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I may not be allowed, for John Vander Waeyen, the liberty to diffent, in what pray fhall I be allowed it? But I will suffer no mortal ever to deprive me of this liberty. But, good fir, whenever I am to dispute, I defire my method of writing may be as different from yours as poffible. While your language breathes nothing but harshness, mine shall be all mildnefs. As in this difpute, I have ftruck out every word, that had but the leaft tendency to harshness, and fubftituted fofter. And let this fuffice, by way of specimen, concerning the types.

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CHAP. VII.

Of the Sacraments of grace down to Abraham.

E have explained with what wisdom and condefcenfion, God faw it proper to confirm and feal the promifes of his covenants by certain facred fymbols. As he did this under the covenant of works, fo especially he was likewise pleased to do the fame upon introducing the covenant of grace. To which, under whatever œconomy it ftood, he appended, as it were, certain peculiar figns and feals, which the church has, now for many ages paft, been accuftomed to call facraments. In fome of the types, which we have already explained, and in others of the like nature, there was alfo, indeed, fomething facramental; as they prefigured the Meffiah and the spiritual benefits he was to procure for his people: yet more especially we call by the name of facraments, thofe things, which were given by God to man, to be feals of his covenant, or earnests and pledges of his favour.

II. And these again, were indeed, very different; confifting either in things natural, on which God infcribed that character in order to be vouchers and seals of his teftaments. To which Calvin refers Noah's ark, Inftit. lib. iv. c. 14. § 18. Or in things miraculous; fuch as the manna, which was rained down from heaven, and the water iffuing out of the rock, which constituted the miraculous meat and drink of the Ifraelites in the wildernefs or in certain ceremonies, and facred rites, inftituted by God to reprefent fpiritual things. Some were alfo extraordinary, in favour of fome certain perfons, and but of a fhort continuance. Others ordinary, given for the ufe of the whole church, and not to cease but with that particular œconomy of the covepant. And hence it is, that in reckoning up the facraments of

the

the Old Teftament, divines are not agreed; for fome take the term in a larger extent, and others in a more restricted sense. We are not inclined to confine ourselves within too narrow bounds but fhall freely and calmly confider, according to our capacity, what has any relation to a facrament, in every period of time.

III. Some would have the firft facrament of the covenant of grace to be the ejection of man out of paradife, and blocking up his accefs to the tree of life, leaft he should put forth his hand and eat of it, thinking that he should thereby obtain eternal life. For man being deprived of this farcrament of works, was at the fame time, given to know, that righteoufness was to be fought for from another covenant; and thus he was led by the hand from the covenant of works to the covenant of grace. But we cannot be fatisfied with these things. 1ft, Because man's ejection out of paradise, and exclufion from the tree of life were the effects of the divine wrath and vengeance against his fin, as appears from that truly holy, but stinging irony; behold the man is become as one of us. But the inftitution of a facrament is an act of the highest goodness and mercy. We deny not, that man was already received into favour, and had the hopes of eternal life: neverthelefs, fome things were inflicted upon him because of his tranfgreffion, that he might, by his lofs, experience the direful nature of fin, and God's hatred of it. Among these was this ignominious ejection out of paradife. It was an inftance of grace and favour, that God placed him in paradife immediately upon his creation, but of wrath, that he turned him out, when he had finned. 2dly, This ejection doubtless declared, that man could not now obtain falvation by the covenant of works, and that he, who was deprived of the thing fignified, was unworthy to ufe and enjoy the fign; and that it was in vain, and to no purpofe, for him to please himself with the thoughts of it. But it by no means fhewed, that there was another covenant, by which righteoufnefs could either be fought for, or obtained. Adam was to know, and he did know this elsewhere. 3dly, Every thing, upon the fuppofition of the promise of the covenant of grace, that, by convincing man of his own impotency, leads him to that covenant, is not to be esteemed a facrament of it. For then every demonftration of God's wrath from heaven against finners, and every fign, which is proper to give us an intimation of the curfe of the covenant of works, in a word, every chaftifement, as all these are appointed to bring the elect to Chrift, fhould be called facraments of the covenant of grace.

IV. According to my judgment, the learned have much

more

more probably ranged them in this manner: that God first of all dealt with fallen Adam about facraments; that is, when the aprons of fig-leaves, which man sewed together, were not at all fufficient to cover the fhame of his nakednefs, he himself clothed Adam and his wife with coats of fkins, Gen. iii. 21. And it is very probable, thefe were the fkins of thofe beasts, which were flain for facrifices. But it is a vain controversy, which fome make about the matter of thofe garments: fince the Hebrew word is never ufed in fcripture to fignify any thing, but the outward skin of animals. And as this is the most fimple and plain, so it is the most ancient kind of clothing. See Job xxxi. 20. Prov. xxvii. 26. Hence the ancient heroes among the Greeks were clothed with the fkins of a wild boar, or a tyger, or a lion, or the fkin of the Lybean bear, or the skin worn by the Bacche or female priefts of Bacchus, which was that of a fox. And who now is ignorant, that the progenitors of the Romans were clothed with fkins, and were of a rude disposition of mind. See Voffius, de Idololatria. lib. 3. chap. 70. It is a curious obfervation of Mr. Cloppenburg Schola Sacrificiorum, p. 12. Here we may fee the original of that law in Lev. vii. 8. by which the skin of any man's burnt offering is appropriated to the priest, who offers it. And who will deny, that God's clothing our firft parents was a fymbolical act? Do not Christ's own words very clearly allude to this? Rev. iii. 18. "I counsel thee to buy of me white raiment, that thou mayeft be clothed, and that the fhame of thy nakedness do not appear." Compare Joh. Henrici Urfini Annalecta, lib. 6. chap. 15.

