- 
 u ty, O Lord, neither are mine eyes lofty," (Psal. 
 cxxxi. 1.) was exalted from his state of low debasement 
 to the highest pinnacle of glory, to become not only the 
 
84" TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK r. 
 
 head of his church, but of the Heathen ; and the people 
 who know him not are made to serve his will. But in 
 this he far excels the type, that the annals of his reign 
 are not stained with any the smallest blots ; and " of the 
 " increase of his government and peace there shall be no 
 "end," (Isa. ix. 7.) 
 
 We shall but mention, in the last place, the covenant 
 of royalty which God was pleased to make with David 
 and his seed for ever ; an emblem of that covenant which 
 God hath made with Christ, as the representative of his 
 chosen people. This covenant, O David, was thy con- 
 solation in all thy family trials, and under the melancho- 
 ly apprehensions of thy successor's apostacy. O may it 
 also be our consolation ! and let all the children of Zion 
 be joyful in their King. 
 
 XII. — The History of Solomon* 
 
 The next illustrious personage we shall mention is 
 Solomon, the son of David ; the wise, wealthy, mag- 
 nificent, and peaceful monarch of Jerusalem, who, like 
 his father, was honoured to be the penman of a very 
 considerable and useful part of the inspired writings, by 
 which he may be justly reckoned to have made abundant 
 compensation to the church of God, for the great offence 
 he was left to give to all good men, by the sad apostacy 
 of his advanced years. That he was a figure of the Mes- 
 siah, seems evident from what God said concerning him 
 by the prophet Nathan, which is applied by a New Tes- 
 tament writer to Jesus Christ — " I will be to him a Fa- 
 14 ther, and he shall be to me a Son ;" (Heb. i. 5.) 
 from what David said in the twenty-second psalm ; and 
 from the most excellent Song of songs, composed by So- 
 lomon, not concerning himself, but Jesus Christ, the glo- 
 
THK HISTORY OF SOLOMOX. 85 
 
 rious Bridegroom of the church, under a borrowed name. 
 Nor is it difficult to find out several things in Solomon's 
 character and history that greatly resemble the character 
 and history of a far greater person than he. 
 
 We shall first take notice of that wisdom and sagacity 
 for which he was so much celebrated. It pleased God 
 to confer upon this beloved king a very uncommon mea- 
 sure of intellectual endowments, to fit him for dischar- 
 ging the high office to which he was raised. He asked 
 wisdom from God as the best and most perfect gift ; nor 
 did he ask in vain ; for God gave him a wise and under- 
 standing heart, as never monarch had before. His wis- 
 dom far excelled that of the most renowned sages of his 
 time. The world of nature was all his own. He spake 
 of plants and animals, from the triumphant cedar down 
 to the humble moss, and from the soaring eagle to the 
 creeping insect. As a scholar, no question was too hard 
 for him to resolve ; and, as a judge, no case too intricate 
 to decide. The wisdom of his proverbial sayings, and 
 the sublimity of his poetical compositions, may be most 
 Certainly inferred from those specimens which have reach- 
 ed our times. He was not only revered as the oracle of 
 his country, but even princes, neighbouring and remote, 
 courted his friendship, and were ambitious of his acquaint- 
 ance. His very servants that ministered unto him were 
 pronounced happy by a great queen, who, fired with the 
 love of wisdom, undertook a long and expensive journey, 
 leaving for atime the delights of her court, and the cares of 
 state, to pay him a visit, of whom she had heard so 
 much, though still, as she afterwards acknowledged, the 
 half had not been told her ; therefore shall she rise up ia 
 judgment against the men in every generation, who re- 
 fuse to hear the wisdom, and receive the instruction of a 
 greater than Solomon, who is the wisdom of God itself, 
 
 H 
 
86 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK r. 
 
 and in whom are hid treasures, all treasures of wisdom 
 and knowledge ; who, instead of waiting till we come to 
 Seek him, has come from heaven to us, and cries in the 
 chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates, 
 in the city he uttereth his words, " How long, ye simple 
 t( ones, will ye love simplicity, and fools hate know- 
 " ledge ? Turn you at my reproof," (Prov. i. 22.} What 
 was thy wisdom, Solomon, to his, on whom, as the pro- 
 phet testifies, the Spirit of the Lord did rest, the Spirit 
 ef wisdom, counsel, and knowledge, to make him of 
 quick understanding in the fear of the Lord ? Admire 
 we the vast extent of Solomon's erudition ? There is no 
 creature that is not manifest in the sight of Jesus Christ, 
 from the greatest unto the least. It is recorded of him, 
 that, with the utmost facility, he answered the hard ques- 
 tions that were put to him. Neither can the wisdom of 
 Jesus Christ be nonplussed to answer the most puzzling 
 query, when that most difficult of any has been resolved 
 by him, " Wherewith shall a guilty sinner come before 
 u the Lord ? and how shall he bow himself before the 
 *' high God ?" (Mic. vi. 6.) Was Solomon an acute pe- 
 netrating judge, judging his people with righteousness, 
 and his poor with judgment ? Of Christ it was declared, 
 u He shall not judge after the seeing of his eyes, nor re- 
 €i prove after the hearing of his ears ; but with righteous- 
 •* ness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity 
 " for the meek of the earth,*' (Isa. xi. 3.) He discerns 
 at fust view a Nathanael and a Judas, and will separate 
 the righteous and the wicked. And what are the wise 
 speeches of Solomon to those of Jesus Christ, by whose 
 Spirit the whole scriptures were dictated, and Solomon 
 himself inspired ? 
 
 To the wisdom, let us subjoin the wealth of Solomon, 
 who made -even silver in Jerusalem as the stones of the 
 
THE HISTORY OF SOLOMON. 87 
 
 street. But how shall this agree to our Lord Jesus, who 
 was himself a poor man, without a fixed dwelling-place ; 
 and whose followers most generally are the poor among 
 me'i ? True, indeed, he neither possessed the riches of the 
 world himself, nor can his subjects boast that they have 
 amassed huge quantities of white and yellow earth, called 
 silver and gold ; yet are thy riches, Lord Jesus, unsearch- 
 able ; eternity itself too short to count them. The 
 arithmetic of angels would not be able to cast the mighty 
 sum. These riches hast thou purchased by thy poverty ; 
 and what is said of money, we shall more truly affirm of 
 thy inexhaustible fulness, " It answers all things," (Eccl. 
 x. 19-) If Solomon made silver as the stones, Jesus 
 Christ renders the most admired vanities of the world but 
 loss and dung. O the immense -value of the riches of 
 Christ, of whom it is said in the prophet, u For brass I 
 u will bring gold, for iron silver, for wood brass, and for 
 u stones iron," (I§a. Ix. 17.) Even such amazing wealth 
 is scarcely fit to be an emblem of the true riches ; for a 
 New Testament writer rises in the description, talks of a 
 city whose inhabitants are kings, whose walls are jasper, 
 whose gates are pearls, whose streets are paved with gold. 
 Here that precious metal, on which the men of the world 
 set their hearts, is trodden with the feet. How diminu- 
 tive is the splendour of earthly courts ! How despicable 
 is a Solomon, though seated on his ivory throne, in com- 
 parison of such stupendous magnificence ; which never, 
 indeed, existed in the world of nature, but has a true, 
 though spiritual existence in the kingdom of Jesus Christ ! 
 To conclude, then, as the wisdom of Solomon was but 
 folly to the wisdom of Jesus Christ, so, in comparison of 
 his riches, his wealth was poverty. 
 
 From his wisdom and wealth, let us come to the ex- 
 tent of his dominion, which, we are told, was very wide. 
 
 2 
 
89 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I, 
 
 And if, in the multitude of people is the king's honour, 
 the King Messiah equals, nay, far excels, the king of Is- 
 rael. What was it to reign over all kingdoms from the 
 Euphrates to the midland sea, and to the corner cf 
 Egypt, to his extensive sway, whose kingdom ruleth over 
 all ? 
 
 But what was a most singular recommendation of So- 
 lomon's happy reign, for the most part it was not disturb- 
 ed either with civil jars or foreign war ; for, as his name 
 imported, he was a man of rest ; 2nd, except toward the 
 latter end of his days, his subjects enjoyed the most pro- 
 found tranquillity. This was designed to be a faint re- 
 presentation of the government of the Prince of peace ; 
 whose gospel is a doctrine, which, if sincerely believed, 
 effectually reconciles men to God, and to one another. 
 Therefore, the ancient prophets, speaking of these peace- 
 ful times when Messiah should reign, have collected the 
 most striking and amiable images of peace that can well 
 be conceived. They talk of nations beating their swords 
 into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; 
 that arts of death and mutual destruction shall no more be 
 learned as an useful science ; that the most ravenous beasts 
 shall be as tame as those with which mankind are most 
 familiar ; that the most envenomed serpent shall cease to 
 be pernicious; that bows and swords, and such like instru- 
 ments of death, shall cease out of the earth, and the odi- 
 ous din of battle shall be heard no more. If, now, these 
 charming prophecies have not received their full accom- 
 plishment, our wars and fightings, O Prince of peace ! 
 are not the native result of thy gospel, but they come from 
 ihe lusts that war in our members. To this original may 
 they all be traced. O shame to men, who are called by 
 the Christian name, to act a part so unlike their sacred 
 profession, by waging horrid wars with one another, and 
 
THE HISTORY OF SOLOMOY. S!> 
 
 rejoicing in mutual slaughter, to make their swords drunk 
 with blood ! Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, 
 expect more happy times, when the import of these pre- 
 dictions shall be more fully known, and of the increase 
 of his government and peace there shall be no end. For 
 here, indeed, the order is inverted in Solomon and his 
 antitype. Whereas the beginning of Solomon's admini- 
 stration was the most peaceable part of it, the latter end 
 of the Messiah's government- shall be the most serene 
 and happy period. 
 
 To pass over the foreign match of the Israelitish mo- 
 narch, which some have supposed a prelude of calling the 
 Gentile church to the fellowship of Jesus Christ, we shall 
 only take notice of the magnificence of Solomon's build* 
 ing. He was pitched upon by the great God to build an 
 house for his name, and, under his direction, that sacred 
 structure was reared at an immense charge. The work- 
 men were foreigners, and many of the materials fetched 
 from abroad. The stones being all prepared and fitted 
 to each other beforehand, the nois>e of hammers was not 
 heard as the building advanced. Who knows not that 
 the ancient temple was a figure of the church, which i 
 his body ? Christ Jesus is the true Solomon who build: 
 this holy and beautiful house; not irith dead, but wi{4 
 living stones, which are hewed by the law, and polished 
 by the gospel ; and being thu« fair frame-, they becv ; 
 a spiritual building, and grow inco an h.Jy temple in the 
 Lord. Even sinners of the Gentiles are employed in this 
 honourable work of building up the church : ?nd of then; 
 it may be said, " Ye arc God's building," ( 1 Cor. iii. 
 The doctrine of the apostles and prophets is the founda- 
 tion, &nd Jesus Christ himself the chief corner-stone. 
 
9G TVPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 XIII. — The History of Jonah. 
 
 The comparison which our Lord was pleased to 
 make of himself and the prophet Jonah, when an evil 
 and adulterous generation sought after a sign from hea- 
 ven, forbids us to pass over in silence this short but 
 strange history, which is doubtless one of these passages 
 in the Old Testament to which the apostle refers, when 
 he speaks of Christ's dying for our sins, according to the 
 scriptures, and being buried and rising again the third 
 day, according to the scriptures : c * For, as Jonas was 
 •' three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so 
 M was the Son of man three days and three nights in the 
 * heart of the earth," (Matth. xii. 40.; 
 
 That we may have the fuller view of the resemblance, 
 let us briefly recollect what we are told of this prophet 
 in the book denominated from him. He is charged with 
 a commission by the great God to denounce the ven- 
 geance of heaven against the great and sinful city Nine- 
 veh, the metropolis of the mighty Assyrian empire. This 
 is the first time we read of a prophet sent to reform a 
 Gentile nation j and doubtless was a prelude of his grant- 
 ing to the Gentiles, in future times, repentance unto life. 
 It was God who commanded, and the prophet ought to 
 have been all submission. But as Simon the son of Jo- 
 nas, long after, disputed the command of God, when he 
 was sent for the first time to preach unto the Gentiles ; 
 so Jonas, though a prophet of the Lord, who ought to 
 have known better things, resolves to play the fugitive, 
 and, like Cain, to go out from the presence of the Lord, 
 and be an entile from the church where God was worship- 
 ped, expecting to hear no more such troublesome orders 
 from above, if he was once on some foreign ground. 
 He finds at Joppa a ship bound for Tarshish j and think- 
 
THE HISTORY OP JONAH. 91 
 
 ing it a fair opportunity of carrying his scheme into exe- 
 cution, he enters himself a passenger. But, ye mariners, 
 little did you think what a dangerous cargo you were 
 taking on board ; for soon a tempest from the Lord em- 
 broils the ocean, and death sits threatening on every wave. 
 Every mariner betakes himself to his prayers ; but Jonas, 
 the cause of the storm, is fast asleep. He is seasonably re- 
 proved by the master of the ship for his untimely security, 
 and earnestly invited to join with them in calling also 
 upon his God. A good advice to be sure ; but, alas, 
 Jonah's heart condemned him ; and though his God was 
 the God of gods, he had little ground to hope that his 
 prayer would be heard. Alas ! the guilty person was 
 most unfit to become a mediator for the rest of the crew. 
 They rightly judged that this preternatural storm was 
 sent by angry Heaven to punish some notorious offender ; 
 it was put into their hearts to find out, by lot, who he 
 was. And, O surprising ! a professor of the true reli- 
 gion, and a prophet of the Lord, is singled out, in a crew 
 of heathen sailors, as the greatest sinner in the ship. His 
 iniquity, which he thought to have kept a profound se- 
 cret, is revealed in the most public manner ; and himself 
 is obliged to confess his crime at large, that being a ser- 
 vant and prophet of the God who made heaven and earth, 
 and the sea and the dry land, he had presumed 10 fly his 
 presence, and disobey his positive command. What shall 
 they do ? Their case seems desperate. They ask his 
 counsel, whom they now esteemed a prophet. And, 
 though at the expense of his life, he gives them the best 
 direction he could think of — to cast himself forth into 
 the sea* But though he was willing to die, the good- 
 natured mariners were not willing to put him to death, 
 till they had exerted their utmost efforts to save them- 
 selves and him. Till at last they fouud their labour vain, 
 
g£ TYPICAL PERSONS, BOOK I. 
 
 and with great reluctance they heaved overboard the 
 guilty prophet, having first fervently deprecated the guilt 
 of his blood. And now at last the tempest ceased to roar, 
 and the sea laid aside its rage, when the criminal they de- 
 manded was surrendered to the ocean ; which had such a 
 good effect upon the mariners, as, it is hoped, they proved 
 sincere worshippers of the true God, whom the winds and 
 sea3 obeyed. Who would expect to hear of Jonah any- 
 more ? But, strange to say ! a huge fish, which the great 
 Creator had commanded to be ready, receives the astonish- 
 ed prophet into its belly, where he lives three days and 
 three nights, being supported by an almighty power. In 
 this dreary mansion he finds time to meditate his past fol- 
 ly, and cry unto the Lord in the language of sincere re- 
 pentance. And after he had been sufficiently punished, 
 the obedient fish returns him safe and sound on the dry 
 land on the third day. The commission is renewed ; and, 
 wiser than before, he obeys ; goes to Nineveh, and preach- 
 es the doctrine of repentance ; threatening them with de- 
 struction in forty days. The men of Nineveh repent ; 
 and God also delays to strike the blow, and repented him 
 of the evil. 
 
 But what we intend chiefly to observe in the whole of 
 this uncommon transaction, a greater than Jonas is here 
 pointed forth in his death, burial, resurrection, and preach- 
 ing to the Gentiles. 
 
 The casting forth of Jonah into the sea bears no small 
 resemblance to the death of Christ, though in some cir- 
 cumstances there is a considerable differences' for the pro- 
 phet Jonah was, for his own offences, delivered into the 
 hands of mariners, who, without being guilty of murder, 
 or thirst after his blood, did, with great reluctance, throw 
 him overboard for their own preservation, earnestly be- 
 seeching that his blood might not be laid to their charge: 
 
THE HISTORY OF JONAH. 93 
 
 but Jesus Christ being delivered, not for his own, but our 
 offences, unto the Jews and Gentiles, was taken, crucified, 
 and slain with wicked hartds; while his bloody murderers 
 imprecated the direful vengeance of his innocent blood to 
 be on them and their children. In other respects, vhe case 
 of Christ and Jonas was more alike. With his own con- 
 sent, the prophet is cast forth into the sea, after he had 
 acknowledged that himself was the man for whose cause 
 the storm was sent, and whom the angry ocean demanded; 
 so Jesus Christ laid down his life in the most voluntary 
 manner, and boldly offered himself to the multitude who 
 were sent to apprehend him, saying, " I am the man 
 " whom ye seek ; and if you seek me, let these go their 
 * way," (John xviii. 8.) And as the suffeiings of the 
 prophet, who was plunged into the ocean, were attended 
 with the most happy consequences, the stilling of the tem- 
 pest, the preservation of their lives, and, as is hoped, the 
 salvation of their souls ; even so, when Jesus, the Son of 
 God, expired on the cross, this event, though in appear- 
 ance tragical, was productive of the most blessed effects, 
 appeasing the tempest of God's ^nger, and saving from 
 destruction the many for whom he gave his life a ransom, 
 some of whom were the instruments of his death. 
 
 His lodging in the belly of the fish three days and nights, 
 most certainly corresponds to the burial of our Redeemer 
 in the grave, a part of three natural days. Never did that 
 monster of the deep swallow such a morsel before ; nor did 
 ever the grave enclose such a prisoner as Jesus was* Jo- 
 nah, it is true, was not really dead, as Christ was, when 
 in the heart of the earth ; but as that dismal place of 
 darkness and corruption did much resemble thegloomy hor- 
 rors of the loathsome grave, and is even styled the belly 
 of hell by the prophet himself, perhaps the circumstance 
 of Jonah's being alive in that liviDg sepulchre may put 
 
U4> TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK I. 
 
 us in mind that Jesus Christ was the living God, even 
 when he was a dead man ; for, O death! you was able, 
 indeed, to rend his soul and body from one anorher, but 
 neither soul nor body were dissevered from his divine 
 person. And as Jonah received no harm in that horrible 
 prison, (which was miraculous, if we consider the strength 
 and heat in the stomach of so large a creature,) so Jesus 
 Christ, when lyingJin the grave, a pale and bloody corpse, 
 saw no corruption. 
 
 His casting forth on dry land, on the third day after 
 his imprisonment, afr the commandment of the Lord, an- 
 swers to the resurrection of the Son of God, who, at the 
 commandment of his Father, was on the third day taken 
 from prison and from judgment. When Jonah was sa- 
 ved from the fish, he was also saved from the sea, revisiting 
 at once the light of day and the dry land. When Christ 
 was rescued from the grave, he at the same time emerged 
 from under those billows of his Father's wrath, which all 
 passed over his head. It was not possible that Jonah 
 should be detained in his ugly dungeon, when the Lord 
 spake unto the fish. It was not possible that Christ should 
 be held by the cords of death longer than the appointed 
 time ; and he may truly say, " Thou hast brought up my 
 ** life from corruption, O Lord my God," (Jonah ii. 6.) 
 Nevertheless, in all things Jesus must have the pre-emi- 
 nence, and we must certainly acknowledge, that u a great- 
 €t er than Jonas is here," (Matth. xii. 41.) For, whereas 
 Jonas did not contribute in the least towards his own re- 
 storation, but would have for ever continued in that me- 
 larcholy prison, if he had not been miraculously delivered 
 from it ; our Redeemer, on the other hand, as he had 
 power to lay down his life, so he had power to take it 
 again. The tieh that swallowed Jonah might, for ought 
 we know, receive as little harm by the prophet, as the 
 
THE HISTORY OP JONAH. 95 
 
 prophet by the fish : but, O grave I Jesus was thy de- 
 struction. This hungry monster had gorged all the race 
 of Adam, and never said, " It is enough/' (Prov. xxx. 
 15,) Never any descended into the grave but it was able 
 to digest them, till Jesus Christ died, and was buried. 
 This grand devourer, snatching the bait of his human bo- 
 dy, was not aware of the hook of his divinity, and was 
 forced to surrender her prey, having received such a dead- 
 ly wound as never shall be healed. 
 
 His preaching to the Ninevites, and saving them from 
 imminent destruction, correspomds to Jesus Christ's preach- 
 ing to the Gentiles by his apostles after his resurrection 
 from the dead. For the gracious design of preserving a 
 guilty city, by turning them from their evil ways, was 
 the prophet preserved in the monster's belly, and revisited 
 the light on the third day. And for the 6ame merciful 
 purpose was Jesus raised from the dead, to save a guilty 
 world from death, and to bless them, in turning every one 
 of them from their iniquities. The belief those poor 
 Gentiles gave to the threatening prophet, and their speedy 
 repentance, was it not a prelude of that quick reception 
 the doctrine of Jesus Christ should meet with among them 
 that were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel ? On 
 this occasion the prophet acted a most unworthy part, 
 and evidenced a greater regard to his own reputation 
 than the salvation of his hearers. Sure never man suited 
 his name worse ; for he is more like a vulture than a dove. 
 In this Jonah is not a type of Jesus Christ, who wept over 
 Jerusalem, not because they repented, but because, they 
 repented not, and knew not the things that belonged to 
 their eternal peace. On this account, as well as those 
 formerly mentioned, we may truly say, that M a greater 
 than Jonas is here," (Matth. xii, 41.) 
 
BOOK SECOND, 
 
 TYPICAL THINGS, 
 
 I.— The Vision of Jacob's Ladder. 
 
 In the multitude of dreams there wants not divers 
 vanities ; yet God is also in sleep, and has conveyed to 
 the human mind notices of the last importance in a dream, 
 in a vision of the night, when deep sleep fallcth upon men, 
 in slumberings upon the bed ; so great is that power he 
 has over us both when we wake and when we sleep. A 
 pregnant instance of this we have in Jacob's night vision, 
 which God granted unto him in Bethel, to cheer his 
 drooping heart, when he wandered solitary, an exile from 
 his father's house, to avoid the resentment of his brother. 
 The sun was set, and the lonely traveller, not being able 
 to reach the next town, or on some other account not 
 known to us, resolves for one night to make the great 
 God his landlord, the earth his bed, the stones his bolster, 
 and the canopy of heaven his covering ; for though he 
 was delicately brought up by his fond mother, whose 
 darting child he was, the tender usage he received had 
 not so far unmanned him, as to betray undue softness and 
 effeminacy 5 for, upon this occasion, he could put up with 
 very coarse accommodation. There is no doubt his work- 
 ing mind would be fertile of melancholy thoughts, as he 
 lay thus in the open air, exposed to the chill damps of the 
 night, and ether dangers. Perhaps he might compare his 
 dismal solitude with the happier lot of £iau, who was en* 
 
THE VISION OF JACOBUS LADDER. 97 
 
 joying himself at home with his father. Who knows 
 but he might begin to think, that the birth-right and 
 blessing he was so fond of obtaining were not such great 
 matters, as that he needed, for their sake?, to have ex- 
 posed himself to such hardships as he presently felt, and 
 might still expect to meet with ? But if any such pensive 
 thoughts disturbed his mind, they are soon chased away 
 by the welcome approach of sleep, and the delightful vi- 
 sion he saw, together with the friendly words he seemed 
 to hear from the mouth of God himself: for he " dream- 
 " ed, and behold, a ladder, the top of ft reached to hea- 
 " ven, and the foot of it was set upon the earth : and 
 " behold, the angels of God ascending and descending 
 " upon it. And behold, the Lord stood above it ; M 
 (Gen. xxviii. 12. 13.) not silent, but speaking words 
 full of inexpressible consolation. The meaning of this 
 emblem is the present subject of our thoughts ; and, 
 perhaps, it will be found, on a nearer inspection, both to 
 represent the mystery of providence and of redemption. 
 And, first, It was a vision of providence, and might be 
 intended to suggest to the patriarch's mind the following 
 important and interesting truths. — That though God be 
 in the heights above, he forgets not the affairs of mor- 
 tals below, as though the interposing clouds could veil 
 them from his sight, or the huge distance of heaven and 
 earth could be an objection against his superintending 
 care. That though he is able, by himself alone, to go- 
 vern the w r hole world, without the help of any created 
 beings whatever, yet he is pleased to use the ministry of 
 angels, which walk invisibly through the earth, and are 
 continually passing from heaven to earth, to fulfil the plea- 
 sure of Jehovah, and from earth to heaven, to receive 
 the commands of their eternal Sovereign. — That the re- 
 gards of Providence, and the kindly offices of these spi. 
 I 
 
98 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II, 
 
 ritual creatures are not confined to large societies, and the 
 grand revolutions that happen in the world, but are even 
 extended to the most private interests of every individual; 
 for none but Jacob was present in the place where the 
 ladder seemed to stand. And, lastly, That the divine 
 Providence exercises the most tender care, when one's 
 situation is most deplorable, destitute, and afflictive ; for 
 Jacob saw this vision when his head was lying hard, and 
 his heart, perhaps, tormented with anxious care ; when 
 he was leaving a kind mother, a religious father, and the 
 place where he was born and educated ; uncertain of the 
 reception he would meet with from his relations, or if he 
 should ever see his dear parents anymore. But as his af- 
 fliction abounded, his consolation did much more abound. 
 B;t, perhaps, we shall not think amiss, though we con- 
 sider this emblematical ladder as a figure of the Messiah 
 himself, who is the blessed medium of communication be- 
 tween heaven and earth — the way without whom no maa 
 comes to the Father — and the one Mediator between God 
 and man. We can scarcely find a better explication of 
 what Christ himself promised to Nathanael, that Israelite 
 indeed : " Hereafter ye shall see the heaven open, and the 
 " angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son 
 44 of man, " (John i. 51.) than by comparing it with this 
 wonderful ladder, which he seems to hint was himself. 
 And there is no contemptible analogy. For, first, Where- 
 as the foot of this ladder was on earth, and the top reach- 
 ed to heaven, this may both represent what is the consti- 
 tution of his person, and what are the blessed fruits of his 
 mediatorial interposition. As the ladder seemed to unite 
 the heaven and earth, the most distant extremes, so the 
 person of Immanuel unites the human nature and the di- 
 vine, thcugh the distance between them is infinitely great. 
 And as the ladder opened a path from God to man, and 
 
the vision of Jacob's ladder. 99 
 
 from man to God, by reaching from heaven to earth ; so 
 the mediation of Jesus Christ has paved a way both for 
 the approach of the Deity to sinners, that he may dwell 
 with them, and for the access of sinners unto God, that 
 they may dwell with him, and have their conversation in 
 heaven. O merciful and faithful High- Priest, by thy in- 
 carnation and satisfaction, a frieadly correspondence is es- 
 tablished between heaven and earth ; for thou hast laid 
 thy hand upon us both, and art thyself our new and living 
 way to everlasting bliss, and the channel of conveyance to 
 every spiritual blessing. Whereas the angels of God were 
 seen to ascend and descend upon the ladder ; this may 
 both signify, that, in Jesus Christ, angels and men shall be 
 united in one society ; and that by Jesus Christ they are 
 upheld from falling, and supported in their happy state. 
 Were they not the friends of men, why should they be 
 represented as running on our errands ? Were they not 
 confirmed and supported by Jesus our Mediator, why 
 should spiritual beings, and winged messengers, be said to 
 ascend and descend upon the Son of man as on a ladder? 
 Whereas the Lord stood above this ladder, and from its 
 top spoke good and comfortable words to his servant Ja- 
 cob, confirming the gracious covenant made with his fa- 
 thers ; U not this a clear intimation that God is in Christ 
 reuoiiciling the world unto himself, confirming his cove- 
 nant, and uttering his gracious promise, as well pleased in 
 his beloved Son ? Whereas Jacob alone was at the foot 
 of -he ladder, on whose top the Lord seemed to stand; 
 it not this been considered by the adoring patriarch, 
 after he awoke, as a comfortable intimation, that the glo- 
 rious person, who was signified by the vis : on, should spring 
 out of his loins, and be made of his seed according to 
 the flesh, as the true possessor of the birth-right, and in- 
 heritor of the patriarchal blessing ? And, lastly, V\ hereas 
 2 
 
100 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 BOOK II; 
 
 he saw but one ladder, Jesus Christ is the alone Mediator, 
 without whom the Father comes to no man, and no man 
 comes to the Father. 
 
 II. — The Vision of the Burning Bush. 
 
 The last emblematical vision was seen in a night- 
 dream by Jacob ; but that which we are now to con- 
 sider was showed unto Moses in the day-time, when he 
 was broad awake. This future lawgiver was now, of a 
 prince in Egypt, become a shepherd in Midian ; and as 
 it was the purpose of God to send him to Pharaoh with 
 a commission to demand the release of his oppressed people, 
 he was pleased to grant him an illustrious manifestation or 
 prodigy, to rouse his attention to what God shoiild speak; 
 and to presage the success of his negotiation, and his own 
 future dignity. At the time when he saw the heavenly 
 vision, he was tending the flock of Jethro, as honest in- 
 dustry, and the moderate exercise of the thoughts about 
 the lawful affairs of the world, is no obstruction to divine 
 communications. And the place in which he received 
 it may also be worthy of our notice : he led his flock to 
 the back part of the desert, and came to the mountain of 
 God, even to Horeb ; for solitude and retirement from the 
 hurry of the world has always been a friend to holy me- 
 ditation, and intercourse with God. So Moses found on 
 this occasion : for the Angel of the Lord, not a created 
 angel, buc the uncreated Angel of the covenant, who as- 
 sumed to himself the high title of" The God of Abraham, 
 " Isaac, and Jacob;" (Exod. iii. 6.) and, " I am that 
 <4 I am 5" (ver, 14.) and who required of Moses the to- 
 kens of the most profound respect, and religious subjec- 
 tion — To be short, the Messias himself appeared to him 
 m a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush ; and " be- 
 
THE VISION OF THE BURNING BUSH. 101 
 
 cc hold, the bush burned with fire, yet was not consumed,'* 
 (ver. 1'.) The novelty of the sight induced him to satis- 
 fy his curiosity by a nearer approach ; but he was stopt 
 short by the voice of God-, which sufficiently explained 
 the prodigy. 
 
 Should it now be inquired why the divine Majesty chose 
 to appear in this manner ? Though we could assign noc 
 other reason but his sovereign pleasure, it were sufficient. 
 But, most generally, the appearances and manifestations 
 of the Deity, in that age of types, were vouchsafed in 
 such a manner as to represent some hidden mystery or 
 important doctrine of the gospel. They who think that 
 the flame of fire might signify the pure and spiritual 
 nature of God, who appeared in it, of which no simili- 
 tude can be made, are certainly not mistaken. And it 
 is also not unfitly observed, that the burning busli 
 represent the state of Israel at that time, who were en- 
 tangled in the thorny bush of adversity, and encompassed 
 with the fire of affliction, in which they were like to be 
 consumed. But let us draw near, and consider with 
 Moses this great sight with a closer attention, and, per- 
 haps, it will be found a most significant emblem both of 
 Jesus Christ, who was in the bush, and of the church, 
 which is his body, in every age of the world. 
 
 And, first, It seems very probable that this was a pre- 
 lusive vision both of the future incarnation and sufferings 
 of Jesus Christ. That the bush may represent his human 
 nature, is not unlikely, especially as the prophet Esaias 
 compares him to a tender plant, and root out of a dry 
 ground, in which, to the eye of sense, no form, c 
 ness, or beauty, should be found. That the ilame of fire 
 fnay adumbrate his divine nature, will be no less evident, 
 when we consider how often the fiery element is, in the 
 scripture-style, an emblem of the Deity; yea, it is ex* 
 
 3 
 
102 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK 11, 
 
 pressly said, " Our God is a consuming fire," (Heb.xii. 
 29.) That the union of the flame of fire with the bush 
 may denote the union of the Godhead and the manhood, 
 is not at all absurd to suppose ; for, why should Moses, 
 in his dying benediction, be directed to speak of the 
 " good- will of him that dwelt in the bush ? n (Deut. 
 xxxiii. 1.) 
 
 May it not signify that the continuance of the flame of 
 fire in the bush for a short time was a type of the fulness 
 of the Godhead dwelling for ever in the man Christ 
 Jesus ? As the bush was in the fire, and the fire was in 
 the bush, yet still they were distinct things, though joined 
 thus in one, even so the man Christ Jesus is in the God, 
 and the God is in the man, though both these natures, so 
 mysteriously united, do still retain their own distinct pro- 
 perties. And if Moses was struck with admiration, that 
 the bush was not consumed, though in such near neigh- 
 bourhood with ruddy flame, much more may we be over- 
 whelmed with amazement, to think how a portion of our 
 frail humanity lives for ever in a state of the nearest ap- 
 proach unto, and most ineffable union with, the glorious 
 Godhead, in whose unveiled presence we mortals could 
 not live, and even the angels cover their faces with their 
 wings. Here also may be discerned a shadow of those 
 direful sufferings by which the Son of God was to expiate 
 our sin. For the wrath of God is every where in scrip- 
 sure compared to fire, the .most fierce and dreadful of all 
 the inanimate creatures, which, with severe impartiality, 
 devours all combustible things. Who of all the human 
 race could dwell with this devouring element ? Far less 
 Could any abide with the everlasting burnings of the Al- 
 mighty's indignation. But Jesus Christ, who dw^lt In 
 the bush, dwelt also with the c e fierce flames ; and though 
 lie endured the wrath of God, which flamed most intense* 
 
THE VISION OF THE BURNING BUSH. 103 
 
 ly against him, as he bore the sins of many, though he 
 was compassed by this fire all the days of his humbled life, 
 yet he was not consumed, because his deity, like the An- 
 gel in the bush, supported his humanity, and bade him 
 be a glorious conqueror. 
 
 From the sufferings of the Head, let us descend to the 
 sufferings of the body, who are predestinated to be con- 
 formed to his image. Let the bush be an emblem of the 
 church, to which it may be compared on account of its 
 weak, obscure, and contemptible state, in the esteem of 
 worldly men, who are taken with nothing but what daz- 
 zles the eye of sense. For though there is a real glory, 
 and a spiritual magnificence, in this holy society, she can- 
 not compete with earthly kingdoms in outward splendour, 
 any more than a bush in the wilderness can vie with a ce- 
 dar in Lebanon; for besides the paucity of her true mem- 
 ber?, they are commonly to be found rather in smoky 
 cottages than proud palaces ; and sometimes they have 
 been found in prisons, dungeons, dens, and caves of the 
 earth. Let the fire in which the bush burned signify the 
 fiery trials to which the church has been no stranger in all 
 ages. Sometimes she has burned in the fire of persecution, 
 and sometimes of division- But as the bush was not con* 
 sumed, so neither shall the church be finally destroyed. — 
 In vain shall the great red dragon persecute this woman 
 clothed with the sun, and watch to devour her offspring ; 
 for a place is prepared for her in the wilderness by the 
 great God, and there no necessary provision shall be want- 
 ing. How many times have bloody and deceitful men 
 conspired her destruction ? When were incendiaries 
 wanting to foment and kindle those fires, which, without 
 the immediate interposition of the Keeper of Israel, would 
 certainly have wasted unto destruction, and completed the 
 utter extinction of this humble bush I What society, but 
 
104 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK If. 
 
 this alone, could have subsisted to this day, in the midst of 
 a hating world ? Where are now the mighty empires of 
 antiquity ? They are but an empty name, live only in his- 
 tory, having fallen to pieces by their own weight, or been 
 crushed by bloody war. But the church of Christ, though 
 she has undergone many revolutions, remains, and will re- 
 main, when the consumption determined by the Lord of 
 hosts shall come upon all the earth. 
 
 Ask you the reason ? The Angel of the Lord is in the 
 bush, and. though persecuted, she is not forsaken ; there- 
 fore shall the fiery trials, instead of consuming her, serve 
 to refine her, and add unto her glory, as the bush was 
 only brightened by the flame. 
 
 Does not the famous history of the three Hebrew wor? 
 thies, who, by faith, quenched the violence of fire, attest 
 this whole matter in the most literal sense? Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, the mighty king, takes it into his head to erect a 
 monstrous golden image, to be worshipped by all his nu- 
 merous subjects. The dedication of this new god is ce- 
 lebrated by a prodigious concourse of people, who, by the 
 king's proclamation assembled on the plains of Dura. A 
 severe edict is issued forth against any person who should 
 refuse to payreKgious homage to the molten deity. He 
 nvot be cast alive Into a burning fire:, for was it ever 
 lic?rd, that cruelty and idolatry were separated ? The 
 noise of every musical instrument is the signal for begin- 
 ning the detestable rites of adora ion. What a parade to 
 establish this silly superstition! And now the music sounds, 
 see how the foolish people fail down in adoration to a 
 scnsel :ss statue ! Yet are there found among the captives 
 of Judah who dare dispute the royal order. O faith, 
 how r t thou extend thy triarnphs! Who can sufficient- 
 ly adni •• the excellent spirit, and the undaunted resolu- 
 tion of these heroes ! They stand before sovereign and 
 
THE VISION OF THE BURNING BUSH. 105 
 
 angry majesty ; they see the vast pomp of his courtiers ; 
 they hear the sonorous peals of the music sent from a 
 thousand instruments; they behold the prodigious furnace 
 gleaming to the clouds; yet are they not appalled by any, 
 by all of these things, so apt to strike terro*- into vulgar 
 minds, bet despise them as ludicrous and puerile. They 
 boldly tell the king, That the God they adored was able 
 to deliver them from his furnace, if he pleased ; and 
 though he should not, they would not comply to wor- 
 ship another God. The music that resounded through all 
 the spacious plain was not half so melodious as their an- 
 swer to the king's menaces. The enraged tyrant orders, 
 and, without delay, they are cast, bound hand and foot, 
 into the burning flame. But mark the amazing event I 
 A marvellous thing is presented to the eyes of the king ; 
 for, looking narrowly, he beholds not three men melting, 
 but four men walking in the fire, and the form of the 
 fourth is like the Son of God. These servants of the 
 Lord were not asliamed of him, nor is he ashamed of them, 
 but descends in a bodily shape, (a prelude of his incarna- 
 tion,) looses their fetters, n kes a covenant for them with 
 the flames of fire, and, walking with them openly in the 
 furnace, proclaims to all spectators, u In as much as ye 
 u have done it unto these my brethren, ye did it ur.to 
 " me," (Matt. xxv. 4-0.) Go now, mighty monarch, and 
 glory in thy despotic sway; but remember there is a King 
 more sovereign than thou, who can make the flames of 
 fire harmless as the morning light ; wno can bid that 
 fierce and dreadful element spare them whom thou bkkh 
 it to devour, though in the very heart of the oven, and 
 dtstroy them whom thou wishest it would net touch, 
 though standing without. Thus, wherein any deals proud- 
 ly, God is above them. The king, and all his counsel- 
 lors, see with their eyes this extraordinary miracle, and 
 
106 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 that the faithful servants of God had not received the 
 least damage by the fire, and are ashamed for their envy- 
 to the people. Thus was the promise fulfilled, *' When 
 cl thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, 
 €t neither shall the flame kindle upon thee," (Isa. xliii. 2.) 
 And so the bush, though burning, is not consumed in 
 the fire. 
 
 Ill — The Pillar of Cloud and Fire. 
 
 The sojourners of Goshen were now escaped front 
 the land of Egypt, and about to enter the vast wilder- 
 ness of Arabia, that interposed betwixt them and the 
 promised land. The Lord, who makes the clouds his 
 chariots, and darkness his pavilion, was pleased to go 
 before them in a marvellous pile of cloudy vapours, re- 
 sembling a pillar, ascending from their camp. Here he 
 dwelt, not for a short time, as in the bush, but for [he 
 space of forty years. A most extraordinary thing to be 
 sure it was, and none of the least of the standing miracles 
 which he showed to the chosen seed. The fame of this 
 strange phenomenon was spread abroad among the na- 
 tions, who heard that the cloud of the Lord stood above 
 them, and might very well be supposed to move the 
 question, <fc Who is this that comes up from the ivilder- 
 *' ness like pillars of smoke ?* (Cant. iii. 6.) For this 
 cloud differed so much from all others that ever were seen, 
 as it may justly be reckoned a complication of miracles. 
 It was miraculous that its form was never changed, when 
 there is nothing more variable than the appearance of the 
 ordinary clouds that sail through the airy regions. It was 
 miraculous that it should always maintain its station over 
 the tabernacle, when other clouds are carried about with 
 tempests, and driven with fierce winds, from the one ex* 
 
THE PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE. 107 
 
 tremity of heaven to the other. It was miraculous that 
 it should preserve its consistency forty years ; whereas all 
 other clouds are dissipated by the wind, exhaled by the 
 sun, or dissolved in rain and dew, and in a very short time 
 are blotted from the face of the sky. It was miraculous 
 that this cloud should move in such peculiar direction, as 
 it had been endued with instinct and intelligence ; for it 
 was carried about by his counsels in a more immediate 
 way than can be said of the other clouds of heaven. But 
 especially it was miraculous, that, contrary to the nature 
 of all other clouds, it should be brighter by night than 
 by day, when it had the appearance of the shining of a 
 flaming lire. 
 
 As to the particular meaning of this cloud wherewith 
 the Lord covered his Israel, not in his anger, but in his 
 love, it was, without all doubt, a visible symbol of a pre- 
 sent deity ; God hereby condescending to adapt himself, 
 as in many other things, to the rude taste of that ancient 
 people, and perhaps to signify the dark and cloudy nature 
 of the legal dispensation under which they were. But the 
 principal reason I would suggest is the following. His 
 appearing to Israel in a veil uf cloud might be a prelude 
 of his appearing in a veil of flesh. What though we 
 should say this pillar of cloud and fire is an emblem of 
 that glorious person in whom the brightness of divinity 
 is joined with the darkness of humanity ? For as there 
 were not two pillars, the one of cloud, and the other of 
 fire, but one pillar both of cloud and fire ; so there are not 
 two persons of Immanuel, the one God, and the other 
 man, but one person, who is both God and man. An 
 adorable mystery this ! strange indeed, and beyond mea- 
 sure surprising ! But it is so far from being only a vain 
 speculation, that it is deservedly esteemed a fundamental 
 article of the Christian faith ; and truly, without admit- 
 
108 TYPICAL THINGS, BOOK I*. 
 
 ting it, the scriptures themselves will be darker than this 
 Gloud ever was to the Egyptians. 
 
