WH

The Ten Commandments renewed.

EXODUS XXXIV. 4.

HEN Moses came down from the Mount, he threw down the tables of stone, and brake them to pieces. God, therefore, in token of his still keeping Israel as his people, renewed his laws with them, and Moses was ordered to prepare some new tables, and to go again up into Mount Sinai.

And there the Lord proclaimed or made known to him his name, and that he was "the Lord God, merciful and gracious.' What a lovely name! Oh, let us love him who bears such a name!

And Moses "bowed his head forward to the earth and worshipped." And he pleaded again for Israel; and God promised to drive their enemies out of the promised land of Canaan; but he required as a proof of their obedience to him, that they should destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves, where they worshipped, as the Druids used to do, long after, in England.

And Moses wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. In the first verse, you have probably observed that the Lord said unto Moses, "Hew these two tables of stone like unto the first, and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest; " but here it is said, "Moses wrote upon the tables."

This is easily explained: God wrote the original commandments on the tables deposited or placed in the ark, and Moses probably wrote a copy for the use of the people.

And now Moses descended from the Mount, and having been favored so greatly by God, "the skin of his face shone before all the people, and they were afraid to come nigh him." "And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face:" and he "spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded."

LEVITICUS:

So called, because the book gives the laws relating to divine worship to be conducted by the Levites, who wer chosen to be the ministers of the Israelites. It relates principally to the priests, however, "the sons of Aaron." It was written by Moses and is divided into twenty-seven chapters. The matter of this book seems closely connected with Exodus at its commencement, and with Numbers at its conclusion.

The Burnt-offering.

LEVITICUS I. 1-3.

HE Levites were all of the tribe of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Israel; the priests were of the family of Aaron, who was a descendant of Levi. Both priests and Levites were employed in sacred services in the sanctuary, and their whole lives were devoted to these duties.

For a long time the patriarchs were priests in their own families, and offered up sacrifices; but by divine appointment the family of Aaron was now set apart to perform all sacred duties, as there was a large congregation, and a

Tabernacle in which they were to assemble.

This book treats of the duties which the priests and Levites were to perform.

In this chapter you may read the account of the burnt-offering.

You will see that it was to be "a male without blemish;" that is, the best of the herd, for we ought always to serve God with the best of everything. Then it is said, "he shall offer it of his own voluntary will, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord; "-to teach us, that if we do not serve God with all our hearts, our service is not pleasing in his sight.

It is also said in the fourth verse, "And he," that is, the person who offers the sacrifice, "shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him." Now in doing this, it was to signify that he deserved to die as the poor beast was to but that he begged of God to accept the life of the animal instead of

die;

his life. And God did so; having respect to the death of his dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, who is called "the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world." There is no doubt that as we look back by faith to the merits of his death, so good men then looked forward, through these ceremonies, to him who in a future time should come to redeem Israel,

Now you may better understand the meaning of that verse of a hymn which is often sung in many congregations

"My faith would lay her hand

On that dear head of thine,
While like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin."

But some persons were too poor to bring a bullock to be sacrificed when they offered a burnt-offering, and then they were to bring a calf, a sheep, a

goat, a kid, or even a lamb-a "turtle-dove," or a "young pigeon." So that the poorest were not neglected by a merciful God, and were taught alike to look to the same way of salvation. The rich and the poor both alike need a Saviour, and Jesus Christ, who is "the Lamb of God," is "rich in mercy" to all them that call upon him; and those who have had much committed to their trust, either in possessions or talents, will find occasion for greater offerings to him,-whilst those who have had less will find as full reward if they bring to him what they can.

THE

The Meat-offering.

LEVITICUS II. 1-3.

HE meat-offering was of five sorts:-1. Simple flour and meal. 2. Cakes and wafers; that is, very thin bread. 3. Cakes baked in a pan. 4. Cakes baked on the frying-pan, or probably a gridiron. 5. Green ears of corn parched.

In offering their meat-offerings, the Jews owned God as the Giver of all the fruits of the earth.

There was to be no leaven or yeast in this offering; for that ferments and produces corruption, and our offerings to God must be pure. There was to be salt with all the sacrifices; for it seasons things and makes them savory, teaching us again that our good things must be presented to God.

All these things are called typical-that is, they are meant to show to us other things of much more importance than they themselves; just as a picture shows us the likeness of a real person, but you know it is not the person. Thus the most important services of the Jews were intended to typify the most wonderful events which in God's goodness were to happen to the world; and we find in the leading events of the New Testament the first causes of nearly all the types in the Old.

AS

The Sacrifices.

LEVITICUS III., IV., V., VI., VII.

S the sacrifices very much resembled each other, all having respect to the great sacrifice of Christ, we need not explain them any more, separately. Only it will be well for you to remember, that when we read about the killing of the animals, and the sprinkling of blood upon the altars, and the offering of fruits, and the burning of different parts, and the giving of other parts to the priests, and a number of other particulars; though at first sight they may not seem to be very interesting, yet they are very much so, when we can find out their meaning; and this is not left to our fancies, but we may know it by looking at other parts of the Bible. For instance, we read in the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"—in other words, if the blood of the animals offered by the priests under the law given by Moses, had so much virtue, that it removed uncleanness and guilt, or sin and guilt before God, he having promised it should do so because he had commanded it; then how much more shall the precious virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ, who died to save sinners, and through the power of his Spirit sustained all our load of guilt, which no mere human creature could have borne ;-how much more shall the virtue of his sacrifice take away all guilt from the conscience arising from sinful deeds, so that you may with pleasure serve the living God!

Again, we read in the same chapter, that "CHRIST was once offered to bear the sins of many." For other sacrifices were offered from time to time, as offences occurred, and there were even daily sacrifices; but when Christ died on Calvary, he died once for all, and all sacrifices then ceased. For, is worthy of your notice, that soon after Christ had died on Calvary, the Jewish nation was, for their hardness of heart against God, destroyed and scattered abroad in all countries, as they are to this day. The Romans, then a great power, were God's instruments to effect this; and then their temple was destroyed, in which their sacrifices were offered, and the tribes were mixed all in confusion; so that the tribe of Levi could soon no longer be known, to offer sacrifices. But Christ had made them needless: they