the brazen serpent is a type of the death and atonement of Christ.

In order to prove the truth of the Christian religion, and to prepare men for it, it pleased God, many ages before Jesus Christ appeared, to inspire holy men with the spirit of prophecy, (as I endeavoured to shew you in my last discourse,) to give notice of his coming. The Bible is full of these prophecies. But still, to render the proof from prophecy yet stronger, it pleased God to give mankind not only written prophecies, but the prophecy likewise of types.

A written prophecy differs from a prophecy by a type in this; the one is a prophecy by words the other by actions. Thus the prophet Isaiah speaking of Christ's death, says his soul (that is, his life) shall be made an offering for sin. This is a prophecy of our Saviour's death in words. In another part of scripture we read, that Abraham was ordered to sacrifice his only son Isaac. This was a prophecy of Christ's death by an action that is, by a type. Again, David prophesying of Christ's resurrection, says, Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (that is, in the grave) neither wilt thou suffer thy holy One to see corruption. This

is a prophecy in words. In another part of scripture we read, that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, and remained three days and three nights in its belly; and afterwards came to light. This is a prophecy of our Saviour's resurrection by an action—that is, by a type.

Here you will say the action or type is of a very

wonderful nature.

Indeed it is but you must consider, that as the resurrection of our Saviour on the third day was a wonderful event, the prophetic type of this event must be wonderful also, or it could not represent what it was intended to represent. In short, the power of God in this case wrought a miracle, to give us the prophetic type of a miraculous event.

But here a difficulty may arise. A written prophecy in its nature, is more plain. A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, is a prophecy as appropriate to Christ's birth as words can make

it. But a type is more liable to mistake. One action may be like another in many circumstances; and yet there may be no relation between them.It is true. I shall endeavour therefore to shew you on what grounds an action may be called a prophetic type. With regard for instance

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instance to Jonah; his being buried three nights and three days in the whale, and then coming to light, bears a strong resemblance, it is certain, to our Saviour's rising again on the third day; but this resemblance alone is not a sufficient ground to adopt the story of Jonah as a type. Something

else is required.

We expect, in the first place, that an action, in order to be considered as a type, should be expressly marked, and applied as such by some inspired person. Thus Jonah is expressly applied as a type by our Saviour himself. When the Pharisees asked him for a sign, he tells them he would give them no sign, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

But secondly, though an action may not be expressly applied as a type by any inspired person, yet still it may be considered as one, if it stand connected with a number of other actions of a like kind, which are themselves applied as types. Thus we consider the sacrifices, and atoning rites of the Jewish law, as types, or typical prophecies, of our Saviour's atonement for sin;

VOL. I.

most

most of them being mentioned as such in the New Testament, particularly in the epistle to the Hebrews. Yet there are some, which are not mentioned. Thus for instance, the high-priest's confessing the sins of the people over the scapegoat which was turned loose into the wilderness, is no where, as I recollect, mentioned as a type, yet it may notwithstanding be fairly considered as such, not merely because of its resemblance; but because it stands connected with a number of other actions, which are expressly mentioned as types.

Having thus endeavoured to explain to you, in few words, the meaning of that kind of prophecy which is called a type, I shall now, as I proposed secondly, dwell a little on the type of Moses's lifting up the brazen serpent in the wilderness; and shew you how exactly it was a type of the death and atonement of Christ.

The account given us of Moses's lifting up the serpent, is this. The children of Israel, in passing through the wilderness, were guilty of frequent rebellions against God. To punish one of these rebellions, God afflicted them with poisonous ser pents, which destroyed many of them. In their

distress,

distress, they ran to Moses, and intreated him to intercede with God on their behalf. Moses undertook their cause; and was ordered by God to set up a serpent of brass on a pole, and instruct the people when they were bitten with serpents, to look at it, and it should immediately heal them. This was accordingly done. The brazen serpent was set up; and as many as were bitten, on looking at it were relieved. This, you see, is a miraculous action, like that of Jonah: the brazen serpent could have no natural power to relieve a malady, but as it was intended to typify the atonement of Christ, God gave it that power by a miracle: for, as hath just been observed, if a wonderful event is represented by a type, we may expect to find that type also to be of a wonderful nature. The truth of the fact, however wonderful, one should think, infidelity itself can hardly doubt. The serpent was set up by Moses before thousands of people; and recorded by Moses himself among that very people through whose descendants we have the record. It was also preserved to a late period of the Jewish history, as we are informed in the 18th chapter of the second book of Kings, when Hezekiah destroyed it; having found that from