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to others, and sought to do good to all around them, have often been perplexed for a measure as to what they are called upon to perform. Shall they give all their goods to feed the poor? Shall they give half? Shall they enter upon strange and extraordinary ways of carrying out their love to their neighbour? Shall they give to every one in want? Or what is the rule? The answer to these questions is, Do right to your neighbour in your circumstances, and in his.

The Lord has so constituted the universe that to promote the happiness of all it is only needful for each to do his duty. The play of the divine laws is so perfect, that if they are followed, right will be done, and the world will be happy. If the divine laws are broken, then wrong is visited by misery, and the best corrective is applied; so that in either case to do right to all around us, is the true law of charity. We should receive, then, the water of purification into the Laver of Brass, and wash from every defilement. Or in other words, receive the truth in the love of our neighbour, and remove from ourselves whatever is contrary to that truth, until our lives are pure in word and work.

While we contemplate this sacred and indispensable duty of cleansing the heart and life, that we die not, the reflection forces itself upon us, that often religion itself is perverted. Ceremonies are substituted by some, and a belief in our Lord's death for us by others, as an all-sufficient substitute for this change and regeneration of the soul.

Where the heart is unchanged, what are ceremonies, what are prayers, but solemn mockeries, but godless hypocrisies! Go not into the tabernacle without washing, that ye die not. Repent first, adore afterwards. Without a life of purity the Lord says, "Bring no more vain oblations, incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and the sabbaths, the calling of assemblies I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting."

And what shall we say to those, who say, that, under the gospel all we have to do is to believe; and all we have to believe is, that Christ died for us. Surely such "make the commandments of God of none effect by their tradition."

Can I be said truly to believe, when I select only a portion of divine truth which promises me every blessing, and set aside those other portions of divine truth which require me in daily life to obey the precepts which prepare me for heaven.

True faith is a hearty confidence in ALL that the Lord teaches. True faith adoringly confesses that our Heavenly Father is infinitely, unspeakably good. He was good as our Creator, good

as our Redeemer and Saviour, good as our Provider and Regenerator. "He is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." But true faith does not stop there: it says, He is good in what He teaches, and what He commands, and rejoices in removing what is offensive to Him. True faith is ever saying, "Lord, what wilt thou have me TO DO?" True faith perceives the spirit and life of Divine Truth to be the blood of the Lamb, which cleanses from inward sin in motive and in thought; and the commandment in the letter of the Word, to be the water which removes all outward sin. True faith inspires its receiver who hears the Divine Giver of living water, saying, "Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely," humbly to accept it and to keep it in a Laver of brass, that he may daily wash that he die not.

We must notice the command which specifies the foot of the Laver, as well as the Laver itself. "Thou shalt make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass." The part of the Laver which receives the water, represents the intellect which receives the truth the intellect is a species of cup or basin to embrace and hold the water, the wine and the milk which flow from Divine Wisdom. When our Lord Jesus commanded us "to cleanse first the inside of the cup and the platter, and assured us that the outside would become clean also, he referred to the understanding and the will under these names; for the understanding or intellect is a spiritual vessel for the reception of spiritual drink, while the will is a vessel, like the platter, for the reception of spiritual meat. But while we are diligent to obtain a good vessel-full of heavenly water, we must be careful to remember "his foot also." The foot denotes THE LIFE in harmony with sound views. Our religion must be practical, as well as true. The thoughts must not only be engaged with the beauty of heavenly lessons, but with their practical import. "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?" were the words of the Saviour God. "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock."-Matt. vii. 24.

Let us, then, never forget the foot of our religion. Let us think justly, and act justly. Have the religion of thought, and the religion of life. Use the Laver and his foot. Without the foot, the Laver would fall. Without life, religion falls. “Blessed are they that do his commandments that they might have right to the tree of life and enter through the gates into the city."

SERMON XXXVI.

THE ALTAR OF BURNT-OFFERING.

"And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four square; and the height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same; and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basins, and his flesh-hooks, and his firepans; all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass, And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it."-Exodus xxvii. 1—8.

