i iNn ^- 1- - ^7 d:X^i^''^^^^yP I % % PRINCETON, N. J. WicMn/e^//y. 6. // y^4^^ ^- Shelf.. e » j LECTURES ON 3letoisi) :^nticiuities ; DELIVERED AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY IN CAMBRIDGE, A. D. 1802 & 1803. BY DAVID '^APPAN, d. d. LATE HOLLIS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THAT SEMINARY. PUBLISHED BY W. BILLIARD AND E. LINCOLN, AND FOR SALE AT THE BOOKSTORE IN CAMBRIDGE AND AT NO. 53, CORNHILL, BOSTON. 1807. ./.I.'. ■'■ CONTENTS. -<>""<>-0- o LECTURE I. Page, RIGIN and progress of civil government. Political government at first parental or patriarchal. Illustrations and proofs from sacred history before and after the flood. Crime of Ham, for which he was cursed. Why this curse was denounced, not on Ham himself, but on his son Canaan. In what respects this curse was fulfilled. 9 LECTURE II. Patriarchal government farther illustrated. Sentence of Jacob on his twelve sons. Special government of the Jews. Its leading design, the preservation of the true religion among them, in connexion with their temporal freedom and pros- perity. Why temporal blessings and evils were employ- ed to enforce this constitution. Objections answered. 20 LECTURE III. Objection of partiality in Jehovah toward the Jewish nation, answered. Objection to the Hebrew constitution as a system of intolerence and war, of conquest or extermina- tion, answered. System of Hebrew policy contrasted with that of the ant lent heathens. 30 LECTURE IV. Hebrew constitution adapted to secure the freedom and hap- piness of its subjects. Plebrew government originally a free and equal republic. Fundamental laws required, that the territory should be equallv divided j that estates iv CONTENTS. should be holden as a freehold from God himself; and that they should never afterward be alienated, but descend in perpetual succession. Agrarian law, or year of Jubi- lee. Military regulations. Population encouraged. General government for the common safety and happi- ness. 42 LECTURE V. Senatorial branch of the Hebrew government. The man- ner, in which this body was instituted. The similarity between this government and that of some of the Euro- pearl and American states. Its executive branch. Pat- riotic administration of Moses and Joshua. 53 LECTURE VL The superior excellence and authority of the Hebrew consti- tution and laws, as an immediate communication from Jehovah. The manner, in which this communication was made. Hebrew theocracy the most ancient system of government. The particular design of the Jewish or- acle, and the happy effects of its establishment. 64 LECTURE VIL The commencement and operation of the Hebrew constitu- tion. Corrupt and degenerate state of the Jewish peo- ple after the death of Moses and Joshua. A temporary state of anarchy. Introduction of judges and kings ; their duties prescribed and their power limited by the ex- press commands and prohibitions of Jehovah. 74 LECTURE Vin. An examination of Jewish Antiquities recommended from the novelty of the subject, the pleasure it affords, and the advantages to be derived from it. Religious peculiarities of the Hebrew nation. Idolatry considered a capital of- fence against the state. Temporal rewards and punish- ments annexed to the observance or violation of tlie He- CONTENTS. V brew ritual ; and the general tendency of God's conduct toward his ancient people, to the final establishment of the christian system. 85 LECTURE IX. Ceremonies of the Hebrew worship, and the special objects of their appointment. Their suitableness to the existing state of the world, and to the Israelites in particular. In- stitution of the Jewish sabbath, and the extensive benefits resulting from it. 96 LECTURE X. Nature of the Hebrew worship. Sacrifices and offerings. Their fitness and utility. 106 LECTURE XI. Three great annual solemnities of the Hebrew nation. Feast of the Passover ; of Pentecost ; of Tabernacles. Bene- fits resulting from the appointment and observance of these festivals. 1 19 LECTURE XII. Importance of God's early and visible manifestations of him- self to his antient people. The manner in which these manifestations were made. Nature and use of the taber- nacle. Particular description of the temple at Jerusalem. 131 LECTURE XIII. Appointment of ministers of the Hebrew worship. Their qualifications. Ceremonies, which attended their induc- tion into office ; and the duties connected with it. 142 LECTURE XIV. Punishments inflicted on those, who assumed the priestly of- fice. Description of the priestly garments. 153 iri CONTENTS. LECTURE XV. Answers to various inquiries and objections respesting the Jewish priesthood. 165 LECTURE XVI. The nature and design of the prophetic office. 178 LECTURE XVII. Inquiries and objections relative to the Hebrew prophets an- swered. The manner in which God revealed to them his will. 190 LECTURE XVIIL Vindication of the character and writings of the Hebrew prophets. 201 LECTURE XIX. Enumeration of the various officers of distinction in the He- brew church. 212 LECTURE XX. Origin and nature of the different religious sects, which di- vided the Hebrew nation. 224 LECTURE XXI. Review of preceding lectures. 235 LECTURE XXII. Peculiarities of the Hebrew ritual. Subordinate regulations of the Israelites, to distinguish them from the absurd usag- es of idolaters. 246 LECTURE XXIII. Consideration of that part of the Hebrew law, which prohib- ited the use of certain meats, as unclean. Object and tendency of this prohibition. 259 CONTENTS. vu LECTURE XXIV. Various ceremonies, observed in the Hebrew church respect- ing purifications and pollutions. Reasons and fitness of their observance. 270 LECTURE XXV. Tendency of the Hebrew ritual to promote the glory of God ; and the benefits resulting from the observance of its various injunctions. 280 LECTURE XXVL Various arguments in support of the divine origin of the He- brew ritual J and in reply to the objections made against it. 291 LECTURE XXVIL . The numerous rites and ceremonies of the Hebrew ritual, pointing out and gradually unfolding the more perfect dispensation of the gospel. 3 on LECTURE XXVIIL A comparative view of the character and institutions of the Hindoos, with those of the Hebrews. 312 LECTURE XXIX. Arguments to prove, that the institutions of the Hebrews were not derived from the Hindoos, or from any other human source. 324 LECTURES ON JEWISH ANTIQUITIES, LECTURE L Origin a}id progress of civil government. Political government at first parental or patriarchal. Illustrations and proofs from Sa- cred history before and after the flood. Crime of Ham for 'which he ivas cursed. Why this curse ivas denouncedy not on Ham himself but on his son Canaan. In nxihat respects this curse ivas fulfilled. X. HE laws relating to the theological department in this Society, and the express will of the Founder of this professorship, require the Instructor to read to the two higher classes a weekly private Lecture on some topic connected with divinity. Complete arrangements for this purpose have been but recently made. The desire of the Corporation has determined me to employ a num- ber of discourses on the subject of Jewish and Christian Antiquities. ' Some acquaintance with each of these is not only very necessary to those, who mean to be reli- gious instructors, but is a useful and interesting science to all. The Antiquities of the Jews are important and vene- rable on many accounts. They are more antient and better authenticated, than those of any other people of so early a date. The Jews ever have been and still are a remarkable nation. Their civil and religious institu- tions, their character, destination, and fortunes have been lo LECTURES ON [lect. i. singular and wonderful. Their history has a peculiar claim to the attention of Christians, who believe them to have been the favorite people of God, the appointed trustees and propagators of the true religion in the midst of an idolatrous world, the types and progenitors of the Messiah, who were to prepare the way for, and at length introduce his person and kingdom, and who are ultimate- ly to rise to distinguished glory and happiness under his reign. A knowledge of the antiquities of this people is the key to many parts of their inspired Scriptures, whose im- port or propriety cannot otherwise be distinctly and sat- isfactorily perceived. This-knowledge will help to vindi- cate, yea highly to recommend many things in their laws, which at first view may seem inconsistent with the wis- dom, justice, and goodness of God, and which by some have been greatly censured and even derided. In short, this acquaintance with the early Jewish history will ena- ble you to repel many plausible objections to the Bible, will open to you many new beauties in the sacred volume, and will greatly confirm your belief of its heavenly origi- nal. Agreeably, it will be my aim frequently to apply the subject of our disquisitions to the elucidation and defence of Scripture. If for this purpose we should sometimes go into short digressions, it will be readily ex- cused by every friend to religion, to every fair inquirer after truth. In treating of the antiquities of the Hebrew nation, \te will begin with their civil polity. This, like that of almost every other people, has undergone a va- riety of changes in several periods of their history. At first their government was patriarchal ; a word derived from IIATPI, family, and APXaN, chief, or ni- LECT. I.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. l^ ler. This mode of government is defined by Godwin, a learned writer of the last century, to consist " in the fa* thers' of famihes, and their first born after them, exer- cising all kinds of civil and ecclesiastical authority in their respective housholds.'* To throw light on this subject, we will briefly investigate the origin and progress of civ^ il government in the early ages. The natural dependence of children on their parents, and their early habits of reverence and subjection to their wisdom and authority, would of course give rise, in the first instance, to the parental government. The first man especially, who was the father of all mankind, would be naturally regarded by his descendants as their common Head, and have peculiar influence over their coun- sels and actions, so long as his life and understanding continued. For the same reason, when mankind had lost their common progenitor, and had branched out in- to several distinct families, each of these would be- come a little community, and would naturally look up to its immediate founder, as its sovereign ruler or prince. These distinct sovereignties would in time be greatly multiplied. In some instances those, who at first were kings of their own housholds only, would insensibly grow up into monarchs of larger societies by extending their authority over their remoter descendants. As dis- putes would also in time arise among small domestic com- munities, these contests would naturally urge them to form one common bond of union, and to elect a common and eflicient sovereign. As larger societies would thus be constituted by an assemblage of smaller associations ; so the frequent occasions and existence of controversies between neighbouring communities thus formed, would give rise to mutual and forcible opposition ; in which case each communily would naturally choose for its mili. I ft LECTURES ON [lt-ct. i. tary leader some one person distinguished for his wisdom and courage, his eloquence and virtue, his reputation and success in public or private concerns. These cir- cumstances of preeminence, attending one man, would not only raise him to the chief command in war, but proba- bly introduce him to permanent and perhaps supreme au- thority in the state. In these and similar methods we easily account for the establishment not only of civil go- vernment, but of small kingdoms or monarchies, which evidently existed ia the early ages. Indeed, some kind of civil polity is so natural and even necessary to man, that many of the antients, particularly Aristotle and Plato, call him ZHON IIOAITIKON, a political ani- mal. For as the wants, faculties, and affections of men would early and forcibly urge them to associate ; so their imperfections and vices would compel their resort to civil government for their common protection and prosperity. Perhaps if man had not fallen from virtue, or if a society were generally and even universally honest and benevolent ; some kind of political rule might be ex- pedient J because good men, who are united in the same object, may be ignorant, erroneous, or divided respect- ing the means of attaining it. In this case nature and reason would direct the society to commit the regulation of its common concerns to some persons of superior pen- etration and more enlarged views, whose wisdom should safely guide the actions of the multitude. But the ear- ly defection of man from his primitive rectitude, and the consequent reign of selfish ambition, avarice and injustice, would oblige the human race not only to adopt political institutions, but to arm them with sufficient force to guard the innocent, and to punish the injurious. It can- Hot however be supposed that any society of men would LECT. I.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 13 subject themselves to the dominion of one or more per- sons, however respectable or beloved, vi^ithout some equivalent protection of that liberty, property, and life, which are most dear to their hearts. To imagine there- fore with some writers, that civil power, in the first instance, was forced upon mankind by violence or conquest is very incredible ; because no one man could possess sufficient strength to compel considerable num- bers into that servitude, which they naturally hate and resist ; and because if one bold adventurer were assist- ed by others in this business, these latter must have been previously united with him in a political confederation ; that is, civil government must have existed by express or implied compact before a subjugating force could be successfully exerted. Political authority therefore must in fact, as well as by right, have originated primarily from mutual agreement between rulers and subjects. Per- haps we may even assert, that where power has been di- rectly obtained by artifice or by violence, there must be an ultimate and implied compact between the victor and the vanquished, to constitute a civil community ; for till this take place, it is not a state of political order, but of anarchy and war. Suppose, for example, that Cromwell, the protector of England, and Bonaparte, the present chief consul of France, were in the first instance usurp- ers ; yet if their subjects finally submitted to their au- thority from a belief or experience of public utihty or ex- pediency ; this submission seems to be a virtual consent on their part to the existing form and administration of gov- ernment. On these principles Dr. Hutcheson, though a most benevolent and able assertor of rational liberty and equality, yet declares that states may be justly form- ed without the previous consent of the people. He 14 LECTURES ON [lect. i. says that" if a prudent and efficient Legislator can set- tle a plan of polity, effectual for the general good; a- mong a stupid or prejudiced people at present unwilling to receive it ; and can reasonably conclude that upon a short trial they will heartily consent to it ; he acts with perfect justice, though in an extraordinary manner." But he justly adds " that absolute hereditary monarchy can never be settled upon this pretence ; as it can never tend to good to have all the interests of millions subject- ed to the will of one of their equals, as much, yea more subject to vice and folly than any of them." This leads us to apply the preceding observations more directly to the object of this discourse. Some wri- ters in favor of absolute and hereditary power, have in- sisted that the first founders of families and tribes not only possessed this power, but transmitted it entire to their^rj^ born. This authority, according to them, was first vested in Adam, who had the absolute disposal both of the persons and estates of all his descendants. On his death it devolved upon SetJj, his eldest son next to Cain, who had been disinherited for the murder oi AbcL From Seth it was conveyed by lineal succession to Noah, the father of the new world ; who, by divine direction, divided the earth after the flood among seventy of his posterity, who were made absolute sovereigns of so many nations. From them the right of sovereignty has been handed down to the present day ; and every reigning prince of every country is to be presumed to inherit this right, unless some other person can prove his hereditary title. This extravagant scheme was eagerly supported in Great Britain during the arbitrary reigns of the Steuarts. For opposing this doctrine the immortal Algernon Sidney fell a victim under the government of Charles the second. LECT. I.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 15 If we examine the scripture history, on which this system pretends to be founded, we find no evidence that even our first father was clothed with absohite sovereignty. His relation to his posterity, as their original parent, by no means gave him unlimited dominion. The grant made to him of the whole animal and vegetable creation for his service did not rest the property and jurisdiction of it in him only, but was intended as a common grant to the human race. But if we admitted that Adam pos- sessed such authority, this would not prove its heredita- ry descent to his eldest son. Those words of God to Cain, " Unto thee shall be his (that is Abel's) desire, and thou shalt rule over him,'* may prove some preem- inence in the first born over his brother ; but can nev- er establish an absolute power during life over him and all his posterity. The distribution of mankind after the deluge into seventy independent kingdoms not only con- tradicts the right of primogeniture, but it has no founda- tion in the sacred history. Besides, this history informs us that God often passed by the first born, and advanced younger sons to special dignity, privilege, and power. Dismissing therefore this plan of hereditary unquali- fied sovereignty, as equally unsupported by scripture and reason, we proceed to observe that the patriarchal gov- ernment, in the sense limited above, subsisted among God's visible people for a series of ages. We have some vestiges of it in the antediluvian world. The ex- istence of some civil authority is intimated in the story of Cain, who was not only banished from the communi- ty, but was apprehensive of capital punishment for his unnatural fratricide. " And Cain said unto the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth,'* i6 LECTURES ON [lect. i. that is from my native country or territory ; " and from thy face shall I be hid ;" that is, I shall be excluded from the Shechinah, or visible glory, which is the stated symbol of thy gracious presence ; " and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me ;'* every one will treat me as an outlaw from the govern- ment, as a common enemy to my species. We are told that among the antient Romans, when a person was out- lawed or declared accursed for some heinous crime, any one might kill him with impunity. The reason why the first instance of murder was punished with banishment, and not with death, might be because the continuance of the murderer for several centuries a living and dread- ful monument of divine vengeance, would probably af- ford more instruction and benefit to mankind than his immediate excision ; or because in the infancy of the world his life might be important to the propagation and support of the species, and capital executions were then » less necessary for the common safety. " The mark which God set upon Cain, lest any finding him should slay him," has given rise to many curious and some very ri- diculous conjectures. Dr. Shuckford*s opinion seems the most probable, who renders the text thus — " The Lord gave to Cain a sign'* or token, probably by some miracle, assuring him of his protection, so that none who met him should kill him. The same word here translated mark^ is applied to the visible token by which ■ God assured Noah tkat he would no more drown the world ; and by which he satisfied Gideon that he should destroy the Midianites. The next intimation of civil government in the early a- ges appears in the story of Laraech. " Lamech said unto his wives, I have slain a man to my wounding, and LECT. I.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. t^ a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged seven fold, truly Lamech seventy and seven fold." O- mitting the many fanciful or forced constructions of these words, I only observe that Onkelos, the first Chaldee Paraphrast on the Pentateuch, considers the former part of Lamech's speech as interrogative — " Have I slain a man to my w^ounding, and a young man to my hurt ?" — and accordingly paraphrases it thus — " I have not, like Cain, killed a man, that I should bear the sin of it ; nor a young man, that my offspring should be cut off for it." Dr. Shuckford has enlarged this idea by supposing that Lamech was endeavouring to quiet the apprehensions of his wives and family with respect to any penal conse- quences, which the murder committed by their progenitor Cain might entail upon them, as if had §aid, " What have we done that we should be afraid ? We have not killed nor injured a man even of another family. And if God would not allow Cain to be killed, who had mur- dered his own brother, but threatened sevenfold ven- geance on any who should slay him ; certainly they must meet a far greater punishment, who should kill any of us. We may therefore assure ourselves of perfect safety under the protection of human governmenta and of divine providence." This construction to me seems easy and well founded. Let us now descend to the history of man after the flood. The first instance of patriarchal authority, which occurs in this history, is the judicial sentence of Noah, denounced upon his grandson Canaan, " cursed be Ca- naan ; a servant of servants shall he be unto his breth- ren." As Noah was the second father of mankind, he was probably for a considerable time reverenced and o- beyed as universal Sovereign. With respect to the par- C 1 8 LECTURES ON" [lect. i. ticular exercise of his power now before us, he seems to have acted rather as an inspired prophet than as a pati^i- archal ruler ; that is, he was enabled to foretel the fu- ture fate of his three sons and their posterity, and thus to pronounce an effectual curse on one of them, and blessings upon the two other. His example there- fore gives no warrant to rulers and kings in later times to decide the future fate of their children and do- minions by their arbitrary pleasure ; to determine for in- stance, which of their sons shall possess the absolute jurisdiction and property of a great nation ; just as a private man bequeaths his lands or his cattle to his heirs. There are several questions, which this part of sacred history suggests. First, what was the crime of Ham, for which his fa- ther cursed him ? The answer is, having witnessed the infirmity and nakedness of a venerable parent, instead of concealing them beneath the veil of filial piety, he public- ly and scornfully exposed them to his brethren ; which was at once an impious and shameless act, and evinced a very depraved character. Secondly, why did Noah denounce this curse, not on Ham himself, but on his son Canaan ? We reply, the re- peated mention of Canaan in this story, as well as the united opinion of the Hebrew Doctors, renders it proba- ble that he was a partner with his father Ham in behold- ing and ridiculing the infirmity of Noah. We add, that as the curse here denounced was prophetic, and chiefly re- ferred to theremote posterity of Ham and of Canaan, so there was no injustice in punishing this posterity for imi- tating the wickedness of their progenitors, nor any im- propriety in punishing Ham for his crime by informing tEcr. I.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 19 him of the future depravity and servitude of his offspring, to which his own example would largely contribute. A third question is, in what respects was this curse ful- filled ? We answer, it was verified 1st, by the destruction or subjugation of the Canaanites to the people of Israel, the descendants of Shem ; 2d, by the conquest and ex- termination of the Tyrians, Thebans, and Carthagini- ans, who were also Ham's posterity, by the Greeks and Romans, who descended from Japhet ; and 3dly, by the present servile and wretched condition of the Africans^ who sprang from the same fatal stock, compared with the state of Europeans^ who originated from a different branch of the Patriarch's family. Those, who wish to be greatly entertained and confirmed by fully comparing these historic facts with the predictions of Noah, are re- ferred to the masterly treatise of Newton on the prophe- cies. 20 LECTURES ON [lect. ii. LECTURE ir. Patriarchal government farther illustrated. Sentence of Jacob on his tiuelve sons. Special government of the Jews. Its leadi/.g design^ the preservation f the true religion amAig thcm^ in connection luith their temporal freedom and prosperity. Why temporal blessings and evils employed to enfrce this constitution. Objections a'nswered. Hebreiv policy contrasted ivith that of the antient heathens. XN the beginning of our first Lecture of this kind we informed you that, in obedience to the will of the Founder o\ the theological professorship, and of the College Legislature, we had determined to give you a se- ries of private discourses on Jeivish and Christian A7iti- quities. After hinting a few things on the importance of being acquainted with the antiquities of the Jews, par- ticularly as such knowledge affords the best clue to the meaning, propriety, and beauty of many parts of their inspired scriptures ; we proposed to begin our disquisi- tions by attending to their civil polity. To throw light on this, we went into a brief investigation of the origin and progress of civil government in the early ages. The result of this inquiry was, that political government was at first parental or patriarchal ; that in time it branched out and grew up into a number of more extended and in- dependent monarchies ; that the sovereignties, however, were primarily, or at least ultimately established by ex- press or implied agreement between the rulers and sub- jects ; and that there is no proof from Scripture, reason, or history, that the early founders and governors of man- kind possessed unlimited power, much less that they transmitted it by hereditary succession in the line of their firstborn. LECT. 11.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 21 Having made these preliminary observations, we pro- ceeded to notice some faint vestiges of a limited patriarchal government in the story of Cain and of Lamech before the flood, and in the sentence denounced by Noah after that deluge upon a wicked son and his future descend- ants. Omitting several other traces of civil authority, exer- cised by succeeding patriarchs, let us advert a few mo- ments to the sentence, pronounced by Jacob just before his death on each of his respective sons, and the several tribes, of which they were the destined founders. Two of these sons, viz. Simeon and Levi, for their perfidious and barbarous murder of the Shechemites, are thus de- nounced by their dying father — " Cursed be their an- ger, for it was fierce ; and their wrath, for it was cruel ; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.'* This prophetic doom was remarkably verified. For though the land of Canaan was divided among the Is- raelites by tlie contingency of lots ; yet the tribe of Si- meon had no distinct portion assigned to it, but only a small inheritance in the midst of the tribe of Judah ; and the posterity of Levi had no separate inheri- tance in lands, like the rest of the Hebrews, except a few cities with their suburbs taken from the possessions of all the other tribes. Thus the families of Simeon and Le- vi, in exact agreement with this prophecy, continued divid- ed and scattered in Israel, to the end of their common- wealth, I'his address of Jacob to his sons foretels with great exactness many other surprising traits in the char- acters and circumstances of their future offspring. We will select one remarkable instance. In blessing the tribe of Judah he utters this prediction — " The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 32 LECTURES ON [lect. ii. feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gather- ing of the people be.'* That by Shiloh is intended the Messiah appears from the import of the Hebrew word, which the most learned critics derive from verbs, signifi- ing either to send, to enjoy peace, or to prosper and save ; and which accordingly denotes the great promised Messenger, Peace maker, or Saviour, It also appears from its being included in the appropriate blessing pro- nounced upon Judah, to whom the preeminence or high- est privilege belonged ; from the gathering of the peo- ple to this Shiloh, which is the same with all nations be- ing converted to and blessed in him ; from the consent of all the antient, and many of the modern Jews, as well as Christians ; and finally from the exact agreement of the prophecy, thus understood, with the truth of facts before and after the coming of Christ. It is a fact, that a scepter or lawgiver, that is the supreme government of Israel was first set up in the tribe of Judah, in the per- son of David, and continued in that tribe, in a line of regular descent from him till the time of the Babylonish captivity ; after which it still subsisted in the same tribe under a different form, till the birth of our Saviour. But soon after this event Judea was made a Roman province ; its civil administration was transferred to Ro- man governors ; and not long after its capital city was destroyed, and its surviving inhabitants dispersed. Since this dispersion the family of Judah has been so far from possessing civil authority, that its very existence, as a dis- tinct tribe, has been confounded and lost. This train of facts at once explains the meaning, and proves the divine inspiration of this antient prediction. Having briefly traced the history of that authority, ■which was possessed by the early ancestors of the Jew- LECT. II.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 23 ish nation, we are prepared to examine tiie special gov- ernment of this people from the commencement of their civil polity to its final extinction. To form a just esti- mate of this government, we must first attend to its lead- ing design, or inquire what objects the Deity proposed in its erection. If we can show that the ends designed by it were worthy of God, and that the means employed were eminently adapted to those ends, you will need no other proof of its wisdom and excellence. The Hebrew constitution, like all good governments, ^ was intended to protect the freedom, property, and peace of the community at large, and of its several members. But this was not its only intention. It was also design- ed to preserve in that nation the knowledge and service of the one true God, and to set up an eiFectual barrier against the contagious and destructive evils of idolatry. Agreeably, the Jewish form of government was found- ed in a mutual and explicit contract to the following pur- pose : — The people, on their part, solemnly chose or ac- cepted Jehovah as their poUtical, as well as religious Sov- ereign, engaging to adhere to his worship and laws, in opposition to every species of idolatry : God, on his part, promised that on this condition he would govern, pro- tect and bless them in a peculiar and immediate way, se- curing to them not only the transcendent privileges and comforts of the true religion, but high degrees of tempo- poral liberty, peace and prosperity. The reasons why temporal blessings and evils are so much employed to en- force this constitution, are weighty and obvious. It was fit that God, as the political King of Israel, should guard his laws with political sanctions. Such sanctions were peculiarly needful and beneficial to so gross a people, as the Jews, and in a period of the world, when the doc- 24 LECTURES ON lect. ii.] trine of a future retribution was so feebly discovered, and of course had so little effect. The good and evil things of the present state were also the great incitements to idolatry : it therefore became necessary to press them into the service of true religion. The idolatrous nations believed in and worshipped subordinate beings, as the immediate dispensers of health and long life, of worldly affluence and prosperity. Several of the Old Testament Prophets charge the Jewish people with relapsing into the worship of inferior beings upon the fond conceit, that they gave them their corn, and wine, and oil, their silver and gold. This prevailing notion, that temporal bles- sings came from some demon, idol, or tutelar deity, whom for this reason it was necessary to conciliate, rendered it highly expedient that an institution intended to guard the belief and adoration of the one true God, should hold up these blessings as exclusively his gifts ; to be sought and obtained, only by a strict adherence to his worship and commands. But you will ask, was it proper to protect the true re- ligion, and prevent idolatry, by civil establishments and temporal considerations ? Did not this directly operate to crush free inquiry, and to foster religious persecution, hypocrisy, and severity ? — We reply, as the Jewish con- stitution was a Theocracy, in which Jehovah was the tem- poral Sovereign ; as that people held the land of Canaan, and all their peculiar privileges, upon the footing of their alliance to him ; so idolatry in them was high treason against their acknowledged King, and against that origi- nal compact, on which their national happiness and even existence depended. Besides, God had given that na- tion peculiar and abundant evidence that he was the true and onlyDeityjand that every blessingand calamity result- LECT. II.] JEWISH ANTIC)UITIES. s^ ed from his favor or displeasure. It was therefore \i6th just and merciful to enact severe penakies against those^ who should traiterously revolt from him. Such penalties were but an equitable counterpart to the high rewards connected with obedience. They were needful and be- nevolent guards to the public virtue and safety. They implied no infringement of the just rights of the subject, any more than the penal laws of other states, which punish conspiracies against the constitution. In short, they were absolutely necessary, as things then were, not only to preserve rational piety and virtue, with their attendant blessings, among the Jews, but to prevent their total extinction through the world. Those, who censure the Jewish government for thus patronising the true religion, do not sufficiently consider the evil nature and effects of idolatry, and its rapid and general propa- gation in the early ages. Even the antient Egyptians, a people celebrated for wisdom and science, were among the most stupid and extravagant idolaters. The Hebrews themselves, notwithstanding their special religious advan- tages, were exceedingly addicted to this prevailing abom- ination. Lest any should view idolatry as a harmless or venial error, I will mention some of the dreadful evils wrapped up in it ; that we may be struck with that en- lightened and benevolent policy, which aimed to arrest and destroy it. One of the principal evils of idolatry was, that it led away the human mind from the knowledge, obedience, and imitation of the all perfect Being, and of course from that true holiness and morality, which alone could en- gage his acceptance and blessing ; and transferred its homage to imaginary local divinities, whose protection was to be obtained by magical rites, or bv absurd, im- D 26 . LECTURES ON it^cr.u, pure, ©r barbiirous ceremonies of worship. Hence man- kind became necessarily vicious both in principle and practice. Instead of aiming to please the true God, and procure needed blessings from him, by adoring and copy- mg his purity, justice, and benevolence, they sought the favor of yupiter, who with all his power and dignity was exhibited to them as a hero in lust, intemperance, a,nd wickedness ; of Mercury, the patron of thieves and robbers ; of Bacchus, the god of drunkenness ; or of Venus, the model and protectress of debauchery. As the characters of such deities, so the most sacred rites and mysteries of their worship extinguished in their vota- ries every principle of moral rectitude, and nourished ev- ery evil propensity ; they not only licensed but even consecrated the most shocking scenes both of lewdness and of cruelty. It was a known custom among the Cana- anites to sacrifice even their own children to one of their idols. — When we contemplate these and many other de- testable crimes, which the Scripture charges upon these Canaanitish idolaters ; must we not pronounce it wise, just, and even benevolent in the Supreme Ruler to inflict upon them exemplary punishment ? And had he not a right to commission the Israelites to execute this punish- ment ? — As this dreadful execution of the Canaanites gives rise to one of the most popular, and at the same time unjust clamors of infidelity against the constitution and consequent proceedings of the Hebrew nation, I would just remark, that the question between us and such objector* is not, whether the Israelites had any natural right to take -away the lives and estates of the Canaan- ites, who had never injured them ? We grant they had. not. But certainly the righteous Judge of nations had a right to exterminate those wicked idolaters by whatev- LECT. II.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 27 €T instruments he chose to employ. If a human govern- ment may lawfully commission one man to kill another, •who has forfeited his life ; much more may the Supreme Governor do the same. To say that the Israelites had no such commission, but only made a false pretension to it, is meanly to shift the question before us ; which is, whether their conduct, with all its circumstances, as stated in Scripture, be justifiable ? We confidently main- tain not only the equity, but the peculiar wisdom and goodness of God in this mode of proceeding. For noth- ing could more powerfully operate to suppress idolatry and its attending vices, and to encourage true religion and virtue, than for Jehovah publicly to commission and mirac- ulously to asiist a nation, who openly professed and wor- shipped him, to extirpate mighty nations of idolaters, and to grant and permanently secure to his conquering people the possessions of the latter, on the express condition of their stedfast obedience to his laws. By thus destroy- ing the Canaanites the God of Israel publicly triumph- ed over their idol deities j he showed that these could neither give nor secure to their votaries life and pros- perity, but that he was the sovereign dispenser of bles- sings to his friends, and of plagues to his enemies. This whole proceeding was especially fitted to impress the Is- raelites with a perpetual abhorrence and dread of those crimes, which they had been the instruments of punish- ing, and to secure their fidelity to that Being, whose wonderful interposition they had experienced, and whose continued favor was connected with their loyalty. As the peculiar manner, in which the Jews were made to possess the land of Canaan, was thus highly favorable to their virtue, and of course to their prosperity ; so raany of their laws, which, sit first view, maj seem tri- 28 LECTURES ON [i.pcT. ii. fling or severe, will appear important, if we keep in view the great design of their national establishment. Thiis the laws, which prohibited familiar intercourse and espe- cially intermarriages with their heathen neighbours, though censured by infidels as unsocial and savouring of misanthropy, were highly useful to preserve the Is- raelites a distinct and holy community, and thus to keep alive in the world the pure principles of piety and mor- als. So easily were the Hebrews enticed into idolatry, that a frequent participation in the society or even inno- cent entertainments of heathens would endanger the pu- rity of their character. — Many other statutes derive their chief importance from the same source. The ablest of the Jewish Doctors gives this general reason for them — " They were made to keep men from idolatry, and such false opinions as are akin to it, such as pretences to in- cantations, divinations, foretelling things by the stars, or by the possession of some spirit or demon, or consult- ing with such persons." He farther observes, that f ' many of the magic rites consisted in certain gestures, actions, or words ;" and mentions several examples of such superstitions ; among the rest a remarkable rite to prevent a storm of hail. Now not a few of the Mosa- ical laws, which would otherwise seem unworthy of the wisdom of God, were yet necessary guards against these idolatrous pagan customs. — That statute, for instance, which forbido the Jews to " round the corners of their heads, or to marthe corners of their beards,*' will ap- pear important, when we consider it as a barrier against a magical custom of the heathen priests, who made this mode of treating their hair and beards essential to their idol worship, and a grand prerequisite to the success of their petitions.' — ^We likewise instantly perceive the wis- j,ECT. II.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 2g dom of that prohibition, " neither shall a garment of linen and woolen come upon thee," when we know that such mixed garments were the appropriate habits of idol- atrous priests, and were supposed to possess some great magical virtue. — We also understand the propriety of that law, which forbids each sex to wear any garment peculiar to the other, when we find that it was a stand- ing injunction among the antient heathens, that men must stand before the star of Venus in the flowered gar- ments of women, and women were to put on the armour of men before the star of Mars. Agreeably, Macrobius tells us, that m.en worshipped Venus in women's habits, and women in the habits of men. — How wise and benev- olent was it in the divine Legislator, by such minute and strict precepts, to guard a gross and superstitious people from the dangerous customs, which every where sur- rounded them, and which, without such checks, must have operated to destroy every distinction between Jews and pagans. Let us then steadily keep in mind the noble and com- plex design of the Hebrew government. Let us view it as intended to preserve in our world rational piety and virtue, and in connexion with this to dispense liberty, or- der, and happiness to the Jewish commonwealth. Their constitution, thus viewed, resembles the pillar of cloud and of fire, which attended their camp through the wil- derness. While it guided, protected, and cheered the obedient Jews, it held up to the surrounding world a public and impressive monument of the supremacy of Je- hovah, of the blessings, which attend his faithful ser- vants, and of the detestable and destructive evils, which accompany idolatry, superstition, and vice. 36 LECTURES ON [lect. hi. LECTURE in. Objection of partiality in Jehovah toivard the 'Jewish nation^ ansnuered. Objection to the Hcbre'iV constitution as a sys- tem of intolerance and ^uar, of conquest or extermination^ answered. System sf Hebrew policy contrasted with that of ihi afttiSfit heathens. An our last Lecture we showed that the great design of the civil constitution of the Jewish nation was the preservation of the true religion among them, and in Connexion with this, their temporal freedom and pros- perity. I presume you will all grant, that such a design was truly benevolent and noble, and that every regula- tion necessary to its accomplishment was highly impor- tant. We have already remarked, that many statutes in the Jewish code, which, at first view, seem puerile, were needful barriers to that people against the enticing, but dangerous customs of their idolatrous neighbours. Yet still many features of the Hebrew government differ so widely from the best sentiments and usages of modern times, that it requires a candid and attentive survey to make us fully see their propriety and beauty. As I trust that both you and myself are honest inquirers after truth, I hope you will cheerfully accompany me in the disquisition before us ; and the rather, as the question concerning the merits of the Jewish polity and laws affects the reputation both of the Old Testament and the New ; and it has accordingly been the practice of many enemies to Christianity to attempt its subversion, not by direct assault, but by casting reproach or ridicule on the insti- tutions of the antient Jews. We are willing to meet them on this ground. If these institutions cannot LECT. III.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 31 be fairly vindicated, we stand ready to give up all reveal- ed religion as indefensible. We have represented the civil government of the He- brews as founded on a peculiar compact or relation be- tween God and them, by which he became their political Sovereign and Protector, and they engaged theraselvCiS to worship and obey him, in opposition to all pretended or rival deities. But some may object that there is a great ab" surdity in supposing God, the universal Parent and Ruler, thus to connect himself withone particular nation, and tobe- comea partial and tutelarDeity to them, while he seemed to exclude from his favor a great majority of his human fami- ly. This plausible objection incapable of two satisfac- tory answers. First, God's peculiar relation to the Jews did not in the least diminish or hinder his paternal and beneficent care of all his rational offspring. Will any person say, that the supreme Governor, by giving one portion of mankind greater privileges than the rest, ex- cludes the latter from his notice, or conducts in a partial and injurious manner ? Would it be wise to infer that, because the constitution and laws of the United States appropriate the city of Washington, and a small district around it, to the special residence and jurisdiction of our national rulers, therefore the rest of the Union is shut out from their patriotic inspection and influence ? Yet this conclusion would be far less absurd than the objec- tion before us ; — especially when we add Secondly, tha? God's design in thus selecting and covenanting with a particular nation was not so much their peculiar benefit, as the general good of mankind ; for this constitution was a light &Qt up in the midst of a dark world ; a light, which preserved and in some measure diffused the knowl- edge and practice of pure religion and virtue, and thus 52 LECTURES ON [lect. m. kept alive in the human mind those principles, which are the basis of liberty and order, of improvement and hap- piness both to individual and social man. That we may distinctly see how far this constitution promoted these excellent purposes, I would observe that the very ex- istence of this frame of government led up the minds of the Jews to that One true God, by whose wis- dom it was formed, by whose authority it was enjoyed, and by whose extraordinary providence it was visibly carried into effect. The tenure, by which they claimed and enjoyed the benefits of this constitution, was their firm and exclusive loyalty to Jehovah. On this condi- tion he promises and actually gives them a pleasant and fertile country, which they hold by his conditional grant. By their instrumentality he expels the former inhabitants for their abominable crimes, the fruits of their idol- atry. He blesses the new tenants of this country with freedom and plenty, with peace raid prosperity, while they retain their religious and virtuous character ; but when they apostatize he permits their enemies to afflict and oppress them. Thus a weak and little nation, sur- rounded on all sides, and frequently invaded by great and powerful empires, is visibly protected against them all by the superior power of Jehovah, and subsists much longer than any known kingdom in the world. What an au- gust and impressive spectacle ! How forcibly did it teach beholding nations the vanity of idols, and the suprema- cy of the God of Israel ! How pathetically did it call them off from the fatal service of the former, to the wor- ship and protection of the latter ! — Let it be further not- ed, that the central situation, which the Jews occupied with respect to the then inhabited globe, and the stupen- dous works of divine power, by which their government Lect: hi.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 33 and laws were introduced, supported, and executed, by which they themselves were often chastised, defended, or delivered, and their mighty adversaries defeated or ru- ined, were admirably calculated to spread the glory of God, and the knowledge and obedience of his laws, into the surrounding world. Even the captivities and disper- sions, which this people suffered for their transgressions, were made subservient to the extension and triumph of their religion. The eminent virtues and extraordinary gifts displayed by some of these captives, and the won- derful interpositions of Jehovah in their favor, impressed on the minds of heathen princes and nations a high rev- erence for the religion and the God of Israel. The cel- ebrated learning of the antient Eastern world, especially on civil, moral, and religious subjects, was doubtless in great measure derived from the laws and writings of this favored people. The nearer we come down to gospel times, the more extensive is the beneficent influence of their system on neighbouring countries. As the Jews were gradually diffused over the Roman empire, as well as over the Asiatic regions, so they every where convert- ed great numbers from idolatry to the faith and worship of the true God. While the greatest pagan philoso- phers, instead of turning any of the people from super- stition to rational piety, conformed themselves to the reigning idolatry, and recommended the same conformi- ty to others ; the Jews propagated their own religion far and wide, and thus contributed to prepare mankind for the perfect dispensation of the gospel. In a word, the erection of this people into a peculiar and separate polity rendered them the safe depositaries of those promises, predictions, and types, which excited in mankind the cheering hope of a future Redeemer, which gradually E ^4 LECTURES OM [lect. hi. fitted them for his coming, and which gave a distinct and full testimony to his divine mission, when he actually ap- peared. Thus the Mosaic constitution, far from having a partial operation in favor of one nation only, was a de- signed and unspeakable blessing to the human race. This train of thought leads us to answer those objec- tors, whx) represent this constitution as a system of in- tolerance and war, of conquest or extermination against all the rest of the world, under the pretense of building Mp the true religion upon the ruins of idolatry. We readily grant, that this government was primarily and especially designed for the benefit of the Jews ; just as the constitution of our country is peculiarly intended for the happiness of Americans. The Hebrew Lawgiver and people, like the framers and supporters of our gov- ernment, were strangers to that refined philanthropy^ which seeks the good of the whole by the destruction of its several parts. Their benevolence operated in the first place towards themselves and their own nation. In this view the laws of Moses were excellent. Far from encouraging a narrow or malignant spirit, they cherish- ed every feeling and ofiice of brotherly kindness and pa- triotism. They required the Jews to abstain from every species of enmity, revenge, or oppression ; to treat their poor neighbours and debtors,, their domestic servants, and even their enemies, with mildness and liberality. They strictly prohibited them from ridiculing or taking ungenerous advantage of the bodily infirmities of any person, such as laying a stumbling block before the blind, or cursing the deaf. Their civil code is full of such pre- cepts ; and in these instances it displays a spirit of equi- ty, of tenderness, and generosity, which cannot be par- alleled in any other system of antient policy. Nor was LECT. III.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 3 ? this just and humane treatment to be confined to mem- bers of their own community. They are very frequent- ly commanded to show kindness to strangers or foreign- ers ; to love them as themselves ; to love and do them good in imitation of the divine example, and because they themselves had experimentally known the condition and the heart of strangers. The strangers are often joined "with the poor, the widow, the fatherless, and the Le- vites, as peculiar objects of their pity and succour. The gleanings of their fields were to be left for them, as well as for their own jJoor ; and those who oppressed them were classed among the vilest criminals. It was also a very amiable feature in the Mosaic constitution, that one express design of their weekly Sabbath was, that their servants, and the stranger, and even their cattle, might rest and be refreshed. We grant that no foreigners were permitted to reside among them, who openly pro- fessed idolatry, because this, as we showed in our last Lecture, was directly subversive of their government. But in every other case they were obliged to receive and comfort strangers, even tnough they did not become naturalized, or incorporated with their society. Nor is there one statute or precedent m their law, which author^ ized them to propagate their religion by force, or to per- secute foreigners for not complying with their peculiar customs. It is therefore a great mistake, to consider the Hebrew polity as a system of general persecution or extirpation. For the commands, given to destroy idolatry and its vo- taries, are evidently limited to the land of -Ciuiaan, whiqji God had granted to the Israelites, to be the exclusive: seat of uncorrupted religion and morality, with which idolatrous worship was totally Inconsistent. With m^ 3^' LECTURES ON [lect. in. gard to other countries, there is no requirement, permis- sion, nor example of the Jews making war upon them, foi the mere purposes either of rehgion or of conquest. On the contrary, the whole plan of their government was fitted to check the views of foreign ambition. For it circumscribed them within the limits of a small coun- try. It parcelled them out into several tribes ; it assign- ed to each its peculiar and unalienable territory ; it ob- liged them to offer all their sacrifices in that country, and at the tabernacle or temple placed in its capital ; it limited the observance of their Sabbatical years and their Jubilees, and all their other peculiar institutions, to the land of Canaan. These fundamental articles restrained them to the quiet enjoyment of their religion and laws within their own boundaries, and were incompatible with the acquisition, the improvement, or the defence of ex- tensive dominions. It is accordingly remarkable, that the national blessings promised to them on their obedi- ence, never include an enlargement of empire, but only an assurance of distinguished prosperity and happiness in their own country, and of victory over all that " should rise up against them," that is, who should disturb or in- vade them in their rightful possessions. Agreeably, their military code directs theni how to conduct such wars, as their own defence made just and indispensable. Let the cause of the war be ever so urgent, and the fa- cility of destroying their enemies ever so great, yet they are required first to proclabn peace to them, that is, to of- fer them the quiet enjoyment of their country and pos- sessions, on condition of their paying a certain tribute to the Israelites. If a city thus summoned refuse the pro- posal, they are directed to besiege it ; but if it surren- ders before it be carried by assault, the fives of its inhab-c LECT. III.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 37 itants are still to be spared. But if it finally reject all pacific overtures, after being fairly warned of the conse- quences, should it be taken by force ; they are allowed after subduing it by storm, to kill all the males, that is, all who bore arms ; but the women and children they are strictly required to spare even amid the fury of an assault. They are also forbidden to destroy the fruit trees of the enemy, because they are man's life ; which the Hebrew doctors justly interpret as a prohibition of every needless waste or cruel devastation in the hostile territory. Though one part of these regulations does not fully correspond with the present humane and refin- ed maxims of the most civilized christian nations ; yet this mode of conducting war is far more just, more ten- der and liberal, than was common in those rude and bar- barous ages ; it greatly exceeds in moderation even the conduct of the Roman armies, under generals famed for their humanity, as Scipio, Germanicus, Titus, &c. In a word, that you may be forcibly impressed with the excellence of the Hebrew policy, considered as a pre- servative of rational piety and morals, and consequently of private and national happiness, I will briefly contrast this system with that of the antient heathens ; referring you for a more full illustration to a series of discourses delivered at Philadelphia by the candid, industrious, and learned Dr. Priestley ; many of whose thoughts I gladly abridge in the following observations. First, while the most monstrous polytheism pervaded all the nations of antiquity, the first and vital principle both of the Jewish government and religion was the ac- knowledgment of One Supreme Being. " Thou shalt have no other gods beside me" is the first command de- livered from Mount Sinai ; and " thou shalt love the 38 LECTURES ON [lect. hi. Lord thy God with all thine heart,'* with an undivided and exclusive homage, is a precept, which animates and dignifies all the Hebrew institutions and writings. In vain do we look for a sentiment so just, so sublime, and beneficent, in the best systems of heathen government or philosophy. Secondly, while the pagans worshipped their deities un- der the debasing figures of animals, and even inanimate forms, yea, adored brutes and images themselves ; the second commandment of the Mosaic law expressly shuts out this degrading practice ; and the whele Jewish con- stitution holds up an intelligent, immense, and almighty spirit as the sole object of homage ; a spirit, who can- not be represented by any visible likeness. Thirdly^ while the gods of the heathen were limited and local deities, and their characters polluted with the grossest vices ; Jehovah, theKing and God of the Hebrews, is always described as infinitely wise and powerful, holy and good. Accordingly, while the worship of the former consisted of the most cruel, obscene, and demoralizing ca*emonies ; that of the latter was strictly pure and decent, and the "whole law of the Israelites was fitted to exalt their moral character into a resemblance of the perfect rectitude of Deity, *' Be ye holy, for I am holy," is the great pre- cept of their divine King, Fourthly, while the public festivals, consecrated to the heathen gods, were scenes of riot and debauchery ; those of the Hebrews were devoted to innocent rejoicing, in- termixed with solemn acts of religion ; and every thing, which approximated to the horrid customs of the pagan world, was banished with abhorrence from the service of tlieir temple. Their religious rights were as remote from seedless severity, as from moral impurity. Then: law LECT. III.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 39 enjoined no painful ceremony, except that of circumcision. It required only one fast, viz. that of a single day in a year, while it ordained three annual festivals of considera- ble length. But the heathens began even their principal festival with the most barbarous rites of mourning, with tearing their hair, shaving their heads, and mangling their flesh. These cruel rites of worship are expressly forbid- den to the Israelites. — " Ye shall not cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes ; ye shall not print any marks in your flesh ; for ye are a holy people to the Lord." — ^Every incentive to lewdness, which was openly practised in the pagan worship, was far removed from that of Jehovah. As the heathens were fond of worshipping on the tops of mountains, and in groves, where every kind of abomination was conveniently com- mitted ; the Jews on this account were forbidden to plant groves near to the altar of God. While the su- perstition of the former converted their temples and al- tars into a sacred asylum for all sorts of criminals ; the altars of the latter afforded no refuge to presumptuous offenders ; — *' If a man, says the king of Israel, come upon his neighbour, and slay him with guile, thou shait take him from mine altar, that he may die." Fifthly, the heathen nations were extremely devoted to divination, witchcraft, and necromancy ; Insomuch that even the refined Romans held the established auguries in the highest veneration ; and many serious christians, as well as infidels, in this enlightened age have great faith in similar superstitions. But every thing of this kind is severely interdicted in the Jewish law. This cir- cumstance, especially considering the times in which this system was framed, strongly evinces the superior, the di- vine wisdom of its Founder. We may add, the heathens 40 LECTURES ON [Lect. ni, reserved some part of the first fruits of their harvests for magical purposes. When they had gathered all their fruits, they took a kid, and boiled it in its mother's milk, and with magical rites sprinkled it on their gardens and fields, thinking hereby to render them fruitful. This superstitious practice is forbidden to the Hebrews — " thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk." And when they presented their first fruits, they were directed to recount, with decent and pious gratitude, the good- ness of God to them and their fathers. Sixthly, the antient pagans had many superstitious rules with respect to sacrifices. Thus hogs were sa- crificed to Ceres, an owl to Minerva, a hawk to Apollo, a dog to Hecate, an eagle to Jupiter, a horse to the Sun, a cock to Esculapius, a goose to Isis, and a goat to Bac- chus. They also reserved some of the flesh of these victims for superstitious uses. But to prevent every such use of sacrifices, the Jews were ordered to keep nothing of theirs till the ensuing morning. They v/ere also strict- ly forbidden to eat any part of it raw ; which was a su- perstitious and savage custom of the Egyptians and some other nations. In short, the Hebrews alone kept to the rational and useful idea of sacrifices ; for they confined them to things most proper for the food of man, in order to express their acknowledgments to God, as the giver of this food, and to sit down as thankful guests at his ta- ble. Finally, if we duly attend to the regulations prescrib- ed for the diet of this people, permitting some kinds of food, and prohibiting others, we shall find them restrict- ed to such provision, as best suited their intended cli- mate and the purposes of health. Whereas the restric- tions laid on many of the heathens ia this particular sa- LECT. III.] JEWISFI ANTIQUITIES. 4^ vorcd of gross superstition. In short, you can scarcely name any kind of superstitious absurdity practised in the pagan world, which is not particularly reprobated and barred in the Jewish laws. How false and injurious then is the representation of many writers, that this system is a most degrading, op- pressive, and detestable superstition ! The conclusion of the celebrated author abovenamed is iafinitely more just and enlightened ; who pronounces the great object of this institution to be " the most worthy that can be con- ceived," and declares, that " considering all the circum- stances of the antient Jews and of neighbouring nations, their system was the best possible one, as much superior to any of human invention, as the works of nature excel those of art.'' F 43 LECTURES ON [lect. iv. LECTURE IV. Hebrew constitution adapted to secure the freedom and happiness of its subjects. Hebrenv government originally a free and equal re- public. Fundamental laws required^ that the territory should be equally divided ; that estates should be holden as a freehold from God himself ; and that they should never affernvard be al- ienatcdi ^'^^t descend in perpetual succession. j^grarian law, or year of Jubilee. Military regulations. Population encouraged.. General government for the common safety and happiness. I N considering the civil government of the an- tient Jews, we have shown that its primary object was the preservation of the true religion in that nation, and consequently in the world. We have also seen that the leading provisions of this government were excellently adapted to this design. The other object of the Hebrew policy was the temporal freedom and happiness of its sub- jects. These outward blessings indeed would natural- ly, as well as by divine promise, result from their faith- ful adherance to the pious and virtuous principles pre- scribed in their law. But besides the salutary influence of these principles, their whole political constitution was eminently fitted to the same beneficent end. This will fully appear from a brief survey of their form of govern- ment, as appointed by Jehovah, and delineated by his servant Moses. As property is the usual source of power, and conse- quently of civil authority ; hence every government re- ceives its complexion from the manner, in which its lands or other possessions are distributed to its several mem- bers. If the prince, as in some eastern communities, be LECT. IV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 43 proprietor of the territory, he will of course be absolute ; since the tenants of the soil will in this case hold it at his arbitrary will, and thus must feel a servile dependence on his pleasure. If the property be shared by a few men, and the great body of the people hold it under them ; these few will constitute a ruling nobility, who will really concentrate the authority of the nation. But if the prop- erty be divided in a nearly equal manner among all the members ot the society, these will naturally possess both its physical and civil power, whatever be the form of their political union. If we apply these remarks to our present subject, we shall find that the Hebrew government was originally a free and equal republic. According to the mean com- putation of the most accurate authors, the terfftory of Canaan settled by God on the Jewish nation, though a small country, contained at least fourteen millions of acres ; which, divided among six hundred thousand pec^ pie, the estimated number of that nation, will give to each person the property of twenty one acres, after reserving more than a million acres for public uses. This distri- bution of property, under a constitution, which animat- ed and dignified industrious, simple, and frugal manners, and in a period of the world, when such modes of life were honorable, would secure to each virtuous Israelite a decent, comfortable, and independent support, espe- cially in a climate and country so propitious as those of Judea. At the same time this provision was so mode- rate, as to preclude in the best manner the baneful vices of idleness and luxury ; and every man's circumstances would forcibly recommend the opposite virtues. As the most eifectual securities for the permanent free- dom.and purity of the Jewish government, and the equal 44 LECTURES ON [lect. iv. rights and property of its subjects, the wisdom of thcdi^ vine Framer enacted the following fundamental laws ; — that the territory should be equally divided to the seve- ral members of the community ; that every man should hold his estate as a freehold immediately from God him- self, without any tenure of service or vassalage to inter- mediate lords ; and that the estates thus settled upon the several families should never afterwards be alienated from them, but descend by an indefeasible entail in per- petual succession. The first article, viz. the division of the land, was ordered to be carried into effect with the utmost exactness, under the inspection of the high priest, the judge, and one of the princes of the tribe. The manner of this division was by lot ; and it was so con- ducted, that each tribe and family received their share by themselves. To use the modern style, every tribe liv- ed together in the same county, and the members of eve- ry family occupied the same town or vicinity. To prevent the distinction of tribes from being confounded, their sons and daughters were not permitted to marry into any other tribe but their own. The celebrated Harrinpon justly describes the process of dividing their territory by lot, in the following manner. There were two urns, one containing the names of the tribes, the other the names of those parcels of lands, which they were to draw. Accordingly the name of a tribe, for example of Benja- min, being drawn out of one urn, to that name a parcel was drawn out of the other, for instance, the country lying between Jericho and Bethlehem. This. being done, the prince of that tribe chose in what place he would take his agreed proportion ; for our author supposes the chiefs of tribes and of families had a larger assignment of land on account of their quality and power. After LECT. IV.: JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 45 this, the remainder of the parcel was subdivided according to the number of families in said tribe ; and these subdi- vided parcels being put in one urn, and the names of the fathers of families in the other, each house or family- drew its particular lot. Every patriarch or head of a house then selected his proportion of this lot ; and the rest was again subdivided according to the number of names in each family. If these were more than the lot would supply at twenly one acres per man, the defect was filled up by additions from the next parcel ; and if they were fewer, the overplus was transferred to the next division. Thus, in a manner similar to the drawing of modern lotteries, an accurate division of the land of Ca^ naan by lot was both practicable and easy. This original equaUty of landed property was- an in- stance of wise policy on many accounts. While it gave birth to general economy and diligence, it secured to ev- ery citizen a free, easy, and honorable condition. It nourished the spirit, the virtues, and the blessings of ag- ricultural Hfe, in opposition to the evils, v/hich grow out of foreign commerce and conquest. It precluded or pow- erfully checked every ambitious invasion of the public liberty ; for no person in the nation possessed, or could legally acquire such property, as would enable or encour- age him to oppress his fellow subjects. As none had great wealth, by which to corrupt others ; so very few could be so poor, as to become the easy prey of corrup- tion. It could never be in the power of one or a few men to force the community into subjection to their am- bitious views ; for the aggregate power possessed by the numerous freeholders of the several tribes was a mighty barrier against all such usurpations. In short, the ar- rangement before us was fitted to create and maintain 3, 4€ LECTURES ON [lect. iv. large body of able and independent yeomanry, of patrlot- tic and brave militia, whose constant possession of valu- able property and freedom enabled them duly to appre- ciate and defend them. When a good constitution is once established, sound policy will make the best provision for its permanent ex- istence and effect. For this purpose an Agrarian law, or a year of Jubilee was instituted, by which, at the ex- piration of every half century, alienated estates were to revert to their original owners, or to their natural heirs, and every obligation, by which a Hebrew had bound himself to a state of servitude, w^as dissolved. This pe- culiar provision of the Jewish law had an excellent eifect in perpetuating both the freedom and property of the several families and citizens of that commonwealth. It prevented the most idle and extravagant householder from entailing hopeless slavery and ruin on his family. " He could only mortgage his possession for a limited time j nor could there be any instance of a dangerous and last- ing accumulation of landed property.** How effectually did this guard the reasonable liberty and happiness of all ! What an attachment to the soil, and of course what an ardent love of country must have grown out of this unalienable right to their several possessions ! The wisdom of the abovementioned institutions will strike us with greater force, if we consider that the He- brew government was designed to continue for many hundred years. The Jews were to enjoy their civil poli- ty and their religion, and thus to keep alive in the world the knowledge and service of the true God, till a better constitution should take place under the reign of the Messiah. To effect this most benevolent purpose, it was necessary to guard their constitution against all the ave* i^cT. 1V.3 JEWISH ANTIQUrriES. 45^ Hues of corruption, slavery and dissolution ; it was ne- cessary to preserve them a free and united, a hardy and invincible people, till the great end of their government should be superseded by the coming and kingdom of Christ. We are to remember that the Jews in Canaan were surrounded by very great and powerful enemies, par- ticularly by the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. As the Hebrew constition made no provision of a stand- ing defensive army against such formidable neighbours, but rather precluded its existence ; it was important ta provide for the exterior security of the nation in some other mode. Accordingly the whole community was obliged to appear in arms, when legally summoned. Thus the whole nation became a standing army. This feature of their polity deserves a more particular attention, " Every Israelite of an age capable of bearing arms was required to join the army, when danger threatened his country ; but at the head of the forces a proclamation: was directed to be made, excusing every person from go- ing into the battle, who had either lately married a wife, built a house, or planted a vineyard ; as these circum- stances would naturally render him too fondly attached to life, and more unwilling to expose it in the public ser- vice. Every man too, who felt himself fearful and faint- hearted on any other account was wisely dismissed pre- viously to the engagement, lest their timidity should in- fect his brethren in arms.'* Dr. Priestly justly observe?, that maxims so full of good sense and moderation can- not be found in any other antient nation. But these ex- emptions of particular persons from military service ne- cessarily imply, that all others were bound to attend it , and even those, who were excused from engaging in the war, were obliged to appear at the general muster. The • 5 48 LECTURES ON [Lbct. iv. officers could not on any occasion grant liberty of ab- sence for more than one year ; and thovse men, who were unfit to occupy the post of danger, were still required to assist the army by such services, as they were qualified to perform. We find that Moses, the Hebrew Lawgiv- er, urged with great force the duty of uniting the whole military power of the nation for the purpose of effecting their settlement in Canaan. Such a union was afterward enjoined as equally necessary for their continued securi- ty. The importance of such union fully justifies those severe laws against desertion, and those dreadful execu- tions for this crime, which the sacred history records. To desert the common cause in seasons of danger is to ex- pose to ruin the welfare and even existence of the com- munity. To punish such deserters with death has been the just and even benevolent policy of all nations and constitutions. Those therefore, who censure the laws and proceedings of the Israelites on this ground, discover a want either of judgment, integrity, or candor. In considering the military force of this people I will just add, that, as the great strength of any country lies in its population, so the uniform principles of the Jews led them beyond any other nation, to view celibacy and the want of posterity as a great aflBiiction and reproach, and a multitude of children as the noblest blessing. But in heathen communities many persons aspired to perpetual celibacy, as a high instance of religion and of human per- fection. From this pagan source have been derived the absurd and pernicious institutions of monastic life in some christian countries. Having contemplated the twelve tribes of Israel not on- ly settled, but permanently secured and protected in their several portions of the holy land, as so many distinct LECT. IV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 49 provinces, we will now more particularly inquire into their general government, by which their counsels and energies were combined for the common safety and hap- piness. As their government was a theocracy, in which Jehovah himself was their Supreme Lawgiver and King ; so their constitution could not vest any proper legislative authority either in the individual or confederate tribes ; for the laws of both were enacted by their divine Sove- reign, and were declared to be sacred and immutable. They were forbidden to add to, or diminish from them, under the penalty of forfeiting all their possessions and privileges. Yet still many subordinate regulations were needful to the due observance and execution of these laws. Such regulations were accordingly left to the wisdom and authority of the nation. But in what manner, or by what organs were the national wisdom and authority expressed ? We reply, the organ of the public will was threefold, viz. a popular assembly, an advising senate, and a presiding magistrate. In these particulars the an- tient Hebrews, under the special direction of heaven, adopted the same general system, which the most improv- ed wisdom of after ages has selected as the most perfect form of civil policy. The best features of the Grecian and Roman, and perhaps we may add, of the present A- merican republics were exhibited, from remote antiquity, by the comparitively small and despised commonwealth of Israel. To verify this assertion, we will attend dis- - tinctly to each of the three branches of government just named. First, the existence of a popular or democratic assem- bly under the Jewish constitution appears from those scriptural passages, which speak of all Israel, of all the congregation^ of the whole congregation of the Lardy as hav- G '5^ LECTURES ON [lect. iv. ing a voice in the original covenant or compact, which Jehovah made with that nation, and in every subsequent transaction of great pubhc importance. This assembly is styled the wbo/e congregation, because every one of the hundred thousand freeholders, who consented to the cov- enant, and in whom the property of Canaan was unalien- ably vested, had a constitutional right of suffrage in this body, and because while the whole nation was encamped together under Moses, he could and probably did propose public measures to the whole, and obtain their united con- sent. But after they had become spread abroad over the promised land, and were industriously engaged in culti- vating the soil, then the tribes appeared by their Repre- sentatives, that is, by a certain number of their provin- ci»il officers, who are called Elders, Heads, and Judges, and sometimes all Israel, because they were the legal rep- resentation of the whole. This delegated body bore a striking analogy to the popular assembly of antient Rome, to the house of Commons in England, or to the house of Representatives in the United States. When Moses summoned all Israel to hear and consent to the constitu- tion and laws proposed to them by God, we are informed that all the people expressed their concurrence with the proposal — " All, that Jehovah hath spoken, we will do.'