of the sons of Kohath, of Gershon, and of Merari is taken separately, of those who were between thirty and fifty years of age. This separate and exact numbering would enable Moses and Aaron to allot a proper number of persons to each portion of the work. And some of the separate parts of the tabernacle must have been so heavy, as to require many hands to carry them; so that division and arrangement of the persons to be employed must have been necessary for the performance of the duty, as well as for the comfort of those who had to do it. Little indeed were either the Levites or Moses and Aaron aware of the many journies which awaited them in the wilderness. Little did they think how many times they would have the tabernacle to take to pieces and put together, and carry to and fro; without bringing it any nearer to its journey's end. But there is One who foresees the end from the beginning; and He prepared all things for the frequent removal of the sanctuary, wherein his glory was to dwell.

He has done the like in the arrangements which have been made for the ministrations of the Christian church. Those who wait on our blessed Lord, as his servants, the Levites attending on our one only Priest, are divided into several orders, having each its own department of service, and every individual therein being entrusted with his own portion of the service. Much and arduous is the work to be done by these chosen servants of the Lord. And greatly does its success depend, yea and their enjoyment also, upon their acting each in his own proper place, and all in concert one with another. May He who has called them to this sacred office, and bestowed on them the privilege of ministering in his church, multiply their numbers in proportion to their work, and give them grace to be faithful stewards of his mysteries!

The Levites when all numbered were above twenty and two thousand. But out of these only "eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore" were of the right age for " the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden, in the tabernacle of the congregation." It is painful to think, for how many years of our life, we are too young or too old to do God good service. Or rather, it would be painful; had not He revealed to us, that it is enough if we have done what we could; see Mark 14. 8; and had we not also been informed in his word, that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings He can perfect praise. See Matt. 21. 16. Again it is still more painful to reflect, how few thousands out of many thousands, how few millions out of many millions of mankind, seem to take any pains at any age to glorify God's name. But here again we are relieved by the assurance of his word. We know that all things work together for his glory; and that even the wicked, and they which forget God, shall be constrained, when the day of judgment comes, to minister to his endless praise. They will then prove that He is just; though they would not profit by his being merciful. And though they would not learn from Him to be holy, they will ever make it manifest that He abhors iniquity.

The unclean removed.

Restitution. The trespass offering.
guilty;

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: 3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst

whereof I dwell.

4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.

5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be

7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.

8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.

9 And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.

10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.

LECTURE 245.

The holy life which we live is to be ascribed to Christ. When the order of encampment was completed, as well as the arrangement for removing, there followed some directions particularly appropriate to the state of Israel whilst dwelling in tents. First they are charged to put outside of their camp all those who by previous laws had been pronounced ceremonially unclean, “every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead." For in a camp these would be more likely to defile others, than in the country, or a town. Next they are reminded of the law of restitution, both for trespasses committed against their brethren, and for trespasses committed against God. See Lev. 6. 2. For to such trespasses they might more probably be tempted, when they themselves and their property were intermingled in their tents, than when each should have his own house and his own land. And further they are put in remembrance, that the trespass offerings and other hallowed things were to become the property of the priest who ministered. So that they would defraud the priest, as well as wrong the Lord, if they were to take advantage of their unsettled situation, to withhold what the law required them to

offer. And in like manner the latter part of the chapter is taken up with "the law of jealousies;" ver. 29; which were much more likely to arise in the minds of husbands, when more families than one were probably often forced to occupy the same tent. Let us be reminded by these laws, thus viewed, that when we are in circumstances of temptation it is our duty to call to mind those portions of God's word, which are directed against the sins likely to beset us. Let us think of the motives most likely to help us in our inward struggle; the harm that sin does our brethren, the wrong that it does to God, and the reverence which is due to Him who deigns to dwell in the midst of us. Let us be aware that no secrecy can screen us from his sight, no crowd can prevent his noting the very thoughts of our hearts, no joining of hand to hand amongst the wicked, can protect them from the punishment which He has prepared. See Prov. 11. 21.

And further, from these laws, here recorded together, we may take occasion to observe first the foulness of sin, signified by shutting out the unclean from the camp; secondly the necessity of repentance, implied in the restitution here enjoined; thirdly the efficacy of the atonement made by Christ, our trespass offering, and of the mediation made by Christ, our Priest; and lastly the duty, binding upon all who come to God by Him, to ascribe to Him all the praise, all the merit, all the worth, of whatsoever service they have grace to render. "Whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his." These latter words thus applied teach us an important lesson, one which may help to clear up in our minds the true foundation of Christian duty, and to shew whose property our good works really are. The true foundation of our Christian duty is a conviction that we have been bought with a price, that we owe ourselves, and all we have, and all that we can do, to Him who bought us. Hence we do our service not as an unwelcome task, but as an offering given to our heavenly Priest. We do it. And yet it is not altogether our doing. We work. And yet our works are his. They are hallowed things. And "every man's hallowed things shall be his." His they are by right of purchase. His they are by our freely offering them to Him. His they are by his grace working them in and with us. To Him then be the praise, to Him the glory. And whilst we do our Christian duty, and live a Christian life, to the utmost of our power, let us be always ready to say with St. Paul," yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal. 2. 20.

The law of jealousies.

11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,

13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:

17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the

water:

18. And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse :

20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man may have lain with thee beside thine husband:

21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;

22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter

water:

24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.

25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:

26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.

27 And when he hath made her 19 And the priest shall charge to drink the water, then it shall

come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.

29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;

30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. 31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

LECTURE 246.

The certainty of judgment.

A woman convicted of adultery was sentenced by the law to be put to death. See Lev. 20. 10. But an offence always committed in secret is not easily brought home to the offender. It might often be suspected, when no proof could be obtained. In such a case "the law of jealousies" provided peace of mind for the husband, or punishment for the wife. Hardened indeed must have been the guilty woman, who, with the consciousness of guilt, could venture on the trial here ordained. The length of time which the ceremony would take must exhaust any courage falsely assumed, and would afford many an opportunity for one who had transgressed to betray the horrors of an evil conscience. First the man must take his wife to the priest, who was to "bring her near" to the sanctuary, and "set her before the Lord." With her was brought the "offering of jealousy;" not a peace offering, not a thank offering, but "an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance." The priest was to uncover the woman's head, so that every change in her countenance would be seen. He then put into her hand "the jealousy offering," holding in his own "the bitter water that causeth the curse." Then came the dreadful adjuration, the oath so full of terror to the guilty, so harmless to the innocent. "And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen." After this the curse was written, and then blotted out with the bitter water. And the woman had yet to drink of the water, both before and after the burning of the offering. And then, if guilty, she straightway suffered by God's visitation; but if clean, she was set free, and became fruitful. Most righteous judgment, most wise ordeal; most unlike to the ordeal so named in other nations, which confounded the innocent with the guilty! Most manifest instance to prove, that God knows, and will punish, the most secret sins! And if we hold that He will so deal with every transgressor hereafter, shall we marvel that He so dealt with one transgression here? And if He so dealt with one here, shall we doubt that He will so deal with all hereafter?