69 Q. What was the design of sacrifices of corn, wine and oil?

A. These were called meat-offerings and drink-offerings, and they were appointed chiefly to give thanks to God for his mercies received.

70 Q. What was the design of killing and burning living creatures in sacrifice?

A. Some might be designed perhaps by way of thanksgiving, but most of them were to make atonement for sins or trespasses against the law of the Jews, or to purify the unclean from some ceremonial defilement; Heb. ix. 7, 13, 22.

71 Q. How could the killing and burning of living creatures make atonement for sin? A. It is not possible, as St. Paul assures us, that the blood of bulls and goats should really take away sins committed against God as the Lord of conscience: But when a man among the Jews had offended God, considered as king of the nation, by some civil trespass against the laws of the land, God was pleased to accept of the suffering or death of the beast, instead of the death or suffering of the man: Or if a person fell into some ceremonial defilements, he was to be purified by the blood of a beast: And this was an emblem, or type and token that the sin of man deserved death, and that God, considered as the Lord of conscience, would forgive sin, and would accept of the sufferings and death of his Son in due time as a real sacrifice of atonement in the room of the sinner. See Heb. ix. and x. 1 Peter i. 19. and ii. 24. See Questions 6, 7, 8, of this Chapter. 72 Q. With what fire were the sacrifices burned?

A. With fire which came down at first from heaven on the altar, and it was kept always burning on the altar for sacred uses, that is, to light the lamps, to burn incense, and to kindle other fires in their worship; Lev. ix. 24. and vi. 13.

73 Q. Who were those persons that dared to use other fire in worship than what God appointed?

A. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, burned incense with strange fire; Lev. x. 1, 2.

74 Q. What was their punishment?

A. There went out a fire from the Lord, and devoured them; Lev. x. 1, 2.

75 Q. When were these various sacrifices to be offered?

A. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, and on many special occasions, as God revealed to Moses.

76 Q. What was the daily sacrifice?

A. A young lamb every morning and every evening for a burnt-offering, together with a meat-offering and drink-offering; Num. xxviii. 3—8.

77 Q. What was the design of it?

A. To keep the people in remembrance that for their daily sins they needed continual atonement and pardon, and that God required continual thanksgiving for his daily

mercies.

78 Q. What were the weekly, monthly, and yearly sacrifices?

A. Such as were required on the several holy times, or the festivals and fasts which God appointed.

79 Q. What was that special sacrifice which was offered to make the purifying water, called the water of separation?

A. A red heifer was to be slain and burned without the camp, with her skin, flesh and blood, with cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet; and all the ashes were to be gathered and laid up in a clean place without the camp; Num. xix. 2—10.

80 Q. How was the water of separation to be made?

A. Some of the ashes of the burned heifer were to be put in a vessel, and to be mingled with running water; Num. xix. 17.

81 Q. What was the use of it?

A. To purify persons, or things, or places, which were defiled by touching a human dead body, or the bone of a man, or a grave; verse 11-16.

82 Q. How must it be applied to the defiled thing or person in order to cleanse them? A. Some clean person must take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon the persons and vessels that were unclean; verse 18. Psalm li. 7. Heb. ix. 13.

83 Q. After the water of purification, tell me now, what was the holy anointing oil? A. It was a kind of liquid ointment, compounded of myrrh, cinnamon, and other rich spices, with oil-olive, by the art of the apothecary; and there was none to be made like it on pain of death; Exod. xxx. 23—33.

84 Q. What was the use of this holy oil?

A. All the vessels of the tabernacle were to be anointed with it, as well as Aaron the high-priest, and his sons; Exod. xxx. 26.

85 Q. What was the incense or holy perfume?

A. It was a composition of sweet spices with frankincense; nor was any to be made like it on pain of death; Exod. xxx. 34—38.

86 Q. What was the use of this incense or perfume?

A. Some of it was to be beat to powder and laid before the ark in the most holy place before the Lord; Exod. xxx. 36. And it was this incense of sweet spices which was burned daily on the altar of incense. See Exod. xxx. 7, 8, 9. and xxxv. 15. and xxxvii. 29.

87 Q. What is the last sort of holy things relating to the jewish worship?

A. The instruments and vessels which were used in their sacrifices, and in any other part of their religion; and they were made chiefly of gold, silver, brass, and wood. 88 Q. What instruments were made of gold?

A. The golden censer belonging to the most holy place; the vessels belonging to the table of shew-bread, viz. the bowls and dishes, and spoons, and covers; the vessels belonging to the candlestick and lamps, viz. the snuffers and snuff-dishes, &c. Heb. ix. 4. Exod. xxxvii. 16, 23.