* By this act of concurrence the proposed covenant became a national law. How remarkably does this mode of proceeding coincide with the legal forms in the Ro- man commonwealth ; in which the senate or magistrate proposed a measure to the people in such words as these — " Romans, is this your will ? Do you resolve it ?'* To which the people answered, " we will, and resolve it." This answer gave to the measure proposed the stamp of a law. The same or similar form? character- LECT. IV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES, 5 1 ize most of the antient governments. We are further informed that when Joshua was made successor to Mo- ses, and when Saul was appointed king at the request of the people, both the one and the other were presented to the whole congregation, and their election was ratified by their unanimous consent. It also appears that Solo- mon, though proclaimed king in the first instance by Da- vid's order, yet was afterwards proposed to and confirm- ed by the people. In short, the popular branch of the Hebrew government, though it could not enact new laws, was entrusted with many concerns of high national mo- ment, such as settling internal disputes, making foreign war and peace, establishing the principal officers and ma- gistrates, exercising jurisdiction in many civil and crimi- nal causes, and in fine, using much the same powers, which other free constitutions have lodged in the same department. The weight of this department in the Jew- ish state, and the high spirit of liberty, which pervaded it, are remarkably exemplified on several occasions j one of which I will briefly recite. Saul, the first king of Is- rael, who was an imprudent and arbitrary despot, in the ardor of battle with the Philistines, had adjured the peo- ple, or laid them under oath, not to eat any food till the evening, that is, not to suspend the victorious conflict for the purpose of taking the least refreshment. His own son Jonathan through ignorance and necessity trans- gressed this order. His father, as king and general, in- stantly and solemnly determines his death—" God do so to me, and more also, for thou shalt surely die, Jona- than."—that is, " may God inflict the heaviest ven- geance upon myself, if I do not put thee to death." It might seem, at first view, that this royal sentence was fi- nal and irreversible. Yet even here the popular author- 52 LECTURES ON [lect. iv. ity interposed ; the assembly of the people thus address- ed their sovereign — " Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation for Israel ? God forbid ! . As Jehovah liveth, there shall not a hair of his head fall to the ground : so the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.'* It is generally agreed that this intervention of the people was not on act of military violence and se- dition ; it is equally evident that it has not the air of humble petition or supplication ; for it speaks the lan- guage of decisive authority and resolution. It is therefore probable that theassembly(or representatives)ofthe people retained, and in this instance exercised, even under a mo- narchical, yea oppressive administration, the right of con- demning or absolving criminals ; a power, which confess- edly belonged to the popular branch in other celebrated communities. In a word, it was a chief excellence of the Hebrew constitution, that it was pecuUarly fitted to guard that people forever against kingly despotism. Jehovah con- descended to be their king, for the express purpose of ex- cluding all other raonarchs, and thus perpetuating among them republican liberty. Accordingly, when they de- sired a king, in conformity to their surrounding nations, it was considered by God as a rejection of his mild and equal government, and a mad surrender of themselves and their children to the curse of tyranny. On this pe- culiar provision in favor of public liberty Dr. Priestley ju3tly remarks — " What could have led Moses to think of such a mode of government as this ? He could not Jiave seen, nor heard, nor imagined any thing like it. For at that time no such thing existed either in fact or in idea." It must therefore have been the offspring of di- vine wisdom. LECT. v.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 53 LECTURE V. Senatorial branch of the Hebrew government. The manner ^ in nvhich this body was instituted. The similarity between this government and that of some of the Europeati and American states. Its executive branch. Patriotic administration of Moses and Joshua, I N our last lecture we noticed several excellent provisions in the Hebrew constitution for securing the freedom, property, and happiness of its subjects. Among these provisions we especially considered the following ar- ticles ; — the equal division by lot of the territory of Ca- naan to the several members of the community ; the free, independent, and unalienable manner, in which each tribe and family held their possessions j the military service re- quired of every freeholder ; the encouragement, which these and similar arrangements gave to agricultural dili- gence, simplicity, and contentment, to patriotic zeal and courage, to the population, vigor, and prosperity of the country; and finally the happy distribution of the national sovereignty into three departments, viz. a popular assem- bly, an advising senate, and a presiding magistrate. la contemplating the first of these departments we have shown, that the assembly of the people, convened either in person, or by their representatives, and styled in scrip- ture the whole congregatioit, exercised much the same pow- ers, which other free constitutions have vested in the pop- ular branch of government. We have shown that the Jewish polity in its original form was fitted above all others to guard public liberty, because it set up a perfect monarch, viz. Jehovah himself, as its Protector, to the eJiclusion of all earthly kings and despots. 54 LECTURES ON [lect. v. Having viewed the share, which the people had in this government, we are now to consider, secondly, the sen- atorial branch of it. The most free and equal governments both of antient and modern date have wisely introduced a senate in some form or other, to check popular rashness, precipitation, and intrigue, and by their temperate wisdom and influ- ence to guide, mature, and control the public opinion and conduct. The inestimable value of this branch both in the individual and united States of America was early an- ticipated, and has been constantly felt by our enlighten- ed citizens. It is pleasing to observe that the doctrine of checks and balances, maintained by our illustrious countryman in his defence of the American constitutions, was essentially understood and practised as early as the days of Moses. From the time of this great Lawgiver down to the extinction of the Hebrew commonwealth, we constantly meet with Princes, Elders, and Heads of the people, who formed a senate or national council. But the persons composing or the powers exercised by this body are not so forcibly marked either by sacred or Rab- binical writers, as to place the subject beyond the reach of dispute. The scripture history of this very antient government is as we might justly expect, very short and scanty, compared with that of later communities ; yet the materials, which that history affords, may, if accu- rately digested, give us a true, though general idea of this venerable system, particularly in the article before us. If we look back to the state of the Hebrews, while in Egypt, we find that when Moses was first sent to them with a gracious message from God, he was directed to '* gather the Elders of Israel together," and deliver the message to them, which direction he exactly followed. LECT. v.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 55 It appears then that, the Israelites had a body of Elders or Rulers even in Egypt ; and that every application or divine command was delivered, not to the whole multi- tude, but to this select body. If you ask, when and how was this body instituted ? we reply, so long as Jacob liv- ed, his twelve sons and their posterity formed but one family or community under him. But when he diew near his end, he summoned all his family, in order to dis- tribute it into twelve distinct tribes, and to appoint heads and rulers over them. Accordingly he addresses his sons, as the Representatives of so many distinct societies. He foretels such things concerning them, as are applicable, not to single persons, but to communities. Agreeably after this time, but not before, the Israelites are mention- ed as distinct, but confederated tribes ; the heads of which were their constituted rulers or princes, and form- ed what may be styled the aristocratical part of their gov- ernment. It appears that the rulers of no one tribe had a superiority over those of another ; but each portion of the confederacy, like the several states of America, possessed a local and independent sovereignty. This re- mark is verified by many passages of their history. Thus upon the death of Joshua, the people inquire of God, who should go up for them, or at their head against the Canaanites. This question would have been impertinent, if any one tribe or ruler had the right of leading and gov- erning the rest. In like manner when the Benjamites had committed an outrage in the affair of the Levite and his concubine, no one tribe or ruler pretends to call them to account ; but all the tribes, met in legal convention, demand justice on the offenders, and upon refusal have recourse to arms. It also appears that while the princes of the several tribes possessed an equal and independent 56 LECTURES ON [lect. v. jurisdiction, they were early united into one great coun- cil for the common welfare ; for Moses was ordered to lay his proposals before all the elders of Israel, that is, be- fore a general council of the whole nation. It is also remarkable, that when the Hebrews went out of Egypt, they departed, not like a tumultuous mob, but as a reg- ular army under proper commanders, and each host rang- ed under its own standard ; which proves that they had been previously habituated to order and discipline, both civil and military, and also renders it probable that the princes of tribes had been acknowledged as general offi- cers of their forces, and the heads of families as subordi- nate officers. This very early existence of civil and military rule among the Hebrews will account for that kind and degree of order, authority and dignity, which afterwards subsisted among them. In these antient usages v/e per- ceive the rude beginnings of their national senate. While the people were encamped in the wilderness, Jethro, father-in-law to Moses, on a visit to his camp, ad- vised him to choose out of all the tribes " able and true men, fearers of God, and haters of covetousness," and to appoint them assistant or rather subordinate judges. These judges seem to have been so many justices of peace, and to have constituted inferior courts of judicature in the several tribes and cities of Israel. By these magis- trates local and smaller causes were determined ; while matters of great or general importance were decided by Moses. Lord Bacon observes that this judiciary ar- rangement is considerably illustrated by the regular gra- dation of magistrates, introduced by king Alfred in the several counties and corporations of England. It does not however appear that this early arrangement, adopt- ed by the advice of Jethro, was intended to cj-eate a na- LECT. v.] JEWISH ANTlQUrnES. 57 tiotial senate, as many Jev/ish writers, and after them. Grotius, Selden, and ethers have supposed ; but only to provide for the more general and prompt administration of justice in every part of the nation. Sometime after this appointment, Moses, afflicted by the uneasy and murmuring spirit of the people, and the anger of Jeho- vah enkindled by it, complains that he was not able to bear the whole burden of the people alone j upon which, by divine direction seventy men from among the el- ders of Israel were selected by Moses, confirmed by the people, and then supernaturally qualified by God, to be a standing council to the chief magistrate, to re- lieve and assist him in the arduous business of governing the nation. As this appointment grew out of th'e public exigences, so its direct object was to divide the burden of the national administration between Moses and a con- stant senate or privy council. Here then we behold the full birth and prominent features of an intermediate body, intended on the one hand to repress popular sedi- tion, and on the other, to strengthen, and if needful, to control the supreme executive power. If it be asked, whether the national senate consisted of these seventy elders only ; we answer, that many Jewish authors, from a fond desire of magnifying their famous sanhedrim or council of seventy, have ascribed to this body such exclusive or paramount dignity, as to- tally contradicts many passages of Old Testament histo- ry. From these passages it appears that all the princes of the tribes and chief heads of families, who possessed authority before the institution of the sanhedrim, still continued to sit and to act in the general council. We may therefore conceive of the seventy elders as a select and smaller council, to assist the chief magistrate ia the H V $8 LECTURES ON [lect. v. common business of the nation. But on extraordinary and more momentous occasions all the princes of Israel united with these elders in one national council. There is something analagous to this in several of the American states, and especially in some of the governments of Eu- rope. Thus in Great Britain the king has a small privy council, who constantly assist him in the ordinary du- ties of his office. But when high national concerns re- quire the meeting of all the peers, as well as the com- mons of the realm, those select counsellors mingle with, and become in a sense lost in the grand senate of the na- tion. So in France, before its late revolution, the king appointed a number of men, distinguished by their legal and political abilities, as a standing court of justice and advice. But on very great occasions he summoned to this court all the peers of the kingdom, each of whom had an equal vote in the assembly ; and he directed his stand- ing counsellors, who were called masters of parliament, to assist this body with their best advice. These modern examples may throw much light on our present subject. It has been much disputed whether this Hebrew coun- cil of seventy was a perpetual, or only a temporary in- stitution. The Jewish Rabbles, though they allow that the session of this court was sometimes discontinued un- der the government of their kings, yet insist that it was intended to subsist, and actually flourished, with small interruptions, from the time of Moses to the end of their republic. The truth seems to be, that though the He- brews had a permanent senate, composed of the heads of the tribes, yet the appointment of seventy select coun- sellors was designed for the temporary purpose of assist- ing Moses, and his successor Joshua during the unset- LECT. v.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 59 tied state of the Israelites ; and that the sanhedrim, which made such a figure in the latter periods of their history, and which then concentrated their national dig- nity and power, was set up in the time of the Maccabees, between two and three centuries before Christ ; that it grew up from feeble beginnings to high degrees of author- ity. Agreeably, in the time of our Saviour and his apos- tles this court, which the New Testament writers call the council, was the grand judicatory of the nation, before whose tribunal Jesus himself was arraigned and con- demned. This council extended its jurisdiction to all persons and things ; it exercised the power of life and death ; its decisions were final ; it was made a capital offence, not only to counteract, but even to controvert its decrees. We now proceed to the third department of the He- brew government, viz. that oi presiding magistrate. As the popular branch of this constitution secured the liber- ties of the people ; as the senate of elders tempered the spirit, and guarded the enjoyment of liberty by wise and wholesome regulations ; so an eflicient executive was equally necessary to add life, vigor, and protection to the whole. Without this, liberty is hcentious and des- potic anarchy ; and the wisest laws are but a dead let- ter. The most free and enlightened nations have found it expedient to lodge the executive power in one hand, or at least in a few, for the sake of greater responsibility, dispatch, union, and energy. The best forms of gov- ernment have set up one chief commander of their forc- es, and one or a few principal magistrates, to preside in the execution of the laws. " Thus the Lacedemonians have their kings^ the Athenians their arcbons, the Ro- <5o LECTURES ON [lect. r. mans their consuls , and the Hebrews their ^w^^^j ;" and thus the admired constitutions of America have their governors and presidents. In antient governments the name king often implied no more authority than that of C07is2d ; and there is one instance in the present age, in ■which the latter title covers as much power, as perhaps was ever annexed to the most pompous appellation. Ac- cordingly, among the antient Jews king and judge were convertible terms. Thus Moses is called " king of Je- shurun'* or Israel, because under God, their real Sove- reign, he possessed the supreme executive power. But the style of judge is the more usual epithet to describe this officer under the original form of the Hebrew gov- ernment. Let us then inquire into the import of this of- fice, as instituted by God, and virtuously exercised by Moses and Joshua. From the summary account of it in the scripture history we learn that this high function was not to be hereditary. The upright policy of Moses, far from seeking to perpetuate the chief magistracy in his own family, devoutly repaired to God for the appoint- ment of his successor. This wise and disinterested ma- gistrate spurned the idea of any hereditary claim, even in favor of his own posterity, as 'equally absurd, base, and pernicious. He saw that great qualities of understand- ing and heart were the only titles to an office so impor- tant. Accordingly, Jehovah, by the voice of his oracle, and in answ^er to the request of his servant, appoints Joshua, a man of another family, and even of another tribe, to be his successor. What an excellent trait does this circumstance hold up both in the Hebrew govern- ment, and in the character of its first minister ! It fur- ther appears that the authority of the Hebrew chief ma- kECT. V.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 6^ gistrate, though great and extensive, could not be arbi' trary. For he was obliged, as we have seen, to propose all greater matters to the congregation and senate for their consideration and decision ; and both he and they were to consult and be directed by the oracle ; the im- port of which may hereafter be explained. The execu- tive power then was sufficiently balanced by the advice of the senate, the consent of the people, and the appro- bation of Jehovah, expressed by his oracle. This part of the Jewish constitution will receive still further light from the manner of Joshua's induction or accession to the government. In the first place Moses, a little before his death, by divine direction, publickly invests him with the office, and administers a solemn charge of fidelity. After the decease of Moses, God by the voice of the or- acle solemnly approves and confirms him in his new func- tion, and engages to him his patronage and benediction. In the next place all the people and*their elders express- ly recognize his authority in these words — " All that thou commandest us, we will do ; whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. As we hearkened unto Moses, so will we hearken unto thee only ; the Lord thy God be with thee as he was with Moses.'* Thus he was le- gally established in his authority by the formal consent both of God and the people. In a word, the Hebrew judge was vested with the chief command in war, and the first magistracy in peace. He summoned the senatorial and popular assemblies, proposed subjects for their de- liberation, presided in their counsels, and executed their resolutions. He acted in all things as viceroy of Jehovah, the king of Israel. To use the words of the very learn- ed Cahnet, " he was protector of the law, defender of 62, LECTURES ON [lect. v. religion, avengei- of crimes, especially of idolatry ; still he had no power to make new laws, or to impose new taxes. He was without show, without pomp, without followers, without equipage. The revenues of his office were merely gratuitous ; he had no settled stipend ; nor did he raise any thing from the people." How liberal and beneficent was this part of their government ! It . united their wisdom and force in one man for the com- mon safety ; while it prevented him from. stretching his authority into despotism, and protected him from every ambitious encroachment or seditious attempt. He could not acquire unlimited power, not only for the reasons be- fore hinted, but because his very counsellors were both rulers and members of three distinct tribes and armies, consisting of free, hardy, and jealous freeholders. A mercinary standing army had no existence. If inst,ru- ments of wicked ambition could have been hired, yet nei- ther the chief magisl^rate, nor any other citizen possessed or could raise a sufficient fund for that purpose. For similar reasons no aspiring demagogue, nor supposed combination of them, could effisctually resist or subvert the supreme executive authority. We readily grant, that the Jews did not for any great length of time enjoy freedom and prosperity under this happy constitution. The cause is evident. They soon departed from its ex- cellent principles. By neglecting to appoint or to coope- rate with the executive power, they first experienced the dreadful evils of anarchy ; and then by an easy trapsi- tion they gradually and easily resorted to absolute mon- archy. May we, who enjoy civil constitutions in many respects corresponding with theirs, learn wisdom and vir- tue from their fatal example. In particular at this mo- LECT. v.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 6j ment, when the Moses and Joshua of our American Is- rael have retired from the administration, let us, like good citizens and christians, devoutly pray and hope that their spirit of wisdom and integrity, and the presence of their God, may eminently characterize and prosper their successor, and all our future magistrates and people to the latest generation. 64 LECTURES ON [lect. vi. LECTURE VL The superior excellence and authority of the Hebrew constitution and lawSy as an immediate communication from 'Jehovah. The man- nery in which this communication was made. Hebrew theocra- cy the most antient system of government. The particular design of the Jewish oraclcy and the happy effects of its establishment. I .N several preceding lectures we have given a brief analysis of the antient Hebrew government. We have shown that this government, besides possessing oth- er advantages peculiar to itself, combined all the essen- tial features of the most perfect constitutions adopted in after ages ; particularly that it established those three great departments or balances of power, a popular assem- bly, a senatorial council, and a presiding magistrate. But the most distinguishing and crowning excellency of this constitution was, that it placed at the head of administra- tion a perfect Sovereign, viz. Jehovah himself. As God was the Creator and moral Governor of the Israelites, in common with the rest of mankind, and in this capaci- ty enjoined upon them all moral duties ; and as he was also their religious or ecclesiastical Head, and in this char- acter prescribed the peculiar forms and rites of their wor- ship ; so he was the Sovereign of their body politic ; and in this relation he gave them civil and judicial laws, proclaimed war and peace, and appointed officers in the state. As their political King, he ordered a palace to be built for his residence among them, I m.ean the taberna- tie, and afterward the temple, in which he visibly dwelt, or manifested his presence, by the Sbechinah, or bright cloud of glory, appearing over the mercy seat between LECT. VI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 6s the two cherubims, in the innermost room of the palace ; on which account he is said to " dwell,*' and to " sit be- tween the cherubims.'** From this seat he gave forth or- acles, or notified his pleasure respecting important mat- ters, which were not previously settled bj the written laws. It is evident, at first view, that if God was in a pecu- liar sense the King of the Hebrew nation, as their whole history proves ; he must have had some fixt and une- quivocal method of conveying to them his royal pleas- ure ; otherwise his authority would have been nugato- ry, and his will perpetually liable to be counterfeited, mistaken, or perverted. It is therefore an important question, how the voice or oracle of Jehovah, which was the highest and last resort in the Jewish administration, was given forth and ascertained ? This question demands a more critical attention, on account of that fashionable incredulity and indiscriminate contempt, with which some modern inquirers regard every antient story of orac- ular or supernatural inspiration. The mind of man, at this day, enlightened by christian knowledge and human science, is forcibly struck with that combination of deep cunning and ignorant superstition, v/hich gave birth and reputation to the heathen oracles and auguries even among the refined Greeks and Romans. We readily grant that the heathen oracles were in general the artful devices of priests and priestesses, who gave forth respon- ses according to the pay, which they expected or receiv- ed ; and who uttered their predictions in such equivocal terms, as might suit the event, whether favorable or ad- verse. Kircher, an eminent philosopher, with a view to undeceive the credulous, and to account for some strange * Psalm Isxx. i. xcix. i. 66 LECTURES ON T.l^ct. ti. things related of the Delphic oracle, fixed a tube in his bed chamber in Such a manner, that, when persons called him at the garden gate, next to his lodgings, though they spoke no louder than ordinary, he heard them as distinct- ly, as if they were in the room, and returned as audible an answer. This tube he afterwards wrought so artifi- cially into a figure in his museum, that the statue would open its mouth, move its eyes, and apparently speak ; when he supposed that the heathen priests by a similar artifice made the superstitious people believe that the idol returned answers to their questions. But the oracle of the God of Israel was totally different from the pagan divinations. It could not therefore originate from the same source, nor be the mere imitation or offspring of heathen superstition. For ^rst, none of the pagan communities regarded as their political sovereigns those deities, whose oracles they consulted. For the most part these deities were not owned as the tutelar gods even of those particular cities, in which their oracles were stationed. This remark ap- plies to the famous oracles of Apollo at Delphi, and of Jupiter Hammon in Libya. But the oracle of Jehovah among the Hebrews was part of a very peculiar and sub- lime policy, constituting him their supreme Lawgiver and Magistrate, and was of course the appointed and suitable organ of his will on evey great political occasion. A plan of civil policy so novel and grand could not be borrowed from the heathens, whose ideas and customs were opposite to it ; but was evidently designed to coun- teract their favorite and pernicious idolatries. We add secondly, that the theocracy of the Hebrews if far more atitient than any of the pagan oracles. A de- LECT. Yi.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 67 istical writer* of the last century has insinuated, that *' while the Jews v/ere in Egypt, they had been much surprised and dazzled with the infallible declarations and decisions of Jupiter Hammon,'* and from this source took the first hint of a future oracle among themselves. But unluckily for this suggestion, the fact is, that Jupiter Hammon was not born till above four hundred years af- ter the Jews went out of Egypt. The true chronology of Egypt, as restored by the great Sir Isaac Newton, places Hammon, king of that country, about one thou- sand and thirty four years before the Christian era, that is, about four hundred and fifty years after the law of Moses. This illustrious writer gives us the first rise of heathen oracles in the following words. " The year be- fore Christ one thousand and two Sesac reigned in E- gypt J he erected temples and oracles to his father in Thebes, Ammonia, and Ethiopia, and thereby caused his father to be worshipped as a god in these countries. This was the original of the worship of Jupiter Ammon, and the first mention of oracles I meet with in profane history. Ihe Greeks in their oracles imitated the Egyp- tians ; for the oracle of Dodona was the oldest in Greece, and was set up by an Egyptian woman, after the exam- ple of the oracle at Thebes.'* To derive therefore the Hebrew oracle from the Egyptian, discovers an ignorant or wilful misrepresentation of chronological facts. We observe thirdly, that the design of the Jewish or- acle, and the manner, in which it uttered its decrees, pre- cluded every appearance of imposture or superstition. The design or use of this oracle was very limited. It was not intended to issue any new laws, nor to repeal or change any former statutes, nor to decide private matters, • Dr. Morgan, author of the " Moral Philosopher." 6B LECTURES ON [lect.vi. or common judiciary causes ; for a complete and unalter- able code of laws was already established, and provision made for their due application in every ordinary case. The oracle was therefore instituted for the sole purpose of determining judicial and public questions of extraordi- nary moment and difficulty. As such an establishment suited the Jewish theocracy, so it was an instance of great condescention and goodness in God, the political King of that nation, and an inestimable privilege to his loyal sub- jects, as it insured to them his unerring and gracious di- rection. Thus, while they had an assembly of the peo- ple, who gave their free and general consent to public measures ; while they enjoyed a wise senate, to examine, prepare, and mature those measures, and to check popu- lar rashness ; while they had an executive Judge, to con- vene and preside in those bodies, to carry their resolu- tions into effect, and to command the armies of the na- tion ; they were also favored with a standing oracle, by which on great occasions they were to ask the counsel, and obtain the royal assent of their divine Sovereign. This operated as a final check upon any hasty or wrong measures, which the people, senate, or judge might in difficult cases be led to adopt. It was also an excellent mean of keeping alive in that nation a sense of their con- stant dependence on, and duty to God, as their imme- diate Director and Patron ; of making them feel that their safety and prosperity must result from a close ad- herance to his counsels and commands. Thus it direct- ly promoted the pious and beneficent object of their con- stitution. But it may be asked, might not this business of consulting the oracle be abused ? Might not the High Priest, who alone was authorized to consult it, fabricate or report such answers, as suited his own policy ? Might LECT. VI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 6g he not in this way artfully draw to himself and his own order the power and revenues of the state ? We reply, there were two different modes, in which Jehovah declar- ed his will by the oracles ; each of whidh was complete- ly guarded against the abuses just mentioned. In the first place God sometimes uttered his voice from the She- chinah or cloud of glory immediately, without being con- sulted by any one. In this manner he gave the law on Mount Sinai ; his voice was heard by the whole Hebrew nation ; and it was attended with such awful solemnity, as not only silenced all suspicion of priestcraft or political fraud, but imparted such credit and authority to Moses, that all the people requested that thenceforward he might be employed as the medium of divine communications. Thus the Hebrew constitution and laws were in the first instance enacted and pubhshed in a manner, and amid a scene of miracles, which convinced the whole nation of their divine original. But though the first estabHshment of their polity wore the evident marks of immediate di- vine agency, and excluded the possibility of human fraud ; yet as future public exigences would require special di- rection from the oracle, the business of consulting it in such cases was entrusted to the high priest 5 who was odrered to " put in his breast plate the urim and thum-. mimy that they might be on his heart, when he went, in before the Lord." It is not essential to determine what the urim and thummim were. It is sufficient to know they were something in the breastplate, which was part of the appropriate dress of the high priest. " Their names, which signify light and ^fr/^£://o;>z, denoted the clear- ness 2indi fulness^ which the oracular responses always car- ried in them. These answers were not hke the heathen oracles, enigmatical and ambiguous, but always plain and ■^.J T^ LECTURES ON [lect. vi. luminous ; nor did they ever fall short of perfection, ei- ther of fulness in the answer, or of certainty in the truth of it." It is remarkable that all the answers of this or- acle, recorded in scripture, are clear, explicit, and direct. It also merits our notice, that the high priest could nei- ther consult, nor give answers, whenever he plea:^ed. He could not ask counsel of the oracle on private sub- jects, nor in a private manner. The law directed that the judge or chief magistrate should propose the ques- tions to the priest, and be with him, when he consulted the oracle. The account, which the Talmudists give of this matter, seems to be founded in truth. " The High priest stood with his face toward the ark, or presented himself with his breastplate before the veil, exactly over against the mercy seat, where the divine presence rest- ed ; while the person, who consulted the oracle, stood behind him, and said, shall I do this thing, or shall I not do it ? And when he thus presented himself in due man- ner, God answered him in the same manner as he did Moses, that is, by an audible voice from the mercy seat. For this reason the holy of holies, where the mercy seat stood, is so often styled the oracle ; because from thence Jehovah gave forth answers to those, who asked his di- rection." Josephus tells us that any person, who thought fit, might be present, when the oracle was consulted, in order to remove all suspicion of imposture, and to give satisfaction to strangers, as well as to Jews. That the answers were given by an audible voice is evident from many plain passages of scripture. Thus when the ten commandments were given, we are told, that God spake all these words, saying. In the after laws the common phrase is, the Lord spake, saying. In another place we are told that when Moses was gone into the tabernacle iECT. viO JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 7 1 to speak with him, that is, to consult him, then he heard the voice of one speaking to him from off the mercy seat. The same form of expression is used on the same occa- sion in after ages. From all which it appears, that this part of the Jewish constitution gave to the high priest no dangerous au- thority over the people or their rulers. For he was to ask counsel, not at his own pleasure, nor for his own in- terest, but under the direction of the magistrate, and on such questions only as respected the public, and were pre- viously determined by common consent. Nor could he consult and give answers even on these subjects in a pri- vate or clandestine manner, but he did it in the presence of those, who propounded the questions ; and the an- swers, being uttered in a distinct, audible voice, from within the veil, were, in all probability, directly heard, not only by the priest, but by the person, for whom he consulted. The priest therefore on this occasion was merely a public servant or messenger, through whom the people corresponded with Jehovah, their political King. In this view he may be compared to a messenger of the American congress, carrying up to the president some public bill or question for his signature, and reporting his answer. Would it not be absurd to say that such mes* senger could fabricate and impose upon the nation any answer or law, which he pleased, to promote his own views ? We accordingly find no instance in the whole Jewish history, of a high priest attempting thus to pros- titute his office to sinister purposes. The preceding observations not only vindicate, but highly recommend the antient Hebrew oracle, as a most needful and beneficent part of their civil, as well as reli- gious constitution. We grant that this institution was I 72- LECTURES ON [lect. ti. singular and extraordinary. It has no parallel in the po- litical history or experience of any other nation. But this is no just objection either to its reality or excellence. We have formerly shown that it was most worthy of God to take the Jewish people under his immediate gov- ernment, for the purpose of preserving true religion and morality in the midst of prevailing idolatry and wicked- ness. To secure this great object, it was necessary that the Deity should sensibly reside among them by some striking representation of his gracious presence. The human mind in those early ages, being in a state of infancy, could not ascend to abstract and realizing con- ceptions of an infinite, omnipresent Spirit. Besides, the Jews had been familiarly conversant with nations, who gloried in the visible presence and protection of their idol gods. The genius, education, and circumstances of the Israelites at that period made it necessary that their invisible Sovereign should in some sense become embodi- ed among them ; that he should statedly appear to and for them in a manner so splendid, as might fully estab- lish their faith, and engage their confidence, veneration, and obedience. Nothing but this could wean them from the pompous and alluring idolatries of the heathen, and reconci'le them to a system of belief, and of worship and practice so singular, so pure, and so burdensome, as their law prescribed. Nothing but some constant and impressive symbol of Jehovah's presence could have animated them to conquer, to settle, and defend the promised Canaan amid the most formidable enemies and dangers ; and no- thing short of this could have kept them in awful and regular subjection to the divine government. The stand- ing visible appearance of Deity in the Hebrew taberna- cle and temple 5 the pillar of fire or cloud of glory. I LECT. VI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. y'j: v.'hich resided over the mercy seat ; and that audible declaration of the divine will, which frequently issued from it, these sensible manifestations of Jehovah, which the Bible so often mentions, are so far from being incred- ible, that sound reason and philosophy compel us to ad- mit both their expediency and their truth. They were necessary for the moral and religious education of mankind during their age of minority. They were suitable and condescending methods employed by infinite goodness to bring forward the human mind to that mature and more perfect state, which it now enjoys. To pour contempt therefore on these extraordinary appearances, as absurd or romantic fables, would be as unphilosophical and un- grateful, as for a child, when arrived at manhood, to cen- sure and despise those condescending methods, by which parental wisdom and love moulded and carried forward his childhood. Dr. Robertson in his history of Ameri- ca justly remarks, " that man in his rudest state con- fines his feeble mental exertions to a few necessary ob- jects ; that he foi ms no abstract original ideas ; and that in this situation he is incapable of rising by his own energies from visible nature to the knowledge of an invisible Cre- ator and Governor." How proper, how needful for man in such a state were those manifestations of Deityj which the Jewish history records ! They had the same necessary use in religion and morals, which pictures and hieroglyphics then answered for the mutual communica- tion of thought. But as these have long since been su^ perseded by the invention of alphabets ; so the former have equally given place to the more re6.ned dispensa- tion and views of religion, which distinguish the manLy and christian age of the v/orld. K I 74 LliCrURES ON [lect. vii. ^ LECTURE VII. The commencement and operation of the Hehreiv constlitfthn. Cor- rupt and degenerate state of the Jewish people after the death of Moses and foshtia. A temporary state of anarchy. Introduc- tion of judges and kings ; their duties prescribed and their poiver limited by. the express com.mands and prohibitions of Jehovah. JTIaVING surveyed the great features of the Hebrew government according to its original model, we will close this branch of Jewish Antiquities with a brief history of the several modifications and revolutions of this government, from its first establishment to its final dissolution. This constitution commenced its being and operation in the wilderness of Arabia, during the migration of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan. During this period Jehovah, as their political Sovereign, conducted them in their various marches and battles, by the symbol of a pillar or cloud of glory. From this circumstance the heathen poets probably derived the fabulous stories of their deities appearing in a cloud, illumined with extraor- dinary brightness. As God thus condescended to ap- pear and act as the king of the Hebrews, so he consti- tuted Moses his viceroy, or lieutenant, in whom the su- preme power, under himself, was vested. On this ac- count Moses is called king in Jeshurun or Israel. For though the government by kings was not yet erected in that nation, yet the title was in ancient times given to persons of high rank and authority, though they never wore a crown, or appeared in royal state. Agreeably, in after times the Roman dictators are sometimes styled LECT. vii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. y^ kings both by the Latin and Greek historians. While Moses thus exercised the supreme magistracy under God, the king of Israel ; the priests and levites, who statedly attended on the royal presence in the tabernacle or tem- ple, and who were intrusted in many cases, not only with the explanation, but with the execution of the laws, were properly ministers of state, as well as of religion. Indeed the worship of the true God was so interwoven with the civil polity, as its grand basis and end, that the public functions of both would in many cases properly and even necessarily meet in the same offices. Hence, by the way, the sacrifices, which the priests offered, and a part of which fell to their share, as a perquisite of their office, were intended not only for a religious use, but for the support of the civil list, or the necessary officers of government. On this ground we. may, I think, fairly justify an action of St. Paul recorded in the twenty first chapter of the Acts j I mean his consenting to offisr sac- rifice in the temple, in order to conciliate the supersti- tious Jews, though he knew and taught that their pecu- liar rites were superseded and abolished by the death of Christ. But if we reflect that the Jewish sacrifices were a part of their civil as well as religious establishment, and that their civil polity continued forty years after our Saviour's death, that is, until their temple and city were destroyed by Titus ; we may justly infer both the right and duty of good citizens to support the government while it lasted, by paying the legal and customary trib- ute. Of this kind I conceive was the offering presented by Paul. This peculiar complexion of the Hebrew govern- ment also points out in what sense the levitical sacrifices could make atonement for sin. They might be a proper fine, or an equitable compensation for political offences, or 76 . LLCrURES ON [lect. vii. •for certain trespasses against the state or the authority of its great Sovereign ; but they had no power to expiate mo- ral guilt, especially presumptuous sins against God, con- sidered as the moral Governor and Judge of men's hearts. Such were the outlines of the Jewish administration during the hfe of Moses, and of his successor Joshua. After the death of these excellent rulers, the people be- came corrupt, and the government degenerated both in its form and execution. It was administered first by oc- casional judges, then by a long race of kings, and at length ended in a tributary commonwealth. These po- litical changes, however great, were by no means equal to those, which the most celebrated governments of Greece and Rome underwent in a far less space of time. The Roman people, so famous for their wisdom, their ardent and jealous zeal for liberty, efiected or permitted greater and more pernicious alterations in their polity in one century, than the whole Jewish history can furnish. It is a preeminent trait of the Hebrew constitution, that it made the best provisions against frequent and dange- rous innovations. It precluded the usual incitements and engines of selfish ambition, by securing a perpetual equality of landed property, by forbidding usury, by bar- ring all the citizens against great wealth, or extreme pov- erty, by rendering departments of power burdensome rather than lucrative, by appropriating every station of eminence to heads of houses and leaders of tribes, by du- ly balancing the several parts both of the local and gene- ral governments, and thus rendering it impracticable for any person or order of men to seize the property or free- dom of their country. To what source then shall we as- cribe the political calamities, which that people experi- enced ? I answer, we must trace them to their own neg- LECT. vn.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 77 lect or abuse of their original constitution. When Josh- ua and the elders of his council died, it appears that the people chose no chief magistrate or counsellors in their place. The consequence was a temporary anarchy, in ■which, we are told, every man did what was right in his own eyes. This state of things gave rise to occasional judges, of whom we read in the next book to that of Joshua. These oiEcers were appointed only on particu- lar occasions ; to deliver the people, for 'instance, from, the power of some oppressor. They resemble therefore the Roman dictators, who were created on some extra- ordinary emergencies, and whose power, while in office, was very great. The history of these judges proves that their office was tem.porai-y, and their authority in some respects absolute. Though the duration of theilr power was not precisely limited, like that of the dictators j yet we may rationally conclude that when they had accom- plished the end of their appointment, they retired to a private station. This is naturally inferred from the an- swer of Gideon, when the people offered to invest him and his family with perpetual sovereignty-—" I will not rule over you ; nor shall my son rule over you ; the Lord shall rule over you.** This noble declaration proves, that in the view of this pious patriot permanent and he- reditary dominion in one person and family was incon.^ sistent with the Hebrew theocracy. As one main object of these lectures is the elucidation and defence of scripture, we will stop a few moments to explain a remarkable circumstance related of one of these judges, which has created much dispute among serious readers and learned critics, both Jewish and Christian. The circum- stance, towhich I refer, is the singular vow, and the corres- ponding action of Jepthah, This judge and captain of Is- 78 LECTURES ON [lect.vi:. raeljwhen going out to war against an invadingfoe,solemh' ' ly vowed, that if Jehovah would crown him with victory, he would, on his return, ofler up for a burnt offering whatever should come forth from his house to meet him. Having gained a complete victory, and returning in tri- umph to his house, he was met by his daughter, an only child, who came out to congratulate him on the glorious event. Though he was overwhelmed with sorrow at meeting such an object after making such a vow, yet the history informs us that he did with his daughter ac- cording to his engagem.ent. Several infidel writers have eagerly laid hold of this story, as an indelible blot upon the Jewish religion, which allowed a Hebrew judge to sacrifice his own child ; while many Jewish commenta- tors, zealous to prevent or to repel such a charge, have denied the fact in this instance, and have insisted that Jepthah devoted his daughter not to death, but only to perpetual celibacy, or the life of a religious recluse ; and many learned Christians have embraced the same hypoth- esis,'not only from pious tenderness for the honor of the Jewish scriptures and law, but from their inability to re- concile such an unnatural murder with the good charac- ter given of Jepthah in the epistle to the Hebrews. No one would rejoice more than myself in vindicating this re- nowned captain from so barbarous a deed. But all the learned criticism, which his advocates have employed on the Hebrew text, have not, I think, fairly rescued it from the common interpretation. Nor can I see that the honor either of the Jewish or Christian revelation is much interested in this question. It will not follow that the law of Moses allowed the practice of human sacrifices, be- cause one of the Hebrew magistrates was once chargea- ble with it, or because his conduct in this instance was LEcr. VII.] JEWISH ANllQUITIES. 79 not explicitly censured. It is sufficient that the Mosaic law nowhere requires nor warrants such sacrifices, but in general pointedly forbids and condemns them as heathen- ish and detestable ; and that no one instance of a decid- edly good and great man offering up such victims occurs in the whole Jewish history. We grant that Jepthah is ranked by one of the New Testament writers in the cat- alogue of antient believers and worthies ; but this gives no sanction to his conduct in the case before us, any more than the high approbation bestowed on David's general character implies a specific commendation of his adultery and murder. As the children of Israel in those early times were comparatively rude and barbarous in their opinions and manners ; and as Jepthah in par- ticular had enjoyed very slender advantages for religious knovi'ledge ; v/e may suppose that he made and perform- ed his rash vow with a truly pious though misguided zeal ; at least we may suppose him to possess so much faith in the God of Israel, as enabled him to defend his cause and people with laudable heroism, for which he is justly commended in scripture, though he might want that noble principle, which constitutes the good man and the heir of salvation. " It is highly probable that Ho- mer derived his fable of Agamemnon's sacrificing his daughter Jphigenia from some tradition of Jephthah's sacrifice. And indeed the name Jphigenia seems to be a corruption of Jepthigenia, the daughter of Jepthah."* The next change, which occurs in the Hebrew govern- ment, is the substitution oi: kings in the room of tempora- ry judges. We are informed that when Samuel, the last and best of the judges, was bending under the weight of * Ovid has introduced and dressed up a similar story, which ^vas evidently borrowed from the same source. 8o LECTURES ON [lect. vii. years, the people came to him and clamorously demand- ed a king to judge them like all the other nations. This request was exceedingly displeasing to Samuel, who charg- ed them with great wickedness in asking for a king ; and when he referred the matter to God, the Most High de- clared that by this act they had rejected him, that he should not reign over them. From hence some writers have in- ferred that monarchy is in its very nature criminal ; that it impiously invades the prerogative of the Supreme Rul- er, as well as the equal rights of man ; that to desire and especially to set up kingly government is not only trea- son against human liberty, but rebellion against God. This inference was plausibly enforced on the American people, in the beginning of the year 1776, by a very pop- ular but desultory writer ; and this sentiment, with oth- ers equally well timed, operated with the swiftness and force of the electric fluid in preparing this country for Jt formal separation from the British monarch. But how- ever beneficial this doctrine may have been to America at a critical moment, yet it is not fairly deducible from the passage before us. For the criminality of the Jews in wishing for a king arose from the peculiarity of their original constitution, which had been settled by God himself, and which placed the royal authority in his hands. Hence their request implied a rebellious wish to change his model of government, to set up another sove- reign in his place, to conform their political system to that of their surrounding nations, and thus to hazard the great object of the constitution, which was to keep them at a sacred distance from heathen customs and man- ners. This part therefore of the Jewish history furnish- es no general argument against monarchy. At the same time we maintain that so far a^ the character of any pea- LECT. VII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 8i pie is formed by the divine maxims of the Hebrew and the Christian law, they are fitted to enjoy a free republican government ; and so far as they deviate from these prin- ciples, they need the restraints of regal dominion. Ac- cordingly the Supreme Being, finding his antient people perversely bent on having a king, and perceiving that their turbulent disposition would require the strong cor- rective of royal power, condescended to their earnest pe- tition. As he early foresaw this future propensity, and was determined to permit its gratification, he thought fit in framing their laws, to prescribe some regulations both concerning their election of a king, and the manner of his administration. In the first place he expressly reserv- ed to himself the choice of their future sovereigns— " Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God will choose.'* Accordingly he ap- pointed Saul, by lot, to be their first king ; David, by name, to be their second ; Solomon, his son, to be his successor ; and then made the regal government hered- itary in David's family. But while Jehovah thus nomi- nated the person, the concurring act of the people invest- ed him with the sovereignty. A second regulation was, that their king must be a native Israelite — " One from among thy brethren shalt thou set over thee ; thou mayst not set a stranger over thee, who is not thy broth- er." This limiting statute was well adapted to inspire a just dread of foreign intriguers and invaders, and a Ignited vigilance in repelling them from the government. One who is born and educated in a community, is its natural brother ; his habits, attachments, and interests strongly link him to it. But the sentiments, feelings, and interests of a stranger, do often as naturally connect him with a foreign country, and aiieaate hira from that. 82 LECTURES ON [lect. vii. in which he resides. At best they frequently attach him to some visionary, undigested, and impracticable theory, which by no means applies to the people, among whom he dwells. It is therefore in most cases unnatural and dangerous to entrust such a person with supreme pow- er, or even with a high subordinate station. Thirdly., their king was not to multiply horses. This prohibition was intended either to check unnecessary pomp, so incident to royalty, and often so oppressive to the people ; or to restrain the Jews from using cavalry in war, and thus lead them to confide not in their own military preparations, like the nations around, but in the special protection of Jehovah. Fourthly, the king is also forbidden " to greatly mul- tiply to- himself silver and gold ;" which was doubtless designed to restrain royal avarice and luxury, the physic- al and moral eiFects of which are national poverty, cor- ruption, and ruin. He is further enjoined to write out in a book, for his own use, a correct copy of the divine law ; which injunction was intended to rivet this law more firmly in his memory, and to hold him in constant subjection to its authority. For the same purpose he is required to "read in this copy all the days of his life,' that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and to keep all his statutes.** Thus the power of the Hebrew kings was circumscribed by a code of fundamental and equal laws, provided by infinite wisdom and rectitude. That the monarchs of that nation, even in the v/orst times, were considered, not as above law, but restrained by it, is strictly verified by the story of Ahab, a most abandon- ed prince. Though he earnestly coveted the vineyard of Naboth, one of his subjects, and offered to purchase it ; yet because the law forbad the alienation of lands from iECT. vii.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 83 one tribe or family to another, he could not obtain it, till he had, by bribing false witnesses, procured the legal condemnation and death of Naboth, as a traitor and blas- phemer. It appears then that a Jewish king was only God's vicegerent, governing by his laws, which he could on no occasion alter or repeal. In fine, the monarch is charged not to let his heart be lifted up above his breth- ren, but to govern his subjects with condescending mild- ness and beneficence, not as slaves, but as brothers. Thus David, addressing his subjects, styles them his breth- ren. This amiable model is imitated by the firstchristian em- perors, particularly by Constantine the Great. Thus we find that even the regal government, though originating in the perverse impiety and folly of the Israelites, was so shaped and guarded by the divine law, as to promise the greatest public benefits. With respect to the ceremonies of inauguration, by which the Hebrew kings were actually invested with the royal dignity, it may suffice to observe, that the head of the person elected was first anointed with oil, and then crowned with a diadem ; after which he was saluted with the kiss of homage, which was followed by the acclama- tions and benedictions of the people. The kingly form of administration continued about five hundred and thirty years, that is, from Saul to the Babylonish ciiptivity. In travelling over this long peri- od, though we meet with forty two crowned heads, we find but eight truly virtuous princes, whose authority and example were consecrated to the best interests of the peo- ple. This circumstance, compared with the general his- tory of kings and emperors, affords mankind but little ground of confidence in the virtue of monarchs, or the blessings of royalty. H LECTURES ON [lect. vir. Another remarkable fact is, that the character of the reigning prince always gave a leading complexion to that of the nation. When a good king ascended the throne, he never failed to reform and exalt the public manners and condition j and when a wicked king assumed the government, he never failed to draw the community af- ter him into deep depravity and suffering. What a sol- emn lesson does this hold out to all, who either possess or expect stations of honor and influence in society ! Many of you doubtless anticipate some degree of future eminence. You will remember that your power, and consequently your obligation to reform and bless man- kind will keep pace with this eminence. If one sinner, possessing genius and science, influence and fame, may and will destroy much good, and produce incalculable mischief ; then one virtuous person, clothed with the same advantages, may and ought to produce great pub- lic benefit. It is a serious truth, that every man of in- fluence is as much accountable for the effects of his prin- ciples and conduct on mankind, as a monarch is for the extensive good or ill, which flows from his example and administration. If in your future spheres of operation you steadily feel and practically comport with this truth, you may, in the language of the poet, look down and pity kings ; for in true honor, satisfaction, and useful- ness you will excel a great majority of them, and will fi- nally inherit thrones of glory LECT. VIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 85 LECTURE VIII. Afi examination of Jewish Antiquities recommended from the novelty of the subject, the pleasure it affords, and the advantages to he derived from it. Religious peculiarities of the Hebrenv nation. Idolatry ecjisidered a capital offence against the state. Temporal reivards and pimishme^its annexed to the observance or violation of the Hebrew ritual ; and the general tendency of God's con- duct toward his antient people, to the final establishment of the christian system. A. .S this private lecture will now be addressed to an audience consisting partly of new members, it will be proper for their sakes briefly to explain the nature and importance of the subjects, which here invite their atten- tion. The legislature of this university have wisely judged that a series of discourses on fewish and Chris- tian Antiquities might be rendered both entertaining and profitable to every lover of useful knowledge ; especially to those, who mean to be religious instructors. With respect to Jewish Antiquities, the study of these recommends itself to curious and liberal minds by many weighty considerations. In the first place it is recommended to us by the charm of novelty, it leads us into a field for the most part new and untrodden. I grant that a number of writers, both Jewish and Christian, have employed much labor in un- folding the peculiar laws and customs of the antient He- brews. Yet very few have ever attempted to explore the true causes or ascertain the rationale of these laws ; and most, who have attempted it, have left the subject at least as dark and perplexed, as they found it. While a crowd of authors have exhausted their learned industry in trac- 86 LECTURES ON [lect. yiii. ing out the origin of pagan rites and customs amid the obscure recesses of antiquity ; in bringing to Hght the pe- cuhar laws and ceremonies of the antient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans j they have suffered the venerable peculiarities of the Hebrew nation, though emanated from the Deity, either to sleep in unworthy oblivion, to be ridiculed by petulant but ignorant adversaries, or disgrac- ed by fanatical and superstitious friends. In such a sit- uation ought not both the rarity and the dignity of the subject to rouse our honest and thorough investiga- tion ? Especially when we add Secondly, that the inquiry before us is displeasing, as it is novel. If the study of the Attic and Roman laws, and other monuments of antient wisdom, afford a delicious entertainment to intellectual curiosity ; if we enjoy with transport every new discovery respecting nations, lan- guages, and arts, which can boast of high antiquity j if we should survey with delight a piece of coin fashioned in the reign, and bearing the image of Cesar or Alexan- der ; must not the far more antient monuments of divine wisdom, erected in the Hebrew church and common- wealth, be still more delightful ? How solid and noble the pleasure of tracing back the present meridian splen- dor of religious, moral, and political knowledge to the early dawn of each upon the Jewish world j of contem- plating the church of God in the cradle of infancy, and following her through the several stages, by which she gradually rose to maturity ! Thirdly, the utility of such researches is equal to their entertainment. For an accurate knowledge of the civil and religious peculiarities of the antient Hebrews will at once disperse the witty sneers and serious re- proaches, with which they have been loaded. It will LECT. VIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 87 show us that such sneers and reproaches are founded wholly in ignorance and misrepresentation. It will also clearly instruct us in the superstitious folly of those mod- ern Jews and Christians, who fondly cling to a part or the whole of that pompous and burdensome system of rites, which was intended for the Hebrews only during their more gross and puerile state, and which has long siflce given place to the more perfect dispensation of the gospel. In short, it will add much light and beauty to many parts of the scripture, which cannot be properly understood and appreciated without knowing the anti- quities of that people, and the reasons of those laws to which they refer. Finally^ what object of inquiry can be more worthy of a christian student, than those antient laws which have God for their author, his chosen people for their subjects, and the divine Savior for their final scope and consummation ; laws which were nicely suited by uner- ring wisdom to the genius of the age, people, and dispen- sation, for which they were intended, and which of course, if correctly understood must reflect great light on the general history and state of the antient world ? Influenced by th^^se considerations, we have employ- ed a number of lectures upon the civil polity of the He- brews. This, as we have shown, was originally a The^ ocracy^ that is, a government, of which God was not only the framer, but the immediate sovereign ; a gov- nerment, whose primary intention was to preserve in that nation, and consequently in the world, the prin- ciples of true religion, and of course the interests of gen- uine virtue, in the midst of surrounding idolatry and vice. It had likewise for its secondary object the pro- tection of that people in the enjoyment of high temporal 88 LFXTURES ON [lect. vm. freedom and prosperity, on condition of their approved fidelity to their drvine King. We have largely shown that their poHtical constitution and laws were admirably adapted to both these designs. We have particularly not- ed that their general or national government was that of a complex or confederate republic, combining the best features of the most perfect constitutions which were af- terwards established in Greece and Rome, and at pres- ent in United America, that is, comprising a popular or representative assembly, an advising senate, and a presid- ing judge or executive magistrate. At the head of all these was Jehovah himself, directing and controling the whole by a standing oracle^ which on great occasions pub- licly notified his royal pleasure. This happy form of government continued, tillj the people wantonly insist- ed on having a king ; from which period to the Babylo- nish captivity they were ruled and for the most part se- verely scourged by a long succession of monarchs. Af- ter this, until the final extinction of their civil polity, their government was that of a tributary commonwealth. Having thus displayed the leading political antiquity of the Jewish nation, we proceed to the second great branch of our subject, viz. the religious pectdiarities of this an- tient and remarkable people. These form the most dis- tinguished trait in their history. Their civil polity, as we have seen, was chiefly intended as a handmaid to re- ligion, and was principally exerted in establishing and enforcing its doctrines and institutions. Agreeably we find that idolatry, or an open departure from the belief and worship of the one true God, was made a capital offence against the state ; and political or temporal sanc- tions are constantly annexed to their religious ordinances. Tbis mode of proceeding is so repugnant to the best LECT. viii.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 89 ideas of modern statesman, moralists, and christians, that a close attention to the peculiar reasons of it is necessary to a full conviction of its propriety. We instantly per- ceive that no human magistrate can rightfully dictate or punish the religious creed and worship of his subjects, because he is equally fallible with them, and was appoint- ed to superintend the body politic, not the spiritual state of individuals ; and because the Deity alone is Lord and Judge of men's consciences. But these reasons do not apply to the antient Hebrev/ government, which was erected and administered by god himself, who is an in- fallible judge of religious truth and falsehood, who has a right to enjoin the belief and observance of those doc- trines and institutions, which are evidently stamped with his authority, and who precisely knows the degree of criminality imphed in every deviation from his require- ments. Besides these general considerations, there were many special circumstances, which rendered temporal re- wards and punishments the most proper sanctions of the Hebrew ritual. It is to be remembered that this ritual was chiefly in- tended as a remedy against idolatry, to which the Israel- ites, as well as neighbouring nations, were extremely ad- dicted. Now the assurance of worldly blessings or ca- lamities annexed to the divine law was the most effectual ground against this evil. For it best suited the genius and taste of a gross and ignorant people. As the long servitude of the Hebrews in Egypt, and intercourse with its sottish inhabitants, had rendered their minds very ab- ject and carnal ; the Deity wisely accommodated his dis- cipline to their low apprehensions and desires ; he allur- ed them to duty, and deterred them from transgressioa by such motives as they could understand and feel 5 that M 90 LECrURES ON [lect. viii. is, by tlie promise of a pleasant and fertile country, of a numerous offspring, of a long and tranquil life, of splen- did victorv and honor, and by the threatening of famine, want, pestilence, defeat, and slaughter. Thus the divine Legislator condescended to reconcile them to his pre- scriptions, just as prudent parents and teachers stimulate young children to their appointed task by incitements fitted to their puerile state. 2. These temporal sanctions directly struck at the root of idolatry, and destroyed its principal support. For it was the leading sentiment of those early times that world- ly prosperity was inseparably connected with a strict ob- servance of their idolatrous rites, with a devout worship of the stars, of demons, of tutelar deities, and that aeon- tempt of these gods, or a violation of their institutions would be punished with terrible calamities. Even the Israelites, as appears from their history, were deeply in- fected with this vain and pernicious idea ; and this was the main source of their frequent relapses into idolatry. To eradicate this fatal error, it was necessary that their divine Lawgiver should denounce and inflict the same penalties on those, who deserted his worship, which were supposed to follow the neglect of the pagan deities ; and that he should promise and conspicuously grant the op- posite blessings to those, who, abjuring their former idol- atry, acknowledged and obeyed him as their only Sover- eign ; in short, that he should hold up full evidence, that he was the sole Dispenser both of good and evil. This was to destroy idolatry with its own weapons ; it was to tear away the grand props, on which it rested, and to trans- fer them to a directly opposite use, viz, to the support of that allegiance, which is exclusively due to Jehovah. LECT. Yiii.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 9 1 This observation will receive further light and strengtli if we add 3. That the religion, which universally prevailed in the antient world, was chiefly, if not wholly, limited in its views to the present life. Those only were worshij)- ped as gods by the heathen nations, who were consider- ed as having merited that honor by some great temporal benefits. On this ground the beneficent luminaries of heaven, the inventers of useful arts and laws, and other signal benefactors of mankind, were ranked among the gods. Hence the Egyptians worshipped the river Nils on account of the annual plenty, which its inundation poured over their country. The sacrifices too, which the Gentiles offered, were intended merely to procure or to acknowledge some temporal favor, that is, to ap- pease the anger, to avert the judgments, or to requite the benefits of those divinities, to whom they were pre- sented. Their religious festivities had much the same object ; they were designed either to refresh and cheer the bodies and spirits of the worshippers, to render the gods propitious to their fields and vineyards, or to cele- brate their benignity manifested in their worldly pros- perity or success. In short, the titles and attributes, the prayers and other addresses, by which they honored their deities, were all confined to the good and evil things of this transitory state. Does not this survey of the ear- ly and general state of religion unfold the wisdom and beauty of the divine economy towards antient Isniel ? Was it not fit that God should adjust the rights and sanctions of his worship in some degree to the prevail- ing genius and sentiments of the age ; that he should instruct his people to ascribe to him those political titles and temporal f-ivors, which the rest of the world false- 93 LECTURES ON [lect.viii. ly attributed to imaginary gods ; that he should pre- scribe a system of pure^ but in some measure carnal or- dinances, suited to the complexion of the times, and en- courage the observance of them, as the sure means of obtaining those blessings from him, which the pagans ea- gerly but vainly expected from their gross ceremonies and idols ? The fitness of this conduct will strike us with greater force, if we consider how deeply and almost immovable this notion was rivetted in the human mind, that all worldly advantages depended on a sacred adherance to the ceremonies of pagan worship. Even the Jews, after they had enjoyed means of better instruction for many hundred years, made this reply to their prophet Jeremi- ah, who had been solemnly testifying against their idola- try, " as for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly go on to burn incense to the queen of heaven (that is, to Juno, to the Moon, or some great celestial luminary )and to pour out drink-oiferings untoher, as we and our fathers have done ; for then we had plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine." The same opinion is zeal- ously advocated by Celsus, a very learned heathen, and one of the most early and sagacious writers against the Jewish and Christian religion ; speaking of corn and wine, of the fruit of the trees, and the benefits of water and air, he says, " men receive each of these from some one of the gods to whom the care of these things are as- signed." We may add that the famous emperor Julian, who apostatized from Christianity to paganism, reprove* LECT. VII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 93 the inhabitants of Alexandria for the respect they show- ed to the persons and doctrines of Christians — " You Alexandrians, says he, tamely endure and even minister to those who despise the religion of your fathers. You do not recollect the antient prosperity, the fullness of good things, which we then enjoyed, when all Egypt held a strict communion with the gods." This opinion had taken a deeper hold both of the Jewish and Gen- tile world, on account of the singular affluence and felici- ty, which for a long series of time were possessed by the Egyptians, who were uncommonly devoted to idolatrous worship. The fame of their unexampled prosperity, and of those religious rites which were supposed to procure it, drew to their country a vast confluence of foreigners, not only Hebrews, but Persians, Arabians Phenicians, • Babylonians, and Greeks, who eagerly resorted thither to learn from their sacred mysteries the art of private and national happiness. In such a state of things how indis- pensible was it, that Jehovah the true God and King of Israel, should engage to his loyal subjects an abundance of earthly good, and threaten idolaters with the greatest temporal evils ; that they and the whole surrounding world might experimentally know that obedience to Him was the best, yea the only road to happiness ! We might mention several other weighty reasons, why the Mosaic religion was chiefly enforced by political and worldly motives. The nature of that system required it. The institution itself was worldly, ceremonious, and tem* porary. The observance of it was therefore fitly enforc* cd by temporal rewards. Whereas the gospel, being a more spiritual, refined, and durable religion, is properly accompanied with more sublime and durable sanctions, with motives which respect the soul and eternity. More-* 94 LECTURES ON [lect. via. over, as the Mosaic law was an appendix, or extraordinary burden superadded to the natural and primitive duties ot" man; it was proper and just that some peculiar recompense superadded to the natural rewards of virtue, should be an- nexed to its observance. As God likewise assumed the name and function of the political king of Israel, and in this character gave forth all his laws both sacred and civil ; it was fit that he should enforce them by rewards and penalties corresponding with those of other political ru- lers and states. It would but ill suit the style of a civil or temporal sovereign to hold up celestial rewards or in- visible punishments to those, who obey or violate his precepts. Finally, as the Jewish economy was designed to be an obscure, imperfect, and preparatory dispensation, a faint shadow of spiritual and heavenly things ; it was necessa- ry that the doctrines and rewards of immortality should be in a great measure concealed under the veil of terres- trial promises and blessings. It was reserved to the Son of God, the promised Messiah, to bring life and immor- tality fully to light. It seemed good to infinite wisdom to dispense religious truth to the church and the world in a manner similar to that, in which the minds of indi- viduals are carried forward from infancy to manhood, that is by slow and regular gradations. We grant that thfe Jewish system is very imperfect, compared with the christian ; yet this very imperfection made it the most fit and useful discipline for mankind during their weak and rude state of childhood. It is a great error of some speculative geniuses to in- fe.' that no constitution can proceed from God, but what is in all respects the most perfect. They might with equal propriety assert that there can be no gradation or LECT.Tiii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 95 variety among the works of Deity ; that it is inconsistent with absolute wisdom and goodness to create a worm, an insect, or even a human infant, because each of those is inferior to a man, yea that it is unworthy of God to form any creatures but those of the highest possible rank. But all such speculations are confuted by uniform facts. We must therefore take things as they are, not as we may vainly fancy they ought to have been. Now if we soberly view the antient world, both Jewish and heathen, as it really was ; we may readily perceive that such rules and enforcements of duty, as the law of Mo- ses held up to Israel, were admirably suited to existing circumstances, and wisely fitted to prepare mankind by degrees for the far nobler discoveries and blessings of the gospel. 