m:1y hn,'(' hn,1 no pc1110niil orniiments to give; and if unable to spin, ml\y hl\vc hnd 11, •t l11ug el•e hut their mirron which they could contribute. In either case, piety wn~ at the i;rn1t ol their giving. n. 'I HE A1'TEOEDENT OONDUOT 'WBlOR LED UP TO IT. They who contributed their nurr~rr; were women wont to "1181!8II1ble at the door of the taberMCle of the congrega- t1o11. ~n. other words, they were such 68 bad previoUBly made all the use they could of the,, religiolll! opportunitim. We 1!00 that God doee not shower down hie precious gifts ol grace at random-but "helps BUoh as help tbelllll01ves." He granted the priceless grace of self-denying love to thOBe who were constant in sening him at the place "·here he had "l!let his name," and was to be found of them that sought him. Much pPByer, much waiting upon God, had gone to form the character of those who now found themBelves able to make a willing IIIICrifice of their vanity. Ill. THE REWARD WHIOR THEIR ACT OF SACRIFICE OBTAINED FOR TREii. It obtained for them the high nward of speciAI. mention in God's holy word--& pla.ce in his "Valhalla"---6 record in hi~" Roll of worthies." Of the other offerings we know not, fo_r t-he most part, whether they were made by men or women-much less by what clBBs ol men, or what ci&ll8 of women. Only here, a.nd in eh. xuv. 25, 26, is the sex speci- fied.,_ and onl)'. here the class. Let women take this to heart. Let them be ready to sacrifice to. hu:~. all their adornments-" braided hair and gold a.nd pearls, and costly array" (1 Trm. 11. 9)-let them be ready to sacrifice even, if need be, their personal channs (111! m_any do in fever or small-pox hospitals), and they will not be forgotten by him-they will not go without a recompense. If their a.et be not recorded in any other book it will be written in that heavenly record., out of which all will be judged at the last day (Rev. XI. 12). For other Homiletics on the subjects of this chapter, see those on eh. xxvil.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS .AUTHORS. Ven;. 1-21.-The &rCIZffi altar, the laver, and the oourt. See Homilies on chs. xxvii. 1-20; Xll. 17-22.-J. 0. Ver. 8.-The mirrors of the W0771tti. The women assembling at the door of the tabernacle (see Hengstenberg's "Egypt and the Books of MoSeB,"-" The Institution of Holy Women") gave up their mirrors for the ma.king of the laver. Learn-I. Peculiar devotion to God xxvi. 6-14). 2. :&h~ itself in acts of sa.crifice (cf. Mary of Bethany, Matt. • ·on gives power io mcike sacrifices. 3. It weans the affections from the world. 4. It gives superiority to the motives of personal vanity. The mirror is peculiarly a woman's instrument of self-pleasing. It is her means of pleasing the world. 6. Beligion ttBches godly women to study simplicity in personal adornment (1 Pet. iii.1-5). 6. Self-denial in outward adornment is valueless, unless" in the hidden man of the heart," there be the positive inward adornment of holiness (1 Pet. iii. 4). This WIii! taught by the use to which Moses put the ollerings-the making of the •· laver." Regeneration is the true be.autifter.-J. 0. Ven;. 1-31.-The Owrt a,nd its lessons. L Tm; F011!.'1SHING AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE COURT (1) The altar on which the sa.cri1ice for Israel's sin was laid, and their own offerings accepted. Christ is the foundation and the power of all our service. (2) '!'he !aver. It WIii! fashioned from the mirrors of the women, The adornment of the outward was exchanged for inward runty, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. It stood there for the cJ.ai½r use of God s priests. They could pass into God's presence only as their defilement had been washed away. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." .Axe we being washed ere that hour comes when we must appear before him? 2. The, curtlltr'IJ.dion of the rowrt. (1) God's grace makes a separation between the Church and the world. To break down this is to undo God's work. (2) 'l'he wall of separation was fine twined linen. It is a separation not only between faith and unbelief, but between righteousne66 and unrighteousness. (3) The world sees the results only, the means by which they are attained are hid from its view ; but the results are a call t<, come and see. 3. The order in which thefl were made. The altar first, then tbe en. :uxvm. 21-31.] TIIF: DOOK OF EXODUS.
ll\ver, l\nd, IMt of l\ll, the enclo~ing of the comt. First, Christ and his sncri ficP,; next,, the Wl\s.hing of regenerntion b-y him through ,he Spirit; and, last of all, the gathering to8(lther of th& Church. This is the Divin& order. The true Church ha8 ever this history, None have " right bo be there on whom the work of altar and la.vcr hn.s not firs, been done. II. TaE MATERlAL. 1. The record of it is lre1/t. There is nothing of all that ifl given for God's service, the history or plac& of which is forgotten. 2. The use to which ,-, is applied. Th& gold is put to th.e highest us&; th& silver-the redemption money- is the foundation of tho se.nctue.ry; the brass is used for the altar, the le.ver, and th& court. Ee.eh is put to its proper use, e.nd e.. place is found for all. No gift ce.n b6 brought to God which he will not employ.-U.