the worshippers, and the instruments of
worship. The worship consists specially in _sacrifices,_ which are
offered up in honor of God. The instruments of worship refer to the
_sacred things,_ such as the tabernacle, the vessels and so forth.
With regard to the worshippers two points may be considered. The
first point is their preparation for Divine worship, which is
effected by a sort of consecration either of the people or of the
ministers; and to this the _sacraments_ refer. The second point is
their particular mode of life, whereby they are distinguished from
those who do not worship God: and to this pertain the _observances,_
for instance, in matters of food, clothing, and so forth.

Reply Obj. 1: It was necessary for the sacrifices to be offered both
in some certain place and by some certain men: and all this pertained
to the worship of God. Wherefore just as their sacrifices signified
Christ the victim, so too their sacraments and sacred things
foreshadowed the sacraments and sacred things of the New Law; while
their observances foreshadowed the mode of life of the people under
the New Law: all of which things pertain to Christ.

Reply Obj. 2: The sacrifice of the New Law, viz. the Eucharist,
contains Christ Himself, the Author of our Sanctification: for He
sanctified "the people by His own blood" (Heb. 13:12). Hence this
Sacrifice is also a sacrament. But the sacrifices of the Old Law did
not contain Christ, but foreshadowed Him; hence they are not called
sacraments. In order to signify this there were certain sacraments
apart from the sacrifices of the Old Law, which sacraments were
figures of the sanctification to come. Nevertheless to certain
consecrations certain sacrifices were united.

Reply Obj. 3: The sacrifices and sacraments were of course sacred
things. But certain things were sacred, through being dedicated to
the Divine worship, and yet were not sacrifices or sacraments:
wherefore they retained the common designation of sacred things.

Reply Obj. 4: Those things which pertained to the mode of life of the
people who worshipped God, retained the common designation of
observances, in so far as they fell short of the above. For they were
not called sacred things, because they had no immediate connection
with the worship of God, such as the tabernacle and its vessels had.
But by a sort of consequence they were matters of ceremony, in so far
as they affected the fitness of the people who worshipped God