Locus 10 — The Difference between the Old and the New Covenants
sacrifices for sin and give righteousness and eternal siah might be preserved and propagated, and for this reason in this people there was also the true church of the elect. life, but not a worldly empire in this mortal life.
Furthermore the church taught regarding the Law that external obedience and discipline do not satisfy the law of God nor please Him, unless the true foun dation has first been laid, that is, that we know the promise of the Messiah and for His sake receive the remission of sins and reconciliation. They taught in their worship that God for the sake of this Messiah truly did receive them and hear their prayers. By this faith they taught that there must be a beginning of obedience to this Law in the heart, that is, the statements of the Decalogue concerning love, worship, and the fear of God.
We must carefully consider this purpose which the ignorant multitude among the people of Israel failed to understand, for they fell into three errors:
1. Just as they saw the promise of the land as being the possession of a certain piece of real estate and a certain government as being purely physical, so they believed that the promised Messiah would in crease this land area and strengthen it. They did not understand that He was sent to be the sacrifice, to abolish sin and death, and that through this government or nation He would give righteousness and eternal life to those who believed.
They proclaimed the same in regard to the cer emonies, that they were not merely given in order that they might be the price for the remission of sins; but that they might be signs of the coming Messiah and testimonies of their profession of faith and exercises which served as instruction regarding faith and worship; and they were not of value unless the foundation was first laid down that they knew the promise of the Mes siah and had received the remission of sins and that there was the beginning of obedience to the first part of the Law, namely the Decalogue.
2. They did not understand the principal reason for the promulgation of the Law. For it was given not only as the civil law by which this nation should be ruled, but that it might be the voice of God givenby sure and clear testimony by which the judgment of God was re vealed as something eternal and immutable in its op position to sin, so that the promise of the Messiah might be sought when the wrath of God became understood.
But the great majority was entirely ignorant of this and thought that the Law was only a matter of civil obedi ence and that the law of God was satisfied by this ex ternal obedience. They did not understand inner sins or doubts about the wrath and mercy of God; they did not know about genuine shame or ardent faith and love; they did not understand about trust in God for divine help in their prayers or their doubts as to whether God really receives their prayers. They had countless erring notions. They believed that many of these things were not sinful and were not in conflict with the law of God.
So also with regard to the third part of the Law, that is, the judicial aspects, they taught that the civil law was pleasing to God when the true foundation had been laid, namely knowledge of the promised Messiah and reception of the remission of sins and the beginning in the heart of the first part of the Law, that is, the Decalogue, in order that trust in divine aid and for the glory of God and love of our neighbor, the civil duties must also be performed, not as Alexander, Sulla Mar ius, and others carried out the laws—with contempt for God and solely for the sake of their own power and purposes.
3. They believed that sins and lapses were com pensated for by sacrifices and that they merited the remission of sins by the killing of bulls and other cer emonies. Linder this opinion they piled up sacrifices.
Indeed, they even dreamed up new ones or took them over from the gentiles. They sacrificed their own chil dren in order that they might merit more good things in times of great and difficult troubles. Human blindness is prone to such errors as this, so that it imagines that works which we ourselves have created out of our imagination are particularly pleasing to God. These three errors were widely spread among the people.
In this way the prophets showed the promise and the use of the Law, and on the other hand attacked superstitions, as we read in Jer. 7:22, "I did not give command to your fathers regarding burnt offerings;" Ps.
51:16, "You do not desire sacrifice." These and similar passages seemed to be in open conflict with the Law and gave reason for ungodly kings and priests armed with the pretense of the Law to inflict cruel persecution on the prophets. But it was the will of the prophets that the ceremonies be not commanded unless there was also with them the knowledge and trust in the Messiah, repentance, or as it is said in common language, that the ceremonies not be done merely as a formality (ex opere operate) and accompanied by other errors which the ignorant multitude dreamed up.
