7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. g Ch. 31. 25. Deut. 16. 3. March and April; whereas it is supposed that previously to this, the year began with Tisri, which answers to a part of our September; for in this month the Jews suppose God created the world, when the earth appeared at once with all its fruits, in perfection. From this circumstance, the Jews have formed a twofold commencement of the year, which has given rise to a twofold denomination of the year itself, to which they afterward attended in all their reckonings: that which began with Tisri or September, was called their civil year; that which began with Abib or March, was called the sacred or ecclesiastical year. As the Exodus of the Israelites formed a particular era, which is referred to in Jewish reckonings down to the building of the temple, I have marked it as such in the chronology in the margin; and shall carry it down to the time in which it ceased to be acknowledged. Some very eminently learned men dispute this; and especially Houbigant, who contends with great plausibility of argument, that no new commencement of the year is noted in this place; for, that the year had always begun in this month, and that the words shall be, which are inserted by different versions, have nothing answering to them in the Hebrew, which he renders literally thus, Hic mensis vobis est caput mensium; hic vobis primus est anni mensis. "This month is to you the head or chief of the months; it is to you the first month of the year." And he observes farther, that God only marks it thus, as is evident from the context, to show the people that this month, which was the beginning of their year, should be so designated as to point out to their posterity, on what month and on what day of the month they were to celebrate the passover and the feast of unleavened bread. His words are these: Ergo superest, et Hebr. ipso ex contextu efficitur, non hic novi ordinis annum constitui, sed eum anni mensem, qui esset primus, ideo commemorari, ut posteris constaret, quo mense, et quo die mensis pascha et azyma celebranda essent. Verse 3. In the tenth day of the month] In after times, they began their preparation on the thirteenth day, or day before the PASSOVER, which was not celebrated till the fourteenth day, see ver. 6. but on the present occasion, as this was their first passover, they probably required more time to get ready in: as a state of very great confusion must have prevailed at this time. Mr. Ainsworth remarks, that on this day the Israelites did afterward go through Jordan into the land of Canaan, Josh. iv. 19. And Christ our paschal Lamb, on this day, entered Jerusalem, riding on an ass; the people bearing palm branches, and crying, Hosanna, John xii. 1, 12, 13, &c. and in him this type was truly fulfilled. Alamb] The original word n seh, signifies the young of sheep and of goats, and may be indifferently translated either lamb or kid. See ver. 5. A lamb for a house] The whole host of Israel was divided into twelve tribes, these tribes into families, the families into houses, and the houses into particular persons; Numb. i. Josh. vii. 14. Ainsworth. Verse 4. If the household be too little] That is, If there be not persons enow in one family, to eat a whole lamb, then two families must join together. The rabbins allow that there shall be at least ten persons to one paschal lamb, and not more than twenty. Take it according to the number of the souls] The persons who were to eat of it were to be first ascertained, and then the lamb to be slain and dressed for that number. Verse 5. Without blemish] Having no natural imperfection, no disease, no deficiency or redundancy of parts. On this point the rabbins have trifled most egregiously, reckoning fifty blemishes that render a lamb or a kid, or any animal, improper to be sacrificed: five in the car, three in the eye-lid, eight in the eye, three in the nose, sir in the mouth, &c. &c. A male of the first year] That is, Any age in the first year, between eight days and twelve months. From the sheep or from the goats] That is, the n seh means either; and either was equally proper, if without blemish. The Hebrews, however, in general, preferred the lamb to the kid. Verse 6. Ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day] The lamb or kid was to be taken from the flock on the tenth day, and kept up and fed by itself till the fourteenth day, when it was to be sacrificed. This was never commanded nor practised afterward. The rabbins mark four 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Numb. 9. 11. 1 Cor. 5. 8. things that were required in the first passover, that were never required afterward: 1. The eating of the lamb in their houses dispersed through Goshen. 