. II. THE B!fARE BJJOUI,D BE SUFFIOIENT TO BUST~IN LIFE. Tho o:,: was expecte,l to pick up on his rounds ns much as would keep up his strength for labour. And in the same we.y, the wages of n labourer should be sufficient to sustain him in the position he occupies in society. The economic laws about the" wages' fund" are not so incxornhlo RS to prevent such El plain principle being evermore kept in view. There is a heartless- ness attributed to the laws of wealth that belongs to the capitalists themselves. III. THERE SHOULD BE SYMPATHY BETWEEN EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYED. The very oxen occupy a position where sympathy must obtain between them and their keepers, if the wurk is to be properly performed. How much more mllBt this obtain when tlw workers are our fellow-men! The late Sir Arthur Helps, in one of his early and anony- mous volumes entitled,• The Claims of Labour,' refers frequently to this. "You must not be surprised," he says to the employer, "at the ingratitude of those to whom yor1 have given nothing but money." "Fortunately," he says in another place, "the proneness of men to regard with favour those put in authority over them is very stron!; and I have little fear of finding any large body of thoughtful and kind masters s11ffori11'.' from permanent indifference or ingratitude on the part of their dependents." Sympathy between masters and men is more important even than adequate wages. IV. BOTH JESUS AND PAUL APPLY T.EIE PRINCIPLE TO MINISTERIAL SUPPORT. In the passage already noticed our Lord does so (Matt. x. 0-11; Luke x. 7). Paul abo, in l Tim. v. 17, 18, makes use of it, referring both to the passage before us in _Deuteronomy and also to our Lord's deliverance. In placing the ministry upon the same ground as other workers, it is clear that it is to be no exception to the rule of proportional reward. Of course, it is not supported as other and meaner occupations are. Every other occupation is beneath it in dignity, but every other almost is above it in reward. Its rights mu,;t be advocated; its claims are valid, and men deny them at their peril.-R. M. E. Vers. 5-10.-The rights of the firstborn. We have already observed that the first- born had a right to a double share of the family inheritance (eh. xxi. 17). We have before us another of bis rights-a seed was to be raised up unto him by his younger brothers, that his name should not be put out in Israel. In a peasant proprietary such as existed in Palestine, we can easily understand the importance of such a regulation. It was, moreover, esteemed a most disgraceful act to refuse to raise up seed unto a deaci brother, and the man guilty of it had to suffer the indignity of beiug spat upon, and ui having his shoe contemptuously loosed. Now, there can lie no question that Jesus Christ occupies the position of Eldest Brother in t.he family of God, Not only was it declared prophetically, "I will make him my Firstborn, hii':her than the kings of the earth" (Ps. lxx:rix. 27), but he is expressly called" the Firstborn from the dead,"" theFirstborn among many brethren," and" the Firstborn of every creature" (Col. i. 18; Rom. viii. 29; CoL i. 15). Undoubtedly, then, the rights guaranteed by Jewish Law to the firstborn were intended to illustrate the rights of Jesus Christ. J, JESUS CHRIST, Lm:E THE DEAD FIBSTBORN, BAS TO DEPEl>'D ON OTHERS FOR A BPIBITUAL SEED. For in the nature of things it would have been incongruous fo,· Incarnate God to have entered into marriage with any daughter of Adam, and to have become physically a father. His condescension was surely great enough in becoming· man at all, and it could not be expected that ho would enter into still closer relations to the race. None ever stood in tho relation to physical children of Jesus Christ. It would have made a confusion in the contemplated spiritual relationship. Hence our Lord had to look to others to raise him up & seed. II, IT LIFTS THE FAMILY RELATION INTO THE HOLIEST LIGHT TO T.EIINK THAT WE M.!. Y BE RAISING UP A. SPIRITUAL SEED FOR JESUS. How holy all nurriage relations becomo when it is felt to bo possible to be providing the Great Elder Ilrother with a spirit,1al seed I 'l'he children sent of God are then regarded as Christ's; we dedicate them to him in prayer, and perhaps also in baptism; we handle them and rear them as conse- crated things; we train them up in his nurture and admoaition, and we feel honoured in having any part in the formation of" the mighty family." III, IT LIFTS THE PASTORAL AS WELL AS PARENTAL RELATION INTO THE HOLIEST .LlOIIT, In Wccmse's book OD tbo 'Ceremonial Laws of Moses,' where " the privileges 404 THE BOOK OF DEU'l'ERONOMY. [oa, xxv. 1-19,
of the first.born" nre eo fully discussed, the applic11tion ie made to preachers rather than to parents. But we think th11t p11rents should feel the eleVRtion of spirit and life which the ide11 ofl"-lising up II seed for Jesus is fitted to impart. And if parents should feel it, much more should pastors. "'e are meant to be the" spiritual fathers" of men. We have exceptional advantages in prosecuting the holy work. Oh, how glorious it is to think of adding by our fail.hfnl labours to the great family of God I It is tho Name and honour of Jesus which we should seek to perpetuate by our pastoral labours. And so our aim is to have men born again through the incorruptible seed, the Word of God, which liveth and nbideth for ever (1 Pet. i. 23). IV. Ai,;-y IlEFUSAL TO RAISE UP A SEED FOR JESUS WILL DE VISITED DY Goo m DUE SEASON WITH DmE DISGRACE. For the spitting in the face and the unloosing of the shoe arc but symbols of the dire disgrace which shall 01·ertake all who will not engage in this l,oly work. It is a work for Church members as well as for ministers. It lies as 11, responsibility upon every one that names the Name of Jesus, and is a younger brother or sister in the family of Goel. Woe be to the person who is indifferent to this l And surely it should stimulate us to remember that the great ambition of Jesus is lo linve "many brethren." The mightier the multitude of redeemed ones the better. Tbe glory and honour of Immanuel shall thus be tho more thoroughly secured. He has no desire to be the solitary and selfish heir; but the whole plan of redemption is to havo ns many as possible "joint-heirs" with him. As families and as Churches grow in numbers and in loyalty to Jesus, his rights as Firstborn are being regarded and secured (Hom. viii. 17). \Ye cannot picture the dire disgrace which the refusal to secure the rights of Jesus Christ will entail But the selfish souls will be the offscouring of all thin11s; angels will despise them as having highest honour within reach, and not having the heart to accept it. Oh, let every one that bas a word to speak and a kindness to perform in the Name of Jesus, do it in the holy hope of increasing the spiritual seed of the great and loving Elder Ilrother !-R. M. E. .