kind. This life of believing without seeing,—nay, often of believing
come, and that which is in part shall be done away. Thus faith judges and sifts everything by the word of God, and is in its turn judged, sifted, purified, by that word, so as to yield the richest fruit, and bring home to our souls the fullest and truest blessing.
5. They are thus subjected to discipline of the best and most effectual kind. This life of believing without seeing,—nay, often of believing against seeing,—is excellent training for every part of the new nature. It keeps the body under, while it lifts up the soul; it binds the flesh, while it sets free the spirit; it loosens us from the earthly, and fastens us to the heavenly. It is a divine school, or process of discipline, for every faculty of the renewed being; detaching intellect, imagination, feeling, more and more from the gross and the carnal, and familiarising them with, as well as assimilating them to, the pure and the spiritual. It calms us, too, and keeps us calm in a stormy world. It awakes us and keeps us awake, amid scenes fitted lull us asleep. It makes us more truly "children to of the light and of the day," by transporting us beyond this world of night and darkness, into the kingdom of the unsetting sun. It greatly increases, too, our longing for the day of sinless vision, when sight shall no longer be a temptation, nor the senses a snare, nor outward glory a hindrance to spiritual feeling, nor the works of God a screen, or wall, between us and God himself. It whets our appetite for the marriage supper of the Lamb, and in thus giving us a time of fasting, prepares us for the day of feasting. How much of true efficacious discipline turns upon our being kept from present vision, and compelled to believe without sight or sign; to live wholly by faith upon an unseen Christ, and in expectation of an unseen kingdom!
For all that we have spoken applies both to past and future. We see neither; the cross and the crown are both invisible; and in regard to both it is true, "Blessed is he that hath not seen, and yet hath believed.' The present want of vision is no loss to us now, and shall be no loss to us hereafter. Seeds require darkness to spring in; light injures; so we require the darkness of this world to spring in; light would interfere with our development and growth. We are to flourish
in light, but it is our day of darkness here that prepares us for this. Were it not for this day of darkness, this day of the absence of vision, we should be but half prepared for the day of light, and the realm of glorious day.
This is the church's day of faith, not of sight; for during her Lord's absence, she lives by believing, not seeing. Others have seen for her; and she believes what they saw. The disciples saw the death and resurrection for her; the prophets saw the glory and the kingdom for her; and she believes what they saw. She hears the report regarding the cross of Christ from those who saw it; and, believing, she says, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." She hears the report concerning the dying, buried, rising Saviour; and, believing it, she rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory. She hears the report of prophets concerning the resurrection from the dead, when the Lord returns to raise and glorify his own; and, believing it, she says, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" She hears the report concerning the future inheritance and kingdom; and, believing it, she exults in the prospect, tasting thereby a peculiar blessedness, which she could not have done in other circumstances, even though God had given her a glimpse of the third heaven itself, or dropped down upon her a gem of the New Jerusalem, as a specimen, or earnest, to sight and touch, of what its glory is to be.
Words like those of our text seem specially written for us in this day of absence, when we must be indebted to faith alone for the knowledge of everything connected either with the sufferings that are past, or the glory that is to follow. We need not ask for a sign; there shall no sign be given but the sign of the prophet Jonas; and, besides, the privilege of the church in this age is to live without any sign or vision, in simple faith upon the word of an unseen God. This is her blessedness and honour. By this she resembles most, and treads most closely in the footsteps of, the Son of God. By this she condemns the world, and crucifies the flesh, and bears witness to the power, the faithfulness, the love of God. For this witness of simple
faith, which so honours God, she is honoured of God; and receives from him a recompence of reward, both now and hereafter, corresponding to her testimony.
Let those who have already believed through grace, learn more of their true character; let them remember their testimony, and act according to it, and up to it. Live as believing men; God expects this at your hands. Ask no sign nor vision; ask no evidence of miracle without, or feeling within, to rest your faith upon. God has given you a true report concerning his Son, confirmed with infallible proofs. Let your faith rest simply there, in the absence of sense, or sight, or feeling, or sign, external or internal. Remember how it is written, "If thou shalt believe, thou shalt see." The vision will come in its due time, and it will be infinitely glorious; meanwhile, walk by faith, till the day break and the shadows flee away. For "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
Let those who have not yet believed nor tasted that the Lord is gracious, believe now. Wait not for signs without or movements within. Take the true testimony of God concerning his Son, and rest upon it. It is enough; and it is all true! See how true it is; and what a love it speaks of, what a salvation it announces! Believe, and be saved! But remember, that while "He that believeth shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned!"
SERMON XXVII
CONSECRATION BY BLOOD
"And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot."—LEV. 8:22, 23.
BY "the ram of consecration," is meant the ram by which Aaron and his sons were consecrated, or set apart for the service of God. The victim was selected by Moses, who was thus representing God. It was not Aaron and his sons who chose the sacrifice; it was God who made the choice for them, and presented the ram to them that they might put their hands on it, and in so doing, acknowledge it as God's appointed sacrifice, and accept it as their substitute.
Thus, the transaction of sacrifice is here, as elsewhere, shewn to be twofold. Moses, as acting for God, exhibits one part, and Aaron, as acting for the people, exhibits the other. Moses chooses; Aaron, in Israel's name, accepts the choice. Moses presents the ram; Aaron, in Israel's name, puts his hand on it, in token of laying sin upon it. Thus, in one sense, God lays our sins upon the sacrifice; but, in another, it is we who lay our sins upon it, when we bring them to it and confess them over its head. It is this latter part of the great transaction that is so fully brought out in the Book of Leviticus, and the other books relating to sacrifice. For though, in one aspect, Aaron represents Christ, in another, he represents, not Christ, but Israel, or the Church. This is especially the case when his sons are associated with him, and when he places his hands on the head of the sacrifice, and confesses sin upon it. He acts and speaks in the name of the people, confessing their sin, and laying it on the Lamb of God. He thus represents, not the Father, but the sinner accepting the sacrifice provided by the Father. He represents, not Christ, but the sinner bringing his sin to Christ, and taking him as his substitute and surety. The Father's act in laying sin on Christ, and our act in laying our individual sins on Christ, are two things not to be confounded, and neither of them to be overlooked.