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upon the earth, shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life, of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.* Romans, iii. 25, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Hebrews, ix. 17, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your concience from dead works to serve the living God?"

Sixthly, The passover was slain in the first month in the year, in which month was Christ, our passover sacrificed for us.

Seventhly, The passover was put to death in the evening, to intimate the Redeemer should suffer in the last dispensation, and indeed in the evening of the day. Hebrews, ix. 26, “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."

Eighthly, The passover was to be roasted with fire, not only to indicate the agonies which were to attend the suffering Saviour, but to exhibit, by this striking type, the purpose of God respecting our passover, Christ Jesus, who thus dwelt with everlasting burnings, when the day of the LORD'S vengeance burned as an oven. Isaiah, xxxiii. 14, 15, "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil." Malachi, iv. 1, "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." John, xii. 32, 33, "And I, if I

•Those who had a lodging in the breast of the man who dwelt among the tombs, with those legions of spirits that work in the hearts of the children of disobedience, and who will continue to dwell upon the earth, until the time of the restitution of all things, never had their names written in the Lamb's book of life.

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be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die."

Ninthly, The Lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs. Bitter is a word expressive of sore affliction. Isaiah, xxxviii. 17, "Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back." Eating the passover with bitter herbs, is not only descriptive of the depth of misery from which they were delivered, but it also points to the agonies suffered by our great passover, while extended upon the cross for us men, and for our salvation. It is observable that in the midst of those agonies, when the Redeemer cried, I thirst, they gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall!

Tenthly, A bone of the paschal Lamb was not to be broken. Thus the union between the head and members remained indissoluble. The soldiers were under the influence of the over-ruling spirit of truth. John, xix. 32-37, "Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear, pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again, another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced."

Eleventhly, The passover must be eaten with unleavened bread. Matthew, xvi. 6, "Then Jesus said unto them, take heed and beware of the leaven, of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." 1 Corinthians, v. 7, 8, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore, let us keep the fast not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Twelfthly, and lastly, The men who were defiled were nevertheless enjoined to keep the passover. The stranger also was permitted to keep the passover. "Ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land."

As the communion is the superstructure of this institution, we shall derive both instruction and consolation, from a regular, serious, pious and faithful observance of this sacrament.

SKETCH XVII.

NUMBERS, ix. 15–23.

First, THE tabernacle. Moses gives us a copious description of this tabernacle. Exodus, chapters xxv. xxvi. xxvii. And that the tabernacle was typical of the human Nature of Jesus Christ, is abundantly apparent from Hebrews, viii. 2, 5, "A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the LORD pitched, and not man. Who serve unto the shadow and example of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed thee in the mount."

Secondly, The cloud. What are we to understand by the cloud? and by its resting on the tabernacle? Exodus, xiii. 21, 22,"And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way: and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people." The cloud was in the form of a pillar. The base broad, the top pointed; the base resting on the tabernacle, the top pointing to the heavens, like Jacob's ladder, the foot of which rested upon the earth, while its top reached to heaven, upon which ladder the angels of God ascended and descended. But this cloudy pillar answered a double purpose. It sheltered them from the heat of the day, which in the desert, was intense, and by the luminous light of that fire with which it was irradiated, it guided them through the night. It was the same cloud which, if I may so express myself, took the Hebrews under its direction, and protection, from their leaving Egypt, even until the elevation of the tabernacle.

This cloudy pillar, we are instructed by the sacred oracles, to consider as a figure of the divine nature, resting on the humanity. The divine nature is frequently described to us under the figure of fire. Hebrews, xii. 29, "For our God is a consuming fire."

This fire was in the cloud, thus God dwelleth in the thick darkness. Psalm, xviii. 11, "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies." Psalm, xcvii. 2, “Clouds and darkness are round about him righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." 2 Samuel, xxii. 10, 12, "He bowed the heavens also, and came down and darkness was under his feet. And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."

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Thirdly, What do we learn from the moving of the cloud. The cloud moved for the direction of the people, and that in all their journeyings the presence of God might still abide with them. Moses built his every hope of prosperity and happiness, upon the presence of his God. Exodus, xxxiii. 14, 15, 16, "And he said, my presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here, that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I, and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth." Psalm, xxxi. 20, “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." Ezekiel, x. 3, 4, "Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory."

Fourthly, The LORD commanded the people to continue stationary, until he, by his appearance in the cloud, gave them direction to proceed, and that the people submitted to this command, is apparent from the conclusion of this chapter.

Fifthly, The ultimate purpose of these regulations is given in the two last verses of the tenth chapter of this book of Numbers. "And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, rise up, LORD, and let thine enemics be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.”

Sixthly, In the thirty-third verse, we are told, that the children of Israel departed from the mount of the LORD three days'

journey. We shall determine what mountain this mount of the LORD was, by consulting Exodus iii. "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush." God informed Moses by what name he would choose to be designated among the Hebrews, and he said, "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto thee." John viii. 58, "Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Seventhly, When the ark of the LORD went forward "Moses said, let thine enemies be scattered, and let those who hate thee flee before thee." Psalm lxviii. “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God." Revelations xii. 9, 10, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." This transaction is circumstantially delineated, in the close of the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. When, consequent upon the casting out of this deceiver, and his angels, who had occupied dwellings in the human earth, the righteous shine forth as the sun and enter into life eternal.

Eighthly, When the tabernacle and the cloud rested, then said Moses, "Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel" Thus saith the holy spirit, Acts xv. 15-17, "And to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written; After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the LORD, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the LORD, who

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