epistles, with respect to those converts from Juda- | ginally instituted; some being of opinion that it ism to Christianity, who had still an attachment was in the beginning of the world, and that the to it. But it became criminal after the destruction of Jerusalem, because it could not then be legally observed, the temple and the altar having been destroyed. § 2. Christian Rites. THE Christian system is one of pure and perfect worship. It is a spiritual service, and is freed, therefore, from those ceremonial observances which constituted the body of the Jewish economy. See John iv. 20-24, &c. There are but two rites one initiatory, and the other commemorative―introduced into the church of Christ; these are baptism (Matt. xxviii. 19, 20; Acts ii. 38-41; 1 Cor. i. 16), and the Lord's supper (1 Cor. xi. 20). Each of these sacred obligations has long been the theme of controversy, in respect to its subjects, mode, and object; but it does not comport with our purpose to enter into a discussion of the question here. §3.-Jewish Festivals. THE Jewish festivals, which were of divine appointment, were either weekly, as the Sabbath; monthly, as the new moons; or annual, as the passover, the pentecost, the feast of ingathering or of tabernacles, and the feast of trumpets; to which may be added, the annual fast, or day of expiation. Besides these, there were the sabbatical year and the jubilee, which returned after a certain number of years. Independently of the advantages derivable from these institutions in a civil and political point of view, their influence on the religious character of the nation must have been of a most powerful kind. As often as they returned, the people were reminded of the numerous and stupendous miracles which had been wrought by the Creator in their behalf, and of the consequent obligations to virtue and holiness which devolved upon them. Viewed in this light, they also became incontestable vouchers for the occurrences to which we allude, and consequent evidences of the divine origin of the Mosaic economy. We must offer a few remarks upon each of these institutions. I. THE SABBATH. 1. Every seventh day was appointed a holy festival, which was to be held sacred as a day of worship, in commemoration of the creation of the world by JEHOVAH, and also to perpetuate the remembrance of the deliverance of the Israelites from the land of their bondage. Critics are not agreed as to the time when this festival was ori passage in the second chapter of Genesis is to be understood as determining this; while others conceive that it was not given until the time of Moses, and that this passage is prospective; the Sabbath being only mentioned there as it was connected with the subject of which the inspired historian was writing. To discuss the subject here would be greatly to exceed the limits we have proposed. The reader who wishes to inves tigate the matter may consult a work by the Rev. of the controversy, with almost all that can be George Holden, in which he will find a fair view said on either side of the question. It is but right, however, to add, that the "Critica Biblica" contains an extended review of this work, in which the writer controverts many of Mr. Holden's positions. to evening, were commanded to begin their sab2. The Jews, reckoning their day from evening baths in the same manner : "From even until even shall ye celebrate your sabbath," Lev. xxiii. 32. This direction is rather obscure, as the Jews reckoned two evenings, the former beginning about the ninth hour of the natural day, and the other about the eleventh hour. We shall see that they were required to sacrifice the paschal lamb "between the evenings;" but in one place the time is specified, "at even, at the going down of the sun" (Deut. xvi. 6), whence it appears that the whole time comprehended between the two evenings was also called simply "the evening."* The law requiring the computation of the sabbath "from even to even," implies, therefore, that the commencement of the sabbath was to be reckoned from the termination of the whole time called "the evening,” and “between the evenings;" consequently the sacred rest began after sunset on Friday evening, and ended at the same time on Saturday evening. 