2. The taking the lamb on the tenth day. 3. The striking of its blood on the door-posts and lintels of their houses. And 4. Their eating it in haste. These things were not required of the succeeding generations. The whole assembly-shall kill it] Any person might kill it; the sacrificial act in this case, not being confined to the priests. In the evening] beyn ha-ârabayim, "between the two evenings." The Jews divided the day into morning and evening: till the sun passed the meridian, all was morning or forenoon; after that, all was afternoon or evening. Their first evening began just after twelve o'clock, and continued till sunset; their second evening began at sunset, and continued till night, i. e. during the whole time of twilight :-between twelve o'clock, therefore, and the termination of twilight, the passover was to be offered. "The day, among the Jews, had twelve hours, Josh. xi. 9. Their first hour was about six o'clock in the morning with us. Their sixth hour was our noon. Their ninth hour answered to our three o'clock in the afternoon. By this we may understand that the time in which Christ was crucified, began at the third hour, that is, at nine o'clock in the morning, the ordinary time for the daily morning sacrifice, and ended at the ninth hour, that is, three o'clock in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifices, Mark xv. 25, 33, 34, 37. Wherefore their ninth hour was their hour of prayer, when they used to go into the temple at the daily evening sacrifice, Acts iii. 1. and this was the ordinary time for the passover. It is worthy of remark, that God sets no particular hour for the killing of the passover: any time between the two evenings, i. e. between twelve o'clock in the day and the termination of twilight, was lawful. The daily sacrifice, see Exod. xxix. 38, 39. was killed at half-past the eighth hour, that is, half an hour BEFORE three in the afternoon; and it was offered up at half-past the ninth hour, that is, half an hour AFTER three. In the evening of the passover it was killed at half past the seventh hour, and offered at half past the eighth, that is, half an hour BEFORE three: and if the evening of the passover fell on the evening of the sabbath, it was killed at half past the SIXTH hour, and offered at half past the SEVENTH, that is, half an hour BEFORE two in the afternoon. The reason of this was, they were first obliged to kill the daily sacrifice, and then to kill and roast the paschal lamb, and also to rest the evening before the passover. Agreeably to this, Maymonides says, The killing of the passover is after mid-day: and if they kill it before, it is not lawful; and they do not kill it till after the daily evening sacrifice, and burning of incense: and after they have trimmed the lamps, they begin to kill the paschal lambs until the end of the day. By this time of the day, God foreshowed the sufferings of Christ in the evening of times, or in the last days, Heb. i. 2. 1 Pet. i. 19, 28. and about the same time of the day, when the paschal lamb ordinarily died, He died also, viz. at the ninth hour: Matt. xxvii. 46-50." See Ainsworth. Verse 7. Take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts] This was to be done by dipping a bunch of hyssop into the blood, and thus sprinkling it upon the posts, &c. see ver 22. That this sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb, was an emblem of the sacrifice and atonement made by the death of Jesus Christ is most clearly intimated in the Sacred Writings, 1 Pet. i. 2. Heb. ix. 13, 14. viii. 10. It is remarkable that no blood was to be sprinkled on the threshold, to teach, as Mr. Ainsworth properly observes, a reverent regard for the blood of Christ, that men should not tread under foot the Son of GOD, nor count the blood of the covenant wherewith they were sanctified, an unholy thing. Heb. x. 29. Verse 8. They shall eat the flesh-roast with fire] As it was the ordinary custom of the Jews to boil their flesh, some think that the command given here was in opposi tion to the custom of the Egyptians, who ate raw flesh in honour of Osiris. The Ethiopians, are to this day remarkable for eating raw flesh; as is the case with most savage nations. Unleavened bread] no matsoth, from nyp matsah, to squeeze or compress, because the bread prepared without leaven or yeast was generally compressed, sad, or heavy, 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning, ye shall burn with fire. 11 T And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover. h Deut. 16. 7.-i Ch. 23. 18. & 31. 25-k Deut. 16. 5.-1 Ch. 11. 4, 5. Amos 5. 17. m Numb. 33. 