Yet God in this civil arrangement always pre served some true church, that is, a gathering of those who truly believe, as Isaiah says in 1:9, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us a remnant, we should have been as Sodom." Thus the true church attacked errors and called some back to the true worship of God; it taught that this civil structure had been established in order that there might be a definite and a sure place for the church, until the coming of the Messiah, with the result that in the meantime in this place the promise might be preserved and spread abroad. The church also bore witness that the Messiah was sent that He might make
That this establishment of the civil structure by Moses is properly called the old covenant is confirmed by such statements as these: Gal. 4:24 ft, "These are two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai which bears children for slavery," that is, which binds men to this civil structure, which even though it was a great bless
who are outside the church and in the church. Wars are created, diseases, poverty, devastations, exiles, in juries, desertions, betrayals, troubles on the part of friends, and finally countless sorrows. We should know that these chastenings do not happen by accident but they are the constant voice of the Law which is ad monishing this wretched nature of ours regarding the eternal wrath of God and restraining and coercing our nature so that we should not think that by the destruc tion of the Mosaic civil structure the judgment of God and His curses against sin are no longer in effect. To be sure, the blessing and deliverance are begun in those who believe the Gospel and are thus freed from the eternal wrath of God; but as long as the old cor ruption of our nature remains, the punishments also remain. ing (for it was most beneficial to know for certain that the church was there), yet there was slavery there, that is, the highest good had not yet been made known, the new and eternal life which was to be demonstrated as the true liberty in the new covenant. But there was the ministration of the Law preaching God's wrath against sin and compelling obedience, instructing the people by certain types and shadows regarding the blessings to come.
Thus Hebrews 7 shows that the old covenant was abrogated because it was weak and useless. It does not speak of the promise of the coming Messiah. This covenant was not useless to the patriarchs, but the Law was weak and useless, that is to say, for justification or for abolishing sin and death, for it was the purpose of the Law to do this. Although it was a great benefit that a definite location be given to the church ,on earth and that a beautiful civil structure and outward disci pline be established, yet all these good things were things which perish, subject to death, and they were not righteousness or eternal life.
For the voice of the moral law and the curses have been revealed not only to the people of that time, but that there might be the testimony and judgment of God against sin in all places against the entire human race. Therefore the old covenant is called a burden because it crushes the entire old nature, not only in the ungodly but also in the saints before their full deliver ance. But for the saints there is consolation, help, and mitigation offered in the Gospel and to the same degree the curse is abrogated. But the ungodly perish in keep ing with the curse, without deliverance, so that even many very outstanding men have perished horribly, crushed both by calamities of this life and the eternal wrath of God, men such as Saul, Pompey, Caesar,
Crassus, and Cato, who are before us daily as ex amples in keeping with the whole history of the world.
For since the nature of men is guilty, it is pressed down by the curses of the Law.
Jer. 31:31 ff. clearly calls the old covenant a treaty which was made when the people were being led out of Egypt, and in a very skillful way he distin guishes between the old and the new covenants. The old was the promulgation of the external law and a pronouncement of judgment against sin; it was the es tablishment of a political structure so that there might be a definite seat for the Word and testimonies of God.
But the new covenant was not an external promulgation of the Law, but new and eternal life, light, and righ teousness while the Law burned warmly in the hearts
[by the abolition] of death and sin. Jeremiah includes the whole scope of the new covenant just as many of the prophets do when they speak of the blessings of the Messiah, and they not only instruct concerning the beginning but of the complete restoration of man's na ture. Thus there is a clear distinction between the new and the old covenants, since the new covenant speaks of the heavenly and complete nature freed from all evils; and this is bestowed on our old nature which had been subjected to the Law and to death.
From these citations which I have quoted we can sufficiently understand how the nomenclature of the old and new covenants square with one another if we take into account the time of the promulgation of the Law and the matter of the complete restoration of our nature, especially if we take into consideration the fact that our old nature is crushed and coerced up until the time of its complete restoration. When we understand this, then individuals should realize that their troubles are a tes timony to the Law by which we are instructed about the wrath of God in order that we may seek the Messiah; and they should also realize that a bridle has been put upon us to curb this old nature of ours.
Here also we should refer those titles which have been applied. It is called the old covenant both with respect to time and because of the subject, for the pro mulgation of the Law preceded in time the restoration of our nature, something which begins with the resur rection of Christ and is to be completed when the entire church is raised and adorned with His glory. Second, it is called "old" because of the subject, because this old nature is pressed down by the judgment of the Law and must be coerced by the discipline of the Law. Just as our nature remains in this life, so the Law remains and the enormous burden which the Law denounces with its curses, that is, the eternal wrath of God remains, unless remission of sins is received through the Gospel.
Further, there also remain the great calamities which are punishments by which God punishes the sins of all
The new covenant is the proclamation of the re mission of sins and the giving of eternal life, and the giving of new righteousness with the destruction of sin and death, for the sake of Christ the Mediator. When it is called the new covenant we understand the begin ning of this in every proclamation of the Gospel, from the very beginning of the giving of the promise, and we understand that this is brought to fulfillment in the entire church when it has been raised from death and puts on eternal glory.
The apostles saw an example of this great glory
above their heads and upon some of their members when they witnessed the ascension of the risen Christ.
