Numb. 23:19.

Numb. 23:19.

[One caution did Joshua and Caleb give to Israel; which also we would recommend to your attention; it is, to guard against an unbelieving and disobedient spirit: “Only rebel not ye against the Lord.” You have nothing to fear but sin. Nothing, but sin, can by any means hurt you. As for men and devils, so far from prevailing against you, they are only “bread for you,” and shall, by the very efforts which they use to destroy you, be made subservient to your spiritual welfare. But sin is a deadly evil: that will provoke your God to depart from you: that may cause him to “swear in his wrath, that you shall never enter into his rest.” O put away from you that deadly evil! Especially put away unbelief: it is “by an evil heart of unbelief that you will be tempted to depart from the living Godt.” Pray therefore to God to “increase your faith.” Guard also against a murmuring spirit. If the Lord bring you into difficulties, it is only for the magnifying of his own grace in your deliverance. It is not your place to be indulging solicitude about events. God “would have you without carefulness:” he bids you “be careful for nothing;” but to “cast all your care on him.” Duty is yours: events are his. “Only therefore let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ” and your success is sure: for your God has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”]

CLVI

GOD’S ANSWER TO THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES

  Numb. 14:20, 21.

And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word: but, as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

LITTLE do the world think how much they are indebted to the saints. They are the cluster for the sake of which the vineyard of the Lord is spared; the elect, for whose sake the days of vengeance have been often shortenedb; the little remnant, without which the whole world would long since have been made as Sodom and Gomorrha. In the passage before us we have this very matter exhibited in a striking point of view. The whole people of Israel were in a state of rebellion against God; and God was meditating their utter extermination. But Moses lifts up his heart in prayer for them; and, by his importunate intercession, averts the judgments which were ready to burst upon them.

Let us consider,

  I.      The prayer he offered—

This did not relate to the eternal salvation of the people, except incidentally and by remote consequence: it had respect only to the threatening which God had denounced against the people. Having reason to fear that God would “smite them all with a pestilence, and disinherit them” utterly, Moses entreated God to spare them, and urged such arguments as he judged most suitable to the occasion. These pleas of his deserve an attentive consideration.

He pressed upon the Deity,

  1.      A regard for his own honour—

[”What will the Egyptians and the Canaanites say? Will they not ascribe the destruction of this people to a want of power in thee to accomplish thy projected plans? O let them not have such cause for triumph! let them not have so specious an occasion to blaspheme thy name!”

This was an argument of great weight. He had used it successfully on a former occasion; and God himself had acknowledged its forceg. This therefore is a plea which we should use: we should use it with God, as an inducement to him to keep us — — — and we should use it with ourselves, as an incentive to vigilance and circumspectioni. We should be exceeding tender of God’s honour: and, when tempted to the commission of any sin, we should think, How will the Philistines rejoice, and the uncircumcised triumph! how will they “blaspheme that sacred name by which I am calledl!” O that I may “never thus give occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully!”]

  2.      A conformity to his own perfections—

[Didst thou not, O my God, when proclaiming thy name to me, represent thyself as “long-suffering, and of great mercy, and as forgiving iniquity and transgression, though thou wouldest not clear the guilty?” Let it now be seen that this is indeed thy character. I do not ask that thou shouldest “leave them altogether unpunished; but only that thou shouldest not make a full end of themo, as thou hast threatened.”

Here, methinks, is a plea, which, almost above all others, it becomes us to urge in all our supplications at the throne of grace. The character of God, as a God of infinite mercy, is that which encourages our addresses to him. When every other ground of hope fails, this is still firm. If only we do not “limit the Holy One of Israel,” we can never be at a loss for “arguments with which to fill our mouths” at a throne of grace. O let us study well the representations which God has given of himself, and especially that to which Moses referred: then, even in our lowest state of guilt or misery, we shall never despair of obtaining mercy at his hands.]

  3.      A consistency with his own conduct—

[”Thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now: and wilt thou abandon them at last? O let it not be so: pardon, I beseech thee, yet again and again their iniquity, according unto the greatness of thine unbounded mercy.”

This plea, if used with men, would have had no weight: it would have operated rather to prevent the repetition of mercies which had been so abused. But, with God, it availeth much: and in our minds too it is a most encouraging consideration. We may look back and see how God has borne with all our frowardness from our youth up to the present moment; and may take occasion from his past forbearance to supplicate the continuance of it: “Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old.” Yes; we should “account the long-suffering of God to be salvationr,” and the goodness he has already exercised towards us as a motive and encouragement to repentance.]

Such was the prayer of Moses, a prayer peculiarly excellent, because it was a holy pleading with God. Let us now proceed to consider,

  II.      The answer he obtained—

“I have pardoned,” saith God, “according to thy word. Thou hast entreated me to spare them; and I will spare them: but, I swear by my own life, that the whole of my conduct on this occasion shall be such, as shall procure me honour to the remotest ends of the earth, and to the latest period of time. Every one of my perfections shall be now displayed: now will I exhibit before my people such rays of my glory, as shall illumine the benighted heathen, and fill the whole earth with wonder.”

Now then, my Brethren, let us contemplate this subject with holy awe: let us beg of God to take away the veil from our hearts, that we may see wherein this glory of his consists. Let us behold,

  1.      His condescension in hearing prayer—

[Here was a whole nation involved in actual rebellion against God: and one single individual betakes himself to prayer. What, it may be said, can a single individual do? Read the answer of God, and see. He replies, not, “I will pardon,” but, “I have pardoned:” “the very moment thou liftedst up thy voice, my hands were tied, and I could no longer persist in my resolution to destroy them. I have pardoned according to thy word, and to the full extent of thy petitions.” O, who after this will ever doubt the efficacy of prayer? If God answered so speedily the prayer of one on behalf of a rebellious nation, what will he not do for those who supplicate mercy for themselves? Will he ever cast out their prayer? No: let the whole universe know, that he is “a God that heareth prayer,” and that not even the vilest of the human race shall “ever seek his face in vain.”]

  2.      His mercy in forbearing vengeance—

[Consider the mercies which that nation had experienced, and the extent of that wickedness which they now committed; consider that they cast the most bitter reflections on God himself, and actually appointed a captain to lead them back to Egypt, and were proceeding to murder those who exhorted them to obedience: could it be supposed that such persons should be spared, spared too after God had said he would instantly cut them off? Whom then will he not spare? Who, whilst on praying-ground, can be considered as beyond the reach of mercy? Let us not despair of any; nor let any despair of themselves: He is the same God as ever; “slow to anger, and of great kindness, and ready to repent him of the evil” which he has thought to inflict upon us, the very moment that he can do it in consistency with his own perfections.]

  3.      His justice in punishing sin—

[Though he forbore to destroy the nation at large, he executed immediate vengeance on those who were the leaders and instigators of the rebellion. Nor were the people themselves left unpunished. They had expressed a wish that they had died in the wilderness: now God gave them their wish; and declared that not one of those who had rebelled against him should ever see the promised land. Forty days had been spent in searching the land of Canaan; and forty years were they condemned to bear their iniquities, till their carcasses should be consumed in the wilderness.

What an awful lesson does this give to the ungodly world! Who must not tremble for fear of his judgments? Who does not see that it is vain to hope for impunity on account of the number of those who tread the paths of wickedness? The question is often confidently put by sinners, Do you think that God will condemn so many? We answer, If you would know what God will do, look at what he has done: inquire, how many of those who came out of Egypt ever were admitted into the land of Canaan: and when you have learned that, you will know how God will proceed in the day of judgment. Let all the world hear this, and tremble: for “verity there is a God that judgeth in the earth.”]

  4.      His goodness in rewarding virtue—

[Two of the spies were faithful to their God: and behold how God interposed for them! The congregation was just going to stone them, and God instantly displayed his glory in such a manner as to appal the hearts of their enemies. To them also he bore testimony, that they had “followed him fully:” and he promised them, that though every other man throughout all the tribes should die in the wilderness, they should go into the promised land, and enjoy the inheritance reserved for them.

Do any of the human race wish to ascertain whether their works shall be rewarded? Let them look to this history: let them here see how God will protect his people; and how assuredly they who serve him in time, shall dwell with him in eternity. Surely none who hear these records will ever be afraid of being singular, or of bearing persecution for righteousness’ sake. No: from henceforth every soul should be emboldened to “confess Christ before men,” and to “cleave unto him with full purpose of heart.”]

  5.      His faithfulness in fulfilling his word—

[Here was a strong temptation to rescind his promises: and indeed, because of the appearance of so doing, God says, “Ye shall know my breach of promise.” But the promise was not made to that people, that they at all events should inherit the land of Canaan: it was made to Abraham, that his seed should inherit it: and, both on this and a former occasion, when God threatened to destroy the present generation, he offered to raise up a nation from the loins of Moses, and to give the promised land to them.

God fulfilled his word in every point: and Joshua appealed to the whole nation of Israel for the truth of this; as did Solomon many hundred years after himd. None therefore need to be afraid of trusting in God: for “he is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should repent.” Let the whole world be assured, that they may safely rely on him; that “not one jot or tittle of his word shall ever fail;” that “faithful is He who hath promised;” and that “what he hath promised he is able also to perform.” Be it known therefore, I say, “that they who trust in him shall not be ashamed or confounded world without end.”]

  6.      His power to accomplish his own sovereign will and pleasure—

[The people had expressed their fears that their little ones would fall a prey to the warlike inhabitants of Canaan. Now, says God, “those very children, who ye said would be a prey, even them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.” Weak as ye judge them to be, I will give them the victory; and not an enemy shall be able to stand before them.

Hear this, ye drooping, doubting Christians! let the whole world hear it: yea, let it never be forgotten, that “God ordaineth strength in babes and sucklings;” that “his strength is perfected in their weakness;” and that through him the weakest of us shall be “more than conquerors.” Who weaker than Paul in his own apprehension? “I have not,” says he, “a sufficiency even to think a good thought:” yet who stronger in reality? “I can do all things,” saith he, “through Christ who strengtheneth me.” Let the weak then say, “I am strongi:” “let the feeble be as David, and the house of David be as the angel of the Lord.”]

  APPLICATION—

[Behold now this glory of the Lord! see how it shines throughout this mysterious dispensation! see his condescension in hearing prayer—his mercy in forbearing vengeance—his justice in punishing sin—his goodness in rewarding virtue—his faithfulness in fulfilling his word—and his power to execute his sovereign will and pleasure! Let the whole earth contemplate it: let all transmit the knowledge of it to those around them; and assist in spreading it to the remotest heathen: let all expect the time when this view of God shall be universal through the world, and all shall give him the glory of his immutable perfections.

And, whilst we view the glory of God in his past works, let us remember what will be the final issue of all hit dispensations. His glory will hereafter shine in still brighter splendour. When his answers to the prayers of all his people shall be known, how marvellous will his condescension and grace appear! When the sins of the whole world shall be made manifest, how shall we be filled with wonder at his long-suffering and forbearance! How tremendous will his justice and severity be found, when millions of impenitent sinners are cast headlong into the bottomless abyss! And when his obedient people shall be exalted to thrones of glory, how will his goodness and mercy be admired and adored! Then also will his truth and faithfulness be seen in the exact completion of every promise he has ever given; and his power and might be gratefully acknowledged by all whom he has redeemed, sanctified, and saved.

This then is certain, that in every human being he will be glorified. But the question is, How will he be glorified in me? will it be in my salvation or condemnation? In answering this question aright we are all deeply interested: nor will it be difficult to answer it, provided we inquire what our real character is. Do we resemble the unbelieving and rebellious Israelites, or those believing spies who “followed the Lord fully?” Vast was the difference between them, and consequently the discrimination will be easy. The Lord grant that we may “so judge ourselves now, that we may not be judged of the Lord” in that awful day!]

CLVII

FOLLOWING THE LORD FULLY

  Numb. 14:24.

But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

THE fewness of those who shall finally be saved is strongly declared in the Holy Scriptures; yet they who venture to suggest such an idea, are deemed uncharitable in the extreme. But it is not owing to a want of mercy in God that any perish: it is utterly their own fault: God delights to bless his faithful and obedient people; but the unbelieving and disobedient he will eternally condemn. The numbers that are found in either of these classes make no difference with respect to him: if there were only one or two ungodly, they alone should perish, and all others should be saved: but if a whole nation be ungodly, and only one or two of them be observant of the divine commands, those individuals alone shall find acceptance with him, and all the rest shall meet with their deserved doom. None but Noah and his family escaped the deluge: none but Lot and his daughters were delivered from the judgments which came upon Sodom and Gomorrha: thus, in the passage before us, we are told that Caleb alone, together with Joshua, was permitted to enter into the promised land, because they alone had followed the Lord fully.

To elucidate this record, and to bring it home to our own hearts, we shall shew,

  I.      When we may be said to follow the Lord fully—

The whole nation of Israel might be considered as followers of the Lord, because they had given up themselves to him as his redeemed people, and depended on him for guidance and protection. In the same manner the whole body of Christians may be called followers of Christ, because they profess to have been redeemed by him from the far sorer bondage of sin and death, and because they look to him, in profession at least, to guide them by his Spirit, to keep them by his grace, and to bring them in safety to the heavenly Canaan. But as the great body of the Jewish nation deceived themselves to their ruin, so, it is to be feared, the greater part of the Christian world will ultimately be disappointed of their hopes. To follow the Lord will be to but little purpose, unless we follow him fully. Now this implies, that we follow him,

  1.      With unreserved cheerfulness—

[The Israelites at large were pleased with God’s service no longer than while their inclinations were gratified to the full. As soon as ever they were called to exercise any self-denial, or to suffer a little for his sake, they began to murmur, and repented that they had taken his yoke upon them. Especially when they heard the report of the spies respecting the power of their enemies, they proposed to cast off God’s yoke altogether, and to return to their former masters in Egypt. But Caleb “had another spirit with him:” he considered himself as altogether at God’s disposal, and cheerfully obeyed him, as well in circumstances of difficulty and danger, as in the ways that were more pleasing to flesh and blood.

Now this disposition characterizes every faithful follower of Christ. It is not for us to choose our own way, but to follow the directions of our Divine Master. No commandment of his must be esteemed grievous; nothing must be called “a hard saving;” but we must cheerfully conform ourselves to every part of his revealed will, and account his service to be perfect freedom.]

  2.      With undaunted resolution—

[Caleb had seen with his own eyes what difficulties he should have to encounter in subduing the land of Canaan; yet was he not in the least dismayed: yea, his whole nation were so offended with his fidelity to God, that they gave orders that he should be stoned to death. But nothing could intimidate him: he knew the will of God, and he was determined to execute it at all events.

Thus the Christian whose heart is right with God, is not deterred by any difficulties from proceeding in the path of duty: he knows that the world will be against him; and he often finds his greatest enemies to be those of his own household: yet he determines to go forward, and to obey God rather than man. Like the Hebrew youths, if he behold a furnace prepared for his destruction, he will still hold fast his integrity, and submit to death itself rather than violate his duty to his God.]

  3.      With unshaken affiance—

>[The report of the spies was doubtless very discouraging. The people whom they had seen were of most gigantic stature: the cities in which they dwelt, were walled up to heaven: and it is probable that there was a dreadful pestilence at that time ravaging “the land, and swallowing up the inhabitants thereof.” But Caleb had the promise of Jehovah to rest upon; and therefore he knew that he could not fail of success; yea, he was assured that, however numerous or mighty his enemies were, they should be “bread for the Lord’s people,” and be as easily crushed and devoured by them as a piece of bread.

In this also the faithful follower of Christ will resemble Caleb: he knows that Omnipotence is engaged in his behalf; and he rests securely on the word of God. If his corruptions were yet stronger than they are, and the world, with the confederate hosts of hell, were tenfold more powerful, he would not fear; “he knows in whom he has believed,” and is persuaded that “He who has promised is able also to perform.”]

The character of those who follow the Lord fully, being thus delineated, we shall proceed to notice,

  II.      The blessedness of those who do so—

Here also the history of Caleb will serve as our guide. The text informs us, that he received,

  1.      The approbation of his God—

[God confessed him before all Israel as “his servant.” What an honour was this, to be thus distinguished by Jehovah himself! And shall not every faithful servant of Jehovah be thus distinguished? Shall he not have an inward witness of the Spirit testifying of his adoption into God’s family, and enabling him with confidence to cry, Abba, Father? Will not God “shed abroad his love in the hearts” of his people, and “seal them with the Holy Spirit of promise, as the earnest of their eternal inheritance?” And though no authentic declaration shall be made to others respecting his state, yet shall his very enemies be constrained to reverence him in their hearts, even though, like Herod, they should persecute him unto death.]

  2.      The completion of all his wishes—

[Doubtless Caleb earnestly desired an inheritance in the land of Canaan: and the very mountain on which his feet had trodden was assigned to him as his portion by God’s express appointment. But he surely looked beyond an earthly inheritance: nor can we doubt but that he is distinguished in the Canaan above as much as he was in the earthly Canaan.

And what does the faithful Christian desire? What is the great object of his ambition, but to inherit that good land which the Lord his God has promised him? And shall he come short of it? Will not God preserve him unto his heavenly kingdom? Yes: neither men nor devils shall deprive him of his inheritance: that very land, which by faith he has so often viewed and trodden, shall be given to him; and “all the seed of Caleb” and of Abraham shall have it for their everlasting portion. Behold, Christian, where Caleb now is, thou shalt shortly be: whatever difficulties may obstruct thy way, or whatever length of time may intervene, the period shall arrive, when He whom thou servest shall say unto thee, “Come, thou blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for thee from the foundation of the world.”]

  ADDRESS,

  1.      Those who have never set themselves to follow the Lord at all—

[Think not that the Christian name will avail thee, while thou art destitute of the Christian spirit. Nor imagine that thou wilt be screened from divine vengeance by the number of those who are in thy condition: for there were but two out of all who had grown to man’s estate, that were suffered to enter into the promised land: all the rest were excluded from it, that they might be an example unto us, and might shew us what we are to expect, if we give not up ourselves to the service of Christ. Let me then entreat you all to become followers of Christ, “not in word only, but in deed and in truth.” Look to him, that you may experience the full benefits of his redemption. Trust in his blood to cleanse you from your sins: rely on his Spirit to guide you in his ways: and depend on his grace to subdue all your enemies before you. But if you still persist in your rebellion against him, know for a certainty that you shall never see that good land which you profess to expect as your eternal inheritance.]

  2.      Those who follow the Lord partially—

[A profession of religion may in a variety of ways conduce to the good of society, but it will never save the soul. We must follow the Lord fully, if we would find favour with him in the eternal world. It is no small matter to be Christians indeed. What Caleb was under the Law, we must be under the Gospel. The reason of Caleb’s acceptance is marked repeatedly, in the strongest terms. The reason too of the rejection of the others is marked in similar language, and with equal plainness. And the example of those who perished is set before us by St. Jude, on purpose that the professors of godliness may be admonished by itc. O let the admonition sink deep into our hearts! and let us all be stirred up to diligence, that we may be found “Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile!”]

  3.      Those who, like Caleb, are following the Lord fully—

[Fear not singularity in so good a cause. If you are singular in following the Lord fully, the fault is not yours, but theirs who presume to violate the divine commands. Go on then, though the whole universe should be against you. If God acknowledge you as his servants, you need not regard the censures or the threats of men. You are embarked in a good cause: you serve a good Master: you run for a good prize. The land of promise is before you. Press forward for the attainment of it: “Be faithful unto death, and God will give you a crown of life.”]

CLVIII

PRESUMPTION OF THE REBELLIOUS ISRAELITES

  Numb. 14:44.

But they presumed to go up unto the hill-top.

THERE are principles in the human heart of which few people are aware. One in particular is, a disposition to withstand the authority of God, whatever his commands may be. We see something of this in children towards their parents: the very circumstance of a thing being enjoined makes them averse to it; and a prohibition immediately creates in them a desire after the thing prohibited. St. Paul represents this to have been his experience in his unconverted state: “Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in him all manner of concupiscence,” and made him rise against the commandment, as water does against the dam that obstructs its progress. Such a disposition is not uncommon. There is scarcely any man, who, if he will examine carefully his own conduct, may not find, that he more readily does or forbears any thing in compliance with his own will, than when that thing is the subject of a prohibition or command. This perverse temper was very conspicuous in the Israelites when on the borders of Canaan. Being commanded, importuned, and encouraged to go up and possess the promised land, they could not be prevailed upon to go; but, when they were commanded to return into the wilderness, immediately they changed their minds, and would go against the Canaanites, even in direct opposition to the will of God. This is called in our text, “presumption:” “they presumed to go up unto the hill-top.”