 John, the beloved apostle, and gfeat New Testament 
 prophet, who saw the visions of God, and who talks in 
 many places in the Old Testament dialect, speaks of a 
 glorious Angel arising out of the east, who certainly was 
 Christ himself; he was clothed with a cloud, and his feet 
 were as pillars of fire. A description which might very 
 probably allude to this same cloud and fire. But if we 
 take a more particular survey of the uses for which it 
 served in the wilderness, we shall see with whal admirable 
 propriety they all may be affirmed of Jesus Christ, who 
 indeed was the Angel that resided in the cloud, and is 
 that unto his church in every age, in their bewildered 
 state, which the cloud was to the twelve tribes, till they 
 reached the earthly Canaan. In whom but Jesus Christ 
 can we suppose that great and precious promise made to 
 the universal church to have received it8 accomplishment : 
 " And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of 
 u mount Zion, and upon all her assemblies, a cloud and 
 cc smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by 
 *' night ; for upon all the glory shall be a defence l n 
 (Isa. iv. 5.) What, then, were those uses for which this 
 cloud served the Israelites ? 
 
 It was their guide that went before them in the vast 
 pathless desert, where they wandered in a solitary way. 
 So great was the regard they paid to all its motions, 
 which they continually watched, that, when it moved, 
 they struck their camp at any hour of the day or of the 
 night ; when it halted, they pitched their tents, and there 
 abode till its next remove, whether the time was short 
 or long. The times and seasons of their marching were 
 not, as in other armies, adjusted by their councils of war, 
 nor left to the regulation even of Moses himself; for God 
 
THE PILLAR OP CLOUD AXD FIRE. 109 
 
 put them wholly in his own power. However, it would 
 appear that its motions were properly timed, and merci- 
 fully proportioned to the strength of the weak, and the 
 conveniency of all. Nor did it ever leave them, for all 
 their provocations in the wilderness, till they arrived at 
 the land that flowed with milk and honey. Just such a 
 general, unerring, gentle, and perpetual guide is Jesus 
 Christ, by his example, word, and Spirit, to all the tra- 
 vellers for the better country, through the wilderness of 
 this world ; for, " it is not in man that walks to direct 
 11 his steps," (Jer. x. 23.) by his own wisdom, in the 
 way that leads to life. Who can recount the wanderings 
 of miserable sinners, till Jesus Christ was given a leader 
 and a commandrr to the people ? He it is who teaches to 
 profit, and leads in the way wherein we should go. Nor 
 is it possible that any should miss eternal glory, who walk 
 after him ia the wilderness, conforming themselves to the 
 dictates of his holy word, with the same care as the Is- 
 raelites observed the motions of the miraculous cloud. O 
 ye followers of the Lamb, you shall not err under the 
 conduct of your celestial guide ; you shall be led forth in 
 the way that is right, even where there is no way, till 
 you come to the city of habitation. 
 
 If was their guard that protected them, when their 
 Egyptian pursuers were pressing on their rear; for it re- 
 moyed on that occasion from their van, and went behind 
 them, forbidding by its darkness the approach of the hos- 
 tile army ail that night on which they travelled through 
 the flood on foot. On this occasion, we are told, that the 
 Lord looked through the pillar, and troubled the Egyp- 
 tian host at the hour of midnight. " The waters saw thee, . 
 €l O God ; the waters saw thee : they were afraid : the 
 " deeps also were troubled. The clouds poured out 
 <c water, the skies sent out a sound : thine arrows went 
 K 
 
110 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 " abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heavens; 
 M thy lightnings lightened the world, the earth trembled 
 44 and shook. Thy way was in the sea, thy path in the 
 44 mighty waters, and thy footsteps were not known, 
 " Thou leddest thy people like a flock, by the hand of 
 44 Moses and Aaron," (Psal. Ixxvii. 16 — 20.) Such is 
 that protection Jesus affords to his militant people, who* 
 being rescued from the bondage of sin, are marching for- 
 ward to their goodly inheritance. Though Satan, with 
 his infernal host, like the tyrant of Egypt, pursues after 
 them, and fondly thinks to reclaim the lawful captives, 
 the glory of the Lord becomes their rear-ward, Jesus is ■ 
 unto them for walls and bulwarks, forbidding the ap- 
 proach of mortal danger. He is their hiding-place, in 
 whom they are preserved, like Israel in the cloud, being 
 kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 
 It was their candle that enlightened their darkness ; 
 that smoothed the rugged brow of the night, and served 
 to abate the horrors of the wilderness after the sun was 
 set ; for it reserved its shining appearance to the season 
 when the Israelites were most in need of its cheerful as- 
 pect. Nor dost thou, O thou true Light, suit thyself to 
 the case of thy people with less condescension. Without 
 thee this world were a dark place, and, to the eyes of our 
 mind, more dismal than the dreary wilderness would have 
 been in the blackest night to the Israelites, without their 
 kind officious cload. Blessed be G©d for the sun, the 
 moon, the stars ; but more for Jesus Christ, who delivers 
 from the blackness of darkness for ever ; and who, like 
 the cloudy pillar, is always most liberal of his lightsome 
 manifestations, when his people are sitting in the darkness 
 of adversity. House of Israel, let us walk in this light 
 of the Lord, whilst the way of the wicked, like the way 
 of the Egyptians, is as darkness* 
 
 in. 
 
 JSS 
 
 ht 
 
THE PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE. Ill 
 
 It was their umbrella or screen to shade them from the 
 sultry beams of the sun in that torrid wilderness. A most 
 grateful service ! And whereas an apostle speaks of our 
 fathers being baptized in the cloud, it would seem, that 
 on some occasions, this beneficial cloud refreshed the Is- 
 raelites, by shedding kind dews upon their camp. So 
 Jesus Christ is to his people as a refreshing dew upon the 
 grass, and as a cloud of the latter rain. Under his sha- 
 dow they sit down with great delight, and find cool 
 shelter from the scorching beams both of divine wrath 
 and worldly tribulation. Happy souls who have thus 
 the Lord for their keeper, and for their shade on their 
 right hand. " The sun shall not smite them by day, nor 
 u the moon by night ;" (Psal. cxxi. 6.) even that great 
 and terrible day, which shall burn like an oven, will be 
 to these favoured of the Lord as the times of refreshing 
 from the presence of the Lord. 
 
 It was their oracle ; for he spake unto them in the 
 cloudy pillar. And it was their ornament ; for he spread 
 this cloud for their covering, or cloth of state, making 
 darkness not only his own, but their pavilion. How fitly 
 both these may be applied to Jesus Christ, is not difficult 
 to see. Who but Christ is the oracle of his church, in 
 whom God speaks unto his people, both as a promising 
 and prayer-answering God, without whom we would not 
 have heard his voice at any time, but in the language of 
 terror ? Who but Christ is their ornament, who makes 
 them terrible as an army with banners, and comely as 
 Jerusalem ? The pillar of cloud and nre was not half so 
 adorning to their camp, as is thy gracious presence to 
 every assembly and every dwelling-place of mount Zion, 
 O thou glorious Redeemer ! Even now thou art the light 
 of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. But 
 how much more when this imperfect scene shall pass away, 
 2 
 
112 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 BOOK ir, 
 
 and they shall know the import of that most gracious 
 promise, " The Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and 
 " thy God thy glory V (Isa. lx. 19.) 
 
 IV.— The Maxna in the Wilderness. 
 
 We have seen how the horrors of the wilderness 
 were considerably abated by their miraculous cloud. 
 But soon their provision they brought from Egypt is 
 spent ; and unless some new miraclais wrought for them, 
 they have nothing before their eyes but the melancholy 
 prospect of perishing with hunger. The faithless multi- 
 tude, forgetting their late deliverance at the Red Sea, fall 
 to murmuring against Moses, and wished they had never 
 stirred from their house of bondage. Had they got what 
 they deserved en this occasion, the Lord had sent fire 
 from heaven upon them instead of food ; but God, who 
 is rich in mercy, chose to still the fretful murmurs of his 
 first born with the breast rather than the rod. He bids 
 the heaven supply, by its bounty, what the earth denied 
 by its barrenness ; and, without their toil or sweat, gives 
 thtm plenty of bread, even in a land that was not sown. 
 4i He rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave 
 u them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angel's food; 
 85 he sent them meat to the full," (Psal. lxxviii. 24, 25.) 
 How happy are they who are walking after the Lord, 
 though in a wilderness ! It was a convincing proof that 
 man does not live by bread alone. But God intended, by 
 tliis good gift, not only to supply their present necessity, 
 but also to prefigure that spiritual meat presented in the 
 gospel. In this interpretation we cannot possibly be 
 -wrong, when we have no less an authority for it than 
 Jesus Christ himself, who speaking to his hearers on 
 this very subject, says, u Moses gave them not that 
 
THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS. ll# 
 
 ci bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true 
 ** bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he that 
 " came down from heaven, and gives life unto the world. 
 " I am the bread of life," (John vi. :>2, 33.) Having, 
 therefore, such infallible testimony to the general mean- 
 ing of this heavenly food, let us try to find out the prin- 
 cipal traces of resemblance betwixt it and Jesus Christ. 
 In order to this, we shall shortly attend to the following 
 things. 
 
 Its falling. " The manna fell from heaven ;" Christ is 
 he that comes down from above. It fell round u about 
 " their camp ;" Christ is to be found in the visible church," 
 2nd no where else — u with the dew when they slept ;" 
 Jesus Christ is purely the gift of God, who descends, L'ke 
 dew upon the grass, for whom we toil not, sow not, 
 not — " when they were in the most absolute need, and 
 M ready to perish ;" when we were without strength, in 
 due time Christ died for the ungodly — u when they were 
 *' not at all deserving it, but grievously sinning, by Drc- 
 u ferring the flesh-pots of Egypt to the prospects of Ca- 
 " naan ;" and Christ laid down his life when sinners were 
 preferring the pleasures of sin, and vanities or* the world, 
 to all the things above. In a word, it fell " in such large 
 " quantities as to suffice that numerous host ;" in Jesua 
 Christ there is enough to supply every want. 
 
 Its gathering by all the Israelites may signify the im- 
 provement we all should make of the offered Saviour. 
 It was gathered every day ; so Christ should be daily 
 improved by faith. It was gathered in the morning ; 
 for we must devote the best part of our lime to the seek- 
 ing his face, as it is said, " O Lord my God, early will 
 " I seek thee," (Psal. lxiii. 1.) It was gathered without 
 the camp * so must the soul that seeks him retire from 
 the hurry of the world j or, to use the expression of the 
 •>3 
 
114 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 sacred page, " go out into the fields, and lodge in the 
 u villages," (Song xi. 7.) It was gathered a double 
 portion^on the sixth day; but on the seventh, which 
 was the Sabbath, they stirred not from their tents, but 
 lived on what they laid up the day before : so in the sea- 
 son of this mortal life must we labour for that meat that 
 endures to everlasting life, in the believing improvement 
 of the means of grace ; and when the eternal Sabbath 
 comes, we shall enjoy the hidden manna without means, 
 or any painful endeavours. 
 
 Its parting among the Israelites seems not to be with- 
 out its meaning. Some gathered less, some more, in pro- 
 portion to their ability and diligence, but all received an 
 homer (a large allowance) from the common heap. By 
 which means, as Moses relates, " he that gathered much 
 H had nothing over," because he gave to him that gather- 
 ed less ; and u he that gathered little had no lack," be- 
 cause he received from him that gathered more. Was 
 the manna parted liberally unto all ? None are straitened 
 in Jesus Christ: " They shall be abundantly satisfied with 
 44 the fatness of God's house ; and thou shalt make them 
 €i drink of the river of thy pleasures," (PsaL xxxvi. 8.) 
 Was the manna equally distributed among the Israelites? 
 So all believers, of every sex, of every age, of every na- 
 tion, strong or weak, eminent or obscure, do equally par- 
 take in the common salvation ; for all are one in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 Its preparing in mills, mortars, and pans, where it was 
 ground, beaten, and baked, to make it fit for digestion 
 and nourishment, may pat us in mind of the various suf- 
 ferings of Christ's body and soul. u The bread of God 
 ,** is he which came down from heaven ;" (John vi. 33.) 
 but ere he could prove the bread of life, he behoved him- 
 self to die. That his flesh might be meat indeed, he be- 
 
THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS. 115 
 
 Loved, as it were, to be beaten in the mortar of adver- 
 sity, ground in the mill of vindictive justice, and baked 
 as in the oven of the wrath of God. 
 
 Its tasting so sweet when thus prepared, (for it resem- 
 bled the fatness of oil, and the lusciousness of honey,) and 
 its proving so wholesome and nutritive to all, though of 
 different constitutions ; may it not signify, that Jesu3 
 Christ is to the soul both sweet and wholesome food, 
 adapted to the taste of all, of young men, of children, and 
 of fathers ? And as the manna is supposed to have need- 
 ed no other ingredients to make it palatable, no more 
 does Jesus Christ, or the doctrine of his gospel, need any 
 foreign recommendation to the spiritual taste. " O taste 
 ** and see that the Lord is good/' (Psal. xxxiv. 8.) says 
 the sweet singer of Israel ; and, in another place, " How 
 fl sweet are thy words unto my taste 5 yea, sweeter than 
 u honey to my mouth !" (Psal. cxix. 103.) 
 
 Its putrifying, if kept contrary to God's command, 
 (for what was not used to-day bred worms, and stank 
 to-morrow,) might not this denote, that when the whole- 
 some doctrines of Christ's gospel are hoarded up in idle 
 speculation, without being otherwise received in love, or 
 digested in spiritual nourishment, they are so far from 
 being the savour of life unto life, as they become the 
 savour of death unto death, and breed the worms of 
 various lusts, and a condemning conscience: on which 
 account it may be said here, " He that increaseth know- 
 4t ledge increaseth sorrow." 
 
 Its being despised by the multitude as light food, by 
 which their soul was dried away, in comparison with their 
 rank Egyptian fare, renders it a proper emblem of Jr sul 
 Christ, the true bread, who is despised and rejected of men. 
 Though the pure doctrine of Christ is like the manna, 
 ar.gei's food, (for into these things they desire to pry,) 
 
116 TYPICAL THINGS. fcoOK I?, 
 
 yet are there found to whom the word of the Lord is a 
 reproach, and they have no delight in it. A romance, a 
 philosophical disquisition, a moral declamation, a political 
 harangue, is far more grateful than a sermon, whose theme 
 is a crucified Redeemer. What is this but to prefer the 
 fish, the melons, the cucumbers, and onions of Egypt, to 
 the corn of heaven ? For their contempt of this celestial 
 food, the Lord sent fiery serpents to plague the murmur- 
 ers and complainers. Nor do the despisers of Jesus Christ 
 expose themselves to less dreadful strokes, though they 
 should not be of a corporeal kind • for " all these tMngi 
 " happened unto them for ensamples; and they are writ- 
 *' ten for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the 
 ** world are come," (1 Cor. x. 11.) 
 
 The preserving it in a golden pot, where, for a num- 
 ber of ages, it was deposited in the most holy place, and 
 remained without corruption ; was it not a representation 
 of Christ's ascension into heaven, where he appears in the 
 presence of God, death having no more dor in ion over 
 him, and where he will be contained till the tirr-e of the 
 restitution of all things? Why else should communion 
 with Christ in glory be spoken of in terms alluding to 
 this very thing ? For thus it is promised, " To him that 
 <c overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna,'* 
 (Rev. ii. 17.) in the words that the Spirit says unto the 
 churches. 
 
 The continuance of this heavenly bread for the space 
 of forty years, (for so long they were in the wilderness,) 
 does it not clearly intimate, that Jesus Christ will never 
 forsake his people while they ?re here below ? Still shall 
 the bread of God descend in the dispensation of the ever- 
 lasting gospel, while the necessities of his people call for 
 it ; for so he promised, when about to depart frcm the 
 earth, " Go," says he to his apostles, " teach and baptize 
 
THE 1IAXXA IN THE WILDFRNESS. 117 
 
 * all nations ; and lo ! I am with you always, even to 
 " the end of the world," (Matth. xxviii. 19.) 
 
 The ceasing of the manna upon their tasting the corn 
 of Canaan, may it not be viewed as a figure of ordinances, 
 their ceaiing when the wandering tribes shall gain their 
 pron ? Or shall we say, that as their heavenly 
 
 provision failed when they tasted the bread that comes out 
 of the earth, so when the children of God themselves be- 
 gin to relish over-much the things of the earth, they may 
 expect that heavenly consolations will be suspended in pro- 
 portion ? When they are in worst terms with the world, 
 or when it is unto them as a wilderness, and a land not 
 sown, then truly God is good to Israel. Know your mer- 
 cy, ye distinguished favourites of heaven I nor envy their 
 happiness who eat the calves out of the stall, and the lambs 
 out of the fold, but are not fed with the heritage of Jacob. 
 Let the sensual voluptuary glut himself with the impure 
 pleasures of sin, which, like the little book that John did 
 eat, are sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly, and 
 to whom we may adapt the significant words of Job, '< His 
 iC meat in his bowels is turned ; it is the gall of asps with- 
 " in hi.™," (J°b xx. 14.) Let the rapacious worldling, 
 who is smit with the dull charms of gold and silver, who 
 is all hurry, hurry, about the businesses of this tranitory 
 life, let him fill his belly with the hid treasure of God, 
 which never yet did satisfy a soul immortal Let the 
 legal self-justiciary, who .is perhaps called by the name of 
 Christ, but eats his own bread, and wears his own apparel, 
 and trusts to his own righteousness, in whatsoever shape, 
 as the ground of his acceptance with God, let him also 
 spend his money for that which i, r.d his la- 
 
 bour for that which satisfieth not. But let the C 
 who knows the gift of God, and the excellency of the 
 heavenly provision, let him labour not for the meat that 
 
US TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 perishes, tut for the meat that endures unto everlasting 
 life. Hungry and starving soul, you ask for bread, the 
 world gives you a stone ; what else are worldly riches ? 
 You ask a fish, the world presents you with a serpent $ 
 what else are sinful pleasures ? But hearken diligently 
 unto him who is himself the living bread : li > Eat that 
 u which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fat- 
 u ness. Incline your ear, and come unto him ; hear, and 
 u your soul shall live," (Isa. lv. 2, 3.) What is a happy 
 old age to a happy eternity ? This, O Jesus, is thy un- 
 speakable gift. He that eats thee by faith shall live for 
 ever. He that comes to thee shall never hunger ; and, 
 what is more, shall never die. O Lord, deny us what 
 thou wilt, but give us this bread for evermore. 
 
 V— The Rock in the Wilderness. 
 u Bread shall be given them," says the prophetic 
 voice; (Isa. xxxiii. 16.) the proof of this we have al- 
 ready seen : fl Their water shall be sure j" the proof 
 of which we shall presently see. For he clave the u rocks 
 u in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the 
 * great depths. He brought also streams out of the rocks, 
 4i and caused waters to run down like rivers," (Psal. 
 lxxviii. 15, 16.)- What cannot this mighty God do," 
 at whose command the clouds shall yield bread, which 
 usually comes out of the earth, to appease the hunger of 
 bib beloved people ; and the rocks shall send forth water, 
 which usually falls from clouds, to satisfy the thirst of his 
 chosen race ? " Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the 
 li Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned 
 €( the rock into a standing water, and the flinty rock into 
 * l a fountain of water," (Psal. cxiv. 7, 8.) Let us briefly 
 recollect this memorable e vent, and its mystic signification. 
 The ransomed tribes are, for the trial of their faiths 
 
THE ROCK IN THE WILDERNESS. 119 
 
 conducted by the Lord, who alone did lead them to a 
 dry and thirsty spot in the wilderness at the rock Rephi- 
 dim, where there was no water to drink. They ought 
 to have recollected on this occasion, that the God who 
 brought them here would most certainly extricate them 
 from their present difficulties, as he had done often be- 
 fore. But, O impatience, how absurd and unreasonable 
 art thou ! Instead of betaking themselves to God by 
 humble prayer, and quietly waiting for the salvation of 
 the Lord, they impiously demand of Moses to give them 
 water. They reproach him with decoying them out of 
 Egypt, where they were living so happy, with no other 
 design than to famish them in the wilderness. In vain 
 does this meek and gentle servant of God remonstrate the 
 injustice and impiety of their outrageous conduct. They 
 are at the ^very point of stoning their deliverer, and re- 
 warding, with cruel death, the good offices he had done 
 them. He flies to God as his sanctuary, and invokes the 
 almighty aid, not to revenge the affront offered him by 
 the rude multitude, but to relieve them in their present 
 straits. The prayer is no sooner made than answered. 
 He is directed to take with him the elders of Israel, and 
 the wonder-working rod with which he smote the rivers: 
 " And behold, I will stand before thee there upon the 
 *' rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and 
 " there shall come Water out of it, that the people may 
 u drink," (Exod. xvii. 6.) Moses obeys, and ihe event 
 crowns his wishes. But long after, when the people were 
 in Kadesh, and reduced to the same straits they were in 
 at Rephidim, the unbelieving race relapsed into their old 
 rebellious murmurs. Moses is directed to nearly the same 
 method of relief, but does not acquit himself with the 
 same temper and moderation. For they angered him at 
 the waters of strife, and provoked his spirit so, that he 
 
120 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 spake unadvisedly with his lips, betraying at the same 
 time, in the presence of the whole assembly, his own dif- 
 fidence in the promise of Jehovah : for, being com- 
 manded to speak unto the rock, and assured that it would 
 obey his voice, he seems to have exceeded his commission, 
 by addressing the host in the language of wrath and 
 doubting, and smiting the rock more than once. The 
 miracle, indeed, was wrought, but the worker, though 
 dear to God, severely punished for his offensive behaviour 
 and unbelief, being involved in the same. fate, together 
 with Aaron, as the rest of that generation, to die in the 
 wilderness, without entering into the promised land. 
 
 That more was meant than to give water for their 
 thirst, might have been presumed from the naked history 
 in Moses. This God could do without a miracle. He 
 could have opened the bottles of heaven, or led them to 
 another Elim. Or, if he had chose the miraculous me- 
 thod, why should the rock be smitten with a rod, to glwe 
 streams in the wilderness, and waters in the desert, while 
 God himself was standing on its summit ? But the great 
 apostle of the Gentiles puts it beyond the doubt, and 
 warrants us to say, without faultering, that ? this Rock 
 " was Christ," (l Cor. x. 4.) Having, therefore, such 
 an infallible guide to our meditation, let us reflect a 
 little what was the rock ; what was the smiting ; and 
 what the water that issued from it, and followed them in 
 the way. 
 
 The rock itself might be an emblem of his person, in 
 whom is everlasting strength, to whom we may fly as a 
 refuge, and upon whom we may build as a foundation. 
 There is not* perhaps, .a metaphor more frequent in the 
 book of God than ttys, M God is a rock." Though 
 never once used before this remarkable occurrence, yet, 
 M>on after, it is adopted by Moses in his dying song. 
 
THE ROCK IN THE WILDERNESS. 121 
 
 The smiting of the rock might prefigure his satisfac- 
 tory sufferings, who was stricken, smitten of God, and 
 afflicted ; and one of the soldiers opened his side with a 
 spear, and there came out blood and water. The rock 
 was smitten with 1 the rod of Moses, the type of the law ; 
 and it was the curse of the law that subjected him to the 
 ignominious cross, who " redeemed us from the curse of 
 * the law, being made a curse for us," (Gal. iii. 13.) 
 The rock was smitten in the presence of the elders and 
 people of the Jews with noise and tumult. So Christ was 
 wounded for our transgressions at Jerusalem, the most 
 public place; and at the passover-solemnity, the most 
 public time. Then and there he endured the cros?, and 
 despised the shame. At the commandment of the Lord 
 the rock was smitten ; and by the commandment of the 
 Lord was the Captain of our salvation made perfect 
 through sufferings. It was smitten but once with appro- 
 bation, and when Moses smote it twice, the Lord was 
 angry for doing it. Might not this be an obscure inti- 
 mation, that Christ, by one offering, should finish the 
 work of our redemption ? for he needed not often to 
 suffer from the foundation of the world. But whoever 
 they be that crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, 
 they shall not go unpunished. 
 
 The water that issued from the rock, wha£ might it 
 signify? Shall we say it is an emblem of the glad tidings of 
 the gospel of Jesus Christ, which are to the distressed con- 
 science, as cold water to a thirsty soul ? In vain did the 
 poor and needy seek water to refresh their troubled minds* 
 in the legal doctrine of the 6cribes and Pharisees, or in 
 the philosophical disquisitions of the Gentile sages. Still 
 their soul failed them for thirst. But <c the Lord heard 
 11 them, and the God of Jacob did not forsake them," 
 (Isa. xli. 17.) For, in the preaching of the everlasting 
 L 
 
122 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 gospel, both to the Jews and Gentiles, the charming pro- 
 mise received its accomplishment in the most ample man- 
 ner, " I will open rivers in the high places, and springs 
 u in the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of 
 11 water, and the dry land springs of water, (ver. 18.) 
 H The beasts of the field shall honour me, the dragon 
 %i and the owl, because I give waters in the wilderness, 
 41 and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, 
 4i my chosen," (chap, xliii. 20.) Or, 6hall we say, that 
 the water from the rock is an emblem of the influence! 
 of the blessed Spirit, that, like a river pure as crystal, 
 issues from the throne of God and of the Lamb ? To 
 this refreshing, cleansing, and prolific element, our Lord 
 himself compares this glorious person, when, on the last 
 day of the feast, he stood and cried, *• If any man thirst, 
 41 let him come unto me and drink. He that believes 
 on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 
 61 This he spake of the Sj irit, which they that believe 
 w on him should receive, 1 ' (John vii. 37— 3J}. ) Or, shall 
 we say, that this water may be an emblem of that pre- 
 cious blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin ; and 
 except we drink it in a spiritual manner, we can have no 
 life in usi Or, lastly, shall we say, that the water that 
 issued from the smitten rock did represent all the bless* 
 ings of redemption, the .salutary efftcts of his sufferings 
 and death? for to him we may apply what the prophet 
 u foretels : And a man shall be as rivers of waters in a 
 ** dry place, and the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
 ■" land," (Isa. xxxii. 2.) 
 
 These waters flowed not till the rock was smitten with 
 the rod of Moses. Nor could we have derived these 
 gracious benefits from Christ, which we do partake, \f he 
 had not suffered. The striking of a flint, one should think, 
 would rather bring fire than water. But it was of the 
 
THE ROCK IN THE WILDERNESS. 123 
 
 Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent 
 in working. Who would imagine, that the Redeemer's 
 sufferings, which in themselves were tragical and melan- 
 choly, should prove so consolatory to the believing soul? 
 O Christian, it is thine to extract joy out of sorrow, hap- 
 pine^s out of misery, glory out of ignominy, life out of 
 death, though these things beem as impossible as to fetch 
 water from the fl-nty rock. 
 
 The waters flowed when the rock was smitten, not io 
 scanty measure, buc in large abundance. The m!i aculous 
 stream was not exhausted, though many hundred thousand 
 men, with their herds, drank of it. Nor were the dry 
 places of that sandy desert able to imbibe the copious 
 moisture. So inexhaustible is the fulness of Jesus Christ, 
 fiom whom all sons of men, the Jews, the Gentiles, the 
 B rbarians, the Scythians, the bond, and the free, may 
 receive all sorts of blessings. You are not straitened in 
 him, O children of men; this river of God, which is full 
 of water, can never run dry, nor be exhausted, hov? 
 abundantly soever we drink of its refreshing streams. 
 
 The waters that flowed from the rock were not only 
 sufficient to supply the present straits of Israel, but, as 
 the sacred story tells, they followed them in the way, for 
 some considerable time at least after the rock was smitten. 
 So Jesus Christ imparts the blessed fruitsof his satisfactory 
 death, not only to the first ages of Christianity, but to 
 the most distant ages of the world. Never shall this good- 
 ness and mercy cease to follow all that are Israelites in- 
 deed, till mortality shall be swallowed up of life, till the 
 wilderness be exchanged for Canaan, and the militant re- 
 sign to the triumphant state. The winter shall not arrest 
 this river in icy fetters, and the drought of summer shall 
 not drink it up like a brook; for thus the promise runs, 
 2 
 
124 TYPCAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 by the mouth of the prophet Zechariah, " In summer 
 f* and winter shall it be," (Zech. xiv. 8.) 
 
 Blessed be our Rock, who consented to be smitten, 
 that we might drink abundantly of the river of pleasures,. 
 Great was the love of David's three worthies, who ha- 
 zarded their lives to purchase for their longing general 
 a draught of water from the well of Bethlehem. But 
 greater was the love of Jesus, who lost his life, and poured 
 his precious blood, that we might draw water with joy 
 from the wells of salvation, when hungry and thirsty our 
 soul fainted in us, " O .that men would praise the Lord 
 4i for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the 
 " children of men i" (Psal. cvii, 8.) May this river, the 
 streams thereof make glad the city of God, be our con- 
 solation in this dry and thirsty land ! Ye broken cisterns 
 of this world, sinful pleasures, vain comforts and delights, 
 and our own legal righteousnesses, can you supply the 
 place of this fountain of living waters ? How miserably 
 shall they be disappointed who exchange the one for the 
 other? They shall come back with their pitchers empty; 
 they shall be ashamed and confounded, and cover their 
 heeds. Kow justly they deserve that God should bring 
 upon them the waters of the jiver, strong and many, and 
 pour upon them the fury of his anger, who refuse these 
 waters of Shiloah that go softly ! Open, O Lord, the 
 ears of sinners to hear thy gracious invitation, " Ho, 
 * : l very one that thirsteth," come ye to the waters," (Isa. 
 Iv. 1 .) Open their eyes to see this well, as once thou 
 opened'the eyes of Hagar in the wilderness, lest in hell 
 l hey lift up their eyes in torment, without a drop to cool 
 their tongue. O grant us to believe on him, that we 
 imy never thirst. 
 
THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 125 
 
 VI. — The Brazen Serpent. 
 
 The host of Israel had long traversed the desolate 
 wilderness, and, finding no end of their wanderings, in- 
 stead of accepting this punishment of their iniquity from 
 the hand of the Lord, again they murmur against him 
 and Moses, and undervalue their heavenly provision, 
 though the food of angels. The incensed Jehovah com- 
 mands the serpents to bite them. The serpents obeyed, 
 and many of the people died. The survivors, convinced 
 of their error, confess their fault, and beg that Moses 
 ntercede for them -with their offended God. Mo- 
 ses hearkens to the people, and the Lord was entrt-a ed 
 of him. But observe the strange manner wherein the 
 cure was wrought. Dees he kill these poisonous and 
 fiery flying serpents outright ? No. Does he drive them 
 to some distant region of the earth, or remote corner of 
 the wilderness, where the Israelites would be annoyed 
 with them no more ? Nor this either. Or, does he restrain 
 these noxious creatures from stinging them, which was 
 also possible, though they swarmed in the camp ? None 
 of all these. The serpents are suiterec] to live, suffered 
 to remain in the camp, and suffered to bite as before. 
 But a brazen serpent is, by God's command* lifted up on 
 a pole, that it might be conspicuous from afar ; and who- 
 ever snatched a look of this lifeless serpent, needed not 
 fear the bite of the living ones, for the wound was not 
 mortal, " Happy art thou, O Israel, a people saved by 
 " the Lord." (Deut. xxxiii. 2p. ) They were hungry, 
 and they had miraculous bread ; thirsty, and they were 
 supplied with miraculous drink ; now they are sick and 
 wounded, and they are favoured with miraculous medi- 
 cine. Here, indeed, the scripture wa3 fulfilled in the 
 mo*: literal sense : <( F«;ols, because of their transgres- 
 3 
 
1^6 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 BOOK IT, 
 
 "sion, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted* 
 " Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and they 
 " draw near to the gates of death. Then they cry unto 
 " the Lord in their trouble ; he saveth them out of 
 their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, 
 "and delivered them from their destructions," (Psal. 
 cvii. 17—20.) 
 
 Let us behold, in this eminent figure, at once our mi- 
 serable state by sin, and the method of our recovery by 
 Jesus Christ, who, from this very thing, preached to 
 Nicodemus the doctrine of his cross ; " For, as Moses," 
 said he, " lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so 
 u must the Son of man be lifted up," (John iii. 14*.) 
 
 The devil and his angels, these are the fkry flying ser- 
 pents, who, though invisible to the eye, have stung the 
 race of Adam, and have insinuated their deadly poison 
 through the whole mass of human nature ; for which we 
 may take up the prophet's lamentation : ' u The whole 
 tl head is sick, and the whole heart faint," (Isa. i. 5.) 
 Ever y # nce we brake over the hedge of the divine law, 
 these serpents have incessantly bit us. ' This makes the 
 world a terrible wilderness indeed, a land of trouble and 
 anguish, whence come the viper, and the fiery flying ser- 
 pent. It is true, the wounds that are made by the scor- 
 pions of hell may seem but slight at the frst ; for many 
 a time they have stricken us, and we were not grieved. 
 But as the unhappy Israelite soon perceived the deadly 
 venom drinking up his vitals, so shall the devil's fiery 
 darts, sooner or later, inflame the conscience, and never 
 fail to enkindle in the heart a burning fever of unsatisfied 
 and irregular desires. .It was only the death of the mor- 
 tal body that threatened 'he stan^ Israelite. But the soul, 
 the in mortal soul, is endangered by the bite of the infer- 
 nal serpent, unless an antidote can be found.,' And this 
 
THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 127 
 
 antidote is the Lord Jesus Christ, of which thy serpent, 
 Moses, was a figure. 
 
 It may, perhaps, seem odd at first, that so noxious and 
 hateful a creature as the serpent should be made an em- 
 blem of the amiable and beneficent Redeemer, especially 
 when we consider that the serpent is a name commonly ap* 
 propriated to the grand adversary of God and man ; and, 
 in the scripture-style, wicked men are called serpents^ and 
 a generation of vipers. But let us reflect to whom he is z 
 serpent ; for he is to the devil what this malicious spirit 
 is unto us, that is, his destroyer. Why should it not be 
 equally proper to compare the gracious Redeemer to the 
 serpent as to the lion, both which are names of his great 
 enemy ? What is the strength of the roaring lion of hell 
 to his strength, who is the lion of the tribe of Judah i 
 And what is the subtlety of the devil, the old serpent, to 
 the wisdom of Jesus Christ, the new i Besides, the ser- 
 pent, being the first cursed creature, may, even on this 
 account, be pitched on as a type of him who was to be- 
 come a cuise for us. But, whereas the serpent of Moses 
 was void of poison, and wore no sting, for it was only the 
 form o- a serpent, it is natural here to think : how Jesus 
 Christ only appeared in the likeness of sinful riesh, but was 
 utterly a stranger to the venom of sin, though in all other 
 things made like to us, whose poison is as the poison of a 
 serpent. Whether the strength and lustre of the bras3 
 might b^ a faint shadow of the strength andglory of that 
 wonderful person, the God-man, I shall not affirm. 
 
 But the lifting up this serpent seems an evident predic- 
 tion of that death which Christ should die. Here he is 
 ev'dently set forth crucified before us, as we are taught 
 by himself, who is the end of the law for righteou 
 when speaking of the death he should die: " Andl," says 
 he, " if i be lifted up from che earth, will draw all men 
 
128 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK It 
 
 " after me" (John xii. 32.) The serpent was lifted up 
 on a pole; and Christ was lifted up on the accursed tree. 
 The serpent was lifted yp by Moses, the figure of the 
 law ; and Christ was, by the law, subjected to endure the 
 cross. The serpent was lifted np in the most conspicuous 
 manner amid the camp of Israel ; and the crucifixion of 
 the Son of God was transacted in the most public manner 
 at Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea. It was God who 
 commanded the serpent to be lifted up in the wilderness; 
 and it was God who commanded the Lord and Saviour 
 to lay down his life, and adjusted, by hfs determinate 
 counsel, all the shameful and all the painful circumstances 
 of that awful and amazing scene. If it had not been 
 with a view to its elevation on the pole, Moses had not 
 been ordered to make this brazen image ; nor would the 
 Son of God appeared in the likeness of a man, but with 
 an intention to expire on the cross, and give his life a 
 ransom for many. The serpent was lifted up, that who- 
 soever beheld it might be healed and live ; and Christ 
 was crucified, that whosoever believeth in him might not 
 perish, but have everlasting life. 
 
 That a wounded Israelite should be saved by looking, 
 and a perishing sinner by believing, are things that bear 
 no small resemblance to each other. For what is be- 
 lieving on hirn, but seeing him who is invisible, that, like 
 Moses, we may endure ? What is it but looking on him 
 whom we have pierced, that we may mourn ? How fitly 
 may the glorious words in the prophet Isaiah come from 
 the mouth of the crucified Redeemer : t4 Look unto me, 
 4C and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ; for I am 
 * c God, and there is none else ; besides me there is no 
 " Saviour?" (Isa. xlv. 22.) Let us more , particularly 
 observe the likeness of their remedy to ours. 
 
 It was a method of cure solely contrived and appointed 
 
THE BRAZEN SERPENT. l^y 
 
 of God, from whose ordinance alone it received its effi- 
 cacy. Who would have so much as imagined in a dream, 
 that to look at a dead serpent of brass would cure the 
 bite of a living serpent ? Should reason be allowed to 
 give her verdict, she would, perhaps, be so far from pro- 
 nouncing it a proper expedient, that she would rather 
 judge it a gross absurdity ; especially if it be true what 
 some affirm, that the sight of burnished brass is naturally 
 pernicious to them who are bitten of serpents ; and if it 
 be true, what is also asserted, that to see but the shape 
 of any venomous creature increases the torment of the 
 unhappy sufferer whom it bit. Exactly so ; the method 
 of our recovery by the cross of Jesus Christ is a device 
 that claims God himself for its only original. The world, 
 by wisdom, never would have arrived at the knowledge 
 of it ; nay, it is a thing they are highly offended with ; 
 for it is in them that perish foolishness ; but to them 
 that are saved, it is the wisdom of God, and the power 
 of God unto salvation, to every one who believeth. 
 Though reason would not have thought, God has or- 
 dained it. To this alone must all its efficacy be ascribed; 
 for " it is the will of the Father, that whosoever seeth 
 " the Son, and believes on him, should not perish, but 
 u have everlasting life," (John vi. 40.) 
 
 It was a method of cure that never failed, bring no 
 less sure than strange. Not an Is-aelice indeea died, as 
 Moses assures u% who looked at the brazen serce 
 Where were they ever ashamed that put their trust in 
 Christ? Were they ever d'sapp m^eo* id their expecta- 
 tions that believed in him for everlasting life ? 
 
 It was a method of cure that might easily be put in 
 practice by an Israelite, if he was not blind. Perhaps he 
 might happen to receive his wound in some remote p'ace 
 of the camp ; and though it should have affected him i& 
 
130 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II, 
 
 such a manner, that he could neither move hand nor 
 foot, y t, without stirring from the place where he was, 
 w.thout sending for physicians to apply their medicines, 
 he was saved by one glance of his eye. In like manner, 
 if the god of this world has not blinded our minds, wc 
 are saved, not by working, but by believing. The works 
 of the law are physicians of no value to the distressed 
 conscience ; but Christ is a present help, and to find him 
 we need neither climb up into heaven, nor descend into 
 the deep. 
 
 It was a remedy that might be repeated as often as 
 there was occasion for it. So Christ is the propitiation 
 for our sins, to whom we may warrantably have recourse 
 as often as we are wounded by hellMi temptations, and in 
 every time of need. Yet let no abuser of this heavenly- 
 doctrine infer, that, because the remedy is at hand, we 
 may be careless and secure, and expose ourselves at ran- 
 dom to the painful stings of the infernal serpents. What 
 Israelite would been so mad as to handle these hateful 
 creatures, and court them to instil their venom, with no 
 other design than to try the experiment of the brazen 
 serpent's virtue ? Would not this been a horrid perver- 
 sion of that healing ordinance, and at least a tempting 
 the Lord ? But the truth is, the human race do not so 
 much abhor the touch and neighbourhood of serpents of 
 every kind, than an Israelite indeed, or a sincere believer, 
 when acting up to his character, will abhor even all ap- 
 proaches to temptation. It is every whit as reasonable to 
 suppose, that, because the serpents in the wilderness were 
 not permitted to destroy the Israelites, by reason of their 
 heavenly antidote, therefore they loved the serpents, and 
 dehghred in their society, as it is to suppose that the 
 true Christian can be encouraged to sin, or love that 
 which he hates, because of abounding grace. 
 
THOUGHTS OS THE VAIL OP MOSE9. 131 
 
 It was a remedy that proved effectual, without all doubt, 
 to the Israelite who used it, though his visive faculty had 
 been ever so weak. So the weakest fai:h. if genuine, is 
 as saving as the strongest, because its object is the same. 
 It was, in -hort, a remedy that ascribed the whole glory 
 to God : even as in the work of our salvation by Jesus 
 Christ, all boasting is excluded. While the believing 
 soul treads upon the adder, and tramples the dragon under 
 feet, and says, •* O death where is thy sting ?" ( J. Cor. 
 Xv. 55.) O Satan, where is thy power? let him also say, 
 ** Thanks be unto God that gives us the victory through 
 * Jesus Christ our Lord," (ver. 5. 7.) 
 
 VIT. — Thoughts on the Vail of Moses. 
 The lawgiver of the Jews having ascended the 
 second time to mount Sinai, where he obtained a sight 
 of the divine glory, and got the second tables inscribed 
 anew, with the finger of God, after the first were broken, 
 dbw descends to ihe camp with the tables in his hand, 
 but is greatly surprised to see his brother Aaron, and 
 other Israelites, fi ltd with perturbation at his app oacb, 
 and afraid to look him in the face. vSnch horror might, 
 indeed, have well become them the first time he descend- 
 ed ; for ; hey had, during his absence, been guilty of that 
 almost unpardonable crime, the making the golden calf, 
 which, they could not but suspect, would be highly re- 
 sented, both by God and M >t>es. But no* their peace 
 was made, and their pn-phet comes with the pledges 
 of reconciliation in his hand, what can be the reason 
 (might he say to himself) of my brethren's running away 
 from me, as I were still their enemy ? The face of Moses 
 was equally meek as before; bur, though the features 
 were the same, it shone wiih a glory visible to e*ery body 
 
132 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 but himself. This strange phenomenon was the cause of 
 that awful distance they kept. But perceiving that his 
 voice was the same, though his face was altered, they re- 
 sume thejr courage and ventare to approach him, though 
 still they dare not come to any close interview with their 
 shining lawgiver, till, in condescension to their weakness, 
 he put a vail on his glorious face. Such honour it pleased 
 God to confer on his faithful servant, not only to inspire 
 the minds of the Israelites with greater reverence for him, 
 but chiefly to dignify that dispensation of which he was 
 the minister. We are not told how long this miraculous 
 brightness lasted ; but in all appearance it was not of long 
 duration, and vanished gradually away, to signify trre 
 transient nature of that economy. 
 
