Lev. 23:23–25.
[They had lately shewn an unhappy zeal in the service of a false god; and now they laboured to evince their gratitude to Jehovah, and to exalt the honour of his name. This desire filled the whole nation, and was the main-spring of those exertions which they now made.
And who must not acknowledge this to have been an object worthy their supreme attention? Survey the objects which occupy the minds of men, and to the pursuit of which they willingly devote their wealth and labour: the gratifications of sense, how mean are they, in comparison of that which now animated the Jewish people! the attainment of honour, or the acquisition of wealth, how empty are they in comparison of that nobler end which Israel pursued! Theirs was worth ambition, and might well provoke them all to holy emulation. To have Jehovah resident among them—to provide for him a suitable habitation—to have proper means of access to him, and of communications from him—and, finally, to possess before their eyes a pledge of his continued care, and his eternal love—this was as much beyond the poor objects of common ambition, as the contemplations of reason and philosophy exceed the dreams of children.
Happy would it be for us, if we all formed the same judgment, and were all penetrated with the same desire! — — —]
II. The operation—
[There are two things in their conduct which we cannot fail to notice, and admire; namely, their liberality and their diligence. No sooner did they know what things would be accepted, than they vied with each other in supplying them. Whatever any man possessed that could be applied to the projected structure, he deemed it instantly, Corban; and without hesitation consecrated it to the service of his God. Their ornaments, of whatever kind, were stripped off; all, both men and women, being more desirous to beautify the sanctuary of their God, than to adorn themselves. Each seemed to think himself rich, not in proportion to what he retained for his own use, but to the supplies he was able to contribute. The poorest among them were as glad to give their wood, their rams’ skins, or their brass, as the richest were their jewels and their gold.
Nor were they less solicitous to work, than to supply materials for working. The women engaged in spinning the goats’ hair and in embroidering the linen, while the men were occupied in forming the wood and metals for their respective uses. Those who could teach were as glad to instruct others, as others were to receive instruction: and all desired, in whatever way they could, to advance the work.
Now it is in this way that genuine religion always operates. The converts in every age are represented as coming unto God, “their silver and their gold with them:” and it is characteristic of them all, that they are “a peculiar people, zealous of good works” — — —]
III. The effect—
[Such was the conduct of all who were “wise-hearted,” and “whose spirits made them willing” to glorify their God: and the effect was, that, in a very few days, the abundance of the gifts exceeded the occasion for them; and it became necessary to issue through the camp a prohibition against adding any thing further to the store.
O what might not be done for the honour of God and the benefit of mankind, if all exerted themselves according to their ability! How easy would it be to erect places for the worship of God; to provide accommodations for the poor; to administer instruction to the ignorant, consolation to the troubled, relief to the distressed! Such an union of zealous exertions as we see exhibited on this occasion, would in a great measure drive affliction from the world, and turn into a paradise this vale of tears — — —]
IMPROVEMENT—
1. Let the cause of God be dear unto our souls—
[We have not, it is true, any such edifice to raise, and therefore may be supposed to have no such call for zeal and diligence. But is there not a spiritual temple which God desires to have erected for him, and wherein he may be glorified? Yea, is not that temple infinitely more dear to him than any which can be formed by human hands? The material tabernacle was only a shadow of that better habitation wherein God delights to dwell. Should not that then be an object of our concern? Should not the manifestations of his presence, and the establishment of his kingdom in the world, call forth our zeal, as much as the erection of that fabric in the wilderness did the zeal of Israel? Well may it shame the world at large, that every trifle occupies their minds, more than this: and even the people of God themselves have reason to blush, that their feelings are so acute in reference to their own interests and honour, and so dull in what regards the honour and interests of their God.]
2. Let us cordially and universally co-operate for the advancement of it—
[It is generally thought that the duty of propagating Christianity pertains to Ministers alone. But it is very little that a Minister can do without the co-operation of his people. Multitudes will never come to hear him, or afford him any opportunities of benefiting their souls: and the greater part even of those who do attend his ministry, gain little from it, for want of having the subjects which they hear impressed upon their minds in a way of private instruction. All should contribute, according to their ability, to advance the salvation of those around them. Masters should take the superintendence of their families, and parents of their children. The more enlightened among the people should endeavour to instruct their unenlightened neighbours. The visiting of the sick, the relieving of the needy, the conducting of Sunday schools for the benefit of the poorer classes, these, and such like works, should be regarded by all, both men and women, as their common province, and followed by all according to their respective abilities;. The people of Israel deemed it not so much their duty, as their privilege, to contribute to the raising of the tabernacle: and this is the light in which we should view our calls to exertion. Do any account it hard to sacrifice somewhat of their time and interest in such a cause? O “tell it not in Gath; publish it not in the streets of Askelon!” “Let not the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” Let us rather unite, all of us, with willing hearts, in the service of our God; and, “whatever our hand findeth to do, let us do it with all our might.”]
CXVII
THE TABERNACLE SERVICE COMMENCED
Exod. 40:1, 2.
The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
THE beginning of a new year is, not without reason, considered by Christians in general as a fit occasion for more than ordinary attention to religious duties. I say not, indeed, that the generality of Christians actually so employ that hallowed time; for, in fact, the whole season wherein we commemorate the incarnation of our blessed Lord is by the generality made rather a time for carnal mirth. But still, this is acknowledged by all to be rather an abuse of our religious privileges than a suitable improvement of them. There is in the minds of all a consciousness, that to review our past errors with penitence, and to prepare for a more diligent performance of our duty in future, is the proper employment of that period, when we are entering, as it were, upon a new scene of things. In my text, “the first day of the first month” was appointed by God himself as the time for commencing the services of the tabernacle, after the Israelites had abode in the wilderness nearly a whole year. Doubtless, both Moses and the various artificers had used great diligence to get every vessel ready for the service which it was destined to perform: and great exertion must have been made on the day here spoken of, wherein the tabernacle and all the vessels of it were not only got ready for their destined use, but were employed in the very service for which they had been formed. But the command of Jehovah animated the people on this occasion: and, I hope, their conduct will encourage us also to prosecute with becoming earnestness the labours which this season calls for at our hands.
For the advancement of this blessed object, I will set before you,
I. The work here assigned to Moses—
He was ordered now to set up the tabernacle with every thing belonging to it, and to commence the service of it. A pattern of every part of it had been shewn to him on Mount Sinai, and according to that pattern had every thing been formed. No less than eight times in this one chapter is it said, that he did every thing “as the Lord had commanded him” For all this care, both in relation to the pattern given him, and to the execution of it by himself and all under his command, there was, no doubt, a very important reason. The very injunction given him at the time of shewing to him the pattern, “See thou make all things according to the pattern shewn to thee in the mount,” strongly marked, that, in the divine mind, there was some very important end to be accomplished by it. What that end was we are informed in the Epistle to the Hebrews: The tabernacle itself, and all its vessels, were intended to be “an example and shadow of heavenly things,” that is, of the things revealed to us under the Christian dispensation. In a word, the law and its ordinances were intended to give a just representation of the Gospel and its mysteries; and the two were to accord with each other in every the minutest part, even as an impression with the seal by which it was made. Behold, then, here was the work assigned to Moses, namely, to give to the Jewish people such an exhibition of the Gospel and its mysteries as should suffice for them under that shadowy dispensation, and prepare them for that fuller manifestation which should be vouchsafed to the Church by the ministry of Christ and of his holy Apostles.
[The tabernacle itself was a representation of Christ, “in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,” and who in his incarnate state “dwelt (tabernacled) amongst usd.” The priests, the altar, and the sacrifices, shadowed him forth as “the Great High-Priest,” through whom alone we can come to God; and who, being himself the altar that sanctified the giftf, “offered himself a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world,” even “an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savourh.” The altar of incense also designated that same divine Saviour as ever living to make intercession for us. The candlestick also, and the table of shewbread, represented him as “the light of the worldk,” and as “the bread of life, of which whosoever eats shall live for ever.” The lavers too represented him as “the fountain opened for sinm,” in which every one “who washeth is cleansed from all sin.” The same may be said of every the minutest vessel in the sanctuary: they all shadowed forth the Lord Jesus in some part of his Mediatorial office. But I must by no means omit to mention the ark, in which the tables of the Law were placed, and which was covered by the mercy-seat of precisely the same dimensions, and which represented him as fulfilling the Law for us, and as obtaining mercy for all who should come to God by him. Now all of these, whether the vessels, or the persons who officiated in the use of them, “were anointed with oilq,” to shew, that even Christ himself, “being anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows,” had “the Spirit given to him without measure for the performance of his works;” and that no person or service can ever be “acceptable to God,” unless it be “sanctified by the Holy Ghost.”]
Let us next turn our attention to,
II. The corresponding work that is now called for at our hands—
We are now called, every one of us,
1. To realize in our minds the things here shadowed forth—
[The wonders of Redemption should occupy our attention every day: but on this day especially should we be coming to God in “that new and living way which Christ has opened for us through the veil.” We should go to the Lord Jesus Christ as our sacrifice, and as the altar that sanctifies that sacrifice, and as the priest that offers it. Under all the characters that have been before contemplated concerning him, we should apply to him — — — “receiving every thing out of his fulness.” From day to day, as long as the Jewish polity existed, were the various sacrifices and services of the Mosaic ritual renewed: and as long as the world shall stand, must we look to Jesus as here shadowed forth, feeding on him as our bread, washing in him as our laver, and living altogether by faith on him. Would to God that every one of you would this very day begin these services, if you have hitherto been strangers to them; or prosecute them with redoubled ardour, if you have already entered on this life of faith! — — —]
2. To get them spiritually wrought within our own souls—
[We have said that Christ was mystically shadowed forth in all the services of that day. And this is true. But it is also true that the life of God in our own souls was spiritually represented. Yes, Brethren, “we are temples of the Holy Ghost;” and “God will come down and dwell in usz;” yea, “Christ will dwell in our hearts by faith.” And in us are “the sacrifices of prayer and praise to be offered to him continuallyb.” In truth, we ourselves are to be living sacrifices to him; and, as an holy priesthood, we are to be offering ourselves to himd. Every faculty of our souls is to be sanctified to his service by the Holy Spirit, lightened by his light, and nourished by his grace. We are, in fact, to be “lights in this dark world,” and “witnesses for Jehovah, that he alone is Godf.” My dear Brethren, this conformity to Christ is at once our duty and our privilege: and to “grow up into him in all things as our living Head,” is the work of every day throughout our whole lives. Now, then, I call you to commence this work, if it be not yet begun; or to proceed in it with augmented ardour, if, through the grace of God, it be already begun in your souls. And for your encouragement, I will venture to affirm, that the tokens of God’s approbation which were vouchsafed to Moses, shall as really, if not so sensibly, be renewed to you; for “the glory of the Lord shall fill” your souls, and the most signal manifestations of his love shall abide with you, both in this world, and in the world to come — — —]
And now I APPEAL to you, whether this will not be a good employment for the season on which we have just entered?
[Who does not regret that he has lost so much time already? Moses, considering how many months had been consumed in the wilderness before he began his work, could not have well completed it before. But who amongst you might not have begun long before, and been now both serving and enjoying God in a tenfold greater degree, if he had duly improved his time, and prosecuted his work with unremitting care? Well; let it then be your endeavour now to “redeem the time;” that, if this be the destined period that is to put an end to your earthly existence, you may enter with joy into the presence of your Lord, and be for ever happy in the bosom of your God.]
CXVIII
ERECTING OF THE TABERNACLE
Exod. 40:33, 34.
So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
AN union of many hands and much zeal must of necessity expedite any work that is undertaken. So it proved in the constructing of the tabernacle; the whole of which, notwithstanding the exquisite skill and workmanship with which every part of it was formed, was in about the space of seven months completely finished, so as to be capable of being all erected, and brought into use in one single day. Such activity could not but be highly pleasing to God, in whose service it was employed. Accordingly we find that he immediately testified his approbation of it by a most astonishing act of condescension and grace.
That we may see the subject in its true light, let us inquire into,
I. The work here referred to—
This was the constructing of the tabernacle; a work of singular excellency and importance, whether it be considered in itself, or in its typical design. Let us view it,
1. In itself—
[It will be proper to notice briefly its form. There was a court about sixty yards long, and thirty broad, enclosed by linen curtains, suspended about nine feet high on brasen pillars. Within that, at the west end of it, was a structure, about eighteen yards long, and six broad, made with boards of Shittim wood, covered with gold, and fastened together by bars of the same materials. The boards were forty-eight in number, fixed in ninety-six sockets of silver, each of them about an hundred pounds weight. The whole was covered first with curtains of fine embroidered linen, and then with three other coverings, one of goats’ hair, another of rams’ skins dyed red, and another of badgers’ skins. This structure was divided into two apartments, called the holy place, and the holy of holies; the former being about twelve yards by six; and the latter six yards square, and as many high. The entrance to each of these was from the east, (as was that of the outward court also,) each leading to the other through a veil of embroidered linen.
The furniture of the whole was quite appropriate. In the outer court, (to which all clean Hebrews and proselytes had access,) was the brasen altar, on which the sacrifices were offered, and the brasen laver, in which the priests and Levites were to purify themselves. In the holy place (into which the priests were admitted) was the candlestick, the table of shewbread, and the altar of incense. In the holy of holies (where the high-priest alone entered, and that only on one day in the year,) was the ark, covered by the mercy-seat; on which abode the Shechinah (the bright cloud, the symbol of the Deity), between cherubim. In the ark the tables of the law were deposited: and at a subsequent period, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the golden pot that had the manna, were laid up before it.
We need not enter minutely into these things: it will be more instructive, after taking this summary view of the whole, to notice it,]
2. In its typical design—
[In interpreting the types, we must bear in mind that the greater part of them had reference to Christ in one view, and to his Church and people in another view. This was particularly the case with respect to the tabernacle.
it typified, in the first place, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord himself, speaking of his own body, says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” And in the Epistle to the Hebrews, his body is represented as that “more perfect tabernacle in which he ministered, and which was not made with hands, as the other was, but by the immediate agency of the Holy Ghostc.” The correspondence between the two is obvious: for “in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily:” and through his atoning sacrifice, and sanctifying grace, and prevailing intercession, we all are brought into a state of acceptance with God. On the other hand, as there was no way to the Mercy-seat but through the Holy Place, “so no man can now come unto the Father but by him.”
It further typified the Church, which, though mean without, “is all glorious within.” In that alone is any acceptable sacrifice offered unto God. In that alone are the sanctifying operations of the Spirit experienced. In that alone is the bread of life administered, or the light of truth exhibited. In that alone does God manifest his glory, or communicate his saving benefits. Hence the beloved disciple, speaking of the Church in the latter days, says, “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
Once more, it typified heaven also. Remarkable is the language of the Apostle, who says, “Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” There, not the symbol of the Deity, but all the glory of the Godhead, is unveiled. There the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving ascend up with a sweet odour unto God continually. There the illumination, the nourishment, the purity of every soul is complete. No veil obstructs the view, or forbids the access, of any individual: the beatific vision is vouchsafed to all, and the full fruition of their God is the portion of all the saints.]
If we judged only from the minuteness of the orders which God gave respecting this work, we should conceive highly of its importance: but still more shall we see it, if we consider,
II. The testimony of his approbation with which God honoured it—
[We must bear in mind that Israel had sinned a grievous sin; that, at the intercession of Moses, God had turned away from his holy indignation, and promised to continue with them as their God. In token of his reconciliation, he ordered this tabernacle to be made for him: and the very day it was erected, he came down visibly to take possession of it as his peculiar residence, and so filled it with his glory, that Moses himself could no longer stand to minister there. Now whilst this testified his approbation of their work, and of those who had been engaged in it, it shewed to all future generations, that He will return to those in lore and mercy, who return to him in a way of penitence and active obedience.
In this view, we are led to consider this event, not as relating to the Israelites merely, but as speaking to us. Where is the nation, where the church, where the individual, who has not given just occasion to the Lord to shut up his loving-kindness in displeasure? — — — Yet where is there to be found, in the annals of the world, one single instance, wherein God has turned a deaf ear to the supplications of a real penitent? Instances to the contrary are without number — — — And God, as in the history before us, has seemed ambitious, as it were, to make “his grace abound, not only where sin had abounded,” but (I had almost said) in proportion as sin had abounded — — —We must be careful not to “limit the Holy One of Israel,” whose “ways and thoughts are as far above ours, as the heavens are above the earth.” We are apt to forget that he is the same God now, as he was in the days of old: but “he changeth not:” and if his manifestations be less visible than formerly, they are not a whit less real, or less gracious.]
APPLICATION—
[The day on which this work was finished was the first day of the year. What a blessed commencement was it of the new year! How sweet must have been the retrospect to all who had been engaged in the work, when they saw that they had not spent the preceding year in vain! Each could call to mind some sacrifices which he had made for God, or some exertions used in his service: and they would enter on the new year with a determined purpose to serve and honour God more than they had ever yet done. Beloved Brethren, is it so with you? Have you in your consciences an evidence that you have lived for God, and made it a principal object of your life to serve and honour him? — — — But, however the past year may have been spent, bethink yourselves now what work you have to do for him, and how you may perfect it with expedition and care. And O that we may speedily have such a day amongst us as the Israelites enjoyed; all of us presenting to him our souls and bodies for his habitation, and receiving from him undoubted tokens of his favourable regard!]
LEVITICUS
CXIX
THE BURNT-OFFERING
Lev. 1:3, 4.
If his offering be a burnt-sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him.
THE institution of sacrifices may be considered as nearly coeval with the world itself. As soon as man had fallen, he needed an atonement; and an atonement was provided for him by God himself; who promised, that “the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head:” nor can we reasonably doubt, but that God himself, who, we are told, “clothed our first parents with skins,” appointed the beasts, whose skins were used for that purpose, to be offered up first in sacrifice to him. Whence, if God had not originally sanctioned it, should Abel think of offering up “the firsthngs of his flock?” and why should that very sacrifice receive such a signal testimony of the divine approbation? Even the distinction between clean and unclean animals was known before the flood; and an additional number of the clean were taken into the ark, that there might be wherewith to offer sacrifice unto the Lord, when the deluge should be abated. Abraham also, and Melchizedec, and Job, all offered sacrifices, before the Mosaic ritual was known: so that Moses did not so much introduce new institutions, as regulate those which had existed before; and give such directions respecting them, as should suit the dispensation which his ritual was intended to prefigure.
Sacrifices are of two kinds, propitiatory, and eucharistical; the one to make atonement for sins committed; the other to render thanks for mercies received. Of the propitiatory sacrifices we have an account of no less than six different sorts; (all of which are stated in the seven first chapters of Leviticus;) “the burnt-offering, the meat-offering, the sin-offering, the trespass-offering, the offering of consecrations, and the peace-offering.” It is of the first of these that we are to speak at this time.
We shall notice,
I. The offering itself—
[The burnt-offering was the most ancient and dignified of all the sacrifices, and at the same time the most frequent; there being two every day in the year, except on the Sabbath-days, when the number was always doubled. The things of which it consisted, varied according to the ability of the offerer: it might be taken from among the herd, or the flock, or of fowls: that so no one might have any excuse for withholding it at its proper season. By this accommodation of the offering to the circumstances of men, it was intended, that every one should evince the sincerity of his heart in presenting unto God the best offering that he could; and that no one should be discouraged from approaching God by the consideration that he was not able to present to him such an offering as he could wish. “The turtle-dove or young pigeon “was as acceptable to God as the “ram” or “bullock,” provided it was offered with a suitable frame of mind. Indeed the directions respecting the poor man’s offering were as minute and particular as any: which shewed, that God has no respect of persons; and that his Ministers also must at their peril be as anxious for the welfare, and as attentive to the interests, of the poorest of their flock, as of the most opulent.
