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"to perform the fervice or to lead his "whole life, with the utmoft fincerity and "fanctity of heart."-Here I heartily wifh, that the Dr. for the help and affistance of fuch a weak mind as mine, had reduced his reafoning, in thefe words, to the form of a fyllogifm. For my part, I have viewed, and reviewed them, over and over again, with all the care and attention I am mafter of; and yet can find no premises in them, that will either fupply or fupport fuch a conclufion as the Dr. fays they fuggeft. The only fyllogifm that I can make out of them, is the following, which is a very bad one.

The facrifice, which Chrift offered of himself, is called a lamb without Spot and blemish. The lambs, offered in facrifice, under the Mofaic law, were, likewife, lambs without fpot and blemish. So that, in both cafes, lambs without spot and blemish were offered in facrifice.

But the facrifice, which Chrift offered of himself, was called a lamb without Spot and blemish not literally, but only figuratively, to denote his perfect purity and holinefs.

THEREFORE, the lambs, which were offered in facrifice, under the Mofaic law, must be understood to be lambs without Spot and blemish, not in a literal,

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but in a figurative fenfe, as denoting (not the perfect purity and holiness of these animals, as in the other cafe, but) that the facrificer was to perform the fervice, or to lead his whole life with the utmost fincerity and fanctity of heart.

THIS is the only fyllogifm which I can make out of the Dr's words. And it is a mere fophifm. For, ift. In the first propofition, the middle term (viz. lambs without Spot and blemish) is ufed in a double fenfe, viz. for moral excellence, and for natural perfection of body. But in the fecond propofition, it is ufed in one of these fenfes only, viz. for moral excellence. By this means, there come to be two middle terms in the fyllogifm; which quite fpoils the reasoning. But, 2dly. Suppofing there was no fault in the fyllogifm, with regard to the middle term, the conclufion is wrong drawn: for the only conclufion that would, in this cafe, follow from the premises, (as every body must fee,) is this, that the lambs, which were offered in facrifice, under the law of Mofes, must be understood to be Lambs without Spot and blemish, not in a literal, but in a figurative fenfe, as denoting that these animals ought to be perfectly pure and holy: whereas, the conclufion, which the Dr's way of reafoning requires to be drawn from them, is, that these lambs

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were fo denominated, to denote, "That "the facrificer ought to perform the fer"vice, or to lead his whole life, with the "utmoft fincerity and fanctity of heart:" a conclufion, which, every body must fee, doth not follow from them.

§. 32. THE Dr. goes on; " Other ritual "actions, as washing the inwards and feet, "&c. I doubt not, had their spiritual mean"ing; which would not be difficult to "be understood by a people that were fo "much verfed in moral figures and em"blems.". -To which I anfwer.

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Jews, without doubt, were a people who, in procefs of time, came to be exceedingly verfed in moral figures and emblems; for they made fuch improvements in this noble science, that at last, they converted the moft part of their facred writings into figure, emblem, and allegory. But I fuppofe the Dr. has not fo high or favourable an opinion of their wisdom and skill in this surprising and admirable art, or of the truth and usefulness of their cabalistical jargon about moral figures and emblems, as to recommend them, and their great judgment in things of this kind, to the regards of mankind. How far this people were verfed in moral figures and emblems in the days of Mofes; or by what means they might be enabled to discover figures and emblems in their law, or the meaning of them, any farther

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farther than that law gave them instructions about them; or by what helps either they, or the Dr. himself, could find out, that "the washing the inwards and feet, and "other ritual actions of the like nature, "had a fpiritual or figurative meaning;" these are things of which I am entirely ignorant; and, therefore, fhall determine nothing, one way or other, about them. However, I cannot but congratulate the Dr. here, in that he has got above doubt, in an affair which was not difficult to be understood by the Jews; though I, and the bulk of mankind, have not yet found out the means of getting above doubt, or even of knowing any thing at all, about it. And, if no inconveniency may attend the communication of this fecret, I could wish that the Dr. would be fo good as to publish it. But, after all, the Dr. tells us, "that he is confined to fcripture-evidence ; "and must infift upon nothing, but what "is there particularly explained." A plain confeffion this, that he had no fcriptureevidence, whereby he could clear up the fpiritual meaning of these ritual actions ; and, confequently, that the mentioning of them, was nothing to his purpose.

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The general conclufion drawn from the foregoing evidence.

§. 33. BUT then the Dr. adds, what he thought was greatly to his purpose, viz. "What (evidence) we have found there

(in the fcriptures) is fufficient to the prefent purpose. For laying all this to"gether, it can, I think, be no question, "but facrifices were a fymbolical addrefs

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to God; intended to exprefs before him "the devotion, affections, difpofitions, and "defires of the heart, by fignificative and "emblematical actions f."

ANSWER.

§. 34. ALL that I think needful to be faid, in answer to this general conclufion, is, that every text of fcripture, produced by the Dr. in fupport of this notion of the fymbolical nature of Jewish facrifices, has been particularly confidered; and, upon the ftricteft fcrutiny, it has been found, that none of these texts contain any truths, or fupply any confequences, which give any manner of countenance to this notion of facrifices. Wherefore, I conclude, that when all these texts, and all the truths

See Scripture-doctrine of Atonement examined, Chap. II. §. 23, 24. E 4

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