89 Q. What instruments were made of silver?

A. Besides the hooks and fillets of the pillars of the court, and the sockets of some of the pillars, and of all the boards of the tabernacle which were of silver, Exod. xxvi. 19–25. and xxvii. 10, 11. there were chargers and bowls of silver offered by the princes for the use of the sanctuary; Num. vii. 13. and trumpets of silver; Num. x. 2. 90 Q. What were the instruments of brass?

A. Those which belonged to the altar of burnt-offering, viz. the pots, shovels, basons, and flesh-hooks, and fire-pans, besides the brazen grate of net-work; Exod. xxxviii. 3, 4. Also the common censers for incense were supposed to be vessels of brass fit to hold fire; Num. xvi. 17, 37.

91 Q. What were the instruments of wood?

A. The staves fitted for the golden rings to bear both the ark, the incense altar, and

the golden table, were all made of shittim wood, and overlaid with gold; Exod. xxxvii. 4, 15, 28. but the staves to bear the altar of burnt-offering were overlaid with brass; Exod. xxxviii. 6.

SECTION V.

OF THE HOLY TIMES, AND HOLY ACTIONS.

92 Q. Having surveyed the holy things of the Jews, let us enquire what were the chief of the holy times or days appointed to them?

A. The weekly sabbaths, the new moons, the feast of the passover, the feast of pentecost, the feast of trumpets, the great day of atonement, and the feast of tabernacles. See most or all these holy times prescribed in Lev. xxiii. and the several sacrifices belonging to them in Num. xxviii. and xxix.

93 Q. What was the weekly sabbath?

A. The seventh day of every week was a day of holy rest from all the common labours of life, and a day of assembling for worship, which is called a holy convocation; Exod. xx. 8, 10. Lev. xxiii. 2, 3.

94 Q. What special public service was done on this day?

A. The daily sacrifice was doubled; Num. xxviii. 9. and it is very probable that some portions of the law were to be read, and perhaps expounded, chiefly by the priests and levites, as was practised afterwards in the synagogues; Acts xv. 21. and perhaps also this might be done, at least in following times, on all days of holy convocation.

95 Q. Why was this day sanctified or made holy?

A. Partly from God's resting from the work of creation on the seventh day, and partly in remembrance of the Israelites deliverance and rest from their slavish labours in Egypt; Exod. xx. 11. Deut. v. 15.

96 Q. What was the feast of the new moons?

A. In the beginning of their months, which they reckoned by new moons, they were to blow the silver trumpets, and offer a special sacrifice; Num. x. 10. and xxviii. 11. 1 Sam. xx. 5. Psalm lxxxi. 3.:

97 Q. What was the feast of the passover?

A. It was kept for seven days in their first month Abib, by sacrificing a lamb, and eating it in every family, in remembrance of God's passing over the families of Israel, when he slew the first-born in every house of the Egyptians; Exod. xii. 18-28.

Here note, That the first month of the Jews, for all the common affairs of life, which are called civil affairs, was Tisri, which in part answers to our September, and is the first month after the autumnal equinox; and it was always to continue so for civil affairs, as appears from Exod. xxiii. 16. and xxxiv. 22. and Lev. xxv. 8, 9, 10. But as to ecclesiastical or religious matters, the first month after the vernal equinox called Abib, which answers partly to our March, was designed to be the beginning of the year to the Jews, in memory of their great deliverance from Egypt.

98 Q. In what manner was the feast of the passover kept?

A. On the fourteenth day of the month they were to roast a lamb for supper, and to eat unleavened bread that evening and seven days after; Exod. xii. 3, 8, 19. Num. xxviii. 16, 17.

99 Q. Was there any particular worship performed on these seven days?

A. Yes, there were special sacrifices every day, a sheaf of the first ripe corn, that is, barley was now offered to God; and on the first and last day there was a holy convocation or assembly for worship; Exod. xii. 16. Num. xxviii. 16-25. Lev. xxiii. 10.

100 Q. What was the feast of pentecost?

A. Fifty days or seven weeks after the first ripe corn, or barley, had been offered to God, there was a particular sacrifice, and a holy assembly, and two loaves of the first fruits of wheat were to be offered; Lev. xxiii. 15—21.

Note, This was called the feast of weeks; Deut. xvi. 16. compared with Exod. xxiii. 16. It was a sheaf of barley that was offered at the passover, and two loaves of wheat at pentecost, both of them as first fruits. See Pool's Annotations on Exod. xxiii. 16.