3. The eve of the Sabbath commenced with the first of the two Jewish evenings, about three o'clock in the afternoon, which was the time of the evening sacrifice, and lasted till sunset. This is also called the preparation, because the people then ceased from their ordinary labour, cooked their victuals, and prepared whatever was neces sary for the due observance of the sabbatical rest. Some, indeed, are of opinion that the preparation included the whole of Friday, and the subject is confessedly involved in some degree of uncertainty. It is probable that the preparation, properly so called, commenced at three o'clock on * Hales's Analysis of Chronology, i. 114. the afternoon of Friday; but the whole day was | village where he resided, further than 1000 cubits, sometimes so denominated. or about an English mile, and that in whatever posture a person might be on the sabbath morning, he or she were to continue in it during the remainder of the day. Hence we read of a sabbathday's journey in Acts i. 12; and our Lord doubtless referred to this superstitious notion in Matt. xxiv. 20. These conceits, however, are foreign from the meaning of the law, which merely forbids such travelling as is inconsistent with the rest and duties of the festival. It has been maintained, that war is classed among works prohibited on the sabbath; but Michaëlis has successfully controverted this notion.+ 4. Among the services and duties required on this day, none are so conspicuous as the strictness of the rest which it enjoined. The command is: "In it thou shalt do no manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates," Ex. xx. 10. This strict and entire rest is enjoined with a frequency which shows the importance attached to it (Ex. xxiii. 12; xxxiv. 21; Deut. v. 14); and the severest penalties are denounced against its violation, Ex. xxxi. 15; xxxv. 2. Nor is the severity of this prohibition mitigated by any subsequent law in the Old Testament; it is rather sanctioned and enforced. Thus we find in the sacred writings prohibitions against Buying and selling, Neh. x. 18-21, xiii. 15— 22. Kindling fires, Ex. xxxv. 3.—This, however, must be understood with some limitation; for fire was absolutely necessary for the sabbatic sacrifices, and it would have been a breach of the divine law of mercy not to kindle a fire for the sick and infirm. The meaning of the precept, therefore, is, that no fire was to be kindled on the sabbathday for cooking meat, which is elsewhere forbidden, or for any other servile purpose. Cooking victuals, Ex. xvi. 23.-This and the former law were, as Michaëlis observes, especially calculated for the climate of Palestine. As the sabbath began at sun-set (and in Palestine the sun in the shortest days never sets before five o'clock, nor in the longest before seven), the Jews there might have their principal meal prepared in the afternoon of Friday; for between the summer and winter months there would only be a difference of about two hours. By lighting good fires on the Friday afternoon, they might also be very comfortable till the sabbath evening. But in our northern climate these would be very grievous prohibitions.* Menial work.—Besides the general law against all manner of work, there is a further direction given in Jer. xvii. 21, 22; and reference may be given to Numb. xv. 32–36. The employment of beasts, Ex. xx. 10; xxiii. 12; Deut. v. 13, 14.—These, no more than man, were to be deprived of rest, or to be tortured with unremitting toil. Travelling, Ex. xvi. 29.-This statute, which was given in the wilderness, was only intended to restrain the Jews from going out on the sabbath to gather in manna, or to do any servile work. But the Hebrew doctors have built many fanciful notions on the prohibition, such as, that it was unlawful for a man to go from any town or * Comment. on the Laws of Moses, art. 195. 5. Notwithstanding the strictness of the sabbatical law, it would be unreasonable to suppose it designed to exclude works of necessity and charity. It cannot be believed that a Being of infinite benignity would ever consider his laws violated by actions proceeding from motives of pure benevolence, and which at the same time administered to the good of a fellow-creature. Our Saviour performed many works of this kind on the sabbath day. 6. The sabbath was designed to be a day of refreshing repose, and of joy and gladness (Isai. xxx. 29, &c.); and hence we find, in the time of our Saviour, notwithstanding the gloom and sadness with which the Scribes and Pharisees invested it, that the Jews were wont to make entertainments upon the seventh day (Luke xiv. 1); and both Josephus and Philo consider feasting and rejoicing as essential to its celebration. The modern Jews have converted it into a day of festive entertainments, and often of unseemly revelry and merriment. 7. But the sabbath was also to be a day of devotion: it was to be sanctified (Exod. xx. 8; Deut. v. 12); that is, to be separated from common to sacred purposes. Hence there were on the sabbath, in addition to the daily offerings, some sacrifices peculiar to itself. A double burntoffering was commanded (Numb. xxviii. 