serve and to worship him, in a manner more honourable than the other nations of the earth; in such manner as should promote the perfection and happiness of their own minds, in every part of true religion, or in all sobriety, righteousness and goodness, piety and godliness, that is, in every virtue, human, social, and divine. As true religion is the highest wisdom improved to its highest perfection, the glory of God in the happiness of his reasonable creatures, these virtues are essential to true religion in every form of it. Whatever differences there may be in other respects, between the externals of religion, as in the patriarchal, the Abrahamic, the Mosaical, or Christian dispensations, yet these essentials of religion are necessary to them all; and we may therefore expect to find them, as we really shall, in each of them. It has been remarked before, these ritual laws were not designed to be of equal perfection with the spiritual worship of the Christian dispensation; yet were they to have all the essentials of true religion, and by them we were to perceive and judge of their comparative goodness and excellency; for, though the numerous rites and ceremonies of the Hebrew church were in themselves burdens, and a carnal commandment, yet they were of great and even necessary use, in those times of corruption, to preserve the true faith of the

one true God, the reverence due to the only Creator and sole Governor of the world, to excite that gratitude they owed to Jehovah as their God, who blessed them with peculiar favour and grace, and to exhort that obedience which was due to him, not only as Lord of the whole world, but, in particular, as King of Israel and their Lord, as a people whom Jehovah had made a peculiar people unto himself, before and above all nations of the earth. Thus they exhorted a more especial care of obedience to those laws which were promulged with greater solemnity, and with marks of greater importance; such as the moral laws of the ten commands, published on Mount Sinai, and laid up the ark, over which the glorious majesty of Jehovah, or the presence in the Schechinah, resided.

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These essentials of religion, which are to have a place in every wise or true constitution of religion, must include a right knowledge of God, of his being, perfections, and government, a just sense of the reverence all men owe to God, from a firm belief of his being, power, dominion, justice, and goodness, and an hearty concern to obey the known will of God in all things; doing what is pleasing in his sight, seeking and hoping their perfection and happiness in the likeness and in the image of God. By these considerations,

then, the wisdom of a religious constitution will be chiefly determined, by inquiring how far is it designed, how far is it fitted, to give right and worthy notions of the being and perfections of God, of his government of the world, of the effects of his general providence, and of his particular providence, or grace; to give a right understanding of the obligations men are under to fear, reverence, honour, and obey God in all their actions; more especially by such inward temper and affections, as give the truest and the highest honour to God, as best improve their own minds in all virtue and goodness, after the highest pattern of perfection, the image of God himself; and finally, to give encouragement to this care, to make it constant and hearty, from a firm belief and expectation, that the justice and goodness of God will make him hate and punish all evil and wickedness, approve and reward all virtue and goodness. We perceive much of the comparative excellency of any particular, as it shall be more or less serviceable to these ends.

A noble author has singled out, and recommended these as principal truths of religion that there is a God; that this Supreme God is to be worshipped; that virtue, joined with piety, is the principal part of divine worship (this he explains, a conformity of the several faculties and powers of the soul, to truth and reason; the same,

I suppose, as the philosopher's definition of virtue, natura ad summum perducta, nature raised to its full perfection). To these, he adds, there ought to be always in the mind, an horror of all vice and wickedness, exciting a care of repentance and reformation; and that these truths be strengthened with the belief and expectations of rewards and punishments. These principles of religion, he observes, arise from the common notions of conscience, philosophy, laws, and religion; and therefore may be accounted the articles of the true catholic church, which never fails, nor ever can; and speaking of these truths, under the name of common principles, he professes so high esteem for them, that he shall account that the best book, and the best religion, and him the best prophet, which shall direct the best observance of them *.

This observation of our noble author points out an excellent rule, which, when applied to the Mosaical laws, will show their real virtue and worth; and which we shall consider in its more proper place, after we have seen the plan of the ritual, and shall be instructed from itself, how it is to be applied. We shall then clearly perceive what sentiments it teaches concerning God,

*Notitiæ communes, quas adeo magni facimus ut qui proxime ad earum observantiam accesserit, optimum' librum, religionem, prophetam dixerim.-Baro Her bert de Cherbury de Verit. 267.

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most honourable to him, and most useful to perfect his worshippers in all virtue and goodness, righteousness and holiness, the great ends of religion; in which it will appear it greatly excelled every other institution of religion, except the Christian, which was to perfect it.

But though this care of promoting the chief principles of all religion was a chiefend in this, as it ought to be in every institution of laws of religion, yet the particular circumstances of worship this people, and of the state of the world particu- with respect to them, very much diversified this view. It was wise and fit to take this cuminto consideration, as this was designed to stances of the Abra- be a constitution in aid of the Patriarchal hamic and Abrahamic states of religion. The Hebrews were not to be considered as the world in general; but as the seed and family of Abraham, with whom God had many years before made a covenant. They had received circumcision, a seal of God's promise to them, as an holy nation, and a peculiar people, to whom, as such, he had promised peculiar protection, favour, and blessRom. iv. ings; according to St. Paul, a seal of the righteousness by faith. This covenant with Abraham was to this effect: Jehovah apGen. xvii. peared to Abraham, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God, walk thou before me, and be thou perfect, and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly. The nature of

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