96 LECTURES ON fLEcr. ix. LECTURE IX. Ceremonies of the Hehreiv worship, and the special objects of their appointment. Their suitableness to the existing state af tl^e world j and to the Israelites in particular. Institution of the Jewish sahhathy and the extensive benefits resultingfrom it. XN our last discourse we largely showed the fit- ness of those worldly motives, by which even the reli- gious rites of the Jewish law were enforced. We point- ed out many reasons which justified and even necessitated those political or temporal rewards and penalties v^'hich were employed to stimulate and hold fast to their duty a rude, carnal, and uutractable nation. Having surveyed the most conspicuous sanctions of their religious code, we will now attend to the leading rites, of which it is composed. That the antient Hebrew worship embraced a great variety and abundance of ceremonies is manifest to all ; but many at this day do not appear to know the special and wise reasons of their appointment. There are two modes of communicating religious instruction, as well as of offering religious worship ; one by plain, intelligible words, the other by significant actions. The question is, which of these was best fitted to promote the great ends of religion among the Jewish people. It will be ea- sy to prove that the latter method was most eligible, or that expressive and striking ceremony suited the genius and circumstances of that nation, far better than a sim- ple and rational mode of instruction and worship. For in the first place the Israelites had just emerged from the bondage of Egypt, where a low education and LECT. IX.] JEWISH ANTiOUITIES. 97 grievous oppression had weakened their minds, and where they had been dazzled with the pompous ceremonies, as well as the celebrated wisdom of that idolatrous country. Besides, the most familiar mode of instruction in those times, and probably the only method which they then understood, was by Hieroglyphics, or external symbols representing invisible objects. Now ceremonies in reli- gious worship corresponded to Hieroglyphics in writing, and were equally necessary and beneficial, before the in- vention and established use of letters. And as this sym- bolical method of writing and of worship was greatly studied and practised by the antient Egyptians j both habit and necessity would dictate a similar mode to the early Hebrews. To such a mode of religion they were so accustomed, and so fondly attached, that they very early compelled Aaron to make them a golden calf, as a visible symbol of the divine presence, and honored this symbol with the ceremonies of a pubHc feast. The gen- ius and habits of the Hebrews at that period did, there- fore, evidently require a symbolical or ceremonious kind of worship. As this symbolical form of religion thus suited the genius and exigences of that people j so it was farther necessary and useful, as a wall of partition be- tween the people of God and surrounding idolaters. For as the Jews would not have been easy without a ceremonious religion, so without this they could not have been kept from adopting or participating in the idola- trous rites of their neighbours ; especially as many of these had every charm of splendor, luxury, and festivi- ty. To guard them still more effectually against these allurements, it was necessary that their law should for- bid, or hold up as unclean and detestable, those things, which idolaters esteemed most sacred. Thus eating the N c,S LECTURES ON [lect. it, blood of the victims was deemed an essential act of reli- gion in the heathen festivals, because blood was account- ed the food of their demons or gods, and because the worshippers by partaking in this food were supposed to hold communion with these gods, and to receive peculiar discoveries or benefits from them. Was not this a suffi- cient reason for the prohibition of blood to the Israel- ites ? Was it not important that a people, visibly conse- crated to the true God, should be effectually barred from all the idolatrous customs of pagans ? Was it not impor- tant that such a people should be conspicuously exalted above the heathen world by the superior dignity and pu- rity both of their doctrine and worship ? Would not this give them, both in their own esteem, and in the sight of surrounding nations, a proper and honorable distinct- ion as the people of Jehovah ? And was not a peculiar system of ceremonies necessary to exhibit and preserve this distinction ? Finally, as the law of Moses was intended not only as a remembrance of the past favors and wonders of the Most High, but a figure of better things to come ; it was needful on both accounts that it should consist chiefly of significant rites j and that these rites should be especial- ly fitted both to preserve among the Jews the memory of the grand promise relating to the Messiah, and to typ- ify and prepare for its future accomplishment. According- ly, the law of Moses is really the gospel of Christ in a hieroglyphical or figurative dress ; it wonderfully repre- sents the person and office, the actions and sufferings of the promised Redeemer, and the future spiritual bless- ings of his church. If then the ceremonies of the Jewish law, considered as parts of one great whole, were admirably suited to I.ECT. IX.] JEWISH ANriourriES. ^^ the then existing circumstances of the world in general, and of the Israelites in particular ; if they were neces- sary to check idolatry and its destructive effects, to pre- serve pure religion and morals, and gradually to intra- duce the more perfect system of Christianity ; if these things can be proved, the wisdom of this institution will be amply vindicated even though the utility of some de- tached parts of it cannot now be fully perceived. If the system at large, like tiiat of nature, be evidently wise and good ; the just inference is, that its minutest parts, like those of creation, though singly or apparently trivi- al, yet contribute in their place to the harmony and per- fection of the whole. In this case those, who lay hold of some particular ceremonies as objects of ridicule, and from these point their artillery against the institution in general, act as unfair and impious a part, as those philo- sophists, who from a few seeming blemishes in the works of nature conclude that the universe is not the offspring of wisdom and goodness. Having made these general observations we will now briefly analyze the Hebrew Ritual, and inquire into the reasons which gave rise to its principal component parts, and on which their value and usefulness depended. We will begin with circumcision ; which properly claims our first attention, because it was the rite of initiation into the Jewish church. The origin of this rite has oc- casioned much learned discussion ; for it is well known that the practice of it obtained very early, not only a- mong the Jews, but likewise among the Egyptians, Phe- nicians, Syrians, Arabs, and several other antient na- tions. Two early Greek writers, Herodotus and Diodo- ras Siculus, have intimated that this custom probably o- riginated in Egypt j and several modern deistical authors. ICO LTCTTTRES ON [lfct. ix. relying on their opinion, have labored to pro"e that the Jew« borrowed it from their Egyptiiin reighhours. But how unfair is it to prefer the mere conjecture of two writers, who lived at a great distance both of time and place from the event in question, to the authority of Moics, who had the best means of information, and to the authentic record, the uninterrupted tradition, and the constant usage of the whole Hebrew nation for more than three thousand years! These regular sources of infor- mation give sufficient light both to the origin arid the im- port of this ceremony, by tracing it up to Abraham, the venerable father of the Hebrews,and by representing it as the appointed token of God's covenant with him and his posterity. It is very probable that the Egyptians after- wards derived it either from Joseph while he was the first and favorite minister of their government, or from the Arabians, descendants of Abraham, who for a time ruled over Egypt ; or that they were induced to adopt it by the great reputation of Abraham and of the Israel- ites, or by the reverence and terror excited in their minds by the marvellous works of Jehovah in favor of the He- brews, and against their oppressors. Even the princi- ples of idolatry might lead the Egyptians and some oth- er nations to view the God of Israel as a very powerful Deity, and fit to be ranked among their other divinities ; and according to a well known heathen custom, to court his friendly protection by embracing one of his peculiar institutions. It is, however, of small importance to de- termine how or on what principles this rite was introduc- ed into pagan countries ; our main business is to show the fitness and utility of it to the antient Jews. Now the ceremony of circumcision was prescribed to Abra- ham, to confirm his faith in the wonderful promise of LECT. IX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. loi Jehovah, that he should have a son in his advanced age, that a numerous progeny springing from this son should inherit the land of Canaan, and that an illustrious per- son should at length proceed from this family, who would be a blessing to all nations. How kind was it to this patriarch, and how necessary to hi> posterity, that a promise so singular, so complex, and requiring so long a series of ages for its perfect fulfillment, should be pre- served, and ratified by same conspicuous and permanent sign ! Had the Most High on this occasion selected some ceremony, which might be easily performed or counter- feited, which but rarely occurred, or which was often out of sight ; the salutary influence of it would have been comparatively feeble and interrupted. But by constant- ly wearing in their very flesh a character which neither time nor art could eflface, they always had an impressive monument both of the divine promise and their own cor- responding engagements. While this memorial thus en- livened their faith, it equally tended to encourage their obedience. It also strikingly enforced that circumcis- ion of the heart, that mortification of inward lust, that substantial moral purity, on which their whole law laid the principal stress. Agreeably Moses, their law- giver, thus exhorts them, " Circumcise, O Israel, the foreskin of thy heart, and serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul." This and many similar passages show that circumcision had a most important moral design ; that it constantly urged its votaries to internal and practical holiness ; that it taught them to esteem and to preserve themselves a ho- ly people, dedicated to the true God ; that it admonish, ed them to shun all defiling conversation, and especially fill intermarriages^wiih impure and uncircumcised idola- ioi LECTURES ON [lect. ix. ters^; in short, that it was an open badge of distinction and bond of union to the posterity of Abraham, in- tended to keep them cemented in one peculiar, holy, and happy fraternity. Even the difficult and painful nature of this rite eminently contributed to these moral advan- tages, as none would be likely to submit to it from any othor principle than that of a religious faith and obedi- ence, or a cordial esteem of the laws and privileges of ihe Hebrew church. In this view it was an excellent mean of preserving the religion and character of that people pure and inviolate. It had also a most useful tendency in another point of view. For it was first appointed not only for the con- firmation of Abraham's faith, but as an honorable tes- timonial of his pious character ; and the ready submission ©f this patriarch to an operation so hazardous and dis- tressing, in the belief of a promise, which to human view seemed impossible to be realized, was a glorious exploit both of faith and obedience. Now the design of God in choosing the posterity of Abraham was to en- gage them to transcribe his excellent character, and thus to distinguish them by their natural relation to their il- lustrious progenitor. And what could better answer this purpose, than to impress on their bodies a constant memorial of his singular faith and piety. Whenever a Jew performed, witnessed, or reflected on the rite of cir- cumcision, could he easily forget or forbear to admire and emulate this father of the faithful, this favorite of heaven ? That we may duly appreciate this memorial, let us suppose the American people in the same situation with the early Hebrews, without the use of letters, de- pending on oral tradition and visible symbols for the conveyance of historic and religious knowledge; how LEcT. IX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 105 inestimable would be the moral effect of some standing ceremony or mark in the flesh, which should transmit to every citizen to the latest generation the story and the virtues of his venerable ancestors, for instance, the su- perior excellencies of the American Washington ; espe- cially if this visible token were prescribed by the Deity, for the purpose of obliging us to copy these virtues, and in this way assuring us of his special benediction ! Which leads us to add, that circumcision was not only an expressive token, but a solemn seal or mutual ratifica- tion both of the temporal and spiritual covenant between God and Israel ; it ratified God*s promises to that people, and their peculiar obligations to him. For when Jehovah directed the posterity of Abraham to be openly separat- ed from all other nations by this distinguishing mark ; be in effect called on all the world to witness the trans- action, and to observe whether his promises to this peo- ple were fulfilled ; for the world could easily see wheth- er this circumcised nation enjoyed those singular divine bh^ssings which they had been encouraged to expect. By this rite therefore the faith of Deity was publicly pledg- ed to this people. On the other hand, they by the same token openly abjured idolatry, and bound them- selves to the true religion ; they took a solemn oath of allegiance to the true God, both as their political and spiritual King. Agreeably St. Paul tells us that " eve- ry one who is circumcised, becomes a debtor to the whole law**. This import of the rite in question is illus- trated by the practice of the antient heathens, who im- pressed the names or appropriate characters of their sev- eral gods on the bodies of their respective worshippers. Thus a thunderbolt was marked on the votaries of Jupi- tet J a "juand on those of Mercury j a helmet or spear on 104 LECTURES ON [lect. ix. those of Mars ; a trident on those of Neptune, &c. At other times the names of these and other pagan dei- ties were imprinted on their several adorers. In such a state of things was it not suitable and even necessary that the servants of the true God, should be distinguish- ed and protected from idolatry by some appropriate and conspicuous character ? Now circumcision was a mark excellently fitted to this end. It constantly held up to the Israelites the dignity of their pedigree, the vows of their parents, the covenant of their God, the penalties of per- jury, and the rewards of fidelity. It served as an impregna- ble barrier between the Jews and pagans ; for it com- pelled the former to abstain from mixing with the latter either in marriage or any familiar correspondence ; while it deterred the latter, through a dread and abhor- rence of this painful ceremony, from uniting with the former. It was also so visible and lasting a mark, that deserters from the standard of Jehovah to that of idola- try would be easily detected and punished. In every view then no rite could have been better calculated to answer the great purposes of the Mosaic dispensation. Another institution admirably adapted to the same purposes was the Jewish sabbath. Some great men, as Spencer, Le Clerc, Paley, and others, think that the first appointment of a weekly Sabbath took place in the wilderness, and was one of the peculiarities of the law of Moses ; and consequently that the account in the second chapter of Genesis of God's resting on and hallowing the seventh day, isonly an anticipated viewof thefuture Institu- tion of a sabbath for the Israelites. But it is certainly more natural to apply this passage to the first age of the world ; especially as some allotted season for rest and devotion u plainly dictated by the law of nature j which not only tfecT. IX.] JEWISH ANTIOUrriES. 105 points out to man the necessity of some periodical relax- ations from bodily and mental toil, but also the duty and advantage of sochal worship ; but such worship cannot be suitably performed unless certain times are appropriat- ed to it. It is also most reasonable to suppose that man immediately after his creation, when a sense of his Mak- er*s kindness and glory was fresh on his mind, would consecrate certain seasons to his worship ; and that his Creator would call him to the religious observation of the seventh day for the same general reasons, on which he afterwards prescribed it to the Jews. These rational deductions are confirmed by facts. It is a fact that the patriarchs long before the Jewish sabbath, and all, even the most antient heathen nations, distinguished time into weeks of seven days, which no appearances in nature could have suggested, and which therefore must have re- suked from the early appointment of a weekly sabbath. It is also a fact that the earliest pagan writers, particular- ly Homer and Hesiod, speak of the seventh day as pecu- liarly sacred. The latter styles this day " the illustrious light of the sun ;'* the former has this verse, " then came the seventh day, which is holy." Dr. Kennicott also justly notes, that when the sabbath is first mention- ed by Moses, he speaks of it, not as a novel institution, but as one, with which they were familiarly acquainted. In some respects however the Jewish sabbath was a ne^^' and peculiar appointment. O loG LECTURES ON [lect. x. LECTURE X. Nature of the Hebrew ivorship. Sacrifices and offerings. Jheir fitness and utility. T AN our last Lecture we made some general ob- servations, to show the expediency of religious ceremo- nies or symbols in the early ages, with a view to justi- fy the numerous ritual observances prescribed in the Jewish law. We then proceeded to analyze this an- tient ritual, or to point out the special import and utili- ty of the leading ceremonies, in which it consisted. We largely explained and recommended the initiatory rite of circumcision, and made a few remarks on the antiquity and advantages of a weekly sabbath. We endeavored to show that this institution was probably observed from the beginning of the world. It was however in seme respects a new and peculiar appointment to the Jewish nation. Fbr 1 . A new day seems to have been selected for its ob- servance. For the day first marked out for the Jewish sabbath by the circumstance of the manna's not falling upon it, was not the day originally observed ; for the day thus marked out was the twenty second of the sec- ond month ; and counting backward seven days (to the fifteenth) we find the Jews on the fifteenth, by divine di- rection, performing a long and wearisome march, which would not have been allowed, on the day originally con- secrated by God. It is therefore highly probable, and some learned men have accordingly computed, that the Jewish sabbath was appointed on that day of the week, on which their deliverance from Egypt was completed LECT. X.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 107 by the overthrow of Pharaoh in the Red Sea ; which de- liverance was a special and superadded reason for their celebration of a weekly sabbath. Agreeably, that people are directed on this day to commemorate this glorious deliverance. Their sabbath is also called a perpetual covenant and sign between Jehovah and them, by which they acknowledged him as their God. But how could it be a distinguishing sign to that people, if it were mere- ly the old sabbath given to all mankind ? Besides, their sabbath was expressly limited to the duration of their commonwealth — '" thy children shall observe the sabbath throughout their generations,'* that is, as long as their polity shall continue ; whereas the primitive sabbath, being founded on .moral and perpetual reasons, will re- main in force to the end of the world. We may add, it is probable that the antient heathens, having received the original sabbath from Adam and Noah by tradition, con- secrated it to the worship of their chief god the sun ; and that one reason for God's changing the day to Israel was to restrain them from joining in this idolatrous worship. On the same principle, as the pagans began their sabbath from the rising of the sun, or the first appearing of their deity, the Jews were ordered to begin theirs from the sun setting — " from evening to evening shall ye cele- brate your sabbath.'* Finally, it is a probable cal- culation of some learned men, that the Jewish sabbath, reckoning from the creation, was the sixth day of the week ; and of course that the day, on which our Savior rose, and which is observed as the christian sabbath, is the seventh day, which God originally appointed, and which is sometimes called sunday, because the early hea- thens dedicated it to the sun. If this be fact, there is a most striking fitness and beauty in the revival and ob- io8 LECTURES ON [LEcr»jr. servation of that primitive day, which is now a memori- al of those two greatest works of Deity, the creation and redemption of man. We observe 2. That the rest required on the Jewish sabbath was probably new and peculiar. They were ordered on pen- alty of death to abstain from every worldly occupation, toil, and diversion. They were forbidden even to kindle a fire in their habitations, that is, for the purpose of dressing their food or for any other work. Their an- tient doctors pushed these precepts to a very supersti- tious length, forbidding the most necessary act of selfde- fence on that day. Agreeably, a thousand Jews, in the beginning of the Maccabean war, suffered themselves to be killed on the sabbath, without making the least re- sistance. This unwarranted superstition gave advan- tage to the Romans under Pompey to take their capital city, and to subjugate their nation. 3. Their worship, as v.eil as rest, on this day were pe- culiar. They were to offer double sacrifices on the sab- bath ; which denotes it to have been a day of extraordinary devotion. Holy convocaiions ^ or assemblies for religious worship, were also required on that day. Agreeably, the Apostle Paul testifies that the law of Moses " from old time," or from the first ages was " read and preached in the synagogues every sabbath day." Josephus and Philo also tell us that Moses commanded the Israelites every week to lay aside all worldly business, and to as- semble in public to hear the law read and expounded. 4. The ends of this institution were partly political and partly religious. It contributed to the welfare of the body politic by giving needful rest and refreshment both to laboring men and beasts, and by diffusing that knowledge and impression of religious, moral, and politr LECT. X.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 109 kal truth, which are the basis of civil order and prosper- ity. Its influence on the spiritual condition of that peo- ple was still more important. For the solemn rest and worship of the seventh day, after six days of labor, held up to the very senses of that rude and ignorant nation a lively image of the work of creation and its infinite Au- thor. The sabbath was to them the birth day of the world ; it led them to recognize and adore the divine power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator ; it effectu- ally taught them that the gods, which the heathens wor- shipped, such as the sun, moon, and stars, were the mere creatures of that Being, whom they celebrated. Thus it openly separated them from the whole idolatrous world. By calling them every seventh day to the devout ac- knowledgment of One eternal, omnipotent, all perfect Be- ing, it proclaimed and confirmed their contempt and ab- horrence of the senseless and impotent, the impure and fictitious gods of the Gentiles. It kept them stedfast to the worship of Jehovah, and to a thankful, united cele- bration of his attributes and benefits. It allured them to this by the sweets of rest after toil, and compelled them to it by awful punishment threatened to transgression. It taught them humanity and kindness to strangers, to their laboring servants, and even to their cattle, by giv- ing to these an equal share with themselves in the re- freshing rest of the sabbath. It conferred upon all class- es of the people the incalculable moral advantages and pleasures, which result from public religious instruction and devotion. It led forward the contemplation of the pious Jews to that heavenly rest, of which their sabbath was a lively figure and anticipation. Agreeably, one of their learned writers has these remarkable words — " the law of the sabbath points not only to that fundamental 110 LECTURES ON [lect. x. article of religion concerning the creation of the natural world, but to that spiritual world, where there shall be true rest, and real enjoyment. There we shall obtain a true respite from all corporeal labors. We have there- fore, adds he, two sabbaths, the one bodily, in memory of the creation ; the other spiritual, in memory of the souFs immortality and refreshment after death." Hence the Jews to this day, far from esteeming the strictness of the sabbath a burden, venerate and delight in it as the gi-eatest blessing. Beside the moral advantages, it brought to their minds a standing confutation of the old pagan doctrine, that the world was eternal, that the ce- lestial luminaries were so many deities. The strictness of their resting on the seventh day v/as to them a striking image and enforcement of the Mosaic history of the crea- tion, and tended to keep alive in their minds that rever- ence and homage, which are exclusively due to the infi- nite Creator. Thus it operated as one of the best checks upon idolatry, and one of the most powerful supports of true religion and virtue, which could have been devised. And though the peculiarities of this Jewish institution have ceased, we have reason for grateful joy that a week- ly Lord's day has succeeded in its pJace. The liberal dispensation of the Gospel, and the more improved state of the world, have indeed removed the necessity of ob- serving the christian sabbath with the Jewish precision and severity. Yet every pious christian, every good patriot, every true scholar and philosopher, will rever- ently and thankfully observe that day and those public religious ordinances, which are dedicated to the memory of our creation and redemption, and which are so pro- pitious to the best interests of individual and social man. He will detest the thought of idolatrously sacrificing to LECT. X.3 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. iii sensual ease and pleasure a season, which from the be- ginning of the world has been sacred to God and vir- tue. On the return of every sabbath his heart will echo that subhme language of antient piety, " this is the day, which the Lord has made j let us rejoice and be glad in it." Having in this and the preceding discourse sufficiently explained the import and high utility of those two capi- tal institutions of Judaism, circumcision and the weekly sabbath, we will attend in the third place to the nature of the Hebrew worship. As this worship, externally considered, abounded with ceremonies ; so these con- sisted very much in sacrifices and offerings, or in present- ing to the Deity certain slain animals and fruits of the earth. The origin of sacrifices has been greatly dis- puted. Some have supposed that mankind in their early and uncultivated state would naturally offer to their divine Benefactor a part of his own gifts, especially a share of those things, which v/ere most valuable and delightful to themselves ; that they would be prompted to this by an idea, that what was most pleasing to them, would be most acceptable to hirti, and also by witnessing the efficacy of costly gifts in appeasing the anger and procuring the favor of men. Others, improving upon this scheme, and finding the use of sacrifices to have commenced soon after the fall of man, have sup- posed that this practice became so general and radicated, that the Most High, though he did not originally ap- point or approve it, yet thought fit to indulge the Is- raelites in this favorite custom, and at the same time, took care to purify and guard it from every defiling and idolatrous abuse. This opinion is strongly patronized by Grotius, Spencer, and other respectable names. These 112 LECTURES ON [lect. s. writers forcibly urge those texts of scripture, which speak of sacrifices as having no value in the sight of God, and as forming no part of his original prescriptions. It is certain that the divine institution of sacrifices is never mentioned, until the Israelites had shown a mad propen- sity to them in the affair of the golden calf. Yet on the other hand, both Moses and Israel, long before this event, yea, the early patriarchs as far back as righteous Abel, certainly practised this kind of worship. Now what should lead these holy men into a practice like this ? Could they, on any principle of nature or of genuine pie- ty, imagine that the blood of innocent animals would be grateful or conciliatory to the infinite Spirit ? Could Cain and Abel infer this from the effect of gifts on men, at a period when both man and gifts were but beginning to exist ? Besides, if these two brothers both sacrificed on this wrong principle, why were not both rejected ? We may further ask, how could Abel offer his sacrifice " in faith,** as we are told he did, without some divine insti- tution and promise, as the ground of that faith ? And if we consider how severely God resented and punished unauthorized or will worship in other cases, we cannot suppose he would have shown such high approbation of Abel's sacrifice, if he had not previously commanded it. It is therefore at least highly probable that this mode of worship was appointed by God himself in the first age of the world ; and that it was traditionally con- veyed from Adam and Noah to all the antient nations. This hypothesis, and this only, satisfactorily accounts for the early prevalence of religious sacrifices, not only among the worshippers of the true God, but among pa- gan idolaters. For in process of time, this branch of worship, in common with every other part ot reli- LECT. X.] JEWISFI ANTIQUITIES. 113 gious faith and practice, was wretchedly corrupted by human folly and wickedness. " Instead of brute animals, which God had appointed, human sacrifices grew into use ; and it became no uncommon thing in several countries for parents to sacrifice their children. Not on- ly the matter but the object of sacrifices was also chang- ed ; " for the Gentiles sacrificed to demons and not to God.'* When therefore Jehovah selected Israel to be the depository of the true religion, it was necessary that the primitive law concerning sacrifices should be publish- ed anew, with such additions, as would better preserve them from corruption, and render them more suitable and beneficial to such a people as the Jews. Let us then critically inquire into the nature and use of this part of the Hebrew Ritual. The Jewish law prescribed or allowed five sorts of sa- crifices, three of beasts, and two of birds. The gene- ral design of these was to express the various acts of de- votion, which dependent, guilty, and favored creatures owe to their Creator ; or in other words, to express by significant action their dependence on and gratitude for divine favors, their penitent acknowledgment of trans- gression, and their- hope in the mercy of God, through the future atoning sacrifice of his Son. Agreeably, the several sacrifices of their law were so many symbols, which, according to the usage of those early times, cor- responded to the several duties or branches of piety, or which manifested by some striking ceremonies the same sentiments and affections, which are verbally expressed in prayer ,and praise. To confirm this observation, we will briefly run over the several kinds of Jewish obla- tions. The fiirst and most antient sort was the burnt offerings P ii4 LSCrURES ON [LECT. X. or as the Greeks style it, the holocaust, derived from olos whole, and kaioo to burn, because the victim was wholly- consumed with fire, except the skin, and made to ascend entire in flames from the altar. This species of sacrifices is often mentioned by heathens, as well as Jews. Thus Xenophon in his Cyropedia speaks of sacrificing holo- causts of oxen to Jupiter, and of horses to the Sun. These oblations were in use long before the date of the Mosaic law. They are expressly mentioned as early as the age of Job, of Abraham, and even of Noah. They appear to have been common to all nations. Hence dur- ing the subjection of the Jews to the Romans, it was not unusual for the latter to offer this kind of sacrifices to the God of Israel at Jerusalem. In the works of Phi- lo the Jew, it is related, that the emperor Augustus order- ed a holocaust of two lambs and a bullock to be offered for him daily ^oj vyjcrro) Gzwi to the ??wsf High God, at Je- rusalem. " The Jew's esteemed their burnt offering the most excellent of all their sacrifices,'* not only on ac- count of its superior antiquity, but because it was whol- ly consecrated to the divine honor, no part of it being reserved to gratify human selfishness or avarice. It was therefore in the earliest ages the only sacrifice in use, and embraced every part of natural worship, whether con- fession, petition or thanksgiving. Accordingly, the law of Moses begins with prescribing the ceremonial of this sacrifice. From the directions given concerning it we in- fer, that it v/as intended as a general act of hom- age to Deity, a^ Creator, Benefactor, and moral Gov- ernor ; and likewise as a general confession qf sin, and a token of the offerer's giving up himself entirely to God, as he gave up the victim to be wholly consumed on the altar. In allusion to this, the apostle exhorts Christians to " present their bodies, or their whole selves, a living sacrifice to God." LECT. X.] JEWISH ANTIOUITIES. 115 Besides this general offering, the Mosaic law prescribed particular sacrifices for special occasions. It enjoined sin offerings and trespass offerings on occasion of legal pollutions, or on account of sins of ignorance and inad- vertency, that is, such transgressions, as were committed ignorantiy and inconsiderately, or such, as others would not have known, if they had not been discovered by the free confession of the guilty party. These offerings were therefore designed to encourage and constrain a pen- itent acknowledgment of trespasses, which could not otherwise be proved on the offender, and the confession of which was important, both in order to do justice to the party injured by full compensation, and to bring the oli'ender to a salutary and exemplary repentance. Further, as both societies and individuals constantly depend upon, and are indebted to the blessing of divine Providence ; to express and nourish a spirit of corres- ponding trust and thanksgiving, eucharistic sacrifices were instituted, which were called peace offerings, that is, oblations intended to acknowledge, to obtain, or to pre- serve peace with God, and the benefits resulting from his favor. These offerings were either expressions of gratitude for mercies received, or votive sacrifices, that is, prayers and vows made to procure some needed good, or free will offerings, presented as means of continuing and perpetuating peace with Heaven. Which leads us to add, that as mankind in their infancy needed to be in- structed and encouraged in their duty in the most tender and condescending manner, God was pleased to deal with them in the way of covenant, and to seal this trans- action by certain sacrifices ; which being partly consum- ed on God's altar, and partly eaten by the offerers, de- noted a friendly compact and communion between God ii6 LECTURES ON [lect. x. and man ; just as sitting and partaking together at one table was an antient token of friendship, and ratifica- tion of covenants among men. Further, as the Israelites owed the fruitfulness of the land, which Jehovah had given them, to his special bene- diction, they were required to acknowledge this by sol- emnly presenting to Him some of its productions, in par- ticular iliQjirst fruits of their harvest. Finally, there was one kind of offering which was cal- led the daily sacrifice^ because it was offered every day, evening and morning, for the whole congregation. It was therefore a daily expression of national, as v/ell as individual repentance, prayer, and thanksgiving. From this cursory view of the Jewish sacrifices we may, I think, strongly infer their fitness and utility. I am sensible, that according to the refined ideas of mod- ern times, animal sacrifices are a very absurd and savage method of expressing and promoting devout sentiments and dispositions. The imagination and sensibilities of a christian philosopher, may start a thousand objections against it. But if we steadily keep in view the genius and habits of antient nations, and the special circumstan- ces of the Hebrews, these objections will vanish, and the expediency of the Jewish institutions will forcibly ap- pear. When the practice of sacrificing was first appoint- ed, the use of letters was probably unknown, and conse- quently the mode of instruction by visible emblems or symbols was both indispensable and highly beneficial. In such a state of things the offering of animal victims was made to answer for that more simple and rational devo- tion, which words are now happily fitted to express. When we consider sacrifices, with all their attendant rites, as appointed by God, to assist the religious instruc- LECT. X.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. ' 117 tion, improvement, and consolation of man, we must conclude that the Most High would in the first instance clearly explain every part of this institution ; otherwise it could not answer its proposed ends. Now if the mor- al import of sacrifices were thus explained, the utility of them to mankind in their rude and simple state is beyond calculation. In untutored man reason is weak, the men- tal feelings heavy and rough, while sense, imagination, and passion are the leading avenues both to the under- standing and heart. To man thus situated, the appoint- ment of sacrifices is peculiarly adapted ; for these convey a most pathetic and awful address to his very senses, and thus rouse him to the most serious and impressive reflec- tions. The frequent spectacles of bleeding and smoking victims, suffering and atoning for the guilty offerers, would give them the deepest impressions of the purity, justice, and majesty of God, of the evil of transgression, of their own ill desert, of the necessity of some adequate atonement, and of the readiness of Deity to pardon the penitent. The numerous and diversified offerings of the antient Jews, with the striking pomp, which preceded and attended them, were fitted not only to excite and express the most reverential, humble, and grateful devo- tion, but to give the best direction to their whole tem- per and conduct. The many washings and purifications enjoined, previous to the oblation of sacrifice, were not only physically beneficial in the eastern countries, but directly tended to impress a simple people with a scrupu- lous regard to inward and moral purity, especially in all their approaches to the Deity. That this was the pri- mary intention of these ceremonies was a maxim fre- quently and solemnly enforced. In those early ages the language of these well chosen emblems could not fail to Ii8 LECTURES ON [lect.x, be well understood and strongly feh. Above all, the frequent sacrifices of the Jewish law were intended to pre- figure, and gradually to prepare men for the great aton- ing sacrifice of the promised Messiah. Agreeably, our Savior, in allusion to those antient oblations, is called by way of eminence a sin offering, a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. In a word, the religion of the Jews and that of Christians form one great and harmonious .plan. The Jews saw gospel truth in its early and gradu- al dawn ; we behold it in its meridian splendor. When Christ appeared, the candid and pious Jews embraced him, because they saw in him a glorious counterpart, a perfect accomplishment of their antient rites and predic- tions. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were led to ven- erate and believe in the Hebrew law, because they be- held in it an exact, though imperfect figure and prophe- cy of the gospel. What beauty and glory do these ob' servations reflect both on the Jewish and Christian dis- pensations ! What admirable depths of wisdom do they discover in both ! LECT. XI.3 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. iig LECTURE XI. 2hrie great annual solemnities of the Hebrew nation. Feast of tht Passover; of Pentecost ; of Tabernacles, Benefits resulting from the appointment and observance of these festivals. In some late discourses we showed not only the general ficness of the Hebrew Ritual, but the special utility of circumcision, the weekly sabbath, and the sev- eral kinds of sacrifices instituted by the Mosaic law. But it may still be asked, was it worthy of infinite wisdom and goodness to impose upon the Israelites such a vast number of minute, burdensome, and apparently trivial regulations ? What reasonable or benevolent pur- pose could be answered by prohibiting and enjoining so many things, which in their own nature were neither good nor evil ? On supposition that sacrifices were ex- pedient in those early ages, yet what necessity or reason could justify so great an abundance of them, or the in- junction of so many little niceties in p^forming them ? The general Answer is — Divine wisdom descended to these numerous and exact regulations, for the great pur- pose of establishing a system of worship 'and manners directly opposed tOj and strongly fortified against xthe prevailing and idolatrous superstitions of the antient hea- thens. It would be dishonorable to the Supreme Law- giver to suppose, with some learned writers, that many of these prescriptions were the offspring of his mere will and sovereignty, or were intended to foster in the Jews a distant, unsocial, and hostile spirit to other nations, and an indiscriminate warfare against all their customs, how- ever innocent and laudable. The object of Deity was to 120 LECTURES ON [lect. xi. close up every avenue to idolatry and its destructive reti- nue, by shutting out, or inspiring a vigilant fear and ha- tred of those things, which were usually connected with it, as its causes or effects, its symbols or instruments. To verify this remark, and still further to recommend the Hebrew worship, we will distinctly notice the great annu- al solemnities of this nation. Three yearly Festivals were instituted by their law, corresponding with the three de- lightful and convenient seasons of spring, summer, and au- tumn. 1 hey were primarily intended as perpetual memori- als of three distinguished national blessings, their deliver- ance from Egypt, the promulgation of their lawfromMount Sinai, and their entrance on the promised land. The reason and practice of all civilized nations, and of our own in particular, recommend solemn anniversary celebrations of great public events, as decent offerings and instruments both of piety and patriotism, as excellently adapted to keep alive through every age, the memory of divine fa- vors, and in this way to promote public knowledge, gratitude, and virtue. Accordingly, while the children of Israel were yet in Egypt, God appointed the feast of the Passover, which derives its name from his passing over or sparing the houses of the Israelites on that me- morable night, when he destroyed all the first born of the Egyptians. As this awful scene gave rise to, and im- mediately preceded the glorious deliverance of the He- brews from bondage ; their sacred year was thencefor- ward made to begin with the month of this deliverance, which answered to our March ; and their first passover began on the very night of their redemption, which near- ly coincided with the vernal equinox. As the former harvest in the climate of Canaan commenced at this sea- son, a thankful oblation to God of a small portion of the LECT. XI.] iEWlSH ANTIQUITIES. Ill first fruits was properly made a part of this festival. If you consider the wonderful nature and interesting conse- quences of the deliverance commemorated by this feast, and the solemn rites, which preceded and accompanied the celebration ; you will readily admit and even admire its fitness and utility. This solemnity was analogous to our fourth of July ; it celebrated the birth day of the Hebrew nation, the nativity of their independent free- dom, of all their civil and sacred privileges ; it com- memorated that train of divine wonders, which accom- plished, and that long series of blessings, which follow- ed, this capital event. How needful and how forcible was this striking memorial to instruct and quicken a rude and untoward nation, to hold them fast to their great De- liverer and King, and to their high duty and destiny as his peculiar people ! Besides the moral benefit, which the general design of this observance afforded, each part of it was a lively symbol or medium of some special in- struction. What could more poweriuUy enforce the greatest caution and purity in their approaches to God, than the careful and solemn preparation enjoined upon them, previous to this sacred celebration ? What could more strongly remind them of their bitter servitude in Egypt, or of the grievous nature and fruits of sin, and that mourning for it which true repentance implies, than the bitter herbs, with which they were required to eat the passover ? Was not the hasty manner of prepar- ing and eating it, with staves in their hands, and their bodies equipped for travelling, was not this a striking image of their hasty flight from Egyptian bondage, and of the sudden and surprising redemption, which Heaven had granted them ? Did not the unleavened bread, which they used at this feast, inculcate a temper of inward sirn- Q 122 LECTURES ON [lect. xi. pllcity and truth, a heart free from the sour leaven of malice, hypocrisy, and wickedness ?* Was not the continuance of this solemnity for seven days, and the success.ion of rites, which pervaded the whole, admirably fitted to impress the moral import of ic on the mind in very deep and durable characters ? In addition to all these advantages of the Jewish passover, I cannot help thinking that many ceremonies of it were directly pointed against the reigning idolatry of surrounding na- tions, especially of the Egyptians, with whose supersti- tions the Jews were peculiarly infected. My sentiments on this head will be seen, and perhaps be confirmed by the following observations. I. The Israelites were directed at this feast to sacrifice a male lamb. Nowantient and learned writers, particu- larly Juvenal, Strabo, and Plutarch, assure us that the Egyptians esteemed sheep as sacred, and religiously ab- stained from using them either for food, or clothing, or sacrifice ; and in particular that they worshipped the ram as a god, or at least as a symbol of divinity, especially of their principal deity. We are also assured by good au- thority, that they worshipped this creature at the time of the vernal equinox, when the sun enters the sign Aries, When therefore Jehovah directed his people at this season, on thier first passover, to sacrifice and eat this animal, and publicly to sprinkle his blood on the door posts of their houses, as a pledge of their security from that sword, which should destroy the Egyptian first born ; did he not hereby teach the Israelites to pour con- tempt on this idol of Egypt, in the very presence and in open defiance of its adorers ? Did he not signally tri- umph over this heathen god, by rendering his flesh and * I Gor. V. 7. 8. LECT. XI.3 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 123 blood more propitious to his destroyers, than his Hfe could be to his worshippers ? And did he not instruct his people to renounce the idolatry of Egypt, at the same time that they escaped from its tyranny j and to regard every new celebration of this deliverance as a fresh call to abjure that idolatry ? 2. Another rule, prescribed for this feast, is that no part of the lamb shall be eaten raiv. We are surprised at the prohibition of an act so unnatural and horrid, till we find from the best authorities, that raw flesh and pal- pitating limbs, torn from living animals, were used in some of the old heathen sacrifices and festivals, particu- larly in honor of the Egyptian god 0^/rw, and the Gre- cian Bacchus, who were the same idol under different names. That no resemblance or memorial of so barba- rous a superstition might ever debase the worship of Je- hovah, he made this early and express provision against it. On the same ground probably he required the pas- chal lamb to be eaten privately, and entire, in opposition to the Bacchanalian feasts, in which the victim was pub- licly torn in pieces, carried about in pomp, and then de- voured. The same general principle adds lustre and im- portance to several other minute circumstances, which would otherwise appear puerile and insignificant. Why, tor instance, should the divine wisdom seriously forbid the lamb at the passover to be boiled in water, and com- mand it to be roasted with fire ? The most satisfactory reply is, that it was a favorite superstition or magical rite with the Egyptians and Syrians, and afterward with the Athenians, to boil their victims, and especially to seethe a kid or lamb in the milk of its dam. And was it not worthy of Deity to exterminate this foolish and idolatrous practice ? Why also does the divine Law- \ 124 LECTURES ON [lect. xi. giver solemnly and repeatedly order that the whole of this lamb, not excepting his inwards, shall be roasted and eaten, and that 7io part oVxi shall remain until the morn- ing ? The answer, I think, is manifest. The priests of antient heathenism carefully preserved, and religiously searched the entrails of their victims, and thence gather- ed their pretended knowledge of futurity. Those like- wise, who frequented the temples of the pagan gods, were eager to carry away and devote to superstitious us- es some sacred relics, or fragments of the sacrifices. Did it not become the supreme Divinity to provide, that no part of a festival, consecrated to Him, should be left to supply materials or temptation to such impious magiq and idolatry ? In short, as far as we can judge from the best lights of antiquity, the whole ceremonial of the passover ap- pears so adjusted, as to wage an open and destructive war against the favorite gods and ceremonies of Egvpt, and form an early and mighty barrier around the true worship and servants of Jehovah. If some of our solu- tions should seem only plausible or conjectural, yet ihey ought to guard us against deciding positively or contemp- tuously against an antient institution, all the reasons of which we at this day cannot expect to ascertain. Such confident decisions are the offspring, not of superior ia% formation, but of conceited ignorance. I will dismiss this head with one additional remark. We have reason to admire the deep and manifold wisdom of God in so contriving this grand festivah as to make it embrace at once time past, present, and future. It looked back to time past, as it annuallv renewed the recollection of their wonderful deliverance fro,mEgyptian servitude and super- stition. It regarded time present, as its rites were di- LECT. XI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 125 rectly opposed to the existing customs and principles of surrounding nations. It looked forward into futurity, as many parts of it presented a lively figure of the chris- tian passover and sacrifice, of the spotless Lamb of God, in due time to be offered, whose blood secures us from a destruction far more awful than that of the Egyptian first born, and seals a redemption unspeakably greater than that of antient Israel. The second great festival of the Jews was the feast of pentecost, so styled by Greek writers, particularly those of the New Testament, because it was the fiftieth day from the Passover. It was also called they^-^j-^ of weeks, because it commenced at the distance of seven weeks from the first day of the preceding festival ; and it is de- nominated iXie feast of harvest, and of the first fruits, be- cause their wheat being at this time mature and gathered in, they were required to offer to God a sheaf of the first fruits, as a solemn acknowledgment of his goodness, and of their own dependence and obligations. The propriety of this grateful homage to their divine Benefactor is too obvious to be disputed. A plentiful harve.st, produced by skilful an laborious culture, is very apt to be consid- ered as the natural effect or merited reward of human wisdom and industry ; and thus it often nourishes a proud and impious contempt of God, rather than a spirit of humble and thankful devotion. How proper and use- ful then was this feast of harvest, which seasonably checked this odious temper, and revived the opposite feelings of religious dependence and thanksgiving! How suitable were the several oblations, both vegetable and animal, prescribed on this festival ; how suitable to ex- press the goodness, faithfulness, and authority of their divine King, and their own happiness as his favored .sub- 126 LECTURES ON [lect. xi. jccts ! How affectingly were tliey hereby taught to re- gard both the possession and fertiHty of their land, as the fruits of his pecuHar and covenanted favor ! How forci- bly were they stimulated to secure the continuance of this favor by exact and persevering obedience ! How impor- tant and beautiful was this yearly solemnity, as the cor- rective of a very common error in antient times, I mean the error of ascribing propitious seasons and fruitful fields to certain demons, genii, or tutelar deities, who were thought to preside over them ! I must add, as the publication of the law at Sinai formed a most interesting epoch in the Jewish history j as it took place on the fiftieth day from their departure from Egypt, and thus coincided with their wheat harvest ; this institution was doubtless intended to commemorate the former, as well as the latter. And how unspeakably important was it, that a law so excellent, so awfully announced, and comprising the basis and spirit of their constitution, should be sol- emnly impressed on their memories by an annual celebra- tion of its delivery ! Their last great festival was called xhQ feast of taberna- cles, because the people were ordered, during this so- lemnity to dwell in booths or tents made by the branch- es of trees, and adorned with the most agreeable flowers and fruits, which that fine country afforded in the month of September ; for this institution was observed about the autumnal equinox, immediately after the ingathering of the productions of their vines and olives, and other fruits of their trees. It was therefore intended as a public thanksgiving to Jehovah for giving them so rich and beautiful a land, and with crowning it with annual plenty. It was also primarily intended to lead back their jiiinds to that interesting period of forty years, during LECT. XI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 127 which their ancestors sojourned in tents in the wilder- ness, and were constantly fed, guided, and protected by- miracle. What emotions of grateful wonder and de- votion must these recollections inspire, especially when aided by that liv ely scenery, v4iich brought home to their senses the humble and exposed condition of their fathers ! How must the contrast between that condition and their present happy state heighten their esteem and enjoyment of the latter, and tend to exalt their thanlcful praise and obedience ! Every candid and devout mind must applaud an institution, whose object and tendency- are so decent and noble. The religious festivals of the Hebrews must be highly approved by every good citizen of New England, who experimentally knows the pleas- ure and advantage of uniting with his brethren in those yearly thanksgivings, which bring up to his view the image of his forefathers, which contrast their condition with his own, arid which recognize the smiles of Heaven on the past and present state of his country. This train of thoughts suggest two or three general remarks, which shall finish this discourse. I. Beside the several advantages peculiar to each of these Jewish observances, there were some great national benefits common to them all. For these festivals could be legally celebrated only at Jerusalem, where the temple of Jehovah was erected. Of course all the males of Israel were required to resort thither three times in every year. What salutary effects was this fitted to produce ? These anniversary meetings of a whole nation, to renew their oath of allegiance to the one true God, and to their ex- cellent constitution of polity and religion, displayed a most sublime and impressive scene ; a scene, which tend- ed to inspire the actors with peculiar emotions of friend- 128 LECTURES ON [lect.xi. ship, patriotism and piety. It tended to absorb the lo- cal and discordant feehngs, manners, and views of dis- tant tribes and individuals in one great national character and interest. It eminently promoted social affection, refinement, and felicity. Above all, it strengthened their union and zeal in the profession and practice of the true religion. These frequent and solemn interviews were peculiarly precious to a people separated from, and often assailed by the rest of the world ; for they supplied the want of foreign intercourse by cheering domestic com- munion ; they nourished an ardent and courageous de- fence of the common interest. These national feasts al- so afforded a needful and innocent gratification to that taste for pompous and festive celebrations, which charac- terised those early ages. It is remarkable that each of the Jewish festivals, though founded primarily on some reason peculiar to that nation, yet combines some second- ary object or ceremony, which resembled the favorite customs of surrounding countries. As the heathens kept splendid festivities, at the end of their harvests, in honor of their deities ; the Jews, who were enamoured vvitii such rites, w^ere allowed to celebrate the same sea- sons, with similar rejoicing and magnificence, in honor of the true God. They were directed to transfer to an honorable and pious use those decent occasions and cere- monies of gladness, which the pagan world prostituted to superstition and vice. This wise indulgence allured that people to the peculiar and arduous services, which their religion enjoined. How amiable, how beneficent were these institutions, viewed in this light ! 2. These anniversary celebrations were still more im- portant in another view ; for they were standing and conclusive monuments of the truth of the Mosaic relig- LECT. XI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 129 ion. For in the first place no impostor would have dar- ed to institute public memorials of extraordinary facts, which never existed, and especially to require all the citi- zens of a nation frequently to leave their territory and families undefended, in order to attend these memorials. As none but a madman would attempt such an imposi- tion ; so no people in their senses could be seduced by it. Certainly Moses could not persuade the Jews of his age to believe and commemorate their miraculous deliv- erance from Egypt, and preservation in the wilderness, if these wonders never took place. Nor could a bold deceiver, in some after age, impose a false history of these facts and observances upon the public credulity ; because the history itself, which was received by the Jews, frequently asserts that the institutions contained in it, were appointed, published, and statedly observed from the very time, when the facts are said to have hap- pened. But surely no people could be made to believe that they and their ancestors had constantly performed certain rites in memory of certain events, when both the events and rites were wholly unknown, till thefr pretend- ed history appeared. The sacred festivals and other ob- servances of the Hebrews are therefore invincible argu- ments both to them and to us, that their religion is true and divine. These arguments are exceedingly strengthen- ed, when we consider how extravagant, dangerous, and even destructive these celebrations must have been, had they not been warranted by truth, and protected by hea- ven. Yet it is a well known fact that the Jews constant- ly attended these ceremonies without any fear of danger ; and that their most vigilant enemies never invaded or in- jured them during these sacred rites. Can any sober philosopher account for these facts, without admitting R ijo LECriJRES ON [lect. xi. that this wonderful people were assured of the divine authority of their institutions, and were favored with ex- traordinary protection in observing them ? lEGT. XII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 131 LECTURE XII. Importance of Gocfs early and visible manifestations of himself to his antient people. The manner in which these manifestations were made. Nature and use of the tabernacle. Particular dc» script ion of the temple at Jeriisaletn. vJUR last lecture explained the import and utility of the three great annual feasts of the antient Hebrews. It also hinted several particulars relative to these solem- nities, and to the Jewish worship in general, which re- quire a more distinct elucidation. Among these may be reckoned the visible appearances of Deity to his antient worshippers, his peculiar and stated abode in the sanc- faary, and the limitation of his worship, at least of its principal rites, to one place. Viz. the temple at Jerusa- lem. These circumstances may strike us, at first view, as inconsistent with the spiritual nature and universal presence of the infinite Being. They may seem to rep- resent him as a material and local deity, and thus to nourish in his votaries a gross and debasing superstition, instead of rational piety and virtue. But a due atten- tion to the reasons, on which these circumstances were founded, will lead us to admire their fitness and beauty. In the first place, the importance of some visible ap- pearance of Jehovah, or sym.bol of his presence, will be readily perceived, if we advert to the condition of man in the early ages. The state of mankind at first was simple and uncultivated. In this state they were incapa- ble of that abstract reasoning, of that quick mental perception and feeling, which are found among polished nations. The first ideas of every human being must be J 32 LECTURES ON [lect. xii, borrowed from sense. In the untutored mind scarce any ideas exist, but those, which the senses introduce. The laboring classes of men even in the most refined commu- nities derive their religious beHef, not from their own researches, but from instruction and tradition. They have neither leisure nor capacity for that nice and ab- struse speculation, by which natural theology and ethics are investigated, systematized, and rationally confirmed. In the early state of society the human faculties are chained down to a few necessary objects of attention, and cannot of themselves ascend to original ideas or spiritual contemplations ; they cannot rise from material and finite effects to an immaterial and infinite cause. The idea of a universe produced from nothing, constantly sustained and governed by an intelligent, allpowerful Spirit, though familiar to our minds, exalted by science and rev- elation, is too profound and remote for the rude sons of nature. We hence see the necessity, not only of a super- natural revelation to mankind in the early ages, but of some visible appearance of Deity, to give credit and force to such revelation. A divine revelation to us does not need this enforcement, because it is amply attested by miracles and prophecy. But in the first ages man- kind could not be convinced by miracles, because they had too little experience and information of the laws of nature, to distinguish accurately between miraculous and natural effects. Nor was prophecy a suitable mean of conviction ; because this kind of proof depends on the future accomplishment of the prediction, which often re- quires a long interval of time. It remains then that the visible presence or appearance of Jehovah was the only proper expedient, which suited the early exigences of mankind. Of this appearance, however miraculous, they LECT. xii.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 133 were qualified to judge. For since their first notions of the Author of their being would present him as trans- cendently great, some glorious appearance of his pres- ence, accompanying and giving sanction to sublime and useful discoveries of his will, would coincide with and confirm their natural sentiments. It is probable that mankind in their infancy had no just conceptions of God as an infinite Spirit. Perhaps too a discovery of his spiritual nature was not proper to be communicated at first. The first needful instructions were their depend- ence on and obligations to their Maker. These would be strikingly taught and impressed on their hearts by some august exhibition of his presence, attended with such communications of truth, as suited their puerile state. Instruction, thus addressed to their senses, would find the easiest access, not only to their understandings, but to their feelings and practice. The account, given in the OldTestam.ent, of God's ear- ly dealings with men, especially with his Hebrew church, admirably corresponds with these rational deductions. We have indeed no express narrative of any visible appear- ance of Deity until the time of Abraham. But this need not surprise us, when we consider that the Mosaic histo- ry, prior to this period, consists only of a few leading hints, and often crouds the events of many ages into the compass of a single chapter. But these hints, compared with the subsequent story of the divine conduct, strongly infer that God, from the beginning, conversed with man in a visible manner, that is, by some sensible and glori- ous manifestation of his presence. That he conversed in this mode with our first parents in innocency is suggest- ed by this circumstance, that after they had lost their robe of purity and glory, they .ire said to have " hid 134 LECTURES ON [iect. xii. themselves from the presence," or face, " of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." Does not this in- timate that before their fall they had been accustomed to some visible presence of Jehovah, and to a voice issuing irom this presence ; which voice they no sooner hear in their naked, lapsed condition, than they shrink from that presence, which before they met with rapture ? Might not this visible appearance or symbol of Deity be the same with the cherubims and flaming sv/ord, or rather sword like flame, which were afterward stationed with- out the garden ? A former Hebrew professor of this university remarks, that the original seems to convey this idea by prefixing the emphatic article the to cherubims and sword like flame. Accordingly he renders the text thus — " So he drove out the man, and placed the cheru- bims and the flaming sword at the east of the garden &c." Ihis naturally implies, that before man*s expul- sion these symbols had a different station, perhaps in the middle of the garden, where they might be a standing token of God's favorable presence, to which innocent man might resort for the purposes of religious worship and instruction. As cherubims, and a luminous, often a flaming cloud were afterwards the appointed symbol of Jehovah's presence, we are led by analogy to suppose that they might be so to Adam, who in the infancy of his be- ing needed such a sensible mode of instruction. And as these symbols were placed without the gates of paradise, when man was banished from it, so their new station might be designed not only to prevent his reentrance in- to that happy abode, but to hold out a continued token of God's gracious presence, or to show that man, though barred from the tree of life in Eden, might still have ac- cess to and intercoure with his Maker. This hypothesis LECT. XII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 135 of an early "and stated symbol of the divine presence is confirmed by many passages in the sacred history ; par- ticularly by the story of Cain and Abel. ~ As one main object of these lectures is to explain and recommend the Jewish scriptures; solcannot place theniir- rative ofthese two brothers in so satisfactory a light, as by giving you the ingenious comment of the learned Hebrecian just mentioned. The text informs us that " in process of time Cain and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord." The phrase, " brought an offering to the Lord," indicates that the invisible, omnipresent Jehovah did, in that period of the world, visibly manifest himself in some particular place ; to which all religious oblations were brought. The original expression, here obscurely ren- dered "in process of time," may be justly interpreted, *' at the end of the year ;" that is, probably at the same season of the year, in which the great anniversary atone- ment was afterwards prescribed and performed under the law J for many of the Jewish rites were but new editions or copies of the patriarchal usages. We hence see the reason why Cain's offering was not accepted. ^ It was not of the expiatory and animal kind, which was appointed for this season. His proud spirit felt no need of expia- tion for sin ; and being a tiller of the ground, he chose to bring an offering of his own produce, rather than be indebted to his younger brother, who was a shepherd, for an animal victim. Cain having shown his resentment at the divine preference of Abel's offering, Jehovah thus addresses him — '« Why art thou wroth ? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." This passage m our translation is not only obscure, and too figurative for 136 LECTURES ON [lect. xiu simple naiTvition, but, as our author shows, does vio- lence, in one instance, to the grammar of the original. * He therefore gives the following version as more literal and probable — " If thou doest well, hast thou not the preeminence ? and if thou doest not well, there is a sin offering lying down at the door. And unto thee is his desire, and thou rulest over him." This short passage, thus rendered, intimates the following things, i. That there was then a tabernacle or tent, where the sym- bol of God's presence resided, where offerings were pre- sented, and where Jehovah now conversed with Cain. 2. That Cain, being only a cultivator of land, must have been obliged to Abel for an oblation suited to the season. 3. That there were then animals lying at the door of the tabernacle; and 4. that though these belonged to Abel, yet he would readily yield them on this occasion to an el- der brother, to v/hose superiority he cheerfully submit- ted. The sense therefore of God's address to Cain may be thus expressed — " If thy conduct be good, thou hast a native right to preeminence. And if thy conduct has been wrong, there is still room for an expiatory sacrifice ; animals proper for a sin offering are now lying down at the door ; of these thou mayest freely take ; for thy brother, whose property they are, is cordially subject to thee." The sequel of this story is well known. Cain having persisted in proud impiety and malignity, and having mur- dered his brother, was banished from " the presence, and hid from the face" of Jehovah, that is, from the visible symbol of his presence, and place of his worship ; the consequence of which was, that he and his posterity had no appearance of religion ; on which account his female descendants are styled '' the daughters of men," that is tECt. xii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 137 ftierely human and earthly beings ; while the ofFspring of Seth, who enjoyed God's visible presence and worship, are called the sons of God.