a partial and formal way ; till Nehemiah, after the return of the people from Babylon, revived and enforced the practice of former daysb.]
The next thing to be noticed in reference to this feast, is,
II. Its primary end — This was two-fold:
1. Commemorative —
[All the time that the people sojourned in the wilderness, even forty years, they dwelt in booths or tents; in remem- brance of which this feast was instituted0. We are apt to forget the mercies which God has vouchsafed to us, and espe- cially those vouchsafed to our forefathers at a remote period. But we ourselves inherit the benefits conferred on them: the descendants of those who were delivered from Egypt, owed all their liberty to God's miraculous interposition, no less than their fathers ; and therefore were equally bound to keep God's goodness to them in remembrance : and by leaving their houses for a week, and living in booths, they would know precisely the situation of their ancestors, and learn to be thankful for their own more comfortable habitations.]
2. Eucharistic —
[This feast was after the harvest and vintage were finished; and it was intended to be a season of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth. Hence it was called " the feast of in-gathering d; " which shews, that the time of keeping the feast was illustrative of one thing, and the manner, of another. Not but that there was a close connexion between the two ; for in the wilderness they had nothing but manna ; but, in the land of Canaan, they enjoyed all the fruits of the earth in the richest abundance: and, consequently, whilst they glorified God for miraculously supplying the daily wants of their ancestors by food from heaven, they were called upon to bless and adore his name for the continued blessings imparted to themselves.]
Thus far the intention of the feast is manifest. Our ground is not so clear in what remains : yet we utterly disclaim all idea of giving loose to our imagination on sacred subjects: we propose to you what, though we cannot prove, we think highly pro- bable ; and leave you to judge for yourselves, whilst we point out,
III. Its mystical design —
b Neli. viii. 13 — 17. c ver. 43.
d Exod. xxiii. 16. Deut. xvi. 13—15.