following and obeying Christ. The supreme fact in the history of all the ages is Goel'~ redemption of the human rnce by Jesus Christ his Son. Through him God enters into a ne~ relatioll: to humanity. Iu him hu~anity rises into its true freedom and dignity. l3y ~1m the kmgdom of Go~ upon earth 1~ est-0.blished, consummated, led on through varymg fortunes to final victory and glorious everlastin" rest. "The Head of every man is Christ." He bears to every man the triple relation of "Prophet, Priest, and King." Shall not this historical covenant relation of the fathers to Moses teach us serio~sly to consider how far we are worthily maintaining our true persona) allegiance to Htin? III. TrrE SPIRITUAL MEAT AND DRINK. The word "spiritual," as applied to the manna and the water from the rock, refers to their supernatural oriain, rather than to their essential quality. They were not the result of ordinary physi~al causes, but the direct and miraculous product of an unseen spiritual power. w·hether, in saying the rock" follo"·ed them," the apostle gives countenance to a fanciful Jewish tradition or not, this deeper truth is sure-" that Rock was Christ." Both the manna from heaven and the water from the rock were shadows, the substance, the "body," of which is in Christ (John iv. 13, 14; vi. 32-35, 49-51). Here, again, is an old-world witness to that grand truth which is at once the centre and the circumference of the whole circle of Divine revelations-that in Christ alone is there life for the souls of men. He alone can satisfy their hunger and allay their thirst; he alone can nourish and build up the fabric of their being unto a blessed immortality. Faintly gleaming through those ancient types and figures, as in the morning twilight, it is to us the ~\orious, full-orbed revelation of the gospel day-life from God for a perishing world throngh Jesus Christ his Son. "This is the record," etc. (1 John v. 11). The providence, the lordsltip, and the life-giving power of Christ are the three great truths that we find typically represented in these historical memorials. How nobly did the lives of rnanv of our fathers bear witness to their faith in these truths! '.L'he world in- which they· moved may have been strangely different in its outward.aspects from ours, but the sub:;tantial realities of human life were the same. "The old order cbangeth, giving place to new:" bnt the vital principles that underlie that order change not. As regards the Divine relationships and the essential needs of our being, we stand just where our fathers did. \Ve are encompassed by the same almighty power and love. \Ve pass through the same kind of discipline, are exposed to the same daagers, realize the same deliverances, bear the same burdens of responsibility. We live by the same spiritual food, are saved by the same mercy, redeemed by the same atoning sacrifice. "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass," etc. (1 Pet. i. 24, 25).-W.
Ver. 31.-Eaeing and drinking to the glory of God. The particular questions with which the apostle here deals may be of comparatively little interest to us, but, as usual in such cases, he brings to bear on them principles that affect the moral lifo of man in every age. So far as he speaks of the right or wrong of eating that which has been offered in sacrifice to idols, or attending heathen festivals, he is treating of what may have been of great moment to Corinthian Christians in apostolic times, but does not much concern us now. When, however, he says, "All things are lawful for me," etc.; "Let no man seek his own," etc. ; "The earth is the Lord's," etc.; " \Vhether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," he is laying down laws that are of universal and eternal obligation. Our aim must be to distinguish this vital and enduring element from all that is local and temporary; to extract from that which may seem foreign to our interest those Divine lessons thnt bear on the deepest realities of our individual and social life. Here, then, lies one ·grand condition of all true nobility of character and deed. Every man is great and honourable in prn- portion as he makes the "glory of God" the definite and conscious aim of his existence. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink," etc. Note respecting this apostolic exhortation- !. THE Gnou:-.D o:,;: wmcn IT RESTS-the absolute sovereignty of Gou's claims. ·'l'he twofold character of this Divine right is recognized. 1. Natural proprietorship. "'l'ho earth is the Lord's," etc. (vers. 26, 28; Ps. xxiv. 12); "Of him, and through him, and to him, arc all tnings: to whom be glory for ever" (Roni. xi. 36). 'l'he end of o.11 c.ll, x. 1-33.J THE FIRST EPISTLE TO 'l'HE CORINTHIANS.