Let us, for the elucidation of this subject, inquire,

  I.      Wherein their presumption consisted—

To believe the promises of God, and to expect the accomplishment of them to our own souls, is considered by many as an evidence of presumption. But presumption is rather the fruit of unbelief. That of which the Israelites were guilty consisted in two things;

  1.      They went up without the divine presence—

[God had told them that he would not go up with them: but they, who had just before despaired of success, even though God himself should fight on their side, now thought they could succeed by the unassisted efforts of their own arm. The folly of such a conceit we easily discern; but are little aware how universally it obtains in reference to spiritual combats. God offers to be with us, and by his almighty power to give us the victory. We persuade ourselves that we have a sufficiency of strength within ourselves, and that we can succeed without any supernatural assistance. Hence we neglect to implore help from God, we refuse to trust in him, and we go forth against our enemies in our own strength — — —

What is this but the very conduct of those rebellious Israelites? The only difference is, that they acted thus in reference to temporal enemies, and an earthly inheritance; whereas we do it, whilst we have all the powers of darkness to contend with, and no less a prize than heaven itself at stake.]

  2.      They went up in opposition to the divine command—

[God had expressly said to them, “Go not up:” and yet they would persist in their resolution. They would not go when they were commanded; but now will go, when they are forbidden. Doubtless they would attempt to vindicate their conduct, by alleging, that the rectifying of their former errors was the best proof of their repentance: and they would persuade themselves that God could never be angry with them for doing that, which he had just punished them for refusing to do. But vain were all such reasonings as these. Their duty was to obey, and not to put their reasonings in opposition to the divine commands. Yet in this we imitate them continually. We find, as we imagine, good reasons why this or that command is not to be obeyed; and then we follow our own will, in direct opposition to God’s — — — But what presumption is this! We do not like the way which God has prescribed for us to walk in, and we will go to heaven in our own way. This conduct we may attempt to justify; but God has stamped upon it its true character, as daring and impious presumption.]

To form a just estimate of their conduct, let us consider,

  II.      Wherein it issued—

They hoped, no doubt, that they should gain the victory: but their efforts terminated,

  1.      In painful disappointment—

[They found their enemies, as Moses had foretold, prepared for the encounter: and no sooner did they make the attack, than their courage failed them, and they fled; yea their enemies chased them “like enraged bees,” and destroyed them even unto Hormah. This is precisely what they had reason to expect; and what must be expected by all who will presumptuously advance in their own strength. In fact, this is the very thing of which all who depend on their own arm complain. They will not go forward in dependence on the Lord, and in obedience to his commands; but will trust in their own fancied sufficiency to work out their salvation: the consequence is, that, after all their endeavours to mortify sin, and to lead a heavenly life, they cannot do the things which are required of them — — — Hence the general complaint, that they who preach the Gospel require of men more than they can perform. But in whom is the fault? Not in those who enforce plainly the commands of God, but in those who, rejecting the offers of God’s all-sufficient grace, attempt to gain the victory by an arm of flesh.]

  2.      In fruitless sorrow—

[The fugitive hosts “returned and wept before the Lord: but the Lord would not hearken to their voice, nor give ear unto them.” Now they regretted their former disobedience, and prayed that the sentence denounced against them might be reversed. If God would but try them once more, they would do whatsoever he should command. But their doom was sealed: yea, in this very defeat, it had already been begun to be executed. Many were slain; and God had decreed that every one of them, except Caleb and Joshua, should die in the wilderness. Like Esau therefore, “they found no place of repentance, though they sought it carefully with tears.”

What an affecting representation is this of the final issue of disobedience to the world at large! When once their doom is sealed, how bitterly will they regret their past folly and wickedness! O, if they could but have another opportunity afforded them, how gladly would they embrace it! how resolutely would they obey the voice of God! they would no more presumptuously prefer their own will and way to his, but would obey him cheerfully and without reserve. But in vain are all such desires: their sentence is irrevocably passed: and all possibility of attaining the heavenly inheritance is gone for ever. Nothing now remains for them but to “weep and wail and gnash their teeth” for anguish, and to die that death, that second death, which they were not careful to avoid.]

  The subject will give me a fit occasion to ADDRESS,

  1.      Those who are afraid of presumption—

[Many there are who dread presumption, and who, through a fear of it, are deterred from applying to themselves the rich consolations of the Gospel: they think it would be presumptuous in such weak and sinful creatures as they to expect all the great things which God has promised to his people — — — But, be it Known unto you that it is no presumption to believe in God, or trust in God, even though you were the weakest and the vilest of the human race. If indeed you were to profess a confidence in him, whilst you were living in wilful and allowed sin, that would be presumption: but, if you truly desire to devote yourselves to God, and to be saved by him in his appointed way, the deeper sense you have of your own unworthiness, the more assuredly shall you receive from him all the blessings of a complete salvation — — —]

  2.      Those who indulge presumption—

[Of those who determinately go on in their own way, we have already spoken: and therefore we shall pass them over with only entreating them to remember what they have already heard to be the issue of such conduct. But there are even amongst those who profess religion, many who are guilty of very great presumption. What is it but presumption, to run into needless temptations, in hopes that God will keep us? O that the worldly– minded would consider this, when they are grasping after preferment or gain! O that they would consider it, who mix so readily with carnal company, and conform so easily to the maxims and habits of a vain world! O that the impure and sensual would consider it, when they give such liberty to their eyes and tongue! Beloved Brethren, we must not tempt God: but, retaining a sense of our extreme weakness and sinfulness, we must watch and pray that we enter not into temptation. Let this then be our daily prayer, “Keep thy servant, O Lord, from presumptuous sins, lest they get dominion over me:” and “Preserve me blameless unto thy heavenly kingdom:” “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.”]

CLIX

THE DANGER OF PRESUMPTUOUS SIN

  Numb. 15:30, 31.

The soul that doeth aught presumptuously (whether he be born in the land or a stranger), the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off: his iniquity shall be upon him.

EVERY command of God is to be obeyed: and it is no excuse to say we were ignorant of the command. We know that there is a God to whom we are accountable: we know that he has given us a revelation of his will; and it is our duty to acquaint ourselves with all that he requires at our hands. Even in reference to human laws, it is no excuse to say that we were ignorant of them. We are supposed to be acquainted with them: and if we violate them in any respect, the penalty is from that moment incurred. A merciful judge may consider our ignorance as a reason for mitigating, or even for remitting, the penalty: but the law knows nothing of this: its enactments are valid; its sanctions attach on every one that transgresses them: and every one feels interested in upholding its authority. Thus it was under the Mosaic Law; even where the ordinances were so numerous, that they could scarcely be remembered by any, except those who were altogether devoted to the study of them. Yet, if any person transgressed through ignorance, he must, as soon as he was informed of his error, bring the appointed offering, in order to obtain forgiveness of his fault; and, if he refused to bring his offering, he must be cut off, as a presumptuous transgressor. For sins of presumption, of whatever kind they might be, there was no atonement whatever prescribed. It did not become God to spare one who could deliberately set himself against his authority: and therefore it was expressly commanded that the presumptuous sinner, whoever he might be, should be cut off. To illustrate this subject, I shall shew,

  I.      The danger of presumptuous sin under the Law—

Presumptuous sin is not to be understood of every sin that is committed wilfully; but of those sins which, as the marginal translation expresses it, are committed “with a high hand:” such, for instance, as that of Pharaoh, when he set himself directly against God, saying, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord; neither will I let Israel go.” It is such also as David characterizes under the following terms: “The tongue that speaketh proud things; namely, of those who have said, With our tongue will we prevail: our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?”

The person committing this sin was doomed to death. No sacrifice was appointed for him: whatever injunction it was that he thus determinately opposed, whether it belonged to the ceremonial or moral law, he must suffer death for his offence. It is probable that the sentence executed, by God’s own command, against the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath-day was intended to illustrate this. His offence might appear but slight; namely, gathering sticks on the Sabbath-day: but, as it was done in a known and avowed contempt of the divine will, he must be stoned to death.

Now, how can it be accounted for, that so severe a judgment should be executed for doing any thing presumptuously? It was considered as reproaching, and pouring contempt on, God himself;

  1.      As unreasonable in his commands—

[A man who sets himself avowedly against any command, does, in fact, complain of that command as unreasonable and unjust. A man, through infirmity, may fall short in his obedience, whilst he acknowledges that the law which he violates is holy and just and good; but if he set himself against the command itself, it must, of necessity, be from an idea that it imposes an unnecessary restraint, or, at all events, that it may well be dispensed with for his convenience.]

  2.      As weak in his threatenings—

[No one who could form the least idea what “a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God” would despise his threatenings. But there is a vague notion in the minds of men, that God will never execute them. Thus David describes these poor deluded men: “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts: Thy ways are always grievous: thy judgments are far above, out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.” Would it be right for God to bear such an indignity as this?]

  3.      As altogether unworthy of any serious regard—

[Were the mind duly impressed with any of the perfections of the Deity, we could not possibly treat him with such contempt. His power and majesty would awe us into fear; his love and mercy would engage our admiration: and though we might still be far from that entire submission to his will which he requires, it would not be possible for us to set ourselves in array against him, and to “run upon the thick bosses of his buckler.”

Conceive, then, of a creature thus rising against his Creator, and you will readily see why presumptuous sin should be thus severely punished.]

But let us proceed to mark,

  II.      The still greater danger of it under the Gospel—

True it is, that under the Gospel we have a sacrifice for presumptuous sins as well as others: but if the Gospel be the object of our contemptuous disregard, we cannot possibly be saved, but must perish under a most accumulated condemnation.

  1.      Because a contempt of the Gospel is in itself more heinous than a contempt of the Law—

[The Law contained innumerable ordinances, the reason of which, few, if any, could comprehend: and St. Paul, in comparison of the Gospel, calls them “weak and beggarly elements.” But the Gospel is the most perfect display of God’s wisdom and goodness that ever he revealed to mortal man. It exhibits the works and offices of the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the gracious influences of the Spirit: and, if they be despised by us, there can be no hope. For thus saith the Lord: “He that despised Moses’ Law, died without mercy, under two or three witnesses. 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, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”]

  2.      Because a contempt of the Gospel is, in fact, a rejection of the only means whereby sin can be forgiven—

[Whither shall a man flee, who rejects the Saviour? “What other sacrifice for sin” will he ever find, or what other “way to the Father?” Well does the Apostle say, “If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” Eli’s reproof to his sons puts this matter in the clearest light: “If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, in despising his sacrifices, who shall entreat for himh?”]

  APPLICATION—

  1.      Be thankful, then, that ye live under the Gospel—

[To you “all manner of sin and blasphemy may be forgiven.” How presumptuous soever your past iniquities may have been, they may all be “blotted out as a morning cloud,” and “cast into the very depths of the sea.” This could not be so confidently spoken under the Law of Moses: but to you I declare it with confidence, that “the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse from all sin;” and that “all who will believe in him shall be justified from all things, from which they could not be justified by the Law of Mosesk.”]

  2.      Be earnest in prayer with God, that, whatever means he may find it expedient to use, he would keep you from presumptuous sin—

[This was David’s course: “Keep thy servant from presumptuous sins: let them not have dominion over me: so shall I be upright, and innocent from the great offence.” Be assured you need to use this prayer, and will need it to your dying hour. David’s attainments were great: yet he felt the need of crying continually, “Hold thou me up, that my footsteps slip not.” So do ye continually: and you may then hope that God will “keep you from falling, and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”]

CLX

THE SABBATH-BREAKER STONED

  Numb. 15:32–36.

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath-day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation: and they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses.

IN great communities, instances of flagrant transgression will occur; nor can any mercies or judgments from God prevent them. Nothing but divine grace can keep individuals in the path of duty. The presumption of those, who, in opposition to the divine command, had gone up to the hill-top to engage the Canaanites, had been severely punished: and though God had since given instructions respecting the particular offerings which should at a future period be presented for sins of ignorance, he had expressly declared, that presumptuous sins should be punished with death; and that no offering whatever should be accepted for them. Yet, behold, scarcely had this declaration been given, before a man was found profaning the Sabbath-day: for which offence he was made a signal monument of divine vengeance.

His crime and punishment, which are specified in the text, lead us to notice the guilt and danger of profaning the Sabbath. Let us consider,

  I.      The guilt—

According to the estimate of mankind in general, the profanation of the Sabbath is but a slight offence: but, in fact, it is a very heinous sin. It is,

  1.      An unreasonable sin—

[Consider who it is that requires the observation of the Sabbath. It is that God who made us, and endowed us with all our faculties, and upholds us every moment, maintaining our souls in life, and providing every thing for our support and comfort. And is this the Being to whom we grudge that small portion of time which he requires? But further, this gracious God has so loved us as to give his only-begotten Son to die for us — — — and shall we think it hard to consecrate one day in the week to him?

Consider next, what portion of our time it is that he requires. If it had pleased him, he might have given us one day for our bodily concerns, and reserved six for himself: and whatever difficulties such an arrangement had occasioned, it would have been our duty cheerfully to obey his will. But the reverse of this is the proportion that he requires: “Six days,” says he, “shalt thou labour; and the seventh day shalt thou keep holy.” What base ingratitude then is it to grudge him such a portion of our time as this!

But consider further, for whose sake it is that he requires it. He wants it not for himself: he is not benefited by it: he enjoined the observance of the Sabbath purely for our sakes: he knew that without some appointment for periodical returns of sacred rest, we should soon become so immersed in worldly cares, as utterly to forget our eternal interests; and therefore he fixed such a portion of our time as to his unerring wisdom appeared best, in order that we might be compelled to seek our own truest happiness. This is what he himself tells us; “The Sabbath was made for man.” Shall we then, for whose benefit that day was set apart, refuse to consecrate it to the Lord, according to his appointment?

Let but these considerations be weighed, and it will appear a most unreasonable thing to trespass upon that time for temporal pursuits, which God has so mercifully set apart for the concerns of our souls.]

  2.      A presumptuous sin—

[It is particularly in this view that the context leads us to consider it. God had enjoined the observance of the Sabbath in an audible voice from Mount Sinai; and had afterwards repeatedly commanded that every person who should profane that day by any kind of earthly employment, even the baking of his food, or the lighting of a fire, should be cut off from among his peopled. Now it was in direct opposition to all these commands that the man of whom we are speaking presumed to gather sticks. He might be ready to excuse himself perhaps by saying, that this was but a small breach of the Sabbath, and the sticks were necessary for his comfort: but these were no excuses: his conduct was a decided act of rebellion against God; and it is manifest that both Moses and God himself regarded it in that light: it was therefore a presumptuous sin, and consequently, as the Scripture expresses it, “a reproaching of God himself” as a hard master that was unfit to be obeyed.

Such is every violation of the Sabbath amongst us. It is clear we are not ignorant of his commands respecting that holy day; and what we do, we do in direct opposition to his will: we “reproach him” for exacting of us what he had no right to demand, and we are under no obligation to grant. Let the profaners of the Sabbath regard their conduct in this view, and they will need nothing further to convince them of their guilt.]

Having noticed the guilt of profaning the Sabbath, let us consider,

  II.      The danger—

[Wherein can this be painted more strongly than in the text? The very sight of this sinful act created instant and universal alarm: and, as Moses did not know in what way it was to be punished, he sought instructions from God himself. Behold now the answer of Almighty God; of him, whose wisdom is unerring, whose justice is most pure, whose mercy is infinite: his answer is, “The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones that he die:” and let this be done “without the camp,” that he may be marked as an accursed sinner, that is separated from me, and shall have no part with my people.

Had the offender been cautioned respecting the consequences of such an act, it is probable that he would have laughed at the idea, or, as the Scripture expresses it, would have “puffed at it.” So it is with men at this day: they will not be convinced that there is any danger in what they are pleased to call light sins: but there is a day coming when they will find to their cost, that no sin is light, and least of all is presumptuous sin to be so accounted.

If any thing more were needful to evince the danger of violating the Sabbath, we might mention, that this sin is particularly specified, as a very principal occasion of bringing down all those judgments, with which the Jews were visited at the time of their captivity in Babylon. Nehemiah, after the return of the Jews from Babylon, found, that the Sabbath was still shamefully profaned amongst them. To remedy this evil, he exerted all his authority, and expostulated with them in the most energetic manner: “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath-day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon our city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

Surely then, if such was the issue to the individual that led the way, and such the consequence to the whole nation, when it had followed the example, it will be madness in us to make light of this offence. We may, it is true, escape the judgments of God in this world; (though it is surprising how often they overtake the profaners of the Sabbath;) but we shall certainly not escape them in the world to come.]

  Let me then propose this SUBJECT to you as an occasion,

  1.      For deep humiliation—

[We are apt to think highly of our nation in comparison of the Jewish people: but, if we compare ourselves with them at the period when the events mentioned in our text occurred, we shall see no great reason to boast. Among the Jews there was found but one person in the whole nation that dared to profane the Sabbath: amongst us there is scarcely one in a hundred that does not profane it. Amongst them it was profaned only by gathering a few sticks: amongst us, in every way that can be conceived: it is a day of business or of pleasure to all ranks and orders of men — — — Amongst them, this solitary instance created universal indignation: the spectators instantly communicated the matter to the magistrates, and the magistrates instantly set themselves to stop the evil. But amongst us, with the exception of a few who sigh and mourn in secret, scarcely any regard the evil as of any consequence: the very name of an informer is deemed odious, so that no one chooses to incur the obloquy attached to it; and, if any were zealous and courageous enough to inform, there are but few magistrates who would not shrink back from the task of exercising the power with which they are armed. Such is the state of this nation; such the state of almost every town and village in it Who then does not see that this national evil calls for national humiliation?

But let us bring home the matter personally to ourselves. How many Sabbaths have we enjoyed, and yet how few have we kept in the way that God has required! A person that has attained to seventy years of age, has had no less than ten years of Sabbaths. What a time is this for securing the interests of the soul! And what a load of guilt has been contracted in all that time, merely from the one single offence of profaning the Sabbath-day! Brethren, we need indeed to lie low before God in dust and ashes. We have need to be thankful too that God’s wrath has not broken forth against us, and cut us off in the midst of our transgressions. Let us know how to estimate the forbearance we have experienced; and let “the goodness of our God lead us to repentance.”]

  2.      For holy vigilance—

[The ceremonial part of the Sabbath is done away; so that there certainly is a greater latitude allowed to us than was given to the Jews. We acknowledge also that works of necessity and of mercy supersede even those duties which are yet in force on that day. Our Lord himself has taught us to interpret in this view those memorable words of the prophet, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” But the moral part is as strongly in force as ever. To have the mind exercised on spiritual subjects, and occupied in advancing the interests of our souls, is our bounden duty. It was the work of the Sabbath even in Paradise; and therefore must continue to be our duty still. If it existed two thousand years before the ceremonial law was given, it can never be vacated by the abrogation of that law. Would we know distinctly the duties of the Sabbath, the prophet Isaiah has, negatively at least, informed us: “Thou shalt call the Sabbath a Delight: thou shalt delight thyself in the Lord, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.” We are to lay aside all the cares and pleasures of the world, and to seek all our happiness in God, and in his immediate service. Even common conversation should as much as possible be put aside, that the mind may be wholly occupied in the service of our God. Now this requires much care and vigilance. The more decent amongst us are ready to think, that, if they attend the house of God once or twice, they have done all that is required of them: from a regard to the prejudices of mankind they abstain from some particular amusements; but they are not at all solicitous to make a due improvement of their time. But this by no means comes up to the injunctions of the prophet; nor will it ever be regarded by God as a just observation of the Sabbath. The instructing of our families, the teaching of poor children, the visiting of the sick, and many other exercises of benevolence, may find place on this day: but in a peculiar manner we are called to secret meditation and prayer: we should study the Holy Scriptures, and examine our own hearts, and endeavour to keep ourselves in readiness to give up our account to God. Let the consideration of the guilt which we contract by spending our Sabbaths in another way, put us upon this: and let every Sabbath that shall be continued to us be so improved, that it may advance our spiritual state, and help forward our preparation for our eternal rest.]

CLXI

THE USE AND INTENT OF FRINGES ON THEIR GARMENTS

  Numb. 15:37–41.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments, throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart, and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: that ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.