4. as we term it. The word here properly signifies unleavened cakes; the word for leaven in Hebrew is pon chamets, which simply signifies to ferment. It is supposed that leaven was forbidden on this and other occasions, that the bread being less agreeable to the taste, it might be emblematical of their bondage and bitter servitude: as this seems to have been one design of the bitter herbs which were commanded to be used on this occasion; but this certainly was not the sole design of the prohibition; leaven itself is a species of corruption, being produced by fermentation, which in such cases, tends to putrefaction. In this very light St. Paul considers the subject in this place; hence, alluding to the passover as a type of Christ, he says, Purge out therefore the old leaven-for Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, 1 Cor. v. 6-8. Bitter herbs] What kind of herbs or sallad is intended by the word merarim, which literally signifies bitters, is not well known. The Jews think cichory, wild lettuce, horehound, and the like, are intended. Whatever may be implied under the term, whether bitter herbs, or bitter ingredients in general, it was designed to put them in mind of their bitter and severe bondage in the land of Egypt, from which God was now about to deliver them. Verse 9. With the purtenance thereof] All the intestines, for these were abused by the heathens for purposes of divination; and when roasted in the manner here directed, they could not be thus used. The command also implies, that the lamb was to be roasted whole; neither the head or legs were to be separated, nor the intestines removed. I suppose that these last simply included the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, &c. and not the intestinal canal. Verse 10. Ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning] Merely to prevent putrefaction; for it was not meet that a thing offered to God should be subjected to corruption, which, in such hot countries, it must speedily undergo. Thus the body of our blessed Lord saro no corruption, Psal. xvi. 10. Ácts ii. 27. because, like the paschal lamb, it was a sacrifice offered to God. when they went to a banquet. The servants took them off when they entered the house; and returned them when they departed to their own habitations. Your staff in your hand] The same writer observes, that the eastern people universally make use of a staff when they travel on foot. Ye shall eat it in haste] Because they were suddenly to take their departure; the destroying angel was at hand, their enemies were coming against them, and they had not a moment to lose. It is the Lord's PASSOVER.] That is, Jehovah is now about to pass over the land, and the houses only where the blood is sprinkled, shall be safe from the stroke of death. The Hebrew word no pesach, which we very properly translate PASSOVER, and which should be always pronounced as two words, has its name from the angel of God passing by or over the houses of the Israelites, on the posts and lintels of which the blood of the lamb was sprinkled; while he stopped at the houses of the Egyptians to slay their first-born. Verse 12. Against all the gods of Egypt, &c.] As different animals were sacred among the Egyptians, the slaying of the first-born of all the beasts might be called executing judgment upon the gods of Egypt. As this, however, does not appear very clear and satisfactory, some have imagined that the word elohey should be translated princes, which is the rendering in our margin; for as these princes, which were rulers of the kingdom under Pharaoh, were equally hostile to the Hebrews with Pharaoh himself, therefore these judgments fell equally heavy on them also. But, we may ask, Did not these judgments fall equally on all the families of Egypt, though multitudes of them had no particular part either in the evil counsel against the Israelites, or in their oppression? Why then distinguish those in calamities, in which all equally shared? None of these interpretations, therefore, appear satisfactory. Houbigant, by a very simple and natural emendation, has, he thinks, restored the whole passage to sense and reason. He supposes, that elohey, GODS, is a mistake for ahley, TENTS, or habitations; the nhé, and the lamed, being merely interchanged. This certainly gives a very consistent sense, and points out the universality of the desolation, to which the whole context continually refers. He therefore contends that the text should be read thusAnd on all the TENTS or HABITATIONS of Egypt I will execute judgment! by which words the Lord signified, that not one dwelling in the whole land of Egypt should be exempted from the judgment here threatened. It is but justice to say, that however probable this criticism may appear, it is not supported by any of the ancient versions, nor by any of the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi. The parallel place also, Numb. xxxiii. 