A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

VI. God was pleased now wonderfully to represent the progress of his redeemed church through the world to their eternal inheritance, by the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness, from Egypt to Canaan. Here all the various steps of the redemption of the church by Christ were represented from the beginning to its consummation in glory. The state they are redeemed from is represented by Egypt, and their bondage there, which they lost. The purchase of their redemption was represented •y the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, which was offered up that night that God slew all the first-born of Egypt. The beginning of the application of the redemption of Christ's church in their conversion, was represented by Israel's going out of Egypt, and passing through the Red sea in so extraordinary and miraculous a manner. The travel of the church through this evil world, and the various changes through which the church passes, in the different stages of it, was represented by the journey of the Israelite• through the wilderness. The manner of their being conducted by Christ, was represented by the Israelites being led by the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. The manner of the church's being supported in their progress, and supplied from the beginning to the end of it, with spiritual food, and continual daily communications from God, was represented by God's supplying the children of Israel with bread, or man•• from heaven, and water out of the rock. The dangers that the saints must meet with in their course through the world, were represented by the fiery s•ying serpents which the children of Israel met with in th• wilderness. The conflicts the church has with her enemies, were represented by their battle with the Amalekites, and others they met with there. Innumerable other things might be mentioned, wherein the things they met with were lively images of things which the church and saints meet with in all ages of the world. That these things are typical of things that pertain to the Christian church, is manifest from 1 Cor. x.11. "Now all these things happened unto them for ensampler, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." Here the apostle is speaking of those very things which we have now mentioned, and he says expressly, that they happened unto them for types; so it is in the original.