by * human means. any It was a common disease in the land of Israel, and the Hebrews applied to God alone for its removal, and the cure was always attributed to his sovereign power. The signs and cure of this horrible disease are minutely described in Lev. xiii, and xiv; that the priests whose office it was to inspect and certify the case, might be able to judge and decide when to re-admit the patient into society. The leper, because of his uncleanness, was separated from the people, and obliged to dwell without the camp, or in the country, being not permitted to enter into any walled city, till the priest pronounced him clean; hence it was necessary that the priest should inspect him,

* The horrible nature and tendency of the leprosy appear in a very clear light from the following account given by Mr. Maundrel of several persons he saw infected with this disease in Palestine: "When I was in the Holy Land," says he, in a letter to the Rev. Mr. Osborn, Fel. of Exeter Col. Oxon, "I saw several that laboured under Gehazi's distemper; particularly at Sichem, (now Naplosu) there were no less than ten, that came begging to us at one time. Their manner is to come with small buckets in their hands, to receive the alms of the charitable; their touch being still held infectious, or at least unclean. The distemper, as I saw it in them, was very different from what I have seen it in England; for it not only defiles the whole surface of the body with a foul scurf, but also deforms the joints of the body, particularly those of the wrists and ankles, making them swell with a gouty scrofulous substance very loathsome to look on. I thought their legs resembled those of old battered horses, such as are often seen in drays in England. The whole distemper, indeed, as it there appeared, was so noisome, that it might well pass for the utmost corruption of the human body on this side the grave. And certainly the inspired penman could not have found out a fitter emblem, whereby to express the uncleanness and odiousness of vice." Maundrel's Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem; letters at the end. Dr. Mead says, "I have seen a remarkable case of this (meaning of the leprosy) in a country man, whose whole body was so miserably seized with it, that his skin was shining as if covered with snow; and as the furfuraceous scales were daily rubbed off, the flesh appeared quick and raw underneath." See Jameson's Exposition of the Pentateuch, p. 425, where Galen's horrible symptoms of the leprosy are related.

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and if healed, to offer for him the sacrifices required. For the purification or cleansing of a leper, the following remarkable sacrifice and rite was required:he was to bring two living, clean birds, some cedar wood, with scarlet and hyssop, to the priest; then the priest was required to kill one of the birds over an earthen vessel filled with running or river water, so that the blood might be mixed with the water. Then he made a kind of instrument to sprinkle with, of the cedar wood, hyssop, the other clean bird, and scarlet wool, or fillet. The cedar wood served for handle, the hyssop and living bird were tied to it with the scarlet fillet or thread. The living bird was so bound to this handle, as that its tail was downwards, in order to be dipped into the blood of the bird that had been killed. Then the priest dipped this instrument into the earthen vessel, and sprinkled the leper with it seven times, afterwards he let loose the living bird into the open air, and pronounced the leper purified. When pronounced clean, the person was to offer two he-lambs, one for a tresspass offering, the other for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb for a sin-offering, accompanied with three tenth deals of flour, and one log of oil, for a meat-offering. The sin-offering was for his impurity; the trespass-offering for his transgressions; and the burnt offering and meat offering were expiatory and gratitude offerings for his gracious cleansing. In case the person was poor, he was required to bring one lamb, one tenth deal of flour, one log of oil, and two turtle doves or young pigeons. Hence we learn, that there could be no cleansing without a sacrifice; even the poor person was obliged to provide one lamb; for, as the Apostle observes, "without shedding of blood, there is no remission," and "all things under the law are

purified with blood." Heb. ix, 22. So now, under the dispensation of the gospel, there is no redemption but in the blood of Christ, that "Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world."

The leprosy was a most expressive emblem of sin, and the legal ordinances concerning it point out, on the one hand, in a very significant manner, how odious sin is in the sight of God; and represent also, on the other hand, the cleansing or the purification of the pollution of sin, by the sacrifice of Christ, by the sprinkling and application of his blood, and by the sanctifying and healing influences of the Holy Spirit.

