fruits:" and the appointment of them may be con- sidered in a three-fold view ; as, I. Commemorative —
[The day on which the sheaf of barley was to be presented unto God, was that on which they had come out of Egypt : and it was to be kept in commemoration of that event ; that, when they were enjoying the peaceful fruits of industry, they might call to mind the labour and travail they had endured in the land of their captivity.
The fiftieth day after that, was the day on which the law of God had been delivered to them from Mount Sinai. This was no less a mercy than the former : for whilst by the former they were rescued from bondage to men, by the latter they were brought into the service of God c.
Both of these events were to be remembered on the days thus set apart d, in order that He who had done such great things for their bodies and their souls, might have the glory due unto his name.
And here we cannot but observe, how beneficial it is to the Church to have particular times set apart for the special remem- brance of the various wonders of redemption. If indeed the observance of such institutions were required of us as necessary to salvation, or inculcated as contributing to work out for us a justifying righteousness, or represented as superseding the ne- cessity of a more frequent remembrance of them, or enjoined, as Jeroboam's was, in opposition to the commands of Gode, we should be ready to join with those who reprobate such appoint- ments. But experience proves, that the appointment of seasons for the distinct consideration of particular subjects, has been productive of the greatest good ; and that the more solemnly those seasons are devoted to the special purposes for which they are set apart, the more will humility, and every Christian grace, flourish in the soul. And, if the annual remembrance of an earthly deliverance was pleasing and acceptable to God, there can be no reasonable doubt, but that the annual commemoration of infinitely richer mercies (provided only that we guard against self-righteousness and superstition) must be pleasing to him also.]
But these feasts derived a still greater importance from being, II. Typical—
[Two of the greatest events which ever happened from the foundation of the world, and which are the source and warrant of all our hopes, occurred on the days appointed for these feasts, and were typically prefigured by them.
c The two are spoken of precisely in this way, as equalled by each other, but by nothing else. Deut. iv. 32 — 35. d Deut. xvi. 9, 12. e 1 Kings xii. 33.