But if it should be urged as a plea against what I am writing, that he who died by sickness also received due punishment in receiving death in that way. I would observe that there appears a want of good sense in such a plea. For what are we to think according to that, of him who in striving to save the life of a fellow creature loses his own; it was lawful to save life. We will now suppose a case: A godly pious man finds a house in flames, and learns that an innocent child, the fond prop of parental earthly hopes is in eminent danger without help in an upper loft, and no one able, dare venture to ascend and snatch the hapless victim from the curling flames; duty joined with love to his neighbor, urges this feeling spectator to ascend, thoughtless of his own danger, in the salvation of a fellow creature, he succeeds in gaining the loft, rescues the promising youth, and drops him safely into the exulting arms of his almost breathless parents, but before he has time himself to escape, he is inveloped in the angry flames and consumed. Is this his reward? Could the law of Moses reward such a deed under like circumstances? No, not any more than natural death can be a real punishment for sin.There was no time for the good man to enjoy his reward in natural life, and yet verily he shall not lose his reward for his last act of duty. Neither will the wicked avoid just chastisement, according to the very latest design of their wicked hearts; no, natural death cannot ward off the sword of the spirit of justice. It is very evident to me, that no outward calamity or judgment on men in this world, whether considered as providential or as inflicted under the sanction of civil government, can be considered as any thing more, as it relates to sin, in itself considered, than as punishment of the effects of it; or in other words, to be considered as the mere shadow of the vital substance of holy retribution. For as the outward actions of men are the signs of the temperature of their inward mind, even so, outward rewards and punishinents are only the visible signs of the retributive display of God's holy power in every heart. For he will most assuredly render to every man, sooner or

later, a just recompense of reward, by strong heart shall be broken and every shall be bound up and efficiently healed.

which every broken heart

"For thus saith the Lord, I kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal," &c. Where the sword of no outward law can reach, the flaming sword of the spirit is quick and powerful and discerneth the thoughts and intents of the heart. And O wicked man whoever thou art, if the serpent hisses in thy secret bosom, and leads thy mind by temptation into private and mischievous designs, well mayest thou tremble at the word of God. But if thou shalt turn from thy wickedness unto God, he will have mercy, he will abundantly pardon; but be not deceived in understanding the law of Moses, nor by spurious commentators, whose wisdom is of this world.

CHAPTER 10.

THE NATURE OF THE CEREMONIAL COVE NANT OF WORKS AS GIVEN TO

THE ISRAELITES.

Gal. 4. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25. "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. But he who was born of the bond woman was born after the flesh but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory; for these are the two covenants: the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children."-The ceremonial covenant served under the law of Moses, as did the bond woman under the government of Abraham; hence that covenant was in bondage to the law, together with the children, who partook in those outward services under the law.

Therefore, as the bond woman in the allegory, had no power to disarm Abraham of any part of his government or authority, even so, the covenant of works was not neant to do away any thing in the law, but as a medium through which the people might be led to keep it of course, this figurative bondwoman could not by her services save any of her guilty children, from those panishments so frequently merited by their conduct, and which must be inflicted on the offender, according to the outward law of Moses. In a word, it does not appear that the covenant of works was instituted in order to save its votaries from deserved punishments, but to save the people from deserving those punishments named under the law. And this preservation from moral evil, consisted in keeping the people at work, to prevent their

running away into mischief punishable by law. For while they were busily engaged in attending to their ceremonial worship of the true and living God, they could not be at the same time bowing down to heathen images hence that covenant was calculated to keep the people from idolatry, by fixing their attentions on Israel's God, as the only proper object of worship.

However, in preserving the children of Israel from doing wickedly we find the ceremonial covenant both imperfect and weak; like the law it served under, and could make nothing perfect.

For notwithstanding all its ceremonies, the people would often forsake the worship of the true God, and go a whoring after idols. And not only so, but individuals would frequently be found guilty of crimes against the law of Moses; and if actually guilty, such person could not avoid the punishment awarded to his crime. The figurative bond woman could not atone for his sin, so far, as to save him from the punishment justly (accor ding to the law) due to his offence; for if it could prevent justice in the law from having its legal course, then it stood as an usurping rebel against her master, but this was not the case; there was no contrast between the law and the ceremonial covenant of works.

For while one commanded, the other enticed to obedience, but never prevented the consequences of disobedience, which the law had said should follow crime. It will follow, that no sacrifice or atonement for sin, was ever intended a substitute for punishment justly due for sin, nor to take away just chastisement, but to take away the habit of sin, i. e, to reform, not to clear the guilty from his just deserts. Hence the figurative bondmaid was a dutiful servant, doing the pleasure of her master as far as she had ability: on this very im portant subject I shall have much to say. But first, I would remind the reader that at the time when God was pleased to manifest himself in the chosen house of Israel, through the medium of Moses, it was an age of the world when the nations of the earth were universully, more or less, lost to the knowledge of the true ob

ject of all worship, and sunk deep in idolatrous superstition; insomuch that they were carried away into the most cruel and barbarous practices of offering human sacrifices to appease the supposed wrath of their imaginary gods of stone, wood, brass and silver. Which abominable customs had grown into national establishments, and like a raging flod, was fast deluging the whole moral world in appaling misery. Jehovah saw with pittying eye, this forlorn state of his creature man; he saw that darkness overshadowed the nations of the earth, yea gross darkness covered the people, and was determined to break through this mist of darkness, by declaring his own name throughout all the earth, and to make his power known above all gods in and through a chosen people. Hence it appears God elected the house of Jacob, and made of it a great nation to be called the Lord's people, who through signs and wonders were planted on the most central and conspicuous spot in the midst of the idolatrous nations of the world.

Here

God, even Jehovah was pleased to set his name; and through the means of his chosen Israel, to teach the heathen, who must be worshipped as God; who alone of all gods can bring deliverance. Hence, it appears that the Lord God directed his people to destroy whole nations with the sword (that trusted in their idol gods) as a lesson of instruction to the idolatrous world, to show all people that no idol god saves a nation from the sword of the LORD, nor even any part of a nation.-Thus on this ground it appears that whole nations were sacrificed to teach the world who is God to be worshipped. For it was seen that an idol god could protect neither woman nor sucking child against the sword of the army of the living God of Israel. But we are not to conclude however, that God was partial in goodness towards his creatures so far as to only love his elect people, and hate the non-elect, but rather that God so loved both, that he chose one nation for the benefit of all: and for this reason, some were slain for the best good of the whole, both elect and nonelect, here or hereafter. For if we look at the character which God gives his