and no other. The oamps. Only those on is miit.ant here on earth. Tll(\t the use of the east (Judah, with Issachar and Zebulun) the two silver trumpets was ceremonio.l, and and on the south (Reuben, with Simeon a.nd not practical, after the conquest of Canaan la Gad) are here mentioned. It may be that the evident from the purpose and effect ascribed silver tn1mpets themselves were carried with to that use. WhetL.er in war or in wor- the sacred utensils after the southern camps, ship, that purpose was ·1t1l tl"' convoke the and that some other means were employed to people, nor to give signo.ls to the host, but st.art the remaining tribes ; or it may be that to put God in mind of his promises, nnd to the omission is due to some accidental cir- invoke his covenanted grace. Indeed, two cumst.ance. The Septuagint inserts in ver. 6, trumpets, as here prescribed, could not be '' And ye shall sound a third alarm, and the otherwise than ceremonially used after the camps which are pitched westwards shall nation was spread abroad over the whole move ; and ye shall sound a fourth alarm, face of Canaan ; and there is no direction to and the camps which are pitched northwards make more than two such trumpets. The shall move." No doubt this was the actual use of trum:i;>ets in subsequent times is indeed order of starting, however the signal was often mentioned both in war and in holy given. festivities, and it was undoubtedly founded Ver. 8.-The sons of Aaron, the priests, upon this Divine ordinance; but it wo.s not shall blow. It was natural that they should in literal compliance with it, for the obvious be made responsible for the custody a.nd use reason that many trumpets were used instead of these trumpets, not because their sound of two only (see l Chron. xv. 24 ; 2 Chron. represented the voice of God, but because v. 12; N eh. xii. 35). In these passages (and they were used for religious purposes, and probably in 2 Chron. xiii. 12) we have could only be safely kept in the sanctuary. abundant evidence of one of those expan- An ordinance for ever. The accustomed sions and adaptations of the Mosaic ritual formula for some sacred institution which which were so freely made under the house was to have a permanent character and nn of David. Ch. xxxi. 6, and (perhaps) 1 Chron. eternal meaning (cf. Exod. xii 24). The xvi. 6, and Ps. lxxxi 3 may be quoted as truth of these words cannot be exhausted pointing to the strict fulfilment of the law l,y an actual use of 1500 years, followed by as it stands. complete disuse for 1800 years. The "ordin- Ver. 10.-In the day of your gladness. ance" of the silver trumpets must be per- hy day of national thanksgiving, celebrated petuated " for ever" in the gospel, or else with religious services, as the feast of the the Divine word has failed. dedication (John x. 22) or of Purim (Esther Ver. 9.-If ye go to war. i11?Q'P, t-tt,1, ix. 19, sqq. ). In your solemn days. C1"'U/}O. "come into war," or "be engaged," denoting The feasts appointed to be observed by the actual hostilities. In your· land. The prac- law (see chs. xxviii. and xxix.). In the tical use of the trumpets ceased with the beginnings of your months. New moon days years of wandering ; the ceremonial use was (Ps. lxxxi. 3). Only the first day of the continued as long as the people dwelt in seventh month was properly a feast (Levit. "their land;" the spiritual use remains an i:xiii. 24), but ell were distinguished by "ordinance for ever," as long 8.8 the Church specie.I sacrifices (eh. xxviii. 11 ).
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-10.-The aacreil trumpeta. Spiritually we have in the two silver trumpets tht, gotrpel in its twofold u.se--(1) as preached to men, (2) as pleaded before God; for that which is preached to men must also be pleaded by and for men. The substance of our faith ia also the substance of our intercession. Lex 1:redendi, leil: orandi. " Our Father, . , • through Jesus Christ our Lord," is the norm at once of every true ser- mon, and of every right prayer. The death of Christ, preach~d, is the v?ice of G_od to start the faithful on their way to heaven ; the death of Chnst, ahoU/11,, 1s the voice of the faithful to put God in mind of his sure mercies, to bring themselves into re- membrance before him, Consider, therefore-- I. That THE SACRED TRUMPET MUST BE OF ONE WHOLE PIECE OF SILVER, NEITHER ALLOYED WITH BASEB METAL, NOB MADE UP OF FRAGMENTS. The gospel which w-e preach or plead must be the whole faith, and the pure faith once delivered to the saints, neither alloyed with human inventions nor pieced together out of fragments and remnants of the Divine revelation. Human art and labour has no further place than in bringing the gospel-as the trumpet-into such a shape as t~at it can bo etfectnallr use4, without 11dding au~ht tQ it, or 4iminiahing augllt fro111 1t. mi. x. 1-10.] '.rHPl BOOK 01!' ~UMBERS. 85