One thing was indispensable; that the offering, whether of the herd or of the flocks, must be “a male, and without blemish.” It was to be the most excellent of its kind, in order the more fitly to shadow forth the excellencies of our incarnate God; who alone, of all that ever partook of our nature, was truly without sin. Had the smallest imperfection attached to him, he could not have been a propitiation for our sins. The utmost care therefore was to be taken in examining the offerings which prefigured him, that they might, as far as possible, exemplify his spotless perfection.]
II. The manner in which it was presented—
Here also we notice very minute directions respecting,
1. The offerer—
[He must bring his sacrifice “of his own voluntary will.” He must feel his need of mercy, and be very desirous to obtain it. He must see that no mercy can be found, except by means of a sacrifice: and he must thankfully embrace the opportunity afforded him; not accounting God his debtor for the sacrifice offered to him, but himself a debtor to God, for his permission to approach him in such a way.
He must bring his sacrifice to “the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord.” Whilst, in doing this, he acknowledged that the Lord dwelt there in a peculiar manner, he publicly, before all the people, acknowledged himself a sinner like unto his brethren, and needing mercy no less than the vilest of the human race. Not the smallest degree of self-preference could be allowed; but all must be made to see and feel that there was but one way of salvation for ruined man.
Further, he was to “put his hand upon the head of his offering.” By this significant action, he still more plainly declared, that he must perish, if ever his sins should be visited upon him; and that all his hope of acceptance with God was founded on the vicarious sufferings of this devoted victim.]
2. The offering itself—
[This must be “slain,” (whether by the offerer or the priest, is uncertain,) and its “blood be sprinkled round about upon the altar.” The slaughtered animal was then to be “flayed,” and “cut into pieces,” according to a prescribed rule: “the inwards and the legs,” which might be supposed to need somewhat of purification, were “washed,” and, together with the whole body, “burnt upon the altar.” The skin alone remained, as a perquisite of the priest. Do we not see in these things a striking exhibition of the sufferings of the Son of God, who was in due time to become a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world? Death was the wages due to sin, and that too under the wrath of an offended God. True it is, that the consuming of an animal by fire was but a faint representation of that misery, which we must to all eternity have endured; and of that which our blessed Lord sustained, both in his body and in his soul, when he died under the load of our iniquities.
The partial washing of the sacrifice might probably denote the perfect purity of Christ; or perhaps it might intimate the concurrence of the Holy Spirit, through whose divine agency he was fitted for a sacrifice, and by whose almighty aid he was enabled to offer himself up to God: for it was “through the eternal Spirit that he offered himself without spot to God.”]
III. The benefits resulting from it—
[”It was accepted for the offerer, to make an atonement for him.” As there were two kinds of guilt, ceremonial and moral, so there were two kinds of absolution, one actual in the sight of God, the other merely external and shadowy. We observe then in relation to these sacrifices, that they cleansed from ceremonial defilement really, and from real defilement ceremonially. There were certain things, not evil in themselves, but made so by the special appointment of God, (such as the touching of a grave or a dead body;) and the persons who had done them were to be accounted unclean, till they were purified in the way prescribed: and their observance of the prescribed forms did really purge them from the defilement they had contracted, so that no guilt would be imputed to them, nor any punishment inflicted, either in time or eternity. On the other hand, there were things really evil, (as theft or perjury,) which subjected the offender to punishment by the laws of man: now the guilt of these crimes was not purged away by the appointed sacrifices, any further than the exempting of the person from the punishment denounced by law: his conscience still remained burthened with guilt; and he must, notwithstanding all his sacrifices, answer for his crimes at the tribunal of God. This is the distinction made for us by God himself, who says, that “the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, did really sanctify to the purifying of the flesh:” but they “never could make a man perfect as pertaining to the conscience:” in that sense, “it was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats could take away sins.”
It may be asked then, What benefit was there to counter-balance the cost and trouble of the sacrifices? I answer, that an exemption from temporal judgments, whether inflicted by God or man, was a great benefit: but to be encouraged to come to God as a merciful and gracious God, and to have Christ so clearly and constantly exhibited before their eyes, was an unspeakable benefit, which would have been cheaply purchased by the cattle on a thousand hills.]
In this ordinance we may find,
1. Much for our instruction—
[Of all the subjects that can be offered to our view, there is not any that can bear the least comparison with that leading subject of the Gospel, Christ crucified: and I had almost said, that the New Testament itself scarcely unfolds it more clearly, than the ordinance before us. What would the most ignorant of the Jews imagine, when he saw the sacrifice led forth, the offerer putting his hand upon it, and the priest slaying it, and afterwards reducing it to ashes? Would he not see that here was a manifest substitution of an innocent creature in the place of the guilty, and that that very substitution was the means of reconciling the offender to his God? I will grant, that a person ignorant of the typical nature of those ordinances, might be led to ascribe the benefit to the ordinance itself, without looking through it to the sacrifice which it shadowed forth; but he could not be so blind as not to see, that acceptance with God was by means of a vicarious sacrifice. Yet, behold, we Christians, who live under the meridian light of the Gospel, need to be told, that we must be saved entirely through the atonement of Christ: yea, after all that a minister, or God himself, can say, the great majority of us will seek acceptance, in whole or in part, by our own righteousness. Go back to the Law: ask a Jew to teach you: let those whom you despise for their ignorance, be your preceptors. It is a shame and scandal that salvation by Christ is so little known amongst us, and that the preachers of it are yet represented as setting forth a “new doctrine.” Be instructed then, ye opposers of Christ crucified, who are yet ignorantly “seeking to establish your own righteousness:” learn, even from the Law itself, to embrace the Gospel: and “kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way.”]
2. Much for our imitation—
[Every one whose conscience convicted him of sin, offered, “of his own voluntary will,” the best sacrifice he could; grudging nothing whereby he might honour God or promote his own salvation. An irreligious man might have asked, ‘Wherefore is all this waste of cattle, which, instead of being consumed by fire, might be sold, or given to the poor?’ But the man who fears God, would reply, that nothing can be wasted which is in any way conducive to God’s honour and our salvation. This is the spirit that should animate us. We may be called to make sacrifices for God: our reputation, our interest, our liberty, our very lives, may be called for in his service: and shall we be backward to make the sacrifice? Alas! too many of us are rather for a cheap religion; and their chief anxiety is, to get to heaven at as cheap a rate as possible, and to sacrifice for God as little as they can: if they are poor, Their little can’t be spared; and if they are rich, Their victim is too costly. Away with such low and niggardly thoughts: let the large and liberal spirit of Christianity possess your souls: let nothing that you have endured, move you; nor any thing that you can endure: be willing to be bound, or even to die, for the Lord’s sake. As for your lusts, let them be sacrificed, and utterly consumed: the sooner they are mortified, the better. And those things, which, if not called for by God in the way of his providence, you might innocently retain, bring to the altar with your own hands, and, of your own voluntary will, offer them to God: spare not any thing one moment, if it stand in competition with your duty, and the maintenance of a good conscience before God. In a word, “present your own selves to him a living sacrifice; for that is your reasonable service; and it shall be accepted of your God.”]
CXX
THE MEAT-OFFERING
Lev. 2:1–3.
And when any will offer a meat-offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour: and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: and he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord: and the remnant of the meat-offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.
IN order to a judicious exposition of the types, it is necessary that we should have certain canons of interpretation, to which we should adhere: for, without them, we may wander into the regions of fancy, and cast an obscurity over those Scriptures which we undertake to explain. Now it must be remembered, that Christ and his Church, together with the whole work of salvation, whether as wrought by him, or as enjoyed by them, were the subjects of typical exhibition. Sometimes the type pointed more immediately at one part of this subject, and sometimes at another; and sometimes it applied to different parts at the same time. The tabernacle, for instance, certainly represented Christ, “in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily:” and it represented the Church also in which God’s presence is more especially manifested, and his service more eminently performed. The types being expressly instituted for the purpose of pre-figuring spiritual things, have a determinate meaning in their minutest particulars: and it is highly probable that they have always a two-fold accomplishment, one in Christ, and the other in the Church. For instance; every sacrifice undoubtedly directs our views to Christ: yet we ourselves also, together with our services, are frequently represented as sacrifices acceptable to him: which shews, that the sacrifices have a further reference to us also. But here, it is of great importance that we distinguish between those expressions of the New Testament which are merely metaphorical, and those which are direct applications of the types. St. Paul, speaking of the probability of his own martyrdom in the cause of Christ, says, “If I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.” Here he alludes to the drink-offerings, which were always poured out upon the sacrifices; and intimates that he was willing to have his blood poured out in like manner for the Church’s good. This, as a metaphor, is beautiful; but if we were to make the sacrifices typical of faith, and the drink-offerings typical of martyrdom, and from thence proceed to explain the whole type in like manner, we should bring the whole into contempt. The rule then that we would lay down is this; to follow strictly the apostolic explanations as far as we have them; and, where we have them not, to proceed with extreme caution; adhering rigidly to the analogy of faith, and standing as remote as possible from any thing which may appear fanciful, or give occasion to cavillers to discard typical expositions altogether.
The foregoing observations are particularly applicable to the subject of our present consideration. We apprehend that the meat-offering might be applied in every particular both to Christ and his Church: but in some instances the application would appear forced; and therefore we think it better to omit some things which may possibly belong to the subject, than to obscure the whole by any thing of a doubtful nature. Besides, there are in this type such a multitude of particulars, that it would not be possible to speak satisfactorily upon them all in one sermon, if we were to take them in the most comprehensive view: we shall therefore confine ourselves to such observations as will commend themselves to your judgment, without perplexing you by too great a diversity on the one hand, or by any thing fanciful or doubtful on the other.
That we may prosecute the subject in a way easy to be understood, we shall distinguish the meat-offering by its great leading feature, and consider it in that view only. The burnt-offering typified exclusively the atonement of Christ: the meat-offering typified our sanctification by the Spirit.
As for the meat-offerings which accompanied the stated burnt-offerings, they, together with their attendant drink-offerings, were wholly consumed upon the altar; but those which were offered by themselves, were burnt only in part; the remainder being given to the priests for their support. It is of these that we are now to speak. The different materials of which they consisted, will serve us for an easy and natural distribution of the subject.
The first thing to be noticed is, “The fine flour”—
[Whatever we see burnt upon the brasen altar, we may be sure was typical of the atonement of Christ: whether it were the flesh of beasts, or the fruits of the earth, there was no difference in this respect: it equally typified his sacrifice. This appears not only from the meat-offering being frequently mentioned together with the burnt-offering in this very view, but from its being expressly referred to as a means of expiating moral guiltb. It is on this account that we number it among the propitiatory sacrifices, notwithstanding its use in other respects was widely different. There is indeed, in the mode of treating this fine flour, something well suited to shadow forth the sufferings of Christ: it was baked (in a pan or oven) or fried, and, when formed into a cake, was broken and burnt upon the altar. Who can contemplate this, and not see in it the temptations, conflicts, and agonies of the Son of God? We cannot but recognize in these things, HIM, “who was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities;” who himself tells us, that “He was the true bread, of which whosoever ate, should live for ever.”
In the close of the chapter we are told, that, notwithstanding the first-fruits, when offered as the first-fruits, might not be burnt upon the altar, yet, if offered as a meat-offering, they would be accepted; and that in that case the ears must be dried by the fire, and the corn be beaten out, to be used instead of flour. The mystery in either case was the same: the excellency of Christ was marked in the quality of the corn, and his sufferings in the disposal of it.]
The next thing that calls for our attention is, “The oil”—
[Though the sacrifice of Christ is the foundation of all our hopes, yet it will not avail for our final acceptance with God, unless we be “renewed in the spirit of our minds,” and be rendered “meet for the heavenly inheritance.” But to effect this, is the work of the Holy Spirit, by whose gracious operations alone we can “mortify the deeds of the body,” and attain the divine image on our souls. Hence, in approaching God with their meat-offering, they were to mingle oil with the flour, or to anoint it with oil, after having previously made it into a cake. We do not deny but that this part of the ordinance might represent, in some respect, the endowments of Christ, who was anointed to his work, and fitted for it, by a superabundant measure of the Holy Ghost: but, as it seems designed more particularly to mark the sanctification of our souls, we the rather confine it to that sense. And in this we have the sanction of two inspired persons, a Prophet, and an Apostle, both of whom, refer to the mincha as expressive of this very idea. Isaiah, speaking of the conversion of the Gentiles in the latter days, says, “Men shall bring them for an offering (a mincha) unto the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering (a mincha) in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.” And St. Paul, speaking of that event as actually fulfilled under his ministry, goes yet further into the explanation of it, and says, that the sanctification of their souls by the Holy Ghost corresponded with the unction wherewith that offering was anointed: “I am,” says he, “the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.”
Here then we are warranted in saying, that all who would find acceptance with God, must “have an unction of the Holy One, even that anointing which shall abide with them and teach them all things.” We should “be filled with the Spirit,” and “live and walk under” his gracious influencesi.]
In a subsequent part of this chapter there is an especial command to add to this, and indeed to every sacrifice, a portion of “Salt,”—
[Here we have no difficulty; for the very terms in which the command is given, sufficiently mark its import: “Thou shalt not suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering.” Had salt been mentioned alone, we might have doubted what meaning to affix to it; but, being annexed to the covenant of God, we do not hesitate to explain it as designating the perpetuity of that covenant. It is the property of salt to keep things from corruption: and the Scriptures frequently apply it to the covenant, in order to intimate its unchangeable nature, and duration. In this view of it, we are at no loss to account for the extreme energy with which the command is given, or the injunction to use salt in every sacrifice: for we cannot hope for pardon through the sacrifice of Christ, nor for sanctification by the Spirit, but according to the tenour of the everlasting covenant. Nay, neither the one nor the other of these, nor both together, would have availed for our salvation, if God had not covenanted with his Son to accept his sacrifice for us, and to accept us also as renewed and sanctified by his Spirit. We must never therefore approach our God without having a distinct reference to that covenant, as the ground and measure, the pledge and earnest, of all the blessings that we hope for. Even Christ himself owed his exaltation to glory to this covenant: it was “through the blood of the everlasting covenant that his God and Father brought him up again from the dead.” And it is because “that covenant is ordered in all things and sure,” that we can look up with confidence for all the blessings both of grace and glory.]
Together with these things that are enjoined, we find some expressly prohibited: there must be “No leaven, nor honey”—
[Leaven, according to our Lord’s own explanation of it, was considered as an emblem of corruption either in doctrine or in principle: and honey seems to have denoted sensuality. Now these were forbidden to be blended with the meat-offering.
There were occasions, as we shall see hereafter, whereon leaven at least might be offered; but in this offering not the smallest measure of either of them was to be mixed. This certainly intimated, that, when we come before God for mercy, we must harbour no sin in our hearts. We must put away evil of every kind, and offer him only “the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” The retaining “a right hand or a right eye,” contrary to his commands, will be as effectual a bar to our acceptance with God, as the indulgence of the grossest lusts. If we would obtain favour in his sight, we must be “Israelites indeed, and without guile.”]
There was however one more thing to be added to this offering, namely, “Frankincense”—
[The directions respecting this were singularly precise and strong. This was not to be mixed with the offering, or strewed upon it, but to be put on one part of it, that, while a small portion only of the other materials was put upon the altar, the whole of this was to be consumed by fire. Shall we say, that this was enjoined, because, being unfit for food, it was not to be kept for mere gratification to the priests, lest it should be brought into contempt? This by no means accounts sufficiently for the strictness of the injunction. We doubt not but that its meaning was of peculiar importance: that it was intended to intimate “the delight” which God takes in the services of his upright worshippers, of those especially who come to him under the influences of his Spirit, trusting in the Saviour’s merits, and in the blood of the everlasting covenant. Yes, their every prayer, their every tear, their every sigh and groan, comes up with acceptance before him, and is to him “an odour of a sweet smell,” “a sacrifice pleasing and acceptable unto him through Jesus Christ.” As the sacrifice of Christ himself was most pleasing unto God, so are the services of all his people for Christ’s sake.]
There is yet one thing more which we must notice, namely, that a part only of this offering was burnt, and that
“The remnant” was given to the priests—
[The handful which was burnt upon the altar, is repeatedly called “a memorial:” and it was justly called so, especially by those who had an insight into the nature of the offering which they presented: for it was a memorial of God’s covenant-engagements, and of their affiance in them. Such also is, in fact, every prayer which we present to God: we remind God (so to speak) of his promises made to us in his word; and we plead them as the grounds of our hope, and the measure of our expectations.
“The remnant was given to Aaron and his sons.” This, to the Israelites, would intimate, that all who would obtain salvation for themselves, must at the same time be active in upholding the interests of religion, and promoting the glory of their God. To us, it unfolds a deeper mystery. We are frequently spoken of in the New Testament as being ourselves “made priests unto God.” Since the veil of the temple was rent in twain, there is a way, “a new and living way, opened for us into the Holy of Holies;” and all of us, as “a kingdom of priests,” have free and continual “access thither with boldness and with confidencex:” and we also have a right to all the provisions of God’s house. It is our blessed privilege to feed upon that bread of life, the Lord Jesus, who has emphatically said, “My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” We may richly participate all the influences of the Spirit, and claim all the blessings of the everlasting covenant. Indeed, “if we feed not on these things, there is no life in us; but if we live upon them by faith, then have we eternal life.”
Behold then, Brethren, “the remnant” of the offering: here it is, reserved for us in this sacred treasury, the book of God. Take of it; divide it among yourselves; eat of it; “eat and drink abundantly, O beloved;” eat of it, and live forever. It is that “feast of fat things,” spoken of by the prophet, which all of you are invited to partake of. Only let not any hidden abomination turn it into a curse. If the bread be received even from the Saviour’s hands, and you partake of it with an unsanctified heart, it will only prove an occasion of your more entire bondage to Satan, and your heavier condemnation at the lastb. But, if you “draw nigh to God with a true heart, and full assurance of faith,” “he will abundantly bless your provision,” and “your soul shall delight itself in fatnessd.”]
CXXI
THE MEAT-OFFERING A TYPE OF CHRIST
Lev. 2:13.
Every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering: with all thine offerings, thou shalt offer salt.
THERE certainly is need of much sobriety and caution in interpreting the typical parts of Scripture, lest, instead of adhering to the path marked out for us by the inspired writers, we be found wandering in the regions of fancy and conjecture. But there are some types, which, notwithstanding they be soberly explained, appear at first sight the mere creatures of one’s own imagination; which, however, on a more full investigation, evidently appear to have been instituted of God for the express purpose of prefiguring the truths of the Gospel. Of this kind is the ordinance now under our consideration: for the elucidating of which, we shall,
I. Explain the meat-offering—
The directions respecting it were very minute—
[Meat-offerings were annexed to many of the more solemn sacrifices, and constituted a part of them. But they were also frequently offered by themselves. They were to consist of fine flour, mixed with oil, and accompanied with frankincense. The quantity offered was at the option of the offerer, because it was a free-will offering. The wheat might be presented either simply dried and formed into flour, or baked as a cake, or fried as a waferc: but, in whatever way it was presented, it must by all means have salt upon it. It was on no account to have any mixture in it, either of honey, or of leavene. A part, or a memorial of it, was to be taken by the priest (but with all the frankincense), and to be burnt upon the altar: and the remainder was for the maintenance of the priest himself, as holy foodg. “When it was duly offered in this manner, it was most pleasing and acceptable to God.]
And this was altogether typical of things under the gospel dispensation.