For there they saw that mortality had been completely abolished, they saw the new nature shining with divine light, new righteousness, and life. Jeremiah speaks this way concerning the new covenant, including not only the preaching of the Gospel before the resurrection but the complete blessing, 31:33-34, "I will put My law in their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be
My people; and no longer will each man teach his neighbor, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know
Me ... for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more." Here He seems to be contradicting Him self, for first He says, "I will make a new covenant," but the covenants are made with a certain terminology and speak in the language of ministration or a ministry through which God reveals His will, and often in other places it is said that in the new covenant a new word must be proclaimed. For example, Is. 61:1, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach good tidings to the afflicted. He has sent me," but later we read in Jer.
33:34, "No longer will each man teach his neighbor."
Here He is saying that the ministry of the word preached by man will cease. These points, if properly applied, are in agreement.
When we know mercy through the Gospel, our minds no longer flee from God but draw near to Him as to a Father, and as they draw near they are helped by the Holy Spirit, they pray, they believe, and rely on the promises, since they look upon God as having joined Himself to human nature by an eternal and im mutable covenant when His Son was born of the virgin, that is, when the two natures, the divine and the human, were joined together in the Son, they hold evident tes timony which shows that the human race is a matter of concern to God, when they hear His Son has been sent to be the sacrifice and the author of new and eternal life, as Isaiah says in 9:6, "the everlasting Father," to whom they flee for refuge; and this is the voice of the Gospel which is "the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes," Rom. 1:16, that is, through this power the Holy Spirit is given along with the be ginning of the new and eternal righteousness.
This comfort is added: Some one may wonder why the glory of the new covenant is so greatly cele brated by the prophets, when that gathering known as the church which took place under the apostles never has such a settled order, such significant leaders, such great victories and miracles as are seen in the exodus from Egypt and the establishment of the Jewish civil state.
For the new covenant begins in this mortal life through the ministry of proclaiming the promise in all ages, but it is entirely completed when the light has been shed abroad, along with righteousness and eter nal life in which the ministry of teaching the command ments to men has ceased and we rejoice before the sight of the eternal God. But in the meantime even if the new covenant is beginning among the regenerate, yet because our old flesh remains, as said above, it is terribly oppressed by the curses of the Law, that is, by calamities of every kind, in order that the wrath of God against sin may be understood and the Mediator sought; likewise, that sin may be crushed and pun ished. Therefore, as we have often said above, the church is oppressed with very great troubles because particularly in the church God wants His wrath against sin to be seen clearly. Thus in the end the church will completely strip off its sin and be freed from all penalties and adorned with eternal life and glory, as shown in these words: "Their sin will I remember no more," Jer.
31:34.
Likewise in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul distinguishes the new covenant from the old and brings us the most important teaching and the sweetest comfort. The teaching is that he calls the old covenant "the letter" and "the ministration of death," w. 6-7, that is, the Law in its accusation and condemnation of man. But he calls the new covenant "the ministration of the Spirit," v. 8, that is, the proclamation of the Gospel through which the Holy Spirit is given, who begins in the heart the new light, righteousness, and life, as it also says in Rom.
8:15, "You have received the Spirit of the adoption of sons whereby we cry, 'Abba! Father!' "
Paul supplies the answer to this: All this glorying took place in order that there might be testimonies not only to the civil government which was going to perish but also to the promise of the future eternal reign. They teach in order that we may believe that since God was with that nation which was going to perish, much more shall He be with His eternal kingdom. Human judg ments stumble when they see the church as a dis persed and wandering flock without any human supports, without powerful rulers and finally without any order. Then people are tormented by this weakness and ask what is the benefit of the Gospel and the name of Christ when we feel nothing in ourselves of these new and wonderful gifts. Further, we are left in the midst of our troubles, just as the rest of the condemned peo ple in this world.
Paul puts this point in opposition to these doubts:
If the civil structure which was going to perish was the ministration of glory, "how much more glorious will be this ministration of eternal salvation," 2 Cor. 3:9, that is, it will be efficacious in those who receive the Gospel and it will be preserved in marvelous ways. We suffer in our hearts in the midst of so many tumults of human affairs; we are anxious for the church, for its doctrine, and the destruction of its learning. These dangers in struct us that the church is not preserved by human plans but by divine actions among the great overthrow and ruination of kingdoms. God wants us to consider these things and He wants us to seek His protection so that we are not torn apart in our hearts. He gives us the promise that His church shall remain on earth to the end of time, as Christ clearly says in Matt. 28:20,
"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." Now, since the church will remain, the Gospel must be glorious, that is, efficacious; the church must be protected by the marvelous works of God; the study of theological literature must remain even if in this last age of the world all things are weaker and more out of shape. We must comfort ourselves with these thoughts and continue in prayer. blessings which we must look at closely, since we may apply these marvelous comforts to our needs and thus we will call up the Spirit of prayer.
