The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 144

God (Heb. x. 22). " I cannot pray, but I sin; I cannot heo.r, or preach o. sermon, but I sin; I cannot give an alms or receive the sacrament, but I fin; nay, I .cannot so much as confess my sins, but my very confessions are still aggravations of them; my repentance needs to be repented of, my tears want washing, and the very wo.sh- ing of my tears needs still to be washed over again in the blood of my Redeemer" (Bp. Beveridge). What, then, let us now ask, is the "sea," what the "laver," for the washing away of these daily sins and defilements? It is a fountain of blood (" Not by water only, but by water and blood," 1 John v. 6); it is the other sacrament of our religion, the "blood of the new covenant shed for many for the remission of sins " (Matt. xx,i. 28). "The one baptism for the remission of sins" (Nicene Creed) can- not apply to the sins of later life. For this, other provision is needed, and in the mercy of_ ~o~ other provision is m'.1-de in t½~ sacrament of love and the ministry of reconcilrnt10n. (Cf. also Matt. xvi. 19; xviu. 18; John xx. 23 • Matt. xxviii. 20.) But here one word of caution may possibly be needful. It mu~t not be supposed for o. moment that there is any other source or ground of cleansing and forgive- ness than the free, unmerited mercy of God in Christ; that there is any hope for the sinner except in the "full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and a&tisfac- tion" once made by the one Saviour "for the sins of the whole world;" or that any rites or ordinances can have any virtue or efficacy apart from His meritorious death and His now victorious life. The sacraments are not, cannot be, the sources or the grounds of forgiveness, nor do they work like a charm-ex opere operato. But in the all-wise appointment of God, they are the means of grace, the channels through which His infinite mercy ordinarily flows (gratia non ligatur mediis) to the penitent and believing soul. Nor must it be supposed that the generous provision made by God for the cleansing of aJl sin obviates the need for striving against sin (Heh. xii. 4). We are to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit" (2 Cor. vii. 1). We are to "purify ourselves, even as He is pure'' (1 John iii. 3), The priests of the Holy God must "live a clean life'' (Wyclif). II. CHRISTIAN SACRIFICES SHOULD BE CLEANSED. Here again two questions arise. (1) What are Christian sacrifices .1 (2) How can they be clea;nsed J 1. Christian sacrifices. Those which all Christian men are ordained to offer (1 Peter ii. 8) are these-(!) The living sacrifice of body and soul (Rom. xii. 1). (2) The sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (Heb. xiii. 15). (3) The sacrifice of al.ms and oblations (Heb. xiii. 16; Phil. iv. 18). 2. The Cleansing of these sacrifices is that which takes pl~ce in a "pure heart and good conscience." It is a matter of motive, of intention. The quality of the sacriiice depends on the spirit of the sacrificer. It is a sacrifice, howsoever offered -there is such a thing as "the sacrifice of fools'' (Eccles. v.1)-but it may be, and often is, a maimed, or unclean, or unworthy sacriftce. If our praise, for example, be prompted by the love of music rather than the love of God ; if our alms be offered for the praise of men (Matt. vi. 1) and not II for Hie name's sake," then the sacrifice is unclean. The Christian priest, consequently, should "interrogate his heart "-" Interroge viscera tua" (Auguetine)-before he enters on Divine service. It has been well said that we ought to wash our prayers and praises in our hearts before we put them into our lips. The customary "prayer before service" and the self-examination before communion (1 Cor. xi. 28), if made more roal, would ensure the cleansing of the sacrifice. (Oompare James i. 27.) Ver. 46.-The Clay Ground in the circuit of the Jorda;n. These things are n allegory. These words suggest s~me th_oughts _as t.~ the soil in w~ich the King ,of Heaven moulds the vessels for HUJ service (2 Tun. 11. 20, 21; Acts 1x. 15; Rom. J.Z, 21, 23). They, too, are prepared in the plain_: they a~e cast in the clay gro~d. Observe (1) that both pillars and veaaela, i.e., Jaclnn and Boaz, as well as 'the pots and the shovels and the basins,'' were cast in this same clay ground. In the two pillars we may fitly see for our present purpose emblems of those two "pillar, and basements of the truth" (1 Tim, iii. 15), the J ewieh and Christian churches; cm. VII. 1-51.] THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 141