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Laftly, feveral of the Hebrew cuftoms were intended to commemorate remarkable occurrences in their history, especially fuch as led them to recollect and reflect upon the divine interpofitions in their favour. Thus, the paffover was inftituted in commemoration of the deftroying angel having paffed over the houses of the Ifraelites, when he killed the firft-born in every family of the Egyptians: the feaft of Pentecoft was a memorial of the giving of the law on mount Sinai; and the feast of Tabernacles, of their refiding many years in the wilderness, when they lived in tents, and were fed with manna from heaven. Alfo the rite of circumcifion was inftituted as a token and pledge of the covenant which God made with Abraham, or of the promise that he would give him the land of Canaan.

It is not easy to say how far, and in what refpects, the Jewish dispensation was intended to be abrogated by chriftianity. Chrift himself gave no hint of any fuch defign, except it be implied in his faying, Matt. v. 18. that "one title fhall in no "wife pafs from the law, till all be fulfilled;" or in his difcourfe with the woman of Samaria, John iv. 21. "The hour cometh, when ye fhall "neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerufalem, "worship the Father. But the hour cometh, and "now is, when the true worshippers fhall worship the Father in fpirit and in truth."

And

And though the apoftle Paul, in his Epiftle to the Romans, ch. vii. argues, in a figurative manner, that the Jews were become "dead to the law "by the body of Chrift, that they might be mar"ried to another," yet it appears from the book of Acts, that he himself strictly conformed to the temple-fervice, as all other Jewish chriftians did, after the refurrection and afcenfion of Chrift. Paul did not only himself "walk orderly, and keep the "law," Acts xxi. 24. but caufed Timothy to be circumcifed upon his converfion to chriftianity, because his mother was a Jewefs, though his father was a Greek. Acts xvi. 1.

With refpect to meats, the divine being feems to have intimated to Peter, that the diftinction between clean and unclean was abolished. For by the vifion of the fheet let down from heaven, Acts x. II. and the command, " Rife, Peter, kill and sc eat," it seems to have been intended to intimate, not only that no nation or people were unclean in the fight of God, but that thofe kinds of food which the Jews had been taught to confider as unclean, were now no longer fo. We alfo find that Peter himself, when he was among the Gentiles, at Antioch, "lived after the manner of the Gen❝tiles, and not as the Jews." Gal. ii. 14. though, upon the arrival of Jews from Jerufalem, he abstained, for fear of giving offence; a conduct for which he was justly reproved by Paul.

As

As long as the temple ftood, the fervice of it was kept up, and attended upon by the believing, as well as the unbelieving Jews, and none of the apostles dropped fo much as a hint of there being any thing improper or wrong in it. When the temple was deftroyed, the fervice of it ceafed of course, just as it did at the Babylonifh captivity. But it is remarkable, that in the prophecies of Ezekiel, relating to the restoration of the Jews, the moft express mention is made of the rebuilding of the temple, and the restoration of the temple-fervice, and especially of facrifices, Ezekiel xliii. 18. And it will hardly be fuppofed, that the converfion of the Jews to christianity will not take place at least very foon after their restoration.

As the Jews are ftill to continue a distinct people, and will probably be the medium of the divine communications, to the reft of the world, it is not improbable, but that they will always continue to be diftinguished by certain peculiar obfervances and religious rites; but whether the whole, or what particular part of their antient ritual will be retained, it is impoffible for us to fay.

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§ 4. Of Baptifm.

LL the pofitive inftitutions, of which an account has yet been given, were antecedent to chriftianity. The two which remain to be treated of, viz. baptifm and the Lord's fupper, are pecu

liar to it.

Baptifin is the appointed manner in which a perfon takes upon him the profeffion of christianity, or by which a perfon is admitted to the privileges of the difciples of Chrift; and was probably intended to reprefent the washing away, or renouncing the impurities of fome former ftate, viz. the fins he had committed, and the vicious habits he had contracted; and it is to be observed, that the profesfion of repentance always accompanied, or was understood to accompany, the profeffion of faith in Chrift. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven "is at hand," was the general exhortation both of John the Baptift and of Chrift; and, "Repent "and believe the gofpel; Repent and be convert❝ed, that your fins may be blotted out," was the general ftrain of the apostles' preaching. Now, fays Paul to the Athenians, "God commandeth all ઃઃ men, every where, to repent." Acts xvii. 30. We find no account of baptifm, as a diftinct religious rite, before the miffion of John, the fore

runner

runner of Chrift, who was called the Baptift, on account of his being commanded by God to baptize with water all who fhould hearken to his invitation to repent. Washing, however, accompanied many of the Jewish rites, and, indeed, was required after contracting any kind of uncleanness. Alfo, foon after the time of our Saviour, we find it to have been the custom of the Jews folemnly to baptize, as well as to circumcife all their profelytes. As their writers treat largely of the reasons for this rite, and give no hint of its being a novel institution, it is probable, that this had always been the custom antecedent to the time of Mofes, whofe account of the rite of circumcifion, and of the manner of performing it, is by no means circumftantial. Or baptifm, after circumcifing, might have come into ufe gradually, from the natural propriety of the thing, and its eafy conformity to other Jewish cuftoms. For, if no Jew could approach the tabernacle, or temple, after the most trifling uncleannefs, without bathing, much less would it be thought proper to admit a profelyte from a state so impure and unclean as heathenism was conceived to be, without the fame mode of purification.

When a master of a family became a profelyte to Judaism, he was required to circumcife both himself and his houfhold. Thus Abraham was exprefsly commanded to circumcife both his fon

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