*' This idea of God's visible intercourse with good men from the beginning, is also favored by the account of his interviews with Enoch, Noah, and others ; of their " coming to him, and walking with him ;" which im- plies sensible intercourse, like that of two friends walk- ing together. During the patriarchal period, when A- braham, Isaac, and Jacob were sojourners in Canaan, the symbol of the divine presence removed with them from one station to another ; as it afterwards did with the Israelites during their marches and encampments in the wilderness. We accordingly read of frequent ap- pearances of Jehovah to Abraham in the different places, \vhere he resided. We are also told that God appeared to Jacob, as he was going, W'ith his family, into Egypt, and assured him " that he would go with him and bring him up again," that is, that he would accompany and reside with Israel in that country, by the visible symbol of his presence. Having thus proved in general from reason, scripture, and analogy, that God manifested himself to men both before and under the law, in a sensible and local manner ; let us now more distinctly inquire into the nature of this manifestation. It is styled by the sacred writers the pres- ence, the face, the countenance, the name, and the glory of the Lord. By later authors it is called the Scbechinahy that is, the dwelling or tabernacling of God with men» That we may rightly conceive' of it, let us attend a few moments to the structure aiid furniture of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, and then to the manner, in which Jehovah manifested himself in this sacred habitation, S X 155 LECTURES ON [lect. xii. The tabernacle was a moveable tent, erected in the wiU derness ; the temple was a stationary and magnificent building erected by Solomon. As both had the same na- ture and use, a description of either will give us the true design of both. Some eminent writers have contended, that temples had their origin in heathen countries, and that Jehovah conde- scended to gratify the taste of the Hebrews, by setting up among them a religious fabric resembling, yet far exceeding in splendor any of the idol temples. But the Scriptures assign a very different origin and intention to the Jewish tabernacle and temple of the Jews. They represent each of them as designed for the visible palace of Jehovah, as king of that chosen nation. They repre- sent each, as constructed, not with any reference to, nor after the model of heathen temples, but by the sole direction of God, and according to the exact pattern delin- eated by him. And though Strabo describes the antient Egyptian temples, as bearing some similitude to that at Jerusalem ; this fact is easily solved by supposing, that skilful architects of the former emulated the incompara- ble structure of the latter. The Hebrew tabernacle and temple were built of the richest materials. Each was di- vided into two apartments j the outer room was called the holy place ; the inner the holy of holies. The for- mer was furnished with the table of shew bred, the can- dlestick or lamp, and the altar of incense, all of pure gold. These utensils not only suited the notion of a house, in which the King of Israel dwelt ; but the table of bread, of which his ministers and the people*s represen- tatives partook, denoted God's favor to and communion with Israel, as his favorite guests, his covenant people ; the altar of incense fitly represented the ascent and accep- MCT. XII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 139 tance of their prayers and praises, which went up to heaven, while the fragrant incense arose from the altar; the golden candlestick, with its seven lamps, which were lighted anew at the time of every morning and evening sacrifice, was a striking emblem of that moral light, puri- ty, and ardor, with which the church should daily serve and honor her divine King. The inner room called the most holy place, contained the Ark, which was a chest made of the finest wood, overlaid with gold. The cov- er of this chest which consisted of pure gold, was denom- inated the mercy seat, or propitiatory. Under this cover were deposited the two tables of the law ; on the ends of it were placed two cherubims, with their faces inclin- ed toward each other and towards the mercy seat, and their wings stretched out, so as to overshadow it. Upon this cover, and between these cherubims, the symbol of the divine presence resided. " Here, says God to Moses, I will meet with thee, and commune with thee." While Israel thus beheld the visible presence of their King re- siding in the mercy seat, covering the ten command- ments, a transcript of the divine rectitude, how forcibly were they taught that justice, covered or tempered by mercy, were the habitation of his throne, or the basis of his government ! And while they saw him manifesting his glory and his will het'ween the cherubims with out- stretched wings and inclined faces ; how naturally did this teach them that the highest orders of finite and tu- telar spirits, far from being objects of worship, were but the creatures and humble ministers of Jehovah ! If you ask, what this visible symbol of Deity was ? We reply, it was a cloud of glory. When the divine fa- vor was shown, the cloud became shining. Hence those petitions, " thou that dwellest between the cherubims. I40 LECTURES ON [lect.xii, shine forth ; cause thy face to shine upon us, and give us peace.'* The issuing of fire from the cloud, to con- sume the sacrifice, was also a token of divine acceptance, In this way Jehovah probably shewed his respect to Abel and his offering. At other times fire proceeded from the same divine presence, to destroy presumptuous offenders, as in the case of Nadab and Abiha. Hence we read, ^* Our God is a consuming fire." It is worthy of no-r tice, that before the erection of the taber»acle and temple, God usually appeared to his servants in much the same manner. Thus, when he made a covenant with Abra- ham, he passed before him in " a smoking furnace, and a l^u-ning lamp.'* When he appeared to Moses in. Midlan, he exhibited himself in " a flaming fire in the midst of a bush." When he led Israel from Egypt through the desart, "he went before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night." When he visibly descend- ed on Mount Sinai, and published his law, there were lightnings, and fire, and a thick cloud on the Mount. If you ask, v/hy light and flame were chosen, as the emblem of God's presence ; we modestly answer, because light is the most splendid and beneficent object in nature, and the most fit to represent the knowledge and purity, the diffusive presence, goodness, and glory of Deity. It was therefore natural for the wiser heathens to regard the sun, the visible center of light, as the habitation and throne of God. Besides the reasons assigned above for such a local and splendid symbol of the divinity, on which the mind and feelings of untutored man, might easily fix ; it had the further advantage of bringing the divine presence and protection near to the Hebrews •, it made them feel that Jehovah was personally among them, to inspect their I.ECT.XI1.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 141 conduct and circumstances, to guard, direct, and sup- ply them amid a barren and perilous wilderness, to lead them on to ultimate quiet and prosperity, to reward their persevering loyalty to his government, and to punish with prompt severity every wilful transgression. This sensible assurance of the immediate and constant presence of their almighty King was necessary to reconcile and keep them fast to a new and burdensome religion, to ani- mate their courage and eitorts against formidable enemies, to subdue internal discord and sedition, to enforce and to sweeten their subjection to the divine administration. We may add, this emblem of God's presence, though material and confined, had no tendency to encourage su- perstition and idolatry ; for it held up no definite form or similitude, which the spectators could copy ; it repre- sented no corporeal, or tutelar deity, like the pagan Jupi- ter or Osiris, but the only true and universal Divinity ; and though it exhibited this divinity under the symbol of light, yet its westerly station in the tabernacle obliged all ihz v/orshippers to turn their backs on the rising sun, and to pay their homage to a far different and sup.erior object ; and lastly, by requiring the Hebrews to wor- ship one Jehovah, represented by one emblem, fixed in one place, it forcibly inculcated the unity of the godhead, and thus erected an invincible barrier against surround^ ing polytheism and its destructive effects. I4« LECTURES ON [lect. xiri. LECTURE XIIL Appointment of ministers of the Hebrew worship. Their qualifica- tions. Ceremonies, luhich attended their induction into office ; and the duties con7iected with it. jL he long suspension of this as well as other college exercises, makes it proper to remind you that the ground we have travelled embraces, first the civil and second the religious antiquity of the Jews. Under the second head we have shown not only the general fitness of their an- tient ritual, but the special expediency of circumcision, the weekly sabbath, the several kinds of levitical sacrifi- ces, their three great annual festivals, and lastly the visi- ble appearance or symbol of Deity in a luminous or flam- ing cloud, which statedly resided first in the tabernacle; afterward in the temple. Our last lecture was employed in illustrating the nature and expediency of those 'visible appearances^ by which God exhibited himself to his antient worship- pers. As these appearances may seem to contradict the refined ideas, as well as the uniform experience of mod- ern times ; a close attention to the reasons of them was thought necessary, both to display their wisdom, and to confirm their reality. As the infant state of man need- ed this sensible mode of instruction j so the peculiar char- acter and condition of the Hebrews made it indispensa- ble. Figure to yourselves a great and refractory multi- tude, just emancipated from cruel bondage, plunging into a pathless, and barren wilderness, exposed to incessant danger, fatigue, and famine; behold them in this situa- tion required to embrace and stedfastly to adhere to a LECT.xiii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 14,^ scheme of government and religion novel, burdensome, anci extremely opposite to their previous notions and inclina- tions. What could have reconciled and held them to this new order of things, but the personal and glorious resi- dence of Deity among them ? What could have attached their unsuspecting and persevering confidence and sub- mission to the administration of Moses, but the visible presence of God, directing and patronizing his measures ? What but this could have produced that harmony, forti- tude, and energy, which their situation and destiny re- quired ? We find in fact that this alone repressed their murmurings, dispelled their fears, encouraged their duti- ful obedience, and at once gave spirit and success to their arduous enterprises. If we view the matter in a somewhat different light, the importance of some external symbol of the true God will forcibly strike us. The antient heathens courted and ex- ulted in the immediate presence of their false deities. They allured them to reside among them, by splendid im- ages, temples, and offerings. These images and temples they fondly regarded as the fixed habitations of those gods, for whom they were erected. They esteemed it their greatest privilege and glory to have such divine pro- tectors in the midst of them, to whom they could directly repair on every emergency, and for every blessing. The Hebrews, during their abode in Egypt, and by their sub- sequent intercourse with heathen nations, had acquired a strong attachment to these visible emblems. Their weak and prejudiced minds needed a similar indulgence in the worship of Jehovah. The learned Buxtorf there- fore justly observes, that God, by favoring them with sensible tokens of his presence, accommodated himself to their rudeness and infancy, kept them within due lim- i44 LECTURES ON Ci-ect. xiii. Its, and restrained them from idolatry. For had they not been indulged with some symbol of the divinity, that was visible and palpable, they either would not have be- heved in the divine presence with them, or would easily have slidden into idolatry. This is verified by their ea- gerly demanding and actually framing a golden calf, as a visible emblem of Deity, during the absence of Moses in the mount. The omnipresence of the Supreme Spirit was a truth too abstract and profound, to engage the lively faith and steady obedience of a gross and fickle multitude. God therefore thought it expedient to appoint a sensible symbol of his presence, to fix it in his sanctuary, and to make it the grand center of the whole civil government and religious worship of the Hebrews. As he was their supreme Magistrate and King, it was fit that he should have a visible palace in the metropolis of the country, where his royal dignity might be displayed, and from which all his laws and directions might be issued. Such a palace was the temple at Jerusalem. In the inner room of the temple the king of Israel symbolically resided, man- ifested his glory, and gave out his orders. It was equal- ly proper and necessary that all the worship of this select people should be directed to one central point. Accord- ingly the visible presence of Jehovah in his sanctuary v^'as the object to which all their religious services were offer- ed and limited. Although this symbol of God's presence was local and sensible, yet it did not infer the Being rep- resented by it to be a local, material, or tutelar deity. On the contrary, they were abundantly taught that the God of Israel was an infinite Being, whose presence fills heaven and earth, that he was the only true God, and that they were to acknowledge and worship no other deity but him. The pagan theology held up a great plurality and i,Ecf.srii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 145 subordination of gods, which presided over and claimed the homage of particular cities or countries. It also au- thorized an interconunimity of \vorship,th:xt is, it encouraged the votaries of one local god to join in the homage paid to another. But the doctrine of one Jehovah, of one. ex- clusive object of worship, was the fundamental and vital principle of the Hebrew ritual. Accordingly, there was but one divine presence ; but one most holy place, the seat of that presence ; but one altar, at which all the priests were to minister, and on which all sacrifices were to be offered ; and but one temple, consecrated to One infinite Being, who made and fills all things. The whole system of their worship was so adjusted, as to be a perpetual remembrancer of the first and chief of their ten" commandments — " I am Jehovah thy God ; thou shalt have no other gods before me." As the belief and adoration of one supreme Being form the basis of all true piety and virtue ; so all the ceremonies, as well as doctrines, of the Hebrew code were admirably suited to impress this sentiment on the memories, con- sciences, and habits of worshippers. The unity of God was, if I may so speak, embodied, and continually made visible to their senses. How infinitely superior in this respect was their despised ritual to the boasted light of nature ! For though the doctrine of one first and allperfect cause be dictated by sound reason, as well as revelation ; yet the world has 'in fact derived it from the latter source ; and all the antient nations except the Jews, were strangers to this principle, at least to its just and practical influence. For though some of them had an idea of one deity superior to the rest, whom they styled the father of gods and men ; yet they actually paid homage to gods without number, and worshipped T T46 LECTURES ON" [lect. iin, riiem by rites as foolish, impure, and savage, as were the characters of their fancied divinities. This fact strongly evinces the importance of those symbols in the Hebrew worship, which, by constantly pointing it to one object, excluded the fatal evils of polytheism.. It is is also a re- markable fact, that when Jeroboam, at the head of the ten tribes, revolted from the house of David, and set up a new altar, temple, and symbols of deity ; his departure from the unity of the Hebrew worship directly introduc- ed and permanently established the most corrupting idol- atry. The inference from this fact is obvious. We might assign many other reasons, why the visible presence and worship of Jehovah were fixed in his temple at Jerusalem. This arrangement promoted brotherly af- fection and national union among the Jewish people, by mingling them frequently together in the most solemn and endearing exercises, in the presence of their common Father and God. It prevented those superstitious and endless abuses, which would have arisen, had each indi- vidual been allowed a private altar and worship. It was especiallly fitted to draw them off from worshipping in groves and high places, which- the former inhabitants of Canaan had prostituted to the most obscene and idola- trous rites, and which held out very dangerous a,llurements «X) the Israelites. In a word, this public national worship, performed in the capital city, gave splendor and publici- ty to the true religion ; it proclaimed to surrounding na- tions that the God of Israel was the one supreme Jeho- vah, and that the Jewish people were his church, estab* lished and protected by his auspicious presence. When the neighboring nations beheld all the Hebrew citizens frequently leaving their territory and families without any human defence, and resorting without inconvenience or danger to the center of national worship j was not this XECT. XIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES, 147 spectacle a public and divine attestation to the Jewish re- ligion ? Was it not admirably fitted to diffuse the knowl- edge and recommend the service of the true God to the Gentile world ? Having thus contemplated the appointed seat and em- blem of the divine presence among the Israelites, and seen their manifold utility, let us now survey the 7ninis' ters of the Hebrew worship, or the persons selected to preside in the public offices of religion. Every religious es- lablishment requires an order of men to perform its pub- lic rites. The Mosaic economy restricted this order to a certain tribe, viz. that of Levi. In the patriarchal ages the father of the first born of every family exercised the priestly office. But this hereditary prerogative un- checked would in time give rise to the greatest abuses* To remedy these was one capital object of the levitical ^dispensation, which not only confined the sacerdotal order to one family, but subjected it in every punctilio to the divine direction. It also afi:orded the expectants of this office every motive and opportunity to become qualified for it ; and when initiated ;into it, to give themselves up to its duties, as their subsistence was wiiolly derived from this source. These religious officers consisted of three grades, the high priest, the priests, and the Levites. The first grade was an hereditary office in the family of Aaron, and generally descended to the firstborn son of every gen- eration. As the high priest was the prime minister of religion, the ritual minutely prescribes his qualifications, his induction, and his official duties. We will take a cursory view of each,and point out its fitness and utility. As it was a necessary qualification for this office to be descended from Aaron ; so the law further directs that the hi^h priest shall not marry "a divorced womaa, a I ^45 LECTURES ON [lect. xin. profane person, or a harlot," but shall unite himself to one of a pure and honorable character. This was a wise provision to preserve the virtue and dignity of the priest- hood, to protect from the least blemish the important and delicate reputation of this sacred order, whose hon- or is so closely connected with that of God and religion. The wisest heathens, particularly the antient Greeks and Romans, carefully preserved the honor of marriages, and interdicted such as were unsuitable and debasing. Was it not then worthy of God to provide for the unsullied purity and respectability of a family consecrated to him- self; especially as this provision would naturally excite the members of it to a universal decency and dignity of character ? Did it not become the divine wisdom to pre- vent or exterminate those pagan customs, which pro- nounced the offspring of the most abominable incests the best qualified for sacred employments ? For similar rea- sons the ritual also required the priests to be free from such natural defects or blemishes, as might degrade their high function in the view of the multitude. It also required, that all, who were found qualified, should be properly inducted into office ; and it regulated the whole ceremony of this induction. This ceremonial chiefly consisted in washing them with water, putting on them the sacerdotal garments, anointing them with oil, and applying the consecrating blood of a victim to their ears, their hands, and their feet. These costly, multi- plied, and pompous rites do not exactly accord, either with the philosophical refinement, or the christian sim- phcity of modern times. But this is no objection to their propriety in the early ages. Mankind then need- ed a visible language, a language, which should strike their bodily sight, and through this their hearts. What LECT. Xiii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 149 could better answer this end, than the ceremonies here prescribed ; while washing the body with water was physically necessary, and frequently used, in those warm eastern climes ; it was easily and commonly transferred, both among Jews and pagans to point out and enforce pu- rity of heart, or to represent the importance of a mind cleansedfrom sin, inorder to the acceptable service of God. This rite is so plain and significant, that it is adopted as a ^religiousceremonybythesimple dispensation of the Gospel. With respect to the garments, in which the priests were to officiate, it was proper that these should be regu- lated by the divine law, that no room might be left for the wild operation of human fancy, or the in- trusion of heathen idolatry. The rites of pagan wor- ship respecting the dress of the priests were in some in- stances highly indecent, and in all superstitious. It was fit that the ministers of Jehovah should be secured from the least participation in such idolatrous customs. It was fit that their whole apparel should display a decorum, a beauty, and a grandeur, becoming the presence of that King in whose court they attended, and fitted to impress both themselves and the people with the sacred impor- tance of their character, and to inspire both with rever- ence and purity in the service of God. Agreeably, the holy scriptures represent these garments as designed emblems of those inward graces, which are the prop- er dress and beauty of the soul. The anointing of the priests with precious oil, in the name of Jehovah, was an expressive act, by which they were visibly dedicated to their office, invested with its authority, and encouraged them to expect a divine unction or benediction in dis- charging it. Agreeably, Jesus the Son of God is called the Messiah and Christy both which signify ihe anointed^ ISO LECTURES ON [iect.xiii. and are explained by the declaration, that God anointed him with the Holy Ghost and with power. The last part of this solemnity consisted of a three- fold sacrifice. 1 he first was a si?i offering, to denote that they must in the first place be purged from their sins, in order to their acceptably appearing in the holy presence of God. The second was a zuhole burnt offering, an obla^ tion of sweet savor, signifying that being now purified from guilt, they were received into the divine friendship, as a sweet savor of rest and peace, and were entirely de- voted to the sacred olHce, as the burnt offering was whol- ly consumed on God's altar. The third was called the ram of consecration, or 3. peace offering. The blood of this victim was partly sprinkled on God's altar, as an offer- ing to him, and partly on Aaron and his sons, as a con- secration of them to the sacerdotal function, A portion of this sacrifice was reserved, to be eaten by the priests at the door of the tabernacle, to show that they were now admitted as guests at God's table. The application of a part of this blood to the right ears, hands, and feet of the priest strikingly admonished them that, being now consecrated to God, they must hear his word with attention, perform his will with promptitude and energy, and constantly walk in his statutes. The official duties of this order consisted not only in presenting the victims appointed for every occasion, but in attending to all the other services of the temple. They were expressly charged to instruct the people in all God's statutes and .wei-e authorised to interpret and apply the laws to every dubious or controverted case.* They were to sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to * l«Tit, X. II, Deut. xrii. 9.10. and xxxiii, 10. LECT.xin.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 15* bless the people in his name.* Beside these common duties of the priestly office, there were two great pre- rogatives peculiar to the high priest, viz. the privilege of appearing before God in the most holy place on the day of atonement, and the privilege of consulting the divine oracle on important occasions, whether civil or religious. As mankind in the first ages had probably abused the easy access, which they had, to the visible presence of God J he thought it expedient in after times, to limit this presence to the holy of holies, and to appropriate the liberty of access to the high priest. In what manner this officer approached and consulted the oracle, and re- ceived its answer, on great questions, was formerly ex- plained, ^ Beside this prime minister of religion, and the subor- dinate priests, who belonged to the family of Aaron, there was a third order of ecclesiastics, called Levites^ comprising the remaining part of the tribe of Levi. These were inferior agents, who performed the more la- borious services of the tabernacle and temple, and assist- ed in the great work of instructing the people. When God smote the first born of the Egyptians, and spared the first born of Israel, he claimed the special service of the latter, as a due acknowledgment for this distinpjuish- ing mercy ; but in place of this service, and as a memo- rial of this wonderful act of goodness, he accepted and consecrated these Levites in the room of all the first born of Israel. Accordingly, Vv'hen the former were to be initiated into their office, the first born Israelices laid their hands upon them, to recognize the claim of Jeho- vah to their own personal service, to ratify the substitu- tion of the Levites in their place, and to express their • Levit. ix. 22. Numb, vi. 23. Deut. xxi. j. I5i LECTURES ON [lect. xni. Solemn engagement to treat them as their representatives and ministers in the worship of God. These Levites were also dedicated to their employment by certain rights of purification and atonement, and by a public act of the high priest, offering them to the immediate service of Je- hovah. These ceremonies tended to impress both them and the people with the awful dignity of their function, and to enforce that inward reverence and practical holi- ness, which become the public officers of religion. Before I dismiss this topic, I would remark, that each of these religious orders had an important share in the civil and forensic administration. However improper such a mixture of political and spiritual employment may be in other establishments ; in the Jewish state it was highly expedient ; for religion was eminently the object and basis of the Hebrew commonwealth, it was essential to all its political interests •, a departure from the true religion was high treason against the constitution and King of Israel. Most of their civil statutes were chiefly- intended to guard and promote the pure worship of God. Hence the ministers of this worship would properly and even necessarily bear a part in explaining and executing those statutes. It was also most wise and salutary to ex- alt the credit and influence of these ministers, by thus clothing them with civil dignity ; as this would heighten theeflect of their religious ministrations, on which depend- ed the welfare and even existence of their commonwealth. iECT.xiv.3 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 153 LECTURE XIV. Punishments inflicted on those^ who assumed the priestly office, De- scription of the priestly garments. JlIaVING in our last lecture given a general account of the Jewish priests, of their qualifications, their induction to office, and their appropriate duties ; we shall subjoin some further observations on this distin- guished order of men, tending at once to vindicate their appointment, and throw light on various passages of scripture. We have already hinted that,before the establishment of the Hebrew ritual, the father of every family officiated as priest in performing its sacred rites, or in offering domes- tic sacrifices. Thus when Cain and Abel brought each of them an offering to Jehovah, it is probable that they delivered them to Adam, that he might present them as their common head. Thus Noah immediately after the preservation of his family from the deluge, offered a sac- rifice for himself and his household ;* and Job " offered burnt offerings for his sons and his daughters, according to the number of them all.f This domestic function probably descended from the father to the eldest son. " When in process of time several families were united into one civil community, the chief magistrate of the so- ciety officiated as its priest.*' Thus Melchizedek was both king and priest in Salem ; and Moses J as under God, the governor of Israel, acted as priest in the solemn na- tional sacrifice offered on occasionof their first entering in- to covenant with God. On that occasion Moses took the blood of the sacrifice, and sprinkled it upon the altar, and * Gen. viii. %o, f Job i. j. | Exod. xxiv. 6, ?. u 154 LECTURES ON [lect. xiv. upon the people, as a seal of the compact now formed between Jehovah and them. But when God had perfectly settled their national constitution, the public sacerdotal office was appropriat- ed to Aaron and his posterity ; and it was made a cap- ital crime for any other persons to intrude into this em- ployment. Hence when Korah and his associates, who were not of Aaron's family, though of the same tribe, invaded, this office, they were made signal monuments of divine vengeance ; and the priesthood was confirmed anew to Aaron and his descendants by the appointed mir- aculous token of the budding of his rod.* After this estab- Kshment, rt was equally presumptuous for the king to exercise this function, as for the meanest of his subjects. Thus when king Uzziah undertook to burn incense upon the altar in the temple of the Lord, from a proud ambi- tion of equalling the pagan monarchs, he was instantly struck with a perpetual leprosy, and banished forever from the house of Jehovah, and the government of his people.f But here it may be objected, that we read of several kings, judges, and prophets, who did not belong to thesacerdotalfamilyjand yet occasionally officiated aspriests without incurring the divine censure. Thus the prophet Samuel, who was of the tribe of Ephraim, on one occa- sion, according to his custom, " blessed the sacrifice ;" and on another, " oifered a lamb for a burnt offering.'*} The prophet Elijah too, in his famous contest with and triumph over the prophets of Baal, directed them to sac- rifice a bullock to their idol, while he himself offered another to Jehovah. § We find also that kings Saul, Da- vid, and Solomon, on several urgent or great occasions, offered sacrifices, or publickly prayed and blessed thepeo- * Numbers xvi. lo, 31 — 33. and Numb. xvii. f a Chron. xjcvi, 16, ai. i Sam. ix. 13^. and^vii. 9. §1 Kings xviii, 30. L^cT.xiv.] JEWISH ANTlQUrriES. .155 pie ;* all which acts were peculiar to the priestly office. The best solution of this difficulty is, either that these prophets and kings are said to do what the priests did by their order ; or rather that they were prompted by a spe- -cial divine impulse to do that on extraordinary occasions^ which they were forbidden to do in ordinary cases ; in other words, the same infinite Sovereign, who enacted the law, authorized them in these instances to depart from the letter of it. In our last discourse we observed in general that the sacerdotal vestments were minutely and very fitly pre- scribed by Deity ; and that they were decent, beautiful, and magnificent. It may be a useful entertainment to your curiosity to view these garments more distinctly. For as these form no inconsiderable part of Jewish Anti- quities ; as they occupy a conspicuous place not only in the most learned authors, but even in the sacred volume, and tend to throw light both on scripture and other an- tient writings ; and as I am sure you will attend to this and every other article of sacred antiquity with candor and serious respect ; I will therefore give you a distinct but concise view of the several parts of dress appropriate to the priestly order, abridged chiefly from two great wri- ters. These garments were eight in number j four were common to all the priests ; the other four were peculiar to the high priest. The former were called the linen gar- jnents, and consisted of drawers, the coat, the girdle, and the bonnet. The drawers v/ere prescribed for the ex- press purpose of." covering their nakedness," that is, to preserve the priests from an indecorous and ludicrous ap- pearance, when they stood aloft on the altar, over the heads of the people^ or when their service demanded a vav ♦ I Sam., xiii. 5. 2 Sam. vi. 17, 18. i Kicgs xviii. 30. tsS LECTURES ON [lect. xiv. riety of of bodily gestures in the view of the multitude. This garment prevented those shameful exposures of their bodies, either through accident or superstitious design, which some heathen idolaters esteemed honorable and even religious in the worship of their gods. A learned writer with good reason supposes that no such article of dress was used in Noah's time, from the circumstance of his being found uncovered in his tent j nor among the Jews, except by their priests in the days of Moses and of David, from several intimations in their history and law ;* nor even among the later Romans ; as appears from Martial's ludicrous description of a person sacrificmg; and from the account given by Suetonius of Julius Cesar's behaviour, when he found himself expiring by the strokes of the conspirators.! We may therefore justly trace this decent part of dress to the divine law respecting the He- brew priests. The second garment was the chetnet or coat ; which was a broidered or thick checkered linen. Dr. Jennings observes that the form of this garment is not delineated in scripture, except in the visionary appearance of Christ to St. John in the habit of a priest, related in the first chapter of his apocalypse ; where he is represented as *' clothed with a garment down to his feet." This per- fectly accords with the description of the sacerdotal coat by Jewish writers. The next garment prescribed to the priests was zgirdky made of linen curiously embroidered ; which was a long sash, intended to bind the coat closely around them, and thus to serve at once the purposes of warmth and • Deut. XXV. II. a Sam. x. 4,5. Lib. iii. Epigram 24. Ipse super virides »ras luctantia pronus — Dum resecat cultro colla, premitque manu, ingens iratis apparuit hernia sacris. •f In vita Jul. Cesaris, cap. 82. Toga caput obvolvit ; simul sinistra manu sinum «d ima crura deduxit, ^uo hocestius caderet ; etiam inferiore corporis parte velata. LECT. XIV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 157 strength, of convenience and ornament. Josepbus tells us that it wd.s woven hollow, like the skin of a snake, and thus answered the double use of a girdle and a purse. To this latter use girdles were antiently applied both among the Jews, and Romans. Hence Horace says in the second epistle of his second book — " Ibit eo, quo vis, qui zonam perdidit.'* Zona?n perdere is a latin phrase for being a bankrupt. Our Savior too, when he sent out his disciples to preach, enjoined them to provide neith- er gold nor silver nor brass, eis tas zootias, in their girdles or purses. The fourth garment was tbe bo7inet ; which was a lin- en cap for the head, in the form of a half sphere. Jose- phus says it was like a linen helmet, one wreath be- ing plaited and folded over another, and a thin cover- ing put overall to prevent its unfolding or growing slack. By this covering it was securely fastened to the head, so that it could not fall off in the time of service. In short, it resembled the turban among the eastern nations. Besides these common priestly vestments, the ritual provided for the high priest garments far more rich and splendid. These were distinguished by the name of the golden garments, because they were wrought with gold, as well as purple and scarlet. The first of these was the blue robe. " This, accord- ing to Dr. Lightfoot, was without any sleeves, and con- sisted of two pieces, one of which hung before, and the other behind. In the middle was an opening through which the priest put his head. From the collar down- ward the pieces were parted, and his arms came out be- tween them. At the lower end of each piece were thir- ty six small golden bells with clappers, and pomegranates of needle work between every bell." As the pomegran- 158 LECTURES ON [lect. xiv. ates added to the beauty of the robe, so the sound of the bells gave notice to the people in the outer court, of the high priest's entrance into the holy- place, to burn incense, that they might then 'ap- ply themselves to their devotions, as an expression of their concurrence with him in his offering, and of their hope that their prayers, accompanied with the in- cense he offered, would ascend as a fragrant odor before God. The opening at the top of this garment, which is expressed in Hebrew by the mouth or collar of the robe, may throw light on a beautiful passage in the hundred and thirty third Psalm, which describing the sweetness of brotherly love, compares it to the precious ointment poured on the head of Aaron, which ran down to the skirts of his gannents, that is, as the original properly sig- nifies, to the mouth or collar of his robe ; not to the low- er skirts or bottom of his garments, as our poetical ver- sions render it ; for it is utterly improbable that God would direct such costly and beautiful vestments to be de- faced with oil, as soon as they were put on. The idea therefore seems to be, that the consecrating ointment flow- ed down to the extremity of his hair and his beard, which probably extended as lovv as the upper edge or collar of his garment. This in antient times was esteemed both ornamental and refreshing. Hence oil is said to make man's face to shine. The continuance of this custom to the time of our Savior appears from one of his fe- male friend's pouring precious ointment on his head, and from his reproving Simon the Pharisee, who en- tertained him at his house, for neglecting this common mark of civility. If it be objected that the splendid dress of the high priest must at least have been greatly deform- pd by the ceremony, used at his consecration, of sprink- LECT. XIV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 159 Jing blood upon it ; we reply, the Hebrew word in this in- stance signifies sprinkling in a very small quantity, and may denote that Moses dipped his finger in the blood, and by touching the garments in one particular place impres- sed God*s mark upon them, and thus consecrated them to him. The second peculiar vestment of the high priest was the ephod, so called from a Hebrew verb, signifying to gird or to bind. Josephus and the Septuagint call it in greek B'Troofug, importing something worn on the shoul- ders. It was like a short cloak, reaching down to the feet behind ; while before it hung down in a rectangular form, about the length of a cubit. It had a rich button on each shoulder, made of a large onyx stone set in gold ^ so large, that the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraven, six on each stone. To the ephod there belonged a curious golden girdle, which, being woven into it on each side, was brought under the arms like a sash, and tied upon the breast. The third garment was called the breast plate of Judg- ment, because the high priest always wore it, when he consulted the oracle, which gave forth judicial answers in great and doubtful cases. Thi-s breast plate, which consisted of the same rich materials with the ephod, was two spans in length, and one in breadth ; a-nd folding up double, it was a span square. It was fastened upon the ephod by chains and rings of gold at the four corners. It was also adorned with four rows of jewels, set in sock- ets of gold, three jewels in a row. On these twelve jew- els were engraven the names of the twelve patriarchs or tribes of Israel. These jewels, thus engraved, are called Urim and Thummim, which signify light and perfection* As the use of this breast plate was to enquire of God, i6o LECTURES ON [lect.xit. and to receive and publish his decision on great occa- sions ; so these two woMs were probably inscribed on or woven into it, to signify that the answers given on such occasions should he luminous and complete. As God was the political King of the Hebrews, the high priest was of course his minister of state ; and these names worn on his breast, when he went to ask counsel of his sovereign, were a fit pledge and medium of divine direction. At the same time his bearing the names of the twelve tribes both on his shoulders and heart, when he appeared before God, forcibly instructed him to cher- ish the tenderest affection, and to exert his utmost power for their welfare. It also comforted them with the as- surance, that though they were personally debarred from the most holy place, yet they really had access by the high priest, who wore their names on his breast, and feel- ingly represented their interests. I cannot forbear ad- ding that we are fully authorized to view the Jewish high priest, as typifying our Lord Jesus, who carries the whole christian church on his shoulders, as their all pow- erful King and support ; who, as their Priest and Inter- cessor, constantly appears before God, with their names and interests engraven on his heart ; and who, as their Oracle, as the true light and Prophet of his people, fully declares the divine will. It is proper to subjoin, that w^hen the high priest appeared before the ark, to ask counsel of God, the answer was probably given by an audible voice from the mercy seat. But if he were at a distance from the ark, as Abiathar was, when on two sev- eral occasions he inquired of the Lord for David,* the answer was then given either by a voice from heaven, or by a secret impulse on the mind of the high priest. This oracle was finally lost in the Babylonish captivity. * 1 Sam. xxiii, 9, ii. and XaX. 7, 8. LECT. XIV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. i6i The last peculiarity in the dress of the high priest was a crozvn or ?jiifre, on the front of which was a plate or leaf of gold, bearing this motto, Holiness to the Lord, This inscription, engraven in deep characters, and placed on his forehead, strongly reminded him that his public ministrations and private deportment must be eminently holy, must be an open transcript of the divine purity, and wholly dedicated to the divine honor. In like manner piety, or a heart and life devoted to God, should be written on the forehead, should be the most prominent and commanding feature of every one, who designs or is engaged in the christian priesthood. Without this he wants the distinguishing spirit and badge of his ofEce, and cannot discharge it either with satisfaction or honor, with fidelity or success. Having thus introduced you to God's antient minis- ters, arrayed in the full dress of their profession, I will dismiss this subject with a few general remarks. 1. The priests wore this dress, only when they offici- ated. This suggests one solution of St. Paul's behavior before the Jewish council, recorded in the twenty third chapter of Acts ; I mean his declaration, that he did not know that Ananias was high priest. For Ananias at this time was not engaged in any sacerdotal duty, and of course could not be distinguished by his dress. And as Paul had been long absent from Jerusalem, he might not per- sonally know him, or at least might be ignorant that he was high priest at that juncture. This is the more sup- poseable on account of the frequent and violent changes in this office, which happened in those times. 2. These garments were provided at the public ex- pence, or by the free donations of the people,* and were * Ezra ii. 68, 9. Nehem. vii. 70, 7». w i62 LECTURES ON [Lect. xiv. by them appropriated, not to particular persons, but to the use of the order. 3. None of the priests had any covering assigned ei- ther to their hands or feet. As their sacrificial duties would not well consist with a covering on the former j so making bare the feet was thought a due mark of vene- ration for the divine presence, even before, as well as under the law. Thus Moses and Joshua were required to put off their shoes from their feet, when Jehovah on different occasions honored them with his visible pres- ence. We may add here, that the Jews also esteemd it an expression of reverence to worship God with their heads covered. Agreeably, both their priests and peo- ple have constantly maintained this usage, as a sign of their conscious unworthiness to look up in the divine presencCo When God appeared to Moses and to Elijah, ^jjc are told that each of them hid or covered his face.* The cherubims, in the vision of Isaiah, are introduced covering their faces with their wings in the presence of Jehovah. Virgil, in the third book of his Eneid, like- wise represents the antient Romans as performing their rehgious ceremonies with a veil on their heads.f The Greeks, on the contrary, as Macrobius informs us,attend- ed their sacred rites bareheaded. Hence St. Paul, in a letter to the Corinthians, who were Greeks says, " Ev- ery man praying or prophesying with his head covered, dishonoreth his head," that is, he dishonors Christ his Lord by a practice, which, according to the Grecian cus- tom, denoted want of humility and reverence. The apostle in the same chapter declares that " the woman, who prays to God uncovered, dishonors her head,'* be- cause she throws off the common token of subjection to ♦ Exod, iii, 6. i Kings xix. 13. f Line 403, &c. and 543, &c. tECT. XIV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 163 the man, and by affecting his dress confounds the distinc- tion of sexes, and aspires to that superiority, which God has denied her. The general spirit of this reasoning will apply to all countries and ages ; that is, it obliges peo- ple of both sexes to worship God with such circumstanc- es of dress and behavior, as the customs of different re- gions have rendered decent and respectful, 4. We have already glanced at the moral instruction, which was presented by the sacerdotal apparel, as well as by other sensible symbols of the early ages. In allusion to the linen garments of the priests, the church of Christ is said to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white j which, we are told, signifies the righteousness of samts. In the same allusive style christians are called a holy na- tion and a royal priesthood, to show forth the praises of God. In a word, the ceremonial worship at large, and the Jewish priests in particular, are said to be " a shad- ow or type of spiritual and heavenly things." The Jewish writers have discovered, it seems, ?i world of philosophy in these vestments. According to Jose* phus and Philo, the high priests lin.en garment representp ed the body of the earth ; the glorious robe, which en- compassed it, heaven ; the bells and pomgranates, thun- der and lightning. Or, the ephod of various colors is the universe ; the breastplate, the earth in its centre ; the girdle, the sea ; the oynx stone on each shoulder, the sun and moon ; the twelve jewels in the breast plate, the twelve signs of the zodiac ; the mitre, heaven ; and the golden plate, with the name of God engraven on it, the splendor of Jehovah in heaven." Some christian di- vines have allegorised them in a manner equally extrava- gant. But such wild comments serve no other purpose, than to spread an air of romance, of uncertainty, and l64 LECTURES ON [lect. xiv. ridicule over these sacred things. It is sufficient for us to be assured that these minute prescriptions were adapt- ed to wise and excellent purposes in the puerile state of the church ; in particular that they served the general uses of an emblematical and typical religion, intended to impress moral and spiritual truth by sensible and striking representations. LECT.xv.] JEWISEI ANTIQUITIES. i6j LECTURE XV. Answers to various inquiries and objections respecting the Jewish priesthood* JTAAVING given you some account of the Jew- ish priesthood, I will dismiss this topic after stating and answering a few inquiries and objections, which the sub- ject itself, or sceptical ingenuity has suggested. Firsts it is natural to inquire, why such a vast number of men, viz. a whole tribe, should be called off from useful secular employments to the service of the temple ? Might not this service have been decently performed by fewer hands, and in a style far more simple and econom- ical ? We reply first, it was necessary, for reasons here- tofore given, that the religion of the antient Hebrews should embrace many pompous and striking ceremonies, and consequently that many persons should be appointed to superintend and perform them. Secondly, as Jeho- vah, for important reasons, assumed the twofold charac- ter of the political and spiritual Sovereign of that peo- ' pie ; so the priests and Levites ministered to Him in both these capacities. They at once served at his court, and attended on his altar. To display his royal dignity, to at- tach the respect and obedience of his subjects, and thus to secure the great ends of the theocracy, it was requi- site that the splendor of his court, and the number of his ministers should bear some analogy to those of other monarchs. Hence third, the duties assigned to the Le- vitical Order were so numerous and diversified, so critic- al and momentous, as to furnish a whole tribe with ade. quate and useful employment. For while some officiat- ed at the temple in Jerusalem, the rest were occupied in i66 LECTURES ON [lect. xv. the several districts of the community, in expounding the law, administring justice, and thus promoting the knowledge, order, and virtue of their fellow citizens. This leads to a Second Enquiry, by what means was this numerous or- der maintained ? Must not the support of so many eccle- siastics have operated as a grievous tax upon their labo- rious brethren ? To resolve this question, I must remind you that the several tribes of Israel, except that of Levi, ■were settled by lot in so many distinct provinces of Ca- naan, each having a separate government, subordinate to that of the whole, and each possessing an equal por- tion of territory according to its number of citizens. But the sons of Levi, instead of living together, like the rest, in one body politic, and proprietors of one dis- trict, were dispersed through all the tribes, without any distinct power or property of their own, and conse- quently depended on their fellow citizens both for sub- si6tence and protection. It was made a perpetual statute, that ihe Levites, as a tribe, should possess no landed in- heritance, but that an annual tithe should'be paid them by their brethren, as a reward for that religious service, to which they were separated. The wisdom and equity of this constitution may be easily discovered. As the Le- vites were charged with those civil and religious services to Jehovah, which would otherwise have been incumbent on the whole nation ; so the rest of the tribes were by this expedient released from the expense and toil of per- sonal service, and of course were bound to recompense those, w^ho performed these offices in their stead- The peculiar function of the Levites made it highly unsuita- ble, that they should be embodied together, possess land, and be subject to agricultural and mihtary duty, hke their LECT. XV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 167 fellow citizens. It was necessary that they should enjoy full liberty for their public duties, and that they should he spread abroad through the whole community ; that each tribe might equally share in their instructions and services. This order then had a just claim to a gener- ous public support. This claim rested on several grounds. It rested on their dignified character, as ministers of that civil and religious constitution, which was framed and ex- ercised by God himself. It rested on their beneficent services, in teaching the people, and relieving them from a personal attendance on the tabernacle. It rested on ihis circumstance, that the Levites parted with their own inheritance in territory to the public, and therefore had a right to an equivalent. I have largely stated these claims, to fortify you against those ignorant or malevo- lent cavils, which hold up the Jewish religion, as an art- ful contrivance to draw all the wealth of the people into the coffers of a useless and a covetous priesthood. As a further confutation of these cavils, I will distinctly show you the manner and degree of that provision which the law made for the Levites. This provision consisted of two articles ; first, a yearly tithe of the produce of the lands, payable by all the tribes; and second, forty eight cities for the residence of themselves and their fam- ilies. The tithe was a tenth part both of the animal and vegetable produce. With respect to the former the law stands thus, " concerning the tithe of the herd or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.'* The learned Selden in- forms us, that their mode of tithing agreeably to this law was as follows — " They med to shut the lambs, for instance, in a sheepcoat, where the straitness of the door permitted but one to come out at once. Then open- 1 68 LECTURES ON [lect. xv. ing the door, and causing them to run out in succession, a Servant standing at the door, with a rod colored with oker, solemnly counted to the tenth, which tenth he marked with his rod ; which explains the expression of ** passing under the rod." The tithe of cattle then, which was paid to the Levites, was merely the tenth lamb, calf, &c. which were annually produced ; and not as some have misrepresented it, a tenth part of all the beasts, which were fed in the Hebrew pastures, and of all the yearly income, which they afforded. The tithe of vegetable produce was a tenth of the product of the arable lands and fruit grounds, which probably were not more than a third part of the whole country ; so that this tax, compared with the aggregate yearly produce of the territory, was but one third of a tenth, or a little more than three per cent. Besides this annual tribute of the Levites, there were other revenues to defray the constant charge of the tem- ple and the national worship, and to support, if I may so speak, the table and household of the King of Israel. For instance, the law directed a second tithe, to be employed by the people in making a yearly feast for themselves and their households in some apartment of the temple, as a to- ken of their grateful joy in the divine bounty, and to this entertainment they were commanded to admit the Le- vites. This was called by the Jews the owner's tithe, be- cause it was chiefly spent in entertaining the proprietors themselves. Every third year it was spent at their own place of abode, and was peculiarly devoted to the re- freshment of the poor, the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless.* This was usually called ih^poor man's tithe. The people were also directed to bring some of theiryfrj^ •Deut. xii. 17, 18. xiv. %%, 29. LECT. XV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. - 169 ff-uitSy and present them in the house of the Lord ; which fruits were to be eaten by those priests who then waited in the paiace of Jehovah.* The donations now mention- ed alForded only occasional refreshment to some of the levitical order, but formed no part of their stated provi- sion. The law further enjoined that the first bornhoih of men and of beasts should be offered to the Lord ; but it also provided that the first born of men and of un- clean animals should be redeemed by a sum of money paid in their stead ; while those of other beasts were to be sacrificed. t But neither of these formed any part of the Levite-s' portion ; for what was sacrificed could be eaten only by the priests in actual waiting ; and the mo- ney paid for the others was appropriated to the repairs, ornaments, and offerings of the sanctuary, and to other public expenses. There was also a poll tax of half a shekel, or about two shillings and three pence sterling, whivh the law imposed for adorning the tabernacle in the wilderness, and which, in later periods, was continued for public exigencies. But this, instead of going to the priests, was equally levied upon them, as upon the oth- er citizens. I It appears that only one of the taxes abovenamed was appropriated to the sacred order, viz. a tenth of the annu- al increase, produced by a minor part of the national property. The remaining contributions formed the whole revenue for supporting the government, laws, and religion of the nation. This revenue, compared with the public demands, is certainly one of the most frugal, that antient or modern history can furnish. As the Levites had no distinct landed inheritance, and as they, as well as others, needed so me fixed and conven- • I>eut.Mvi..7 &c. f Exod. xviii, jj &c. and Num.xIIi. 13. J Exod. xxx. XL 170 LECTURES ON [lkct. xv. Jent habitations; the law assigned thtm forty eight cities m the midst of the other tribes ; thirteen of which cities belonged to the priests, and were for the most part situ- ated near to Jerusalem, where those officers were called frequently to attend ; while the other thirty five were distributed by lot to the rest of the Levites.* These forty eight cities were so many pul^lic seminaries plant- ed in all the Hebrew provinces, where the ministerial or- der studied the law, and diffused the knowledge and ob- servance of it. Of these, six were selected as cities of refuge, to which persons, who had committed involunta- ry or accidental homicide, might flee for protection. Each of these cities with its suburbs contained four thou-- sand square cubits,t that is, on the largest computation, eleven hundred and one acres. Of course the total area of the forty eight cities will amount to fifty two thou- sand eight hundred and forty eight acres; which was not a two hundreth part of the Hebrew territory. This moderate proportion of the country was intended not only to furnish the Levites and their families with habita- tions, but to afford them small fields and vineyards, J for their needful amusement, and a part of their subsistence, when they retired from their attendance on the sanctua- In short, when we view the great sacrifices and services of this order, and duly compare these particulars with the recompense they received, we are struck in this in- stance with the simplicity, moderation, and justice of the Hebrew provisions. The ideas now suggested lead us to inquire Thirdly, why God suspended the support of the priest- hood on a precarious annuity ? Why did he not make it * N«rn. XXXV. Josh. xxi. | Numb, xtw. 4- J- \ Levit. xxv. 34. lECT. XV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. . lyr more independent and certain by investing his ministers with a competent share of unalienable property in lands ? In addition to the reply already hinted, we answer first, because a large landed interest would engross their time with secular business, their minds with temporal cares, and their hearts with worldly affections, and thus would ali- enate them from those sacred duties, which demand their entire and fervent attention. We find that those clergymen for the most part but poorly discharge the ministerial function, who, from necessity or choice, " en- tangle themselves with the affairs of this life.'* Those establishments therefore, which preclude the necessity, the temptatTon, or the possibility of such entanglement, are most friendly to clerical usefulness, and to the public good. Secondly, it is a favorite objection of infidels an^ libertines against priests, that they generally possess exorbitant power and influence in the state, and that in most cases they derive these from their great independent revenues, and in particular from their territorial posses- sions. Now the antient Levitical institution is wholly free from this objection ; and probably one design of this was, to prevent the ecclesiastics from gaining an undue ascendancy in the commonwealth. Thirdly, this arrange- ment furnished the Levites, not only with full leisure, but the strongest engagements to diligence and fidelity, particularly in the great duty of teaching and enforcing the divine laws.* For their subsistence very much der pended on the people's exact knowledge and observance of these laws. So far as the people were deficient in this knowledge and obedience, they would fail of those punc- tual oblations and contributions, prescribed in the law, • That this duty was amain branch of the levitical office, appears from Lev. ».a. Deut. xxxiii. lO. II Chron.xvii. J, 8, 30, 22. Neh. -viii. 7, 9. Mal.ii. 4, '>•. 171 LECTURES ON [lect. xv. by which the sacerdotal order was maintained. Fourth- ly, this establishment gave the people ample scope to dis- play their pious gratitude and liberality to their spiritual instructors, and thus of drawing more closely the bonds of their mutual affection. The dependent state of this class, joined with their benevolent labors, frequently roused the solicitous and generous attentions of the peo- ple; insomuch that Philo, speaking of the zeal of the Jews in his time, in bringing the first fruits, 8zc. says, ** that they prevented the demand of them, and paid them even before they were due, as If they had been receiving rather than giving a benefit ; and that boch sexes brou[i,ht them in with a readiness, alacrity, and studious zeal, which were beyond expression.'* Fifthly, God might require the Israelites to support his ministers by a tenih of their produce, as an acknowledgment that they had received their estates from his free gift, and held them by no other tenure, than his royal bounty. In this view the tithes were a quit renf, annually paid to the original Pro- prietor, who had conquered the land fcr ihcm and in- stated them in it. Thus William the conqueror, when he parcelled out the English territory, reserved a small rent to be annually paid to the crown, as an acknowledgment that it was received from, and held under him, But as the divine King of Israel did not need this acknowledg- ment for his own use, he directed it to be paid to his pub- lic servants for their maintenance, which was virtually paying it to Him. By refusing this rent the holders forfeited their estates. This leads us to answer a Fourth question, why did God require a tenth, rather than any other proportion ? The Jews say, it was because ien is a perfect number, as it is the end of simple and LECT. XV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. . 173 smaller numbers, and the beginning of greater. The learned Grotius and other great writers observe, that ten is the end of numbering with almost all nations ; that it comprehends in itself alone not only all simple num- bers, but ail their differences and analogies, kinds and perfections ; that it corresponds with the number of fin- gers, which man possesses, and by which in antient times he used to count, and to keep an easy and exact register of things ; that for these reasons the Pythagorean and Peripatetic philosophers reduced the several species of things into ten categories, and the divine Lawgiver sum- med up all moral precepts in ten commandments. Hence, not only under the law of Moses, but long before it, a tenth part of the produce of their estates, and of their spoils in war, were devoted by pious men to God, and sometimes by subjects and inferiors to kings and magis- trates. It is probable that wise and good men in that early period might be led to dedicate this portion of their goods to the Deity by an idea, that this being the most perfect number, the beginning and end of arithmetical computation, was a proper symbol of the most perfect Being, the beginning and end, and sum of all things ; and that by thus giving him a tenth of their possessions they most expressively acknowledged him as the great origin and end of the whole. This practice, thus early and fitly adopted, was afterward by divine institution transferred into the Hebrew church and commonwealth ; and thence widely diffused itself among the surrounding nations. We learn from the best writers of antiquity, that tithes were paid in the eastern countries to their respective rulers and gods. And as Jehovah was at once the King and God of the Jev/s, he justly claimed and lim- ited to himself this customary tribute, and severely pro- 174 LECTURES ON [lect. xt.. hibited the alienation of it to idolatrous uses. It is proper to add, that as tithes were a branch of the Hebrew theocra- cy, which has long since been abolished ; and as the gospel -no where enjoins the payment of them to christian mag- istrates and bishops ; the latter have no divine right to this tribute ; though they may justly claim ahberal sup- port from those, to whose service they are devoted. Our fifth and last question is this — Was not the union of civil and spiritual jurisdiction in the Jewish priesthood an impolitic arrangement ? Did it not clothe this order of men with a power dangerous to the freedom and prop- erty of the people ? This question has been artfully mag- nified into a formidable objection by some deistical writ- ers, particularly by Dr. Morgan, who wrote about sev- enty years since, and whose falsehoods have been echoed by more recent authors. But it is sufficient to re- ply, that the supreme power of the nation, under God, was constitutionally vested, not in the Levites, nor even in the high priest, but in Moses, in conjunction with a senate and a popular assembly. The inferior judges, and the seventy elders appointed to assist Moses, were chosen out of all the tribes ;* and all the Jews agree that the Sanhedrim or supreme judiciary consisted not merely of ecclesiastics, but of persons in any of the tribes, who had a competent knowledge of the law. The Levites were equally subject to the magistrate and the law, as the oth- er citizens. The judges were required impartially to de- cide on all causes and persons. They were commanded to take a criminal even from the altar ^ and put him to death ; that i«, as eminent Jewish commentators inter- pret it, they were to take a criminal priest, or even high priest, though actually ministering at the altar, and doom • Numbers xl. 16, &c, LECT.XV.3 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 175 him to death. The priests had no interests separate from, much less hostile to that of their brethren. The consti- tution guarded them, as we have seen, against an accu- mulation of landed property. They could not be enriched by pecuniary presents in a country which afforded so lit- tle money ; nor could any gifts of this kind produce an annual increase of revenue, because putting out money to usury was forbidden by the law. Their participation of civil power was confined chiefly to courts of justice. Their leisure and knowledge of the laws rendered fheir assistance in these courts convenient and proper. But the exercise of this office yielded little or no personal emolument. It conferred but a small portion of power* A large majority, who shared it were not Levites. Of course this order could draw from it very little wealth or dominion. The Levites were not sole judges in any court. They formed a small minority of any assembly, whether judicial or legislative, provincial or national. Their interest as a tribe must have engaged them to avoid and to prevent all party ambition and animosity ; because every factious disturbance in the state tended to lessen their own revenue or yearly dividend, by diminish- ing either the produce of the territory, or the regular payment of their dues. Thus the Levitical constitution precluded every incite- ment to covetous and ambitious views in the priesthood. It also rendered the accomplishment of such views im- practicable. Nor could the body of the Levites execute any similar plot to increase their own wealth and import- ance ; for in order to this, they must set aside two capi- tal articles of the constitution ; one of which prohibited alienation of landed property ; the other, interest on money. If a power of repealing the constitution, framed 176 LECTURES ON [LECf. xv. , by God himself, had even been vested in the local or na» tional assemblies ; yet the Levites, who had so little share in them, could never procure such a repeal in their own fa* vor against the general interests of the people. Nor could they attain this object by force ; for they were not only comparatively few, and scattered over the community, but their religious functions barred chem from military discipline and skill, and even from the possession of arms. They had not one person of knowledge and ex- perience in these matters to conduct them, and were sur- rounded by an armed, trained, and officered militia, above ten times more numerous than themselves, and ready at short warning to suppress any insurrection, -which threatened their freedom or property. According* ly no instance occurs in the long history of the Hebrews of any such effort on the part of the Levites. Amid the frequent changes and even revolutions in their gov- ernment, this order never appeared either to have origin- ated, or assisted, or profited by any of them. The grand revolution under Jeroboam, by which ten tribes revolt- ed from the house of David, was so far from being a plot of the priests, or conducive to their advantage, that it was a fatal blow to their constitutional privileges. It stripped them of above three fourths of their revenue, as well as degraded them from their office and dignity in the revolted tribes. I thought it necessary to be particular on this subject, that you might be convinced of the ignorance or malice of a favorite objection against the Jewish constitution, and might join with me in admiring itsexcellent provisions against ecclesiastical, as well as political oppression. I cannot close without adding, that the same remark eminently applies to the civil and religious constitutions LECT.xv.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. .17) of these United States, especially to the mstitutions and habits of New England. These institutions and habits render our clergy so dependent on the people for their support, so united to them by interest and affection, as well as by duty, and at the same time so effectually close against them every avenue to great worldly wealth and dominion, as to preclude this order from seeking, and much more from accomplishing any object inconsistent with the general freedom and prosperity. For our chris- tian leaders to conspire against the people would be not only to contradict and stifle the whole spirit of their re- ligion and office, but to wage destructive war against themselves and their families, against the sources of their own temporal comfort and even existence. Can you possibly believe that the body of our clergy are such des- peradoes and monsters ? If on some political occasions they think and act differently from many of their parish- ioners, does not candor and even common sense oblige us to suppose, that they would not thus risk their popu- larity and subsistence, unless compelled to do it by con- scientious motives ^ In short, the situation of our spir- itual guides, abstracted from their moral characters, is so analogous to that of the antient Jewish priests, as to lay them under a happy necessity of seeking the temporal, as well as eternal good of their people. I have made these remarks with the friendly design of preventing or extinguishing in your minds those prejudices against gospel teachers, which have a most unfavorable aspect upon religion itself, and consequently upon the dearest interests of our country. Y 178 LECTURES ON [lect.xvi. , LECTURE XVL The nature and design of the prophetic office. HE next religious order of men among the Hebrews were the Prophets. This appellation strictly denotes a person inspired with a knowledge of secret, especially of future things, and commissioned to publish them to others. In a more lax sense it designates a per- son eminently devoted to religious studies and exercises. Thus this title is given to the sacred micsicians, who with their voices or instruments sung the praises of God ; these are said to prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals. Agreeably, the heathen poets, who sung or form- ed verses in celebration of their gods, were styled by the Romans vates of prophets ; which is synonimous with the Greek noun -^r^ocpjjrpjf , which St. Paul applies to Epi- menides, the Cretan poet.* This use of the term, as a learned writer observes, may throw light upon those words in the first epistle to the Corinthians, which speak ©f a woman*s publicly praying or prophesying.^ Prophe- sying here cannot be understood in the highest or most proper sense ; because this same epistle forbids women to instruct or even to speak in the church. They may indeed be said to pray in public, as they silently join with the minister, as the mouth of the congregation ; but they cannot be said to preach or to prophesy, merely as they attend to his preaching or message, because in this he represents, not his audience, but the Deity. Female prophesying therefore in this passage probably signifies the same act, which we have just stated, viz. praising * Tit. \. x%. t Tit. xi. 5. LECT. XVI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 179 God in psalms and hymns. In this view it is fitly con- nected with praying, because in these two parts of wor- ship the whole congregation may and ought to unite. Perhaps too the term prophecy was originally applied to sacred music, because the songs in some instances were composed and adapted to certain tunes or instruments un- der the influence of divine inspiration. From this circum- stance the term might be transferred to all, who taught or practised this excellent art. It is likewise probable that the name of prophet or inspired person was by the Greeks and Romans given to their poets from an idea, that poetic genius and harmony were the ofFspring of divine inspiration. Agreeably they first invented, and then invok- ed certain imaginary powers, styled Apollo and the Muses, who were supposed to be prompted by and to preside over this species of composition. It is possible however that the sentiments and style of pagans on this subject may be a corrupt derivation from the real union of inspiration and poetry in some of the prophetic writings of the He- brews. That there was in the Jewish church a succession of prophets in the most strict, as well as loose sense of the word, is attested by the general current both of scripture and history. Moses, the great founder of their civil and ecclesiastical polity, was likewise the first and most emi- nent of their prophets ; not only as he immediately re- ceived from God, and communicated to them the whole system of their laws, but as he circumstantially and pre- cisely foretold many singular events of their history, which have been and still are coming into existence. The pjist and present state of the Jews admirably confirms the pro- phetic character of tlieir antient lawgiver. The scripture tells us that " there arose not a prophet in Israel like to i8o -LECTURES ON [lect. xvi. Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." That k, Moses had a more free access to Jehovah, saw more of his glory, was favored with more clear, famihar, and abun- dant revelations of his will, ratified and executed his high commission in a style far more awful and sublime, than any succeeding prophet. In short, Moses erected and put into operation the Hebrew constitution ; his succes- sors were occasionally employed to explain and enforce it. A series of these divine messengers was continued to the Jews from Moses to Malachi, whose prophecy closes the Old Testament scriptures. After this the prophetic spir- it seems to have been withdrawn for almost five hundred years, that is, till the birth of John the Babtist ; who brings up the rear of prophets under the Jewish dispensation. For though this harbinger of the Messiah is intj-oduced in the gospel history, yet his ministry preceded the erec- tion of the christian church, and therefore must be refer- red to the Old Testament economy. Accordingly, though our Savior pronounces John a very great prophet ; yet he declares " the least in the kingdom of God to be great- er than he ;'* that is, the least minister or disciple of Christ is superior to the greatest Jewish prophet, on aci- count of the far superior light and fulness of the gospel revelation. In the age, and under the direction of S:imue\, prop /jct- ic schools or seminaries appear to have been established. Thus we read of " a company of prophets prophesying together, and Samuel standing as appointed over them.*'* It is very probable that this and other companies men- tioned in scripture were societies of young men, trained up, under one or more eminent prophets, in the knowl- edge of Jehovah and his law, and in those devout and I Sam. six. 20. See alto i Sam. x. 5. LECT. xvi.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. .181 sublime sentiments, which ennoble the prophetic writings, and employed in frequent exercises of prayer and praise, or in composing and singing hymns to the divine hoii- or._ Persons educated in these colleges were called proph- ets, or sons of the prophets. Accordingly Jezabel, the idolatrous wife of Ahab, is represented as destroying the prophets of the Lord, because she labored to extirpate these prophetic nurseries and their contents, which emi- eminently dilfused and maintained in the community the knowledge and practice of pure religion. Though ma- ny pupils of these schools never rose to the highest grade of prophets, nor were honored with immediate in- spiration, yet their religious education and habits quali- fied them for distinguished usefulness ; particularly for public preaching, which seems to have been their busi- ness on sabbath days and festivals ; and probably from these select societies God usually chose the subjects of his extraordinary influence.* The prophet Amos there- fore admires it as an unusual condescention, that " though he was not one of the sons of the prophets, but an herd- man, yet the Lord took him, as he followed the flock, and said unto him, go prophesy to my people Israel." That the prophetic spirit might not be ascribed merely to human education, God saw fit to honor a few with extraor- dinary gifts, who had not received the usual preparation. It may gratify a laudable curiosity to advert for a moment to the style of living in these antient acad- emies, so far as sacred history informs us. The build- ings occupied by the members of these sacred acade- mies, were generally mean, and built by their own hands.f " Their food was chiefly pottage and herbs, unless when better provision was sent them, as bread, parched corn, * I Kings XX, 3S, 41, 31. 2 do. iv. 23. t ^ K'SS**) vi. 3 — A- J 82 LECTURES ON [lect. xvi.. honey, or dried fruits.