intent of either : they had no idea of the one as shutting them up to the only possible way of salvation through faith in their Messiah, or of the other as shadowing forth that Messiah in all his offices. In fact, they had no spiritual discernment of any of these things, but were uninstructed and unedified by all that they had seen and heard0.]
2. The obligations which it entailed upon them —
[The very first and most obvious effect of all these wonders should have been, to bring them to the knowledge of Jehovah as the only true God, and to make them his faith- ful worshippers and adherents to the latest hour of their lives. Yet, behold ! they had not been delivered from Egypt three months, before they made and worshipped the golden calf: yea, and all the way through the wilderness they " took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of their god Remphan, figures which they made as objects of their worship d," in pre- ference to Jehovah, whom thus they provoked to jealousy, till he was constrained to pour forth his wrath upon them to their destruction. It might well be expected, too, that they would yield up themselves to God in a willing obedience to his Law, and live altogether devoted to his service. But they were " a rebellious and stiff-necked people," from first to last. The mercies of God could not win them to obedience, nor his judgments deter them from disobedience. The present and future gratification of their senses was all that they desired : and, if only they had their enjoyments, they cared not whether God were glorified or not.
We say not that this was the character of all that people : but when we recollect, that of that whole nation two only, of all the men that came out of Egypt, were suffered to enter into Canaan, we cannot but fear that the exceptions were very few, and the great mass of the people were of the very description represented in our text.]
Humiliating as this complaint is, we must also consider it,
II. As applicable to ourselves at this day —
Infinitely greater have our advantages been than those enjoyed by the Jewish people. They had the shadow only, but we the substance. The whole of redemption has been set before us : yet we, for the most part, have but a very faint and inadequate conception of it. By the great mass of nominal Christians,
c All these hints admit of profitable enlargement. d Acts vii. 41—43.
221.] men's blindness in spiritual things. 425
1. The nature of the Gospel is very indistinctly seen —
[A mere general notion of salvation by Christ may be entertained : but of the grace of the Gospel, its freeness, its fulness, its suitableness, how little is seen ! and how far are we from " comprehending the length and breadth, and depth and height of the love of Christ " contained in it ! How few amongst, us have any just views of " the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," and of all the divine perfections, as united, and harmonizing, and glorified, in this stupendous mystery ! The various offices of the sacred Three, all sus- tained and executed for us, how little of them is known ! Indeed, indeed, the generality of those who call themselves Christians are as dark with respect to the excellency and glory of the Gospel, as the Jews themselves were of the scope and character of their Law.]
2. The effects of it are very partially experienced — [What might we expect from those who have been re- deemed by the blood of God's only dear Son, and renewed in their souls by the operation of his blessed Spirit ? Should we not be full of admiring and adoring thoughts of God ? Should we not be wrapt, even to the third heaven, in love to Christ? Should we not be " yielding up both our bodies and our souls to God, as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to him as our reasonable service ? " And to what an extent should we not be sanctified, in all our tempers, dispositions, and actions, if we were duly influenced by the principles of the Gospel ! In a word, if we felt as we ought, methinks our every feeling would be love, and our every word be praise.