In everything perfect. (3) We are further tau~ht that the best should be given to God. The best thoughts; the best affections; tne best gifts; the best service. II. As TO THE DUTY OF THE OFFERER. I. With a uiew to procuring thti acceptanrA -of his o.fferi11g. (1) His gift must be offered freely. "He shall offer it of his own Yoluntary will." The sacrifice of himself, which Cbrist offered for us, was voluntary (Gal. i. 4; ii. 20; Eph. v. 25; Titus ii. 6, 14). God expects the homage of the heart (John iv. 23, 24). (2) It must be offered at the door or the tabema.cle. The altar was at the door. We enter the heavens through the blood of Jesus (Heh. x. 19-21). The Jewish sa~rifices were never _resumed after the destrnetion of their oity snd temple, for they bold It unlawful to sacnfice anywhere out of Jerusalem. Yet they will not see that the antitypes have come, and that the types are therefore no longer necessary. (3) He must lay his hand upon its head. This action expressed, (a) That the offerer confessed himself a sinner deserving to be sacrificed. (b) That he ceremoniall.v transferred his guilt to a substitute in anticipation of the Great Substitute promised who should truly bear the punishment of sin (1 Pet. ii. 24). (c) That he trusted in the mercy of God through the vicarious sufferings of Messiah (Dan. ix. 26). 2. With a view to thti making an ato11ement for his sin, The direction is (1) That he should kill the bullock "before the Lord." The Shechinah was ther~ in the most holy place. The transaction is between the Lord and the soul of the sinner. In all worship we should realize the presence of the Lord. (2) " He shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into his pieces." This operation was here performed, not by the priest, but by the offerer. In the time of the temple this was done by the priests, who were then more numerous and better skilled in the proper mode of doing it. For this service they claimed the skin ( eh. vii. 8; 2 Chron. :u.i.x. 34). (3) People and priests alike were concerned ,in the Great Sacrifice on Calvary. It was done with "wicked hands" (Acts ii. 23). IIL As TO THE DUTY OF THE PRIESTS. 1. With respect to the blood. ( 1) They were to sprinkle with it round about the altar. The altar upon which Jesus was offered was, in its more restricted sense, tbe hill of Calvary. On that hill hie precious blood was literally sprinkled. (2) The position of the altar is noted, viz. "by the door of the t11.bernacle of the congregation." Jn the wider sense the altar on which Jesus suffered was this planet, which is, as it were, the entrance or vestibule of the great temple of the universe, of which the heavens are the holy places (see Heb. iv. 14). 2. With respect to the water. (1) Water is one of the great purifiers in the kingdom of nature, and is therefore used as an emblem of the Holy Spirit, the Great Purifier in the kingdom of grace (John vii. 38, 39). So a controversy about baptism with water is described as a "question shout purifying" (John iii 25). (2) With water the priest was to wash the inwards and the legs. The inwards were a type of the soul; and God requires "truth in the inward parts," in the "thoughts and intents of the heart." Every pollution, also, connected with our "walk nnd conversation" must be laved away. To express this truth Jesus washed his disciples' feet. -3. With respect to the fire. (1) It was "put" upon the altar. This does not say that it was kindled by the 11riest. The fire was of ~d's own kindling (see eh. ix. 24; x: 1, 2)_. . (2) It w~s, however, fed with fuel by the pnests. Human agency co-operates with Divine even 1n the most sacred thing~ (Phil ii. 12, 13). (3) The parts of the sacrifice were laid in order on tho wood. The quarters were laid togei!ier in their relative positions. So with the head, the fat and the inwards. Thus the whole animal was consumed. Our whole being should 'be offered to God in the flames of love (Deut. vi 5).-J. A. M.
Vers. 10-17.-Tlie burrit o_ffering of the flock and of the fowls. The ~erem.ony of the offering of the flock is almost identical with that of the herd descnbed m the ,verses preceding. In that of the fowls there is a wider dissimilarity. I. THE VARIETY OF THE VICTIMS cr,AIMS ATTENTION. 1. Five or siz kinds of victim, were accepted. (1) These were beeves, sheep, goats, turtle-doves\ pigeons. To _thes~ may be added the clean birds, supposed to have been sparrows, which were re~mred m ihs particular ceremony of the cleansing of the leper. (2) All these, exceptmg the last, were proper for burnt offerincrs. 'l'hey are notable as mild, gentle, inoffensive, and useful creatures. 'l'hey are theref;re fittingly used as types to describe the innoc~nce and meekness of Jesus (John i. 36; Isa. !iii. 7). (3) As Christians we have nothing_ to do with the ferocity of the tiger or the rapacity of the wolf. If we have the w1Sdom <JO, L 1-17.] THl!. 13OOK OF LEVITICUS. 15