101 Q. What was the reason of the feast of pentecost?

A. It was kept as a thanksgiving for the beginning of wheat harvest; Exod. xxiii. 16. and perhaps also in memory of the giving of the law at mount Sinai; which was seven weeks or fifty days after the passover, and their coming out of Egypt; Exod. xx. 1, 11. Note, They went out of Egypt the fourteenth day of the first month; Exod. xii. 17, 18. from thence to the beginning of the third month is forty-six or forty-seven days, when they came to the mount of Sinai; Exod. xx. 1, 2. Then they purified themselves three days, verses 11, 16. and God gave the law the fiftieth day, and this feast was called pentecost, which in the Greek signifies fiftieth.

102 Q. What was the feast of trumpets?

A. The first day of the seventh month blowing of trumpets was appointed with peculiar sacrifices, and a holy assembly; Lev. xxiii. 24. Num. xxix. 1—6.

103 Q. What are supposed to be the two chief designs of this feast of trumpets?

A. 1. This seventh month having several holy days in it, it was a sort of sabbatical month, or month of sabbaths, and was to be begun with an extraordinary sound of trumpets. 2. This was counted the first month, and first day of the year for civil matters, as the other was for things religious, and was to be proclaimed by sound of trumpet. See Pool's Annotations on Lev. xxiii. 24. and xxv. 9.

Note, As the seventh day was the sabbath or day of rest from labour, so the seventh month was a sort of sabbatical month; the seventh year a sabbatical year, to let the land rest from tillage; and at or after the seventh sabbatical year, that is, once in fifty years, there was the year of jubilee, or release and rest from servitude or bondage; Lev. XXV. 2, 7, 8-17.

104 Q. What was the great day of atonement?

A. The tenth day of the seventh month was appointed as a general day of public fasting and humiliation, repentance and atonement for all the people; Lev. xxiii. 27. and xvi. 29. and Num. xxix.

105 Q. What was to be done that day?

A. This was the day when the high-priest, dressed in his richest garments, was to enter into the most holy place with the blood of a peculiar sacrifice, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat before the Lord to make atonement for the sins of the whole nation, and to offer incense on the golden censer. See several more ceremonies belonging to this day; Lev. xvi. Let it be observed also, that in the year of jubilee, on this great day of atonement, the trumpet of jubilee was to be sounded through the land, to proclaim liberty to all the inhabitants; Lev. xxv. 8, 9, 10.

106 Q. What was the feast of tabernacles?

A. At the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at the end of all their harvest, they begun this feast, and dwelt seven days in booths made of the boughs of trees; Deut.

xvi. 13.

107 Q. What was the design of this ceremony?

A. To keep in memory their dwelling in booths in the wilderness, when they went out of the land of Egypt; Lev. xxiii. 39–44.

108 Q. How was this feast observed?

A. By peculiar sacrifices every day of the feast, and a holy assembly on the first day" and on the eighth day; Num. xxix. 12.

109 Q. At what hour did their sabbaths and all their feasts begin and end?

A. The Jews counted their days, and particularly their holy days, from the evening at sunset to the next evening; Gen. i. 5. Lev. xxiii. 5, 32.

110 Q. At what place were the feasts to be kept?

A. At the place which God should choose for the residence of the ark and tabernacle ; which was first at Shiloh, afterwards at Jerusalem, though the blowing of trumpets to proclaim the beginning of the year was practised in all the cities of Israel. See Deut. xvi. 16. and Pool's Annotations on Lev. xxiii. 24. 2 Kings xxi. 4.

111 Q. How then could all Israel keep these feasts?

A. At the three chief feasts, viz. the passover, pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles, all the males were to appear before God in one place with some offering; Exod. xxiii. 14-17. Deut. xvi. 16.

112 Q. What was the offering they were to bring unto God when they appeared before him at these solemn feasts?

A. The tythe or tenth part of their corn, wine and oil, and the first-born of their cattle; but they themselves were to partake in eating of it; Deut. xiv. 22, 23. though the bulk of it was to be given to the priests and levites. See Chapter VI. Question 15, 16. 113 Q. Was it not dangerous for them to leave their own dwellings in towns and villages which bordered on their enemies country?

A. God promised them, that when they should go up to appear before him thrice in the year, no man should desire their land; Exod. xxxiv. 23, 24. which was a standing miracle during that dispensation.

114 Q. Having heard this account of holy persons and places, things and times, let us now enquire what were the holy actions?

A. All those actions may be called holy which were appointed to be a part of this ceremonial worship; but the actions relating to the natural worship of God, such as prayer and praise, are in themselves holy and religious.

SECTION VI.

THE USE OF THE JEWISH CEREMONIES.

115 Q. What were the chief uses of all these ceremonial commands?

A. These three: 1. To distinguish the Jews from all other people as a holy people, and God's peculiar visible church, who eminently bore up his name and honour in the