Notes on the Feasts of the Lord,

No.6.

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT.

Lev, xxiii, 26-32.

In these verses we have the order fur a Sabbath of a very strict, and very peculiar observance; a day not only, of rest from servile work, but from all work whatsoever, on the part of the people; at the same time a day of work, of active and peculiar work or service in the House of God.

Of the Sabbath-keeping and of the Holy Convocation we have already spoken.

The detail of part of this work, viz., the presentation of the burnt-offering, is given in Numb, xxix, 7-11, It consisted of one bullock, one ram, seven lambs, and a kid of the goats; with their meat and drink offerings.
But the detail of the special service is recorded for us in another part of this book of Leviticus, ch.16, to which we now turn our attention.

From the extraordinary minuteness of detail here given we may perceive the vast importance of the truth signified by this service.

Even at the present day the Jews call this day by the name of "the day," thus marking it as the most solemn of all the days of the year.

And they have good reason fur this. For this day was distinguished from all others by three things, all of them most peculiar in their nature, and most important in their effects:

1: On this day the High Priest alone fulfilled all the service of the House of God, both the ordinary and extraordinary. Of the latter the chief was, his entering into the most Holy Place, into the immediate presence of the "Shekinah" Glory of the Lord, and there fulfilling rites of holy worship.

2: On this day Atonement was made for the Holy Place itself and the Tabernacle, and the Altar-see vv. 19,20.

3: On this day Expiation was made for all the transgressions, shortcomings, sins, and iniquities of the whole nation, priests and people; and the cleansing of the people, see:v 3a, before the Lord was solemnly attested by the Lord Himself upon their compliance with the requirements of the Law enjoined for that end.

The single exception to this cleansing we shall notice in its place. In the exposition and application of the important spiritual truths set forth by the symbolical services of this great day, we need full assurance of being guided aright; for the issues are the most momentous of all.

And this assurance, we rejoice to say, we have in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the Apostle distinctly expounds, interprets, and applies the truth of this shadow, and teaches its vast importance as the foundation of all our confidence towards God; the model of all acceptable service of God in this life; and also the warrant of our hope of blessedness in the world to come.

In the 9th chapter of that Epistle we read the fullest of all the interpretations of one of the symbols and types of the Law that can be found in any part of holy Scripture, the application of this great day's service to the Person and Work of our Divine Redeemer, to what He has already done; to what He is now doing ; and to what He is about to do.

Nor is this all. In the 9th and following chapter we have its practical application to the Church; that is, to our own faith, and hope, and duty of holy worship; our attitude and calling during the present dispensation, as a priestly people, members of the Body of Him Who is our Head and Great High Priest, whose acting's, even now in the heavenly sanctuary for us, we are called to show forth in worship of God and in bearing witness to men upon the earth.

Surely this is enough and more than enough to stir us up to desire a glance, if we can attain to no more, into those heavenly realities shadowed forth in the sacrifices and service of the Great Day of Atonement.

Let us endeavour to take up the points indicated in the order of their arrangement in Lev, xvi,:

1: The time fixed For its observance: the 10th day of the 7th month, v, 29. We know the application of the mystical number seven to most of the wondrous works of God; and especially to the most wondrous of all: the Church of the New Testament, the Temple of the Holy Ghost, the fulness or completeness of the Christ of God. The oft-recurring use of this number in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, will be recalled to every one by the mere mention of the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars in the Lord's right hand, the seven epistles, the trumpets and viols; the seven-sealed book, &c.

We have likewise in many parts of Scripture clear light upon the mystery of the number ten, in symbolic or prophetic allusion to the kingdom of God; e.g, the ten toes of the colossal image usurping for a time the kingdom; the ten horns of the devouring and destroying fourth beast, upon whom the Lord comes in judgement when He takes to Himself the kingdom, the oft recurring ten in the parables of our Lord and the reduplication of it in the thousands and ten thousands of angels, and chariots, and ministering spirits spoken of in connection with the manifestation of the kingdom of our Lord upon the earth.See Ps, lxviii, I7; Dan.vii, 1O; Rev,v.II,

When both these numbers are found conjoined as here, or multiplied into each other, we find the double mystery of Church and Kingdom.
The seventy Elders of Israel, Numb, xi, the years of the ordinary limit of human life, the duration of the captivity in Babylon; the seventy weeks of Daniel; the seventy disciples appointed to preach the kingdom of God; the seventy times seven of the spirit of forgiveness, &c.