V. The myftical fimilitude of these things is this. Ift, As that clothing, which man contrived for himfelf, could not cover him, so as to appear before the eyes of God. In like manner, nothing that a finner can work or toil by his own induftry, or wifdom falfely fo called, can produce any thing that can procure him a juft and well grounded confidence, by which he may appear before the tribunal of God.

"Their

webs, which are fpiders webs, fhall not become garments, neither fall they cover themfelves with their works," Ifa. lix. 5, 6. 2dly, Proper garments for men, were the gift of God's mercy, and fo that righteoufnefs, by which our fins are covered, is of God, Phil. iii. 9. contrived by God, perfected by Chrift, who is God, and applied to us by the Spirit of God through faith. 3dly, The bodies of our firft parents were covered with the fpoils of mortality and the fkins of flain animals. The garment of grace, whereby the body of fin is covered, is owing to the very death of Chrift; without which

VOL. II.

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that righteousness, which makes us acceptable to God, could not have been performed. 4thly, That fimple clothing of the first man was, in its appointed time, to be changed for one more convenient and fine. And this garment, which we have from God, while we are under the crofs and partakers of the death of Christ, and which in external appearance is mean and despicable, fhall afterwards be changed. For fince we shall be partakers of Chrift's refurrection, no longer in hope, but in reality; fo the garment, which now appears to be mean and contemptible, fhall be then moft neat and beautiful, and worthy to be accounted the nuptial robe. See Peter Martyr and Mufculus.

VI. The other farcament of that firft period, were the facrifices which were flain at God's command, after the very first promulgation of the covenant of grace, as appears. Ift, Becaufe "Abel offered by faith," Heb. xi. 4. That is, he knew that himself and his facrifice were acceptable to God, and in his offering he looked by faith to the future offering of the Meffiah. But fuch a faith plainly presupposes the divine inftitution of facrifices, and a revelation about their fignification. 2dly, Because God gave that teftimony to the facrifices of the ancient patriarchs, whereby he declared they were acceptable to him, ibid. But, in the matters of religion, nothing pleases him, but what himself has commanded. All will-worship is condemned, Col. ii. 23. 3dly, Because there was a distinction between clean and unclean animals before the deluge, which was not from nature, but from the mere good pleasure of God, and has a particular respect to facrifices. And it is probable, that this was the case of every kind of facrifices, even of those that were of a propitiatory nature, by which the promises of the covenant of grace were more clearly and distinctly ratified, than by all the others. For, while Mofes fhews, that the patriarchs offered fuch facrifices, as he himself offered, and that they were adapted to fignify the fame things, it is not for us to reftrict, what is faid in general, to certain particular kinds, in exclufion of others.. Certainly Job offered burnt offerings for the fins of his children and friends, Job i. 6. and Job xlii. 8. which doubtlefs were propitiatory.

VII. But these facrifices were feals of God's covenant. For, though there is a difference between facrifices and facraments formally confidered; because facraments are given by God to men, but facrifices are offered by men to God: nevertheless, there is no reason, why the confideration of a facrament and facrifice may not, in different refpects, concur in one and the fame thing. For, even facrifices are given by God to men, that

is, are inftituted by divine authority; that, by thefe ceremonies, the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, and his bloody death, and the remiffion of fins thereby, might be fignified and fealed. And believers, in the use of them, declared for that worship and veneration, that is due to God. Auguftin, de Civit. Dei, lib. 10. c. 5. fays, "the vifible facrifice is a facrament, that is, a facred sign of an invifible facrifice." To make this more evident, let us distinctly confider. I. The prieft offering. II. The animal offered. III. The ceremony of offering. IV. The empyrifm, or burning it by fire from heaven. V. The expiation, which is the confequent of the facrifice. VI. The facred feaft, annexed to facrifices.

VIII. The priests were in a manner, typical fureties, in so far as they approached to God in the name of the people; being "ordained for men in things pertaining to God," Heb. v. 1. And they became fureties, when ever thy took upon them to offer facrifices for fin. For, by that offering, they performed what God, at that time, required for the expiation of fins. Lev. i. iv. and Lev. iv. 26, &c. and Lev. xvi. 34. And thus be lievers were affured, that Chrift is the furety of an eternal testament; who, immediately, on man's firft fin, undertook to fulfil the whole will of God, at the appointed time, and to offer a facrifice, which should be the caufe not of a typical, as formerly, but of a true and faving expiation. By which will of God and of Christ we are fanctified, Heb. x. 10,

IX. In the animal, which is offered, we should confider, ift, That it was to be clean, without fpot or blemish: that it might fignify that most unfpotted purity of Chrift, "as of a lamb without blemish and without fpot;" 1 Pet. i. 19. 2dly, That it was to be fuch, as was given to man for food, by the use of which food, man continues to be what he is. And therefore. fuch an animal might be substituted for man himself, and, in the typical fignification, be a fponfer, partaking of the fame flesh and blood with us. 3dly, That it was to be fuch, as men fet a great value upon: "The goats are the price of the field," Prov. xxvii. 26. Of old, flocks and herds were the only or principal riches. Accordingly Columella, in prefat. lib. 7. conjectures, that the names pecunia, (money) and peculiam (private property) feem to be derived from pecus (a beaft), which not only the ancients poffeffed, but are, at this day among fome nations, reputed the only kind of riches. By this was reprefented, that Chrift was to be offered for men; and as he is the choice and beloved of his Father, and his blood infinitely more precious than gold and filver; fo he should also be most precious to us, who believe. 1 Pet. ii. 4, 6, 7. 4thly, That it be an animal, dumb

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