ment immediately from the hand or direction of God; [Exodus xii. 29.] as it was to the Ifraelites a juft retribution of the cruelty of the Egyptians in endeavouring to deftroy all their male children. Exodus i. 16. [Note-In thofe ages and circumftances of the world, when men were not fo capable of being convinced by abftract reafoning, and probably understood nothing of the perfections of God a priori, his fupreme authority and omnipotence would be beft demonftrated by facts, which experimentally proved his uncontroled dominion over all other powers, and over univerfal Nature.] At laft Pharaoh and his people give up the cause. God's fuperior power is owned, because so dreadfully experienced. The Egyptians urge them to depart, and to remove all objections that might hinder their departure, willingly give them the most precious and valuable of their poffeffions, [which, by the way, might be but equal payment for the labor of fo great a multitude, for 140 years.] See Exodus xii. 33, &c. Verfe 35. And the children of Ifrael afked of the Egyptians Jewels, &c. i. e. asked the Egyptians to give them jewels, &c. ["8" fignifics to ask to give, as well as to lend. Jofh. xv. 18, 19. xix. 50. Jud. v. 25. viii. 25, 26. Pfal. ii. 8. See Hebrew English Concordance.] Verfe 36. So that they lent unto them, &c. † So that they readily gave them, &c. in Hiphkid to make to afk, i. e. to encourage, to gratify afking by freely giving. [NoteUpon the occafion of the death of all the firft-born among the Egyptians, and the departure of the Ifraelites out of Egypt, a commemorative feftival, the paffover, is inftituted; an ordinance very proper for preferving the perpetual memory of the power and goodness of God among the Ifraelites.] The Ifraelites leave Egypt, in number no lefs than twenty four hundred thousand, Num. i. 45, 46, and all Nature giveth way before them. A paffage is open for them through the Red-fea, which closes upon, and overwhelms Pharaoh and his purfuing army. Pillars of cloud and fire, alternately appearing in the air, direct their march. Bitter fountains are made fweet. In a dry, thirsty, barren country they are fupplied with water from the hard and flinty rock, and with food from the fky for forty years together. With all the appearances of glory and dreadful majefty, God, as their King and Sovereign, eftablished his Covenant, or entered into a folemn contract, with them in mount Horeb; chufing them for a peculiar treasure above all people, Exodus xix. 5, and ingaging himself to be their God and King, and to beftow on them all national bleffings upon condition they were obedient, adhered to his worship, and kept clear of idolatry, with which they had been tinctured in Egypt, (Lev. xvii. 7. Josh. xxiv. 14. Ezek. xx. 8.) otherwise they might expect the fevereft judgments. Deut. xxix. 10, &c. At the fame time he gave them a fyftem of laws and ftatutes, moft excellent in themselves, fited to their prefent temper and circumstances, as well as to the future intents and purposes of the Gofpel difpenfation. Here God took up his refidence among them in the tabernacle, afterwards in the temple, fet= ing himself at the head of their affairs, and upon all important occafions directing directing them as an oracle. And all this to attach and unite this one nation to himself. At length, through a train of very ftriking miracles, (Jordan divided, the walls of Jericho thrown down) he brought them into the promised land, with a commiffion to deftroy all the inhabitants, the measure of whofe iniquity was then full; and, who probably were more corrupt than any of their neighbours, and as deferving of deftruction as Sodom and Gomorrha, for all the idolatrous, brutish, cruel, incestuous, and unnatural crimes, which univerfally prevailed amongst them. Had the Ifraelites been mixed with the idolatrous Canaanites they would foon have loft the knowledge of God, and been involved in all their corruptions; but being made the inftruments of their deftruction, this would give them the greater horror of those crimes, which they knew (for Mofes had told them, Deut. ix. 4, 5.) were thus dreadfully avenged by their arms. Moreover, thus they would give themselves a clear demonftration, that idol-gods had no power to defend and preserve their votaries. Therefore it was not unjust in God to command the destruction of the Canaanites, nor cruel in his fervants to execute that command, (any more than it is to extirpate outlaws, and the worft of criminals, by legal authority) but in the views of Divine Wisdom, the propereft way of extirpating them, confidering the effects it would have upon the minds of the Ifraelites. Here we may obferve, (1.) That the Ifraelites made no claim to the land of Canaan in their own right. The right was in God, who gave it them. (2.) We may obferve a good reason why the Divine Wisdom erected this scheme for