tythes, the prefenting the firft-born, the obfervation of the paffover, pentecoft and feaft of tabernacles, which were confined to the place, which God had chofen, thould be binding on those, who are to be at a great diftance from Judea? And how can men, who dwell in the utmoft parts of the earth, come to Jerufalem, to offer facrifice for every fin, and every pollution, in order to avoid the curfe? How could women, newly delivered, undertake fo long a journey, and prefent themselves in the place chofen by God, to perform the offerings commanded? Where could fo many beafts, fo many priefts, fo many altars be found, fufficient for all the facrifices? What extent of country, much lefs town, could be large enough to hold fuch numbers? Menaffe, if I rightly remember, idly talks, that then the gates of Jerufalem fhould be extended to Damafcus; but had he extended them, which he might with equal eafe, beyond the Porta Cafpie, or pafs of Teflis, he would have more commodiously provided for fo prodigious a conflux of people, flocking from all parts to the facrifices. Put the cafe of the leprofy, and of a houfe infected with that plague, of which Lev. xiii. must the priests make incurfions to the Scythians, the Sarmatians and the Indians; to the Britons feparated from the rest of the world, and to the outmoft Thule, to form a judgment of the scab or fcall? To omit many other confiderations, which might with equal propriety be urged; and which Eufebius among the ancients, Demonftr. Evangel. Lib. 1. and among the moderns, Spabemius, Dubior Evang. P. 3. Dub. 112. have fully and learnedly

done.

LI. You may poffibly alledge, that God will grant a kind of difpenfation of, and relax thefe impoffible laws. But where is there, any promife to that purpofe? Have not thefe laws been made by the fame authority with the others? is not their duration in like manner extended for ever, which in other refpects is fo much objected to us? Do not thefe, and the like laws, conftitute the principal part of the ceremonial? And if the confcience can be fet free from the obligation of thefe, why not alfo from that to the others, which are of the fame nature?

III. Shall they not cease to bind, because the obfervation of them is impoffible, any more than we teach, that the moral law is binding, though we allow the perfect performance thereof to be a thing impoffible? But who does not fee a very wide difference. here? That the moral law cannot now be perfectly performed, is a thing accidental, owing to our corruption. That thele other laws cannot be obferved under the kingdom of the Melliah, arifes from the nature of the laws themselves, without any default of man. And thus we have demonftrated, that the ceremonies,

ceremonies, in fo far as they are acts of the obedience, prefcribed by the old law, cannot be obferved in the univerfal church, gathered together from among Jews and Gentiles, under the king Messiah.

There

LIII. This will be more manifeft, if we, moreover, confider the formal of the ceremonies: thus there was a yoke in them, that must be broken off; a pedagoguy, and an accufation of childhood, which cannot take place in a more advanced age. was a partition-wall to be broken down, when, on removing all distinction of nations, the Meffiah is to be all in all; an enmity, to be abolished at the time, in which the Meffiah is to publifh to the Gentiles, that they should have peace both with Ifrael and with God. There was, in fine, a hand-writing, bearing teftimony concerning guilt not yet expiated, and payment not yet made. This, when all things are fulfilled by the Mefliah, is to be taken out of the way, left any inftitution of God fhould be found to testify against the truth and Son of God. Such are either ignorant of, or overturn all the fignification of the ceremonies and their true efficacy, who bind the obligation of them on the confciences, after the Meffiah had perfected all things.

LIV. There now remains the fourth head, namely, to explain the progrefs and the various degrees of this abrogation, which we digeft in the following order: 1ft, When Christ came and was manifefted to Ifrael, the ceremonies loft much of their fplendor, as when the fun in the heavens extinguisheth the ftars. Nevertheless they were binding, while Christ was not yet made perfect by fufferings, but yet their abrogation was drawing near: "Jefus faith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye fhall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerufalem worship the Father. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers fhall worship the Father in spirit and in truth," John iv. 21, 23. To this purpose is that proclamation, which John several times published, that the kingdom of hea ven is at hand. 2dly, They were abrogated in point of right by the death of Chrift; for, all their typical prefignification being. fulfilled in Chrift, and the blood of the New Teftament being fhed, and the guilt expiated, which they were appointed to be a charge of, with what right could ceremonies lately discarded claim any longer to keep their former ftation? Hence Chrift is faid, "to have taken the hand-writing out of the way, nailing it to his crofs," Col. ii. 14. and to "have abolished in his flesh (on his flesh being broken by death) the law of commandments, contained in ordinances," Eph. ii. 15. Certainly the flesh of Chrift was the vail; and while that was ftill entire, a new and living way was not opened to the heavenly fanctuary, Heb. x.. 3 E 2

20.

20. For, while Chrift was not yet made perfect by fufferings, the ceremonies which required that perfection or confummation, were in full force. But whenever the utmost farthing was paid by the death of Chrift, the vail and enclosure of the ceremonies being taken down, there was a free accefs to God; which was fignified and confirmed by the rending the vail of the temple upon the death of Chrift. 3dly, God declared, confirmed, and fealed this abrogation by the refurrection of Chrift from the dead, and his afcenfion into heaven, and the plentiful effufion of the Holy Spirit. For the hand-writing was then

