Notes on the Feasts of the Lord.
No. 2.
THE SABBATH.
We proceed now to examine the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus in detail,
V:I: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,--V.2: "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them."
By this form of speech, which is very common throughout the book, we are reminded of several important things,among which we notice the following:
The Fact recorded in Exod.20:18,19, to which a very touching addition is given in Deut. 5: 23-33, sets forth the need of a Mediator between God and man; the jealousy of the Lord God over His own word,upon the bearing or not bearing of which depends the life or death even of His covenant-people; the introduction of the prophecy, Deut:28:15-19, shows how close a type of Christ Moses was, as the receiver of the word from God and the bringer of it unto both priests and people.
Hence we learn how God would have His word spoken by all His ministers,so as togather and keep, not to scatter or scare the sheep of His pasture.Also,that no man should take upon him to speak in the name of the Lord, without being called and sent to do so.
And,again: with what reverence and godly fear the word should be heard and pondered. This speaking of the Lord God unto Moses in the chapter referred to, as in all other chapters of this book, is "from between the cherubim" in the most holy place of the Tabernacle, as we read Exod. 24:I8; 25:8,21,22; Lev. 1:1,2. --V:2--continued: " Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which yea shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts."
The foundation truths pointed to in these words are:
1: that these Feasts are public assemblies of the Lord's people-convocations. Ps:cxxii.;
2: that they are indeed Feasts, joyful meetings, occasions of expressing and augmenting a joy common to all the people;
3: that these public joyous festivals are holy and religious acts or observances, being Feasts unto the Lord; and;
4: that, as we shall see, all these gatherings were occasions of Sacrifice unto God and some of them occasions of special bountifulness towards the poor. In the forefront of these Feasts stands the Sabbath of the Lord, the Sabbath of rest after labour.
V:3: "Six days shall work be done",--not rest alone, is the commandment, but the rest of the seventh day, after the work of the week is closed; so work is the first part of the commandment, but the day of rest is the Feast day.
Nor is the idea that of rest alone-that is, mere passivity, for that might have been attained by an order for each family to stay at home in silent isolation, with doors and windows closed, as during a long night; but: "the Sabbath rest is "to be a day" holy convocation. Yea shall do no work therein"--not only the act of labour laid aside, but the very place or scene of labour left, and another and very different scene, and another sort of work contemplated.
"The Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings;" but, in the dwelling of the Lord, unusual activity, as we shall find, was the standing order of His House.
The prominence given to this institution or the Sabbath marks its supreme importance in the revelation of the will of God for our salvation.
It is clear that the observance of a Sabbath as a day of holy rest was practised by the patriarchs from the days of Adam onwards; and, although interrupted during the time of the bondage in Egypt, yet no sooner was the people tree, than we find the observance of a day resumed, and spoken of by Moses, not as a new thing, but as a well-known institution.
In Exodus 26:2:3, on the occasion of a double portion of manna being gathered on the sixth day, "all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them: This is that which the Lord hat said. To morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord."
Three points are noticeable in considering the various things spoken of the Jewish Sabbath in the Scriptures, viz.:
1: It commemorated the rest of fulished creation;
2: It prefigured the rest that still remaineth for the people of God; and, at the same time:
3: It was distinguished by a peculiar activity in the House of the Lord.
The law of the Sabbath, or the duty of observing the Sabbath, is not only embodied in the Ten Commandments, as an integral part of that law, Exod. 20, but it is repeated at the close of the order for the making of the Tabernacle and its furniture, and of the holy garments of the priests, and the order for their consecration, Exod.31:I2-I8.
And, again, it is set in the forefront of the address of Moses to all the congregation, wherein he rehearses the directions of the Lord concerning the making of the sanctuary, and all its furniture and vessels of service, Exod. 25: 1-3, besides being briefly enumerated among the leading features of the covenant of the Lord "with Moses and with Israel", on the occasion of the renewal of the tables of stone. Exod.24: 21,27, 28.
