God himself, without fome particular instruction, at leaft for a long fpace of time; it is moft natural to suppose, that when the divine being communicated that most important knowledge to the first race of men, he also inftructed them in those methods by which he chofe that they should exprefs their homage, gratitude, and obedience. But whether we fuppofe facrifices to have been of human, or divine origin, it makes no difference with respect to the general idea of their nature and use.

§ 3. Of the Jewish ritual.

ESIDES the precepts and obfervances which

BE

it has pleased the divine being to enjoin with respect to the whole human race, he provided, what we may call, a much stricter, and more fevere difcipline for the Hebrew nation, whom he diftinguifhed by frequent revelations of his will, by many interpofitions in their favour, and a peculiar conftitution of civil government, in which he himself more immediately prefided.

They were restricted in their diet, being confined to the use of certain kinds of food; but they are fuch as are now generally efteemed to be the moft innocent in their nature, mild in their qualities, and leaft apt to become fatiating by frequent ufe. They would therefore tend to impress

upon

upon the minds of thofe who were confined to them an idea of their obligation to greater purity and innocence, and make them confider themfelves as a holy nation, peculiarly devoted to God. The 'ufe of fuch food would alfo, of itfelf, probably, incline them to a peaceful inoffenfive life, as it is thought that the ranker kinds of food tend to make mankind fierce and cruel.

A great part of the ritual of the Hebrews feems to have been intended to preferve upon their minds a fenfe of their immediate relation to God, and of their obligation to a conftant intercourse with him. There was one particular place within their country, to which they were to refort, where the divine being was to be confulted by them, and where he manifefted himself in a more especial manner. In this place, which was firft a moveable tabernacle, and afterwards the temple at Jerufalem, he had a conftant habitation, keeping, as it were, a regular court, with fuitable attendants. Here he received their gifts and homage, and here he gave them inftructions and advice on a variety of occafions, when they applied to him in a proper manner.

More efpecially, the great object of the Hebrew ritual feems to have been to infpire the minds of that people with an abhorrence of the idolatry of the neighbouring nations, and to preferve among them the pure worship of the one only living and true God. For this reafon many of their rites were M 5

the

the very reverse of those of their neighbours, fo as to be altogether incompatible with them, and muft confequently have tended to make them averse to them. Upon every occafion the importance of their adherence to this precife mode of worship was ftrongly inculcated upon them, a particular and remarkable providence attended them through the whole course of their history (and still attends them) giving them prosperity and success while they were obedient, and making the hand of God vifible in their punishment, when they departed from his worship, and relapfed into idolatry, or when they became, in other respects, profligate and wicked.

To prevent, as far as poffible, the abuse and corruption of this religion, nothing of the leaft confequence was left to the discretion of the people, but every minute particular, as those relating to the ftructure of the tabernacle, and the building of the temple, the kinds of facrifices, the ceremonies attending them, and every thing that was to be done on their public feftivals, was rigidly prescribed to them, and they were not allowed to make the leaft deviation. For the fame purpose, and alfo to preferve a proper degree of union among a people who were originally to have had no temporal head, they were allowed to have but one altar, and no facrifice was to be made but at that one place, and by certain persons appointed for that purpose; and three times every year, viz. at their public feftivals,

festivals, every male was to make his appearance before the Lord, at the place of his refidence, in the tabernacle, or temple.

Several things in the Hebrew ritual were perhaps intended to ferve as types of Chrift, or to bear some resemblance to him and his religion, and therefore the author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews calls them "a fhadow of good things to come." Heb. x. I.

On the other hand, it may be observed, that the author of this epiftle perhaps only intended to draw a comparison between the Hebrew ritual and fuch particulars in the chriftian fyftem as moft nearly resemble it, only as other comparisons and figures are used, merely for illuftration, without fuppofing that there was originally, and in the divine mind, a reference from the one to the other. Thus when the apostle Paul fays, 1 Cor. x. 2. " that the If"raelites were all baptized to Mofes in the cloud, "and in the fea," he can hardly be fuppofed to have meant, that the fprinkling of the water upon that people, or their being, as it were, plunged in it, by the water rifing over their heads, was a proper type of baptifm; but only, that by a common figure of speech, it might be fo termed; or that the rock which fupplied them with water was really Chrift, as the fame apoftle calls it, I Cor. x. 4. or a type of Chrift, but only that, in fome refpects, it might be compared to him, or he to it.

In fome cafes alfo, it is very poffible, that the apostles and evangelists might imagine there was a reference to Chrift, when no fuch thing was originally intended.

It is very remarkable, that when the facrifices under the law are spoken of in the Old Teftament, as infufficient to render the offer acceptable to God, there is never the most distant allufion to any more perfect facrifice, to which they are commonly fupposed to have referred, and of which they are faid to have been the types, but to good works only, which are always mentioned in oppofition to them. Thus David fays, Pf. li. 16. " Thou defireft not "facrifice, elfe would I give it: thou delighteft "not in burnt-offering. The facrifices of God gr are a broken fpirit: a broken and a contrite "heart, O God, thou wilt not defpife*" Now it can hardly be fuppofed but that, if facrifices had really been defigned for types, there would have been, in fome place or other, a reference, more or lefs plain, to the thing which they were intended to prefigure, and from their relation to which they derived all their efficacy.

* This particular paffage is differently rendered in the Seventy, and by this means probably the author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, chap. x. came to give a different turn to it. See. however, the fol lowing paffages, which exprefs the fame fentiment with this. If. i. 10,➡lxvi. 2, &c. Jer, vi, 8, &c. Amos v. 21. &c. Micah vi. 6. &c.

Laftly,