upon Aaron and Moses, but of other sacrifices which depended more upon the people, and which they had neglected to offer on the proper occasions, that the prophet speaks : and consequently, that there was some other reason for renewing the appointment of the ordinance before us. The true reason seems to be, that, as all who had come out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, had perished in the wilderness, and as Aaron was dead, and Moses him- self had but two or three months to live, it was de- sirable that this new generation should have this ordinance enjoined from God himself, that they might be duly impressed with a sense of its great importance. The repetition of it moreover is of use to us, inas- much as it shews us, that some deep mystery must be contained in it, and that much valuable instruction is to be derived from it. Let us then consider, I. The matter of which this offering consisted —
There were two very distinct offerings united;
1. The lamb—
[This was to be " of the first year," and " without spot ; " and it was to be slain, and then consumed by fire upon the altar, as " a sacrifice of a sweet savour unto the Lord."
Can any one doubt what this imported ? Can any one fail to see in this a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom one Apostle speaks of as "a lamb without blemish, and without spotc;" and another Apostle represents as " the Lamb," even " the Lamb that was slain d," to whom all the glorified saints in heaven ascribe the honour of their salvation, saying, " Sal- vation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the LambM" It is worthy of observation, that the very first sacrifices of which any mention is made in Scripture, were lambs. It was " of the firstlings of his flock" that Abel offered; and by that offering he obtained very peculiar tokens of God's favour and acceptance^ And there is reason to believe, that the skins, with which Adam and Eve were, by God's appoint- ment, clothed immediately after the fall, were of lambs which they had previously offered in sacrifice g: and in reference to this early appointment, as well as to the everlasting decrees of God, the Lord Jesus is called " The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world h." We shall not detain you in order
c 1 Pet. i. 19. d Rev. v. 8, 9. e Rev. vii. 10.
f Gen. iv. 4. with Heb. xi. 4. s Gen. iii. 21. h Rev. xiii. 8.