It was typical,
1. Of Christ’s sacrifice—
[The meat-offering, or mincha, is often spoken of in direct reference to Christ, and his sacrifice. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, we have a long passage quoted from the Psalms, to shew that neither the meat-offering (mincha) nor any other sacrifice was to be presented to God, after that Christ should have fulfilled those types by his one offering of himself upon the cross. And it is of great importance in this view to remember, that though the meat-offering was for the most part eucharistical, or an expression of thankfulness, it was sometimes presented as a sin-offering, to make an atonement for sin: only, on those occasions, it was not mixed with oil, or accompanied with frankincense, because everything expressive of joy was unsuited to a sin-offering. This is a clear proof, that it must typify the sacrifice of Christ, who is the true, the only propitiation for sinl.
Now there was a peculiar suitableness in this offering to represent the sacrifice of Christ. Was it of the finest quality, mixed with the purest oil, and free from any kind of leaven? this prefigured his holy nature, anointed, in a superabundant measure, with the oil of joy and gladness, and free from the smallest particle of sin. Its destruction by fire on the altar denoted the sufferings he was to endure upon the cross; while the consumption of the remainder by the priests, marked him out as the food of his people’s souls, all of them being partakers of the sacerdotal office, a kingdom of priestso. The frankincense also, which ascended in sweet odours, intimated the acceptableness of his sacrifice on our behalf.]
2. Of our services—
[The services of Christians are also frequently mentioned in terms alluding to the mincha, or meat-offering. Their alms are spoken of as a sacrifice well pleasing to God, an odour of a sweet smellq. Their prayers are said to be as the evening sacrifice, that was always accompanied with the meat-offering: and the prophet Malachi, foretelling that, under the Gospel, “all men,” Gentiles as well as Jews, “should pray everywheres,” uses this language; “I have no pleasure in you (Jews) saith the Lord, neither will I receive an offering (a mincha) at your hand: for from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering (mincha); for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.” In a word, the conversion of sinners, and their entire devoting of themselves to God, is represented under this image: “They shall bring all your brethren, says the prophet, for an offering (mincha) unto the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering (mincha) in a clean vessel unto the Lord.” And St. Paul (alluding to the flour mixed with oil) speaks of himself as ministering the Gospel to the Gentiles, “that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.”
Nor is it without evident propriety that our services were prefigured by this ordinance. Was the flour to be of the best quality, and impregnated with oil? we must offer unto God, not our body only, but our soul; and that too, anointed with an holy unction. Was neither honey, nor leaven, to be mixed with it? our services must be free from carnalityz, or hypocrisy. Was a part of it, together with all the “frankincense, to be burnt upon the altar, and the remainder to be eaten as holy food? thus must our services be inflamed with divine love, and be offered wholly to the glory of God; and, while they ascend up with acceptance before God, they shall surely tend also to the strengthening and refreshing of our own souls.]
There is, however, one circumstance in the meat-offering, which, for its importance, needs a distinct consideration; which will lead us to,
II. Notice the strict injunction respecting the seasoning of it with salt—
It surely was not in vain, that the injunction respecting the use of salt in this, and in every other offering, was so solemnly thrice repeated in the space of one single verse. But not even that injunction should induce one to look for any peculiar mystery (at least, not publicly to attempt an explanation of the mystery) if the Scriptures did not unfold to us its meaning, and give us a clew to the interpretation of it.
The whole ordinance being typical, we must consider this injunction,
1. In reference to Christ’s sacrifice—
[Salt, in Scripture, is used to denote savouriness and perpetuity. In the former sense, our Lord compares his people to good salt, while false professors are as “salt that has lost its savour.” In the latter sense, God’s covenant is often called “a covenant of saltd.” Apply then these ideas to the sacrifice of Christ, and the reason of this reiterated injunction will immediately appear.
How savoury to God, and how sweet to man, is the atonement which Christ has offered! In the view of its acceptableness to God, and in direct reference to the meat-offering, it is thus noticed by St. Paul; “He gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.” And, as having laid, by his own death, the foundation of his spiritual temple, he is said to be “precious unto man also, even unto all them that believe.”
Moreover the efficacy of his atonement is as immutable as God himself. In this, as well as in every other respect, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.” The virtue of his blood to cleanse from sin, was not more powerful in the day when it purified three thousand converts, than it is at this hour, and shall be to all who trust in it.]
2. In reference to our services—
[Let the ideas of savouriness and perpetuity be transferred to these also, and it will appear that this exposition is not dictated by fancy, but by the Scriptures themselves.
A mere formal service, destitute of life and power, may be justly spoken of in the same humiliating terms as a false professor, “It is not fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill.” Hence our Lord says, in reference to the very injunction before us, “Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will you season it? HAVE SALT WITHIN YOURSELVES.” What can this mean, but that there should be a life and power in all our services, an heavenliness and spirituality in our whole deportment? We should have in ourselves, and present to Godm, and diffuse on all around us, a “savour of the knowledge of Christ.”
Nor is the continuance or perpetuity of our services less strongly marked: for in addition to the remarkable expressions of our Lord before cited, St. Paul directs, that our “speech be ALWAY with grace, seasoned with salt.” There never ought to be one hour’s intermission to the divine life, not one moment when we have lost the savour and relish of divine things.]
In order to a due IMPROVEMENT of this subject, let us reduce it to practice—
1. Let us take of Christ’s sacrifice, and both present it to God, and feed upon it in our souls—
[All the Lord’s people are “kings and priests unto God:” all therefore have a right to present to him this offering, and to feed upon it: both of these things may be done by faith; and both must be done by us, if ever we would find acceptance with God. Let us think what would have been the state of the Jewish priests, if they had declined the execution of their office. Let us then put ourselves into their situation, and rest assured, that a neglect of this duty will bring upon us God’s heavy and eternal displeasure. On the other hand, if we believe in Christ, and feed on his body and blood, we shall be monuments of his love and mercy for evermores.]
2. Let us devote ourselves to God in the constant exercise of all holy affections—
[All we have is from the Lord: and all must be dedicated to his service. But let us be sure that, with our outward services, we give him our hearts. “What if a man, having good corn and oil, had offered that which was damaged? Should it have been accepted? Or, if he had neglected to add the salt, should it have had any savour in God’s estimation? So neither will the form of godliness be of any value without the powerx; but, if we present ourselves, or any spiritual sacrifice whatever, it shall be accepted of God through Christ, to our present and eternal comfort.]
CXXII
GREEN EARS OF CORN TO BE OFFERED
Lev. 2:14–16.
If thou offer a meat-offering of thy first-fruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat-offering of thy first-fruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon. It is a meat-offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof. It is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
AS there was a great variety of offerings under the Law, such as burnt-offerings, peace-offerings, trespass-offerings, sin-offerings, meat-offerings, so was there a variety of those which I have last mentioned—the meat-offerings. Some of these were constantly offered with and upon the burnt-offerings: some of them were offered separately by themselves: and these also were of two different kinds; some of them being ordinary, and appointed on particular occasions; and others of them extraordinary, and altogether optional, and presented only when persons particularly desired to “honour God with their substance.” The ordinary and appointed meat-offerings are spoken of in the beginning of this chapter: the extraordinary and optional are spoken of in my text. It is to the latter that I would draw your attention at this time. And for the purpose of bringing the ordinance before you in the simplest and most intelligible manner, I will set before you,
I. Its distinguishing peculiarities—
In some respects this meat-offering agreed with those which were common—
[It consisted of corn: it was accompanied with oil: frankincense also was put upon it. A part of it and of the oil were burnt upon the altar, together with all the frankincense, as a memorial to the Lord: and the remainder of the corn and oil was given to the priests, for their subsistence.
Thus far it was an expression of gratitude to God for the mercies he had begun to impart, and of affiance in him for a complete and final bestowment of the blessings so conferred.]
In other respects it differed from those which were common—
[In the common meat-offerings the corn used was ripe, and ground into flour: but in this the corn was unripe, and incapable of being ground into flour, till a certain process had been used in relation to it. “The ears of corn were” cut when “green:” they were then to be “dried with fire:” and then were they to be offered in the way appointed for common meat-offerings.]
Contenting myself with barely specifying the peculiarities under my first head, I proceed to explain them under my second head; and to mark, in relation to this ordinance,
II. Its special import—
As far as its observances accorded with those of the common meat-offering, its import was the same—
[Burnt-offerings referred entirely to Christ, and shadowed forth him as dying for the sins of men. But the meat-offerings represented rather the people of Christ gathered out from the world, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and offered up upon God’s altar, as consecrated to his service, and inflamed with holy zeal and love, for the advancement of his glory in the world. In this view the Prophet Isaiah speaks of the whole Gentile world, who shall be consecrated to the Lord in the last day: “They shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.” (The Mincha, or meat-offering, is that which is here particularly referred to.) To the same effect St. Paul also speaks in the New Testament of this very conversion as actually begun under his ministry: “I am,” says he, “the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the Gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” Here is not only the same mention of the meat-offering as we observed in the Prophet Isaiah, but a more distinct reference to it as accompanied with oil, and as denoting the sanctification of believers by the gift of the Holy Ghost. This, then, may be considered as marking the import of this ordinance, so far as it agreed with the common meat-offerings.]
But so far as this meat-offering was peculiar, its import was peculiar also—
[We cannot, indeed, speak with the same confidence on this part of our subject as respecting the meat-offerings in general; because the inspired writers of the Old and New Testament are silent respecting it: yet I cannot but feel assured in my own mind, that “the green ears” are intended to denote the younger converts, who by reason of their tender age seem almost incapable of being so dedicated to the Lord. God would have such to be presented to him: and, that their supposed incapacity to serve him might be no discouragement either to them or us, they are ordered to be gathered in, that so they may be prepared for the honour that is to be conferred upon them. Additional pains are to be taken with them, in order to supply by artificial means, as it were, what nature has not yet done for them; and to God are they to be presented, without waiting for that maturity which others at a more advanced period of life have attained. They are not to be desponding in themselves, as though it were not possible for them to find acceptance with God; nor are they to be overlooked by others, as though it were in vain to hope that any converts should be gathered from amongst them. God would have it known, that he is alike willing to receive all; and that he will be glorified in all, “the least as well as the greatest,” in “little children, as well as in young men and fathersf.”]
Having elsewhere explained the different parts of the meat-offering, I forbear to dwell on them, having no intention to speak of that ordinance any further than it is peculiar, and appropriate to the present occasionh. But, as in that view it is very interesting,
I proceed to point out,
III. The instruction to be derived from it—
Assuredly it is highly instructive,
1. To Parents—
[Does it not shew you, that you should present your children to the Lord in early life? Yes; you should dedicate them to him even from the womb. See the examples of Hannah, and Elizabethk, and Lois, and Eunice: are not these sufficient to guide and encourage you in this important duty? And is it no encouragement to you to be assured by God himself, “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from itm?” I say, then, labour with all diligence to promote the spiritual edification of your offspring; and whilst they are yet so green and young as to appear incapable of serving God with intelligence and acceptance, devote them to him, in the hope that, with the oil and frankincense put upon them, they may prove an offering well pleasing to God, and may come up with a sweet savour before him.]
2. To Ministers—
[”The pastor after God’s own heart” will “feed the lambs,” as well as the sheep, of Christ’s flock. And we rejoice in the increased attention that has of late years been paid to the rising generation. But, after all, there is abundant occasion for augmented efforts in their behalf. Even the Apostles themselves had but very inadequate views of their duty in reference to persons in early life. When parents brought their children to Christ that he might bless them, the Apostles, judging that this was an unprofitable wasting of their Master’s time, forbade them. But our blessed Lord was much displeased with them, and said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” And who can tell what a blessing may attend the efforts of ministers, in reference to young people, even whilst the older and more intelligent reject their word? Certainly the appointment of the ordinance which we have been considering proclaims loudly the duty of ministers, and affords them all the encouragement that their hearts can desire.]
3. To young people—
[Persons in early life, though taken to God’s house that they may serve the Lord in his instituted ordinances, rarely imagine that they have any personal interest in any part of the service. They think that religion is proper for those only who have attained a certain age; and that it will be time enough for them to serve the Lord, when their understandings are more matured. But the corn cannot be too green, provided only “the ears be full.” There must be integrity, whatever be the age: for an hypocrite can never find acceptance with God. But as to intellectual capacity, God both can and will supply that to the youngest child in the universe that has a desire to surrender himself up to him: yea, “the things which are hid from the wise and prudent, he will reveal to babes; for so it seemeth good in his sight.” Nay more, to those in early life God has given an express promise, a promise made exclusively to them: “They that seek me early shall find meq.” Why, then, should young people despond, as though they were incapable of serving God? I have no hesitation in saying, that they are as acceptable an offering as can possibly be presented to the Lord: yea, in some respects God is more glorified in them than in persons at a more adult age; because the power of divine grace is more conspicuous in proportion as it is seen to be independent of man. Nor am I sure that such early monuments of divine grace do not render peculiar service to the Church; because their exhortations and examples are preeminently calculated to affect both the old and young: the old, as putting them to shame; and the young, as shewing them the practicability of God’s service even at their tender age. I say, then, that this ordinance is particularly instructive to the young, and should inspire them with a holy zeal to surrender up themselves to God at the earliest period of their lives.]
ADDRESS—
1. The young—
[Methinks I see you with your heads erect, and yourselves in all the greenness of early life; and I hear you saying, ‘Leave me to myself; at least leave me till many more suns and showers have brought me to a maturity better suited to your use.’ But no, my young Brethren; I would not leave you another day. God has appointed that the green ears be dried by the fire, and so be fitted for his use: and gladly would I use all possible means to qualify you for the honour to which he calls you: nor can I doubt but that, if you be willing, you shall be accepted of him. And think, I pray you, of the advantage of being consecrated to the Lord in early life: think how many sins you will avoid: think what an advance you may hope to have made in the divine life, whilst others are only beginning their Christian course. Above all, think what an honour it will be to serve the Lord; and what happiness to be regarded by him as his peculiar people. O, let me not speak in vain: but now vie, as it were, with each other, who shall be foremost in this blessed race, and who shall consecrate himself to God at the earliest period of his life. Happy am I to assure you, that the oil and frankincense are ready, and that the fire is already kindled on God’s altar. Only be willing to be the Lord’s, and this very hour shall your offering come up with acceptance before him.]
2. Those who are more advanced in life—
[If the green ears be sought for the Lord, surely you can have no doubt respecting the proper destination of those that are more matured. Affect, then, the honour which is now offered you, of being the Lord’s. And remember, that, as a part only of the offering was consumed upon the altar, and the rest was given to the priests for their subsistence, so must ye gladly give yourselves to the Lord for the advancement of his glory, and the establishment of his kingdom in the world. It is for this that so many suns have shone upon you, and so many showers have been vouchsafed: and know, that in giving to God, ye give only what ye have received from him; and that, instead of conferring any obligation upon him, the more you do for him, the more you are indebted to him. Yes, know, that if the honour to which we call you were duly appreciated, there is not an ear in the whole field of nature that would not be anxious to attain it. May the meat-offerings, then, this day be multiplied on God’s altar; and his name be increasingly glorified amongst us, for Christ’s sake! Amen and Amen.]
CXXIII
THE SIN AND TRESPASS-OFFERINGS COMPARED
Lev. 5:5, 6.
And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing. And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb, or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.
IN the words before us, the terms “sin-offering.” and “trespass-offering” are used as signifying precisely the same thing: and in the 11th and 12th verses the trespass-offering is thrice mentioned as “a sin-offering.” But they are certainly two different kinds of offering; though learned men are by no means agreed respecting the precise marks of difference between them. Indeed, almost all who have undertaken to explain them, confess, that they are not satisfied with what others have written upon the subject. The difficulty seems to lie in this; that the sin-offering seems to have respect to a lighter species of sin, and yet to require the more solemn offering; whilst the trespass-offering relates to considerably heavier offences, and yet admits of an easier method of obtaining forgiveness: for in the trespass-offering, pigeons or turtle-doves might be offered, or, in case of extreme poverty, a measure (about five pints) of flour: but in the sin-offering no such abatement, no such commutation, was allowed. This leads many (contrary to the plain letter of the Scripture) to represent the sin-offering as relating to the lighter, and the trespass-offering to the heavier, transgressions. But we apprehend that sufficient stress has not been laid on some peculiarities respecting the trespass-offering, which give by far the most satisfactory solution to the difficulties that occur in it. As for those things which the sin-offering has in common with the burnt-offerings or peace-offerings, we forbear to touch upon them, they having been already noticed in our discourses on those subjects: nor shall we enter very fully into the trespass-offering, because that is reserved for a future occasion. We shall contract our present discussion into as short limits as possible, by omitting all that would lead us over ground already trodden, and fixing our attention on those few points, which will mark the peculiar features of these offerings, together with their distinctive differences.
We will,
I. Compare them together—
They agree in many things, each requiring that the blood of an animal should be shed and sprinkled as an atonement for sin. But they also differ very materially,
1. In the occasions on which they were offered—
[The sin-offerings were evidently presented on account of something done amiss through ignorance or infirmity: but the trespass-offering was for sins committed through inadvertence or the power of temptation. Among these latter were sins of great enormity, such as violence, and fraud, and lying, and even perjury itself. There must of course be very different degrees of criminality in these sins, according to the degree of information the person possessed, and the degree of conviction against which he acted. It might be that even in these things the person had sinned through ignorance only: but, whatever circumstances there might be to extenuate or to aggravate his crime, the trespass-offering was the appointed means whereby he was to obtain mercy and forgiveness.]
2. In the circumstances attending the offerings—
[In the sin-offering, there was particular respect to the rank and quality of the offender. If he were a priest, he must offer a bullock; which was also the appointed offering for the whole congregation: if he were a ruler or magistrate, he must offer a kid, a male; but if he were a common individual, a female kid or lamb would suffice. The blood of the victim, in the priest’s offering, was to be sprinkled before the veil, and to be put upon the horns of the altar of incense; whilst the blood of the ruler’s, or common person’s sacrifice, was not sprinkled at all, nor put on the horns of the golden altar, the altar of incense; but was put on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering only, (that is, the brasen altar,) and poured out at the bottom of that altar.
In the trespass-offering, no mention is made of a bullock for any one, but only of a female kid or lamb: even turtle-doves or young pigeons might be presented; or, in the event of a person not being able to afford them, he might offer about five pints of flour, which would be accepted in their stead. This is the excepted case which St. Paul refers to, when he says, “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood.” Now thus far it does appear, that the heavier sins were to be atoned for by the lighter sacrifices: and this is the source of all the difficulty that expositors find in the subject. But there were three things required in this offering, which had no place in the sin-offering, namely, confession of the crime, restitution of the property, and compensation for the injury. Suppose a person had “robbed God” by keeping back a part of his tithes, (whether intentionally or not,) as soon as it was discovered, he must present his offering, confess his fault, restore what he had unjustly taken, and add one-fifth more of its valueg, as a compensation for the injury he had done. The same process was to take place if by fraud or violence he had injured a man. This gives a decided preponderance to the trespass-offering: and shews, that the means used for the expiation of different offences bore a just proportion to the quality of those offences.]