*'* Their dress was plain and coarse, tied about with a leathern girdle.f Wealth had no temptation for them ; therefore Elisha not only refused Naaman's presents, but severely punished his servant Gehazi for clandestinely obtaining a small share of them. J This recluse, abstemious life, and mean apparel, sometimes exposed them to contempt among the gay and the court- ly* Perhaps it was the singular dress and appearance of Elisha, which occasioned the impious scoffs of the chil- dren at Bethel. II But in general the prophets were re- garded with liigh esteem and veneration by the wise and good, and even by persons of the first rank in the state§. The ends, for which God raised up these extraordina- ry ministers, were very important. They were usually sent to Israel on urgent occasions. Their errand was to instruct an ignorant, to rouse a stupid, to recal a backsliding, or to reanimate a desponding nation. For these purposes they presented to the people the noblest views of God and religion, the most pathetic incitements to repentance and virtue, the most pointed reproofs of idolatry and wickedness, the most lively admonitions cf impending judgments, accompanied in many instances with plain and bold predictions of future events. These several particulars are admirably exemplified in the pro- phetic parts of the Old Testament. These occasional ad- dresses of inspired messengers comported at once with the extraordinary nature of the Jewish economy, and with the peculiar genius and circumstances of the Hebrew nation. As that economy was professedly derived from and administered by Jehovah, and intended to preserve the purity of his worship among a people strongly tempted and inclined to idolatry ; it was suitable and * a Kings iv. 9; fiDo.i4. ^ 3 Po. v. ij. IJaDo.ixii. § 1 Do. xviii. -. LECT. XVI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 183 even necessary that this singular institution should be frequently enforced by extraordinary means, and particu- larly by teachers supernaturally endowed and attested. The ordinary ministers of religion were so much occupi- ed, and often so much dazzled with external ceremonies, as to be unfitted for duly perceiving and explaining their moral and spiritual import. They likewise frequently participated and even abetted the national apostacy. la periods so critical, the function of prophets was highly expedient. Their subhme and zealous discourses tend- ed to stop the spreading contagion, and to restore the true knowledge and observance of the divine laws. Their pre- dictions of futurity were also adapted to many valuable ends, which perhaps have not been sufficiently noticed. That you may duly appretiate them, the following par- ticulars solicit your attention. I. The credit of pagan idolatry was greatly promoted by pretended oracles and divinations. Many of the vo- taries of heathen gods professed to derive from their in- spiration a knowledge of future contingences. All these idolatrous arts and pretences were severely prohibited in the Mosaic law. " Thou shalt not,'* says Jehovah to Is- rael, " do after the abominations of those nations ; there shall not be found among you any one, that useth divina- tion, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a charm- er, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer ; for all that do these things are an abomi- nation to Jehovah."* But while God interdicted these heathen arts among his own people, he signally triumph- ed over them by enduing many of his prophets with those very powers, to which the pagan diviners falsely pretend- ed. Thus he destroyed idolatry with its own weapons. * Deut. sviii. 9, iz. i84 LECTURES ON [lect. xvi., For the superiority or rather contrast of the Hebrew ora- cle and prophecies to those of paganism was so con- spicuous, as to give the former a glorious victory over the latter. We have formerly specified some circumstanc- es attending the Jewish oracle, which precluded the possibility of deception. But a distinct comparison of these circumstances with those of the heathen oracles v/ill greatly confirm the point now before us. The Jew- ish high priest consulted the divine oracle only by the di- rection,'and in the presence of the civil magistrate, who distinctly heard the answer given. This circumstance alone must have prevented or detected any priestcraft. The oracle was likewise accessible on every important occasion ; VA'hereas the oracles of anrient Greece could be consulted only on a few stated days of one particular month in the year; which gave the priests a fine oppor- tunity of anticipating the questions to be asked, and of fabricating skilful replies. The consultation of these or- acles was very expensive to inquirers, and very lucrative to the priests ; but that of the Hebrews was totally free from this suspicious and corrupting appendage. The latter was also free from that awful machinery^ which at- tended the former, and which gave them such power to terrify and delude the imaginations of those, who con- sulted them. The response of the divine oracle was al- ways delivered in ^Kc//^/(? and unequivocal words ; but the Grecian oracles gave their answers by dream?, by flights of birds, by entrails of beasts, by throwing dice, &c. The oracle of Apollo indeed returned verbal answers, but so ambiguous, as to admit of very difierent applications. Two, of these answers are specified by Herodotus ; which I will give you in the words of Dr. Priestly — " When the Lacedemonians inquired of the oracle whether they LECT. XVI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 185 should succeed in their attempt to conquer all Arcadia, it was answered, they should not, but that he would give them Tegea, which was very fruitful, and which they should measure with a line. On this they had no doubt but that they should gain the possession of it ; but being defeated in battle, many of :hem were made prisoners, and compelled to till the ground for their conquerors ; ia doing which they used a line to measure it ; which was deemed a fulfilment of the oriicle. Again, when Crcesus consulted the same oracle, on his engaging in a war with Cyrus, he received for answer, that he should overturn a great empire, and that the Persians would not conquer him, until they had a mule for their prince. Being con- quered, and losing his empire, he upbraided the ora- cle for deceiving him, but was answered, that the em- pire, which he was to overturn, was his ov^'n, and that Cyrus, being descended from a Persian father, and a Medi- an mother, was the mule intended by the oracle.'* How contrary to these delusive responses were the predictions uttered by the oracles and prophets of Jehovah ! All the communications of God to Abraham, to Moses, to David, and others, had a plain and certain meaning. The pre- diction of the angel to Hagar, that her son Ishmael " should be a wild man, that his hand would be against every man, and every man's hand against him,'* is not only perfectly clear, but has been accurately fulfilled in the Arabs, the posterity of Ishmael, from their first ex- istence to this day. Indeed the future destinies of all the surrounding nations were plainly specified by the He- brew prophets ; for instance, the destruction of the E- gyptians, the Tyrians, and the Babylonians. Many par- ticulars in the catastrophe of each of these nations are minutely foretold ; some of which have been recently ac- Z xS6 Lectures on [lect. xvi., complished ; which renders it impossible that the predic- tions should have been fabricated after the events. Oth- er prophecies related to things, which were to happen during the life of the prophets ; the exact fulfilment of v^'hich confirmed the faith of the people in their divine mission, and gave a sacred force to their excellent in- structions and exhortations ; while the accomplishment of distant events in the manner and season predicted gave a new and perpetually increasing evidence to the Jew- ish religion, and thus contributed to the grand design of that institution. Such a series of prophecy, thus veri- fied in the revolutions of empires, especially in the dreadful punishment of heathen nations for their wick- ed idolatry, and of the Hebrews themselves for their apostacy from the true God, was admirably fitted to im- press that people with comprehensive views of the knowl- edge, power, and universal dominion of Jehovah, of his infinite superiority to the gods of the heathen, of the vanity, guilt and danger of all idolatrous worship, and of their high obligations both in duty and interest to ad- here closely to the principles and practice of their divine religion. While the ministry of the prophets thus con- tributed to enforce and keep alive the religion of Moses j we must add 2. That it constantly pointed the public views and hopes to the future kingdom of the Messiah, and thus tended to prepare the Hebrew church and the surround- ing world for his appearance. We have observed on for- mer occasions that the Jewish dispensation is a sym- bolical and preparatory scheme, advancing in clear- ness and lustre by slow degrees towards perfection. As mankind immediately after the first transgression were at once in a state of infancy and of guilt, some prediction LECT. XVI.] JEWISH ANTTIQUITIEIS. 187 or promise suited to this two fold state, was necessary both to encourage their repentance, and to direct their conduct. In other words, they needed a prophetic; scheme of revelation. Accordingly a hint of the future victorious seed of the woman was then communicated ; a hint sufficient to sooth their fears, to revive their hopes, and thus animate their obedience. But the whole plan of redemption was not then unfolded, because it would have confounded their feeble minds ; and because the gradual progress of evangelical light, like the ad- vance of natural day from the obscure dawn to meridian splendor, best suited the intellectual eye, and prepar- ed it by gentle degrees for still brighter discoveries. A- greeably that dawn of gospel truth, which glimmered on our first parents, slowly ascended towards perfect day by a long series of prophetic illuminations, fitted to the sev- eral periods, in which they v/ere dispensed. Each step in the series prepared mankind for the next ; and the whole system of predictions respecting the future Messi- ah tended to keep alive a general expectation of his com- ing, to support the faith and hope of good men under the greatest discouragements, and to prepare the world for a due reception of him, when he actually came. It instructed the Jews that their religious economy was de- signed to be only temporary ; that it constantly pointed to, and must in due time be lost or rather consummated in a more perfect dispensation. It connected and har- monized the Old Testament and the New, by showing that one great plan was steadily pursued in both ; that the prophecies of the one, and the doctrines of tlie other centered in the same glorious object ; and consequently that both were the olfspring of one all comprehending Mind. It tended to remove or prevent those prejudi- i88 LECTURES ON [lect, xvi. ce5, which a poor and suffering Messiah would be apt to create, by showing that these humiliating circumstan- ces of his appointment were expressly foretold by the prophets, and formed an eminent part of the divine scheme. It was also fitted to hold up in a striking view the guilt and danger of rejecting this illustrious Person, and thereby counteracting the great and merciful plan, which the Deity had been unfolding and prosecuting from the first age of the world. In fine, this long scene of prophecy gives a wonderful attestation and solem- nity to the divine mission of Christ. It presents him to view as that extraordinary Deliverer, Teacher, and King, to whom all the previous revelations and works of Jehovah were directed, and in whom a thousand mi- nute circumstances and glorious characters pointed out in antient predictions, were exactly fulfilled. This ex* act fulfilment affords a distinct, accumulated, and most convincing evidence, that Jesus is the promised Savior, and that his rehgion as taught by himself and his chosen ministers, is true and divine. To make way for this spe- cies of evidence, was one design of infinite wisdom in postponing the Messiah's appearance for several thou- sand years after the fall of man and the first notice of a Savior. So long a delay has appeared to many an unfathomable mystery. But when we consider, that the christian religion was intended to be the last and most perfect revelation of God to man, that the ob- ligation and efi^icacy of it were designed to be univer- sal j was it not highly expedient, that the evidence of this system should be so various and multiplied, as to suit every human being, to whom it was offered ? Was it not important that this evidence should have no defect in it, which might furnish some persons with a plea I.ECT. XVI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 189 for rejecting it ? Was it not very proper and advanta- geous, that such a religion should be attested by a grand apparatus of prophecy, going before it, and conspicuous- ly verified in it ? Is there not something peculiarly strik- ing and satisfactory in this testimony ? But to give an opening for this, it was requisite that the publication of this system should be long delayed. In every view then we see the wisdom of God in rais- ing up to the Hebrew church a succession of Prophets ; whose messages not only instructed the antient Jews, but were fitted to communicate the most valuable, exten- sive, and lasting benefit to the world. igo LECTURES ON ftECT. xvii LECTURE XVII. Inquiries and chjections relative to the Hebrew prophets answer' ed. The manner in which God revealed to them his will. V^UR last lecture was occupied with the antient Hebrew prophets. It divided them into two grades viz. those who were divinely inspired with the knowledge of secret and future things, and commissioned to pubHsh them to others ; and those in general, who were eminent- ly devoted to sacred studies and exercises. We read of schools or seminaries, composed of persons of the latter description, who are styled sons of the prophets. From these pious nurseries God usually chose the subjects of his extraordinary influence, or the inspired messengers of his will. The addresses and predictions of these holy men were of admirable use to explain and keep alive the religion of Moses, and to prepare mankind for the more perfect dispensation of the Messiah. The wonderful ful- filment of so many Old Testament prophecies in Jesus of Nazereth, affords a distinct and most satisfactory evidence, that he is the promised Savior of the world. We will finish our account of the Jewish prophets by ;inswering some questions, and removing some difficulties, which have been raised on this subject. L It is natural to inquire, what qualifications were ne- cessary in this distinguished order of men ? Or what was prerequisite to a man's receiving the prophetic inspira- tion ? We answer, the first and leading qualification was a holy character. As this is the uniform sentiment of Jewish writers, so it is confirmed by the history and lives of the antient prophets, and by the express testimony of St. Peter, " that holy men of God spake as they LECT.xvii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. .191 were moved by the Holy Ghost." Though we meet with some instances of wicked men, to whom God, on special occasions imparted his secret counsels, such as the covetous Balaam, and the idolatrous kings, Pharaoh Abimelech, and Nebuchadnezzar ; yet we presume, that none but good men were statedly honored with these di- vine communications ; and especially that none but such were employed as penmen of the sacred v/ritings. The declaration therefore of Peter will doubtless apply to all the prophetic writers of the Old Testament. They were all men of real and exemplary holiness. The importance of personal piety and virtue in the extraordinary minis- ters of Jehovah will account for his withdrawing the spir- it of prophecy from the Hebrew nation in the latter stag- es of their polity, than is, from Malachi to Christ ; be- cause during this period their rdigious and moral state was universally corrupt. The transient vouchsafement of this spirit to bad men, while it answered some special purpose of divine wisdom, admirably displayed the sovereignty of God in using the most unlikely and wicked instruments to serve his own designs, in constraining even his enemies to utter those truths and predictions, which promoted his honor and in- terest, and sealed their own condemnation and ruin. It magnified his unsearchable wisdom, holiness, and power in compelling the most unhallowed lips to pronounce his pure messages without the least adulteration, yea, with astonishing energy and sublimity. It enforced in the most striking manner the essential distinction between splendid and even miraculous gifts, and sanctifying grace j between the occasional effusions of a prophetic spirit, and the genuine workings of human depravity. These lessons are forcibly taught by the history of Balaam, 192 LECTURES ON [lect. xvir. whom we recently mentioned. This noted magician had been allured by Balak, king of Moab, to come to him, with a view to curse Israel, who then lay encamped on his borders. The heathen nations believed that prophets or diviners could, by religious charms or ceremonies, de- coy from their enemies their tutelar deities, engage the celestial powers against them, and thus insure their des- truction. Thus Homer represents the capture of Troy as depending on the removal from that city of the sacred image of Minerva. The pagans, previously to a military engagement, usually employed a priest to pronounce, at the head of the army, a solemn imprecation against the adverse power. But though Balaam was invited and ful- ly inclined to perform this office against Israel ; infinite goodness, power, and wisdom turned the curse into a blessing, by forcing this malignant enemy of his people to announce, in the most lofty strains, their present and future glory, the triumphs of their divine Leader and fu- ture Messiah, and the signal destruction of his and their adversaries. We see, in this and similar instances, the singular beauty of the divine conduct ; which, by thus inspiring and controlling the minds of sinful men, turned their counsels into foolishness, and made their wrath and wickedness subservient to his praise. But to return ; as true piety was the first prerequisite in a stated prophet of Jehovah ; so in the next place — The mind of the prophet must be in a serene and com- posed frame, in order to its receiving the spirit of inspi- ration. The Jewish doctors tell us that a mind loaded with fresh guilt, oppressed with sorrow, or disturbed with passion, could not duly receive and exercise this heavenly gift. Accordingly, when David, in his peni- tential Psalm after the affair of Uriah, prays that the LECT.X7n.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. .193 " holy spirit might be restored to him," that God would give him "joy and gladness and a free spirit ;" the He- brew cammentators understand by these expressions that prophetic spirit, which his guilt and distress of mind had banished, and that» peaceful and cheerful frame, which would invite its return. To prove that passion unfitted the mind for the prophetic impulse, they plead the story of Elisha -, who being requested by the three kings, of Judah, Israel, and Edom to inquire of God for them in their distress for water during a military expedi- tion, was transported with pious indignation against the wicked king of Israel ; but being willing to oblige the good king of Judah, called for a minstrel or musician, for the apparent purpose of calming his passion, and thus preparing him for the spirit of inspiration. Accordingly, while the minstrel played, we are told " the hand of the Lord came upon him." This intimates one important reas on why the prophets and their pupils cultivated sa- cred music ; and also why those who composed and s'ang divine hymns are sometimes styled prophets ; viz. be- cause in many cases this heavenly art was not only assisted by, but wonderfully fitted persons for celes- tial communications. I will just add, as the nature of harmony and of man is still the same, sacred melody is justly esteemed a noble employment, an excellent mean of composing and elevating the pious m.ind, and of fitting it for that communion with Deity, which all his children are warranted to seek. This train of thought introduces a II. Question. In what manner did God reveal his coun- sels to the prophets ? To prepare us tor a satisfactory an« swer to this inquiry, I must observe 1. That the infinite Being, the Father of our spirits, A a 1(^4 LECTURES ON [lect. xvii. can certainly converse with his rational creatures in such a manner, as to assure them that He speaks or holds in- tercourse with them. To deny this is to make the all- perfect Being more deficient than the weakest of his in- telligent offspring. 2. We cannot determine ^priori what mode of com- munication in any given instance is most worthy of God, and best suited to the ends of his wisdom and goodness. Yet 3. We can clearly perceive that different modes may be best adapted to different persons, circumstances, and designs, and especially to the different periods of the church and the world. Let us apply these general re- marks to the subject before us. The writer to the He- brews says, that God spake to and by the prophets not only " at sundry times,'* but " in divers manners ;'* that is, he spake by dreams, visions, inspirations, voices, and the ministry of angels. First, by d?-ea?ns. We often read that " God came or spake to such a one in a dream.'' Natural or com- mon dreams are among the wonders of the human con- stitution. They seem to indicate the active nature of our minds, and perhaps their capacity of lively perception and feeling without the aid of bodily organs. At the same time they evidently grow out of materials already deposited in our memories, and receive their complexion either from the present temperament of our bodies, or the favorite employment of our waking hours. It is there- fore by no means unphilosophical to suppose that the om- nipresent spirit may sometimes have peculiar access to the spirits of men, when the gross medium of sense being laid aside, the mind seems peculiarly open to spiritual and di- vine intercourse. Such communications may have been LECT. XVII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 195 eminently proper and expedient in the early ages, when reason was but little cultivated ; when a standing exter- nal revelation was comparatively very imperfect ; when the heathen and even Jewish world superstitiously re- garded common dreams, as prognostics of future events ; and when false prophets and soothsayers pretended from this source to receive and announce the divine will. In such a state of things it was evidently worthy of God to crush these pretenders with their own weapons, by some- times conveying that supernatural information in dreams, of which they vainly boasted. It was worthy of the Supreme Ruler to assert his exclusive and sovereign em- pire over men's thoughts, both sleeping and waking, and occasionally to use both as means of publishing and ac- complishing his will. This leads us to the Second ?node of divine revelation to the prophets, viz. by 'visions. These, considered as distinct from dreams, denote representations made to their imaginations, when awake. If the force of bodily disease or mental delirium can paint on the waking fancy a lively image of persons and things not present or real ; much more can omnipotence produce the same eifect ; and perfect wisdom and good- ness may well produce it for some great and beneficent purpose. Of this kind was St. Peter's vision of a large vessel filled with all kinds of animals, clean and unclean, accompanied with a divine injunction to make a free use of any which he chose.* This vision, with its manifest import, prepared him for the benevolent ofHce of freely conversing with, and preaching to the uncircumcised gen- tiles,whom before he had viewed as unclean. Such too was probably Paul's vision of the third heavens ;t though he himself could not tell whether celestial objects were * Acts X. 9. lOj ; 2 Co'.-. xii. 1, 2, :,. 196 LECTURES ON [lect. xvn. brought do\Tn to his imagination, or whether his soul were for a time really caught up from his body to the heav- enly regions. By the way, this uncertainty of our apos- tle, as a learned writer observes, does not accord with the material scheme ; for it evidently implies that Paul viewed the soul as capable not only of existing, but of conversing with the celestial world separately from the body. I must add that visions in the style of scripture intend not only images presented to the fancy, but real supernatural ex- hibitions to the senses. Thus the appearance of an an- gel to Zacheriah in the temple is called a vision. Finally, this term is indefinitely applied to any kind of supernatu- ral communication. If a well known human voice convey truth to our ears, we have a mental vision or knowledge of the truth imparted, and of the person speaking, even if we see no sensible appearance. The application is easy. But here an important question arises — How could the prophets certainly distinguish miracles, visions, and dreams from such as were common, enthusiastic or delusive ? To this Jewish and Christian writers have given several an- swers. They tell us that divine manifestations were dis- tinguished by something extraordinary in the splendor of the appearance, in the strength of the representation, or in the impression made on the percipient. They inform us that during this divine intercourse the prophet was in the calm and full possession of his faculties ; whereas fanatical or pagan inspirations threw the subject into rav- ing distraction. They also tell us that the matters commu- nicated by divine visions were always weighty and inter- esting, worthy of God, and highly important to man. But though revelations from God were probably attend- ed with these circumitances, we cannot either from scrip- LECT. xvii.l JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 197 ture or reason certainly determine how the prophets were assured of their divine original. But we know that as the Deity was able to give them full evidence of this, so he undoubtedly gave it ; otherwise they would not have been obliged to receive and act upon such revelations. Certainly Abraham, for instance, would not have felt himself either warranted or inclined to offer his only son as a sacrifice, had he not received irresistable evidence that this action was commanded by Jehovah. He must have had much stronger assurance of this, than he could have that the action required was in present circumstanc- es evil ; otherwise he never would nor ought to have complied. This patriarch had been previously and fully acquainted with God's peculiar mode of conversing with him ; which precluded the possibility of deception. Sim- ilar observations might be made on other divine coramu« nicaiions. But here another great question arises — How could those, to whom the prophets delivered their messages, be assured of their divine authority ? We answer, if a professed prophet announced any doctrine, or precept, which contradicted either sound reason, or the standing revelation of God's will, he was to be rejected and pun- ished as an impious impostor, even though he confirmed his message by seeming miracles. The law of Moses ex- pressly dooms to death any pretender to inspiration, who should even perform wonders, if he did them to support idolatry, or to entice the people from the true God.* But if a prophet delivered nothing repugnant to the law of nature or of Moses, his divine mission might be satis- factorily proved to others— First, by his personal and exemplary holiness. This would forbid the supposition • Deut. xiii, i, 5, 198 LECTURES ON fLECT. xvii. of his falsely and blasphemously pretending to communi- cations from God — Second, by the testimony of un- doubted prophets in his favor. Thus Moses gave open testimony to Joshua, and John the Baptist to our Savior — Third, by evident miracles. These fully authenticat- ed the divine mission of Moses and of several succeeding prophets — Fourth, by sudden and extraordinary judg- ments on such, as rejected his message. There are sev- eral instances of this kind in the sacred history ;t and they were awful and miraculous attestations of those prophets in whose behalf, or by whose request they were inflicted — Fifth, by the accomplishment of his predic- tions. This is laid down in the Jewish law as the grand criterion of a true prophet ; and this signature in fact at- tended all the prophetic writers of the Old Testament. We grant that the prediction of Jonah respecting the destruction of Nineveh in forty days, was not literally verified. The reason was, this prediction, like all other threatnings of evil, was conditional, and was thus under- stood by the Ninevites. It implied that they should be destroyed, if they persisted in wickedness, or if speedy repentance did not avert the threatened doom. This is the true import of prophetic denunciations, when address- ed to the offending party. They leave room for, and contain a rouzing call to amendment ; but if this be not effected, the predicted punishment will fully take place. Having attended to the two first methods of divine manifestation to the prophets, viz. by dreams and vis- ions, we will close with briefly noticing the Third mode, viz. by inspiration, or a suggestion of ideas to the understanding, without such representations to the fancy, as the former methods imply. Maimonides, one f I Kings xiii. I, 6. a Kings i. 9, 12. LECT. xvn.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. J99 of the most rational and learned of the Jewish doctors, explains this inspiration to be a divine impulse, enabling and urging the subject of it to utter psalms and hymns, or useful moral precepts, or matters civil, sacred and di- vine ; and that while he is awake, and has the ordinary use and vigor of his senses. Such was the inspiration of Zacharias and Elizabeth, who on a very interesting occa- sion are said to have "been filled with the Holy Ghost," and to have uttered the most sublime ackowledgments or predictions.* Such too was the inspiration of the an- tient prophets in general, who " spake as they were raov- by the Holy Ghost." This sacred impulse was of a calm and gentle nature, and thus was clearly distinguished from the fanatical inspiration of heathen diviners. Vir- gil in his sixth Eneid represents the Sybil, when the pro- phetic spirit seized her, as perfectly frantic, as struggling in vain to shake off the deity that inspired her, and as ir- resistibly forced to utter his dictates.! Lucan describes the Pythian prophetess in the same manner.]; But the prophets of the true God were only " moved," that is, calmly influenced by his inspiring spirit. This in- fluence, far from suspending, added vigor and elevation to their own reason and prudence. ITence St. Paul says, " The spirits of the prophets are subject to the proph- ets;" that is, true divine inspiration is so far subject to the sober reason of its possessor, that he can wait for a proper time to deliver its dictates ; he can avoid those un- seasonable effusions, which would break in upon the or- der and beauty of christian assemblies. This view of the prophetic spirit shows the extreme unfairness, malignity, or ignorance of the most celebrat- * Luke i. 41, 4Z, 67. &c. | Line 47. &c. 77. &c. i Lib. V. line 142 — 218 200 LECTURES ON [lect. xvii. ed writers against the Jewish religion. Even men of so much ability and information, as Bolingbroke, Tiadal, and Voltaire, have condescended to ridicule the Hebrew prophets by applying to them all the extravagances, in which heathen poets have arrayed their Sybils, their ma- gicians, and dreamers, and thus holding them up as jug- glers, idiots, or madmen. But such representations can excite no other emotions in honest and well informed minds, than pity, contempt and abhorrence. They be- tray great ignorance of antient facts and manners ; great inattention to the peculiar reasons, which gave rise to ear- ly divine communications ; an inveterate hatred of that re- ligious system, which these communications were intend- to establish ; and a perverse resolution to batter down this system by every engine of sarcastic wit, gross mis- representation, and cunning sophistry. May Heaven se- cure us from ever employing or yielding to these unhal- lowed weapons ! HECT. xvin.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 20i LECTURE XVIII. l'''indication of the character and writings of the Hebrew prophets. An our last discourse we undertook to answer some inquiries and objections relative to the Hebrew Prophets. After stating their requisite qualifications, we inquired into the manner, in which God revealed to them his will. We showed that he did this in various modes, by- dreams, by visions, and by inspiration. Having explained and defended each of these methods, we now proceed to observe that 'voices or audible words were another medium of divine communications. This was one of the most ex- cellent and perfect kinds of revelation. In this manner God revealed his law to Moses. He communicated it to him in a distinct, familiar, yet majestic voice. A- greeably God is represented as speaking to Moses " face to face, and mouth to mouth, as a man speaketh to his friend, even apparently, and not in dark speeches, or in visions and dreams," as he did to other prophets ; that is, he revealed himself to this favorite servant in the way of audible, free, and plain conversation. Similar to this was the manner, in which the oracle delivered its decrees, viz. by an articulate voice from the mercy seat. The Jewish rabbies, especially the later ones, frequently men- tion a lower grade in this species of revelation, which they call Bath kol^ or Bet qiml, that is, the daughter of the "ooice, because according to them, when the oracle ceased, this came in its room as its daughter or succes- sor. Dr. Lightfoot, a great proficient in Jewish learn- ing, explains this Bath kol by a number of examples quot-» ed from the talmudists. But there is reason to think, Bb 202 L-ECTURES ON [lect. xviii. that this pretended miraculous voice was no better than the offspring of hilman superstition. Dr. Prideaux has confirmed this opinion by citing one instance of this boasted oracle out of n;any similar Stories in the rabbin- ical writings. The passage he quotes is this. Two rab- bles, wishing to see the face of a Babylonish doctor, nam- ed Samuel, said to each other, let us consult and follow the Bath kol. Accordingly, travelling near a school, they heard the voice of a boy reading these wofds of scrip- ture, " and Samuel died.'* They hence inferred that their friend Samuel at Babylon was dead ; which rhey afterward found to be true. It hence appears that their pretended voice from heaven, which was substitut- ed in the room of the antfent oracle, was nothing but human divination, or anun warrantable apphcation to the ^tibject before them of the first words or passage df scrip- ture, which they happened to hear. This superstitious inTt^ntron was very similar to the Sortes Homericx ;tm'ong the Greeks, and the Sortes Virgilianoe among the Romans. These were much used, especially after the ces- sation of heathen oracles on the coming of Christ. Their prattrce was to take as their oracle, or a sure prognostic of some future event, the first words of Ho- mer oi" Virgil, which met their eye on opening the book ; just as the Jews, on the failure of the divine oracle, sub- stituted the first wdrds, especially from the Bible, which met their ears. It is therefore not improbable that the heathens might copy this practice from the Jews, or the Jews from the heathens ; and that the christians in af- ter tioties borrowed a similar custom from both. It was a usage among christiahs as early as the time of Austin ill the fourth century, to employ the scriptures as an in- strument df divination. This superstition eminently LECT. xvin.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 203 prevailed in the west of Christendom., especially in France. When a new bishop was to be consecrated, the Bible was consulted respecting him ; and the words, which were first presented to the eye, decided his future conduct and fate. The Normans carried this custom in- to England, when they conquered that kingdom. Your minds will perhaps be entertained by one or two authen- tic examples from the Enghsh history. On the conse- cration of William, the second Norman bishop of Nor- wich, the Bible being opened, presented these words — " not this man, but Barabbas the robber j'*' by which it was decided that this bishop was not long to continue, and that a thief or robber would soon succeed him. The event corresponded with the decision. For Wil- liam quickly died, and was succeeded by Herbertus de Lozinga, who was chief simony broker to the king, and had by money purchased of him one abby for his father, another for himself, and had now by the same vile means gained this diocese. At the consecration of this wretch the passage, which first met the eye, was that address of Christ to Judas, when he came to betray him for money— " Friend, wherefore art thou come ?'* These, and the former words at the ordination of his predecessor, so struck his conscience, as to produce a thorough repent- ance of his crimes. I have dwelt so long on these fool- ish and wicked usages of pagans, Jews, and Christians, to impress you with the strong tendency of depraved hu- man nature to gross superstition j with the eager, but impious propensity of mankind to pry into future secrets ; and their readiness to pervert the most sacred things to the m.ost unlawful uses, and to employ one of the worst kinds of divination, as a part of their most solemn acts of religion. Stupid ignorace, joined with moral depravi- 204 LECTURES ON [lect. xviii. ty, will easily account for all the fooleries of the antient world, and even of nominal christians, especially during the dark ages ; while the superior light of knowledge and holiness, which sprung up at the reformation, ac- counts for the present extinction of these absurdities. At the same time the remarkable coincidence of some of those superstitious divinations with the characters and events concerned may lead us to adore that righteous and universal providence, which controls what we style contingences j which sometimes prospers and thus con- firms men in those arts of delusion, which they have free- ly chosen ; which makes even the word of God the occa- sion of misleading and hardening those, who presumptu- ously abuse it ; and which sometimes overrules such wick- ed presumption as the mean of salutary correction and repentance. In these and innumerable other instances how just, how wonderful and glorious are the ways of God to men ! Beside the modes of divine revelation already specified, the Jewish writers mention tbc mijiistry of angels. But this is not properly distinct from the former methods ; for the same scriptures, which tell us that Moses receiv- ed the law from the mouth of Jehovah, inform us that angels were employed in promulging it ; that is, these ministers of God's court were his mouth or organ on this solemn occasion.* The same ministring spirits were probably the instrumental causes of those dreams and visions, of those mental inspirations and external voices, by which the divine will was notified to the several proph- ets. This doctrine of the agency of superior beings in re- vealing and executing God's pleasure here below is beau- tifully represented by Jacob's vision of " a ladder reach- • Acts, vii. 53. Gal. iii. 19. Heb. ii, z. LECT. XVIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 205 ing from earth to heaven, with Jehovah sittmg above it, and his angels ascending and descending upon it.'* While this ladder nobly describes that providence, which extends from heaven to earth, and connects them together ; the constant ascent and descent of the angels point out their unceasing activity, and particularly their employ- ment in bringing down divine messages to men, and car- rying up to God an account of their doings. It pecul- iarly suited the character and dignity of Jehovah, as King of the Jews, to converse with them through the me- dium of his celestial ministers. H.iving largely considered the manner of intercourse between God and his antient prophets, I proceed in the next place to vindicate the character and writings of these holy men from some of the most plausible objections of their adversaries. Some have represented the Hebrew prophets as public ince?tdiaries, who perpetually denounced, and frequently brought calamities on their country, merely on the score of religious opinions. This charge has no ground but this, that the prophets constantly testified against idolatry both in the rulers and people. Now idolatry in the Hebrew na- tion was high treason against their own constitution and King. It directly forfeited their territory and privileges. It was an inlet to every abomination. It defeated the great end, for which that people was selected. It was threat- ened in their fundamental laws with the most destructive calamities. Of course the prophets, in boldly arresting this evil even at the hazard of their own lives, showed themselves, not the malignant disturbers, but the truest and most disinterested friends of their country ; especial- ly as by this conduct they executed the benevolent com- mission, with which Jehovah had intrusted them j a com- 2o6 LECTURES ON [lect. xviii.- mission intended, not to destroy, but if possible to save that people by checking those crimes, which were preg- nant with ruin. This introduces a second objeciio?!, which is, that these prophets, instead of preaching against evident and des- tructive vices, and inculcating the several branches of moral virtue, employed their main zeal in favor of the peculiar sentiments and rites of the Mosaic law, and a- gainst every departure from the national creed and wor- ship. We answer first, this national faith and worship were not only established by Deity, but were necessary to guard and nourish true virtue and piety. Second, the antient Hebrews were strongly tempted and inclined to set aside these barriers, and to adopt the gross polythe- ism and consequent detestable vices of the surrounding world. Hence third, the prophets of Jehovah were im- pelled both by piety and patriotism to defend and enforce those religious establishments, on which the worship and honor of the true God and the public virtue and safety depended. Yet fourth, these divine messengers never contented themselves with urging a strict adherence to ceremonial appointments, but constantly enforced moral and universal goodness, as the true import and crov/n of these ritual observances. They unitedly declared that without love to God and men, vvithout the practice of purity, justice, and mercy, the most zealous and expensive sacrifices would be unmeaning parade and odious hypocri- sy. The prophetic writings abound with these rational and noble representations ; representations, which con- firm the excellence and divine authority of the writers, and brand the objector with gross ignorance or dishonesty. A third charge against the Jewish prophets is, that their predictions of futurity are general and ambiguous, found- LECT. XVIII.3 JEWISH ANllQUITIES. 207 ed on uncertain dreams and visions, or couched in dark and figurative expressions, the application of which is very precarious ; and that this order of men, being devoted to a close study and observation, were qualified, on ration- al principles, to foretei many great changes in human af- fairs. We grant that some of their prophecies are cov- ered with a degree of obscurity ; yet many of them are at once remarkably clear, minute, and circumstantial ; and these relating to events, which the most improved human sagacity could not foresee, nor even conjecture ; as we have sufficiently shown on a former occasion. How could human foresight enable several of the prophets to foretei the destruction of Babylon in all its leading cir- cumstances, at a time when this city and empire were in the height of their glory ? However dark some of the dreams or visions may be, which these writers relate ; yet how could mere human wisdom apply them to distant future contingences, which at length took place in ex- act icorrespondence with such application ? But let .us descend from these objections against the prophets as a body to some specific charges against indi- viduals. We will notice a few of the most weighty, as representing the whole. It is objected against the mor- al and prophetic character of Abraham and Moses, that they pretended a divine commission to perform the most unjust and cruel actions. But this objection derives its whole force from two false principles. First that the rights of God are to be measured by those of men ; and second that an action, wrong in ordinary cases, must be so in all. But does it follow that because Abraham had no natural right to sacrifice his son, or Moses to destroy the Canaan- ites, therefore God hid no right to do it ? Or because these actions, performed by these two men, would have 2o« LECTURES ON [lect. xviit. been unjust in common cases, does it follow that God himself could not authorize them in particular circum- stances, or that they must be wrong when commanded by him ? If the Deity often cuts off large multitudes of men, women, and children, by inanimate causes, by fam- ine, or pestilence ; may he not with equal justice employ human instruments in the same work ? If this objection therefore have any force against the divine conduct in the cases of Abraham and Moses, or against the character of these antient prophets ; it has equal weight against the common proceedings of divine providence. But as the proud and perverse spirit of infidelity is continually making an outcry against these scripture ex- amples ; and as we have formerly vindicated the exe- cution of the Canaanites by Moses and the Hebrews ; I will employ your attention a little longer on the com* mand given to Abraham, and his obedience to it. We have already seen that both were consistent with justice. I now add that both were evidently wise and good. For' the command was plainly designed to bring the pious disposition of the patriarch to a severe, yet glorious trial, and in this way to mature, to display, and to reward it in the most illustrious manner. Is it not wise and merciful in the Deity to put heroic virtue to the proof by great difficulties, to strengthen and exalt it by great efforts, and to crown its victories with high pleasure and glory ? Was not Abraham's virtue thus proved and crowned ? Was ever the triumph of the greatest military conqueror half equal to his at that moment, when God by a voice from heaven applauded and blessed him for his pious heroism ; when he restored to him that dear son, whom the obedient father had intentionally sacrificed ? Was not the anxious trial of three days immensely rewarded L^CT. XVIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 209 by the noble and lasting felicity, which succeeded ? Is not the example of such high duty, and its subsequent reward, an unspeakable and endless blessing to man- kind ? As therefore this trying command was intended to produce such various and infinite good, it was not on- ly consistent with, but a glorious display of divine be- nevolence. The prompt obedience of the patriarch was also worthy of a great and good man. He knew and felt that compliance with the will of God, however notified, was the first of human duties. He felt that his duty to his child was nothing, compared with his ob- ligation to his infinite Creator ; and that entire submis- sion to him was the only road to personal, domestic, and general happiness. But it may be asked, how could a religion come from God, which commanded parents to destroy their chil- dren ? We reply, a religion, which made this an ordi- nary duty, could not be divine. But does it folloP that infinite wisdom might not in some extraordinary case, see reasons for such a command ? But how could Abraham know that this com.raand was not a delusion ? Beside the answer to a similar question in our last lecture, I will just add that God had before this conversed with him in nine several in- stances ; had given him three distinct and trying injunc- tions ; and had remarkably protected and prospered him in his compliance with each. After so much experience of the divine intercourse, could he not certainly distin- guish the presence or voice of Deity ; especially as he had three days to deliberate, and satisfy himself on the sub- ject ? But did not Abraham's example In this instance give sanction and currency to the abominable practice of hu- Go CIO LECTURES ON [lect. xvm. man sacrifices ? We answer, no ; on the contrary it was admirably fitted to prevent or abolish this practice. For it was a public document to the world, that human sacrifices could not be acceptable to God even from his most eminent servants ; since Abraham, his greatest fa- vorite, was hindered by a voice from heaven from execu- ting his purpose, and an animal victim was miraculously substituted in the place of his son. How could the true God have more signally manifested his abhorrence of the cruel rites of the heathens. What an instance of his wisdom and goodness, thus early to enforce upon man- kind that humane and benevolent worship, in which he delights ! In every view then the example before us, instead of depreciating, exceedingly recommends the character of our Patriarch, and the religion, which he professed. Another Hebrew prophet, whose character has been load^ with censure, is king David. The chief objection lies in this, that David, though guilty of the most wick- ed adultery and murder, is styled a man after God's own heart, is said to have been upright and perfect before him, and is ranked among his inspired prophets. We grant that David's adultery and murder were most ag- gravated crimes. But if we view them in connexion with his whole life, they furnish no proof either that he "was a wicked man, or that it was unworthy of God to honor him with his special and extraordinary favor. The prevailing features of his disposition and conduct, both before and after this scene of transgression, were pious and excellent. His behavior towards Saul, his envious and blood thirsty persecutor, was incomparably noble and virtuous. His zeal and services for his country were fervent and heroic. His regard to God, to his LECT. xviii.] JEV/ISH ANTIQUITIES. 21 1 worship and honor, and to the great interests of religion, was remarkably tender and active. His psalms, which are evidently the genuine effusions of the heart, express the most sublime views and feelings respecting the Deity^ his perfections and works, his providence and word ^ the most correct ideas and ardent desires of moral excel- lence, the most solemn appeals to Omniscience for his in* tegrity j and the most humbling impressions of his de- pendence, guilt and unworthiness. If his sin in the af- fair of Uriah was very great, so likewise were the tokens of repentance, and of divine displeasure, which followed that transgression. On the whole, if we fairly and seri- ously view the characters and writings of the antient prophets, we shall throw a veil of candor and tenderness over their failings, and improve them as motives to hu- mility and watchfulness over ourselves ; we shall admire and emulate their superior virtues ; we shall eagerly im- bibe the spirit, and obey the instructions, which still live in their inspired compositions ; our belief of their divine mission will be fully confirmed by the excellent nature and tendency of their doctrines, and by the accurate ful- filment of that great system of prophecy, which they delivered. 212 LECTURES ON [lect. xix. LECTURE XIX. Enumeraiion of the various officers of lUstincUon in the Hebreiv church. W: E have largely attended to the principal re- ligious orders among the Jews, viz. the priests, the le- vites, and the prophets. Beside these there were vari- ous officers and distinctions of men in the Hebrew church, which merit some degree of attention. A brief consid- eration of them will throw much light on the Jewish his- tory, and on the sacred vi^ritings. L There were some persons in that church, who were called by way of eminence vjhejnen^ or in the Greek So- •phoi. Our Savior, speaking of these in the gospel of Matthew, connects them with prophets, and in the paral- lel text of Luke styles them apostles :■ Hence we may fairly conclude tliat these persons were nearly allied to prophets, though of an inferior grade ; that is, that they were eminent ii> divine wisdom or scriptural knowledge, and were providentially sent by God as preachers to the people, and on this account are denominated apostles, or persons divinely sent ; though they had not that spirit of inspiration which distinguished the prophets. It deserves notice here that the antient heathen philosophers assum- ed the same title of Sophoi or wise men ; but the modesty of Pythagoras changed this proud style into the humble appellation of Philosophoi, or lovers of wisdom. To these boasters of superior wisdom St. Paul refers, when in one of his epistles he contemptuously demands, " Where is the wise ? Where is the disputer of this world ? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ?'* In • Matt, xxjii. 3 J- Luke xi-xp- LECT. XIX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. » 213 the same paragraph he declares that with all their pre- tended wisdom " they knew not God.*'* II. Another religious order among the Hebrews were the Scribes. There were several grades of civil trust, to which the sacred history applies this epithet. Thus Se- raiah, David's principal secretary of state, and the prime ministers of succeeding kings, are called scribes. The secretary of war is also styled " the principal scribe of the host." We also read of " the families of the scribes" &c. which probably intend subordinate clerks or common scrivners.f But the ecclesiastical scribes claim our pres- ent attention. These were persons trained up in the knowledge of the Jewish law and traditions, and who ac- cordingly taught them in the schools and synagogues, and decided questions by them in the sanhedrims. This body of men are frequently mentioned in the New Tes- tament under the different appellafions of scribes, law- yers, doctors of the law, elders, counsellors, rulers, and those, who sat in Moses' seat ; all which titles denote one order, viz. those, who explained and executed the law. This order indeed consisted of several degrees. For all, who were learned in the law and religion of the Jews, were in the days of Christ and his apostles called scribeg ; but especially the constituted teachers and judg- es. As the laws both of church and state proceeded from the same divine source, and were expounded by the same officers, we see why lawyers and scribes are used in the gospel as synonimous terms. And as the phari- sees were then the most distinguished and numerous sect, and possessed the greatest portion of Jewish learning ; the scribes for the most part belonged to this sect, and are therefore very frequently mentioned with the phari- • 1 Cor. i. 19, ao, ai, t a Sam, viii. 17. % Kings, xvlii. 18— xxv. 19. i Chron.ii. 55. Jer.xxvi.4. \ 314 LECTURES ON [lfct. xix, sees in the gospel history. The evangelist Matthew, comparing our Savior's preaching with that of these Jew- ish doctors, tells us, that " he taught as one having au- thority, and not as the scribes j" that is, as Dr. Light- foot comments on the words, our Savior taught the pure word of God j they, the idle traditions of the fathers. He taught the weighty and spiritual doctrines of faith, repentance, renovation, and love ; they, outward, car- nal, and trivial ceremonies. His preaching was plain and convincing ; theirs conceited, intricate, and puzzling. But here a question arises — if the preaching of the scribes was so corrupt, why do?s our Savior give the foi- lowing direction to his disciples?-—" rhe scribes and phar- isees sit in Moses' seat ; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do j but do not ye after their works ; for they say, and do not.** We answer, Moses' seat here probably means the chair or pulpit, from which they delivered their discourses, and which is called the seat of JVIoses, because the books of Moses were read and expounded from it, and because these teach- ers, Hke Moses, were the constituted in^tructers and rul- ers of the people. But when Christ commands his disci- ples to observe and do whatever these preachers bid them, the command extends to those instructions only, in which the scribes represented and truly copied Moses, or gave the genuine sense of his law. To extend it to all their instructions would imply that our Savior charged his dis- ciples to reject both Moses and himself ; for the doce trine of these preachers went to the rejection of both j it really subverted both the law and the gospel. in. Another title of distinction among the Jews was that of Rabbi ; which is derived from the Hebrew root rebeb or rabbab, signifying to be great. This title waJi t-Ecr- XIX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 215 originally given to persons of high condition in general^ particularly to men of rank in the state. It was not un- der the Old Testament assumed by, nor bestowed oa the prophets, or other distinguished characters in the church. But on the decline of sound knowledge and pi- ety, a proud affectation of this and other high sounding names appeared among their spiritual leaders. About the time of Christ's birth the learned Hebrew doctors began to be distinguished by this appellation ; and for about eight hundred years this has been their great -and only title of distinction ; except that such of them, as statedly minister in the synagogues, are called Chacanis, or wise men. Near the middle of the eleventh century their schools in Mesopotamia, where they had enjoyed and exercised their high titles and claims, were destroy- ed, and themselves expelled by the Mahometan princes ; since which they and their disciples have settled chiefly in the west of Christendom, and the pompous names, which they affected in the east, have been lost in the gen- eral appellation of rabbi. The later rabbies inform us that this title was confer- red with great formality. When a candidate was by a regular education qualified for this honor, he was placed in a chair somewhat elevated ; then were delivered to him a key and a table book ; the key, as a symbol of authority to open to others the treasures of his know- ledge. This symbol he afterward wore as a badge of hii) dignity ; and when he died, it was buried with him. The table book was an emblem of continued diligence and improvement in his studies. After these ceremonies, the delegates of the sanhedrim imposed their hands upon him, as a token of consecration to his office, and closed the solemnity with proclaiming his title. 2i6 LECTURES ON [lect. xix.' We find this title given to John the Baptist by his disci- ples ;* and to our Savior by Nicodemus, by the votaries of John, and by the admiring multitude.! The learned Vitringa maintains that Christ had taiven the degree of rabbi in the Jevi^ish schools, because otherwise he could not have preached publicly in the synagogues and tem- ple. But this reason is erroneous ; for any Jew might preach publicly in the temple or synagogue by the per- mission of the ruler of it ; and this permission was usual- ly granted to prophets, and workers of miracles, or to the leaders of new sects. Under these characters Jesus and his apostles were admitted to this privilege ; and not on the ground of their having received a rabbinical edu- cation. That Jesus had not been thus educated appears, not only from the total silence of the evangelists on this head, but from the astonishment expressed by his hear- ers at his wisdom and eloquence, especially from their admiring question — " how knoweth this man letters, having never learned ?":{: Christ also expressly condemns this title, and forbids his disciples to assume it — " Be not ye called rabbi ;'* that is, do not ye covet nor re- ceive this honorary degree. Banish from your bosoms that vain ambition and pride, that wish to tyrannize over men's consciences, which distinguish the Jewish rabbles. The extreme vanity of these Hebrew doctors was mani- fested in various instances, particularly by their high re- sentment, if any person addressed them without their customary title. A remarkable instance of this may be seen in the following anecdote. *' A certain rabbi sent a letter to another, and forgot to give him his title ; but only saluted him with the familiar appellation of friend. At which he was so much incensed, that he immediately • John, iii. 36. f John. i. 38. — iii. a. — vi 25. t John, vii. IJ. LECT. XIX.] JEY\aSH ANTIQUITIES. 2 17 Sfent a message to the letter writer, charging him to call him Anan, which was his proper name, without giving him the title rabbi. We are told in one of their rabbini- cal books that the Sanhedrim excommunicated certain per- sons twenty four times for not giving due honor to the rabbies. These arrogant men also claimed absolute do» minion over the faith of the people. It was deemed criminal for any person to disbelieve or even question their doctrines. Hence Gamaliel advises the ignorant " to get themselves rabbies, that they may no longer doubt of any thing ;" and Eleazar says, he that separates from the school of the rabbies, or teaches any thing which he has not heard from his master, provokes the divine Majesty to depart from Israel;'* Maimonides tells us that one who had attained the honor of rabbi, was also styled abba, or father. Hence our Savior for- bids his disciples to give or receive the title of father, as well as rabbi and master. He enforces this crohibition by telling them that they have one Father and one Mas- ter, whose authority and guidance are supreme and infal- lible. Agreeably, even the inspired apostles disclaimed all dominion over the consciences of men, and aspired to no honor, but that of faithfully serving Christ and their brethren. Happy had it been for the christian church, if her clergy had uniformly cherished this lowly and be- nevolent spirit ; if none of them had revived the lofty feelings and claims of Jewish rabbies ! We proceed to a IV. Religious class among the Hebrews, called Naz- arites from Nezer to separate, because they were pecul- iarly set apart or devoted to God, either by the act of their parents, or by their own. Thus Sampson, Samuel, and John the Baptist were dedicated to God from their Dd 2i8 LECTURES ON. [lect. xix'. birth.* The only peculiarities we can discover in the mode of life enjoined upon these early and perpetual Naz- arites, were an abstinence from wine and strong drink, and from ever shaving their heads. Those who bound themselves for a limited time by a vow of Nazariteship, were to observe these and some other peculiarities during that time ; but when the days of their vow were fulfill- ed, they were to have their hair shaved oiF at the door of the tabernacle, and burnt under the altar.f This Jewish custom probably gave rise to a practice among the Gentiles of consecrating their hair to the gods ; of which Suetonius relates an instance in the life of Nero ; who cut off his first beard, put it in a golden box set with jewels, and consecrated it to Jupiter Capitolinus. It appears likewise from Homer, Statins, Censerinus, and others, that the same custom obtained among the early Grecians. It seems that if a Nazarite were at a great distance from the temple, or in a foreign country, when his vow was accomplished, he might shave his head in the place where he Vv^as, and offer the prescribed sacri- fice at the temple on the first opportunity. Thus it ap- pears that Paul on some special occasion made a vow at Corinth, shaved his head at Cenchrea, and afterward made the usual offering at Jerusalem.]; This voluntary submission of Paul to the self denying duties of a Naz- arite, after the ceremonial law had ceased to be binding, was probably dictated by that tender and prudent conde- scension, which made him innocently conform to the prejudices of the Jews, and even become all things to all men, that he might win them over to the christian faith. I would further observe that Jehovah, the God of the Jews, commanded their Nazarites to cut off and burn * Judg. xiii. 5. I Sam. i. n. Luke i. Jf. f Numb. vi. ^ Acts xviii. 18. xxi. a6. &c. LECT. XIX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 2ig their hair at his tabernacle, probably with a view to in- struct them that their heads and their all must be devot- ed to Him, and to guard them against the idolatry and superstition of the pagans, who preserved their consecrat- ed hair as a holy relic, or suspended it on a tree as a sacred memorial, or solemnly dedicated it to some river or tutelar deity. In a word, the law of Nazaritism seems to have been partly prudential and partly religious. It was pruden- tial, because the sober and temperate manners, which it re- quired, were eminently propitious to health. Accordingly the Nazavites were celebrated for their fair and blooming aspect. They are said to be " whiter than milk, and more ruddy than rubies.'** It is remarkable that God, having destined Sampson to be a great scourge to the enem.ies of Israel by his gigantic strength, ordered that from his birth he should abstain from wine, and be edu- cated a strict Nazarite ; that in this way nature might contribute her utmost to that extraordinary vigor, which was afterwards completed by miraculous power. That this institution was also of a sacred kind, appears from the following text of the prophet Amos, in which God says, " I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites ;t that is, I inspired them with an extraordinary spirit of piety, and thus engaged them to devote themselves to a life of the strictest tem- perance and sanctity, meditation and prayer ; and in to- ken of their moral purity, inward mortification.^ and con- stant devotion to religious contemplations, to shun with care every ceremonial defilement, and to neglect the fash- ionable niceties of cutting and trimming the hair, or of adorning their persons. As these Nazarites were total- ly restricted from the use of the vine, not only from tast^ * Lament, iv. 7. | Arace ii. ij. 220 LECTURES ON Tlect.xix. ing the liquor, but from eating the grapes ;* and were also bound to the highest degree of purity, insomuch that they are said to be" purer than snow ;'*| Dr. Light- foot hence conjectures two things — First, that the vine ■was the tree forbidden to Adam in paradise, by eating of which he fell. He tells us that all the Jewish doc- tors positively agree in this sentiment or tradition. Sec- ond, that the extraordinary purity enjoined on the Nazar- ites, was designed as a visible memorial of man's prime- val innocence, simplicity, and purity. I will just add that our Savior is styled a Nazarene or Nazarite, from the circumstance of his spending the first and greatest part of his life in Nazareth, an obscure vil- lage of Galilee. St. Matthew tells us that his parents " came and dwelt with him in the city of Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene." But as no express pre- diction of this kind occurs in the Old Testam.ent proph- ets, we must conclude either that the passage here refer- red to is lost, or that Matthew alludes not to the words, but to the sense and spirit of the prophetic writings. Now from these it appears that Christ was to be a true Nazarite, that is, a person uncommonly separated from the world, and devoted to God and religion. And though this name was given him by men on account of the place of his abode, and was employed by the Jews as an epithet of reproach, to stigmatize his low condition and education ; yet providence so ordered it, that this title really proclaimed the singular purity and excellence of his character, and fulfilled the spirit of antient proph- ecy. Besides, the very contempt, which accrued to our Savior from his dwelling at Nazareth, and which was ex:- • Nu-Tib. vi. 3, 4. t Mat. ii. 23. LECT.xix.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. itt pressed in the name derived from this source, remarka- bly fulfilled those numerous predictions, which foretel his outward meanness and obscurity, and those scenes of reproach, contempt, and suffering, to which he would be subjected. Well therefore might the evangelist quote the prophets as saying that Christ should be called a Nazarene ; that is, that he should be loaded with the vil- est epithets ; that he should be regarded as a person sepa- rated, or an outcast from human society. I will close this lecture with 2i^ftb class of men in the Jewish church, called the Masoriies. Their employment was to write out copies of the hebrew scriptures ; to teach the true reading of them ; and to comment on the sacred text. Their work is called masora, or tradition, from Jiiaser to deliver ; for the Jews say that when God gave Moses the law from Mount Sinai, he taught him first the true reading of it, and secondly the true inter- pretation ; and that both these were handed down by oral tradition, till at length they were committed to writ- ing. The former of these, viz. the true reading, is the subject of the Masora ; the latter viz. the true interpre- tation, was called by two names, viz. the Mishna and Gemara ; the one containing the traditions of the fath- ers, the other a comment upon them. These two united compose the talmud or cabbala ; whence are derived the Jewish talraudists and cabalists. The latter originally denoted all, who professed to study and expound the an- tient traditions ; but the name of Cabalists is now appro- priated to those fanciful or mystical commentators, who by changing or transposing the letters of the sacred text, or considering their numeral power, extract spiritual or hidden mysteries from them, very different from their literal import, and the manifest intention of the writers. 212 LECTURES ON [lect. xix. When the Masorites first arose is a question much dis- puted. Dr. Prideaux makes it appear probable that they began their work not long after the Babylonish captivi- ty, when the Hebrew language having ceased to be the vulgar tongue of the Jews, some profession of men was needed to study and preserve the true reading of the He- brew scriptures. It is further probable that a great num- ber and long succession of Jewish grammarians gradually composed that collection of sacred criticisms, which is now called the Masora ; and that this collection was first compiled into one volume about five hundred years after Christ. These Masorites first settled the true read- ing of the Hebrew text by vowels and accents ; then numbered not only the chapters and sections, but the verses, words, and letters ; then marked every real or apparent irregularity in any of the letters ; and lastly ad- ded marginal corrections. The industry of these gram- marians was astonishing, and in many respects useful j but not a few of their criticisms were poor and trifling. This minute attention of learned Jews to the Old Tes- tament writings, for a long succession of ages, furnishes a manifold proof of their genuineness, purity, and divine original. For first, this extraordinary and even supersti- tious attention evinces a full conviction in the Hebrew nation that these books were authentic and sacred. But this full and permanent conviction, as we have formerly shown, could not have existed, had it not been founded in truth. Second, this exact and scrupulous care to pre- serve the Old Testament scriptures from alteration must have effectually contributed to their transmission in a pure state through each successive generation. It also gives us full security that the Jews would not on any consid- eration either contrive or submit to a wilful corruption LECT.xix.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 223 of writings, which they held in such profound venera- tion. Third, the strongest inducement, which the Jews could have to alter these books, arose from their invete- rate hatred to Christianity. Yet these writings, as they have come down to us, contain numberless prophecies and other passages, which strongly support the christian religion ; and it is a certain fact that the Jews have guarded the purity of their scriptures with more zeal and scrupulosity, since the coming of Christ than at any former period. For fourth, their Masora, in which the words and even letters of each book were numbered, was published in one volume, as we hinted above, about the close of the fifth christian century ; that is, in the time of the dark ages, when the extreme ignorance of the christiaBS made it most safe and easy for the Jews to have imposed on them a false copy of the Old Testa- ment. At such a period, as Dr. Doddridge well ob- serves, there was something very providential in this ex- act scrupulosity of the Masorites. Their superstition was made a seasonable guardian to these antient records, and a pledge of their purity to all succeeding ages. 2 24 LECTURES ON [lcct. xxl LECTURE XX. Origin and nature of the different religious sects^ ivhich divided the Hebrew nation. JlN our last lecture we continued our survey of' the religious orders or distinctions of men among the an- tient Jews. We attended to their wisemen, their scribes and rabbies, their nazarites, and lastly to a set of writers called the masorites, who gave and preserved the exact reading of the Hebrew scriptures. We will now inquire into the nature and origin of those religions sects, which divided the Jewish nation ; especially those which are of- ten mentioned in the sacred writings. After the return of this people from Babylon, and the reestablishment of their church in Judea by Ezra and Nehemiah, there arose among them two distinguished parties ; one of which adhered to the written word, as the only and complete rule of righteousness, and on this ground were called Zadikim, that is, the righteous ; the other to the written law superadded many traditional in- stitutions and practices, which they rigidly observed as implying and promoting an eminent degree of holiness, on which account they were styled Chasidim, that is, the pious. These in the septuagint version of the Macca- bees are called aci^atoi or saints, and in our translation Assideans. The former of these two divisions gave birth to the Samaritans, the Sadducees, and the Karraites ; the latter to the Pharisees, and the Essenes. We will brief- ly explain each of these in their order. L The Sa-maritans were originally heathens, to whom the king of Assyria gave the cities and lands of the ten tribes, after he had carried the latter into captivity. They LECT. XX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 225 were called Samaritans from the city of Samaria, the capital of that country. On their first settling in it, they observed the idolatrous rites of the several nations, from whom they emigrated. But being infested with lions, which they considered as a punishment for neglecting the former Deity and worship of the land, they sent to the Assyrian monarch for a Jewish priest to instruct them in the antlent religion. Having received this m- structlon, they framed a very motely kind of religion, compounded of heathen and Jewish ceremonies.* On the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple after the Bab- ylonish captivity, the religion of the Samaritans received a new modification. For many of the Jews having taken wives from heathen families, in opposition to the divine law, Nehemiah the governor compelled them immediate- ly to dissolve the forbidden connexion, or to leave the community.! Many, preferring the latter, fled to Sama- ria, and settled under the protection of its government. The Jews, thus mixing with the Samaritans, effected a change in their religious system. A temple was built in conformity to that at Jerusalem ; the book of the law of Moses was introduced, and publicly read ; and the peo- ple were brought to renounce their false gods, and to embrace the worship of Jehovah according to the rules prescribed in that book. The animosity however be- tween the Jews and Samaritans was not diminished by this circumstance. The Jews viewed the Samaritans as apostates. They hated them first for opposing the rebuild- ing of their temple and city ; secondly for encouraging and cooperating with the abovementioned deserters from their government and religion ; thirdly for erecting an altar and temple in opposition to theirs j and fourthly * ^ Kings xvii. 24 &c. | Neh. x!ii. 2$, "JO, Ee 22-6 LECTURES ON [lect. x^. for giving comfort and protection to every kind of Jew- ish offenders, who fled from the justice of their country. The hatred produced by these and similar causes, grew to such a height, that the Jews denounced the most bitter anathema against the Samaritans, and for many ages re- fused them every kind of intercourse. Hence the woman of Samaria was astonished that our Savior, being a Jew, should ask drink of her. Hence too the Jews, when they would express the utmost aversion to Christ, said to him, **thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ;" imply- ing that to be a Samaritan, and to be possessed with a devil, were in their view equally vile. The distinguishing tenets of the Samaritans, after their reformation from idolatry and conversion to the worship of the true God, consisted in the three following articles. First, they received as sacred the five books of Moses only. They still possess these books in the old Hebrew or Phenician language. They have also a version of them in their vulgar or Chaldee dialect. This version was ear- ly made for the benefit of the common people, who, as well as the vulgar Jews, lost their acquaintance with the Hebrew tongue soon after their captivity. The agree- ment of this copy with the original is truly wonderful, when we consider the vast space of time since it was tak- en, the usual errors of transcribers, and the total want of communication, and even rancorous animosity be- tween their respective adherents. As the Samaritans thus differ from the Jews in adhering to the books of Moses, exclusive of the other Old Testament writings ; so secondly, they differ from them in rejecting all tradi- tions, and keeping strictly to the written word, without admitting those corrupt glosses, which would explain it away, or substitute human inventions in its room. In LECT. XX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 227 this particular they are far more exact disciples of Mos- es than the most zealous Jews. Thirdly, they also dif- fer from the Jews respecting their place of worship. The law of Moses required the Hebrews to perform their re- ligious rites in the place, which God should choose ; and this place was Jerusalem. But when the Samaritans and apostate Jews had erected a temple and altar on mount Gerizim, they denied that Jerusalem was the place, which God had chosen, and insisted that mount Gerizim was that selected spot, reasoning as the woman of Samaria did to our Savior, that their fathers worshipped in that mountain. They pretend that there Abraham and Ja- cob built altars and offered sacrifices to Jehovah, and hereby consecrated the place to his worship;* and ac- cordingly that God himself appointed this to be the mount, on which his blessings were to be pronounced on his faithful worshippers, and on which Joshua, by divine command, after passing Jordan, built an altar of twelve stones taken out of that river ; which altar they hold to be the same, on which they now sacrifice.! But to estab- lish this part of their argument, they have sacrilegiously corrupted the text in Deuteronomy, which enjoins the Hebrews to set up the altar on mount Ebal ; instead of which they have substiuted mount Gerizim. We proceed II. To the Saddticees. This sect probably derived its name from Sadoc, a scholar of Antigonus, who was presi- dent of the Sanhedrim about two hundred and sixty years before Christ ; and who taught his pupils that they ought to serve God, not from a mean regard to future reward or punishment, but from pure filial love to Him. Sadoc hence inferred that there was no reward nor pun- ishment after this life. He accordingly began a new sect, * Ccn. xii. 6, 7. xiii. 4. xxxili. 