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he in the poet, kalapμòç is used in the same sense by Herodotus, καθαρμὸν τῆς χώρης ποιουμένων ̓Αχαιῶν, Αθάμαντα τὸν 'Atóλov, 'Athamas was made a piaculum, or a propitiation for the country.' Whence Budæus renders that of the apostle, ὥσπερ περι καθάρματα τοῦ κόσμου ἐγενήθημεν : ' nos tanquam piacula mundi facti sumus, et succidaneæ pro populo victimæ: we are as the accursed things of the world, and sacrifices for the people :' reading the words, womeρ kaápμara : not wç TερIKаdáρμаra. The Greek Scholiast, who reads it as we commonly do, rendering it by arroσapuara ; as the Vulgar Latin 'purgamenta,' to the same purpose; such as have all upon them. manner of filth cast

b

And Isa. xliii. 3. 'they have rendered the same word aλλayua, ‘a commutation by price;' so Matt. xvi. 26. Tì dwo ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς : ' a price in exchange. Now in all these places and others, the Hebrews use the word "a propitiation,' by way of allusion; as is most especially evident from that of Isaiah, 'I will give Egypt a propitiation for thee;' that is, as God is atoned by a propitiatory sacrifice, wherein something is offered him in the room of the offender, so will he do with them; put them into trouble, in room of the church, as the sacrificed beast was, in the room of him for whom it was sacrificed; and hence does that word signify a ransom, because what God appointed in his worship to redeem any thing, that by the law was devoted, which was a compensation by his institution (as a clean beast in the room of a firstborn was to be offered a sacrifice to God), was so called. And the word 'satisfaction,' which is but once used in the Scripture, or twice together; Numb. xxxv. 31. is 2 in the original. 5 indeed is originally pitch or bitumen: hence what God says to Noah about making the ark, Gen. vi. 14. the Septuagint have rendered aopaλrwoeLS parbituminabis bitumine.' in Pihel, is ' placavit, avit, expiationem fecit;' because by sacrifice sins are as if they had not been; to cover or hide, being the

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of the word.

his is the rise and use of the word 'ransom' in the oth 75 75 and 5 which are rendered by λúαρμα, ἀντίλυτρον, ἄλλαγμα: it denotes properly redemption, a valuable compensation made by stoph. in Plut.

b 1 Cor. iv. 13.

one thing for another, either in the native signification, as in the case of the first word; or by the first translation or it from the sacrifice of atonement, as in the latter. Of this farther afterward in the business of redemption. For the present is sufficeth, that the death of Christ was a price of ransom, and these are the words whereby it is expressed.

2. It was a sacrifice; and what sacrifice it was shall be declared.

1. That Christ offered a sacrifice, is abundantly evident from what was said before, in the consideration of the time and place, when and wherein Christ was a high-priest. The necessity of this the apostle confirms, Heb. viii. 3. For every high-priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.' If he be a priest, he must have a sacrifice; the very nature of his employment requires it. The whole and entire office and employment of a high-priest, as a priest, consists in offering sacrifice, with the performance of those things, which did necessarily precede and follow that action. It is of necessity, then, that he should also have somewhat to offer as a sacrifice to God.

For the other part of our inquiry, viz. What it was that he sacrificed? I shall manifest in this order of process (taking leave to enlarge a little in this, intending not so much the thing, proved before, as the manner of it).

1. He was not to offer any sacrifice, that any priest had offered before, by God's appointment.

2. He did not actually offer any such sacrifice.

3. I shall shew positively what he did offer.

1. He was not to offer any sacrifice that the priests of old had appointed for them to offer. He came to do another manner of work, than could be brought about with the blood of bulls and goats. It cost more to redeem our souls. That which was of more worth in itself, of nearer concernment to him that offered it, of a more manifold alliance to them for whom it was offered, and of better acceptation with God to whom it was offered, was to be his sacrifice. This is the aim of the Holy Ghost; Heb. x. 1-7. For the law,' &c.

This is the sum of the apostle's discourse; the sacrifices instituted by the law, could not effect, nor work that which

Christ our High Priest was to accomplish by his sacrifice; and therefore he was not to offer them; but they were to be abolished, and something else to be brought in that might supply their room and defect.

What was wanting in these sacrifices, the apostle ascribes to the law, whereby they were instituted. The law could not do it, that is, the ceremonial law could not do it. The law which instituted and appointed these sacrifices, could not accomplish that end of the institution, by them. And with this expression of it he subjoins a reason of this weakness of the law. It had a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things themselves.' An obscure representation of those good things, which, when they were instituted and in force, were μéλovra to come, though now actually exhibited, and existent: that is, Jesus Christ himself, and the good things of the gospel accompanying of him. It had but a shadow of these things, not the image; that is, the substance of them; for so I had rather understand image here substantially; as that may be called the image of a picture, by which it is drawn; than to make σκià and sirov here to differ but gradually, as the first rude shape and proportion, and the perfect limning of any thing do. The reason then why all the solemn, operous, burdensome service of old, could not (of itself) take away sin, is be cause it did not contain Christ in it, but only had a shadow of him.