We shall now proceed to state,
II. What they were both designed to teach us—
The spiritual instruction to be derived from the sacrifices themselves, and the particular rites that accompanied them, we pass over, for the reasons before assigned. But there are some lessons of an appropriate nature which we may dwell upon to great advantage:—
1. Sin, however venial it may appear to us, is no light evil—
[There are many branches of moral duty which are regarded as of but little importance. Truth, though approved and applauded as a virtue, is almost universally violated in the way of trade, and that too without any shame or remorse. Who that has ever bought or sold a commodity of any kind, has not seen that character realized, “It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth” of the good purchase he hath made? He must know little of the world, or of himself, who does not know, that “as a nail sticketh between the joints of the stones, so does lying between buying and sellingk.” Nor is honesty deemed at all more sacred than truth. Persons who would not rob or steal, will yet run in debt, when they know that they have not the means of satisfying their creditors. They will also defraud the revenue by every device in their power; purchasing goods that have not paid the customs, avoiding stamps where they are positively enjoined, and withholding, where they think they can do it without detection, the taxes which by law they are bound to pay. Such is the morality of many, who yet would be very indignant to be called thieves and liars. But God has given them no such licence to dispense with his laws; nor do they applaud such conduct when they themselves are the victims of deceit and fraud. Let them know therefore, that however partial they may be in estimating their own character and conduct, God “will judge righteous judgment:” and that, if sins of ignorance and infirmity were not pardoned without an atonement, much less shall such flagrant sins as theirs. It is true, they may plead custom; but before they venture to rest upon that plea, let them be well assured that God will accept it.]
2. There may be much guilt attaching, where there is but little suspicion of it—
[It is supposed in the sin-offering, that priests, and rulers, and common individuals, and whole congregations, may have committed sins, without being aware that they have done so. And may not the same thing occur amongst us? Let ministers, the priests of God, look back; let them consider the nature of their office, the responsibility attaching to it, the multitudes who have been, and yet are, committed to their care; the consequences of a faithful or unfaithful discharge of their duty; let them then compare their lives and ministrations with the lives and ministry of Christ and his Apostles, or with the express injunctions of Holy Writ; will they find no sins which they have overlooked? Will they see no occasion for the atonement of Christ? Truly, if it were not for the hope of mercy which we have through his atoning blood, we should be of all men most miserable; so great is the guilt which the most diligent amongst us has contracted by his defective ministrations. Let rulers proceed to make similar inquiries respecting their diligence, their impartiality, their zeal: let them see whether they might not have promoted in many instances a more active co-operation for the suppression of evil, and for the propagation of true religion: will they see no cause for shame and sorrow, when they see how little they have done for God, and in what a degree they have borne the sword in vain? Let any private individual institute a similar inquiry into all the motives by which he has been actuated, the dispositions he has manifested, the tempers he has exercised, and the use he has made of his time, his property, his influence: will he find nothing to condemn? Lastly, let whole congregations or communities be made to examine the maxims embraced, the habits countenanced, and the conduct pursued among them: will there be no room for them to acknowledge a departure from the ways of God? Is society in such a state, that all which we see and hear will stand the test, if tried by the requisitions of God’s holy law?
Yet where are the consciences that are burthened with guilt? Where are the penitents applying to the blood of atonement? Are not the great mass of mankind, whether rulers or subjects, whether ministers or people, blessing themselves as having but little, if any, occasion to repent? Ah! well might David say, and happy would it be for us if it were the language also of our hearts, “Lord, who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from my secret faults!” And let none think that his ignorance is any excuse for him before God: for our ignorance arises only from inconsideration: and God expressly warns us, that that plea shall avail us nothing.]
3. The moment we see that we have sinned, we should seek for mercy in God’s appointed way—
[As soon as the fault or error was discovered under the law, the proper offering (whether sin, or trespass, offering) was to be brought: and, if the offender refused to bring his offering, his sin became presumptuous; and he subjected himself to the penalty of death. To infinitely sorer punishment shall we expose ourselves, if we neglect to seek for mercy through the atoning blood of Christo. The declaration of God is this; “He that covereth his sins, shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
But let us beware of one delusion which proves fatal to thousands: we are apt to content ourselves with general acknowledgments that we are sinners, instead of searching out our particular sins, and humbling ourselves for them. Doubtless it is right to bewail the whole state of our souls: but he who never has seen any individual evils to lament, will have but very faint conceptions of his general depravity. We should therefore “search and try our ways:” and not only say with Achan, “I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel,” but proceed with him to add, “Thus and thus have I done.” This is the particular instruction given in our text: the person who had transgressed any law of God. whether ceremonial or moral, was, as soon as he discovered it, to “confess, that he had sinned in that particular thing.” O that we were more ready to humble ourselves thus! But we love not the work of self-examination: and the evils which we cannot altogether hide from ourselves, we endeavour to banish from our minds: and hence it is that so many of us are “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”]
4. We never can be truly penitent for sin, if we are not desirous also to repair it to the utmost of our power—
[Certain it is that no reparation for sin can ever be made to God. It is the precious blood of Christ, and that only, that can ever satisfy the offended Majesty of heaven. But injuries done to our fellow-creatures, may, and must, be requited. If we have defrauded any, whether individuals or the public, it is our bounden duty to make restitution to the full amount: and, if we cannot find the individuals injured, we should make it to God, in the persons of the poor. To pretend to repent of any sin, and yet hold fast the wages of our iniquity, is a solemn mockery: for the retaining of a thing which we have unjustly acquired, is, in fact, a continuation of the offence. Let us make the case our own, and ask, Whether, if a man had defrauded us, we should give him credit for real penitence, whilst he withheld from us what he had fraudulently obtained? We certainly should say, that his professions of repentance were mere hypocrisy: and therefore the same judgment we must pass on ourselves, if we do not to the utmost of our power repair every injury we have ever done. Look at Zaccheus, and see what were the fruits of penitence in him: “Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wronged any man, I restore him four-fold.” See also the effect of godly sorrow in the Corinthian Church; “What indignation against themselves, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge, yea, what a determination to clear themselves” of the evil in every possible way! Look to it, beloved, that the same proofs of sincerity be found in you. Yet do not presently conclude that all is right, because you have made restitution unto man: (this is a mistake by no means uncommon:) the guilt of your sin still remains upon your conscience, and must be washed away by the atoning blood of Christ: that is the only “fountain opened for sin and uncleanness,” nor, till you are washed in that, can you ever behold the face of God in peace.]
CXXIV
THE TRESPASS-OFFERING A TYPE OF CHRIST
Lev. 5:17–19.
If a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass-offering unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred, and wist it not; and it shall be forgiven him. If is a trespass-offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord.
THE ceremonial law was intended to lead men to Christ, and was calculated to do so in a variety of ways. It exhibited Christ in all his work and offices, and directed every sinner to look to him. Moreover, the multitude of its rites and ceremonies had a tendency to break the spirits of the Lord’s people, and to make them anxiously look for that period, when they should be liberated from a yoke which they were not able to bear, and render unto God a more liberal and spiritual service. It is in this latter view more especially that we are led to consider the trespass-offering, which was to be presented to God for the smallest error in the observation of any one ordinance, however ignorantly or unintentionally it might be committed. In order to elucidate the nature and intent of the trespass-offering, we shall,
I. Shew the evil of sins of ignorance, and the remedy prescribed for them—
It is often said that the intention constitutes the criminality of an action. But this principle is not true to the extent that is generally supposed.
It is certain that ignorance extenuates the guilt of an action—
[Our Lord himself virtually acknowledged this, when he declared that the opportunities of information which he had afforded the Jews, greatly enhanced the guilt of those who rejected him. And he even, urged the ignorance of his murderers as a plea with his heavenly Father to forgive them; “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they dob.” St. Peter also palliated their crime upon the very same principles; “I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.” And St. Paul speaks of himself as obtaining mercy because what he had done was done ignorantly and in unbelief: whereas if he had done it, knowing whom he persecuted, he would most probably never have obtained mercy.]
But it is equally certain that ignorance cannot excuse us in the sight of God—
[A man is not held blameless when he violates the laws of the land because he did it unwittingly: he is obnoxious to a penalty, though from the consideration of his ignorance that penalty may be mitigated. Nor does any man consider ignorance as a sufficient plea for his servant’s faults, if that servant had the means of knowing his master’s will: he rather blames that servant for negligence and disrespect in not shewing greater solicitude to ascertain and perform his duty.
With respect to God, the passage before us shews in the strongest light, that even the slightest error, and that too in the observance of a mere arbitrary institution, however unintentionally committed, could not be deemed innocent: on the contrary, it is said, “He shall bring his offering; he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord.” Much more therefore must every violation of the moral law be attended with guilt, because there is an inherent malignity in every transgression of the moral law; and because man’s ignorance of his duty, as well as his aversion to duty, is a fruit and consequence of the first transgression. Hence is there an eternal curse denounced against every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them.
It is yet further evident that ignorance is no excuse before God, because St. Paul calls himself a blasphemer, and injurious, and a persecutor, yea, the very chief of sinners, for persecuting the Church, notwithstanding he thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus. And God declares that men perish for lack of knowledge, and that, because they are of no understanding, he will therefore shew them no favour.]
The only remedy for sins, how light soever they may appear to us, is the atonement of Christ—
[The high-priest was appointed particularly to offer for the errors of the people. And as soon as ever an error, or unintentional transgression, was discovered, the person guilty of it was to bring his offeringk, and to seek for mercy through the blood of atonement. There was indeed a distinction in the offerings which different persons were to bring; which distinction was intended to shew that the degrees of criminality attaching to the errors of different people, varied in proportion as the offenders enjoyed the means of information.
If a priest erred, he must bring a bullock for an offering; if a ruler erred, he must offer a male kidm; if one of the
common people erred, he must bring a female kid, or a female lamb, or, if he could not afford that, he might bring two young pigeonso. And, to mark yet further the superior criminality of the priest, his offering was to be wholly burnt, and its blood was to be sprinkled seven times before the veil of the sanctuary, and to be put upon the horns of the altar of incense; whereas the offerings of the others were to be only in part consumed by fire; and their blood was not to be sprinkled at all before the veil, and to be put only on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering. Further still, if a person were so poor as not to be able to afford two young pigeons, he might be supposed to have still less opportunities of information, and was therefore permitted to bring only an ephah of fine flour; part of which, however, was to be burnt upon the altar, to shew the offerer what a destruction he himself had merited. And this is the excepted case to which the Apostle alludes, when he says, with his wonted accuracy, that “almost all things are by the law purged with blood.”
But, under the Gospel, there is no distinction whatever to be made. We must now say, without any single exception, that “without shedding of blood there is no remission.” We need Christ as much to bear the iniquity of our holy things, as to purge our foulest transgressions: there is no other fountain opened for sint, no other way to the Father, no other door of hopex, no other name whereby we can be saved. Christ is “the Ram,” “caught in the thicketa,” if we may so speak, who must be our substitute and surety, whether our guilt be extenuated by ignorance, or aggravated by presumption.]
This point being clear, we proceed to,
II. Suggest such reflections as naturally arise from the subject—
A more instructive subject than this cannot easily be proposed to us. It leads us naturally to observe,
1. What a tremendous load of guilt is there on the soul of every man!
[Let but the sins, which we can remember, be reckoned up, and they will be more than the hairs of our head. Let these be added, which we observed at the time, but have now forgotten, and oh, how awfully will their numbers be increased! But let all the trespasses, which we have committed through
ignorance, be put to the account; all the smallest deviations and defects which the penetrating eye of God has seen, (all of which he has noted in the book of his remembrance,) and surely we shall feel the force of that question that was put to Job, “Is not thy wickedness great? are not thine iniquities infinite?” If we bring every thing to the touchstone of God’s law, we shall see, that “there is not a just man upon earth who liveth and sinneth notc;” and that “in many things we all offend;” so that there is but too much reason for every one of us to exclaim with the Psalmist, “Who can understand his errors? O cleanse thou me from my secret faults!” Let none of us then extenuate our guilt, or think it sufficient to say, “It was an errorf:” but let us rather humble ourselves as altogether filthy and abominable, as a mass of corruptionh, a living body of sin.]
2. How awful must be the state of those who live in presumptuous sins!
[The evil of sins committed ignorantly, and without design, is so great, that it cannot be expiated but by the blood of atonement: what then shall we say of presumptuous sins? how heinous must they be! Let us attend to the voice of God, who has himself compared the guilt contracted by unintentional, and by presumptuous sin; and who declares that, though provision was made under the law for the forgiveness of the former, there was no remedy whatever for the latter: the offender was to be put to death, and to be consigned over to endless perdition. Let none then think it a light matter to violate the dictates of conscience, and the commands of God; for, in so doing, they pour contempt upon God’s law, yea, and upon God himself alsol: and the time is quickly coming, when God shall repay them to their face; and shall beat them, not like the ignorant offender, with few stripes, but, as the wilful delinquent, with many stripesn. Let this consideration make us cry to God in those words of the Psalmist, “Keep thy servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me; so shall I be undefiled and innocent from the great offence.”]
3. How desperate is the condition of those who make light of Christ’s atonement!
[Under the law, there was no remission even of the smallest error, but through the blood of atonement. Nor can any sin whatever be pardoned, under the gospel dispensation, but through the sacrifice of Christ Yet, when we speak of Christ as the only remedy for sin, and urge the necessity of believing in him for justification, many are ready to object, ‘Why does he insist so much on justification by faith?’ But the answer is plain: ‘You are sinners before God; and your one great concern should be to know how your sins may be forgiven: now God has provided a way, and only one way, of forgiveness; and that is, through the atonement of Christ: therefore we set forth Christ as the one remedy for sin; and exhort you continually to believe in him.’ Consider then, I pray you, what the true scope of such objections is: it is to rob Christ of his glory, and your own souls of salvation. Remember this, and be thankful, that the atonement is so much insisted on, so continually set before you. Pour not contempt upon it: for, if “they who despised Moses’ law died without mercy,” “of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing?” Yes, to such wilful transgressors, “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation to consume them.”]
4. How wonderful must be the efficacy of the blood of Christ!
[Let only one man’s sins be set forth, and they will be found numberless as the sands upon the sea-shore: yet the blood of Christ can cleanse, not him only, but a whole world of sinners, yea, all who have ever existed these six thousand years, or shall ever exist to the very end of time: moreover, his one offering can cleanse them, not merely from sins of ignorance, but even from presumptuous sins, for which no remedy whatever was appointed by the law of Moses. What a view does this give us of the death of Christ! O that we could realize it in our minds, just as the offender under the law realized the substitution of the animal which he presented to the priest to be offered in his stead! Then should we have a just apprehension of his dignity, and a becoming sense of his love. Let us then carry to him our crimson sins, not doubting but that they shall all be purged awayt; and we may rest assured that, in a little time, we shall join the heavenly choir in singing, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, be glory and dominion for ever and ever.”]
CXXV
FIRE ON THE ALTAR NOT TO GO OUT
Lev. 6:9.
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar: it shall never go out.
IT is a matter of deep regret that religious persons do not enter more fully into the Jewish Ritual, and explore with more accuracy the mysteries contained in it. And I am not sure that Ministers, whose office properly leads them to unfold the sacred volume to their people, are not chargeable with a great measure of this remissness, in that they are not more careful. to bring forth to their view the treasures of wisdom that are hid in that invaluable mine.
Of course, it will not be expected that on this occasion I should attempt any thing more than to illustrate the subject that is immediately before me. But I greatly mistake, if that alone will not amply suffice to justify my introductory observation; and to shew, that an investigation of the Law in all its parts would well repay the labours of the most diligent research.
The point for our present consideration is, the particular appointment, that the fire on the altar should never be suffered to go out. I will endeavour to set forth,
I. Its typical import, as relating to the Gospel—
Every part of the Ceremonial Law was “a shadow of good things to come.” This particular ordinance clearly shews,
1. That we all need an atonement—
[This fire, which was to be kept in, was given from heaven: and it was given for the use of all; of all Israel without exception. There was not one for whom an atonement was not to be offered. Aaron himself must offer an atonement for himself, before he can offer one for the people. Who then amongst us can hope to come with acceptance into the divine presence in any other way? Our blessed Lord has told us, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And St. Paul assures us, that “without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” We must all, therefore, bring our offering to the altar; and lay our hands upon the head of our offering; and look for pardon solely through the atoning blood of Jesus. The fire, too, was for the daily use of all. And daily, yea, and hourly, have all of us occasion to come to God in the same way. There is not an offering that we present to God, but it must be placed on his altar: and then only can it ascend with a sweet smell before God, when it has undergone its appointed process in that fire.]
2. That the sacrifices under the Law are insufficient for us—
[Thousands and myriads of beasts were consumed on God’s altar: and yet the fire continued to burn, as unsatisfied, and demanding fresh victims. Had the offerings already presented effected a complete satisfaction for sin, the fire might have been extinguished. But the repetition of the sacrifices clearly shewed, that a full atonement had not yet been offered. In fact, as the Apostle tells us. they were no more than “remembrances of sins made from year to year;” and “could never take away sin,” either from God’s register of crimes, or from the conscience of the offender himself. Thus, under the very Law itself, the insufficiency of the Law was loudly proclaimed; and the people were taught to look forward to a better dispensation, as the end of that which was, after a time, to be abolished.]
3. That God would in due time provide himself a sacrifice, with which he himself would be satisfied—
[From the beginning, God had taught men to look forward to a sacrifice which should in due time be offered. It is probable that the beasts, with whose skins our first parents were clothed, were by God’s command first offered in sacrifice to him. We are sure that Abel offered in sacrifice the firsthng of his flock: and it is probable that fire was sent from heaven, as it certainly was on different occasions afterwards, to consume it: and that it was this visible token of God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice, that inflamed the envy and the rage of Cain. From Noah’s offerings, also, “God smelled a sweet savour,” as shadowing forth that great sacrifice which should in due time be offerede. To Abraham the purpose of God was marked in a still more peculiar manner. He was commanded to “take his son, his only son, Isaac,” and to offer him up upon an altar, on that very mountain where the Temple afterwards was built, and where the Lord Jesus Christ himself was crucified. The fire, therefore, that was burning upon the altar, and the wood with which it was kept alive, did, in effect, say, as Isaac so many hundred years before had done, “Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?” Yea, it gave also the very answer which Abraham had done, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering.” Thus, by keeping up the expectation of the Great Sacrifice which all the offerings of the Law prefigured, it declared, in fact, to every successive generation, that in the fulness of time God would send forth his own Son, to “make his soul an offering for sin,” and, by bearing in his own person the iniquities of us all, “to take them away from us.” In short, this fire, and every offering that was consumed by it, directed the attention of every true Israelite to that adorable “Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world,” and who in actual efficiency, as well as in the divine purpose, has been “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”]
4. That all who should not be interested in that great sacrifice must expect His sorest judgments—
[The victims consumed by that fire were considered as standing in the place of men who deserved punishment. This was clearly marked, not only by their being set apart by all Israel, and offered with that express view, but by the offenders themselves putting their hands on the heads of their victims, and transferring their sins to the creatures that were to be offered in sacrifice to God. The fire that consumed them was expressive of God’s indignation against sin, and declared the doom which the sinner himself merited at God’s hands; yea, and the doom, too, which he himself must experience, if sin should ever be visited on him. It declared, what the New Testament also abundantly confirms, that “God is a consuming fire;” and that they who shall be visited with his righteous indignation, must be “cast into a lake of firem,” where “their worm dieth not, and the fire never shall be quenched.” Methinks, then, the fire burning on the altar gave to every person that beheld it this awful admonition; “Who can dwell with the devouring fire? Who can dwell with everlasting burnings?”]
In considering this ordinance, it will be proper yet further to declare,
II. Its mystical import, as relating to the Church—
The different ordinances of the Jewish Law had at least a two-fold meaning, and, in many instances, a still more comprehensive import. The tabernacle, for instance, prefigured the body of Christ, “in which all the fulness of the Godhead dwelt;” and the Church, where God displays his glory; and heaven, where he vouchsafes his more immediate presence, and is seen face to face. So the altar not unfitly represents the cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified; and the heart of man, from whence offerings of every kind go up with acceptance before Godq. In the former sense we have its typical, and in the latter its mystical import.
