had a similar, but much greater, effect of the in eh. xxx.iv. 2(j_ nn1l 11i.rain in Drnt x·<111 eamo kinrl. 18, this "place" is pluinly rleclur,,,1 to he Ver. 18.-Lato of lh8 P,uirlurl sacrifwe. 0 houee '' or " t,,~mple. '' Thu.t tho PBBchal lamb is here intended by [,n;u, (IIJCl"in,! ,ee!M119 (l kirl ;,. a.,, mntlwr', "my sacritlce," eocms to be certain, since tho milk. The outline of luw put be lore IJ,,, two inj,mctions to put away leo.vened brew!, Isro.elites in the "Book of the c.,venant. ·• and to allow none of tho victim's flesh to terminated with this romnrkahle prohihi- remain till the morning (see eh. xii. 10), tion. Its importance is shown-I. By it.s are combined in the Paschal sacrifice only. place here; and 2. By its being thrice re- Of all the offerings commanrled in the law peated in the law of Moses (see eh. x:<xiv. the Pescbal lamb was the most important, 16; and Deut. xiv. 21 ). Various expl11nn- since it typified Christ.. It may thcTefore well tions have been given o( it ; but none is sat is- be termed, in an especial way, "God's sacri- factory, except that which views it as "a -flee.·• By the fat of my feut some ondeT- protest against cruelty, and outraging the stnnd the fat of tho 1nmb, otheTS the best order of nature," more especially that pecu- port of the feast (Keil)-i.e., the lamb itself. liarly sacred portion of nature's order, the In eh. xxxiv. 25, which is close!y parallel to tender relation between po.rent and child, the present place, we read, for " the fat of mother and suckling. No doubt the practice my feost," "the sacrifice of the feast of the existed. Kids were thought to be most palat- passover." able when boiled in milk; and the mother's Ver. 19.-Law of firs!-fruits. The first of milk was frequently the readiest to obtaia. the first-fruits may mean eitheT " the best of But in this way the mother was made a sort the first-fruits" (see Num. xviii. 12), or "the of accomplice in the death of her child, which fiery first of each kind that is ripe " (ib. veTSe men were induced to kill on account of the 13). On the tendency to delay, and not bring flavour that her milk gave it. Reason has the very first, see the comment on eh. x.xii. nothing to say against such a mode of pre- 29. The ho11Be of the Lord. Generally, in paring food, but feeling revolts from it ; ancl the Pentateuch we have the periphrasis- the general sense of civilised mankind re- "the place which the Lord thy God shall echoes the precept, which is capable of a choose to put his name there " (Deut. xii. 5, wide application-Thou ahalt not seethe a 11, 14; xvi. 16; xxvi. 2, etc.); but here, and kind in his mother's milk.
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-3; 6-0.-God's care/or the administration of justice. The well-being of a community depends largely on the right administration of justice within its limits. It has been said that the entire constitution of England with all its artifices, com plica- tions, balances, and other delicate arrangements, exists mainly for the purpose of putting twelve honest men into a jury-box. Fiat justitia, ru,at crelum. Anything is preferable to the triumphant rule of injustice. The present passage clearly shows that God recognises very decidedly the importance of judicial proceedings. By direct co=unication with Moses, he lays down rules which affect-I. The accuser; 2. The witnesses; and 3. The judge. I. WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCUSER. False accusation is to be avoided, and especially capital charges against the innocent (ver. 7). II. WITH RESPECT TO WITNESSES. Men are to beware of either inventing an untrue tale or giving any support to it when it has been invented by others (ver. 1). III. '\VITH RESPECT TO JUDGES. 1. They are not to act like Pilate and "follow a multitude to do evil" (ver. 2). 2. They are not either unduly to favour the poor (ver. 3); or 3. To wrest justice against them (ver. 6). 4. They are not to oppress strangers (ver. 0). And 5. They are, above all things, not to take a bribe. Accusers, beware I Be sure that your charge is true, or do not make it. A false charge, even though proved false, may injure a man for ll!e---he :may neve! be a_blc to recover from it. Particularly, be careful, if your charge 1s a senous one, mvolvmg risk to life. You may, if successful, "slay the innocent and the righteous" (ver. 7). Nay, you may slay a man by a false charge which does not directly affect his life-you may so harass and annoy him as to drive him to suicide, ?r " ?re_ak his heart," 3:nd so shorten his days. Even if you have a true charge to brmg, 1t Ill not always wise or Ohlistian to bring it. St. Paul would have us in some cases " take wrong" a.n,\ " suffer ourselves to ho defrauded " (1 Cor. vi. 7). Witnesses, beware! Do not give Ulltrnc eviu.ence, either lil tne way of raising false THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [cB. :nm. 6-11.
repnrts yQur~eh,es, or of R.upporting by your evidence the false reports of others. Tho w11 ncss!'s who cRuse 11,n innQcent person to be condemned are as much to blame as the false Rcruser. Be ,•ery cR.reful in giving evidenoe to speak "the truth, the whole truth, and n,,tlllng hut the truth." Depose to nothing of which you are not sure. If you aro uncertain, say that you are uncertain, however much the adverse counsel may browbeat you. In case,; of persona.I identity, be specially careful. It is exceedingly easy to bo mistaken about a man whom you have seen only once or twice. _Judges, beware I On you the final issue depend!!. Be not swayed by popularity. Yield not to the out.cries either of an excited mob, or a partisan press, when they shout, " llWll)' with him ! " Hold the scales of justice even between the rich man and the poor, neither suffering your prejudice of class to incline you in favour of the former, nor a weak Rentimentality to make you lean unduly toward!! the latter. Be sure not to oppress foreigners, who mUBt plead to disadvantage in a country, and amid proceedings, • hat are strange to them. Above all, do not condescend to take a bribe from either side. A gift is a weight in the scales of justice; and "a false balance is an abomiDation to the Lord" (Prov. xi. 1).