21. It remains, then, that the sacrifices of the law must yield the relief inquired after, or we are still at a loss in this matter. And these the Jews would willingly place their chief confidence in; they did so of old. Since, indeed, they have been driven from their ob- servation, they have betaken themselves unto other helps, that they might not appear to be utterly hopeless. But they sufficiently mani- fest their great reserve against the accusation of their consciences to be in them, by the ludicrous ways of representing or rather counter- feiting of them that they have invented. 13 signifies a “man;” and among the rabbins a “cock” also. Hence Ben Uzziel renders 33 8, “Ezion-geber,” the name of a city, Deut. ii. 8, sun TH, “The city of a cock;” and Isa. xxii. 17, 133 is rendered by Jerome, “Gallus gallinaceus.” Granting, therefore, that the punishment of Geber is required unto atonement and reconciliation, and that some such thing was signified in their sacrifices, they do, each one for himself, torture, slay, and offer a cock on the day of expiation, to make atonement for their sins, and that unto the devil. The rites of that diabolical solemnity are declared at large by Buxtorf, in his
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Synagog. Judaic. cap. xxv. But yet, as this folly manifests that they can find no rest in their consciences without their sacrifices, so it gives them not at all what they seek after. And therefore, being driven from all other hopes, they trust at length unto their own death, for in life they have no hope; making this one of their constant prayers, “ Let my death be the expiation of all sins.” But this is the curse, and so no means to avoid it. Omitting, therefore, these horrid follies of men under despair,—an effect of that wrath which is come upon them unto the uttermost,—the thing itself may be considered.
That the sacrifices of Moses’ law, in and by themselves, should be a means to deliver men from the guilt of sin, and to reconcile them unto God, is contrary to the light of nature, their own proper use, and express testimonies of the Old Testament ; for,—First, Can any man think it reasonable that the blood of bulls and goats should, of itself, make an expiation for the sin of the souls of men, reconcile them to God the judge of all, and impart unto them an everlasting righte- ousness? Our apostle declares the manifest impossibility hereof, Heb. x. 4, They must have very mean and low thoughts of God, his holiness, justice, truth, of the demerit of sin, of heaven and hell, who think them all to depend on the blood of a calf ora goat. The sacrifices of them, indeed, might, by God’s appointment, represent that to the minds of men which is effectual unto the whole end of appeasing God’s justice, and of obtaining his favour; but that they should themselves effect it, is unsuitable unto all the apprehensions which are inbred in the heart of man either concerning the nature of God or the guilt of sin. Secondly, Their primitive and proper use doth manifest the same; for they were to be frequently repeated, and in all the repetitions of them there was still new mention made of sin. They could not, therefore, by themselves, take 1t away; for if they could, they would not have been reiterated. It is apparent, therefore, that their use was to represent and bring to remembrance that which did perfectly take away sin. For a perfect work may be often remembered, but it need not, it cannot be often done ; for being done for such an end, and that end being obtained, it cannot be done again. ‘The sacrifices, therefore, were never appointed, never used to take away sin, which they did not; but to represent that which did so effectually. Besides, there. were some sins that men may be guilty of, whom God will not utterly reject, for which there was no sacrifice appointed in the law of Moses; as was the case with David, Ps. li. 16: which makes it undeniable that there was some other way of atonement besides them and beyond them, as our apostle declares, Acts xiii. 38, 39. Thirdly, The Scripture expressly rejects all the sacrifices of the law, when they are trusted in for any such end and purpose; which sufficiently demonstrates that they were never appointed thereunto. See Ps. xl. 6-8, 1. 8-13; Isa. i, 11-13,
170 MESSIAH, THE DELIVERER FROM EVIL, [EXERC. VIII.
Ixvi. 3; Amos v. 21, 22; Mic. vi. 6-8; and other places innv- merable.
22. Add unto what hath been spoken, that during the observa- tion of the whole law of Moses, whilst it was in force by the appoint- ment of God himself, he still directed those who sought for accept- ance with him unto a new covenant of grace, whose benefits by faith they were then made partakers of, and whose nature was afterwards more fully to be declared. See Jer. xxxi. 31-34, with the infer- ences of our apostle thereon, Heb. viii. 13. And this plainly everts the whole foundation of the Jews’ expectation of justification before God on the account of the law of Moses given on Mount Sinai; for to what purpose should God call them from resting on the covenant thereof, to look for mercy and grace in and by another, if that had been able to give them the help desired?