in darkness. With the lamp was a certain quan tity of flour, mingled with oil and wine, which was called a drink offering; typical that we must thirst after God, as a means of quenching the agonizing sensation of our sins. What is so dreadful as thirst, when it cannot be quenched! What is so truly torment as to feel its pain, and so exquisite as having it removed! These were considered atonements for the souls of the children of Israel: according to their sins, they made offerings to the Lord, which were offered in the Holy of Holies by Aaron. These offerings were according to the means ofthe people. These bullocks, lambs, kids, flour, with oil and doves, were to be without blemish, and without spot; as our offerings at the throne of grace were to be sincere, with our whole souls, hearts, and strength. Aaron, the high priest, therefore, stood as mediator between the people and God, and made the atonement by fire, which was by first taking the blood, and sprinkling it seven times, for a sin offering, before the veil of the sanctuary. Even as gold and silver is purified by fire in the furnace, so, my love, must we be purified by the blood of the Son of God, shed on his cross. Then shall we be made partakers of his rest, which was on the seventh day after the crea tion of the world. We are thus to be purified outside of the veil, signifying in this world; for within the veil is the Holy of Holies, which is heaven. And some of the blood was put on the horns of the altar of sweet incense, and then the blood was poured out at the bottom of the altar. Having first taken off the fat,-so as the fat was taken off the bullock, being the first which enters into corruption, so shall we lose first our most besetting sins,—the whole bullock was carried forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes were poured out, and burnt with fire. Thus all our corruption will be destroyed by the worms in the grave. A bullock was offered for the sins of the whole people; for the Son of God was to be offered for the whole world. A ruler offered a male kid, and the common people were required to bring a female kid, or a lamb: the same was required for their atonement. Another sin offering was by the scape-goat. Aaron was directed to lay both his hands upon the head of a live goat, and confess over him all the sins of the children of Israel, and all their transgression in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, which was then sent away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. Thus this goat bore away all the iniquities of the people, and by this they were acquitted. Thus will the Son of God bear all our iniquities and all our sorrows; and thus shall One of the we escape punishment by his merits. They were to eat it most beautiful illustrations of these sacrifices, however, was on the evening before the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, when they were delivered from bondage. Every one was directed to take a lamb, every man according to his house: it was to be without blemish, of the first year. It was to be killed in the evening, and they were to take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper posts of the houses wherein they were to eat it. with unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs. It was not to be raw, nor soddened with water, but roasted with fire: of the head, legs, and purtenances thereof, none was to remain till morning; but if any remained, it was to be burnt with fire. They were to eat with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand, on account of this being the Lord's passover; that is, the Lord was to pass through the land of Egypt that night; and smite all the first-born of the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and the gods of Egypt, to execute judgment, that is, to inflict the sentence denounced upon them for their sins. But the blood which was upon the houses where the children of Israel were, was to be a token or a sign, so that when the Lord saw the blood, he would pass over them, so that the children of Israel would escape the judgment which was upon the Egyptians. So you see, my love, how merciful God was to them, and what a great thing it was for them, that God had chosen them for his children; and it is at periods like these of peril and danger, we see the infinite value of having God our friend. But, Mamma, how is it that God does not now allow us to atone for our sins by similar offerings? You say, Mamma, we are still unable to keep his commandments. The days of darkness are passed, my sweet child : the veil is rent, and revelation has shone upon the world. I do not understand what you mean, Mamma, unless in those days there was nothing but night; nor do I understand, Mamma, how the children of Israel could have been so dreadfully punished, when they always had the power of atoning for their sins. The darkness I allude to, my child, was their extreme blindness to their sins. The law, as I told you, was given to them as a schoolmaster to teach them their lesson: so it was to teach them their iniquitous hearts. On account of the frequency of transgression, and the unceasing necessity of making atonement, one would have supposed that it would have driven them to despair; but instead of producing this effect, they would not know the law, nor be taught by it: and instead of giving offering of the best, without blemish, they often gave the worst; and when given, they considered themselves to have fully atoned for their sins; and after having gone through the ceremonies, they felt that they were justified before God. Think, my love, if I had been guilty of great iniquity, and a king accepted simply a kid from me to atone for that sin which deserved death, should I not deem it a most graci ous act; should I not melt into tears for such mercy? Should I not feel the deepest contrition and sorrow for having offended so merciful a Prince, who requir ed so little at my hands for the commission of so great an offence? But these hardened Jews,my love, thought and felt differently; they thought they had rendered more than sufficient: it even made them proud, and to feel independent of God; and they looked upon the rest of the world as a filthy, despised race, whom God had discarded as the brutes of the earth. Their pride and vanity increasing, they at length plunged into other sins, actually defied God, they made to themselves other gods, worshipped graven images: and thus, my love, God left them to the influence of their own reprobate wills, which led them to the great transgressions I have hitherto mentioned. So that eventually the ark and the |