 Moses himself, perhaps, intended no more, by vailing 
 his face, than what is expressed in the history. However, 
 the wisdom of the Holy Ghost, having given us an alle- 
 gorical interpretation of this action, by the mouth of the 
 apostle Paul, let us dwell upon it a little. 
 
 The vail upon t;he face of Moses, according to that 
 eminent apostle, did signify, that, partly through the 
 obscurity of their law, and partly through the blindness 
 of their hearts, the children of Israel could not stedfastly 
 look to the end of that which was abolished. Now, that 
 ' which was abolished is their legal dispensation, and the 
 end of that which was abolished is Christ Jesus himself, 
 who is the end of the law for righteousness, as having ful- 
 filled its meaning, cancelled its authority, arid introduced 
 in its room a far more excellent economy. 
 
 What ? may some reply, did Israel not know the mean- 
 ing of their law ? Was it the intention of the Almighty 
 to conceal from them a thing in which they were so high- 
 ly interested ? Had they no sufficient intimations that 
 their ritual institutions /did point at better things, and 
 
THE VAIL OP MOSES. 133 
 
 were, in future time, capable of repeal, and would actu- 
 ally receive an end ? 
 
 answer to this, it is not at all denied, but there were 
 many things in the writings and law of Moses that not 
 obscurely hinted its true design. The vail of Moses was 
 not so thick and broad, but some rays of his light did ac- 
 tually transpire. Even as the darkness and blackness that 
 involved the frighted summit of mount Sinai, was inter- 
 spersed with flashes of lightning and gleams of fire, the 
 attentive Israelite, who meditated upon the law of the 
 Lord day and night, might know that more was meant 
 rthan was plainly expressed. The constant expectation of 
 a Messias, which universally obtained in all ages of the 
 Jewish church, might fully convince them of the weak- 
 ness of their rites, -to do what they seemed to promise, 
 and that the ceremonial law was far from being the whole 
 of their religion. They had it hinte jmnto them in the 
 dying benediction of their great forefather, that their ju- 
 dicial law should not be always observed, but that a period 
 should arrive, when the sceptre should depart from the 
 royal tribe. A small measure of acquaintance with their 
 own hearts might have easily persuaded them that the de- 
 mands of the moral law, or ten commandments, were too 
 rigid for them ever to hope justification by their compli- 
 ance with them ; for, however much it maybe thought, 
 by superficial observers, that the first nine precepts in the 
 law may be f drilled by a< ect creature, yet it is 
 
 evident that the very letter of the tenth commandment 
 forbids the sins of the heart, and all the motions of con- 
 cupiscence. How can the proudest legalist plume himself 
 with the foolish conceit of bdng able to conform himself 
 in all respects to the very letter of the law, when the very 
 letter of the law sayi, " Thou shalt no> covet :" ( 
 xx. 17.) — If, then, there were many Israelites who rest- 
 M 
 
134 TYPICAL THINGS. . BOOK tt» 
 
 ed in their law, without looking any further, and fondly- 
 imagined that it was able to give them eternal life, this 
 fatal mistake was not chiefly owing to the obscurity of 
 their dispensation, but to the blindness of their hearts, that 
 were hard as the stones on which ^their law was written, 
 and vailed as their lawgiver's face. 
 
 But, after all, it must be confessed, the law and holy 
 books of Moses have much obscurity in them, when com- 
 pared with the great plainness of speech used by the 
 apostles in the New Testament. They may be compared 
 to a fine picture placed in a dark corner ; though its prin- 
 cipal figures may be discerned by a penetrating eye, it is, 
 however, impossible the delicate touches of the pencil, 
 the distributions of light and shade, the beauty of 
 the tints, the elegancy of the designs, can be thoroughly 
 perceived by the most vigorous sight, till the finished 
 piece is translated from its obscure situation, and set in 
 an advantageous light. 
 
 One that reads the writings of Moses, and throws^ but 
 a cursory glance over the moral, the ceremonial, and the 
 judicial law, without remembering that, like Moses, they 
 put a vail on their face, would be very apt to mistake the 
 true design of the whole system, and to entertain many 
 erroneous opinions, that are really inconsistent with its 
 original intention, though they seem to be founded upon 
 it. One would think, the ceremonial worship, prescribed 
 so minutely by Moses, must certainly have been very ac«* 
 ceptable to God even for its own sake* or he would ne- 
 ver been at the pains to adjust, by his express authority, 
 the smallest circumstances relative unto it. One would 
 almost imagine that the Deity took pleasure to eat the 
 flesh of bulls, and drink the blood of goats ; that he is 
 pleased even with outward corporal uncleannesses ; that 
 the beauty of his worship consists in the outward pomp 
 
THE VAIL OF MOSES. 135 
 
 of splendid rites ; that the blood of slaughtered beasts 
 was able to take away sin ; that man has still a power 
 to obey the moral law ; that we must enter into life by 
 keeping the commandments ; that righteousness can come 
 by the law ; that the natural seed of Abraham could ne- 
 ver be rejected from being the people of God ; that their 
 civil state should never be unhinged, and their ceremonies 
 should never be abolished. These, and many such false 
 opinions, might been suggested by the terms in which 
 the law is uttered ; and many a carnal Jew was taken in 
 this snare. Even " unto this day, when Moses is read, 
 H the vail is upon their hearts," (2 Cor. iii. 15.) 
 
 In vain did the prophets endeavour to pull this vail i 
 aside, and reclaim from these vain imaginations that stiff- 
 necked people, the bulk of whom persevere in their ab- 
 surd prejudices, and presumptuous expectations, to this 
 very day. 
 
 If any should inquire, why the revelation of the divine 
 will was not equally plain in the past as in the present 
 age? why the God with whom light dwells would de- 
 liver a law to his people, of which the true design and 
 genuine scope was not obvious at the first view ? It is 
 not for us to dive into the eternal counsels. It was the 
 will of God that it should be so ; and who dare* say to 
 him, " What dost thou ?" (Job ix. 12.) Let us rather 
 observe how the vail was gradually removed, till Moses 
 stands confessed, and the design of his economy is no 
 longer a mystery, since the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Much is said in the prophetic scriptures, that might 
 have undeceived the blind Jews, and taught them to 
 abate their vain confidence # in their national privileges, 
 their ceremonial observances, and their moral righteo • 
 
 -es. The grand doctrines of Christianity, relating to 
 the person,^tne character, and mediation of Jesus Christ, 
 9 
 
136 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOfc If. 
 
 are laid down in these venerable writings, with greater 
 perspicuity than in the books of Moses. But though the 
 prophets harmoniously conspire in giving the suffrage 
 to every Christian doctrine, yet still they put upon their 
 face the vail of poetical figures, and ceremonial phrases. 
 They describe spiritual blessings by images of civil peace 
 and plenty. With them the victory of Jesus Christ is 
 the treading of a wine-press, in which the wine is the 
 blood of slaughtered enemies ; prayer is incense, and a 
 pure offering ; conversion is going up to Jerusalem ; gos- 
 pel-worship is the celebration of the festivals of the Jews, 
 
 But now comes John the Baptist, the harbinger of 
 Christ, who talks still plainer than Moses or the pro- 
 phets ; and, instead of commending the Levitical sacri- 
 fices, he invites his hearers to regard that unknown per- 
 son, to whom he pointed, as the complement of them all, 
 *•' Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of 
 " the. world," (John i. 29.) 
 
 But by the ministry of Christ, and his blessed apostles, 
 the law is wholly unmasked, and the vail on Moses's face 
 entirely done away. The lowly birth, indigent life, and 
 ignominious death of the Messias himself, was an incon- 
 testable proof, that his kingdom is not of this world, as 
 the Jews expected. Though he was the great High-Priest, 
 he gave no attendance at the altar ; and his fore-runner, 
 though born a Levite, never officiated in the temple. 
 This was a plain declaration, that he was come to abro- 
 gate these ancient rites. But if we attend to the strain 
 of his doctrine, it will appear how it was calculated to 
 remove the vail, and cure the prejudices of the mistaken 
 Jews. He taught, that a man is not defiled by what en- 
 ters in at the mouth ; foretold.that their city and temple, 
 the centre of their worship, should be razed ; and that a 
 spiritual worship .should be established over all the world, 
 
OF SACRIFICES. 137 
 
 and might be presented unto God in every place. That 
 he might pave the way for explaining the grand doctrine 
 of justification by his imputed righteousness, he expatiated 
 upon the vast extent of the moral law, and frequently in- 
 culcated the sad depravity of human nature. He spoke 
 of himself as the fulnller of all righteousness, the heaven- 
 ly manna, and the antitype of the serpent lifted up in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 Bat after h?s ascension, he inspired his apostle* to 
 finish what he had only begun, and completely remove 
 that vail which Moses put upon his face. By their 
 apostolic decree, they instructed the Christian Gentiles 
 in their New Testament Lbcrty ; and by their epistles, 
 addressed to the primitive churches, they entirely dissi- 
 pated the obscurity of the Old Testament shadows. 
 Now, it appears, that the kingdom of God is not meats 
 and drinks, but righteousners, and peace, and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost ; that jhe Mosaic law was only a school- 
 master to tutor the church inkier childish state, and train 
 her up for a more perfect institution. Now, we plainly 
 see, that righteousness cannot possibly come by the law, 
 nor pardon by the sacrifices. If the vail is not still upon 
 our hearts, we may behold, with open face, the glory of 
 the Lord, and be changed into the same image, from 
 glory to glory. Now, the face of the covering spread 
 over ali people, and the vail cast over all options, is en- 
 tirely destroyed ; and therefore, O house of Israel, come 
 and let us walk in the light of the Lord. 
 
 VIII. — Of Sacrifices. 
 
 Sacrificing is a religious action, in which a crea- 
 ture devoted to God was in a solemn manner destroyed 
 in his presence for sacred ends ; and it was a mod* q( 
 
 3 
 
138 
 
 TYPICAL TftlNGS. BOOK 3fT, 
 
 worship that obtained in the most early ages of the 
 world. It may not only be traced tip to the famous 
 era of giving the law from mount Sinai ; for the aneierit 
 patriarchs did commonly practise it. How many altars 
 were built by Abraham, and his grandchild Jacob? Mel- 
 chizedec was a priest of the most high-God ; Job offered 
 sacrifices both for his children and for his friends ; and 
 God smelled a savour of rest, when Noah sacrificed clean 
 beasts and birds upon the altar which he built unto the 
 lord. But why do I mention these venerable personages 
 as the most ancient practisers of sacrificial worship, when 
 it may be more than conjectured that Adam himself did 
 use it ? Can we think, when Abel offered unto the Lord . 
 the firstlings of his flock, that his father did not instruct 
 him to testify in this manner his fear of the Lord ? And 
 what shall we say of the coats of skins which the Lord 
 ,made for them, or directed them to make ? The beasts 
 to whom they belonged cannot, so soon after the crea- 
 tion, be supposed to have died of age. They behoved, 
 therefore, to be slain. How natural to suppose that they 
 were slain in sacrifice, rather than for any other use ? 
 Perhaps it was not without a mystery, that the skins of 
 these beasts should clothe their bodies, whose blood made 
 atonement for their souls. To be short, then, though we 
 can by no means assert, that, in the state of innocence, 
 there would been the least occasion for them, they seem,, 
 however, to be as ancient as the promise about the seed 
 of the woman, who was to have his heel bruised, while 
 he bruised the serpent's head. 
 
 The antiquity of sacrifices being supposed, let us now 
 see by whose authority they were first enjoined. And it 
 will be certainly found, that, as their date is ancient, their 
 ^rio-inal is divine. That God prescribed them to his cho- 
 sen people is not disputed j for a great pare of the sacred 
 
6? SACRIFICES. 130 
 
 volume is occupied in describing the various laws by which 
 this species of worship should be adjusted. But what shall 
 we think of the sacrifices that were offered by the patri- 
 archs before the law ? Were they acts of will- worship ? 
 Did they contrive this mode of adoration from their own 
 brains r Did the light cf nature dictate that the Deity 
 could be delighted with butchering, slaying, and burning 
 a harmless brute, or otherwise destroying creatures that 
 were inanimate ? No : neither did the light of nature 
 dictate them, nor blind superstition, but the sovereign 
 will, and positive command of God, is their original war- 
 rant. Be it so ; we read of the practice before we read 
 of the precept : still, from the former, we may fairly in- 
 fer the latter ; for such eminent saints would never have 
 adventured to express their devotion in such a strange 
 manner, if they had not been required to do so by the de- 
 clared will of God. Indeed, without such a persuasion, 
 they could not have offered in faith : and we are assured, 
 by an authority too great to be controverted, that the 
 first man, whose sacrifice is expressly mentioned in scrip- 
 ture, offered, through faith, a more excellent sacrifice 
 than Cain, of which the D.ity was pleased to testify his 
 acceptance, by some distinguishing marksof regard. Now, 
 let us even suppose these primitive believers might been 
 so presumptuous as to invent or practise, without the 
 command of God, such bloody rites, it can sever be ad- 
 mitted, that God, who has upon all occasions testified his 
 displeasure against the inventions of men in his worship, 
 would have smiled upon such self-devised modes of ado- 
 ration. Instead of testifying of their gifts, and accepting 
 their burnt-offerings, wuuld he not rather have upbraided 
 them, as in the words of that well-known reproof, " Who 
 " hath required thi$"at your hands ?" (Isa. i. 12.) Up- 
 on the whole, then, it is ea.y to see, that sacrifices were 
 
140 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK I! k 
 
 not offered without the command of God. And it is. 
 more than probable that the precept and the practice are 
 of equal age ; that these holy rites were commanded im- 
 mediately after the re-admission of our iirst parents into 
 the divine favour, upon the back of their apostasy ; that 
 the universal custom of sacrificing was received by tradi- 
 tion from the first man ; and that, after the true design 
 of the institution was lost among the degenerate nations, 
 the ceremony itself -was still preserved. 
 
 Well, then, the custom was ancient, was divine ; and 
 surely it was for some important end God would com- 
 mand, and the best of men practise it, for the space cfP 
 four thousand years. What could move the eternal Ma- 
 jesty to require, for so long a time, that sacrifices should 
 be an essential part of his worship? Was there any real 
 excellency in these actions that might render them plea- 
 sing to God for their own sake ? Were they to be put 
 on an equal or superior footing to acts of moral services? 
 Not at all. Himself declares, in the most positive man- 
 ner, even in the age of sacrifices, that " to offer thanks- 
 tc giving, and pay their vows, to do j'istly, and love mer- 
 u C y y » (Psal. 1. 14. Mic. vi. 8.) were actions far prefer- 
 able to loading his altar with the most costly cMations ; 
 that though men had been ever so punctual in this kind 
 of worship, they were not immediacely entitled to the 
 character of saints, whatever course of action they steered 
 in their other deportment towards God, or their fellow- 
 creatures. Yea, so far were sacrifices from being able to 
 recommend the persons of wicked sinners to God, that, 
 en the contrary, their sins, when resolutely persisted in, 
 rendered not only their persons, but their sacrifices, de- 
 testable unto him. He loathed, he despised, he abhorred, 
 his soul was weary to bear them. That they did really 
 atone for ceremonial guilt, or sanctify, to the purifying 
 
OP SACRIFICES. 141 
 
 of the flesh, may indeed be allowed ; but that they could 
 realiv atone for moral guilt, purge the conscience from 
 dead works, or be acceptable to the divine Majesty for 
 their own sake, is denied by scripture, reason, and even 
 by the sacrifices themselves. It is denied by scripture : 
 for, in the prophet Micah, rivers of oil, and thousands 
 of rams, are denied to be an adequate propitiation. And 
 this needs not be wondered at; for, what is still more, the 
 first-born, we are assured in the same place, would not be 
 accepted for transgression, nor the fruit of the body for 
 the sin of the soul. It is denied by reason. For reason 
 herself being judge, where were the justice to punish a 
 harmless beast for the sins of its owner ? What proportion 
 betwixt the sin of a man and the sufferings of a brute ? 
 Can the Majesty of heaven indeed be prevailed upon to 
 lay aside his just anger for such a puny satisfaction ? Then, 
 Sinai, thy thunders are vanished into smoke, and there 
 was no occasion to publish, with such solemnity and ter- 
 ror, to the trembling Israelites, that fiery law, whose 
 curses may be so easily avoided. But let us ask even the 
 sacrifices themselves, they will confess their insufficiency 
 to expiate moral guilt; for there were many sins that were 
 not to be purged with sacrifice or offering. Let David 
 bear witness, who says to God concerning his complicated 
 crime of adultery and deliberate murder, " Thou desi^est 
 " not sacrifice, else would I give it: thou dehghtest not 
 " in burnt-offering," (Psal. li. 16.) Besides, the repeti- 
 tion of these sacrifices is a most invincible proof, tha r it 
 was not in them to make them perfect that offered ; for 
 then would they not have ceased to be offered ? Surely 
 they would ; for the worshippers, once purged, should 
 have had no more conscience of sin. 
 
 Was it then impossible that the blood of bulls and goats 
 'should take away sin, notwithstanding the antiquity aa& 
 
142 TYPICAL THINGS. BO©R II, 
 
 divine original of the custom to offer sacrifice ? Having 
 removed the false end of their institution, let us examine 
 into their real intention ; and we shall have a particular 
 eye to the offerings under the economy of Moses. And 
 here it will not be contradicted, though one should affirm, 
 that sundry circumstances in the law of sacrifices might 
 be intended to convey moral instructions. For instance, 
 that the brutish qualities of the sacrificed beasts might 
 signify the vices or' lusts which we ought to mortify for 
 the honour of God ; or that the virtuous qualities of the 
 victims, suppose meekness, patience, and the like, might 
 denote those graces and virtues which the worshipper of 
 God should cultivate in his own heart. It must not be 
 denied that the ancient ceremonial worship might be a 
 figure of that reasonable service which is ever due to the 
 supreme Being in all the different states of the rational 
 creature. But though these, and other considerations, 
 may have their proper weight and place, we have not yet 
 found out the adequate reason of these, mysterious insti- 
 tutions. In thy bloody death, O Jesus, we see the great 
 antitype of these legal oblations! Most certainly they 
 were public acknowledgments of guilt, and professions 
 of faith in the grand propitiation, which they believed 
 should appear in the end of the world. 
 
 Tell us, thou sweet singer of Israel, who is he that, 
 shall do for us what the law could opt do ! In the for~ 
 tieth psalm, David, speaking not of himself, but of a far 
 inn re glorious person, has these most ernphatical words; 
 '* Sacrifice and offering thou didbt not desire: burnt-offer- 
 Cl ing and sin-offering has r . thou not vtq ilred. Then said 
 " I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God," ( Psal. xl. 6. 7- ) 
 It was not Christ who came to imitate the sacrifices, but 
 the sacrifices were ordained to prefigure him. They were 
 the shadow of future good things, but the body is of 
 
OP SACRIFICES. 143 
 
 Christ. When Christ was first revealed, the sacrifices 
 seem to have been practised ; and, when he died, they 
 ceased to be offered. The temple heard his dying groan, 
 and rent her vail in presence of the priesthood, as they 
 offered the evening-sacrifice. From this time forth shall 
 your office be vacated, ye legal priests ! Ye beasts of the 
 field, no more shall ye smoke as victims on God's altar ; 
 for the merciful High-Priest has now given Himself an 
 offering and a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour unto 
 God ! Now if, with the prediction of his death, they 
 began, and ended with the accomplishment, what can be 
 more plain than the relation betwixt them, as the shadow 
 and the substance ? Set this relation aside, and it is im- 
 possible to vindicate, to any advantage, the original ap- 
 pointment of sacrifices, or to account for their abolition 
 after they were enjoined. Should any be contentious in 
 this point, we have an entire book in the canon of the 
 New Testament, in which the professed argument is the 
 resemblance of the Old Testament sacrifices to the true 
 propitiation. Let us here glance at some of the most 
 glaring parallels only betwixt the sacrifices of Moses and 
 the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 
 
 And, first, We may take notice of the qualities of the 
 sacrificed creatures, especially of the animal kind. It was 
 not left as a matter of indifference, and wholly in the op- 
 tion of God's peculiar people, with what .victims they 
 should stain his altars. They behoved to be clean crea* 
 tures, according to the law, fit to be eaten for the sup- 
 port of human life, and to be one with the offerer, in some 
 sense, by their aptitude for digestion into the substance 
 of his body. This was an evident memorial of the sancti- 
 ty of the great Propitiation, and that he should be a par- 
 taker of the same flesh and blood with those for whom he 
 should die 5 for it was requisite, that both he that sancti- 
 
144 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 fieth, and they that are sanctified, be all of one. The 
 integrity and perfection which God required in the bodies 
 of these beasts nray easily be accommodated to the glo- 
 rious Antitype, who would have been wholly incapacitated, 
 by any the smallest blemish, from the discharge of his 
 priestly function. For, though it became the typical 
 nation of the Jews to have an high-priest, involved in the 
 same guilt of actual transgression with his brethren, who 
 was therefore to offer first for his own sin, before he pre- 
 sumed to offer for the errors of the people, yet •' such an 
 u high-priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, 
 4C and separated from sinners," (Heb. vii. 26.) 
 
 They were, further, to be valuable and beloved crea- 
 tures, as lambs that are for clothing, and goats that are 
 the price of the field ; and he that offered them was put 
 to cost and damage, as indeed, in the first ages of man- 
 kind, the riches of the most opulent possessor, consisted 
 chiefly in flocks and herds. What forbids us to think 
 here of Jesus Christ being the darling of his Father, and 
 precious to them that believe ? O the invaluable treasure 
 of blood that was paid for the redemption of the soul ! 
 In comparison hereof, what is silver and gold, and all cor- 
 ruptible things? Ransack the bowels of the mountains for 
 all the glowing gems formed there in dark retirement; 
 when compared to the precious blood of the Lamb, they 
 are poor and beggarly acquisitions, and converted into 
 pebble stones, fit to be trampled under feet. Moreover, 
 there behoved to be found, in the destined victims, some 
 amiable qualities resembling moral virtues. They were 
 not permitted to sacrifice the stupid ass, or the sordid 
 swine, though tame creatures ; far less were the fierce 
 inhabitants of the forest, as wolves, bears, and lions, to 
 come upon God's altar. But the sacrifices in which he 
 delighted were the gentle dove, the patient and laborious 
 
OF SACRIFICES. 1 k> 
 
 ox, the meek lamb, and the sheep that is dumb before the 
 shearer and the butcher. Who sees not in these charac- 
 ters the very picture of the meek, lowly, patient, and un- 
 complaining Saviour of the world, who opened not his 
 mouth when he was led as a lamb to the slaughter ? A 
 circumstance this, which, next to the dignity of his per- 
 son, did contribute to the value of his satisfactory death. 
 
 It is also worthy of notice, that of all these beasts, the 
 first-born was most acceptable; and, according to the law, 
 all such were holy unto the Lord. Was not this a pre- 
 lude, that he whom God would g\\Q to expiate our trans- 
 gression, s-hould be the first-born among many brethren, 
 whom they should honour as the excellency of dignity, 
 and to whom they bhould owe their deliverance from 
 death, and their title to the inheritance ? I shall only 
 further hint, that whereas God was not only pleased, 
 when the rich men offered of their larger cattle, but when 
 poor men brought turtle-doves and pigeons ; might not 
 this put us in mind how the sacrifice which God accepts 
 is equally accessible to the poor and the rich ? And truly, 
 as the legal sacrifices were chargeable, in less or more, to 
 all that presented them, the real and better sacrifice costs 
 us nothing ; for we may buy it without money and with- 
 out price. 
 
 From the qualities of the victims, let us go on to the 
 sacred rites of oblation, and we shall find something in our 
 great sacrifice corresponding to them all. When the 
 creature that was to surrender its life for its owner was 
 pitched upon, it was brought unto the priest, and solemn- 
 ly sisted before the Lord. But our Lord Jesus was not 
 brought by others, like the irrational animal, but he vo- 
 luntarily presented himself before the Lord, when his 
 time was fully come. Fully apprised of what was to be 
 done unto him, he set his face to go up to Jerusalem, and 
 N 
 
146 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 patiently expected, in the melancholy garden, the coming 
 of the traitor, and his band of armed men, to whom he 
 was to deliver himself. The sacred animal, being sisted 
 before the Lord, was rendered ceremonially guilty, by 
 the imposition of hands on its head, and by confessing 
 over it the sins of the offerer. It was the Lord himself 
 that laid on him the iniquities of us all. O Jesus, it is 
 our guilt alone that can justify the Judge of all the earth 
 ki taking pleasure to bruise thee ! And this, doubtless, 
 was one great reason why he opened not his mouth, while 
 the Roman governor wondered at his silence. It was this 
 consideration which fortified his mind at the approach of 
 his inconceivably bitter agonies, and held in his mouth as 
 with a bridle, when these astonishing words dropped from 
 his lips : u Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I 
 <c say?" 
 
 In the next place, the blood of the innocent animal, 
 now made guilty by imputation, was shed, was poured 
 out, and sprinkled around ; for, " without the shedding 
 li of blood, was no remission of sin," (Heb. ix. 22.) Talk 
 not, ye Papists, of an unbloody sacrifice of expiation. 
 That it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul, 
 is asserted by the God of Israel himself, who expressly 
 assigns this reason of the strict prohibition given to his 
 ancient people, " No soul of you shall eat blood, nei- 
 " ther shall any stranger that sojourns among you," (Lev. 
 xvii. 12.) It is easy to see how this prefigured the vio- 
 lent death of the Son of God, who poured out his soul 
 unto death, and whose blood cleanses from all sin.-r- 
 The pulling off the skin from the butchered animals, di- 
 viding their bodies, and burning them with fire, are cer- 
 tainly intended to denote the exquisite torments he was 
 to endure, when the assembly of the wicked enclosed 
 him, and his heart was melted in the midst of his bowels 
 
OF SACRIFICES. 11? 
 
 like wax before the fire. The towering of the smoke to 
 heaveu, which was sometimes perfumed with burning 
 incense, signified how acceptable the sacrifice of Christ 
 should be to God, and of what sweet-smelling savour. 
 In the time of offering, prayers were offered up. And 
 we know, that, in the days of his flesh, he offered up 
 prayers, tears, strong cries to him that was able to save 
 him from death. The blowing of the trumpets, and 
 praising God, in the time of the holy rit.es, with music 
 vocal and instrumental, which was often practised, rr.ay 
 no doubt put us in mind of that praise which waiteth for 
 'God in Zion, on account of purging away our transgres- 
 sion by himself, which would have prevailed for ever 
 against us. The carrying the blood of the victims into 
 the holy place, the figure of the heavenly sanctuary, cor- 
 responds to the intercession of our high-priest within the 
 vatt, where he appears as a lamb that has been slain. 
 
 When the holy rites were finished, atonement was 
 made. The guik of the offerer was abolished when his 
 victim was destroyed ; the anger of God was in some 
 manner appeased, and he gave signs o£ reconciliation. 
 Bjt, as we showed before, it was not in these ceremonial 
 actions to atone for any moral guilt, except in a typical 
 way. But he whom God hath set forth for a propitiation 
 hath, in the most proper sense, fully expiated the sins of 
 all his people, who have lived or shall live. In Iif 
 atonement the believers of ancient and latter times have 
 rejoiced, as the sole foundation of their hope. And na- 
 tions yet unborn shall be justified* by him, from all things 
 from which they could not be justified by Moses's law- 
 
 T he fire that came down from heaven, and consumed 
 the sacrifices, which doubtless was kept alive by the priests 
 upon the altar, was it not an emblem of that fierce burn- 
 ing wrath which preyed upon the soul of the incz 
 2 
 
1 48 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK IF. 
 
 Son of God ? Or was it an emblem of the Holy Spirit, 
 through whom he offered up himself, and who is styied 
 the Spirit of burning ? or else the fire might signify that 
 fervent love to God and man, which many waters could 
 not quench. It was love that wrought his death; by this 
 holy and pure flame was our atoning sacrifice reduced 
 into ashes. 
 
 The altar, what was it ? His cross, say some. Nay, it 
 was rather his divine nature, which, like the altar, sup- 
 ported, and, like the altar, sanctified, his holy humanity, 
 which alone was destroyed. This the cross can scarce be 
 said to do, which was but the instrument of man's cruel- 
 ty, and a despicable piece of timber, which neither sanc- 
 tified the body which it carried, nor received sanctifica- 
 tion from it. Where, then, are they who address it with 
 divine honours, and pay, even to its picture, that homage 
 which is due to him alone that expired in agonies on that 
 shameful tree ? 
 
 IX.— The Ordinance of the Passover. 
 The fatal night was now arrived, when the destroy- 
 ing angel was to smite all the first-born of Egypt, and 
 the chief of their strength in the tabernacles cf Ham.- — 
 This last and sorest plague shall break the unrelenting 
 heart of Pharaoh, and dismiss the oppressed Israelites 
 from his cruel yoke. But mark the goodness of their 
 God, in providing for their safety amidst the general de- 
 vastation ! They are directed to sprinkle on their door- 
 posts the blood of a lamb, whose qualities, the manner of 
 its death, and the rites wherewith they were to eat its 
 flesh, are very minutely prescribed, and left upon record 
 for the generations to come. The messenger of death, 
 they were assured, would not presume to enter these hal- 
 lowed doors, though a thousand did fall at their side, and 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE PASSOVER. 149 
 
 ten thousand on their right hand. Then it was that the 
 Egyptian idols did also feel the vengeance of the true 
 God ; and so memorable was the night, that the month 
 in which it fell was, in all succeeding age?, to be the be- 
 ginning of months, or the first month of the year. A 
 ceremony indeed it was, that seemed weak, unmeaning, 
 and unprofitable ; but, penetrating the outward vail, let 
 us try to discern the hidden mystery, by that same faith 
 through which Moses kept the passover, and the sprink- 
 ling of blood, that he, which destroyed the first-born, 
 should not touch him. Its meaning we are not now left 
 to explore by our own wit; for, that it was a prophetical 
 type, and a very expressive image of the Lamb of God 
 that taketh away the sin of the world, an inspired apostle 
 gives us to know, by telling us, that " Chris; our passover 
 11 is sacrificed for us," (1 Cor. v. 7.) 
 
 A lamb was chosen out of the flock : emblem of him 
 who was taken from among men, and raised up from 
 among his brethren ; and, like that lovely creature, did 
 injury to none, though he received from many, and is use- 
 ful in life and death, being at once our clothing and our 
 food. It was a male of the flock, of a year old ; for Christ 
 is a Son given to us, and suffered in the flower of his 
 age ; but without blemish and without spot. Though 
 descended from an impure race of ancestors, he brought 
 no stain of sin into the world with him ; and though he 
 long conversed with sinful men, and grappled with strong 
 temptations, he contracted not the smallest taint. Even 
 Judas and Pilate atte-ted that he was just and flpright ; 
 list before he condemned, and the first after he be- 
 trayed him. On the tenth day of the month Abib, the 
 lamb was fetched from the field, and on the fourteenth 
 day, at even, it was killed by ail the lews in the place 
 which the Lord did choose. Even so, he of whom these 
 3 
 
150 
 
 TYPICAL PERSONS. BOOK' II. 
 
 things were spoken, went up to Jerusalem fire days before 
 the passover, where, with wicked hands, he was taken, 
 crucified, and slain. 
 
 The lamb was roasted with fire. It was the fire of 
 the Father's wrath, O immaculate Lamb of God ! that 
 forced thee to complain, " My heart is like wax, it is 
 u melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried 
 *' like a potsherd ; my tongue cleaves to my jaws ;" 
 (Psal. xxii. 14. 15.) A bone of the lamb was not to be 
 broken, and none of it was to be left until the morning. 
 To accomplish the first, the soldiers brake not his legs, as 
 was usual ; and, to fulfil the last, he was taken down from 
 the cross the same evening in which he died. In vain had 
 the Israelites killed the lamb, if they had not also sprink- 
 led its blood with the hyssop upon the door-posts. And 
 Christ is dead in vain to us, unless applied by faith unto 
 the conscience. His blood must not be sprinkled behind 
 the door ; for we must publicly profess that we are not 
 ashamed of the cross of Christ ; nor below the door ; for 
 it must not be trodden under foot \ but above, and on 
 every side, on all that we are, on all that we have, and on 
 all we do. Indeed, by, his all-penetrating eye, the doors 
 of the house and heart are seen with equal clearness. Had 
 a presumptuous Israelite despised this ordinance of God, 
 and neglected to sprinkle his doors with blood, he was 
 not within the limits of the divine protection ; yea, had 
 he ventured abroad in that perilous night, the angel was 
 not bound to spare him. So, when the arrows of destruc- 
 tion are flying thick and fast, the blood of Jesus is our 
 only sanctuary. Of this only can we say, " See, O God, 
 u our shield ;" (Psal. Ixxxiv. 9.) we are guilty of death, 
 this is the sacrifice which thou requirest; accept this blood 
 which we sprinkle by thy command, instead of our own 
 that deserved to reek upon our door-posts, O Jesus, we 
 
THE ORDINANCE OP THE PASSOVER. 151 
 
 are indebted to thy atoning blood for blessings that far 
 transcend deliverance from Egyptian bondage, or from 
 temporal death. By thy blood we are delivered from the 
 wrath that is to come. Thou art our hiding-place. Un- 
 der this covert of thy blood we shall not be afraid of sud- 
 den fear, nor of the desolation of the wicked ; but shall 
 dwell in peaceable habitations, sure dwellings, and quiet 
 resting-places, nigh which no plague shall come. Many 
 a time the haughty tyrant of Egypt was frighted by the 
 awful prodigies wrought by Moses ; but never was he 
 thoroughly subdued till the blood was sprinkled. Then 
 the prey was taken from the mighty. In vain he pursues 
 after them; for never more shall they wear his chain. So, 
 many a time the prophecies of Christ might fright the 
 black prince of hell ; but never was he thoroughly sub- 
 dued, till on the cross he spoiled principalities and powers, 
 and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them 
 in it. Even so his elect people are said to overcome, by 
 the blood of the Lamb, the enemy of their salvation. By 
 this same blood the idols are utterly abolished. As, in 
 that night of desolation, the temples of Egypt were not 
 spared more than the palaces; so, in the days of the Mes- 
 siah, shall a man cast his idols of silver and gold, which 
 he made for himself to worship, to the moles and to 
 the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the 
 tops of the rugged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for 
 the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly 
 the earth. Well may this happy period be unto us the 
 beginning of months. If the beginning of the year was 
 changed to the Israelites, and the seventh became the 
 first month, much more may the beginning of the week 
 be altered to the Christians, and the seventh day be ex- 
 changed for the first, for a Sabbath unto the Lord ; for 
 on that day a much more glorious work was finished tVian 
 
152 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 when he brought Israel out of Egypt, or even than when 
 he finished the heavens, and all their host, and laid the 
 foundations of the earth. 
 
 We have seen how the blood of the Lamb was sprink- 
 led, and the happy consequences of this symbolical action ; 
 Jet us now attend now its flesh was to be eaten, and how 
 we are made partakers of Christ, who is at once our shield 
 to protect us from danger, and our food to preserve our 
 soul in life. It was eaten roasted ; for Christ is savoury 
 to faith. A bone must not be broken ; and mysteries must 
 not be too curiously pryed into. A whole lamb must be 
 eaten in every house, and a whole Christ received by every 
 believing soul. It must be eaten in haste ; and whatsoever 
 our hand findeth, should be done with all our might. 
 The bitter herbs signified the bitterness of contrition for 
 sin, and of the tribulation we shall have in this world. 
 Unleavened bread is sincerity and truth. The loins girt, 
 and feet shod, signify the girding up the loins of the 
 mind, and the preparation of the gospel of peace, or a 
 readiness to every good work. The staff in the hand 
 might signify, that here we have no continuing city. The 
 passover was only to be eaten by the circumcised and the 
 clean ; but if a man was unclean by i eason of a dead 
 body, or in a journey afar off, he was permitted to keep 
 a second passover on the fourteenth day of the second 
 month. Here let us end, adoring that condescending 
 love that has appeared towards us the sinners of the Gen- 
 tiles. At the first passover, we were uncircumcised and . 
 unclean, by reason of death ; wc were afar off, and with- 
 out God in the world. But us hath he quickened who 
 were dead in trespasses and sins ; and in Jesus Christ we, 
 who sometime were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of 
 Christ. Therefore let us keep the feast ; for even Christ 
 our second— Christ our best passover is sacrificed for us. 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE SCAPE-GOAT. 153 
 
 X. — The Ordinance of the Scape-goat. 
 
 Of all the ceremonies enjoined in the books of Le« 
 viticus, (that gospel of Moses,) none were more signifi- 
 cant, as we may well presume, and expressive of evange- 
 lical mysteries, than those prescribed on the solemn anni- 
 versary of general atonement. The rites of this 6olemn 
 day, though in themselves but carnal ordinances, were, 
 in their use, shadows of good things to come, and, with- 
 out all doubt, expounded in this view unto the people by 
 the godly priests, whose lips kept knowledge. To what . 
 purpose else had been the multitude of their sacrifices un- 
 to him, who delights not in the blood of bullocks, or of 
 lambs, or of he- goats? On this day the Jewish high-priest 
 was not first to array himself with his most costly attire, 
 but with his linen garments; — an emblem of the Christian 
 High-Priest's incarnation, who, when he came to expiate 
 our sin, did not array himself with light as with a gar- 
 ment, but with the robe of our human nature, which, 
 though clean and white, was without splendour or magni- 
 ficence. On this day he offered expiatory sacrifices both 
 for himself and all the people. Jesus, in all things, thou 
 must have the pre-eminence ! " For such an High-Priest 
 " became us, who needs not, as these high-priests, offer 
 11 first for h:s own sin, and then for the people ; for the 
 " law makes men priests that had infirmity ; but the 
 " word o.f the oath, that was since the law, maketh the 
 " Son, who is consecrated for evermore," (Heb. vii. 26. 
 27.) On this day he made his solemn entrance into the 
 holy place made with hands, with the blood of bulls and 
 goats. The meaning of which, the great apostle de- 
 clares, is the entrance of Jesus Christ, the High-Priest of 
 good things to come, by a greater and more perfect ta- 
 bernacle, into the holy place not made with hands, that 
 
154 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK If. 
 
 is, into heaven itself, having obtained eternal redemption 
 for us. 
 
 But what we shall chiefly confine our attention to, for 
 the present, is another ceremony peculiar to this day of 
 atonement. Besides the bullock and the ram which 
 Aaron was to offer, the first for himself, and the second 
 for the people, he was also to take, for all the congrega- 
 tion of Israel, two kids of the goats for a sin-offering. 
 They were to be brought, as usual, to the door of the ta- 
 bernacle of the congregation. But both were not killed, 
 as was usually done; for, by an uncommon rite, the two 
 victims were pitched upon by lot, the one to be offered 
 up in the accustomed manner unto the Lord, and its 
 skin, its flesh and dung, to be burned with fire without 
 the camp ; the other to be presented alive before the 
 Lord, where Aaron, laying both his hands upon it* 
 head, confessed over him all the iniquities of the children 
 of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins ; 
 and, lastly, it was to be conducted into the wilderness by 
 the hand of a proper person, (who, they say, might be 
 either a Gentile or an Israelite,) and, probably, it was 
 never more inquired after ; wherefore it might be called 
 A%a%el) or the scape-goat. We shall, for the present, leave 
 to others the discussion of some curious inquiries about 
 the name and fate of this devoted creature, and proceed 
 to notice how, in both these victims, Christ was set forth 
 as the propitiation for our sins. 
 
 It is true, indeed, that the goat is none of those crea- 
 tures that are supposed to have the most amiable proper- 
 ties. And it may seem odd, that the Lamb of God 
 should be prefigured by these beasts, which, for their 
 uncleanly and unruly temper, are emblems of the wicked, 
 who, in the last day, shall be separated from the godly 
 by the Judge of all the earth. But, perhaps, even this cir- 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE SCAPE-GOAT. 155 
 
 cumstance in the type might signify, that Christ was to 
 appear in the likeness of sinful flesh. The goat, though 
 commonly held an unclean creature, was, notwithstand- 
 ing, of the number of clean beasts in the law of Mcses ; 
 and Jesus Christ, though reputed a sinner among men, 
 was pure and righteous in the eye of God. And if it 
 be true what is commonly reported of the medicinal qua- 
 lities of this creature's flesh, and of its blood softening 
 the rigid adamant, what hinders us to think of Christ 
 healing our diseases, taking away our hard and stony 
 hearts, and giving us hearts of flesh ? 
 
 But wherefore two goats ? or, if two, why not both 
 used in the same manner ? Why was one of them put to 
 death, and the other saved alive ? Doubtless they are 
 both to be viewed as types of the great propitiation. 
 The first goat may signify that complete satisfaction 
 which Christ made to vindictive justice by the offering 
 up himself; and the second goat may signify the happy- 
 consequence of this propitiatory sacrifice, in finishing trans- 
 gression, making an end of sin, and carrying it, as it were, 
 into the land of forgetfulness, that, to use the elegant 
 words of Jeremiah, " when the iniquity of the house of 
 u Israel shall be sought for, there should be none ; and 
 " the sins of Judah, and they should not be found,'' ( Jer. 
 1. 20.) Nor ought it to seem strange, that such a momen- 
 tous truth should be inculcated so many various ways on 
 the same occasion ; for it is a singular effect of the good- 
 ness of God, to exhibit such interesting truths in differ- 
 ent views, that we may have strong consolation. Besides 
 that, all similitudes and types fall infinitely short of the 
 great mysteries they point at ; therefore they are multi- 
 plied, that they may mutually supply the deficiencies of 
 one another ; for here the saying is made good, " Two 
 
156 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 " are better than one ; for, if they fall, the one will lift 
 u up hrs fellow." 
 
 That the first goat was an emblem of Christ sacrificed 
 for us, as much as any other sacrifices, is not difficult to 
 persuade ; for, like other sacrifices, it was killed, because 
 Christ was to die. Its blood was carried within the vail; 
 for Christ was to appear in the presence of God for us 
 with his own blood. Its body was burned without the 
 camp ; and Christ suffered without the gate. But let us 
 more particularly attend to the mystery of the scape-goat, 
 and its likeness to Jesus Christ. 
 
 It was, like the other, to be taken from the congrega- 
 tion of Israel, and, doubtless, purchased with the public 
 money. So Christ was taken from among his brethren, 
 and bought, ,in some sense, for thirty pieces of silver out 
 of the public treasury, that he might be numbered with 
 transgressors, and bear the sins of many. 
 
 It was, like the other, presented at the door of the ta- 
 bernacle of the congregation, before the Lord and all 
 the people. So Christ presented himself to do his hea- 
 venly Father's will before both God and the people, 
 when at the passover solemnity he went up to Jerusalem, 
 not ignorant of what was to be done unto him by Jews 
 and Gentiles. 
 
