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SERMON XVI.

TYPICAL SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS, IN WHAT MANNER CONSUMED.

2 CHRONICLES Vii, 1.

When Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house.

6. REDEMPTION from sin by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, does not suppose, that the typical sacrifices and offerings were consumed by the fire of divine wrath.

The fire which came down from the Lord to consume upon the altar the typical sacrificès, required by the law of Moses, was the fire of divine love; it was not the fire of divine wrath. The fire which consumed the sacrifice was from the Lord; and this fire was expressive of divine love and not of "anger."

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*I have an author by me, which expresses a very different sentiment on the subject. The fire, says he, that consumed the sacrifices which were offered upon the altar, was significant of divine anger, that this was the case, appears from the following considerations, viz.

1. "Nothing gives a more acute and pungent sensation of pain, than fire. We have no ideas of greater bodily torment than may be produced by fire. Accordingly it is a metaphor abundantly made use of, in the holy scriptures, to express the awful nature and greatness of divine anger; and the intolerable distress it will bring on those upon whom it finally falls. No term is more frequently made use of, in the word of God, to express divine anger than fire. Thus the Supreme Being calls upon his people, by the prophet "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings," Jer. iv, 4, see also Jer. xxi, 12, And thus the same prophet laments the evils which God, in his righteous anger, had brought upon his people Israel: He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which devoured round about, Lam. ii, 3.

"The same term is abundantly used in the new testaments, both by Christ himself, and by the apostles; to denote divine anger, Matt. xiii, 41, 42. And when

God is angry with the wicked every day; and his anger towards them will in the day of judgment, be expressed by the fire of his wrath. But God's con

suming the sacrifices of his people by fire, was always expressive of acceptance; and therefore, in accepting their burnt-offerings there was always a manifestation of divine love, and not of anger.

God was angry with those who offered strange fire, which he commanded not to be offered. In the case of Nadab and Abihu, "there went out a fire from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." But the fire tipon the altar of God's commanding, which he required should be ever burning, and which he never allowed to go out,'* was expressive of love and not of wrath. The children of Israel were commanded to offer two lambs in each day; one

Christ sits in judgment his sentence passed on his enemies will be, Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire.

"And the closing scene of all is, that the "devil who deceived the nations, is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are to be tormented day and night for ever and ever." No expression is more frequently made use of in the sacred writings to denote divine anger than this.

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2. The final destruction of the enemies of God, is represented in the holy scriptures, by those sacrifices for sin which were expressly required to be burned. The Psalmist saith, "The wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs, they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." Had not David considered the fire on the altar, as a figure of divine anger, we have no reason to suppose that he would have represented the effects of this anger on the enemies of God by the sacrifices, which were offered upon the altar of Burnt-offering.

"Thus we see the fire which consumed the sacrifices which were offered upon the altar, represented divine anger; and was an image of the fire of divine wrath.— It is important that there should be an exhibition of divine anger, preparatory to the exercise of pardoning mercy towards the sinner.

"The several ceremonies of the sacrifices for sin, under the Levitical institution, taken together, had a language that was very significant. They implied-the divine anger against the sinner, and that in the judgment of God, the transgressor deserved to die, even that death which was the penalty of the law-that the transgressor was of the same sentiments, and entertained the same views of his own character and deserts-that he repented of his sins,and justified God and his law in condemning him-and finally that he fled to, and trusted in, the mercy of God through an atonement wherein his righteous anger figuratively burned against him. This seemed to be the plain and natural import of the sacrifices for sin, which were appointed by the Levitical law; and of the rites and ceremonies to be observed in offering them."

After the perusal of the sermon, the reader will doubtless, compare it with this note and judge for himself.

Almost every writer has some peculiarity attached to him. No one is wholly right; and none who makes the Bible his standard can be wholly wrong. Truth will finally prevail, and, to the satisfaction of every candid mind.

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in the morning and the other at evening; and they were commanded to prepare them according to order; for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. These sacrifices and offerings made by fire were "a sweet savour unto the Lord." Now, how could those sacrifices and burnt-offerings made by fire be a sweet savour unto the Lord, if the fire which consumed them, which was a token of acceptance, were the fire of divine wrath?

God called Abraham out of the land of Ur, of the Chaldees, and promised him the land of Canaan. Abraham requested the Lord that he would give him some token by which he might know that he should inherit it. God readily granted him his request. And he said unto him, "Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abraham drove them away. And it came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark behold a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, or a lamp of fire, that passed between those pieces." The lamp of fire, which passed between those pieces which were divided in the midst, was a token to Abraham that he should inherit the land of Canaan. This fire therefore, could not in any sense, or in any manner express divine wrath toward him, or toward any one else; nay, it was an expression of covenant love; it was a token to Abraham of divine fidelity, that God would most certainly give that land into which he called him, an inheritance to his posterity. This is evident, because, on that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, saying, unto thy seed have I given the land from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.*

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God commanded Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the work of the ministry, to serve at the altar. And as an outward expression of his divine appointment, and consecration to the work, Moses was ordered to put of the blood of the ram of consecration upon the tip of their right ears, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: "and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about." Aaron was commanded to remain seven days in the tabernacle of the congregation, until the days of his consecration should be at an end: "for seven days shall he consecrate you. As he hath done this day so the Lord hath commanded to do to make an atonement for you. So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses" (Lev. viii.) After a solemn and magnificent consecration of Aaron and his sons to the work of the Lord; they entered upon their work at the consecrated altar. And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons. and the elders of Israel; and he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of goats for a sin-offering: and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt-offering, also a bullock and a ram for a peace-offering, to sacrifice before the Lord; and a meat-offering mingled with oil; for to-day the Lord will appear unto you. And they did as they were were commanded. And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar.-Aaron, therefore went unto the altar-And he brought the burnt offeringAnd he brought the meat-offering-He slew also the bullock and the ram. And Aaron lifted up his hands towards the people, and blessed them; and came down from offering the sin offering and the burntoffering and the peace-offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of

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the Lord appeared unto all the people. AND THERE CAME A FIRE OUT FROM BEFORE THE LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat: which when all the people saw they shouted, and fell on their faces. (Lev. ix) Now, it is most manifest that the sacrifice of the people, was accepted of the Lord. And a fire coming out from the Lord, which consumed their offerings upon the altar, was a very striking expression of divine acceptance. When the people saw the fire which came out from the Lord consuming their burnt-offering upon the altar, they expressed their joy by shouting, and fell upon their faces. This fire from the Lord which consumed the sacrifice, was by no means an expression of divine wrath: but on the contrary a clear expression of divine approbation, and, therefore, of love, grace and mercy. The fire which consumed this sacrifice, which was a sweet savour unto the Lord, was not the fire of wrath; it was the fire of divine love.

To the same purpose see 2 Chron. chap. 7, ver. 1 3. Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifice; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.

Between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal there was a mighty contest. Elijah says of himself, that he only remained a prophet of the Lord; but that the prophets of Baal were four hundred and fifty. To determine, therefore, whether any among the prophets of Baal were true prophets, and whose God was the true God, Elijah proposed that each party should make his preparation for a burnt-offer

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