2: The Person, on whom the principal burden of the proceedings of this day, and of all that concerned the Holy Place was laid, is the High Priest Himself.

On ordinary days and services others might and did officiate; indeed, they all did so in rotation; but here the rule is absolute: alone must the High Priest offer the sacrifice; alone make the confession; alone enter into the Inner Sanctuary; alone present and sprinkle the blood in fulfilment of the solemn ministry of the day. vv.3, I7.

3: The Sacrifice offered on this occasion differed from those of all other days, and the proceedings with the bullock of the Sin offering, and with the two goats; the carrying in of the blood of those that were slain, into the most Holy Place, within the vail, and the sprinkling of it there seven times--again that number!--, all this is studiously different from the proceedings of all other days in the year.

4: The place where this sacred ministry was fulfilled requires to be specially noted, as upon this the Apostle lays peculiar stress in teaching the reality, the truth of the shadow, the great anti-type of this wondrous type; for to this the "once a year" and the "alone" emphatically refer, even to the Inner Sanctuary, the Presence Chamber of God, where in Visible Glory He dwelt.

5: The Service itself so full of meaning; the change of vestments; the casting the lot; the hands full of sweet incense; the cloud ascending and covering the mercy-seat; the sprinkling of the blood upon and before the mercy-seat; the putting of it upon the horns of the altar, and the sprinkling it with his linger seven times upon that altar, and finally the confession of all the iniquities of the children of Israel and their transgressions in all their sins, and the putting them upon the head of the goat to be loosed and sent away into the wilderness; all this Service formed the special and peculiar work of the High Priest, the exclusive and most sacred exercise of his ministry.

6: The completion of the service of this most solemn day was marked by these typical actions:--

a: The changing of the garments of the High Priest, putting of the linen vestments, and putting on those of glory and beauty.
b: The sending away of the scapegoat.
c: The giving of the blessing to the assembled priests and people who were waiting, weeping, and praying without, watching for his coming forth.
d: The publication of the Sabbatical year and year of Jubilee in their seasons.
e: The joy of the faithful, who beheld in the coming forth of the High Priest the assurance of the acceptance of all the sacrifices and services of the day.
f: Lastly, it will be kept in mind that this entire day was one of the strictest fasting and affliction of soul, v.29, as well as a holy Sabbath. v,3I.

These are the leading points that claim attention in this lecture.
In turning to the Apostolic teaching in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chaps, ix, and x, we are saved from the peril of imagining, and adapting our own conceptions to such a solemn passage of the Law of Moses.

All we have to do is to compile, and arrange for our help and instruction the truths which the Apostle has recorded, and which the Church has preserved regarding this type.

a: The time set of the Lord for the Service of the Great Day of Atonement-- 10th of 7th month--sets forth that time fixed in the counseIs of Eternity, and most clearly revealed to Daniel, though expressed in mystical numbers, in the well-known prophecy of the seventy weeks, when the son of God came forth from the Father on His mission of love to this lower world, to reveal the Father, to offer the one acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the world, and to fulfil what was written in the Law of Moses concerning Himself.

The Apostle calls this time or day, Heb, ix, 26: "once, in the end of the world --or age--.

b: The Person of the High Priest represents our Lord Jesus Christ as the One and Eternal High Priest of His Church, the True Melchizedek of God; Whose priestly character and work is the one text of the entire Epistle to the Hebrews as it is the one thing pointed to in the Institution of Sacrifice as the alone way of approach to God-and in all the ordinances and directions regarding holy worship under the 0ld Testament.

To Him as the "merciful and faithful High Priest". ii, I7, as the "Apostle and High Priest of our profession", iiig 1, the Apostle directs our eyes from the beginning to the end of this Epistle.