 It was, as the other, chosen by lot, which, though cast 
 into the lap, is not fortuitous or accidental, for the dispo- 
 sing is of the Lord. So Jesus Christ was destined, in 
 the eternal counsels, to bear the iniquities of his people. 
 He was delivered into his enemies hands by the determi- 
 nate counsel of God ; and by this same counsel was de- 
 termined before to be done whatever happened unto him. 
 Hence it was that Pilate was deaf to the remonstrances 
 of his own conscience, in condemning him that was most 
 just ; and hence the people of the Jews preferred a mur- 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE SCAPE-GOAT. 157 
 
 derer to the Lord of life, when they desired that Barabba* 
 should be released, ad Christ should be crucified. 
 
 The sacred animal being thus presented and chosen of 
 .God, the high-priest was to lay both his hands on its 
 head, devoting it, by this action, to the service of God, 
 and translating the sins of Israel upon it in a typical man- 
 ner. Perhaps it might signify, that the hand of vindic- 
 tive justice was to lie heavy on the Surety of sinners ; and 
 it is expressly affirmed by the prophet, " The Lord hath 
 * l laid on him the iniquity of us all," (lsa. liii. 6.) 
 
 That this was the meaning of the rite appears more 
 evidently from the following one ; for in this posture did 
 the high-priestconfess all the sins of his people from whom 
 the goat was taken. Why should their sins be confessed 
 in this manner, if it was not to signify that they were, 
 in some sort, laid upon the head of the innocent victim ? 
 It was thus the great Doer of God's will was made sin 
 for us, who knew no sin. The goat could not be guilty of 
 these sins, for it was a brute beast ; nor could its Anti- 
 type be himself a transgressor of the law, for he was a di- 
 vine person. Yet buth the one and the other did bear 
 the sins of many, to which it was, in the nature of things, 
 impossible they could be accessoiy in the smallest degree. 
 It was not thy sin, O spotless Viciim, but the sins of thy 
 elect people, that consigned thee over to the bloody and 
 bbameful cros<. These were the sins which took hold up- 
 on thee, and justified thy death. " Surely, surely, he 
 ** bore our griefs, he carried our sorrows, and the chas- 
 u tisement of our peace was upon him," (lsa. liii. 4 ) 
 How else could his heavenly Father been picas d to bruise 
 him, for whom it is no more gocd to punish the just than 
 to clear the guilty ? 
 
 The devoted creature, thus laden vviih M*n, is hv the 
 hand of a proper person, conducted into the wildciuts?, 
 
 '~r O 
 
158 TYPICAL THINC3. BOOK II. 
 
 Why should not this wilderness be viewed as an emblem 
 of these afflictions to which the Surety was exposed by the 
 sins he was charged with ? Or, shall we say, it might be 
 a faint intimation, that the blessing of atonement should 
 be extended to the world of Gentile sinners, which, in the 
 style of the prophet, is called the wilderness of the people ? 
 Or rather, the meaning may be, that, as the mystic goat 
 was never more looked after, or heard of, (for probably. 
 it would soon perish, if not by hunger, at least by wild 
 beasts ;) so Jesus Christ, by his atoning blood, would 
 take away the sin of the world, and remove from them all 
 the iniquities of his elect people, as far as the east is dis- 
 tant from the west. O condemning law, you have no- 
 thing to lay to their charge, for Christ is dead ! There- 
 fore it is God that justifieth, and their sins and iniquities 
 will he remember no more. 
 
 What thanks shall be rendered to that gracious Re- 
 deemer, who was manifested to restore that glory to God 
 which he took not away, and to take away that sin of 
 man which he did notMntroduce ? Beit so; there are, 
 alas! too many to whom this all-important truth is of 
 small account, (for some deride, and more despise it;) yet 
 to the weary soul, to the conscience burdened with guilt, 
 it is grateful and delicious, as the full- flowing stream to 
 the hunted hart. The happy soul to whom the doctrine of 
 atonement is manifested, he hears, upon the matter, the 
 voice of the great Jehovah speaking to him in such ra- 
 vishing accents ; ii I have made thine iniquity to pass 
 « 6 from thee ;" or, in the words of Nathan to the peni- 
 tent King David, " The Lord hath taken away thy sin ; 
 (i thou shalt not die," (2 Sam. xii. 13.) Who would not 
 be constrained by this love to put away the evil of their 
 doings from before his eyes, who hath put away the guilt 
 of them from before his face ? 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE RED HEIFER. 159 
 
 Draw near, all ye whose consciences are burdened with 
 the intolerable pressure of a thousand aggravated iniqui- 
 ties, who are ready to cry, " Mine iniquities are gone 
 u over my head, they are a burden too heavy to bear," 
 (Psal. xxxviii. 4.) While some with Cain go from the 
 presence of the Lord, and drown their dismal thoughts in 
 the delights of sense, or else in the whirl of business— 
 whilst others have no ground of comfort but the general 
 and unatoned mercy of God — whilst a third sort derive 
 comfort to their troubled hearcs from their own imperfect 
 righteousness, their teait of repentance, their sorrow fjr 
 what is past, and their resolutions to do better for the fu- 
 ture ; confess your iniquities over the head of the New 
 Testament Scape-goat; f^r, " he who thus confesseth and 
 11 fonaketh, shall find mercy," (Prov. xxviii. 13.) Thus 
 runs the gracious promise of the Holy One of Israrl, M By 
 tl his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, 
 u for he shall bear their iniquities, V (Isa. liii. 11.) But 
 he that despises this way of peace shall bear his own bur- 
 den, whosoever he be. 
 
 XI. — The Ordinance o? the Red Heifer. 
 
 Having seen the mystery of the lamb that was 
 slain, and the goat that was sent away, we come next to 
 the red heifer, whose ashes, sprinkling the unclean, did 
 sanctify to the purifying of the flesh when defiled by 
 touching corpses, graves, and dead men's bones ; and we 
 Bhall see how it signified the sprinkling of Christ's blood 
 upon cur souls, to purge our consciences from dead works, 
 to serve the living God- 
 It was an ordinance which God was pleased to enjoin 
 in a very punctual manner : for, " the Lord spake unto 
 " Moses, and unto Aaron, ?aying, This is the ordinance 
 2 
 
160 Typical things. 
 
 book II„ 
 
 " of the law which the Lord hath commanded," (Numb, 
 xix. 2.) Indeed, what but the authority of God could 
 have reconciled the minds of the ancient church to such 
 a burdensome yoke of ceremonies ? Therefore the He- 
 brew lawgiver takes such particular care to inculcate 
 every where, that he delivered no laws unto them which 
 be received not from the Lord. No wonder that the 
 whole system of ceremonial worship was purely founded 
 on the sovereign pleasure of God, when it was intended 
 to shadow forth that adorable plan of redemption which 
 arises from the same source, and is styled, in the New 
 Testament, the mystery of his «v\lL It is this that imparts 
 a venerable air to all those rites, which, had they been of 
 IfUm an institution alone, would .have merited contempt 
 and ridicule. Let us, for one proof of this, observe the 
 qualities, the sufferings, and the use of- this beifer. These, 
 we shall see, are capable of being fairly applied to Jesus 
 Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might purify us 
 unto himself, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 
 
 What then were the qualities required in this victim ? 
 It was a heifer. Perhaps to intimate that in Christ Je- 
 sus there is neither male nor female ; or to signify, that 
 he would assume our nature, not in its strongest state of 
 innocence, but in its enfeebled state of sin and misery ; 
 for he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and com- 
 passed with infirmity. It was'a red heifei the reason of 
 this (say the Jews) was hid from Solomon himself, but is. 
 not perhaps altogether concealed from the meanest belie- 
 ver, who knows that his Saviour came from Edorrt, with 
 dyed garments from Bozrah ; or that he is clothed with 
 a vesture dipt in blood. Red is a colour of beauty ; and 
 he is fairer than the children of men. Red is a colour of 
 Strength ; and he is the One that is mighty. Red is the 
 colour of guilt \ and he took the scarlet and'erimson-co- 
 
THE ORDINANCE OP THE RED HEIFER. 161 
 
 loured robes of our imputed sin, that ' - might cl the us 
 with the robes of his imputed righteousness, whiter than 
 wool, purer than snow. It was a heifer without spot and 
 bier ish Indeed, this was required in every vie i i ; and 
 in Christ, the Holy One of Goo it wa^ infilled. Aa un- 
 atoned God accepts nothing less t^an the most absolute 
 perfection ; an unatoned G<-d was he witr: vhom our Sa- 
 viour had to do. It is therefore easv to see, that any the 
 smallest spot would haveentirely disqua ined him from ap- 
 proaching unto God in an acceptable manner. It wms a 
 heifer on which never came yoke. A.s man, he never 
 came undei the yoke of sin ; and as God, hr was not un- 
 der the yoke of duty ; that is, he was not obliged to 
 obey the law. If he paid tribute to the temple, he was 
 not obliged to do so ; (for even the king- of the earth 
 hold their own children from paying taxes.) But, 
 lest he should offend them who were ignorant of his true 
 character, he pays the tribute, not with money out of his 
 private pocket, but, to show that he was Lord of all, 
 with money he commanded a fish to brin^ from the bot- 
 tom of the sea. If he appeared in the form of a servant, 
 it was wholly owing to his voluntary condescension. If 
 he expires in agonies on a cn>ss, it is not because his life 
 is violently taken away by the hai.ds of sinful men, but 
 because he laid it down of himself. Therefore does his 
 Father love him ; therefore is his obedience and death 
 strictly meritorious ; and because he has done more than 
 was his duty to do, be is not an unprofitable servant. 
 
 When a heifer was found in which these qualities did 
 meet, what was t-> be done unto her ? First of all, she is 
 brought to Eleazar the priest. Here, indeed, the type is 
 defective ; for cu High- Pci est and Sacrifice are the same. 
 Next she is b ought without trie camp ; for Christ suffer- 
 ed without the gate. She was killed before his eyes ; 
 3 
 
162 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK H. 
 
 so Christ, was crucified and slain in the most public man- 
 ner. Her flesh, and skin, and blood, were burned in 
 fire, together with her dung ; so Christ suffered in the 
 whole man j and when he endured the wrath of God, 
 which is often compared to fire, they cast upon him the 
 dung of the most virulent reproaches. But what shall we 
 say to the cedar wood, the scarlet cloth, and the hyssop, 
 that were thrown also into the burning ? Perhaps it never 
 was intended by the Holy Oncost, that every minute cir- 
 cumstance in that ritual worship should have a separate 
 meaning affixed to it. Many usages were, doubtless, to 
 be practised in the ancient dispensation, with no other 
 view than to testify their absolute submission to the divine 
 will. What if we should say, that as the cedar wood, 
 the scarlet, and the hyssop, were the materials of which 
 they made the sprinkler, but first these very things must 
 be thrown into the fire ; so the means and ordinances by 
 which the clean water of Christ's blood is sprinkled on 
 our souls are themselves first sanctified by his sufferings ; 
 or the scarlet cloth might denote the guilt of sin, which 
 was the cause of his death. The hyssop might signify 
 the necessity of its being applied unto the conscience, or 
 of the sprinkling the blood of Jesus upon our hearts ; and 
 the cedar wood, which is durable and fragrant, might 
 adumbrate the sweet savour of his sufferings, and the per- 
 petual efficacy of his atoning blood. 
 
 But when the heifer was thus reduced to ashes, are they 
 suffered to lie and rot with the common earth, or to be 
 scattered by the winds ? No ; they were carefully to be 
 gathered up by a clean person, and deposited in a clean 
 place without the camp, where they are to be kept, in 
 order to make with them a purifying water to sprinkle 
 the unclean. Who would have thought the ashes of a 
 burned heifer worthy of such regard, had he judged only 
 
THE ORDIXAKCE OP THE RED HEIFER. 103 
 
 by outward appearance ? But, though seemingly vile, 
 they were really precious by the divine ordinance. Even 
 so, the death and crucifixion of the dying Redeemer, 
 though in appearance an event worthy of small regard, 
 was in reality the most memorable transaction that ever 
 the sun beheld. " Precious in the sight of the Lord is 
 u the death of his saints ;" (Psal. cxv:. 15.) how much 
 more the death of his beloved Son ? His blood, though 
 trodden under foot by many, and by many esteemed as 
 water spilt upon the ground, is, notwithstanding, the 
 price of our redemption, and infinitely more valuable than 
 gold and silver, and all corruptible things. The clean 
 place where the ashes were deposited, was it an emblem 
 of the church, where alone the sacred treasure of his 
 blood is dispensed ? It was without the camp. Perhaps 
 to intimate, that those who w r ere without the common- 
 wealth of Israel should partake of the cleansing efficacy 
 of Christ's blood ; and that God would put no difference 
 betwixt them and his ancientpeople, purifying their hearts 
 by faith. Or shall we say, that as the precious relics 
 were to be laid in a clean place, so the mystery of faith 
 in his blood can only be held in a pure conscience ? The 
 ashes thus preserved were fit for use upon every occasion, 
 as long as they lasted ; whereas the blood of common 
 sacrifices soon congealed, and was unfit to be sprinkled 
 when it grew cold. Was not this a significant emblem 
 of the everlasting fitness of Christ's blood to purge the 
 guilty conscience ? For it is no less capable of being 
 sprinkled now than the moment it was shed, being always 
 warm, always new and living blood. Let us consider, 
 in a few words, the occasion for keeping those purifying 
 ashes, the manner of preparing them, the rite by Which 
 they were sprinkled, and the danger of neglecting it. 
 The occasion for the ashes was the uncleanness of the 
 
164 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 Israelites, or strangers that sojourned among them, by 
 reason of the necessary and voluntary, or involuntary and 
 accidental touches of dead corpses, bones, and graves. 
 The touch of these defiled them legally, and debarred 
 them from access to the sanctuary of God. But our de- 
 filements now arise not from dead corpses, but from dead 
 works, the sins we daily commit. " Wretched men that 
 u we are, who shall deliver us from this body of death ?" 
 (Rom. vll. 24.) Yea, what else are the beet duties we can 
 perform but dead works, if G )d should enter into judg- 
 ment ? Even these need to be buried out of our sight, 
 and covered from the view of impartial justice with the 
 covering of Immanuel's righteousness ; and till we are 
 purged from these, we cannot serve the living God. 
 
 The manner of preparing these holy ashes was to mix 
 them with running water in a vessel. An emblem of that 
 divine Spirit, which they that believe on Christ shall in- 
 fallibly receive, by whose invisible but powerful opera- 
 tion the blood of Christ is made effectual to purify our 
 hearts. As the ashes were mixed with the water in this 
 typical ordinance, so the blood aad Spirit of Christ are 
 undivided in their working : for they that are justified in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus are washed in the same name 
 by the Spirit of our God ; and from them whom he 
 sprinkles with clean water he takes away the hard and 
 stony heart. 
 
 The rite of sprinkling was in this manner. On the 
 third day, and on the seventh day, after the pollution was 
 contracted, a clean person, dipping a bunch of hyssop in 
 the purifying liquor, was to sprinkle the unclean ; and 
 on the evening of the seventh day, but not before, he was 
 perfectly cleansed. Let the clean person be an emblem 
 of the ministers of the gospel, who have the precious trea- 
 sure of Christ's purifying blood and Spirit, as it were, in 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE RED HEIFER. 165 
 
 earthen vessels. These ought (at least) to be clean per- 
 sons, and an example in purity to believers among whom 
 they minister. Let the bunch of hyssop represent the or- 
 dinances of the gospel, or faith, both which are the ap- 
 plying means. The tlrtd day was the time of the first 
 sprinkling. We may here take occasion to think, that, 
 on the third day, Christ rose again from the dead ; and 
 here, indeed, began our purging from guilt, for he was 
 raised for otrr justification. On the seventh day, the last 
 of a weekly revolution, the purification was complete on 
 the evening. N^r will we be perfectly cleansed from the 
 inherence of moral stains till the tve.iing of death, and the 
 commencement of the eternal S-tbhath. Thus shall he 
 sprinkle, not a small number of Israelite?, but many na- 
 ti rw ; not rreiely from the imparities of the floh, hut 
 from the pollutions of the conscience. Though we are 
 defiled not 01 ly wi h smaller transgiesnons, but with the ' 
 mo-r deadly and abominable iniqui ie- ; or, to u^e the 
 Old Tebta*nc:t phrases, t hi ugh we have not only touched, 
 but remained among the graves, and lodged in the u.onu- 
 ments; yet it we come to Jcm:s, he Mediator of the new 
 covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, we shall be 
 clean through the word that h« has sp .^en u:;to us. 
 
 The danger of neglecting this ordinance was no less 
 tttan excision from the congregation of the L»ord. So 
 shall they perish, as the vilest part of the creation, who 
 say they are not pollued, when the judgment of unerring 
 wisdjm about all the children of men is, " The) are al- 
 " together become filthy ;" (Psal. liii. 3.) or who, turn- 
 ing away disdainful from the fountain opened tor sin and 
 for uncleanness, think to washout their stains by the nitre 
 and soap of their own endeavours ; for " God ge 
 
 11 them into the ditch, and their own clothes shall abhor 
 " them," (Jobix. 31.) 
 
166 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 One other circumstance deserves to be noticed before 
 we leave this subject. The very same water that sancti- 
 fied the unclean defiled the man who touched or sprinkled 
 it, though he was clean before. Perhaps this might de- 
 note the imper r ecrion of these shadows, which never could 
 make them perfect by whom they were used; or it might 
 intimate that the virtue of divine institutions depends not 
 on the person that ministers about them. Or shall we say, 
 that faith in Christ's blood, like this consecrated water, 
 defiles them that are clean, by discovering more of theis 1 
 natural pollution ; and cleanses them that are defiled, by 
 sprinkling their hearts from an evil conscience ? But it is 
 certain, the effects of this water were not more contrary 
 than these of Christ himself, as preached in the gospel, 
 who is to some the savour of life, and to others the savour 
 of death* 
 
 XII. — The Ordinance of the Year oi Jubilee. 
 
 The institution of the jubilee was none of the least 
 remarkable regulations in the commonwealth of Israel, 
 and deserves our special attention. Besides the rest which 
 the land enjoyed every seventh, it was ordained to rest 
 also every fiftieth year. The husbandman was forbid to 
 subdue his field with the plough, or to scatter his seed 
 in the furrows. What the earth spontaneously produced, 
 whether corn or vines, might be indifferently used by all, 
 and was the special property of the poor inhabitants of 
 the land. The God who commanded this was fully able 
 to compensate the want of harvest and vintage, by crown- 
 ing the year preceding with uncommon plenty. But be- 
 sides the intermission of servile labour in this extraordi- 
 nary year, it was the will of God, that, by its welcome 
 approach, the poor Israelite should reap great advaa« 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE YEAR OF JUBILEE. 167 
 
 tages, and enjoy very valuable immunities. The insol- 
 vent debtor was delivered from his creditor. The hired 
 servant regained his former liberty, and inheritances re- 
 verted to the families to which' they originally belonged. 
 The joyful sound of trumpets announced the commence- 
 ment of this year of liberty ; and this might denote the 
 imperfection of these shadows, which never could make 
 them perfect by whom they were blown on the day of 
 atonement, when they were fasting for their sins, and 
 afflicting their souls. This was the fast which the Lord 
 did choose, to undo heavy burdens, and let the oppressed 
 go free. In short, it was a time of the restitution of all 
 things in the commonwealth, and a remedy egainst the 
 caprice of fortune, or rather the inequalities which sove- 
 reign providence introduces among men as to their out- 
 ward estate. 
 
 Several things might be suggested to evince the pro- 
 priety of this regulation, viewed in a civil as well as a 
 religious light. It was admirably well calculated to pro- 
 mote brotherly love, to prevent the ruin of families, 
 whether by avarice or prodigality ; to preserve the dis- 
 tinction of tribes till Mes-ias should come ; and to impress 
 upon their hearts a sense of their absolute dependence up- 
 on Gcd, as their great Landlord, whose property the land 
 was, and with whom they were strangers and sojourners : 
 therefore it was to be sold only for a time, and not for 
 ever. 
 
 But let us raise our thoughts still higher to the year 
 of grace and day of salvation, wherein far greater immu- 
 nities are proclaimed to the human race than were an- 
 nounced to the Israelites by the trumpet of the jubilee. 
 Detesting the impious imitation of this sacred ordinance 
 in the pretended jubilee of Rome, let us take occasion to 
 meditate on that happy scasoD, which, in allusion to this 
 
16S TYPICAL THINGS. »0©K II, 
 
 very thing, is styled by the prophet, the year of God's 
 redeemed, and the acceptable year of the Lord. Joyful was 
 the sound of liberty to the poor Israelite who was drown- 
 ed in debt, for which he was obliged to part with his be- 
 loved freedom, and to sell the inheritance of his fathers. 
 But more joyful is the sound of liberty to the wretched 
 sinner, who is deep in arrears to the divine justice, a mi- 
 serable captive of bin and wrath, and utterly deprived of 
 all inheritance in the heavenly kingdom. O " blessed are 
 cc the people who know this joyful sound ! they shall walk, 
 *' O Lord, in the brightness of thy countenance. In thy 
 <c name shall they rejoice all the day ; and in thy righ- 
 cc teousness shall they be exalted," (Psal. lxxxix. 15. J 6.) 
 But a more particular attention to what Moses informs 
 us about this grand festival, will discover unto us the re- 
 semblance betwixt the trumpet of the jubilee and the 
 trumpet of the gospel, whose sound, far from being con- 
 fined to Judea alone, is gone through all the earth, of 
 which the prophet Esaias, rapt into future times, utters 
 that glorious prophecy which has received its accomplish- 
 ment in the days of the Messiah : u And it shall come 
 " to pass, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and 
 " they shall come which were ready to perish in the land 
 , if of Assyria, and the cutcasts in the land of Egypt, and 
 « ; shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem," 
 (Isa. xxvii. 13.) 
 
 The time when this glad signal was given by the solemn 
 sound of trumpets was the tenth day of the seventh month, 
 or the day of atonement ; a day wherein the future ex- 
 piation of the Messiah was clearly exhibited, in the goat 
 that was sJain, and in the goat that was sent away, and 
 in other ceremonies truly significant and expressive — a 
 ciicurr stance this greatly to be (Ajserved. Who sees not 
 here, that our jubilee begins in the atonement of Jesua 
 
THE ORDINANCE OP THE YEAR OP JUBILEE. 1G9 
 
 Christ, as theirs began in the day, in which it was prefi- 
 gured ? The trumpet that was not sounded on this day 
 was some other than the jubilee- trumpet ; and the sermon 
 that is not built on the doctrine of atonement, is something 
 different from the gospel. O Jesus, were it not for thy 
 bloody death, thy glorious resurrection, and still more 
 glorious ascension, our ears had never heard the gospel- 
 trumpet's joyful sound, nor of the gifts which thou re- 
 ceived for men, far surpassing the gifts and immunities 
 of this" gladsome year ! 
 
 The intermission of toil and labour in this Sabbatical 
 year, wherein the land was not tilled, and the common 
 property which every one had in the spontaneous produc- 
 tions of the earth, may be considered as an emblem of that 
 blessed rest, which is proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ, from the works of the law and of the flesh, and 
 from anxious carking cares about the good things of this 
 present life. He that feeds the ravens without their la- 
 bour, and clothes the lilies without their toil, will cer- 
 tainly withhold no necessary things from the objects of 
 his choice regard. The j<Mjful sound forbids you to ask 
 with painful anxiety, " What shall we eat ? what shall 
 11 we drink ? and wherewith shall we be clothed? (Matth, 
 vi. 31.) Leave him who knows your wants to answer 
 these perplexing questions. " Be careful for nothing," 
 Phil. iv. 6.) is a cheerful note sent from the gospel-trum- 
 pet. Hear it, ye happy people, who know the joyful 
 sound, and turn your timorous cares into believing confi- 
 dence ! 
 
 The cancelling of debts at this happy season may well 
 be viewed as an emblem of tht forgiveness of sin, or that 
 drca :ful debt of punishment which all the human race 
 owe toeterna'jiis'ice, the n.ost inexorable of all creditors. 
 This debt we are born under, and are every day contract- 
 P 
 
170 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 ing more. It is marked every farthing in the book of 
 God's remembrance, and the time of final reckoning is 
 hasting apace. Miserable they whom that awful day 
 shall find without a Surety. How can we discharge ft, 
 who are not able so much .as to" number it ? But these 
 are the charming accents of the gospel-jut ilee, " I, even 
 " I, am he that blotteth out your iniquities for mine owa 
 u sake, and will not remember your sins," (Isa. xliii. 25). 
 Dismiss your fears, ye poor insolvent debtors : for there 
 is forgiveness with your great Creator ; and, for the sake 
 of his dear Son, he will not enter into judgment with 
 you. 
 
 The release of servants, and delivering from bondage, 
 is another joyful sound of the acceptable year of the Lord i 
 a privilege so much more glorious than the liberty of the 
 Israelites, as the slavery from which we are redeemed is 
 more miserable than the service to which they bound 
 themselves. The gospel is a joyful sound of liberty from 
 the bondage of God's wrath, which we are taught to 
 dread no more with servile fear, but with a filial reverence ; 
 from the bondage of Satan^ tyranny, that we may no 
 more be led captive at the will and pleasure of that wicked 
 spirit ; from the fear of death, which has subjected many 
 to bondage all the days of their life. It is a sound of 
 freedom from the law, not indeed as it is a rule of life (for 
 the obligation to all sorts of religious and civil duties is 
 strongly corroborated by the gospel,) but as it is a cove- 
 nant of works. A sev-erc and rigorous master indeed ! 
 which accepts no work, if it is not absolutely perfect ; 
 which never re- admits into favour those, who, in the small- 
 est instance, have incurred its displeasure, though they 
 should be ever so solicitous to do all in their power tp 
 please it. Eternal death is the smallest punishment it will 
 be satisfied to inflict, and obedience absolutely perfect the 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE YEAH OF JU2ILEE. 171 
 
 only condition of acceptance. They who are under the 
 dominion of this rigid lord (and such are all the race of 
 Adam before the gospel comes) can never hope to attain 
 everlasting life, o>r escape everlasting death ; for one sin, 
 though ever so small, will do them more harm than all 
 their duties, how many soever, can do them good. But 
 we must not forget to mention how the gospel is a joyful 
 sound of liberty and freedom from the domineering power 
 of sin, and the lusts of our hearts, which, though divers, 
 and often contrary, demand full homage and perfect gra- 
 tification. Betwixt the bondage of the law and the bon- 
 dage of sin there is a most indissoluble relation, though 
 one would not think so at first view. But the great apostle 
 expressly affirms, that u the strength of sin is the law V* 
 (1 Cor. xv. 56.) and makes our not being under the law, 
 but under grace, a reason why sin should not have the 
 dominion over us, (Rom. vi. 14.) Be it so, that serving 
 divers lusts and pleasures is not esteemed by many as an 
 intolerable thraldom, but, on the contrary, they think it 
 a state of liberty to be the servants of corruption. 
 
 They are not the only madmen who glory in t heir chains, 
 mistaking them for regal ornaments. A most unquestion- 
 able judge of human nature has taught us, that " he who 
 '• commits sin, is the servant of sin," (John viii. 34*.} A 
 saint of the first magnitude affirms, that to seek God's 
 precepts is to walk at liberty, (Psai. cxix. 45.) A:d 
 who has not heard the dismal groans of the blessed apostle, 
 which the body of sin and death extorted from the bottom 
 of his heart ? Rom. vii. 24 ) O sjn, what an imperious 
 lord art thou ? and thy service of all otbe*s the mosl 
 minions, the most laborious, an >st un pro fit 
 
 for " the wage.-, of sin is death," ( Rom. vi. 23. ) B 
 go-pel-trumpet says to the pn'so ers, " C 
 P-tbem in darkness, show yourselv. .i. xlix, 9 ) 
 
172 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II, 
 
 and when they know the truth, the truth shall make them 
 free. 
 
 The reversion of inheritances is the last thing we shall 
 notice. We lost our inheritance by the first mortal trans- 
 gression, and were every day resigning more and more our 
 claim to the divine favour for the transitory pleasures of 
 sin. We have sold f©r nought the invaluable treasures of 
 eternity, and are by no means able to redeem what we 
 have so foolishly foregone. But these are the glad tidings 
 cf the everlasting gospel. In Jesus Christ, O ye children 
 of men, you may obtain an inheritance infinitely more va- 
 luable than what returned to an Israelite at the year of 
 liberty ; an inheritance of exceeding glorious riches, in- 
 corruptible, underiled, and which fadeth not away, reser- 
 ved in heaven for you. The blood of Christ is the price 
 that bought it ; the Spirit is the earnest that secures it ; 
 and when the Redeemer comes again, they shall perfectly 
 enjoy the purchased possession ; for M the Lord knows the 
 " days of the righteous, and their inheritance endureth 
 " for ever," (Psal. X*\u. 18.) 
 
 Happy they who hear by faith the trumpet of the 
 gospel jubilee in this accepted time ; who look into ther 
 perfect law of liberty, and continue therein ! in the deci* 
 sive hour of judgment the trump of God itself shall not 
 affright ; and, even in this present state, they shall be 
 brought into the glorious liberty of the sons of God ; 
 they shall lead them captive whose captives they were, 
 •and rule over their oppressors. 
 
 XIII. — The Law of the Leper. 
 
 The law of the leper, which is delivered by the 
 Hebrew lawgiver with considerable prolixity, is indeed 
 a portion of sacred writ we are apt to skim over with $ 
 
THE LAW OP THE LEPER. 173 
 
 heed!e?s gl?nce, supposing th:t very little instruction can 
 
 be derived from ^uch antiquated usages, as were to be ob- 
 served about the discovery, the separation, and the clean- 
 sing of the infected Israelite. One is apt to wonder at 
 jhe distemper it self, which infected not only the bodies of 
 men, but their garments and houses ; and to be no less 
 surprised, that the heavenly Majesty should condescend to 
 give such minute directions about the symptoms of the 
 leprosy, and the manner of its cleansing. But when we 
 consider that every thing almost about the typical nation 
 was figurative, their diseases not excepted, perhaps we 
 may cease to wonder, and willingly acknowledge, that 
 here, as in other ancient rites, the body is of Christ. 
 
 It was a cutaneous distemper, well known to the Jews ; 
 and, as they say, to other nations in those parts of the 
 world. Though ?n itself it was only a natural evil, it was, 
 however, inflicted oftentimes by the immediate hand of 
 the Lord, as the punishment of sin, as in the case of Mi- 
 riam, Gehazi, and King Uzziah. That it was always an 
 indication of any flagrant guilt, we will not presume to 
 «ay. But the unhappy patient, who was seized with that 
 hateful malady, was, by the divine law, excluded from 
 the cheerful society of men, and from access to the taber- 
 nacle of God, till ft should please God tor recover him % 
 or at least till the symptoms of recovery were percei 
 by the priest by whom the sentence was pronounced. 
 But let us take a more exact view both of i* c and 
 
 the manner of its purgation. 
 
 Was the Almighty displeased with the leprosy? wa 
 his indignatioa against the poor leper ? Nay, he despises 
 r.o man for the affliction of his body, however loathsome. 
 A Lazarus oovertd with sores, and a Job with boil?, are 
 the objects of his special love; while the most weall 
 
 : r.er ; that wc^s the finest purple, is . 
 
 3 
 
174 TYPICAL THING9. BOOK II. 
 
 eyes. Sin is that loathsome disease, and the sinner that 
 abominable leper here described. " Behold, I am vile, 
 u I am a man of unclean lips, I abhor myself," (Job 
 xl. 4. and xlii. 6. Isa. vi. 5.) is the language of the 
 convinced soul. An infant wallowing in the blood of 
 its nativity, and a sow wallowing in the mire, a dog re- 
 turning to his vomit, and a sepulchre exhaling the stench 
 of a putrifying carcase, are not greater nuisances to the 
 sense, than the soul that lies in sin to the pure eyes of 
 God. Sin is that abhorred leprosy which spreads its dire 
 contagion far and wide, infecting all the duties which the 
 sinner can perform, and all the comforts that he tastes ; 
 for, " to him that is defiled and unbelieving, is nothing 
 ** pure," (Tit. i. 15.) Beware how you approach the so- 
 ciety of the wicked, a thousand times more infectious thaa 
 the company of the filthiest leper. O my soul, be not 
 united to their assembly that are the workers of iniquity, 
 if thou wouldst keep the commandment of thy God! He 
 that was infected with the typical leprosy, was not only 
 in danger of defiling those with whom he conversed, but 
 the very garments he wore, and the house in which he 
 dwelt. But sin has subjected all creatures to the bondage 
 of corruption. Therefore it is revealed, " the elements 
 u shall melt with fervent heat, and all these things shall 
 " be dissolved;" (2 Pet. iii. 10. 11.) as the infected 
 garment was burned with fire, and the infected house de- 
 molished from its very foundation. The leper under the 
 law was excluded from the society of men ; and when 
 the distemper came to a great height, or infected the 
 head, he was to use the signals of the deepest mourning; 
 bis clothes were to be rent, his head bare, and a covering 
 upon hi upper lip ; and as he went, he was to cry, Un- 
 clean ! unclean ! But the leprosy of sir. excludes the mi- 
 serable soul from all intercourse with God, communion 
 
THE LAW OP THE LEPER. 175 
 
 with angels, fellowship with Jesus, society with the spi- 
 rits of just men, and access to the heavenly Jerusalem, 
 where nothing that is defiled can enter. O dismal soli- 
 tude ! O terrible separation ! With what tears shall it be 
 deplored ! What tokens of mourning are deep enough to 
 express the melancholy state ! And, alas ! we speak not 
 of a malady that is rarely to be found. It is hereditary 
 to all the sons of Adam without exception ; for M they 
 " are altogether become filthy ; there is none that doth 
 u good, no not one," (Psal. liii. 3.) How can he be 
 u clean that is born of a woman V* (Job xxv. 4.) 
 
 No wonder the priest was enjoined to proceed with ex- 
 traordinary caution in inspecting the symptoms of this 
 hateful distemper, when so much depended upon the ser> 
 tence he should pronounce. A person was not to be pro- 
 nounced unclean on a sudden, nor upon every slight symp- 
 tom of leprosy that might have appeared in his flesh ; for 
 the suspected Israelite was to be shut up seven days, and 
 on the seventh day to be judged according as the symp- 
 toiWs were favourable or malignant. This surely was de- 
 signed to inculcate the extraoidinary caution wherewith 
 the office bearers in the church, as well as others, ought 
 to try the spirits, and separate the precious from the 
 vile ; and that no man's state should be deemed bad, un- 
 less there are most evident tokens of sin having the domi- 
 nion over him. Every man who had in his skin a spot, 
 freckle, or blister, was not to be judged a leper. Nor 
 must we say of every sin of infirmity, u It is not the spot 
 *' of his children ; for in many things we offend all," 
 (Jam. iii. 2.) Again, a man whose hair fell off his head 
 or forehead, through the decay of nature, or otherwise, 
 though he was bald, yet he was not a leper. Nor are 
 they ail in a state of bin, the vigour of whdse spirit ual life 
 is much abated, and who, alas! have left their first love. 
 
176 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK H. 
 
 Yea, though an Israelite w'a- actually beized with a lepro- 
 sy, if there were tokens that it was not gaining upon na- 
 ture> but tha> natarij was expelling i(, as sunpose the 
 pi igwe was not in sight deeper than the r .kin, or if spread 
 not in the skin, or if the plague wa r somewhat dark, and^ 
 there were blacfc hairs in the rising, or if it covered all 
 the skin from head to foot wheresoever the priest looked;, 
 in any of thege cases he was n0tj)ronounced unclean : for 
 these were favourable symptoms that the distemper had 
 not infected the vitals; that the whole massof blood was 
 not corrupted ; and that nature was still strong, and work- 
 ing out the contagion. No more must we conclude that 
 they are all in a bad state, who may take up the pitiful 
 complaint of David: " My loins are defiled with a loath- 
 u some disease, and there is no soundness in my flesh," 
 (Psal. xxxviii. 70 The leper, whose plague is not in sight 
 deeper than the skin, is he whose life may. indeed be stain- 
 ed with some external blemishes ; but he sins not with all 
 his heart, which is still sound in God's statutes,. The 
 leper whose plague spreads not in the skin, but vvas*at a 
 stay, is he who emerges from his fall, like David or Pe- 
 ter, by a speedy repentance. Their sin was but a scab ; 
 they washed their clothes in the blood of Christ, and were 
 clean. 
 
 The leper whose plague was somewhat dark, and the 
 hairs not turned white, (a sure sign of the strength of na- 
 ture,) is he who has a principle of life and strength with- 
 in him, that never can be subdued by the strongest efforts 
 cf sin, but shall prevail at the last. The leper who was 
 all turned white in every part, from head to foot, (a sign 
 that the distemper was expelled from the vitals to the ex- 
 ternal parts, and that the cure was as good as wrought,) 
 is he who has obtained an evangelical conviction of hi3 
 natural pollution in heart and life, that "he is altogether 
 
THE LAW OF THE LEPER. 177 
 
 " become filthy ; (Psal. liii. 3.) and that in him, that 
 " is, in his flesh, there dwells no good thing," (Rom. 
 vii. 18.) 
 
 But, on the other hand, the bad symptoms were such 
 as these. If the hair in the plague was turned white; if 
 the plague was in sight deeper rh:.n '.he skin uf his flesh ; 
 -if there was quick raw flesh in the rising ; and if it spread 
 itself further and further in rhe -kin. Aid the worst of 
 all kinds was the leprosy in the head : " The priest shall 
 11 pronounce him utterly unclean ; his plague is in his 
 u head," (L«v xiii. 44-.) He that had white and yellow 
 hair in the sore of his leprosy, is the sinner who has no 
 strength to oppose any temptation, and can make no re- 
 sistance at all to the lusts of his own heart ; for, white 
 hairs are signs of the debility of nature, and that death 
 is fast approaching. " Grey hairs,* 5 saith the prophet 
 Hosea, * fc are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth 
 it not," (Hos. vii. 9-) And saith the Lord God in 
 Ezekiel, iL How weak is thine heart, seeing thou dost 
 " all these things?" (Ezek. xvi. 30.) 
 
 He whose leprosy was in sight deeper than the skin, is 
 an emblem of the sinner who works wickedness with full 
 consent, and from the very bottom of his soul, whose 
 transgression proclaims that his heart is not right in the 
 sight of God, and to whom the words of the prophet may 
 be addressed ! <k This thy wickedness is bitier; it reach- 
 " eth unto thine heart," (Jer. iv. 18 ) He that had 
 quick raw flesh in the rising of his plague, may perhaps 
 denote the sinner who cannot endure to be touched or 
 reprimanded for his fault, though in the gentlest manner. 
 This is a dangerous symptom indeed ! David, this was 
 not thy spot : " Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a 
 u kindness ; let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent 
 * oil, which shall not break my head," (Psal. cx!i. 5.) 
 
178 TYPICAL THINGS, 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 He whose plague did spread in the skin, is the sinner who 
 waxes worse and worse, and increases unto more ungodli- 
 ness. And, lastly, the man, whose plague was in his head, 
 is the sinner, the faults of whose life proceed from the er- 
 rors of hi. mind ; whose understanding is debauched by 
 his will, and he is arrived at such a pitch of wickedness, 
 as to vindicate himself in the gratification of his lusts, and 
 even to glory in his shame. He is utterly unclean, and 
 hardly, very hardly, shall his cure be ever effected. But 
 the rites of cleansing demand our next attention. 
 
 When it pleased God, who sept this doleful plague, to 
 remove it again, the leper wa- fetched to the priest, or 
 rather the priest unto the lepe* i and when, upon a narrofv 
 scrutiny, it appeared the cure was really wrought, he was 
 pronounced clean: but not without practising various 
 purging ceremonies on the first, the seventh, and the 
 eighth d. y. Jesus Christ s i pat priest to whom tne le- 
 prous soul is brought, or rather who hath condescended 
 to come unto iu, who could not go unto him, because 
 we were polluted in our blood, without the c mp, aliens 
 from the omrronweath of Israel. He is come, not 
 merely to cleanse them who are already healed, like the 
 legal priest, but to heal them who, without his helping 
 hand, were absolutely incurable. The Israelite who was 
 brought tor cleansing to the priest was. himself to pro- 
 vide the necessary oblations, not without some cost ?rid 
 toil. But the High Priest of good things to come de- 
 mands no such conditions from those who come for heal- 
 ing to their souls : himself has laid out the necessary- 
 charges, and has, by M the one offering of himself for 
 4t us,* for ever perfected all them who are sanctified. " 
 But let us more narrowly attend to the ceremonies of 
 cleansing, in the order wherein they were performed. 
 
 On the first day of the leper's appearance before the 
 
TH2 LAW OF THE LSPEH. 179 
 
 priest, the priest was to take for him two birds aTiveand 
 clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop, to make 
 with them a sprinkling instrument* An earthen vessel 
 was filled with running water, over which one of the 
 birds was to be k'lltd, and the other bird, together with 
 the sprinkling instrument, being dipt in the bloody water, 
 the leper was to be sprinkled with it seven times, and the 
 bird let loose into the ope" field. And the leper, though 
 pronounced c T ean by the priest, was, notwithstanding, to 
 cleanse himself still more by washing his clothe?, shaving 
 1 his hair, and bathing his whole body. And after that he 
 was permitted to come into the camp ; but he was to tar- 
 ry abroad out of his tent seven days. Some have thought, 
 and perhaps not without some reason, that the materials 
 which were to be procured on this occasion, might be ex- 
 pressive of that who esome state on which the leper wafo 
 now to enter. Before he was in a manner dead, but now 
 :ored to life, which might be signified by the living 
 ds- Bvf:>re he was petrifying, and in a state of cor- 
 ruption, but now vigorous and robust, signified by the 
 cedar. Before he was pale and wan, but now of a lively 
 brisk complexion, signified by the scarlet. Before he was 
 nauseous to the smell, but now cured of his ill scent, sig- 
 nified by the hyssop. But what hinders us to think of still 
 greater mysteries, ana to lift our thoughts to the purging 
 of our sins by our great High Priest ? 
 
