CHAP.

IX.

49. But however wise their plans, the foolishness of God is wiser than men, who through a woman of the 1 Cor. i. house of Levi, began, according to promise, to redeem his people from the cruel power and policy of Egypt, until he had parted the sea, and destroyed the nations before them.

25.

50. Great is the mystery of God's dealings with Ex. i. 3, men! The power and wisdom of God manifested through one, who, by a woman, was preserved in an ark of bulrushes!

&c.

Rom. v. 13, 14.

CHAPTER IX.

The true End and Design of the Law given by Moses.

THER

"For

HE express purpose of the law, was to search out and condemn sin, root and branch. until the law, sin was in the world; and death by sin reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." That is, of Christ Jesus, through whom salvation should be obtained.

2. By the law is the knowledge of sin-As it is chap. . written, I had not known sin but by the law: for I had 20,&vü.7 not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt

not covet.

3. And although the law went to search out and condemn sin, yet it could not save the soul from its reigning power, until Christ the first-born in the work of Redemption should appear. And therefore Rom. v. the law was added because of transgressions, that the offence might abound, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.

Gal.iü.19

20.

4. It is impossible for souls ever to find a full salvation, without a full discovery of their loss. In vain is freedom sought for, in any government, where the very seat and centre of action in the government itself, is established in monarchy, tyranny and oppression, by the consent of the people.

IX.

5. In vain is every attempt to change the nature of CHAP. an evil tree, by lopping off the branches, while the body and root of the tree remain entire; or by any means ever to expect good fruit from a corrupt tree: so in vain are pure waters expected from a corrupt fountain.

11, 12.

Matt. v.

6. "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place James iü. sweet water and bitter? Can the fig-tree bear olive berries? either a vine figs? so can no fountain both yield salt-water and fresh. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? even so every good tree 16-18. bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." 7. The fruit of the Spirit is love; pure and perfect love. The first of all the commandments is, "Hear O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou Mark xü. shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 29,30,31. with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."

8. "And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." This comprehended the spirit and real intention of the whole law, and was all that God required.

Gal.v.22.

9. But man in his natural and fallen state, is held under the dominion of other objects. And as the law was added because of transgressions, that the offence might abound; and was given to the Israelites, as a school-master, to teach them the nature and purity of Gal. the promised Mesiah's kingdom; it was necessary to point out particularly, what kind of fruit this spirit of love would naturally produce, and what would as naturally flow from the want of it.

10. The tree is known by its fruit. Then if man was the uncorrupted fruit, or offspring of pure and perfect love, he certainly would discover no other fruit in all his life and actions. But both the law of Moses and the prophets plainly discovered, that the tree and the fruit are both corrupt, or in other words, that man in his natural state is a corrupt creature, and descended from a corrupt and degenerate stock. 11. This was going to the root of the matter.

It

24.

Deut.

xxxii. 5.

Isa. i. 4.

Jer. ii. 21.

vi. 28,

CHAP.
IX.

22.

was more than cutting round about, or teaching how the Messiah should lop off the outside branches of a corrupt tree. The root of human depravity is laid naked, and open to view, in plain words, written on tables of stone, and delivered by the special command of God.

12. And not only so, but with repeated and solemn Lev. xx. injunctions: "Ye shall therefore keep all my statBut. vi. utes, and all my judgments, and do them; that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out; thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations."

17.

avi. 9.

xx.

13. The law pointedly condemned every fleshly 1,16,10. gratification; such as lying with a beast-lying with Deut.xxü another's wife, &c.-defining an unmarried virgin, &c. and in many cases, punished such with death.

21-24.

14. Stoning to death was the penalty for such like Jev. xx. abominations. And if a man took a wife and her xxi. 9. mother, or if the daughter of any priest committed whoredom, such were to be burnt with fire.

14.

Deut.xvii 2-7.

15. Idolatry, giving seed to Molech, witchcraft, Lev. xx. blasphemy, murder, disobedience to parents, &c. were condemned by the law as evil; the spirit of the law was therefore, holy, just and good; condemning nothing but sin.

2, 27. xxiv. 16, 17.

Deut.xxi.

18.

