The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 90

upon the burnt offering, probably upon the remains of the morning sacrifice. So that the one becomes a foundation for the other, and clashing is obviated. The sacrifice of the congregation does not prevent the sacrifice of the individual, nor does the general offering prove a hindrance to the special. Family prayer is no obstacle to private supplication, nor does the stated worship of the sanctuary exclude extraordinary gatherings. The fear of some good pilOple lest rei:ular meditation and service should grow formal and check any outburst of enthusiasm, or any sudden prompting to special effort, is seen to be groundless. IV. CERTAIN REGULATIONS ARE COMMON TO ALL OFFERINGS. Burning cm the altar belongs to bloody and unbloody sacrifices, death and sprinkling of blood of necessity only to the former. In every case the offering must be of the best of its kind, if an animal "without blemish," if of grain " fine flour." What we say or do for God should be with our might; in whatever service for him we engage, it must Le with full affection and earnest zeal. And every sacrifice required the mediation of a priest. Christ must be the inspiration of our acts, the way of acceptance consecrating all our gifts of money, strength, and time. By him we die (as did the sentient victim) to the world, by him we live to the glory of God.-S. R. A. Vers. 16, 17.-Jehovah's portion. As the Author of life and the Giver of all bounty, God might have claimed the whole of every sacrifice. But he discriminated between the parts of the victim, sometimes reserving for himself the greater share, at other times only a small proportion of that presented to him. In the peace offering there was selected for the altar, as God's perquisite, the "fat" of the animal, and the remainder went to the priests and the offerer. l. LEARN THAT NOT THE MEANEST BUT THE CHOICEST PORTIONS MUST BE RESERVED FOB GoD's SERVICE. Low conceptions of his majesty and perfection lead to such religious observance e.s is an insult rather than an honour. To defer reading the Scriptures or prayer till the mind and body are fatigued, is an infraction of this rule. Let our freshest moments, our sweetest morsels of thought and power, be set apart for the Lord I And similarly, ask not, How near can I walk to the dividing line between the Church and the world? or, Which ofmy amusements can I with least self-denial renounce in order to do his will? May we not behold the same lesson inculcated in the distinc- tion indicated in this chapter, between a peace and a burnt offering? The latter, being wholly devoted to the Lord, must consist of a male victim; the former, intended princi- pally for the participation of the offerers, may be male or female (ver. 1). It cannot he right, then, to imagine that any qualifications will suffice for entire consecration to God's work. Ministers and missionaries should be numbered amongst men of highest intellect and intensest spirituality. fi. SEE HOW GoD ACCEPTS THE OFFERINGS OP HIS CREATURES AS THE MATERIALS FOB BIB DELIGHT AND GLORY. The burnt fat is "food" for the fire offering, and is termed in another place, the "bread of God." It becomes "a sweet savour" that is, eminently pleasing to the Holy One. In the word " food" we discern the purport of the peace offe1ing as a sacrificial meal, in which, by returning to God what he had previously bestowed, the worshipper: 1. Acknowledged his indebtedness and thanks. 2. Was made a guest at the table of the Lord, inasmuch as he ate part of the animal that was "food for the fire offering; " and 3. Had all his other provisions sanctified for the sustenance of life, being allowed to consume the entire portions of animals not fit for sacrifice. !II. RECOLLECT THE OBLIGATOBINESS OF DIVINE STATUTES. 1. They prohibit as well as command. "'fhou shalt not" occupies as prominent a position in the Decalogue as" Thou shalt." Not only does man need both to try him (as with our first parents) and direct him, but one really involves the other. Observe that what man might not consume himself might be properly consumed on the altar ; so the adoration and unquestioning fidelity that are out of place in reference to any finite beings, are becoming in relation to God. 2. They are equally binding on all generations. They respect us as well as our fathers, and herein the laws of God differ from the mutable proclamations of human lawgivers. The precepts of God only change with a new disponsation. This is the meaning of the word" perpetual." There is a sense, indeed, in which no Divine statute alters, being continued in spirit though the letter may have varied. 3. They 46 THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. [CB, IIL 1-1'),