Now in this mystical, and, as I may call it, emblematical sense, the ordinance before us teaches us,
1. That no offering can be accepted of God, unless it be inflamed with heavenly fire—
[When Nadab and Abihu offered incense before God “with strange,” that is, with common, “fire,” they were struck dead, as monuments of God’s heavy displeasure: “There went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them; and they died before the Lord.” And shall we hope for acceptance with God, if we present our offerings with the unhallowed fire of mere natural affections? Our blessed Lord has told us, that he would “baptize us with the Holy Ghost and with fire:” and every sacrifice which we offer to him should be inflamed with that divine power, even the sacred energy of his Holy Spirit, and of his heavenly grace. Let us not imagine that formal and self-righteous services can be pleasing to him; or that we can be accepted of him whilst seeking our own glory. Hear the declaration of God himself on this subject: “Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks! walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled: but this shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow.”]
2. That if God have kindled in our hearts a fire, we must keep it alive by our own vigilance—
[I well know that this mode of expression is objected to by many: but it is the language of the whole Scriptures; and therefore is to be used by us. We are “not to be wise above what is written,” and to abstain from speaking as the voice of inspiration speaks, merely from a jealous regard to human systems. True it is, we are not to attempt any thing in our own strength: (if we do, we shall surely fail:) but we must exert ourselves notwithstanding: and the very circumstance of its being “God alone who can work in us either to will or do,” is our incentive and encouragement to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” If we cannot work without God, neither will God work without us. We must “give all diligence to make our calling and election sure.” We must “keep ourselves in the love of Gody:” we must “stir up (like the stirring of a fire) the gift of God that is in us:” we must from time to time “be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain in us, that are ready to diea.” In a word, we must be “keeping up the fire on the altar, and never suffer it to go out.”
This, indeed, was the office of the priests under the Law; and so it is under the Gospel: and this is, indeed, the very end at which we aim in all our ministrations. We never kindled a fire in any of your hearts; nor ever could: that was God’s work alone. But we would bring the word, and lay it on the altar of your hearts; and endeavour to fan the flame; that so the fire may burn more pure and ardent, and every offering which you present before God may go up with acceptance before him. But let me say, that, under the Christian dispensation, ye all are “a royal priesthood:” there is now no difference between Jew and Greek, or between male and female: ye therefore must from morning to evening, and from evening to morning, be bringing fresh fuel to the fire; by reading, by meditation, by prayer, by conversation, by an attendance on social and public ordinances, by visiting the sick, and by whatever may have a tendency to quicken and augment the life of God in your souls. The sacred fire must either languish or increase: it never can continue long in the same state. See to it, then, that you “grow in grace,” and “look to yourselves that ye lose not the things that ye have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward.”]
3. That every sacrifice which we offer in God’s appointed way shall surely be accepted of him—
[There is the fire: see it blazing on the altar. Wherefore is it thus kept up? kept up, too, by God’s express command? Wherefore? that ye may know assuredly that God is there, ready to accept your every offering. You think, perhaps, that you have no offering worthy of his acceptance. But do you not know, that he who was not able to bring a kid, or a lamb, or even two young pigeons, might bring a small measure of fine flour; and that that should be burnt upon the altar for him, and be accepted as an atonement instead of a slaughtered animal? Be assured, that the sigh, the tear, the groan shall come up with acceptance before him, as much as the most fluent prayer that ever was offered; and that the widow’s mite will be found no less valuable in his sight, than the richest offerings of the great and wealthy. Only do ye “draw near to God;” and be assured, “He will draw near to you:” and, as he gave to his people formerly some visible tokens of his acceptance, so will he give to you the invisible, but not less real, manifestations of his love and favour, “shedding abroad his love in your hearts,” giving you “the witness of his Spirit” in your souls, and “sealing you with the Holy Spirit of promise as the earnest of your inheritance, until the time of your complete redemption.”]
IN CONCLUDING this subject, I would yet further say,
1. Look to the great atonement as your only hope—
[I wish you very particularly to notice when it was that God sent down this fire upon the altar. It was when Aaron had offered a sacrifice for his own sins, and a sacrifice also for the sins of the people. It was. then, whilst a part of the latter sacrifice was yet unconsumed upon the altar, that God sent down fire from heaven and consumed it instantly. When this universal acknowledgment had been made of their affiance in the great atonement, then God honoured them with this signal token of his acceptance. And it is only when you come to him in the name of Christ, pleading the merit of his blood, and “desiring to be found in him, not having your own righteousness but his,” it is then I say, and then only, that you can expect from God an answer of peace. It is of great importance that you notice this: for many persons are looking first to receive some token of his love, that they may afterwards be emboldened to come to him through Christ. But you must first come to him through Christ: and then “he will send the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, whereby you shall cry, Abba, Father.”]
2. Surrender up yourselves as living sacrifices unto God—
[On the Jewish altar slain beasts were offered: under the Christian dispensation you must offer yourselves, your whole selves, body, soul, and spirit, a living sacrifice unto the Lord. This is the sacrifice which God looks for; and this alone he will accept. This too, I may add, is your reasonable service. This must precede every other offering. A divided heart God will never accept. Let the whole soul be his; and there shall not be any offering which you can present, which shall not receive a testimony of his approbation here, and an abundant recompence hereafter: for, “if there be only a willing mind, it shall be accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”]
CXXVI
THE PEACE-OFFERING
Lev. 7:11.
This is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings.
IN the order in which the different offerings are spoken of, the peace-offering occurs the third; but, in the third chapter, the law of the peace-offerings is no further stated than it accords with the burnt-offering; and the fuller statement is reserved for the passage before us. Hence in the enumeration of the different offerings in verse 37, the peace-offering is fitly mentioned last. That we may mark the more accurately its distinguishing features, we shall state,
I. The particular prescriptions of this law—
Many of them were common to those of the burnt-offering; the sacrifices might be taken from the herd or from the flock: the offerer was to bring it to the door of the tabernacle, and to put his hands upon it: there it was to be killed; its blood was to be sprinkled upon the altar, and its flesh, in part at least, was to be burnt upon the altar. Of these things we have spoken before; and therefore forbear to dwell upon them now.
But there were many other prescriptions peculiar to the peace-offering; and to these we will now turn our attention. We notice,
1. The matter of which they consisted—
[Though the sacrifices might be of the herd or of the flock, they could not be of fowls: a turtle-dove or pigeon could not on this occasion be offered. In the burnt-offering, males only could be presented; but here it might be either male or female. In the meat-offering, either cakes or wafers might be offered; but here must be both cakes and wafers: in the former case, leaven was absolutely prohibited; but here it was enjoined; leavened bread was to be used, as well as the unleavened cakes and wafers.]
2. The manner in which they were offered—
[Particular directions were given both with respect to the division of them, and the consumption. The meat-offering was divided only between the altar and the priests: but, in the peace-offering, the offerer himself had far the greatest share. God, who was in these things represented by the altar, had the fat, the kidneys, and the caul, which were consumed by fire. The priest who burned the fat was to have the breast and the right shoulder: the breast was to be waved by him to and fro, and the shoulder was to be heaved upwards by him towards heaven. By these two significant actions, God was acknowledged both as the Governor of the universe, and as the source of all good to all his creatures: and from them these portions were called “the wave-breast, and the heave-shoulder.” One of the cakes also was given to the priest who sprinkled the blood upon the altar, who, after heaving it before the Lord, was to have it for his own used. All the remainder of the offering, as well of the animal as the vegetable parts of it, belonged to the offerer; who together with his friends might eat it in their own tents. Two cautions however they were to observe; the one was, that the persons partaking of it must be “clean,” (that is, have no ceremonial uncleanness upon them;) and they must eat it within the time prescribed.
We will not interrupt our statement by any practical explanations, lest we render it perplexed: but shall endeavour to get a clear comprehensive view of the subject, and then make a suitable improvement of it.]
Let us proceed then to notice,
II. The occasions whereon the offering was made—
There were some fixed by the divine appointment, and some altogether optional. The fixed occasions were, at the consecration of the priests; at the expiration of the Nazarites’ vowf; at the dedication of the tabernacle and temple; and at the feast of firstfruitsh. But besides these, the people were at liberty to offer them whenever a sense of gratitude or of need inclined them to it. They were offered,
1. As acknowledgments of mercies received—
[It could not fail but they must sometimes feel their obligations to God for his manifold mercies: and here was a way appointed wherein they might render unto God the honour due unto his name. In the 107th Psalm we have a variety of occurrences mentioned, wherein God’s interposition might be seen: for instance, in bringing men safely to their homes after having encountered considerable difficulties and dangers: in redeeming them from prison or captivity, after they had by their own faults or follies reduced themselves to misery: in recovering persons from sickness, after they had been brought down to the chambers of the grave: in preserving mariners from storms and shipwreck: in public, family, or personal mercies of any kind. For any of these David says, “Let them sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.”]
2. As supplications for mercies desired—
[These might be offered either as free-will offerings, or as vows; between which there was a material difference; the one expressing more of an ingenuous spirit, the other arising rather from fear and terror. We have a striking instance of the former, in the case of the eleven tribes, who, from a zeal for God’s honour, had undertaken to punish, the Benjamites for the horrible wickedness they had committed. Twice had the confederate tribes gone up against the Benjamites, and twice been repulsed, with the loss of forty thousand men: but being still desirous to know and do the will of God in this matter, (for it was God’s quarrel only that they were avenging,) “they went up to the house of God, and wept and fasted until even, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings unto the Lord:” and then God delivered the Benjamites into their hand; so that, with the exception of six hundred only, who fled, the whole tribe of Benjamin, both male and female, was extirpated.
Of the latter kind, namely, the vows, we have an instance in Jonah and the mariners, when overtaken with the storm. Jonah doubtless had proposed this expedient to the seamen, who, though heathens, readily adopted it in concert with him, hoping thereby to obtain deliverance from the destruction that threatened them. And to the particular vows made on that occasion, Jonah had respect in the thanksgiving he offered after his deliveranceo.
Between the peace-offerings which were presented as thanksgivings, and those presented in supplication before God, there was a marked difference: the tribute of love and gratitude was far more pleasing to God, as arguing a more heavenly frame of mind: and, in consequence of its superior excellence, the sacrifice that was offered as a thanksgiving must be eaten, on the tame day; whereas the sacrifice offered as a VOW or voluntary offering, might, as being less holy, be eaten also on the second day. But, if any was left to the third day, it must be consumed by fire.]
Having stated the principal peculiarities of this law, we shall now come to its PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT. We may find in it abundant matter,
1. For reproof—
[The Jews, if they wished to express their humiliation or gratitude in the way appointed by the law, were under the necessity of yielding up a part of their property (perhaps at a time when they could but ill afford it in sacrifice to God. But no such necessity is imposed on us: “God has not made us to serve with an offering, nor wearied us with incense:” the offerings he requires of us are altogether spiritual: it is “the offering of a free heart,” or “of a broken and contrite spirit,” that he desires of us; and that he will accept in preference to “the cattle upon a thousand hills.” Well therefore may it be expected that we have approached God with the language of the Psalmist, “Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will offerings of my mouth.” But has this been the case? Have our sins brought us unto God in humiliation: our necessities, in prayer; our mercies, in thankfulness? What excuse have we for our neglects? These sacrifices required no expense of property, and but little of time. Moreover, we should never have brought our sacrifice, without feasting on it ourselves. Think, if there had not been in us a sad aversion to communion with God, what numberless occasions we have had for drawing nigh to him in this way! Surely every beast that was ever slaughtered on those occasions, and every portion that was ever offered, will appear in judgment against us to condemn our ingratitude and obduracy!— — —]
2. For direction—
[Whether the peace-offering was presented in a way of thanksgiving or of supplication, it equally began with a sacrifice in the way of atonement. Thus, whatever be the frame of our minds, and whatever service we render unto God, we must invariably fix our minds on the atonement of Christ, as the only means whereby either our persons or our services can obtain acceptance with God. Moreover, having occasion to offer sacrifice, we must do it without delay, even as the offerers were to eat their offerings in the time appointed— — — We must be attentive too to our after-conduct, “lest we lose the things that we have wrought, instead of receiving a full reward.” However carefully the offerers had observed the law before, yet, if any one presumed to eat the smallest portion of his offering on the third day, instead of being accepted of God, his offering was utterly rejected; and he was considered as having committed a deadly sint. O that those who spend a few days in what is called ‘preparing themselves’ for the Lord’s supper, and after receiving it return to the same worldly courses as before, would consider this! for no service can be pleasing to God which does not issue in an immediate renunciation of every evil way, and a determined, unreserved, and abiding surrender of the soul to God. In coming to God, we must, at least in purpose and intention, be “clean;” else we only mock God, and deceive our own soul: and, after having come to him, we must proceed to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Godx.”]
3. For encouragement—
[On these occasions a female offering was received, as well as a male, and leavened bread together with the unleavened. What a blessed intimation was here, that “God will not be extreme to mark what is done amiss!” A similar intimation is given us in his acceptance of a mutilated or defective beast, when presented to him as a free-will offering. Our best services, alas! are very poor and defective: corruption is blended with every thing we do: our very tears need to be washed from their defilement, and our repentances to be repented of. But, if we are sincere and without allowed guile, God will deal with us as a Parent with his beloved children, accepting with pleasure the services we render him, and overlooking the weakness with which they are performed.]
CXXVII
GOD’S ACCEPTANCE OF THE SACRIFICES
Lev. 9:23, 24.
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat; which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
WHEN we see the great variety of ordinances instituted by Moses, and the multitudes of sacrifices that were, either in whole or in part, to be consumed upon the altar, we are ready to ask, Of what use was all this? and what compensation could be made to the people for all the expense and trouble to which they were put? But in the text we have a ready, and a sufficient answer. God did not long withhold from them such communications, as would abundantly recompense all that they did, and all that they could, perform for his sake: he gave them such testimonies of his acceptance as made all their hearts to overflow with joy.
Let us consider,
I. The testimonies of his acceptance—
Of these there were different kinds;
1. Ministerial—
[Moses and Aaron, having finished all that they had to do within the tabernacle, came forth, and “blessed the people:” and in this action they were eminent types of Christ, and examples to all future ministers to the end of time.
As types of Christ, they shewed what he should do as soon as he should have completed his sacrifice. The acceptance of all his believing followers being now certain, he blessed them; and was in the very act of blessing them, when he was taken up from them into heaven. Scarcely had he taken possession or his throne, before he “sent down upon them the blessing of the Father,” even the Holy Ghostb, to be their Guide and Comforter: and, when he shall have finished his work of intercession within the veil, he will come forth to pronounce upon them his final benediction, “Come, ye blessed of my Father! inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” When on earth, he offered himself a sacrifice, and died as a sinner under the malediction of the law: but at the day of judgment he will, “unto those who look for him, appear the second time, without sin, to their complete salvation.”
As examples to ministers, they shewed what all ministers are authorized and empowered to declare unto those who rely on the great sacrifice. They are to stand forth, and, in the very name of God, to proclaim pardon and peace to every one of them without exception — — —]
2. Personal—
[In two ways did God himself, without the intervention of any human means, condescend to manifest his acceptance of the sacrifices which were now offered.
He first displayed his glory before all the people. This on some occasions was done in testimony of his displeasure, and in support of his servants who acted under his authority: but here, as also on other occasions, it was altogether a token or his favour. In what precise manner this was done, we are not informed: but we are well assured, that it must have been in a way suited to his own glorious majesty, and in a way that carried its own evidence along with it.
Of course, such exhibitions of the divine glory are not now to be expected: but there are others, which, though not visible to mortal eyes, are very perceptible by the believing heart; and which shall be vouchsafed to those who come to God by Jesus Christ. Our blessed Lord has assured his believing followers, that “he will manifest himself unto them as he does not unto the world:” which promise would be nugatory, if the manifestations referred to did not carry their own evidence along with them. It is not easy indeed to mark with precision the agency of the Holy Spirit, so as to distinguish it from the operations of our own mind: but in the effects we can tell infallibly, what proceeds from God, and what from ourselves. The views which we may have of God and his perfections, may, as far as relates to the speculative part, arise from human instruction; but the humility, the love, the peace, the purity, with all the other sanctifying effects produced by those views upon the soul, can proceed from God alone: they are the fruits of the Spirit, and of him only. Hence, though no man can conceive aright of the manifestations of God to the soul, unless he have himself experienced them, nor can know exactly what it is to have “the Spirit of God witnessing with his spirit,” or “shedding abroad the love of God in his heart,” yet we are in no danger of error or enthusiasm, whilst we look for these things as purchased for us through the sacrifice of Christ, and judge of them, not by any inexplicable feelings, but by plain and practical results.
In addition to this display of his glory, God sent fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. By this he shewed the people what fiery indignation they themselves merited, and that he had turned it from them, and caused it to fall on the sacrifice which had been substituted in their stead.
The observations just made, will apply also to this part of our subject. We are not to expect such a visible token, that our great sacrifice is accepted for us: but all the assurances of it which God has given us in his word, shall be applied with power to our souls, and be impressed with as strong a conviction upon our minds, as if we had seen a demonstration of it exhibited before our eyes.]
From the testimonies themselves let us turn our attention to,
II. The effects produced by them—
It is common to visible objects to affect us strongly. Accordingly the people were deeply impressed by what they now saw. They were filled,
1. With exalted joy—
[Had they not been taught to expect some extraordinary expressions of God’s regard, they would probably have been terrified, as Gideon and Manoah were: but being preparedg, they were filled with triumphant exultation, and rent the air with their shouts.
How far a similar mode of expressing our religious feelings at this time would in any case be proper, we will not absolutely determine: but we apprehend that in the general it would not. Such manifestations as those we are considering, are calculated to make a strong impression on the mind, and to call forth the affections into violent and immediate exercise: but the truths of the Gospel, and the communications of God to the soul, affect us rather through the medium of the understanding; and, consequently, are both more slow, and more moderate, in their operation. Yet doubtless somewhat of the same emotions must be right, especially in our secret chamber, where our communion with God is usually most intimate; and where others who are strangers to our feelings, cannot be offended by what they would deem enthusiastical or hypocritical expressions of them. The inward triumph of the Apostle Paul seems more suited to our dispensation: and that it is both the privilege and duty of every one of us to enjoy.]
2. With profound reverence—
[”They fell upon their faces,” in humble adoration of their God and King. This union of humility and joy was exactly what one would have wished to see in them: and happy would it be if some who talk most of spiritual joys would learn of them! Even the seraphim before the throne cover both their faces and their feet, from a consciousness of their unworthiness to behold or serve their God: and the glorified saints, from similar feelings, cast their crowns at his feet. How much more therefore should we have our most exalted joys tempered with humility! This should never for one moment be forgotten: our affiance, our love, our gratitude, our assurance, our very triumphs, will all prove vain, if they be not chastised and softened with humiliation and contrition. If we look at the most eminent saints, and mark the effects of God’s condescension to them, we find them invariably expressing their acknowledgments in a way of reverence and self-abasement: and the more our devotion resembles theirs, the more acceptable it will be to the Supreme Being.]
Let us LEARN from this subject,
1. To lay no stress on transient affections—
[One would have thought that such a frame of mind as the people experienced at this time, must have issued well; and that they would henceforth approve themselves faithful to their God. But these were mere transient emotions, which were forgotten as soon as any temptation arose to call forth their unsubdued corruptions. And thus it is with multitudes under the Gospel; whom our Lord compares to seed sown upon stony ground, which springs up with great rapidity, but withers away as soon; because it has no deepness of earth to grow in, nor any roots to nourish it. We ought indeed to have our affections called forth into exercise; nor is that religion of any value that does not engage them in its service: but that religion which is seated only in the affections, will never be of any long duration. The understanding must be informed, the judgment convinced, and the will determined, upon the subject of religion; and then the affections will operate to advantage; but, unless the whole heart and the whole soul be engaged in the work, it will come to nought.]