30. fDeiit. xxvji. 12. ij.*. 228 LECTURES ON [lect. xx; which from the name of the founder were called Saddu- cees ; a sect, which nearly coincided with the followers of Epicurus ; except that the latter denied the divine a- gency in creating and governing the world, while the former believed in both. At first perhaps the Sadducees contented themselves with exploding the authority of tra- ditions ; but by degrees their doctrine assumed a very libertine and impious form. The New Testament assures us that, in the first age of Christianity, they denied the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels and de- parted spirits. According to Josephus they admitted but one spiritual being, viz. God ; they looked upon death as the final extinction both of soul and body ; they main- tained that the providence and retributions of Deity were limited to this world ; and on this ground only they wor- shipped and obeyed him. They also denied the doctrine of divine influences in assisting men to good, or restrain- ing them from evil. In short, they agreed with the Sa- maritans in rejecting all the Old Testament writings ex- cept the five books of Moses. They probably rejected the former, because they could not reconcile them with their tenets. Hence our Savior confutes their error res- pecting a future life and the resurrection by an indirect argument drawn from the writings of Moses, which they received as divine ; while he waves those direct and nu- merous proofs contained in the prophets, whose authori- ty they denied * If you ask, how could the Sadducees deny the existence of angels, when even the five books of Moses, which they esteemed sacred, frequently relate the appearances of these celestial spirits ; we reply, this sect probably understood these angelic appearances to be only transient visions or • Matt. xxij. Mark xii. Luke xx. LECT. XX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 229 phantoms, exhibited by divine power for occasional pur- poses, and then dissipated or withdrawn by the same power. Josephus tells us that this sect was comparatively small, consisting chiefly of men possessing high rank and opu- lence. Worldly riches and grandeur, by attaching them to this life, and nourishing sensual and dissolute habits, prepared them to embrace doctrines, which flattered their earthly and vitious inclinations, and delivered them from the painful apprehensions of a future retribution. Saddu- cism therefore among the Jews, like deism among Chris- tians, was the growth of moral depravity. Like mod- ern infidelity and irreligion, it flourished most in that class of society, whose fortune, splendor, and luxury made them peculiarly dislike both the promises and rhreatnings of a hfe to come. As these higher orders in the Jewish nation were cut off in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, this whole sect seems to have perished with them ; insomuch that no trace of it appears for many following ages. At length however there was some re- vival or resemblance of it in a III. Sect, called the Karraites from Kara, that is, scripture ; because they adhered to the scriptures only, and rejected the traditions taught by the Rabbles ; while those, who followed the latter, were styled Rahbinhts. As these were the prevailing and popular party, they branded the former as schismatics, heretics, and saddu- cees. But the fact is, that the Karraites were the most orthodox and pious of all their sects. They agreed with the Sadducees in no other point, but in exploding fabu- lous traditions, and cleaving to the scriptures alone. They respected the talmud, as a learned human compos- er, to be soberly used as a help for explaining scripture^ 230 LECTURES ON [lect. xx. so far as it corresponded with, or tended to enlighten the sacred text. They were formed into a distinct and com- plete sect about the middle of the eighth century by Anan, a Babylonish Jew j who with his followers, publicly con- demned all traditions, as mere human inventions. This party still exists, and embraces the greatest share of real learning and probity in the nation. It flourishes chiefly in the north of Europe, and in the eastern countries. This sect, as the learned Reland informs us, differs from the other Jews or Rabbinists in their construction of many texts of scripture, and their observance of many rites of worship. It is worthy of remark, that there are two great divis- ions among both the Mahometans and Christians, corres- ponding to this among the Jews. The Mahometans have a sect, called the Sonniies, who adhere to the Sonna or collection of traditions, concerning the sayings and ac- tions of their prophet, which they regard as a necessary supplement to the Koran. This party embraces the Turk- ish nation. But the Persians, who are followers of Ali, son in law of Mahomet, reject the Sonna as fabulous, and adhere to the Koran only. These two parties hate each other as cordially, as they both agree in hating the chris- tians. The christian world is also divided into two grand sections of Papists and Protestants ; the former of which, like the Jewish Rabbinists have added ecclesiastical tra- dition to the word of God j while the latter adhere to the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice. This re- gard to scripture, as the only standard of religion, gave birth, support, and triumph to the reformation from pop* ery. This principle has ever distinguished and adorned all consistent dissenters from the church of Rome. I add with grateful exultation, this principle gave existence LECT. XX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 231 and glory to New England. Having described those Jewish sects, who professed an exclusive regard to the written word, we proceed IV. To the most distinguished party in the Hebrew church, I mean the Pharisees. These derived their name from a Hebrew or Chaldee verb, signifying to separate ; because they professed an uncommon separation from the world, and devotion to God and religion. Agreeably St. Paul in his speech before king Agrippa calls them " aKpicrztrccrri tzi^eo-i^y ' which our translation renders by a double superlative, " the most straitest or strictest sect.*' Josephus says that this seci: was esteemed more devout than all others, and valued itself on its accurate knowledge and observance of the law, and the customs of the fathers. The rise and date of this sect are uncer- tain. It probably grew up by degrees to maturity. Ac- cording to Josephus it made a considerable figure above a hundred years before Christ. The high reputation and influence of this party are strikingly illustrated by the following anecdote. When one of the Jewish kings, Alexander Janneus, lay on his death bed, about eighty years before the christian era, his wife expressed great anxiety on account of the exposed state, in which she and her children would be left, by means of the bitter ani- mosity of the Pharisees against him and his family. Up- on which the dying prince earnestly advised her to court the Pharisees, as the sure method of conciliating the mass of the people. He particularly enjoined her, after his death, to give up his body to their disposal, and to as- sure them that she would thenceforth resign herself to their direction. She followed his counsel, and hereby ob- tained for her husband a splendid funeral, and for her- self a firm establishment in the kingdom. 232 LECTURES ON [lect. xx. This sect was directly opposed to that of tlie Saddu- cees, in many particulars. For the Pharisees believed in angels and spirits, and a future resurrection. Josephus, who was one of their sect, tells us that their doctrine was, " that every soul is immortal, that those of the good only enter into another body, but those of the bad are tor- mented with eternal punishment." When Josephus says that the souls of the good enter into another body, he may mean either their immediate transmigration into dif- ferent bodies, which was the notion of the Pythagoreans and Platonists, and of some among the Jews, or their re- ceiving another, that is, a more refined body at the resur- rection. The former construction seems to be favoured by that question of Christ's disciples respecting a person blind from his birth. " Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born bHnd ?" This plainly implies the preexisting state of the soul, and its passing into a blind body, as a supposed punishment for some antece- dent offence. But this passage only proves that the no- tion of transmigration had infected some of the Jews ; but it does not clearly fix it on the whole sect of the Phar- isees. Nor does the opinion, which some entertained of our Savior, that he was Elias, or Jeremiah, or John the Baptist, prove that the Pharisees held the transmigration of souls ; for this opinion of Christ is not specifically predicated of them ; nor does it imply a belief that the soul of Elias or the Baptist had entered into the body of Jesus, but rather that the body of one of these prophets was raised, and reunited to its former spirit. According- ly St. Luke expresses it thus, " others say that one of the old prophets is risen again." Herod also expressed a similar belief, when he heard of the fame of Jesus — " It is John the baptist j he is risen from the dead." It LECT. XX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 233 is therefore most probable that the Pharisees believed in a proper resurrection of the dead ; especially as St. Paul, when brought before the Sanhedrim, declared himself a Pharisee, and asserted that he was called in question for maintaining the doctrine of that sect concern- ing the resurrection of the dead. Now the resurrection, which Paul preached, was a real future revival of those who sleep in the grave. On his openly professing this doctrine, the Pharisees belonging to the council vindicat- ed him against the Saducees.* Thus far then the tenets of the Pharisees appear sound and scriptural. But their fundamental error lay in their attachment to the tradi- tions of the fathers, which they held in equal veneration with the sacred writings ; insomuch that their supersti- tious regard to the former destroyed the true spirit and observance of the latter, and prompted them to substi- tute trifling ceremonies and external mortifications, such as frequent washings, fastings &c. in the room of genu- ine virtue and piety. Hence our Savior stigmatizes them as vainglorious " hypocrites" and " whited sepulchres ;" because while they were very exact and pompous in their ritual observances, their hearts and secret practices were full of sensuality and covetousness, pride and malignity. Yet on account of their exterior sanctity they looked upon themselves, and were esteemed by the multitude as eminent saints, and high in the favor of Heaven. Hence this sect not only drew the people after it, but at length completely devoured every opposing interest. Except- ing the few Karraites abovementioned, the whole Jewish nation from their dispersion to this day have observed the traditions of the Pharisees, as the great rule of their belief and practice 5 so that the present religion of the * Acts, xxlii. 6. Ff 234 LECTURES ON [lect. xx. Jews is a corruption of the Old Testament system, just as popish superstition is a corruption of Christianity. We hence see the true source of that inveterate opposition, which the Pharisees showed to our Savior. For their carnal traditions and propensities having taught them to look for a temporal Messiah, their prejudices against Je- Sus of Nazareth on account of his low appearance and spiritual doctrine induced them, and still induce their tol- lowers to reject him as an impostor. LECT. XXI.3 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 235 A LECTURE XXL Review of preceding levtures. S a large number of students is now for the first time introduced to this course of lectures ; it will be proper briefly to unfold to them their nature and im- portance, and retrace the ground, over which we have travelled. In obedience to the authority of this univer- sity, we have spent considerable time in exploring the venerable antiquities of the Jews. As the civil and reli- gious peculiarities of this distinguished people originated from God himself, and were intended to answer the most benificent purposes both to them and to the world ; so they furnish objects of contemplation highly important, entertaining, and improving. An accurate knowledge of them reflects great light and beauty on many parts of scripture, which cannot be fully understood and appre- tiated without some acquaintance with the history, the laws and customs of the antient Hebrews. If the anti- quities of heathen nations, of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans have deservedly engaged a long succession of critical and learned inquirers ; certainly those of the Jews, which emanated from infinite wisdom, challenge an equal portion of attention ; especially as they afford a clue to the general history of the antient world, and bring into a striking view the grand scheme of divine Providence. Influenced by these considerations, we have attempted to explain frst the civil, and secondly the religious polity of this chosen nation. We have seen that their civil gov- ernment was originally a Theocracy, that is, a system, of which God was the framer, and in which he was immediate 23<^ LECTURES ON [lect. xxi. Sovereign ; a system primarily intended to preserve in our •world the knowledge, worship, and obedience of Jeho- vah, and of course the interests of genuine virtue. We have also seen that this constitution, and the laws which grew out of it, admirably secured temporal liberty and happiness ; that they formed a free and confederate re- public, combining the best features of the most perfect governments, which human wisdom in after ages has devised. This happy government continued, till the people, having lost its true spirit, fell under the scourge of anarchy and despotism. But the religious institu- tions of this nation form the most conspicuous trait in their history. As their political laws were chiefly designed as handmaids to religion ; so apostacy from the belief and worship of the one true God was justly made a capital crime or high treason against the state ; and their sacred rites were enforced by temporal rewards and punishments, suited to their gross apprehensions and feelings. As a great variety and abundance of religious ceremonies suited the genius and exigences of that people, and were needful as guards against surrounding idolatry, as memorials of past events, and as types of future gos- pel blessings ; so the special and leading rites of their ■worship were admirably fitted to these ends. We have shown that the ceremony of circumcision was peculiarlv suited to display, confirm, and perpetuate the religious faith and obedience of the Israelites ; to secure them by an impregnable barrier against pagan idolatry ; and to keep them united in one select and holy fraterni- ty. We have seen that their weekly sabbath, by calling them to solemn rest and worship after six days of labor, held up to their very senses a Hvely image of the six days* work of creation j of the rest or complacency of Jehovah LECT. XXI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 237 on the seventh day ; of his infinite power, wisdom, and goodness exhibited in the formation of the universe, and in their redemption from Egyptian bondage ; and of the future eternal rest and fehcity of his faithful worship- pers in the heavenly Canaan. Thus it tended to pro- mote that exclusive reverence and worship of the true God, those sound and strong impressions of moral and religious truth, which are the supports of private and na- tional virtue. We have also pointed out the fitness and utility of those various offerings and sacrifices, in which the ancient Jewish worship abounded. The frequent spectacles of bleeding victims, suffering and atoning for the guilty offerers, pathetically displayed to their senses the purity and justice of God, the evil of transgression, their own desert of death, the necessity of some atone- ment, and the readiness of Deity to pardon the penitent, through the 'future sacrifice of a Mediator. We have also explained the manner and shown the expediency of those visii?ie appearances^ by which Jehovah manifested himself to his antient people, particularly in the taberna- cle and temple. We have largely attended to the stated officers of the Jewish church, such as the Priests and the Lcvites ; and likewise to those occasional ministers of re- ligion, the Old Testament Prophets. We have shown the qualifications and important services of these several orders, and vindicated them from the aspersions of mod- ern scepticism and infidelity. We have noticed other re- ligious distinctions and classes of men among the Jews ; particularly their Wise?nen and Scribes, their Rabbies and Nazarites, together with a set of writers called the Maso- rites, who settled and preserved the true reading of the Hebrew scriptures. Lastly, we have inqnired Into the nature and prigin of tho53 religious scctsy which divided 238 LECTURES ON Clect. xxi that people; particularly the 5^;;2^nV^;2/, the Sadducecs and the Pharisees. The two last are frequently mention- ed in the New Testament. The Sadducees in many par- ticulars answered to modern freethinkers. 1 hey began with exploding tradition and superstition, and with pre- tending to reform the word of God from corrupt append- ages ; but they ended in denying the existence of a fu- ture state, and accommodating their principles to their worldly and licentious inclinations. The Pharisees on the contrary, like the modern votaries of superstition, professed an uncommon deadness to the world, and devo- tion to religion, but substituted human traditions, trilling ceremonies, and external mortifications in the room of genuine piety and virtue. Hence our Savior stigmatizes them as vain glorious hypocrites and whited sepulchres. We hence see the true source of that inveterate opposi- tion, which both these parties manifested to Jesus Christ and his gospel. The libertine principles of the former, the carnal traditions and bigotted zeal of the latter, with the pride, selfishness, and national prejudices of both, had strongly attached them to a temporal Messiah. These sentimeuts, feelings, and expectations inspired thera with contempt and malignity against Jesus of Nazareth on ac- count of his low appearance and spiritual doctrine. And as the great body of the Jewish nation from their disper- sion to this day have closely adhered to the sentiments of the Pharisees ; hence they have obstinately persisted in their rejection of Christianity, and continue still to ex- pect a temporal deliverer. Having given you this short summary of our preceed- ing lectures, we will finish our account of Jewish sects by describing two other religious bodies who make sonie figure in sacred or profane history j I mean the Herodi- am and Essenes. i.ECT. XXI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 239 The first are several times mentioned by the evangelists. These Herodians derived their name from Herod the great, a king of judea, and were distinguished from the other Jews by their falling in with his scheme of subject- ing himself and his people to the Romans, and adopt- ing many of their heathen customs. The Pharisees held it unlawful to acknowledge or pay tribute to the Roman emperor, because they were forbidden by their law to set a king over them, who was a stranger, and not one of their own nation. But Herod and his followers un- derstood this law to forbid only the voluntary election of a stranger, and esteemed it lawful to submit and pay tax- es to him, when force or conquest had made him their master. These two sects therefore, though bitterly op- posed to each other, yet being enflamed with still greater enmity to Christ, united their efforts to entangle him with this question — " Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar or not ?*' If he gave a negative answer, the Herodians would accuse him of treason against the emperor ; if in the affirmative, the Pharisees would accuse him to the people as an enemy to their liberties. Christ by his pru- dent address defeated the malice of both, and at the same time implicitly justified the Herodians in rendering tribute to Cesar. When therefore our Savior in anoth- er place cautions his disciples against the leaven or cor- rupt doctrine of Herod, and his adherents, he must re- fer, not to their submission to the government, but to their compliance with the idolatrous customs of the Ro- mans. Josephus tells us that Herod, to ingratiate him- self with Augustus and his courtiers, had erected a tem- ple to his honor, built a magnificent theatre at Jerusa- lem, instituted pagan games, placed a golden eagle over the gate of Jehovah's temple, and set up heathen images m 240 LECTURES ON Clect. xxi. several places of worship. These compliances with idolatry he excused by pleading the will of the emperor, and the necessity of obedience. Those who joined with Herod in these compliances, and thus mixed idolatrous usages with the religion of Jehovah, were the Herodians mentioned in the gospel, and condemned by our Lord. The sixth and last sect, which claims our notice, was that of the Essenes ; a name probably derived from the Syriac verb Asa to heal, because they pretended to cure the moral diseases contracted by irregular passions and indulgences. This body of men grew out of the Phar- isees, and carried their strict discipline to the greatest pitch of severity. Three learned writers, Josephus, Phi- lo, and Pliny, have given many curious particulars of this wonderful sect. I will give you a portrait of this religious class from the three authors abovenamed. Both the opinions and practices of the Essenes were remarkably strict. They maintained the doctrine of abso- lute predestination. They believed that God influences and disposes all actions and events. While they agreed with the Pharisees in the belief of a future state, they dissented from them with regard to the resurrection of the dead ; for they held that the souls of men after death are fixed in everlasting happiness or misery accord- ing to their actions here, without any more returning to or inhabiting bodies ; that the souls of good men are transmitted to a delightful region, which is never molested either with storms, or snow, or raging heat, but is ever re- freshed with gentle gales ; while the spirits of the wick- ed go to a place dark and cold, filled with punishments, which will never cease. The Essenes regarded corporeal and earthly pleasure as mean and sinful. They placed Hbsiincnce and the mortification of their passions among lECT. xxi.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 241 the highest virtues. Hence they generally renounced or refrained from marriage. But to keep alive and propa- gate their sect, they took into their fraternity other men's children, whom they treated with parental affection, and carefully educated in their own principles and habits. Pliny speaks of them with admiration as the only sort of men in the world, who lived without w^omen, and who were perpetually propagated without any being born among them. He tells us that they were daily recruited by the resort of new comers, whom misfortune, or peni- tence for past guilt, or the love of serious retirement impelled to take shelter in their pious and benevolent association. This sect held riches in great contempt. They maintained a perfect community of goods. Every one, who joined their institution, gave up all his interest into the public stock ; so that no member was either ele- vated above, or depressed below the level of his breth- ren; but the property of the whole was equally enjoyed by all. They had stewards chosen to manage their com- mon fund, and to provide for their several necessities. They did not all live together in one city or territoryj but were distributed into a number of sodalities, who dwelt in different cities. Each of these sodalities had a procurator, who took care of all travellers of their sect, providing them with everv convenience ; so that when they journeyed, they carried nothing with them for their support, but made as free use of these hospitable broth- erhoods, even though they never saw them before, as we do of our own families or intimate friends. They never bought nor sold any thing among themselves, but every one according to his ability or necessity freely gave or re- ceived. Their mode of living was surprisingly temperate and austere. Their houses were mean; their clothes 24t ].ECTURES ON [lect. xxi. made of wool without any dye, and never changed, till they were quite unfit for use ; theirfood coarse ; and their drink water. They rejected every bodily ornament. Their morals were very exact and pure. Though in all other mat- ters they followed the guidance of their superiors, yet in offices of mutual assistance, and of mercy, they wereentrus- ted with full discretionary power. They governedtheir pas- sions, particularly their anger, Avith great justice and mod- eration ; and kept their faith with immoveable steadiness. They despised and triumphed over pain and suffering. They esteemed death itself, when endured in a good cause, better than immortality. They admitted no can- didate into their society till after a probation and disci- pline of three years ; and before his reception to their fellowship, they bound him by solemn oath, first to wor- ship and serve God ; secondly to exercise strict justice toY/ard men ; and in short, to observe with exactness and perseverence all the rules of the society. Those, whom they convicted of any gross transgression, were ex^ pelled from their community. Persons thus expelled of, ten perished by a miserable death ; for they felt them- selves restrained by their vows to the society frorareceiv- ino- food, except from their own sect ; and were there- fore forced to feed like the brutes on the herbs of the field, tiil their bodies v^ere consumed by famine. In their public administration of justice they were exceedingly ac- curate. They never gave sentence, unless a hundred at least were present; and what was thus decreed was irrevo- cable. Next to God, they paid the greatest reverence and t;ubmission to their rulers, and to the public will. Though they v/ere voluntarily destitute of money, of property, and of servants ; though they rejected every kind of mer- chandize, traiiic, and navigation, and every art connect- LECT. XXI.] JE^V^SH ANTIQUITIES. 243 ed with or assistant to war •, yet they esteemed themselves the richest, the safest, and the most happy people on earth. In the strict observation of the sabbath they ex- ceeded all the other Jews. For they not only prepared their meal for that day the evening before, but dared not ttlcve a vessel out of its place during the sabbath. Their religious strictness also pervaded every day. For rising very early, they dedicated to the duty of prayer the whole time before the sun appeared. They repaired to and portook of their daily meals with as much decorum and religious acknowledgment of their Maker, as if they had been worshipping together in his temple. In a wordy according to the aboveroentioned writers, they were dis- tinguished patterns of the love of virtue, of their neigh- bour, and of God. I have dwelt thus long on this religious sect, not dll- ly to give you a full view of their extraordinary chafact- er, but to obviate the wrong conclusions, which have been drawn from their history both by papists and de- ists. The papists have eagerly contented that these Es- senes, at least that portion whom Philo describes as wholly dedicated to a devout and contemplative life, were christian monks, converted and instituted by St. Mark ; whence they infer the divine institution of a mo- nastic life. But Philo says nothing about Christianity in his account of this sect. He represents them not as a new body of men, as the christians then were, but as an order of long standing, as having writings of antient date, as de- riving their philosophy by tradition from their forefath- ers, as being widely dispersed among the Greek and bar- barous nations, as rigorously observing, not the first, but the seventh day as their sabbath, and as celebrating their festivals according to the law of Moses. These and oth- er particulars evidently describe, not Christian, but Jew- 244 LECTURES ON [lect. xxi. ish monks. It is possible however that some of these re- cluses among the Jews might, on their conversion to Christianity, still retain their habits of devout retirement from the world, and thus by degrees give birth to chris- tian monkery. We are able to trace the origin of mo- nastic institutions in the christian church to nearly the middle of the third century. During the persecution of the emperor Decius, Paul, a young gentleman of Egypt, fled into a neigh bourmg desart and abode there in a cave for ninety years. About twenty years after his re- tiring, Anthony, a youth of the same provmce, allur- ed by the religious fame of Paul, sequestered himself in the same desart. Many others, catching the same spir- it, resorted to him, and were formed into a body under his direction and government. From this source sprung all the monastic institutions of Christendom. They can claim no patronage nor warrant from the religion of the New Testament ; which every where enjoins contentment and diligence in our several worldly callings, and directs us to serve our Maker and contribute to social good by fil- hng these with useful activity j whereas monks of every description desert their proper stations in society, and waste their lives in contemplative and useless indolence. These observations, while they refute the arguments of papists in favor of their monks, equally silence the cavil of deists, who pretend that Christianity is an unsocial, aus- tere institution, which grew out of the Jewish sect above described. But as none of the peculiar doctrines and precepts of the gospel are to be found in those of theEs- senes ; so none of the peculiarities of the latter are adopt- ed by the former. On the contrary, our Savior and his apos ties, by condemning the extreme nicety, superstition, and rigor of the Pharisees, have implicitly and even more LEcT.xxi.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 245 severely condemned the still greater superstitions of the Essenes ; such as their scrupulous and frequent wash- ings, their too rigid observance of the sabbath, their ab- staining from meats, which God created for man*s use, their severe restrictions of " Touch not, taste not, han- dle not," their will worship and affected humility in neg- lecting and afflicting the body, their forbidding marriage, that honorable, necessary, and divine institution ; these and other particulars, especially their denial of a future resurrection, which is the main object of the christian hope, are wholly inconsistent with, and pointedly con- demned by the New Testament. Most of these articles are expressly reprobated by St. Paul in his epistle to the Colossians ;* which suggests a probability, that there was a sodality of Essenes at Colosse, and that some of the christians there favored their singularities. While these remarks hold up Christianity as an amia- ble and beneficent institution, directly opposed to a life of useless rigor and separation from the world ^ they suggest to you, my young friends, your future path of duty. You are now sequestered from the world for a season, that you may return to it with enlarged capaci- ties of usefulness. Neither reason nor Christianity will permit you, when you quit this literary retirement, to bury yourselves in indolent ease, in learned or even reli- gious privacy. The spirit of the gospel, early and deep- ly imbibed, will carry you far beyond the Jewish Phari- sees and Essenes in real devotion and sanctity, and at the same time render you social, active, and beneficent oo the stage of the world. • Chap. ii. 28, 23. 246 LECTURES ON [lect. xxir. LECTURE XXII. Peculiarities of the Hebrew ritual. Subordinate regulations of the Israelites J to distinguiih the^n from the absurd usages of idolaters. XXAVING considered the principal features of the antient Hebrew worship, we shall now contemplate some other parts of that instiution, and show their ad- mirable tendency to preserve the Israelites from sur- rounding idolatry, and to keep alive the principles and practice of the true religion. Beside the daily worship, the observance of weekly sabbaths, and of three annual feasts, which we formerly noticed, their ritual appropriated a religious service, con- sisting of animal and vegetable offerings, to the first day of every month, or to every new moon.* As the moon is one of the great and benificent luminaries of heaven j so she was early esteemed and worshipped as a goddess by the heathen world. It was natural for her worship- pers to celebrate her return and renovated splendor at the beginning of each lunar month, with peculiar ceremonies of joy and adoration. Agreeably many pagan writers represent these monthly celebrations as very joyous and magnificent, as accompanied with numerous and costly victims, with the blowing of trumpets, with a great show both of festivity and devotion, and in particular with sacrificing a goat to the object of their worship, because the horns of this animal resembled the curved figure of the new moon. As this species of idolatry was very prevalent in the eastern world, and the Hebrews them- selves were strongly inclined to it ; Jehovah wisely trans- ferred to himself those occasions and rites of adoration, .• Numb, xxviii. II, i6. x. lo. LECT. XXII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 247 which superstition had thus profaned. He directed his people to consecrate every new moon to him, by perform- ing many of the same ceremonies to his honor, which idolaters dedicated to this pretended queen of heaven. While in this way he indulged the taste of the Israelites for this monthly and pompous festival, he effectually bar- red its idolatrous abuse, and led them to acknowledge him as the one true God, of whom the moon in all her revolutions, as well as every other part of visible nature, was but the creature and minister. Agreeably the learn- ed Grotius and Patrick justly observe, that the law, di- recting this celebration, repeatedly mentions Jehovah as the exclusive object of it, and in particular says that " the goat shall be offered for a sin offering to the Lord;^* that is, says a Jewish rabbi ; this goat was to be offered expressly to Jehovah, to extirpate the religion of those, who worshipped the moon ; whereas the same animal, when directed to be offered on other solemnities, is sim- ply styled a goat, or a sin offering, because there was no danger of mistaking the object of their sacrifice ; but here this clause was necessary to root out that inveterate idolatry, which had long sacrificed to the moon at this season, as well as to the rising sun. How ready the Jews were to relapse into this idolatrous custom, appears from several passages of Jeremiah, which represent them as making cakes and burning incense to the queen of heav- en j yea boldly tellingthe prophet, that when they did thus, they enjoyed health and plenty, and saw no evil ; but that when they left off this practice they wanted all things.* "Was it not wise and beneficent in the Mosaic law to crush this prevailing evil, by converting the occasion and rites of this idolatry into a religious solemnity to the true God? * Jerem. vH. i8. — x'liv. 17. &c. 248 LECTURES ON [lect. xxi!, Further, as the ritual thus directed a monthly celebra- tion, so it enjoined an annual service on the beginning of the seventh month — " In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have a holy convocation ; it is the the day of blowing the trumpets unto you."* It ap- pears that the month, here styled the seventh, was origi- nally the first, and probably was so from the creation, and that it still continued the beginning of the Jewish irm/year; though their sacred year was, by divine appointment, com- puted from their memorable departure from Egypt. The beginning therefore of their seventh month, according to the new or ecclesiastical reckoning, was really the com- mencement of the antient year, and was therefore fit- ly celebrated by some peculiar rites of religion. Accord- ingly, in addition to the common sacrifices of every day, and every new moon, a variety of special offerings is direct- ed for this day. The blowing of trumpets is also enjoin- ed as a memorial. t As all nations made great rejoicings at the beginning of the year, and frequently sounded trumpets as one demonstration of their joy and thanks- giving ; God wisely permitted and ordered his own peo- ple to observe similar ceremonies on the same occasion, in honor of himself. While the surrounding heathens at the beginning of the new year, worshipped the sun, as the king of heaven, the ruler of the seasons, and the author of their yearly blessings ; the Hebrews at this season celebrated Jehovah, as the Creator of the sun, the Director of his annual revolutions, and the sole Dis- penser of prosperous days and years. Their blowing of the trumpets was a joyful memorial of the creation of the world, when the first year began its course. It was a thankful commemoration of the goodness of Jehovah in • Numb, xxix, i. f Lev. xsiii. 24. LECT. xxii.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 249 the year just closed, and a devout recognition of his sole empire over all the heavenly luminaries and motions, and over the operations of nature here below. In a word, this religious service on the first day of the year w-as in- tended and fitted to unite their hearts to the true God in gratitude for his past, and humble dependence for his fu- ture blessings. Another peculiarity of the Jewish ritual was the ap- pointment of a sabbatical year. The law directs the people to sow and reap their fields six years, but in the seventh year to do neither, but to regard it as a sabbath of rest for the land and for the nation. If any of them asked, what shall we eat the seventh year, since we are neither to sow nor gather in our increase ? Jehovah replies, I will command my blessing upon you In the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.'** Many at first view may think this a very im- politic and severe regulation, as it barred a whole com- munity every seventh year from the useful cultivation and produce of their estates, and thereby seemed to ex- pose them to poverty, famine, and ruin. But this very objection proves the divine authority of this law ; for no impostor would have dared to propose so extravagant and fatal a project ; and no people in their senses could have been persuaded to adopt it. Or if some bold deceiver or enthusiast had in the first instance wrought up a whole nation to believe that they ought to rest every seventh year, and that the year preceding would miraculously pro- duce a harvest equal to that of three ordinary years ; yet the event would certainly cure their infatuation, and blast the pretended authority of the deceiver. Since therefore the Jewish people did embrace this law, and * Levi sx. I. viii, 20, ai. Hh 250 LECTURES ON [lect. xxir, others eqiuiHy hazardous, and steadily adhered to them for many hundred years ; we must conclude that they had full evidence of their divine original, and that they actually experienced an extraordinary blessing in observ- ing them. We must in particular conclude that the promise of a miraculous increase every sixth year, was faithfully performed. This, and this only would remove all objections to the statute in question, and induce their persevering compliance with it. This would operate as a standing extraordinary confirmation of the Mosaic re- ligion. We may add that the law before us was adapt- ed to many excellent purposes. It forcibly taught the Israelites that God was the sovereign Proprietor of their land, and they tenants at will under him ; that it was his prerogative to say when they should till the soil, and when they should let it rest. While it thus impressed them \vith his sovereignty and their subjection, it habitu- ated them to a constant dependence on his Providence by showing that his blessing could and would provide for his obedient servants, even without the aid of human in- dustry. It proclaimed to them and the surrounding na- tions the infinite superiority of the God of Israel to the idols of the heathen ; since none of them ever promised or peformed such wonders for their votaries. It gave them a sensible pledge of the truth and faithfulness of their covenant God, and of the certain fulfilment of all his promises, however great, on condition of their fideli- ty to him. Thus it held out the strongest and most en- couraging motives to cheerful obedience. It also taught them sympathy and generosity to their poor neighbours and domestic servants ; since these, during the sabbatical year, were on the same level with their superiors with re- gard to sowing and reaping, and were entitled equally with LEcT.xxii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 251 them to share in the spontaneous fruits of the land ; for during this year the whole country was the common property of the rich and the poor. This year of rest likewise gave leisure to all classes to attend to, and im- prove in the knowledge, spirit, and practice of religion. Accordingly during this season the law of God was to be solemnly read in a general assembly of the people, con- sisting of the men, women and children.* This sabbati- cal year was also fitted to add new force and dignity to the weekly sabbath, and to impress more deeply the his- tory of the creation in six days, the rest of the seventh, and the infinite perfections of the Creator. By afford- ing seasonable rest to the land, it enabled them to leave it in full vigor to posterity, and thus expanded their views to the good of distant ages. Finally, this annual rest from toil was a sensible image of man's primitive state, as con- trasted with that labor and hardship, which sin introduc- ed ; and v/as likewise a striking pledge of that spiritual and eternal rest, which the promised Messiah should pro- cure, and which all the faithful shall ultimately enjoy. I shall only subjoin, that their seventh year was a year of release ; in which creditors were freely to discharge their poor debtors, who had borrowed money for their necessary subsistence, and were unable to pay without obliging themselves to quit their own, for some pagan country. This law did not bar the creditor from receiv- ing his due, if the debtor or his friends could pay it j but only from legally exacting it. This regulation was wise- ly intended to preclude such extreme poverty and distress among the Hebrews, as would dishonor their character and religion. It was intended to foster among them a i^i^rciful and liberal spirit, a pious sense of their obliga- tion;t0 God /pr theu\ worldly, possessions, ^ disposition * Dcut. xxsi. 10. ij. 252 LECTURES ON [lect. xxii. to use them agreeably to his pleasure, and a reliance on his promised blessing to reward their acts of generosity. Another peculiarity of the Hebrew law was the year of jubilee^ so called from a particular sound of the trum- pet, by which it was proclaimed. This took place every fiftieth year, or after seven sabbaths of years. It was ob- sreved like the other sabbatical years, and was also distin- guished by this high privilege, that it restored every na- tive Israelite to his original property and freedom. As each Jewish family had received a certain portion of Ca- naan by lot, and held this estate under God as pro- prietor ; so the divine law allowed this property to be alienated only for a limited time, that is, from one jubi- lee to another. At the end of every half century estates, which had been sold or mortgaged, reverted to their for- mer owners or their heirs, free of every charge and in- cumbrance. This was no injury to the purchaser, be- cause the year of jubilee being constitutionally fixed, eve- ry one made his contract accordingly. By the English laws indeed, which are generally rational and equal, if lands be granted with this condition, that the grantee shall never alienate them, though the grant is valid, the condition is null ; because English liberty involves a right in every man to dispose of his own property. Yet if the king grant lands on this condition, the limitation is bind- ing. Now as God was the king of Israel, as the country and its tenants were his property, he meant by this pro- vision to enforce his rights and their correspondent duties. He hkewise intended to keep up the distinction of fami- lies and tribes, and to induce a careful attention to their several genealogies ; since estates, sold from one family to another, must in due time revert to the former, and of course the evidence of each one's pedigree l^ecame a very LECT. XXII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 253 interesting object. This clear and permanent distinction of houses and tribes was important in many respects. It was an essential ingredient in their free and well balanced government. It was indispensible to the verification of those prophecies, which respected particular tribes, and especially those, which related to the descent of our Savior. The provision before us had an excellent effect on the reasonable equality and liberty of the several citizens. It prevented both exorbitant wealth and hopeless indi- gence. As it precluded a lasting accumulation of proper- ty in the hands of a few, which might enable them to oppress or subjugate the many ; so it protected every family, however poor, from slavery and ruin ; since the original property and freedom of each person and house- hold, though sold or forfeited for a time, would at length be restored. For this law gave back liberty, as well as estate, to those, who had lost it. What a glorious and joyful period was this year of jubilee to those Hebrews, who had groaned under poverty and servitude ! What patience and courage, what high gratitude, patriotism, and satisfaction must have arisen from the anticipation and experience of its blessings ! But how much more joyful is the spiritual jubilee of the gospel, which em- inently proclaims the acceptable year of the Lord, which restores to the poor and miserable slaves of sin that divine liberty, that eternal inheritance, which diso- bedience had forfeited ! How welcome that great Deliver- er, who comes to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. Doubtless this distinguished Jewish year, as well as their other symbolical institutions, prefigured to the pious He- 254 LECTURES ON [lect. xxii. brews, and gradually prepared them for the more spiritu- al and perfect dispensations of the gospel.* We will now pass from the religious worship of the Israelites to those subordinate regulations, which tended to preserve them a distinct and a holy people. Many of these regulations were directly pointed against customs, which, however innocent in themselves, had been abused by heathen nations to the purposes of superstition and idolatry. Some of these customs were hinted on a for- mer occasion. But it may be useful to bring into one compendious view that part of the Jewish code, which forbids such dangerous practcies. It was one great artifice of the pagan priests to ope- rate on the weakness and tenderness of men's disposi- tions. They knew that mankind fear nothing so much as the loss of their fortunes, and of their children. Ac- cordingly the worshippers of the sun or the fire declared, that causing their children to pass through the fire to Moloch, the sun, and thus purifying and dedicating them to this deity, was necessary to insure their lives and pros- perity. This ceremony grew up to a most barbarous su- perstition ; insomuch that parents actually burned tiieir children in fire, as an offering tO' this idol. Hence * The jubilee of the antient Hebrews is happily moralized, and accommo-. dated to gospel times in die fortieth and one hundred and sixty second hymns of Belknap's Collection. The former begins tims Blow ye the trumpet, blow The gladly solemn sound ! Let all the nations know, To earth's remotest bound, * ■ The year of jubilee is come, Aj'l Return ye ransom'd sinners home. ^: The latter begins thus Loud let the tuneful trumpet sound And spread the joyful tidings found ; Let every soul with transport hear And hail the Lord's accepted year. LECT.XXII.3 JEWISH AN^riQUITIES. 255 arose that divine prohibition — " Thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Moloch."* The wisdom of this guard against so abominable a custom needs no illustration. It was the doctrine of antient idolaters, that blood was a grateful food to the demons, whom they worshipped. They therefore carefully preserved the blood of their vic- tims in some vessel or trench ; and seating themselves around it, partook of the flesh, while the demons, as they fancied, drank the blood ; and thus they supposed them- selves to have communion at one table with their gods, and to receive their inspiration and blessing. This was one important reason of that law-^Ye shall not eat any thing with, or as the original exactly signifies, at, or 7iear^ or before the blood ; that is, ye shall not imitate the mag- ical rites of the Zabians, who eat and drink at or around the blood of their victims, expecting hereby to allure de- parted ghosts to converse with them, and impart to them their secrets. Accordingly this law is immediately con- nected with the prohibition of "using enchantments, and observing times j'*t which all expositors refer to the an- tient customs of the heathen divination. It was the early usage of idolaters to offer to their gods such things as were most pleasing to their own palates, particularly honey and leavened breads from an idea that these things would be particularly grateful to their deities. These sweet and delicious offerings were especially made to the infernal gods and to dead heroes. Hence the true God excluded botiey and leaven from his altar,{ that his worship and people might be kept pure from sentiments and customs, so gross and debasing. The Zabians had likewise a magical rite of boiling a kid * Lev. xviii, ai. f Lev. xix, 26. \ Lev. ii. 11. 256 LECTURES ON [lect. xxii. in the milk of its dam, and sprinkling the broth on the trees, gardens, and fields, in order to render them more fruitful, and the gods more propitious. Hence that di- vine prohibition — " Thou thalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk."* The action here forbidden carries su- perstition or magic on its very face, and therefore must have been prohibited on this ground. Another usage of antient idolaters was to cut off the hair of their heads and beards, and offer it to their gods by laying it on the dead bodies, throwing it into the graves of their deceased friends. They also tore and wounded their flesh on funeral occasions, in order to give pleasure to their deities, and comfort to their departed relatives. They likewise with needles or a hot iron made characters or marks in their bodies, expressing the name, or mystical number, or peculiar symbol of that demon or idol, to whose service and blessing they hereby became devoted. To prevent such idolatries, Jehovah command- ed his people — " Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, nor mar the corners of your beards. Ye shall not make any cutting in your flesh for the dead j nor print any mark upon you.'*t The early pagans believed that the gods peculiarly in- habited and delighted in groves and high places. Hence these gradually became the scenes of idolatry, particular- ly of the impure rites of Venus and Priapus. Hence the Israelites were forbidden to worship in such places, and even to plant groves near the divine altar. J It was another idolatrous usage for men to worship Venus in the dress of women, and for women to worship Mars arrayed in the warlike habit of men. As these no- tions of gods and goddesses of different characters and • EioJ. xxiii. 19. t Lev. xix. 47,38. J Deut. xvi. %l: LECT.xxii.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 257 sexes, and this confounding of the appropriate garmentf: of men and women, implied or gave birth to the gross- est superstition and debauchery ; the divine law, to pre- vent these evils, enacted, " The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment ; for all who do so are an abomination to Jehovah."* The Zabians also attributed the joint increase of their wool and flax to the fortunate conjunction and united in- fluence of the stars. In acknowledgment of this, they made and wore garments compounded of these two ma- terials. To crush this idolatry, God forbids his people to wear any garment mingled of linen and woolen. f These idolaters also sowed barley and grapes together, in order to recommend their vineyards to the joint protec- tion of Ceres and Bacchus, and thus secure a greater in- crease. To prevent this superstitious reliance on false gods, and engage their trust in Jehovah only for a plen- tiful harvest, the Hebrews are forbidden to sow their vineyards with diflTerent seed, lest their fruit should be defiled. J For a similar reason they are forbidden to " plow with an ox and an ass together,'* and also to *' let their cattle gender with another kind."§ As each of these laws is joined with the prohibition of the super- stitious mixtures just explained, and as nothing but some purpose of superstition or magic could induce men to unite creatures so diflferent in the same yoke, or in producing so unnatural and monstrous a breed ; we may conclude that these precepts refer to some antient and magical rites, intended to represent certain conjunctions of the planets, and to honor certain deities, and thus to procure some ex- • Deut. xxii. 5. f Lev. xix. 19. | Deut. xxii. 9. § Deut. xxii. 10. Lev. xix. 19. li 258 LECTURES ON [lect. xxii. traordlnary blessing. In a word, Jehovah by these stat- utes meant to guard his people against every thing inde- corous, disorderly, and impure ; against every tendency to heathen manners ; against every thing, which might draw them away from worshipping and trusting in him alone, or lead them to an idolatrous dependence on the stars, or dead heroes, or imaginary divinities. In this view the foregoing injunctions, though apparently trivial, were highly worthy of God, and beneficial to man. LECT. xxiii.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 259 LECTURE XXIII. Consideration of that part of the Hebrew law, which prohibited the use of certain meatSy as unclean. Object and tendency of this prohibition. A HE Mosaic law accompanied the Jews not only to their altars, but to their fire sides ; it prescribed rules not only for their sacrifices, but for their diet. It ban- ished from their tables, and even instructed them to abhor several kinds of animal food, which were used, and in some instances highly esteemed by other nations. These restrictions have drawn upon the Hebrew ritual and na- tion the most pointed ridicule both of pagans and deists. Indeed the greater part of Jewish and Christian writers have not satisfactorily defended or accounted for these restrictions. Some of these authors assert that the ani- mals forbiddeiivto the Jews as unclean were either danger- ous, unwholsome, or unpleasant food. We grant that most of them were such ; yet some others, for instance, the hare afforded a delicate and nourishing meat We must remark however that some meats may be excellent in one region, which are not so in another. Accordingly Hasselquist, a learned modern traveller, tells us that the Egyptians and Arabians have no esteem, and make no use of the animal just named. Others suppose that this distinc- tion of animals into clean and unclean was borrowed from the institutions and manners of the early ages. But we do not find among the antient nations any distinction of meats resembling that, which the law of Moses prescrib- ed. It is true that some distinction of this kind is men- tioned even before the flood ; for God directs Noah to take into the ark of every clean beast seven pairs, and only two of those that were not clean. But by unclean 26o LECTURES ON [lect. xxiii. in this passage are probably meant such as nature itself pronounced unfit either for food or sacrifice, such as ty- gers, serpents, &c ; and by clean the mild and useful ani- mals, which were adapted both to the service of man and the worship of God. We add tliat as the difference of meats, prescribed by the statutes of Moses, was evident- ly intended to keep the Jews a distinct and holy people, it could not be a mere transcript of antient or existing usages, but must have been strikingly peculiar to that na- tion. Others have chosen to derive these statutes from the sole pleasure and authority of Jehovah, the king of Israel ; who intended hereby to restrain a gross and li- centious people, and to discipline them into a constant subjection to himself, by engaging them to remember and regard him even in their daily food, as well as in the sol- emn exercises of his worship. But, though these restric- tions might be useful, as standing remembrances of God's sovereignty, and trials of their obedience ; yet they did not emanate from the mere will of Deity, but from his perfect wisdom and goodness. For 1. The express words of the divine law on this sub- ject hold up an important reason for these limitations — " I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from other people, that ye should be mine. Ye shall there- fore be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy. Ye shall therefore put a difference between clean beasts and un- clean. Ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by foul, or by creeping thing, which I have separated from you as unclean."* As if Jehovah had -said, " I have selected you from, and exalted you far •above the ignorant and idolatrous world. Let it be your care to walk worthy of this distinction. Let the quality of your food, ^s well as the rites of your worship, display LECT. XXIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 2bi your peculiar and holy character. Let even your man- ner of eating be so appropriate, so pure, so nicely adjust- ed by my law, as to convince yourselves and all the world that you are indeed separated from idolaters, and devoted to me alone.'* It was highly fit and necessary that a people so circumstanced, and so related to God, as the Jews, should constantly wear his name, if I may so speak, on their foreheads ; that their common meals should declare what Deity they worshipped ; that these should attest their dignified relation to Jehovah. Agree- ably Moses tells them — f" The Lord hath chosen you to be a peculiar people unto himself. Ye shall not eat any abominable thing. Ye shall not eat any thing that dieth of itself ; ye shall give it to the stranger, or sell it to an aUen ; for ye are a holy people ;'* that is, " since God has invested you with singular honor and favor, you ought to reverence yourselves ; you ought to disdain the vile food of heathen idolaters; such food you may lawfully give or sell to foreigners ; but a due selfrespect forbids you to eat it." It is a remarkable fact that all the animals, granted for food to the Jews, were and still are esteemed and used by the eastern nations ; while most of those, which were forbidden to the Hebrews, have been constantly excluded from the tables of the more refined heathens. These statutes therefore continually enforced on the Israelites that singular purity and dig- nity of character, which suited their profession. They were likewise striking memorials of the transcendent pu- rify and excellence of Israel's God. By obliging his sub- jects to abstain from the impure diet of pagan idolaters, lie forcibly taught them his own superiority to the heathen deities. By enacting so many laws against every kind oi' * J.ev. XX. 34, 25, 26. t I^"^"^- ^^^'- ^> 3! 21 262 LECTURES ON [lect. xxiii. uncleanness, whether of garments, of bodies, or of meats, he meant to impress on that gross people a constant sense of his own infinite purity, as the Holy One of Israel ; he meant to habituate them to regard and honor him as such by the conspicuous purity both of their manners and worship. Not one of the pagan gods so much as pre- tended ro purity of character, or claimed to be worship- ped under their title of the Holy One. Far from this, even the worship of these gods was frequently perform- ed by impure rites, and the use of vile and filthy ani- mals ;* by which the worshippers proclaimed the foul character of their deities. On the contrary, the clean diet and pure ceremonies of the Hebrews were mirrors, which constantly reflected the immaculate purity of Je- hovah. Hence 2. This nice distinction of meats was fitted to teach that puerile nation the rudiments of moral purity or true holiness. Agreeably the prohibition of unclean food is constantly enforced by this admonition — " Be ye holy, for I am holy ;" which the apostle Peter interprets, not of ceremonial, but of practical universal holiness.! As the Israelites, on their first emerging from the darkness of Egyptian superstition, could not directly view the splendor of the divine holiness ; God was pleased to set before them some images or emblems of it, in the purity of their food and their frequent ritual washings, in or- der to rouse and carry forward their minds to some just sense of his sanctity and their correspondent duty. 3. This legal distinction of animals into clean and un- clean was intended to point out an answerable distinction between the Jews and Gentiles. The law expresses this idea — " I have separated you from other people j you • Isiu. Ixv. 3, 4, Ixvi. 17. t I Peter, i. 15, 16. LECT. XXIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 263 shall therefore separate clean beasts from unclean, and ye shall be holy'*— that is, by this very act of distin- guishing your food you declare and confirm your separa- tion from the unclean Gentiles. Accordingly all the Jews have to this day understood the matter in this light. Agreeably when St. Peter had been taught by a vision, that all animals were lawful food to christians, he immedi- ately inferred that the Gentiles and their fellowship were no longer unclean or defiling ; which imports that the an- tient law respecting unclean beasts prohibited familiar in- tercourse with heathens. Which leads us to remark 4. This law was designed to bar the Israelites from a dangerous union with Gentiles either by consanguinity, by religion, or by intimate friendship. This statute, above all others, established not only a political and sacred, but a physical separation of the Jews from all other people. It made it next to impossible for the one to mix with the other either in meals, in marriage, or in any familiar con- nexion. Their opposite customs in the article of diet not only precluded a friendly and comfortable intima- cy, but generated mutual contempt and abhorrence. The Jews religiously abhorred the society, manners, and in- stitutions of the Gentiles, because they viewed their own abstinence from forbidden meats as a token of peculiar sanctity, and of course regarded other nations, who want- ed this sanctity, as vile and detestable. They consider- ed themselves as secluded by God himself from the pro- fane world by a peculiar worship, government, law, dress, country, and mode of living. Though this sepa- ration from other people, on which the law respecting food was founded, created in the Jews a criminal pride and hatred of the Gentiles ; yet it forcibly operated as a preservative from heathen idolatry by precluding all fa- 264 LECTURES ON [lect. xXiil miliarity with idolatrous nations. This distinction of meats was a further guard against idolatry, as it directed the Hebrews to kill for sacrifice and for food animals, which their neighbours worshipped as sacred ; while it taught them to reject other animals as unclean, which the- heathens appropriated as fit oblations to their deities. Thus among the pagans the swine was sacred to Venus, the owl to Minerva, the hawk to Apollo, the dog to Hecate, the eagle to Jupiter, the horse to the Sun. Some of the antient heathens abstained from fish, because they worshipped their gods under this form. The Egyptians ate neither fish nor birds of prey ; and the Phenicians neither pigeons nor doves, because they imagined their goddess had appeared under the form of a dove. The antient Zabians abstained from various animals, because they viewed them as consecrated to the several heavenly bodies, or because they used them in their divinations. The Hebrew Lawgiver struck at the root of these abom- inable superstitions, by establishing among the Jews a distinction of meats, founded on different principles, a distinction strikingly opposed to surrounding cus- toms, yet wisely accommodated to the genius and habits of the early ages ; a distinction, which taught the Israel- ites to abhor the use of those animals, which idolaters had dedicated to demons or to divination, and to eat or to sacrifice those, which superstition had deified. What admirable wisdom marks the Jewish code in stigmatizing those reptiles, and other creatures, which had been abus- ed to magical purposes. The Zabians had a favorite ob- lation, which they made to the sun, of seven bats, seven mice, and seven other reptiles. Horace describes Canidia the witch as using in her enchantments the blood of toads, and feathers of owls. How salutary was that lav/, tECT. xxriiO JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 26$ which attached uncleanness and infamy to creatures, which furnished the materials and incentives of practices so de- testable ! We add 5. That animals were employed from the earliest times as figurative or hieroglyphic emblems of moral and intel- lectual qualities. — " Thus beasts and birds of prey were naturally symbolsof violenceand rapine ; creatures delight- ing in dirt and filth, as the dog and swine, were striking representations of an unclean or polluted mind/' Was it unworthy of God to instruct a gross people by these sensible monitors ; to recommend to them the virtues of gentleness and purity, of social kindness and usefulness, by the images of these virtues in the animals pronounced clean ; and to deter them from the opposite vices by pro- hibiting those creatures, who exhibited their resem- blance ? On the whole, as Mr. Lowman justly observes, " the food allowed to the chosen nation was of the milder sort, of the most common and domestic animals ; creatures of the cleanest feeding, which afforded the most palatable and nourishing meat, and which by a proper care might be had in the greatest plenty and perfection. If the Jews, as a select and holy people, ought to have had any dis- tinction of foods ; surely none could have been devised more proper than this. Was not this far better, than to license and encourage the promiscuous hunting and eat- ing of wild beasts and birds of prey, less fit for food, and more difficult to be procured, and hardly consistent with a domestic, agricultural, and pastoral life ? Did not the restrictions in question tend to promote that health and ease, that useful cultivation of the soil, that diligence, mildness, and simplicity, that consequent happiness and Kk 266 LECTURES ON [lect. xxiii. prosperity, which were among the chief blessings of the promised land.*' The preceeding remarks afford a sufficient general vin- dication of the statutes before us. A few particular ques- tions however remain, which may claim some attention. It may be asked, why the divine Legislator made the parting of the hoof and the chewing of the cud the distinc- tive marks of those animals, which might be eaten ? We reply first, because it was necesary to furnish the Jews with some general rule in this case, which might be easi- ly understood and observed. Second, because animals distinguished by these marks afford a pleasant and whole- some food. Third, because if God had restricted his people from those animals only, which were evidently poisonous or unsavory, he would appear .to regard and would teach them to consult, merely their bodily health and gratification ; and thus would lead them to choose and avoid the same food, and to do both on the same principle with other nations ; whereas he meant by this article to distinguish them, and to make them religiously distinguish themselves from all other people. To effect this pur- • pose a rule was prescribed, which called their attention, not merc'y to their health or palates, but to their pecul- iar and holy profession. Fourth, by this rule God taught them to reject the superstition, so common in the pagan world, of ascribing a mysterious inherent sanctity or im- purity to certain animals. Nothing can be more fanci- ful or more degrading than the sentiments and customs of heathen nations on this subject. Was it not therefore expedient that this superstitious propensity should be re- strained in the Hebrews by divine authority ; that their estimation and use of the inferior creatures should be visi- bly regulated, not by mere caprice or idolatrous usage, LECT. XXIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 267 but by the wise statute of Jehovah their king ; that hu alone, who formed and who owns these animals, should fjx the boundary between them ? In a word, those crea.- tures, which have the marks above named, excel most oth- ers in natural cleanl'mess and dignity, and were therefore iitly selected to represent and enforce the pureand dignified character becoming the people of Jehovah. The same observation will apply to those birds and fishes, which were licensed by the Hebrew law ; while the unclean or savage nature of those in general, which were interdict- ed, made them odious even to heathen nations. This suggests a second question on this subject, why was swine's flesh forbidden to the Jews ? and why do this people still hold it in peculiar abhorrence ? This food is so commonly used, so wholesome and even delicious to many, that not a few regard this prohibition, and the consequent religious abstinence of the Jews, with won-- der and contempt. But admitting this kind of meat to be good, yet the general rule, which excluded it from the Hebrew tables, might for the reason just stated be ex- pedient on the whole ; it might be the best general law for that people, though it subjected them to selfdenial in this and a few other instances. Respectable authors like- wise assure us that this animal w-as subject to a conta- geous disease, which formerly prevailed in Palestine and its vicinity ; and also that the flesh of it produced or in- flamed cutaneous distempers in those climates. Besides, this creature exceeds almost all others in natural filthi- ness, and therefore must have been peculiarly detested by a people habituated by their law to the nicest purity. This abhorrence must have been strengthened by the simr ilar feelings and manners of other nations ; for the an^ tient Egyptians, Arabs, Phenicians, J^thiopians, and In* a68 LECTURES ON [lect. :rxiii. dians avoided this kind of food with unspeakable disgust and contempt. This animal was also rendered peculiar- ly abominable to the Jews by the circumstance of its be- ing much used in some of the heathen solemnities. The prophet Isaiah speaks of certain idolaters, who " purify themselves in gardens and eat swine*s flesh ;" that is, use this food in their religious purgations. Varro tells us that the antient Greek noun for swine, viz. Thus, was derived from thuein, to sacrifice ; for he adds, sacrifices began with this species of animals. Ovid and Horace mention this as one of the most antient and frequent vic- tims. It was much employed in the mysteries of magic. To this the prophet refers, when reproving the abomina- ble practices of the idolatrous Jews, he says — " They re- main among the groves, and lodge in the monuments, and eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things in their vessels;'* that is, they use the meat and broth of the swine, as a magical sacrament. Athenceus and Juvenal represent this animal as holding a conspicuous pLice in antient festivals both civil and sacred ; and Virgil speaks of it as eminently used in sealing solemn covenants and treaties — " Armati Jovis ante aram, paterosquc tenentes stabant, et cassa jungebant fcedera porca," A swine was often painted on the Roman standards, as a symbol of peace. These pagan customs point out a natural rea- son of the extreme detestation, with which the Jews have ever regarded this animal ; as well as suggest an addi- tional ground for prohibiting its use. Let not the excessive aversion and horror, with which the Jews still shun this kind of food, attach any ridicule to their antient law, which gives no sanction to this pe- culiar and eternal hatred. Let us also be grateful for the libera! constitution of the LECT. xxiii.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 269 gospel, which has abolished the old distinction of meats ; which generously indulges our bodies with ev^ery species of salutary and agreeable food ; which teaches us that every creature of God is good ; that to the pure all things are pure ; that nothing, which goeth into the mouth de- fileth a man ; but that those things only defile him, which come out of the mouth, and proceed from the heart. Let it then be our great concern to have pure hearts, clean hands, and undefiled lips. Let us shun all moral evil ' with as much solicitude, and horror, as a conscientious Jew would avoid the flesh of a swine. Let us have no more fellowship witli the works of darkness, especially with the perpetrators of midnight havock and mischief, than he would have with a porcellian or even idolatrous feast. Let all the worthy members and friends of this society be as zealous to purge it from the guilt and stain of that detestable outrage, which this Chapel lately expe- rienced, as the most religious Hebrews were to purify themselves from the foulest legal uncleanness or abomi- nation. 