And, again, we read of the Sabbaths having been given of God to His people as "as a sign between Him and them", that He was the Lord that sanctifieth them, Ezek.20:12; and in Coloss.2:16,17, they are called: "shadows of things to come".
Before entering upon the consideration of the peculiar service or work of the Sabbath day in the House of God, it is essential that we have a clear idea of the nature of the daily service in the sanctuary; for the Sabbath was one of the seven days of the week; and, in this respect the work attending the worship of every day was not omitted or diminished, but, as we shall see, was more than doubled.
The detail of this is given in Exod. 24:38-43, also Num.28:1-8.
These words are as clear as they are solemn. No one who has not set himself with all earnestness to learn what is that worship which God requires at his hand, can form an idea of the amount of truth contained in these words of the Lord, and expressed in act by the devout worshipper under the 0ld Testament economy.
To those who have no other idea of worship than that of listening to a sermon, and singing some verses of a psalm, or even reverently listening to a prayer offered by a minister, such details as these must be uninteresting, and, therefore, tedious and unprofitable.
But to all who really believe that, in every single act prescribed of God to Moses, there is a truth declared concerning Christ, and our relationship to God, and communion with God through Him, few words are needed to excite their interest and awaken their attention.
Nay, more; without shutting our eyes to the plainest texts of the New Testament, such as 1 Petr.2:5 and Rom, 12:1, how can we suppose that the full import of the term sacrifice can be expressed by any amount of listening or Singing ?.
Surely sacrifice cannot be an indefinite, or confused, or arbitrary thing, dependent on human taste or feeling; but must be scriptural, in order to be reasonable and pleasing to God.
Some detail, therefore, regarding sacrifice, which was the basis and substance of all worship under the 0ld Testament, will be of essential use to us in treating the subject of the Feasts; for all these, without exception, were connected with sacrifices, some of them, indeed, involving a variety of victims, as in verses 18,19.
An examination of the first that occurs wilt save repetition in regard to the others. Let us, therefore, as briefly as possible, seek to express something of the truth of the daily morning and evening sacrifice-certainly one of the most prominent features of that law, which in all its provisions and enactment's pointed to Christ, and was the shadow of good things to come.
Early in the morning, or at the closing hour of the day, regularly as morning and evening comes round, a priest, in his robes of office, appears at the door of the tabernacle, immediately within which stands the altar of burnt offering, whereon the fire is continually kept burning.
He brings with him a young lamb, which bas been examined, and found without blemish. Some assistant priests or Levites hold in their hands the requisite materials for the meat offering and drink offering, and the oil and sall and incense prescribed for the due presentation of the sacrifice and fulfilment of the service to be offered to the Lord.
All being in readiness, he proceeds to call upon the name of the Lord, the merciful and gracious God, beseeching His mercy and grace at this time, on behalf of himself and of all Israel, whom he now represents, and in the name of whom he is about to approach the Holy Presence.
He lays his hands upon the head of the Lamb, thereby not only confessing bis sin, and the sins of all the people, but transferring these sins to a guiltless substitute, whom God in His, mercy has declared that He accepts in their stead.
In so doing, the priest not only acknowledges that death and perpetual banishment from the face of the Lord are righteously due to the sinner, but he also declares his hearty repentance for, and abhorrence of sin, and looks for forgiveness and acceptance alone, through the fact that God has found a means of sparing the sinner, while He reveals the solemn truth that death is the wages of sin, and that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
He then proceeds, with the help of his assistant priests, to slay the 1amb, pouring out its blood before the Lord, and sprinkling it round about and upon the altar, and the horns of the altar; and having disposed of the fat, the head, and the other parts of the victim as directed, he puts them upon the fire that is upon the altar where the whole is rapidly consumed, the priest washes his hands and his feet at the foot of the brazen laver, to free them from the blood and dust adhering to them, and proceeds with the service, which is thus sum- marily expressed in the words of the law: he offers upon the Altar the meat offering, a portion of fine flour mingled with oil, and the drink offering, a measure of pure wine; after which, entering the Holy Place, he burns incense upon the golden Altar; and then if it be in the morning he trims or prepares the lamps of the golden candlestick, replenishing them with oil, or if it be the time of the evening Sacrifice, he lights them, that they may burn before the Lord all through the night.