4. is rather against Houbigant's interpretation-For the Egyptians buried all their first-born, which the Lord had smitten among them: upon their gods also [Dmabwan u be eloheyhem] the Lord executed judgments. But Houbigant amends the word in this place, in the same way as he does that in Exodus. There appears also to be an allusion to this former judgment, Isai. xix. 1. Behold, the Lord shall come into Egypt, and the idols [ eileyley] of Egypt shall be moved at his presence. And in Jerem. xliii. 13. The houses of the gods [n batey elohey] of the Your shoes on your feet] This seems particularly men- Egyptians shall he burn with fire. The rabbins say, that tioned, because not customary. "The easterns throw off "when Israel came out of Egypt, the holy blessed God their shoes when they eat, because it would be trouble-threw down all the images of their abominations, and they some, says Sir J. Chardin, to keep their shoes upon their were broken to pieces."-When a nation was conquered, feet, they sitting cross-legged on the floor, and having no it was always supposed that their gods had either abanhinder quarters to their shoes, which are made like slip-doned them, or were overcome. Thus Egypt was ruined, pers: and as they do not use tables and chairs as we do and their gods confounded and destroyed by Jehovah.-See in Europe, but have their floors covered with carpets, they the note on chap. xi. 7. throw off their shoes when they enter their apartments, lest they should soil those beautiful pieces of furniture." On the contrary, the Israelites were to have their shoes on, because now about to commence their journey. It was customary among the Romans to lay aside their shoes It appears that, from the Jewish passover, the heathens borrowed their sacrifice, termed PROPTER VIAM. It was their custom previously to their undertaking a journey, to offer a sacrifice to their gods, and to eat the whole, if possible; but if any part was left, they burned it with fire; and this was called propter viam; because it was made to procure a prosperous journey. It was in reference to this, that Cato is said to have rallied a person called Q. Albidius, who, having eaten up all his goods, set fire to his house, his only remaining property. "He has offered his sacrifice propter viam," said Cato, "because he has burned what he could not eat." This account is given by Macrobius, Saturn. lib. ii. 2. edit. Bipont. vol. I. p. 333. and is a remarkable instance how closely some of the religious observances of the people of God have been copied by the heathen nations. Verse 11. And thus shall ye eat it with your loins girded] As in the eastern countries they wear long loose garments, whenever they travel, they tuck up the foreparts of their garments in their girdle, which they wear round their loins. Verse 13. The blood shall be to you for a token] It shall be the sign to the destroying angel, that the house on which he sees this blood sprinkled is under the protection of God, and that no person in it is to be injured. See on ver. 11. q Ch. 13 9 Lev. 23. 4. 5. 2 Kings 23. 21. Ver 21, 43 & Ch. 13. 10.-t Ch. 13, 6, 7. & 25. 15. & 34. 18, 25. Lev. 23 5, 6. Numb. 23. 17. Deut. 16. 3, 8. 1 Cor. 5.7. u Gen. 17. 14. Numb. 9. 13-v Lev. 23. 7, 8. Numb. 28. 18, 25.-w Heb. soul, x Ch. 13. 3-y Lev. 23.5 Numb. 28. 16. a 19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. d b 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be z Exod. 23. 15. & 34. 18. Deut. 16. 3. 1 Cor. 5. 7, 8-a Numb. 9. 13-b Ver. 8 Numb. 9. 4. Josh. 5. 10. 2 Kings 23. 21. Ezra 6. 20, Matt. 26. 18, 19. Mark 14. 12-16 Luke 22 7, &c-c Or, kidd Hebr. 11. 28.-e Ver 7-f Ver. 12, 13.-g Ezek. 9. 6. Rev. 7. 3. & 9. 4.-h 2 Sam. 24. 16. 1 Cor. 10. 10. Hebr. 11. 28. Verse 14. A memorial] To keep up a remembrance of mere purpose of religious worship. Such assemblies are the severity and goodness, or justice and mercy of God. called holy convocations, which is a very appropriate apYe shall keep it a feast-it shall be annually observed, and pellation for a religious assembly: they were called togeshall be celebrated with solemn religious joy.