9, 10; see 2 Chron. ii. 4, viii. 13, xxxi. 3; Neh. x. 33; Ezek. xlv. 17). On every sabbath-day there were four lambs sacrificed, two in the morning and two in the evening; and the meat-offerings and drink-offerings which accompanied the sacrifices were to be doubled. It is difficult to determine whether the Levitical law enjoined the practice of public worship on this day. The only thing that appears to sanction the opinion is, that it is in several places said to be "an holy convocation," which denotes an assembly or convention. The phrase, however, is too doubtful in its signification Comment. on the Laws of Moses, art. 196. to warrant us in affirming this to have been the case. If it were permitted to infer the ancient practice from that which obtained in the Jewish church in the time of our Saviour, the matter might be easily decided. It was then usual to assemble in stated places on the sabbath-day, for sacred and religious purposes, Acts xvi. 13, xviii. 4. It was the day set apart for teaching and admonishing the people (Mark i. 21, vi. 2; Luke iv. 16, &c.; Acts xiv. 13, &c.); and we are told that the law was read and expounded, Acts xiii. 27, xv. 21. But these practices at the Christian era leave it undecided whether they were always observed, much less whether they were enjoined by the law.* 8. The sabbath has been considered by some writers as a type of the future state of the saints in heaven; and its perpetual obligation has been thence deduced. The only passage, however, that at all seems to countenance this opinion is Heb. iv. 1—11; and the whole text is by far too difficult of interpretation to warrant a confident conclusion. II. THE PASSOVER. the children of Israel shall not a dog move his 2. The manner of eating the passover was most significant. By eating it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, the Israelites were reminded of the rigour of that servitude which rendered their lives bitter; whence this bread is called "the bread of affliction," Deut. xvi. 3. They were 1. This was the first instituted and most solemn also commanded to eat it standing, in the posture of all the Jewish festivals. It was founded on of travellers who were in haste, and had no time the eve of the Israelites' departure from Egypt, to lose, that faith in the promise of their speedy for the purpose of commemorating their signal deliverance might be kept alive and confirmed; deliverance from that "furnace of affliction," and and as it was designed that they should comtheir exemption from those calamities with which mence their march immediately after supper, they their oppressors were universally visited. In were to have their loins girded, and their staves consequence of the attempts which Moses had in their hands, that there might be no delay when made to obtain for his distressed countrymen a the signal was given. relaxation of their labours and sufferings, the jealousy of Pharaoh was roused, and his anger so far excited that their condition was rendered by far more insupportable than before. The plagues which had been sent into the midst of Egypt had, indeed, produced in the haughty monarch's breast a momentary repentance; but their more lasting effect had been to exasperate and harden him in the highest degree. It therefore only remained that God should pour out upon him the last dregs of "the cup of his indignation," and render him a striking monument of his offended justice. "And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether," Exod. xi. 1. "And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die." "But against any of * See Holden on the Christian Sabbath, ch. 3. 3. The appellation "passover" was by a metonymy given to the lamb that was sacrificed on the occasion (Ezra vi. 20; Matt. xxvi. 17); whence the expressions "to eat the passover" (Mark xiv. 12-14), and to "sacrifice the passover," 1 Cor. v. 7. Hence, also, Christ is called “ our Passover," or true paschal Lamb. The whole continuance of the feast is, in a lax sense, styled the passover (John xviii. 39; Luke xxii. 1); yet, strictly speaking, the passover was kept only on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, which was the first of the ecclesiastical or sacred year, and the ensuing seven days were the feast of unleavened bread; so called, because during its continuance the people were to eat unleavened bread, and allow no other to remain in their dwellings. Sacrifices peculiar to the festival were to be offered on each of the seven days; but the first and the last were to be sanctified above all the rest, as sabbaths, by abstaining from all servile labour, and holding a holy convocation, Exod. xii. 16; Lev. xxiii. 