Having done all this, he comes forth and blesses the congregation with the blessing prescribed by the Lord. Numb.6:22-27.
All this variety of ritual action in the order in which we have so very summarily spoken of it, is expressed in the one word: Offering the daily Morning--or Evening--, Sacrifice.
As no departure from the order laid down for this was ever permitted, and no omissions from or additions to the ritual ever sanctioned, we may rest assured that not only each several step in this service sets forth a special truth in that substance of which it was the ordained shadow, but also that the order of these successive steps is an essential element in the grand act of Spiritual Worship thus typically expressed.
Before, however, adverting to the spiritual signification of all this, we go on to notice the additional work of the Sabbath Day, that the whole service of that day may be before us.
This consisted not only of a double Sacrifice, as we read in Numb, 28:9,10, but also of the service of the golden table, which stood in the holy place or sanctuary, directly over against the candlestick with its seven lamps. In the order given by the Lord to Moses for the construction of this table with its vessels, we read, Exod. 25:30: "And thou shall set upon the table shewbread before me alway."
The number of loaves or cakes of this bread, and the instructions as to its preparation, presentation, and the disposal of it are given in Lev.24: 5-9. Such was the regular Sabbath Service of the house of God, not only a double amount of sacrifice, compared with the daily service, but having the superadded service of the holy Table.
On the very threshold of our investigation into the meaning of all this and into its application to ourselves, that is, to the worship of the Christian Church, two very grave questions press themselves upon our attention.
The first is: How are we to regard this work, this increase of work, on the Sabbath day, when all labour of every kind was, as we read, forbidden to the Jews under pain of death.?
Why is there, on the Sabbath, a double amount of work in the house of God, which must be the pattern of all houses for order and holy service, the very model of perfection, and the teacher of all truth.?
How can this be reconciled with the severity of the law which punished with death the gathering of a few pieces of firewood on that day.?
And the second is, what can be signified by more lambs than one being presented to God at one time, seeing that there is; and can be, but One Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.?
To the former of these questions we find an answer in the words of our Lord John 5:17: "My Father worketh hitherto; and I work," and in the exposition of the character of Sabbath work -Matt. 12:1-8-"The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day."
Here we have the key to this difficulty. All the Law was designed to show forth Christ; and the work in God's house points primarily to the work of Christ for us men and for our salvation.
The institution of the Sabbath was coeval with the finished work of Creation, And in Him who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning of the Creation of God, we find the Lord even of the Sabbath day.
The day points to Him, and the prescribed work of that day in His Father's house, to His work who is Himself the "end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Yea shall do no work in your houses, not even kindle a fire, on the Sabbath day. But behold in God's house a double amount of work, a double amount of fire, Perceive the contrast.
God's work and man's work: the work of God, which is spiritual, and holy, and blessed; the work of man, which is earthly, and fleshly, and defiled. Let all flesh rest, be silent, be dead; and come yea up to God's house; where work of mercy, a work of holiness, a work of power and of salvation for man IS proceeding, God has His servants whom He honours to employ in His work, but the work itself is God's, the day is His, the house is His.
When the Apostle calls upon us to work out our own salvation with tear and trembling, Phil.2:12, he adds: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." v. I3.
This ceasing from our own works and living in the Spirit is our true rest, our true Sabbath-keeping.
When Jesus had, through the Holy Ghost, finished that work on earth which the Father gave Him to do, when His Spirit left His body, His body, being flesh, even though holy flesh, rested in the tomb all the Sabbath day.
