Ceremonies

CEREMONIES. This word comes from the Latin ceremonia, which signifies the external rites and manner wherein the Ministers of Religion should acquit themselves of their sacred Functions. The true Worship of God, the essential Worship which he requires is the Sacrifice of our John iv. 24.Hearts and Minds. They that worship God, must worship him in spirit and in truth. Notwithstanding this no way hinders but that Ceremonies, and external Worship may make a part, and that too a necessary and essential one of Religion, when we conceive Mankind to be united in the same holy Society, and forming one Body of a Church or Religion, of what nature soever it may be¹. Without this their Religion would be nothing but Confusion, and their Worship would easily degenerate into Superstition, while every one followed only his own fancy or inclination:

By which means that Union and good understanding would be soon lost, which ought to be the Soul of it.

In the old Covenant, God first of all delivered the great Precepts of his Law, which included the essential obligations of Mankind towards God and towards their Neighbour. He prescribed no Ceremonies till afterwards. By this multitude of external Observances, he intended to check the Inclination, which the Hebrews discovered to Idolatry, and oppress them, as I may say, with the yoke of Ceremonies; that Acts xv. 10.hereby they might be induced to desire their Liberty with more ardour, and the coming of their great Deliverer. In the new Covenant, neither Jesus Christ, nor the Apostles, who were directed by his Spirit, have scarce any where injoined Ceremonies. They looked upon these as accessories only to Christianity; they were not ignorant, that this Religion, how holy and spiritual soever it might be, could not intirely be without them; but they thought they should be imployed as means only to keep up the internal Worship of God, and in condescention to the weaker part of Mankind.

The term Ceremony is to be met with often in the Vulgate of the Old Testament; but S. Jerom, who is the Author of this Translation, has not always used the same word to express the Hebrew, which he sometimes translates ceremonia; and indeed the Hebrews have not one which exactly signifies the same thing with the Latin, ceremonia. The words which Moses makes use of, signify Worship, Service, Ordinances, Statutes, Precepts; all Gen. xxvi. 5. he renders Levit. v. 15.which are sometimes translated ceremonia.

It is a great Question, whether the Ceremonies of the Jews are Imitations of those practised by the Egyptians, or those of the Egyptians on the contrary copied from the practice of the Jews. The Conformity which has in all times been observed between the Laws, Observances and Ceremonies of these two People, has divided the generality of learned Men. In the reign of the first Roman Emperors,² the Jewish and Egyptian superstitions were commonly confounded, and were equally odious to Strangers. Sir John Marsham³, and Dr. John Spencer⁴, both Englishmen, have attempted to prove, that Moses in many things imitated the Egyptians. Their Opinion has had many followers among the Learned.

It may be remarked at first view, that indeed there is a great deal of resemblance between certain Ceremonies which are common to both these people. And again, that in other particulars there is a very great difference, which appears to be even studied and affected. Besides, there seems to be a very great strangeness reciprocally between these two People, and notwithstanding a very great propensity in the Israelites, to imitate the Worship and Superstitions of the Egyptians, and in proportion a very strong passion in the Egyptians to introduce the Ceremonies of the neighbouring people into their Religion. These so opposite inclinations must have necessarily produced on one part many Laws and Ceremonies intirely opposite between the two Nations, and on the other many absolutely alike.

When after all, we come to an Examination of the Laws and particular Ceremonies of both People, there are certain Ceremonies to be distinguished, wherein Moses intended, out of condescention to the humour, inclination, custom, prejudices, and even hardness of the Hebrews Hearts, to permit, or disallow of certain practices, which were permitted or forbidden among the Egyptians; for example, he might have conform’d to them in the point of Habits and Ornaments peculiar to the Priests, in the choice of some Sacrifices, their Hair, Sex, Age, and manner of offering them: He might have borrowed something from the form of their Temples and Altars. So likewise as to the judicial Laws, there are many in use among the Hebrews, which seem to have been copied from those of the Egyptians. And the reason of this is easily to be understood: The Israelites continued for a long time in Egypt: They began to form a People in this country; they were obliged to follow the Laws of this Nation. Moses like a prudent and discreet Legislator, preserved many profitable, or even indifferent things, to which the People were accustomed, contenting himself with suppressing or condemning such Laws and Usages as were contrary to Justice, Modesty, and Religion.

Hence so many Regulations and Ceremonies were derived, the causes and motives whereof we are scarce able to discover, and so many others which seem frivolous, and of no importance to us. They are very wisely established, and very serious as to the design of them, which was to alienate the Hebrews from the opinions, customs and superstitions of the Egyptians, and to keep these two People at such a distance as was necessary to secure the Jews from Idolatry, and to cure them of their inclination to imitate the Worship and Abominations of the Egyptians. We do not enter here into a detail of the particular Ceremonies, Laws and Sacrifices of the Hebrews, there would be no bounds to such an undertaking; some Examples of them we shall produce in the course of this Work.

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