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pressly forbidden to come so nigh as to touch the Mount, ver. 24. These priests were as yet the first born of all the families, before a commutation was made, and the tribe of Levi accepted in their room. Next to the priests. stood the princes or heads of the tribes, attended with the elders and officers of the people. The body of the people, or the men of Israel, as they speak, stood next to them; and behind them, the women and children. The remotest of all in this order being, as they suppose, the proselytes that adhered unto them. Thus Aben Ezra

First were the כי בתחלה היו בכורי הנגשים אל י,expressly ואחריהם ראשי שבטים הם : first-born who drew nigh to God

On, and after them were the heads of the tribes, that is the princes. Opin On, after them the elders.

יאחריהם

af ואחריהם כל איש ישראל ; after them the officers השוטרים

ter them all the men of Israel; Don 170x1, after them the children, that is, males; 'won on, after them the women; 1, after them the proselytes or strangers.

$ 44. All things being thus disposed, in the morning of the third day, the appearances of God's glorious presence began to be manifested, ver. 16. “And it came to pass, on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders, and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the Mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled." Ver. 18. " And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole Mount quaked greatly." That all these things were the effects of the ministry of angels preparing the place of God's glorious presence, and attending upon him in their work, the Scripture elsewhere testifies, and we have before manifested, so that there is no need here farther to insist upon it.

§ 45. Upon this preparation for the descent of the glory of God, upon the sight of his harbingers and evidence of his coming, Moses brought forth the people ph, to meet

with God. He brought them out of the camp, which was at some farther distance, unto the bounds that by God's prescription he had set unto Mount Sinai. And Rashi on the place observes, not unfitly, that this going of the people to meet with God, argues that the glory of God came also to meet with them, as the bridegroom goeth out to meet the bride; for it was a marriage covenant into which God then took the people, whence it is said that God came from Sinai, namely to meet the people.

§ 46. The utmost of the approach of the people was to the nether part of the Mount. From this expression, the Targum of Jerusalem hath a foolish imagination, which they have also in the Talmud; namely, that Mount Sinai was plucked up by

the roots, and lifted up into the air, that the people stood under it, which Jarchi calls a Midrash, that is, though not in the signification of the word, yet in the usual application of it, an allegorical fable.

In this posture, the people trembled and were not able to keep their station, but removed from their place, ch. xx. 28. And the whole Mount quaked greatly, ver. 18. so terrible was the appearance of the majesty of God in giving out his fiery

law.

In this general consternation of all, it is added, that Moses himself spake, ver. 19. and God answered him by a voice. What he spake is not declared, nor was there any occasion for his speaking, nor can any account be given why he should speak to God, when God was solemnly preparing to speak to him and the people; nor is it said, that he spake to God, but only that he spake. And it is signally added, that God answered him, pa, in, or by a voice. For my part, I doubt not but that in this general consternation that befel all the people, Moses himself being surprised with fear, spake the words recorded by our apostle, ch. xii. 21. I exceedingly fear and quake, which condition he was relieved from by the comforting voice of God, and so confirmed for the remainder of his ministry. These brief remarks being given upon the preparation for, and the manner of the giving of the law, we shall summarily consider the general nature of the law, and its sanction, in our next Exercitation.

EXERCITATION XX.

§ 1. What meant by the law among the Jews. § 2. The common distribution of it into moral, ceremonial and judicial, by them rejected. The ground of that distribution. § 3. 613 Precepts collected by the Jews. 4. Reasons of that number. Of these, 248 affirmative; 365 negative. § 5. Twelve houses of each sort. § 6. First house of affirmatives, concerning God, and his worship, in twenty precepts. § 7. The second, concerning the temple and priesthood, in number 19. § 8. The third, concerning sacrifices, in 57 precepts. § 9. The fourth of cleanness and uncleanness, 18. § 10. The fifth of alms and tithes, in 32 precepts. § 11. $ 12. The The sixth about things to be eaten, in seven commands. seventh, concerning the passover and festivals, 20. § 13. The eighth, of rule and judgment, in 13 precepts. § 14. The ninth, of doctrine and truth, whose commands are 25. § 15. The tenth, concerning women and matrimony, in 12 precepts. § 16. The eleventh of criminal judgments and punishments, in eight precepts. § 17. The twelfth, of civil judg. ments, in 17 precepts. § 18. Censure of this collection. § 19. Negative precepts, in 12 families. § 20. The first family. Of false worship, in 47 prohibitions. § 21. Remarks. § 22. The second family. Of separation from the heathen. § 23. The third family. Of things sacred. 24. The fourth family. Of sacrifices and priests. § 25. The fifth family. Of meats. § 26. The sixth family. Of fields and harvest. § 27. The seventh family. The house of doctrines. § 28. The eighth family. $30. Of justice and judgment. § 29. The ninth family. The tenth family. Of chastity. § 31. The eleventh family. Of marriages. 32. The twelfth family. Of the manner of the kingdom. §33-35. Concluding remarks.

Of feasts.

