shows the atonement for sin, as the ground of justification; the other, Christ's victory, and the total removal of sin, in the sanctification of the soul."

In short, then, our Redemer was to die a sacrifice for sin, and yet he was to live for ever, having borne our sins, carried them away, and removed them from the presence of God. We see then how aptly a dying and living Redeemer was represented by a two-fold victim, a goat to die, and a goat to be sent away alive.

2. But notice the transfer of sin by the imposition of hands. "By the High Priest," says Bp. Patrick, "putting his hands upon the head of the goat, and confessing the sins of the people over it, with prayer to God to remit them, those sins were all charged upon the goat, and the punishment of them transferred from the Israelites to it. The scape goat was a most illustrious figure of the sacrifice of Christ, who suffered, not merely for our benefit, but in our stead, on whom the Lord laid the iniquity of us all, who was made sin for us, and who bare our sins in his own body on the tree."

The laying of hands on the victim to be offered, was an important and significant circumstance in the Jewish sacrifices. Thus the person owned the sacrifice to be his; owned himself to be a sinner worthy of death; owned that he offered that victim to make an atonement for his sins; and owned that he expected forgiveness and the divine favour only on the ground of sacrifice.

III. It remains that we consider the proper improvement of the subject. Let it remind us,

1. Of our blessings. We do not look to goats, and calves, and lambs; nor to the blood of animals: we are not employed with types and shadows. We behold the Lamb of God, the Incarnate Word, the great and only Redeemer, and that precious blood which he shed on Calvary for our guilty world, which cleanseth from all sin. To us all is clear; so that a child may say, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners;" and he says every thing in one sentence.

2. Of our duty. We know that in a crucified, risen, and interceding Saviour we have all spiritual blessings. But we shall not be saved unless we come unto him; unless we come to God, with repentance and faith, in his name. We must lay our hands on the head of the Gospel sacrifice: that is, we must feel our guilt and sinfulness, and look unto Jesus, and plead his merits; regarding him, most simply and unreservedly, as the availing and only sacrifice for sin. It is our duty to pray, and to use all means, that we may benefit by our inestimable blessings.

3. Of our folly. Christians in general do not regard the Lord Jesus Christ. They look to themselves; to their repentance, good deeds, and decent and respectable lives; and thus Christ and his atoning blood and perfect righteousness are forgotten. Here we see the pride, obstinacy, and unbelief of Man! Look unto Jesus, and be saved, is the direction of the Christian Minister: but how few receive the report! Thus do thousands, in the fulness of their folly, live and die strangers to themselves and to their Redeemer.

One word of admonition. Meditate on this great subject. Be thankful for having the way of salvation so clearly put before you. Think on the great sacrifice for sin, and pray, that, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, you may be led into a true and saving acknowledgment of Christ. Trifle not with yourselves, nor with your Saviour. So examine your hearts and lives as to see your need of him; and so receive him with faith and love, with gratitude and humility, that you may be partakers of all the blessings of that redemption which is in him. On this your present piety and eternal welfare depend.

THE PRAYER.

O blessed God, I thank and praise thee for all thy goodness, and especially for the gift of a Saviour, by

whom we guilty and sinful creatures obtain justification, pardon, peace, and life. Enable me so to look unto him, so to believe in him, that I may obtain all spiritual blessings that are needful for me. Deliver me from all

views and feelings which would keep me from him, or in any way corrupt my profession of him. Grant that I may receive the truth in simplicity, and maintain it with stedfastness; through the same thy Christ our Lord. Amen.

Son Jesus

LECTURE XXV.

THE JUBILEE.

Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all land. Leviticus xxv. 9.

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IN reading the books of Moses we must always remember, that the Jewish dispensation had a two-fold character; it served for present purposes, and it also was typical of a more perfect dispensation. In seeking the secondary meaning of the Jewish ordinances, we must not be too curious and minute, or we shall soon become frivolous, and even plunge into material errors. Instead of interpreting Scripture humbly and judiciously, we shall lamentably pervert it. We may display our ingenuity, but at the same time we may display our folly.

In this chapter we have an account of the year of Jubilee. It is to be considered partly as a political, and partly as a typical, institution. In the first view, it prevented oppression and slavery, and provided

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largely for the happiness of the whole community. But it is in the second, or typical view, that it is chiefly interesting to us.

I. Observe the Institution. The year of Jubilee was every fiftieth year, and it was announced through the land by the sound of a trumpet on the great day of Atonement. Let us now notice its peculiar blessings. First, Liberty, see ver. 10. Secondly, Rest, see ver. 11. Thirdly, a return to possessions, see ver. 13. It is evident that such a period must have been waited for by many with eager expectation, and that its arrival must have been heartily welcomed, and must have diffused great joy. Its influence, in promoting among men a benevolent and affectionate spirit must have been considerable; and it also taught the Israelites, that God was the proprietor of all things, on whom they were entirely dependent. But,

II. Observe the typical nature of the Institution. The Jewish Jubilee was of a temporal nature; temporal liberty and rest, and restoration to temporal possessions, were the principal benefits which it conferred. But we are led from the language of Isaiah, lxi. 1, 2, 3, as well as from other passages of Scripture, to view this institution as typical of the gospel era under which it is our privilege to live.

1. View, then, the Christian Jubilee; the Jubilee of grace; the Jubilee of the Church militant on earth. Its blessings are,

1. Liberty. St. John viii. 32, Spiritural slavery, the subjection of a disordered body and soul to the powers of evil, is the lot of fallen man. We are all by nature degraded slaves. We live in the vilest and most degrading thraldom. Pride, ambition, covetousness; various sorts of sensuality, as gluttony, lust, and drunkenness; and the devil, with all his arts; these are the bad lords of our race, the fatal tyrants that domineer over us below. But grace makes us free men. Divine truth and grace free us from ignorance and prejudice; from

wicked principles and affections; from the captivity of the powers of darkness. Blessed liberty! Freedom from the tyranny of evil, and subjection to God! Freedom to fear and love our Creator, and to engage in his service! Perfect Freedom!

2. Rest. St. Matthew xi. 28-30. All seek rest, repose, satisfaction, happiness, peace: but do the ungodly know what these things mean? No. Bring forward the wicked, those who are walking in the broad road of ruin, careless about salvation, forgetful of God, unmindful of eternity. Bring them forward. They smile, yea, laugh, sing, rejoice, boast, and triumph. They seem to be happy: but are they so? No: "there is no peace to the wicked." But the true Christian has rest, repose of soul, a measure of "the peace of God which passeth understanding." In the world he has tribulation; but in Christ, believing in him, and faithful in his service, he has peace; inward, divine, substantial peace; the commencement of that "rest which remaineth for the people of God." We are

3. Restoration to the forfeited inheritance. by nature far from God, children of wrath, exiles from heaven. But by grace, by faith in Christ, "justified and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God," we are restored to the favour of God; we are righteous; we are inheritors of eternal Glory. We are now saved by hope; but our hope, ere long, will be turned into possession. Then,

4. View, for a moment the Jubilee of glory; the Jubilee of the Church triumphant above. All on earth is imperfection. We have liberty, but it is imperfect; for we are still bound, even the best, with the chains and bands of our sins. We have rest, satisfaction in ways of true piety, but it is imperfect; for we are still the subjects of various sorrows and distresses. We have reconciliation with God, and restoration to the kingdom of heaven: but still we have darkness, doubts, and fears. All on earth is imperfection. But in the case