When they speak of the new covenant, most of the prophets preach at the same time of present and eternal punishments of the ungodly, for example, Amos
9:8-9, "Behold, the eyes of God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it... but I shall not utterly destroy the kingdom of Jacob. For lo, I will give the command and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as wheat is shaken with a sieve, yet not a grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword. In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David ..." that is, while I am gathering for Myself the church, at the same time with frightful punishments I shall declare My wrath against the ungodly; and when their kingdoms have been de stroyed, I will rescue and preserve a small select group.
Thus when Jerusalem has been destroyed and the na tion of the Jews dispersed, a remnant shall be rescued by the preaching of the apostles and afterwards, when even the Roman Empire has been destroyed by civil and foreign wars, still the church will be gathered. And now the most frightful actions of kingdoms and murders are the fatal punishments of the world, among which God still rescues His church and He will also glorify the whole church at the same time that He casts the un godly into eternal punishments.
There are in many places in the prophets several descriptions of the new covenant which we must men tion along with the sufferings of Christ and His bless ings, the remission of sins, and the eternal kingdom, that is, new and eternal righteousness and life, as Isa iah 53 says; cf. Dan. 9:24, "Seventy weeks are decreed concerning your people ... to put an end to sin ... to show everlasting righteousness." Again, v. 26, "The Lord shall be cut off." In these passages there .is a brief summary of the points which are comprehended in the new covenant.
Likewise it says in Zech. 9:11, "You also by the blood of your covenant have sent forth your prisoners out free from the waterless pit" (Vulgate). This is a short statement and there are many like it in the prophets, but by means of comparison they become very clear.
He calls the blood of the sacrifice the "blood of the covenant" through which we must establish and con firm the covenant regarding matters of eternal signifi cance, that is, the blood of Christ. For the prophets knew that sins were not taken away by the blood of animals but that these sacrifices were signs of another
Victim. "You have led out your prisoners," he says, "from the waterless pit," that is, from eternal death. The captives were those who were Your people and You led them out by means of blood, that is, by the sacrifice which had been promised, so that eternity might be restored to us, namely, God's wrath assuaged by the death of the Son of God. Thus this passage includes the death of Christ and eternal blessings.
Isaiah 65 describes the new covenant in these words regarding prayer and proclamation, "I said, 'Be hold Me,' to a nation which did not know My name," v.
1. Then in regard to the punishments of the ungodly he says, vv. 11-12, "You are those who have forsaken the Lord ... you shall bow down to the slaughter." Yet He also says, "I shall save the church, so that if one grape is found, I shall not destroy the whole place." In regard to the fulfillment of the new covenant He adds, v. 17, "I create new heavens...
Next in ch. 12 Zechariah explains what kind of kingdom this is and what particular kind of actions it will produce. V. 10, "I will pour out upon the house of These statements of the prophets must be stud ied in order that we may distinguish between the be ginning and completion, so that we not be torn apart by the sad sight of these empires rushing to their de struction and think that the church of God no longer exists. Rather we should understand that in the midst of these horrendous confusions we must still seek and retain the Word of God, and that those who join them selves with the true church by their faith, their will, their prayers, and their confession, are members of the peo ple of God wherever they may be, even if they are crushed by slavery and death among the overthrowing of kingdoms. In this present day they all understand that this comfort is necessary for the godly. For even sane people are often troubled by this kind of trial: Has
God completely rejected those nations where church structure no longer exists? Here many people fall into despair when they see a few godly people struggling in an overwhelming contest. Describing sorrows of this kind Hosea says in 13:13-14, "The sorrows of a tra
David the Spirit of grace and prayer." Here He speaks of good things which belong to the new covenant. The Spirit of grace is the Holy Spirit by whom our hearts are aided so that they may know Him when they hear the Gospel and believe that they have been received into grace and may be assured that the wrath of God has really been assuaged. But afterwards, when they come to know His mercy, they pray and he particularly calls it prayer because this is the worship which belongs to the church alone and is absolutely unknown to all those who do not know the Gospel.