These

The Laver for Washing, and the Altar of Burnt-offering, were placed in the Court of the Tabernacle, to intimate to every Israelite, that two things were required from all who would approach the Lord, purification of the life, and dedication of ourselves to God, so that we might be His, not our own. two objects met the view of everyone desirous to commune with his Maker. They were thus constant types of the perpetual law that God can only be approached by penitents, who seek to be pure in mind, and in heart offer themselves up to the Lord. The Altar now under contemplation represented the worshipping heart; the fire, the love that animates it. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."-Ps. li. 17. "I will freely sacrifice unto thee I will praise thy name, O Lord: for it is good."--Ps. li. 6. The sacrifices and burnt-offerings were appointed to represent the offerings-up of the affections to the Lord. The animals offered, whether lamb, or ram, or goat, or bullock, were the types of principles in the mind of the worshipper; the devotion of these to the Lord from love, was represented by the fire of the offering, and their acceptance by the Lord was declared by the words so often used respecting the different sacrifices. "It is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour unto the

Lord."-Lev. iii. 5-16. Let us notice before proceeding further, the two objects presented even in the outer court, the Altar and the Laver.

The two grand faculties of men must be affected even in one who comes into the outer court of religion. The intellect must be purified, and the heart must glow.

This reference to the two-fold mental nature of man is universal in the Word. It has its deep ground, no doubt, in the sublime nature of the Divine Essence, which is love and wisdom infinite. From these, man, who is an image of God, has will and understanding. The will is for the reception of the divine love, the understanding for the reception of divine wisdom. There are many sub-divisions of each of these grand faculties, but the whole of our attributes may be classified as belonging to these two and their combinations.

All nature is two-fold, all things in animal and vegetable life go in pairs, the male and the female. Owing to this duality of the universe every creature has its partner, and inorganic life is comprised in metals and gases. In man there are the two departments of the brain, the heart and the lungs in the chest, meat and drink in food, the arteries and veins in circulation, and the right and left sides of the whole body. Everything is double, or complementary. In a vast number of instances the stars which we behold as one, are now disclosed to be two of distinct colours which, however, blend into one. All these things are the outbirths of the divine love and wisdom, and refer themselves in their double life to goodness and to truth.

In the outer universe we have heat and light, the two great universal elements of nature, the symbols in the outer world of the love and wisdom of God in the inner. And science appears to make it plainer every day, that all things on earth are light and heat variously combined, condensed, recombined, arranged and multiplied.

In religion, and, indeed, in every pursuit, a man must will, as as well as think, or there is no real progress made. There is a reference, therefore, incessantly to these two operations throughout the Word. This is one of its divine characteristics, peculiar to its sublime character as the word of the Most High. Hence, we have, "Make you a new heart, and a right spirit." Hence, there is such frequent reference to nations and people, justice and judgment, joy and gladness, charity and faith, loving and believing, and a host of other dual forms of expression.

This, then, was the reason why in the outer court there were

the Laver, and the Altar of Burnt-offering, to intimate that every devout worshipper must purify his intellect, and must also have the fire of love within his heart. Within the holy place, the Table of Shewbread, and the Candlestick for light, had the same great lesson to teach. O that we might ever faithfully learn it, so that, like John the Baptist, each Christian might be a burning and a shining light; having a new heart and a new spirit ; truly just, and of good judgment; one of the nation united by love, and of the people who praise the Lord with joyful lips. The entrance into the outer court, represented the entrance of the Christian into the outer state of the spiritual life. Hence, the objects in the outer courts were not of gold or of silver, which were used in the Holy of holies, but of BRASS. The Laver was of brass, the altar was of shittim wood, covered with brass, (Ex. xxvii. 2) all the vessels belonging to it were to be made of brass, (v. 3) the rings were of brass, the staves were of shittim wood, overlaid with brass. This metal, brass, represents goodwill to our fellow-men.

The serpent of brass, which was raised up in the wilderness to be a symbol of hope and healing to those who were smitten and dying of the plague, was the type of the Lord Jesus as the source of true brotherly love, and all those who trust in Him, receive Him, have faith in Him, as the restorer of charity and good-will, are raised from DEATH TO LIFE. It was a serpent of brass, to denote that the Lord Jesus brought this loving-kindness down to the lowest form of life, signified by the serpent, the life of the senses. God was manifested in the flesh, and went about doing good. Saving faith is to believe in Him, and acquire the same nature, the nature of true charity, from Him. It is said of the prophet Jeremiah, "I will make thee unto this people a fenced BRAZEN WALL, and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee, for I am with thee to save thee and deliver thee, saith the Lord."-Jer. xv. 20.

When the prophet Zechariah saw the vision which represented the future restoration of the Church, he says he saw chariots going forth from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of brass. These two mountains prefiguring to the Prophet's mental eye the divine charities in the Lord, from which flow the truth and good which alone can restore His Church.

Without charity towards our fellow-creatures, there is in reality no religion. There may be knowledge, eloquence, and zeal; there may be faith of a certain kind, though not living faith;

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