-Through-ther by the express command of God; and were to be emout your generations as long as ye continue to be a dis- ployed in a work of holiness: po mikra, convocation, tinct people-an ordinance, a divine appointment-an in- is a word of similar import with the Greek xxx, which stitution of God himself, neither to be altered nor set aside we commonly translate church, and which properly signiby any human authority. fies an assembly convened by public call. For ever] by npn chukath ôlam, an everlasting or endless statute, because representative of the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world; whose mediation, in consequence of his sacrifice, shall endure while time itself lasts; and to whose merits and efficacy, the salvation of the soul shall be ascribable throughout eternity! This, therefore, is a statute and ordinance, that can have no end, either in this world or in the world to come. It is remarkable that though the Jews have ceased from the whole of their sacrificial system, so that sacrifices are no longer offered by them in any part of the world, yet they all, in all their generations and in all countries, keep up the remembrance of the pass-over, and observe the feast of unleavened bread! But no lamb is sacrificed. Their sacrifices have all totally ceased, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Even the flesh that is used on this occasion, is partly roasted, and partly boiled, that it may not even resemble the primitive sacrifice; for they deem it unlawful to sacrifice out of Jerusalem. The truth is, the true Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, has been offered; and they have no power to restore the ancient type. See on ver. 27. Verse 15. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread] This has been considered as a distinct ordinance, and not essentially connected with the passover. The passover was to be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month; the feast of unleavened bread began on the fifteenth, and lasted seven days; the first and the last of which were holy convocations. Verse 17. Self-same day] sy beêtsem-in the body of this day, or in the strength of this day-probably they began their march about day-break, called here the body or strength of the day; and in Deut. xvi. 1. by night, some time before the sun rose. Verse 19. No leaven found in your houses] To meet the letter of this precept in the fullest manner possible, the Jews, on the eve of this festival, institute the most rigorous search through every part of their houses, not only removing all leavened bread, but sweeping every part clean, that no crumb of bread shall be left that had any leaven in it. And so strict were they in their observance of the letter of this law, that if even a mouse was seen to run across the floor with a crumb of bread in its mouth, they considered the whole house as polluted, and began their purification afresh. We have already seen that learen was an emblem of sin, because it proceeded from corruption: and the putting away of this, implied the turning to God with simplicity and uprightness of heart. See the note on ver. 8. and on ver. 27. Verse 21. Kill the passover.] That is, the lamb, which was called the paschal or passover lamb; the animal that was to be sacrificed on this occasion, got the name of the institution itself: thus the word covenant is put often for the sacrifice offered in making the covenant-so the rock was Christ, 1 Cor. x. 4. bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ, Mark xiv. 22, 24. St. Paul copies the expression, 1 Cor. v. 7. Christ our pass-over (that is, our paschal lamb) is sacrificed for us. That soul shall be cut off] There are thirty-six places, Verse 22. A bunch of hyssop] The original word in which this excision or cutting off is threatened against esob has been variously translated musk, rosemary, polythe Jews for neglect of some particular duty; and what is pody of the wall, mint, origanum, marjoram, and implied in the thing itself, is not well known. Some think HYSSOP; the latter seems to be the most proper. Parkit ineans a violent death: some a premature death; and hurst says it is named from its detersive and cleansing some an eternal death. It is very likely that it means no qualities, whence it was used in sprinkling the blood of more, than the separation from the rights and privileges the paschal lamb, in cleansing the leprosy, Lev. xiv. 4, 6, of an Israelite; so that after this excision, the person was 51, 52. in composing the water of purification, Numb. xix. considered as a mere stranger, who had neither lot nor part 6. and sprinkling it, ver. 18. It was a type of the puriin Israel, nor any right to the blessings of the covenant.fying virtue of the bitter sufferings of Christ. And it This is probably what St. Paul means, Rom. ix. 3. But is plain from Psal. li. 9. that the Psalmist understood its we naturally suppose this punishment was not inflicted, meaning. Among botanists, Hyssop is described as but on those who had showed a marked and obstinate con- genus of the gymnospermia (naked seed) order, belonging