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on the meal, which must every day be taken. The meal was 
to be every day the lesson of God, the life of the world, both 
in a physical and spiritual sense. The shedding of the blood 
of the food-animal was to be a picture, through special religious 
rites, of the centre of all religion—the death of Jesus Christ, 
the Life of the world. These points could be greatly enlarged 
upon, were it possible in this paper ; but we can only at once 
assume our own standpoint, that we have no clue whatever to 
the sacrificial system, or even the idea of sacrifice, except 
upon this statement—a statement which isa claim of history ; 
a statement of that the nature of which we cannot argue up 
to from @ priori principles, or hypotheses; but which we can 
test by the facts of history. 
Accordingly, we find that such a pictorial system was pre- 
served by all nations long after they had left their original 
home in Central Asia; as systems, and acts, and monuments 
always will survive, even though the origin and true meaning 
may have been long forgotten. It was, no doubt, because men 
forgot the original lesson of sacrifice, and Him who had 
‘appointed it, that the Mosaic Dispensation was a re-appoint- — 
ment of that system. The ancient features of such a system 
still live in India, and were there in the Vedic era; can be 
traced through the history of the human race; and are exactly . 
what we should expect in such remains. It is not my office 
here to maintain the doctrine of a vicarious offering for the 
sins of the whole world. I have only to look now at certain 
historical facts ; and the position I take is, that if an original 
revelation as to sacrifice, &c., were given similar in character 
and intention to that which we read in the Mosaic Dispensa- 
tion, the remains of the sacrificial system, and other religious 
monuments and observances, are 1n exact accordance with it. 
To take, first, the Scripture account of sacrifice as existing 
before the time of Moses. According to that account, sacri- 
fices were not originated under the Mosaic Dispensation. 
Jethro, before the institutions of Mount Sinai, ‘ took a burnt 
offering (olah) and sacrifices (zebachim) for God; and Aaron 
came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ 
father-in-law before God.” * These are the same words that 
are afterwards used for “offerings ” and “ sacrifices”? of the 
Mosaic Dispensation; and here 1s, not an ordinary, but no 
doubt a sacrificial feast, the old-world sacrament, ‘‘ before 
God.” Again, Jacob, on the eve of his memorable parting 
with Laban, “ offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his 
* Ex. xviii. 12. 
