Obf. I. SYMBOLS, or emblems, are reprefentatations of the things which are fignified by them, or which they are made to ftand for: fo that they are of a reprefentative

nature.

Obf. II. SYMBOLS, or emblems, are of two kinds. (1.) Natural. (2.) Artificial. Ift. NATURAL fymbols, or emblems, are fuch as carry in them a fimilitude or refemblance of the things of which they are. reprefentations. Thus pictures, ftatues, draughts of material things, &c. are natural fymbols or emblems of thofe particular perfons or things which they reprefent, as being real refemblances of them.

2dly. ARTIFICIAL fymbols, or emblems, are fuch as carry in them no resemblance of the things they reprefent, but are only made the figns or marks of them by custom and confent, or by arbitrary appointment. Thus the picture of a woman is the emblem either of a country, or of fome moral virtue; and the figure of an horn is understood to be an emblem of plenty; thus alfo the rainbow was made an emblem of the covenant which God made with Noah; and circumcifion a token, or symbol, of the covenant he made with Abraham.-The fignification of these artificial fymbols depends entirely on custom and confent, or arbitrary appointment; and can only be learned either by observation or information for between them and the things

things reprefented by them, there is no refemblance, from which their fignification can be discovered.-The Jewish facrifices, if they were fymbols, muft have been of this artificial kind, fince there is no refemblance between them and the things of which they are fuppofed to have been symbols, from which their fignification can be learned.--Now, as thefe facrifices, or fymbols were instituted by the Deity, their fignification must have depended on his will and appointment; for which reason, neither the Jew himself, nor any other perfon, could ever have learned the fignification of those facrifices, if it had not been made known, at first, by divine revelation. This renders it highly probable, that the fignification of thefe facrifices, had they been of a fymbolical nature, would have been particularly explained and declared by God himself, becaufe, if it was not, the Jews could not have known it; confequently, these facrifices could have answered no wife end, but would have been quite useless. Wherefore, fince God has made no declaration of the fymbolical fignification of thefe facrifices, either in the Books of Mofes, or any where elfe, 'tis natural to think, that they had no fuch fignification: confequently, that they were not instituted as fymbols or emblems of things, of which the Jews neither knew, nor could know, any thing; but with a view

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view to serve some end, in the knowledge of which, reafon and common fenfe, as well as their own law, would inftruct them.

Obf. III. IN thofe allufions which we meet with in most kinds of writings, both facred and profane, the thing, alluded to, is not always, nor often, intended, nor to be understood, as a fymbol of the thing which is referred to, and illuftrated by it: but more commonly and ufually it is alluded to, only as a thing which has fomething, in one or more of its properties, that is naturally fimilar to thofe of the other. The occafions of making this obfervation are fo frequent, that it is needlefs to waste any time, here, in the illuftration of it; fince all thofe, who have read books, with any judgment, muft have often made it for themselves. I only mention it here, for the fake of the following inference, viz. That when we meet with an allufion in any writing, we are not presently to conclude, that the thing, alluded to, is a fymbol or emblem of the thing which is referred to it; because it may be alluded to, not as a fymbol or emblem, but only as having fome natural property or quality of a fimilar kind.

Obf. IV. IN interpreting the fenfe of the holy fcriptures, or of any other writing, the following rules ought to be ftrictly obferved.

Rule

Rule 1ft. THE literal and obvious fenfe of the words and phrases ought, in no case, to be departed from, without fome good reason, arifing either from the texture and fcope of the difcourfe; or from an evident neceffity of departing from it, in order to render the fenfe good and coherent.

Rule 2d. WHEN reafon, common fenfe, and the evident defign of the writer, oblige us to depart from the literal fenfe, we should be careful to understand the word, or phrase, in that particular mode of rhetorical figure which was intended by the writer himself, and not in a different one.

WITHOUT a due attention to the first of these two rules, the plaineft narratives of facts and doctrines, and the most literal reasonings, may be wholly converted into figure and allegory. And if a proper regard is not payed to the fecond, another mode of rhetorical figure may be fubftituted in place of the true one, intended by the writer; an allufion to fome natural fimilitude in a thing, may be mistaken for an allufion to the thing itself, as a fymbol or emblem of the thing which is referred to it. By which means, the true and genuine fenfe of the writer will be misreprefented.

Rule 3d. WHEN, in any paffage of a book, a lower and more common rhetorical figure, is found to give a good sense to a word, or phrase, and fuch as is evidently fubfervient

to

to the scope and defign of the writer; it would be wrong, and against all reason, to have recourfe to a higher and lefs common rhetorical figure, for the interpretation of that word, or phrafe.-The reason of this rule of interpretation is next to self-evident, and needs no illuftration.

§. 5. TAKING the lights, afforded by the foregoing obfervations, in my hand, I now proceed to examine the fcripture-evidence which the Dr. has produced, in order to prove, That Jewish facrifices were symbols or emblems of address to God, and of those difpofitions of mind which are expreffed by Prayer and Praife. The fcripture-evidence, which the Dr. brings in fupport and proof of this point, is taken

First, FROM the way and manner in which 2. the fcriptures speak of Sacrifice and Sacrificing, in thofe paffages which have no relation to Jewish or Levitical facrifices.

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Secondly, FROM the account which the fcriptures gives us of the nature of fuch Atonements as were not made by Levitical facrifices, but by other means.

I SHALL, therefore, examine whatsoever the Dr. has faid under these two heads of evidence, separately.

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