7, 8. The time appointed for sacrificing the paschal lamb was on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month; or, as it is in the Hebrew, "between the two evenings," i. e., just at sun-set (Deut. xvi. 6), or, as some critics understand it, about three o'clock in the afternoon. that is, our Lord was leaning on the table on his left elbow, and so turning his breast and face away from the table on one side, and John sitting in the same posture next to him, with his back towards Jesus' breast, so that whenever our Saviour put up his arm, the disciple was within his embrace. It also explains how the woman who was a sinner, and had brought an alabaster box of ointment, could stand at Christ's feet behind him, while she anointed them with the ointment, and wiped them with the hair of her head, Luke vii. 38. Being thus seated, a cup of wine was mingled with water, over which the master of the family, or "the rehearser of the office of the passover," offered thanks, at the conclusion of which the whole company drank of the cup. The ceremony of washing hands was then introduced, after which the table was furnished with the paschal lamb, cakes of unleavened bread, bitter herbs, a part of the fourteenth day's offerings, and a dish of thick sauce, compounded of bruised dates, figs, or raisins, steeped in vinegar till it was of the consistence of clay, to remind them of the clay in which their fathers wrought while in Egypt. The table being thus furnished, the president took a small piece of salad, and having blessed God for having created the fruit of the ground, he ate it, as did also the other guests; after which the president explained the import of the paschal lamb, the bitter herbs, and the unleavened bread; and, repeating Psalms cxiii., cxiv., he concluded with the following prayer: "Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, king everlasting, who hast redeemed us, and redeemed our fathers out of Egypt, and brought us to this night, to eat unleavened bread and bitter herbs." At the conclusion of this, all the company drank off the second cup of wine and water, and the hands were again washed, accompanied with an ejacu 4. The manner of celebrating the passover, after the establishment of the Hebrews in the land of promise, differed in some measure from the original observance of the festival. The qualities of the paschal victim remained the same, but it was to be separated from the flock four days before the time for its being killed. The first passover-victim was slain in the private dwellings of the Jews; but when they left the land of their captivity, it was to be sacrificed "in the place which Jehovah should choose to place his name there," Deut. xvi. 2. Every particular person, or a delegate from every paschal society, slew his own victim. The lamb being killed, one of the priests received its blood into a vessel, which was handed from one priest to another, until it reached him who stood beside the altar, by whom it was sprinkled at its foot. The lamb was then flayed, and the fat taken out and consumed; after which the owner took it to his home, where it was roasted whole, and eaten by the paschal society, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It was enjoined upon the Hebrews not to break the bones of the victim (Exod. xii. 46), as a further indication of the haste in which they first partook of the feast, not leaving time to break the bones and suck out the marrow. It also had a typical reference which we shall consider presently. Nor was any part of the lamb to remain till the morning: if it were not all eaten it was to be consumed by fire, ver. 10. The same law was extended to all eucharistical sacrifices (Lev. xxii. 30); no part of which was to be left or set by, lest it should be corrupted, or converted to any profane or common use; an injunction which was designed, no doubt, to maintain the honour of sacrifices, and teach the Jews to treat with revelatory prayer. After the basons were removed, rence whatever was consecrated more especially to the service of God.* After the Israelites were established in their own land, that part of the institution which required them to eat the pass-gave thanks to the Lord, who brought bread out over standing, and equipped as travellers, was dispensed with: they partook of the sacrificial meal like men at rest and ease. 5. The guests placed themselves in a reclining posture on couches around the table, their left arms leaning thereon, and their feet extending outward and backwards. This shows the meaning of the evangelist's expression, of the beloved disciple leaning on the bosom of Jesus (John xiii. 23), and on his breast (ver. 25, xxi. 20); * Jennings Jewish Antiq., b. iii. c. 4. the president took the two cakes of unleavened bread, broke one of them into two pieces, laid the broken cake upon that which was entire, and of the earth. The two cakes were then divided among the company, who ate them with bitter herbs, and the thick sauce; after which the president pronounced the following prayer: "Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, king everlasting, who hast sanctified us by the commandments, and hast commanded us concerning the cating of the unleavened bread." It will be observed, that our Lord, at his appointment of the supper, reversed the order of blessing and breaking the bread-he first giving thanks, and then breaking the bread. It is to that part of the feast just noticed, that our Lord's words relative to Judas refer: "He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me." He also pointed out the traitor, by giving him the sop, or piece of unleavened