The ceremony of the two living birds seems to be typical of the purification of our sins by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, which flowed out of his wounded side mixed with water; (see Isa. liii, 5; 1 Pet. i, 2; John xix, 34.) while the dismissal of the living bird resembles that of the scape-goat into the wilderness, with the sins of the leper upon him.

Our blessed Lord, when he healed the lepers, expressly commanded them to conform to the ordinances of the law, "for a testimony to the priests and to the Jews that their disease was perfectly cleansed, and to give them full proof that he was the true Messiah. The priests were not able to cure a leper; they could only pro. nounce him clean, in case the danger of infection was past; that he might be admitted into society; but he was not cured." The priests could only pronounce the leper to be clean to the people. Jesus Christ was able to make him clean to himself.* See Mat. viii, 4; Mark i, 44; Luke v, 14; xvii, 14.

* Dr. Lightfoot's Works, vol. i, pp. 219, 220, 648. Dr. Hale's Analysis, vol. ii, b. i, p. 273.

VIII. The Ordinance of the Red Heifer.

THIS was a sacrifice of general application, provided by the people at large, because they were all interested in it. The ceremony of killing and burning the red heifer was thus: the high priest was to be careful that it was without spot or blemish, and that it had never been yoked. It was to be led to a certain place without the camp, or city, where it was killed by the priest, and its blood was sprinkled with his finger seven times towards the sanctuary. Afterwards a pile of wood being kindled, it was cast into the fire, with its skin, entrails, &c. together with some cedar-wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool or thread; and the whole being reduced to ashes, in the presence of all the people, then all the ashes were carefully collected, and laid up for use. And every person employed in this ceremony was considered unclean until evening. The ashes were preserved in order to be mixed with water, and to be sprinkled on those who had contracted any legal defilement. If any person had contracted a defilement such as made him unclean for seven days, he was to be sprinkled with water in which some of those ashes were mixed, on the third and seventh day, when he was considered clean; but if he neglected to be sprinkled on the third day, he was not to be regarded as clean till the tenth day. This law was particularly strict with regard to the touching the dead body of a man: "he that toucheth the dead body of a man shall be unclean seven days." This lays man very low indeed! he who touched a dead beast was only unclean for one day; (Lev. xi, 24, 27, 39.) but he who touches a dead man shall be unclean for

seven days. This was undoubtedly designed to point out the peculiar impurity of man, and to shew his sinfulness---seven times worse than the beast that perisheth! See Num. xix.

It may appear strange to some, that even the very persons who were employed in performing this rite should be considered on that account unclean; and that the same thing should both cleanse and defile. It was a general maxim among the Hebrews, that all expiatory sacrifices, though they purified those for whom they were offered, were themselves impure, because the sins of the offerers were considered as transferred and laid upon them; the creature, by being a substitute for the sinner, was regarded as polluted and abominable, and no man could touch it without contracting defilement. Lev. xvi, 24, 27, 28.

This singular ordinance may be considered as a sacrifice for sin; for this purifying water was made by the ashes of the red heifer, cedar-wood, hyssop, and scarlet, and the heifer itself was sacrificed, and her blood sprinkled before the tabernacle. And we may conclude this Hebrew rite as having a reference to things done under the gospel, and that it was designed to typify the sacrifice of our blessed Lord. St. Paul says, "If the blood of bulls and of goats," (alluding most probably to the sin-offerings and the scape-goat,)

Hence the words κaðaρuа and Teρiкalapμa, which properly sig nify a piacular deprecatory sacrifice, were applied to denote the vilest and most contemptible objects. In which sense St. Paul, speaking of the ill usage he and his brethren met with in the world, says, "we are népiкabapjaтa, as despicable in the eyes of the heathen world as those condemned persons who were offered up by way of public expiation." 1 Cor. iv, 13. See Parkhurst's Greek Lex. and Schleusner.