In teaching that "every High Priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God", v, I, the Apostle shows us that Christ is for us the Head of all worship, the chief Worshipper of God, the Minister for Whose sake the true sanctuary has been constructed of living materials, and for Whose sake it shall be preserved for ever.

He is presented to our faith in this Epistle as both Sacrifice and Priest; as Victim and Offerer; for in His Holy Person both were united and shall be for ever inseparably conjoined; and in the significant name,"High Priest of good things to come," the Apostle not only reveals Him as the presenter of the Sacrifice that taket away the sins of the world; but also gives us the assurance of the glory that is to follow. 1 Pet, i.11.

c: The special sin-offering of the Day of Atonement sets forth that better Sacrifice, of which all 0ld Testament offerings were at best but shadows, having no worth in themselves, but deriving all their meaning and efficacy from their having been appointed of God, as types or patterns of which the reality is alone to be found, in the sacrifice of Christ.

It is, therefore, more by way of contrast with, than of comparison between these, that the Apostle speaks of them; for throughout the Epistle he is careful to insist upon that "better priesthood," that "more excellent ministry," that "better covenant," those "better promises". Heb, viii, 5, 6.

In one word of infinite depth, the Apostle declares that "Christ, through the Eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, ix. I4; not a sacrifice needing to be repeated, but presented and accepted once for all, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world. x.I,2,I4; 1 John ii. 2.

d: In observing the anti-type of the place where the true Sacrifice is presented, viz., "heaven itself", ix, 24, the very Presence of God, it is most important to bear in mind the truth, that the slaying of the victim was by no means the accomplishment of any sacrifice for sin.
It was the first step, no doubt, and the groundwork of all that followed; but the presentation of the blood in the holy place, the sprinkling of it there, and all the accompaniments of meat and drink-offerings, and of incense and salt, of water to cleanse, and of fire to consume, all these were essential parts of a complete and acceptable sacrifice; none of them might be neglected, under pain of the highest displeasure of God.

The sacrifice of our Lord was prepared here below, all that concerned the shedding of blood, the pouring out of His soul unto death; all His suffering of moral and spiritual, as welt as of bodily agony, was consummated in Gethsemane and on Calvary; all His humiliation finished and past for ever upon earth.

There remained, however, the second, the greater, the permanent, the, for us, essential part of His Sacrifice, even the passing within the vail and the sprinkling of His blood there: in plain words, the Ascension of our Lord into Heaven, His pleading, His perfect work, and His intercession for us there.

And it is in this work of Intercession that we are called to be united, conjoined, made one with Him. It can only be effected and sustained by the power of that same Eternal Spirit.

e: This truth wilt be still more apparent when we consider the anti-type of the service of the high priest, the ministry which our Lord, as Head of the Church -which is His Body-is now, even now, fulfilling for us in heaven:--

1: He appears in the Presence of God for us, v, 24; and because He does so, He calls us to draw near, x.22, confessing our sins, and receiving absolution,

2: He presents His Sacrifice before the Father. We present the memorial of His Sacrifice every time we celebrate the Eucharist, or plead it in appearing before God.

3: He offers prayer and makes intercession for us. We do so by His own commandment and example, Luke xxii.19,2O; 1Tim, ii, I.

4: He obtains for us the gift of the Holy Spirit. We also ask and receive the same Holy Spirit.

5: He worships and adores the Eternal Father in the unity and fellowship of the Eternal Spirit. We worship and adore the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for ever.

6: He obtains and sends down upon the Church and the World every gracious gift and blessing. We, obtaining these blessings, are in a condition to bless each other in His Name, according to our ministry, and to bless all men in sending or bearing the Gospel to them.

7: He waits for the day when He shall come forth to take possession of His kingdom, raise His departed saints, change the living, and scatter His enemies.

We also, waiting for that day, join in the prayer: "Hasten the time; Lord Jesus,! come quickly, awaken all Thy sleeping ones, change the living and manifest Thy glory.!---Liturgy--final commemoration prayer in Eucharist].