tempt for the divine authority. This punishment appears to the didynamia class of plants. It has under shrubby, to have been nearly the saine with excommunication low, bushy stalks, growing a foot and a half high; small, among the Christians: and from this general notion of spear-shaped, close-sitting, opposite leaves, with several the cutting off, the Christian excommunication seems to smaller ones rising froin the same joint; and all the have been borrowed. stalks and branches terminated by ercct whorled spikes of flowers of different colours, in the varieties of the plant. The leaves have an aromatic smell, and a warm pungent taste. The leaves of this plant are particularly recom Verse 16. In the first day--and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation] This is the first place where we meet with the account of an assembly collected for the "3 come to the land which the LORD will give you, | the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And according as he hath promised, that ye shall the people bowed the head and worshipped. keep this service. 28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote i Ch. 3. 8, 17.-k Ch. 13. 8, 14. Deut. 32. 7. Josh. 4. 6. Psa. 78. 6.-) Ver. 11. ra Ch. 4. 31.-u Hebr. 11. 28. mended in humoral asthmas, and other disorders of the breast and lungs, and greatly promote expectoration." Its medicinal qualities were probably the reason why this plant was so particularly recommended in the Scriptures. Verse 26. What mean ye by this service?] The establishment of this service annually, was a very wise provision to keep up in remembrance this wonderful deliverance. From the remotest antiquity, the institution of feasts, games, &c. has been used to keep up the memory of past grand events. Hence God instituted the sabbath, to keep up the remembrance of the creation: and the pass-over to keep up the remembrance of the deliverance from Egypt. All the other feasts were instituted on similar reasons. The Jews never took their sons to the tabernacle or temple till they were twelve years of age, nor suffered them to eat of the flesh of any victim till they had themselves offered a sacrifice at the temple, which they were not permitted to do before the twelfth year of their age. It was at this age that Joseph and Mary took our blessed Lord to the temple, probably for the first time, to offer his sacrifice.-See Calmet. Verse 27. It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover] We have already intimated, that the paschal lamb was an illustrious type of Christ; and we shall find, that every thing in this account is typical, or representative. 1. The bondage and affliction of the people of Israel may be considered as emblems of the hard slavery and wretchedness consequent on a state of sinfulness. Satan reigns over both body and soul, bringing the whole into subjection to the law of sin and death; while various evil tempers, passions, lusts, and irregular appetites, act as subordinate tormentors, making the lives of the vassals of sin bitter, because of the rigour by which they are obliged to serve. Reader, is this thy case? 2. The inercy of God projects the redemption of man from this cruel bondage and oppression; and a sacrifice is appointed for the occasion, by God himself; to be offered with particular and significant rites and ceremonies, all of which represented the passion and death of our blessed Lord; and the great end for which he became a sacrifice, viz. the redemption of a lost world from the power, the guilt, and the pollution of sin, &c. And it is worthy of remark, 1st. That the anniversary or annual commemoration of the passover was strictly and religiously kept by the Jews, on the day, and hour of the day, on which the original transaction took place, throughout all their succeeding generations. 2dly, That on one of these anniversaries, and, as many suppose, on the very day and hour on which the paschal lamb was originally offered, our blessed Lord expired on the cross for the salvation of the world. 3dly, That after the destruction of Jerusalem, the paschal lamb ceased to be offered by the Jews throughout the world, though they continue to hold the anniversary of the passover, but without any sacrifice, notwithstanding their deep-rooted, inveterate antipathy against the Author and grace of the Gospel. 