preferving true religion, only in the one nation of the Ifraelites. Because had he selected a pious perfon, and his family, as he felected Abraham, and his pofterity, out of every nation upon earth, then to make room for them, every nation upon earth must have been devoted to destruction, as the Canaanites were. But feeing the whole earth was not filled with violence, injuftice, rapine and oppreffion, God in much lenity and forbearance was pleased to wink at, or overlook, the ignorance and error of other nations, without punishing them as they deferved, Acts xvii. 30; leaving them to the light of Nature, Acts xiv. 16, to feel, or grope after his exiftence and perfections, Acts xvii. 26, 27; and to the dictates of confcience, for their conduct in life; while he continued his providential care in giving the fupplies of life, and vifiting them with fuitable difpenfations; and will, at laft, judge them in perfect equity, making allowance for all unavoidable defects. Rom. ii. 6, IO, II, 12. Even after the Ifraelites were fetled in the land, the danger of idolatry was not over. They were ready on every occafion to catch the infection from their neighbours; and still there was need of further Divine Interpofitions. And through a long course of years they were exercised with various difpenfations, according as they did or did not adhere to the worship of God. When they clave unto the Lord, they were profperous and triumphant; when they forfook him, and followed ftrange. gods, they were in great diftrefs, in fervitude, and captivity; till by repeated calamities, and fignal deliverances, accompanied with the clearer light, and more rational convictions, which, at length, they were preVOL. I. H pared pared to receive from their prophets, they were at last weaned from idolatry, after the Babylonish captivity, about 955 years after their return out of Egypt; and never relapsed into it again *. All this was neceffary, and in confiftence with human agency, and the gradual improvements of mankind; was the propereft method to preferve the knowledge of the true God in the world, not only in that fingle nation, but in all the nations of the earth. For the difpenfation among the Jews, like a piece of leaven, which leaveneth the whole mafs, was intended for the benefit of all mankind; as by this means they became examples and inftructors, while they remained in their own country, to all their neighbours; and when in captivity, or difperfion, as they carried with them the knowledge of God into the countries where they were dispersed; till the nations fhould, by this and other means of improvement, be prepared to receive the cleareft revelation of the true God, and of eternal life by the Meffiah. Which was the great end and defign of the fcheme, which we have been confidering. And now, the more a thinking man revolves in his mind this train of affairs, and fees how one nation are led, step by step, as their capacities would admit, to a sense of the pre-eminence and fovereignty of the true God, in order to be fet apart as the repofitory of his facred laws and religion, till they and all mankind are fit for the reception of them in a more fimple, clear, and extenfive form, under the Gofpel, the more he will confefs and admire the fignatures of wisdom and goodnefs that appear through the whole and every part of the economy. There is one thing deferves particular attention, I mean, the spirit and behaviour of the Ifraelites in the wilderness. A very remarkable inftance of the wretched effects of fervitude upon the human foul. They had been flaves to the Egyptians for about 140 years; their fpirits were debased, their judgments weak, their fenfe of God and religion very low; they were very defective in attention, gratitude, generofity; full of diftrust and uneafy fufpicions; complaining and murmuring under the most astonishing difplays of Divine Power and Goodness, as if fstill under the frowns and fcourges of their unjust task-masters; could scarce raise their thoughts to profpects the most pleasing and joyous; knew not how to value the bleffings of liberty; of a tafte fo mean and illiberal, that the flesh and fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, onions and garlick, and fuch good doings in Egypt, weighed more with them than bread from heaven, and all the Divine affurances and demonftrations, that they should be raised to the nobleft privileges, the highest honor and felicity, as a peculiar treasure to God, above all people in the world. Num. xi. 4, 5, 6. In fhort, nothing would do; the ill qualities of flavery were engrained in their hearts; a groveling, thoughtless, sturdy, daftardly spirit fatigued the Divine Patience, counteracted and defeated all his wife and beneficent measures; they could not be worked up to that sense of God, that *Reckoning by the age of man, the world was then 34 years old; for the