8: The High Priest under the Law changed his garments, and came forth at the close of his service, and blessed the people. The Apostle teaches, Heb.ix.28, that this is the only part of the great type of the Day of Atonement which has not yet been fulfilled.

"To them that look for Him," that is, to all the faithful; to us, if we are wiseand persevere in faith and hope even to the end, "shall He appear the second time, without sin--offering--unto salvation,"

This is the one object of our hope-,the saving, blessed, purifying comforting hope-,given to the Church by the Lord Himself, presented to her view in all the apostolical epistles, and exhibited in vision in the closing pages of the Book of God. Rev, xix, 20,21.

8: Finally, the attitude of the people and of the priests-,also on this solemn day fasting and afflicting their souls before the Lord-teaches us that amid our joy for sin forgiven, joy in having liberty of access unto God, joy in the hope of the coming kingdom of the Lord; we are ever to bear in mind that we have good cause for sorrow for our sins were the procuring cause of all the sufferings of Christ; He was wounded for our transgressions; and bruised for our iniquities lsa, liii,

In contemplating the sorrow of the Israelite of old, standing at the door of the Tabernacle, mourning and weeping while confessing the sins of priests and people, his own sins, and the sins of his family and friends, and yet looking and listening for the signs of the coming forth of the high priest, and refusing to be comforted until he heard from his lips the blessing of peace, in contemplating such a man-,who could only look and listen, meditate, and pray-believing in the efficacy of the atonement made, and hoping for the deliverance from the power as well as the guilt of sin, we find the true key to the sorrow of the disciples over the departure of the Lord.

Who, nevertheless, left them His peace; and we can comprehend the sublime contradictions of the apostle: "Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing all things". 2 Cor. vi,10.

This is the double mystery. In the world, tribulation; in Me, peace ! John xvi, Such is the interpretation given by the inspired servant of God of this, which is but one of the many types of the Old Testament

What shall we say to those who rashly and ignorantly affirm that all the 0ld Testament types are fulfil !

We can reply that the assertion is falls, and that, on the contrary, we are prepared to prove this weighty truth: that all these 0ld Testament institutions of God have a permanent character; they all have a past, a present, and a future aspect.

Jesus is still the Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb by Whose blood we are re deemed, on Whose body we feed.

And He comes forth as the Lamb to contend with and destroy His enemies, Rev, xix.II-I5, and to keep with His Church the full feast of the Passover which shall be fulfilled in the kingdom. Rev, iii. 20 and xix, 9.

He is the true Unleavened Bread; He is the First-fruits, and He is the coming Harvest-man. His voice, uttered on earth, is the trumpet tone that awakens the sleepers and directs the camp, that assembles is officers and guides the holy war; He is the All in all of the Feasts of Jubilee and of Tabernacles, and in the solemn scene under our consideration, viz., the details of the Great Day of Atonement, He is the High Priest, still fulfilling His ministry of intercession in the holiest of all, And the words of the apostle, Heb, x, I9-22, applying the whofe of the truth of Atonement to the Christian Church, leave no doubt as to the present practical application of it. "Let us draw near",--not keep away, but: "draw near"-"with a true heart, in full assurance of faith."

This is well expressed in the prayer following upon the absolution in the service of the Holy Eucharist: "0 God, Who, by the blood of Thy dear Son, hast consecrated unto us a new and living way into the holiest of all, Grant us, we beseech Thee, the assurance of Thy mercy, and sanctify us by Thy heavenly grace."

So much for the present, continual use of this marvellous type in the worship of the Church.What is still future in it is this:--The ministry of intercession now being exercised in heaven for us will come to an end.

As we read in Rev.viii, the angel now offering the incense will fill his censer with fire from the altar and cast it upon the earth. Then begin the days of the great tribulation.

The High Priest changed his garments and came forth. Lev.xvi.23,24.
On the hem of the robe of blue worn by Aaron, were golden bells and pomegranates. These gave a sound when he went in and when he came out of the Holy Place, Exod.xxviii,35-35.
Already the spiritually minded who have ears to hear can discern the sound of the bells on the robe of our great High Priest.The revival of many lost or forgotten truths through the utterance of the long silent voice of prophecy and the restored ministry of apostles is for them no uncertain sound, but gives them an assurance of the nearness of His coming again, an assurance which no mere observation of outward signs can give.