 The two bird?, alive and clean, may denote the two na- 
 tures of Jesus Christ . The human nature was put to death, 
 but the divine nature was incapable of suffering. By the 
 human nature he died ft;r our offences, and by the divine 
 nature he rose again for our justification.' The sprinkling 
 instrument of ced?r, scarlet, and hyssop, may signify the 
 ordinancesof the gospel, by which the blessings of Christ'* 
 tieath are communicated; The running water is the Spi» 
 
180 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 rit of Christ, who is always imparted to the heart when 
 the blood ig sprinkled on the conscience. The earthen 
 vessel is an emblem of the minist ers of Christ, who, though 
 frail and brittle creatures, and despicable in the eye of 
 the world, and some but of small capacity and size, are 
 intrusted with this invaluable treasure of gospel-grace, to 
 be dispensed unto others. And whereas the priest was to 
 kill one of the birds, this intimates, that M without shed- 
 ' ** ding of blood is no remission," (Heb. ix. 22.) He was 
 to dip the living bird in the blood of the dead one : this 
 imports, that the blood of Christ's humanity is, by the 
 hypostatical union, the blood of his divinity, or the blood 
 of God, which is the very thing that renders it the blood 
 of atonement. The sprinkling instrument of cedar, scar- 
 let, and hyssop, was to be dipt in the same blood ; for all 
 the ordinances, and all the means of salvation, are sancti- 
 fied by the blood of Christ alone. In this blood, if we may 
 be allowed the expression, must ministers dip their sermons, 
 if they would be profitable to men ; and in his blood must 
 Christians dip their good works, if they expect them to 
 be acceptable unto God. The sprinkling the leper seven 
 times signifies that perfect cleanness which is, by the 
 blood of sprinkling, introduced into the conscience, and 
 which the royal penitent so pathetically breathes after : 
 " Wash me, and I shall be clean ; sprinkle me with hys- 
 " sop, and I shall be whiter than the snow," (Psal. li. 7.) 
 The dismission of the other bird intb the open field may 
 perhaps denote the resurrection of the Son of God, or 
 that his divine nature was untouched by death. Or, as 
 the living bird received its liberty when dipt in the blood 
 of the dead one ; so we are made to know the power of 
 his resurrection by the fellowship ©f his sufferings, and 
 may truly say, " Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the 
 u 6nare of the fowler/' (Psal. exxiv. 7.) The leper thus 
 
THE LAW OP THE LEPER. 131 
 
 sprinkled, according to the ordinance, though pronounced 
 clean by the priest, was squired to shave his hair, and 
 wash himself and his clothes in water, that he might be 
 clean ; which was not only a precaution to prevent re- 
 lapse, through any relics of the distemper lurking in his 
 hair or garments, but may also point forth to us this 
 momentous truth, that our being sprinkled by our High- 
 Priest with the clean water of his blood does not at all 
 supersede the cleansing ourselves from all iilthiness of the 
 flesh and spirit. There is no person who partakes this 
 glorious privilege, who endeavours noc, as his duty, to 
 purify himself, to lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness, 
 to put off the old man, and to hate even the garment 
 spotted with the flesh, by having no fellowship with the 
 unfruitful works of darkness. Nor are his purifying en- 
 deavours to be intermitted, but persisted in all the days 
 of his life, as the leper was to repeat on the seventh day 
 the ceremonies of shaving and washing; for sanctification 
 is a gradual and progressive work, that shall not be com- 
 pleted till the week of this mortal life is fulfilled. Such 
 were the ceremonies of the iVst and of the seventh day. 
 On the eighth day, three lambs were to be fetched for 
 a trespass-offering, a sin-offering, and a burnt-offering, a 
 quantity of fine flour for a meat-offering, and one log of 
 oil. If he was not able to afford such costly offerings, 
 the Lord accepted such as he was able to get, which are 
 also condescended upon in the law. The-e sacrifices ^eing 
 presented, together with the leper, before the Lord, were 
 to be < ffered in the usual manner. But the b'ood of the 
 trespass-offering was, by a peculiar ceremony, to be ap- 
 plied to the extreme pares of the leper's body, the »ip of 
 his right ear, the thumb of his fight hand, and the great 
 toe of his right foot. Above the blood, the oil wb 
 applied ia the same manner, and the overplus poured up- 
 
 Q 
 
1$2 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 on his head who was to be cleansed. These sacrifices, 
 without all doubt, had the same general meaning as other 
 sacrifices ; and the peculiar ceremonies were doubtless 
 very significant ; as if the priest had said to the leper, 
 
 * I put this blood and this oil on your ear, now you are 
 M free to hear the word of God in any synagogue : I put 
 M it on your thumb, now you may handle any thing, and 
 14 not defile it : I put them on your toe, now you may go 
 " where you please, and men will not avoid your socie- 
 " ty." But what forbids us to think of still higher mys* 
 teries ? These particular parts of the body may signify 
 the perceptive and executive faculties, in both which we 
 offend, and for both which we need the great propitia- 
 tion, (Hervey, Vol. I. Dial. 3.) Was not this the lan- 
 guage of that solemn rite ? " Now you are made clean, 
 a let all your faculties and powers be devoted to the ser- 
 H vice of God. Let your ears be open to the commands 
 u of God. Let the works of your hands be established and 
 u accepted by him. Let your footsteps be ordered in his 
 tl word." The oil that was put upon the blood most cer- 
 tainly signifies the Holy Ghost, as a Spirit of sanctification. 
 By the blood of his merit he forgives all our iniquities ; 
 and by the oil of his spirit he heals all our diseases. By 
 the first we are justified; by the second we are sanctified. 
 By the one, sin shall not condemn to suffer the punishment 
 it deserves ; and, by the other, it shall not command to 
 ©bey the orders it gives. And whereas the remnant of 
 the oil in the priest's hand was to be poured on his head 
 that was to be cleansed, this most undoubtedly prefi- 
 gured the shedding of the Holy Ghost on us abundantly 
 through Jesus Christ our Saviour. It is said in one place, 
 " Ye have an unction from the Holy One ;" (l John, 
 ji. 20. ) and in another, " He who hath anointed us is 
 u God ; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest 
 
 * of the Spirit in our hearts," (2 Cor. i. 21. 22. 
 
THE LAW OF THE NEAR KINSMAN. 183 
 
 How foolish a part had that Israelite acted, who had 
 eontented himself with making application to the physi- 
 cian, without having recourse to the priest for the clean- 
 sing of his leprosy ? Alas ! the balm in Gilead could not 
 supply the place of the sacrificial blood. Nor do they 
 act a wiser part, who seek to the physicians of their own 
 legal endeavours for the cure of their leprosy, but not 
 unto Jesus Christ, the High-Priest, who stands ready 
 with his hyssop and blood. Can the rivers of Damascus 
 compare with the waters cf Israel ? Bring us, O Lord, 
 to the Jordan of thy grace, for cleaning these leprous 
 fouls ! " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make us clean," 
 (Matth. viii. 2.) O sprinkle us with hyssop, and we 
 " shall be whiter than the snow," (Psal. li. 7.) 
 
 XIV. — The Law of the Near Kinsman*. 
 It is not for nought the near kinsman among tht 
 Jews, and the Lord himself, are alike denominated in the 
 original language of the Hebrews. Why should the name 
 Goel be common to him that acted the kinsman's part 
 among the Jews, and to the God of Israel, if there were 
 not a great resemblance betwixt the kindly offices of the 
 one, and the gracious benefits of the other ? And the 
 propriety of th's observation will more evidently appear 
 from an induction of particulars. For what the earthly 
 Goel, or nearest blood-relation, was enjoined to do for 
 his brother under the law, the heavenly Goel, that is, 
 I gracious Redeemer, hath done, in the most emi- 
 nent manner, for birmers of the human race under the gos« 
 pel. If an Israelite died without children, the Goel was 
 to marry his widow, to raise up seed unto his brother, 
 that his name might not perish. If, through poverty, he 
 had soli away his possession, the Goel was to buy back 
 nee. If, for the same reason, he had sold 
 2 
 
184 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 B«OK II. 
 
 himself for a servant to another man, the Goel was to re- 
 deem him from his master. And, lastly, If an Israelite 
 was murdered, his Goel was to avenge his blood* by- 
 bringing the wilful murderer to suffer condign punish- 
 ment. Waving the political reason of these laws, we 
 shall confine ourselves to their allegorical interpretation; 
 for, on all these accounts, the believer in the promised 
 Messiah may say of him, with Job, " I know my Goel 
 4i liveth," (Job xix. 25.) 
 
 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not left us this day 
 without a kinsman, to marry, and raise up the seed of good 
 works unto our barren nature. Once she was fruitful un- 
 to God before the breach of the first covenant; but now, 
 alas ! the image of God she wore at first is miserably de- 
 faced ; her husband, the law, has become dead and weak 
 through the flesh, and she can bring forth no children un- 
 to God, that is, can produce no action that bears resem- 
 blance unto him, or corresponds to the demands of the 
 lav/. Sin and death, these are the only births of corrupt 
 nature ; and we may truly say of all men in their unre- 
 newed state, " They conceive mischief, they bring forth 
 *' falsehood, and their belly prepareth deceit," (Job xv. 
 35.) £it best they can only say, " We have laboured, 
 " we have been in pain, we have brought forth wind," 
 (Isa. xxvi. 18.) But the loving Kinsman consented to mar- 
 ry thir barren nature, by assuming a true body and a rea- 
 sonable soul, its two essential parts, into personal union 
 with himself, and by uniting with himself, in a mystical 
 union, a great number of individuals of our race. It is 
 true, the match was most unequal, and huge difficulties 
 were to be surmounted, before the marriage could be so- 
 lemnized, and the bride prepared for her husband. But 
 bis love was stronger than death itself, and we are be- 
 come dead to the law by the body of Christ, that we 
 
THE LAW OF THE NEAR KINSMAN. 185 
 
 might be married to another husband, even to him that 
 was raised from the dead, that the barren woman might 
 keep house, and become a jo)ful mother of children. 
 Now that our Maker is our husband, she that was barren 
 hath born seven, and the promise is accomplished, "Thy 
 " wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thy house, 
 t l her children like olive plants round about thy table," 
 (Psal. cxxviii. 3.) We may truly affirm of all the happy 
 souls that are espoused to the one husband, " E^very one 
 
 I eth twins/'' the love of God and his neighbour, 
 u and none is barren among them," (Song iv. 2.) These 
 " children are indeed the heritage of the Lord, and this 
 " fruit cf the womb his reward : happy is the man that 
 " hath his quiver full of them," (Psal. exxvii. 3. 5.) 
 " Here am I," will he say in the great day of the Lord, 
 " and the children whom thou hast given me," (Heb. 
 iL 13.) 
 
 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not left us without a 
 Kinsman to redeem the mortgaged inheritance of everlast- 
 ing life, which, alas! we sold away for one morsel of for- 
 bidden fruit, but are not able to buy back again by all 
 the money of our obedience or sufferings. None of our 
 kin were able to pay the price. For all men being equally 
 involved in the same ruin, none of them could redeem his 
 brother; and angels, though glorious and perfect crea- 
 tures, yet needed all their holiness for themselves ; and 
 had they undertook to pay our debt, they would have, 
 like the kinsman in Ruth, but marred their own inherit- 
 ance. But, lo ! what men and angels could not have 
 done, the Son of God, clothed in flesh aud blood, hath 
 completely effected. The ransom was paid down in the 
 liquid gold of his precious blood to the utmost farthing 
 of the legal demand. Now heaven is a purchased pos- 
 
 n ; and by thy poverty we are become rich, O gre- 
 9 
 
186 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 clous Redeemer, who for our sakes became poor, though 
 the silver and the gold are thine. 
 
 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not left us without a 
 kinsman, to redeem not only the inheritance to us, but 
 us to the inheritance ; for, being reduced to the most 
 abject poverty, by the loss of original righteousness, and 
 communion with God, we sold ourselves, like the prodi- 
 gal son in the parable, to the most sordid slavery of the 
 devil; sold ourselves for a wretched sustenance, the husks 
 that swine do eat. From this inglorious servitude we 
 could not by any means have extricated onrselves, unless 
 the Kinsman, the Redeemer, had come to Zion ; had taken 
 upon him the form of a servant, and given himself a ran- 
 som for alL, Such was the hard condition of our rescue ; 
 but in his love and in his pity he redeemed us, who had 
 sold ourselves for nought; for " with the Lord is plen- 
 ** teous redemption, and he will redeem Israel from all his 
 " iniquities," (Psal. exxx. 7. 8.) 
 
 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not left us without a 
 Kinsman to be the avenger of our blood, when the prince 
 of the rebellious angels had massacred the human race in 
 the loins of their great progenitor. That wicked spirit, 
 stung with fierce resentment against the avenging God, 
 and stimulated with envy against innocent and happy 
 man, seduced him to fall off from his Creator, and to 
 partake of his revolt. Thus he was a murderer from 
 the beginning, not only of our bodies, which are, by his 
 means, subjected unto the first death, but of our souls, 
 that, are naturally dead in trespasses and sins, and liable 
 to everlasting vengeance, which is the second death. 
 The holy and righteous law of God was, shall we say, 
 the city of refuge to which he fled. He boasted, " Shall 
 li the prey be taken from the mighty ? shall the lawful 
 w captive be delivered V 9 (Isa, xlix. 24.) For having 
 
THE LAW OF THE NEAR KINSMAN. 1S7 
 
 in some sense the power of death, the sting of which 
 was sin, and the strength of sin was the law, what mere 
 creature was able to enter into the palace of this strong- 
 armed Apollyon, and spoil him of his armour ? \\ hoever 
 enters on this arduous enterprise, he must be able to un- 
 sting death by satisfying the law. Here, then, let us 
 adopt the sublime rapture of the prophet : " The Lord 
 " saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judge- 
 M ment. And he saw that there was no man, and won- 
 " dered that there was no intercessor ; therefore his arm 
 c< brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness sus- 
 *i tained him. For he put on righteousness as a breast- 
 " plate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head ; and he 
 " put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and 
 " was clad with zeal as with a duke," (La. lix, 15. 16% 
 17-) Or shall we use the style of the New Testament 
 apostle when speaking of this very thing ? " Forasmuch 
 " then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, 
 " he also hiii^eif likewise took part of the same, that 
 u through death he might destroy him that had the 
 u power of death, that is, the devil, 5 ' (Heb. ii. 14.) 
 The Redeemer has died, the Redeemer has risen again ; 
 O Satan, where is thy power? O death, where is thy 
 sting ? For, " though the sting of death is sin, and 
 " though the strength of sin is the law, thanks be to 
 *' God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ 
 " cur Lord." (1 Cor. xv. 56. 57 •) The glorious Aven- 
 ger of our blood has not only punished the murderer, 
 (which is all that man can do for his slaughtered brother,) 
 but has restored life to the murdered, that in their own 
 persons they may overcome the wicked one. Thus has 
 he redeemed their soul from deceit and violence, and 
 precious h2s their blood been in his sight. 
 
188 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 XV.— The Holy Nation of Israel. 
 
 When the knowledge of the true God was lost 
 among the degenerate nations, the family of Abraham 
 was chosen to be the repository of that most invaluable 
 treasure. It was promised in solemn manner to this 
 venerable patriarch, that he should have a numerous pro- 
 geny, and a peculiar seed, that should become an univer- 
 sal blessing to the world. In process of time, he was the 
 progenitor of a mighty nation, divided into twelve tribes, 
 who, being for a long time the only visible society w r here 
 God was worshipped, were distinguished from other peo- 
 ple with very high appellations and valuable privileges. 
 They are styled in the Old Testament, " a peculiar trea- 
 " sure, (Exod. xix. 5.) a kingdom of priests, (ver. 6 1) 
 " and an holy nation, (ver. 6.) the inheritance, (Deut. 
 u xxxii. 19.) the vineyard, (Psal. lxxx. 15.) the congre- 
 " gation, (Psal. lxxiv. 2.) the tribes of the Lord of hosts, 
 " (Psal. lxxiv, 2.) and his first-born son," (Exod. iv. 22.) 
 tf To them pertained the adoption, the glory, the cove- 
 " nants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and 
 u the promises. Theirs were the fathers, and from them 
 fl the Messias himself was to spring according totheflesh," 
 (Rom. ix. 4. 5.) This famous nation, after many vicissi- 
 tudes of fortune, were at last, for the horrid crime of re- 
 jecting and murdering the Messiah, disinherited by the 
 offended God of their fathers, divested of \\\ their glo- 
 rious privileges, ejected from the land of promise, and 
 are become miserable wanderers among the nations. 
 
 What shall we say then to these things ? Has God cast 
 away his people ? Is thsre no Israel now to be found, 
 among whom his name is great ? Yes ; though Israel, 
 according to the flesh, is no more the people of God, still 
 there is an holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar 
 
THE HOLY NATION OF ISRAEL. 189 
 
 people, a true circumcision, that worship God in the spi- 
 rit, £.nd have no confidence in the flesh. The sinners of 
 the Gentiles, who were once polluted as dogs, stupid as 
 stones, are now, by the power of divine grace, become the 
 children of Abraham, and the true Israel of God. John 
 saw the Christian Israel sealed in his mysterious vision, of 
 every tribe a select number. And the twelve apostles of 
 the Lamb are said, in a prophetic style, to sit on twelve 
 thrones, and judge the twelve apostate tribes of Israel, 
 when they became the spiritual fathers of the holy Chris- 
 tian nation, of which Israel, according to the flesh, was 
 a figure. Let us see where the resemblance lies. 
 
 And, first, we might observe the smallness of their be- 
 ginning. They were once but few in number, the fewest 
 of all people, as their lawgiver told them. Though af- 
 terwards they received a prodigious increase, they de- 
 scended from twelve men, who sprung from one as good 
 as dead, that was called being alone. Exactly so, the 
 Gentile church, though a great multitude that no man 
 can number, are the spiritual children of the twelve 
 apostles, who sprung from one that was actually dead, 
 though he lives for evermore. Though the beginning 
 of the gospel-church was small, like a grain of seed, or 
 a little leaven, yet its latter end did greatly increase. 
 
 Secondly, The number of their enemies deserves our 
 attention. This ancient people were never without ene- 
 mies of one sort or other, in Egypt, in the wilderness, 
 and even in Canaan itself. The church of Christ has 
 always, in this state of warfare, her Egypt, her An 
 her Edom, her Moab, her Philistines, and her Babylon, 
 This last being the most eminent foe of the ancient race 
 of Israel, is viewed, in the prophetic book of the New 
 Testament, as a figure of the malignant church, or anti- 
 christian state, the most formidable adversary of the true 
 
190 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 church since the ascension of our Lord. And truly, the 
 prophetic descriptions of ancient Babylon, by whose rivers 
 the melancholy captives of Israel sat down and wept, are, 
 with the most evident propriety, applied by the New 
 Testament prophet to that powerful, that wealthy, that 
 idolatrous, that persecuting church of Rome, that sits 
 on the many waters of kindreds, and nations, and people, 
 and tongues. Though, like the ancient Babylon, her pre- 
 decessor, and type, she should defy all danger, live deli- 
 ciously, and boast she is a queen, and no widow, and 
 shall not know the loss of children; yet, at the appointed 
 time, the cry of her destruction, her final, her total de- 
 struction, shall be heard ; " Daughter of Babylon, near 
 ** to destruction, blessed shall he be that rewards thee, 
 u as thou hast done unto us," (Psal. cxxxvii. 8.) 
 • The eminent deliverances of Israel are the next thing 
 we shall notice. Though they were an afflicted nation 
 from, the beginning, lying among the pots, travelling 
 through the floods, traversing the wilderness, weeping 
 bv Babel's streams ; yet " happy wast thou, O Israel, a 
 " people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and 
 ** the sword of thine excellency, " (Deut. xxxiii. 29.) 
 The house of bondage could not detain them; the waters 
 of the sea could not overflow them; the wilderness could 
 not famish them ; and Babylon could not hold them in 
 captivity. Who knows not that these illustripus works 
 of God, in behalf of the chosen seed, are sung in lofty 
 numbers by the inspired penmen, in phrases that describe 
 the common salvation, and the redemption of the world 
 from still more dreadful foes ? and these illustrious per- 
 sons, who, under God, achieved the several rescues! of 
 anrient Israel, are spoken of in the prophets, in phrases 
 that may be well adapted to the Messiah himself. 
 The singularity of their laws and customs, which were, 
 
THE HOLY NATION OF ISRAEL. 191 
 
 by Heaven's appointment, divers from all people, was, no 
 doubt, intended to adumbrate that distinguishing sanc- 
 tity, so different from the fashions of this world, which 
 ought to adorn the holy Christian nation. The Jews of 
 old were not more ridiculed by their scornful neighbours, 
 for the seeming oddity of their national usages, than the 
 peculiar people of Christ have been in every age, for their 
 zealous attachment to the divine law, and because they 
 were not conformed to this world. 
 
 But a principal thing for which the Jewish nation was a 
 typical people, is the glorious national privileges they pos- 
 sessed, thechief of which we shall mention. To them be- 
 longed the adoption to be God's first born son, or the 
 election to be his peculiar people ; a privilege that exalted 
 them high above all nations, and yet was not conferred 
 upon them because of their own worthiness or excellency, 
 of whatever kind, but solely because it was the good plea- 
 sure of God to bestow this glorious dignity upon them. 
 Even so, the election and adoption of the general assembly 
 and church of the first-born, whose names are written in 
 heaven, arises from the same source, the good pleasure of 
 his will, and purpose in grace ; nut of works, lest any 
 man should boast. To them belonged the glorious sym- 
 bols of the divine presence, as the holy temple, the sacred 
 fire, and the bright cloud of the sanctuary ; though by 
 degrees these shadows vanished as the body approached. 
 W hat nation was so great, to have the Lord so near them 
 in the visible tokens of his presence ? None but that holy 
 nation, whose prerogative it is to behold the glory of the 
 incarnate word, God manifested in the flesh. To them 
 belonged the law or covenant of works, ordained in the 
 hand of Moses, as a mediator betwixt God and them % . So 
 to the Christian church belongs the law or covenant of 
 works, ordained in the hand of Jesuc Christ, the Media- 
 
192 TYPrCAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 tor between God and man. Their mediator could not 
 fulfil the law for them ; they brake the covenant, and 
 God regarded them not. But Christ hath magnified the 
 law, and made it honourable, by a most complete satisfac- 
 tion and meritorious obedience. To them belonged a 
 civil government, modelled by God himself; for their state 
 was a theocracy, and the Lord said unto them, " I will 
 be thy king/' (Hos. xiii. 10.) Exactly so, the laws 
 of the New Testament kingdom are all enacted by him 
 that sits upon the throne ; nor must the ordinances of 
 men claim homage from the subjects of Jesus Christ, ex- 
 cept in so far as they comport with his positive institu- 
 tions. To them belonged the service of God, according 
 to these rites which himself prescribed*— an emblem of 
 that reasonable and acceptable service which appertains to 
 the true church, and which is found no where but among 
 the societies of Christian worshippers. To them pertain- 
 ed the promises of rest in Canaan, the pleasant land, and 
 ©f victory over the devoted nations. So to the Christian 
 church belongs the promise of everlasting life, and final 
 rest in the better heavenly country, to recompense their 
 wanderings through the mazy wilderness of this 'world ; 
 and the promise of complete victory over the nations of 
 spiritual foes, the lusts that war in their earthly members : 
 a more glorious honour this than to storm a city ! as, 
 " he that ruleth over his own spirit, is better than the 
 u mighty, (Prov. xvi. 32.) This honour have all his 
 " saints," (PsaL cxlix 9.) 
 
 Let us here end-adoring the riches of that divine good- 
 ness, in bringing nigh, by the blood of his dear Son, those 
 that were afar off, Gentiles in rhe uncircumcision of their 
 flesh, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel — trembling 
 at the severity of divine justice towards that sinful nation, 
 who are now as much depressed below all other people, as 
 
THE VICTORY OVER THE NATIONS, $C. 193 
 
 ©nee they were exalted above them. Let us recollect 
 the apostle's necessary admonition : u Because of unbelief 
 u they were broken off, and by faith we stand. Be not 
 " high minded, but fear," (Rom. xi. 20.) H*ppy they 
 who are endowed with this noble grace ! Such are Is- 
 raelites indeed, " though Abraham be ignorant of them, 
 " and Israel, according to the flesh, acknowledge them 
 " not, (Isa. lxiii. 16.) For if we are Christ's, then arc 
 " we Abraham^ seed, and heirs according to the pro- 
 " mise," (Gal. iii. 29.) 
 
 XVI. — The Victory over the Nations op 
 Canaan. 
 
 Before the tnbes of the Lord could possess their 
 goodly heritage, the numerous and mighty nations that 
 dwelt in Canaan were first to be expelled. What i£ f for 
 once, the eternal vSovereign, and just Governor of the 
 world, shall transfer to a chosen seed the property of a 
 land inhabited by guilty wretches, ** and put into their 
 • c hand a two-edged sword, to execute vengeance upon 
 " the heathen, and punishments upon the people ; to bind 
 " their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of 
 u iron ; to execute upon them the judgment written ;" 
 (Psal. clxix. & — 9») shall we therefore presume to cen- 
 sure the Majesty of heaven as cruel and unjust ? No ; the 
 horrid wickedness of these nations fully justified the seve- 
 rity of their doom ; and the peremptory command of God 
 absolves the Israelites from the charge of barbarity, in be- 
 coming the executioners of the sentence. If some in later 
 ages have, with equal cruelty and injustice, for Heaven's 
 cause, (a horrid pretence !) made desolate the earth, let 
 them not plead this precedent ; for as such a mandate 
 was never given before, so shall it never be repeated again. 
 But, leaving it to God himself to vindicate his ways to 
 R 
 
194 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 boob; II, 
 
 man, as he is well able to do, we shall proceed to notice 
 that spiritual privilege of the true Israel, signified by this 
 victory over the nations. 
 
 Perhaps it were not improper to view it as an emblem 
 of the conquest over the world, obtained by the first 
 preachers and professors of Christianity under the banner 
 of the cross, though not with carnal weapons. Though 
 it is very fit tha: the Antichristian kingdom shall be pro- 
 moted by the horrid methods of torture, massacre, fire, 
 and faggot, the Son of man came not to destroy men's 
 lives, but to save<hem. If the apostles of the Lamb had 
 . a two-edged sword in their hand, it was the sword of the 
 Spirit, which is the word of God; faith was their shield, 
 righteousness their breast-plate, and their helmet was the 
 hope of sal vation v Equipped with this armour of light, they 
 subdued the nations to the obedience of faith : nor could 
 the persecutor's sword, the philosopher's wisdom, nor the 
 inveterate customs of the populace, received by tradition 
 from their fathers, retard the progress of their victorious 
 arms, though, to the outward eye, they seemed but as 
 grasshoppers before these formidable sons of Anak. 
 
 We might also here take occasion to think of that 
 dominion which the upright shall have in the morning of 
 the resurrection, when the saints of the Most High shall 
 si? with Christ upon his throne, and, in such manner as 
 is competent unto them, shall judge the world of wicked 
 men and angels. Even in this imperfect state, the lustre 
 of divine graces, and beauties of holiness, have com- 
 manded respect and veneration in the lunds of proud and 
 wicked men. A judge has trembled before a prisoner, 
 and a fox has feared a Iamb. These are preludes of that 
 final superiority of the righteous in the decisive houi of 
 judgment, when the e<nl shall bow before thr go-»d, and 
 be ashamed for their envy at the people they despised. 
 
THE VICTORY OVER THE NATIONS, eye. iy$ 
 
 But chiefly the Canaanites we must endeavour to extir- 
 pate, are the lusts that war in our member?, that war 
 against the soul. Against these inward foes must we lift 
 the hand of violence, if we mean to take the kingdom of 
 heaven. Israelites indeed, here point your revenge, here 
 bend your indignation ! To pity these, is the highest 
 cruelty to yourselves ; and to make any league with them, 
 is to be overcome. To mingle with these nations was fa- 
 tal to Israel of old ; they were forbid to seek their peace 
 or their wealth for ever ; but if they should cleave to the 
 remnant of these nations, on whatever presence, c< know 
 " for certain, that the Lord your God will no more drive 
 11 them out, but they shall be snares and traps unto you-, 
 " scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, and shall 
 11 vex you in che good land wherein you dwell," (Josh, 
 xxiii. 13.) Such grieving thorns are lio mortified corrup- 
 tions in our hearts ; and if we consult our peace and safe- 
 ty, it w'll be our constant work to weaken their power 
 by all possible means. But to attempt a reconciliation of 
 holiness and sin, to mediate peace between those contrary- 
 principles, is to entail upon ourselves a source of perpetual 
 inquietude. 
 
 The Canaanitish nations were not only the first inhabi- 
 tants of the country, but grtater in number, and mightier 
 in power than Israel, their conqueror. So, in the holy 
 war, the sin that dwells in the s>>ul is the first possessor, 
 and mighrier than the principle of grace received. 
 Thanks to its omnipotent Ally, that iniquity prevails not 
 against -it, even to a total victory. Let none be deterred 
 from fighting the good fight of faith against these inward 
 enemies, though perhaps some branches of the body of sin 
 may seem so vivacious as even to gather new life bv their 
 foils ; may seem to have intrenched themselves so deeply 
 in the constitution oi the soul, and to derive so many ad- 
 2 
 
19G TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 BOOK If. 
 
 vantages from outward circumstances in life, that to expel 
 them is equally impossible as for the Israelites to drive 
 out these Canaanites who had chariots of iron. Under 
 the divine conduct of Jesus Christ, our true Joshua, we 
 shall set our feet upon the necks of these dreadful foes. 
 Take unto you the whole armour of God, and remove 
 every accursed thing from the mi'dst of thee, O Israel, 
 and the Lord thy God will drive out these nations before 
 thee by little and little. Their defence is already depart- 
 ed from them, since the law, the strength of sin, is per- 
 fectly fulfilled, and stripped of its condemning power. A 
 time, a happy time, will come, when no Jebusite shall 
 dwell in the land, when no latent corruption shall infest 
 thy soul, and there shall be no pricking brier, nor any 
 grieving thorn to the house of Israel : for it is the gra- 
 cious promise of the Captain of our salvation, " He that 
 " overcometh, and kcepeth my words unto the end, to 
 4C him will I give, power over the nations, and he shall rule 
 ** them with a rod of iron ; as the vessels of a potter, 
 " they shall be broken to shivers," (Rev. ii. 26. 27.) 
 
 XVII. — The Allegory of Hagar awd Sarah. 
 
 As we are informed by the great apostle of the 
 Gentiles, that the private history of Abraham's family 
 was a presage of the events that happened to his posterity, 
 we shall glance it a little. This faithful patriarch had re- 
 ceived the promise of a seed, in whom aU nations should 
 be blessed. But the accomplishment was long delayed ; 
 his wife proved barren ; old age was stealing on apace ; 
 and there seemed no human probability that Sarah should* 
 have a son. She ought, however, to have believed him 
 faithful who had promised, and fully able to perform what 
 ke had said. She should not have devised unlawful means 
 
THE ALLEGORY OF HAGAR AND SARAH. 197 
 
 of helping the promise to bring forth, but patiently ex- 
 pected God's time of visitation, which is always the best. 
 But it was otherwise ; for, in the ardour of impatience, 
 she urges Abraham her husband to marry her bond-maid, 
 fondly imagining that this stratagem might compensate 
 her own barrenness, and forward the birth of the pro- 
 mised seed. Whatever hu^ \ self-denial this good 
 woman may be supposed to have acted in making s'uch a 
 proposal, it cannot certainly be vindicated from the charge 
 of being in itself immorar, and contrary to the original 
 dictates of the law of nature ; for, though polygamy was 
 ordinarily practised in the primitive ages of the world, 
 and even in the patriarchal families who professed the 
 true religion, it is neither to be excused nor imitated. 
 There is no ground to think that God approved, though 
 he tolerated, the custom of having more wives than one. 
 From the beginning it was not so. And indeed the fami- 
 ly-broils which the scripture frequently mentions as oc- 
 casioned by this practice, are a sufficient confirmation of its 
 manifest inconvenience. Of this we have a lively instance 
 in the present case ; for no sooner is this unlawful over- 
 ture of Sarah complied with by her husband, by taking 
 Hagar into his bed, than the insolent and disrespectful 
 carriage of the bond-maid, when she saw that she had con- 
 ceived, raised such variance in the family, that at last she 
 is obliged to run away from the resentment of her injured 
 mistress. But, returning and humbling herself, a peace 
 was again patched up for a x time. She bears Ishmael, 
 Abraham's first-born son ; but this was not the child of 
 the promise. There was nothing extraordinary about his 
 birth, which was, to use the phrase of the apostle, after 
 theflesh>(G?\. iv.23.) The happy seed that should become 
 a blessing to the world, must be born in lawful wedlock ; 
 j-ot of a bond-maid, but of a frce-womar.. And Sarah, 
 5 
 
198 TYPICAL THINGS. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 why did you doubt if the power of God was able to 
 make the barren womb a joyful mother ? How absurd is 
 it for any to hasten providence ! Give it time, and it will 
 do all things well. For when, in process of time, Abra- 
 ham's body is as dead as Sarah's womb, lo, Isaac is con- 
 ceived and born ; Isaac, the promised seed, Isaac, the long- 
 expected child, is brought forth, to the great joy. of his 
 parents, a son of their old age. By this time Ishmael is 
 become a youth, and arrived at years of some discretion ; 
 but he walks rather in the steps of his mother than of 
 his father, and is so daring as to mock at his younger 
 brother at his weaning feast. Though one would be 
 willing to excuse this behaviour as proceeding only from 
 puerile levity, the severity of the punishment inflicted for 
 this fault seems to evince, that there was a great mixture 
 of impiety in this insulting carriage, and that the promise 
 itself was the chief thing he derided. It could not fail 
 to be very irritating to Sarah, to observe how ill her kind- 
 ness to Hagar was requited by the undutiful deportment 
 of her son ; and when she urged their present dismission 
 from the family, Abraham was not over ready to comply 
 with this request> because of the affection he bore to Ish- 
 mael ; and he hoped that the passion of his wife, though 
 just, would soon subside. But the motion of Sarah 9 
 " Cast out the bond-woman and her son ; for the son of 
 41 the bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, even 
 u with Isaac," (Gen. xxi. 10.) is backed with a mandate 
 from God himself. And, accordingly, the father of the 
 Jewish nation, which is very remarkable, discards from 
 his family his eldest .son, who was equally circumcised 
 with Isaac, never, as it would seem, to return again. And 
 this was done by the positive commano of God himself, 
 with a special view to prefigure the future rejection of a 
 
THS ALLEGORY OP HAGAR AND SARAH. 199 
 
 great part of Abraham's natural posterity, that were only 
 descended from him according to the flesh. 
 
 That this was the secret design of Providence in this 
 memorable story, might be conjectured from the narra- 
 tive of Moses. But we are not allowed so much as to 
 doubt of it by that infallible' expositor of the law, Paul, 
 the apostle of Jesus Christ ; who, discoursing on this very 
 subject to the revolted Galatian churches, expressly says, 
 cl Which things are an allegory, for these (women) are 
 " the two covenants," (Gal. iv. 24.) According to this 
 apostle, Hagar, with her son, was secretly designed to re- 
 present the covenant that prescribes our own obedience as 
 the meritorious condition of justification and life ; a re- 
 presentation of which covenant was exhibited at Mount 
 Sinai, in Arabia, and it also answers te Jerusalem that 
 now is, and is in bondage with her children, that is, to 
 the present apostate church of the Jews, who expect to be 
 justified by the works of the law, and all who imitate their 
 example. Upon the other hand, Sarah the free-woman, 
 with Isaac her son, is an emblem of the covenant that di- 
 rects to look for salvation only by the righteousness of a 
 middle person, without the works of the law ; which co- 
 venant was published from Mount Zion, and/answers to 
 Jerusalem above, or the true church, whether of Jews or 
 Gentiles, that is free from the legal yoke, and is the mo- 
 ther of us all, if we believe. Let us pursue this beautiful 
 allegory a little in the tract which the apcstle has marked 
 out. 
 
 And, first, it may be said, that as Sarah the free wo- 
 man was ^efore Hagar, so the promise was before the 
 law, and the covenant of grace antecedent unto the co- 
 venant of works. Not to speak of the federal transac- 
 tion betwixt the Father and the Son, which the scripture 
 frequently mentions as commencing from all everlasting, 
 
200 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II. 
 
 the promise or revelation of this eternal covenant was 
 exhibited to the church long before the Sinai dispensa- 
 tion. 
 
 Again, as Sarah was the. mistress, and Hagar the maid, 
 so the gospel is the mistress to which the law was subser- 
 vient. If Hagar had kept her station, without departing 
 from that subordination she owed to Sarah, she might 
 then have been of singular use in the patriarch's family, 
 instead of raising those broils and animosities which were 
 afterwards occasioned by her. For a servant bearing rule 
 is one of Solomons unseemly things ; and, among other 
 things which the earth cannot bear, and for which it is 
 disquieted, he mentions an odious woman when she is 
 married, and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress. So, 
 if the legal covenant be kept in its own room and place, 
 she may greatly serve the covenant of grace ; she may be 
 remarkably useful to convince of sin, and to endear a 
 Saviour ; for " the law," as the apostle affirms, u is 
 u good, if a man use it lawfully," (1 Tim. i. 8.) But 
 if this bond-maid, the law, assume the sole dominion, and 
 rival her mistress, to whom she should humble herself, 
 that is, if she takes upon her to justify and save, she 
 then works wrath, and is fatally pernicious. And this 
 the event proved. 
 
 Hagar is taken (unseemly, as it was) into the bed of 
 Sarah. This seems to have prefigured that the law should 
 be taken into the room^of the gospel ; for as Abraham, 
 after he was married to the free-woman, turned aside to 
 the bond-maid, so his posterity, after they received the 
 promise, from whence alone they should have looked for 
 justification and everlasting life, turned aside to the law, 
 which was added for other ends, and expected from the 
 law that which the promise only can confer. Whoever 
 they be, whether of the Jewish or Christian denomination^ 
 
THE ALLEGORY OF HAGAR AND SARAH. 201 
 
 that depend upon their own righteousness, either as the 
 sole or partial cause of their salvation, they are guilty of 
 the same fault in the mystery that Abraham was in the 
 letter, when he permitted Hagar to ascend the bed of 
 her mistress. 
 
 Though Sarah was long barren, Hagar is not. The 
 birth of Lhmael is not near so difficult as the birth of 
 Isaac. It is a far easier matter for the law to gender 
 children unto bondage, than for the promise to bring 
 forth children unto liberty. Jerusalem above, or the true 
 gospel-church, labours indeed to bring forth spiritual 
 children : but ah ! how few are the children of this 
 free-woman to the vast shoals of legal professors who 
 desire to be under the law ! The most eminent preachers 
 of the gospel have had ground of complainiBg, " Lord, 
 41 who hath believed our report ?" (Isa. liii. 1.) and that 
 they laboured in vain, and spent their strength in vain, 
 and for nought. But as the womb oi S irah was at last 
 opened, after ;t had been long shut ; so, of the gospel- 
 church, her antitype, the prophet Sing, O bar- 
 4< ren, thou that didst not bear; break forth intc s:ng- 
 u ing, and cry aloud, thou that aids: not travail with 
 <c child ; for mor are the children of the desolate tnan 
 ,c the children of the married wife, 9aith the Lord," 
 (Isa. liv. 1.) 
 
 The insolent behaviour of Ishmaei. the son cf the 
 bond-maid, when he mocked the child of promise, who 
 was nobler than himself, h an emblem of the pei >ecutiflg 
 spirit of self-justiciaries against the ti ers in all 
 
 ages ; for, as he who \va^ borr aher ti t ted 
 
 him who was born after the spirit, even so it is now. 
 Witness the enmity of *he Jews against the spread ng of 
 the gospel ! Witness the Papists' bloody ragr ! \ 
 ye flames, that reduced to ashes the bodies of so many 
 
202 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK II r 
 
 noble martyrs ! Yea, and all that will live godly m Christ 
 Jesus must' be content, in one shape or another, to suffer 
 persecution. 
 
 Lastly, The sentence of exclusion from Abraham's 
 family, pronounced by the scripture against the bond- 
 woman and her son, was a sure presage of the irrevo- 
 cable doom of all the children of the law, though, like the 
 circumcised but mocking Ishmael, they are born in the 
 church, and wear the professor's badge. M Abraham," 
 says the scripture, ** rose early in the morning, took 
 ■■' bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar 
 u and the child,, and sent her away ; and she departed 
 ri and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba," | Gen* 
 xxi. 14.) Even so, the carnal Jews, though Abraham's 
 natural sec4, are now cast out from the church, and wan- 
 der through the world. And all who remain under the 
 law? and are n^t, as Isaac was, the children of the pro«* 
 mise, shall be in like manner cast out from the presence 
 ef God, and excluded from the heavenly inheritance. 
 
BOOK THIRD. 
 
 TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 I. — The Law of The Cities cf Refugz 
 
 To inspire the minds of the Israelites with the. 
 greater horror at the dreadful sin of murder, it phased 
 God, their Judge and Lawgiver, not only to appoint that 
 the murderer should be put to death> but to permit the 
 avenger of blood, or the near kinsman, to kill, with impu- 
 nity from men, the unfortunate manslayer, who, without 
 malice or design, was the instrument of taking away the 
 life of his neighbour. But, to counterbalance this permis- 
 sion, and to protect an unhappy man from the effects of 
 rash resentment, it pleased the same good God to appoint • 
 cities of refuge in his commonwealth, to which the man- 
 slayer might fly as his sanctuary from the avenger. These 
 cities were six in number ; three in the rand of Canaan, 
 and three on the other side Jordan. They belonged to 
 the tribe of Levi. The roads to them were prepared by 
 authority. And, that nothing might retard the flight of 
 the hapless manslayer, to whom every moment was pre- 
 cious, they say, the breadth of the road was thin; 
 cubits ; that where there happened to be water, it was 
 laid over with a bridge ; and that at the cross ways, the 
 inscription of Refuge, Refuge, directed where to bend his 
 course. In the city of refuge he was supplied with all 
 
 • See Numbers xxxv. Josh. xx. 
 
TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 necessary accommodations, and his life once more was 
 protected by the laws of the realm. He was not, how- 
 ever, to venture without the precincts of the hospitable 
 town ; for, if the avenger of blood should find and kill 
 him, he would not been punished as a murderer for doing 
 it. The death of the high-priest was the first thing that 
 released him from his confinement, and left him at liberty 
 to go wherever he pleased. Even so, by the death of 
 the great High-priest, the guilty sinner is rescued from 
 bondage and confinement, into the glorious liberty of the 
 sons of God. 
 
 But what we intend chiefly to notice here, is the re- 
 semblance betwixt the flight of the manslayer to the ci- 
 ties of refuge, and of the sinner to Jesus Christ, as the 
 hope set before him. And perhaps it will appear very 
 probable, that the method of our salvation was typified 
 by this Mosaic law ; at least, that here is no contempti- 
 ble allegory. 
 
 Let the manslayer be an emblem of the guilty sinner, 
 who, by violating the precept of the holy law, butchers 
 hi3 own soul, murders his neighbour, and, in some man- 
 ner, assassinates God himself, whose very being is struck 
 at by the commission of every sin. 
 