70 LECTURES ON [lect. xxiv. LECTURE XXIV. Various ceretnom'ej , ohserved w the Hebrew church respecting puri- Jications and pollutions. Reasons and fitness of their observance. V-ZUR last lecture explained the fitness' and utility of those laws, which regulated the diet of the antient He- brews ; which restrained them not only from those kinds of food, which were evidently unsavory and vile, but from some meats, which many refined pagans and even chris- tians have highly esteemed. We have shown that these nice regulations were intended to enforce on the Israelites a peculiar delicacy and purity of character, and especially to bar them from a dangerous mixture with idolatrous Gentiles ; since these statutes taught them to kill for food and for sacrifice animals, which the heathens had de- ified, and also led them to abhor those, which idolaters had dedicated to demons or to magic. Similar reasons may be given for those rules in the Mosaic code, which relate to defilement and purification / which declare certain persons and things unclean, and pre- scribe the mode of cleansing them. Many of these rules may seem at first view to savor of puerile and rigid super- stition ; as they pronounce persons defiled, and sub- ject them to severe penance for things, which are merely casual and unavoidable, and imply no moral guilt ; as they declare even inanimate substances, as vessels, gar- ments &c. to be polluted only by touching the dead body of the smallest reptile, which the law had made unclean ; and as in several cases they devote utensils thus polluted to destruction. For instance, they require earthen ves- sels, and ovens to be destroyed, if a dead mouse or even LECT. XXIV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 271 snail has chanced to fall into or upon them. It is natur- al to ask, was it consistent with divine wisdom and good- ness to enact laws so minute and so severe respecting matters so apparently trivial ? We will endeavour to solve this difficult question by stating the probable rea- sons of these statutes, both as they respect persons and things. The general reason seems to have been this. The He- brews, in common with other nations in the rude ages of the world, required a sec of institutions, which were palpable, which continually addressed their senses. The laws now before us were eminently of this description. But the fitness of these regulations will be more satisfac- torily perceived, if we consider first, that they were a disci- pline well suited to civilize a gross people, who had just emerged from the most debasing servitude. By obliging such a people religiously to abstain from using or even touching any thing, which had even the shadow of unclean- ness, their wise Lawgiver meant to raise them by degrees from a state of comparative barbarism to so much purity, dec6rum,and refinement of manners, as became a nation pe- culiarly related to Jehovah, and as naturally fitted them for the cultivation of knowledge, of order, and religion. Sec- ond, these numerous and peculiar statutes concerning pollutions and purifications were intended to hold up the Israelites as a people separated from the impure gentiles, and consecrated to a pure and holy Divinity. By observ- ing these statutes they remarkably distinguished them- selves from other nations by tokens of singular purity. Accordingly the Jewish law made abstinence from every legal defilement the symbol and measure of extraordina- ry sanctity. Thus the Hebrew nation was bound to ab- stain from the touch of a dead body, and other pollu- C7S LECTURES ON [lect. xxiv. tionsj common to other nations. The Nazarites carried their abstinence higher than the Hebrews in general 5 the ordinary priests higher than the Nazarites ; and the high priest farther than all. Third, the laws in question were fitted to maintain in the Jews an awful reverence of the divine presence and sanctuary, by excluding from them every person in the least polluted, and by making it a very nice, careful, and difficult business to approach them. The presence and glory of Jehovah in his taberna- cle would have sunk into contempt, if every person, clean or unclean, might have approached it, with the same facili- ty, as he could enter his own habitation. But the regu- lations respecting the various kinds of uncleanness and of purgations were so many barriers around the sanctuary of God, and tended to inspire the m.ost personal venera- tion for it, the most solicitous preparation to approach it acceptably, and the highest esteem of it, as a singular privilege ; a privilege enhanced by the labor and diffi- . culty, which preceded its enjoyment. Fourth, most of the things, which the Hebrew ritual pronounces unclean, had some natural impurity in them, and were naturally offensive to all mankind, especially to persons of any re- iinement. They were view^ed even by the antient hea- thens as disqualifying persons for the sacred rites of their worship. It was therefore peculiarly necessary to the character and honor of the Jews, as a holy nation, that their law should stigmatize these impurities. At the same time fifth, the divine Lawgiver proclaimed the su- perior sanctity of his nature and worship by branding certain person and things as unclean, which the heathen nations not only allowed, but even dignified and conse- crated. We add sixth, the superstition of early idolaters had created an endless multitude of imaginary pollution? LECT. xsiv.] JEWISH ANTIOUITIES, '^ 2;^^ and purgations. Thus the antient Zabians reckoned ev- ery thing unclean, which was taken from the human body, as the hair, the nails, and the blood. Hence all barbers were esteemed unclean ; and all, who suffered a razor to pass upon their flesh, were obliged to,.-^ash themselves in the clear water of a^, fountain. Jhe e^rly Arabians and modern Turks have also an infinite num- ber of defilements and ceremofnies of purifications. The Hindoos, whose religion and manners have been greatly extolled by some infi.del writers, as superior to those of Jews or Christians, abound with the most ridiculous and burdensome institutions on the subject of pollutions, ab- stinences, and expiations. Dr. Priestly, in a recent pub- Jication, has accurately compared their institutions with those of Moses, and shown in numerous particulars the contrasted excellence of the latter. Was it not highly useful and even necessary for the Lawgiver of Israel to check this dreadful current of superstition by reducing the list both of defilements and purifications within rea- sonable bounds, by declaring those things only to be un- clean, which were naturally foul or disgusting, or which were fitted to excite a dread of moral impurity, a rever- ence for the presence of Jehovah, and an abhorrence of the filthy and idolatrous riles of the heathens ? For ex- ample, the wisdom of the Hebrew ritual in representing the touch of a dead human body, or even of the bone or grave of a man, as peculiarly defiling ; the wisdom of this will appear, if we recollect that the worship of dead he- roes, and the practice of paying honors to their dead bod- ies and to their tombs, were very prevalent among the antient pagans. What a check to this idolatry, what a religious abhorrence of it, was created by this law, which attached a pollution of seven days to the touch of a dead LI 274 LECTURES ON fLEcT. xxiv. body or a grave, which during this period barred from th^ sanctuary of Jehovah every person, who had been employed or present at the funeral of a friend, and which enjoined in every case of this kind extraordinary rites of purgations !* These provisions, however trifling or bar- barous abstractly considered, were needful guards against a very enticing and abominable superstition. It was equally wise in the Hebrew ritual to represent all issues of blood, however involuntary, as polluting, and as unfit- ting persons to appear in the divine presence ; because blood was much esteemed and used in the heathen cele- brations of the dead, and was reckoned a medium of communion betv/een the worshippers and the demons. To crush this idolatry, and to lead the Jews to regard it with detestation, they were not only forbidden the use of blood, but taught to view every discharge or appear- ance of it in tneir bodies as a legal defilement. Among the numerous kinds of personal uncleanness branded by the Mosaic law, that of leprosy holds a distin- guished place. Lepers were shut out not only from the public worship of God, but from the society of men. Perhaps the causes of this severity cannot at this day be fully investigated. Hippocrates tells us that the antient leprosy was rather a filthiness than a disease. It was cer- tainly viewed in this light by the Jewish law. Agreeably our Savior is said to cleanse lepers, not to cure them. The sacred history further represents the leprosy, as a punish- ment immediately inflicted by God for particular sins ; as in the case of Miriam, Gehazi, and king Uzziah. This circumstance, connected with the extreme foulness of this plague, rendered it a very striking emblem of moral pol- lution ; and the exclusion of persons infected with it from * Numb. xix. II, %%. LECT. XXIV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 275 the worship and people of God was fitted not only to humble and reform the offenders, but to impress on the public mind the most solemn and useful instructions. Having considered the case of polluted persons, we will briefly notice t.hat of unclean things. One design of the Hebrew law in minutely attending to the garments, utensils, and domestic manners of the Israelites, was to form them to a cleanly and decent style of living. As God had exalted them from Egyptian bondage, into his visible family, he justly required them to exchange the sordid habits of slaves for those decent manners, which became his household. He also meant to release them from the vexatious and unbounded superstition of the heathen world by confining his laws respecting unclean- ness and purity to those things, which fell within their daily notice and use. By these nice injunctions he pro^- tected the honor of his worship, and obliged his people by the singular purity of their manners to imitate and publicly to exhibit the transcendent holiness of their God= Hereby too he effectually guarded the Jews from a famil- iar and dangerous intercourse with heathens ; since the former could not freely use the same beds, vessels, or li- quor with the latter, without constant hazard of legal de- filement, and thereby incurring the necessity of burden- some purification. This barrier against idolatry was greatly strengtheijed, if we suppoije with a )earned writr er, that some of the laws respecting vessels were pointed against a certain superstition of those times. He tells us that idolaters believed that if certain reptiles, as mice &c. which they dedicated to their idols, ftll into vessels or in- to water, it was a token that these were grateful to the gods. In opposition to this pagan conceit, the divine law pronounces such vessels unclean. In a word, as the ■I'jS LECTURES ON [lect. xxiv. Hebrews were set apart to be a holy people unto God, they were wisely distinguished by a set of peculiar stat- utes respecting persons, aniiUcils, and things ; which stat- > utes were continual monitors of the divine sanctity and their corresponding duty. This remark naturally leads our attention to the puri- fying ceremonies enjoined by their ritual. As external filthiness was a striking image of an impure heart ; so washing with water, which cleanses the body, fitly repre- sented internal purification from sin. This use of water, as a rite denoting moral cleansing, was one of the most natural, early, and prevailing customs. Thus the patri- arch Jacob, when undertaking to reform his family, and prepare them for the solemn worship of Jehovah, says to them — " put away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed,** that is, as Jewish writers interpret it, wash your bodies with water. The use of this rite is al- so mentioned in the book of Job, one of the most antient of all writings. This ceremony must have been grateful and refreshing, as well as significant, in the warm and mild countries of rhe east ; and therefore', would easily recommend itself to their observance. Accordingly the earliest and best authors, as Homer, He^iod, Theocritus, Virgil, and others, frequently mention the religious use of clear and running water. But superstition very soon corrupted this natural and expressive usage. As Mr. Lowman observes, " idolatry invented a great many other things for the use^of purifications, ?is salt, sulphur, honey, spittle, and many others, mentioned at large by the authors, who have described the pagan lustrations. They had several modes of using water, air, and fire ; of using water and fire together, and of mixing of water and blood. Sometimes they used human blood ; which wa^ LECT.xxiv.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 277 often done by cutting and wounding themselves. Igno- rant superstition, which knows no bounds, continually- invented new rites of purification ; so that hogs, cats, .dogs and lions were used for this purpose by the wis- est nations. These ceremonies became at length so com- mon, that they were used to purify and consecrate fields and houses, as well as men ; the dead as well as the liv- ing ; yea they were supposed to be efficacious in the oth- er world for the purgation of departed spirits. Hence probably sprung the popish doctrine of purgatory. Vir- gil in his sixth Eneid has forcibly described the various modes of purifying used by the offenders in the state of the dead. I will give you part of his description in Mr. Dryden*s translation — Not death itself can wholly wash their stains, But long contracted filth even in the soul remains. The reliques of inveterate vice they wear. And spots of sin obscene in every face appear. Tor this are various penances enjoin'd, And some are hung to bleach upon the wind ; Some phing'd in waters, others purg'd in fires, Till all the dregs are drain'd, and all the rust expires. It is one excellence of the Hebrew law, that it clears an antient and most significant rite of that vast rubbish, in which superstition had buried it. It restores and pro- tects the use of pure and living water, as the grand cere- mony in all the Jewish purification, except in one extra- ordinary case, which we shall now explain. This extra- ordinary purification was appointed to cleanse those who were defiled by touching the dead body of a man. It was performed by sprinkling the unclean person with the ashes of a red heifer mixed with water. Almost every part of this lustration has a remarkable reference or op- position to antient heathen customs. Thus a heifer, rath- er than a young bullock, seems to be selected, in contempt 278 LECTURES ON [lect. xxiy. of that superstition of the Egyptians, which held cows and female calves to be sacred, and which esteemed the heifer to be dedicated to Isis or the moon. The Hindoos likewise had an extraordinary veneration for cows. Hero- dotus and Plutrarch also tell us that the Egyptians offer- ed male calves to Typhon. The Jews were probably di- rected to take a red heifer, because this color was held in abhorrence by the antient idolaters. It was to be a heifer, upon which never came a yoke ; because such a Victim was worthy and honorable, and agreed with the antient manner of sacrifices. The heifer was to be burn- ed without the camp, and cedar wood, hysop, and scar- let wool were to be burned along with it. Cedar and hysop were used as cleansers of wounds, as was the plant coccus, which was used for dying scarlet. All the articles therefore bore some relation to the purpose of purifica- tion. The ashes made by this burning were to be dis- solved in water, and applied to the use specified above. As both water and ashes have been always used for lite- ral cleansing ; as symbolical rites, suited the genius of the early ages and the eastern world, and were absolutely necessary for the Jewish people ; as many particulars of this purifying ceremony were excellent preservatives from surrounding superstition -, as the whole taken to- gether is far more natural, simple, and instructive than the rites of the wisest heathens ; as the grand design of this solemn purgation was, to cleanse the pollution incur- red by touching a dead body, and thereby to deter the Hebrews from worshipping or holding idolatrous inter- course with the dead j and finally as the whole service tended to enforce moral purity, and to keep them stead- fast in the true religion ; these considerations sufficient- ly recommend the ritual before us. In short, the whole LECT. xxiv.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 279 system of legal purifications addressed the same exhorta- tion to the Jews in a figurative style, which the gospel in a plain style addresses to us — " Having these privileges and promises, cleanse yourselves from all filthiness both of the flesh and spirit, and perfect hohness in the fear of God," 28o LECTURES ON [LtcT. xxv LECTURE XXV. Tendency of the Hebrew ritual to promote the glory of God ; and the benefits resulting from an observance of its various in-' junctions. o UR last lecture considered the several pollu- tions and purifications of the Hebrew church. We show- ed that the law respecting both tended to enforce decent manners, a pure heart and conversation, a profound rev- erence for the presence of Jehovah in his sanctuary, and a stedfast adherence to his religion, in opposition to sur- rounding idolatry. Indeed all the ceremonies of the Jew- ish ritual were subservient to one great object, viz. the honor of the true God, who visibly resided among them in the temple. It will therefore be useful to show how admirably every part of the Mosaic law was adapted to this end, and what excellent purposes were answered by this arrangement. The titles, which this law appropriates to the God of Israel, were fitted to inspire a singular reverence for his character and worship. He is very frequently styled holy^ and the Holy One, by way of eminence. He is likewise often called a jealous God. The former title expresses his matchless purity or moral excellence, which places him far above any equal ; the latter denotes that he will not endure a rival ; and both appellations widely distin- guish him from the idols of the heathens j for these, though sometimes called gods, are never styled either holy or jealous. They were not holy either in respect of moral purity, or of separation from and superiority to other deities ; for as their characters were polluted and contemptible, so they were united togetherby a commoH LEcf . XXV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. , 28 f nature, worship, and name. Of course they were not jealous of a partner or rival. We never read that any gentile god prohibited a mukitude of divinitieSj or was angry at being worshipped in the same temple, or on the same altar with some associate demon. Hence these ap- propriate titles of the true God were fitted both to com- mand singular veneration from his worshippers and to guard them against associating with him the impure di- vinities and rites of the heathen. To heighten this reverence of Jehovah, it was ordain- ed that no one, but the high priest, should enter into the most holy place, the interior apartment of the Great King ; that no victims should be offered to him, but the most perfect in their kind ; that the tabernacle, the ark, the altars, the candlestick, the sacred vessels and ministers should be consecrated to his service with a pe- culiar and holy ointment j that the priests, and some- times the whole congregation should be sanctified to him by various washings, oblations, and sprinklings ; that none but sacred fire, kindled by God himself, should be used on his altar ; that every thing pertaining to his wor- ship should be distinguished from other things by some special use, ceremony, or splendor, and be forever ex- empted from common purposes ; that no one, whether of the priesthood or the people, should have access to the temple or to any sacred rite, while laboring under any kind of uncleanness. To these and many similar statutes we might add several peculiar laws respecting the priests ; for instance, those, which barred from the altar and sanctuary ever man, though born In the sacer- dotal line, who had any personal deformity or blemish j* those, which assigned to this sacred order, garments of * Lfv, xxi. i6, ^'x. M m 282' 1.ECTURES ON [lect. xxv. superior beauty and splendor ;* those, which directed the first fruits raid tithes, by which the priests were sup- ported, to be brought to the temple and solemnly dedi- cated to Jehovah ; and those, which regulated their mourning on funeral occasions. No priest could attend or mingle in customary funeral rites except on the death of his own parent or child, or brother and sister. The reason is given, " he shall not defile and profane himself, being a chief man among his people ;"t that is, it does uot become a minister of my sanctuary to debase him- self by vulgar ceremonies of mourning. It does not be- come him to defile himself at the graves of the dead, and thereby incur the necessity either of neglecting or polluting the rites of my worship. Agreeably when two of Aaron's sons were instantly struck dead for offering jtrange or unconsecrated fire before the Lord ; he and his living sons were forbidden not only to show the usual tokens of sorrow, but even to go out from the door of the tabernacle.} The same restriction is kid on every high priest, even on the decease of a father or a mother ;§, that is, no minister of Jehovah was to quit his station in the temple, to indulge his feelings over a departed friend, because this would discover greater affection towards a dead man, than towards the living God. Of the same aspect is that law, which prohibited the priests from drinking wine or strong drink, when going into the tab- ernacle. The reason assigned is, that they might by a sober and perfect exercise of their reason, " put a differ- ence between holy and unholy, &:c." that is, treat sacred things in a grave and holy manner, and thus hold them ap to the public veneration. To promote this high rev- • Ex. xxviii. a, &c. f Lev. xxi. i — 5. | Lev. ix. 7. f Lev. xxi» 10, &c. jLECT. XXV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 283 •€rence of sacred things, especially of God and his sanctu- ary, infinite wisdom saw fit to decorate the tabernacle with extraordinary richness and magnificence, to make na- ture and art, and divine inspiration conspire in this sacred workmanship ; that the Hebrews, struck with its exteri- or splendor, might suitably honor that great Being, who resided in it. To promote the same end, the divine Le- gislator nicely adjusted all the ceremonies of his worship in a manner best suited to inspire awful respect. These instituted ceremonies were all sober and grave. They had nothing in them ludicrous or absurd ; nothing incon- sistent with the majesty of God, or the sound reason of man. They were wisely adapted to the genius of the times, and the state of the Hebrews. Even Strabo, a learned heathen, while calumniating Moses, confesses that his law enjoined no ridiculous, fanatical, or indecent riteSv Whereas most of the pagan ceremonies were plainly fooUsh and senseless. As lordBoacon expresses it, "they were perfectly deaf and dumb ; they neither spoke nor even beckoned any instruction." The Mosaic rites also greatly transcended the pagan in point of innocence and purity. They in no instance tolerated, much less sancti- fied either filthiness, cruelty, or profanity. Whereas those of the heathen carried on their very face the image of those foul and barbarous demons, whom they worship- ed. Their mysteries could not be endured by the eye either of modesty or humanity. Hence they were care- fully concealed from vulgar observation. The i.plendor too of the Jewish rites naturally procured for them a profound veneration. We may add, their beautiful order contributed to the same eiFect. The lav/ strictly pro- vided not only for the observance of certain ceremo- loies, but for an accurate and decorous manner of 284 LECTURES OK [lect, xxv. observing them. Nothing pertaining to divine wor- ship was wrapped in obscure hints ; nothing was left to bHnd zeal, to a restless, inventive, and innovating spirit. The law took care of the minutest things. It regulated the precise form and mode, as well as the mat- ter and instruments of worship. Thus it perpetuated a noble and recommending order in the service of Jehovah, and thus precluded that uncertainty and confusion, those new and distracting human inventions, those endless and disgraceful superstitions, which otherwise might have bu- ried the true religion in contempt and ruin. Having seen how remarkaby the Hebrew ritual in all its parts tended to one point, the honor of Jehovah and of his worship, let us now advert to the great benefits, which accrued from this arrangement. It tended in general to prevent idolatry and to preserve the purity of religion. By creating in the Hebrews a high respect for their God, it tended to preclude that esteem and adoration of false deities, which always originate in contempt of the true and only Divinity. As this contempt is the parent both of idolatry ami atheism ; so its opposite is the preservative from both. The Mosaic ritual, by im- pressing on the Israelites a sense of the appropriate and incommunicable excellencies of Jehovah, was fitted to pre- vent them from dividing these excellencies, and the hom- age they claimed, among a multitude of deities. By oc- cupying their senses and their pious feelings with august and numerous ceremonies, it tended to wean their aifeC' tions from the more antient and fashionable rites of hea- then superstition. By consecrating certain peculiar cere- monies to the worship of Jehovah, and enjoining a reve- rential observance of these, and a total abstinence from all others, on penalty of death, it erected an awful bar- LECT. xxv.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 285 rier against Idolatry ; since every one, "who despised these institutions, incurred the suspicion of a capital offence ; while those, who sacredly regarded them, proclaimed their adherence to the divine law, and their abhorrence of pagan superstiton. In a word, the Hebrew ritual, by cherishing a singular veneration for its sacred rites, tend- ed to perpetuate their existence and purity, and thus to protect and transmit the belief and practice of the true religion. If we view the matter in a somewhat different light, the same conclusion will force itself on our minds. We shall see how admirably the essentials of true piety, and consequently of sound virtue were enforced by the pro- visions now described. The existence of God, in opposition to every species of atheism, was hereby taught in the most impressive manner. '1 he visible presence, the glorious symbol of Deity in the most holy place ; the temple built for his palace ; the priests, who waited at his court ; the nume- rous sacrifices and oblations, which were presented on his altar ; the solemn appearances of the whole Hebrew church thrice In a year at his sanctuary, added to the monthly, weekly, and daily worship ; the nice preparation and awful reverence, required in these approaches to the divine presence ; these were striking and unceasing mon- itors of the existence of God. They preached this truth to the senses, and thus engraved it on the hearts of the worshippers. They also taught the true character, as well as the be- ing of God. The very name of Israelis God, I mean, yehovab, taught his eternal, necessary, independent, and immutable existence. For as all agree in deriving this tiame from a verb signifying to be ; so the original word 286 LECTURES ON [lect. xxv. is applicable to past, present, and future existence, and seems to import, I -was, I am^ 1 shall be. Of the same import is the name, which God announced to Moses, ■when he sent him to Israel, / am^ and / am that I am, or I am the o m j that is^Iam the existing Being; I possess ex- istence in a peculiar manner, uncaused, unchanging, ever- lasting. As the Mosaic law thus directs the Hebrew wor- ship to Jehovah, the selfexistent Being, so it frequently holds him up as the source of all other beings, the Cre- ator of the heavens and the earth, with all their inhabitr ants. Hence it clearly and strongly enforces the divine unityj or represents Jehovah as the only true Divinity, and ob- ject of worship. The Jewish ritual provided but one symbol of the divine presence, one most holy place, one altar, and one temple, consecrated to one Jehovah ; to whom all the priests ministred, and all sacrifices were offered. The whole Hebrew vi^orship was therefore a visible illustration of that prime article of the Mosaic con- stitution— " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Jehovah — thou shalt have no other gods before or beside me,'* How much superior in this fundmental point is the Jewish code to the best deductions of unassisted rea- son ! The knowledge of one God was in fact lost in the heathen world, and was never effectually recovered by human wisdom even in its highest improvements. Hence originated the monstrous polytheism and demoral- izing superstition, which overspread the world. Tlie law of Moses struck at the root of these abominations, and planted in their room the belief of one supreme Being, to whom all other beings, however exalted, are but ser- vants ; and therefore have no claim to religious homage even of the lowest kind. This law, far from allowinj?, LECT. XXV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 2&7 expressly forbids the worship of heroes, supplication or thanksgiving to departed spirits, or to fancied tutelar de- ities. It carefully limits every part and degree of divine honor to Jehovah. It directs that every occasional, and every stated commemoration of mercies received should contain a thankful acknowledgement, not of any inferior god or protector, but of Jehovah alone. The importance and excellence of the Hebrew ritual in this view will strike us with more force, if we consider that the belief and ado- ration of gods many and lords many formed not only the es- tablished system of the antient world, but the chief learn- ing and philosophy, which then prevailed. This was the philosophy not only of the Egyptian priests but of Zoro- aster, Pythagoras, and other eminent sages. It was there- fore a high mark of wisdom and goodness to make the whole Jewish ritual bear against these fatal notions and practices, and to bring the religion of mankind to center in one God and in one worship. The ritual likewise instructed the people in the moral ■perfections of Jehovah, particularly his infinite holiness and mercy. His transcendent holiness is frequently taught in their sacred writings. It is also strongly represented in all their religious ceremonies. It appears in the exact directions given, to consecrate the temple, to hallow the sanctuary, to set apart a most holy place for the residence of Jehovah ; to purify and consecrate the priests, his mia- ters. The epithet holy applied to persons, places, times, and things, that were specially devoted to God ; the rit- ual cleanness and purifications required of all, who ap- peared before him ; the terrible denunciations against all, who should approach him, when legally defiled ; these and similar features of the Hebrew institutions were a lively comment on that exclamation of Moses, " Who is 288 LECTURES ON [lect. xxv. like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods ? Who is like unto thee, glorious in hoHness ?'* At the same time these institutions represented the true God as gracious and mer* ciful, longsufFering and abundant in goodness, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin. The numerous propitia- tory sacrifices and rites of cleansing, while they held up the awful guilt and demerit of sin, the strict purity and justice of God, and the duty of offenders to confess and forsake th^ir iniquities, did likewise encourage the peni- tent to hope for divine pardon and favor. This hope was elevated into assurance by the visible presence of God among the Hebrews, as their covenanted and almighty Protector, This leads us to add that The Mosaic ritual taught the important doctrine of a general and particular provdence. Many of the heathen philosophers, while they acknowledged either one or ma- ny deities, denied that these superior powers regarded ei- ther the circumstances or actions of men, or showed them any favor or displeasure. The vulgar heathens supposed that the several districts of our globe were rul- ed by an equal number of local gods, who were hmited in their powers, capricious in their humors, mutually opposed in their interests and dispositions, and generally profligate in their characters. Such principles were equally fatal to sound piety and morality. But the He- brew law represents Jehovah not only as the Creator, but the sole Governor of the universe. While it holds him up as peculiarly related to, and present with his pro- fessing people, as visibly residing in their temple ; it al- so represents him as dwelling between the cherubim in heaven, and thence extending his notice and dominion to all creatures and worlds. The religious ceremonial of the Jews in all its parts was an impressive symbol of this LECT. XXV.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 289 sublime doctrine. The Shechinah, or visible abode of Dei- ty between the figures of the cherubim over the ark, whence he issued his orders to the whole Hebrew nation, was a beautiful emblem of his celestial throne and universal empire ; and it was thus understood by the Jewish peo- ple. Their daily and weekly, their monthly and yearly solemnities were continual memorials and acknowledg- ments of the agency of Jehovah in the formation and government of the world, in the regular course and be- neficent influence of the heavenly bodies, and in all the blessings, which distinguished the various seasons. How admirably were these celebrations fitted at once to eradi- cate the worship of the celestial luminaries, or of fancied subordinate dispensers of good and evil ; and to confine the homage of the Israelites, to one allpervading, alldis- posing Providence ! While their ritual thus kept in view the general government of God, it perpetually reminded them of his special patronage afforded to their nation, and of the peculiar blessings, which they derived from this source. It taught them to trust in Jehovah, as their God, for every needed act of his favor, and at the same time to dread every opposite evil from his displeasure, if they provoked it by disobedience. It led them to regard the special presence of Jehovah among them, as a source of peculiar blessings or curses according to their moral behavior. Every offering, which they presented, every festival, which they solemnized, was a forcible admoni- tion of this truth. It expressed and nourished their de- pendence on God*s particular providence, either by gratefully recognizing his past mercies, or by seeking his present and futnre benediction, or by conciliating his forfeited protection by repentance and expiation. Nn 2-87 LECTURES ON [lect. xxv. Thus those great truths, which relate to the existence, character, and government of one allperfect Being; truths, which are the basis of solid piety, virtue, and joy, were clearly unfolded in the writings, and practical- ly displayed in the services of the antient Hebrews. What dignity and importance does this single fact impart to their institutions ! May you all know by experience the justness of this remark. May your minds be guard- ed, ennobled, and comforted by that deep sense of God and of providence, which the religion both of Moses and of Christ so strongly inculcates ! May you enjoy the peculiar favor of this providence in your approach- ing long recess from this university, and through the whole of your future existence ! LECT.XXVI.3 JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 295 LECTURE XXVI. Various arguments in support of the divine origin of the Hehreio ritual ; and in reph to the objections made against it. An our last lecture we showed how plainly and for- cibly the capital principles of true religioujand consequent- ly of morality, were represented and impressed by the He- brew institutions. It is important to add that these principles were taught and enforced, not by uncertain, laborious, and abstract reasoning, but by the authority of divine revelation. This is the only sure method of instructing and confirming a whole nation in the true knowledge of God and his will. Both reason and fact assure us that the bulk of mankind, especially in the rude ages, have neither capacity, nor leis- ure, nor inclination for nice and long disquisitions ; and that if left to drav/ their religion from these sources, they will run into the dreadful evils either of poly- theism and superstition, or of irreligion and atheism. It was therefore necessary that religious truth and duty should be confirmed to the chosen people by divine au- thority. Agreeably Jehovah himself, by a voice from the Shechinah, uttered the ten coram.ands ; and deliver- ed them amid such visible and awful ensigns of divine majesty, as convinced the whole nation of their heavenly original. But as these ensigns of Deity greatly terrified the people, and induced their earnest request, that Moses might thenceforward speak v/ith them in God's name ; Jehovah, in condescention to their frailty, spake after this to Moses ; and he, as God's deputy, announced his \n\\ to the congregation. While God thus commissioned 292 LECTURES ON [lect. xxvi. Moses to declare his laws, he attested his commission by a long train of miracles, wrought in the sight of all Is- rael ; miracles so numerous, so sensible, and so great, that none could be ignorant of their reality, or mistake their origin. Indeed the ritual itself was a standing evi- dence of its own divinity ; for while the Shechinah or visible glory, residing in the tabernacle, was a supernatu- ral and ocular proof of the divine presence ; the oracle, or voice issuing from it, when compared with the manner of consulting it, the precise and full answers given by it, and the exact fulfilment of these answers, was a constant testimony of divine interposition. These extraordinary revelations and appearances of Jehovah to the Hebrews were necessary and powerful means of establishing their faith in the Mosaic institutions, and of inspiring such sa- cred reverence for them, as might guard them against the enticing oracles and ceremonies of the heathen. This remark fully obviates a natural and plausible ob- jection to the Jewish ritual. It seems at first view un- worthy of God to attest in so extraordinary a manner a system of mere ceremonies. But if, as we have shown, these ceremonies were needful barriers against idolatry, and enforcements of rational piety j and if, in order to these ends, it was necessary to sanction and recommend them by the highest authority; then the wisdom and good- ness of this procedure are sufliciently vindicated. On the same grounds we see the fitness of making these insti- tutions unchangeable, or of forbidding und^r the severest penalties the least addition to, or abridgment of them. This was necessary to close the door against those super- stitious innovations, which would otherwise have crept in, and gradually corrupted the true religion. It may still be asked, was it wise to load the Jewish LECT. XXVI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 293 institution with so many ceremonies, and to enjoin and press them in a manner so solemn ? Did not this tend to exalt them to an equal rank with moral duties ? Was there not danger that the Israelites would be so dazzled and engrossed by the former, as to overlook the latter; yea, that they would substitute these shadows for the substance, and even rest in them as an atonement and li* cense for moral disobedience .? We answer, 1. As the genius and circumstances of that people re- quired a religion arrayed in sensible and striking ceremo- nies, so it was necessary that these rites should be very numerous and diversified ; that they should reach every case, to which the religion of their neighbours extended. As the heathens had idolatrous ceremonies on every oc- casion, it was expedient that the institutions of the He- brews should keep pace with theirs ; that the Israelites might have no necessity nor pretence for borrowing pa- gan rites, and that they might in every case be fortified against them. We have seen, for example, hov/ impor- tant the provisions of their law were, with respect to mourning or honoring the dead, which among other na- tions had been perverted to idolatry and divination. If the Jews had not been furnished with rites of their own on this occasion, and on numberless others ; they would either have invented superstitious ceremonies for them- selves, or have eagerly copied those of their neighbours. 2. The Hebrew ritual, far from leading men to rest in outward ceremonies, strikingly represented and enforced a virtuous temper and practice. Every part of it express- ed and required inward affections, corresponding to the external actions. The whole apparatus of the Jewish temple and priesthood, oblations and sacrifices, all the of- ferings in the way of thanksgiving, confession, and atone- 294 LECTURES ON [lect. xxvi. ment, strongly inculcated a solemn and reverential, a pen- itent and thankful heart. The numerous washings and purgations forcibly taught the necessity of a pure heart and life. Every rite is in its own nature significant of some spiritual or moral truth. The sacred rites of the Jews were as easily understood as any civil ceremonies are, when used towards fellow men. Ritual or symbolical ac- tions were very common, intelligible, and impressive in the early ages. Agreeably the ceremonies in question were evident signs of good moral dispositions. This fur- ther appears 3. From the exposition given of these rites by the law itself, and by prophets, its authorized interpreters. The law itself expressly and frequently enjoins inward and practical holiness. This is the language of the great Lawgiver — " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." " And now, O Israel, what doth the Lord tliy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love and serve him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul."" This prevailing love, and fear, and service of God comprehend all the social, as well as divine virtues. They include an affectionate and studious imitation of God in his perfect justice, truth, and goodness. Agreeably Moses, having represented Jeho- vah to the Israelites as a Being of infinite benevolence, who " executeth judgment for the fatherless and. widow, and loveth the stranger," adds, " love ye therefore the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." It is remarkable that Moses in the bock of Deuteronomy, where he solemnly recites and enforces his laws on his be-' loved people just before his death, constantly holds up love td God and its moral fruits, as the main spirit and LECT. xxvi.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 295 perfection of his institutions, as the great end even of their peculiar ceremonies. He tells them that the leading rite of circumcision was intended not only to distinguish the natural seed of Abraham but to enforce internal pu- rification— " Circumcise therefore," says he, " the fore- skin of your hearts, and be no more stifFnecked.*' " Tiie Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, that thou mayest live."* The prophets interpreted the ritual in the same manner. Thus the prophet Jere- my addresses his countryman — " Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskin of your hearts."! The prophets also very often inculcate inward purity, as the true and main import of the ceremonial washings. Thus David says, " Wash me thoroughly from my ini- quity, and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God." " I will wash my hands in innocency ; so will I compass thine altars, O Lord." So the proph- et Isaiah exhorts, " Wash ye, make ye clean, put away the evil of your doings ; cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fotherless, plead for the widow." And then " though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow." So the prophet Jere- my,"© Jerusalem, wash thy heart from all wickedness, that thou mayest be saved." The ritual, as explained by the law and the prophets, enjoined upon offenders not only a sin offering or ceremonial expiation, but a penitent confes- sion to God, and, in case of injury, restitution to men.| This confession included hearty sorrow, and an effectual purpose of forsaking sin and returning to God.§ Ac- cordingly the Old Testament writings express that repent- • Deut. vi. 4, 5.— X. la, 18, 19, 16. — XXX. 6. f J^*"' i'"- 4' J Numb. V, J— 7. § Levit, xxvi. 40, &c. Deut. iv. 29. 296 LECrURES ON f lec r. xxvi. ' ance, which is connected with divine pardon and favor, in such language as this, " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on him." " Re- pent and cast away from you all your transgressions, and make you a new heart and a new spirit.** " Turn ye even to me with all your heart ; and rend your heart and not your garments."* Agreeably David observes that the ritual itself taught the superior value of inward repent- ance. " Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sac- rifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and con- trite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.** As the He- brew law thus states true piety and virtue to be the mean- ing and end of its ceremonial institutions ; so 4. It expressly and constantly prefers moral to ritual obedience. It declares that God desires mercy rather than sacrifice ; that what he requires of us is to do just- ly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God ; that Jehovah will look with complacency to the man, who is poor, and of a contrite spirit ; that where this inward spirit and its substantial fruits are wanting, the most strict and splendid observance of ceremonial duties is un- acceptable, yea an abomination in his sight. These les- sons were so clearly taught and understood in the He- brew church, that the scribes in our Savior's day, with all their zeal for rites and forms, were obliged to ac- knowledge that the love of God and our neighbour were the great precepts of their law ; were more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.! We add 5. The Mosaic institutions contain moral, as well as ritual commands. The ten commandments are a summa- ry of moral duty. These were audibly pronounced by * Isai. It. 7. Ezek. xviii. 31. Joel, ii. ilj 13. f Mark, xii. 31, Sczi lECT.xxvi.] JFAVISH ANTIQUITIES. 297 a voice from heaven. They were engraven on tables of stone by the finger of God. These tables were deposit- ed in a rich ark or chest, which was covered with a Hd of pure gold, called the mercy seat. Over this stood two cherubim ; and between these resided the cloud of glo- ry, or visible emblem of Deity. This ark was fixed in the most holy place, and became the throne of Jehovah, the seat of his royal presence. Did not these pre- eminent marks of honor, put on the ten commands, point them out as the most excellent part of the ritual, as ths basis and perfection of the whole ^ Did they not in- culcate true holiness, as the leading principle and end of all the Hebrew ceremonies ? These remarks sufficiently show that the Jewish lav/ did not place religion in bare external rites, but instrfected its votaries to regard these, as the handmaids of moral goodness. But it may be further objected, that this law was very defective in its sanctions ; since it held out temporal bles- sings and calamities, as the only recompense of obedi- ence or of transgression. This difficulty is removed by the following considerations. 1. As the Hebrew law consisted of two parts, viz. ceremonial and moral ; and as the former was, by v/ay of distinction, the law of the Israelites, v/hile the latter was the original and comm.on law of our nature ; so it was fit that each should have appropriate sanctions. A- greeably the ritual or peculiar law of the Jews was en- forced by the distinct sanction of temporal rewards and punishments ; while the moral or universal law of man was left to stand on its primitive footing ; that is, on the sanction of a future retribution. Hence 2. There was no need of incorporating with the Jew- ish ritual a nev/ and express revelation of a future state ; Oo 298 LECTURES ON [lect. xxvi. because such a state had already been notified to the world by nature and reason, assisted by early revelation and tradition, and had also been eminently discovered to the Hebrews by special communications made to their pious ancestors. Agreeably the belief of the soul's immortali- ty, and of future rewards and punishments was interwov- en not only with the writings, but with the whole idola- trous system of the antient heathens. On this principle they deified the souls of their eminent deceased friends and benefactors. On the same principle they consulted the dead. The same general belief appears to have been early and constantly entertained by the Hebrews. Saul's effort to obtain counsel from the spirit of departed Samu- el was founded on this belief. The Jewish law proceeds on this principle in forbidding necromancy, and consult- ing the dead. Several Old Testament writers, particu- larly Job, David, Solomon, and Daniel, express their as- surance of a future retribution.* There was therefore no necessity of confirming this received doctrine to the Israelites, especially in their ritual law — For 3. As this law was ceremonious and temporary, it was fitly enforced by temporal rewards. As it was given chiefly in pursuance of the peculiar covenant made with Abraham and his seed, a covenant, which insured to them the land of Canaan, and great worldly prosperity in it ; we plainly see that sanctions best suited to this covenant were temporal blessings or judgments in the country, which Jehovah had thus granted them. 4. If the rewards and punishments of a future life had been annexed to the Hebrew ritual, this would naturally have led the Jews into a superstitious or exclusive regard to ceremonial duties, as if these alone could expiate mor- • Job xk. 25—27. Psalm xvi. 9— II. £ccl. xL 9— 12, 14. Dan. xii. 3, 4. tECT. XXVI.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 299 al guilt, and procure everlasting happiness. But by limit- ing the effect of merely ritual obedience or transgression to temporal or political good and evil, the divine Law- giver instructed them to expect final pardon and blessed- ness, as the result, not of ceremonial observances, but of inward and moral obedience. Thus the great distinction between outward rites and true saving religion was forci- bly impressed. The former at best could insure only worldly prosperity ; while the latter was connected with eternal life. 5. As the peculiarities of the ceremonial law were chiefly intended as a barrier against idolatry, so temporal sanctions were best adapted to this end ; as they assured the obedient Israelites of all those blessings from the true God, which their heathen neighbours expected from their imaginary deities ; and as they threatened and inflicted on those, who deserted or corrupted the worship of Jehovah, the same calamities, which idolaters apprehended from, or ascribed to the displeasure of their gods. These sanc- tions, faithfully executed, had the strongest tendency to crush idolatry, and to bind the Hebrews to the true reli- gion, by giving them an experimental conviction of the power and disposition of their God to reward or punish them in the most speedy and sensible manner. If the Hebrew Lawgiver had opposed a future or distant retri- bution only to that idolatry, which was supported by the expectation and fancied experience of present good and evil ; he would have erected a very unsuitable and feeble barrier against paganism, and in favor of the true religion. This leads us to add 6. That a great writer, the late bishop Warburton, in a very learned work, called t/je Divine Legation of Mo- ses^ has undertaken to demonstrate the profound wisdom 30^ LECTURES ON [lect. xxvi. and divine origin of the Hebrew constitution from the to- tal omission of future rewards and punishments in that system. He builds his conclusion on the following prem- ises ; viz. that the doctrine of a future retribution is ne- cessary to i^t support and well being both of civil and re- ligious society ; that the wisest lawgivers and nations of antiquity introduced this doctrine, as the grand basis and enforcement, both of their religion and laws ; that they universally and justly believed that no religion and no community could subsist without it, unless protected by an extraordinary providence ; and yet that Moses, the wise lawQ-iver of the Jews, established a civil and a reli- gious polity, which flourished for ages without the sanc- tion of a future state ; from all which he infers that Mo- ses must have been conscious of a divine mission, when he framed and published such a constitution, and that this system must have been supported by a peculiar prov- idence. How far this demonstration is well founded and decisive will richly deserve our future inquiry. In the mean time we can demonstrate the divine legation of Mo- ses by a process far more simple and sure than that of this author. For example, would this wise lawgiver have promised the Israelites a treple harvest from their lands on every year preceding the seventh or sabbatical year ? Would he have obliged all the males to leave their fami- lies and country undefended thrice every year ? Would he have suspended his whole system on the contingence of the family of Aaron never wanting an adult male heir, free from every disqualifying blemish, to inherit and sup- port the priesthood ? Would he have pronounced so ma- ny specific temporal blessings and curses, as the certain consequence of obedience or disobedience to his laws ? Would he have ventured on these unexampled measures. LECT.xxvi.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 301 if he had not been sure of an extraordinary providence to car;"y them into effect ? If such a providence had not se- conded his institutions, would they not have sunk into disgrace, or have involved the nation in ruin ? We can- not therefore account either for the origin or success of this singular constitution without the special interposition of Deity. Sound philosophy, as well as authentic histo- ry, compels us to admit that the Hebrews were really governed by a peculiar Providence, which protected, re- warded or punished them in a sensible and extraordinary manner. 302 LECTURES ON [lf.ct. xxvii. LECTURE XXVIL The numerous riles and ceremonies of the Hebrew ritual pointing out, and gradually unfolding, the more perfect dispensation of the gospel. JSeFORE we dismiss the Jewish ritual, it will be proper to consider it more distinctly as a preparatory and typical system, which prefigured and gradually in- troduced the more perfect dispensation of the gospel. We have formerly shown that the Old Testament con- tained a prophetic revelation of the Messiah, or a series of predictions intended to keep alive, and to shed increasing light on the great promise, made to our first parents and to Abraham, of the future seed of the woman, who was to bruise the head of the serpent, and in whom all nations should be blessed. As the Hebrew economy thus verbally foretold the Savior of mankind, and here- by prepared the world for his appearance j we have rea- son to believe that it likewise symbolically pointed to, and terminated in him ; in other words, that the Jewish cere- monies were a temporary, intermediate, and emblemat- ical scheme, adapted to the same general use with the prophecies. Many reasons concur to establish this opin- ion. It is confirmed by the general manner of divine proceeding, which is to instruct mankind by slow degrees, suited to their gradual advance from infancy to manhood. As the doctrine of the Messiah not only dawned on the early ages, but shone with far greater lustre on the latter periods of the Jewish church ; as it unfolded itself with Still greater clearness in the discourses of Christ, and with perfect fulness in the subsequent ministry of his apostles ; so we argue from analogy that the legal rites of the Jews LECT.xxvii.l JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 303 obscurely hinted the same truths, which the evangeHcal economy has fully revealed. This renders the plan of divine conduct harmonious and comprehensive. This mode of procedure was also wisely suited to the Hebrew nation ; for while it gratified the taste and exercised the devotion of the vulgar with striking external ceremonies, it engaged the respectful and studious attention of strong and contemplative minds to the secret and high import of these ordinances. It also laid a foundation for that admirable correspondence between the law and the gos- pel, and that transcendent superiority of the latter, on which the proof and excellence of Christianity so greatly depend. We have formerly seen that the Hebrew rites were sensible images or emblems of historic facts, moral duties, and celestial things ; that their solemn festivals visibly represented great national events ; their washings internal purity ; their Most Holy place with the cloud of glory residing in it, the presence and splendor of Je- hovah in heaven. It is therefore congruous to believe that many of their symbols had likewise a prophetic allu- sion to the coming, office, and sufferings of Christ. For as bishop Sherlock justly argues, " Since Abraham and his posterity were chosen not merely for their own sakes, but to be instruments of the promised universal blessing to mankind ; since the temporal covenant with that fam- ily was subservient to the spiritual and everlasting cove- nant, which respected the Messiah, and the whole race of man ; it is highly probable that the laws of the Jewish dispensation were intentionally fitted to this great design, were figures of good things to come.'* Agreeably they have been thus understood both by learned Jews and Christians. Thus Philo, an eminent Hebrew writer, says that the Jewish high priest was an " image of the 304 LECTURES ON [lect. xxvii. sinless and divine Logos." Ircnaius, achristiim father, calls the law of Moses " a prophecy of future things.'* Indeed almost the whole body of christians from the be- ginning to this day have viewed the subject in this light. They have been led into this opinion not only by the rea- sons just mentioned, but by the obvious import of the ritual itself, and the application made of it in the New Testament. The agreement between the legal and evan- gelical dispensations is too exact and manifold to have been the olTspring of chance. It must therefore have been the contrivance of Deity. The gospel itself frequent- ly sanctions this idea by expounding the Jewish law in an evangelical sense. We grant that many expositors have injured scripture and dishonored themselves by allegorizing every scrap of the Hebrew law into a mystical sense, and thus substitut- ing their own fanatical or conceited fancies for divine au- thority. It is ridiculous to imagine that every little or obscure circumstance in the Jewish code must certainly point out some evangelical mystery. We have no war- rant to apply in this manner any part of the Old Testa- ment, any further than such application is justified by the express authority or general analogy of scripture. Taking this for our guide, we will now unfold the excel- lency of the Hebrew ritual, as a typical dispensation. The author of the epistle to the Hebrews largely traces the mutual correspondence between the Mosaic and Chris- tian institution, with a view to recommend the latter, as the perfection of the former. He firstly shows the per- sonal preeminence of Christ above Moses, and even a- bove angels.* He next displays the superiority of Christ to Moses in his official capacity ; the latter being a faith- • Hel), chap. i. and ii. LECT XXVII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 305 ful servant in the house of God, the former the builier and sovereign proprietor of the house.* The law of Moses promised the rest of Canaan, and hinted a future rest in heaven. This heavenly rest is clearly revealed and promised by Christ. f As the Jewsw^ere exceeding- ly attached to their priesthood and sacrifices, as well as to iVIoses, their prophet ; the apostle proceeds to exhibit the priestly office and dignity of Jesus. He shows that Christ, like Aaron, was called by God to this office ; that he was made High Priest of a nobler order than Aaron, viz. of the antient patriarchal order, the order of Mel- chizedec, who was both priest and king, who was supe- rior to Abraham, since he received tithes from him, and gave himhis blessing. J This order of priesthood was cath- iic and permanent, not local and temporary like that of Aaron. § The apostle goes on to remark that the Jew- ish temple and sanctuary, Shechinah and priesthood, of- ferings and sacrifices were figures for the time then pres- ent^ of the future good things in the days of the Messi- ah ; that they were imperfect shadows of a perfect sub- stance ; that they had no efficacy to purge the soul from real or moral guilt, but only pointed to, and were con- summated in the glorious person, sacrifice, and redemp- tion of Christ. II In short this whole epistle, and many other passages of the New Testament evidently hold up the Mosaic ritual as a designed, though imperfect type of the christian economy. In particular I. They represent the Shechinah, or visible symbol of Jehovah, dwelling in the sanctuary, as an emblem of the person and office of Christ. As the Shechinah was a sensible token of the extraordinary and gracious pres- ence of God ; as hereby he visibly tabernacled among • Chap, jii. f Chap. iv. \ Chap. v. vi. § Chap, vii. || Chap. viiJ. 9, Id 3o6 LECTURES ON [lect. xxvii. the Hebrews, so that they beheld his glory, and had near access to his mercy seat ; so both prophets and apostles represent God as coming down to, and dwelling with men in the person of his Son. They speak of the human nature ot Christ, as the visible temple or taber- nacle, in which the Godhead resided. On this account Isaiah styles the future Messiah Immanual ; and Matthew expressly applies this prophecy to Jesus as the Savior. They give him the name ImmanueU because in his person and mediation God dwells with us in a visible and gra- cious manner, as he resided with the Jews in the sanctu- ary. The same prophet in another place thus des- cribes the visible glory of the God of Israel — " I saw Jehovah sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim ; each one had six wings ; and one cried to another, and said,holy,holy,holy is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory.'* Now this glory of Jehovah, which the prophet saw, is by the apostle John expressly applied to Christ.* The prophets also describe the future appear- ance of the Messiah in the same or equivalent words, by which they express the visible glory of Deity in the tem- ple. Thus Haggai speaks — " The desire of all na- tions shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former."! That is, when the Messiah should come into the temple, the di- vine glory would appear in him, and would fill the sanc- tuary more illustriously, than it did the temple of old. Hence says the evangelist John — " the Logos was made flesh, and tabernacled amont]^ us ; and we beheld his glo- ry, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father.*'} • Chap xii.43. -j- Chap. ii. 7 — 9. \ Chap. i. 14. LECT. XXVII.] JEWISH ANTIOUITIES. 307 Hence too the apostle to the Hebrews speaks of Christ, as " the brightness of God's glory, and the express im- age of his person," that is, the true Shechinah, the per- fect symbol or representative of Deity. Accordingly, as the angels or cherubim were represented in the Jewish sanctuary, as servants or attendants round the divine presence ; so the same apostle describes the angels, as worshipping the Son of God, and as ministring spn-its before his throne, sent forth by him to minister to the heirs of salvation.* The prophet Zechariah too, in allu- sion to the Shechinah, speaks of the man, whose name is the Bianch, as building the temple of the Lord, as bear- ing the glory, as sitting and ruling on his throne.'* The prophet Malachi too says in the name of Jehovah, *' Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall pre- pare the way before me ; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the Messenger of the covenant" &c. Thus we are abundantly authoris- ed to consider the glory of Jehovah in the most holy place, over the mercy seat, as a prophetic emblem of the Messiah, who is God with us, or the Deity appearing in human nature, as in his temple. 2, The religious institutions of the Hebrews had al- so an evangelical reference. Their priesthood pointed to Christ, the great High Priest of christians. Their sacrifices and sin offerings prefigured that grand oblation, that perfect atonement for sin, which the gospel high priest was to offer by his death on the cross. Their washings and sprinklings typified the real purification of sinners by the blood and spirit of Christ. The solemn intercession made by the Jewish high priest in the most holy place, and the blessings procured by it for the peo- • Chap. i. 3. 6. 8. 14. 3og LECTURES ON [lect. xxvii. pie, represented the far more powerful and lasting inter- cession of Jesus in heaven, and the far richer and more durable benefits which it draws down on his church. Even the weakness or inefficacy of the Hebrew ritual to expiate moral guilt was well fitted to prepare and lead forward the Jews to a more perfect dispensation. For while the moral precepts of their law held up a per- fect rule of duty, and condemned every transgres- sion J while their rites and sacrifices constantly pro- claimed their guilt and desert of punishment, and the insufficiency of external ceremonies to cancel this guilt, or to remove the defilement of sin ; while their whole religious system displayed the awful justice, puri- ty, and majesty of God, and the necessity of some great Mediator and Sanctifier to restore them to his favor and image ; was not their law in these views an excellent preparative for the gospel ? Did it not properly serve as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ ; to preserve in their minds a deep sense of their need of the promised Mediator, an earnest desire and hope of his coming, an eager expectation of the more perfect, spiritual, consol- ing discoveries and blessings of his religion ? We grant that the bulk of that people, especially in more ealy pe- riods, caught but a faint glimpse of those truths, which tvere wrapped up in their law, and which the clear light of the gospel has now drawn out of obscurity into open day. Yet the dark hints afforded them of these truths ■were of great use to them, and are still beneficial to us. While pious and studious minds in that nation doubtless made considerable discoveries of these truths ; the He- brews in general might easily understand the moral and typical import of sacrifices, and thus be led to expect LECT. xxviij JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 309 a better priest and atonetoent, a more pure and exalted state of the church, in the days of the Messiah. This expectation woud naturally confirm their attachment to a system, which thus promised and led on to a better order of things ; and would also prepare them for a wel- come reception of the new dispensation. When the promised Savior appeared, the body of the Jews, in consequence of deep rooted errors, were strong- ly prejudiced against him. They could not endure a re- ligion, which abolished the peculiarities of their law, and which granted the same privileges to the Gentiles, as to themselves. But the apostles confuted these prejii- dices by their own scriptures, by showing them that their boasted law confessed its own weakness, predicted its own death, and paid homage to Jesus, as its grand scope and consummation ; by showing them that, according to their own covenant, the promised seed of Abraham was to be a blessing to all nations, and of course was to unite both Jews and Gentiles into one catholic church ; that the ritual of Moses being intended and adjusted as a temporary barrier to one people, could not possibly an- swer for a universal religion, and consequently that a more simple and spiritual worship was now indispensa- ble, and was accordingly typified and foretold by the law and the prophets. Thus the law, properly understood, was a mighty instrument of converting the Jews to the faith of Jesus, in whom it was illustriously fulfilled ; and the religion of Moses still furnishes invincible evidence to the religion of Christ. We grant that this is not the first evidence to convince a Gentile unbeliever. To tlie Jews indeed the Old Testament prophecies and types werfe the first proof of Christianity ; but to the Gentiles they were the last. The Jews believed in Christ, because 310 LECTURES ON [lect. xxvii. foretold and prefigured by their law; the- Gentiles be- lieved in the divine authority of the Old Testament, be- cause it was so exactly fulfilled in the New. Both Jews and Gentiles were led into a more full understanding and a more confirmed belief of the peculiar and sublime doctrines of Christianity, when they saw these doctrmes represented by, and adding light and perfection to the antient institutions of Jehovah, On the whole, the view we have now taken of the Mosaic economy, compared with the representations we have formerly given, exhibits a new and diversified proof of its heavenly original. It holds up this institution, not only as minutely and admirably levelled against the idola- try of antient times ; as not only pointing out by signifi- cant emblems all the remarkable events, doctrines, and moral precepts of the Jewish dipensation ; but as typify- ing with wonderful accuracy a distant, spiritual, and per-, feet religion. What an amazing reach and comprehen-, sion of divine wisdom do these circumstances unfold ! How glorious that wisdom, which, while it indulged a rude people with carnal ordinances, rendered these very ordinances a pattern of the most sublime and celestial truths ; which gave to these rites a plain moral import, easily understood and felt by the multitude, and at the same time a secondary and typical meaning, which could not be fully perceived till the coming of the Messiah ; which annexed to a temporary law the proper and pow^ erful sanction of temporal rewards and punishments, while it made these secret, but striking emblems of the spiritu- al and eternal rewards of the gospel ! If the spiritual truths of Christianity had not been thus prefigured by the law, the mutual dependence and connexion of the two systems, as parts of one great and perfect whole, would LECT. XXVII,] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 3U have been precluded, or at best could not have been as- certained ; one main use of Judaism, as a preparatory scheme, and one essential proof of the gospel, would have been defeated. On the other hand, if these christian doctrines had been plainly revealed under the Jewish dis- pensation, the distinction between the two religions would have been confounded ; the Jews would have despised and shaken off their comparatively mean and burden- some ceremonies long before the appointed season for their extinction ; and thus the purpose of God to train them by a long previous discipline would have been frus- trated. How wonderfully then was the divine wisdom manifested in making the Hebrew law a real, but covert intimation of the gospel ; and I may add, in rendering this typical import more clear and impressive, as the new dispensation approached ! Tins arrangement was proper and necessary on many accounts. I will mention one weighty reason for it, which perhaps has been too much overlooked. As the primary intention of the Mosaic ritual was to protect the true religion against idolatry, and as the idolatrous propensities of the Jews were com- pletely and finally cured after the Babylonish captivity ; it follows that the prime use of their ceremonies was now in great measure superseded. Of course their secondary use, or their reference to the approaching Messiah, was, with great wisdom, brought more fully into view by the later Jewish prophets. We see then the stamp of con- summate intelligence and goodness on every part, on eve- ry intention of this antient constitution. 3i4 LECTURES OK [lect. xxviii. LECTURE XXVIIL ji comparative view of the character and institutions of the Hitt- doosf with those of the Hebrews. X O give these lectures a grateful variety, and to "place the excellence of the Hebrew institutions in a aew and stronger light, we will shift the scene from Palestine to Hindostan. We will inspect the prominent opinions and customs of the latter country, and compare them with those of the former. I am induced to this compari- son by the curious accounts, which are given of the Hindoos ; by the increasing light thrown on their char- acter by modern research, especially by the labors of the excellent Sir William Jones, and the Asiatic Society, over which he presided ; and finally by the efforts of some recent writers to give the religion of this people a precedency both of date and genuine worth to that of the Jews. Before we quit the ritual laws of the Hebrews, it may be proper and useful to compare them with the institu- tions of some other antient nations. This comparison v/ill place the excellence of the former in a new and very impressive light. The character and institutions of the Hindoos are high- ly celebrated by many modern writers. Mr. Langles, a French translator of one of their books, styles the found- ers of their religion " venerable institutors, who deliver- ed precepts of the soundest morality, and a system of metaphysics truly sublime. In their religion,'* he says, " we distinguish the morals, the doctrines, and the cere- monies of the Egyptians and Jews, of the Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans, and even the Christians.*' Ac- LECT. XXVIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 313 cording to him the Jews and Christians have done noth- inp- but ape the Hindoos. The five Vedas of the latter, he tells us, " are the prototype of the live books of Mo- ses, who has only copied Egyptian works, originally from India." Other authors have given similar or equal- ly flattering accounts of the Hindoo institutions, with a view to sink the reputation, or to discredit the divine original of the Mosaic religion. It is therefore import- ant to examine the ground, on which these writers build their assertions. The Vedas are the first and most sacred books of the Hindoos, dictated immediately, as they pretend, by the Supreme Being. The original of these books having fall- en into the hands of a curious Englishman, we may hope soon to read them in our own language. Another writ- ing, called the Institutions of Menu, next in authority to the Vedas, and faithfully transcribing their principal contents, has been translated by Sir William Jones. This book is thus characterized by that great and good man — " It is a system of despotism and priestcraft, both indeed limited by law, but artfully constructed to give mutual support. It is filled with strange conceits in metaphys- ics and natural philosophy, with idle superstitions, and with a scheme of theology most obscurely figurative, and consequently liable to dangerous misconception. It abounds with minute and childish formalities, with cere- monies generally absurd, and often ridiculous. The pun- ishments are partial and fanciful ; for some crimes dread- fully cruel, for others reprehensively slight ; and the very morals, though rigid enough on the whole, are in some in- stances, as in the case of light oaths, and pious perjuries, unaccountably relaxed. Nevertheless," he adds, " a spir- it of sublime devotion, of benevolence to mankind, and of Qq 314 LECTURES ON [luct. xxvm. amiable tenderness to all sentient creatures, prevades the whole work.*'* That you may be able to judge for yourselves on the merits of this system, I will present to you some of its leading /eatures, taken from unquestionable sources. It is allowed on all sides that the antiquity of the Hin- doo nation and religion is very great. But the most ap- proved and even oldest accounts do not give that people a date prior to that of the Mosaic deluge. Their relig- ious institutions were therefore posterior to that event. Sir William Jones dates the Vedas about one hundred Years before Moses, and the institutions of Menu about three hundred years later. Though the original Hindoo system has undergone several changes and improvements, it has constantly retained the same general principles. As it appears to have the same early date with that of the Egyptians, from which the Greeks and other western nations in a great degree borrowed their systems •, so there exists a striking agreement in many particulars be- tween the opinions and customs, especially the religions of these several nations. These points of resemblance among the antient uations probably took their rise from sources, wliich existed very early, that is, before the con- fusion of Babel, and the consequent dispersion of man- kind. Accordingly, well informed WTiters tell us that the names and figures of the twelve signs of the zodiac are nearly the same among the Hindoos, as with us, who borrowed them from Egypt through Greece ; that each of these signs with them is divided into thirty degrees ; that they in common with the Egyptians divided time in- to weeks, and named each day of the week after the same planet ; that their Bramins had much the same of- jBce and power with the Druids in Europe j that some of * Dissertations relating to Asia, preface J>. 18. LECT. xxviii.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 315 their temples, and all their pagodas have the same foim with the Egyptian pyramids, which were also probably intended for some religious use ; and finally, that they had the same gods and sacred rites, and gave their deities nearly the same attributes and even names with the Egyptians and Greeks. But though these circumstances prove the very high antiquity of the Hindoo religion, at least of its first rudiments ; it is easy to show that the Jewish system was not copied from it, nor in the least in- debted to it. We grant that in some instances there is a re- markable coincidence betwen the two religions. For ex- ample, the Hindoo writings hold up one Supreme Being, and on some occasions describe him in a manner trulv ra- tional and sublime. They represent him as '* One, whom the mind alone can comprehend, whose essence etudes the external organs, who has no visible parts, who exists from eternity, the soul of all beings, whom no being can comprehend ;'* and they say that " goodness is the very essence of God.