is within, according to the value of the blood of Christ, and the perfect acceptance of His person. It is the same with regard to the expectation of Christ: if I consider myself as a man responsible upon earth, I expect Him for the deliverance of all things, and to put an end to all suffering, and to all the power of evil, and so individually myself, as a servant, I look to receive at His appearing here, the testimony of His approval, as a Master, before the whole world. But if I think of my privileges, as a member of His body, I think of my re-union with Him above, and that I shall come back with Him when He shall come to appear in His glory. It is well we should know how to make this distinction; without that, there will be confusion in our thoughts, and in our use of many passages. The same thing is true in the personal religion of every day. I can consider myself as united to Christ, and seated in Him in heavenly places, enjoying all the privileges which He enjoys, as Head of the body, before God-His Father. I may also look upon myself as a poor weak being, walking individually upon the earth, having wants, faults, and temptations to overcome; and I see Christ above, whilst I am here below-Christ appearing alone for me before the throne-for me, happy in having, in the presence of God, Him who is perfect, but who has gone through the experience of my sorrows; who is no longer in the circumstances in which I find myself, but with the Father for me who am in them. This is the doctrine of the Epistle to the Hebrews, whilst the union of the Church with Christ is more particularly taught in that to the Ephesians. After this quite special instruction of the day of atonement, come some directions not to purify from defilements, but to preserve from them either the people or the service of the priests (xvii.). It is to maintain them as a people holy to God, and keep them from all that would dishonour Him in their relations with Him. Life belongs to Him. It must be recognised before Him. Chap. xviii. keeps them from dishonouring themselves in the things which belong to nature itself, to what man ought to be in his natural relations, that he might not dishonour himself. Man ought not to do it; but not having honoured God, he has been left to dishonour

himself (compare Rom. i.). The people of God being brought into nearness to Him, are taught on this subject. Chap. xix. they are taught as to what ought to be their conduct in various details in the relationship they sustain the one with the other, either with regard to various dangers to which they were exposed in their walk, in their everyday circumstances, or in their joy as men even before God: for they had to do with God, and the Lord was their God. The people of God were, in all their ways, to walk in a manner worthy of this relationship, and even to understand what was suitable to man, to every relation in which they were found, according to God. Chap. xx. insists upon purity in every respect. Chap. xxi. specially presents what becomes the priests as set apart for the Lord; this more intimate nearness supposed a conduct corresponding with it. So it is with us. Chap. xxii.—If there was, through weakness or neglect, anything unbecoming this nearness, they were to keep at a distance: consequently, there were things of which the priests, and those of their families in priestly separation, alone could eat. It is the same with us: there are things of the spiritual food of Christ, offered to God, upon which we can only feed in as much as the heart is really separated unto Him, by the power of the Spirit. The offerings themselves must be pure, and such as become the eyes of God to whom they are presented, and a right appreciation of His Majesty, and of our relationship with Him. All this is indeed found in Christ. In chap. xx., where they are forbidden to follow the brutish and superstitious customs of idolatry, and are warned against all impurity, which indeed was always inseparable from it, and for which the influence of the devil gave license, we have this simple and beautiful exposition of the principle which was to govern them. "Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you." They are bound to holiness and to sanctify themselves practically, because they are in the house, and the Master of it is holy. Sanctification supposed that they were in an acknowledged relationship with God, who will have the inmates of His house clean, according to His

own cleanness. They were to obey Him in His directions, for it was He who was separating them to Himself. This is a very instructive word, as to the standard of all our thoughts with regard to that. If any are in my house,

I will have them clean, because they are there; those outside are no concern of mine. Then it was the Lord, who was separating them for that. There are interesting instructions with regard to what the priests eat, which we shall find again in the following book, and consider when we come to it.

We have now come to the feasts. It is the full year of the counsels of God towards His people, and the rest which was the end of those counsels.

There were consequently seven-a number expressive of perfection well known in the word:-The Sabbath-the Passover, and the Feast of unleavened bread-the Firstfruits of harvest-Pentecost-the Feast of trumpets in the seventh month-the Day of Atonement-and the Feast of Tabernacles.

If the Sabbath be separated and reckoned by itself, the Passover would be distinguished from the feast of unleavened bread, which would make the seventh. I do not say this, to preserve the number, but because the chapter itself speaks thus: having counted the Sabbath amongst the others, it resumes and calls the others (without the Sabbath) the solemn feasts. For, in one sense, it was indeed a feast; in another, it was the rest, when the whole was ended. In general, these feasts present us then with all

c I add, to give the intelligence of this expression, that the word translated "feast," signifies an appointed or definite time, and which returned consequently at the revolution of the year. The series of the feasts embraced the whole year, inasmuch as they returned regularly each consecutive year.