That was true Sabbath-keeping for flesh. We may observe, in passing, though this is not the time for dwelling upon it, that the ideas of many Christians regarding the first day of the week, as being a mere continuation, with change of day, of the Jewish Sabbath as sanctioned under the hand of Moses, are utterly wrong; the Resurrection day, celebrated throughout the Christian Church, has a different character; rests upon a different law; for we are no longer under Moses, but under Christ.
But to the other question: Why two lambs at a time.?
We can understand that One Lamb pointed to the Redeemer, who in the fullness of time should come and give Himself a sacrifice for us; but when we find two in the morning, and other two in the evening of the Jewish Sabbath, we are puzzled.
It is clear that the answer must be sought somewhere else than in the supposition, that the purpose of God in the sacrifice of a lamb was merely to teach the people, and to keep alive in their hearts the truth, that Christ should in the fullness of time be Himself the spotless victim and die upon the Cross.
Had this been all the truth, it might have been set forth by the offering of one lamb in a day, or a week, or a month, or even once a year, as for instance on the Day of Atonement, or once every seven years at the proclamation of the year of Release, or every fifty years at the Proclamation of the Jubilee.
That this is not the whole truth of the institution of the Sabbath Sacrifices, is clear from what we have already seen of the four lambs offered on that day; but what shall we say to the fact, that, at the dedication of the Altar, twelve lambs were offered as a burnt offering, and no less than sixty lambs were all, in one day, sacrificed as a peace offering. Numb. 7:87,88.?
The sacrifice of a lamb upon the Altar of God was the expression of the faith and worship of the people Godwards, not a proclamation of the will or purpose of God manwards.
No doubt the attributes of God and His relationship to man are shown in all that God requires of him, but here the offering is made by man as an avoval of his faith in the revelation made by the word of the Lord, as an act of worship.
We repeat this, for the truth is of the very highest importance. The sacrifice of a lamb was appointed of God as a permanent and necessary confession of sin, in approaching Him, to ask His blessing and forgiveness. This sacrifice was a confession that Jesus was the only taker away of sin, the only opener of the way to the Father, "no man cometh to the Father but by Me". John 14: 6, the speaker of peace, the procurer of pardon, the inviter and en-abler of His people to draw near to receive God's blessing of peace.
In one word it said, Unless we come before God in and with the Blood of Christ as all our plea, we may not approach Him at all; so that as the rest of the Sabbath said to every Israelite, Cease From your own works, and consider the work of God, so the presentation of every lamb in sacrifice to God said, Cease from your own righteousness, and learn to put your trust in the righteousness of God, as the Apostle Paul teaches us- Rom. 3: 20, 26.
Let us, therefore as briefly as is consistent with distinctness, consider the signification, the spiritual reality or substance, of these typical and symbol- lical services, keeping in mind the broad declaration of our Lord. Matt.5:17,18.
The truth which lies at the root of all the sacrifices ordained of God, is the one vicarious atonement suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. 1 Peter 1:19; 2:24; 3: 18; Heb. 9:22; Isaiah 13:6.
This is at once the ground of all true confidence towards God, and also the warrant for our approach to God; in other words, the basis of all acceptable worship.
All the sacrifices commanded of the Lord were acts of worship, expressing on the part of the worshipper faith, humility, repentance, contrition for, and confession of sin; and on the part of God expressing, by His acceptance of the sacrifice, mercy, pardon, absolution, acceptance, and blessing. Types and symbol speak more distinctly than words.
The death and consumption by fire of a clean animal, while the offerer returned to his house and family full of peace and joy through the blessing of peace pronounced upon him in the name of the Lord, told clearly of substitution, redemption, forgiveness of sins, and justification of the sinner; while it also signified the death-deserving character of sin, the holiness and righteousness of God, as well as His love to the sinner, God's way of reconciliation, bringing grace and mercy to man, and glory to God for ever.