A VERY principal distinction between the Christian and Jewish codes is this; that our laws are given in broad, general, comprehensive principles; whereas theirs descended to the most minute particulars, even such as we should have been ready to conceive unworthy the notice of the Divine Lawgiver. There was scarcely any occupation in life, respecting which there was not some precise limit fixed, some positive precept enjoined. If they ploughed, they must not plough with an ox and an ass. If they sowed their ground, they must not sow divers kinds of seeds. If they reaped, they must not reap the corners of their field. If they carried their corn, they must not go back for a sheaf that they had left behind. If they threshed it, they must not muzzle the ox that trod it out. If they killed their meat, they must pour the blood upon the ground. If they dressed it, they must not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. If they ate it, they must not eat the fat. If they planted a tree, they must not eat of the fruit for four years. If they built a house, they must make battlements to its roof. So, if they made a garment, they must put upon it a fringe with a ribband of blue. This last ordinance, it may be thought, like all the other ceremonies, being abrogated, is quite uninteresting to us. But, if we consider it attentively, we shall find it by no means uninstructive. It shews us,

  I.      The end which we ought to aim at—

That, for which the use of the fringe was appointed to the Jews, is equally necessary for us; namely, to preserve continually upon our minds a sense of,

  1.      Our duty to God—

[We are told to “walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long.” For this purpose we should have the commandments of God ever, as it were, before our eyes. It is not unuseful to have habitually some short portion of the word of God, some one precept or promise, for our meditation through the day, especially at those intervals when the mind has nothing particular to engage its attention. The expediency of such an habit appears from the text itself: for, if we have nothing good at hand for our meditations, “the eye and the heart” will furnish evil enough. In our unconverted state we uniformly, as God himself expresses it, “go a whoring after these:” our affections are estranged from God, and our thoughts from time to time fix on some vanity which our eyes have seen, or on some evil which our own wicked heart has suggested. How desirable were it, instead of having our minds thus occupied, to have them filled with heavenly contemplations; to be searching out our duty; to be examining our own hearts in relation to it; and to be inquiring continually wherein we can make our profiting to appear!]

  2.      Our obligations to him—

[How strong and energetic are the expressions in our text respecting this! “I am your God: I have redeemed you in order that I might be so to the utmost possible extent: and I consider all that I am, and all that I have, as yours.” If these mercies, as far as they were vouchsafed to the Jews, deserved to be had in continual remembrance, how much greater cause have we to remember them; we, who have been redeemed, not from Egypt, but from hell itself; and not by power only, but by price, even by the precious blood of God’s only-begotten Son; and who have such an interest in God, that he not merely dwells amongst us, but in us, being one with us, as he is one with Christ himself! Methinks, instead of finding it difficult to turn our minds to this subject, it may well appear strange that we can for a moment fix them upon any thing else. Were we day and night to “meditate on the loving-kindness of our God, our souls would be filled as with marrow and fatness, and our mouth would praise him with joyful lips.”]

The ordinance before us goes further still, and prescribes,

  II.      The means by which we are to obtain it—

True it is that no distinctions in dress are prescribed to us: the ordinance in this respect is annulled. But, as a means to an end, the appointment of the fringe may teach us,

  1.      To make a spiritual improvement of sensible objects—

[This was the direct intent of the fringes on their garments: they were as monitors, to remind the people of their duty and obligations. And why may not we receive similar admonitions from every thing around us? Has not our blessed Lord set us the example? For instance, What part of husbandry is there which he has not made a source of spiritual instruction? the ploughing, the sowing, the weeding, the growth, the reaping, the carrying, the winnowing, the destruction of the chaff, and the treasuring up of the wheat, are all improved by him in this view. There are some things also which he has expressly ordained to be used for this end. What is the water in baptism, but to remind us of “the answer of a good conscience towards God?” What are the bread and wine in the Lord’s supper, but to be signs to us of his body broken, and his blood shed, for the sins of the whole world? We acknowledge that those things only which he has appointed to be signs, are of necessity to be used as such; but we are at liberty to use every thing in that view; and so far from its being superstitious to do so, it is highly reasonable and proper to do it: it then only becomes superstitious, when it is rested in as an end, or used as a mean for an end which it has no proper tendency to effect. Some have been offended with the use of the cross in baptism: and if it were intended as any kind of charm, they might well be offended with it: but it is, as the Liturgy expresses it, “a token that hereafter the child shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified:” and, if it serve to impress the minds of the sponsors in that light, it is well: if it do not, the fault is not in it, but in them. The same may we say in reference to the names, the titles, and the habits that are in use amongst us. Our Christian name, as it is called, should never be mentioned without bringing to our remembrance HIM, “whose we are, and whom we are bound to serve.” The titles which are given to men, either on account of their rank in society, or of their consecration to the sacred office of the ministry, may well be improved for that end for which they were originally given; not merely to shew to others what respect was due to the individuals, but to shew to the individuals themselves what might justly be expected of them, and what their rank and office required: the one should maintain his honour unsullied; the other should be so heavenly in his deportment as to constrain all to revere him. In this view, the use of the surplice was doubtless well intended; and happy would it be if all who wear it were reminded, as often as they put it on, how pure and spotless they ought to be, both in their hearts and lives. The very sight of a lofty church should remind us, that we are temples of the living God; whilst the spire pointing upwards, may well direct us to lift up our hearts to God.

Let us not be misunderstood. We contend not for any of these things as necessary; but we learn from our text that they may be rendered subservient to a blessed end, and that it is our privilege to make every thing around us a step towards heaven.]

  2.      To get the law itself written in our hearts—

[Whilst the fringes had in themselves a practical use, they were also emblematical of benefits which were to be more fully bestowed under the Christian dispensation. As a sign they are abolished: but the thing signified remains in undiminished force. What the thing signified was, we are at no loss to determine: it was, that the law, of which a visible memorial was to be worn by the Jews, was to be inscribed in lively characters on our hearts. To this effect Moses speaks repeatedly, when giving directions respecting those other memorials of the law, which were to be worn on the forehead, and on the neck, and arms: “These words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” And again, “Ye shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul.” Hence the real design of God even as it respected them, and much more as it respects us, is evident. Moreover, God has promised this very thing to us, as the distinguishing blessing of the new covenant: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts.”

Now this is the true way to attain that constant sense of our duty and obligations to God, which have been before mentioned. For, if his law be written on our hearts, we shall find the same disposition to meditate upon it, as a covetous man does to meditate upon his gains, and an ambitious man on his distinctions. It is true, the heart has more to struggle with in the one case than the other; but, in proportion as divine grace prevails, holy exercises will be easy and delightful.]

  3.      To exhibit that law in our lives—

[The fringe was a distinction which shewed to every one of what religion they were. Thus there is a singularity which we also are to maintain: we are to be “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” If others will not walk with us in the narrow path of holiness, it is not our fault that we are singular, but theirs: we are no more blameable for differing from them, than Noah, Lot, Daniel, or Elijah, were for differing from the people amongst whom they lived. As to singularity in dress, it is rather to be avoided than desired. Our distinctions must be found only in the conformity of our lives to the word of God. Whilst the world are clad in gay attire, let us “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and be “clothed with humility:” yea, let us “put off the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and put on the new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness.” This is the way to honour God; and the more we strive to adorn our holy profession, the more peace and happiness we shall enjoy in it. In a word, holiness is our fringe: let us wear it: let us not be ashamed of it, but rather endeavour to “make our light to shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven.” Of course, I must not be understood to recommend any thing like ostentation: that is hateful both to God and man: but a bold, open, manly confession of Christ crucified is the indispensable duty of all who are called by his name: and “if we deny him, he will assuredly deny us.” I say then again, let us wear the fringe, and not indulge a wish to hide it. But let us be careful that “the ribband be of blue:” it must not be of any fading colour: our piety must be uniform in all places, and unchanging under all circumstances. We must be the same in the world as in the house of God. We must be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord;” and then we are assured, that “our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.”]

CLXII

KORAH’S REBELLION

  Numb. 16:38.

The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar; for they offered them before the Lord; therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

IT is painful, in perusing the history of the Israelites, to see how constantly they were murmuring and rebelling against God. Persons who are ignorant of their own hearts are ready to conceive of them as more perverse and obstinate than the rest of mankind: but they who know what human nature is, behold in their rebellions a true picture of mankind at large. In the chapter before us we have an exact representation of a popular tumult: we see the motives and principles by which factious demagogues are actuated, and the lamentable evils which they produce. The censers of which our text speaks were formed into plates for a covering of the altar, that they might be a sign to all future generations: and, though we have not now the altar before us, they are no less a sign to us, than they were to the Israelites of old.

Let us consider,

  I.      The history before us—

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, raised a rebellion against Moses and Aaron—

[Let us mark how they proceeded. They complained that Moses and Aaron had usurped an undue authority over them: and that Moses in particular had ensnared them, and brought them into the wilderness for that very purpose. For the purpose of making an invidious comparison between their former situation in Egypt and their present stateb, they represented Egypt as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” As to any personal interest, they disclaimed any regard to that; and professed to be actuated by a generous concern for the public welfare. In a word, they were true patriots: they were enemies to usurpation and tyranny, and friends to the liberties of the people. Liberty and equality was their mottod.

Such were their professions: and by these they imposed upon the people, and rendered them dissatisfied with the government both in church and state.

But what were their real principles? They envied the power and dignity with which their governors were invested, and were ambitious to obtain a like pre-eminence for themselves. As for any desire to ameliorate the state of the people at large, they had it not: a patriotic concern for others was a mere pretext, a popular cry raised for the purpose of gaining partisans. Korah was at the head of the Levites, and Dathan and Abiram were “men of renown among the princes of the congregation:” but they were not satisfied: they could endure no dignity superior to their own; and this was the true cause of all their discontent and clamour: and if by means of this insurrection they could have obtained the distinction which they aimed at, not a word more would have been uttered on the subject of national grievances; nor would one hundredth port of the care have been taken to prevent them. It is impossible to read the history and not to see that this was the true state of the case.

What an insight does this give us into that which is usually dignified with the name of patriotism! If ever there was a mild and just governor, it was Moses. If ever there was a pious, affectionate, and diligent minister, it was Aaron. If ever there was a well-administered government both in church and state, it was at that time. If ever people had cause to be satisfied and happy, it was then. There was not a single ground of sorrow amongst all the people, except that which had arisen solely from their own perverseness, their detention in the wilderness. Yet a few factious demagogues prevail to spread dissatisfaction through the whole camp: and their oppressed state of bondage in Egypt is declared to be preferable to the grievances which they then experienced.]

But, in fact, their rebellion was against God himself—

[This is plainly declared to them by Moses. What matter was there of complaint against Aaron? He did only what God had commanded him: and was he to be blamed for that? Moses forbears to make the same apology for himself: but his observation was equally applicable to himself, who had done nothing but by the express command of God. The conspirators then were in reality fighting against God himself, by whose direction every measure of the government had been taken. Moreover there was a typical design in these divine appointments, which this conspiracy was calculated to defeat. Thus, whilst envy and ambition characterized the conduct of the conspirators towards man, they betrayed also the grossest impiety and presumption towards God.]

The best estimate of their conduct may be found in the punishment inflicted for it—

[This was truly awful. Moses had obtained mercy from God for the congregation at large; but the leaders of the rebellion must be punished. Accordingly, whilst Dathan and Abiram, together with their wives, and families, and adherents, stood in the door of their tents, setting God himself, as it were, at defiance, Moses declared by what an extraordinary judgment they should perish: and no sooner had he spoken, than the judgment was inflicted: “the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them all up, with all that appertained unto them.” As for the two hundred and fifty persons who presumed to make their appeal to God respecting their title to the priesthood, “a fire came forth from the Lord, and consumed them all.” Terrible was this if viewed only as a temporal judgment: but if considered in reference to the eternal world, it was awful indeed! That it might be kept in remembrance for the instruction of future ages, “the censers, in which they had offered incense, were ordered to be made into broad plates for a covering of the altar.”]

It will be proper then that we distinctly consider,

  II.      The instruction to be gathered from it—

To us, no less than to the Jews, does this event most clearly speak. It shews us,

  1.      That sin is an act of hostility against our own souls—

[These rebels might be said to sin against their governors and against God: but they were “sinners also against their own souls:” and, had the object of their desire been the destruction of their own souls, they could not have prosecuted their end by any surer means. Little is this thought of by those who live in sin: but, whatever be the sin which they commit, the effect is still the same. If a man will only keep from sin, he may defy all the assaults either of men or devils. Men may destroy his body, but they cannot touch his soul. Satan himself cannot hurt his soul, without his own consent. Sin is the only medium by which the soul can receive any injury. But that inflicts upon it a deadly wound: that destroys its innocence and peace: that brings down upon it the wrath of an incensed God: that subjects it to everlasting misery. See how the earth swallowed up some, and how the fire consumed others; and there you will learn the fate of all who die in their sins: hell will open wide its mouth to swallow them up, and unquenchable fire will consume them as its proper and appointed fuel — — — O that men were wise, and would consider this; and turn, every one of them, from the evil of their ways!]

  2.      That opposition to constituted authorities is highly displeasing to God—

[We are far from denying that there is such a thing as real patriotism: nor do we mean to say that tyranny and oppression may not rise to such a height, as to justify the overthrow of an existing government. But this we say, that a real Christian will not be hasty to complain of grievances, even where they do exist; much less will he bear the smallest resemblance to these factious people, whose case we have been considering. The Christian is one of “them that are quiet in the land.” He regards government as God’s ordinance; and the persons who are invested with authority as God’s representatives. He considers that, in obeying them, he obeys God; and in unnecessarily and vexatiously opposing them, he opposes God: and he Knows that “God is the avenger of all such,” yea, that such persons “shall receive to themselves damnation:” the government itself may justly inflict punishment upon them; and God himself will punish such conduct in the eternal world. Persons of this stamp often pretend to religion: and so they did in the days of the Apostles: but those who “despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities,” have a “woe” denounced against them: their spirit is justly marked as a compound of envy, covetousness, and ambition; and having resembled Cain and Balaam in their spirit, they shall resemble Korah in their fate: they shall be eternal monuments of God’s heavy displeasure.

Happy would it be if persons who are of a factious and turbulent disposition would look occasionally on these “censers,” and reap the instruction which they are intended to convey!]

  3.      That a rejection of Christ must of necessity prove fatal to the soul—

[Moses as the governor, and Aaron as the high-priest, of Israel, were types and representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ: and in rebelling against them, they virtually rebelled against him also. Thus, amongst ourselves, how many are there who say, “We will not have this man to reign over us!” Some complain of his authority, as imposing an insupportable yoke upon them; and others of his priesthood, as prohibiting any access to God except through him as the only Mediator. But what the issue of such rebellion will be, we are faithfully warned, and that too with some reference, it should seem, to the judgments exercised on Korah and his company. At all events, if the opposers of Moses and Aaron were so fearfully destroyed, we may be sure that a far heavier judgment awaits the contemners and opposers of Christn — — — Let those who do not thankfully come to God by Christ, and unreservedly obey his holy will, be instructed by these events — — — In particular, we entreat them to act like Israel in the case before us: “All Israel that were gathered round the tents of Dathan and Abiram, fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.” Could we but hear the cry of those that are in hell, we should no longer sit supine and confident. O let us realize this thought ere it be too late, and “flee in earnest from the wrath to come!”]

CLXIII

AARON’S INTERCESSION

  Numb. 16:48.

And he stood between the dead and the living: and the plague was stayed.

CORRUPT as human nature is, there are some sins which we scarcely think it possible for a rational being to be guilty of; and, if it were suggested to us that we ourselves were in danger of committing them, we should be ready to reply, “Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?” Such is the sin which all the congregation of Israel committed on the very day after the death of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. These three persons had excited a rebellion against Moses and Aaron; Korah and his company aspiring to the priesthood, and Dathan and Abiram, with their friends, affecting the office of supreme governor. For this their impiety they had been severely punished; Korah and his company being destroyed by fire that issued from the tabernacle; and all the relatives of Dathan and Abiram being swallowed up by an earthquake. These signal judgments, one would have thought, should have effectually silenced every murmur throughout the camp: but, instead of being humbled, the people were the more enraged; and murmured more than ever against Moses and Aaron, complaining, that the people who had been destroyed were “the people of the Lord,” and that Moses and Aaron had been their murderers: “Ye have killed the people of the Lord.” God now renewed his threatening to destroy them: but Moses and Aaron “fell upon their faces,” as they had done frequently before, and importuned God to spare them. God however would not spare them, but sent a plague among them for their destruction. But no sooner did Moses perceive that “the plague was begun,” than he sent Aaron with an offering of incense to arrest its progress. Aaron went immediately into the midst of the people, and succeeded according to his wishes: “he stood between the dead and the living: and the plague was stayed.”

This subject is to be considered in a two-fold view;

  I.      As an historical fact—

In this view it is worthy of particular attention. We cannot but admire,

  1.      The interposition of Aaron—

[If ever opposition was unreasonable, it was then: if ever a people had offended beyond all sufferance, it was at that time. Well might Moses and Aaron have said, ‘We have interceded for you often enough: we have repeatedly saved every one of you from destruction: and now, because God has seen fit to punish some of the ringleaders in rebellion, we are charged with having killed them. If mercies will not reclaim you, it is high time that judgments should be tried.’ But not a thought of this kind entered into their hearts. They were filled with nothing but compassion and love. They fell on their faces to intercede for these rebellious people, as much as if they had received no provocation at their hands. The expedient suggested by Moses was instantly carried into effect: and Aaron, at his advanced age, ran with haste into the midst of the congregation, to make an atonement for them. He did not know but that the incensed people would wreak their vengeance upon him, as they had frequently threatened to do; and put him to death, as the author of their present sufferings. Nor could he be certain, but that, if he ran into the midst of the plague, it might sweep him away together with the rest. But he thought not of himself, nor listened for a moment to any personal considerations. He was intent only on saving the lives of his fellow-creatures.

What a glorious example did he afford to all future ministers! What a blessing would it be to the Church, if all her priests were like him; if all could say, “I count not my life dear to me, so that I may but fulfil my ministry;” “most gladly will I spend and be spent for my people, though, the more abundantly I love them, the less I be lovedc:” “I could wish even to be accursed after the example of Christ, if I might but by any means save only some:” yea, most cheerfully would “I suffer all things for their sakes, that they might obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glorye!” Were there more tender compassion amongst us, more ardent love, more self-denying zeal, more active exertion to “pluck our people as brands out of the fire,” and more willingness to perish in the attempt, we might not stop the mouths of gainsayers, it is true; but “we should save many souls alive,” and have them to be “our joy and crown of rejoicing” to all eternity. O that “God would speak the word, and that great might be the company of such preachers!”]

  2.      The effect of it—

[How wonderful! No sooner does the cloud of incense arise from Aaron’s hands, than the plague is stayed! On the day before, two hundred and fifty censers full of incense had been offered at the tabernacle, and had brought instantaneous destruction on the offerers: now the incense from one single censer averts destruction from all the congregation of Israel. The plague was spreading its ravages with such rapidity, that already, notwithstanding Aaron’s haste, fourteen thousand seven hundred persons had died of it: but the moment he reached the spot, the arm of justice was arrested, and the sword fell from the hand of the destroying angel. It proceeded irresistibly till it came to Aaron; but could not advance one hair’s breadth beyond him. On the one side of him all were dead; on the other, all remained alive. What a testimony was this to Aaron’s divine appointment! What a refutation was here of the accusations brought against him! and, above all, what an encouragement was here given to all future generations to abound in prayer and intercession! O! what might not be effected for the souls of men, if all ministers were men of prayer, and all who profess themselves the servants of the Lord would interpose between the living and the dead! O that “a spirit of prayer might be poured out upon us” all! If only we took our fire from off the altar of burnt-offering, the smoke of our incense should come up with acceptance before God: “We might ask what we would, and it should be done unto us.”]