The idea of these feasts is, God gathering the people around Himself as a holy convocation. The solemn feasts were then the gathering of God's people around Him, and in detail the ways of God in gathering them thus. Hence the distinction made in this chapter. It is evident that the Sabbath, the rest of God, will be the great gathering of the people of God around Him, as the centre of peace and blessing. So that the Sabbath is truly a solemn feast, a holy convocation; but also, it is evidently apart and distinct from the means and the operations which gathered the people. Hence, we find it mentioned at the beginning, and reckoned amongst the

the bases on which God has entered into relationship with His people; the principles on which He has gathered them around Him, in His ways with this people, upon the earth. Their bearing was wider than that, in other respects; but it is in this point of view that these circumstances, that is, these facts are here considered. They are seen in their accomplishment upon the earth. There is another way of dividing them, by taking the words, " And the Lord spake unto Moses" as the title of each part: the Sabbath, the Passover and the unleavened bread, verses 1-8. The first-fruits and the Pentecost, verses 9-22. The feast of trumpets, verses 23-25. day of atonement, verses 26-32. The feast of tabernacles, verse 33 to the end. This latter division gives us the moral distinction of the feasts-that is, the ways of God therein. Let us examine them a little more in detail.

e

The

The very first thing presented is the Sabbath as being the end and the result of all the ways of God. The promise is left us of entering into God's rest. It is a feast to the Lord, but the feasts which present rather the ways

e

solemn feasts: then the Spirit of God begins afresh (verse 4), and gives the solemn feasts, as embracing all the ways of God in the gathering of His people, leaving out the Sabbath. In reckoning the feasts, the passover and the feast of unleavened bread may be considered as one, for both were at the same time, and treated together; or looking upon the Sabbath as separate, they may be estimated as two feasts. Both these things are found in the word. It is well to observe in passing that this formula gives, in the whole Pentateuch, the true division of the subjects. Sometimes the directions are addressed to Aaron, which supposes some internal relations based on the existence of priesthood-sometimes to Moses and Aaron; and in that case they are not purely communications and commandments to establish relations, but also directions for the exercise of functions thus established. Consequently, we have in Lev. x., for the first time, I think, "The Lord spake unto Aaron "—chap. xi., "to Moses and Aaron"; because that, whilst it treats of commandments and ordinances given for the first time, it is also a question of the discernment consequent upon relations existing between God and the people, and in which the exercise of the priesthood came in. These general principles will assist in apprehending the nature of the communications made by God to His people (see chap. xiii). Chap. xiv. as far as ver. 32, are ordinances to settle simply what priesthood must do; ver. 33, priestly discernment is again in exercise.

of God to lead us there, begin again at the fourth verse, as we have already said (compare verses 37, 38). This distinction being noticed, we can take the Sabbath,f the

f I shall here add a few words on the subject of the Sabbath, submitting them to the spiritual thoughts of my brethren. It is well to be subject to the word. First, the participation in God's rest, is what distinguishes His people-their distinctive privilege. The heart of the believer holds that fast, whatever may be the sign that God has given of it (Heb. iv). God had established it at the beginning, but there is no appearance that man had any share in it. He did not work, he had nothing to do but continually to enjoy. However the day was hallowed from the beginning. Afterwards the Sabbath was given as a memorial of the deliverance out of Egypt (Deut v. 15), and the prophets specially insist on that point that the Sabbath was given as a sign of God's covenant. (Ezek. xx; Ex. xxxi. 13). It was plain that it was but the earnest of that word, "My presence shall go, and I will give thee rest" (Ex. xxxiii. 14; xxxi. 13; Lev. xix. 30); it is a sign that the people are sanctified to God (Eze. xx. 12, 13—16, 20; Neh. ix. 14; comp. Isa. lvi. 2-6; lviii. 13; Jer. xvii. 22; Lam. i. 7; ii. 6; Eze. xxii. 8; xxiii. 38; xliv. 24). Besides these passages, we see, that whenever God gives any new principle or form of relation with Himself, the Sabbath is added. Thus in grace to Israel (Ex. xvi. 23); as law (Ex. xx. 10). See also, besides the verse we are occupied with, Ex. xxxi. 13, 14; xxxiv. 21; when they are restored afresh by the patience of God through mediation (xxxv. 2), and in the new covenant of Deut. already quoted in the passage.

These remarks show us what was the radical and essential importance of the Sabbath, as the thought of God and the sign of the relation between His people and Himself, though being only a sign, a solemnity and not a moral commandment. But if that be of the

utmost importance, it is of an equal and even higher importance to remember that the covenant between God and the Jewish people is entirely set aside for us, and that the sign of this covenant does not belong to us, although God's rest be yet quite as precious to us or even more so that our rest is not in this creation-a rest of which the seventh day was the sign, and moreover (which is more important still) that the Lord Jesus is Lord of the sabbath, a remark of all importance as to His person, and null, if He was to do nothing with regard to the sabbath; and that, as a fact, He has omitted all mention of it in the sermon on the Mount, where He has given such a precious summary of the morality of the law, in its fundamental principles, with the addition of others, (connected with the heavenly light brought by the name of the Father and the presence of a suffering Messiah, and the revelation of the heavenly reward) making a whole of the principles of His kingdom, and that He continually thwarted the thoughts of the Jews on this point; a circumstance which the Evangelists, that is the Holy Ghost, have