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new friendship by eating and drinking together.

But to get rid of this difficulty, the Author fays, "that peace-offerings were regularly and conftantly joined to burnt-offer

ings, fin-offerings, and trefpafs-offerings, "in all private facrifices;" and that, in these peace-offerings, God and the owners did eat together, which eating together was a fymbol of friendship betwixt them, or a fœderal rite by which he and they engaged in and renewed friendship with one another. Now if all, that the Author here contends for, fhould be granted to him, yet it is still manifeft, that God and the owners did not eat together of any of the piacular facrifices mentioned; and that the peace-offerings, which were joined to thefe, were the only facrifices of which he and they did eat together confequently, thefe peace-offerings were the only facrifices which could, in the Author's fenfe, be fymbols of friendship, or fœderal rites by which he and they did engage in, and renew friendship by eating together: for, as to the piacular facrifices, to which these peace-offerings were joined, it is, in the nature of the thing, impoffible, that they should have been fymbols or fœderal rites of this kind, because the owners had no share of them to eat.

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But, what is still worse for the Author, is, that though he affirms roundly that peaceofferings were regularly and conftantly joined to all private facrifices of the piacular kind, under the Mofaic difpenfation; yet, in truth, there was no piacular facrifice of a private nature, under that difpenfation, (excepting those which were offered by the Nazarite, when the days of his purification were fulfilled, Numb. vi. 14.) which had peaceofferings joined to them. This appears from Levit. iv. 22-35.-Chap. v.-Chap. vi. 1-7. Chap. ix. 2, 8-14. and Chapters xii. xiv. xv. `and Chap. xv. 3, 6, 11—14, 24, 27. Yea, even in fome of the public piacular facrifices, it doth not appear, that any peace-offering was joined to them. Vide Levit. iv. 13-21.-xvi. 5, 7-9, 15, 245 27. Now fince the owners of piacular facrifices had no fhare of them to eat; and fince the piacular facrifices, juft now mentioned, both private and public, had no peace-offerings joined to them; the fhift, which the Author ufes to get rid of the difficulty, can avail him nothing: nor enable him to fhew, that the many piacular facrifices, which had no peace-offerings joined to them, were in his fenfe, fymbols of friendship betwixt God and the offerers, or fœderal rites by which he and they engaged in, or renewed friendhip, by eating together.

But

But that which bears hardeft of all upon the Author, is, that, even in peace-offerings themselves, as I have fhewed before, God and the owners did not eat or drink together. And, therefore, if it were true, as it is not, that peace-offerings had, in all cafes, been joined to piacular facrifices, this would not have relieved the Author from the difficulty with which he is preffed, nor have enabled him to prove that any kind of facrifice, whether piacular or euchariftical, was a symbol of friendship in his fenfe, or a fœderal rite by which God and the offerer engaged in, renewed, or kept up friendship with one another, by eating or drinking together.

I have now confidered and examined all those paffages, in which the Author endeavours to fhew, that his notion of the fymbolical nature and defign of facrifices is applicable to piacular facrifices, of which the owners had no fhare to eat or drink: and have, I think, made it abundantly evident, that all that he has advanced in thofe paffages, as a proof of this point, only ferves to exhibit the confufion and distress into which he is brought by his attempt to prove

it.

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In the foregoing fheets, I have, I think, proved, that the Author's notions of the nature and defign of facrifices are neither uniform nor confiftent: that he has failed in the proof of the grand fact, which is the bafis of his whole fyftem, viz. That eating and drinking together, was, at the time when facrifices first began to be offered, a fœderal rite, or a known, cuftomary rite by which men engaged in, renewed, and kept up friendships with one another: that, fuppof ing it to have been, at that time, a rite which was used among men for these purposes, yet it is not natural to conceive, that they would have taken the fame method, and observed the fame rite, in engaging in, and renewing friendship with God; and that the pretended evidence, by which the Author endeavours to prove that they actually did this, is, in all its parts, faulty, weak, and fallacious: and, finally, that his notion of the symbolical nature and defign of facrifices is such as can be brought to no confiftency or agreement either with the nature of God, or with real fact, that is, with the way and manner in which, the scripture informs us, the things which were offered in facrifice were difpofed

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of. These premises will, I think, warrant and fupport this conclufion, viz. That the Author's fyftem, in all its parts, is not only unfupported by evidence, but abfurd and unfcriptural.

Having now finished my defign, I fhall not encroach any further upon the time and patience of the ingenious reader; but conclude this appendix with my fincere defire, that it may answer my end in writing it, by being a mean of guarding men against a chimerical and unfcriptural notion of the ufe and defign of facrifices, and of putting those of learning and capacity upon inquiries after the true fcripture-doctrine about the nature and end of these inftitutions, which are the only things I aim at.

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