to God shall prevail in the professing church; then is the taking away the daily sacrifice, and the faith and confession of saints. In other words, it ceases to be a true church, or church of Christ. For these are not indifferent circumstances, about which it may or may not be pernicious to differ; but fundamentals, without which there can be no such thing as a faithful and Christian agreement. The high-priest under the law was to abide in the sanctuary constantly, and to pollute himself upon no occasion; for the crown or pre-eminence, or separation, of the anointing oil of his God was upon him. So Christ, being without infirmity, was consecrated for evermore and abideth always in the celestial sanctuary, called the right hand of God, as the head over all things to his church, and as the merciful and faithful high-priest, who should confer both grace and glory. None could be a priest under the law but of the chosen tribe; and all his service and duty was allotted to him, and not carved by himself upon any occasion. so, under the gospel, the people of God are his heritage, i. e. his clergy,* his portion by lot, the lot of his inheritance,† all which terms import a portion, selected or marked out by divine choice and appointment: and as they themselves are chosen for God, so their duties are allotted by God to every one of them. They are not their own; neither in soul or body, life or action: and this, when understood, is the highest privilege, * uλngo. 1 Pet. v. 3. ↑ Deut. xxxii. which which God can confer upon his redeemed, and the crown and security of all their happiness here and hereafter. Lastly. The tabernacle was carried of old through the wilderness to Canaan; while those, who officiated in or belonged to it, were guided every step of the way, whether by day or night, and supported and defended by Omnipotence itself. So the church of Christ is in a wilderness here, not at home, is conducted by God's providence and grace, and sustained and protected by his almighty power. He ever bare them on eagle's wings [the emblem of his Spirit's agency] and brought them to himself:* in his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. Thus when God's people move on in their spiritual journey, they call for his presence and support, as in antient times; Rise up, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them, that hate thee, flee before thee! And when they look forward to the end of their faith and hope, even to the times of restitution, the appointed revolution and final establishment, of all things; then they cry out; How long, O Lord, holy and true! Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel. The Lord Christ considers his body the church as his own-self, and therefore ordained this figure of the tabernacle to stand for both: and, in wonderful wisdom and propriety, it answers to both, in their several respects and relations. He, that toucheth his people, toucheth (as it were) the apple of his eye, which he will not *Exod. xix. 4. † Isa. lxiii. 9. + Acts iii. 21. endure. endure. Their troubles and sorrows he reckons for his own: In all their afflictions he was afflicted. The injuries done to them, he esteems as done to himself; and, therefore, when Saul (afterwards Paul) was attacking the church, the Lord Jesus from heaven in mercy stopped his blind career with, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME?-I am JESUS, whom thou persecutest. O what love is this,' that God should thus deal familiarly with man! That a person in Jehovah should unite himself with human flesh to bring many perishing mortals to glory! That he should so unite himself with these, as to make them parts of himself, and through himself bring them into immediate and everlasting communion with the Godhead! Believer, remember this in all thy trials and sorrows. Thy Saviour hath pledged himself to sustain thee through them all. Thou art a part of his tabernacle, which the enemy may attack, but shall not destroy; for it is dedicated and devoted to God. Not a bone of his personal body could be broken, as a sign or token, that not one member of his mystical body should ever be ruined or lost. Pray then for the confidence of faith, that thou mayest face those enemies without fear, who are more thy Saviour's enemies, than they are or can be thine. His strength must prevail: and it is thy privilege to lean upon it and to find it expressly engaged for thee. Thou art, it is true, in the wilderness here; but he is thy pillar of cloud and light of fire, thy guide, thy shield, thy sure defence, and will never leave nor forsake thee throughout all the way to the heavenly Canaan. Remember too, that thy high-priest is always per sonally in his sanctuary, and always in spirit with and in his people, ready to hear their prayers, and ready to yield the promised succor. Come to the throne of grace, whenever thou wilt; there he is, and there he abideth ever. He heareth in the night-season as well as in the day time; for he, that keepeth thee, will neither slumber nor sleep. Thou mayest and dost forget thyself; but he never ceases to remember both thee and all thy affairs. As his ear is ever open to thy prayers, so his eye is always upon thee for thy good. Thou art a real part of himself; and therefore, it is impossible, that thou shouldest ever be miserable or lost. These words and figures, which the divine wisdom hath afforded to convey such momentous truths, are undoubtedly strong; but they are weakness itself, compared with the things and purposes, which they are employed to denote. Raise thy thoughts, O Christian, ever so high; express them never so forcibly; call the LORD, thy rock, thy fortress, thy deliverer, thy strength, thy buckler, the horn of thy salvation, thy high tower, or by a thousand other endearing and powerful terms; he is this indeed: but he is ten thousand times more than all this to thee; yea, infinitely more, than the words of heaven or earth can declare. Call then upon this thy redeeming God, who is worthy to be praised; and so shalt thou be saved from thine enemies. "But I am pressed with the sense of my unworthiness, of my extreme sinfulness both of heart and life."This is a reason, not for staying away, but for calling upon him more earnestly. Peter evidently knew not what he said, when he cried, Depart from me, for I am a sinful a sinful man, O Lord! He came to save such, as feel themselves unsaved, and therefore despair of other reme dies. No man since the fall was ever received by him, but as a poor, distressed, and helpless sinner. He hath nothing to do with those, who fancy they can help themselves, or who would be saved in any degree with out him by themselves. Thy sorrows of heart and convictions of sin are probably that painful circumcision of the Spirit, which by the law he uses to mortify and subdue thy old man, and without which thou canst not know the power or the worth of his grace. This circumcision, like the strait gate (another image for the same thing) may be difficult, and even odious, to flesh and blood; but it must be undergone, it must be passed through, to the kingdom of God. There be many that climb up another way, and have no evidence of their profession, but their own fleshly (or, as it may be called, uncircumcised, unsubdued) reason; but this keeps them whole in themselves, without compunction of spirit, without renunciation of the pride or power of nature, without giving up all into the hands of Jesus, without communion with him, and without deriving any thing from him. Their souls are lean and empty of the true savor of the knowledge of Christ; and their object is to work, and to live, and to increase, by themselves. But thou, O man of God, flee these things. Let Jesus be the alone object of thy trust and confidence. Every After the revelation of the fiery law, the Lord no longer met with his people, at Sinai, inspiring terrors; but in the tabernacle, in Christ and his offices of salvation, speaking mercy and peace to the soul. There is an analogy to this in Christian experience. |