At the same time that this teaching and comfort is being given to us, we are instructed that we must pray; and this means that our worship is pleasing to God and will not be in vain. These descriptions and others like them in the prophets are very useful and give us instruction regarding the new covenant and its
4:8, "Godliness has the promise of the life which now is and of that which is to come." vailing woman shall come upon them ... I will redeem them from the power of death, O death, I will be your death." What he calls ''the sorrows of a travailing woman" reasonably intelligent people, can understand when they are troubled at the sight of the Turks with their pillage and their other attacks and uproars in many places; but comfort is added which will encourage the godly to take refuge in the promise of the new covenant;
"0 death, I will be your death," and again, ''Every one who who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,"
Joel 2:32.
It is profitable to understand why the promises of bodily blessings were given. We can mention three reasons:
First, that the ravings of the Epicureans might be refuted, that is, so that we do not get the idea that physical blessings come to us either by accident or by the natural order of things, without the help of God; but may determine correctly that God is concerned about these good things and lhat God does give us shelter, government, our home, peace, food, success in our endeavors. Often such instruction as this is given, as is found in Ps. 127:1, "Except the Lord build the house ..."; and in Ps. 128:1-2 we read, "Blessed are all who fear the Lord. You shall eat the labor of your hands"; 37:19, "In the days of famine they shall eat their fill." Christ says in Matt. 6:33, "Seek first the king dom of God .. . and all these other things shall be given to you in addition." He even commands us to ask for daily bread, and in Deut. 8:3 ff., God afflicted the people with want and gave them bread, in order that He might show that "man does not live by bread alone but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Of Isaac it is said in Gen. 26:12-13, "He sowed in that land and received in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him and he was greatly enriched."
Gen. 28:20, "If God will bp with me, and keep me and give me bread ...." Finally, testimonies are spread everywhere regarding the help which God gives to this physical life of ours to defend us and to aid us with necessities.
I have said what the new covenant is and shown that we must consider which statements are speaking of the beginning and which of the consummation. For it is called the new covenant both because of the prom ise which was given after the fall and because of the beginning of new and eternal righteousness and life, blessings which will be given to us in their complete ness after the resurrection. But now the church in the weakened condition of our nature is subject to the cross and all the empires of the world are attacking it with frightful punishments, and this will continue to the end.
Therefore even if the state of Israel has been destroyed and with it the ceremonies and civil laws have been brought to extinction, yet the voice of the Law which judges sin, that is, the voice of the Decalogue, always remains in force, and the punishments also remain, but they are mitigated for the godly.
Just as in the civil structure of Israel God prom ised peace to the people and other blessings if they would obey, so the church, although it is a little flock in a hopeless condition and has neither power nor any definite geographical center, yet because it needs food and shelter for this life, it has the promises not of a definite location but of shelter and nourishment of a general kind.
The second reason that the promises of physical blessing have been given to us is that we may know that God will protect His church in this life. For in the great number of dangers which surround us we need this comfort.
Therefore we should prudently apply the exam ples of the punishments and blessings of Israel to our own life, so that just as they were polluted by idols, lusts, and other crimes and were punished, so now punishments fall upon all those who have become pol luted because the judgment of God against sin is the same in all ages and the examples which have been given are universal for all the human race as the voice of the Law; and they speak to all ages and urge us to repent. Then also David, Isaiah, and many others in calling upon God are heard and defended in their call ing. So also now we should understand that God will give shelter to His church when it is scattered, just as The third reason is that our faith and calling may be strengthened in asking and waiting for these ne cessities, that our knowledge of the goodness and pres ence of God may increase along with our gratitude.
Thus Paul says in Rom. 5:3-5, "Tribulation works pa tience and patience experience and experience hope, and hope is not put to shame." When Paul sees in the ship that his prayers were heard and that all the men were saved, even though the ship was destroyed, he recognized the presence of God and by this testimony his faith burned more brightly and he was moved to give thanks. in days gone by He gave to Elijah in his exile the place of refuge at the home of the widow of Zarephath.