The "laying the hand on the head of the lamb" sets forth a twofold confession to God on the part of the worshippers--for we must ever keep in mind that the priest officiated in this in the name of all Israel--: first, the confession of sin; and, secondly, the confession to God through our Lord Jesus Christ as the alone taker away of sin. Rom. 5:11.
The shedding of the blood signifies the death-deserving character of sin, that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin; and the sprinkling of it around and upon the altar signifies the application to the conscience of the worshipper of the blood that speaketh peace, the comforting assurance given to the penitent that God doth truly pardon and put away their sins for His Son's sake, bidding them draw near in peace, that is, without terror, having their hearth sprinkled from an evil conscience. Eph.l:7; 2 Cor:5: 21; Gal.3:13,14.
The dedication and surrender to God, as those whose forfeited lives have beert spared. as those bought with such a price, and the entire consent of the worshippers that the old man in them should be destroyed, and their whole being devoted to God to serve Him in newness of life, in the power of the risen life of Him who is now at the right-hand of God making continual intercession this is represented by the cutting in pieces and laying on the fire of the altar of the body of the lamb, the fat, the head, the limbs washed and laid in order, so that the whole ascends to God as an acceptable offering through the power of the Holy Ghost; the fire of God's love kindled in the heart, consuming the flesh with its affections and lusts. Gal.5:24.
Our Lord Jesus Christ being the end of the law, and the appointment of sacrifices being revealed of God in order to show forth His sacrifice, we are to bear in mind not only that He has given the perfect example of self-devotion, surrender; and sacrifice in His own person; but that His atonement is the warrant for all spiritual sacrifice that can be offered by us; His people, His Church, the members of His body; and is the means of procuring for us that spiritual life whereby alone we can enter upon any acceptable service of Cod; or follow His example.
And the fact that sinful men are able to make such offerings to God, and that He can and does accept them at their hands, shows clearly that Redemption is a finished work, Reconciliation the message of the Gospel, and holy communion with God the very blessedness to which we are called in the unity of the Church, the Body of Christ, and the only fitting preparation for dwelling with God and worshipping Him for ever.
The washing with water, whether of the limbs of the sacrificed lamb, or the hands and feet of the priest proceeding with the service, signifies the cleansing power of the Spirit through the Word. Many passages will readily occur to the reader of the Bible where this truth is expressed. Psalm 11:6; cxxxix, 23, 24; John 13:1O.
But especially is it as part of the public worship of God that the washing of the daily sacrifice is to be regarded. And the exposition given in the epistle to the Hebrews is all that is required for us. Heb.10: 22.
The Meat-offering presented to God sets forth a portion of His own Word, the fine flour, mingled with oil, read before the Lord with the unction of the SpiritJ with joy, and love, and faith, and reverence, as beconleth every handling of holy things and holy words.
The Drink-offering, which was also poured upon the sacrifice, signifies a song of thanksgiving and adoration, the pouring out of the heart in grateful acknowledgement of His mercy. Ps, xcv.1,2; xcvi.1,2,8,9, present this truth very distinctly to the mind, "Sing praises," &c. in Ps, xlvii,6, expresses the same truth.
Having fulfilled the service of the court, the priest entered into the holy place, and burned incense on the golden altar. Of the signification of this type we have the clearest interpretation in Ps, cxli, 2,
In 2 Chron. li. 4, a peculiar prominence is given to this, and, xiii.I chapI and xxix,II show that it was the crowning act of worship, to which all preceding acts had reference, and for which they prepared the way.
The four substances, combined to make this incense, point to the four component parts of prayer noted by St.Paul in 1 Tim.2:1: " Supplications prayers intercessions, and giving of thanks,"
These, in the worship of the Church, where duly offered according to this Scripture model, are gathered into one and presented to God by the chief minister of the congregation.
The trimming of the lamp of the golden candlestick in the morning and the lighting of them in the evening set forth a significant act or ministry, whereby the devotion of the Church finds another mode of expression.