§ 1. THE law itself, and its sanctions, are the next thing of

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which our apostle makes mention in the economy of the Judaical church. By this law he especially understands the law given on mount Sinai, or partly there, and partly from the tabernacle, the type of Christ, after it was erected. The Jews by the or law, generally understand the whole five books of Moses, as they are also called in the New Testament, and all precepts that they can gather out of any of them, they refer to the law, for which they are not to be contended with.

but

§ 2. This whole law is generally distributed into three parts. First, the moral; secondly, the ceremonial; thirdly, the judicial part of it. And indeed there is no precept conveniently be referred to one or other of these heads, as they are usually explained. That which is commonly called the moral law, the

may

.28 .Exod. xxxiv דברי הברית עשרת הדברים Scripture terms

The words of the covenant, the ten words. From this is formed the Greek Axaλoyos, or the law of ten words, or precepts: all which in their substance are moral and universally obligatory on all the sons of men. That part of the law, in Scripture called po, judgments, Exod. xxi. 1. which determines rights between man and man, and punishments upon transgressions, with special reference to the interest of the people in the land of Canaan, is by us usually termed the judicial law. And the institutions of ceremonial worship are most commonly expressed by the name of pn, the whole system whereof is termed the law ceremonial.

§ 3. The Jews either do not acknowledge, or do not much insist on this distinction, though it is evidently founded in the things themselves; but casting all these parts of the law together, contend, that there is amongst them 613 precepts. For the numeral letters of in, denote 611 of them; and the other two, which, as they say, are the two first of the decalogue, were delivered by God himself to the people, and so come not within the compass of the word torah in that place, whence they take this important consideration, namely, Deut. xxxiii. 4. " Moses commanded us a law," that is, of 611 precepts; two being given by God himself, completes the number of 613. The folly of these things is obvious to all; yet this is a part of their oral law, to which, as hath been shewed, they ascribe more oftentimes. than to the written word itself.

§ 4. Of these 613 precepts, 248, they say, are affirmative precepts; because there are, as they affirm, so many distinct members or bones in the body of a man; of this I leave our anatomists to judge and 365 negative precepts, because there are so many days in the year; man being bound to keep the law with his whole body all the year long; both which numbers make up 613. And lest this observation should not seem sufficiently strengthened by these arguments, they add that which they suppose conclusive, namely, that in the decalogue there are 613 letters, if you will but set aside the last two words; and this, in common civility, cannot be well denied unto them.

§ 5. These 613 precepts they divide or distinguish into twelve families, according to the number of the tribes of Israel; that is, either general part into twelve; first the affirmative, and secondly the negative. And although this distribution be not satisfactory for many reasons, as others have shewn, yet for the advantage of the reader, I shall here give a summary account of them.

§ 6. The first family, which hath relation to God and to his worship, consists of twenty precepts. These, as well as those which follow, I shall briefly enumerate, without any examination of the reasons which may have led the Jews to place them in

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8.

their several stations. 1. Faith, and acknowledgment of God's divine essense and existence, Exod. xx. 2. 2. Faith of the unity of God, Deut vi. 4. xxxii. 39. 3. Love of God, Deut. vi. 5. x. 12. 4. Fear of God, Deut. vi. 13. 5. Acknowledgment of God's righteousness in afflictions, Deut. viii. 5. 6. Prayer to God, Exod. xxiii. 25. Deut. xi. 13. 7. Adherence to God, Deut. x. 20. 8. To swear by the name of God, Exod. vi. 13. Deut. x. 20. 9. To walk in the ways of God, Deut. xxviii. 9. 10. To sanctify the name of God, Levit. xxii. 32. 11. Twice a-day to repeat that section, "Hear, O Israel," Deut. vi. 7. xi. 19. 12. That we learn and teach the law, Deut. v. 1. xi. 8. 13. To wear phylacteries or tephilin on the head, Deut. vi. them on the arm, in the same place. 15. To Numb. xv. 38-40. 16. To put writings of the Scripture on the posts of our doors, Deut. vi. 9. 17. That the people be called together to hear the law at the end of the feast of tabernacles, Deut. xxxi. 12. 18. That every one write him a copy of the law, Deut. xxxi. 19. 19. That the king moreover write out another for himself as king, Deut. xvii. 28. 20. That at our eating of meat we give thanks or bless God, Deut. viii. 10. This is the first family, which though it sometimes fail in educing its precepts from the word, yet good use may be made of the observation, in reducing these things to one certain head.

14. To wear make fringes,

§ 7. The second family, of the first general head of affirmative precepts, contains those which concern the sanctuary and priesthood, being nineteen in number. 1. That a sanctuary, ta

2. That being

bernacle or temple should be built, Exod. xxv. 8. built it should be reverenced, Levit. xix. 30. 3. That the priests and Levites, and no other, should always keep the temple, Numb. xviii. 2. 4. That the work or ministry of the temple should be performed by the Levites, Numb. xviii. 23. 5. That the priests should wash their hands and feet before their ministry, Exod. xxx. 9. 6. That the priests should attend the lamps of the sanctuary, Exod. xxvii. 21. 7. That the priests should bless the people, Numb. vi. 23. 8. That every day the shew-bread should be renewed. 9. That incense should be offered twice aday on the golden altar, Exod. xxx. 7, 8. 10. That the fire on the altar should be kept always burning, Levit. vi. 12, 13. 11. That the ashes should be removed from the altar every day, Levit. vi. 10. 12. That the unclean should be separated from the camp and temple, Numb. v. 2. Deut. xxiii. 10. 13. That Aaron and his posterity should have the principal place and honour in sacred things, Levit. xxi. 8. 14. That the priests should wear the garments appointed to their special ministry, Exod. xxviii. 15. That the ark should be carried on the shoulders of the

2.

Levites, Numb. vii. 9. 16. That the anointing oil should be

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