Thinking of things like this trains us also in pray ing for physical blessings. Let us also train ourselves in giving thanks. Although it is necessary that as indi viduals we be prepared for all calamities, yet in this practice of prayer there are two objectives. We pray for the whole body of the church and for ourselves. We ask that the entire church not be destroyed by wars, and we beseech God's blessings on the entire group throughout the world. Although evil is not always taken
Yet we must realize that there is a difference, that no kingdom has been promised to us, no special location in this world has been promised, but we do know in a general way that God in this life will give shelter to His churches and to the studies of His Word, just as to Christ at the time of His birth lodging was given in the manger. On this point Paul says in 1 Tim.
temple; they instructed the people, performed sacri fices, settled controversies on doctrine; they were well versed in sacred studies. Finally, there was no group of people in the entire human race which was more honored and venerated than this priestly society. For although there were often among them ungodly people and finally the Pharisees and Sadducees, yet because
God had given to the family of priests His promises, there were always some godly men remaining among them, such as Jeremiah and later Simeon, Zacharias, and many others. away from every individual, yet we pray that it may be mitigated. Thus when the people prayed for David's army, they prayed first that the entire army might be saved and then they prayed for individuals who had prepared to obey even if they died in the struggle; but still they prayed for mitigation so that many might be saved or at least that they might have comfort from God, as was the case with Jonathan, who, although he was killed, yet was adorned and strengthened by God, and the side which Jonathan himself had hoped would win was finally victorious. I mention these points in or der that we may learn in our praying to include not only ourselves but the entire church and all governments and by these practices men must always be instructed.
This example of a group who were the most hon ored of any people through the whole world certainly shows that in the church there has always been and will be the ministration of the voice of God through which He is efficacious and imparts eternal life. Like wise He instructs us that this ministry must be treated with reverence. But the principal function of this group
I have explained the distinction between the old and the new covenants because it is useful in the church to have a good understanding of this point. But finally the reader must be warned that the political struc ture established by Moses has been destroyed, so that the ceremonial and the civil laws have also been abol ished (unless they are part of the natural law), and they have no more relevance for us than the laws of Solon.
But just as the nature of man remains, so natural laws remain, such as the fact that people who are in the first or second degree of consanguinity should not marry.
The Decalogue is among these natural Laws. It is the chief part of the law, the basis on which the rest is established. For God willed that the Decalogue be pro mulgated in order that there might be a sure testimony that the clear light of divine judgment against sin is in force over against the entire human race. Thus the peo ple were led out of Egypt with so many miracles and were miraculously protected for so many years in the desert, in order that the presence of God might be seen and all these marvels recognized as the voice of the Decalogue which was not abolished but is the eternal and immutable judgment of God against sin. is to set forth the Gospel, as is said in Mai. 2:7, "The lips of the priest should preserve knowledge and they should seek the Law at his mouth for he is the mes senger of the Lord of hosts."
Just as at one time the gentiles kept certain cer emonies although the teaching of Noah, Shem, and Japheth was lost, so the unlearned in these later times devise, in keeping with the image of the Levitical priest, a kingdom of priests in which even though the light of the Gospel has been darkened, they still give authority to the priest, to establish laws for their new worship; and in order to allude to the Levitical sacrifices they turn the Lord's Supper into a sacrifice of a certain order which they imagine is profitable for both the living and the dead by merely going through the motions (ex opere operato), that is, without any good intention on the part of the participant. These perversions and this zeal for wickedness must be condemned and we have to ask the question: What was the original use of the sacrifices and what did they really signify?
Their sins are forgiven for those who take refuge in Christ because sin is displeasing to God, just as the eating of pork was to Him who had then forbidden it.
This voice of the Law remains and is eternal: "God does not take pleasure in wickedness," Ps. 5:4. But He has poured out His great wrath against sin upon His Son who was put to death for us and paid our penalty. By the intercession of this payment we are received. But those who do not flee for refuge to the Son remain under condemnation by the voice of the Law and will perish. We shall explain these points more fully later
However there are many lovely images in the ceremonies which can give instruction to pious people regarding many points, but we need to be cautious that our interpretation is correct. There is a very appropriate picture of the church of all times, namely, the ark lo cated in the holy of holies. This was called the "ark of the covenant."
Therefore first it was called "the ark of the cov enant" to signify that this was the only people with whom God had made a pact by express word. There fore when the Word was lost, then the people ceased to be the church of God; and finally only a few are truly the members of the church when they cling to the cov enant by faith and in a sense enclose or fortify them selves in this ark in which they are not merely to contemplate the walls. But this term "covenant" or "treaty" means that in a sense God has made a pact with us and that we have been accepted by Him. You can thus see that by this term is signified the fact that on.
But even though the Levitical ceremonies have been abolished, yet they contain images of many of the blessings of Christ, but they require carefull treatment.
For under a corrupt imitation of the Mosaic law many errors have taken root. In the Law the establishment of the order of priests was a very honorable thing. The high priest was established; some families were set apart for sacrifices, others in their turn were on hand for other special tasks relating to the tabernacle or the
typified the one sacrifice of the Son of God who was made a victim for us, endured the wrath of God which was poured out upon Him as if He Himself had com mitted our sins. No angels and no men can adequately describe the enormity of this wrath, sorrow, shame, and ignominy, but yet our minds must be moved to think of such things. Further, these cherubim instruct us that there is no church where the ministration of teaching the doctrine of the prophets and apostles is not present.