The Church is the Light of the world, but the lamps of the candlestick were not designed for scattering the darkness of the world without, but for offering to God within His sanctuary all that adoration and exercise of the gifts of the Holy Ghost whereby she is rendered capable of diffusing the light and blessing which she must first receive from her risen Lord.
For be it remembered that the service we are considering is not the ordinance of preaching, which has its place, and that a targe one, in the ministry of the Church; worship and preaching are distinct, and must never be confounded worship being addressed to God, and preaching being addressed to man.
The daily offering was closed by the blessing of the people by the priest. This symbolic act requires surely no interpretation, but we may observe that the putting of God's name upon His children is something far more than a mere pious wish on the part of the minister that the people may be blessed.
It It is a priestly act, it is a reality, a decretory assurance of the divine love and favour.-See Deut, x, 8; Heb, vil, i; Luke xxiv, 50, 51.
It is the answer of God to the worship of His Church, as the Absolution is the answer of God to the Confession.
But, alas !, these things are little understood and little relished by a people who have lost all idea of priesthood, and never respond even with a hearty Amen to any prayer or form of blessing employed on occasions of social worship, as is the case with large bodies of Protestants.
We come now to consider the truth expressed by the extra service of the priests in the House of God on the Sabbath day.
As not only every morning was sanctified, but the whole day was sanctified by the daily morning sacrifice; and as every evening was sanctified, and the whole night also, through the daily evening sacrifice, so was the Sabbath day doubly sanctified by the double offering on that day.
If other days were to be holy, and all that a holy people is called to do be holy work, holy oonvcrsation, so the Day of days, the Day of God, was to be most holy; and, as we have seen, wholly devoted to the Lord by an absolute cessation from other works which were lawful and even commanded on other days. "Six days shall work be done".
Woe to the land where the Lord's day is desecrated, and God's children thereby cheated of His blessing.!
This additional service was that which concerned the Holy Table--the preparation and presentation of twelve loaves or cakes of pure or unleavened bread every Sabbath day, and the eating in the holy place by the assembled priests of the bread presented on the previous Sabbath, and now removed to make room for the fresh supply.
The truth set forth by Bread is one, the discernment of which, from the numerous and plain allusions to it in Scripture, presents no difficulty to the careful student.
From the position of the Table in the Holy Place, directly over against the candlestick, we may, without fear of erring, conclude that the full discernment of all that is contained in the symbol Bread can only be optained through the light of the Spirit of God, in and through the ministres of His Church.
1: We know that bread is universally termed the staff or support of life. In every country this is found, but especially in Asia, where three-fourths of the inhabitants live almost entirely on it.
2: Bread is from its very nature--which must have been revealed to Adam--,the symbol of new or changed 1ife. It has no remnant of the old life of the plant in it, which, having been crushed, bruised, ground out of it, cannot possibly be restored to it. Gen.3:17-19.
3: Bread is prepared from flour, by the double action of water and of fire; the form and substance of the original grain having been destroyed, and a new form and substance given to the flour.
4: Therefore is bread the most simple and instructive symbol of the Resurrection life, that life of Christ imparted to us in Baptism, and sustained in us by the worthy participation of the Lord's Supper.
5: This new life, so imparted and nourished, must be manifested, developed, and made fruitful in all the exercises of holy worship in the Church of God, and in all the duties of Christian life.
6: You will have anticipated the application of all this to the Holy Communion which the first Christian celebrated according to the type of the table of shew-bread every Lord's day. We, therefore, keep to this as the key to what we further observe regarding this type-the shew-bread of the Holy Place.
7: It was unleavened bread, sprinkled with frankincense. Leaven in Scripture has always an evil signification. 1 Cor.5:6-8; Matt.26:6,11,12; Luk.12:1.
8: The number of loaves or cakes placed weekly on the table was twelve, answering to the twelve tribes of Israel, and beautifully illustrating 1Cor.10:16-21.