 Let the avenger of blood denote the inexorable justice 
 of an angry God, whose wrath it is alike impossible to 
 shun or to endure : the dreadful curse of the condemning 
 law, whose quiver is filled with the arrows of every divine 
 threatening; the envenomed sting of a resentful conscience, 
 which, infixed in the soul, can make it a terror to itself 
 and all around ; or death, the grizly king of terrors, the 
 universal destroyer of the nations, through fear of whom 
 many are held in bondage all their lifetime. Yea, what 
 creature is not ready, at the slightest intimation of the 
 
THE LAW OF THE CITIES OF REFUGE. 205 
 
 divine will to start up an avenger of its Creator's quarrel 
 against the obnoxious criminal ? 
 
 Let the cities of refuge represent the glorious Imma- 
 nuel, and his blessed mediation. These cities pertained 
 to the promised land, and were to be found no where 
 else. So the salvation of Jesus Christ is exhibited in the 
 church : " Upon mount Zion there *hall be deliverance;" 
 (Obadiah 17.) <l and God is known in her palaces for a 
 u refuge,". (Psal. xlviii. 2.) They belonged to the priest- 
 ly tribe ; and the priestly office of the Redeemer is that 
 branch of his character which affords the most immediate 
 relief to the sin-burdened soul. They were six in num- 
 ber, and scattered through the territories of Israel at con- 
 venient distances, that wherever the misfortune should 
 happen, the manslayer might not have far to go to one 
 or other "of them. May not this p«t us in mind, that our 
 Redeemer is a present help in trouble ? to find whom we 
 need neither climb up into heaven, nor dive into the bot- 
 tom of the sea ; for the word is nigh unto us ; and in 
 this word the great Jehovah brings near his righteous- 
 ness and his salvation. The patency and plainness of the 
 roads that led to these cities of protection may occasion 
 our reflecting on much the same thing. Guihy, con- 
 demned, trembling sinner, see how thy city of refuge ex- 
 pands her gates! how the stumbling-blocks are removed! 
 how the way is prepared ! how the law is satisfied, jus- 
 tice atoned, and God reconciled ! how the wayfaring 
 man, though a fool, needs not err in the way of holiness! 
 Nothing, nothing ought to retard thy present flight 
 unto the hope set before thee, or hinder thy present 
 trusting in Christ for everlasting salvation from sin, and 
 its dreadful consequences. 
 
 But who is he that thus flies for refuge to Jesus Christ 
 from the inexorable justice of an angry God, and from 
 
 S • 
 
206 
 
 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK III. 
 
 the dreadful curse of a condemning law ? If the man- 
 slayer had not been conscious of the deed, and apprehen- 
 sive of the kinsman's resentment on that account, he 
 would not have judged it necessary to save himself by 
 flight. And if he could have thought of a better expe- 
 dient to insure his safety, he would not have fled to a city 
 where he must long remain a prisoner", and in exile. But 
 necessity, hard necessity, drove him to it as his only sanc- 
 tuary. Even so, the refugee who flies to Jesus Christ 
 from the avenging wrath of God, is a person in whose 
 heart is wrought a conviction of his guilt, an apprehen- 
 sion of his danger, and a despair of every other refuge. 
 Formerly he had a very favourable opinion of himself, 
 and his convictions of moral guilt were so general and 
 moderate, as to sit easy upon his mind, without wounding 
 his rest. He thought it no difficult matter to elude the 
 divine threatenings, and imagined himself secure, because 
 he was thoughtless of danger. The secrecy of sin, the 
 example of the multitude, the hope, of long life, the dis- 
 tance of the day of judgment, the presumption of God's 
 mercy, his privileges and reputation as a member of the 
 church ; these, and such like things, he fled unto as a 
 -sanctuary from his melancholy thoughts. Or, perhaps, 
 he stilled the enemy and avenger of an accusing conscience 
 with business, with recreations, with sensual indulgences. 
 But now a dreadful sound of vengeance is in his ears. 
 He sees the heinous guilt of his iniquities — hears, with 
 Adam, the voice of God — knows not where to hide his 
 guilty head — looks on his right hand, and beholds, but 
 there is no shelter; ail refuge fails him, and no man cares 
 for his soul. The method of salvation by Christ unfolds 
 unto his view. " This is the way, w?.lk vein it," (Isa. 
 xxx. 21.) says the voice from heaver ; a r nd, " Turn to 
 M this strongrhold, thou prisoner of hope, 1 ' (Zech. ix. 1 2.) 
 
THE LAW OF THE CITIES OF REFUGE. 207 
 
 And as the man who flies for his life from a pursuing 
 enemy will can away from him any thing, however va- 
 luable, that would cumber and detain him, so he parts 
 at once both with his sins and with his own righteous- 
 nesses ; and what things were gain to him he counts 
 them loss, that he may win Christ, and be found in him. 
 He cries ui;to him, and Fays, " O Lord, thou art my 
 u refuge ; attend unto my cry, for I am brought very 
 11 low ; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are 
 " stronger than I !" ^Psal. cxlii. 5. 6.) 
 
 It was noc only required of the mansiayer that he should 
 fly to the city of refuge for once, but he was to remain 
 there till the death of the high-priest. Nor is it sufficient 
 to believe in Christ for once, without abiding in him as 
 our sure defence. Our High-Piiest never dies ; therefore 
 should we abide in our refuge for ever ; " fer in returning 
 " and rest shall we be saved , in quietness and in confi- 
 f* dence shall be our strength/' (Isa. xxx. 15 ) 
 
 The protection ?,ff;rded to all, both Jew9 and Gentiles, 
 (for there was no difference, ) who fled to these cities of 
 refuge, is no despicable representation of the ability in Jesus 
 Christ to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by 
 him. Soon as the wretched mansiayer reached the wished 
 town, where he was legally secure of life, ard where (they 
 sa) ) no weapons were allowed to be made or sold, he 
 could talk with the avenger without turning pale ; though 
 before his throbbing heart beat high with the impulse of 
 fear, while he thought that every man he met would slay 
 him. Even so, the miserable sinner who has obtained a 
 discovery of his guilt, and been harassed, perhap?, for some 
 considerable time with a fearful looking-for of judgment, 
 his soul draws uigh unto the grave, and hi/ life unto the 
 destroyers : the moment he finds his rest in Christ, by 
 believing in him for life and salvation, he can sit and a«- 
 
 2 
 
208 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK III. 
 
 swer all his accusers, and talk with every' enemy and 
 avenger. " O enemy, destructions are come to a perpe- 
 u tual.end," (Psal. ix 6.) H Who shall lay any thing to 
 " the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth; 
 " it is Christ that died," (Rom. viii. 33. 34.) Produce 
 your charge, O law ! and death, where is thy sting ? 
 
 We shall, lastly, observe the superior excellency of our 
 New Testament refuge to these ancient cities of protec- 
 lion. In ^all things he has the pre-eminence. None 
 were to be finally privileged in these cities but the man-, 
 slayer, who- was not indeed guilty of any crime, but ra- 
 ther ill-fated and unhappy. If the wilful murderer had 
 fled to any of them, or even to God's altar, he was to be 
 dragged from thence to suffer condign punishment. But 
 none were ever dragged from Jesus Christ, who fled un- 
 to him by faith, to return again unto condemnation, how- 
 ever atrocious their crimes, however flagrant their guilt. 
 Here murderers, adulterers, blasphemers, persecutors, 
 and the most execrable characters that ever the sun be- 
 held, have been for ever delivered from their Judge. — 
 These ancient towns defended only the natural life from 
 the avenger's sword, which was to be, however, soon 
 paid as a debt to nature. But if Jesus Christ is our 
 refuge, he will rescue us from everlasting vengeance ; he 
 will gi\e unto us eternal life, and we shall never perish. 
 The refugees in the old cities of refuge were indeed 
 secured in their lives by the laws of the land. But the 
 promise of God, that cannot lie, and the oath of God, 
 which cannot be recalled, are two immutable things, by 
 which their eternal happiness is secured, who have fled 
 for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them. 
 c;ppy believer, thy consolation is strong indeed ; strong- . 
 er than the afflictions of life, stronger than the fear of 
 death, and stronger than tie terror of judgment. Why 
 
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 209 
 
 ihouldst thou not dismiss thy fears, when thy never-end- 
 ing safety from the most dreadful dangers is so amply 
 secured, that God himself, for whom it is impossible to 
 lie, would (O blasphemous thought I ) be perjured, 
 shouldst thou ever come into condemnation i " The eter- 
 " nal God is thy refuge," (Deut. xxxiii,27.) "averypre- 
 " sent help in trouble, though the earth be removed, and 
 M though the mountains be carried into the midst of the 
 ** sea, though the waters thereof roar., and be troubled,' * 
 (Psal. xW. 1. 2. 3.) 
 
 II. — The Tabernacle in the Wilderness. * ! 
 
 The tabernacle which Moses made in the wilder 
 Bess, by the special-appointment of the God of Israel,, 
 was the first religious structure in which the eternal 
 Majesty vouchsafed to dwell on the earth. It was a, 
 sort of portable temple, and not unfitly esteemed the 
 centre of the ceremonial worship. The materials of it 
 were collected by the voluntary contributions of the 
 children of Israel, who, upon this occasion, offered so 
 liberally, that Moses" found it necessary to stop them by 
 a new proclamation.. The pattern of it was minutely 
 described to Moses in the mount by God himself, who 
 ordered him to be very exact in executing the heavenly 
 plan. Two famous artists, whose names are Bezaleel 
 and Aholiab, were inspired by the Spirit of God with 
 most exquisite and masterly skill, to finish the holy 
 fabric, and its utensils, according to the divine plan. If 
 you are curious to know the construction of this sacred 
 tent, you may take this short description of it. 
 
 First of all, there was a spacious court, an hundred 
 cubits long, and fifty broad. It was hung round with 
 * See Exod* xxv. jxyi. xxvii. 
 
 3 
 
210 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK III, 
 
 curtains of fine twined linen, that were fastened wkh 
 silver hooks to pillars with sockets of brass, filleted with 
 silver. The gate by which you entered to this wide area 
 was a hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, and scar- 
 Jet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle-work, 
 and suspended by four pillars. This outward court the 
 whole nation might enter on their solemn festivals, as it" 
 is said, " Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and 
 4( into his courts with praise," (PsaL c. 4.) Here, under 
 the open sky, stood the altar of burnt-offering, and the 
 brazen laver. 
 
 Within the circumference of this wide and open court 
 was the tabernacle itself, into which none but the tribe 
 of Levi were allowed to enter, to accomplish the service 
 of God. It was a close tent, twenty cubits long, ten 
 cubits broad, and its height equal to its breadth. It was 
 constructed of boards of Shittim wood, of regular di- 
 mensions, running into one another. These boards were 
 supported beneath with sockets of silver, and corrobo- 
 rated behind with bars of the same wood, overlaid with 
 gold, and fastened by golden rings, through which they 
 passed. Do you ask, what was the roof of this magnifi- 
 cent tent ? First, it was covered with ten curtains of equal 
 measure, of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and 
 scarlet, embroidered with cherubims, and coupled with 
 loops of blue, and taches of gold. Then it was covered 
 with eleven curtains of goats' hair, hung together by 
 taches of brass. Next, it was covered with rams' skins . 
 dyed red; and, above all, there was a covering of badgers* 
 skins to protect the tabernacle and its coverings from the 
 injuries of the weather. 
 
 But though these boards and curtains, thus joined to- 
 gether, made but one tabernacle, this one tabernacle was 
 divided into two apartments. The first was called the 
 
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 211 
 
 holy place, into which you entered through a vail or hang- 
 ing of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, 
 curiously embroidered, supported with five pillars of 
 Shittim wood, overlaid with gold, and their bases of 
 brass, and fastened with golden hooks. Here stood the 
 golden table, the golden candlestick, and the golden 
 ' altar. The second was called the most holy place, into 
 which the high-priest, and none but he, did enter once 
 in the year, through a second vail, of the same materials 
 with the first, broidered with cherubims, and fastened by 
 golden taches to four pillars of Shittim wood, overlaid 
 with gold, and their bases of silver. In this sacred 
 chamber of the Deity were reposited the most sacred 
 symbols of the divine presence. Here was the ark of 
 the covenant, covered by the mercy-seat, and over it the 
 cherubims of glory, between which Jehovah himself was 
 said to dwell. Here was the golden pot that had manna, 
 and the miraculous rod of Aaron that budded. And 
 here the appearance of the glory of the Lord is supposed 
 to have resided, and been seen on special occasions. 
 
 Such was the structure of this holy tent, which was 
 built in the taste of Heaven, reared up by the inspiration 
 of the Holy Ghost, and consecrated by Moses. And we 
 must not forget this one thing, that it was a moveable 
 pavilion, and therefore so contrived as to be easily taken 
 down, and set up again. While the peculiar people so- 
 journed in the wilderness, the tabernacle shared the same- 
 fate, being transported from place to place by the mini- 
 stry of the Levites. When- they possessed the promised 
 land, at first it rested at Gilgal, afterwards in Shiloh; in 
 the days of Saul, it seems to have been in Nob; and when 
 Solomon began to reign over Israel, it was pitched in 
 Gibeon. But, at the last, it was altogether superseded 
 by the magnificent temple built by that glorious mo- 
 
St 2 TYPICAL THINGS. B601C HI* 
 
 narch; and probably the costly materials of it were l©d<red 
 among the sacred treasures of the house of the Lord. 
 
 What shall we then say to these things? Did the high 
 and lofty One, whose dwelling i 3 no t with flesh, who re- 
 sides not in temples made with hands, did he stand in the 
 least need of this moveable habitation > Glorious as it 
 was, can we reasonably think it to have been a meet apart- 
 ment for the Deity, or at all adequate to the inconceive- 
 ably glorious, immense, and eternal Spirit ? What a con- 
 temptible idea of the true God would such a supposition 
 inspire into the mind 1 Away with such a grovelling 
 thought, so unworthy cf God, and shocking to reason 
 herself ! But if we suppose that these holy places mads 
 with hands were figures of heaven, cf Christ, and of the 
 church, and exhibited as such to the believing Israelites, 
 then, doubtless, we will be reconciled to that very par- 
 ticular regard the high God was pleased to show to the 
 worldly sanctuary. Then we shall be able to account for 
 that ardent affection the ancient believers confessed on all 
 occasions to the tabernacles of the Lord of hosts. Then 
 it will not appear absurd, that the same God,, who spent 
 but six days in creating the universal frame of nature,, 
 should spend no less than forty in prescribing the little 
 frame of the tabernacle. And that- these holy places, 
 made with hands, were figures of heaven, of Christ, and 
 of the church, we are now to declare. 
 
 First, then, the tabernacle of Moses was a figure of 
 heaven itself, that glorious high throne, from the begin- 
 ning. For this interpretation we have the express words, 
 of an inspired penman of the New Testament, who, speak- 
 ing of our great High-Priest, plainly declares, that " he 
 " is not entered into the holy places made with hands, 
 " which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, 
 «' now to appear in the presence of God for us," (Heb. 
 
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 213 
 
 ix. 24.) Perhaps we should not err, though we should 
 think, that as the Jewish high-priest went through the 
 outward court, and passed through the holy place into the 
 holiest of all; so Jesus Christ, when he ascended on high, 
 passed through the first heaven of clouds and the second 
 heaven of stars, into the third heaven of angels. But 
 though the most holy place was by itself alone the most 
 eminent iigure of the heavenly sanctuary, this hinders not 
 to regard the whole fabric as an emblem of the same bliss- 
 ful mansion. Was the tabernacle of Moses divided inta 
 several parts ? We know him that said, " In my Father's 
 " house are many mansions," (John xiv. 2.) Was it a 
 place of great splendour and magnificence even to the 
 eye ? " Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of the 
 M living God," (Psal. lxxxvii. 3.) Was it the dwelling 
 of Jehovah, where the visible tokens of his presence 
 were seen ? In the heavenly mansions, he unvails the 
 brightness of his glory to all the saints around him. Did 
 priests always officiate there? The saints in light are both 
 kings and priests unto God. Were the curtains broidered 
 with cherubims ? In the celestial abodes are the innu- 
 merable company of angels. Was it replenished with all 
 necessary furniture and provision ? In heaven is the true 
 light, and the living bread, fulness of joy, and pleasures 
 for ever more. Did the voice of praise continually resound 
 in the earthly tabernacle ? The eternal regions are for ever 
 filled with loud hosannas. Was holiness and legal purity 
 required in all who trode the venerable courts of God's 
 ancient dwelling-place ? Nothing that is defiled can enter 
 the heavenly Jerusalem. And, lastly, as the tabernacle 
 was sprinkled with blood by the Jewish high-priest, when 
 he penetrated its innermost recesses once in the year, with- 
 the names of all the tribes engraven on his heart ; even 
 so, the blood of Jesus Christ has consecrated that high 
 
214 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK III. 
 
 and holy place, that sinners of the human kind might not 
 be for ever excluded from dwelling in the beatific pre- 
 sence of Jehovah. When the everlasting gates of hea- 
 ven were by sin barred for ever against us, the blood of 
 Christ was the key that opened them again ; and the 
 believers in his atoning blood may enter into heaven it- 
 self, with greater boldness, than the high-priest when he 
 went into the holiest of all ; than the Levites when they 
 officiated in the holy place; or than the people when 
 they approached the outward court. 
 
 A second thing which the tabernacle of Moses did most 
 undoubtedly represent, was the person and future incarna- 
 tion of the Messias himself, who was made flesh in the ap- 
 pointed time, and tabernacled among us, and who spake 
 of hfs own body, when he said to the Jews, " Destroy this 
 €t temple, and I will raise ir up in three days," (John n\ 
 xix.) Was the tabernacle a work of heavenly architec- 
 ture ? The human nature of our Lord was prepared by 
 his heavenly Father, and curiously wrought, by the ope- 
 ration of the Holy Ghost, in the lower parts of the earth. 
 Was it the habitation of the Deity ? " In him dwells all 
 " the fulness of the Godhead bodily/' (Col ii. 9.) . Was- 
 it anointed with holy oil ? The most holy humanity of 
 our Lord was anointed with the Spirit, which God gave 
 not by measure unto him. Was it embellished with a 
 variety of ornaments ? He was adorned with every divine 
 grace. Was it taken down by the Levites, and removed 
 from place to place, till at last it was conveyed to Jeru- 
 salem, where ic remained in the temple ? The human na- 
 ture of our Lv)rd was dissolved by death ; reared up again 
 by his resurrection ; and, lastly, translated into the hea- 
 venly temple, which must contain him till the tfir.e oi the 
 restitution of all things. Was the tabernacle the place 
 where God met with Israel ? Here he communed with 
 
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 215 
 
 them ; here they presented their gifts, and slew their 
 sacrifices, and even prayed with their faces towards it, 
 though at the remotest distance. It is easy to see here a 
 lively figure of the one Mediator between God and man. 
 In Christ alone we have a clear revelation of the divine 
 will; and by him must we present our spiritual sacrifices, 
 and do in his name whatsoever we do, whether in word 
 or deed. We shall only add, that as there were two 
 apartments, the holy and the most holy place, which 
 made, however, but cne tabernacle ; so, in Christ, there 
 is a human nature, signified by the holy place, and a di- 
 vine nature, represented by the holiest of all ; yet these 
 two natures are mysteriously united in one person. 
 
 The third and last thing prefigured by the tabernacle 
 is the church, that holy society and mystical body of Je- 
 susChri^t, which, in cripture-style, isthe hou?e and temple 
 of the living God, in which he dwells and walks. We 
 shall enumerate some of the most glaring parallels between 
 them. The tabernacle was planned by the wisdom of 
 God himself, vvho condescended to adjust the minutest 
 particulars, as the loops, the taches, and the pins, and 
 peremptorily required that all things should be done ac- 
 cording to the original pattern. And who knows not 
 that all things in the gospel-church are planned by the 
 same unerring wisdom, and how much the sovereign Ar- 
 chitect has testified his displeasure in every age against the 
 inventions of men in things pertaining to God ? " All hat 
 <; I command you, that shall ye do; ye shall not adc\ ye 
 " shall not diminish," y.Deut. xii. 32.) This is rhe lawr, 
 this is the prophets, and this is the doctrine of Christ and 
 his apostles. The tabernacle was executed by the inspi- 
 ration of the Hoiy Ghost, who rested on Bezak 
 Aholiab, to fie them for this service, without wh-. 
 were no more capable of it than other men. It was the 
 
£16 TYPICAL THINGS. BOOK Ilf. 
 
 same Spirit that descended on the blessed apostles, the 
 wise master builders of the gospel-church, without which 
 they could not been qualified for their honourable work. 
 Yea, it is the Holy Ghost, who, by his common gifts, 
 makes ordinary ministers workmen that need not be 
 ashamed. The tabernacle was composed of very di&erent 
 materials, as gold, silver, wood, brass, scarlet, blue, and 
 purple cloth, fine linen, rams' skins, badgers' skins, and 
 goats' hair; yet all these different materials, combined by 
 the workman's skill, conduced each in their kind to the 
 beauty and perfection of the structure ; and the gold 
 could not say to the brass, nor the scarlet to the goats' 
 hair, " I have no need of you," (1 Cor. xii. 21.) So, in 
 the spiritual house, the materials of which it is composed, 
 that isj the believers in Christ Jesus, arc men of divers 
 nations, different stations in life, unlike natural tempers, 
 unequal gifts and graces, and various ministries ; yet be- 
 ing fitly framed together, by the operation of the Holy 
 Ghost, they grow into an holy temple in the Lord. The 
 symmetry of the ancient tabernacle, the nice conjunction 
 of the boards by mortises and bars, and of the curtains 
 by loops and taches, was not so delightful to the eye of 
 the body as it is pleasant to the eye of the mind, to see 
 brethren dwelling together in unity, perfectly joined to- 
 gether in the same mind, and in the same judgment, and 
 carefully endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in 
 the bond of peace. The tabernacle was covered with 
 many coverings, with fine twined linen, with blue, purple* 
 and scarlet, with rams' skins dyed red, with goats' hair, 
 with badgers' skins. By this means it was rendered ex- 
 tremely close, and finely protected from the injuries of the 
 weather. May not this recal to our mind the ample pro- 
 tection and security of the gospel-church from the heat 
 of God's anger, and from all worldly tribulations, under 
 
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 217 
 
 the rich, the strong, and the broad purple covering of Im- 
 manuePs righteousness? For, " the Lord is their keeper ; 
 M the Lord i« their shade on their right hand ; the sun 
 " shall not smite them by day, nor the moon by night ; 
 " the Lord- will preserve them from all evil; the Lord 
 " will preserve their soul," (Psal. cxxi. 5. 6. 70 The ta- 
 bernacle was ornamented with gold and silver, and cu- 
 rior., embroideries ; and though without it was not inele- 
 gant, it was, however, most magnificent within. Even 
 io, the beauty of the gospel-sanctuary does not so jruich 
 strike the eye of sense that looks at the outward appear- 
 ance, as it is obvious to the spiritual sight that iooks at 
 B unseen. Would you discern the true glory of the 
 spouse of Jesus Christ, look not at her face, because the 
 sun hath looked upon her ; but the King's daughter is 
 all glorious within. The tabernacle was anointed with 
 oil when Moses consecrated it ; and the church has an 
 unction from the holy One. The tabernacle was once di- 
 vided into several partitions. The outward court might: 
 denote the visible church ; the holy place is an emblem 
 of the church invisible ; and the holiest of all represents 
 the church triumphant in glory, to which corfe are ad- 
 mitted but the royal priesthood. By baptism we enter 
 into the first, by regeneration into the second, and by 
 death into the third. O death, it is thine to pull aside 
 the vail of mortality that interposes between the hoi) and 
 the most holy place ! Happy they who enter by faith, 
 and not by a visible profession only, into his sanctuary, 
 which he has sanctified for evermore. For, as there was 
 no possibility of coming at the holiest of all. but by pass- 
 ing through the holy place ; even so it is imp ble, if 
 we are not now partakers of his holiness, to be hercaiter 
 sharers of his glory. 
 
 T 
 
218 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III, 
 
 III. — The Temple of Solomon. 
 The second and last material habitation of Je- 
 hovah was the temple, which Solomon, that magnificent 
 monarch, reared upon the hill Moriah in Jerusalem, the 
 metropolis of his kingdom, to the honour of the God of 
 Israel. The plan of it was dictated by the Spirit unto 
 his father David, who was prohibited from executing it 
 himself, because of the bloody wars he had waged in the 
 course of his life. The workmen were partly Israelites, 
 and partly Gentiles of Tyre. The materials were the 
 best trees, the most precious metals, and large hewn 
 stones, prepared and fitted for one another, before they 
 were laid upon the foundation, that the noise of axes and 
 hammers might not be heard as the building rose, 
 (1 Kings vL 7.) The structure itself was sixty cubits 
 long, twenty broad, and thirty cubits high, and, like the 
 tabernacle, consisted of two apartments, the holy and 
 the most holy place, or oracle. You entered this temple 
 on the east by a stately porch, which was higher than the 
 edifice itself by ninety cubits, and may be considered as 
 the steeple of that sacred palace. The length of this 
 porch was equal to the breadth of the principal house, 
 and the breadth was the half of that length. Here stood 
 the two famous brazen pillars, whose names were Jachin 
 and Boa%> that is, stability and strength ; though they 
 were placed there not for the support, but for the orna- 
 ment of the house. Two open courts surrounded the 
 whole fabric, and side-chambers were built round about 
 against the wall. A row of narrow windows, that sloped 
 within, illuminated the dome The strength and beauty 
 of God's sanctuary were the main things that distinguish- 
 ed this finished piece of architecture ; for the dimensions 
 were far from being wide, but it was supported by a strong 
 foundation of large and costly stones, aHd ornamented 
 
THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON. 219 
 
 within in the most splendid manner, with planks of cedar, 
 plates of gold, glittering diamonds, and figures of palm- 
 trees and cherubims. This was that holy and beautiful 
 house which the Chaldeans were permitted to demoli 
 for the first time, and the Romans for the second time, 
 a thousand years after the first foundation was laid. Se- 
 venteen hundred years have now elapsed since the final 
 desolation of this solemn temple, which never more shall 
 rise beneath the builder's hand; for it is the will of God, 
 that in every place, and not in Jerusalem alone, lie should 
 be worshipped in spirit and in truth. 
 
 As the temple of Solomon was built for the same end 
 with the tabernacle of Moses, without all doubt the typi- 
 cal meaning of the one and the other was also the same. 
 Was the tabernacle a figure of heaven, of Christ, and of 
 the church ? So also was the temple. It was a figure of 
 heaven, the glorious habitation of God and angels, where 
 the righteous — flourish like the palm-trees that were 
 carved on the walls — serve him continually, like the 
 priests that entered into the sanctuary — and go no more 
 out, being established for ever, like the pillars that graced 
 the porch of that holy place. And as the stones which 
 Solomon used were all hewn and prepared before they 
 were brought there, so all the stones of the celestial house, 
 or the members of the triumphant church, are afore pre- 
 pared unto glory. Now is the time when their natural 
 roughness and asperity are taken away by the skilful ope- 
 ration of the divine Spirit, and the various afflictions of 
 this life which exercise them in this vale of tears, that 
 they may rest for ever and ever in the calm regions of 
 everlasting peace, where no jarring sound is heard, any- 
 more than there was of axes and hammers in the building 
 of the temple. It was also a figure of the humanity of 
 the Messiah, who spake of the temple of his body, when 
 
 9 
 
220 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III, 
 
 lie said, " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will 
 " raise it up," (John ii. 1. 9«) But, without resuming 
 what has been already hinted on this head, let us only 
 further observe, that the temple was, equally as the ta- 
 bernacle, a figure of that holy society the church, which 
 is his body, whether we consider the plan, the materials, 
 the workmen, or the building itself. 
 
 The plan of the temple was designed by God no less 
 than that of the tabernacle. Nor could any wisdom in- 
 ferior to divine have adjusted the model of the spiritual 
 house, which the angels themselves admire. The mate- 
 rials were prepared, and the stones fitted to one another, 
 before they were compacted together, so that noisy tools 
 were wholly unnecessary as the building arose. An ex- 
 pressive emblem this of that peaceful harmony which 
 ought to reign among the builders of the church as they 
 carry on this holy work, and which would be easily at- 
 tained, if none but polished lively stones, or persons duly 
 qualified, were admitted to become a part of the fabric. 
 The workmen were Gentiles of Tyre, as well as Israel- 
 ites. Was not this a prelude of the future vocation of 
 the Gentiles, that even the sons of the strangers, and 
 those that were afar off, should bear a part in building 
 the walls of the gospel- church ? 
 
 Chiefly let us corlsider the building itself. It was sup- 
 ported by a strong foundation. What should this be in 
 the antitype but Jesus Christ, the foundation which God 
 hath laid in Zion, on which all the apostles and prophets 
 have built themselves and others from the beginning of 
 the world, and to which alone the church is indebted for 
 that unshaken stability which laughs at all opposition ? 
 It was illuminated with many windows. For the church 
 is a lightsome house, in which the true light shines. It 
 was surrounded with side-chambers. Emblems, perhaps, 
 
THE ORDINANCE OP THE ARK, $C. 221 
 
 ef the different visible churches, which belong to the 
 same universal body. It was adorned with gold a' 
 dar, and its very floor was crusted with the most precious 
 metal. This may remind us of the invisible glory of the 
 church, where the meanest office is honourable, and the 
 meanest member excellent. It was graved with chcro- 
 and pa ] m trees. This may denote the n 
 
 in the church, a :d the eternal verdure of all that 
 are planted in the house cf the Lord. It w _ 
 with pillars; 'though ill, alas! did they answer their 
 name. Where was their stability, where was their 
 strength, when the Chaldean*; carried them away? But 
 pillars of heaven tremble, trie pillar? of the 
 a id, and thus ihe gracious premise runs 
 to eve. sanest believer, " Him that overcometb, 
 
 [ make a pillar in the temple of my God, and 
 •* he shall gc do more out, ; (Rev. iii. 12.) It was inha- 
 bited by the Deity, and a house of prayer for all people. 
 
 the church, are the visible tokens cf the divine pre- 
 sence, and holmess becomes it for ever. It was reple- 
 nished with costly furniture ; and in Christ Jesus, ihe 
 gospel church really possesses all the holy utensils uf the 
 ancient temple. Bur this must be more largely dec 
 
 First, The Ordinance of the Ark and Mercy-Seat. 
 
 fld we begin in enumerating the holy uten- 
 sils and furniture of the tabern 
 
 illed ike ark. (Josh. iv. 11.) 
 sometimes the ark cf his strength^ (Psal. exxxii. \ 
 ark of the covenant, (Numb. x. 
 mony, (Exod. xxvi. 33.) and the ark whose m 
 ed by the name of the God of Lrael P (2 Sam. * 
 may we esteem it the heart of the world. 
 was the first holy implement the inspired art i 
 o 
 
222 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 formed, and resided in the most venerable apartment of 
 the holy places made with hands. Its dimensions were 
 small, but its materials were rich and magnificent. It 
 was made of the best cedar or Shittim wood, and overlaid 
 with pure gold both within and without. It was edged 
 round with a border or coronet, and covered above with 
 a lid of the same precious metal, called the mercy seat* 
 For the convenience of carriage from place to place, in 
 the ambulatory state of their commonwealth, there were 
 fastened to its four corners so many golden rings, into 
 which they put staves of Shittim wood, overlaid with gold, 
 that were never taken out, but suffered to remain even 
 after the ark rested in the temple, and ceased to be a 
 burden to the shoulders of the Levites. Within this 
 splendid chest were depoeited the two tables of stone that 
 were hewed by Moses, after the first were broken, and 
 inscribed with the finger of God. Before it (as is most 
 probable) were laid up the miraculous bread, that was pre- 
 served in a pot, and the miraculous rod of Aaron, that 
 blossomed and brought forth fruit. The first was a stand- 
 ing memorial of the choice regard of Heaven to the 
 whole nation of Israel ; and the last was a perpetual sign 
 of his favour to the priesdy tribe of Levi, and family of 
 Aaron. Above it two cherubims of beaten gold, arising 
 out of the two ends of the mercy-seat, and looking to- 
 wards it and one another, stretched out their wings. Be- 
 sides these small cherubims, there were other two of gi- 
 gantic stature, which Solomon reared up in the most ho- 
 ly place of the temple. But their precise shape is per- 
 haps impossible for us, at this distance of time, certainly 
 to be defined. This was that venerable utensil which it 
 was death to touch or look into, unless by the persons ap- 
 pointed for that purpose. The sudden fate of Uzzah> 
 
THE ORDINANCE OP THE ARK, SrC. 223 
 
 and the severe correction of the men of Bethshetrush, are 
 dreadful instances of its vengeance. 
 
 When Israel marched through the wilderness, the aTk 
 is said to have gone before, and explored a place of rest 
 for the congregation. The parted wave of Jordan, and 
 the falling walls of Jericho, confessed its power. Once it 
 was a prisoner in a heathen temple; but, Palestine, short 
 was your victory, small was your cause of triumph! Soon 
 were the proud enemies obliged to refund their spoil, and 
 Dagon could neither defend himself nor his worshippers 
 from perpetual infamy. Once it blessed the house of 
 Obed-edom. But at last, after many removals, the splen- 
 did temple of Solomon received it for several ages ; where, 
 as is most likely, it perished in the common ruin of that 
 holy and beautiful house. But the subject of our present 
 inquiry is the mystic signification of that sacred instru- 
 ment, for the reception of which both the tabernacle was 
 reared up and the temple built. 
 
 And, first, it was a visible representation of the throne 
 of Jehovah, the King of Israel, whose royal palace was 
 the temple. The law in the midst of the ark, on which 
 he sat, signified the equity of his government, or that jus- 
 tice and judgment are the habitation of his throne. The 
 cherubims, at both ends of the mercy-seat, were doubtless 
 emblematical figures of the blessed elect angels that sur- 
 round his throne, and fly swiftly to execute his high com- 
 mands. The gold of which they were framed, may signi- 
 fy the purity of their essence. The number two may per- 
 haps denote the perfect harmony and mutual love of the 
 innumerable company of angels. The position of their 
 faces towards each other may intimate the same thing. 
 The adoring attitude of their bodies may represent the pro- 
 found veneration they have for their eternalsovereign ; and 
 their flying posture (for their wings were expanded, and 
 
224 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK lit. 
 
 touched one another) did surely indicate the expeditious 
 alacrity with which they fulfil the heavenly commissions* 
 
 It was also a repository for the tables of the law, which 
 were the instrument of that solemn covenant made betwixt 
 God and that peculiar people, (an emblem of the cove- 
 nant of Adam j) and heiiCe i^ was a perpetual pledge of 
 the divine favour and protection to their nation, if they 
 fulfilled their obligations to the King of heaven ; and a 
 witness against them, if they should prove unfaithful. The 
 gold and cedar was a fit emblem of the invaluable worth, 
 the spotless purity, and the perpetuaj duration of the en- 
 closed law. In imitation of this ordinance of the God of 
 Jacob, the sacred chests of the heathen seem to have been 
 invented, to contain the holy books or mysteries of their 
 superstition. 
 
 But especially it may be considered as a figure 6f Je- 
 1 sus Christ, the promised Messias, whom all the holy things 
 seem to have pointed out with one consent. Therr, vill 
 appear to be no contemptible likeness betwixt him and 
 this most holy vessel, if we attend unto the following 
 thing* ; the materials of which it was Framed; the depo- 
 sition which it contained ; its ornaments ; ite 
 virtues ; and, lastly, its removajs from one pi 
 other, till it rested in the temple. 
 
 The materials of the ark were cedar and gold. What 
 hinders us from this to think upon the constitution of hi*3 
 wonderful person whose humanity is like the ceda 
 fruit of the earth, bur not subject to corrupt!. • 
 divinity, like the gold in the ark, embosoms his hi 
 nature, ennobles, but is not blended with it ? The depo- 
 situm if contained were the second tables of the law ; for 
 the first tables were broken before. In Jesus Chris rr ay 
 see that law which we had broke preserved in% 
 perfectly fuifiiled in the immaculate obedience of his holv 
 
THE ORDINANCE OF THE ARK, eye. 22* 
 
 life ; who says of himself, " I delight to do thy will, O 
 " God ; thy law is within my heart," (Psal. xl. 8.) Its 
 ornaments were the border of gold resembling a crewn ; 
 which reminds us of the Messiah's regal dignity; and the 
 cherubims of glory, which signified, say some, the two 
 natures of that glorious person who was signified by the 
 whole workmanship ; say others, the twofold church of 
 Jews and Gentiles: but rather they were emblems of the 
 angels, those bright and glorious creatures, who are sup- 
 ported in their happy state by Jesus Christ, as the cheru- 
 bims were by the ark ; who desire to look into the mys- 
 tery of man's redemption, and pry into it with the most 
 unwearied attention, the most sublime satisfaction, the 
 highest wonder, and the profoundest adoration; and who 
 are all ministering spirits, ascending and descending upon 
 the Son of man. The uses of the ark were various and 
 important. Here God was enthroned. So God is in 
 Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Here the law 
 was covered from all eyes. So Jesus Christ, our true pro- 
 pitiatory, interposes himself betwixt us and that condemn- 
 ing law which never fails to curse and kill all who pre- 
 sume to meddle with.it, but as fulfilled in him; for, when 
 the commandment comes without him who fulfilled it, sin 
 will revive, and, like the men of Bethshemisb, we will die. 
 Here oracles were given, and " Here," said God to 
 Moses, " will I meet with thee, and commune with thee, 
 *' from between the cherubims, before the mercy-seat, 
 u upon the ark of the testimony," (Exod. xxv. 22.) So 
 Christ is the meeting-place of God with man, in whom he 
 designs to reveal his gracious will and pleasure to the fallen 
 creature : hence he is called u the word of Gcd," (Rev. 
 xix. 13.) and is said to declare God the Father, who 
 never was, and never can be, seen by any man. And, last- 
 ly, here prayers were presented, and offerings were ac- 
 
226 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK HI. 
 
 cepted; for the most holy Israelite durst not approach the 
 presence of Jehovah, but as he sat upon the mercy-seat 
 sprinkled with blood. Nor could the holiest Christian 
 presume to hope for the acceptance of his best duties, 
 were it not for the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. The 
 virtues of the ark are such as these. It searched out a rest- 
 ing-place for Israel in the wilderness. So Christ is to his 
 people the breaker of their way, who goes before them, 
 gives them rest, and prepares for them a place. It open- 
 ed a passage for the ransomed tribes through the river 
 Jordan. O Jesus, by thee we safely pass through the Jor- 
 dan of death, and have abundant entrance ministered into 
 the heavenly kingdom, because these waters shall not over- 
 sow them who have his presence with them, according to 
 his promise ! It overturned the walls of Jericho, when 
 carried round them seven days. So shall the w r alls of Ba- 
 bylon fall, and every high thine that exalts itself against 
 God be cast down, by the preaching of his gospel, which 
 is the power of God and wisdom of God. It overthrew 
 Dagon of the Philistines in his own temple, maimed his 
 brute image, and utterly abolished that monstrous idol. 
 So shall he that sits in the temple of God, and shows him- 
 self that he is God, be destroyed by the spirit of his mouth, 
 and brightness of his coming. It sanctified the places to 
 which it came, in the opinion of Solomon himself ; and 
 blessed the house of Obed-edom, where it transiently re* 
 sided. It is the presence of Christ that makes us holy 
 and happy ; and in him we are blessed with every spiritual 
 blessing. ' The removal of the ark from place to place 
 in the wilderness, and in Canaan, till it rested in the temple, 
 shall we say, bears some faint resemblance to the humbled 
 Redeemer, going about doing good while he was upon 
 the arth, until the everlasting doors of heaven were open- 
 ed to receive him ? Or, was the bearing of the ark about 
 
THE ORDINANCE OP THE OOLDEX TABLE. 227 
 
 upon the shoulders of the Levites, a figure of the mini- 
 sters of Christ bearing his na-ne among the Gentiles, in 
 all the corners of the world ? The staves remained always 
 in the ark ; perhaps to intimate, that no place or nation 
 is absolutely secure against his departure from them who 
 have no suitable esteem for his gracious presence with 
 them, in the dispensation of the eternal word. 
 
 It is long since the Babylonians destroyed this glory of 
 Israel ; but we have an ark whereunto they have ho right 
 to approach who serve the tabernacle. John saw it in 
 the heavenly temple. The Old-Testament ark, like the 
 covenant it confirmed, is vanished away. But the New 
 Testament Ark, in whom the new covenant stands fa-:t, 
 shall abide for ever in the presence of Jehovah. Nor is 
 it death for any to look into this ark ; for the Word of 
 life was looked upon with the eyes, and handled with the 
 hands of men. Let it be our one and chief desire, that 
 all the days of our life we may abide in his house, behold 
 his beauty, and inquire in his temple. 
 
 Secondly, The Ordinance of the Golden Table. 
 
 The table of the show-bread was a principal part of 
 the apparatus of the middle court or sanctuary, and a 
 piece of very nice and costly workmanship. Like the 
 ark, it was made of gold and cedar, ornamented with 
 a golden border and crown, furnished with golden rings 
 for carriage, and with golden dishes, and other necessary 
 utensils. On this pure table were laid twelve loaves, 
 according to the number of the tribes. They were made 
 of fine flour, and piled up in two rows, crowned with 
 frankincense. Thus they stood continually before the 
 Lord, but were renewed every Sabbath morning ; and 
 the stale bread was to be eaten by none but the priests in 
 the holy place. 
 
228 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 As to the meaning of this service, perhaps it was a con- 
 tinual thank-offering, whereby the Israelites testified their 
 gratitude for the fine wheat of Canaan. But it seems like- 
 wise no contemptible figure of Christ Jesus, both personal 
 and mystical ; which is to be now declared. 
 
 And, first, it seems to represent Christ Jesus himself. 
 It was agolden table, to denote his most invaluable worth, 
 who is precious to them that believe. It was a crowned 
 table, to signify his royal dignity, and the royal dainties 
 wherewith he feeds his people, who eat the bread of the 
 mighty. It was a moveable table ; for the dispensation 
 of his gospel is not confined to any particular spot of 
 earth, but has been frequently removed from one place to 
 another. It was a furnished table, furnished both with 
 provisions and vessels. In Christ we have all things per- 
 taining to life and godliness ; for " it hath pleased the 
 " Father, that in him all fulness should dwell," (Col. 
 
 1. 19.) 
 