As a history this passage is instructive: but it is no less so,

  II.      As an emblematic record—

They who read the Scriptures merely as a history, read them like children. The Old Testament, as well as the New, contains the deepest mysteries: and, to understand it aright, we must consider it not only “in the letter, but in the spirit.” Now the passage before us has undoubtedly an emblematic import: it was intended to shadow forth,

  1.      The means by which God’s wrath is to be averted—

[Aaron himself was a type of Christ; and the atonement which he now made for the people was typical of that great atonement which Christ himself was in due time to make for the sins of the whole world. There was indeed no animal slain; for there was now no time for sacrifice: but the fire taken from off the altar of burnt-offering, whereon the sacrifices were consumed, was considered on this occasion in the same light as “an atonement:” and the incense burnt on this occasion typified the intercession of our great High-Priest. By these two, the sacrifice and intercession of Christ, the whole world is to be saved. To this the whole Scriptures bear witness. What can be clearer than the prediction of the prophet Isaiah; “He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors?” What more express than the declaration of the beloved Apostle; “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sinsi?” The one intent of the Epistle to the Hebrews is to establish and illustrate this glorious truth.

Let us then look beyond Aaron and the rebellious Israelites, to Christ and a rebellious world. Let us see with what eager desire for our welfare HE left the bosom of his Father, and came into the midst of us, not at the risk of his life, but on purpose to “make his soul an offering for sin.” Let us hear too with what compassion he interceded for his very murderers; “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Let us look through the shadow to the substance. Then shall we have a right understanding of the history when we view it as “a shadow of good things to come.”]

  2.      The efficacy of them for the end proposed—

[Death was arrested in its career, and could proceed no further. And to what is it owing that our rebellious world has not long since been consigned over to destruction? “Not unto us, O Lord Jesu Christ, not unto us, but unto thy name be the praise:” thou by thine atoning blood hast made reconciliation between God and us; and by thy prevailing intercession hast procured for us the mercies we so greatly need. Can we doubt whether this statement be true? St. Paul expressly tells us that Christ is “our Peace:” and, in that view of him, exultingly exclaims, “Who is he that condemneth? it is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who also maketh intercession for us:” and he tells us further, that “Christ is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for usm.”

Here then again let us view the history in its proper light: and let us learn, Whither to look, and, In whom to hope, whensoever our sins have raised the divine displeasure against us. Let us learn too the force of that apostolic argument, so weak in logic, but so sound in theology, “If the censer in Aaron’s hand prevailed for the preservation of one rebellious people from, temporal death, how much more shall the atonement and intercession of Christ prevail for the everlasting salvation of our souls, yea, for the souls of the whole world!”]

  From the whole of this subject let US LEARN the duties,

  1.      Of faith—

[In the case before us, the benefit was conferred on account of Aaron’s faith, just as our Lord afterwards healed the paralytic on account of the faith of those who brought him: but in the great concerns of our souls, nothing can be obtained but through the exercise of our own faith. Notwithstanding our great High-Priest has performed the whole of his office, no benefit will accrue to us, unless we believe in him. In this respect we are to resemble the Israelites when bitten by the fiery serpents; we must look unto the brasen serpent in order to be healed; or, in other words, we must regard the Lord Jesus Christ as our Advocate and propitiation: we must renounce every other hope, and “flee for refuge to him as to the hope set before us.” On the one hand, we must not construe the forbearance of God as an approbation of our ways, as though we had no ground for fear: nor, on the other hand, should the greatness of our guilt or the multitude of our provocations make us despair, as though there were no ground for hope: but, viewing Christ as the appointed Mediator between God and us, we should “go to God through him,” trusting to his promise, that “he will in no wise cast us out.”]

  2.      Of love—

[We see not men struck dead around us under any visible marks of the divine displeasure: but we know that “God is angry with the wicked every day,” and is summoning multitudes to his tribunal under the weight and guilt of all their sins. What are we then about? How can we behold these things with such indifference? Why do we loiter? Why do we not run, as it were, into the midst of the congregation, in order, if possible, to awaken them from their stupor, and to save their precious souls? Why do we not at all events betake ourselves to prayer? We have, at least, our censers nigh at hand, if only we would take fire from the altar of burnt-offering, and burn incense on them. Let it not be said, “This is the work of ministers:” doubtless it is so; but not of them exclusively: they should lead the way, it is true, and be examples to the flock; but others should imitate their example, and “be followers of them, as they are of Christ;” or rather, should follow Christ, whether they will follow him or not. I call you then, every one of you, to forget yourselves, as it were, and your own personal concerns, and to be swallowed up with love and pity for your perishing fellow-creatures. Remember that they are not a whit safer by reason of their delusions. They may call rebels, “the people of the Lord;” but that will not make them the Lord’s people. They may cry out against God’s judgments as injustice and cruelty; but that will not prevent those judgments from being inflicted, either on others or themselves: yea rather, it will bring down those very judgments the more speedily, and more heavily, upon them. Try then to stir up within you the feelings of men, the feelings of Christians: “Of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”]

CLXIV

AARON’S ROD THAT BUDDED

  Numb. 17:10.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.

ONE cannot read one page in the Bible without seeing abundant evidence that God delighteth in the exercise of mercy. Judgment is with great truth called, “his strange act:” it is an act to which he never resorts but from absolute necessity: but mercy is his darling attribute; and to that he is inclined, even when the conduct of his enemies calls most loudly for tokens of his displeasure. Of this we have a surprising instance in the chapter before us. The competitors with Aaron for the high-priesthood had been struck dead by fire whilst they were in the very act of presenting their offerings to God; whilst their associates in rebellion, with their whole families, were swallowed up by an earthquake. These judgments produced a murmuring throughout the camp; and fourteen thousand seven hundred were swept off by a plague, which was stopped only by the interposition of Aaron. The people now were dumb: but God knew that, though intimidated, they were not so convinced, but that they would on some future occasion renew their pretensions to the priesthood, and thereby provoke him to destroy them utterly. Of his own rich mercy therefore he proposed to give them a sign, which should for ever silence their murmurings and preclude the necessity of heavier judgments.

In opening this subject we shall shew,

  I.      What God did to confirm the Aaronic priesthood—

He commanded the head of every tribe to bring a rod or staff to Moses, who inscribed on every one of them the owner’s name. These all together were placed before the ark: and the people were taught to expect, that the rod belonging to that tribe which God had chosen for the priesthood, should blossom; whilst all the other rods should remain as they were. On the morrow the rods were all brought forth. The owners severally took their own: and Aaron’s was distinguished from the rest by the mark proposed; “it was budded, and brought forth buds, and blossomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” The controversy being thus decided, God commanded that Aaron’s rod should be brought again before the ark, and “be kept for a token against the rebels.” How long it was preserved, cannot be ascertained; but that it was for a very long period, is certain; because St. Paul speaks of that, and the golden pot that had manna, as known appendages to the ark. Thus its use was not confined to that generation: it remained to future ages,

  1.      An evidence of God’s decision—

[The change wrought upon the rod in one single night, together with its having at once all the different stages of vegetation, “buds, blossoms, fruit,” this was sufficient to convince the most incredulous: no room could hereafter be left for doubt upon the subject. Nor do we find from this time even to the days of King Uzziah, that any one dared to usurp again the priestly office.]

  2.      A memorial of his mercy—

[Justly might the people have been utterly destroyed for their continued murmurings against God. But God here shewed, that “he desireth not the death of sinners, but rather that they should turn from their wickedness and live.” This was the avowed design of the test which God proposed; “It shall quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.” What astonishing condescension! Was it not enough for him to make the appointment, but must he use such methods to convince unreasonable men; to convince those, whom neither mercies nor judgments had before convinced? Had it been given, like Gideon’s fleece, to assure a doubting saint, we should the less have wondered at it; but when it was given as a superabundant proof to silence the most incorrigible rebels, it remained a monument to all future ages, that God is indeed “full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great kindness.”]

  3.      A witness for him, in case he should be hereafter compelled to inflict his judgments upon them—

[It is well called “a token against the rebels.” God might at all future periods point to it, and ask, “What could have been done more for my people, than I have done for them?” Have they not procured my judgments by their own wilful and obstinate transgressionsc? — — — By this means, whatever judgments he should from that time inflict, he would “be justified in what he ordained, and be clear when he judged.”]

If we bear in mind that the Aaronic priesthood was typical, we shall see the propriety of considering,

  II.      What he has done to confirm the priesthood of Christ—

The whole Epistle to the Hebrews is written to shew that the Aaronic priesthood typified that of the Lord Jesus, and was accomplished by it. This will account for the jealousy which God manifested on the subject of the Aaronic priesthood, and the care that he took to establish it on an immovable foundation. Whether there was any thing typical in the peculiar means by which it was established, we will not pretend to determine: but certain it is that there is a striking correspondence between the blossoming of Aaron’s rod, and those things by which Christ’s priesthood is established. Two things in particular we shall mention as placing beyond all doubt the appointment of the Lord Jesus to the priestly office:

  1.      The resurrection of Christ—

[Christ is expressly called, “a rod out of the stem of Jesse;” and so little prospect was there, according to human appearances, that he should ever flourish, that it was said of him, “He shall grow up as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground:” “He is despised and rejected of menf.” If this was his state whilst yet alive, how much more must it be so when he was dead and buried! His enemies then triumphed over him as a deceiver, and his followers despaired of ever seeing his pretensions realized. But behold, with the intervention of one single day, this dry rod revived, and blossomed to the astonishment and confusion of all his adversaries. Now indeed it appeared that God had “appointed him to be both Lord and Christ.” Now it was proved, that “his enemies should become his footstool.” On his ascension to heaven he was laid up, as it were, beside the testimony in the immediate presence of his God, to be “a token against the rebels.” There is he “a token,” that God desires to save his rebellious people: that “he has laid help for them upon one that is mighty:” that all which is necessary for their salvation is already accomplished: that their great High-Priest, having made atonement fur them, is entered within the veil; and that “he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” If any shall now reject him, he will be “a swift witness against them;” and God will be justified, yea he will glorify himself in their eternal condemnation.]

  2.      The spread of the Gospel—

[The Gospel is represented by God as “the rod of his strength:” and in reference, as it should seem, to the very miracle before us, its miraculous propagation through the earth is thus foretold: “God shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” Consider how the Gospel militated against all the prejudices and passions of mankind, and by whom it was to be propagated, (a few poor fishermen,) and it will appear, that the blossoming of Aaron’s rod was not a more unlikely event than that Christianity should be established in the world. Yet behold, a very short space of time was sufficient for the diffusion of it throughout the Roman empire; and, from its first propagation to the present moment, not all the efforts of men or devils have been able to root it out. The spread of Mahometanism affords no parallel to this; because that was propagated by the sword, and tended rather to gratify, than counteract, the sinful passions of mankind. The doctrine of the cross not only gained acceptance through the world, but transformed the very natures of men into the divine image. Such operations, visible in every place, and in every stage of their progress from their first budding to the production of ripe fruit, could not but prove, that the priesthood which it maintained was of divine appointment; that the doctrine which it published was suited to our necessities; and that all who embraced it should be saved by it. In this view every individual believer is a witness for God, and “a token against the rebels;” inasmuch as he manifests to all the power and efficacy of the gospel salvation: he is “an epistle of Christ, known and read of all men;” and, by his earnestness in the ways of God, he says to all around him, “How shall ye escape, if ye neglect so great salvation?” Yes; every soul that shall have found mercy through the mediation of our great High-Priest, will, in the last day, rise up in judgment against the despisers of his salvation, and condemn them: nor will the condemned criminals themselves be able to offer a plea in arrest of judgment.]

  ADDRESS,

  1.      Those who are unconscious of having rejected Christ—

[It is not necessary in order to a rejection of Christ that we should combine against him as the Israelites did against Aaron: we reject him, in fact, if we do not receive him for the ends and purposes for which he was sent. Our inquiry then must be, not, Have I conspired against him, and openly cast him off? but, Am I daily making HIM the one medium of my access to God, and expecting salvation through him alone? — — — If we have not thus practically regarded him in his mediatorial character, we are decided rebels against God.]

  2.      Those who begin to he sensible of their rebellion against him—

[Men are apt to run to extremes: the transition from presumption to despondency is very common. See how rapidly it took place in the rebellious Israelites I No sooner did they see the controversy decided, than they cried, “Behold we die, we perish, we all perish! Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?” What consternation and terror did they here express! Just before, they would be priests, and come to the very altar of God: and now, they will not “come any thing near the tabernacle,” though it was their duty to bring their sacrifices to the very door thereof. So it is too often with us. Before we are convinced of sin, we cast off all fear of God’s judgments; and, when convinced, we put away all hope of his mercy. Let it not be thus. The very means which God has used for our conviction, are proofs and evidences of his tender mercy — — — Only let us come to him through Christ, and all our past iniquities shall be “blotted out as a morning cloud.”]

  3.      Those who confess him as their divinely appointed Mediator—

[From this time the Israelites never presumed to approach the Lord but through the mediation of the high-priest. Whether they offered sacrifices or gifts, they equally acknowledged the unacceptableness of them in any other than the appointed way. Thus must we do. Not any thing must be presented to God, or be expected from him, but in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. If we approach God in any other way, we shall find him “a consuming fire.” Let this be remembered by us: it cannot possibly be too deeply engraven on our minds. If God manifested such indignation against those who disregarded the shadow, what must be the fate of those who disregard the substance? If we reject Christ, we have nothing to hope for; if we cleave unto him, we have nothing to fear.]

CLXV

THE LAW OF PURIFICATION

  Numb. 19:17–20.

For an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel; and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

AN inspired Apostle has acknowledged, that the yoke imposed upon the Jews was quite insupportable. Where the reason of the ordinances was apparent, and the observance of them easy, we may suppose that the people would cheerfully comply with them: but, in many cases, the rites prescribed were very burthensome; they laid the people under severe restraints, entailed upon them heavy expenses, deprived them of many comforts, and subjected them to great inconveniences, apparently without any adequate reason. This might be illustrated by many of the ordinances; but in none so forcibly as in that before us. The kind of defilement which was to be remedied, was as light and venial as could possibly be conceived: it implied no moral guilt whatever; nor could possibly in some cases be avoided: yet it rendered a person unclean seven days; and every thing that he touched, was also made unclean; and every person who might, however inadvertently, come in contact with any thing that had been touched by him, was also made unclean. Moreover, if any person that had contracted this ceremonial defilement, concealed it, or refused to submit to this prescribed form of purification, he was to be cut off from God’s people. We do not wonder, that the proud heart of man should rise up in rebellion against such an ordinance as this: and still less do we wonder that the pious Jews should long for the Messiah, who was to liberate his people from such a yoke.

But if, on the one hand, this was the most burthensome ordinance, it was, on the other hand, the most edifying to those who could discover its true import. It may well be doubted whether in any other ordinance whatever there can be found so rich a variety of instructive matter, as may justly be deduced from that before us.

To confirm this assertion, we shall state,

  I.      Its typical import—

On this we shall dwell no longer than is necessary to prepare the way for the instruction which the subject is suited to convey. We will however, for the sake of perspicuity, call your attention to the ordinance under two distinct heads;

  1.      The preparation of the heifer for its destined use—

[A red heifer was taken from the congregation; it was to be without spot or blemish; and it must be one that had never borne a yoke. Being brought without the camp, it was slain in the presence of the priest, who with his finger sprinkled the blood “directly before the tabernacle, seven times.” The whole carcass was then burned in his presence; (the skin, the flesh, the blood, the dung, were all burned together;) and some cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet wool were burned with it. Then the ashes of the heifer were gathered up by another person, and deposited in a clean place without the camp.

Every minute particular of this ordinance we shall not attempt to explain: but its leading features are clear. We see here the Lord Jesus Christ, taken from, and separated for, the whole mass of mankind. We see him who was “without blemish and without spot,” and who was under no previous obligation to suffer for us, coming voluntarily into the world for that express purpose. We see him suffering the most inconceivable agonies both in body and soul even unto death, without the gates of Jerusalem. We see him sprinkling his own blood before the mercy-seat of the Most High God, in order to effect a perfect reconciliation between God and us. And that one atonement which was offered by him for the sins of the whole world, we see to be of perpetual efficacy in the Church, and ever ready at hand to be applied for the purification of those who desire deliverance from sin and death.]

  2.      The application of it to that use—

[A portion of the ashes being put into a vessel, running water was poured upon them: and then a bunch of hyssop was dipped in the water, and the unclean person, together with every thing which had been defiled through him, was sprinkled with it. This was done on the third day, and on the seventh day; and then the unclean person was considered as purified from his defilement.

Here we behold the Holy Spirit co-operating with the Lord Jesus Christ in effecting the redemption of a ruined world. The Holy Spirit qualified the man Jesus for his work, and upheld him in it, and wrought miracles by him in confirmation of his mission, and raised him up from the dead, and bore witness to him in a visible manner on the day of Pentecost; and from that day to this has been imparting to the souls of men the benefits of the Redeemer’s sacrifice. By working faith in our hearts, he enables us to apply to ourselves the promises of God, and thereby to obtain an interest in all that Christ has done and suffered for us. And by such repeated applications of the promises to ourselves, he conveys to us all the blessings of grace and glory.

That this is the import of the type we can have no doubt, since God himself has so explained it.]

This may suffice for a general explanation of the ordinance: but we shall gain a still clearer insight into it by considering,

  II.      Its instructive tendency—

We do not apprehend that any Jew, perhaps not even Moses himself, could discover in it all that we do. Yet we would be extremely cautious of indulging our fancy, or of deducing from the ordinance any instruction which it is not well fitted to convey. We certainly keep within the bounds of sober interpretation, when we say, that we may learn from it,

  1.      Our universal need of a remedy against the defilement of sin—

[The contracting of defilement from the touch of a dead body, or a bone, or a grave, and the communicating of that defilement to every thing that was touched, and the rendering of that also a means of communicating defilement to others, intimated, that in our present state we cannot but receive defilement from the things around us; and that, whether intentionally or not, we are the means of diffusing the sad contagion of sin. “There is not a man that liveth, and sinneth not:” “in many things we all offend:” so that we may well adopt the language of the Psalmist, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from my secret faults” — — — Now as every one who was defiled, needed the purification that was appointed, so do we, even the most pure amongst us, need deliverance from guilt and corruption. However careful we are, we cannot plead exemption from the common lot of all: we are “corrupted and corruptersc,” every one of us; and are greatly indebted to our God, who has graciously appointed means for the purifying of our souls.]

  2.      The mysterious nature of that remedy prescribed to us in the Gospel—

[Some have said, Where mystery begins, religion ends. We rather would say, that Christianity is altogether a mystery in every part. Look at this typical representation, and say, whether there be no mystery in it. Can we fathom all its depths? or, if enabled by the light of the New Testament to declare its import, can we reduce it all to the dictates of reason? Look at the truths that are shadowed forth; is there nothing mysterious in them? Think of God’s only dear Son, “in whom was no sin, becoming sin for us, that we might be mode the righteousness of God in Him.” Think of the Holy Ghost, the third Person in the ever-blessed Trinity, concurring with him in his work, and exercising his almighty power to render it effectual for our good. Is there no mystery in all this? Truly, “great is the mystery of godliness:” and the more we contemplate it, the more shall we be constrained to exclaim with the Apostle, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”]

  3.      The precise manner in which that remedy becomes effectual—

[What was it that rendered the ordinance effectual for the purifying of an unclean person? Was there any necessary connexion between sprinkling the ashes of an heifer upon a person, and the cleansing him from sin? None at all. It was the divine appointment, and that only, that gave efficacy to it. indeed, so far was it from being able of itself to cleanse a person from sin, that the very observance of the ordinance rendered every person unclean that was engaged in it. The killing of the heifer, the sprinkling of its blood, the burning of it, and the gathering up of the ashes, rendered all the persons who were occupied in those duties, unclean until the evening; and laid them under a necessity of washing both their body and their clothes, in order to their purification from the defilement they had contracted. All this shewed clearly enough that the ordinance in itself had no purifying power: it went further; it intimated, that neither could evangelical obedience cleanse us from sin: we cannot exercise repentance or faith, but we contract guilt through the imperfection of our graces: “our tears,” as a pious prelate expresses it, “need to be washed, and our repentances to be repented of.” There is no virtue in them to cleanse us from sin: nay, there is no necessary connexion between the exercise of those graces in us, and the removal of guilt from our souls. If the devils were to repent, or to believe, we have no authority to say that they must therefore be restored to the state from which they fell: and, independent of the divine appointment, there is no more connexion between the death of Christ and our salvation, than between the same event and theirs. It is from the divine appointment only that the Gospel derives its power to save. It was from that source alone that the rod of Moses had power to divide the sea, or the brasen serpent to heal the wounded Israelites, or the waters of Jordan to cure Naaman of his leprosy: and consequently, if any of us obtain salvation, all ground of glorying in ourselves must be for ever excluded: our repentance, our faith, our obedience are necessary, as the sprinkling of the ashes; but the ultimate effect, namely, the salvation of our souls, is altogether the free gift of God for Christ’s sake.