The carrying of rods and the rings also signify the min isters, teachers and scholars of the church. Although this service on our part is imperfect and far inferior to the government of the ungodly, yet we should know that it is pleasing to God and necessary for the human race and that it is marvelously defended and aided by God among the terrible torments of life. Thus it is full of genuine dignity, and when we think of the importance of this work of ours, we should be eager to adorn our activity with diligence, patience, and modesty; and in the face of all perils we should sustain ourselves with the promises, "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age," Matt. 28:20, and "Upon this rock it is the church which clings to the covenant, that is, to the Word of God.
Second: In the ark were gathered the tables of the Decalogue by which is signified that the church must always be the guardian of those books of the prophets and apostles in which God reveals Himself.
Therefore where the books do not exist there it is im possible for the church of God to exist, and the ark must be preserved for the sake of these books. Thus a church will always be preserved which will act as a guardian of these books. For first the profession and the guardianship of the book signifies that we are in vited to preserve and read this book. Then it signifies what the church of God really is, as distinguished from the rest of the human race. The knowledge of God given to us in the Word shines in the minds of this group, and there is the beginning of obedience, and some day this obedience will be complete. Such will be the eternal people of God keeping Him in their minds, and when their nature has been completely restored, continuing to hold to the Decalogue; the church will burn with love for God with its whole body and whole mind, free from all evil desires.
I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," Matt. 16:18.
Third: The ark was covered by a golden table which was called the mercy seat. This term signifies that the whole church is protected against the wrath and terrible judgment of God by our Mediator Christ, for whose sake—because He is the one who makes propitiation for us—God spares us, receives us, and keeps us. Without this shelter the nature of man would be crushed under the terrible burden of God's wrath.
Furthermore, although we are, as Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:7, "earthen vessels," wretched men, weak, needy, poor, yet "We are ambassadors for Christ," as Paul says, 2 Cor. 5:20, $ role which God will surely defend as He declared in the calling of many of the prophets and apostles, indicating that this work is im portant to Him. Note the great miracles attached to the call of Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Paul.
These things did not happen by mere accident, nor did they apply to those men only, but these testimonies are
There is also added the promise concerning this propitiation in Ex. 25:22: From this mercy seat God was going to speak to the people and there He would an swer their prayer. Thus this table had the name of mercy seat or place of propitiation because there God wished to be invoked, and He gathered the people there so that new arks and temples would not be erected in other places. There are several types which apply here.
Just as the mercy seat is the seat of God, so Christ is the seat of God, because in Christ the divine nature truly exists and before Him the church is gathered; and our prayers are not heard except for His sake, as it is written in John 16:23, "Whatsoever you ask the Father useful for the whole church for they show that the Gos pel is truly the voice of God and that God is concerned about His servants. This is sufficient instruction re garding the Levitical ceremonies to enable us to un derstand that these types refer to great things, and for the correct interpretation we absolutely must have a true understanding of the Gospel.
Finally, although the civil laws in no way pertain to us, yet in a general way they do instruct us that God is pleased with orderly civil life, contracts, the concept of government officials, courts, and punishment for crimes; and they demonstrate that godly people must exercise their faith, their confession, their patience, and their love in carrying out such duties. For as we said, above and beyond these works of civil righteousness we must hold to the foundation, namely the knowledge of the promises and faith and the beginning of obedi ence to the Decalogue. in My name He will give it to you." Therefore those who pray without knowledge of Christ or trust in Him will be rejected by God, as will all those who do not know the Gospel.
Above this mercy seat stood two cherubim with wings joined and facing one another. These signify the ministry of teaching under both the old and the new covenants. The wings are touching one another and the faces looking at each other, signifying the consen sus of teaching in both covenants. The message of the prophets and the apostles is the same in regard to sin, the deliverance through Christ, eternal life, and finally the true knowledge of God and the true worship of Him.
The whole ceremonial aspect of the ancient sacrifices Because the Mosaic political structure is the high est ideal and best form of civil order in this corrupt state of our human nature, it is useful for wise rulers to study this form of government. The laws of the gentiles were less stringent in two areas, in the matter of punishing blasphemies and in controlling our vagrant lusts. The
law of God established serious penalties against the worship of idols, blasphemies, ungodly teachers, and likewise against our erring desires. Therefore the will of God in regard to these sins must be studied by pru dent rulers in the divine law itself.
