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their own tabernacle, altar, &c. for the establishment of their hearts with God, they would have no interest in this altar of ours.

$4. From hence we may learn;

1. That the Lord Christ, in the one sacrifice of himself, is the altar of the new testament church.

2. That this altar is every way sufficient of itself for the grand end of an altar in general; namely, the sanctification of the people, ver. 12.

3. The erection of any other altar in the church, or the introduction of any other sacrifice requiring a material altar, is derogatory to the sacrifice of Christ, and excludes him from being our altar.

4. Whereas the design of the apostle in the whole of this discourse, is, to declare the glory of the gospel, and its worship, above that of the law; of our priest. and altar above theirs, it is fond to think, that by "our altar" he intends such a material fabric as is every way inferior to that of old.

5. When God appointed a material altar for his service, he himself enjoined the making of it, prescribed its form and use, with all its utensils, services, and ceremonies, allowing of nothing relating to it but what was by himself appointed; it is not therefore probable, that, under the New Testament, there should be a material altar of equal necessity, without a divine appointment. But,

6. Sinners, under a sense of guilt, have in the gospel an altar of atonement to which they may have continual access for the expiation of their sins; "he is the propitiation."

7. That all privileges, of whatever nature, without a participation of Christ, as the altar and sacrifice of the church, are of no advantage to their possessors.

VERSES 11, 12.

For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without the camp; wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

$1. The apostle's threefold design. $2 Exposition. The typical sin offering: §3. The burning of the bodies without the camp. $4. The inference, wherefore Jesus. 35. Expository remarks. §6. Without the gate, what implied in it. §7. Observations.

§1. THE apostle in these words, proceeds to the confirmation of his whole present design in all the parts of it, which are three;

1. To declare of what nature our altar and sacrifice are, and thereon of what nature and kind the duties of religion are which depend upon them.

2. To testify that the removal of all distinction of meats, by virtue of this altar, was signified in the old institutions which had their accomplishment in this altar and sacrifice.

3. To shew the necessity of the suffering of Christ without the gate of the city, from the typical representation of it; and so to make way for treating of the use we are to make of it.

§2. "For the bodies of those beasts," &c. (Пɛpi apupTias) for sin; referring to the sin offering on the great day of atonement; see on chap. x, 6; the blood of that sacrifice alone was carried into the most holy place by the High Priest; and there was an especial institution for burning the bodies of the beasts whose blood was then offered without the camp, Lev. xvi, 27.

§3. The burning of the bodies was ordered to be without the camp; namely, whilst the Israelites were in the wilderness, encamped round about the tabernacle. To this camp the city of Jerusalem afterwards answered; wherefore, when this sacrifice was observed

in the temple, the "bodies of the beasts" were carried out of the city to be burned; hence the apostle makes the suffering of Christ without the gate, to answer the burning of those bodies without the camp; the city and the camp being in institution the same thing. In this sacrifice there was no eating; all was consumed; hence, the apostle proves that meats did never contribute any thing towards the establishment of the heart before God, for there was no use of them in the sacrifice whereby the atonement for sin was made; whereon the establishment of the heart dependeth; yea, there was a clear prefiguration, that when the great atonement was made, there should be no use of the distinc tion of meats left in the church.

§4. "Wherefore Jesus also;" being to fulfil all righteousness, and the whole law, what he did was regulated by the predictions of scripture, and the typical representations of what was to be done; the expression intimates a similitude, such as is between the type and the thing typified; as was that sacrifice, or sin offering, under the law, so was this of Christ "Wherefore Jesus also."

§5. There are sundry truths of great importance in these words, the consideration whereof will give us the just exposition of them.

1. That Jesus in his sufferings offered himself to God; this is plain in the words; "that he might sanctify the people with his blood (erabe) he suffered;" for in that suffering, his blood was shed whereby the people were sanctified; which utterly overthrows the SOCINIAN figment of his oblation in heaven.

2. That in his sufferings he offered himself a sin of fering; in answer to those legal sacrifices, whose blood was earried into the holy place, and whose bodies were

burned without the camp; and this belonged to sinofferings only.

3. The end of this offering was, that he might sanc: tify the people; this was (finis operis & operantis) the end of what was done, and of him who did its (a) that, hath respect to the final cause; and the object of the work wrought is the people; that is, all the elect people of God, both Jews and Gentiles, 1John ïi, 2.

4. That which he designed and accomplished for this people, was their sanctification; and it is here manifest, by the respect his blood had to the great sacrifice of expiation, that it signifies to have atonement made.

5. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ designed for his church, and he did it by his own blood, Acts xx, 28; Rev. i, 5; an evidence of the unspeakable worth and value of this offering, and whereon ali its efficacy doth depend. What a testimony is here of what it cost the Lord Jesus to sanctify the people; even with his own blood!

§6. "Suffered without the gate;" intimating that he left the city and church state of the Jews, put an end to all acceptable sacrificing in the city and temple; that his sacrifice and its benefits were not included in the church of the Jews, but were finally extended to the whole world, 1 John ii, 2; that his death and suffering were not only a sacrifice, but a punishment for sin, the sins of the people that were to be sanctified by his blood; for he went out of the city as a malefactor, and died the death which by divine institution was a sign of the curse, Gal. iii, 13.

By all these things it appears, how different our altar and sacrifice are from theirs under the law; and how necessary it is from thence that we should have a worship of another nature than what they had, wherein particular the distinction of meats should be of no use. §7. And we may hence observe;

1. The complete answering and fulfilling of all types in the person and office of Christ, testifieth the sameness and immutability of the council of God in the whole work of redemption, notwithstanding all the outward changes that have been in the institutions of divine worship; from hence it is manifest, that, in the whole, Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, to day, and for ever."

2. The church could no otherwise be sanctified, but by the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, see on chap. x, 4-7.

3. The Lord Jesus out of his incomprehensible love to his people, would spare nothing that was needful for their sanctification, their reconciliation, and dedication unto God; for he did it with his own blood.

4. The whole church is perfectly sanctified by the offering of the blood of Christ as to impetration; and it shall be so actually by the virtue of the same blood in its application.

5. When the Lord Jesus Christ carried all the sins of his own people in his body on the tree, he left the city as a type of all unbelievers under the wrath and curse of God.

6. Going out of the city as a malefactor, he bore all the reproaches that were due to the sins of the church, which was a part of the curse,

VERSES 13, 14.

Let us go forth therefore unto him, without the camp, bearing his reproach; for here have we no continuing city, but we seek

one to come.

$1. An exhortation to go forth without the camp. $2. To Christ, to bear his reproach. $3, 4. The reasons to enforce it, 5, 6, Observations.

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§1. FROM the account given of our altar in the suffering and offering of Christ, the apostle draws an exhortation to a general duty.

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