Unless we view this matter aright, we shall never know how entirely we are indebted to the free grace of God, or be sufficiently on our guard against self-preference and self-complacency.]

  4.      The indispensable necessity of resorting to it—

[If any person had contracted uncleanness, it signified nothing how the defilement came: he was unclean; and he must purify himself in the appointed way: and, if he refused to do so, he must be cut off. If, previous to his purification, he should presume to enter into the sanctuary, the sanctuary itself would be defiled.

Thus whether a man have sinned in a greater or less degree, he must seek to be cleansed by the blood and Spirit of Christ: he must embrace the Gospel as his only hope. It will be in vain to plead, that his sins have been small and unintentional, and that he does not deserve the wrath of God: one question only will be asked, “Is he a sinner? has he at any time, or in any way, contracted the smallest measure of defilement?” If any man be so free from sin, as never to have committed it once in his whole life, in thought, word, or deed, let him reject the Gospel as unsuited to his state: but if the smallest evil have ever been indulged in his heart, he must submit to the purification that is prescribed. No other can be substituted in its place. He may say, as Naaman, “Are not the waters of Abana and Pharpar as good as those of Jordan?” But, allowing them to be as good, they will not have the same effect, because they are not appointed of God to that end. I say then to every child of man, “Repent, and believe the Gospel:” “Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out:” “He that believeth shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned.” Think not to come to God in any other way than this; for heaven itself would be defiled by your admission thither, if you were not first purged from your sins by the blood and Spirit of Christ.]

  5.      The efficacy of it when duly applied—

[Every person who complied with the ordinance, was cleansed: and every one who has the blood and Spirit of Christ sprinkled on his soul, shall “be saved with an everlasting salvation.” The argument which the Apostle uses in a fore-cited passage, deserves to be attentively considered. It is this; “If the legal purification availed for the smallest good, how shall not the gospel method of purification avail for the greatest?” In this argument there would be no force at all, if only logically considered: but, if considered in connexion with the deep mysteries of the Gospel, it has all the force of demonstration. Consider who it was, whose blood was offered unto God for us? it was the blood of his co-equal, co-eternal Son. Consider who that Agent was, who co-operated with him in the making of this offering? it was “The Eternal Spirit,” who, with the Father and the Son, is the one Supreme God. Consider these things, I say, and nothing will be too great for us to expect, if only we come to God in his appointed way. Yes; our consciences shall be purged from guilt, and our souls be transformed into the divine image. Whatever our sins may have been, even “though of a crimson dye, they shall be made white as snow.” Let the sinner view an unclean person under the law, excluded from the society of his dearest friends, and prohibited from all access to the sanctuary; and then, on the renewed sprinkling of the ashes, instantly brought into communion with the Lord’s people, and invested with the privilege of drawing nigh to God: let him view this, I say, and he has a striking representation of the change that shall take place in his own condition, the very moment he is interested in the atonement of Christ. He shall instantly be numbered with the saints below, and assuredly be fellow-heir with “the saints in light.” Let then this sprinkling be performed without delay: exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to your great High-Priest, and say, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” But remember, that you must repeat this sprinkling from day to day. The unclean person was to be sprinkled on the third day, and on the seventh: so must we be from time to time, even to the latest period of our lives.

Consider, Brethren, what I say; “and the Lord give you understanding in all things.”]

CLXVI

MOSES AND AARON SENTENCED TO DIE IN THE WILDERNESS

  Numb. 20:12.

And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

SCARCELY shall we find any portion of sacred history that is more calculated to affect a pious mind, than this. When we see judgments inflicted on the rebellious Israelites, we acknowledge without hesitation the justice and equity of God: we regret indeed that their impieties called for such severity; but we approve of the severity itself, or rather, regard it as lenient, in comparison of their deserts. But here our proud hearts are almost ready to revolt, and to exclaim, “Hath God forgotten to be gracious?” “Is it thus that God deals with his chosen servants, who for forty years have been indefatigable in his service? Does he thus for one offence exclude them from the promised land, to the possession of which they had looked forward with such ardent desire and assured expectation?” But we are soon silenced with that unanswerable question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” We are very incompetent to determine, what it becomes the Divine Majesty to do. But though we are not to sit in judgment on his dispensations, we may with propriety inquire into the reasons of them, if only we do so with a view to vindicate his ways, and to gain that instruction which they are intended to convey. Let us then, whilst contemplating the exclusion of Moses and Aaron from the land of Canaan, consider,

  I.      The offence they committed—

Slight as it may appear to us, it was a complicated offence—

There was in it a mixture of,

  1.      Irreverence—

[“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.” But on this occasion Moses and Aaron seem to have forgotten that they were in the presence of God, or that there was any necessity to lead the murmurers to a becoming affiance in him. They should have reminded the people of his past mercies, and shewn them how to secure the continuance of his favours by penitence and prayer. But, notwithstanding “the glory of the Lord appeared unto them,” they omitted, as he complains, “to sanctify him in the eyes of the children of Israel.” This was a great offence. They should have remembered, that Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, had been devoured by fire before the Lord for irreverently offering common fire in their censers, instead of the fire that was burning on the altar: and that God on that occasion had said, “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh unto me, and before all the people I will be glorified.” There would therefore have been no ground to arraign the justice of God, even if he had smitten them in like manner on this occasion. Their exclusion from Canaan, though grievous, was less than their iniquity deserved.]

  2.      Anger—

[A certain kind of anger is allowable: nor is it wrong to testify that displeasure in words: but it must not be such an anger as transports us into unbecoming actions or vehement invectives. The expressions used by Moses on this occasion, shew, that his anger was by no means duly moderated. It did not terminate on the offence, but struck at the person of the offenders; towards whom nothing but pity, joined with faithful remonstrances, should have been exercised. Doubtless, his indignation was very hot, when he addressed the people, “Ye rebels:” and in this it is evident that Aaron also was a partaker with him. How sinful this was, we may judge from that declaration of our Lord, that “Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Here then again we see that their exclusion from Canaan was justly merited.]

  3.      Disobedience—

[God had commanded Moses to “speak to the rock:” but Moses, in the paroxysm of his anger, smote it, yea “smote it twice.” Had Moses forgotten how strict God’s injunctions had been respecting the furniture of the tabernacle, that every the smallest vessel or pin should be “made according to the pattern shewn to him in the mount?” Had he forgotten that, when bounds were set round Mount Sinai, even a beast, if he should pass them, was to be pierced through with a dart? Had he and Aaron forgotten how strictly every the minutest service of the sanctuary was enjoined on the pain of death? How then could they dare thus to violate the divine commands? God himself complains of this as an act of direct rebellion against him. Who then can wonder that God saw fit to mark it with a testimony of his displeasure? It is not improbable that God, in ordering Moses to speak to the rock, intended to reprove the Israelites, when they saw the rocks themselves more obedient to the divine command than they. But the disobedience of Moses altogether defeated this intention: yea, it was calculated to convey a most erroneous idea to those who understood the mystical import of this dispensation. The rock that had been smitten nine and thirty years before was a type of Christ, from whom, as smitten for our offences, the waters of life and salvation flow. But Christ was not to be smitten twice: “he was once offered to bear the sins of many:” and it is henceforth by speaking to him, and addressing him in prayer and faith, that we are to receive renewed communications of his grace and mercy. But Moses and Aaron overlooked all this, (for what will not people forget, when under the influence of passion?) and justly brought upon themselves this severe rebuke.]

  4.      Unbelief—

[Of this in particular God accuses them; “Ye believed me not, to sanctify me.” Whether they doubted the efficacy of a word, and therefore smote the rock; or whether they acted in their own strength, expecting the effect to be produced by their own act of striking the rock, instead of regarding God alone as the author of the mercy, we cannot say: we rather incline to the latter opinion, because of the emphatic manner in which they addressed the Israelites; “Ye rebels, must WE fetch you water out of this rock?” In either case they were under the influence of unbelief: for, distrust of God, or creature-confidence, are equally the effects of unbelief: the one characterized the conduct of those Israelites who were afraid to go up to take possession of the promised land; and the other, those who went up in their own strength, when God had refused to go before them. This was the offence which excluded the whole nation from the promised land: “they could not enter in because of unbelief:” no wonder therefore, that, when Moses and Aaron were guilty of it, they were involved in the common lot.]

What has been said may suffice to shew that their offence was not so light as it may at first sight appear to be: but its enormity will be best seen in,

  II.      The punishment inflicted for it—

The sentence denounced against them was, that they should die in the wilderness, and be denied the privilege of leading the people into the promised land. This was.

  1.      An awful sentence—

[How distressing it was to them, we may judge from the prayer of Moses, who sought to have the sentence reversed: “O Lord God, I pray thee let me go over and see the good land!” But, as Moses himself tells us, “God was wroth with him, and would not hear him.” How loudly does this speak to us! If we reflect on the length of time that they had served the Lord; the exemplary manner in which they had conducted themselves; (oftentimes at the peril of their lives expostulating with the people, and seeking to avert the wrath of God from them;) and that this, as it respected Moses at least, was almost the only fault that he had committed: if we at the same time consider, how grievous the disappointment must have been to them to have all their hopes and expectations frustrated, now that they had nearly completed the destined period of their wanderings; truly we cannot but see in this dispensation the evil and bitterness of sin; and feel the importance of that admonition, “Let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into God’s rest, any of us should seem to come short of it.”

We know indeed that this sentence of exclusion did not extend to the Canaan that is above: and it is probable that many others who died in the wilderness, were therefore “judged and chastened of the Lord, that they might not be condemned with the world:” nevertheless the record of their failure is “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come:” and as the great body of the nation were “examples unto us, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted,” so may the example of Moses in particular teach us, that “if the righteous turn away from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” Indeed this is the very lesson which St. Paul himself inculcates from the exclusion of the Israelites at large, and which is doubly forcible when arising from the failure of Moses; “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fallm.” Were a man as eminent as Paul himself, it would behove him to use the same vigilance as he; “keeping under his body, and bringing it into subjection, lest by any means, after having preached to others, he himself should be a castaway.” Not he that “runneth well for a season,” but “he that endureth to the end, shall be saved.”]

  2.      An instructive sentence—

[Besides the general idea above suggested, there are several very important things prefigured in this dispensation.

First, it intimated the insufficiency of the moral law to justify us. Moses, the meekest of all the human race, had once “spoken unadvisedly with his lips;” and for that one trespass was excluded from the promised landp. Now, if we consider the typical nature of the whole Mosaic economy, we shall not wonder, that he, whose whole office and ministry were typical, was ordained to instruct us even by his death. In fact, he was himself a comment on his own law: that denounced every one “cursed, who continued not in all things that were written in the book of the law to do them;” and he, for one offence, was doomed to die among the unbelieving Israelites, and thereby to shew, that “by the deeds of the law should no flesh be justified.”

Let this be remembered by us: the law condemns us as truly for one offence as for a thousand: it is of excellent use to lead us through the wilderness; but it never can bring us into Canaan: and, if ever we would be saved at all, we must trust, not in our own obedience to the law, but in Him who fulfilled it, and redeemed us from its curse.

Next, it instructs us in the transitory nature of the ceremonial law. Before the sentence was to be executed on Aaron, he was to go up to the top of Mount Hor, and there to be stripped of his priestly garments, which Moses was to put upon Eleazar his son. By this transfer of the priesthood it was shewn, that this typical priesthood was not to endure for ever, but to be transferred from one generation to another, till at last it should be superseded by Him, who was to be “a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec.” This is no fanciful construction: it is the very idea suggested by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews; who tells us, that the law was disannulled for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof: the priests, its ministers, being unable to continue by reason of death, yielded up their office to “Him who liveth for evermore:” and thus the whole legal economy, not being able to make any one perfect, gave way to that better hope which does. Thus, I say, Aaron’s death illustrated the weakness of the ceremonial law, as the death of Moses did that of the moral law. Neither could introduce any one to the land of Canaan; but the one “waxed old and vanished awayx;” and the other remained only to curse and to condemn all who were under its power.

The last truth which this dispensation preaches to us is, that Christ it the appointed Saviour of the world. Moses and Aaron, being doomed to die in the wilderness, and Miriam having already died at the commencement of this fortieth year, the people were by God’s command committed to the care and government of Joshua. He was to subdue all their enemies before them, and to put the Israelites into a complete possession of the promised land. Who does not recognise in him the Lord Jesus Christ. Their very names are precisely the same in the Greek language: and their offices are the same. Jesus is “the Captain of our salvation:” God has given all his people into his hands, that he may give eternal life unto as many as the Father hath given him. Know then, all ye who are going towards the promised land, to whom you must look for direction, support, and victory. Jesus is “given to be a Leader and Commander to his people:” and they who fight under his banners, shall be “more than conquerors.” In a word, the moral “law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ;” and the ceremonial law was a visible representation to shadow him forth: and in reference to both of them it may be said, “He was the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”]

  TO CONCLUDE—

[Let us receive from this history the instruction it was intended to convey. Let us learn from it the excellency of the Gospel, which reveals the Saviour to us; and let us see the importance of adorning it by a suitable conduct and conversation; ever remembering, that to them, and them only, who, by a patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honour and immortality, will eternal life be assigned.]

CLXVII

DEATH OF AARON

  Numb. 20:27, 28.

And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

THE lapse of time is so gradual and silent, that, for the most part, it escapes our observation: but there are seasons and occurrences which almost irresistibly force upon us the conviction that our days are coming to a close. The history before us is particularly calculated to impress our minds with this thought. It was not till an advanced period of life that Moses and Aaron were called to their sacred office: and when, contrary to their expectation, they were turned back into the wilderness, and doomed to sojourn there during the space of forty years, it would appear as though that time would scarcely ever expire. But years rolled on; the destined period arrived; and death, which had nearly completed its work in the destruction of all the men who had come out of Egypt, received a new commission against those most distinguished servants of the Lord. At the commencement of the fortieth year, Miriam died: before it was half expired, Aaron too was cut off; and, before its termination, Moses himself also was constrained to yield to the stroke of death. In the death of Aaron, to which we would now call your attention, there are two things more especially to be noticed;

  I.      The transfer of his office—

Moses received an order to “strip off Aaron’s garments, and to put them on Eleazar his son.” That order was now executed: and in the execution of it we may see the true nature of that law, of which Aaron was the chief minister. We may see,

  1.      That it could not save—

[In the preceding Discourse we have observed, that the sentence of death passed on Moses, marked the insufficiency of the moral law to justify: and now we observe, that the transfer of Aaron’s priesthood marked the same respecting the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law was never designed to make any real satisfaction for sin. The annual repetition of the same sacrifices shewed, that they had not fully prevailed for the removal of guilt. As they could not satisfy divine justice, so neither could they satisfy the consciences of those who offered them: “they were remembrances of sin,” calculated to preserve a sense of guilt upon the conscience, and to direct the people to that great Sacrifice, which should in due time be offered for the sins of the whole world. This, I say, was shadowed forth in the death of Aaron: for, if those sacrifices which he had offered could really atone for sin, why were they not accepted for his sin; or why was not some fresh sacrifice appointed for it? They could not so much as avert from him a temporal punishment, or procure for him an admission into the earthly Canaan: how then could they prevail for the removal of eternal punishment, and for the admission of sinners into the heavenly land? The Apostle tells us, that “it was not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sin:” nor could a more striking evidence of its inefficiency be conceived, than that which was exhibited in the event before us.]

  2.      That it was not to continue—

[The sentence of death denounced against Aaron, manifested, as we have before shewn, that the law itself was in due time to be disannulled. The stripping off of Aaron’s garments, and putting of them upon Eleazar, still more clearly marked the changeableness of Aaron’s priesthood; and intimated, that it should successively devolve on dying men, till HE should arrive, who should never die, but “be a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec.”

But the manner in which this transfer was carried into execution deserves particular attention, inasmuch as it was peculiarly calculated to give the people an insight into the whole nature and design of the ceremonial law. Whether the ceremony passed in the sight of all the congregation or not, we cannot say: but they were certainly informed of what was about to take place on the arrival of Moses and Aaron at the destined spot. Now Moses was the person who, by God’s appointment, had put the priestly garments on Aaron, forty years before; and he also was the person appointed to strip them off. Was this an accidental circumstance, without any mystical design? Can we suppose that, in a dispensation which was altogether figurative, such a singular fact as this was devoid of meaning? No: it was replete with instruction. We dread exceedingly the indulgence of fancy in interpreting the Scriptures; but we are persuaded that a very deep mystery was shadowed forth on this occasion. Moses was the representative of the law, as Aaron was of our great High-Priest. Now it was the law which made any priesthood necessary. If the law had not existed, there had been no transgression: if that had not denounced a curse for sin, there had been no need of an High-Priest to make atonement for sin: and if there had been no need of a real sacrifice, there had been no occasion for either a priesthood or sacrifices to shadow it forth. The law then called forth, if I may so speak, the Lord Jesus Christ to his office: and therefore Moses put the priestly garments on him who was to prefigure Christ. But the same law which rendered a real atonement necessary, made the figurative priesthood wholly ineffectual: its demands were too high to be satisfied with mere carnal ordinances: there was nothing in a ceremonial observance that could be accepted as a fulfilment of its injunctions; nor was there any thing in the blood of a beast that could compensate for the violation of them: therefore, to shew that nothing but the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ could be of any avail, the same hand that put the shadowy garments upon Aaron must strip them off again.

Thus in this transaction are we taught, not only that the ceremonial law was a mere temporary appointment, but that men should look through it to Him whom it shadowed forth. The language of it was, in effect, similar to that of the Apostle; “I through the law am dead to the law;” that is, “I, through the strictness of the moral law, am cut off from all hopes of acceptance with God by any obedience to its commands; yea, I despair of obtaining salvation by any works either of the ceremonial or moral law; and I trust wholly in the Lord Jesus Christ: I seek to be justified solely and altogether by faith in him.”]

Whilst our minds are instructed by the transfer of Aaron’s office to Eleazar his son, our hearts cannot but be affected by,

  II.      The surrender of his soul—

“The time was come when his spirit must now return unto God who gave it.” He goes up to Mount Hor, the appointed place, where he must lay down his mortal body, and from whence he must enter into the presence of his God. In this last scene of his life there is much that is worthy of observation:

  1.      The occasion was awful—

[Aaron had sinned; and for that sin he must die. We doubt not indeed but that he found mercy before God; but still he died on account of his transgression: his death was the punishment of sin. This, in fact, is true respecting every one that dies: though in some respects death may be numbered among the Christian’s treasures, yet in other points of view it must still be regarded as an enemyg, and a punishment for sin. In this light it must be considered even by the most exalted Christian, no less than by the most ungodly; “his body is dead because of sin, even though his spirit be life because of righteousness.”

But in the death of this eminent saint we have a most instructive lesson. It was doubtless intended as a warning to all who profess themselves the servants of God. Like Lot’s wife, it speaks to all succeeding generations, and declares the danger of departing from God. No length of services will avail us any thing, if at last we yield to temptation, and “fall from our own steadfastness.” The death of Aaron shadowed forth that truth which is plainly declared by the prophet Ezekiel, that “if a righteous man turn away from his righteousness and commit iniquity, all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; but in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” Many there are, who, from an attachment to human systems and a zeal for truths of an apparently opposite nature, would almost expunge this passage from the sacred volume: but, whether we can reconcile it with other passages or not, it is true; and every one of us shall find it true at last, that not he who runneth well for a season, but “he who endureth unto the end, shall be saved.”]

  2.      The manner [was] dignified—

[Methinks I see Aaron, accompanied by Moses and Eleazar going up to Mount Hor “in the sight of all the congregation:” there is in him no appearance of infidel hardness, or unbelieving fear, or pharisaic confidence: he acquiesces in the divine appointment, and, with meek composure, a firm step, and a cheerful countenance, ascends to meet his God. Thrice happy man! how enviable his state, to be so attended, and to be so assured! What can a saint desire more than this; to have his pious relatives about him; to see, not only those with whom he has moved in sweet harmony for many years, and who are soon to follow him into the eternal world, but his children also, who are coming forward to fill the offices he vacates, and to serve the Lord as he has done before them; to see them around him, I say, in his last hours; to enjoy their prayers; and to bestow on them his parting benedictions? How delightful, in that hour, to “know in whom he has believed,” and to be assured that he is “entering into the joy of his Lord!” Such may be the state of all; such ought to be the state of all. Hear how Peter speaks of his death: “I know that I must shortly put off this my tabernacle.” Hear Paul also speaking of his: “I know that when the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, I have an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens:” “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me.” Shall it be said, These were Apostles; and we must not expect such attainments as theirs? I answer, These things are the privilege of all: “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.”]

