The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 372

will of God concerning us, as declined at large in the gospel, but one election an~ one enrolling in the ranks of salvation. All who are called to grace are designed" for glory; none lire enlisted under the cross but may, and should, att~in the crown; the Christian name and calling is not a mockery in any case. That there is a doubl& election, that names may be blotted out of the book of life, that it is not possiblfi to maintain a consistent scheme of salvation on the ground of the Divine preoestine...: tion alone, is all due, and only due, to the sin and cowardice of nien, which does not. indeed cancel the election or impair the glory of God's Church, but does aUer th&". personal composition of that Church. JL TBAT AS A FACT NOT ONE (ORDINARY) 'NAME REMAINED IN TBE SECOND MUSTER WHICH llELONGED TO TBE FIRST. Even so there is not in any case an assurance.that those who are called to grace will persevere unto glor;. Not all indeed will, btit all, ma11, be lost through their own rebellion .• 'l'he two hats, of the baptised and of ther finally saved, (j'IJ,ght (in a true sense) to be coincident; as a fact they will no doubt be startlingly dissimilar. • ' 111 THAT THOSK FORMERLY ENROLLED DISAPPEARED ONE llY 9NE, ACCORDING TO TH~ DECLARATION OF Goo, l!ECAUSE TBEY HAD REFUSED AT KADESH TO ENTER INTO REST. Even so if men fall out of the number of such as are being saved (ol 11..to,.,_, Acts; ii. 47), it is simply because tl:,ey have refused to enter upon their lot, and have counted themselves unworthy of, or unequal to, the attainment of eternal life. IV. TI!AT, NEVERTHELESS, SOME Nill.ES WERE FOUND IN llOTE LISTS; ai! those of Caleb,. Joshua, Elea.z.ar, and presumably many of the Levites. Even so it is abundantly; evident, not only from tbe testimony of Scripture, but from the example of ow: brethren, that nothing in our probation need be fatal to our hopes, if only we be true· to God and to ourselves. And note that here is one of the great contrasts between that dispensation and ours, that whereas only two individuals out of the twelve tribes. obtained inheritance at the last, there will be of us "a great multitude whom no man. can number." Nevertheless, we have the same warning (cf. Luke xiii. 28, 24). V. THAT IN EACH CASE THE MUSTERING WAS LIMITED TO TBE BAME CLASS 08 MEN,- VIZ., strCB AS WERE FIT TO IIEA11 ARMS. Even so there.is no difference between el"ection, to grace and to glory as far as the position and character of the individual is cop.- cerned. The two states are so far one, even when looked at from the side of man, that whoso is called to the one needs nothing more to be ready for the other; he only needs- to remain what he is, a soldier of Christ, in order to be crowned ( cf. Rev. ii. 7, &c.).. VI. Tau THE TOTAL NUMl!Ell OF ALL lsRAEL REMAINED PRACTICALLY STATIONARY~ so that as many entered after all as had refused at Kadesh. Even so God will hav& his kingdom fill~ (Luke xiv. 21-28), an~ his calling_is without repentanc~ (Rom•. xi. 29) ; so that if some fall short of salvation, others will be found to take their place. And note that the long waiting of Israel in the wilderness was due to the neceSBity of an evil generation dying out, and another growing up .to equal it in numbers. U may be that the long and unexpected tarrying of Christ is due to a like necessity; that the number of the elect ie slowly filled up amidst the defection and unworthiness- cf,..tro many. ·---v:II. THAT THE VJ.llIOUB TBillEB OF IBRAEL SHOWED A REMARKABLE VARIATION i some" ehowing a great increase, others a decrease quite as great. Even so while the Church of Christ as a wbo]e maintains, it may be, its position relative to the rest of the world, how great has been the variation in size and_ importe.nce of various bran~hes of the Church I Think, e. g., what the Greek-speaking Churches were at one tune, and how they are now reduced ; and, on the other hand, to what relative importance- have the English-speaking Churches grown from small beginnings. VIII. THAT IN ONE CASE WE CAN 'rRACE TEE CAUSE OF DECLINE WITH SOME ABBUR- .lllCE. Simeon, the tribe of Zimri, omitted in the blesi,ing of Moses, must have joineq himself more especially to Bao.1-Peor. Even so the one thing which we can un- hesito.tingly assign as ihe fruitful cause of loss of spiritual life and decay of Churches- is immorality. Doubtless purity of doctrine is most potent for good, but impurity of life is still more potent for evil. That Church will train fewest souls for heaven which gives moat place to those fleshly lusts which war against the soul. And not& that this census was taken " after the plague " which followed on the harlotry of l3aal-Peor i for the thoWlanwi who perished then were not of them that were, cm. XXV!. 1-65.] THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 359