fully, and the parallel drawn by an infallible hand. What was less necessary, was merely referred to, without any express delineation of its import; its signification being clearly to be gathered from the light reflected on other parts, and from the analogy of faith.
There is not much said respecting the typical im- port of the cities of refuge; yet there are plain and manifest allusions to it. The prophet says, " Turn to your strong hold, ye prisoners of hope;" in which words he marks the precise state of those who had fled to the cities, as " prisoners of hope." St. Paul speaks of Christians as " fleeing for refuge to the hope set before them;" wherein he alludes not only to the cities themselves, but to the care taken to keep the roads leading to them in good repair d, and by direction-posts to point it out to those, who, if re- tarded by obstacles, or detained by inquiries, might lose their lives. Again, alluding to the danger of those who should be found out of the borders of the city, he expresses his earnest desire to " be found in Christ." But in explaining images of this kind there is need of much caution and sobriety, lest, while we endeavour to illustrate Scripture, we give occasion to the ad- versary to regard it as fanciful and absurd. We are however in no danger of exceeding the limits of sober interpretation, if we say that the cities of refuge were intended to teach us three things ; —
That we are all obnoxious unto death ;
That there is one only way for our escape ; and,
That they who flee to the appointed refuge are safe for ever.
That we are all obnoxious unto death, is plain to every one that acknowledges the authority of Scrip- ture. We all are sinners : as sinners, we are con- demned by the holy law of God ; which says, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." We are therefore in the situation of the man-slayer, pur- sued by him whose right it is to avenge himself on
11 Deut. xix. 3.