There remains, however, a point which must be noticed in reference to the proceedings ofthis day, namely, the sending away of the Azazel or scape-goat. This doomed and banished animal is commonly, but erroneously, regarded as a type of our blessed Lord.

We have hut to look narrowly into the details regarding it, to be quite satisfied that such an idea, however popular among a certain class, is inconsistent with truth.

1: Of the two goats presented at the door of the Tabernacle, Lev xvi,7, onewas chosen by lot for the Lord; and the other for Azazel, i,e., met for the Lord, but for another.

2: The blood of this second goat was not shed, consequently could not make atonement for sin; could not he carried into the Holy Place, as was the blood of the goat chosen for the Lord, which was carried in and sprinkled upon and before the mercy-seat, v,15.

3: After the reconciliation of the Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the Altar, vv l6~2o, that is, after atonement has been made for all the uncleanness of the children of Israel, their sins and transgressions, which is the special and exclusive work or service of the High Priest; after all this it is that the live goat is brought, and when over his head are confessed the iniquities transgressiotls~ and sins of the people, he is sent away into the wilderness, into a land not inhabited. v, 21, 22.

4: This separation from the camp and people of the Lord, this sending away of the second goat as an unclean and abominable thing, to be seen or heard of no more at all for ever; this is totally contrary to and subversive of the idea that this unslain, unsacrificed animal can in any way be a symbol or representative of the Lord, in whose blood alone there is cleansing from all sin.

5: We are, therefore shut up to an opposite issue, and compelled to regard this animal, upon whose head are accumulated the sins and transgressions of all those who were not cleansecl by the sprinkling of the blood of atonement, and upon whose head they remain for ever, as a symbol of that man of sin that son of perdition, that beast full of names of blasphemy, who shall be from the face of the Lord, by an act of consuming judgement which shall consign him, and all the impenitent leagued with him, to eternal banishment from the House and Worship and Family of God.

As to the sacrifices presented on the Day of Atonement, those which distinguished it from other feasts were, as we read, Num, XXIX. 7-11; the offering of a bullock for a sin-offering, and the goat, upon which the Lord's lot fell as above noticed.

The bullock, the symboI of the priest-hood, was offered for the High Priest and the priests; the goat is the symbol of the ruler, or the leader, through possession and exercise of spiritual gifts or powers, and was offered for the sins of the whole congregation.

The Atonement was, therefore, made for all; both priests and people.
The confession made in presenting the sacrifices was the confession of all; and the purification or cleansing effected by the sprinkling of the atoning blood was the cleansing of all.

The Apostle applying this, as we have already seen, to the acting's of the heavenly High Priest, to ourselves, and to the work of atonement made both for Jews and Gentiles; "for the sins of the whole world". 1 John ii.2, shows clearly how the Lord perfects the work of our redemption in its foundation by the precious sacrifice of Himself, first taking our nature and thus becoming sin for us, 2 Cor. v.21, and also in its application to us individually through the sacraments and ordinances of His Church, ministered by the Holy Ghost, continually receiving of His, and showing it, applying it, to us, John xvi 14, and finally in its communication, when He hall come forth again to receive His Church to Himself; to reward all the faithful; to bless all the persevering; to save all that look for and love His appearing; but also to visit with exclusion, condemnation, and banishment all the impenitent, the hypocrites, liars, murderers, and those who have chosen and loved the ways of Babylon and the revolt and blasphemy of anti-Christ. Rev. xxii.14, I5.

In one word, the Lord comes forth to receive His true worshippers into the glory and blessedness of His kingdom, where they shall worship Him for ever; and to destroy all who refuse now to worship Him, for this refusal is the culminating feature of the infidelity of the last days of this dispensation.

The awful solemnity of this issue towards which the world and the Church are hastening, demands that we look at the side of this revelation.

