5. The ceremonies of old, were numerous, costly, obscure, and burdensome, compared with ours. 6. In the old testament, the Holy Ghost was imparted sparingly, in the new abundantly.* 7. The covenant of old, was confined to the Jewish nation, now is it extended to Gentiles. † 8. In the Jewish pedagogy, the spirit of bondage prevailed, in gospel times a child-like disposition discovers itself. + 9. The law and prophets were till John, but now a change of dispensation has taken place. || But I shall not spend time in repeating what you may find in so many treatises upon the covenants. 4. Doct. That God appoints his saints to make a covenant with him by sacrifice. Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice [de sacrificio, or de sacrificandi ratione] § in regard to sacrifice, or according to the law, rite and order of sacrificing, that is, the act of the saint's covenanting with God, and will duly observe God's order in sacrificing, as they did, Neh. x. 29, 32, 35-39; and this is one part of a Christian's covenant, to bring all his offerings to the Lord, according to his own institution. By sacrifice, so our translation, upon a sacrifice, ¶ or whensoever you bring your sacrifice, then must you covenant with God; others with a sacrifice, ** you must join covenant and sacrifice together; others read it, by a sacrifice,†† as the means, manner, and way of covenanting; others beyond the sacrifice, ‡‡ esteeming the covenant more necessary, and of greater value than sacrifice, or not resting merely in outward sacrifices, • Isa. xliv. 3. John vii. 38. + Eph. ii. 14. + Gal. iv. 1-7. || Luke xvi. 16. Heb. vii. 12, 18. .de sacrificio עלי זבח 8 Super sacrificio, i. e. adhibito sacrificio. ** Cum sacrificio. ++ Per sacrificium. ++ Ultra sacrificium. but going beyond, even to covenanting to be the Lord's, and reaching after communion with God in ordinances : all these come to one thing, Psal. xl. 6, "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire," that is, in comparison with a heart devoted to God, and covenanting with him. God is not pleased with any sacrifices we bring, except we present ourselves to him. Sincere saints satisfy not themselves with external sacrifices to God, except they entertain and meet with God therein. It was a famous saying of St. Augustin, "O Lord, thy gifts please not me, except thou give me thyself, and nothing that I can bring thee, will be acceptable to thee, except I devote myself to thee." Cain's offering may seem as good as Abel's, only Abel brought faith in Christ, and gave himself to God in the new covenant. In the covenant of works, the person is accepted for the work's sake: in the covenant of grace the work is accepted for the person's sake; if the soul be devoted to God and accepted through the Mediator, a mean duty is graciously received and made welcome; but the costliest services are not regarded, if coming from an enemy to God, for unto such God saith here," Psal. 1. 16, "But unto the wicked God saith, what hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?" as if he had said, thou wicked hypocrite, thou thinkest to satisfy me fully with sacrifices, and please me with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil;* thou art mistaken, I am not so well pleased with mere sacrifices, burnt offerings, or calves of a year old, these are not the main of my requirements, I have other things in mine eye,† thou dost not hear me reprove thee for want of sacrifices, this is not the principal accusation or charge I have against thee, for though thou hast often • Micah vi. 6, 7. + Psal. 1. 8. omitted these, yet hast thou more failed in moral duties, and then thought by these offerings to make me amends, and appease my wrath, for the errors of thy life, and thinkest by this means to pacify the outcries of thy self-condemning conscience. I now tell thee what my real saints do, whom I accept, and will gather to me in that solemn day, to enjoy myself, these do according to my appointment, make a covenant with me by sacrifice, that is, they did at first enter into, and they do daily renew their covenant with me by sacrifice. As preparatory to my main design of examining a believer's personal covenanting with God, I shall say something on this inquiry.-What is covenanting with God by sacrifice? CHAP. II. TO ASCERTAIN WHAT SACRIFICES HAVE BEEN PRESCRIBED AND ACCEPTED WHEN MEN HAVE MADE A COVENANT WITH GOD? IN answer to this inquiry, I shall very briefly mention four sorts of sacrifices, in which I find by God's own command and with his approbation, God's children have entered into, and renewed their covenant with the Lord: namely, typical, providential, evangelical, and eucharistical sacrifices. 1. In the old testament there were typical sacrifices, which were types and figures of Christ about to come in the flesh, Heb. x. 1, “The law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect." Now the typical sacrifices of the old testament were of two sorts, patriarchal and Mosaical, in both of these there was.covenanting by sacrifice. (1.) As to patriarchal sacrifices, we have a famous instance of a covenant between God and Abraham by sacrifice, in Gen. xv. 9—18, “In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram," in that day, and in that mode of sacrificing: for the heifer, she-goat, ram, &c. ver. 9, were taken [in usum vel symbolum foederis] for the use, symbol, or pledge of covenanting between them; and though Abraham's sacrificing was before the law, yet doubtless it was a type of Christ, and so was the ram caught in the thicket, and offered instead of Isaac,* and they were afterwards prescribed in the Levitical law; dividing them in the midst, was a rite used in making covenants, Jer. xxxiv. 18, that the parties covenanting might pass between those parts, and so testify their union and participation in one and the same sacrifice, as one, yet divided, and so the passage saith, ver. 17, a burning lamp passed between those pieces; God is called a consuming fire, and both smoke and fire are elsewhere mentioned, as signs of God's appearance;† and in Jeremiah there is mention of cutting the calf in twain and passing between the parts thereof, a solemnity used in making a covenant, to strike the greater terror into the spirits of such as should afterwards violate that covenant, as if it were said, let him be cut asunder, let his soul and body be separated, let the members of his body be divided, as this slain beast who shall violate this sacred oath; hence comes the word to cut a covenant, Psal. lxxxix. 3, "I have made or cut a covenant with my chosen;" this is indeed the • Gen. xxii. 2—18. † Heb. xii. 29. Exod. iii. 2. xix. 9, 18. phrase in the words of my text, "those that have made or cut a covenant with me by sacrifice,"* as Abram did who divided those creatures in the midst, and passed between them: so both God and Abram did mutually confirm the covenant by sacrificing. (2.) There were Mosaical sacrifices, wherein Moses and the ancient Jews covenanted with God; their sacrifices were many, there was their burnt-offering, meatoffering, peace-offering, sin-offering, trespass-offering, and the offerings of consecration:† all these were appendices of gospel grace, types of Christ and the covenant of grace; wherein the saints under the old testament made, renewed, and confirmed their covenant with God, according to God's institution. I shall only select one instance, it is in Exod. xxiv. 3-8, the people say, ver. 3,"All the words which the Lord hath said, we will do;" this they did readily and rashly promise, as not being sensible of the great comprehensiveness, strictness and spirituality of God's law, or their own weakness. The altar represented God in Christ, the twelve pillars, the twelve tribes of Israel; ver. 4, these are the parties and young men offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the Lord, ver. 5, here were the Hola, and Shelamim, burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings: and Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar, to signify that God was appeased and atoned by this blood, as it represented the blood of Jesus; another text saith, he sprinkled it upon the book, to shew that the law was satisfied, and justice pacified by our dear Lord Jesus; then, ver. 8, he sprinkled the -Percutientes pactum meum super sa כורתי בריתי עלי זבח crificio. + Hola, Mincha, Shelamim, Hataah, Asham, Milluim. Heb. ix. 19. |