bread and bitter herbs, which had been dipped in the thick sauce before mentioned. The meat of the peace-offerings was next eaten, with an appropriate prayer; and then the flesh of the paschal lamb, which was the concluding dish; after which they washed a third time. A third cup of wine was then filled, which was emphatically called "the cup of blessing," because over it the president returned thanks. Paul uses the same phrase for denoting the sacramental cup in the Lord's supper; and it is generally supposed that it was from this third cup, and a part of the unleavened bread remaining from the passover, that our Lord took the elements for the Christian communion. Lastly, a fourth cup of wine was set on the table, called the cup of the Hallel, because over it the president completed the Hallel which he had begun over the second cup. Over that he had repeated Psalms exiii. and cxiv., and he now proceeded to repeat from Psalm cxv. to cxviii., after which he concluded with "the blessing of the song."* 6. These particulars will materially illustrate the evangelical histories, concerning the celebration of the last passover by our Saviour, and the institution of the Lord's supper. The paschal society on this occasion consisted of the Redeemer and his twelve disciples. We have already remarked, that the manner in which they reclined at this feast explains the meaning of the evangelist, who says, the beloved disciple was leaning| on his Master's bosom. In like manner, as the Jewish passover was made the occasion of discoursing on the mercy of God in the deliverance of the people from their bitter servitude, our Saviour makes use of it for expatiating on that mercy, as more conspicuously manifested in the gift of his Son, and the redemption of the world through his death. As the president distributed among the guests the consecrated bread, so our Saviour brake the bread, after having given thanks, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me." Hence Paul declares that, in celebrating this feast, we "do show forth the Lord's death until he come again." In conformity with the custom of concluding the feast by chanting or singing "the blessing of the song," our Saviour and his disciples concluded by singing a hymn, or song of thanksgiving.t * Lightfoot, Temple Service, chap. xii., xiii. 7. Before concluding the description of the paschal solemnity, we must remark that it was customary, on this occasion, for the inhabitants of Jerusalem to give the free use of their rooms and furniture to strangers who came up to keep the feast. For this reason Jerusalem is called "the common city:" it was common to all the tribes at the time of the great festivals. This will explain the otherwise inexplicable conduct of our Saviour, in sending his disciples to a man in the city, saying, "The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples." It was also the custom, in the latter period of the Jewish history, to liberate some criminal on this occasion, which explains Matt. xxvii. 15, &c. 8. Such was the manner of celebrating the passover of the first month, on the 14th day of Abib or Nisan, which every Israelite was required to observe, except on particular occasions, enumerated in Numb. ix. 1–13, on pain of death. It should not be forgotten, however, that there was also a passover of the second month, observed on the 14th day of Jair or Zif, by those individuals who were precluded from attending the former. The regulations for both were alike (Numb. ix. 6-15), except that in the second month they might have leaven in their houses, for the use of their families, and that the singing of the Hallel was dispensed with during the time they were eating the paschal supper.‡ our 9. That the passover had a typical reference to Christ, appears from the apostle calling him " passover," in 1 Cor. v. 7; but concerning the points of resemblance between the type and the antitype, there is, as might be expected, some difference of opinion amongst the commentators. The reader who may wish to see the question discussed, is referred to Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, or to Witsius's Economia Fœderis. 10. The ceremonies connected with this festival closed on the 16th of the month, when the sheaf of the first-fruits of the barley-harvest was offered, as a grateful acknowledgment of the goodness of God in bestowing the former and the latter rains, and producing the fruits of the earth. The sacrifice and thanksgiving to be offered on this occasion are prescribed in Lev. xxiii. 9—14. III. THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. 1. This was the second of the three grand Hebrew festivals, and derives its name from the circumstance of being kept fifty days after the first day of unleavened bread. See Lev. xxii. 15, 16; Deut. xvi. 9-12. From the same circumstance it is called "the feast of weeks," being cele Lightfoot, Heb. and Tal. Exer. on Mark xiv. 26. |