  3.      The event [was] honourable—

[Upon every recurrence of difficulties, the whole people of Israel had vented their spleen against Moses and against Aaron. On some occasions they had been ready to stone these distinguished servants of the Lord. But now that Aaron was taken from them, the whole congregation of Israel bemoaned their loss. Now they call to mind those services, which once they despised. Now they say one to another, ‘How often have we seen him fall on his face before God, to implore mercy for us, at the very moment when we were murmuring against him as the source of all our troubles! How did we on a recent occasion see him rushing with his censer into the midst of the plague, to arrest the pestilence in its progress, even at the peril of his own life! Alas, alas, what a friend and father have we lost!’ Yes; thus it too generally is; men know their blessings only by the loss of them. They enjoy a faithful ministry, but will not avail themselves of it, till “the candlestick is removed,” and the privileges, which they have slighted, are withdrawn. The same is too often experienced by children who have neglected the admonitions of their parents, and servants who have disregarded the instructions of their masters. Happy they, who “know the day of their visitation,” and “walk in the light before the night cometh!” To those indeed who die, it is comforting to know that they shall leave such a testimony behind them: but, when we consider the augmented guilt and misery of those who have slighted our admonitions, our sorrow for them preponderates, and turns our self-congratulations into tender sympathy and grief: for the greater our exertions were for their salvation, the more certainly shall we appear as swift witnesses against them, to increase and aggravate their condemnation.]

  ADDRESS—

What if God were now to issue the command to any one of us, “Go up to thy bed, and die?” how would it be received amongst us? Should we welcome such an order? Should we rejoice that the period was arrived for our dismission from the body, and for our entrance into the presence of our God? Such an order will assuredly be soon given to every one of us: the old and the young, the rich and the poor, those who have travelled all through the wilderness, and those who have but just entered into it, may have it said to them within a few hours, “This night is thy soul required of thee.” But, however men might receive the summons, its consequences to them would be widely different, according as they were prepared, or unprepared, to meet their God. Think,

  1.      Thou who art regardless of thine eternal state—

[Thou art now perhaps adorned in costly array, and filling some high station; perhaps, if not crowned with a mitre, like Aaron, at least officiating at the altar of thy God. But thine honours and thine ornaments must all be laid aside; and thine office, together with thy wealth, must be transferred to others. “Naked earnest thou into the world, and naked must thou go from it.” But whither must thou go? To heaven? Alas! persons of your description can find no admittance there. Thou wilt be excluded, like the foolish virgins, who had no oil in their lamps. O think, from what thou wilt be excluded: not from an earthly Canaan, but from heaven itself; and not, to be merely bereaved of good, but to bewail thy misery in hell for ever! Ah! fearful thought! The Lord grant that it may sink down into all our hearts, and stir us up to “flee from the wrath to come!”

Do any inquire, What shall we do to he saved? My answer is, There is an High-Priest, who dieth not; or rather, I should say, who, though once he died on Mount Calvary, now “liveth, and behold he is alive for evermore.” It is to him that Moses directed you when he stripped off Aaron’s robes; and to him Aaron himself directed you, when he surrendered up his soul. The typical priests being inefficient, “were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but the Lord Jesus hath an unchangeable priesthood; and is therefore able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth.” Believe in him, and the sting of death shall be removed: thou shalt have peace with God through his atoning blood; and, when taken hence, shalt be transported on the wings of angels to Abraham’s bosom.]

  2.      Thou who professest religion, yet art living at a distance from thy God—

[Let us suppose for a moment, thou art not so far from God, but that thou shalt find mercy at his hands in the last day: still it would be very painful to die under a cloud, and to leave thy surviving friends doubtful of thy state. Yet this is the best that thou canst expect, whilst thou art relaxing thy diligence, and “the things which remain in thee are ready to die.” But there is reason to fear that thou art “drawing back unto perdition,” and that “thy last end will be worse than thy beginning.” Think not that this is an uncommon case: there are many who “seem to be religious, and yet deceive their own souls.” How terrible then will be your disappointment, if, after walking, perhaps twenty, or, like Aaron, forty years, in expectation of reaching the promised land, you come short of it at last! Yet this will be the case with all who dissemble with God. When your minister, who had hoped that you would have been “his joy and crown of rejoicing” for ever, shall inquire, “Where is he?” and your dearest friends also shall ask, “Where is he?” how painful will it he, and perhaps surprising too, to be informed, that you were counted unworthy of that heavenly kingdom! The Lord grant that this picture may never be realised with respect to any of you! But I must caution you in the words of the Apostle; “Let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into God’s rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.”]

  3.      Thou sincere and upright Christian—

[What a glorious change will it be to thee, when God shall bid thee to go up unto thy bed and die! Whatever honours thou possessest here, thou needest feel no regret at parting with them. Thou hast found thy trials in this wilderness great and manifold: and happy mayest thou he to go unto the rest that remaineth for thee. Thou hast no need to he afraid of death: it should be regarded only as the stripping off of thy garments, to retire to rest; or rather, as the being “unclothed, in order to he clothed upon, that mortality may he swallowed up of life.” Go forward then in daily expectation of thy summons: yea, be daily “looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of that blessed day,”when thou shalt “depart, and be with Christ for ever.” Who can conceive the bliss that awaits thee at that hour? To behold Him, “of whom the Law and the Prophets testified,” and in whom their testimony received its full accomplishment! To behold Him whom Aaron’s love and services but faintly shadowed! Him, “the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person!” Were death a thousand times more terrible than it is, it were eagerly to be coveted as an introduction to such bliss. Methinks, impatience were a virtue with such prospects as these: or if you must wait with patience your appointed time, endeavour at least so to live, that, at whatever hour your Lord may come, you may be found ready, and have “an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”]

CLXVIII

THE ISRAELITES DISCOURAGED BY THE WAY

  Numb. 21:4.

And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

THE history of human nature is nearly the same in all ages. Successive generations ought progressively to advance in wisdom, because they have the advantage of others’ experience. But youth will not avail themselves of the instructions of their forefathers: they will go forward in their own ways; exactly as if they had no compass whereby to steer, nor any chart of the rocks and shoals, on which so many thousands have been shipwrecked. “The way of their predecessors has been folly; and yet their posterity, in practice at least, applaud their saying.” A new generation had been born in the wilderness since the departure of the Israelites from the land of Egypt; and they had ample means of information respecting the rebellious conduct of their fathers, and the chastisements inflicted on account of it: yet on similar occasions they constantly acted in a similar manner, murmuring and complaining as soon as any new trial arose, and wishing themselves dead, to get rid of their present troubles. Thus it was with them at this time. We propose to inquire into,

  I.      The causes of their discouragement—

Doubtless, to those who could not implicitly confide in the wisdom and goodness of God, there was ground for discouragement. There was,

  1.      A perplexing providence—

[The period fixed for their entrance into Canaan was nearly arrived. They had just had a severe engagement with one of the Canaanitish kings, who had come forth against them with all his forces; and, after suffering a partial defeat, had entirely vanquished him. But they were not suffered to follow up their success, or to proceed to the immediate invasion of his land. On the contrary, having been refused permission to pass through the territories of the king of Edom, they were directed to “compass his whole land, and to go back to the Red Sea,” perhaps as far as to Ezion-gaber. This was after they had been thirty-nine years and six months in the wilderness; after two of their leaders, Miriam and Aaron, were taken from them by death; and when there remained but six months to the time fixed for their entrance into the promised land. How unaccountable did this appear! Must they wait to be attacked in the wilderness, and never be permitted to reap the reward of victory? Must they wait in the wilderness till their enemies should be willing to resign their land? Had God forgotten his promise, or determined that they should spend another forty years in the wilderness? If the promise was to be fulfilled, why give them the trouble of traversing the wilderness again? If it was not to be fulfilled, they had better die at once, than protract a miserable existence under such vexatious and cruel disappointments.

Whilst they viewed the dispensation in this light, we do not wonder that “their soul was much discouraged.”

In truth, this is a very common source of discouragement to ourselves. Persons, on their first commencement of their journey heaven-ward, are apt to be sanguine, and to expect that they shall speedily arrive at the promised land. At one time they seem near it, but are turned back again, in order that by a long course of trials, they may be better prepared to enjoy it. At another time they seem almost to possess it; and then, not long after, find themselves at a greater distance from it than ever. Thus “hope deferred maketh their heart sick:” and being disappointed in their expectations, they yield to great dejection of mind: ‘If I am not of the number of God’s people, whence have I these desires? if I am, why have I not those attainments?’

The same disquietude arises from perplexities of any kind, where the promise, and the providence, of God appear at variance with each other. Not being able to account for the Lord’s dealings towards them, “their souls are cast down, and greatly disquieted within them.”]

  2.      A long protracted trial—

[Forty years of trial was a long period: and the nearer they came to its completion, the longer every day appeared. Hence this fresh order to go back to the Red Sea, and there to recommence their travels, quite overwhelmed them.

And how do long-continued afflictions operate on us? For a season we can bear up under them: but when pains of body, or distress of mind, are lengthened out; when the clouds, instead of dispersing, thicken, and storms of trouble are gathering all around us; then patience is apt to fail, and the mind sinks under its accumulated trials. Because “our strength is small, we faint under our adversity.” Even Job, that bright pattern of patience, who after the heaviest losses could say, “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord;” even he, I say, fainted at last, and cursed the day of his birth. And he must be endued with an uncommon measure of grace, who under such circumstances can say with Paul, “None of these things move me.”]

That we may see how their discouragement operated, let us consider,

  II.      The effects produced by it—

Their minds being discomposed, they immediately gave way to,

  1.      A dissatisfied spirit—

[Many were the blessings which they received from the hand of God: they lived by a continual miracle: they were provided with water out of a rock, and with manna daily from the clouds: and yet they complain, “There is no bread, neither is there any water: and our soul lotheth this light bread.” Because they did not partake of that variety which the nations around them enjoyed, they were discontented: or rather, because they were offended with the order to go back unto the Red Sea, they were displeased with every thing.

What a picture is this of human frailty! The mind discouraged on one account, looks not out for circumstances of alleviation and comfort, but gives itself up to disquietude and dejection. Temporal blessings lose all their relish. Let even the bread of life be administered to persons in such a frame, they can taste no sweetness in it; the promises of God seem not suited to their case; nor are they sufficient for their support. They “cannot hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely.” If they even turn their minds to the right object, it is only to confirm their own doubts, and to augment their own sorrows. Their experience is like that of Asaph, “My sore ran in the night, and ceased not; my soul refused to be comforted: I remembered God, and was troubled.”]

  2.      A murmuring spirit—

[How lamentable to hear them on this occasion accusing God and his servant Moses of having brought them out of Egypt with a view to deceive their expectations and to kill them in the wilderness! But the mind, once thrown off its bias, will stop short of nothing, unless it be restrained by the grace of God. Let any one that has been in deep affliction, look back and see, whether he has not found his mind rise against the immediate authors of his calamities, and ultimately against God himself, for having appointed him so hard a lot? It is true, we do not perhaps intend to accuse God; but we do it in effect; because, whoever be the instrument, it is his hand that smites. Whether Chaldeans or Sabeans invaded the property of Job, or tempests destroyed his family, the holy sufferer referred the events to God, as their true author. Without God, not a hair of our head could be touched, even if the whole world were confederate against us: when therefore we murmur at the calamities we suffer, we murmur in reality against him who sends them.]

It may be asked perhaps, How could they help yielding to this discouragement? That they might have done so, will appear, whilst we shew,

  III.      The way in which they should have fortified themselves against it—

It behoved them in this trouble, as indeed in every other, to consider,

  1.      Whence it came—

[It did not spring out of the dust; it came from God; even from him who had brought them out of Egypt, and had supported them to that very hour. Had they not had evidence enough of God’s power and goodness during the nine and thirty years that they had continued in the wilderness? and did it not become them to place their confidence in him, though they could not see the immediate reason of his dispensations?

Thus should we do, when tempted to disquietude and despondency: we should say, “It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good:” “the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” Yes; “when walking in darkness, we should stay ourselves upon our God;” and determine with Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” This was the expedient to which David resorted in the midst of all his troubles, and which he found effectual to compose his mind; “he encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”]

  2.      For what end it was sent—

[God has expressly stated the end for which he tried them so long in the wilderness: it was, “to humble them, and to prove them, that they might know what was in their hearts.” And was not the prospect of such an end sufficient to reconcile them to the means used for the attainment of it? Let us also consider the ends for which our afflictions are sent: are they not sent with a view to make us “partakers of his holiness?” Who would be discouraged at his trials, if he reflected on the necessity which there is for them, and the blessed fruit that shall spring from them? Doubtless, they are “not joyous for the present, but grievous:” nevertheless the refiner’s fire may well be endured, if only it purge us from our dross, and make us, as “vessels of honour, meet for our Master’s use.”]

  3.      The certain issue of it, if duly improved—

[They were well assured that God would fulfil his promises. Even their recent victory over the Canaanites was a pledge and earnest of their future conquests. What if they did not understand the way of the Lord? The direction they had taken at their first departure from Egypt had appeared to their fathers to be erroneous: but it had proved “the right way;” and they should have been satisfied, that this, though alike mysterious, would have a similar issue; and that the number and greatness of their trials would ultimately redound to the glory of their God, and to their own real happiness

Thus we should bear in mind that all our afflictions are working together for good, and that, “light and momentary in themselves, they are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Did we but consider this, we should be content to suffer, till we had filled up our appointed measure: yea, we should even “glory in our tribulations,” knowing that we are to be “made perfect by them,” and that “they are our appointed way to the kingdom of heaven.”]

  APPLICATION—

[Certain it is that “we have need of patience, in order that, when we have done the will of God, we may inherit the promises.” But let not any of the sons and daughters of affliction yield to discouragement. If their trials be great, their supports and consolations shall be great also. Are they particularly discouraged at the thought of their weakness and sinfulness? let them recollect, what a fulness of merit and of grace is treasured up for them in Jesus; that “where sin has abounded, his grace shall much more abound; and that his strength shall surely be perfected in their weakness.”]

CLXIX

THE BRASEN SERPENT

  Numb. 21:8, 9.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, token he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole: and it came to pass, mat if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

IT is said in Scripture, that, “where sin hath abounded, grace shall much more abound.” This declaration, if received as a licence for sin, would be pernicious in the extreme: but, if taken as an encouragement to repent, its tendency is most consolatory and beneficial. That God has magnified his grace towards the most unworthy of men, and even taken occasion from their wickedness to display the unbounded extent of his own mercy, is certain: we need only read the history of the Israelites in the wilderness, and we shall be fully convinced of this. Their conduct was most perverse. They were truly a stiff-necked people. Notwithstanding all their experience of God’s kindness towards them, they could never confide in him, but were always murmuring, and always rebelling. By their wickedness they brought down upon themselves the divine judgments; but no sooner did they implore forgiveness, than God returned to them in mercy, and put away his judgments far from them. We have a very singular instance of this in the history before us; where we are informed, that God had, on account of their murmurings, sent fiery flying serpents to destroy them; but, on the intercession of Moses, had appointed them an easy remedy, by the use of which their wounds were healed, and their calamities removed.

We propose to consider,

  I.      The appointment itself—

The need of God’s interposition was exceeding urgent—

[The wilderness abounded with serpents, such as the camp was now infested with. They were of a very malignant nature, causing by their bite a fetal inflammationb. Multitudes of the people had been bitten by them: many were dying; and many were already dead. In vain did any of them seek an antidote against the venom, with which they were in hourly expectation of being infected: nor could any means be devised to abate its force. What then could the people do? To arm themselves against the danger, was impossible: they were assailable on every side: the serpents being winged, their assaults were irresistible. In this extremity, they apply themselves to Him, who alone was able to deliver. They humble themselves before their God; and they entreat Moses to intercede for them. If God have not mercy on them, they must all perish. Such was the extremity to which they were reduced.]

But the manner in which he interposed was strange and unaccountable—

[God ordered a serpent to be made of brass, as like as possible to those which bit the people: and that serpent he commanded to be erected on a pole, in order that the wounded persons might look unto it and be healed. But what connexion was there between the means and the end? Of what use could a piece of brass be, or what could it signify of what shape it was? Of what service could it be to look upon it? If it were used in a way of friction; or if it were reduced to powder and swallowed; or any mixture were made with an infusion of brass in it; one might suppose it possible that such a prescription might be of some use: there might be some affinity between the remedy and the disease: but, when such an order as that in our text was given, it seemed rather as if God were only “laughing at their calamity, and mocking, now that their fear was come.”]

Strange however as this might appear at the time, the reason of it is clear to us, who know,

  II.      The mystery contained in it—

That the deepest mysteries of our holy religion were shadowed forth by it, we are well assured, because our blessed Lord has expressly referred to it as illustrative and explanatory of them. Let us, for distinctness’ sake, consider,

  1.      The provision made—

[God ordered that a brasen serpent should be made like unto the other serpents, (but without their venom;) and that it should be erected on a pole in the midst of the camp. And herein was a great mystery. What, I would ask, is the provision which God has made for the recovery of a ruined world? Has he not sent his only dear Son into the world, to he made “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” yea, to he “made in all things like unto us, sin only excepted?” Has he not caused that glorious Person to he suspended on a cross, and to yield up his own life a sacrifice for sin? Has he not moreover commanded that in every place, and in every age, that adorable Saviour should, by the preaching of the everlasting Gospel, be “evidently set forth crucified before the eyes of men?” Here then we behold that which was prefigured by the brasen serpent. In affirming this, we speak only what our Lord himself has declarede. Indeed on several different occasions did he refer to this type, as to receive in due season its accomplishment in him. O how are we indebted to God for the light of his blessed Gospel! Little did the Israelites know what a stupendous mercy was here exhibited to their view. Doubtless, as a mere ordinance for the healing of their bodies, they would be thankful for it; but how thankful should we be, who see in it such a wonderful provision for our souls! Let us contemplate it: God’s co-equal, co-eternal Son, Jehovah’s Fellow, made incarnate! The Deity himself assuming our nature with all its sinless infirmities, and dying an accursed death upon the cross! and this too for the salvation of his own rebellious creatures! O let us never for one moment forget, that this is the means which God has appointed for our deliverance from death and hell: let us contemplate it, till our hearts are altogether absorbed in wonder, love, and praise.]

  2.      The direction given—

[The only thing which the Israelites had to do, was, to look unto the brasen serpent. There was nothing else required of them: they were not first to heal themselves in part; or to apply any other remedy in conjunction with this: nor were they to do any thing either to merit, or to increase its efficacy: they were simply to look unto the serpent, as God’s ordinance for their recovery. Here then we behold a further mystery. Never from the foundation of the world was the way of salvation more plainly, more fully, or more intelligibly declared, than in this simple method of obtaining the desired blessing. Salvation is only and entirely by faith in Christ. The direction which Christ himself gives us by the Prophet Isaiah, is this: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” And when he sent forth his disciples to preach his Gospel, he especially charged them to declare, that “he who believed, should be saved; and he who believed not, should be damnedh.” Many other things indeed he requires of his people: he requires that they should repent, in order to evince that they truly desire mercy; and that they should obey, in order to manifest that they have obtained mercy; but both their repentance and obedience are carefully excluded from the office of justifying: justification is invariably declared to be by faith alone. “It is by faith in order that it may be by grace:” and, when we have learned how much the Israelites did for the healing of their bodies, then we shall know how much our own works are to procure the healing of our souls. In this view the type before us is singularly instructive: it is so plain, that it is obvious to the meanest apprehension; so comprehensive, that nothing can be added for the elucidation of it; and so authenticated, that scepticism itself cannot doubt either its reference or its accomplishment.]

