generous impulses may mc-ve us. The mind which is constitutionally legal should cultivate the spontaneous in worship and benefaction; the impulsive must remember that there are statutes as well as suggestions in the Word of God. III. THAT THERE MAY BE NOT ONLY FUTILITY BUT EVEN GUILT in connection with sacred service. Disregard of the prohibition to eat on the third day entirely vitiated the worthiness of the offering: in such case it would" not be accepted," neither" imputed unto him that offered it;" it would be counted "an abomination," and the soul that 80 acted was to "bear his iuiquity" (ver. 18). The service we seek to render God may be: 1. Wholly vitiated so as to be entirely·unacceptable, and draw down no blessing from above; or may even be: 2. Positively offensive in the sight of God, and add to our guilt if it be (1) unwilling, grudging; (2) unspiritual, soulless; (3) slovenly, careless th~ offering of our exhaustion instead of our energy; (4) ostentatious or (still worse) hypo- critical; (5) much mixed with worldly, or vindictive, or base thoughts. IV. 'fHAT PERSONAL SPIRITUAL PARTICIPATION IS NECESSARY _in sacred service. "His own hands shall bring the offerings" (ver. 30). God would be approached by His people themselves, and though he had graciously granted human mediation in the form of a sacrificing priesthood, yet he desired that every Israelite who had an offerin'7 to present should bring it with his own hand to the door of the tabernacle. Religion°is a personal thing. ,v e may accept human ministry, but we must come ourselves to God in direct, immediate devotion and dedication. Every man here must bear his own burden (Gal. vi. 5). 'l'here is a point beyond which the most ardent affection, the most earnest solicitude, the most burning zeal cannot go-for others. They must, themselves, approach in reverence, bow in penitence, look up in faith, yield in self. surrender, present daily sacrifices of gratitude, obedience, submission.-C. Vers. 20, 21.-Divine and human severity. There is something almost startling in the closing words, " That soul shall be cut off from his people." It suggests thoughts of- I. APPARENT DIVINE SEVERITY. 1. That God sometimes seems to be severe in his dealings with 'TTUJn, These particular injunctions must have had to the Jews an aspect of rigour. An Israelite excommunicated for one of these offences probably felt that he bad been hardly dealt with. God's dealings have an occasional aspect of severity (see Rom. xi. 22). So with us. In his providence comparatively slight faults, errors, transgressions, are sometimes followed by most serious evils-disgrace, sorrow, loss, death. 2. That the light of after-days often explains his dealing with us, We can see now that the paramount and supreme importance of maintaining the plil'ity of Israel, its separateness from all the abominations of surrounding heathendom, made the most stringent regulations on that subject necessary and wise, and therefore kind. So with us. Looking back on the way by which we have been led, we frequently see that that very thing which at the time was not only distressing but perplexing, was the most signal act of the Divine wisdom and goodness, the providential ordering for which, above every other thing, we now give thanks. 3. That present faith should rise to the realization that, somewhere in the future, apparent severity will bear the aspect of wise and holy love. "What we know not now we shall know hereafter." "Then shall we know," etc. (1 Cor. xiii. 12). II. OccABIONAL RUllUN SEVERITY. 1. That we are sometimes obliged to seem severs towards those for whom we are responsible. (1) The statesman is obliged to introduce a severe measure; (2) a father to take a strong and energetic course; (3) a Church to excommunicate a member. 2. That apparent severity is sometimes the only righiful course which wise and holy love can take. It is the action which is (I) due to itself (Jas. iii. 17); (2) due to the object of its affectiou (1 Tim. i. 20).-C.
Vere. 15-17.-Thru feature:i of acceptable 11ervice. We have co=anded or sug- gested here- L CAREFUL PBEBEBVA'l'ION OF PURITY, The "flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering" was to be eaten on the very day of its presentation (ver. 16); that of another kind of offering might be eaten partly on the day following (ver. 16), but on no account might anything offered in sacrifice be partaken of on the third dny (vers. 17, 18). It was one of the object@, probably the pnmary intention, of this restriction, that nothing OH. VIL 1-38.] THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. 118