4thly, That the sacrament of the Lord's supper was instituted to keep this true paschal sacrifice in commemoration, and that this has been religiously observed by the whole Christian world (one very small class of Christians excepted) from the foundation of Christianity to the present day! 5thly, That the Jews were commanded to eat the paschal lamb; and our Lord, commemorating the passover, commanded his disciples, saying, Take, eat, THIS is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of ME. In the communion service of the Church of England, the spirit and design both of the type and antitype, are most expressively condensed into one point of view, in the address to the communicant. "Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for THEE; and FEED upon him in thy heart by FAITH, with THANKSGIVING." Thus, God continues the memorial of that grand transaction which he has said should be an ordinance for ever; evidently meaning thereby, that the paschal lamb should be the significator till the passion and death of Christ; and that afterward bread and wine taken sacramentally in commemoration of his crucifixion, should 29 And it came to pass, that at midnight P the LORD smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the first-born of the cap o Ch. 11. 4-p Numb. 8. 17. & 33. 4. Psa. 78. 51. & 105. 36. & 133. 8. & 136. 10. r Ch. 4. 23. & 11. 5. Wind. 18. 11. be the continual representatives of that sacrifice till the end of the world. Thus the passover in itself, and in its reference, is an ordinance for ever; and thus the words of the Lord are literally fulfilled. Reader, learn from this, 1. That if thou art not rescued from the thraldom of sin, thou must perish for ever. 2. That nothing less than the power and mercy of God can set thee free. 3. That God will save thee in no other way, than by bringing thee out of thy sinful state, and from thy wicked practices, and companions. 4. That in order to thy redemption, it was absolutely necessary that the Son of God should take thy nature upon him, and die in thy stead. 5. That unless the blood of this sacrifice be sprinkled in its atoning efficacy and merits, on thy heart and conscience, the guilt and power of thy sin cannot be taken away. 6. That as the blood of the paschal lamb must be sprinkled on every house, in order to the preservation of its inhabitants, so there must be a personal application of the blood of the cross to thy conscience, to take away thy sins. 7. As it was not enough that the passover was instituted, but the blood must be sprinkled on the lintels and door-posts of every house, to make the rite effectual to the salvation of each individual; so, it is not enough that Christ should have taken human nature upon him, and died for the sin of the world; for no man who has the opportunity of hearing the Gospel, is saved by that death, who does not, by faith, get a personal application of it to his own heart. 8. That those who wish for an application of the atoning blood, must receive this spiritual passover, with a perfect readiness to depart from the land of their captivity, and travel to the rest that remains for the people of God: it being impossible, not only to a gross sinner, continuing such, to be finally saved, (however he may presume upon the mercy of God) but also to a worldly-minded man, to get to the kingdom of God: for Christ died to save us from the present evil world, according to the will of God. 9. That in order to commemorate aright, in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, the great atonement made for the sin of the world, all leaven of malice, bitterness, and insincerity, must be put away; as God will have no man to partake of this mystery who does not fully enter into its spirit and meaning. See 1 Cor. v. 7. 8. Ver. 29. Smote all the first-born] If we take the term first-born in its literal sense only, we shall be led to conclude, that in a vast number of the houses of the Egyp tians there could have been no death, as it is not at all likely that every first-born child of every Egyptian family, was still alive; and that all the first-born of their cattle still remained. And yet it is said, ver. 30. that there was not a house where there was not one dead. The word, therefore, must not be taken in its literal sense only. From its use in a great variety of places in the Scriptures it is evident that it means the chief, most excellent, best beloved, most distinguished, &c. In this sense our blessed Lord is called the FIRST-BORN of every creature, Coloss. i. 15. and, the FIRST-BORN among many brethren, Rom. viii. 29. that is, he is more excellent than all creatures, and greater than all the children of men. In the same sense we may understand Rev. i. 5. where CHRIST is called the FIRST-BEGOTTEN from the dead, i. e. the chief of all that have ever visited the empire of death, and on whom death has had any power; and the only one, who by his own might, quickened himself. In the same sense wisdom is represented as being brought forth before all the creatures, and being possessed by