Among the many forms of error by which men are lured to their destruction in his land, there is one which has an appearance of truth, a garb of Scripture phraseology, a colour of evangelical religion, but which in practice really subverts the very foundation of true faith, and turns men away from the fruit-bearing exercise of true godliness;--we refer to the popular expression; "The finished work of Christ," as applied to what our Lord endured upon the cross, when the vinegar was put to His mouth, John xix, 28-30, and He said: "It is finished".

Instead of seeing that by this word our Lord declared that all that was written concerning His humiliation and His sufferings was now accomplished, many have applied it or misapplied it as referring to all the work that our Lord as our Redeemer had to do; thus ignoring the work he did in Hades, is work of Resurrection, is work after Resurrection, His work of ascension and glorious entrance into heaven; is present work as our High Priest in Heaven; His work of intercession and all His future work of judgement of the quick and the dead.

The consequence of thus ignoring the present, and the still work of our Saviour, and regarding what was finished upon the Cross as the whole of the work required to be done by Him for us, is most fatal to our advancement in holiness, to our becoming transformed into His image, and having our whole spirit, and soul, and body preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord and of the blessed hope of our being by Him raised from the dead, or changed at His appearing, both of which acts are expressly declared to be parts of His work for our salvation and eternal glory.

Every step of our Lord's work is a perfect step, a complete act, in one sense a finished work of itself.

But the calling of a part by the name of the whole is a confounding of things that differ, and must not be permitted among those who are seeking to be taught the doctrine of Christ.

Let us, therefore, follow out this part of the truth a little further.

The work of our Lord on earth was that of manifesting the Father; exhibiting perfect righteousness and holiness in our mortal flesh; vindicating the law of God; taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world; pouring out His soul unto death, and thereby bearing away those sins; reconciling the world unto God; making peace through the blood of His cross; dying , and descending into the grave, that He might by rising again, overborne both death and the grave, fulfilling all that is contained in the words, "Substitute for, and Redeemer of., guilty man," This, His work, by which He became Head of His Church and Lord of all, is a work in which neither men nor angels have had, or can have, any part at all; a work to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be taken away.

It is the ground of all our confidence toward God, ant the warrant for preaching the gospel to all men.

Faith in this perfect and finished work of Christ gives peace tot the awakened conscience, brings light and joy to the self-condemned sinner, and leads back the prodigal to his loving and forgiving Father.

But after having said regarding this work of our Lord on the earth all that we find said of it in Holy Scripture, still we must take care not to confound it with that other work, which our Risen Lord now fulfils in heaven for us, as our great High Priest, and which is of a totally different character, and is for a totally different purpose.

Now He appears before God as the Head and Saviour of His Church; presenting and rendering acceptable the prayers of all who pray, and the Thanksgivings of all who give thanks; as the glorified Son of Man, bearing at His girdle the keys of hell and of death; crowned with all power in heaven and in earth; receiving and sending down all blessings that proceed from God to man; the Head of the worshipping creation; the Priest of Priests, soon to come forth again as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The effect of this ministry is to obtain for, and send down upon the Church the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, and to give power and efficacy to the prayers, sacraments, and ministries of the Church, and all that is comprehended in worship on the one hand, and testimony to the world on the other.

In a word, this is the work of our sanctification.
This, then, is the present work of our Lord within the vail, the counterpart of that of Aaron in the most Holy Place, symbolised by the sprinkling of the blood and the burning of the incense.

Let us not be startled by the announcement the great reality of the Day of Atonement is not yet completed; yea, rather let us rejoice that the part of it typified by these solemn acts, which set fort the work of intercession, is to this hour an unfinished work; that the day of grace for Christendom is still lengthened out; that the door of reconciliation is still open; and that the tone of the invitation to draw near are still sounding in our ears.

Let us seek unto the altar in Heaven where confession is made of all the sins of the land, yea, and of the whole Church of God throughout the world where intercession is offered for all; for priests and people; for the superstitious, as well as for the infidel; yea, for all the baptised, upon whom first the judgement of God shall fall, 1 Pet.iv.17, for "Judgement must begin at the House of God."

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