2. To be thankful for the advantages that we enjoy—
[We are apt to envy the Jews their exalted privileges, and to imagine, that, if we had enjoyed the same, we should have made a better improvement of them: but we see how fleeting and inefficacious are the impressions made by sensible manifestations, when of that whole nation two only were admitted into the promised land. They “walked by sight:” but we are “to walk by faith.” This is the principle which we are to cultivate: we must look by faith to the great sacrifice: we must see our great High-Priest entered within the veil for us, and coming forth to “bless us with all spiritual blessings.” Then shall we find, that, in proportion as this principle is brought into exercise, it will work by love, and purify the heart, and overcome the world, and render us meet for our everlasting inheritance.]
CXXVIII
DEATH OF NADAB AND ABIHU
Lev. 10:1–3.
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them; and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
IN all that we behold around us there is a great degree of obscurity, so that we can judge but very imperfectly either of the actions of men, or of the dispensations of God. For want of an insight into the motives of men’s conduct, we cannot form a correct estimate of their character; nor can we, without a revelation from heaven, distinguish those events which come directly from God, and those which, though ultimately referable to him, proceed rather from secondary causes. But in the Bible we find certainty. We learn the principles by which men are actuated; and see the hand of God accomplishing his own unerring purpose. We behold sin in all its diversified forms; virtue in all its various degree; mercies in all their rich extent; and judgments in all their tremendous consequences. Had the event, of which we read in our text, happened in our day, we should probably have admired the zeal of Nadab and Abihu, and have represented their death as a translation from the service of God in an earthly tabernacle to the enjoyment of him in the tabernacle above. It is possible too that we might have ascribed the silence of Aaron to a want of parental affection. But, through the light which the Scripture casts upon these things, we behold in the death of the former, a judgment inflicted; and, in the silence of the latter, a virtue exercised.—Under these two heads we shall consider the history before us.
I. The judgment inflicted—
Nadab and Abihu were the two eldest sons of Aaron. They had been just consecrated, together with their father, to the priestly office: but,
They committed a grievous sin—
[It should seem that they were elated with the distinction conferred upon them, and impatient to display the high privileges they enjoyed. Hence, without waiting for the proper season of burning incense, or considering in what manner God had commanded it to be done, they both together took their censers (though only one was ever so to officiate at a time) and put common fire upon them, and went in to burn incense before the Lord.
Now this was a great and heinous sin: for God had just before sent fire from heaven, which he commanded to be kept always burning on the altar for the express purpose of being exclusively used in the service of the tabernacle. Their conduct therefore shewed, that they had made no just improvement of all the wonders they had seen; and that they were unconscious of the obligations which their newly-acquired honours entailed upon them. It even argued u most criminal contempt of the Divine Majesty, in opposition to whose express commands they now acted.]
For this, they were visited with a most awful judgment—
[God, jealous of his own honour, punished their transgression, and marked their sin in their punishment. They had slighted the fire which God had given them from heaven; and he sent fresh fire to avenge his quarrel. They neglected to honour God; and He got himself honour in their destruction. They, by their example, encouraged the people to disregard the laws that had been promulged; and He, by executing judgment on the offenders, shewed the whole nation, yea and the whole world also, that “he will by no means clear the guilty.” Thus did God maintain the honour of his law, as he afterwards did the authority of his Gospel.]
Whilst in them we behold with grief the enormity and desert of sin, in their afflicted father we are constrained to admire,
II. The submission exercised—
Doubtless the affliction of Aaron was exceeding great—
[These were his own sons, just consecrated to the high office they sustained. In them he had promised himself much comfort; and had hoped, that the whole nation would receive permanent advantage from their ministrations. But in a moment he beholds all his hopes and expectations blasted. He sees his sons struck dead by the immediate hand of God, and that too in the very act of sin, as a warning to all future generations. It they had died in any other way, his grief must have been pungent beyond expression: but to see them cut off in this way, and with all their guilt upon their heads, must have been a trial almost too great for human nature to sustain.]
But he submitted to it without a murmuring word or thought—
[The consideration suggested to him by Moses, composed his troubled breast. God had given repeated warning that he would punish with awful severity any wilful deviations from his law. Now, as a Sovereign, he had a right to enact what laws he pleased: and they, as his creatures, were bound to obey them. It became him to enforce the observance of his laws, and to vindicate the honour of his insulted majesty, if any should presume to violate them. What would have been the effect if such a flagrant violation of them, in those who were to be examples to the whole nation, were overlooked? Would not a general contempt of the divine ordinances be likely to ensue? For prevention then as well as punishment, this judgment was necessary. And the consequence of it would be, that God would henceforth be honoured as a great and terrible God, and that the whole assembly of the people would learn to tremble at his word, and to obey it without reserve. Thus, however painful the stroke was to him, he submitted humbly to it, because it was necessary for the public good, and conducive to the honour of his offended God.
It is not improbable too that he would recollect the forbearance exercised towards him in the matter of the golden calf; and that, while he deplored the fate of his children, he magnified the mercy that had spared him.]
From this subject we may LEARN,
1. To reverence God’s ordinances—
[Well may all, both ministers and people, learn to tremble when they approach God in the institutions of his worship. Were this example of divine vengeance duly considered, surely ministers would never dare to seek their own glory when they stand up to address their audience in the name of God. They would look well to their ministrations, and be sure that they presented before God no other fire than what they had previously taken from his own altar — — — The people too would never venture to come to the house of God in a thoughtless or irreverent manner, but would reflect on the holiness and majesty of the Supreme Being, and endeavour to approve themselves to him in all the services they offered — — — Beloved Brethren, it is no legal argument which we offer, when we remind you that God is jealous of his own honour, and exhort you from that consideration to take heed to yourselves whensoever you approach his house, his altar, or his throne of grace: it is the very argument urged by an inspired Apostle, and that too in reference to the history before us; “Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a consuming fire.”]
2. To submit to his dispensations—
[It pleases God sometimes to try in a peculiar manner his most favoured saints. But from whatever quarter our trials come, we should view the hand of God in them, and say, “It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.” It becomes not us to “reply against God;” or “the clay to strive with the potter.” As a Sovereign, he has a right to do with us as he will: and, if only he be glorified, we should be content, whatever we may suffer for the attainment of that end. The recollection of our own deserts should always stop our mouths, or rather prevent even the rising disposition to murmur against him. He never did, nor can in this world, punish us more than our iniquities deserve: and therefore a living man can never have occasion to complain. Let us then, whatever our afflictions be, submit with meekness to his chastising hand: “let us be still, and know that he is God:” yea, let us be thankful that “he is magnified in our body, whether it be by life or by death.”]
CXXIX
THE LAWS RELATING TO LEPROSY
Lev. 13:45, 46.
And the leper, in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, Unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
AMONG the various disorders with which the Jews were afflicted, the leprosy was marked as the most odious and disgraceful; and the rules for distinguishing it from all similar disorders were laid down by God himself with very extraordinary accuracy and precision. As existing in garments and in houses, it seems to have been peculiar to the Jews; and to have entirely vanished with their dispensation. But there doubtless was some important end for which God visited them with this disorder: and what that was, may be gathered from the various ordinances relating to it. In all the differences which God commanded to be put between things clean and unclean, he designed to teach us the evil and bitterness of sin: but from the leprosy more particularly may these things be learned. We may learn, I say,
I. The evil of sin—
Whatever resemblance the leprosy might bear to some other disorders, it differed materially from all others. It was,
1. Universally judicial—
[This disorder was not, as some have thought, acquired by contagion; for it was not at all infectious: but it proceeded immediately from the hand of God; and was always considered as a punishment for sin. Miriam was smitten with it for her rebellion against Moses: and Gehazi, for his covetous and dishonest conduct towards Naaman the Syrianb.
In this light also should sin be viewed. True, it first entered through the device of Satan: but from that time has it been, more or less, judicially inflicted by God, on those who have disregarded the divine commands. Frequently is God said to “blind the eyes,” and “harden the hearts” of men. We must not indeed suppose, that he ever does this by a positive infusion of sin into the soul: this would not consist with his own glorious perfections: but he abandons men to the evil of their own hearts, and withholds from them that grace whereby alone they can overcome their corruptions. Multitudes are “given up by him to a reprobate mind, because they like not to retain him in their knowledge.” And he tells us plainly, that this punishment shall be inflicted on us, if we do not guard against sin in its first beginnings: “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways; he shall eat of the fruit of his own ways, and be filled with his own devices.” Who indeed has not found the truth of these declarations? Who does not see, that, if we harbour pride, covetousness, impurity, sloth, or any other evil principle in our hearts, it will gain such an ascendant over us, as at once to chastise us for our folly, and to augment our guilt? The truth is, that the very heaviest judgment which God can inflict upon us in this world, is, to give us over to the evil of our own hearts, and to say, “He is joined to idols; let him alone.”]
2. Pre-eminently hateful—
[If there were but the smallest appearance of the leprosy on any one, he must instantly have it examined with all possible care. He must not trust to his own judgment, but must apply to those whom God had authorized to determine the point, according to the rules prescribed for them. If the disorder existed, though in ever so low a degree, the person was instantly visited with all its painful consequences: and if only a doubt of its existence was entertained, he must be shut up, and re-examined, week after week, till the point could be determined. Surely nothing could more strongly declare its odiousness in the sight of God.
In this respect it most emphatically marks the hatefulness of sin. “Sin is that abominable thing which God hateth.” He charges us to abhor itg, and to abstain from all appearance of it. He solemnly assures us, that, if we harbour it in our hearts, it shall not go unpunishedi. He requires us to “search and try our ways;” and to bring every thing to the touchstone of his word: nor would he have us satisfied with our own judgment, lest our self-love should deceive us: we must come to our great High-Priest, “whose eyes are a flame of fire;” and beg of him to “search and try us, and to see if there be any wicked way in usl.” However clear we may be in our own eyes, we must say with St. Paul, “I judge not mine own self: for I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the Lord.”]
3. Absolutely incurable—
[There was nothing prescribed, nor indeed any thing to be attempted, for the cure of this disorder. Nothing but the hand that inflicted it, could remove it. Hence the removal of it is most generally expressed by the term cleansing; and those who were relieved from it are said to have been cleansed.
And certain it is that none but God can deliver us from sin. No superstitious devices have ever been able to root it out, no human efforts to subdue it. The blood of Christ alone can wash away its guilt; and the grace of Christ alone can suppress its operation.]
Clearly as the evil of sin is seen in this disorder, we behold yet more strongly marked,
II. The bitterness of it—
The person afflicted with the leprosy was put out of the camp or city in which he had dwelt, and was forced to live alone, being cut off from all intercourse with his dearest relatives. How inexpressibly painful must this have been! — — —
Here then we see shadowed forth the miserable state of men by reason of sin. When it shews itself only in unallowed infirmities, it will consist with the divine favour; just as the leprosy, when it was turned to a kind of scurf that covered the whole body from head to foot, was considered as no longer rendering the person ceremonially unclean: but, as long as it continues “deeper than the skin,” with “quick raw flesh rising,” and “white or yellow hair;” in other words, while it reigns within, and produces its accustomed fruits, it incapacitates us for,
1. Fellowship with God’s Church on earth—
[Social intercourse indeed with the Lord’s people is not prohibited: but that fellowship which the saints enjoy with each other in spiritual exercises is altogether beyond the reach of those who live in wilful sin. The Apostle justly asks, “What communion hath light with darkness, or righteousness with unrighteousness, or he that believeth with an unbeliever?” The views, desires, and pursuits of the ungodly are altogether different from those which characterize the children of God; and they make for themselves that separation, which under the law was the subject of an express command. Strictly speaking perhaps, the separation begins on the side of the Lord’s people, because they are commanded to “come out from the world, and be separate, and not to touch the unclean thing:” but the effect is the same: in the one case, the unclean were but few, and therefore were separated from the mass: but in the other case, the mass are the unclean; and the clean are separated from them.]
2. Admission into his Church in heaven—
[St. Paul appeals to us respecting this as a thing plain, obvious, and undeniable: and our blessed Lord repeatedly affirms it with the strongest asseverations that it was possible for him to utter. When king Uzziah was smitten with the leprosy in the temple, all the priests with one accord rose upon him, and thrust him out of the temple; yea, and he himself also hasted to go out. And thus it would be in heaven, if by any means an unrenewed sinner were admitted there: he would be thrust out, as unworthy of a place among that blessed society; and he would haste to flee out, from a consciousness that nothing but redoubled misery could await him therey — — —]
ADDRESS—
1. Let us entertain a godly jealousy over ourselves—
[Men are very apt to “think themselves something, when they are nothing.” But we should diligently “prove our own work, that we may have rejoicing in ourselves alone, and not in another.” As in the leprosy, so in the dispositions of the heart, it is often difficult to distinguish with certainty: the lines of distinction between unbelief and fear, presumption and faith, worldliness and prudence, and between a variety of other principles existing in the mind, are more easily defined on paper, than discerned in the heart: truth and error often so nearly resemble each other, that none but our great High-Priest can enable us to discern them apart. Yet if an evil principle be admitted into the mind, it will produce a thousand evils in the life. Hence a peculiar stigma was put upon the leprosy, when detected in the head: then the person was declared “utterly unclean.” Be on your guard therefore, beloved Brethren; and beg of God, that you may never be permitted to deceive your own souls. When doubts arose about the leprosy, the person was shut up for seven days; and this was repeated, till the point could be ascertained. And if you would occasionally retire from the world, and spend a day in fasting and self-examination, you would detect many evils of which at present you have very little conception, and acquire a perfection of character not to be attained in any other way.]
2. Let us humble ourselves for our remaining imperfections—
[However we may have been cleansed from our leprosy, there is, as was before observed, the leprous scurf still over us from head to foot. We still therefore have occasion to cry with the prophet, “Woe is me! for I am a man of unclean lips.” “Our very righteousnesses are, in fact, but filthy rags:” so that we still have reason, like holy Job, to “lothe and abhor ourselves in dust and ashese.” The external signs of sorrow which were prescribed to the leper, we should commute for those which indicate true contrition: “Rend your heart,” says the prophet, “and not your garments.” We should “walk humbly with God,” and so much the more when we find that “he is pacified towards us.” And, as they who had only been suspected of the leprosy were required to wash their garmentsh, so let us, who yet retain such awful memorials of it, “wash ourselves from day to day in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness” — — —]
CXXX
PURIFICATION OF THE LEPER
Lev. 14:4–9.
Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed, two birds alive and clean, and cedarwood, and scarlet, and hyssop. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel, over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: and he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard, and his eye-brows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes; also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
THERE is an indissoluble connexion between duty and privilege, though that connexion is, for the most part, but little understood. Our privileges are in general supposed to arise out of the performance of our duties; whereas the reverse of this is more generally true: privileges are freely bestowed upon us by God according to his own sovereign will and pleasure; and these operate as incentives to love and serve him. The blessings of election and vocation are not vouchsafed to us on account of our antecedent merit, but in order that we may shew forth the praises of Him that hath called us.
We see this exemplified in the laws relating to the leprosy. Nothing was prescribed whereby people should first of all heal themselves: but, when God of his infinite mercy had first healed them, then were they to come and offer their acknowledgments in the way appointed.
The ordinances to be observed by them are here laid down: and from them we see, that the purification of the leper was two-fold;
I. Incipient—
[Two birds were to be taken; one of which was to be killed over a vessel of spring-water; and the other, dipped in the bloody water, was to be let loose. Some interpret this as signifying, that Christ should die for us, and that the sinner, dipped as it were in his blood, should be liberated from sin and death, and be enabled to soar above this lower world, both in heart and life. But we apprehend that both the birds equally designate Christ. And, inasmuch as the living bird was dipped in the blood of that which was killed, this intimated, that all that Christ should do for us after his resurrection, was founded upon the atonement which he had offered; by which he obtained a right to justify us, and to send us his Holy Spirit, and to save us with an everlasting salvation. As for the cedar-wood, the scarlet wool, and the hyssop, which were also dipped in the bloody water, and used in sprinkling the leper, we forbear to specify the spiritual import of each, because it must rest on mere conjecture, and will not prove satisfactory after all. But the circumstance of the blood being mixed with living water, most assuredly was designed to teach us, that Christ saves us no less by his Spirit than by his blood; by his Spirit, from the power of sin; and by his blood, from its guilt. Moreover, these are never separated. When his side was pierced, “there came out (as John, who was an eye-witness, testifies) both blood and water.” On which circumstance he lays great stress; assuring us, that “Christ came not by water only, but by water and bloodc.” These two then being sprinkled upon the sinner, “the priest of God is fully authorized to pronounce him clean” — — —
In confirmation of this statement we need only to refer to the two goats offered on the great day of annual expiation: that which was slain, and that which carried the sins of the people into the wilderness, equally prefigured Christ; the one, as “dying for our sins; and the other, as rising again for our justificatione.” The two birds presented by the leper were in this respect precisely similar: and equally point us to that blessed Jesus, who says, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore”
We only add further on this point, that it was the “sprinkling” of this blood and water upon the leper, that rendered the ceremony effectual for his good. In vain would the one bird shed his blood, or the other be dipped in it and let loose, unless there were an application of that blood and water to the leper himself. But being “sprinkled seven times,” he was perfectly clean; so far at least as to be brought into the camp, and put into a train for that sanctification which was,]
II. Progressive—
[The leper was to wash both himself and his clothes, and to shave off all his hair, and then to come into the camp. But he was not fully restored to his place in society at once: he was not admitted into his tent, but was to live in some place alone for seven days more; and then, after again washing his body and his clothes, and shaving off all his hair, even to his eyebrows, he was reinstated in all his former privileges and comforts.
This was designed to shew, that the defiling effects of sin yet remain, even after that we are cleansed in the blood of Christ, and renewed by the Spirit. We need still to be renewed, both in our outward and inward man, day by day. Sin cleaves to us, yea, it spontaneously rises up in us: so that though we be washed ever so clean, we shall need to be washed again: and though we be shaved ever so close, we shall not be many days without manifesting that the work of sanctification is not yet perfect. Besides, there are higher degrees of holiness to which the regenerate are to be constantly aspiring. They are “not to account themselves to have yet attained; but, forgetting the things which are behind, they are to press forward for that which is before.” They are to be continually “putting off the old man, and putting on the new, even till they be renewed after the very image of their God in righteousness and true holinessh.” Instead of regarding their restoration to the divine favour as a reason for resting satisfied with their attainments, they are to make their interest in the promises an occasion, and a stimulus, to “cleanse themselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God.” “Having this hope in them,” they are to stop short of nothing that can be attained in this life, but to “purify themselves even as God is pure.”]
Amongst Israel of old, the great mass of the population had never been infected with the leprosy at all: but that is not the case with us: the leprosy of sin has infected every human being: and there are now but two classes, under the one or the other of which we must all be arranged.