  3.      The effect produced—

[If any despised the remedy, they died: whereas not a single instance occurred, throughout all the camp of Israel, of any person resorting to it in vain. However desperate his state was, however distant he might be from the serpent, or however indistinctly he beheld it, the effect was still the same; every person who looked to it as God’s ordinance for the healing of his wounds, was healed by it; he was healed immediately, and he was healed perfectly. The man that can see no mystery here, is blind indeed. We may defy the ingenuity of men or angels to devise any means whereby the efficacy of faith in Christ should be more clearly ascertained. Plain indeed is that declaration of St. Paul, “All that believe, are justified from all things:” but, plain as it is, it does not so forcibly strike the mind, as does the typical representation in our text. All the questions that can arise respecting the nature and the efficacy of faith, are here distinctly answered. If suppositions are made which can never be verified, no wonder if difficulties occur which cannot be solved: but let us only remember, that faith is a looking to Christ for salvation, and that that faith is uniformly and universally productive of good works; and then we can no more doubt its efficacy to save the soul, than we can doubt the veracity of God. We inquire not, whether that faith be strong or weak; (though doubtless the stronger it is, the more abundant will be its fruits:) we only ask, whether it be genuine and unfeigned; and then we do not hesitate to affirm, that the possessor of it “shall be saved:” “he shall not be ashamed or confounded world without end.”]

  ADDRESS,

  1.      Those who are averse to this method of salvation—

[Many there are to whom the doctrine of salvation by faith alone is an object of disgust. It was so in the first ages of Christianity; and it is so still to the greater part of the Christian world. But though the cross of Christ is still, as formerly, “to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness,” yet is it at this time, as it was then, “the power of God and the wisdom of God.” If it be objected, that to be saved by faith alone, and by faith in One who saved not himself, appears absurd; we answer, That such an objection might with just as much reason have been urged against the healing of dying men by the sight of a brasen serpent: and that it is not for us to prescribe to God in what way he shall save a ruined world. It is not for us to dictate, but obey. Were there therefore really as little connexion between the means and the end in the gospel salvation, as there was in the typical representation of it, it would still be our duty thankfully to submit to the remedy proposed. But this is not the case: it would be easy to shew that there is a wonderful suitableness between the death of Christ as an atonement for sin, and the mercy vouchsafed to us for his sake: nor is there a less suitableness between our exercise of faith in him, and his communication of grace to us. But without entering into that discussion at present, we refer to the type as decisive of the point. “Wash and be clean,” was said to Naaman; “Look and be healed,” to Israel; “Believe and be saved,” to us. This is Christ’s message to a guilty world; and “blessed is he who shall not be offended in him.”]

  2.      Those who have experienced its saving benefits—

[The brasen serpent was carried by the Israelites throughout all the remainder of their journey: and, if they had been bitten again by the fiery serpents, they would doubtless have had recourse again to the remedy, which they had once found to be effectual. The need of repeated applications to our remedy is daily recurring; and, thanks be to God! its efficacy is undiminished. To all therefore would we repeat the direction before given, “Look unto Christ and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” If those around you doubt, as certainly they will doubt, the efficacy of faith, let them read it in your whole conduct: let them see that your corruptions are mortified, and your evil dispositions are healed. Let them see that there is a difference between you and those around you, and such a difference too, as nothing but faith in Christ can produce. They will be boasting of other remedies, which, in spite of their utmost exertions, they will find ineffectual: but let them see in you the superior excellence of that, which God has revealed in his Gospel. Declare to them the way of life: exalt the Lord Jesus in their eyes: commend him to them with your lips; but most of all commend him to them in your lives. In a word, let your whole conversation be a visible comment on those words of the Apostle, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”]

CLXX

BALAAM’S CHARACTER

  Numb. 22:18, 19.

And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.

THE study of human nature is ever profitable. Much insight into it may be gained from history; much from converse with the world; much from the examination of our own hearts. But that which we acquire from a perusal of the Holy Scriptures is the most clear and certain, because we have all the circumstances in one view before our eyes, and have infallible information respecting the motives and principles by which the different agents were influenced. The character of Balaam is peculiarly instructive. He was a man eminent as a soothsayer: and it was supposed that he could influence the fate, not of individuals only, but of nations, by his sentence of blessing or malediction. Persons of his description were frequently employed by kings at the commencement of a war, to devote their enemies to destruction: and, among the Romans, an officer was appointed particularly to that office. This man was applied to by Balak, the king of Moab, to come and curse Israel; who, as they feared, would vanquish them all, as easily “as an ox licketh up the grass.” This message gave occasion to Balaam to display what was in his heart. We propose to shew you,

  I.      The inconsistency of Balaam’s character—

That we may have a more distinct view of his character, we shall notice the contrariety which there was,

  1.      Between his sentiments and desires—

[The desires of man by nature are altogether earthly and sensual: but when light breaks in upon his mind, and he is made to see in a measure the evil of such desires, a conflict begins within him. It is in this state that multitudes go on: they see the better path, and approve it in their minds; but they cannot, will not, follow it: there are some gratifications which they know not how to forego, and some interests which they cannot prevail upon themselves to give up; and hence they proceed in a painful opposition to the dictates of their own consciences, being habitually self-convicted and self-condemned. They “hate the light,” and, as the Scripture strongly expresses it, “rebel against the light.”

Such was the state of Balaam. His views of divine truth were very enlarged, when we consider the age and country in which he lived. He had a considerable knowledge of God and his perfections; yea, of Christ also, together with the kingdom which he should establish upon earth. He was acquainted with the nature of truly spiritual religionb; and saw, not only the certainty of a future state, but the certainty, that, in that state, there would be an inconceivable difference between the righteous and the wicked. But still he was a covetous and ambitious man: and as soon as a prospect of gratifying his evil propensities was opened to him, he bore down the better convictions of his own mind, and determinately set himself to do evil.]

  2.      Between his professions and conduct—

[Who that had heard all the fine speeches which he made respecting his determination to adhere to the will of God, even though he should be able to gain “an house full of silver and gold” by disobeying it; and his pious advice to Balak, “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God;” who that had seen him apparently so fearful of stirring a step, or speaking a word, without the divine counsel and direction, would not have conceived him to be a pious character? Yet from beginning to the end his conduct was a continued course of horrible impiety. After he had once consulted God, and had received from him a determined answer that “he should not go with the messengers, and that he should not curse Israel, for that they were, and should be, blessed;” what had he to do, but to dismiss the messengers with a plain, full, determined answer? When the second company of ambassadors came, he should not have listened to them a moment; but should have been as peremptory in his answer to them as to the former. His second application for direction was only an insult to the Divine Majesty, and a spreading of a net for his own feet. God, seeing how bent he was upon the attainment of his own ends, (the acquisition of wealth and honour,) no more interposed with authority to prevent him, but on certain conditions gave him a permission to go. No sooner was a conditional permission given, than Balaam, without waiting for the conditions, set out upon his journey. God, in mercy to him, interposed by a miracle to obstruct his way; and caused a dumb ass to reprove him: but even this produced nothing more than a momentary conviction of his sin, which however he was still determined to persist in: and, having obtained from the angel, what he construed into a permission to proceed, but which was rather a declaration that the ends of his journey should be defeated; (for that he should not be permitted to speak any thing which was not put into his mouth by God himself;) onward he goes, and addresses himself to his impious work with activity and perseverance. In all his renewed endeavours to curse Israel, he found himself constrained to bless them, insomuch that Balak, furiously enraged against him, dismissed him without any of the riches or honours which he had so eagerly sought after. Now, it might be hoped, that Balaam at last should see his error, and humble himself for his iniquity. But, instead of this, he devised a plan whereby that people, who could not be subdued by arms, might be beguiled into sin, and thereby subjected to the displeasure of their Almighty Protector. He advised Balak to make use of the Midianitish women, first to allure them to fornication, and then to draw them to idolatry; and by this means to destroy the souls of those, whom he could not otherwise injure. Now compare this with all his professions of reverence for God, of regard for holiness, and of a desire after everlasting happiness; and what an astonishing inconsistency will appear!

But, in truth, though his circumstances were peculiar, his state is common. Many, many are the people, who, amidst high professions of regard for religion, are as much actuated by love of wealth and honour as ever Balaam was; and, if they can only obtain their own ends, are as little scrupulous as he about the means. Such are they who resemble the ancient Pharisees, on the one hand; and such also are the descendants of Judas and of Demas, on the other hand. Such characters abounded even in the apostolic age: and we must not wonder, if they be to be found also in the present dayf.]

In the course of this history, whilst we mark the inconsistency of Balaam, we cannot but notice also,

  II.      The consequences resulting from it—

Let us attend to those which resulted,

  1.      To his employers—

[Balak had raised his expectations high, and had hoped to derive great advantage from the aid of Balaam: “I know that he whom thou blessest, is blessed; and he whom thou cursest, is cursed.” But, after all his expense and trouble, he found that he had trusted to a broken reed; and was constrained to dismiss with indignation the man, whom he had so anxiously endeavoured to interest in his favour.

What a picture does this afford us of the disappointment too often generated in the minds of men by hypocritical professors! One perhaps, having heard of the religious principles of such or such a servant, promises himself the highest satisfaction in connexion with him: but finds him, after all, conceited, idle, deceitful, disobedient. Another deals with such or such a tradesman, in expectation that he shall find in him the integrity suited to his religious professions: but soon learns, that others, who know nothing of religion, are more honourable, and more to be depended on, than he. Another contracts a matrimonial alliance, from the presumption, that the person’s sentiments will have a suitable influence on his conduct: but learns afterwards, by bitter experience, that asperities of temper, and imprudences of conduct, even such as any moral person would be ashamed of, are too often cloked under a garb of religion, and gratified, to the utter subversion of domestic happiness. Need we say, what a stab such conduct gives to religion, or what a stumbling-block it lays in the way of the ungodly? Truly, through such persons “the way of truth is evil spoken of,” the prejudices of thousands are confirmed, and the name of our God and Saviour is blasphemed.]

  2.      To Israel—

[Though the enchantments of Balaam were unavailing, his diabolical advice was but too successful: the Israelites, unable to resist the allurements of the Midianitish women, were betrayed into an unlawful commerce with them; and thus fell into the snare which Balak had laid for them, and brought upon themselves the heavy displeasure of their God.

And are not hypocritical professors a snare to many? Do they not, either, by a spirit of disputation, turn weak believers “from the simplicity of the Gospel;” or, by a spirit of licentiousness, (which they call liberty,) induce them to violate their own consciences? Multitudes of such professsors there have been, and yet are, in the Christian Church; nor will it ever be known till the day of judgment, how many “weak brethren, for whom Christ died, have perished” through their means.]

  3.      To himself—

[It might have been hoped, that after having been constrained to bless Israel, and thus to lose “the rewards of divination” which he coveted, he would have seen “his error,” and repented of it. But this is very rarely the lot of those, who proceed for any time in a wilful opposition to the convictions of their own minds: they generally become “seared in their consciences,” and hardened in their sins. Thus it was with Balaam. Though foiled for the present in his hopes of gain, he would not relinquish his pursuit of it, but still continued among the Midianites, and soon afterwards was involved in their destruction.

What a lesson does this teach us! What a prospect does it afford to all who yield themselves to the dominion of an unhallowed appetite! How vain his wish to have “his end like that of the righteous,” when he would not resemble them in his life! And truly, if we follow his steps, we shall, like him, perish miserably at last among the enemies of God.]

  LEARN then from this history,

  1.      The danger of indulging any besetting sin—

[The sin of Balaam was covetousness: and we see how it hurried him from one iniquity to another, till it brought him finally to destruction, both of body and soul. Nor is this an uncommon case. There is scarcely any principle more common, or more destructive, than a desire after wealth and preferment. “The love of money,” says the Apostle, “is the root of all evil: and many, by coveting after it, have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” The facility with which men deceive themselves in relation to this principle, renders it peculiarly dangerous. It scarcely ever appears in any other light than as a venial, at least, if not a commendable, quality. It is likely that Balaam himself did not see the extent of his own iniquity: he probably conceived himself to be solicitous only to know and do the will of God. But an inspired Apostle says of him, that “he loved the wages of unrighteousness,” and “ran greedily after error for reward.” Beware then, Brethren, lest, whilst ye think yourselves only prudent and discreet, God himself should “choose your delusions,” “give you up to a reprobate mind,” impute the same as sin unto you, and assign you your doom amongst his enemies. Whatever excites in you even a wish to violate the commands of God, will, if not restrained and mortified, assuredly “drown you in destruction and perdition.”]

  2.      The necessity of acting conformably with our principles and professions—

[Happy would it have been for Balaam, if he had so done! But of what use was his knowledge of God, whom he did not fear; or his views of Christ, whom he did not love? Of what benefit was his knowledge of men’s duty, when he would not practise it; or his persuasion of a future judgment, for which he made no exertions to prepare? These things served only to enhance his guilt, and to aggravate his condemnation. Thus will it be with us: “it were better never to have known any thing of the way of righteousness, than to” oppose it, or “depart from it.” “The servant that knew his Lord’s will and did it not, shall be beaten with more stripes, than the servant who sinned through ignorance.” I would earnestly entreat you therefore, Brethren, to walk according to the light which you possess. Do not, like Balaam, “imprison the truth in unrighteousness:” do not “profess that you know God, and at the same time in your works deny him:” but rather be yourselves examples unto others, that they may in you behold the sanctifying efficacy of your faith, and the excellency of that religion you profess.]

CLXXI

BALAAM OBSTRUCTED BY THE ANGEL

  Numb. 22:31.

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

THE ministry of angels is frequently asserted both in the Old and New Testament: but, because it is not seen, it is scarcely believed amongst us. Nevertheless, there is not any doctrine more fully established than this; nor scarcely any more clearly exemplified. We need only look to the passage before us; and there we see an angel deputed to intercept Balaam in his way to Midian, and to stop him in his career of wickedness. Whether the angel were the Son of God himself, “the Angel of the Covenant,” with whom Jacob afterwards wrestled, we will not absolutely determine: but the context seems to countenance the idea that it wasb. At all events he had the appearance of an angel, and acted in the capacity of a messenger from heaven. For a considerable time Balaam did not see him; though the beast on which he rode, both saw, and endeavoured to avoid him. The whole story is so singular, that some have represented it as a vision. But, whilst that mode of accounting for the circumstances renders them not at all less miraculous than the more obvious interpretation, (for a divine agency would be as necessary in that case, as in the other,) it directly opposes the assertions of the historian, and the testimony of an inspired Apostle. We can have no doubt but that the facts happened as they are, related: and, that we may present them before you in a more easy manner, we will call your attention to some observations founded upon them.

  I.      God often mercifully interposes to obstruct sinners in their ways—

[Balaam, though he professed to be acting by the divine appointment, was in reality going in opposition to the will of God. The permission which had been granted him conditionally, he had construed as unconditional; and when God had declared that Israel should be blessed, Balaam was going with a desire and purpose to curse them. God, to awaken him to a sense of his wickedness, sent an angel to stop him in his way, and to make known to him the evil of his conduct.

It is thus that God often interposes to arrest the progress of sinners, and prevent the commission of iniquity. We say not, that he often proceeds precisely in this way: he has a great variety of ways in which he carries this gracious purpose into execution. Elihu, in his address to Job, directly affirms, that God does interpose, and in a variety of ways too, for this gracious end: and the Scriptures universally attest the truth of his remark. Sometimes God endeavours to divert men from their purpose by a dream, (as Pilate, by a dream of his wife;) sometimes by a vision, (as Saul, in his way to Damascusf;) sometimes by a judgment, (as Jeroboam, when he stretched out his hand against the man of God;) sometimes by a human monitor, (as David, by Abigailh;) and sometimes by an unforeseen occurrence, (as Saul, when having encompassed David with his army, was called away from him by a sudden invasion of the Philistines.) We cannot enumerate, nor indeed conceive, the infinite variety of methods by which God withstands sinners; but all of us, on reflection, must acknowledge both the reality and frequency of his interpositions.

How often has it happened that the thief, the robber, the housebreaker, and the murderer, have been deterred from their purpose by the approach of some unexpected person, or by some suggestion of their own minds! How often have persons under a strong temptation to gratify their lusts, been kept from the actual commission of fornication or adultery by some little occurrence, some noise, some apprehension, some qualm of conscience, which God, in mercy to their souls, has sent to interrupt them! How many unhappy females have been kept from destroying their infant children, either before or after their birth, by some considerations widely different from the fear of sin! It is a well-known fact, that many people, but for such restraints as these, would have even destroyed their own lives: and perhaps, of the many who actually do commit suicide, there is scarcely one, who has not been repeatedly diverted from his purpose, before he could find it in his heart to carry it into execution. So common are the interpositions of God for the prevention of sin, and the rescue of those who would commit it! But,]

  II.      His most signal interpositions often excite only the wrath of those for whose benefit they are sent—

[Thrice was Balaam interrupted in his course. The first time, his ass turned aside into a field, to avoid the angel; the next time, he ran up against a wall; and the third time, having no other method of avoiding him left, he fell down: and at each time Balaam’s anger was kindled; and at last it rose to such a height, that even the strange phenomenon of the ass speaking, as with a human voice, and expostulating with him, was not sufficient to arrest his attention: his only reply was, that he wished for a sword that he might kill her. Had he known at the time what danger he was exposed to, and what obligations he owed to his beast for that very conduct which so incensed him, he would have seen, that he had reason for unbounded thankfulness, where he thought that he had the greatest reason to complain.

And is it not thus oftentimes with us? If nothing had been revealed to us respecting the deliverance of Balaam, we should have thought him fully justified in his anger: and, because we do not see the particular mercies which God vouchsafes to us, we think ourselves justified in raging against the means and instruments that he employs. There are a thousand things which we call accidents, on which the greatest events depend. Evils might have come to us, or blessings might have been lost, if some circumstance, which at the time we deemed most unfortunate, had not taken place: nor can any but God himself conceive the extent to which we are indebted to him for things, which at the time excited our grief and indignation.

On this subject, I must leave every one to consult his own experience. But there is one view of it which will come home to the hearts of all. How often, when God has sent a guardian angel, a friend or minister, to instruct and warn us, have his reproofs kindled resentment, rather than gratitude, in our minds! and how many of us now see reason to be thankful for warnings which once excited our displeasure, whilst others have been eternally ruined by continuing to disregard them! Think only of the ministry of Christ and his Apostles, and of the different states of those who rejected or received their testimony, and this part of our subject will need no further comment. Moreover,]

  III.      Those interpositions which are acknowledged to have been sent in mercy, produce, for the most part, a very transient effect—

[Balaam, when his eyes were opened, and he was informed that he had narrowly escaped death, acknowledged his sin, and professed a readiness to return. But it is observable, that his very confession touches only on the supposed guilt of attempting to proceed in opposition to the angel, and not on the real guilt of going with a disposition and purpose directly opposed to the known will of God. So far from being humbled for this offence, he was glad at any rate to gain a renewed permission to prosecute his vile designs. Nor did he afterwards reflect, or repent him of his evil ways; but persisted in them, till vengeance overtook him, and he perished amongst the enemies of God.

Thus have we at times been made sensible of our danger. Some great calamity has overtaken us, or disease has brought us to the gates of death. Then we have acknowledged our sins, and professed a willingness to forsake them. But no sooner have the impediments been removed, than “our goodness has proved as the morning dew; and as the early cloud it has passed away.” Thus it was with Pharaoh, when God, by many successive judgments, strove to overcome his obstinacy: and thus it was with Saul, when David repeatedly spared his life. The judgments and mercies of God affected both of them for a moment, so that they confessed their sins: but the effect was transient, and they perished under an accumulated weight of guilt. O that it may not be so with us! O that we may not any longer resemble the rebellious Israelites; lest, like them, we exhaust the patience of our God, and provoke him to “swear in his wrath that we shall never enter into his rest!”]

  ADDRESS,

  1.      Those who are bent on their evil ways—

[Covetousness is a common, and destructive sin: and many are guilty of it, whilst they seem unconscious of any great evil. They are decidedly guilty of it, who prefer the prosecution of their interests to the will of God and the welfare of his people. Let such offenders know then, that God and his Angel stand before them with a fiery sword; and that, for ought they know, the very next step they take may transmit them to the presence of an angry God. Methinks the brute creation that obey their will, would, if their mouths were opened, rebuke their disobedience, more pointedly than ever Balaam’s ass rebuked him. See, Brethren, how Solomon describes your state! see how he warns you of your endn! O beg of God, that he would never give you his permission to proceed, but contend with you effectually, till he has gained his point! If once “he give you up,” and say, “Let him alone,” it were better for you that you had never been born.]