Locus 11 The Difference between Mortal and Venial Sin spread under his guidance. Indeed, he did not actually believe that his own hand was guided by God in his warfare, but was of the opinion that the Macedonians had arisen by accidenfand by their own power. There fore he neglected God and thought too highly of himself, wanted to be worshiped as a god, killed his friends when he did not think they sufficiently admired him, and fell into shameful lusts. These disgraceful things show how impure the heart of man was. Thus the impurity of their hearts corrupted their virtues and later produced manifest crimes.
As Paul says in Rom. 7:9, "I was once alive apart from the Law," that is, I did not feel that I was being accused by the Law, nor was I ashamed, nor did I sense the wrath of God against sin. I did not consider how great the guilt of my sin was or the anger of God. Thus the great majority of men are secure and do not even give a passing thought to how great the guilt of their sin is, how great God's wrath is, although the penalties for the first fall and the enormous calamities of the whole human race are a daily reminder to us of the magnitude of the wrath of God; and even though the intercession of Christ along with His death is a witness that God is seriously and truly angry at sin. The hearts of the godly to some degree are moved by these wit nesses, for they feel the greatness of His anger to some extent and do seek a mitigation of the punishments, such as in the statement of Ps. 6:1, "Do not rebuke me, Lord, in Your anger"; or Hab. 3:2, "In Your wrath,
Lord, remember Your mercy"; Jer. 10:24, "Correct me, O Lord, in judgment but not in Your anger, lest You reduce me to nothing." To some degree they under stand the difference between venial and mortal sin.
Men who are carnally secure, drunk with pleasures, do not understand this difference and therefore many writ ers are hallucinating on this subject.
Furthermore, although Nero and Epicurus sinned much more grieviously than Cato, yet they all were crushed by horrendous mortal sins and by the eternal wrath of God. It is not necessary for the unregenerate to inquire into the distinction between mortal and venial sins, because "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin," Rom.
14:23. Cato is without light in his invoking of a god, he flees God, he rages against Him when he sees that although his cause is more righteous (as he sees it), yet he is passed by. At this point all his belief regarding a god is swept away. Therefore all his actions are con demned. But for the regenerate it is necessary to ask the question who has venial sins and why the fall from these are called mortal sins.
Moreover, although the magnitude of the wrath of God cannot be described in words, yet for the sake of teaching this subject, we must hold to these defini tions: Mortal sin in a general sense is the defect or inclination or action contrary to the law of God, which offends Him, which is not forgiven, but merits the wrath of God and eternal punishment. Thus in the unregen erate there are mortal sins, the very disease of our origin and all wicked desires and perverted actions.
Although the virtue of Pomponius Atticus and Seneca was very great and they did not want to harm anyone, indeed were very kind and did not pollute themselves with lusts, did not defraud in their business dealings, yet in their minds they had doubts concerning provi dence, they did not call upon God but actually railed against Him when they saw that in the great trouble of this life, the good were often overlooked. This darkness in their heart is a great sin which men still do not rec ognize. Since their hearts are turned away from God, even the virtues of such unregenerate men are polluted and not properly governed. Atticus does good, but not for the sake of God. The bravery of Alexander was a gift of God along with his other outstanding virtues, and the things he did were aided by God, but Alexander himself did not have as his goal that he should serve
God or that the true knowledge about God should be Therefore, although the regenerate, in whom has been kindled the knowledge of Christ, faith, and the true prayer and in whom the new obedience has been begun, are righteous, are pleasing to God, and have
His Holy Spirit, yet in them there still remains in this life a great infirmity, that is to say, a darkness in the mind regarding God and in the will and heart a corrupt in clination and many wicked desires. Perverted doubts come into our mind about God; and trust, fear, love, and all the other virtues are much weaker than they ought to be. Meanwhile we make more of ourselves than we should and we produce in ourselves pride and self-confidence. By this pride and self-confidence of ours we irresponsibly start to move things which ought not be moved, as in the case of Josiah, a godly and holy king, who declared war on Egypt when Egypt was offering peace. The saints often burn with unrighteous anger and hatred with flames of lust and wrath which they should repress. Likewise there are many sins of ignorance and omission among the saints, as David cries out: "Who can understand his sins?" Ps. 19:12.
There is no function of man, ecclesiastical, civil, or do mestic to which our human infirmity is equal.
These evils in the regenerate are contrary to the law of God, as Paul testifies in Romans 7; and godly men in their true sorrows to some degree do under-