charged. He, who hitherto was in bondage to the elements of the world, equally with the other worfhippers of God, was placed with his people in heavenly places, where no fuch bondage takes place; and the fpirit was given, as the feal of a more delightful difpenfation of the covenant. 4thly, But this liberty was for fometime not fufficiently known, even to the apofties themselves, till Peter was inftructed therein by a heavenly vifion, Acts x. 11. 5thly, Then, by a folemn decree of a fynod of the apoftles, under the prefidence of the Holy Spirit, it was ordained, that a yoke was not to be put on the neck of the difciples, befides thofe few things neceffary for that time; namely, to abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things frangled; to which was fubjoined, though of a different kind, fornication, Acts xv. 10, 28, 29. 6thly, Afterwards Paul preached freedom from these things alfo, excepting fornication, that being contrary to the moral law, 1 Cor. viii. 4, 8. and 1 Cor. x. 25-29. 7thly, Yet because the Jews, who were converted to Chrift, having been accustomed to the ceremonies, were with very great difliculty drawn from them, the apostles and other believers with them, that they might not offend the weak, according to the rules of Chriftian charity and prudence, freely used thofe ceremonies, not with any opinion of holiness; but in order not to wound tender confciences, accommodating themselves to all, to gain fome to Chrift, see Acts xxi. 22.8thly, But after that the church feemed now to be fufficiently inftructed in her liberty, and the fondness for the ceremonies was no longer a degree of weakness but of obftinacy, Paul would not give place by fubjection, no not for an hour, and sharply rebuked Peter, whofe conduct was rather too remifs, Gal. ii. 5, 14. and exhorted every one in particular, to ftand fast in the liberty wherewith Chrift had made us (him) free, and not to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage, nor to make Christ of no effect to themselves, Gal. v. 1, 2. 9thly, and laftly, All the ceremonies were actually taken away at the deftruction of Jerufalem

Jerufalem and the temple, and buried as it were in their ruins, never to be revived any more. See what we have faid concerning circumcifion, chap. viii. §. 21, &c.

I.

A

CHA P. XV.

Of the Benefits of the New Teftament.

S the darkness of the night is only difpelled by the beams of the rifing morn, fo the Old Teftament was abrogated only by the introduction of the New. But at what time this first began to take place, by what degrees it advanced, by what intervals of time it was confirmed and completed, we have explained in the third chapter of the foregoing book. We are now, in the first place, to treat of the benefits of the New Teftament: then of the facraments; the othe particulars are obvious, from what we have spoken concerning the covenant of grace fimply confidered, and by comparing with them, what we have more largely treated of concerning the Old Teftament.

II. We rehearse the benefits of the New Testament in the following order. I. The firft is the exhibition of the Meffiah. made perfect. II. The gospel* under another name or defignation. III. The calling of the Gentiles. IV. A more abundant and delightful measure of the Spirit. V. A greater and better liberty. VI. The restoration of Ifrael. VII. The revival of the whole church, as from the dead.

III. The firft fpring of our glorying, and the fum of our felicity beyond thofe that expected the confolation of Ifrael, is, that "Chrift Jefus came into the world," 1 Tim. i. 15. He who was promised from the beginning, fhadowed forth by fo many types, fo ardently longed for, and for fo many ages expected, came forth in the fulness of time, in that place, from that tribe and family, in that manner from a virgin, and appeared in the flesh, juft as the holy prophets had long before prophefied he should come. "Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-fpring from on high hath vifited us," Luke i. 78. "we have found him, of whom Mofes in the law, and the prophets did write, Jefus of Nazareth the fon of Jofeph," John i. 45. This, as the angel told the fhepherds

of

The author's words are, Evangelium avrovoμaçıxãos, which I know not how to Fender otherwise to make it intelligible to the English reader.

of Bethlehem, was matter of great joy, and not only Mary and Zacharias and Simeon, but alfo the whole choir of the heavenly angels celebrated this in their fongs: fee Zech. ix. 9.

IV. And the Mefliah was not only exhibited, but also "made perfect through fufferings," Heb. ii. 10. and thus being "made perfect, he became the author of eternal falvation unto all," Heb. v. 9. For, in the fufferings and death of Christ, there is a true expiation, a cancelling, a blotting out of our fins, a bringing in of everlafting righteoufnefs, a tearing and removing of the hand-writing, nay, there is an eternal redemption.

V. But this was not all; for he was alfo received up into glory, and being placed in the throne of his majesty, he brought the kingdom of heaven to us, having removed every thing, by which the spiritual and mystical government of God over the confcience, which is the government of liberty, was formerly obfcured. While David in fpirit had this kingdom of the Meffiah before him, as in a figure, he joyfully fung, “Jehovah reigneth, let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of ifles be glad,” Pial. xcvii. 1. "Jehovah reigneth, let the people tremble," Pfal. xcix. 1. This is that kingdom of heaven, which the Baptift fo often proclaimed was at hand; and concerning which our Lord declared, that there were fome of his hearers, "which fhould not tafte death, till they faw the Son of man coming in his kingdom," Mat. xvi. 28. It cannot but be most delightful to all, that love the Lord Jefus, "to fee him crowned with glory and honour, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the fuffering of death," Heb. ii. 9. This great benefit the apoftle has fet forth in thefe important words, 1 Tim iii. 6. "God made manifeft in the flesh, juftified in the fpirit, feen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." And our Saviour himself has taught us, that a great part of our happinefs confifts in the enjoyment of thi, bleffing, Mat. xiii. 16, 17.

VI. The fecond benefit is the gofpel of the kingdom," which God had promifed afore by his prophets in the holy fcriptures," Rom. i. 2. Namely, the gofpel as completed, "which, at the first, began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him," Heb. ii. 3. For, this "myftery was kept fecret fince the world began: but now is made manifeft, and, by the fcriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlafting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith;" Rom. xvi. 25, 26. Not that they had no gofpel before: for, even unto the ancients was the gospel formerly preached, Heb. iv. 2. But that this proclamation