enter into the holiest of all, through the merit of his own oblation.

When Mofes defired to fee the glory of God, he faid to him, "Thou shalt fee my back-parts!." Hence it is most probable that he faw the likeness of human nature; as an anticipation of that bleffed difcovery which was afterwards made to him on the mount of transfiguration. It has been fuppofed, indeed, with great probability, that in this manner God ordinarily communicated his will to Mofes; as it is faid that he fpake with him "face "to face, as a man fpeaketh unto his friend m."

By fimilar manifeftations did the Lord comfort his Church, while fhe was in Babylon, and while fhe continued in a low ftate after her return from captivity. Ezekiel, by the river Chebar, faw the likeness of a glorious throne; and "upon the like"nefs of the throne was the likeness as the appear

ance of a man above upon it "." No manifeftation could tend more to comfort the fouls of believers, in their afflicted state in a strange land, than fuch a prelude of the future incarnation of their God, and of the glorious majefty of his kingdom. After the return of the captives, when they were fo weak as to be threatened with deftruction from their enemies, Zechariah was favoured with a vifion of Chrift, as "a man-standing among the "myrtle-trees that were in the bottom. Behind "him were there red horfes fpeckled and white." While this vifion reprefented the low and mournful state of the Church, it expreffed her fafety, from

1 Exod. xxxiii. 23.

m Ver. 11.

n Ezek. i. 26.

o Zech. i. 8.

from the prefence of Christ in the midst of her, as the Lord of all the angels of heaven, whom he employs as his minifters to fulfil his pleasure in the kingdom of providence, in fubferviency to the interests of his fpiritual kingdom. Many fimilar vifions had this prophet. Particularly, the Angel who appeared to him as a man, exprefsly foretold his own miffion to dwell as the LORD of hofts in the midft of his Church P.

The very character of an Angel or Messenger, under which the Son appeared to the patriarchs, and to the Church under the Old Teftament, while it declared that he was then fent by the Father, had a special reference to his future miffion in our nature, as "the Angel of the Cove"nant, who should come to his temple 9." The many appearances, which he made in the likeness of man, if not meant as preludes of his actual incarnation, and for confirming the faith of the Church in this most important article, could have no other tendency than to lead her aftray to idolatry. These appearances, fo far from confirming her faith in that revelation given to her, must have directly fruftrated one great end of it, which was to preferve the doctrines of the divine unity and fpirituality; and must have proved a fnare, inducing her to "change the glory of the uncor"ruptible God into an image made like to cor "ruptible man "." But when the knew that these were the manifestations of one divine perfon, folely in relation to a future incarnation for the reX 2 demption

p Zech. ii. 8.-{},

q Mal. iii. .

↑ Rom. i. 23.

demption of loft man; fhe was guarded againft the folly of fuppofing that God had a human form, or that his pure effence had any affinity to grofs

matter.

II. The vifion that Abraham had of a furnace and lamp, when God entered into covenant with him, may be viewed as a prelude of the incarnation. After he had, according to the divine command, divided the various parts of the facrifice, and "laid each piece one against another;" when it was dark, he faw a fmoking furnace and a burning lamp pafs between the pieces. These have been generally viewed as fymbols of the affliction of the pofterity of Abraham in Egypt, and of their deliverance; efpecially as we are informed in the context, that God foretold both the fufferings and the redemption of Ifrael, and that day entered into covenant with Abraham. Others have understood the Smoking furnace as an emblem of the fufferings of Chrift's human nature, under the wrath of God as a Judge; and the burning lamp, of his divine to which it is united, in confequence of which union it was impoffible that he could fuccumb under his fufferings; or of the glory that followed t.

It is evident that the facrifice prefigured that of Chrift. The covenant made with Abraham, in as far as it refpected fpiritual and eternal bleffings, was only a revelation of that covenant which had been made from eternity with Him who

s Gen. v. 10. 17.

t See Edward's Hift. Redemption, p. 52.

who was promised as the feed of Abraham; and in this point of view, it derived all its confirmation from the death of the great Sacrifice.

But can there be any thing improper in viewing these symbols, as referring both to the natural feed of Abraham, and to that one feed," which "is Chrift ";" to the former primarily, to the latter ultimately? We know that Chrift is the antitypical Ifrael; and that what is fpoken by one of the prophets; "Out of Egypt have I call"ed my Son "," is by an evangelift understood as referring to the Saviour. We cannot fo well perceive the propriety of this application, without fuppofing fuch a double reference. There are other paffages of Scripture, which can fcarcely be otherwise interpreted; as the language of the Church in the book of Pfalms, which feems to include the sufferings both of the type and of the antitype: "Many a time have they afflicted me from

my youth, may Ifrael now fay ;-yet they have "not prevailed against me. The plowers plow"ed upon my back; they made long their fur

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99 rows w. The laft words undoubtedly allude to Chrift's "giving his back to the fmiters," and to the deep incifions made by the fcourge.

III. The burning bush may be viewed as a fimilar emblem. It has, indeed, been generally understood as fhadowing forth the afflictions of Ifrael in Egypt, and at the fame time her prefervation by reafon of the divine prefence. With

X 3

u Gal. iii. 16. v Hof. xi. I.; Mat. ii. 15.

fully

Pfal. cxxix. 1.-3.

fully as much propriety may it be viewed as denoting the fufferings of the Meffiah. "The Angel of the LORD appeared unto him (Moses) in

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a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush: and "he looked, and behold, the bufh burned with

fire, and the bush was not confumed. And "Mofes faid, I will now turn afide, and fee this "great fight, why the bufh is not burned." He, who appeared, was the Angel of the LORD, who had often before manifefted himself in the likeness of man. The bush or bramble, as the word fignifies, was a fit emblem of his humanity, which is reprefented "as a root fpringing out of a dry ground." "The flame of fire" denotes the wrath of God, which burned, but did not confume his human nature. The reason why this could not be confumed, was the inhabitation of the Angel-JEHOVAH. This was indeed a great fight;" for there was "no forrow like unto his forrow, where"with the LORD afflicted him in the day of his "fierce anger."

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"

IV. The ladder, which Jacob faw in a dream, was a striking fymbol of the incarnation. "Behold, a ladder fet upon the earth, and the top "of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels "of God afcending and defcending on it. And, "behold, the LORD ftood above it, and faid, I am "the LORD God of Abraham thy father." Our Lord muft himself be the best interpreter of this vifion; and he explains it to Nathanael in thefe words,

× Exod. iii. 2, 3. y Lam. i. 12.

z Gen. xxviii. 12, 13.