mercy Only let us come to him through Christ, and all
our past iniquities shall be " blotted out as a morning cloud."]
3. Those who confess him as their divinely ap- pointed Mediator —
[From this time the Israelites never presumed to ap- proach the Lord but through the mediation of the high-priest. Whether they offered sacrifices or gifts, they equally acknow- ledged the unacceptableness of them in any other than the appointed way. Thus must we do. Not any thing must be presented to God, or be expected from him, but in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. If we approach God in any other way, we shall find him " a consuming fire." Let this be remembered by us : it cannot possibly be too deeply engraven on our minds. If God manifested such indignation against those who disre- garded the shadow, what must be the fate of those who disregard the substance ? If we reject Christ, we have nothing to hope for ; if we cleave unto him, we have nothing to fear.]
Numb. xix. 17 — 20. For an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running ivater shall be put thereto in a vessel; and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the ivater, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the per- sons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave : and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day ; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is imclean.
AN inspired Apostle has acknowledged, that the yoke imposed upon the Jews was quite insupportable. Where the reason of the ordinances was apparent, and the observance of them easy, we may suppose that the people would cheerfully comply with them : but, in many cases, the rites prescribed were very burthensome; they laid the people under severe re- straints, entailed upon them heavy expenses, deprived them of many comforts, and subjected them to great