Upon the whole, it appears, I think, that God could not eat with the offerers of facrifice in a literal fenfe, and that, in fact, he did not eat with them in a figurative or fymbolical fenfe; confequently, that his and their eating together of facrifices, as the dapes or furniture of a table, neither was, nor could be, a symbol of friendship betwixt them, or a fœderal rite whereby they engaged in, renewed, and kept up friendship with one another.

Secondly, As to the offerers of facrifice we are now to enquire, how far they were permitted to eat or drink, or did actually eat or drink, any part of thofe things which they offered in facrifice. And, in examining this point, we shall find, that there was a long tract of time, in which it doth not appear that they had any share of the things, which they thus offered, to eat or drink; and that when they came, at laft, to have a fhare of one fpecies of facrifice to eat, there were other fpecies of facrifices inftituted, of which they were not permitted to eat any fhare; and these, fuch facrifices as were of the piacular kind, and intended to be the means of engaging in, and renewing friendship with God.

First, There was a long tract of time, in which it doth not appear that the offerers of facrifices had any fhare of the facrifices which they offered, to eat or drink, viz.

from

from the time in which Cain and Abel of fered their refpective oblations to God, down to the days of Jacob, if not much lower. For during this whole period of time, which comprehends above two thoufand years, we have, in facred hiftory, no account of any perfon who did eat any fhare of any facrifice which was offered by him; nor, indeed, is there any mention made of peace-offerings as being then in ufe, the only fpecies of facrifice of which the owners were ever allowed a fhare of for their own ufe. Wherefore it doth not appear, that the offerers of facrifice, through this whole period of time, did eat or drink with God; or that the facrifices which they offered were the dapes of a table, at which he and they eat and drank together, and, as fuch, fymbols of friendship and fœderal

rites.

The Author, to extricate himself from this difficulty, faith, Though it be true "that we meet with no express mention of peace-offerings before the law, and it " may feem ftrange that we have no ac"count of them, when holocaufts are fo "often mentioned; yet this is no argument "to prove that there were no fuch things "in practice. In an history of two thou"fand two hundred years, or more, there "is no notice taken of any facrifice at all, "above five or fix times: and in fo fhort

"and

b

"and concise an account of facts, one muft << not wonder if no mention is made of the "feveral forts of facrifices, or the various "rites ufed on fuch occafions "." And agreeably to this hypothefis, he tells us in another place, "that both Cain and Abel "did eat of their oblations."-To all which I answer, that, in these paffages, the Author doth not produce hiftory, or evidence, but only fuppofes and forges facts without any hiftory or evidence. This manner of arguing clearly fhews us, what filly and wretched shifts men, even of sense and genius, are, fometimes, driven to make ufe of, to fupport a favourite hypothefis, which they have adopted.

Secondly, When we come lower down to the days of Mofes, we find, a law was given to the children of Ifrael, in which we have an account given of the divine institution of feveral fpecies of facrifices, viz. burnt-offerings, fin-offerings, trefpafs-offerings, and peace-offerings: which are all the forts of facrifices which are mentioned in that law. To thefe I fhall add meat-offerings and drink-offerings, becaufe, according to the Author's definition, they are true and proper facrifices; though, indeed, they were no more than appendages of the burntofferings and peace-offerings. Here then

we

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e p. 179.

we are to confider, what fhare of these feveral forts of facrifices the offerers had to eat or drink.

(1.) As to burnt-offerings: this fpecies of facrifices had meat-offerings and drinkofferings annexed to it, Lev. xxiii, 12, 13, 18. Numb, xv. I-12, 24. and Chapters xxviii. and xxix. Here then, there was, in our Author's phrafe, the full apparatus of a table, flesh, bread, and wine: but then the owner of the facrifice was nothing the better for it; for he was not permitted to eat or drink any part of thefe provisions. The whole apparatus was difpofed of in the following manner, viz. The blood of the facrifical animal was fprinkled round about upon the altar, and all the other parts of its body were confumed to afhes upon it by fire, Levit. chap. i. and chap. viii. 18—21. ix. 12-24. The meat-offering annexed to this facrifice, if the priest was the owner of it, was wholly burnt upon the altar, Levit. vi. 23. And if any other perfon was the owner of it, a memorial of it was burnt upon the altar, and the remainder was the priest's and his fons, Levit. ii. 2, 3, 9, 10. vii. 9, 10. And as to the drink-offerings, which were appendages of this fpecies of facrifice, the Author tells us, that they were poured out about the altar, particularly, at the fouth-west corner of it; for which he quotes Ecclus. 1. 15. and Jofephus's Anti

quit. lib. iii. chap. x. where that Author days, they poured the wine (Tep Tor Cwpor) about the altar. (to which he might have added Numb. xxviii. 7. In the holy place fball thou caufe the ftrong wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink-offering.) and to the fame purpose, he says, "the wine, "among the Jews, was poured out about "the altar, and the offerer did not tafte "of it in the temple, any more than the

priests did." Here then was a fpecies of facrifice, which, with its appendages, furnished out the full apparatus of a table, flesh, bread, and wine: and yet, from the way and manner in which the whole apparatus was difpofed of, 'tis manifeft, that it was not intended to be an entertainment of which God and the offerers were to eat and drink together. God did not eat or drink any part of it; and the offerers were not permitted to have any, even the fmalleft, fhare of it for their own ufe. Wherefore, the facrifices of this fpecies could not be, in the Author's fenfe, fymbols of friendship betwixt God and the offerers, or fœderal rites by which he and they engaged in, renewed, or kept up friendship by eating and drinking together.

(2.) Sin-offerings and trefpafs-offerings were other two fpecies' of facrifices, which

were

Page 102, 105.

p. 104.