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2. The apostle instances in particular, by what means the law could not do this great work, of 'making the comers thereunto perfect.' Tous TρoσExoμévovs, that is, those who come to God by it, the worshippers; which is spoke in opposition to what is said of Christ; chap. vii. 25. He is able to save to the uttermost τοὺς προσερχομένους, those that come to God by him.' The word expresseth any man under the consideration of one coming to God for acceptation. As Heb. xi. 6. He that cometh unto God' de ròv Tóμεv προσερχόμενον· these it could not make perfect; that is, it could not perfectly atone God, and take away their sins, so that the conscience should no more be troubled, nor tormented with the guilt of sin, as ver. 2.4. By what could not the law do this? By those sacrifices which it offered year by year continually.

Not to speak of sacrifices in general. The sacrifices of the Jews may be referred to four heads.

1. The daily sacrifice of morning and evening, which is instituted Exod. xxix. 38, 39. which being omitted, was renewed by Nehem. x. 33. And wholly taken away for a long season by Antiochus, according to the prophecy of Daniel, Dan. xi. 31. this is the juge sacrificium typifying Christ's constant presence with his church, in the benefit of his death always.

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2. Voluntary and occasional, which had no prefixed time, nor matter; so that they were of such creatures as God had allowed to be sacrificed, they were left to the will of the offerer, according as occasion and necessity was by providence administered. Now of these sacrifices there was a peculiar reason, that did not (as far as I can find) belong unto any of the rest. The judicial government of that nation being as their own historian Josephus calls it, Oɛoкparía, and immediately in the hand of God. He appointed these voluntary sacrifices, which were a part of his religious worship, to have a place also in the judicial government of the people. For whereas he had appointed death to be the punishment due to every sin; he allowed that for many sins sacrifice should be offered, for the expiating of the guilt contracted in that commonwealth, of which himself was the governor. Thus

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for many sins of ignorance and weakness, and other perversities, sacrifice was offered, and the guilty person died not, according to the general tenor of the law, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all these things.' Hence David in his great sin of murder and adultery flies to mere mercy; acknowledging that God had appointed no sacrifice for the expiation of those sins, as to the guilt political, contracted in that commonwealth, though otherwise, no sins nor sinners were excluded from the benefit of sacrifices. This was their political regard, which they had, or could have only on this account; that God was the supreme political governor of that people, their Lord, and King.

3 Sacrifices extraordinary on solemn occasions: which seem some of them to be mixed of the two former kinds; stated and voluntary. Such was Solomon's great sacrifice at the dedication of the temple. These partly answered

c Psal. li. 16.

the sacrifice instituted at the dedication of the altar and tabernacle, partly the free-will offerings, which God allowed the people, according to their occasions; and appointed them for them.

4. Appointed sacrifices on solemn days: as on the sabbath, new moons, passover, feast of weeks, lesser and greater jubilee, but especially the solemn anniversary sacrifice of expiation, when the high-priest entered into the holy place, with the blood of the beast sacrificed, on the tenth day of the month Tizri. The institution of this sacrifice you have Lev. xvi. throughout. The matter of it was one bullock, and two goats, or kids of goats, ver. 2. 5. The manner was this, 1. In the entrance 'Aaron offered one bullock peculiarly for himself and his house;' ver. 6. 2. Lots were cast on the two goats, one to be a sin-offering, the other to be Azazel, ver. 8, 9. 3. The bullock and goat being slain, the blood was carried into the holy place. 4. Azazel having all the sins of the people confessed over him, was sent into the wilderness to perish; ver. 21. 5. The end of this sacrifice was atonement and cleansing, ver. 30. Of the whole nature, ends, significancy, and use, of this sacrifice (as of others), elsewhere; at present, I attend only the thesis proposed.

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Now if perfect atonement and expiation might be expected from any of the sacrifices so instituted by God, certainly it might be from this; therefore this doth the apostle choose to instance in. This was the sacrifice offered κar' iviavròv, and siç rò dinvekès : but these, saith he, could not do it; the law by them could not do it, and this he proves with two arguments.

1. From the event, ver. 2, 3. For then would they not have ceased to be offered; because that the worshipper once purged, should have had no more conscience of sin? But in these sacrifices, there was a remembrance made again of sins every year.' The words of the second verse are to be read with an interrogation, conclusive in the negative: would they not have ceased to have been offered? That is certainly they would; and because they did not do so, it is evident from the event, that they could not take away sin. In most copies the words are, ἐπὶ ἄν ἐπαύσαντο φροσφερόμεναι. Those that add the negative particle ovk, put it for ouxì, as it is frequently used.

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