2. We may be perfectly assured of God's accept- ance of them —
[There is an excellency in our sacrifices which there was not in those which were offered by the Jewish priests : theirs were of no value at all, but as " shadows of good tilings to come :" in themselves they were " carnal ordinances," deserving of no better name than " weak and beggarly elements'^:" and, if not offered with a suitableTrame of mind, they were alto- gether hateful to God, even as hateful as the cutting off" of a
dog's neck, or the offering of swine's blood '^ But where
does God ever speak in such degrading terms of our sacrifices? " Whoso offereth me praise," says he, " glorifieth me^;" and, " a cup of cold water offered to a disciple for his sake, shall in no wise lose its reward s." The two are by God himself brought into a comparison thus : " Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats ? Offer unto God thanksgiving ; and pay thy vows unto the Most High'':" " to obey is better than sacrifice; and to hearken, than the fat of rams ^"
Besides, the altar on which we present our offerings sancti- fieth every thing that is put upon it. Leaven was expressly forbidden to be offered on the Jewish altar'^: yet in a sacrifice of thanksgiving, or of the first-fruits, it might be offered'. So shall " the fruit of our lips," and " the first-fruits of our sub- stance" be accepted™, notwithstanding any imperfection with which they are offered, if only they be presented through Christ with an humble and contrite spirit : for Christ, our great High-priest, who is our altar, is also " our Advocate with the Father ;" and '' the incense of his prayers ascendeth with every sacrifice which we offer, and ensures the acceptance of it before God"."
Who with such an assurance as this would not wish to pre- sent his sacrifices unto God daily, and without ceasing?]
3. We all have Hberty to eat of our own sacri- fices—
[This liberty, in refei-ence to some sacrifices, was conceded to the offerers under the Jewish law ° : but to us it is conceded in every offering which we can present. Do we offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving? " our mouth shall be filled as with marrow and fatness, whilst we praise our God
^ Gal. iv. 9. and Heb. vii. 9.
^ Cite at length both Isai. i. 11 — 14. and Ixvi. 3.
f Ps. 1. 23. g Matt. X. 42. ^ Ps. 1. 13, 14.
• ] Sam. XV. 22. ^ Lev. ii. 11.
1 Lev. vii. 11 — 13. and xxiii. 17. "' Prov. iii. 9, 10.
n Rev. viii. 3, 4. « Dcut. xii. 5 — 7.