leaven out of their houses; and whoever disobeyed was to be put out of the congregation of Israel.

Such was the ordinance of the Lord's passover. It has a far deeper meaning to us, than it could have had to the children of Israel. Few among them would see anything in the passover lamb, beyond the feast in continued remembrance of their mighty deliverance from the cruel bondage in Egypt. But, brethren, does it shew nothing more to us? Was all this so carefully arranged by God Himself, to do no more than remind the Israelites of how they were brought out of Egypt? Yes. The Lord's passover meant a great deal more than that. We who live in the clear light of gospel days, have only to open our Bibles, and see there how close, and wonderful, and perfect a type the lamb and the passover were, of Jesus the Lamb of God, and of the redemption He wrought out for us. It is one of the clearest figures of Jesus, in the whole Word of God. So we must take time and try to consider it well.

Holy Spirit, do Thou lead our minds to a right understanding of it!

In the first place, This way of being saved, was no contrivance of the Israelites'. None of them ever thought of the lamb; it was appointed by God Himself, and was to be in the full vigour of its age and strength. So Jesus, the Saviour, was none of man's providing. He was appointed by God the Father. He says, "I have found a ran

som," Job xxxiii. 24; "I have laid help on One that is mighty," Ps. lxxxix. 19; "He shall send them a Saviour, and a great One," Isa. xix. 20; "God sent forth his Son," Gal. iv. 4.

The lamb was to be without blemish; that is, complete in its growth, with no fault of any kind, and in the prime of its age and strength; in the very perfection of a lamb's nature: it was to be without blemish; so was Jesus the Lamb of God, "without blemish and without spot." He was born into this world without a taint of sin. His human nature had not a single touch of human sinfulness. "He lived a man on earth, as pure as God in heaven." His life of three and thirty years in this world; not shut up alone, but passed in everyday companionship with men and women, fiercely attacked by the evil one, and continually harassed by wicked men, was so perfectly spotless, so entirely without even a shade of stain, from His birth to His death; that His bitterest enemies, who were always on the watch, could find nothing against Him; the very judge who condemned Him, was compelled to say, "I have found no fault in this Man," and He was condemned to death, only on the testimony of paid liars.

The lamb was to be kept up for four days, from the tenth to the fourteenth, before it was killed, that there should be time to examine and see that it was really perfect in all respects: the Lamb of God was appointed to be slain even before the world

was made; and it is well worth remarking that the Lord Jesus made His public entry into Jerusalem, riding on the ass's colt, on the fifth day before His death, so that He was four days in the city, followed, and watched, and examined by His enemies, who left no stone unturned to find Him guilty, and could not. The lamb was to be killed between three o'clock and six, in the presence of all the assembled congregation: the Lord Jesus died on the cross after three o'clock, surrounded not only by the chief priests and elders, but by Roman soldiers, and multitudes of the Jewish people, and in the presence of crowds of strangers from all parts, who had come to Jerusalem to the feast of the passover. Is it not interesting, my friends, to observe how complete the type is?

When the lamb was killed, the first thing was to strike some of the blood on the lintel and side posts of the door, and then they were to roast the lamb, every part of it, and eat it that night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; whatever was left, was to be burnt. My brethren, this is a subject of the greatest importance to us, for the blood of the Old Testament was to shew forth the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, which was afterwards to be shed to take away the sin of the world. Now give earnest heed, I pray you.

Why were the Israelites commanded to strike the blood of the lamb on the upper and side posts? It was to save them; for when the Lord saw the

blood, He would pass over the door, and not let the destroyer go in to smite them. It was the blood that saved them, when the Egyptians were smitten. And it is the blood of Jesus which has redeemed the world, and saves every sinner that trusts in it. The destroyer of souls, cannot harm one that is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus.

Now, look here. The Israelites had nothing to do, but to put the blood on their houses, and shut to the doors, and they were perfectly safe through all the terrors of that awful night. They might shudder and shake with fear, when they fancied they could catch the rush of the destroyer's wing, as he swept by, carrying death into every house which had no blood on its lintel; and when they heard the wild shriek of agony and bitter wailing, that followed him on his fearful path, they might shrink and tremble; but that didn't alter the matter; they were quite safe: no harm could happen, no destroyer could come near them, because the blood was between them and all danger. It is so, my friends, with every poor sinner who has gone to Jesus to save him. He is just as safe as the Israelite sitting in his house that night, under shelter of the blood of the passover lamb. Nothing can harm him, nothing can separate him from Christ's love. The destroyer cannot, for he dare not meddle with any one who has the mark of the Blood; God's justice cannot claim him, for God's eye sees the Blood and is fully satisfied. He sees

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the sinner washed in the Blood of His precious Lamb, and smiles on him well pleased. Then was it the blood only that saved that night ? had the man himself nothing to do? No, nothing, but to stay in the house, and not be frightened: when he had put the blood on the door-posts, he had done his part; he could not even see it afterwards, for he was within, while the blood-stain that saved him was outside. That teaches us that with the saving of our souls we have nothing to do, Eph. ii. 8, 9, Gal. ii. 16; we can do nothing but trust them to the Lord Jesus Christ. He has done the work Himself,-done it completely, and for ever,and we have nothing to do but to take our salvation as a free gift from His hand, and give Him all the glory, and all the praise. And though many of us may have doubts and fears, and tremble to believe that such a gift can be for sinners like us, who don't deserve it, let us remember this, that it is not honouring our God, to doubt His word. He has said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." Deserve salvation! No, surely not. But that has nothing to do with it; it is the Blood that saves, not our deservings. We have read that in the fearful night when the Lord passed through the land of Egypt in judgment for sin, He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in mercy, for the blood's sake; so in the awful day, when God will come forth to judge the world, and condemn the wicked; He will spare and save all those