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kedness of her father. 21. Nor of the brother of her father, ver. 7. 14. 22. That filthiness be not committed with any beast by a man. 23. Nor by a woman, Lev. xvii. 23. 24. That none draw nigh to a prohibited woman, Lev. xviii. 6.

§ 31. The eleventh family concerns marriages in eight prohibitions. 1. That a bastard take not a female Israelite to wife, Deut. xxiii. 2. 2. That no eunuch take a daughter of Israel, ver. 1. 3. That no male be made an eunuch, Lev. xxii. 24. 4. That there be no whore in Israel, Deut. xxiii. 17. 5. That he who hath divorced his wife, may not take her again, after she hath been married to another, Deut xxiv. 4. 6. The brother's daughter marry not with a stranger, Deut. xxv. 5. 7. That he divorce not his wife who hath defamed her in her youth, Deut. xxii, 19. 8. He that hath forced a maid shall not divorce her, Deut. xxii. 29.

§ 32. The twelfth family concerns the kingdom, and is made up of four precepts. 1. That no king be chosen of a strange nation, Deut. xvii. 15. 2. That the king get not himself many horses, ver. 16. 3. That he multiply not wives. 4. That he heap not up to himself treasures of silver and gold, ver. 17.

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33. This is the account that the Jews give of the precepts of the law. The number of them, as also the distinction and distribution of them into their several classes, are parts, as they pretend, of their oral law, from which the vanity of it might be easily shewn. For it is evident, that many of these precepts are coincident; many of what are pretended so to be, are no precepts at all; and sundry of them are not founded on the places from whence they profess to gather them; yea, in many of them, the mind of the Holy Ghost is plainly perverted, and a contrary sense annexed to his words. Moreover, it is most unquestionable, that there are sundry commands and institutions, especially concerning sacrifices, that are not at all taken notice of by them in this collection. These charges I could easily make good by instances sufficient. It is evident then, that the oral law, of which this collection is said to be a part, cannot be of God; but, as I have before observed, as there is a representation in them of no small multitude of commands, especially in things concerning their carnal worship, it was necessary that they should be here represented, though they have been before transcribed from them by others. My principal design herein is, to illustrate some passages both in the writings of our apostle, as also in other parts of Scripture concerning this law of commandments contained in ordinances.

§ 34. The censure which our apostle gives of this whole system of divine worship, is very remarkable. "The first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary, which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers wash

ings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation," Heb. ix. 1. 10. Let any one cast an eye upon the multitude of commands here collected, about meats and drinks, washings and outward carnal observances, and he will quickly see how directly and pertinently the description given by our apostle is suited to their services. And that not only as to the manner and multitude of them, but also as to their natures. They are carnal things, and could by no means affect the great, spiritual, glorious and eternal ends, which God had designed, proposed and promised in that covenant, to whose administration they were annexed, until the time of reformation should come. Hence elsewhere he calls them the rudiments of the world, ordinances about touching, tasting and handling, about meats and drinks, things outwardly clean or unclean, all which perish with their using, Col. ii. 20-22.

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§ 35. A little view also of the multiplicity of these precepts, and their circumstances, and the scrupulous observances required by them, will give light unto the mind of another apostle, who calls the law a yoke which neither their fathers nor they were ever able to bear," Acts xv. 20. For although the weight of this yoke did principally consist in the matter of it, and in the duties to be performed, yet it was greatly increased and aggravated by that multiplicity of the commands of which it consisted. Whence our apostle calls it, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, Eph. ii. 15. as it consisted of an endless number of commands, concerning which their minds could never attain any comfortable satisfaction, whether they had answered their duty aright in them or not.

EXERCITATION XXI.

§ 1. The sanction of the law in promises and threatenings. The law considered several ways. § 2, 3. As the rule of the old covenant. § 4. As having a new end put to it. § 5. As it was the instrument of the Jewish polity. § 6. The sanction of it in those senses. § 7. Promises of three sorts. To be fulfilled by God himself. § S. By others. Parents how they prolong the lives of their children. §9. Punishments threatened to be inflicted by God himself. § 10, 11. Punishment 'n' what. §12. Providential punishments. Partial. Total. § 13. Persons entrusted with power of punishment. § 14. The original distribution of the people. Taskmasters and officers in Egypt, who. § 15. The authority of Moses. 16. The distribution of the people in the wilderness. § 17. Institution of the Sanhedrim. Judges. Kings. 18. Penalties ecclesiastical. 19. The three degrees of it explained and examined. Causes of Niddui. § 20, 21. Instance, John ix. 20. § 22. Of Cherem. And Shammatha. 23-25. Form of an excommunication, § 26. The sentence, Ezra x. 7, 8. explained. § 27, 28. Civil penalties. § 29, 30. The Capital. The several sorts of them.

