that he may have something with which to begin the world again. "Thou shalt furnish him lib~mlly out of thy flock, nm! out of thy floor, and out of thy wincpress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him." On the other hand, if the service wns so delightful to him that he would rather not. leave, it was allowable to bore his car through with an awl, that he might be recognized as a serrant for e'l"cr. I. LITIERTY IS RECOGNIZED IN Gon's LA w AS EACH MAN'S RIGHT. It may be con- ditioned upon certain setTices, just as the liberty of Israel was conditioned upon God's redemption of them from Egypt; but come at last it will. No property in persons is recognized, mrrely in services for a certain definite '.period. Man-stealing, as we know from Exod. xxi. 16, was a capital crime, punishable with death, so that there is really no warrant in the Jewish institution for modern slavery.1 Under Jewish law no in'l"oluntmy ser'l"itude was allowed; and there was always the right to freedom in the sabbatic vear. And is· there not underlying this arrangement for ear.h man's liberty an under-tone of gospel truth? What is the gospel but a great provision for conferring spiritual liberty upon those who have sold themselves to sin, and are in bondage? The present dispensation is, in fact, the sabbatic year, wherein liberty is preached to the captives (Isa. lxi. 1, 2; Luke iv. 17, 18). II. FREEDOM WAS TO BE CONFERRED IN A SPIRIT OF GENEltOUS JOY. The ransomed one was not to be sent out empty-handed, but furnished liberally. Emancipation was not to be given with a grudge, but to be granted with joy and love-tokens besides. It was not to be sometbing in which the master reluctantly acquiesced, but in which he gladly co-operated. In fact, God's joy in emancipating Israel from Egypt was to be the type of the joy of the Jewish master in liberating the slave. And here again we have the type of the spiritual joy which the emancipation of souls should ensure in all who help therein. "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." When he "drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing" (Luke xv. 10-25). No joy should be so deep as this of helping the slaves of sin to spiritual freedom. III. Lon; ALO:t-""E COULD MAKE SERVICE PERPETUAL. For it is supposable that sometimes a slave found himself so happy with his master, especially if the master bad made him his son-in-la.w (Exod. :x..xi. 4-, 5), that he preferred slavery with love to liberty with separation. In such a case it was allowed him to have his ear bored and to become a perpetual slave, because a son. Such a service was indeed perfect freedom, because its spirit and motive were devotedness and love. . And it is this which is taken in Ps. :tl 6 as the prophetic type of the relation of Jesus Christ to his Father. He became by voluntary and loving contract the Father's Servant or Slave for ever. He found his service such a delight that liberty and independence could not be thought of. And in this we surely follow in his steps. We are the Lord's slaves after having become the Lord's freemen. He delivers us from the slavery· of sin, and then he introduces us to his service; and lo, we find it so blessed that we insist on our ears being bored, and our being made hi£ slaves for ever. Now obedience is the slavery of Jove. When Law is delighted in, it ii; a" law of liberty," and the soul feels freedom perfect "under Law." ".Anywhere with Jesus, says the Christian heart: Let him take me where he will, so we do not part : Always sitting at his feet, there's no cause for fears;- Allywhere with Jesus in this vale of tears, "Anywhere with Jesus, though he leadeth me Where the path is rough and long, where the dangers be: Though he taketh from me all I love below, Anywhere with Jesus will I gladly go. • • • • • 1 For a. specious defence of slavery, cf. Thomwell's 'Collected Writings,' vol. iv. pp. 8?9- 436; for the other 6ide of the question, see Cheever's • God Against Slavery,' espec1all.)' eh. xiv., xv., xvi, xvii on. xv. 1-23.] THE DOOK OF DEUTETIONOMY. 267
"Anywhere with Jesus, for it cannot ho Droo.ry, do.rk, or desolote where ho is with me; Ho will love mo always, every need supply;- Anywhere with Jeane, should I live or die." R.M. E. Vere. 19-23.-'l'he firstlingsfor God. The firstlings which were males were not to be rnarcd for work, but kept for communion. They were to constitute, if perfect, a peace offering before God; if imperfect, they were to be eaten at home, imperfect fellowship between imperfect perRons. Just as in the firstfruits God claimed the first share; so in the case of the firstlings of the herd or. flock, and the firstborn among men. I. THE DEGINNmGB OF LIFE SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS GIFTS OF GoD, AND DEDICATED GRATEFULLY TO HIM. He is the Source of life; hence the firstlings should be the cause of quiet meditation and acknowledgment. Such increase should be the occasion of special fellowship with God, enlarging gratitude and dictating devotion. II. IMPERFECTIONS IN Goo's GIFTS SHOULD BE ACCEPTED BY MEN AS MORE THA:-1 THEY DESERVE. The imperfect firstling, in being made a feast for men only, and not a sacrifice for God as well, seemed to say that, however imperfect God's gift may be sometimes, it should be gratefully accepted as beyond our desert. The blemished, the lame, the blind, when God sends them in his providence, we should not despise, but rather hail them as beyond our desert. And if this was to be the case in the use of beasts, does it not throw clear light upon our conduct in the case of imperfect men? When children come into this world with any defect, let us not rebel against his will, but cherish the defective gift as reminding us how little we deserve, and by our love give such children compensation. III. THE DEDICATION OF THE PERFECT FIR5TLmo POINTED TO THE CONSECRATED FrnsTilORN, JESUS CHRIST. He is indeed the Firstborn of every creature. To him the firstlings and firstborn pointed. He was dedicated in life and death to the Father. Ee became the great Peace Offering which makes God and man one. And this suggests- !. The Father's delight in Jesus. How it burst forth from time to time in "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"! What delight in our Lord's life! what satisfaction in his obedience unto death! God well pleased! 2 Our deli,ght in Jesus. Jesus becomes the medium of communion. We have him in common with God. "Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John i. 3). 'l'he more we meditate upon him, the deeper must be our delight.-H. M. E.