 But let us consider the provision wherewith this table 
 was loaded, and we shall see how fitly it quadrates to Je- 
 sus Christ. It was covered with loaves or bread. What 
 bread is to the body, that Christ is to the soul, that is— 
 the staff of life. Like bread, he is of the most universal 
 use, of the most absolute necessity, and prepared for our 
 spiritual food by various sufferings, as bread-corn is 
 bruised. The loaves were fine flour. Jesus Christ is the 
 finest of the wheat, in whom there was found no bran of 
 sinful corruption, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and se- 
 parated from sinners. They were twelve in number, for 
 every tribe a loaf* There is. enough in Christ to supply 
 the wants of his people, who may say, " Out of his fulness 
 " have we all received," (John 1. 16.) They were con- 
 tinually present before the Lord. Jesus Christ is the An- 
 gel of his presence, who appears before the Lord conti- 
 
THE GOLDEN TABLE. 229 
 
 nually present before the Lord. Jesus Christ is the An- 
 gel of his presence, who appears before the Lord conti- 
 nually as the representative of Israel. They were crown- 
 ed with frankincense. This is an emblem of the accept- 
 ableness of his sacrifice and intercession, or of that sweet- 
 smelling savour unto God. They were renewed every 
 Sabbath morning" by the priests For the doctrine of Je- 
 sus Christ, or the spiritual provision exhibited on the tabic 
 cf the gospel, in order that it may prove always pala- 
 table to the hearers, the ministers of the word ought, as 
 the legal priests, to renew it every Sabbath ; not in- 
 deed by preaching novel doctrines, but by clothing old 
 truths in a new dress ; or, to use the expression of our 
 Lord, u bringing out of their treasury things new and 
 " old," (Matth. xiii. 52.) By this means the attention 
 will be fed, weariness relieved, and appetite increased. 
 They were eaten by the priests in the holy place, after 
 they were removed from the presence- table. So Christ, 
 the bread of God, must be eaten, that is, believed in, that 
 we may receive from him both life and strength. The 
 ministers of the gospel must feed on that same Christ whom 
 they exhibit unto others ; and all the saints are that royal 
 priesthood, whose privilege it is to eat this bread of God, 
 And if others are admitted to the most holy ordinance*, 
 the table of the Lord is contemptible indeed. I shall 
 only add, that unless this heavenly bread had been first 
 presented unto the Lord, he would not been presented to 
 men as food to the hungry soul. 
 
 Let us now consider the show-bread as an emblem of 
 the church, which is his body, of which it is said, " We 
 " being many, are one bread," (l'Cor. x. 17.) Indeed 
 the number of the loaves, corresponding to the number of 
 the tribes, did certainly intimate, that they represented 
 the Israel of God. Christ is that corn of wheat which fell 
 U 
 
230 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 into the ground and died, that he might not abide alone; 
 and from him believers grow as their parent root. Christ 
 is that golden table that continually supports and presents 
 them before the Lord. They were crowned with frank- 
 incense; for their prayers are directed to God as incense ; 
 and the intercession of Jesus Christ perfumes at once their 
 persons and works, as with all the powders of the mer- 
 chant. They were disposed in two regular rows ; which 
 may denote the comely order of the churches. They 
 were renewed every week. So one generation of Chris- 
 tians succeeds another. Or perhaps we may take occa- 
 sion to think, how distasteful unto God are stale and 
 mouldy professors, who have left their first love, and are 
 like Ephraim, as cakes not turned. They were, lastly, 
 to be eaten by the priests. May we be allowed thus to 
 allegorize this last particular ? When the faithful have 
 served their generation, and are removed from further 
 usefulness in this world, they are not rejected as useless 
 altogether, but they become the inheritance of Jesus 
 Christ, the true priest ; as the old bread was not cast 
 away, but fed upon by the typical priesthood in the holy 
 place. 
 
 Thirdly, The Ordinance of the Golden Candlestick. 
 
 Over against the table there was a golden candlestick 
 set on the north side, that the sanctuary might never be 
 dark. It consisted of a large stalk, with six branches, and 
 every branch was in three different places adorned with 
 a bowl like an almond, a knop, and a flower. The tongs 
 and snuff-dishes were pure gold, as the candlestick itself. 
 At the extremities of the stalk and branches were seven 
 lamps, which we e fed with pure olive oil, and lighted 
 every evening by the priests, who burned incense at the 
 same time. 
 
THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. 251 
 
 Was not this an emblem of the true light that lighteth 
 every man that cometh into the world ? Not only is Je- 
 sus Christ, in many texts of scripture, resembled unto the 
 light of the sun, but it is said in one place, " Thou art 
 li my lamp, O Lord ; and the Lord will enlighten my 
 M darkness," (2 Sam. xxii. 1Q.) The pure beaten gold 
 of this candlestick may denote the spotless holiness, and 
 the invaluable worth of Jesus, who was beaten, if we may 
 so speak, with the hammer of adversity, and made per- 
 fect through suffering. The oil that nourished the lamps 
 is an emblem of the Holy Ghost, that anointed him to 
 preach glad tidings to the meek. The number of the 
 lamps, which was seven, imports the perfection of his 
 light. The sanctuary where they shone is the church ; 
 and the priests that trimmed them are the ministers of the 
 gospel, whose office is to elucidate the mystery of Christ. 
 The light which was shed all around from this candle- 
 stick may represent the light of the knowledge of the 
 glory of God in the face of Jesus, which shines into the 
 hearts of all the royal priesthood ; or the light of the 
 scriptures, which are the rays of Jesus Christ, and to which 
 we do well to take heed, as to a light that shineth in a 
 dark place. 
 
 That the golden candlestick was also a figure of the 
 church will appear very probable, when we consider that 
 Zacharias, an Old Testament prophet, saw, in the visions 
 of God, as her emblem, a golden candlestick, supplied 
 with golden oil from two olive trees ; and John, a New 
 Testament apostle, when he was in the Spirit, beheld our 
 great High-Priest in sacerdotal robes, walking in the midst 
 of the seven golden candlesticks, which were the seven 
 Asian churches. But let us, for further proof, observe 
 the likeness of this sacred utensil to the whole and every 
 particular church. 
 
 o 
 
^32 TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 BOOK III, 
 
 We shall first consider the candlestick itself. Its use 
 was to receive the materials of the light, and then to 
 spread it abroad. .Even so, the church receives the truth 
 in the first place, and then holds it forth, by purity of 
 docrine, and sanctity of life. 
 
 Its matter was pure and beaten gold. The church may 
 be a lamp despised in the thoughts of worldly men, and 
 esteemed as an earthen pitcher ; yet in the eyes of the 
 Lord she is comparable to fine gold. O how the gold be- 
 comes dim in the presence of faith and 1 holiness ! She is 
 pure gold, being purged from the dross of reigning cor- 
 ruption, by the blood, by the Spirit, and by the word of 
 Christ. She is beaten gold, being partaker of the afflic- 
 tions of the gospel. By these means she is a vessel made 
 meet for the Master's use. For shape, it was divided into 
 six branches, united by one common stalk. This signifies 
 the coalition of all true churches and sound believers into 
 one great society, which is founded upon their common 
 relation to Jesus Christ, the centre of union. The orna- 
 ments of almonds, knops, and flowers, which decorated 
 all the branches, may denote the various gifts and graces 
 with which every church should be adorned, that she may, 
 with the greater dignity, hold forth the word of life. The 
 tongs and snuff-dishes were not more necessary appendages 
 to the golden candlestick, than church censures, and 
 brotherly admonitions, are to every society of Christians. 
 By means of these instruments the lamps burned clear, 
 and the floor of the holy place was not sullied. So the 
 discipline of the church is an excellent mean to preserve 
 the lamp of gospel-light from dimness, and the temple of 
 the Lord from defilement, by the superfluity of naughti- 
 ness. The oil burning in the seven lamps of the candle- 
 stick is an emblem of the Holy Ghost, in his various 
 gifts, who resides in the church j is compared unto oi!> 
 
THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. 233 
 
 and unto fire ; and of whom the apostle John speaks in 
 this enigmatical manner, when he saw the visions of the 
 Almighty, " And there were seven lamps of fire burning 
 11 before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God," 
 (Rev. iv\ 5.) So much for the candlestick itself. 
 
 Let us now glance at the ministry of the priests about 
 this holy vessel. They were to supply it with oil, to trim 
 the lamps, and light them every evening, and to burn in- 
 cense at the same time. Might not this signify the watch- 
 ful care of the minister of the sanctuary and true taber- 
 nacle, who walks in the midst of the 6even golden candle- 
 sticks, imparts unto them all necessary supplies of the 
 heavenly unction, quenches not the smoking flax, but 
 strengthens the things that remain, and are ready to die; 
 while, at the same time, he offers unto God the grateful 
 incense of his prevalent intercession in their behalf ? And 
 may it not further adumbrate the duty and office of all 
 the ministers of the gospel, who, in the evening of the 
 world, are to light the lamp ordained for God's anointed? 
 M They shall teach Jacob thy jadgments, O Lord, and 
 * 5 Israel thy law ; they shall put insense before thee, and 
 " whole burnt- offerings upon thine altar," (Deut. xxxiii, 
 10.) It is their province, while they direct unto God the 
 incense of fervent prayer, to make their lamps burn clear, 
 by supplying them with the oil of pure doctrine, and 
 trimming them with the tongs of wholesome discipline, 
 and salutary admonition. " For Zion's sake let them not 
 " hold their peace, and for Jerusalem's sake let them not 
 H rest, till the righteousness thereof go forth a- bright- 
 " ness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that ^urncth. , 
 (Isa. lsii. 1.) 
 
234 TYPICAL places/ book ml 
 
 Fourthly, Tie Ordinance of the Golden Altar. 
 
 In the inner part' of the sanctuary, there stood a four- 
 square altar of Shittim wood, overlaid with gold. It was 
 encompassed with a golden crown, furnished with gold 
 rings for carriage, like the ark and table of show-bread, 
 and graced with four golden horns at its four corners. 
 To this sacred altar none but the priests were to ap- 
 proach ; not to offer propitiatory sacrifices, as upon the 
 altar of burnt-offering, but to burn incense of sweet spices, 
 morning and evening, before the Lord. The confection 
 of this sacred perfume is minutely prescribed, with a strict 
 prohibition of imitating it for any other use. It was a 
 figure of the intercession of the great High-Priest before 
 the throne, as the altar of burnt-offering was a figure of 
 his satisfactory oblation upon the earth. Let us first at- 
 tend unto the altar, and next unto the incense. 
 
 The altar itself was, first, a golden crowned altar ; 
 which signifies the glorious dignity of the royal Interces- 
 sor, who is a priest upon his throne, and is set down on 
 the right hand of the heavenly Majesty. It was a square 
 altar, equally respecting the four corners of the world ; 
 to denote how accessible he is to all the ends of the earth. 
 It was a moveable altar, capable of being transported 
 wherever the church of Israel went ; an emblem of his 
 perpetual presence in all places where his name is record- 
 ed, or where his people are afflicted. A jail, an isle of 
 Patmos, a lion's den, a fish's belly, a fiery furnace, are all 
 alike to him, who never leaves, never forsakes, his chosen 
 and his called. It was a hidden altar, to which none ap- 
 proached except the sons of Levi. To know Christ as 
 their interceding Priest is the distinguished privilege of all 
 the royal priesthood. These only see him by faith, whom 
 the world seeth no more. But as the way to the golden 
 
THE GOLDEN ALTAR. 235 
 
 altar of incense was to pass by the brazen altar of burnt* 
 offering, so none can come to Jesus, as ever-living to 
 make intercession for them, who come not to him as dy- 
 ing once to atone for their guilt, and put away their 
 sin by the sacrifice of himself. It was a horned altar. 
 And what should these four horns at its four corners por- 
 tend, but the strength and prevalence of his intercession 
 whom the Father heareth always, and who is able to save 
 unto the uttermost all who come unto God by him, from 
 the four winds of heaven ? It was an altar stained with 
 blood ; for though no sacrifices for expiation were offer- 
 ed upon it, yet Aaron was commanded to tip its horns 
 every year with the blood of the atonements. The blood 
 of Jesus Christ the righteous is the strength of his advo- 
 cacy. This blood, presented for ever before the throne 
 of God, enforces all his suits with louder cries than ever 
 the blood of Abel sent from the ground, imploring ven- 
 geance on the first murderer* 
 
 From the altar, let us come to the incense burned upon 
 it. It represents both the merits of Jesus Christ, and the 
 prayers of all saints. 
 
 The merits of Jesus Christ is that incense in which the 
 prayers, and tears, and works of all the saints are clad, 
 and wherein they ascend, like Manoah's angel, before the 
 presence of Jehovah. That incense was composed of 
 sweet spices, that shed a rich perfume ; but not so grate- 
 ful to men as the sweet-smelling sacrifice of Christ was 
 savoury unto God. That incense was burned in the sanc- 
 tuary, while the people were praying without. The ap- 
 pearing of our High-Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, 
 with the sweet odour of his merits, by no means super- 
 sedes the prayers of saints on earth. •* For these things 
 " will God be," not only solicited by the intercession of 
 his Son, " but inquired of by the house of Israel, that he 
 
g3$ TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 BOOK III, 
 
 " may do it for them," (Ezek. xxxvi. 37.) That in- 
 cense was continually burned before the Lord, and was a 
 perpetual incense throughout their generations. The in- 
 tercession of Jesus Christ is everlasting, because he ever 
 liveth. Never, never shall it be discontinued, till^all its 
 ends are fully reached, and the last elect vessel be pray eel 
 home to glory. TEat incense was not to be counterfeit- 
 ed, or imitated for any other purpose. Detested be the 
 impiety of that harlot- church, who confides in the merits 
 of any saint, iiving or dead, ascribing, on whatsoever pre- 
 tence, the Mediator's glory to another. But the time 
 approaches when this counterfeited incense, the commodi- 
 ty of Babylon, shall no more be bought by the merchants 
 of the earth. 
 
 The prayers of saints are also said to be directed as in- 
 cense before the Lord, and are resembled to odours pre- 
 served in vials of gold, by a New Testament writer. 
 Prayer is that incense, which, according to Malachi's 
 prediction, shall be offered to the name of the Lord in 
 every place. Was the holy incense compounded of va- 
 rious sweet spices ? The graces of the Holy Ghost are 
 the precious ingredients in the effectual prayer of the 
 -righteous. Some of them were beaten very small ; per- 
 haps to intimate that brokenness of heart, and contrition 
 of spirit, which the* high and lofty One requires in the 
 worshippers at his footstool. The fire that burned the 
 incense may denote the fervency of spirit required in ac- 
 ceptable worship. But take heed of the sparks of your 
 kindling, and lift up holy hands without wrath; for 
 the incense must not be kindled with fire from the kitch- 
 en, but the altar. Was the incense burned morning and 
 evening continually ? And can we reasonably think the 
 incense of prayer and praise should be less frequently ad- 
 dressed to the God that dwells in the heavens i Jesus 
 
THE BRAZEN ALTAR. 237 
 
 Christ is the altar ; Jesus Christ is the Priest who stands 
 with his golden censer ; by him your incense of prayer, 
 and your incense of praise, shall go up for a memorial be- 
 fore God, and meet with gracious acceptance. Without 
 him even incense is an abomination unto God ; any th« 
 most solemn duties arc as smoke in his nostrils, and a fire 
 that burneth ail the day. 
 
 FiF-r hly, The Ordinance of the Brazen Altar, 
 
 Let us next consider the altar of burnt-ofFering, which 
 was a chief part of the holy furniture both of the taber- 
 nacle and temple. Its materials were brass, and cedar 
 wood ; its shape four- square ; its station was in the out- 
 ward court. It protected criminals that fled unto it, 
 jancafied gifts, and alimented the priests. It was orna- 
 mented with four horns of brass flourishing from its cor-. 
 ners, and upon it the sacred fire was kept perpetually 
 alive. The cert monies of its consecration lasted for sevea 
 days ; and it is called by God an altar most ho/y, that 
 should impart a legal holiness to every thing that touched 
 it. In ordinary cat»es it was not lawful tp offer sacrifice* 
 upon any other altar but this alone. 
 
 That Jesus Christ is the antitype of this altar, the 
 apostle to the Hebrews permits us not .to doubt ; for, 
 speaking of him, he says, *' We have an altar, whereof 
 V they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle," 
 (Heb. xiii. 10.) He says not, altars % as if they were many, 
 but an altar, speaking of one ; and this altar is Christ. 
 As the intercession of Jesus Christ wasty pined by the 
 golden altar of incense, so the altar of burnt- offering 
 represented both his satisfaction in general, and his God- 
 head in particular. Let us begin with the . 
 
 It represented the person of cur Redeemer, as the pro- 
 pitiation of cur sins. It was a brazen altar. Was it not 
 
238 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 the same glorious person whom Ezekiel saw like a man of 
 brass, with aline of flax in his hand to measure the temple, 
 and whose feet are described, in the visions of John, like 
 line brass, as if they burned in a furnace ? Brass is a cheap 
 and common metal. When by himself he purged our 
 sins, he shone not with golden lustre, for his visage was 
 marred more than any man's, and his form than the sons 
 of men. Brass is a strong metal, and fit to endure the 
 fire. Our strength was not the strength of stones, our 
 flesh was not of brass, to dwell with devouring fire, to 
 abide with everlasting burnings ; but Christ was the 
 mighty One, who felt the power of God's anger, and 
 was not devoured by the fiery indignation. It was a 
 horned altar. This signifies the strength of his atonement, 
 both to satisfy the justice of God, and pacify the con- 
 sciences of men. It was a four-square altar ; an emblem 
 of his perpetual stability, who is the same to-day, yester- 
 day, and for ever. It was a public altar ; for the death of 
 Christ was to be a transaction of the most public kind. 
 It was a burning altar, on which the fire never went out. 
 The Holy Ghost is that eternal Spirit of judgment and 
 ©f burning, through whom he offered up himself unto 
 God, and who dwells for ever in the Son. With this holy 
 fire the great High-Priest inflamed his legal sacrifice of 
 atonement ; and with this holy fire the royal priesthood 
 ought to kindle their moral sacrifice of pra?se, which they 
 offer by him continually. It was an only altar, and, by 
 the law of Moses, admitted not any rival. So Jesus 
 Christ is the one Mediator between God and man. To 
 multiply mediators is no less condemned by the New 
 Testament, than to multiply altars by the Old. It was 
 an altar most holy, that sanctified all gifts. Whether we 
 present unto God the meat- offering of alms, the drink- 
 offering of tears, the peace-offering of thanksgiving, the 
 
THE BRAZEN ALTAR. 239 
 
 heave-offering of prayer, or the whole burnt-offering of 
 body and soul, by him alone they are sanctified and ac- 
 cepted, as the altar sanctified the gift. It was an altar 
 that protected criminals who fled unto it ; though, for 
 some crimes, they were to be dragged from it to suffer 
 condign punishment. In Jesus Christ the guilty sinner 
 finds a refuge from legal condemnation ; nor can they fail 
 of making peace with him, who by faith take hold of his 
 strength, let their crimes be ever so atrocious. It was an 
 altar that nourished the Levitical priesthood who served 
 at it, and were partakers with it. Even so, the happy 
 persons who are made priests unto God, and partakers of 
 Christ, receive from him, not a natural, but a spiritual 
 and eternal life : M For he that eateth me," himself de- 
 clares, " shall live by me/' ;'John vi. 57.) 
 
 But in a particular manner his Deity seems fit to be 
 called the altar on which he offered his humanity ; for 
 he was his own altar no less than ours. It was not the 
 wooden cross on which he died, that servtd him for an 
 altar. Far less can the material table, on which the holy 
 memorials are exhibited in the sacrament of the supper, 
 deserve any such gioriou- epithet. Hear what himself 
 says about the altar and the gift. " Ye fools and blind : 
 " for whether is greater the gift, or the altar that sancti- 
 " fies the gift R 1 iMatth. xxiii. 19.) Will any dare to 
 say, that the wooden cross .vas greater than the soul and 
 body of the Redeemer who expired on .'t ? or that the 
 table of the supper is greater than the consecrated sym- 
 bols of his body ai.d blot d ? If it be impossible :o find 
 any thing greater than the humanity of the Lord and Sa- 
 viour, except his own divinity, his o.vn divinity, and no- 
 thing else, must be the altar. Did the altar support the 
 gift or victim, while it was burn he 
 
 Godhead of Christ that supported the manhood from sink- 
 
240 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III, 
 
 #> 
 
 ing under these direful sufferings he patiently endured. 
 Did the altar sanctify the gifts that touched it ? It was 
 the Deity of Christ that sanctified the gift of his huma- 
 nity, and imparted a dignity and value to the sacrifice of 
 his body and soul. The sins of many are fully expiated 
 by the sufferings of one, because he is God, and there is 
 none else ; besides him there is no Saviour. 
 
 Blessed be God for such an High Priest, such a tem- 
 ple, such a sacrifice, such an altar of burnt-offering and 
 incense. We may have an altar not only in the midst of 
 the land of Canaan, but in the midst of the land of Egypt, 
 to which the sons of the strangers may bring their sacri- 
 fices. We have an altar which God will never cast off; 
 a sanctuary which he will never abhor. The great aton- 
 ing sacrifice is already offerf d up ; what remains for us but 
 to render unto a gracioue God the calves, not of the stall, 
 but of the lips, and the sacrifice of praise continually? 
 
 Sixthly, The Ordinance of the Brazen Laver. 
 
 The divers washings enjoined in the law of Moses 
 were, no doubt, a very significant branch of that ritual 
 economy ; for not only did the Heathen nations adopt 
 this custom in their false worship of imaginary gods, but 
 a shadow of it is still retained in the Christian baptism, 
 the initiating ordinance of the church. The daily lustra- 
 tion of the Levitical priesthood we shall presently glance at. 
 
 At the entrance of the tabernacle of the congregation, 
 before you come to the brazen altar, was set, by the ap- 
 pointment of the Lord, a pure vessel, or laver of polished 
 brass. The materials of it were furnished by some reli- 
 gious women, who complimented their looking-glasses 
 for this purpose ; consecrating these instruments, perhaps 
 of vanity, to the sacred use of adorning the worship of the 
 true God. Though the shape of this vessel is not mi- 
 
THE BRAZEN LAYER. 241 
 
 nutely described by Moses, it was certainly so contrived as 
 the water it contained might be emptied by ven . s or pipes ; 
 for the priests were ordered, on pain of death, towash their 
 hands and feet at this laver, when they went mlo the taber- 
 naclt , or approached unto ihe altar. At fi~st this washing- 
 pot was probably of small size ; but when Solomon built 
 his magnificent temple, he made also a laver of large di- 
 mensions, which, on account of the huge quantity of wa- 
 ter jt was capable to hold, was called a molten sea, and set 
 it on a base of twelve oxen of brass, not without rhe di- 
 rection of Heaven, as we may well presume. 
 
 Did the pure and holy God intend by this law only to 
 require from his worshippers the putting away the tilth 
 of the flesh, which might be done with material water, 
 and by such as had neither their hearts clean, nor their 
 hands pure ? Is washing the body with the purest water 
 an adequate preparation for coming into the presence of 
 that God, in whose sight the heavens are not clean ? Far 
 be it from us to harbour so foolish a thought. The puri- 
 fication of the soul from spiritual pollution was the thing 
 intended by this carnal ordinance. The laver is Jesus 
 Christ himself, who cleanses all the royal priesthood from 
 the foul contagion of sin, by the word which he speaks 
 unto them, by the Spirit which he sheds upon them, and 
 by the blood he poured out for them. Was the laver a 
 pure and cleanly vessel,? This may denote the innocence 
 and spotless purity of the glorious ImmanueJ, together with 
 his fitness to preserve all that are in him holy, and unblame- 
 1 able. Was it a large and capacious vessel, and therefore 
 styled a sea? This may remind us of that vast and inex- 
 haustible fulness which ever dwells in the New Testament 
 laver, by which he is able to sprinkle many nations, and 
 wash away the crimes of all who come unto G >d by him. 
 Was it an open vessel that stood in the most public situa- 
 X 
 
242 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 tion? A prophet styles the blessed Redeemer " a foun- 
 " tain opened in the house of David, and to the inhabit- 
 " ants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uricleanness," (Zech. 
 xiii. I.) Was it a consecrated vessel ? for Moses anointed 
 the laver and his foot with the holy anointing oil. Christ 
 Jesus was consecrated for evermore to his saving office, 
 and anointed with the Holy Ghost in the most ample 
 measure. Was it supported by twelve oxen in the temple 
 of Solomon ? These brazen figures, that looked to all the 
 winds of heaven, may not absurdly be viewed as emblems 
 of the twelve apostles, who bore Christ's name to the 
 Gentiles ; who poured the doctrine of salvation in all the 
 quarters of the world. For not only does the number 
 of the oxen correspond to the number of the apostles of 
 the Lamb, but the servants of Christ are irf other passa- 
 ges held forth under the emblem of these robust, laborious, 
 and useful animals. 
 
 But the use which the priests under the law were com- 
 manded to make of this vessel on all occasions, under the 
 severest penalty, is the most remarkable circumstance we 
 are to attend unto. They were to wash their hands and 
 feet with the water of this vessel, when they entered 
 the tabernacle, on pain of death. These priests are fi- 
 gures not only of all office-bearers in the church, who 
 ought to be pure and holy, but of all the holy nation of 
 Christians, who, having a great High-Priest over the 
 house of God, ought to draw near with true hearts, and 
 in the full assurance of faith, having their hearts sprinkled 
 from an evil conscience, and their bodies washed with pure 
 water. It is true, they are washed and ju: titled already, 
 in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our 
 God ; yet still they need to wash their hands and feet. 
 The -ins of daily ^a'k demand fresh application to the Ja- 
 ver of his atoaing blood, even from the holiest saints on 
 
THE ANOINTING OIL. 24f> 
 
 earth. Faith is the hand by which this purifying water 
 is applied to the conscience. Would we approach to God 
 in holy duties ? would we ascend the hill of the Lor<l, and 
 stand in his holy place ? then, in a special manner, must 
 we lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, 
 resolving, with the sweet singer of Israel, " I will wash 
 " mine hands in innocency, and so will I compass thine 
 «' altar, O Lord," (Psal. xxvj. 6.) But whoever they be 
 that prefer the mire of their sin to the laver of his blood, 
 and think to wash away their stains with the nitre and soap 
 of their own righteousness, they shall die before the Lord, 
 be excluded from his beatific presence, and become an 
 abhorring unto all flesh for evermore. 
 
 Seventhly, The Ordinance of the Anointing Oil. 
 
 In J^sus Christ we have also the antitype of the legal 
 unction, no less than of the divers washings and sacrifices, 
 which is to be declared. The Jewish lawgiver is com- 
 manded, in a very particular manner, to take unto hina of 
 the principal spices, five hundred shekels of pure myrrh, 
 half as much of sweec cinnamon, five hundred shekels 
 of cassia, and half as much of sweet calamus. These pre- 
 cious ingredients were to be compounded by the apothe- 
 cary's art, in a hin of olive-oil. The use of this holy oil 
 was to anoint the tabernacle and its furniture, and Aaron 
 with his sons. But it was strictly forbidden to apply it 
 to any other use, to put it upon any stranger, or to make 
 any thing like it, after the composition of it. w This," 
 said God to the Israelites, " shall be a holy anointing 
 " oil to me, throughout your generations/' ( Exod, 
 xxx. 31.) Let us come to the concealed mystery of this 
 ordinance. 
 
 Tnen was this type fulfilled, when the Lord's Anoint- 
 ed was endued with the gifts and graces of the Holy 
 2 
 
244 TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 Ghost, which God gave not by measure unto him. Hear 
 what himself declares by the mourh of the prophet Isaiah, 
 " the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
 " anointed me," (Isa. lxi. 1.) And therefore are the dis- 
 ciples of Christ styled Christians, because it is supposed 
 they have also an unction from the holy One. 
 
 Surely it is not without sufficient reasons, that anoint- 
 ing with oil, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
 are phrases of the same import in the language of inspira- 
 tion. If oil is of a healing nature, and fit to appease the 
 anguish of rankled wounds, the Spirit of God is that 
 mollifying ointment, by which the wounds, and bruises,and 
 putrefying sores, occasioned by the fall, are gradually heal- 
 ed, until at last the cure is so completely wrought, that 
 ^ot a scar remains. If oil is of a beautifying quality, and 
 makes the human face to shine ; by the benign agency of 
 the sanctifying Spirit, our souls are made as the wings of 
 a dove covered with silver, and are presented at last in 
 presence of his glory, without spot or wrinkle, or any 
 such thing. If oil is savoury to. the taste, imparting to 
 other esculents an agreeable flavour ; without the Spirit, 
 what is the word itself but a dry morsel ? but when he 
 sheds his kindly influences, then do we find the word and 
 ea r it f it is to us the joy and rejoicing of our heart. If 
 oil is of an exhilarating virtue, greatly refreshing the ani- 
 mal spirits of them who are anointed ; this puts us in 
 mind of the reviving operations of the Comforter, who is 
 the Holy Ghost, the true oil of gladness, whose fruit is 
 ioy and peace. In the same manner we might apply the 
 strengthening, softening, preserving, insinuating proper- 
 vies of this staple commodity of Canaan to the like ope- 
 rations of the divine Spirit. 
 
 But let us rather reflect upon the special qualities of 
 the holy anointing oi!, which Moses made according to 
 
TH£ ANOINTING OIL. 245 
 
 the divine dispensatory. It was compounded of various 
 costly ingredients; to represent, perhaps, the great variety 
 of heavenly gifts and graces which are conferrtd by the 
 Spirit of the Lord, and ihe diversities of his operations. 
 It shed a most delightful perfume, even to a proverb, when 
 poured on the head of Aaron, Of a greater than he it 
 is said, " All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and 
 " cassia," (P->al. xlv. 8.) and again, " Because of the 
 11 savour of thy good ointments, therefore do the virgins 
 u love thee," (Song i. 3.) The quantity vvh;ch Moses 
 made was considerably large, and sufficient to anoint both 
 the priests, the tabernacle, and all its sacred vessels. May 
 not this faintly adumbrate the fulness of the Spirit, by 
 which he is able not only to anoint our great High- 
 Priest, but likewise all the sanctified vessels, that are 
 made meet for the master's use ? It was unlawful to make 
 any thing like it ; and the Jews affirm, with great pro- 
 bability, that it was never but once p:epared ; though 
 they fabulously add, that it wasted not by use for many 
 generations. This may denote how displeasing it4s to> 
 God to countetfeit his holy . pirit; and as we arc to try 
 the spirits, whether they be of God, so in all genera- 
 tions there is but one Spirit, as there is one body mysti- 
 cal, and one hope of our calling. The prohibition of put- 
 ting any of it on a stranger may signify, thai the spiri- 
 tual unction is the peculiar privilege of sain:s, which, to 
 use the expression of our Lord, the world cannot receive. 
 And, lastly, as this anointing oil did sanctify the persons 
 and things to which it was applied, consecrated 'hem lor 
 ever to the service of God, and entitled them to his pro- 
 tection ; so the happy souls who have received not the 
 spit it of the word, but the Spirit who is of God, are 
 sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spi- 
 rit of our God j are sealed unto the day of redemption j 
 3 
 
246 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III, 
 
 and the unction they have received abideth in them. 
 Because of this anointing, their yokes shall be destroyed. 
 *' Touch not mine anointed, ye enemies of their salva- 
 4< tion," will the Lord say, M and do no harm to my pe- 
 * culiar people," (Psal. cv. 15.) Let others drink wine 
 in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments 3 
 but give us, O Lord, this holy oil for evermore. 
 
 IV. — The Land of Canaan. 
 
 The land that flowed with milk and honey de- 
 serves a particular consideration among the other shadows 
 of good things to come. God promised to the fathers 
 of the holy nation, u I will give you the land of Canaan, 
 4i the lot of your inheritance, when they were but a few 
 u men in number, yea, very few, and strangers in it," 
 (Gen. xii. 7. Psal. cv. 11. 12.) This promise he per- 
 formed to their posterity at the appointed time, when, 
 under the conduct of Joshua, he drove out the Heathen, 
 and planted them. Eut was this all which God provided 
 for his people ? Was the promise of an earthly inherit- 
 ance the blissful hope that supported the believing pa- 
 triarchs in the few and evil days of their pilgrimage ? 
 Was there no other rest remaining for the people of God, 
 but that which Jo&hua gave them ? Then indeed they 
 had been, upon the whole, considerable losers by their 
 religion, and God would have been ashamed to be called 
 their God. It is true, the earthly Canaan was a delicious 
 country, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and deeps, 
 that sprang out of the vallies and hills: a land where 
 they did eat butter of kine, and milk of sheep, fat of 
 lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats with 
 the fat of kiuneys of wheat \ they did drink the pure 
 blood of the grape ; a land whose rich soil produced 
 
THE LAND OP CANAAN. 247 
 
 whatever could fill the cup of joy, or load the board of 
 plenty. But, alas! what cruel mockery had it been to pro- 
 pose no sublimer enjoyments than these to the lovers of his 
 blessed name ? Are such things an adequate portion to 
 the immortal spirit in man ? Besides, the patriarchs them- 
 selves sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange 
 country, and had not so much as a grave to call their 
 own, till bought with money. And their posterity, the 
 people of his holiness, possessed it but a little time. 
 What was the language of all this ? Did it not proclaim, 
 in loudest accents, both to the patriarchs and their seed, 
 u Arise ye, and depart ; for this is not your final rest i 
 u (Micah ii. 10.) I have provided for you, O my people, 
 u a better heavenly country, (Hefe. xi. 16.) of which 
 u this pleasant land is but the pledge and shadow." 
 Beyond all doubt, the godly patriarchs regarded the pro- 
 mised land in this amiable light ; and it is hard to imagine 
 how Moses, that wise and great lawgiver, could been so 
 passionately desirous to see, before he died, that good 
 land beyond Jordan, if he had not considered it as a pledge 
 of God's eternal rest. Let us add to all this the sublime 
 encomiums that are every where bestowed upon Ca- 
 naan, in Moses and the prophets. Surely there was no- 
 thing about that little spot of earth to entitle it to such 
 high eulogiums, as " the glory of all lands, (Ezek. xx. 
 * 6.) the pleasant land, (Psal. cvi. 24.) and thy land, O 
 u Immanuel," (Isa. viii. 8.) But when we view it as 
 a type of the heavenly inheritance, the propriety ©f these 
 grand epithets immediately discovers itself. Let us see 
 where the resemblance lies. 
 
 Canaan was a land originally possessed by other nations, 
 whom the Lord drove out for their wickedness. It is 
 revealed in the scriptures, that the celestial mansions were 
 first inhabited by these once pure but now apostate spi. 
 
248 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK IIF. 
 
 rits, who, for rebellion against their eternal Sovereign, 
 were driven out from God and bliss, and their places in 
 heaven shall know them -again no more. 
 
 It was a land of amazing fertility. And such is the 
 tender condescension of the heavenly Father, as to de- 
 scribe, by earthly similitudes, that fulness of joy in his 
 beatific presence, and all the rich variety of spiritual and 
 eternal blessings. The plenty of Canaan, where they did 
 eat bread without scarceness, was an emblem of the fat- 
 ness of God's house. In heaven they shall not want any 
 good thing that can be perfective of their natures, or con- 
 ducive to their true felicity. There, to use the prophetic 
 style, " The mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and 
 " the hills shall flow with milk," (Joel iii. 18.) They 
 shall not hunger nor thirst ; fof the tree of life for ever 
 hangs out his golden fruit, and the water of life for ever 
 rolls its silver stream. 
 
 It was a promised land ; and promised, long before the 
 possession was actually taken, to the father of their nation, 
 four hundred and thirty years before the law. Even so, 
 eternal life was promised to Christ, the everlasting Father, 
 not only antecedent to the good works of his seed, but 
 before the world; and though the Lord is not slack con- 
 cerning his promise, yet we have need of patience, even 
 though we have done the will of God, that we may en- 
 herit the promises. 
 
 It was a land which their own righteousness could not 
 merit, and which their own sword could not procure. 
 Their induction into it is, in the strongest terms, ascribed 
 to the sovereign grace and outstretched arm of God, who 
 showed to his people the power of his works, that he 
 might give them the heritage of the Heathen. Should 
 we vainly arrogate unto ourselves the honour of deserving, 
 by our best works, our access to the heavenly inheritance, 
 
THE LAND OF CANAAN. 249 
 
 there is one who condemns us, even Moses in whom we 
 trust. " Speak not thou in heart," says that great law- 
 giver to his people, " For my righteousness the Lord 
 " hath brought me in to possess this land. Not for thy 
 c< righteousness, or the uprightness of thine heart, dost 
 : c thou go to possess it ; for thou art a stiff-necked people," 
 (Deut. ix. 4. 5. G.) Can any be so absurd as to affirm, 
 that though the earthly inheritance could not, yet the 
 heavenly inheritance may be merited by works of righ- 
 teousness that we have done ? 
 
 It was a land to which they went through many hard- 
 ships and difficulties, through floods and wildernesses* and 
 legions of opposing foes. They had both real and ima- 
 ginary discouragements to grapple with. Even so, the 
 kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and through much 
 tribulation we must enter into it, though it be a pur- 
 chased possession, and a promised inheritance. But as nei- 
 ther Sihon king of the Amorites, nor Og king of Bashan, 
 nor the formidable giants the sons of Anak, could hinder 
 the Israelites from their promised rest ; so neither shall 
 the power of the enemy, however great and dreadful, be 
 able to retard the meanest saint who takes unto him the 
 whole armour of God, and with determined ardour fights 
 the good fight of faith, and lays hold on eternal life. 
 
 It was a land which many despised, and through un- 
 belief they came short of the promise, and their carcases 
 fell in the wilderness* And many, alas ! prefer the pre- 
 sent pleasures of sin to all the ravishing prospects of eter- 
 nity. Instead of seeking this better country all the days 
 of their life, it is the land which they abhor. 
 
 It was a land which the Israelites obtained not til! Mo- 
 ses was dead. None are brought to heaven, till they be 
 dead to the law by the body »f Christ. He is the true 
 Joshua, or the Captain of salvation, who brings many sons 
 
250 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK lit. 
 
 unto glory, and conducts them through' the Jordan of 
 death into the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and 
 that fadeth not away. 
 
 V. — The Holy City of Jerusalem, and the 
 Holy Hill of Zion. 
 
 But we must not forget thee, O Jerusalem, thou^ 
 famed metropolis of Judea, nor that adjacent hill 01 
 Zion, the royal residence of David, where the temple al« . 
 so .tood ! Such glorious things have been spoken of this 
 city and mountain, as can by no means agree to them, 
 when viewed only in the letter. It is long, very long, 
 since Zion was ploughed as a field, since the palaces of 
 Jerusalem have been levelled with the ground : " Go ye 
 44 up upon her walls," said God to the victorious Roman 
 army, " and take a.vay her battlements, for they are not 
 " the Lord's," (Jer. v. 10.) But still there is a spiritual 
 Z'on, on which the Lamb stands with his redeemed tribes; 
 Still there is a heavenly Jerusalem, to which the general 
 assembly and church of the first-born are said to come. 
 What should this spiritual Zion and heavenly Jerusalem 
 be but the militant and triumphant church of Christ, of 
 which the earthly Z.on and the worldly Jerusalem were 
 the shadow and type ? The old mount Zion was, equally 
 with mount Sinai, a mount that might be touched, being 
 a corporeal substance ; and the old Jerusalem was a city 
 that might be razed to its foundations; but the true 
 Zion is a spiritual thing which cannot be touched ; and 
 the new Jerusalem is a city thai hath foundations, and 
 never can be moved. 
 
 There were hills more eminent than Zion, and towns 
 more potent than Jerusalem ; yet no mountain or city 
 makes so distinguished a figure in the sacred page. It 
 
THE HOLY CITY OP JERUSALEM, &C 251 
 
 was not the natural elegance of Zion and Jerusalem, nor 
 the fortified situation of these places, that could erritle 
 them to such high eulogiums as are every where bestowed 
 upon them by the inspired penmen. It is true, indeed, the 
 beautiful situation of mount Zion, and the compact form 
 of Jerusalem, which was comely to a proverb, deserved 
 their due praises ; and their strength, both of nature and 
 art, was far from being despicable. It may be also affirm- 
 ed, that the Holy Ghost intended a faint representation of 
 the invincible strength and spiritual beauty of the church, 
 in the strength and beauty of these holy places. But the 
 extraordinary regard which the great Jehovah was pleased 
 to testify towards his holy hill of Zion, and his beloved 
 city of Jerusalem, is the chief thing which exalted that 
 little hill above the great mountains of the world, and en- 
 nobled that metropolis above all other cities, however 
 populous and magnificent. Why do ye leap, ye high hilk ? 
 why do ye exult against the little hill of Zion, as if ye 
 were much superior to it ? This is the hill which God de- 
 sires to dwell in ; the Lord will dwell in it for ever. This 
 makes it a high hill ; a high hill as the hill of Bashaa ; 
 this renders it the perfection of beauty, and the joy of the 
 whole earth. Exactly so, it is the distinguishing favour 
 and sovereign love of God, bestowed upon his church, 
 that ennobles it beyond all other societies, however infe- 
 rior to them in the beauty of earthly splendour, and 
 worldly dominion Let us see then what are the marks 
 of the divine regard to these sacred places, which render- 
 ed them fit emblems of the real church in all ages. 
 
 They were places where God set his king, and the 
 thrones of the house of David. That illustrious monarch, 
 who founded the long line of the Jewi:h kings, having 
 rescued Jerusalem and Zion from the Jebus'te? bv iorce 
 of arms, fortified them, and made them the places of his 
 
252 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 royal residence. The spiritual Zion is the city of the 
 great King, that is, of Jesus Christ, who won it out of 
 the hands of idolatrous Gentiles, who boasted of their 
 idcls, though lame and blind. Christ is the true David, 
 who indeed was signified by all the Kings of Israel, his 
 lineal successors, who hath gained this notable victoryover 
 the Gentile world ; and in those very places where super- 
 stition reigned, hath builded his church, fixed his throne, 
 and issued forth his righteous laws. If it was a distin- 
 guishing privilege of the ancient Zi^n and Jerusalem, to 
 be the seat of a king of Heaven's election, how greatly- 
 superior is the new Jerusalem, and gospel Zion, in being 
 the seat of the King of kings, who sits upon the throne, 
 and has the key of David ? ' Cry out and shout, thou 
 " inhabitant of Zion, thy king shall never perish, and 
 " great is the holy One of Israel in the midst of thee," 
 (Isa. xii. 6.) 
 
 They were places where God established his worship, 
 and to which the tribes of the Lord resorted, because of 
 his house at Jerusalem. Here the voice of his praise was 
 heard, and sacrifices came with acceptance upon his altar. 
 Jerusalem was the city of the Jewish solemnities ; and ft 
 is foretold by the prophets, that the once hostile nations 
 round about them should pay them annual visits, and join 
 in their holy festivals ; yea, says the prophet Isaiah, 
 " From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to 
 " Sabbath, shall all flesh come to worship before the Lord 
 " of hosts," (chap. lxvi. 23.) Now, it is evident, these 
 hi ?h predictions were never accomplished in that earthly 
 Zion and Jerusalem ; yea, it is impossible they can be ac- 
 complished in their literal sense; the nature of things 
 forbids it. But to the spiritual Zion, and heavenly Jeru- 
 salem, they have been fulfilled, and shall be more and 
 more accomplished ; for this holy hill may be found in 
 
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. 253 
 
 all places of ;he world, and we mny come to the city of 
 the living Cod without a pilgrimage. 
 