§ 1. By the sanction of the law, we intend the promises and

penalties with which God enforced the observance of it. To this the apostle refers in sundry places of this Epistle, the principal whereof are reported in the foregoing dissertation. To exhibit this subject distinctly, we may observe that the law falls under a threefold consideration. First, As it was a repetition and expression of the law of nature, and of the covenant of works established thereon. Secondly, As it was administered for a new end and design, namely, to direct the church to the use and benefit of the promise given of old to Adam, and renewed to Abraham four hundred and thirty years before this new administration of the law. Thirdly, As it was the instrument of the rule and government of the church and people of Israel, with respect to the covenant made with them about the land of Canaan. And in this threefold respect, it had a threefold sanction.

§ 2. First, As considered absolutely, it was attended with promises of eternal life, and threatenings of eternal death. The original promise of life upon obedience, and the curse upon transgression, were inseparably annexed to the law; yea, were essential parts of it, as it contained the covenant between God and man. See Gen. ii. Deut. xxvii. 26. Rom. vi. 23. Rom.

iv. 4. ch. x. 5. ch. xi. 6. Lev. xviii. 5. Ezek. xxix. 11. Gal. iii. 12, 13.

§ 3. Now, in the administration of the law, the church was thus far brought under the obligation of these promises and threatenings of life and death eternal; thus far interested in the one and made obnoxious to the other, that if they used not the law according to the new dispensation of it, (wherein it was put into a subserviency to the promise, as Gal. iii. 19-24.) they were left to stand and fall according to the absolute tenure of that first covenant and its ratification, which by reason of the entrance of sin proved fatally ruinous to all that cleaved unto it, Rom. viii. 3. ch. ix. 31.

§ 4. Secondly, The law had, in this administration of it, a new end and design put upon it, and that in three things. First, That it was made directive and instructive to another end, and not merely preceptive, as it was at the beginning. The authoritative institutions that in the new administration of the law were super-added to the moral commands of the covenant of works, did all of them direct and teach the church to look for righteousness and salvation, the original ends of the first covenant, in another, and by another way; as the apostle at large disputes in this Epistle, and declares positively, Gal. iii. throughout. Secondly, In that it had a dispensation added to the commands of obedience, and an interpretation, xar' Exsxsia, by condescension, given by God himself, as to the perfection of its observance, and manner of its performance, in reference to this new end. It required not absolutely perfect obedience, but perfectness of heart, integrity and uprightness in them that obeyed. And unto the law thus considered, the former promises and threatenings are annexed. For the neglect of this use of it left the transgressors obnoxious to the curse denounced in general against them that " continued not in the whole law to do it." Thirdly, It had a merciful relief provided against sin, for the support and consolation of sinners, as we shall see in the consideration of their sacrifices.

$5. Thirdly, It may be considered as it was the instrument of the rule and government of the people and church of Israel, according to the tenure of the covenant made with them about the land of Canaan, and about their living to God therein. And in this respect it had four things in it. First, That it represented to the people the holiness of God, the effects whereof are manifest in the law, according to its original constitution; accordingly in it they are often called to be holy, because the Lord and Lawgiver was holy. Secondly, A representation of his grace and condescension, in pardoning sin by the covenant of mercy, as he allowed a compensation by sacrifices for so many transgressions, which in their own nature were forfeitures of

their interest in that land. Thirdly, That it was a righteous rule of obedience to that people, in their special covenant condition. Fourthly, That it fully represented the severity of God against wilful transgressors of his covenant, as now renewed in order to the promise, seeing every such transgression was attended in their administration of rule, with death without mercy.

§ 6. It is of the law under this third consideration that we now treat; though not absolutely, as it was the instrument of the government of the people in Canaan, but as it had a representation in it of that administration of grace and mercy which was contained in the promises. Concerning this, or the law in this sense, we may consider, first the promises, then the threatenings of it. And the promises are of two sorts: First, Those, the accomplishment of which God took immediately upon himself. Secondly, Such as others, by his institution and appointment, were to communicate the benefit of to the obedient.

7. The first are of three sorts: First, Of life temporal, as it was an instrument of their government, and eternal with God, as the promise or covenant of grace was exemplified or represented therein. Lev. xviii. 5. Ezek. xx. 11. Rom. x. 5. Gal. iii. 12. Secondly, Of a spiritual Redeemer, Saviour, Deliverer, to be exhibited in the fulness of time, really to effect what the ordinances of institution did represent, and so to save them eternally. This we have already proved at large. Thirdly, There are given out with the law various promises of intervenient and mixed mercies, to be enjoyed in earthly things in this world, which had an immediate respect to the mercy of the land of Canaan, and which represented spiritual grace, annexed to the then present administration of the covenant of grace. Some of these concerned the bestowing of good things upon them; others, the preventing of evils, or their deliverance from them, and both are expressed in a great variety of ways.

§ 8. Of the promises, whose accomplishment depended on others acting according to the institution of God, that is the principal and comprehensive of the rest, which is expressed, Exod. xx. 12. "Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged." This, saith our apostle, is the first commandment with promise, Eph. vi. 2. Not that the foregoing precepts have no promises annexed to the observance of them, nor merely because this hath a promise literally expressed, but because it had the special kind of promise, wherein parents, by God's institution, have power to prolong the lives of obedient children, 71, they shall prolong thy days; that is, negatively, in not cutting off their life for disobedience, which it was then in the power of natural parents to do; and possibly by praying for their prosperity, blessing them in the name of

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