EXPOSITION. trespass against the Lord, and falsely deny to CHAPTER VI. his neighbour something that was delivered TH• TRESPASS Oll'FEBING-continued (vers. to him to keep, or eomething that he had 1-7). The next seven verses, which in reoeived in pawn, or eomething that he had taken away by violenoe, or hath got some- the Hebrew arrangement form the conclu- thing by oppression from his neighbour. Cf. sion of the previollB chapter, enumerate the injunction in eh. x.ix. 11 : "Ye sho.11 oases of fraud and wrong, for which a tres- not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lio pass offering is required. They are moral, one to another." Exod. :u.ii. 7-13 con- not ceremonial offences. Repo.ro.tion and toins earlier legislation on the subject of things to.ken in trust. the payment of a fine are demanded before Ver. 3.-0r have found that whioh was the offering is made. lost. Of. Deut. xxii. 2, S, "Thou aha.It Ver. 1.-And the Lord epake. The six bring it unto thine own house, and it shall following verses contain o separate com- be with thee until thy brother seek after it, munication from the Lord to Moses, but in nnd thou she.It restora it to him a.gain. In continuane& of the subject which began u.t like manner she.It thou do with his ass; uncl ob. v. 14. so shult thou do with his raiment; and with Ver. 2.- -This verse would be better trans- all lost thing of thy brother's, which he late<.! BB follows :-If a 10ul llin, and oommit a bath lost, and tho11 bust found, 11ho.lt thou THE BOOK Ol!' LEVITICUS. [OB. VI, 1-7,
do likewue." And. IIWearath falaely. By God ie oommitted when an appeal has been previous legislation it h&d been appointed made to him by oath, and the oath hae been that, in case of a doubt a.rising as to what false. h&d become of property delivered to another Ver. 4.-Ae before, the profit gained by to keep, there should be" an oath of the Lord fraud or violence is to be given up,and with between them both, that" the latter " hath it a fine is to be paid, amounting to one-fifth not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; of the value of the thing appropriated. and the owner of it shall accept thereof, Ver. 5.-In the day of his trespass offering and he shall not make it good" (Exod. is a better rendering than that of the margin, xxii 11). This opened the way to false "in the day of his beingfoundguilty,"or"in swearing where men were dishonest.. Sinning the day of his trespass." The reparation is therein. Wrong to me.n is sin against God to to.ke plo.ce, and immediately afterwards in every case, but a special sin against the offering is accepted.
HOMILETICS. Ver. 3.-Swearing falsely is in an especial manner a ein against God, because in an oath an appeal is directly made to God, and if the thing sworn to is false, God is called to witness to a thing as true which the swearer. knows to be false. It is also in e.n especial manner a sin against society, as mutual truth-telling is the very bond of social trust. When the moral and religious tone of a nation stands high, "an oath for con- firmation is the end of all strife" (Heh. vi. 16), and on the other hand, when either a disbelief in God's providence or a ca.suistical theology saps the confidence placed in promises confirmed by oaths, society is perilously near its dissolution (see Bishop Sanderson's 'Obligation of Oaths'). The sanctity of e.n oath is guarded by a specie.I commandment in the Decalogue. Ver. 5.-Repentana, confession, satisfaction, absolution, follow each other in order. Without repentance confession is vain; without confession satisfaction is impracticable; without satisfaction there is no absolution. In the present case, the sense of absolution was conveyed to the soul of the sinner by the acceptance of his offering for trespass, after which he ceased to be, what he was before, virtually excommunicate from God's people. The greater moral offences were punished either by death (Exod. xxi. 12-17; :xx.xi. 15; mii. 27; eh. xx. 9-16; xxiv. 23; Numb. xxv. 5; Deut. xiii. 9; xix. 11; Josh. vii. 25), or by formal excommunication, when the offenders were cut off from the people of the Lord, though their lives were spared (eh. vii. 20, 21; Gen. xvii. 14). But there was, and there is, an excommunication, not formally pronounced, when a man feels that his sin has separated between him and his God. In these cases the sin offering or the trespass offering restored to communion, but they might not be offered, that is, absolution might not be effected by them, unless preceded by repentance and confession, and, where the nature of the case admitted of it, by satisfaction for the wrong donr
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-7.-Dishonesty a,tooed for. The rebukes tacitly administered by the Law in cases of unjust dealing are neither effete nor unnecessary in modern days. 'l'he practices here reprehended still survive, commercial immorality is even yet e. fruitful topic of remark. Temptations to dishonesty abound, and are as potent as of yore, for the springs of evil in the human breast remain unaltered, pouring forth their dark and bitter waters. And whilst it is not by works that the children of God expect to be justified, yet may their good works glorify God; and to guard against the deeds of injustice to which men are prone is to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. Happy the congregation of Christians none of whose members has ever been convicted of the transgressions mentioned fn these verses I L THE BIN DESCRIBED. 1. lts main feature is the unlawful possession of a,nothers property, through wrongful acquisition or detention. Force or deceit has been employed in procuring or retaining the goods. This sin may be committed in little things or great, and by com'DunitiClll as well as individuals. 2. It., source is avarice. The eye beholds, the heart covets, the will consents, and the hand grasps, as in the history of OB. VL 1-7,) THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. 87