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my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me to the duft of death, Pfal. xxii. 14, 15. Thus you fee that the flames or the fire of the law's curfe, melted CHRIST's heart, dried up his ftrength, and made his tongue to cleave to his jaws; he might therefore well cry out, Father, if it be poffible, let this cup pass from me.

Fourth, the lamb was to be eaten by the families of Ifrael, which points out CHRIST as the bread of life, which came down from Heaven, to be fed upon in the churches, spread forth in the miniftration of the word, as the life of food. the nourishment of faith, the feast of the foul, whofe flesh is me t indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed; this lamb was the paflover feaft to the children of Ifrael, which the apostle applies in the antitype to the church of Corinth, 1 Cor. v. 7. CHRIST our paffover is facrificed for us; those that presumed to eat the paffover-lamb, were fuch as were circumcifed, which points out that they that feed upon CHRIST, are those whofe hearts GOD hath circumcised to serve him, who are of the ci:cumcifion of the fpirit. It is likewife obfervable that the whole lamb was to be eaten, or if any was left until the morning, it was to be burnt, which was typical of the foul's embracing a whole CHRIST, living upon him as the whole feaft that GOD has provided in his perfon as God-man; in his offices as prophet, priest, and king; in his relations, as the head, husband, faviour, and brother of his people. By that which was left until the morning being burnt, I apprehend it may be typical of the Jewish ceremonies and levitical law, remaining until the morning of CHRIST's refurrection, which was then to be deftroyed, abolished, and made null or void; but you will fay, it was to be burnt; why this was burnt by the fire of the HOLY GHOST beaming forth in the miniftration of the word; therefore called by the prophet Ifaiah, the spirit of burning.

Fifth, the lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs, and with unleavened bread; which is typical of the foul's feeding upon CHRIST with the bitter herbs of repentance, and sharp remorse for fin. For nothing opens the heart fo much to mourn for fin, to see the heinous nature of fin, to feel its dreadful confequence, as a view of CHRIST crucified; as feeding upon CHRIST is called a remembrance of CHRIST, so it is a remembrance of what it coft CHRIST, and of our fins being the meritorious cause of his fufferings, though his love was the original cause of it, which opens the channels of true repentance, and godly forrow for fin, for fays the prophet, they shall look

upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn, 2 Cor. vii. 11. For bebold! this felf-fame thing that ye forrowed after a godly fert; what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yearfelves, yea, what indignation, yea, what revenge! But it was not only to be eaten with bitter herbs, but with unleavened bread. As leaven is of a spreading, infecting, fowering nature, fo putting it away, or not eating the paffover with it, denotes that the leaven of fin must be purged from our hearts before we can feed upon CHRIST. A delight in CHRIST and a delight in fin are impoffible to hold together, therefore the apoftle advifes the church of Corinth, to purge out the old leaven, and keep the feast with the unleavened bread of fincerity and truth. 1 Cor. v. 7. Unleavened bread denotes fincerity, purity of affections; and to feed upon CHRIST with fincere love, and pure affections to him, to his word, and to his people,—is to feed upon CHRIST according to his word.

Sixth, the manner how it was to be eat, with their loins girt: as girding of the loins fometimes fignifies the undertaking fome great work, P. xviii. 32, 33. and likewise truth and faithfulness in the perfon fo girded, Rev. xv. 6. but here it fignifieth hafte, or preparation to be gone at the first warning; to be in a fit pofition ready to be commanded to go out a journey. It was ufual for the eastern nations to wear long garments, but they were now commanded to gather them clofe to them, gird them about their loins, that they may be no hindrance to them in their journey, that they may be the more expeditious, and travel with the more eate; which is expreffive of the girdle of truth, the loins of the mind, 1 Pet. i. 13. As the girding up their long garments was to make them more alert in their journey, fo the girdle of truth, CHRIST, the way, the truth, and the life; or the gofpel, the word of truth, the doctrines of truth, the promises of truth, girt to the loins of the believer's mind, make him accelerate in the race that is fet before him; making the fwifter speed to mount Zion, the city of our GOD. Shewing the greater vivacity in every good word and work, by girding the truth to the loins of the mind, thews that it fhould be clofe to the faints, that they should never depart from it, as it girds their minds clofe to CHRIST, ftrengthens them against the affaults of Satan, and is a defence for them against their enemies; as it is a part of the armour of GOD, mentioned in Eph. vi. 14. But I apprehend, the Ifraelites eating the paffover with their loins girt about them, was a type of the foul's readinefs, by the operations of grace, to fly from its fpiritual bondage and Egyptian darkness to the LORD JESUS, who is the light of life, and the glory of Ifrael,

for if the fon of GOD makes them free, then are they tree indeed.

Seventh, They were to eat with their fhoes on their feet, this was a type of the gospel, or the foul's fpiritual equipment for its heavenly journey, therefore fays the apoftle to the believing Ephefians, and your feet fhod with the preparations of the gospel of peace. As fhoes preferve the feet from being hurt, fo the gofpel of peace preferves the feet of faith from being hurt by the thorns of the world, or the piercing temptations of the devil.-Second, fhoes are neceflary to a journey, fo the knowTedge of the gofpel, our fpiritual acquaintance with divine things, is abfolutely neceflary to our running the race that is fet before us, looking unto JESUS.-Third, fhoes are made to fit the feet, fo the gofpel of peace just suits the feet of faith, it fupports, ftrengthens, and encourages the feet of faith to tread upon ferpents, to go through difficult ways, to follow the Lamb whither foever he goeth, not only in his dark providential paths, but through the dark valley of the fhadow of death, and to fear no evil, because the LORD hath fail, when thy way is rough and thorny, thy fhoes fhall be iron and brass.