9: The right of partaking of this bread was, like that of preparing, presenting, and removing it, exclusively confined to the priesthood, the family of Aaron, The solitary exception admitted--recorded in 1 Sam, 21, and referred to in Matt. 22:3,4, proves that this was the rule.
10: The feast on this bread was a strictly religious one, and, indeed, formed an essential part of the service of the sanctuary. In eating of His bread, they feasted with the Lord,
11: Among the many names which are applied to our Blessed Lord, and show that He is the Truth or substance of the shadows of the Law--is the well-known one; "I am the bread of Life". John 6: 48, "I am the true bread that came down from heaven--the living bread, where of if a man eat, he shall live for ever". vv, 32,48, 51.
12: Finally, the antitype of the Holy Place, with its table of bread, and its company of ministering priests, is found in that upper room in Jerusalern, where our Lord instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Supper.
After the Feast of the Passover, we read that He took the bread, the unleavened cake that was on the table--no leaven being permitted then, under severest censure--; and, having blessed it, He divided it into twelve parts, and gave to each Apostle a part, as representing the twelve tribes of the spiritual Israel.
And to these priests of the New Dispensation, the stewards of the Holy Mysteries, He said, " "Do the same in remembrance of Me," when He said, "Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you.".
And by this provision has the spiritual life of the Church been sustained ever since.
And the word of the Apostle Paul. 1Cor. 11:26: "As often as yea eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come.", teaches us that the grand mystery of His Work for us men, and for our salvation, shall only then be fully manifested and fully comprehended, when He shall return in glory and majesty to judge the world, and to take possession of His kingdom.
And from this word it is also evident that a celebration of this Holy Mystery, without reference to the second coming of the Lord, and without the inwrought conviction that the obedience to His command: "Do this", is the best preparation for that glorious consummation of the purpose of God, must be an imperfect service, displeasing to Him, and un profitable to the Church.
From this exposition of the Feast of the Holy Sabbath, as commanded to the Jews, we may draw many most important conclusions, and, among others, these : That a daily service of public, solemn worship, appointed of God, under the law which is the shadow of good things to come, clearly points to a daily public service of worship in the Church, which is the substance, being the Body of Christ.
That a spiritual sacrifice, or service of holy worship, to be pleasing to God and profitable to man, must have the order and sequence of the type or shadow which was so carefully prescribed by the Lord to Moses.
That the Feast of the Holy Table among Christians ought not to be less frequently kept than the Feast of the Sabbath was kept among the Jews.
That, as all Christians partake of the priestly character of Christ through union with Him, they should, as a body, regularly, joyfully, and intelligently, and with spiritual discernment, keep this Feast, and thus nourish their faith and love and hope.
That where this order, this joyful Feast, this united offering of the great spiritual sacrifice has been neglected, we ought to learn from the example of the true reformers among the Jews, such as Hezekiah, 2 Chron, 29:6-9, how to confess our sin, and to resolve henceforth to return to the right ways of the Lord. v,10-17.
Oh that these Divine truths, so beautifully foreshadowed in the worship of the Sabbath day prescribed to the Jews, were seen brought out in spirit and in truth, in all congregations of worshippers in the Christian Church.
Oh that the only rivalry between these congregations were simply which of them could most advance the spirit of worship, could most enliven the adora tion, deepen the confession, or swell the hymn of praise to their common Lord.
Oh that men would cease from their contentions with each other, and unite in laying to heart how far, how very far, everyone has departed from the pure and holy model furnished by this sabbathday feast under the hand of Moses.
Then might we expect to see again the tide of Christian life flow freely in love to God and love to one another, and then the blessing from on High would abound and overflow, filling the Church, the family, and the solitary chamber, uplifting all, purifying all, and cheering all with the hope, the blessed hope, of the speedy and glorious appearing of the great God our Saviour, who shall change this scene of sorrow and mourning into the light and joy and holy worship of the great day of the Lord. Amen.