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other . The spirit and character of these two brothers made all the difference ; nor does the text authorize us to imagine that Cain ' s offering was rejected for any other cause than that he rmd not done well ; or in other words , that sin ' a guilty conscience ) Jay at the door like the dreadful " cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden , with the flaming sword which turned every way , to keep the way of the tree of life .
The next sacrifice of which we read , is recorded in the viiith of Gen . ver . 20 ., " And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord and took of every clean beast , and of every clean fowl , and offered burnt offerings on the altar . And the Lord smelled a sweet savour , &c" H ^ re is the fi rst account of the
destruction of a victim , nor does this by any means appear to have been typical of any thing future , but from the connexion , it evidently had reference to things past : Noah " had done well : " he had escaped the ruin of the
world , his offering was accepted , " the Lord smelled a sweet savour , ' that is , God approved of his character and worship , noticed his gratitude , answered his prayers . These are , I think , the only instances of sacrifice before the days of Abraham *
We come now , therefore , to the life of that great and good man , of whonjwe read , Gen , xu . ver . 7 > 8 , that he builded altars and called upon the najne of the Lord . Again , chap , xiii . and xviii ., Abraham built an
altar in the plain of Mamre . In these instances of altars and worship there is no mention of sacrifice ; they were , I suppose , pillars of memorial , like our druidical remains , the most ancient fragments of antiquity existing , sacred indeed to religious purposes , as it is likely the Tower of Babel
was , but not necessarily altars for the burning of animal victims ; as nothing of this is hinted at in these passages , nothing farther can be understood . In Gen . xiv . chap , we have an account of the interview of
Abraham with Melchisedec the priest of God , probably , ( and if the Jewish and Indian traditions are to be believed ) Shem the son of Noah , to
whom Abraham presented " tytlies of all ; " these tythes were free-offerings to God , as a grateful acknowledgment for the victory over the kings , us is plain from verses 1 $ and 20 .
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In the next chapter is a remarkable account of a covenant ceremony , which ceremony seems to have been common among the Gentiles in those times . Jeremiah speaks of such an one , Jer . chap , xxxiv . 18 . This custom of dividing the victim , a most significant one , is well known in profane authors ; it spake a strong language , and in this instance of Abraham it is plain that God saw fit to take the usual and well-understood
method of entering into covenant with him ; but by what sort of straining can this account be construed into a sin-offering , or to have reference to any future circumstance ? It was an answer to his request made in the 8 th verse of this chapter . The
ceremonies were accompanied by the promise of continued favours , but they themselves only represented things present and things past , God ' s covenant with Abraham * Call , therefore , this ceremony by what name you please , it was far enough from being
a sin-offering , there was nothing in it of an expiatory nature ; it was significant , well adapted to express the oath and fidelity of a covenant , which I think might easily be proved , but this would be foreign to the subject of
this paper . Your readers may , if they please , consider the account in the xviiith of Gen . in the light of a burntoffering upon the altar of urbanity and hospitality , a reasonable service acceptable to God and man !
The next instance of an offering by the hands of the father of the faithful , is that amazing one Gen . 22 d chapter ; here we have an instance of the substitution of a ram for a child ; but there is nothing in this chapter that gives us any reference
to future things , either as a sin-offering or a type . God , indeed , says , ver . 18 ., " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed , because thou hast obeyed my voice . ' Abra ham ' s faith , devotion , obedience and
gratitude , were highly approved of God , ver . 16 , " by myself have I sworn , saith the Lord , for , because thou hast done this thing and hast not withheld thy son , thine only son , that , in blessing I will bless thee . " The intention of God in this dreadful
trial , is plainly evinced , ver . l » - » < l Now I know that thou fearest God > seeing thou hast not withheld thy son , thine only son , from rne ^ ' ' *
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90 The Doctrine of Common Sense with regard to Sacrifices .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1815, page 90, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1757/page/26/
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