Few's returned from the Babylonish captivity about the year of the world 3468. u that esteem of his higheft favors, that gratitude and generous dutifulnefs, that magnanimity of fpirit, which were neceffary to their conquering and enjoying the promised land. And therefore the wifdom of God determined, they fhould not attempt the poffeffion of it, till that generation of flaves, namely, all above 20 years of age, were dead and buried. However, this did not lie out of the Divine plan. It ferved a great purpose, namely, to warn that, and all future ages of the church, both Jewish and Chriftian, that if they despise and abuse the goodness of God, and the noble privileges and profpects they enjoy, they fhall forfeit the benefit of them. And the Apostle applieth it to this very important ufe, with great force and propriety, in the epiftle to the Hebrews, chap. iii. ver. 15, to the end, and chap. iv. ver. 1—12. Thus, for a general view of this noble fcheme. The nature and excellency of it will stand in a stronger light, if we examine the particular privileges and honors confered upon this diftinguished nation, their tendency to promote piety and virtue, and the relation they bear to the ftate of things under the Gofpel. For this part of the subject we must turn to my Key to the Apoftolic Writings. W CHA P. XXVIII. Of the Jewish RITUAL, or Ceremonial Law. E must now turn back to the Mofaic Conftitution; which confifted, 1. Of political and judicial Laws. For which confult Cxx Mr. LowMAN on The Civil Government of the Hebrews. 2. Of moral precepts, fuch as the ten commandments. 3. Of Rites and Ceremonies, fuch as circumcifion, facrifices, wafhings, purifications, the ufe of certain garments, &c. and divers Rites ufed by the pricfts in the tabernacle. For a particular account of which, confult Mr. LowMAN on the Ritual of the Hebrew Worship. I fhall only obferve in general, that the defign of thofe Ceremonies, juftly explained, was to convey religious and moral inftructions, as well as the exprefs precepts. Hieroglyphics, which reprefent the fenfe of the mind, by outward figures, or actions, were the firft and moft ancient literature. So the government of the world by Divine Providence, and its extraordinary interpofition in favor of good men, is reprefented by a ladder standing upon the earth, and reaching to heaven, with the angels afcending and decending on it, to receive and execute orders from God above, who ruleth over all. Gen. xxviii. 12, 13. In the ftyle of this Hieroglyphic our Lord fpeaks, John i. 51. Hereafter fhall you fee heaven open, and the angels of God afcending and defcending upon the Son of Man, as upon Jacob; meaning you fhall fee an extraordinary Divine Interpofition working in t my favor, by many miraculous operations. [Dr. BENSON] The exal- This may ferve to explain the nature of hieroglyphics; a fort of language the Jews were then accustomed to, being the learning of that age, which they would understand much better than abstract reasonings about moral truths and duties. We may therefore, on this account, well admit, that the Rites and Ceremonies of their religious inftitution were hieroglyphic, and intended by external representations to give them useful instructions in true religion and real goodness. If we confult the Prophets and Apoftles, who were well acquainted with their meaning, we fhall find fo much evidence of the moral and spiritual intention of fo many, as may induce us to believe, this was the fense and spirit of all the reft. They were enjoined various and frequent ablutions, or washings with water; the common ufe of which is to discharge the body from all dirt and filth, and to keep it clean. This was a very easy representation of purity of mind, or of an heart purged from the filth of fin. And fo the Prophets understood it. Pfal. li. 2. Wash me from mine iniquity. Ver. 7. Wafh me, and I fhall be clean. Ifai. i. 16. Wash yourselves, make yourfelves clean, put away the evil of your doings. Ceafe to do evil, learn to do well. Jer. iv. 14. Acts xxii. 16. Heb. x. 22. Rev. i. 5. Anointing with oil, or ointment, by which the head was beautified, and the countenance exhilarated, had the fignification of honor, joy, holiness, and inspiration, Pfal. xlv. 7. Acts x. 38. The priefts officiated in garments of fine linen, Exod. xxxix. 27; meaning, that the priests fhould be clothed, or have their fouls adorned with righteousness, Pfal. cxxxii. 9. For the fine linen is the righteoufnefs of Saints. Rev. xix. 8. Burning of incenfe, whose fimoak rifeth up with a pleasant fmell, was an hieroglyphic reprefentation of acceptable prayer. Pfal, cxli. 2. Luke i. 10. Rev. viii. 3, 4. Circumcifion had relation to the heart and foul, or to the retrenching all inordinate affections and inclinations. Lev. xxvi. 41. Deut. x. 12—17. xxx. 6. Jer. iv. 4. Rom. ii. 29. The fprinkling of blood, and |