*' But their most exalted conceptions of Deity fall far short of those delivered by Moses. For tliey deny the divine foreknowledge of the actions of free agents ; while Moses introduces Jehovah distinctly foretelling such actions and their consequences even in distant ages. They also represent the eternal One, as hindered by two mighty opposers for the space of five thousand years in his attempt to create the universe ; while the Hebrew scriptures constantly describe God as omnipotent, and as readily speaking the world into exist- ence. The Hindoo system bears some resemblance to the Mosaic in the account, which it gives of the chaos ; of the Spirit of God moving upon it ; of the tree of life in paradise ; of Adam and Eve ; of the serpent ; of the creation of the world in six days j of the formation of 3-1 6 LECTURES ON [lect. xxviii. the man and woman on the sixth day, and of all other creatures for their use ; of the fall of the first human pair, and their deliverance by a superior and compassion- ate being ; of the longevity of mankind in the first ages ; of a universal deluge, and the escape of eight persons in a bark or vessel ; of the excellent character of Noah, his intoxication in a certain instance, the deportment of his three sons on that occasion, the curse he afterward pronounced on one of them, and his blessing on the oth- ers ; of the punishment inflicted on the proud and impi- ous BabelbuiJders, &:c. These resemblances to the Old Testament history, together with the evident allusions to the story of Abraham, of Moses, and of Job, not only prove the great antiquity of the Hindoo books, but give strong collateral support to the Mosaic history. The Hindoo code also contains some peculiar laws and cus- toms of the Hebrews, such as were never received by the western nations ; particularly that of a man taking the widow of his brother, in order to keep up his family. But amid these points of agreement the two systems differ so widely in their leading doctrines and prescrip- tions, as fully to confute the pretence, that both originat- ed from one source, or that Moses borrowed his religion from the Hindoos. In the following statement of this difference I am greatly indebted to Dr. Priestly, who has carefully consulted and quoted the best authorities. The Hindoo doctrine of the creation is, that God pro- duced other beings wholly from his own substance ; into which they will in due time be absorbed ; and that these creations and absorptions will succeed each other without end. The same general sentiment was adopted by many Greek philosophers, and by the Persian magi, and is Still maintained, as Sir William Jones tells us, by learned tTLcr. XXVIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 317' Musselmen, and by the best poets in India. How differ- ent from this, how incomparably more sublime is the Mosaic account of the creation ! According to the Hin- doos the material universe consists of fourteen spheres, seven below, and six above that of the earth. *' The seven inferior worlds are inhabited by an infinite variety of monstrous serpents. The sphere next above the earth, called Bobur, is the vault of the visible heavens, in which the sun, moon, and stars are placed. The next, called Suueigeb, is the first paradise, the general abode of such, as merit a removal from our earth. The third, Ma/jur^ is assigned to those, who by the dint of prayer have risen to extraordinary sanctity. The fourth, Junney, is also the habitation of pious and virtuous souls, who can- not ascend to a higher sphere without some uncommon merit or attainments. The fifth, Juppey, is the reward of those, who have all their lives performed some won- derful act of penance and mortification, or who have died martyrs for their religion. The highest sphere, called Suttee, is the residence of Birmah, the vicegerent of the eternal One, and his particular favorites ; for instance, of those men, who have never uttered a falsehood during their whole lives, and of those women, who have volun- tarily burned themselves with their husbands." The met- aphysics of this people are equally curious with their phys- ical system ; they are so refined, as to be unintelligible. I will give you the following specimen from the institutes of Menu — " From the supreme soul the Creator drew forth mind, existing substantially, though immaterial ; and be- fore mind, he produced consciousness ; and before them both he produced the great principles of the soul, or first expansion of the divine idea, and all vital forms endued with the three qualities of goodness, passion, and dark- " 1 8 LECTURES ON [lect. xxviii. o nesSj and the five perceptions of sense, and the five organs of sensation.** Is there any thing like this sublime jargon in the books of Moses ? No, his writings contain no philosophical and metaphysical refinements or obscurities, but a plain and popular system of religious faith, duty, and hope, fitted to make men pious, virtuous, and happy. Dr. Priestly justly remarks that the Hindoo account (of the origin of the universe, however wild and confus- ed, is far preferable to that of the learned Greeks ; for according to the former the world had a creator ; but according to the latter it had none, because the matter and laws, from which it was educed, were selfexistent and eternal, and the present harmonious system of ma- terial, animated, and intelligent beings was the natural tesult of this matter and these laws. Thus the wisest of the Grecian philosophers, instead of amending or im- proving on the plain doctrine of Moses, were pushed by the proud speculations of unassisted reson into the greatest absurdities ; insomuch that in the days and writings of Homer and Hesiod we find no trace of a self- existing, intelligent Creator. Their gods possessed hu- man passions and vices ; even their Jupiter excelled on- ly in strength, and was himself subject to almighty fate. Does this gross and demoralizing system deserve a com- parison with that of the Old and New Testament ? But several learned authors, particularly Messrs. Lan- gles, Holwell, and Dow, insist that the Hindoos are not thargeable with this stupid polytheism ; " that their learned Bramins with one voice deny inferior divinities ; and that one infinite Being is the object of universal ado- ration.'* That this people acknowledge one Supreme Being we readily grant. But they likewise expressly LECT. XXVIII. J JEWISH ANTIOUrriES. 315 hold that " there sprung from this Supreme Being, as emanations of his divinity, an infinite number of subal- tern deities, of which every part of the visible world was the seat and temple ; and that each element is un- der the guidance of some being pecuhar to it." The characters of these inferior gods were conceived to be so different, and in many instances so depraved, that the most absurd, impure, or dreadful cei-emonies were thought necessary to please them. This people, says La Croze,' have many millions of inferior divinities. They pray, says Mr. Lord^ to different deities, according to their different occasions. To attain a happy marriage they pray to Hurmount, on taking a journey to Gunnes, in sickness to Begenaut. Soldiers pray to Bilnahem^ the wretched to Syer^ the fortunate to Nycasser^ &c. The Hindoos conceive all parts of nature, even rocks and stones, to be animated by secret divinites. Hence they have in their pagodas a round stone, which they worship as a god. I'he votaries of Lama adore rocks and moun- tains. Mr. Sannerat says, that besides gods they have saints, whose pictures they place in their temples, and that they pray to them, as well as to their gods. These accounts arc taken, not only from travellers, but from the sacred books of the Hindoos. These books men- tion various orders of demigods and genii. They re- commend the worship of the sun. They abundantly in- sist on the worship due to the names of deceased ances- tors. They direct the magistrates, when they conquer a country, to pay homage to the Deivtah or chief god of that country, and to give a large present to the Bramins of that province. This people Hkewise express great veneration for the images of their gods, from an idea that after consecration these images are inhabited by 320 LECTURES ON [lect. xxviii. the deities, whom they represent ; which is precisely the ground, on which pagan idolators bow down to carved wood and stone. In this respect the foundation and whole structure of the Hebrew religion were directly opposed to those of the Hindoos, Egyptians, and the whole surrounding world. We have formerly shown, that the great object of the Mosaic institutions was to preserve the belief and worship of the one true God, in the midst of prevailing idolatry. How could a people so rude and so prone to idolatry, as the antient Jews, have discovered and adher- ed to the sublime doctrine of one infinite Maker and Gov- ernor of the universe ; how could their propensity to idol worship have been radically cured ; how could this despised nation have been the sole instrument, under Moses and Christ, of upholding and propagating the true religion from early times to this day ; unless they were really favored with supernatural interposition ? Surely no natural cause can account for such extraordi- nary effects. As Moses was born and educated in Egypt, and his countrymen had been habituated and greatly attached to her civil and religious customs ; he would be most likely to borrow his institutions from that country. Let us then advert a few moments to the religion of the Egypt- ians, as delineated by Jablcnski in his excellent work in- titled Pantheon Egyptiorum ; a work which gives the most favorable account of this religion, that ever has been exhibited. According to this writer, " the knowledge and worship of the Supreme Being was long retained by the Egyptians. They had also an idea of a chaos of inert matter. In a course of time however the worship of the Supreme LECT. XXVIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 321 Being was neglected, and the regards of the people were confined to visible objects, especially the heavenly- bodies, as having the most sensible influence on the earth. They accordingly worshipped the sun and the moon, the stars and the five planets. These planets with the sun and moon were the seven great gods of Egypt, and when they are called eight, the Supreme Being was included with them. The erection of obelisks and py- ramids probably had some relation to the worship of the sun. They had also a mystical name of the sun, viz. On, answering to the celebrated Oum of the Hindoos. Hence we read in Genesis of the priest of On, whose daughter Joseph married. The Egyptians had likewise a city of that name, dedicated to the sun, and called by the Greeks Heliopolis. In time however, the worship of the stars and planets became confined to the priests, who applied their knowledge of them to purposes of divina- tion. The speculations of these priests, and other men of learning, respecting the various positions, qualities, and powers of the sun and moon, at length introduced a variety of names for these luminaries, expressive of these different properties and relations ; which names in time were considered and worshipped as so many deities. This new species of worship commenced in the fourth centu- ry after the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. A- bout this time the sun was generally worshipped by the Egyptians and neighbouring nations under the symboli- cal names of Osiris, Baal, Moloch, Chemash, &c. As the regulator of time, he was called Osiris ; as king of the heavens, Remphath ; in the winter solstice he was Serapis ; in the summer solstice Horus ; in the vernal e- quinox, Amun ; in his full strength, Semo, and Hercules* When the sun was worshipped as Osiris, the moon ob- R r 522 LECTURES ON [lect. xxviii. tained the name of Isis. The new moon was the god- dess Bubastis, and the full moon Buti. The river Nile being naturally regarded as the patron and savior of Egypt, was an early and distinguished ob- ject of worship, to which temples, priests, and ceremonies were appropriated. Before this river entered Egypt, it was called 5/m, which Mr. Bruce says signifies a dog ; and thence the name Sirius, or the dog star. Beside the worship of beneficent deities, the Egyptians, in common with all heathen nations, paid divine honors to a malignant being, called Typhon, whom they consid- ered as the great author of evil. But the most distin- guishing and ridiculous part of the Egyptian system was the worship of animals. This worship probably origin- ated from a supposed resemblance or expression of the divine attributes, which these animals exhibited. In common wath the Hindoos, the Egyptians had a singu- lar veneration for the cou\ But in later times they have paid much greater homage to three bulls, one call- ed Mnevis at Heliopolis, representing the sun ; another called Apis at Memphis, to denote the moon ; and the third, styled Onuphis at Hermunthi, the symbol of the Nile. Beside useful animals, they worshipped lions, crocodiles, and serpents, as living images of some of their gods. They also paid divine honors to several plants, especially to onions and garlick. Thus was the knowledge of the one true God lost in this nation, celebrated for human and divine wisdom ; a nation regarded as the fountain of science to the Greeks and Romans. Will any fair inquirer after truth say that Moses copied his institutions from the Egyptian model ? Is there any likeness between the one and the other ? Does the herd of Egyptian deities bear any resemblance < LECT. XXVIII.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. <{2? to the God of the Hebrews ? Are any of the impure rites or superstitious customs of Egypt enjoined or even tolerated in the Old Testament ? Are they not constant- ly held up to the detestation of the Israelites ? Whence then did Moses acquire a religious system so transcend- ently superior, so perfectly contrasted to that of the learned people, among whom he was brought up ? Let common sense and candor reply. 324 LECTURES ON [lect. xxix. LECTURE XXIX. Arguments to prcme, that the institutions of the Hebrews were not derived from the Hindoos, or from any other human source. VV E will now resume the subject of our last lecture, with a view still further to satisfy you that the Hebrew institutions were not derived from the Hindoo system, nor indeed from any human source. One of the chief characteristics of the Hindoo religion is the sacred and hereditary distinction of classes. The institutes of Menu represent Brahma or the supreme Be- ing, as originally producing four grades of men, viz. the Bramins from his mouth, the Chatirya from his arms, the Vaissya from his thighs, and the Sudra from his feet. ** To the Bramins he assigned the duties of reading and teaching the Veda, of sacrificing, and assisting others to sacrifice. To defend the people, to read the Veda, and to sacrifice, are the duties of the Chatirya. To keep herds of cattle, to sacrifice, to read the scripture, to carry on trade, and to cultivate the land, are prescribed to the third order. To the Sudra, or lowest degree, is assigned the one duty of serving the higher classes.'* These four casts are widely distinguished by their outward appear- ance. Their dress, and even their walking staves are different. The three higher orders are called twice born, but the fourth only once born, that is, they have no sec- ond birth from the Gayatri, which is a form of prayer from the Vedas, not permitted to the Sudras. These four tribes never intermarry, eat, drink, nor in any way associate with one another, except when they worship at a certain temple. The prerogatives of the Bramins, and the respect they receive, are unexampled in history. They ^ECT. XXIX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 325 are denominated from Bramah^ the divine founder of their rehgion. The prosperity of the state, and even of the world is supposed to depend on them. They are honored as mighty divinities. The greatest merit con- sists in showing them favor, and the greatest crime in doing them an injury. To He for their service is declared allowable. But however holy these Bramins are, they are not deemed impeachable. Yet offences committed by them are thought far more venial, and are doomed to much lighter punishments, than the same crimes in other men ; and whatever they do, their lives and limbs, their freedom, and even their property, continue inviolable. Their highest punishment is simple exile. On the contra- ry, the poor Sudra is depressed in the same proportion as the Bramin is elevated. The former was made for servitude. He is restrained by law from collecting wealth, and chained down to extreme and perpetual ignorance. His life is valued at no higher a rate than that of a dog. A Bramin must never read the Veda in his presence, nor give him spiritual counsel or comfort. Ifhe be found reading any of the sacred books, the magistrate is to heat some bitter oil, and pour it into his mouth. If he listen to such reading, then heated oil is poured into his ear, and its orifice stopped up with it. Other heathen na- tions had similar restrictions. The Egyptian priests, and many Grecian philosophers concealed their knowledge from the vulgar in dark hints, mysterious expressions, and romantic fables. So the European Druids threw a veil of mystery over their sacred treasure. How different W'ere the institutions of Moses ! He made no permanent distinction of grades, except an hered- itary priesthood j and this order of men, as we formerly showed, were legally precluded from the possession of o 26 LECTURES ON [lect. xxix. much wealth or political power. They were subject to the same civil authority and criminal laws with the lowest of the people. Instead of being enjoined to keep the mul- titude in ignorance, tbey were required at stated seasons to dispense to them religious instruction, and all the people were solemnly charged, and earnestly exhorted daily to study the divine law for themselves, and teach it to their children.* Each of their kings was command- ed to write a copy of the law with his own hand ; that being thoroughly acquainted with it, he might be quali- fied to administer and enforce it. This leads us to notice another remarkable difference between the two systems. According to that of the Hindoos, kings are a species of gods. They have a divine origin. They are composed of particles drawn from the substance of their superior deities. They are powerful divinities in human shape. They possess un- controllable sovereignty. Whereas, according to the ori- ginal constitution of the Hebrews, God alone was their king ; and in subordination to him, a counsel of elders, and a popular assembly governed the nation. Another striking difference regards the estimation and treatment of women. The female sex is stigmatized in the Hindoo writings and laws as faithless, false, violent, fickle, vain, and impure. The evidence of women in their courts of justice is little regarded. The woman is plac- ed under the absolute dominion of the man. According to the institutes of Menu ** a man both day and night must keep his wife in subjection. A wife must always rise before her husband, but never eat with him. She must constantly revere him as a god, however devoid of good qualities he may be, or however enamoured of another woman. , In order to insure a mansion in heaven • Deut. iv. 6. LECT. xxix.J JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 327 equal to his, she must consent to be burned alive with his corpse. At any rate she must on no account marry again. This practice is said to be fit only for cattle. Women, who are thus undervalued and enslaved, may well be expected to be very low and ignorant beings. Ac- cordingly very few females of this country can either read or write. How unspeakably more just and generous is the scrip- ture doctrine on this head ! According to this the man and woman possess one nature, and in the main a perfect equality. They are formed to be mutual helpers and con- fidential friends. They inherit the same high privileges, •duties, and prospects. There is nothing in the doctrines, laws, or narratives of the Bible, which sinks the natural disposition or moral character of females below the stan- dard of the other sex. "With respect to the devotion of the Hindoos, even Sir William Jones pronounces it sublime. We grant there is something refined and Uoble in its professed object, which is to detach the soul from every thing corporeal, a%d unite it to its great original. This union with God here, acquired by intense adoration, leads, as they think, to a final absorption into his essence hereafter. But un- fortunately this high state of union with God is suppos- ed to be produced, not by real piety or virtue, but by the efficacy of certain outward ceremonies ; and it termi- nates in a stupid or affected insensibility to the proper du- ties and enjoyments of the present life. What this peo- ple call prayer is only the frequent repetition of certain words, especially of the mystical name Own, which ope- rates as a charm in producing what they call the second birth. With respect to the use of this word, and others of peculiar efficacy, the following curious circumstances -28 LECTURES ON [lect. xxix. o are prescribed in their institutes. Treating of the duties of the Bramin, they say, " If he have sitten on the grass of cusa^ with the points towards the east, and be purified by rubbing that holy grass on both his hands, and far- ther prepared by three suppressions of breath, each equal in time to five short vowels, he may then fitly pronounce oum. Brama milked out from the three Vedas these three letters, together with three mysterious words, hhur^ hhu- vah, swer, or earth, sky, heaven. A priest who shall pronounce both morning and evening that syllable, pre- ceded by the three words, shall attain the sanctity, which the Veda confers. And a thrice born man, who shall a thousand times repeat those three, shall be releas- ed in a month even from a great offence. Whoever shall repeat day by day for three years that sacred text, shall hereafter approach the divine essence, and assume an etherial form." A curious traveller gives this general account of the worship of the Hindoos. " Lights being set up in all the temples, and the usual music of drums and pipes sounding, I saw in one temple a priest dance before the idol naked, flourishing a drawn sword, and performing lascivious gestures. Indeed the greatest part of their worship consists in nothing but music, songs, dances, not only pleasant, but wanton, and in waiting on their idols, viz. presenting them things to eat, washing them, perfuming them, &c." We may add, much of the religion of this people con- sists in oblations to inferior deities, and to the manes of their ancestors ; and many trivial and superstitious cere- monies accompany these offerings, and likewise the read- ing and touching of the Vedas. For instance, in making oblations to the manes, the institutes require the Bramins " not to drop a tear, on no account to be angry, to say LECT. xxixj JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 329 nothing false, not to touch the tables with his foot, nor even to shake the dishes ; for it is added, a tear sends the messes to the restless ghosts, anger to the foes, falsehood to the dogs, contact with the foot to the demons, agita- tion to sinners.'* The institutes also direct the Bramin *' to begin and end a lecture on the Veda with pronounc- ing to himself the syllable Om ; for unless this syllable precede, his learning will slip away from him ; and unless it follow, nothing will be long retained." Is there any thing like these contemptible puerilities in the institutions of Moses ? He prescribed certain cere- monies in worshipping, to preserve order, to suit the Jewish taste, to preclude whimsical or idolatrous rites, to guard and perpetuate the worship of the true God, to as- sist the sublime devotion of the Hebrew temple ; a tem- ple, in which were sung the excellent songs of David. These songs contained the most pure and fervent senti- ments of the human heart, addressed not to inferior gods or to dead ancestors, but to a Being of infinite knowledge and power, holiness and mercy. A great part of the Hindoo religion, and indeed of all the systems of antient paganism, consists in unnatural aus- terities. The people in question carry such mortifications to a singular length. Their restrictions with respect to diet are exceedingly fanciful and burdensome. For in- stance, their code prohibits the use of a spirit distilled from rice for this whimsical reason — " since the spirit of rice is distilled from 7nala, or the filthy refuse of the grain • and since mala is also the name for sin ; let none but the sudra drink that spirit." Wine too was thought by the eastern nations to have proceeded from some evil genius, and was therefore forbidden. This prohibition was copi- ed by Mahomet. How much more just and liberal is Ss 2,2>^ LECTURES ON [lect. xxix. Moses, who only forbids wine to the priests during their attendance in the sanctuary, and to those who for a vol- untary time subjected themselves to the law of the Naz- arites. On ordinary occasions the priests, equally with the people, were indulged in a temperate and thankful use of that salutary hquid. The pious Psalmist justly blesses God for this cordial, which maketh glad the heart of man ; and Christianity expressly allows its ministers a little wine for the purposes of health. The institutes of Menu abound with similar regulations. They forbid priests to eat flesh meat, and clarified butter, till they have been first touched with some holy texts well recited, because they are the food of gods. The genuine Hin- doos abhor the killing, and much more the eating of any thing, which had life. They reckon it abominable for a man to wish to enlarge his own flesh with the flesh of another creature. Their laws enact the following penalty for killing and eating any animal — "As many hairs as grow on the beast, so many similar deaths shall the slayer of it in this world endure in the next." The restrictions of other antient nations respecting food, especially of the Egyptians, savored of like superstition. According to Herodotus, Plutarch, and Juvenal, the Egyptians ab- stained from sea salt and fish, because they considered the sea as the excrement of Typhon, the malevolent dei- ty. They also abhorred the use of onions and beans, and of wool in garments ; for which Plutarch accounts in the following manner. " Having a prejudice against matter in general, they had a stronger against excrement titious matter, and every thing that promoted it. Hair and wool they viewed as excrements ; and the eating of onions and beans, beside being too nutritious, and thereby increasing the matter, and especially the fat of the body. LECT. XXIX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 331 which they regarded as excreraentitious, was the occasion, they thought, of offensive excrements." How different, how unspeakably more rational are the Mosaic restric- tions in the article of diet ! In these we see nothing ar- bitrary, puerile or unaccountable, as we showed in a former lecture ; but the rules now referred to wear a com- plexion totally opposite. Similar remarks might be made on the other austeri- ties recited by Dr. Priestley. For example, pilgrimages to distant rivers for the purpose of purifying the soul by- bathing in their waters ; the dreadful methods used for mortifying the body^ such as living In forests upon raw herbs and roots, standing whole days on tiptoe, ex- posing the flesh to hot fires, heavy showers, and pinch- ing frosts, living solitary and silent, without external heat, and without a mansion, renouncing every earth- ly connection and enjoyment, completely subduing all the passions and senses, and wholly occupied in the con- templation of God and of truth. Among the numerous fasts of this nation there is one of a singular purifying efficacy, consisting in abstinence from food for twelve days together in honor of the moon. On the eleventh day the worshipper eats nothing, but drinks the urine of a cow. At length he reaches the highest stage of puri- ty, and lives on nothing but air. This people esteemyfr^ as one of the greatest purifiers. Accordingly they have a festival called the feast offre, which continues eigh- teen days ; in which the devotees walk over burning coals covering a space of forty feet in length ; they walk faster or slower according to the ardor of their devotion. The most extravagant, yet not uncommon act of their religion, is devoting themselves to a certain and pain- ful death by casting themselves under the chariot wheels of 332 LECTURES ON ^lect. xxix. their idols, when moving in procession, or women's volun- tarily burning themselves aHve with the dead bodies of their husbands. In short, the Hindoo religion, though cele- brated by most travellers for its singular mildness, was originally as cruel as any other. Like all other old systems of paganism, it enjoined human sacrifices, as appears from the Vedas. But the religion of the Old Testament, though stigmatized by infidels as odious and sanguinary, has no trace of the cruel austerities abovenamed. In par- ticular it condemns those barbarous rites, and especially the practice of human sacrifices, as the greatest of those abominations, for which God destroyed the Canaanites. Another striking feature of the Hindoo religion, is its system of penances, or atonements for particular offences. By the law of Moses a person was unclean, who had touch- ed a dead body. But wifh this people the person, who only hears that a relation is dead in a distant country, is reckoned unclean. A severe penance of five days is en- joined on the oiFender, who drinks water in a vessel, in which there has been spiritous liquor ; but for drinking that liquor itself he is doomed to drink more spirit in flame, or to drink till his death the urine of a cow. The effect of rightly pronouncing certain sacred words is pe- culiarly great in the business of expiation. This effect extends even to the dead, whose manes are supposed to feed upon, and receive benefit from the oblations of the living. Hence the law of Moses, to counteract these pre- vailing superstitions, forbids all sacrifices or religious honors to the dead. It also forbids the vain hope of ex- piating real crimes, or of cleansing the soul from moral de- filement by any outward ceremonies. It requires in such cases hearty repentance and amendment. Another distinguishing trait in the religion of the Hin- LECT. xxix.j JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 333 doos, is their extreme veneration for the cow^ and the great use they make of this animal in their sacred rites. It is impossible to trace this superstition to any sure or satis- factory source. Mr. Holvvell, a learned writer on the antiquities of this people, accounts for their extraordina- ry reverence for this animal from the following circum- stance. The Hindoos say that fallen spirits are doomed to transmigrate into eighty seven different bodies, which are so many ascending stages of purgation, preparatory to their entering human bodies. They likewise hold that the body of the cow is the highest of these previous stag- es. This idea naturally attaches to this creature a preeminent virtue and dignity. This solution would ac- count for the fact, if a proportional respect were paid to the animal or form, which immediately preceded the cow m the climax of purification. But this is very far from being the case. It is therefore more probable that the framers of the Hindoo, and also of the Egyptian system, selected this mild and useful creature, as a suitable em- blem of some deity or divine attribute, and thus laid the foundation for regarding her with sacred veneration. I shall recite a very few instances of this veneration, and of religious penance founded upon it ; and if the recital be offensive to every sober and delicate mind, how much more disgusting must be the practice of them ; and what a perverted judgment and taste must those have, who can prefer these customs to the institutions of Moses ! For various kinds of theft the sacred code of this peo- ple dooms the offender to make atonement by " swal- lowing the five pure things produced from a cow, viz. milk, curds, butter, urine, and dung." One of their grand penances consists in eating for a whole day a com- position of the above ingredients, and then fasting entire- 334 LECTURES ON [lect. xxix'. ly for a day and a night. The ashes of cowdung are es- teemed peculiarly holy ; with these they sprinkle their foreheads, shoulders, and breasts every morning ; these they daily oiFer to their gods j with these the priests cover their faces and bodies ; and this precious dust they scatter over their idols, and distribute among the eager multitude. In the courts of several princes certain per- sons are appointed to present these ashes diluted with a little water, and laid on the leaves of the Indian figtree. Whenever the king of Calicut goes to pay his devotion in the pagod, all the way, in whfch he passes, is purified with excrements fresh from the cow. In Malabar this matter, diluted with water, is sprinkled on the forehead, as a preservative against misfortune ; which ceremony is performed on a great annual festival j and the process used in preparing and applying this composition is very curious and whimsical. If a cow dies, it is reckoned a mark of God's anger, and a warning to the owner, that when he dies, he will be .consigned to the lowest region of punishment. The penances enjoined for killing this animal are awfully severe. He who kills a cow without malice, must drink for the first month barley corns boiled soft in water ; his head must be shaved entirely and cov- ered with the hide of the slain cow. For the next two months he may eat at every fourth meal, a moderate quan- tity of wild grains, bathed in the urine of cows, without any salt. All day he must wait on the herd, and stand quaffing the dust raised by their hoofs. At night, hav- ing servilely attended, and stroked, and saluted them, he must sit near to guard them. He must stand while they stand, follow them when they move, and lie down by them when they lie down. By following these rules for three months he will atone for his guilt. This penance being LECT. XXIX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 335 performed, he must give ten cows and a bull, or if his stock be not so large, must deliver all he possesses, to such as best know the Veda." For killing a cow with malice the offender must in all cases suffer death. There is nothing in the Jewish laws, which bears any likeness to the foolish superstitions just recited. On a certain extraordinary occasion indeed, the ashes of a red heifer, dissolved in water, were directed to be used for the purpose of purification. But both the preparation and the declared intention of this purgation, as we show- ed in a former lecture, were remarkably different from, and even opposed to heathen customs, particularly those of the Hindoos. The Hebrew law likewise kept the peo- ple pure from that idolatrous veneration for waler and fire, which characterizes several other antient nations, es- pecially the Persians and Hindoos. The Israelites indeed had a sacred fire constantly burning on the altar, because there was constant use for it ; but the common element of fire was never viewed by them as an object of rever- ence. They were also enjoined the frequent use of water for the purposes of health and cleanliness, and as a sym- bol of moral purity ; but they did not, like the Hindoos, regard water as directly a cleanser and sanctifier of the soul. Nor did they, like this people, make religious pil- grimages to distant rivers or places, fancied to be holy. They resorted indeed to one city and house of worship on their public festivals, for the noble purpose of preserv- ing their religious and national unity, and not from a superstitious regard to one particular spot ; for their place of worship varied with circumstances ; at first it was moveable ; it was afterward fixed in Jerusalem, because that was the center and capital of their country. There is also a strikincr contrast between the Hindoo 33^ LECTURES ON [lect. xxix. and Jewish rites in point of decency and purity. The for- mer, hke those of other antient heathens, are in a great measure composed of obscenity and debauchery. These impure ceremonies of the pagan rehgions would naturally give a tincture of lewdness to the sentiments, manners, and writings of the early ages. Agreeably the composi- tions even of the poUshed Greeks and Romans have ad- mitted ideas and expressions, which shock the chaste and delicate feelings of modern times. The Hindoo writings are probably far more censurable in this particular, since Mr. Langles, a fervent admirer and defender of their sys- tem, has declined translating certain passages in one of their celebrated books, because he says, " they are so gross, that it is not possible to give them a decent color- ing." The Jewish law, on the contrary, inculcates the greatest purity of mind and of manners. It forbids, un- der severe penalties, every instance of uncleanness, es- pecially in their religious celebrations. '' Thou shalt not, says their lawgiver, bring the hire of a harlot into the house of the Lord thy God. There shall be no harlot of the daughters of Israel, nor a Sodomite of the sons of Is- rael." There are indeed expressions in the Hebrew scriptures, which do not perfectly agree with the mod- ern standard of decency ; but this arose, not from an im- pure source, but from antient simplicity, which adopted the undisguised language of nature and truth ; a simplici- ty, which far from implying or intentionally promoting loose feelings and manners, indicated such purity and rec- titude of mind, as felt no shame or alarm in those phras- es, which modern licentiousness has rendered unsafe and polluting. Another remarkable contrast between the Jewish and all other antient religions respects the belief and use of charms^ or certain fanciful ceremonies intend- LECT. XXIX.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 337 ed to engage the assistance of superior beings on partic- ular occasions. This faith in charms is prevalent among the Hindoos ; it is professed by their learned Bramins, and authorized by their sacred books. They have spells for almost every purpose, for curing diseases, protecting their magistrates, repelling dangers and enemies, and even casting out demons. Mr. Richardson gives a curi- ous account of the process, by which they expel the de- mon called Daroudi Nesocb. This demon, it seems, some- times gets possession of the crown of the head in the form of a jTy. The patient is directed to wash the part effected, which will drive the fiend between the eyebrows. By another washing he is driven to the back of the head, thence in regular succession to the ear, the nose, the mouth, and the chin ; and at length to the left foot ; from which, after a number of similar attacks, he is forc- ed to retire under that foot, and then is completely driv- en away, and retires towards the north. This people likewise in common with other early nations, abound in superstitious observances relating to particu- lar times and circumstances. Ignorant of the true causes of events,they of course resorted to imaginary ones, particular- ly to the fancied agency of invisible beings ; who peculiarly interposed on certain occasions. Hence the observation of certain magical rites on these occasions was deemed, very essential. Let us, for example, compare the differ- ent methods for securing a long and happy life, which are prescribed by the sacred books of the Hindoos, and by those of the Hebrews. The prescriptions of the for- mer stand thus — " Let not a man, who wishes to enjoy long life, stand upon ashes, bones, or potsherds, nor upon seeds of cotton, nor upon husks of grain." The latter gives these directions — " What man is he Tt 338 LECTURES ON [lect. xxix. that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good ; seek peace, and pursue it ; for the eyes of Je- hovah are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry j but the face of Jehovah is against them, that do evil." To secure the future prosperity of a newborn infant, the relations assemble on the tenth day ; the Bra- min carefully examines the planets ; and if they are found propitious, he gives it a name j otherwise the ceremony is deferred. The superstitious observances respecting the Bramins are the most numerous and extravagant. I will recite but one, as a specimen of the whole. " If a Bramin seek long life, he must eat with his face to the east ; if exalted fame, to the south ; if prosperity, to the west ; if truth, to the north.'* The good or bad prog- nostics of this people are equally ridiculous. In the laws of the Hebrews every thing of this kind is treated with the utmost contempt and abhorrence. Could this arise from any superiorly of the Jews in point of mental ener- gy, of general knowledge and refinement? This cannot be pretended by any person of information. We will close this comparison with a few reflections. 1. The Hindoo system wears on its very face internal marks of falsehood, arising from the gross absurdities of its doctrines and institutions. But the religion of Mo- ses, by its contrasted wisdom and excellence, exhibits equal evidence of its heavenly original. 2. The former never pretended to the sanction of mir- acles ; the latter not only pretended to this sanction, but by this evidence it gained, and has supported its cred- it for many ages. 3. It is universally agreed, that the nations of the LECT.xxix.] JEWISH ANTIQUITIES. 339 world in their earliest periods were free from that poly- theism and idolatry, which were afterwards introduced. Yet in those early ages their natural sources of knowl- edge, resulting from time and study, observation and ex- perience, must have been far smaller, than in subsequent periods. Whence it follows, that mankind must have derived their first and purest notions of religion from ear- ly revelation, or consequent tradition ; and that in after ages they gradually corrupted this original faith by erro- neous philosophy and consequent superstition. 4. It is a notorious fact, that those heathen nations, who have pushed their inquiries the farthest in philoso- phy, metaphysics, and religion, as the Egyptians and Hin- doos, the Greeks and Romans, have departed most wide- ly from the pure faith and worship of the one true God j insomuch that Dr. Priestley is correct in asserting, that the religion of the North American Indians, and even of the African negroes, is preferable to that of those civil- ized nations. Hence 5. All history, antient and modern, fully proves this great truth, that the knowledge, worship, and obedience of one allperfect Being must have originated from a su- pernatural source. This alone can account for the rise and continual preservation of the true religion in the Hebrew nation. This alone will account for that pure and excellent faith, worship, and manners, which distinguish western Christians from eastern Hin- doos. Let us then gratefully own and improve the di- vine gift of Christianity. END OF LECTURES ON JEWISH ANTIQUITIES, LECTURES ON • ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURES ON ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. ••••••*>•• LECTURE I. W E shall now commence a series of lec- tures on Ecclesiastical History, Indeed the view, which some of us have taken of Jewish Antiquities^ may be referred to the head of Church History, understood in its largest extent. For the Jews and their pious progen- itors, from Adam down to the christian era, constituted the antient church, or worshippers of Jehovah. The whole current of authentic sacred history from the crea- tion of the world to the birth of Christ is intimately connected with and derived from the Jews. This single circumstance renders their antiquities a most interesting object of attention. A comprehensive acquaintance with ecclesiastical, and in some degree with civil history is important, both as a key and a support to divine reve- lation. For as many doctrines of the Bible consist in, or are founded upon historic facts ; so credible history is the channel, which conveys to us the proof of these facts. A candid mind, well informed in christian antiqui- ties, must be fully satisfied of the truth of those mira- cles, and the fulfilment of those prophecies, by which the divine claims of our religion are attested. Such historic information must convince us that Christianity, unsupport- ed by these extraordinary credentials, could not have tri- umphed over the numerous and mighty difficulties, which 344 LECTURES ON [lect. i. opposed its progress. We may add, that as the christian dispensation stands on the Jewish, as its basis ; an his- torical acquaintance with each directly tends to the eluci- dation and establishment of both. In a word, the study of sacred history must be interesting and improving to the philosopher, by giving him a practical display of the human mind ; to the man of piety and goodness, by setting before him the wonders of Providence in favor of the church, and the bright examples of virtue and religion, by which she has been adorned ; to the theological student andinstructer, by enabling them to distinguish the genu- ine and simple truths of revelation from those absurd and superstitious inventions, by which they were gradual- ly corrupted and disgraced ; in fine it may be highly use- ful to all, by nourishing the faith and love of primitive Christianity, that best gift of heaven to men, and by ex- citing a fervent esteem and imitation of those christian worthies, who recommended the gospel by their lives, and sealed it with their blood. As the christian church was founded by Christ, we must trace her origin to the important era of his birth. As her early complexion and circumstances, together with the expediency and utility of her establishment, are inti- mately connected with the general state of the world at that period ; I will give you a concise account of the political, religious, and literary character of the age, in which our Savior appeared. This account will at once throw light on the christian history, and happily connect it, as a part of the same whole, with that of the antient Hebrews and pagans, which has been the subject of for- mer lectures. # At the time of Christ's birth, the Roman empire em- braced and united the civilized world. The remotest LECT. I.] ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 345 nations were governed either by prefects sent from Rome, or by their own kings and laws in subordination to her supreme authority. The Roman senare and people, though retaining some shadow of antient dignity and free- dom, were under the absolute power of the emperor Augustus. While this subjection of a large portion of mankind to the will of one despot was a source of griev- ous calamities ; it also produced some eminent advantag- es. It united many nations in fraternal and confiden- tial intercourse. It opened an easy and safe communica- tion between the most distant countries. A connexion with the Romans softened and humanized many people, who before were barbarians. It diffused among them in some degree the kind beams of learning and philoso- phy. The Augustan age was also eminently the age of peace. These circumstances were highly favorable to the introduction and rapid progress of Christianity. Its ministers could safely travel and preach in every country. The union, civilization, and tranquillity of so great a por- tion of mankind were so many channels for the speedy conveyance of sacred truth. Such a period had never been seen before. Had the Messiah been born in some preceding age, when the world was divided into little, sav- age, and jarring tribes or kingdoms ; his religion must have been confined to his native territory. But as he appear- ed in a province of the Roman empire, and in the period of her greatest quiet, dominion, and prosperity ; his missionaries had the fairest and widest field of action, that was ever presented. Accordingly they traversed this field witfi unexampled speed and success ; insomuch that within about thirty years after Christ's ascention, St. Paul assures us, " the gospel had been preached to every creature under heaven.'* The time of our Savior's U u -j^G LECTURES ON [lfxt. i. advent was also peculiarly favorable on account of the nourishing state of learning in the Augustan age, the taste for writing and reading books, and the prevalence of the Greek language, which was widely diffused through the civilized world, and afforded an excellent ve- hicle both for spreading and perpetuating the facts and doctrines of Christianity. While the civil and literary character of the world thus invited the appearance of its great Instructer ; its moral and religious state rendered his coming indispensible. All history, sacred and profane, bears witness to the ex- treme degeneracy of mankind at the period before us. The purity of the patriarchal state, the strictness of re- publican virtue, the antient simplicity of rural and pasto- ral life, were now lost in the ravages of ambition and av- arice, of unbounded luxury and oppression on the part of the great, and of debauching servitude, venality, and licentiousness on the part of the multitude. The Roman government, justly represented in prophecy by " a bear," had leaped upon the unoffending inhabitants of distant villages, and was greedily devouring and rioting in the spoils of mankind. In this state of things the grossest vices were pursued as innocent pleasures ; and crimes, at which decency and humanity revolt, were openly avowed. The best writers of those times, as Horace, Tacitus, Ju- venal, give a dreadful portrait of their moral character. The last author, after detailing the wickedness of that period, says, " No age can go beyond us ; future times " Can add no further to the present crimes." Such were the features of the Gentile world. Of the Jews, we need only cite the account given by Josephus, their own eminent historian — '* Had the Romans delay- LECT. I.] ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 347 ed calling these abandoned wretches to account, their city- would either have been deluged by water, or swallowed by an earthquake, or destroyed like Sodom, by thun- der and lightning ; the Jews if possible, being more aban- doned ; for their notorious profligacy the whole race was extirpated." It is true that both Jews and heathens still retained the forms of religion. The former still adhered to the faith and worship of the one true God, and professed a high veneration for the institutions of Moses. But they had greatly corrupted the religion of their ancestors by absurd glosses, superstitious customs, and impure morals. The Pharisees, their most popular and powerful sect, had almost buried the divine law under a load of human traditions. The Sadducees, who were the freethinkers of the age, had sapped the foundations of virtue by de- nying a future existence and retribution. The multitude, under the influence of such blind, clashing, and depraved leaders, were sunk into woful ignorance and degeneracy. They really imagined that a strict and zealous performance of external rites would atone for allowed and abandoned wickedness. As to the Gentile nations, their established religious opinions and ceremonies had very little efficacy either to restrain vice, or to nourish virtue. For their adored gods and goddesses were in general models and patrons of criminal passions and indulgences. Their vo- taries could feel no obligation nor motive to be more de- cent and pure than their deities ; they could feel no shame or remorse for imitating their example ; they would rath- er place their security, happiness, and glory in resem- bling, anci in this way pleasing their fancied protectors. If you ask, how could rational beings help perceiving the absurdity and immoral tendency of these religious sys- 1 48 LECTURES ON [lect. i. teins? We answer, beside the astonishing influence of education, of habit, of antiquity, of civil policy and pow- er, of private gratifications and interest, the subtle priests of paganism employed the grand machinery of oracles and divination, of miracles and prodigies, to impose on vulgar credulity ; and even those sagacious and independent minds, who saw and despised the fallacy of these preten- sions, were obliged to suppress or disguise their senti- ments, lest they should incur the imputation and punish- ment of blasphemers and atheists. But could not the learned philosophers and virtuous sages of those times correct these evils ? We reply, though the genius and improvements of some eminent persons in Greece and Rome demand our admiration ; though some of their speculative, and many of their practical instruc- tions were noble and excellent ; and though a few of them enforced their moral lessons by their exemplary lives ; yet none had a weight of character and influence, or a fund of wisdom, resolution, and perseverence, equal to the arduous work of a general reformation. Their sys- tems were clouded with so much ignorance and uncer- tainty, debased by such absurd and perplexing subtilties, involved in so much dispute and contradiction, and for the most part tinctured with such demoralizing senti- ments, as almost deprived them of any salutary tendency, and m many instances gave them a very pernicious effect. The philosophy of Epicurus was very prevalent at the lime of Christ's birth. Epicurus, the founder of this sys- tem, maintained th-dt pleasure was the chief end of man ; that virtue was estimable, only as a handmaid to this ; that present gratification was the sole object of a "wise man, as he has no grounds to believe either in a providence or a future retribution. Though Epicurus himself by pleas- LECT. ij ECCI ESIASTICAL HISTORY. 349 lire intended chiefly mental and virtuous enjoyment ; yet his doctrine, as generally understood and practised, was extremely hostile to strict morality, as well as to piety, and equally propitious to unbounded sensual indul- gence. The principles of the Stoics were likewise unfa- vorable to virtue by giving her a rigid and inhuman as- pect, and by rendering her sufficient for her own support and reward, without the sanctions of a supreme moral Governor and Judge. The Academics^ a very numerous and wealthy sect at the period before us, asserted the im- possibility of ascertaining moral and religious truth, or of determining with full satisfaction, whether there be a God or a future state, or whether virtue be the duty and happiness of man. To this sect Cicero gave the prefer- ence ; as plainly appears from his Questiones Academica^ in which he details and ingeniously consults the several doctrines of Grecian philosophy. While in his several writings he selects and adopts whatever was valuable in these various systems, and while some of his works con- tain excellent summaries of jurisprudence and ethics ; he, was able to advance no higher than uncertain or proba- ble conjecture with regard to the fundamental principles of religion. His learned and elegant productions may therefore be ranked among the best proofs both of the strength and weakness of unassisted reason, and of the peculiar need, in which the world then stood, of a divine instructer, to elucidate and enforce the true and certain principles of religion and morals. If this divine teacher had sooner appeared, the necessity of his interposition would not have been so feelingly acknowledged. Had he visited mankind, before the primitive religion of man or the patriarchal and Jewish revelations had fully tried and lost their force, or the best experiments of civil policy, 350 LECTURES ON [lect.' i. learned refinement, and human philosophy had exhausted their resources ; it would have been said, that these were sufficient. He therefore waited, till the political, scientific, and moral state of the world demanded his coming ; and I may add, till the series of antient prophe- cy, and the general expectation of some remarkable de- liverer, had prepared mankind for his reception. Do not these circumstances recommend Jesus Christ, the founder of the christian church, to our grateful esteem, as the Messenger of infinite wisdom and benevolence ? y LECT. ii.J ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 351 LECTURE II. I .N our last discourse we began a series of Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, or the history of the christian religion and its professors from its origin to this day. As the christian church was founded by Christ, and derives its name from him ; it was proper to date our inquiries from the age of his birth, and to give a summary view of the peculiar slate of the world at that period, which ren- dered the coming of a new and divine Instructer eminently seasonable and important. Had Jesus appeared, as the founder of a new institution, at an improper time, or a season different from that prefixed by the prophets ; this circumstance alone would have blasted both his charac- ter and enterprise. But we have shown that he came at the time, which exactly corresponded with antient predic- tion and general expectation ; at a time, when the civil and literary, the moral and religious complexion of man- kind invited and earnestly called for his appearance. These circumstances recommend him to every honest mind as the true Messiah, the destined Reformer and Savior of the world. The era of Christ's birth probably coincides with the seven hundred and forty eighth year of Rome. There is however much difficulty in accurately fixing the date of his nativity. Dionysius of Scythia, a Roman priest, in the reign of the emperor Justinian, began, about the twenty seventh year of the sixth century, to use the birth of Christ as an epoch. Before that time the Romans reckoned from the building of Rome, or from the Con- suls ; the Greeks by their Olympiads ; and the eastern nations from different eras. Dionysius having introduc- 352 LECTURES ON [lect. n. ed this new chronological standard, Bede, a celebrated English author, adopted it in his writings, and gave it a general currency among christians, especially in the west- ern parts of Christendom. Hence originated the com- mon christian era, which is supposed by writers of the most exact information to be dated about five years later than the birth of our Savior. But this mistake or un- certainty is of no importance, as we are assured of the main fact, on which our religion and salvation depend. Four sacred writers have given us the memoirs of his birth and descent, and of the leading actions and circum- stances of his life. ThouQ-h these form a most interest- ing part of the christian history, yet as we have been con- versant with them from our childhood, they do not re- quire a particular detail. I shall therefore only touch on a few passages in these memoirs, which have a pecu- liar connexion with the design of these lectures, or which call for our special and critical attention. Two of the sacred historians give a very circumstantial account of the extraordinary manner of Christ's birth, or his mirac- ulous descent from the virgin Mary ; and one of them expressly applies to this event that antient prediction of Isaiah, " Behold a virgin shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." The opposers of Christianity in- sist, that this prophecy, as it stands in the seventh chapter of Isaiah, evidently relates to a young woman in the time of king Ahaz, and was intended to comfort him, when terrified by the invasion of two confederate princes, by assuring him that a virgin soon to be married, would speedily bring forth a son, who should be a pledge of the approaching deliverance of his country, and the des- truction of her invaders. But the application of this prediction to the birth of Jesus is sufficiently vindicated. LECT. ii.J ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 353 by these two considerations. First by the magnificent in- troduction of this prophecy ; " Jehovah himself will give you a sign, that is, a prodigy worthy of himself ;'* be- hold a virgin shall conceive, Isfc. If this intended no more than a common birth, it was wholly unvv'orthy of so sol- emn a preface. Second by the abundant consolation, which this future and extraordinary event was fitted to inspire ; for it assured the distressed king and people of Judah, that notwithstanding their present danger, their family and nation should subsist for many ages, and at length be honored and blessed by the miraculous birth of a child, whose name is Immanuel. In short, this uncommon cir- cumstance of our Savior's nativity is not only plainly foretold by the prophets, and recorded by the evan- gelists, but it eminently accords with the singular purity and dignity both of his person and office. Another particular in the history of Christ, which re- quires elucidation, is the striking difference between Mat- thew and Luke in giving his genealogy, or the line of his ancestors. But this difference is easily accommodat- ed by remarking first, that as Matthew wrote his gospel for the Jewish converts, so he followed their establish- ed usage by commencing his genealogy with Abraham, the father of the Hebrews ; whereas Luke being a Gen- tile convert, and writing for Christians at large, carries up his pedigree to Adam, the father of all mankind. Sec- ond, Matthew sets down our Lord's political or royal de- Scent, which gave him a right to the Jewish throne, and therefore begins his deduction from Abraham, to whom the first promise of the kingdom was made. But Luke means to point out his natural descent, as a partaker of humanity, and therefore traces it up to the first Head or 4 Ww 554 LECTURES ON Tlect. is. Fountain of human nature. Third, as it had been fre- quently foretold that the Messiah should be the seed of David ; as the royal line of this prince, by Solomon be- came extinct upon Jeconiah's captivity and vi^ant of issue, and was thence transferred into the line of Nathan, anoth- er of David's sons ; as Joseph and Mary both descend- ed from this latter stock, the one from the regal, the other from a different branch of it ; so one evangelist has vouched the regal pedigree of Jesus in the line of his reputed and legal father, the other his natural de- scent from David by his real mother. Of course the diversity of these accounts, instead of presenting any real difficulty, unfolds a new beauty in the gospel history ; since these genealogies united, fully substantiate the claims of Jesus, as the promised Messiah and King of the Jews. Another striking particular in the story of Christ res- pects the place of his nativity. As antien^ prophecy had marked out Bethlehem for the scene of this event ; so Luke informs us that the fulfillment of this prediction was instrumentally affected by Augustus Cesar, who is- sued a decree that " all the world," that is, the whole Roman empire, " should be taxed," or that all his sub- jects, with their several ages, employments, and estates, should be accurately surveyed and enrolled, for the pur- pose of equal taxation. It had been an early usage for the citizens of Rome to be thus numbered and registered every fifth year by certain officers called censors. The emperor Augustus was the first, who extended this law to the Roman provinces. History informs us that all these provinces were thus surveyed three several times during hib reign. The second of these surveys will near- L^cT. II.] ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 355 ]y correspond with the true era of Christ's birth. By virtue of this imperial edict, Joseph and Mary, who were both of the tribe of Judah, and family of David, resorted to Bethlehem, the chief or parent city of their tribe, there to have their names and possessions recorded. Their visit to this place for a political purpose, by the requisi- tion of a heathen emperor, was overruled by divine provi- dence, to verify in the person of Jesus one essential mark of the promised Savior, by fixing his birth in the predict- ed city of David ! One difficulty however occurs in this history of Luke ; for he tells us that " thi-; taxing " was first made, when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.'* Now it appears from unquestionable authority that Cy- renius was not governor of Syria until ten or tvvfelve years after the birth of Jesus, and that a taxing or assessment was made in Judea ar the commencement of his admin- istration. But this difficulty admits of an easy and two- fold solution. It is solved by distinguishing between the survey and enrollment of citizens, which took place at the time of Christ's nativity, and the acmal levy of taxes accordingly, which was executed eleven yeai'S after. It is also removed, as Dr. Lardner critically remarks, by the word frst, as used by the evangelist — " this taxing was ^rst made &c." This expression necessarily implies more than one census or taxation. Now Josephus speaks of one, which took place about the time of Christ's birth; This may be the instance contemplated by Luke, whose words may be thus translated — " this was the first assess- ment of Cyrenius, governor of Syria." The same man, who afterward governed this province, might be concern- ed in the first, as well as second enrollment ; and the ti- tle of governor, by which he was afterward distinguish- 2S6 LECTURES ON [lect. ii. ed, might be naturally used to point out the agent In both. Thus in popular language we say, that such a book or such a transaction was the work of President Adams, though the book or action existed long before the author was President. Another question suggested by the history of Jesus is, why the birth, the life, and death of so august a personage were debased by so much poverty and suffering ; espe- cially when the prophets had described the future Messi- ah as a most glorious and triumphant Prince ? We an- swer, this mean and suffering condition of the Savior for- cibly inculcated the spiritual, humble, and heavenly nature of his kingdom ; it showed that his religion and his church were to triumph, not by worldly policy, riches, or might, but by the force of truth, and the power of God. Besides, the Founder of the christian church was to be a teacher and example of holiness, and a sacrifice for sin, as well as an illustrious King. As a teacher of pure virtue, he must share the common fate of prophets and reformers, that is, must be hated, vilified, and perse- cuted, and seal his doctrine by suffering for it. As a pattern, he must display an example of perfect goodness in humble or common life, and of heroic virtue amid the severest trials. As a sacrifice for sin, he must submit to a painful and ignominious, yet meritorious death. This path of virtuous humiliation was the destined road to that splendid triumph, to that universal and everlasting em- pire, which he was finally to enjoy. This triumph he has already exhibited in the wide propagation and blessed ef- fects of his gospel. It will be displayed with far greater lustre, when his kingdom shall visibly embrace and bless the whole world, and especially, when sin and death shall be wholly subdued under his feet. tECT. II.] ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 357 Another inquiry suggested by the gospel history is this — Why did Jesus spend thirty years in obscure Hfe, before he entered on the high office, to which he was born ? The probable answer is, because it was an es- tabHshed rule among the Jews for the ministers of the temple to be initiated into their sacred office at the age of thirty years. Agreeably to this law, John the Baptist, our Savior's forerunner, commenced his public ministry at the same age. On the same general principle our Lord was consecrated to his office by baptism with wa- ter, which was followed with the sacred unction of the Holy Spirit, visibly descending upon him. This baptism and this unction corresponded with that washing with water, and that anointing with oil by which the Jewish high priest was initiated. It wag fit that this great Priest, Prophet, and King should be inaugurated by ceremonies equally solemn, and by gifts of the Spirit far more plente- ous and sublime, than those of his antient types and pre- decessors. On similar grounds he chose twelve apostles, in allusion to the twelve tribes of Israel ; and seventy other missionaries, in allusion to the Sanhedrim, or Jew- ish council, consisting of seventy senators. By the first appointment he intimated that he was now supreme Law- giver and High Priest of all the Hebrew tribes ; and by the second, that the power of their Sanhedrim was super- ceded by his superior and divine authority. As his gos- pel was designed for a universal and perpetual dispen- sation, it was highly expedient that a select number of men should be educated in his family, and be constant witnesses of his doctrine, example, and miracles ; that they should be qualified to attest with certainty his death and resurrection, and thus be able to propagate his reli- 358 LECTURES ON [lect. ir. gion to the most distant countries and ages. Such a select company were the apostles. It was fit that these pri'.ne ministers of his kingdom should be taken from the low and unlearned classes of mankind ; otherwise their success would be imputed to natural causes, and thus the evidence and glory of Christianity would be greatly eclipsed. It seems at first view very surprising, that Je- sus, whose eye penetrated the hearts, the most disguised characters of men, should admit yudas Iscariot into this domestic and confidential circle, and above all that he should appoint this mercenary and perfidious wretch the steward and treasurer of his family. Yet this part of our Lord's conduct was the result of profound and even divine wisdom ; it answered the most important and glo- rious ends. It showed that Jesus was willing to throw open his most secret actions, discourses, and views, not merely to his devoted friends, but to a sagacious and hard- ened enemy. Did ever conscious rectitude appear so dig- nified, as when Jesus for a long course of time freely sub- mitted his private and public conduct to so acute and treacherous a companion ? As Judas was keeper of the common purse, he must know better than any other disciple, how his master applied its contents j whether he devoted them to views of personal interest, popularity, or power. If he had ever discovered the least fault or even suspicious trait in the character of Jesus, he would certainly have disclosed it, especially when his own reputation and life were depending ; he would not have publickly con- fessed that he had betrayed innocent blood, and have sunk down into insupportable anguish and despair. The full and dying testimony of this determined traitor was therefore one of the strongest attestations to the match-^ LECT.ii.J ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 359 less excellence of our Savior's character, and to the truth of his pretentions ; and our Lord's selection and treat- ment of him reflect peculiar lustre on his discernment, innocence, and dignity. {This is the, last lecture delivered by the Reverend author in this es- tablishment. From the foregoing specimen it will be regrt^ted, that he did not live to finish his intended course upon this highly jnteresting subject.'] INDEX, A ABRAHAM'S offering Isaac ~*-^ vindicated, 207, 208. Alexander Janneus, 231. ylnanias, why Paul did not know him to be high Priest (Act. xxiii.) 161. Animals forbidden as unclean, and the reasons and purposes of this prohibition, 259, 268. Antiquities, study of the Jewish Antiquities recommended, 85, Appearances, (visible) of Deity, 131. 137- — — importance of them to his antient people, 131, 132, 143. 139' £ Balaam, 192. Bath kol, 201. Bible, used in divination, 203. Blood, why prohibited, &c. 255. Bramins, their prerogatives, 325. 202, 98. Calbala, 2 21. Cain, probable reasons of his pun- ishment by banishment instead of death, 16. Dr. Shuckford's opinion of the mark set upon Kim, 1 6. the offering of Cain and Abel, 135. the passage illus- trated, 135, 136. Canaan, curse denounced on him, ^8. its fulfilment, 19. Canaan, number of acres in its territory, and how proportion- ed to the number of the Israel- ites, 43. Canaanites, their destruction vln=- dicated, 26, 27. Ceremonies of the Hebrew wor- ship, their special objects, 96, 98. Charms, 337. Circumcision, Its origin, fitness, and usefulness, 99, 104. Cities, assigned' to the Levites, 170. of refuge, 170- I Corinthians, xi. 4, 6, illustrated, 162, 178. Cow, esteemed sacred by the E- gyptians, 533. D Dreams, divine revelations in them, 194. how distinguished from ordinary dreams, 196. Egyptians, their religion, 320,32?. Essenes, 240, 245. Festivals, three annual solemnities, 120. that of the passover, 120, 124. that of Pentecost (called also the feast of weeks, of harvest, and of the first fruits) 125. that of tabernacles, 126. Benefits resulting from these Festivals, 127, \i«s>. \ 362 INDEX. G Garmsnts of the Priests, 155, 157. peculiar garments for the high Priests, 157, 161. these gar- ments allegorised in a fanciful manner by Josephus and Phi- lo, 163. why men and wo- men might "not wear each oth- er's garments, 256. Gemara, 221. Government, (civil) its origin and progress in the early ages, 11,15. of the Israelites, its de- sign, 23. why temporal bles- sings and evils were its sanc- tions, 23, 24. the utility of its sanctions, 25. the reason of some statutes, which may ap- pear trifling or severe, 28, 29. contrasted with the govern- ment of the antient heathens, 37, 41. originally a free and equal republic, 43. required that tlie territory should be e- qually divided, estates holden as a freehold from God, and descend in perpetual succes- sion, 44. allowed a popular assembly, an advising senate, and a presiding magistrate, 49. popular branch, 50, 52. sen- atorial branch, 54, 59. execu- tive branch, 59, 62. its excel- lence, as an immediate com- munication from Jehovah, 64. as it precluded selfish ambi- tion, 76. its operation com- menced in the wilderness, 74. degenerated in form and execu- tion after die death of Joshua, 76. by Judges, 77. by kings, 80. Groves, wliy prohibited near the altar of God, 39, 256 H Ham, his crime, 18. HcroJlanSf 239. Hindoos, their character and in- stitutions compared with those of the Hebrews, 312, 336. their doctrine of the creation, 316, preferable to that of the Greeks, 318. their deities, 3 1 9. I Idolatry high treason in the Israel- ites, 24. its evils, 25, 26. Idolatrous usages, which were for- bidden, 254, 257. Intermarriages with the heathen, why prohibited, 28. Inspiration, 198. Institutions of Menu, 513. J Jacobus sentence on his twelve sons, 21, 22. Jonah's prediction respecting Nineveh conditional, 198. "Jonathan, remarks on the people's rescuing him from death, 51. Jepthah, reflections on his vow, 77. 79- Jubilee, 46, 252. 'Judges, the institution and nature of their office, 77. K Karraites, 229. Kid, wliy not to be sodden in its mother's milk, 40, 123, 256. Kings, establishment of monarchy and regulations respecting tlie choice, duties, &c. of a king, 80. ■ accounted gods among the Hindoos, 326. Kircher makes an image appar- ently speak, and supposes the heathen priests used similar ar- tifices, 6^, 66. Lamech, opinions on his story, 17. Langles (Mr.) 312. INDEX, 393 Xjeavdti, why leaven and honey were excluded from the altar of God, 255. Leprosy, 275. Levites, 151. M Masor'Ues, 221. Menu, 313. Military regulations, the whole nation a standing army, 47. what men were excused from going into the battle, 47. Mishna, 221. Mixtures, why certain mixture forbidden, 257. Moloch, 254. Motiks, 244. Moon-, sacrifices and ceremonies at the new moon, 246, 247. Morgan's {Vix.^ insinuation that the Jews took their oracle from that of Jupiter Haramon in Egypt refuted, 67. Mourning, why cutting the hair, flesh, &c. forbidden, 256. N Na%areth, 220. Nazarites, 217, ;220. Nero, consecrated his beard, 218. Neivton^s (sir Isaac) account of the rise of heathen oracles, 67. O Objection of partiality in Jehovah to the Jewish nation answered, 3 1 . — > to the Hebrew constitu- tion, as a system of intolerance and war, of conquest or exter- mination, answered, 34, 37. s and inquiries respecting the Jewish priesthood answer- ed, 165, 176. and inquiries relative to the Hebrew prophets an- swered, 190, 199, 205. O^Ww^j, burnt offering, 114. sin offerings, trespass offerings, peace offerings, 115. offering of first fruits, and the daily saciifice, 116. of Cain and Abel, 135. their story illustrated, 135, 136. Oil poured on the head, 158. Oracle of the Israelites, 65. its difference from the heathen oracles, 66, 67, 184, 185. an- tecedent to any heathen ora- cle, 67- its pai-ticular design, 68. guarded against imposi- tion, 69, 70. useful purposes, 72. P Pagans attributed temporal pros- perity to their idols, 90, 93. Passover, 120, 1 2 4. Paul's offering sacrifice to con- ciliate the Jews (record. 21 chap, of Acts), justified, 75. his vow of Nazariteship, 218. Pentecost, 125. Pharisees, 131, I33« Pollutions and purifications, 270. Priests, their orders, qualifica- tions, ceremonies of their in- duction into office, and their duties, 147, 150. their gar- ments, 155, 157. preroga- tives of the high priest, 151. his garments, 157, 161. how the priests were maintained, 1 66, 1 70. why supported by tithes, 170, 172. Punishments inflicted on those who assumed the priestly ofiice,i54. Priesthood, the union of civil and spiritual jurisdiction in it con- sidered, 174. typical of Christ, 307- Priestly^ s (Dr.) dicourscs, deliver- ed at Philadelphia, referred to, 37. quoted, 41, 52. account of two responses of the oracle A- poUo, 184. 3^4 INDEX. Property In land, how divided a* mong the Israelites, h olden, and how transmitted, 44, 45. Prophets, the nature and design of their office, 178. were se- rene and composed, when they received the spirit of inspira- tion, 192. the manner, in which divine communications were made to them, 193. by dreams, 194. by visions, 195. by inspiration, 198. by voic- es, 201. by ministry of an- gels, 204. how the people Were assured of their authori- ty, 197. the character and writings of the Hebrew proph- ets v;->.licated, 205. prophet- ic schools, 180, 182. R Rahb'tes, 214. Rams worshipped by Egyptians, 122. Ritual, of the Hebrews, its de- sign, and the reasons, why its observance was enforced by temporal considerations, 89, 95' 297, 300. its tendency to promote the glory of God, and its benefits,28o,286. arguments in support of its divine origin, 291. it required inward purity, holiness, and obedience, 294, 299. considered, as a typical dispensation, 302, 311. S Sabbath, 104. in some respects a new appointment to the Jewish nation, 106, no. sabbatical year, 249, 251. Sacrifices, part of the civil as well as religions establishment of the Israelites, 75. various o- pinions about their origin, in, — 112. Jewish law prescribed — END. five sorts of sacrificed, lit, their design, 113, 117. sac- rifice at the Passover 122. at the new moon, 246, 247. at the beginning of the year, 248. sacrifices of purifications, 276. Sadducees, 227, 229. Samaritans, 224, 227. Sanhedrim, its origin, progress, and power, 56, 59. Shechinah, 137, 30?. Scribes, 213. Scriptures, the care of the Jews to preserve their scriptures, 222. Sects, 224. Seidell's account of the manner of tithing lambs, 167. Shiloh, the origin and significa- tion of the word, 22. Tabernacle, I '^S. feast of Taber- nacles, 126. Talmud, 221. Temple, 138. built by the Samaritans on Mount Gjrizim, 225. Tithes, 167, 169. why a tenth rather than any other portion was paid in tithes, 172, 173. U Urini and Thummin, 69, 159. V Visions, 195. Vows of the Nazarites, 318. Vedas, 313, 3 H- W JVise men or Sophoi, 212. JVarburion^s divine legation, 299. Women, their treatment among the Hindoos, 326. Y Tear, sacrifices at the beginning of the year, 248. sabbatical, 249, 251. —— of Jubilee, 252. 1 i: 1 ♦i>.« ■ .■■■^■» ' \™sr3rm>',Tr'"''''''*3J' '.,» !'Vj*v S'X'' ^ uAkL