 They were places for whose prottction the divine pro- 
 vidence has oftentimes awoke in a very extraordinary 
 manner. Assembled kings have come with hostile design 
 against these highly favoured places : but, instead of exe- 
 cunng their cruel purpose, the joyful Israelites, after their 
 departure, upon the most narrow inspection of their 
 towers, palaces, and bulwarks, could not observe that 
 any of them was battered down, or even defaced This 
 was not owing to their own strength, but to the presence 
 of their God. But this glorious prerogative, of being 
 the peculiar care of Heaven, is now transferred to the 
 gospel-church, and all her true members. il They that 
 u trust in the Lord shall be like that mount Zion, that 
 " can never be moved," (Psal. exxv. 1.) 
 
 First, The Feast o/'Tabernacles *• 
 - The feast of tabernacles was one of the three grand 
 festivals, in which all the males of Israel appeared befjre 
 God in Jerusalem. It began on the fifteenth day of the 
 seventh month, which was four days after their mourn- 
 ful fast on the day of expiation, and was celebrated with 
 all possible demonstrations of joy and national gladness. 
 It lasted eight days, and was the longest of all their so- 
 lemnities; and the last day is called, in the New Testament, 
 the great day of the feast. Upon this day, we are inform- 
 ed, " Jesus stood and cried, If any man thirst, let him 
 ?* come unto me and drink," (John vii. 37.) alluding 
 as is commonly thought, to a ceremony they usually 
 performed on that occasion with great pomp, though it 
 
 * The acceptable celebration of the following articles being- fixed, 
 by divine appointment, to Jerusalem, they are introduced here to 
 explain and illustrate the great importance of that city as a typical 
 place, though, in another view, they miarht rather appear to belong 
 to the head of typical things. 
 
254 TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 BOOK HI. 
 
 be not commanded in the law *. On all the eight days 
 they were to offer the sacrifices, which are minutely con- 
 descended upon by Moses. On the first day, thirteen 
 young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first 
 year, and one kid of the goats, for a sin-offering ; ; beside 
 the continual burnt-offering. But it is worthy of our no- 
 tice, that the bullocks diminished by one every subsequent 
 day, till on the seventh day, but seven were to be offered ; 
 and upon the eighth and last, though the great day of the 
 feast, they offered but one bullock. x Did not God in- 
 tend, by this gradual abatement, as the solemnity advanced, 
 to exhibit unto his people a representation of the de- 
 caying nature of that dispensation they were under ; that 
 a time should come when these sacrifices should vanish 
 away altogether, and give place to more spiritual obla- 
 tions, which should please the Lord better than any bul- 
 Jock that hath both horns and hoofs ? 
 
 But the ceremony that gave the name to this joyful 
 feast, was their dwelling in booths the first seven days. 
 These booths were made of olive branches, pine branches, 
 myrtle branches, palm branches, willows of the brook, 
 
 * Tremellius on John vii. 37. observes from the Talmud, that the 
 Jews used, on the eighth day of this feast, to march round the altar 
 seven times, singing Hosannah, with palm-branches in their hands, 
 in memory of the Israelites in the days of Joshua, their marching 
 round Jericho seven times on the day of its fall. And, besides, he in- 
 forms us, from the same authority, that on this day they drew wa- 
 ter with great joy from the brook Siloam at the foot of Mount Zion, 
 and carried it to the priests in the temple, where they made a libation of 
 it, mingled with wine, upon the altar. In the time of drawing tr e wa- 
 ter, they sung that cheerful ditty of the prophet Isaiah, " With joy 
 4t shall ye draw water out of the wells of saltation. " Th^y pretend- 
 ed that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were the institutors of 
 these rites ; and they imagined that the Holy Ghost was so delight- 
 ed with their carnal mirth and vociferation, as to impart to them, 
 on this occasion, a prophetical afflatus, which happened, they say, to 
 the prophet Jonah. The same writer observes, that as the Jews had 
 miserably perverted this ordinance by the additions of their own 
 magical ceremonies, so Christ intended to reprove and silence their 
 mad vociferations, when be cried with a loud voice, and to lead 
 them away from the terrestrial water to the water of life-, and to 
 limself. the onlv scone of this feast, and of all other ceremonies. 
 
*HE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. 255 
 
 aod branches of other goodly trees, they cut down, -and 
 carried about in their hands. And that none might be 
 at a loss to. know the meaning of thib ordinance, it is ex- 
 pressly declared by God himself, " That your genera- 
 " ** tions may know that I made the children of Israel to 
 u dwell in booths, when I brought them up out of the 
 " land of Egypt," (Lev. xxiii. 43.) So prone are hu- 
 man minds to bury in oblivion those mercies that are past, 
 that such rememorative institutions have been always held 
 necessary and expedient. And surely the divine power 
 and goodness displayed to the forefathers of the Jews, in 
 miraculously providing all necessary accommodations for 
 them in a desolate wilderness, deserved anniversary cele- 
 bration, no less than their Exodus, or departure from 
 Egypt. By this glad feast, they praised God for that good 
 land into which he had brought them. u Our ancestors," 
 as if they had said, " once wandered in the wilderness in 
 " a solitary way, ihey found no city to dwell in. But, O 
 u that men would praise the Lord for his goodness ! he 
 *' led them forth by a way that was rfght, to go to a city 
 11 of habitation. Instead of those dreary prospects our 
 u fathers had in the wilderness forty years, we, their pos- 
 11 Urity,are introduced into this delicious country, where 
 14 we sow fields, and plant vineyards, that yield us fruits 
 li of increase, whose rich and generous soil supplies us 
 41 with these goodly trees, from whence we pluck these 
 " verdant branches," (Psal. cvii.J And we may add, 
 With great probability, that their dwelling in booths so 
 many days every year was a solemn recognition that 
 they were still in a wandering state, though settled in Ca- 
 naan; that they looked on themselves as strangers on the 
 earth, even in the land of promise, as the patriarchs, from 
 whom they sprung, confessed, by dwelling in tents and 
 tabernacles in this same land, that they were but pilgrims 
 2 
 
256 TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 here, and expected a better heavenly inheritance. Truly 
 this has been the universal acknowledgment of good men 
 in every age, who have esteemed their felicity to arise, 
 not so much frotn their present enjoyments as their fu- 
 ture prospects. They have not only counted themselves 
 pilgrims and sojourners, when struggling with adversity, 
 and wandering from one country to another, without a 
 fixed abode, but when elevated to the very summit of 
 fortune, and enjoying the most profound repose which 
 thU terrestrial state affords. A tabernacle is the common 
 appellation of a dwelling-place in the Old Testament ; 
 and in the New Testament, the body hi which the soul 
 is lodged is styled, by the great apostle, the earthly house 
 cf this tabernacle, (2 Cor. v. 1 ) which is dissolved by 
 ueath, and resigns to a more permanent house, a building 
 of God, eternal in the heavens. Divid, a glorious king, 
 called his palace the tabernacle of his house, (Psal. exxxii. 3.) 
 and Jesus Christ, when he lived on the earth, at least af- 
 ter he began to act in his public character, had no pro- 
 per home, but chose to be the tuest, sometimes to one, 
 and sometimes to another, of his followers. Whatever 
 other reasons might be assigned for this conduct of our 
 Lord, it seems as if he had designed to exhibit to all his 
 genuine disciples an illustrious example of superior indif- 
 ference to all sublunary things, and to inculcate, in the 
 strongest manner, upon their minds, " Arise ye> and- de- 
 " part ; this is not your rest," (Micah ii. 10.) Set not 
 your affections, O my people, on this transitory scene of 
 things ; remember the glorious hopes you entertain of 
 admission into the celestial mansions, and learn ofme not 
 lo regard this world as your home. Then do we keep 
 the feast of tabernacles in a spiritual manner, when we * 
 raise our ardent hopes to those glad regions where God 
 our. Father, where Christ our elder Brother, and all the 
 
THE FEAST OP TABERNACLES. 257 
 
 holy saints, and blessed angels, inhabit for evermore ; 
 when we view these earthly mansions, and even the grave 
 kself, as but our short home, and places of transient resi- 
 dence, in comparison of eternal habitations. 
 
 But the feast of tabernacles seems chiefly to be a figure 
 of that holy joy and spiritual gladness, which is both the 
 duty and privilege of the true circumcision, who worship 
 God in the spirit. It is long since this solemnity was dis- 
 continued; for God has made all their feast-days to cease ; 
 and there is no warrant in the scriptures for us, under the 
 Christian economy, to revive this ceremonial ordinance. 
 But still we have the substance of this shadow, and ought 
 to keep this feast, though not in a carnal manner ; for a 
 prophet of the Jews * foretels the conversion of the Gen- 
 tiles, in phrases which evidently import that these joyful 
 rites are figures of gospel-worship. The Christian joys, 
 both in the present arid future life, seem to have been pre- 
 figured by this Jewish festivity. 
 
 It began soon after the sorrowful day of expiation, in 
 which they afflicted their souls, and had a lively representa- 
 tion of the great atonement. Exactly so, the Christiar* 
 joy treads upon the heel of godly sorrow ; and it is the 
 prerogative cf the high and lofty One to revive the spirit 
 of the humble, and the heart of the contrite one. The 
 bloody death and meritorious sufferings of the great Sa- 
 crifice is the source from whence it springs. It is strange 
 but certain, the sinner's unspeakable joy arises from the 
 Saviour's unutterable woe. Well may they keep a feast 
 of tabernacles, who have received the atonement by Je- 
 bus Christ ; well may they shout for joy, whose iniquity 
 is pardoned, whose transgression is covered, and to whom 
 
 • Zech. xiv. 16. " And it shall come to pass, that every one that 
 •• is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shaH e?en 
 •• go up from year to year to worship the Kli^, ;h« Loru of I 361 
 ••* and to Jtscp the feast of tabernacles," &d 
 
 3 
 
258 TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 the Lord will not impute sin ; for, though he was angry 
 with them, his anger is turned away. 
 
 And as this solemn feast lasted eight days, the Christian's 
 joy is not like the joy of the hypocrite, but for a momerft ; 
 for it should be perpetuated through the whole course of 
 his life. " Rejoice evermore, " (1 Thess. v. 16.) is a 
 New Testament precept perpetually obliging. There are 
 times when carnal mirth may be very unseasonable, and 
 highly improper ; but what should forbid that joy in the 
 Holy Ghost, which is the gladness of his nation, to be 
 indulged at all times ? It is a joy that may exist in the 
 same soul, together with the most unfeigned sorrow and 
 most lively contrition. It may even comport with the 
 most afflicted state in this world, and abound in the great- 
 est of Tribulations. It is a continual feast, which the un- 
 paralleled afflictions of Paul were not capable of interrupt- 
 ing. Job could say, " Blessed be the name of the Lord," 
 (Job i. 21.) in the most complicated distress. And 
 11 though the fig-tree should not blossom, though fruit 
 ft should not be found in the vines, though the labour of 
 w the olive should fail, though the flock should be cut off 
 *' from the fold, and there should be no herd in the stalls;'* 
 it was the firm resolution of Habakkuk, «• Yet will I re- 
 ¥ joice in the Lord, and be glad in the God of my salva- 
 41 tion," (Hab. Hi. 17. 18.) 
 
 However, it must be owned, the feast is kept here but 
 imperfectly. We are in heaviness through manifold 
 temptations, and must not expect to have all tears wiped 
 away in a p'ace of sin aid sorrow. The principal cele- 
 bration of this festival is in heaven, where alone thrre is 
 fulness of pure unmixed j< y. In corrpaason of this bless- 
 ed state, how imperfect is the present ! It may be re- 
 sembled to the sorrowful day of expiation that preceded 
 this joyful feast, J3ut as the Jews of old, for one day of 
 
FAST OP ANNIVERSARY ATONEMENT. 2&9 
 
 sorrow had eight days of gladness, so momentary afflic- 
 tion shall there give place to everlasting joy. The be- 
 loved apostle describes the heavenly state in allusion to the 
 ceremonies of this feast : rt And I beheld, and lo, a great 
 u multitude which no man could number, of all nations, 
 u and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stooc} before the 
 u throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white 
 ** robes," (Rev. vii. 9-) and, as the Jews were wont at 
 the feast . of tabernacles, they had palms in their hands, 
 and sung with a loud voice the great Hosanna. 
 
 Secondly, The Fast of Anniversary Atone- 
 ment. 
 
 Upon the tenth day of the seventh month, (a month 
 distinguished in the Jewish rubric for the great number 
 of festivals observed in it,) the whole body of the pe ->ple 
 in Isiael were required to keep a solemn fast to afflict 
 their souls for sin, and to abstain from all manner of 
 servile work. But the chief solemnities of the day con- 
 sisted in those rites by which the high-priest was to make 
 atonement for the sins of his nation ; which rites were 
 never practised but upon this occasion. Whatever our 
 great High Priest has done for the salvation of his 
 people in earth beneath, or in heaven above, was prefi- 
 gured in these venerable solemnities. This the inspired 
 writer to the Hebrews having at great length illustrated 
 to our hand, it will not be necessary to enlarge upon it. 
 Let it suffice briefly to enumerate the sacerdotal a&ticns 
 reserved for this memorable day, and then to hint at their 
 typical sense. 
 
 How then was the Jewish high priest to equip himself 
 for the service cf the day ? He was to put on his holy ■ 
 linen garments after washing himself He was to furnish 
 himself with a bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a 
 
260 typical PtAcas. Book ii£ 
 
 burnt -offering, to be offered for his own sins, and the sins 
 of his family. He was also to take of the congregation 
 two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and a ram for a 
 burnt- offering. The two goats, making but one offering 
 together, were not to be used in the same manner. One 
 of them was to be offered unto 'he Lord after the man- 
 lier of a sin-offering ; the other presented alive before the 
 Lord, and then dismissed into the wilderness. The sacri- 
 fices being prepared, he proceeded in the following man- 
 ner. First, he killed the bullock, to atone for himself 
 and family ; and taking in his hand a censer full of burn- 
 ing coals from off the altar, and a quantity of sweet in- 
 cense sufficient to raise a cloud that should cover the mer- 
 cy-seat, taking also the blood of his bullock in a vessel,, 
 lie went into the sanctuary, set the incense on fire, and 
 sprinkled the blood upon and before the mercy-seat. The 
 •acrifice for himself being thus performed, he returns out 
 of the sanctuary, and kills the goat of the sin-offering for 
 the people; and bringing his blood again within the vail, 
 lie sprinkles it, as he had done with the blood of the bul- 
 lock, upon the mercy-seat, and likewise upon the golden 
 altar. u And," said the lawgiver of the Jews, " there 
 ** shall be no man in the tabernacle, when he goeth in to 
 41 make an atonement in the holy place, until he come 
 " out," (Lev. xvi. 17.) The next ceremony is this ; he 
 brings the live goat, and laying his hands upon the head 
 of the creature, confesses over him all the iniqnit'es of the 
 children of Israel, putting them upon the head of the goat, 
 and sends him by some fit man into the wilderness : M And 
 " the goat," said the Lord, " shall bear up^u him all the 
 M iniquities of the children of Israel into a land not in- 
 11 habited," (Verse 22.) This done, he goes into the ta* 
 bernacle of the congregation, and stripping himself of hia t 
 linen garments, he deposits them in the holy place, washes 
 
FAST OF ANNIVERSARY ATONEMENT. 262 
 
 himself; puts on his golden garments fof gi'-ry and beauty, 
 comes forth to the people, and offers the two rams for a 
 burnt-offering, the one for himself, an* 1 the other for the 
 people. Lastly, the fat of the sin-offering is burnt upon 
 the altar, and the bodies of the bullock and goat, whose 
 blood had been carried into the holy place, were burned 
 without the camp. 
 
 Such is the order of the holy rites to be practised on 
 this great anniversary ; and the happy effects of it are said 
 to be a cleansing from all their sitj< : (Ver. SO.) Now, it 
 is evident, these carnal ordinances have many marks of 
 weakness and imperfection. If we speak of rca! atone- 
 ment, it was utterly impossible that the blood of these 
 bullocks and goats could take sin away, as pertaining to 
 the conscience. They were but brute creatures, of inferior 
 nature to the priest that offered them, and to the people 
 for whom they were offered. They were offered by a sin- 
 ful man, who needed atonement for himself. They wtre 
 offered year by year continually, and in them a remen> 
 brance was again made of sin every year. Now, if they 
 could have made the comers to them perfect, would they 
 not have ceased to be offered ? Most certainly they would, 
 because that the worshippers, once purged, shmild have 
 had no more conscience of sin. In all these things the 
 Priest of our profession has the pre-eminence. He need- 
 ed not, like Aaron and his successors, to offer for himself, 
 being harmless and undefiied. He needed not to shed the 
 blood of others ; for he was able to offer up himself. He 
 needed not repeat his sacrtice oftener than once, or suffer 
 often from the foundation of the world ; for by one offer- 
 ing he hath'for ever perfected all them that are sanctified. 
 These necessary allowances being made of the vast dis- 
 parity between the type and Jesus Christ, vve shall p oceed 
 to enumerate some of those grand evangelical mysteries 
 
262 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK II*. 
 
 that were enigmatically preached unto the Jews in the 
 transactions of this day. 
 
 That in future time a true and proper atonement should 
 be made for the sins of Israel ; or, to use the style of the 
 prophet Zechariah, that " God would remove the iniquity 
 " of his land in one day ;" (Zech. iii. 9.) this seems to 
 have been the leading doctrine held forth in all the sacri* 
 fices, but especially in those that were offered on this oc- 
 casion. Yet a little while, and God will exhibit a propi- 
 tiation in the promised Messiah, who shall finish transgres- 
 sion, and make an end of sin, and perfectly do that will of 
 God, which cannot be done by sacrifice for sin, and burnt- 
 offerings. And how shall this great event be brought to 
 pass ? How shall the Messiah redeem Israel from all his 
 iniquities ? What shall he do ? What shall be done unto 
 him ? How shall he begin ; and in what manner shall he 
 finish the arduous work ? These questions may all be an* 
 swered by these anniversary rites. 
 
 It was signified that the great Maker of atonement 
 should assume the nature of the persons for whom it 
 should be made ; for their high-priest was one of their 
 brethren, and taken from among men. That when he 
 should come into the world, to do the will of God* he 
 should not make a splendid figure, nor array himself of all 
 that glory of which he is truly possessed. For the high- 
 priest of the Jews, upon the day of atonement, put not 
 on at the first his best suit of apparel, but was content 
 with the holy linen garments he wore in common with 
 Other priests. That he should be constituted a public 
 person, and represent a great number of individuals, in 
 whatever should be done by him. For the high-priest 
 did not officiate in the garments which he commonly 
 wore, but in these public robes that were the badges of 
 his public character f as the representative of the people, 
 
FAST OF ANNIVERSARY ATONEMENT. 263 
 
 That the sins of all the redeemed should be transferred 
 upon him, and become his own by legal imputation. For 
 all the iniquities of the children of Israel were solemnly 
 confessed over the head of the scape-goat, before he was 
 dismissed into the wilderness. That when thus charged 
 with guilt, he should suffer the punishment of death, and 
 his life be violently taken away. For the other goat, the 
 bullock, and the two rams, were killed for sin-offerings 
 and burnt-offerings. And " without shedding of blood 
 u was no remission," (Heb. ix. 22.) Tha^ the blood of 
 Jesus should be shed in a public manner without the gate. 
 For the bodies of these beasts were burned without the 
 camp. That he should, however, live, even when dead, 
 as to his divine nature, and be a glorious conqueror of 
 the grave by his resurrection. For the scape-goat, which 
 was the half of the sin-offering for the people, was not to 
 be killed as the other goat. That he should, when the 
 work of purging our sin9 was finished, disappear on earth, 
 enter within the vail of these aspectable heavens, into 
 that happy place where God resides among the blessed 
 angels For when the high-priest had shed the blood of 
 the bullock and the goat, he went out of the sight of 
 the Israelites, entering within the vail into that venerable 
 apartment, where were the symbols of the divine presence, 
 and where Jehovah sat enthroned between the cheru- 
 bims. That his most precious blood should be the key 
 to open the everlasting gates, or should procr.re his wel- 
 come reception into the presence of God. For unless 
 the high-priest had offered up the appointed victims, he 
 4artt nor have presumed to see the face of God in the 
 most holy place. That though the heavens should con- 
 tain him, and the world see him no more, he should 
 still be carrying on his priestly work in the presence of 
 Jfhovah, For when the Jewish priest entered within 
 
.* 
 
 264 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 the vail, he perfumed the mercyvseat with incense, ^nd 
 sprinkled it with blood. Truly, unVs- the high priest 
 had gone into the holiest of all with his blood < 
 cense, he had not discharged the most glorious part of 
 his work. Tfhe. had only offered be victims, a*K ic 
 no further than the ruddle court, the' inferior priests had 
 been upon a level with him ; for these things they did as 
 well as he. So if Jesn 0< t wgre still flip earth, where 
 he offered up himself; if he had &pt gone to the Father, 
 and retired from the view of men, he could not be a 
 priest in the most eminent sense of the word ; the most 
 glorious part of his ^unction were still to be discha ^ed, 
 and the resemblance betwixt him and the Jewish high- 
 priest would be very lame and imperfect. But rejoice, 
 O ye that believe on his name, and ye that make his 
 atonement the principal basis of your comfort ; for we 
 have a great liigh> Priest, that was once on earth, but is 
 now passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. 
 There he appears as a Lamb as it had been slain, and 
 stands with his golden censer, to offer up the incense of 
 his intercession with the prayers of all saints. A time 
 will come, when the interposing vail shall be drawn aside, 
 and the great High Priest return with sound of trumpet 
 to bless his expecting people, and absolve them from all 
 their iniquities before an assembled world: for " to them 
 " that look for him he shall appear the second time, 
 *< without sin, unto salvation," (Heb. ix. 28.) 
 
 Thirdly, The Feast of First-fruits and of 
 
 Pentecost. 
 
 As it was the will of God that his people should 
 
 dweH alone, and be divided from all nations of the world 
 
 by a wall of partition, till the Messias should come to 
 
 pull it down, so, besides a great number of other pecu« 
 
THE PEAST OF FIRST-FRUITS, SfC. 265 
 
 Iiarities, they must not plough, nor sow, nor reap, in the 
 same manner as o:her people* The rites with which they 
 began and finished their harvest are not unworthy of a 
 particular nuticc. Besides the charitable regulation they 
 observed, in not making a clean riddance of the corners 
 of their field, nor g ; any gleanings, nor returning 
 
 to fetch a forgotten shcat, (tor these were- the perquisites 
 of the poor stranger, the fatherless, and the iridaw,) *hey 
 were commanded to begin their harvest with offering to 
 the Lord a sheaf of the first-fruits, and to end it in a holy 
 convocation, and an offering of two loaves, with oiher 
 solemnities. 
 
 The beginning of harvest in the holy land was on the 
 morrow after the feast of the pas^over, when they present- 
 ed their first-fruits unto the Lord, not only for the whole 
 congregation, but, as it would seem, for every particular 
 family. The form of words to be pronounced on this oc- 
 casion by him that offered the first-fruits, i? expressly re- 
 corded in the Jewish law * ; and the wise king of Tsrael 
 enforces the obedience of this religious precept with the 
 assurance of the heavenly benediction : «' Honour the 
 u Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of 
 M thine increase ; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, 
 M and thy presses shall burst out with new wine," (Prov. 
 iii. 9. 10.) They were forbid to taste themselves the pro- 
 duce of the year, whether bread, parched corn, or green 
 ears, till they had brought tke appointed offering tc their 
 God, as an acknowledgment of his dominion, and ex* 
 pression of their gratitude. It seems to have been a sig- 
 nificant ceremony, iotended to revive that Liw of nature, 
 that the all-bounteous Giver should be honoured with our 
 
 { • Deut xxvi. 3. 5. " I profess this day, that I am come into th* 
 " country which the Lord swarc unto our fathers for to gire us, A 
 M Syrian ready to perish was my father," Ac. 
 
 z 
 
266 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 first and best. And, truly, the observance o£ this rule i3 
 not only enjoined every where in the Mosaic ritual, but 
 may be traced as high as the offering of the first martyr, 
 who brought unto the Lord of the firstlings of his flock ; 
 whereas no such thing is observed of the first murderer, 
 to whose offering the Lord had no respect. Besides, when 
 he, who crowned the year with his goodness, required a 
 sheaf to be given him, it might impress upon their minds 
 such momentous truths as these, that we can give nothing 
 to God but what we first receive from God ; that what 
 we present unto God cannot be profitable unto him ; and 
 that what he requires is nothing to what he bestows. What 
 Is a single sheaf to all the treasures of the harvest ? Would 
 he not been a foolish Israelite, who should have regarded 
 his puny sheaf as an equivalent, or price, that deserved at 
 God's hand the rkh productions of the year ? Nor is it 
 less absurd for any to imagine, that their most useful ac- 
 tions can deserve the gift of eternal life, that joyful har- 
 vest of light that is sown for the righteous, and of glad- 
 ness that is sown for the upright in heart. 
 
 The end cf harvest was on the fiftieth day after it be- 
 gan. This day was solemnized with a religious assem- 
 bling, and with abstaining from servile work. The hus- 
 bandman had seen the fruits of his ground brought to ma- 
 turity, and testified his gratitude by the sheaf which he 
 offered with holy rites upon the first day ; and now he of- 
 fers upon the fiftieth day, two large loaves of fine flour 
 baken with leaven, which are also called xhzjirst -fruits 
 unto the Lord, (Lev. xxiii. 17.) and were a thank-offer- 
 ing, as well as the sheaf, to that good God who had re- 
 served for them the appointed weeks of the harvest. On 
 the beginning of Pentecost, they offered with the sheaf, 
 a lamb without blemish, for a burnt-offering; but nowtheir 
 gratitude must rise in proportion to the favours they re- 
 
THE FEAST OF FIRST-FRUITS, SfC. 267 
 
 ceive, and not one lamb, but seven lambs, one young bui- 
 lt ek, and two rams, must ?moke upon God's altar. 
 
 We are informed by the historian of the New Testa- 
 ment, that this fiftieth day coincided with the most re- 
 maskable event of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon 
 the first founders of Christianity. "When the days of 
 " Pentecost were fully come, they were all with one ac- 
 " cord in one place : and suddenly there came a sound 
 41 fiom heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind ; and there 
 " appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire* and sat 
 " upon each of them ; and they were all filled with the 
 44 Holy Ghost, and began to speak with tongues, as the 
 " Spirit gave them utterance," ( Acts ii. 1. 2. 3. 4.) 
 
 By inspecting the history of the Israelites' march from 
 "Egypt, it will also be found, that upon this very day the 
 law was given at mount SinaL The conjunction of these 
 two grand events on the last day of Pentecost seems 
 rot without some special intention in the Holy Ghost. 
 Fifty days after the deliverance from Egypt, was the 
 killing letter, or the fiery law, given ; and fifty days after 
 the resurrection of Christ, our better deliverance, was the 
 quickening Spirit dispensed, to write the law, not on hard 
 tables of stone, but on the fleshly tables of the heart, and 
 to qualify the apostles to begin a new harvest, far more 
 important than what was now happily finished; a harvest 
 not of corn, but of men, to be reaped by putting the 
 sickle of the work of God into the field of the world. 
 
 Such were the sacred rites with which the Jews began 
 and finished their harvest ; and, in the language of the 
 New Testament, whatever thing is the beginning, pledge, 
 and earnest of more of the same kind, is styled first fru its. 
 So the first-fruits of Achaia, (1 Cor. xvi. 15 ) denotes the 
 most early converts to the Christian faith in that par: of 
 the world, and those begun graces and consolations of the 
 2 
 
268 TYPICAL tfLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 H Iv Ghost, that are the earnest of the eternal inherit- 
 a: te, are denominated the first fruits of the Spirit, (Rom. 
 viii. 23.) But we shall chit fly observe the application of 
 this epithet to Christ, and to believers. 
 
 " Christ, " says the inspired apostle, " is risen from the 
 " dead, and become the first-fruits of them that sleep," 
 (1 Cor. xv. 20.) May we not hence affirm, that as the 
 harvest is a natural emblem of the end of the world, and 
 general resurrection, so the Jewish first-fruits did repre- 
 sent the resurrection of the Son of God. The bodies of 
 the saints, when deposited in the grave, may be compared 
 tc that seed which the husbandman commits to the fur- 
 rows of the field. Oie would imagine, that the grain, 
 Once buried under the clod, would never more emerge 
 from under it. But constant experience assures us, that, 
 by the combined influence of vernal showers and suns, it 
 will burst the confinement of the furrow, and reward the 
 labourer's toil with copious fruit. So, at the destined 
 hour, the sleeping dust of the saints shall revive as the 
 corn ; the earth shall cast forth her dead, and shall no more 
 cover her slain ; and what was sown in dishonour shall be 
 raised in glory. The resurrection of the corn is an event, 
 in the world of nature, that clearly proves the possibility 
 of God's raising the dead. The resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ advances further still, and evidently prove* the cer- 
 taintyof our bodies arising from the dust. This joyful 
 event not only proclaims, in loudest accents, that the dry 
 bones can live, if it is the pleasure of Gcd to send forth 
 his quickening Spirit ; but asserts, in the strongest man- 
 ner, that " he will revive us, he will raise us up, and we 
 *' shall live in bis sight," (Hos. vi. 2.) Were the first- 
 fruits reaped before the rest of the harvest ? So Christ, 
 the first-fruits, was first raised from the grave, and after- 
 wards thev that are Christ's shall be raised at his comincr* 
 
THE FEAST OP FIRST-FRUITS, SfC. 2C9 
 
 Were the first-fruits a pledge and earnest to the Israelites, 
 that the whole harvest should be reaped in due time? The 
 resurrection of Jesus Christ ensures the resurrection of all 
 his people at the appointed season. So runs the joyful 
 declaration in the prophet, M Thy dead men shall live ; 
 il together with my dead body shall they arise : awake 
 " and sing, ye that dwell in the dust," (Isa. xxvi. 19- ) 
 But as the first-fruits are an emblem of Jesus Christ, 
 they no less represent the faithful and the redeemed from 
 among men. " Israel," says a prophet, H was holiness to 
 4C the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase," (Jer. ii.3.) 
 And an apostle affirms, that M of his own will we are 
 u begotten by the word of truth, that we should be a 
 41 kind of first-fruits of his creatures," (James i. 18.) 
 Let us see the resemblance. The first-fruits were the una- 
 lienable property of the God of Israel, with which it had 
 been sacrilege to intermiddle. Even so, the redeemed are 
 the portion of the Lord; they are not their own, and al! 
 who devour them shall cfFend. The first-fruits were given 
 by God to the priests, as a part of their maintenance. 
 This puts us in mind of that saying of our High- Priest, 
 *' Thine they were, and thou gavest them me," (John 
 xvii. 6.) The first-fruits were but a small part of the 
 harvest. This may denote the paucity of saints, who, in 
 comparison of the multitude, are like an handful of corn 
 in the earth. But, lastly, as the first-fruits did sanctify 
 and bless the whole crop, and in their use were better than 
 the rest ; even so, Ate people of God, though few and 
 small, are the excellent of the earth, and a blessing in the 
 midst of the land, however much they may be underva- 
 lued by worldly men. 
 
270 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III, 
 
 Fourthly, The Feast of the New Moons. 
 
 As the feast of the new moon is placed among the 
 shadows of good things to come by the apostle of the 
 Gentiles, we must not altogether pass over it. Though 
 the beginning of the seventh month was peculiarly sacred, 
 the beginnings of all the other months were also dedicated 
 unto God, and solemnized with holy rites and exercises 
 of devotion. On their new moons they refrained servile 
 work, offered extraordinary sacrifices *, resorted to the 
 prophets, feasted together, and blowed the silver trum- 
 pets. Let us try if we can assign the probable reasons of 
 this service, or the moral instructions that may be learn* 
 ed fiom this statute unto Israel, and law of the God o£ 
 Jacob. 
 
 And, first, might it not be designed as an ascription of 
 praise and thanksgiving to that glorious Being, who sus- 
 pended that silver lamp in the blue vault of heaven, that 
 it might smooth the shades of Dight with its cheerful bor- 
 rowed rays, turn the ocean in its bed, divide our time, 
 and serve the purposes of vegetation, as well as the go]/- 
 den ruler of the day ? They acknowledged by this^fesv 
 tival, that God, who is above, was the prime m^ver of 
 this, and other heavenly luminaries ; that to hirfl they 
 were indebted for all the beneficial effects of these excel- 
 lent creatures. Had they intended to address their ho- 
 mage to the host of heaven themselves, and not to him 
 who formed them by the breath of his mouth* they 
 
 * The sacrifices for the new moon, appointed in the Mosaic law, 
 are two young bullocks, one ram, sev^n lambs, &c. Niim xxri. 1 1. 
 Ezekiel mentions but one young" bullock,, six- lambs, and a ram^ 
 chap. xlvi. 6. though the church state which he describes is supposed 
 to be more glorious than the former one. We see from this, i.ne ce- 
 remonial law was not designed to be unalterable ; for, not only t he- 
 priesthood being- changed, (which the apostle observes,. Hob. vii. 12.) 
 but the sacrifice also being changed, (according to Ezekiel,) there is- 
 made of necessity a change also of the law. 
 
THE FEAST OP THE NEW MOONS. 271 
 
 would no doubt have rather blown their trumpets to the 
 rising sud, or to the moon at her full, when she walks in 
 brightness. But God, who is jealous of his glory, required 
 that he should be praised for this good creature, not when 
 she appears to. her greatest advantage, but when she is 
 either altogether invisible, or dimly seen, like an incon- 
 siderable streak of light. By this precaution, none can 
 suspect but the sacred rites were in honour of him who 
 u made the sun to rule by day, and the mcon to rule by 
 u night; for his mercy endureth for ever," (Psal. cxxxvL 
 
 «■ 9.) 
 
 Might it not also be intended as a solemn recognition, 
 that God wa9 the sole proprietor of their times, which 
 are wholly in his hand, and ought to be dedicated onto 
 his service ? The first days of their month might be offer- 
 ed to God for the same reasons as the first-fruits of their 
 ground. Hereby they disclaimed the superstition of the 
 Heathen, who were dismayed at the signs of heaven, and 
 esteemed some parcels of their time ill fated or unlucky. 
 As every creature of God is good, so no time is evil, be- 
 ing sanctified by the same word of God, and prayer. If 
 the first-fruits be holy, so is the lump ; and if the first 
 day cf every month be holy, the subsequent days are con- 
 secrated by it. 
 
 But chiefly, as one is apt to look for some notices of 
 the Messiah in all the legal ordinances, might not this 
 monthly festival, and especially the feast of trumpets in 
 the seventh month of their civil, but first of their sacred 
 ye*ar, be viewed by them as a faint shadow of the future 
 renovation of all things by Jesus' Christ ? Though we 
 must not be bold in Hxing our own conjectures upon the 
 Holy Ghost, as his undoubted meaning, there seems, 
 however, to be a considerable likeness betwixt the blow- 
 
272 TYPICAL PLACES. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 ing of the trumpet at the new moon, and the voice both 
 of the gospel and the archangel. 
 
 First, it might perhaps be a figure of the new face the 
 church should wear in the age of the Messiah. In other 
 places the universal church is compared to the moon, and 
 the preaching of the gospel Is resembled to the blowing 
 of a great trumpet. What though we should consider the 
 old moon as an emblem of the Jewish economy, which, 
 like that waning orb, decayed, waxed old, and vanished 
 away. But the Christian dispensation may be compared 
 to the new moon, which, though small at first, did gra- 
 dually increase, while the sound of the gospel-trumpet, 
 the voice of our great High- Priest, did go 'unto all the 
 earth, and his word unto the end of the world. Who 
 knows but the believing Jews might, by this feast, express 
 their faith and joy in that happy revolution, which the 
 apostle calls, " the abolishing in his flesh the enmity, even 
 " the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, to 
 u make in himself, of twain, one new man ?".(Eph. ii. 15.) 
 
 Or, lastly, may we not discern, in this monthly festival, 
 a shadow of the awful transactions in the great and ter- 
 rible day of the Lord ; which shall, however, be a joyful 
 period to all true Israelites, and the time of the restitu- 
 tion of all things ? This visible world itself may be re- 
 sembled to a waning moon, as the fashion of it passes 
 away. But as the new moon succeeded the old, while 
 the priests did blow with their trumpets ; so, when 
 the last trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised in- 
 corruptible, and the living shall be changed ; this cor- 
 ruptible shall put on in corruption, and this mortal shall 
 put n immortality. Then shall that blessed state com- 
 mence, when, according to the sublime prophet, <4 Thy 
 " sun, O Zion, shall be no more thy light by day, nei- 
 44 ther for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: 
 
THE METAPHORICAL PRIESTHOOD, #C. 273 
 
 " but the Lord sha'l be unto thee an everlasting light, and 
 €l thy God thy glory. Tny sun shall no rm>rc go down, 
 u neither bhall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord 
 u shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy 
 u mourning shall be ended/' (ha. ix. 19. 20.) 
 
 Fifthly, The Metaphorical Priesthood of all 
 
 Christians. 
 
 Although the Levitical priests were chiefly desigi- 
 ed to prefigure the great High- Priest, as has been said, 
 this hinders not to view them also as em lems of all the 
 saints, who, in every age, ere caused to approach unto 
 God, that they may dwell in the house of the Lord for 
 ever. It is true, indeed, the great propitiatory sacrifice 
 is already offered, never to be repeated again ; and we 
 cannot sufficiently detest that sacrilegious usurpation of the 
 Redeemer's glory, by the pretended priests in the Roman 
 church, who, without any the least warrant from the sacred 
 oracles, give out to their deluded votaries, that they offer 
 in the mass, I know not what unbloody sacrifice for the 
 sins of the living and the dead. O impiety 1 O absurdi- 
 ty ! for can any thing be more wicked and foolish, than 
 to imagine that Jesub Christ has not, by his one offtiing, 
 for ever perfected all them that are sanctified, but left his 
 work to be completed by a wretched, mumbling, mortal 
 priest ? We Christians must acknowledge, that all priest- 
 hood, in the strict literal sense, is now ceased in Christ, 
 the end of the law. But still there is a metaphorical 
 priesthood, which the New Testament ascribes, not to the 
 office-bearers in the Christian church, but to all Christians 
 without exception. It was the promise of God to his 
 ancient people, that " they should be unto him a king- 
 " dom of priests ;" (Exod. xix. 6.) and the phrase is 
 adopted by a New TestameRt apostle, who says to the 
 
274 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 whole body of the believers to whom he wrote, M Ye are 
 " a royal priesthood," (1 Pet. ii. 9.) It was foretold by 
 the holy prophets, that men should call the professors of 
 the true religion, the priests of the Lord, and the ministers 
 of our God ; (Isa. lxi. 6. J that the Gei. tiles snouid be 
 taken for priests and Levites ; that the priestly tribe 
 should have an offspring numerous as the host of heaven, 
 and the sand of the sea; that in every place which .he 
 rising and setting sun surveys, incense and a pure offering 
 should be offered to the true God. These great and pre- 
 cious promises have already' been, and still more shall be 
 fulfilled. The company of the redeemed were seen by 
 John in vision arrayed in white robes, the badge of their 
 priestly character ; and he heard their heavenly song of 
 praise to that loving Saviour that washed them from their 
 sins in his own blood, anil hath made us kings and priests 
 unto God. Though the analogy of the legal and me* 
 taphorical priesthood may not perhaps be so striking as 
 betwixt Aaron and Jesus Christ, there is not wanting a 
 considerable resemblance. 
 
 Were the Levitical priests chosen by God, and sepa- 
 rated to his peculiar service ? God hath chosen the faith- 
 ful from the rest of mankind, and set apart him that is 
 godly for himself. Were they taken in *he room of the 
 first- born of all the tribes, to whom the right of priest- 
 hood seems to have originally belonged \ The people of 
 Christ are the general assembly and church of the first- 
 born, as all God's children are. Were they all descended 
 from Aaron and Levi ? (for, unless they could prove their 
 genealogy, they were put from the priesthood as polluted.) 
 So all the saints are descendants from Jesus Christ, their 
 everlast : ng Father, and ought to ascertain their heavenly 
 extraction by the documents of a holy conversation. 
 They were washed with water at their consecration, and 
 
THE METAPHORICAL PRIESTHOOD, SfC. 275 
 
 were always to use the great laver that stood in the entry 
 of the tabernacle, when they ministered in the sanctuary. 
 Tin's puts us in mind of the washing of regeneration, that 
 all Christians partake at first, and of the frequent recourse 
 to the fountain of Christ's blood in their holy services. 
 The oil that anointed them signilied the unction of the 
 Spirit, which the fauhful receive from the holy One. 
 The white garments of fine linen are an emblem of the 
 righteousness of the saints. They were not allowed a 
 share of the earthly Canaan, as the other tribes ; for the 
 Lord spake unto Aaron, u Thou shalt hare no inheritance 
 " in their land, nor have any part among them : I am thy 
 u part, and thine inheritance," (Numb, xviii. 20.) Was 
 not this a lively type of the superior privilege of his be- 
 loved, who are delivered from the men of the world, who 
 have their wretched portion in this transitory life ? But 
 the Lord is their portion, and therefore in him they may 
 hope, be their outward state ever so indigent. The ce- 
 remonial purity required of them that bore the vessels of 
 the Lord, denotes, that holiness becomes the house of 
 the Lord for ever, and all who worship in his temple. 
 
 But what are their sacrifices ? Let an apostle speak 
 this : they " are spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God 
 " by Jesus Christy" (1 Pet. ii. 5.) Perhaps we might 
 say, to use the legal style, there is the meat-offering of 
 charitable distributions ; the drink-offering of penitent 
 tears, issuing from a broken contrite heart ; the heave of- 
 fering of prayer and elevated desires ; the peace-offering 
 of praise and thanksgiving ; and the whole burnt- offering 
 of the whole man, when the body is presented unto God 
 a living sacrifice ; when every lust is mortified, and the 
 very life surrendered for the honour of God in martyr- 
 dom, which sometimes is a reasonable service. These are 
 the sacrifices which all the saints should offer, not to an 
 
276 TYPICAL PLACES. BOOK III. 
 
 unatoried, but to an atoned God. They themselves are 
 his temples ; and besides, they have access by faith into 
 heaven, the holiest of all. Christ is their altar that sanc- 
 tifies all their gifts. His Spirit is the fire that inflames, 
 and his merit is the salt that powders all their sacrifices, 
 when they come with acceptance before the presence of 
 Jehovah. 
 
 THE END. 
 

 *WF 
 
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