the Lord in the beginning of his ways, Prov. viii. 22-30. that is, the wisdom of God is peculiarly conspicuous in the production, arrangement, and government of every part of the creation. So Eph raim is called the Lord's FIRST-BORN, Jer. xxxi. 9. And the people of Israel are often called by the same name, see Exod. iv. 22. Israel is my son, my FIRST-BORN: that is, the people in whom I particularly delight and whom Í shall especially support and defend. And because the first-born are, in general, peculiarly dear to their parents, and because among the Jews, they had especial and peculiar privileges, whatever was most dear, most valuable, A. M. 2513. B. C. 1491. CHAP. XII. tive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. Cze 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. 34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. 35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: was not one dead; and according to their custom, all the family running out into the streets, bewailing this calamity! Verse 31. Called for Moses and Aaron] That is, he sent the message here mentioned to them; for it does not appear that he had any farther interview with Moses and Aaron, after what is mentioned, chap. x. 28, 29. and xi. 8. See the notes there. Verse 33. The Egytians were urgent upon the people] They felt much, they feared more; and therefore wished to get immediately rid of a people, on whose account they found they were smitten with so many and such dreadful plagues. Verse 34. They took their dough before it was leavened, &c.] There was no time now to make any regular preparation for their departure, such was the universal hurry and confusion. The Israelites could carry but little of their household utensils with them; but some, such as they kneaded their bread and kept their meal in, they were obliged to carry with them. The kneading troughs of the Arabs are comparatively small wooden bowls, which, after kneading their bread in, serve them as dishes, out of which they eat their victuals. And as to these being bound up in their clothes, no more may be intended than their wrapping them up in their long loose garments, or in what is still used among the Arabs, and called hykes, which is a long kind of blanket, something resembling a Highland plaid, in which they often carry their provisions, wrap themselves by day, and sleep at night. Dr. Shaw has been particular in his description of this almost entire wardrobe of an Arab. He says, they are of different sizes and of different qualities, but generally about six yards in length, and five or six feet broad. He supposes, that what we call Ruth's veil, Ruth iii. 15. was a hyke, and that the same is to be understood of the clothes of the Israelites mentioned in Verse 35. They borrowed of the Egyptians] See the this verse. See his Travels, p. 224. 4to. edition. note on chap. iii. 22. where the very exceptionable term borrow is largely explained. Verse 37. From Rameses to Succoth] Rameses appears to have been another name for Goshen, though it is probable that there might have been a chief city or village in that land where the children of Israel rendezvoused, previously to their departure, called Rameses. As the term Succoth signifies booths or tents, it is probable that this place was so named from its being the place of the first encampment of the Israelites. Six hundred thousand] That is, there was this numBut this was not the whole ber of effective men, twenty years old and upwards, who were able to go out to war. number, and therefore the sacred writer says, they were about 600,000; for when the numbers were taken about thirteen months after this, they were found to be six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty, without reckoning those under twenty years of age, or any of the tribe of Levi, see Numb. i. 45, 46. But besides those on foot, or foot-men, there were no doubt many old and comparatively infirm persons, who rode on camels, horses, or asses, besides the immense number of women and children, which must have been, at least, three to one of the others; and the mixed multitude, ver. 38. probably of refugees in Egypt, who came to sojourn there, because of the dearth which had obliged them to emigrate from their own countries; and who now, seeing that the hand of Jehovah was against the Egyptians, and with the Israelites, availed themselves of the general consternation, and took their leave of Egypt; choosing Israel's God for their portion, and his people for their companions. Such a company moving at once, and emigrating from their own country, the world never before nor since witnessed; no 227 doubt upwards of two millions of souls, besides their flocks |