We will therefore ADDRESS ourselves,
1. To those who are yet infected with the leprosy—
[What was done at the time of pronouncing the lepers clean, is the very thing which must be done to make you clean. You must be sprinkled with the blood and Spirit of Christ, even of “Him who died for you and rose again.” This is necessary; nor can any human being be saved without it: and it shall be effectual; so that no human being shall ever perish, provided he apply to his soul this divinely appointed remedy: “The blood of Jesus Christ shall cleanse him from all sin;” and the Spirit of Christ shall “cleanse him from all his filthiness and uncleannessm.” The priests of old could not heal the leper, but only declare him healed: but our High-Priest can heal us. Only cry to him, as the lepers did in the days of his flesh, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” and God himself shall acknowledge and pronounce you clean. The hyssop is even now at hand, wherewith you may sprinkle your own souls. Use it now by faith, and you shall experience with David both its incipient and progressive efficacy: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” But sprinkle not yourselves once or twice only, but “seven times;” then shall you be “washed thoroughly from your iniquity, and be cleansed from your sin.”]
2. To those who have been cleansed from it—
[Your state is beautifully represented by that of the healed leper. You are not yet admitted to your home, where your more perfect brethren enjoy without any intermission their Father’s smiles: but you are brought into the camp; you are acknowledged as clean, notwithstanding your remaining imperfections: and there is yet only a single week before you will be brought into the full “liberty of the children of God.” True, the intervening time must be spent in humiliating and painful exercises: but those exercises are all preparing you for the richer enjoyment of the promised bliss: “they are rendering you meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.” Look forward then to the happiness that awaits you: and carefully attend to every thing that God has enjoined; lest, when the appointed time shall arrive, you shall be found to hare neglected the duties of the present moment. Labour then to the uttermost to get rid of sin: “Wash ye, make you clean.” As for the deep-rooted evils that spring up within you from time to time, if they cannot be eradicated, let them be shaved off the very moment that they appear. And let the time now appropriated to mortification and self-denial, be sweetened by the anticipation of that blessed hour, when you shall enter into the joy of your Lord, and rest for ever in the bosom of your God.]
CXXXI
THE CLEANSING OF THE LEPER
Lev. 14:14–18.
And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his oven left hand: and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass-offering. And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord.
IF persons sought nothing more than entertainment in their studies, we know of no book that would afford them so much gratification as the Bible. Not to mention any particular beauties, such as the sublimity of its poetical parts, or the simplicity of the historical, there is something inexpressibly grand in the general harmony of the whole, and the fitness of every part to answer the ends for which it was designed. The great edifice that was to be erected, was Christianity: the model that was formed for the purpose of exhibiting it to the world in types and shadows, was Judaism: and the correspondence between the model and the structure in all its parts affords an inexhaustible fund of pleasing and useful instruction. Let us take, for example, the ceremonies observed at the cleansing of the leper; and we shall find that they set forth in a very striking light the most essential doctrines of the Gospel. They teach us more particularly,
I. The ends for which the blood and Spirit of Christ are to be applied to our souls—
It is scarcely needful to observe, that the blood of the sacrifices typically represented the blood of Christ; or that the oil which was used on various occasions with the sacrifices, represented the Spirit of Christ, with which every true Christian is, and must be, anointed.
The end for which they were put upon the leper is said to be, to “make an atonement for him” But, in order to understand this aright, we must consider the state of the leprous person: he was banished from the house of God, and from all communion with his dearest friends: but, when he was healed, and the ceremonies appointed for his purification were performed, then he was restored completely to fellowship with God, and with his Church. The word atonement therefore is here used in a lax sense: strictly speaking, it was the blood of the sacrifice alone that made atonement: but the whole ceremony is said to make an atonement, because it was that which availed for the complete restoration of the leper to the enjoyment of all his privileges.
Moreover, he is said “to be cleansed” by these ceremonies, when, in fact, he was healed of his leprosy before any of these ceremonies could be used: so this was not an actual, but a declarative cleansing of his leprosy. Nevertheless it was intended to typify that which is actually effected by the blood and Spirit of Christ: these really cleanse our souls, and restore us perfectly to the service and enjoyment of God. The two together have a combined effect, to bring us to God: but they have separate and very distinct offices, which we ought carefully to notice:—
1. The blood of Christ must be applied to purge away our guilt—
[There is no possibility of cleansing our souls from guilt by any thing that we can do. As the blood of bulls and of goats cannot take away sin, so neither if we could shed rivers of tears, would they suffice to expiate one single offence; much less could they wash out the stain which we have contracted by a whole life of sin. It was because of the insufficiency of all other means, that God sent his only dear Son to die for us. The blood of Him who was “Jehovah’s fellow,” was an ample satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. No other atonement was necessary: nothing can add to the perfection of it. By means of it, God is reconciled to sinners; and nothing is wanting, but that the sinner himself should dip the hyssop in that precious blood, and sprinkle it upon his own conscience. This is the use which we are to make of the blood of Christ: and if we apply it thus to our souls in faith, it will “purge us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin.”]
2. The Spirit of Christ must be applied to renovate our nature—
[As the leprosy denied the whole man, so does sin pollute our whole souls. Our nature is altogether corrupt: and we must be renewed in every part, before we can enter into the kingdom of God. In our present state, we should not be capable of enjoying the divine presence, even if we were admitted to it. But how can this new nature be obtained? We can no more create ourselves anew, than we could create ourselves at first. We can no more give ourselves a spiritual nature, than vegetables can endue themselves with animation, or animals with reason. The spiritual life is, if we may so speak, a higher scale of existence: for though our faculties remain the same, they acquire a totally new direction as soon as ever the spiritual life is infused into our souls. Hence the true Christian is unequivocally called “a new creature:” and hence arises our need of a divine Agent to bring us to this state. For this purpose therefore the Holy Spirit, the third Person in the ever blessed Trinity, is given to us: he is offered to us, to sanctify us throughout. To this end we must seek his influence, and submit to his operations. Thus shall the effectual working of his power transform our souls into the divine image, and make us “meet for the inheritance of the saints in lighth.”]
But these points will receive additional light, while we consider,
II. The manner in which the blood and Spirit of Christ are to be applied, in order to their being effectual for the ends proposed—
From the rites used in cleansing the leper, we learn, that the application both of the blood and Spirit of Christ must be,
1. Particular—
[Doubtless our whole man needs purification both from the guilt and pollution of sin. But the application of the blood and oil to the ear, the thumb, and the toe of the leper, seems to intimate, that every member of the body, and every faculty of the soul, whereby we either receive or execute the will of God, needs a special purification from guilt and corruption. Great is the guilt we have contracted in hearing, since we have not been obedient to the voice of God. Great is the guilt we have contracted in the whole of our walk and conduct, since we have walked in our own way rather than in God’s, and done our own will rather than his. Now it is proper that we should call these things to mind, and humble ourselves before God on account of them, imploring mercy for every particular offence, and seeking a renovation of every particular faculty and member; that so our powers may all become “instruments of righteousness unto God.” Not that we are to be so occupied with the consideration of our particular offences as to forget that we need a thorough renovation: no; after having put the blood and oil on the parts which seem most to need their influence, we should “pour the remainder of the oil upon our head,” that it may flow over our whole body, and that we may “be sanctified wholly in body, soul, and spiritl.”]
2. United—
[Neither the blood nor the oil were on any account to be omitted in the purification of the leper: nor can either of them be omitted in the restoration of our souls to God. In vain shall we profess to be justified by the blood of Christ, if we be not also sanctified by his Spirit: and in vain shall we profess to have experienced a renovation of our souls by the influences of the Spirit, if we do not trust entirely in the blood of Christ for pardon and acceptance. In the consecrating of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, almost the same services were performed as at the purification of the leper: the blood was to be put on their ears, thumbs, and toes, and then, together with the oil, to be sprinkled on their bodies and their garments. The same idea was suggested by the sprinkling of bleed mixed with water in the preparatory part of the leper’s publicationn: and it was also intimated by the effusion of blood and water from our Saviour’s side, when he was pierced by the spear. St. John, who alone records that remarkable? fact, lays great stress upon it in his first epistle, reminding us that “he came by water and blood, not by water only, but by water and bloodp.” Doubtless these things were designed to teach us, that God has united the pardoning virtue of Christ’s blood, with the sanctifying operations of his Spirit: and that “what he has joined together, no man should presume to put asunder.”]
3. Orderly—
[It is by no means an indifferent matter what order we observe in applying the blood and Spirit of Christ to our souls, or, in other words, whether we seek justification or sanctification in the first place. It is true, that, in speaking of them, our words need not always be placed with accuracy and precision; for even St. Paul himself, when speaking to the Corinthians, says, “Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” But it is highly necessary that we should have clear and determinate ideas on the subject. The order relative to the leper was, that the oil should be put (on the ear, thumb, and toe, “upon the blood of the trespass-offeringr:” and to prevent our imagining this to mean only that it should be applied in addition to the blood, it is added afterwards, that the oil must “be put upon the place of the blood of the trespass-offering.” Surely this was not so minutely ordered for nought: it plainly shews us that the blood of Christ must be first applied for our justification; and that then the Spirit will be given for our sanctification. And this is the more carefully to be observed, because it is the very reverse of what men, of themselves, are disposed to do. We are apt to seek sanctification first; and then to make our proficiency in it the ground (in part at least) of our justification: but we must come to God as sinners to be “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;” and, being united thus by faith to Christ as the living vine, we shall derive virtue from him for the bringing forth this fruits of righteousness and true holiness.]
4. Believing—
[At the purification of the leper the priest was to “sprinkle the oil seven times before the Lord.” This denoted that, while in the performance of these ceremonies they sought the glory of the Lord, they expected from him an abundant supply of those blessings which were typically represented by them. Thus in applying the blood and Spirit of Christ to our souls, we must feel a persuasion that we are using the instituted means of our salvation; and that, in the use of them, we shall receive from God the blessings we stand in need of. Such a confidence is not to be called presumption. Presumption is the expectation of benefits in a way wherein God has not warranted us to expect them: but the most assured expectation of them, when accompanied with a diligent discharge of our duty, and a humble dependence on his promises, is in the highest degree pleasing to God, and profitable to man. The “stronger we are in faith, the more do we give glory to God,” and ensure the accomplishment of his promises to our soulsy.]
ADDRESS—
1. To those who are conscious of their leprous state.
[The lepers were not left to judge of their own state: they were examined by the priest, and necessitated to abide by his decision. Think ye then, that, when our great High-Priest shall inspect your souls, he will not find out the marks of leprosy that are upon you? Be assured that, however they may be covered from the eye of man, they are all “naked and open (as the sacrifices were when flayed and cut down the back-bone) before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” O search out your iniquities, and “rend your hearts, and cover your lips, and, with the convicted leper, cry, Unclean, uncleana!” If you be not conscious of your disorder, you will never feel your need of purification from it; and consequently you will neglect the means prescribed for your recovery, and perish in your sins. May God avert from you so heavy a calamity, and incline you to accept with gratitude his proffered mercy!]
2. To those who desire deliverance from it—
[The lepers, though in a most afflicted state, had reason to be resigned to their lot, because their disorder came from the hand of God. But your disorder comes from yourselves; and therefore you should not be satisfied with its continuance one day or hour. You do well to be solicitous about the removal of it: and we entreat you never to relax your solicitude about it, till the desired healing has been imparted to your souls. Know ye then for your comfort, that the blood and oil are already prepared, and that your great High-Priest is at this moment ready to apply them to your souls. Only go to him, and he will rejoice to minister to your necessities. Go humbly, yet boldly to him: present your ear. your hand, your foot, yea, and your whole person before him. that he may put upon them the blood and oil: and doubt not but that instantly you shall be restored to God. and stand “faultless before his presence with exceeding joy.”]
CXXXII
THE SCAPE-GOAT A TYPE OF CHRIST
Lev. 16:21, 22.
And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the coat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities, unto a land not inhabited.
OF all the types, under the Mosaic dispensation, there was not one more plain in its import, or more useful in its tendency, than that before us. Most other types receive light from their accomplishment in Christ: this reflects light on the Gospel itself. The high-priest, having before offered a bullock and a ram, was to take two goats; and, having determined by lot which of them should be killed, and which be kept alive, was to kill the one, and to sprinkle its blood, with the blood of the bullock, within the sanctuary, and then to present the other before the Lord in the manner described in the text: he was to confess over it the sins of the people, and, by putting his hands upon its head, to transfer to it the people’s sins: and then to send it into the wilderness that it might never more be seen of men. This ceremony pointed out to them the true and proper object of faith: the operation of it on the believer’s mind; and the fruit and benefit of it to his soul.
I. The true and proper object of faith—
[When the high-priest put his hands on the head of the scape-goat, the eyes of all present must of necessity be turned towards that devoted creature. They indeed who were endued with a spiritual discernment, would look through the type unto Christ the great Antitype: but still the goat would be regarded by all as the immediate instrument used by God for the removal of their sins: their faith terminated on that as the instituted means of their deliverance.
Thus is Christ the one object to whom the eyes of all must be directed. He has been chosen of God from all eternity to bear in his own person, and to take away from his people, all their sins. In due time he was exhibited to the world in this very character: the iniquities of all mankind were laid upon himc: and his command to every living creature is, Look unto Me and be ye saved.
There was indeed under the law another goat, whose blood was shed for the remission of their sins; which was therefore to be considered by them as a joint object of their faith. But the two together were, in fact, but one sacrifice, the one representing the death of Jesus, and the other his resurrection. While therefore we view Christ as dying for our offences, we must also, in conformity with the type before us, regard him as rising again for our justification.]
II. Its operation on the believer’s mind—
[The high-priest confessed over the scape-goat the sins of all Israel with their several aggravations, at the very time that he transferred them to him by the imposition of his hands. By this significant ordinance he clearly shewed how faith always operates. It leads us in the first place to transfer all our guilt to the sacred head of Jesus. While we see the impossibility of removing our sins in any other way, faith will incline us to avail ourselves of that inestimable privilege of carrying them to the Saviour, and thereby securing to ourselves an everlasting deliverance from them. But will it therefore cause us to think lightly of our iniquities, because they may be cancelled by such means? No: it will rather make them to appear exceeding sinful; and will dispose us to humble ourselves for them in dust and ashes. A true believer will not so much as desire pardon without being made to feel the evil and bitterness of sin: and the more sincerely he looks to Christ, the more unfeignedly will he bewail his manifold transgressions. While, with Mary, he boldly confesses Christ, with her he will kiss his feet, and wash them with his tearsg.]
III. The fruit and benefit of it to his soul—
[No sooner was the ordinance before us duly performed, than the sins of all Israel were taken away, and God was reconciled to his offending people. This indeed being only a typical institution, the pardon obtained by means of it was neither perfect nor durable, except to them who looked through the type to Christ himself. But faith in Christ, whether exercised by them or us, will obtain a full and everlasting remission of all our sins. Under the law indeed, there were some sins for which no sacrifice was appointed, and which therefore could not be purged away by any ceremonial oblations whatever. But there is no sin from which we shall not be justified by faith in Jesus. From the very instant that we are enabled to lay them upon his head, they shall be carried into the land of oblivion, and never more be remembered against usi: yea, they shall be cast into the very depths of the sea, and be put away from us far as the east is from the westl.]
From hence we may LEARN,
1. The different offices of repentance and faith—
[Repentance can never make atonement for sin. However penitent we be, we must lay our hands upon the head of the scape-goat, and transfer our guilt to him. On the other hand, faith does not supersede repentance, but rather encourages and invites us to it. We must repent, in order to prepare our hearts for a grateful acceptance of pardon, and a diligent improvement of it in our future life: but we must believe in order to obtain pardon; that being bestowed solely on account of Christ’s vicarious sacrifice. Repentance stirs us up to exercise faith on Christ; and faith stimulates us to further acts of penitence, for the honouring of the law, the justifying of God, the exalting of Christ, the purifying of the heart, the adorning of our profession, and the rendering of us meet for glory. To be in a state pleasing to God, we must be believing penitents, and penitent believers.]
2. The folly of delaying to repent and believe—
[Impenitence and unbelief keep us from Christ, and rivet our sins upon us. “We must all resemble either the oblation, or the offerer: we must either, like the goats, die under the wrath of God, and be for ever banished, as accursed creatures, from his presence; or we must go with penitence and contrition to our living Surety, and cast our iniquities on him. And can there be a doubt which state we should prefer? Or would we continue another hour under the guilt of all our sins, when there is such a way provided for the removal of them? Let us then behold the Scape-goat, as in our immediate presence, and go instantly to lay our sins on him. It cannot, as under the law, be done by the priest for us; it must be done by every one of us for himself. Let us then go to him with penitence and faith, and rest assured that we shall not repent or believe in vain.]
CXXXIII
DUTIES REQUIRED ON THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT
Lev. 16:29, 30, 33.
And this shall be a statute for ever unto you, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you. For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord … And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar; and he shall make an atonement far the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
THE wisdom and piety of the Church in early ages appointed, that a considerable portion of time at this season of the year should be devoted annually to the particular consideration of Our Saviour’s sufferings; and that the day on which he is supposed to have died upon the cross, should be always observed as a solemn fast. In process of time many superstitious usages were introduced; which, however, in the Reformed Churches, have been very properly discontinued. But it is much to be regretted, that, whilst we have cast off the yoke of Popish superstition, we have lost, in a very great measure, that regard for the solemnities which our Reformers themselves retained; and which experience has proved to be highly conducive to the spiritual welfare of mankind. The Nativity of our Lord indeed, because it is a feast, is observed by almost all persons with a religious reverence; but the day of his death, being to be kept as a fast, is almost wholly disregarded; insomuch that the house of God is scarcely at all attended, and the various vocations of men proceed almost without interruption in their accustomed channel. We are well aware that the Jewish institutions are not to be revived: but, though the ordinances themselves have ceased, the moral ends for which they were instituted should be retained; nor should any means, whereby they may, in perfect consistency with Christian liberty, be attained, be deemed unworthy of our attention.
The great day of annual expiation was the most solemn appointment in the whole of the Mosaic economy. Its avowed purpose was to bring men to repentance, and to faith in the atonement which should in due time be offered. Now these are the sole ends for which an annual fast is observed on this day: and, if they be attained by us, we shall have reason to bless God for ever that such an appointment has been preserved in the Church.
In considering the passage before us there are two things to be noticed;
I. The objects for which atonement was made—
To have a just view of this subject, we must not rest in the general idea of an atonement for sin, but must enter particularly into the consideration of the specific objects for which the atonement was made. It was made,
1. For the High-Priest—
[The persons who filled the office of the priesthood were partakers of the same corrupt nature, as was in those for whom they ministered: and, being themselves shiners, they needed an atonement for themselves: nor could they hope to interpose with effect between God and the people, unless they themselves were first brought into a state of reconciliation with God. Hence they were necessitated to “offer first of all for their own sins.”
And this is a point which reflects peculiar light on the excellency of the dispensation under which we live. Our High-Priest was under no such necessity: He had no sin of his own to answer for: and hence it is that his atonement becomes effectual for? us: for, if he had needed any atonement for himself, he never could have procured reconciliation for usd — — —]
2. For the people—
[“All the people of the congregation” were considered as sinners; and for all of them indiscriminately was the atonement offered. None were supposed to be so holy as not to need it, nor any so vile as to be excluded from a participation of its benefits.
But here again we are reminded of the superior excellency of the Christian dispensation. For though, among the Jews, the atonement was offered for all, it did not suffice for the removal of guilt from all: it took off the dread of punishment for ceremonial defilements; but left the people at large, and especially all who had been guilty of presumptuous sin, under the dread of a future reckoning at the tribunal of God. “It could not make any man perfect as pertaining to the conscience.” The very repetition of those sacrifices from year to year shewed, that some further atonement was necessaryf. But under the Gospel the reconciliation offered to us is perfect: it extends to all persons and all sins, in all ages, and quarters, of the world. No guilt is left upon the conscience, no dread of future retribution remains, where the atonement of Christ has had its full effect: there is peace with God, even “a peace that passeth all understanding:” He “perfects, yea, perfects for ever, all them that are sanctifiedh.”]