Eighth, They were to eat the Lamb, with their ftaff in their hand, which, I think, was typical of the faithfulness and veracity of God to his word.-Firft, as a staff is to lean upon, fo the ftaff of divine faithfulness is what the foul leans upon in the dark and gloomy hour of affiction and spiritual desertion, ready to give up its hope that it will be loft, but ventures to lean upon that word, faithful is he that has promised.-Second, ftaff often preferves a perfon from falling; fo the staff of divine veracity preferves the foul from falling into defpair, from falling away from grace, which the chriftian certainly would if it was not for the ftaff of divine faithfulness that supported him, and kept his feet from fliding into hell.-Third, a ftaff is of great ufe in a journey, it helps forward when the way is dif ficult; fo the ftaff of divine faithfulness helps forward the foul when the way of providence is in the dark, and his paths in the mighty waters.

Ninth, the blood of the Pafchal lamb was to be preferved, which was a lively type of the eternal prefervation of the blood of CHRIST in its intrinfic worth, value and efficacy; as his human nature fuffered in union to his divine, it ftamped an eternal value upon his death, and an everlasting preserva tion of it, not only on earth, it being preached in the churches, but alfo in heaven; therefore fays the apoftle, Heb. ix. 12. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemp

tian. Further, there is a prefervation of the blood of JESUS in the mind of every believer, as it fpeaks peace, maintains, preferves, feals, and ratifies it, opens a way of access to the throne, and proclaims freedom there; therefore the unbeliever is pointed out as treading it under foot; but the believer as efteeming it his highest treasure; the character he gives it, or rather that character the HOLY GHOST gives it, you will find 1 Pet. i. 19. Precious blood of CHRIST.

Tenth, the blood of the lamb was to be fprinkled upon the door pofts, which was a fign of prefervation to them, when the LORD deftroyed all the first-born of Egypt, which was a lively prefiguration of the fprinkling of the blood of JESUS, Heb. xii. 24. the applications of his death, with all the pardons and peace that it procures; with all the bleffings of life and immortality that it feals; with all the affurance of Heaven and happiness, that it binds fure as the death of the Teftator. the fprinkling of the blood upon the door pofts was the means of Ifrael's deliverance, fo the blood of CHRIST is that which faves the foul with an everlasting falvation; as it is afylum blood, the foul's fure fanctuary, and retreat, under the covert of which it is fafe, even when juftice takes its awful and tremendous marches through the land, leaving in every habitation a victim of his power, a dead joy, a living forrow. Yet even then the Ifraelites were fafe, which points out the fafety, the firm fecurity of life and peace to that foul that has the badge of Heaven, the feal of the blood of JESUS upon it, which is peace of mind, and joy in the HOLY GHOST.

Friendly. But were not the Egyptian darkness, the bondage that Ifrael fuffered, the demand of the King of Egypt to make brick without ftraw, and the night that was much to be remembered; were not these things typical?

Truth. Yes, Friendly, these had all of them a typical sig

nification.

Firft, The Egyptian darkness, which was a darkness that was to be felt, prefigured the darkness of the natural mind, as to the knowledge of things holy, fpiritual and divine; for an infant of a day old has as bright an idea of things natural, as a perfon of fourfcore years old has of things divine, if he be still in an unrenewed state. As the ideas of an infant (we know from the first expreffions of things) are very dark and obfcure, loofe, foreign and vague, in things natural, but not more fo than the ideas and conceptions of a natural man are in things Spiritual, though he may be replete in other knowledge, yet

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in spiritual and divine things he is as dark as a post; for what knowledge has a natural man of the perfon of CHRIST, of his offices, of his relations to his people, of the operations of the HOLY GHOST, of the life of faith, of the enjoyment of pardon and peace? No more than a blind man has of colours; indeed a blind man may hear another talk of colours, as to the vafiety of them, but he cannot diftinguish one colour from another: So a natural man, from hearing another talk of spiritual things, may like a parrot, talk by rote, but ftill like the parrot he does not understand the nature of the thing he talks of. A dead man may as foon form an idea of the works of nature, in all their beauty, order and glory, as a natural man form an idea of the work of grace; for as a man must first have natural life before he can form an idea of the things of nature, fo a man must first have spiritual life before he can form an idea of things fpiritual, which is the fum of the apostle's argument in 1 Cor. ii. 14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the fpirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can be know them, because they are spiritually difcerned; he can never know them while in a ftate of nature; What is the reason of it? Because his natural mind or understanding by fin, is as dark as Egyptian darkness, which was fo dark that they could not see their danger, nor the way to escape it; and which is the very cafe of a natural man, he cannot fee the danger he is in of enduring the wrath of GOD, the curfe of the law, the lofs of his foul; therefore he will not believe though one rofe from the dead and declared it unto him, which makes him fo fupine and carelefs about it, notwithstanding his danger is as real as his exiftence, it being hid from his eyes by the fubtilty of the deftroyer, 2 Cor. iv. 4. The GOD of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not; therefore, fays the apoftle, concerning the believing Ephefians, for ye were fometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the LORD, Eph. v. 8.

Second, the bondage that Ifrael fuffered in Egypt, was typical of that spiritual bondage and flavery we are under to fin and fatan; for by nature we are his vaffals and slaves, and he as the ftrong man armed, takes the command over us, and by the luft of the flesh, the luft of the eye, and the pride of life, he binds our hearts unto himself and his fervile employment, and we as willingly go as he calls, as willingly obey as he commands, nay embrace the chains of his drudgery as he puts them on, but when the foul is fenfible of its spiritual bondage by fin, it like the Ifraelites, cries unto the LORD for deli

verance.

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