  2.      Those who desire to return from them—

[Whatever have been the means of stopping your career, be thankful for it: falls or bruises, such as Balaam had, are mercies when sent for such an end. Bear in mind what your conduct has been, and be humbled on account of it in dust and ashes. Bear in mind too that you will assuredly “return, like the dog to his vomit,” if Almighty God do not keep you by his grace. But he has promised to his people to “hedge up their way with thorns, and to build a wall against them, that they may not find their former ways:” entreat him earnestly to do this for you; and to “keep you by his own power through faith unto salvation.”]

CLXXII

BALAAM’S FIRST ATTEMPT TO CURSE ISRAEL

  Numb. 23:7–10.

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak, the king of Moab, hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the East, saying, Come, curse me Jacob; and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; and let my last end be like his!

IT is scarcely to be conceived to what a degree superstition will blind the eyes of men. There is nothing so absurd or incredible, which a person under the influence of it is not ready to believe. Who would imagine that persons could be brought to believe the infallibility of the Pope, and the power of the Popish priests to forgive sin? Who would suppose that any person could be brought to believe, that a priest is able to convert bread and wine into the body and soul, yea, and into the Godhead also, of Christ; and that every individual who partakes of that bread and wine, eats and drinks the whole body, the whole soul, and the whole Godhead of Christ? Yet these things are credited by millions of persons, as firmly as they believe that there is a God.

Were it not that we have such evidence of the power of superstition in later ages, we should scarcely conceive, that any Being endowed with reason would act like Balak, when he sent for Balaam to curse Israel. How could he entertain such a foolish thought, as that Balaam should be able to inflict a curse upon the whole Israelitish nation, so as to ensure the conquest of them to the king of Moab? Yet this superstition obtained, not only there, and at that time, but fifteen hundred years afterwards at Rome also, where there was an officer expressly appointed to imprecate curses on their enemies.

How little it was in the power of Balaam to effect, we see in every renewed attempt that he made. So far from being able to inflict a curse on Israel, he was not able even to denounce one: for God overruled and constrained him to bless the people whom he desired to curse.

Having offered seven bullocks and seven rams on as many altars, he came to Balak, who was anxiously expecting the accomplishment of his wishes. But, behold, the man on whose power he relied to curse Israel, was constrained explicitly to declare,

  I.      Their security—

Balaam acknowledges that it was not in his power to curse them: and declares that, instead of being vanquished by Balak, they should prevail against every enemy, and be a peculiar people to the end of time.

This has ever since been verified in relation to those who are Israelites after the flesh—

[That nation did prevail over their enemies; did get possession of Canaan; did maintain it against all their enemies, till, for their iniquities, God sent them into captivity in Babylon. Yet even there did they retain their peculiarities: yea, even at this day, though dispersed through every country under heaven, they are as much a peculiar people as ever. Other nations, when vanquished and dispersed, have become incorporated with their victors, and been assimilated to the people amongst whom they have dwelt: but the Jews in every country are still a distinct people: and are living witnesses of the truth of this prophecy.]

It is no less verified in relation to the spiritual Israel—

[Every blessing promised to Abraham and his natural seed was, in a spiritual sense, made also to his spiritual seed. The Gospel itself, with all the blessings of salvation, was contained in that promise, “In thy seed shall all nations be “blessed.” It is evident, moreover, that Balaam himself was instructed of God to prophesy of persons under the gospel dispensation, even of those who should be the subjects of the Lord Jesus Christb. Now they are indeed a peculiar people:” they “dwell alone:” “though in the world, they are not of the world, even as Christ himself was not of the world:” they “are not conformed to it;” “they come out from it and are separate;” they can “have no more communion with it, than light can have with darkness, or Christ with Belial.” They dwell in the midst of enemies, amongst whom they are “men wondered at.” Wherever they are, they are, and ever have been, in a greater or less degree, objects of hatred and persecution. Every possible method has been used to extirpate them; but no enemy has ever been able to prevail against them. They are still, and ever shall be, monuments of God’s power, and objects of his love.]

  II.      Their increase—

The Israelites, as a nation, became very numerous—

[At the time that Balaam saw them, they probably amounted to two millions: but after their settlement in Canaan they multiplied exceedingly, so as to fulfil the promise made to Abraham, and to justify the declaration in the text.]

But the true Israel shall indeed he “as the dust of the earth”—

[In the first ages of Christianity they were spread over the whole Roman empire: and though we acknowledge that hitherto they have not been numerous, when compared with their enemies, yet we are assured, that they shall in due time cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and for the space of a thousand years fill the whole earth. And, if we consider how they will multiply when wars shall cease, when the diseases arising from men’s folly and wickedness shall be removed, and “the man dying at an hundred years old shall be considered but a child” brought to an untimely end; we may well imagine, that their numbers shall far exceed that of all who have perished in their sins. We are sure at all events, that, in the last day, they shall be “a multitude, which no man can number, out of every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue;” and that they shall join together in everlasting hallelujahs, “saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb!” O blessed period! May “God hasten it, in His time!”]

  III.      Their happiness—

Balaam proclaims them happy also in their eternal state—

[Here he must refer to those who were the true Israelites; since an ungodly Jew can no more be saved, than an ungodly heathen. And it is worthy of notice, how strongly he asserts the happiness of the godly in a future world. He looked forward to their future state: he saw them distinguished from the ungodly; he saw, that, however they might be involved in the calamities of the wicked here, they would be translated by death to a state of endless felicity: hence he envied them, and desired to have “his last end like theirs.”]

And truly in this view they are objects of envy to the whole world—

[The wish that Balaam expressed is the wish of every man, even of the most abandoned. There is no one living under the light of the Gospel, but feels an inward persuasion that God will put a difference between the righteous and the wicked. However much he may hate the persons of the godly, he envies their state; and has at some time the thought arising in his mind, ‘If I were now to die, I should be glad to be found in your state.’ And well may this be the case, seeing that God has prepared for them “such good things as pass man’s understanding” — — —Were it not for their future prospects, they would be rather in a pitiable condition, especially in seasons of bitter persecution: but, with such hopes before them, they can be in no condition whatever, wherein they are not greatly to be envied — — —]

  To IMPROVE this subject, we shall add a word,

  1.      Of warning—

[Balaam by all his efforts could not prevail on God to reverse his word respecting Israel: on the contrary, the word which he delivered by God’s command has been fulfilled to them in all ages. And shall not what God hath spoken both here and elsewhere, respecting the end of the righteous and the wicked, be fulfilled? Shall any man die the death of the righteous, if he will not live his life; or shall he attain his end without walking in his way? If God has declared that he will “put a difference between those who serve him, and those who serve him not,” who shall prevail upon him to change his mind? or “who shall harden himself against HIM, and prosper?” O, think of this, beloved, and buoy not up yourselves with unfounded expectations: for “God is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should repent.”]

  2.      Of consolation—

[Little did Israel know what plots were formed against them: but God knew, and counteracted them all. Thus it is with God’s Israel now. Both men and devils are confederate against them: Satan especially, “like a roaring lion, goeth about seeking, if possible, to devour them:” but God overrules all their devices for good, and gives us a blessing where they would have sent a curse. He has promised, that “no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper:” and he will fulfil it even to the end: he will “keep us by his own power through faith unto everlasting salvation.” Let us then not say, A confederacy, a confederacy; but let us “sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and make him our fear, and him our dread.” He will be “a wall of fire round about us, and the glory in the midst of us:” he will keep us even as the apple of his eye: nor “shall any one who trusts in him, ever be ashamed or confounded world without end.” As Balaam could not prevail against Israel of old, so “not all the gates of hell shall prevail against us.” Only put your trust in God, and you may, in the language of the Apostle, defy the whole universe to “separate you from the love of God.”]

CLXXIII

BALAAM’S SECOND ATTEMPT TO CURSE ISRAEL

  Numb. 23:18–23.

And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless; and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt: he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought?

THE distinct answers which God gave to Balaam are surely deserving of distinct consideration. The general scope of them indeed is the same; namely, that Israel should be blessed: but the terms in which that declaration was made, are diversified, and contain in them a great variety of important matter. We are astonished indeed that God would condescend to notice Balaam a second time, more especially as he had the impiety to approach him with divinations and enchantments. But, for the sake of his Church and people, the Lord himself met Balaam again, and constrained him, in his reply to Balak, to declare,

  I.      The immutability of God—

Balaam had endeavoured to turn God from his purpose; and perhaps, from having, as he conceived, prevailed upon him to reverse his word before, he hoped to succeed in like manner again. But he was compelled to confess to Balak the inefficacy of his attempts to change the mind of God—

[Balak had supposed Balaam to be capable of effecting great things; and had imputed his former answer to a want of inclination, rather than of power, to comply with his wishes. But Balaam here distinctly confesses, that it was not in his power to “reverse,” or alter, what God had spoken: and that, consequently, it was in vain to make any renewed attempts.

Man, from a variety of causes, might be led to change his mind: he might gain a further insight into a matter than he had possessed before; or he might be biased by some intervening interests; or he might find himself incapable of executing his projects for want of power: but no such occasions of change can exist in God: “He is not a man that he should lie;” there is in him “no variableness, neither shadow of turning:” “He cannot lie:” “it is impossible that he should:” he is as unchangeable in his purposes, as he is in his perfections: “He is of one mind; and who can turn him?” So self-evident was this truth, that Balaam appealed even to the conscience of Balak himself respecting it: “Hath he said, and shall he not do it?”

This view of the Deity was a sufficient answer to Balak: it was a pledge to him, that the promises originally made to Abraham should be fulfilled to his descendants. And it is an answer too to all the unbelieving fears which occasionally arise in our minds. “God’s gifts and callings are without repentance.” “He will not forsake his people, because it hath pleased him to make them his peopled:” and it is owing solely to the unchangeableness of his mercies, that any one of his people escapes destruction: “He changeth not; and therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed.”]

The immutability of God being established, Balaam proceeded to recite,

  II.      The kindness he (God) had already shewn to his people—

This was such as gave Balak but little hope of ever succeeding against them—

[God had forgiven their sins, so that nothing which they had done amiss should ever provoke him to destroy them. Doubtless there was in them much “iniquity,” and much “perverseness;” but they had not renounced their allegiance to him or their affiance in him; and therefore he would not give them up to their enemies. He had “cast all their sins behind his back into the depths of the sea,” and he viewed them only with an eye of love and mercy. He considered them still as his peculiar people: and he dwelt in the midst of them as their God. Moreover, such manifestations did he afford them of his love and favour, that they could not but rejoice in their security, and triumph in him, with shouts and acclamations, as their Almighty Protector.]

It shews us also what God does for his people at this time—

[The best of his people are but imperfect creatures: “in many things we all offend.” But, if we be truly his, “he does not behold iniquity or perverseness in us.” We are not by this to understand, that sin, if committed by the Lord’s people, is not sinful; or that it is not most hateful in his eyes: but we are to understand that he is “not extreme to mark what we do amiss;” that, on the contrary, he views us as “perfect in Christ Jesus,” by whom we are “presented faultless before him,” and through whose blood and righteousness we are made “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, yea holy, and without blemish.”

Regarding us thus as objects of his favour, he delights to dwell amongst us, to abide with us, to manifest himself to us, and to “fill us with joy and peace in believing;” so that he enables us to say with the Apostle, “Thanks be to God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ Jesus!” Truly, “the children of Zion are made joyful in their King,” yea, they “ever shout for joy, because he defendeth them:” “they sing unto him for the excellent things which he hath done; they cry out and shout, because great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of them.”]

From the mention of what God hath done for his people, Balaam went on to declare,

  III.      The kindness he has yet in reserve for them—

The time was soon to come when all the surrounding nations should be astonished at it—

[God had already “brought them out of Egypt, and given them, as it were, the strength of an unicorn.” He had suffered no machinations of men or devils to prevail against them. He had fulfilled all his promises to them hitherto; and the time was now nearly arrived, when he would accomplish them in their full extent. However formidable the opposition to them might be, “they should rise up like a lion to his prey, which lies not down till he has drunk the blood of the slain.” In a word, such should be his marvellous interpositions in their favour, that all who beheld them should exclaim, “What hath God wrought!”]

But it was a mere shadow of the kindness he has laid up for us—

[It is not from an Egyptian tyrant that we are delivered, but from sin and Satan, death and hell. Nor are we endued with strength against an earthly enemy, but against all the powers of darkness; insomuch that “Satan himself shall be bruised under our feet shortly.” Not only shall “the gates of hell never prevail against his Church” at large, but not against even the weakest of his people: both Christ and his Father are pledged, that “however weak the believer may be, none shall ever be able to pluck him out of their hands.” The least of the flock have no more cause to fear than the greatest; for “it is the Father’s good pleasure to give, to the one as well as to the other, the possession of his kingdomi.” The weakest shall be “strong in the Lord,” yea, strong as a lion: he shall be “able to do all things” that are conducive to his welfare; and shall be “more than conqueror through Him that loved him.” O what “a wonder is he unto many,” even at this time! and what a wonder will he be, both to himself and others, in the eternal world! When the whole Israel of God shall be in possession of the heavenly land, how will each say, on a review of his own mercies in particular, as well as those vouchsafed to the whole collective body, “What hath God wrought!” Truly, they will all be lost in wonder, love, and praise.]

  Let none dismiss this subject from their minds without REFLECTING,

  1.      How great are their obligations to God!

[Here, as in a glass, we may see them very distinctly: and we read this history to little purpose, if we see not in it transactions of the present day. To recapitulate the mercies of God towards us, or to point out their correspondence with those that were vouchsafed to Israel, is needless. The slight mention we have already made of them is sufficient. But it is of importance to ask, What effect have they produced upon our minds? Have we not again and again been constrained to say, “What hath God wrought!” “What manner of love is this wherewith the Father hath loved us!” Be assured, that the man who is not frequently (I might almost say, habitually,) impressed with this thought, knows nothing of God, nor has he any part or lot in the gospel salvation — — —]

  2.      How strenuous should be their exertions to walk worthy of them!

[It is thought by some, that views of God’s sovereign grace and unchanging love will lead men to carelessness and presumption. It behoves us all to shew, that there is no foundation for this calumny; and that the stupendous love of Christ will rather constrain us to obedience. Let us remember, that, if the promises of God are sure, so also are the threatenings: and that we can no more reverse these, than Satan can reverse the others, if we be found in a state against which God has threatened his displeasure.

How painful is the thought, that, notwithstanding all the warnings which God has given them, many will yet perish in their sins! Methinks, if God’s mercy will excite wonder among those that are saved, so will sin excite wonder among them that perish. With what force will that reflection strike us in the day of judgment, “What hath SIN wrought!” O think upon it now: and let us not only flee from it, but endeavour so to “walk, that God in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus!”]

CLXXIV

GOD WILL FULFIL HIS WORD

  Numb. 23:19.

God is not a man, that he should lie.

THERE is scarcely any thing that more strongly manifests the depravity of our nature, than that propensity to lying which we perceive in children, as soon as they begin to speak. Even when men are grown to the full exercise of their reason, they too often deviate from truth, sometimes through forgetfulness, sometimes from a change of sentiment or inclination, and sometimes from an inability to perform their word. Hence it is characteristic of man to lie: and we are all so sensible of this, that in matters of great importance we require of men an oath to confirm their word, and enter into written covenants with them, which we take care to have properly attested.

Now we are apt to “think that God is even such an one as ourselves:” and that he also may be prevailed upon to “alter the word that is gone out of his lips.” Balak evidently entertained this idea of him; and laboured by many repeated sacrifices to divert him from his purpose. But Balaam was inspired to declare the vanity of such an hope, and to assert in a most humiliating comparison the unchangeableness of Jehovah.

To unfold the full meaning of his words, we observe,

  I.      Some men think that God will lie—

God has told us with strong and repeated asseverations, that “we must be born again” — — — But this is totally disbelieved by,

  1.      The profane—

[They persuade themselves, that such strictness in religion as is implied in the new birth, is not necessary; and that they shall go to heaven in their own way — — —]

  2.      The self-righteous—

[These consider regeneration as a dream of weak enthusiasts; and are satisfied with “the form of godliness without” ever experiencing “the power of it” — — —]

  3.      The hypocritical professors of religion—

[These, having changed their creed together with their outward conduct, fancy themselves Christians, notwithstanding their faith neither “overcomes the world,” nor “works by love,” nor “purifies their hearts”— — —

That all these persons think God will lie, is evident beyond a doubt: for if they really believed that “old things must pass away, and all things become new,” before they can enter into the kingdom of heaven, they would feel concerned to know whether any such change had taken place in them; nor would they ever be satisfied till they had a scriptural evidence that they were indeed “new creatures in Christ Jesus.” But as this is in no respect the case with them, it is manifest that they “do not believe the record of God,” and consequently, however harsh the expression may seem, “they make God a liar.”]

While some do not hesitate to entertain these dishonourable thoughts of God,

  II.      Others fear he may lie—

This is common with persons,

  1.      Under conviction of sin—

[When men are deeply convinced of sin, they find it exceeding difficult to rest simply on the promises of the Gospel. God promises to cast out none who come to him by Christ Jesus; to wash them from sins of deepest dye; and to bestow on them all the blessings of salvation freely “without money and without price.” Now this appears too good to be true: they cannot conceive how God should “justify the ungodlyg,” and therefore they seek to become godly first, in order that they may be justified: and if they cannot bring some price in their hands, they keep back, and give themselves over to desponding tears — — —]

  2.      Under temptation or desertion—

[God has declared that “he will not suffer his people to be tempted above what they are able to bear.” But when they come into temptation, they are apt to say, as David, “I shall one day perish by the hands of Sauli.” They see no way for their escape; and therefore they fear that the very next wave will overwhelm them utterly — — —

If God at these seasons hide his face from them, they conclude “there is no hope;” they think “his mercy clean gone for ever, and his loving-kindness come utterly to an end for evermore,” notwithstanding God has so frequently and so expressly declared, that he will never leave them nor forsake theml — — —

Now these persons do not, like the ungodly, deliberately think that God will lie; but they have many misgiving fears lest he should: and that they do so is obvious; for, if they did not, they would take God at his word, and “stay themselves on him when they are in darkness, and have no light.”]

Thus generally is the veracity of him who is truth itself, either questioned or denied:

  III.      But God neither will nor can lie—

It is humiliating beyond expression that ministers should be forced to vindicate the veracity of God. But as he himself has seen fit to do so in the sacred oracles, and as the unbelief of men is so inveterate, we submit to the necessity, and proceed to shew that,

  1.      He will not lie—

[First, let us hear the testimonies of those who have tried him. Had ever any one more opportunities of proving his fidelity than Moses, Joshua, and Samuel? Yet they all attest in the most solemn manner that he neither had deceived them in any thing, nor ever would— — —

Next, let us attend to God’s own assertions and appeals — — — Would he ever venture to speak thus strongly on his own behalf, if his creatures could make good their accusations against him?

Lastly, let us look to matter of fact. He threatened to punish the angels if they should prove disobedient: he denounced a curse on Adam if he should eat of the forbidden tree: he threatened to destroy the whole world with a deluge; and to overwhelm Sodom and Gomorrha with fire and brimstone; and to scatter his once chosen people over the face of the whole earth. See now whether he has forborne to execute any of these threatenings. He also promised to send his only dear Son to die for sinners; and to make him great among the Gentiles, while his own nation should almost universally reject him. Have either of these promises been forgotten? Or, if such promises, and such threatenings have received their accomplishment, is there any reason to doubt respecting any other that are yet unfulfilled? Are not his past actions so many types and pledges of what he will hereafter perform?]

  2.      He cannot lie—

[Truth is as essential to the divine nature as goodness, wisdom, power, or any other attribute; so that he can as easily cease to be good, or wise, or powerful, as he can suffer “one jot or tittle of his word to fail.” If for one moment he could divest himself of truth, he would cease to be deserving of all confidence or affection. Let it only be said of any man, “He is great, and wise, and generous, but no dependence can be placed on his word,” would he not on the whole be deemed a contemptible character? How then would Jehovah be degraded, if any such infirmity could be laid to his charge?

It should seem that St. Paul was peculiarly solicitous to guard us against entertaining the smallest possible doubt of the divine veracity; for he abounds in expressions declarative of this perfection. “God,” says he, “cannot lie;” and again, “he cannot deny himself;” and again in still stronger terms, “It is impossible for God to lies.” Nor let it be thought that this detracts from God’s power: for to be able to lie, would be a weakness rather than a perfection: and as it is man’s disgrace that he is prone to violate his word, so it is God’s honour that he neither will nor can lie.]

  INFER,

  1.      How vain are the expectations of unconverted men!

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