9, 10.

16. Yet, however severe the punishments that were inflicted for sin, they only lopped off the branches of a corrupt tree, while the root and foundation of all the abominations that were committed in the earth, remained entire.

17. But when the law proceeded to take cognizance of the very nature of man, and condemned that as sinful and unclean, which might have been supposed to be lawful and right, then the fountain of evil began to be uncovered.

18. Observe: "The law is not made for a right1 Tim. i. eous man, but for the lawless and disobedient; for the ungodly and for sinners." The spirit of the law was "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and thy neighbour as thyself."

19. When therefore, any punishment or penalty was inflicted, it is evident that it was for the trans

IX.

gression of the law, and that the true end and design CHAP. of the law had not been answered in that particular thing.

20. The law not only prohibited all carnal and abominable intercourse between man and beast, upon pain of death; but the sexes were wholly prohibited from cohabiting on pain of being excommunicated, for a time, from the congregation of such as were counted clean.

21. And as this statute respected the only motive, and manner, in which a man and woman were tolerated to cohabit, it sufficiently showed that the very order of nature was corrupted, and could never enter that new creation, of which it is said, "There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth."

Rev, xxi.

27.

Deut.

11.

22. There was no possible case, in which a man Num.xix. and woman could lie together, with seed of copula- 20, 22. tion, and hold their union with the congregation with- xxiii. 10, in the camp of Israel. The very act cut them off, SeeNum. and exposed them to the reproaches of those who 14, & were unclean without the camp. Nor could they be 13. again accepted until they were cleansed: for nothing unclean could abide in the camp.

23. And lest the serpent should try to cover his head under a cloak, by some false gloss upon the act of copulation, the nature of man's seed is ascertained in its simple state, before appropriated to the purpose of procreation, and there pronounced unclean.

Heb. a.

Lev. xv.

16. 32.

xx. 4, 5,

17.

24. Nay worse, it is expressly said, that, Every chap. xv. garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copu- Jade 28. lation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.

25. And concerning the act itself, the law said, The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even. This was going at once to the groundwork of man's depravity.

Lev. xw 18.

26. And that something more than uncleanness accompanied the act of begetting and conceiving seed according to the flesh, is evident from the statute re- Lev. specting women after child-bearing, by which they also fell under the penalty of excommunication.

27. The woman who brought forth a man-child,

K

2-7.

CHAP.

IX.

was unclean seven days, according to the days of her separation for her infirmity; and thenceforth to continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days, and to touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying were fulfilled; which were forty days: and eighty days separation, if she brought forth a female.

28. And in order to be restored, she was required to bring a burnt offering, and a sin offering, to make an atonement; a sin offering unto the Lord made by fire. And with all their offerings they were comLev.ii. 13. manded to offer salt.

3.

49.

29. The whole of which was nothing short of sigMal. . 2, nifying, in the most pointed manner, that all such Luke xii. carnal and fleshly things as were contrary to the pure Eph. vi. nature of God, should be kept at a distance from the true seed of promise, and be finally offered up and consumed by the fire of the Holy Ghost, which is the incorruptible word of God, and the salt of the earth in the children of the regeneration, and the new birth.

17.

Mark is. 49, 50.

Gen.xviii 6,9.

xxiv. 67.

xxi. 33. To. xix.

20, 15.

Psalms

30. If therefore, this conception-sin, and this birthsin be overlooked, and made something contrary to what God hath signified it to be, it is in vain to look any further for a distinction between good and evil; seeing that by the law is the knowledge of sin.

31. The patriarchs did not overlook-it, when they held their separate tents. Moses did not overlook it, when by the command of God from Mount Sinai, he solemnly charged the people, saying, Come not at your wives. If something there had not been offensive to God, why was this charge?

32. God did not overlook this as inoffensive, when he commanded that a woman should not touch any holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary of the congregation, for the space of forty, or even eighty days; and when he commanded that she should bring a burnt offering, and a sin offering, to make an atone

ment.

33. David did not overlook it when he said, "There XXV 3, is no rest in my bones because of my sin-My loins 7, & li. 2, are filled with a loathsome disease-Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my

5.