3. For “the sanctuary itself and the altar”—
[Even the house of God, and the altar which sanctified every tiling that was put upon it, were rendered unclean by the ministrations of sinful men. The very touch or presence of such guilty creatures communicated a defilement, which could not be purged away but by the blood of atonement. The high-priest, even while making atonement for the holy place, contracted pollution, from which he must wash himself, before he could proceed in his priestly work. In like manner, the person who led away the scape-goat into the wilderness, and the person who burnt the sin-offering without the camp, must wash, both their persons and their clothes, before they could be re-admitted into the camp. What an idea does this give us of the corruption of human nature, when even the most holy actions, performed according to the express appointment of God, were, by a painful necessity, the means and occasions of fresh defilement!
From the atonement required for the sanctuary we learn, that heaven itself, so to speak, is defiled by the admission of sinners into it; and that on that very account it could not be a meet habitation for the Deity, if it were not purified by the atoning blood of Christ.]
A just view of these things will discover to us the connexion between the atonement itself, and,
II. The duty especially enjoined at the time of that atonement—
To afflict the soul is our duty at all times—
[As for the penances which men have contrived for the afflicting of the body, they are neither acceptable to God, nor beneficial to man: they tend to keep men from true repentance, rather than to lead them to it. Doubtless such a measure of fasting and bodily self-denial as shall aid the soul in its operations, is good: but still it is the soul chiefly that must be afflicted. That is the principal seat of sin, and therefore should be the principal seat of our sorrows. Indeed, it is the soul alone which possesses a capacity for real and rational humiliation.
Now as there is “no man who does not in many things, yea, in every thing to a certain degree offend,” there is no man who does not need to afflict his soul, and to humble himself before God on account of his defects.
But it may be asked. How is this to be done? How can we reach our soul, so as to afflict it? I answer, By meditating deeply on our sins. We should call to mind all the transactions of our former lives, and compare them with the holy commands of God. We should, as far as possible, make all our sins pass in renew before us: we should consider their number and variety, their constancy and continuance, their magnitude and enormity: we should search out all the aggravating circumstances with which they have been committed, as being done against light and knowledge, against mercies and judgments, against vows and resolutions, and, above all, against redeeming love. We should contemplate our desert and danger on account of them, and our utter loathsomeness in the sight of God. This is the way to bring the soul to “a broken and contrite” state: and this is the duty of every living man.]
But it was peculiarly proper on the great day of atonement—
[The exercise of godly sorrow would further in a variety of views a just improvement of all the solemnities of that day.
It would dispose the person to justify God in requiring such services. Those who felt no sense of sin would be ready to complain of the ordinances as burthensome and expensive: but those who were truly contrite, would be thankful, that God had appointed any means of obtaining reconciliation with him— — —
It would prepare the person for a just reception of God’s mercy. An obdurate heart would reject the promises, just as the trodden path refuses to receive the seed that is cast upon it. The fallow ground must be broken up before the seed can be sown in it to good effect — — —
It would lead the person to acknowledge with gratitude the unbounded goodness of God. A person, unconscious of any malady, would pour contempt on any prescription that was offered him for the healing of his diseases: but one who felt himself languishing under a fatal, and, to all appearance, incurable disorder, would accept with thankfulness any remedy which he knew would restore his health. Thus it is the penitent sinner, and he only, that will value the offers of mercy through the blood of atonement — — —
Lastly, it would stimulate him to greater watchfulness and diligence in future. Suppose a person pardoned; if he felt not the evil and bitterness of sin, he would be as remiss and careless as ever: but, if his heart had been altogether broken with a sense of sin, if he had groaned under it as an intolerable burthen, he would be doubly careful lest he should subject himself again to the same distress and danger: and the more assured he was of pardon and acceptance with God, the more desirous he would be to “render unto God according to the benefits received from him” — — —]
The REFLECTIONS to which this subject will naturally give rise, are such as these:
1. How vain is the idea of “establishing a righteousness of our own!”
[If the most holy actions of the most holy men, done expressly according to the divine appointment, rendered the persons unclean, yea and the very sanctuary of God and the altar itself unclean, so that the washing of water and the sprinkling of blood were necessary for their purification, who are we, that we should be able so to live as to claim a reward on the ground of merit? Let us lay aside this vain conceit, which, if not corrected, will infallibly issue in our own destruction. We need one to “bear the iniquity of our holy things,” no less than the iniquity of our vilest actions: and, from first to last, we must receive “eternal life as the free unmerited gift of God through Jesus Christ.”]
2. How transcendent must be the efficacy of our Redeemer’s blood!
[All these sacrifices which were repeated from year to year could never purge the conscience of one single individual: but the blood of Jesus Christ, once shed on Calvary, is sufficient to cleanse the whole world. Stupendous thought! Let us endeavour to realize it, and to get the evidence of it in our own souls — — —]
3. How blessed is the issue of true repentance!
[Men imagine that to afflict the soul is the way to be miserable: but the very reverse is true: to “sow in tears is the sure way to reap in joy.” How beautifully was this represented on the day of atonement! It was on that day (every fiftieth year) that the Jubilee was to be proclaimed. What a blessed termination of the day was this! What a balm to every afflicted soul! Think of the joy which pervaded the whole country, when every man was rendered free, and all returned to their lost inheritance! Such shall be the happy experience of all who afflict their souls for sin and rely upon the atoning blood of Christ. “They that go on their way weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them.”]
CXXXIV
THE PROHIBITION TO EAT BLOOD
Lev. 17:10–12.
Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you. that eateth any manner of blood, I will even set my face against that soul that eateth Hood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I hare given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood; neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
THERE were many ordinances amongst the Jews, of which we cannot see the reason, though doubtless there was not one which Infinite Wisdom did not institute for some gracious end. But the particular enactment before us was of much longer standing than most others, having been given to Noah directly after the flood. The flesh of beasts and of fowls was then given to man for food: but he was at the same time forbidden to eat the blood of either. In the foregoing parts of this book also the prohibition had been repeatedly renewed: and here the reason for such a repeated enactment of the same statute is assigned. Indeed from the peculiar strictness with which the law is here enforced, we might be sure that there was some very important reason for it, though none had been specified. But God, in this passage, has condescended to state the grounds of this solemn charge; namely, that “the blood was the life of the flesh, and that it had been given to man to make an atonement for his soul.”
To elucidate this ordinance, I shall,
I. Confirm the fact here stated—
God had from the beginning appointed the blood of animals to be offered by man as an atonement for his soul.
This appears throughout all the Mosaic history—
[If we go back to the time of Cain and Abel, we shall find Abel offering of the firsthngs of his flock, and of his receiving on that account a testimony of God’s acceptance, which was denied to Cain, who offered only of the fruits of the ground. This, we are assured, was done “in faith;” which shews, that it was done in consequence of an ordinance to that effect having been previously given by God, with a promise of acceptance annexed to itd. Noah likewise after the flood offered of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, upon an altar; and in that act was approved of his God. The Patriarchs also built altars to the Lord from time to time, and presented their offerings upon them. Job also lived in the habitual practice of the same ritef. As for Moses, the whole of his law was one continued system of sacrifices, appointed as means of obtaining forgiveness with God; every kind of sin having its distinct sacrifices appointed to atone for it. In all of these, blood was shed, and poured out before the altar, and sprinkled on the altar; and on the great day of annual expiation, was carried within the sanctuary, and was sprinkled before the mercy-seat, and upon the mercy-seat. With one exception only, “there was no remission of sins without shedding of blood.” If a man was so poor as not to be able to offer a, lamb or a pair of turtle-doves for his transgression, he was to offer some fine flour; a part of which was to be burnt upon the altar, in token that he had merited destruction by his iniquities, and that he escaped destruction only by that being destroyed in his stead.]
The same is found throughout the whole New Testament—
[It had been foretold by Daniel, that Jesus should “make an end of sin, and make reconciliation for iniquity.” But how was this to be done? It was, as another prophet testifies, by being “wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities,” or, in a word, by “making his soul an offering for sin.” Accordingly our blessed Lord himself tells us that he came to “give his life a ransom for many.” And, when he instituted his last supper, he took the cup, and said, “This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The Apostles continually represent the blessings of salvation as being solely the purchase of his blood. “He hath made peace for us through the blood of his cross,” and “we have redemption through it, even the forgiveness of sins.” Are we “washed from our sins?” it is “by his bloodm.” Do we wash our robes and make them white? it is in the blood of the Lamb. Do we overcome our enemies? it is by the blood of the Lamb, Are we justified? it is by his bloodp. In a word, all on earth and all in heaven bear testimony to this blessed truth, that “Jesus hath redeemed us to God by his blood.”]
This fact then being undeniable, that “God has given us the blood as an atonement for the soul,” we proceed to,
II. Consider the prohibition as founded on it—
Scarcely is such energy to be found in any other prohibition throughout the whole Scriptures, as in that before us. And how is it to be accounted for? What is there in the fact alleged that can justify such tremendous menaces as are annexed to this injunction? I answer, The prohibition was most salutary for them, as tending,
1. To excite in them reverence for their sacrifices—
[The Jews saw continually the same animals slaughtered for their own use as were slain for sacrifice: and, if no restraint had been imposed upon them in relation to the blood, they would soon have lost their reverence for the sacrifice altogether. Even the daily repetition of the same sacrifices had of itself a tendency to familiarize their minds with the offerings, and to weaken the reverence which a more sparing use of them might have generated. But when they were so strictly charged to abstain from the use of the blood themselves, and saw the blood of the sacrifices consecrated exclusively to the Lord, they could scarcely fail to reverence the blood, and consequently to reverence those ordinances in which the welfare of their souls was so deeply concerned.]
2. To bring continually to their remembrance the way of salvation—
[With the prohibition was communicated the reason of it, namely, that the blood was the life, and was given as an atonement for their souls. Now we are but too prone to forget the concerns of our souls: the mind naturally revolts from them, and puts the consideration of them far away. But this ordinance brought continually to their recollection, that they were sinners, needing an atonement; and that they were to be saved only through the intervention of a vicarious sacrifice. Of what incalculable value was the prohibition in this point of view! Not a day, or scarcely an hour, could pass, but they were reminded of these most essential articles of their faith, and taught how alone they were to obtain favour in the sight of God. Various other ordinances were appointed of God for reminding them of the way in which they should serve him; but here one was instituted for bringing constantly to their remembrance the way in which they were to be saved by him.]
3. To direct their attention to the great sacrifice–
[All the more intelligent and pious among the Jews saw that their sacrifices shadowed forth some sacrifice that was of infinitely greater value. It is true, their notions respecting Christ’s sacrifice were not distinct: yet they could not but see that the blood of bulls and of goats was insufficient to take away sin; and that consequently they must look forward to some other atonement which these typical sacrifices prefigured. To these views they would be further led by the prophecies which represented Christ as bearing on himself, and taking away from us, the iniquities of us all. And even at this hour, I conceive that the prohibition, which is strictly observed by every religious Jew, is well calculated to lead the minds of the Jewish nation to the contemplation of their Messiah, and to the acknowledgment of Jesus in that character.]
From the foregoing subject then we may SEE,
1. How plain is the way of salvation!
[A Jew who had any reflection at all, could not be ignorant that he must be saved by blood, by blood shed in a way of atonement for his sins. He would not dream that he was to make an atonement by his own tears, or alms-deeds, or observances of any kind. Every sacrifice which he saw offered, yea, and every meal which he made on the flesh of animals, would remind him, that his soul could be saved by nothing but an atonement made for sin. Yet, strange as it must appear, Christians without number are ignorant of this fundamental article of our religion, and have no better hope towards God than that which is founded on their own repentances and reformations. Alas! that any who have the Christian Scriptures in their hands should be thus ignorant! and yet thus it is even with many who in other respects are well instructed and intelligent. But know ye assuredly, that there is but one way of salvation either for Jews or Gentiles; and that, the shadowy sacrifices having all passed away, “Christ is now set forth as a propitiation for sin through faith in his blood,” and that he is “a propitiation, not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”]
2. How awful is the state of those who reject it!
[We tremble for those who despised Moses’ law, and in contempt of the divine command ate of blood. But how much more must we tremble for those who make light of Christ! For, “if they who despised Moses’ law died without mercy, of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified a common thing!” The command given to us to drink of the blood of our great sacrifice is not a whit less urgent than the prohibition given to the Jews. Our Lord expressly tells us, that “except we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we have no life in us:” and St. Paul gives us this solemn warning, “How can we escape, if we neglect so great salvation! “Verily, if God set his face against the disobedient Jew, much more will he against the disobedient and unbelieving Christian. I charge you then, my brethren, to comply with the divine command in this respect: for if ye do not, O consider “what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of Christ! “Verily, God has told us, and plainly too, that “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, it shall be to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let us now then avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded us, and both take of the blood of Christ, and “sprinkle it on our consciences, that it may purge us from dead works to serve the living God.”]
CXXXV
FEAST OF FIRST-FRUITS
Lev. 23: 15–17.
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat-offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves, of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the first-fruits unto the Lord.
THERE is no blessing which is not enhanced by a sense of reconciliation and acceptance with God. An ungodly man has his very provisions cursed to him; whilst to the righteous “God hath given all things richly to enjoy.” Indeed, it is to present, no less than to future, happiness, that God calls his people. He bids us weep, it is true; but he no-where bids us to be always mourning: on the contrary, he commands us to “rejoice in him always, yea, to “rejoice evermore:” and assures us, that, though our “weeping may endure for a night, joy shall come in the morning.” We have this beautifully exemplified in the appointments under the law. One day in the year was appointed for national humiliation, namely, the day of atonement, wherein all were commanded to afflict their souls: but the very next day, and the whole week following it, was appointed for a feast; by which appointment it was clearly intimated, that they who had obtained reconciliation with God through the atonement of Christ, had reason to rejoice throughout the whole remainder of their lives.
The week succeeding the Passover was called “the feast of unleavened bread:” on the first day of which they were to present to God a sheaf of newly reaped barley; and, fifty days after that, two loaves of wheaten bread; both of them being the first-fruits, the one of the barley harvest, and the other of the wheat. Hence these two periods were called the feasts of “first fruits:” and the appointment of them may be considered in a three-fold view; as,
I. Commemorative—
[The day on which the sheaf of barley was to be presented unto God, was that on which they had come out of Egypt: and it was to be kept in commemoration of that event; that, when they were enjoying the peaceful fruits of industry, they might call to mind the labour and travail they had endured in the land of their captivity.
The fiftieth day after that, was the day on which the law of God had been delivered to them from Mount Sinai. This was no less a mercy than the former: for whilst by the former they were rescued from bondage to men, by the latter they were brought into the service of God.
Both of these events were to be remembered on the days thus set apart, in order that He who had done such great things for their bodies and their souls, might have the glory due unto his name.
And here we cannot but observe, how beneficial it is to the Church to have particular times set apart for the special remembrance of the various wonders of redemption. If indeed the observance of such institutions were required of us as necessary to salvation, or inculcated as contributing to work out for us a justifying righteousness, or represented as superseding the necessity of a more frequent remembrance of them, or enjoined, as Jeroboam’s was, in opposition to the commands of God, we should be ready to join with those who reprobate such appointments. But experience proves, that the appointment of seasons for the distinct consideration of particular subjects, has been productive of the greatest good; and that the more solemnly those seasons are devoted to the special purposes for which they are set apart, the more will humility, and every Christian grace, flourish in the soul. And, if the annual remembrance of an earthly deliverance was pleasing and acceptable to God, there can be no reasonable doubt, but that the annual commemoration of infinitely richer mercies (provided only that we guard against self-righteousness and superstition) must be pleasing to him also.]
But these feasts derived a still greater importance from being,
II. Typical—
[Two of the greatest events which ever happened from the foundation of the world, and which are the source and warrant of all our hopes, occurred on the days appointed for these feasts, and were typically prefigured by them.
On the former of those days, that I mean on which the Israelites came out of their graves in Egypt, (which was the first-fruits of their deliverance, as the wave-sheaf was of the barley harvest,) Christ rose from the dead, and rose, not as an individual, but “as the first-fruits of them that slept;” and has thereby assured to us the resurrection of all his people to a life of immortality and gloryg.
On the latter of those clays, namely, the fiftieth day, on which the law was given, (which, like the first-fruits of the wheat harvest, was the pledge and earnest of those mercies which they were afterwards to enjoy under the immediate government of God,) on that day, I say, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Apostles, who then “received the first-fruits of the Spirit.” As on that day God had proclaimed his law, so on that day he promulged his Gospel; and gathered to himself three thousand souls, who were the first-fruits of that glorious harvest, which shall in due time be reaped, when “all shall know the Lord from the least even to the greatest,” and “all the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ.”
In these views the feasts of which we are speaking become exceedingly important. It is true, they were but shadows, and very obscure shadows too: but to us who have the substance, and on whom “the true light shineth,” they are worthy of most attentive consideration; as being the first rude drafts or models of that glorious edifice which we inhabit.]
But these feasts are of further use to us, as,
III. Instructive—
[There is not any thing which we are more interested to know than our obligations to God, and our consequent duty towards him: yet these are clearly and strongly represented to us in the ordinances before us.
Behold our obligations to God. In each of these feasts the first-fruits were “waved” before God, in token that every earthly blessing was derived from him. This was done in the name of the whole congregation; so that, whatever diligence or skill any had used in the cultivation of their land, they did not arrogate any thing to themselves, but gave glory to Him “from whom alone proceeds every good and perfect gift.” Happy would it be for us, if we also learned this lesson, so as to have our minds duly impressed with the goodness of our God! — — —].
Corresponding with our obligations to God is our duty towards him. If we have received every thing from him, it is our bounden duty to devote every thing to him, and improve every thing for the honour of his name. And, as at the former of these feasts they offered only one sheaf, and one lamb, but at the latter they presented two loaves, and seven lambs, so, in proportion as God has multiplied his mercies towards us, we also should enlarge our exercises of gratitude, liberality, and devotion.
Shall these sentiments be thought an undue refinement on the subject before us? They are the very sentiments which God himself suggests in reference to these very institutions. We are expressly told in this view to honour him with all that we have, and all that we are. Have we property? “We must “honour the Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase:” and, lest that should be thought likely to impoverish us, and it should be deemed advisable rather to gather in our harvest first, and then give him out of our abundance, he particularly guards us against any such covetous and distrustful thoughts, and tells us that a believing and thankful dedication of our first-fruits is the most likely way to ensure to ourselves an abundant harvest. Alas! how melancholy it is that, when we are receiving so many harvests at God’s hands, not a few of us are found to grudge him even a sheaf!
But it is not our property only that we should devote to God: we should give him our whole selves. We are told that “God hath set apart him that is godly for himself,” exactly as he did the first-fruits of old, of which it would have been sacrilege to rob him: and every one that professes a hope in Christ is called upon to consider himself in that very view, namely, “as a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.” Yes, Beloved, “we are not our own; we are redeemed, and bought with a price: and therefore are bound to glorify God with our bodies and our spirits, which are hisq.”
Only let these instructions be impressed upon our minds, and exemplified in our lives, and then we shall make the best possible improvement of these typical institutions. Yea, whether we contemplate the types or the things typified, the improvement of them must be the same. From the resurrection of Christ we must learn to rise again to newness of life; and from the outpouring of the Spirit we must learn to cherish and obey his sanctifying operations. Thus will both Law and Gospel be transcribed into our lives, and God be glorified in all his dispensations.]
CXXXVI
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
Lev. 23:23–25.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, In the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein; but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.