To conclude; although we have only used the virtuous affections of conjugal love as a metaphor to represent the love of Christ to mankind, a hope is entertained that a due consideration of the nature of the figure may contribute to incite every husband to the discharge of obligations so sacred as those which are due to the wife. And we may add, in the language of the apostle, "Let the wife see that she reverence her husband."

SERMON XI.

DIVINE TRUTH AS REPRESENTED BY TITHES.

DELIVERED IN ROXBURY, JANUARY 4, 1821...

MALACHI III. 10.

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

AMONG the various rites of the legal covenant, all which were designed to signify the inward and moral virtues which God requires, and that spiritual worship, which the more glorious ministration of righteousness enables its enlightened votaries to offer to the invisible fountain of all good, that of tithes held no inconsiderable rank. Long before the giving of the law by Moses, this indication of piety and devotion was practised by the true worshippers of God, as may be seen in the account given in Gen. xiv. of Abram's paying tithes to Melchizedek, priest of the most high God; and we likewise have in this account a clear intimation, that these tithes were an acknowledgment of blessings received for we read that Melchizedek blessed Abram, in the name of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. This indication of piety was imitated by Jacob, the grandson of Abram, as we read in Gen. xxviii. 20, 21, 22, "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I

come again to my father's house, in peace, then shall the Lord be my God; and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee." It is necessary that we observe here, that Jacob expected to receive the whole from God, the tenth of which he solemnly vowed he would give to the giver. It was such, therefore, as God gave to Jacob, that Jacob promised to give to the Lord, his God.

In the law given by Moses, we find the following recorded in the 14th of Deuteronomy: "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou

shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds, and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee; then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; and thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth; and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thine household."

In the doctrine of tithes, as seen in the passages quoted, it seems necessary to notice the following particulars 1st. All tithes were of what God in his gracious providence first bestowed on the people. 2d. They were an acknowledgment of the divine favour. 3d. They were eaten in the place which God chose, in which to establish his name and worship, by those who offered them, together with their households, with rejoicing.

These offerings, which God required of his chosen people, constituted the meat of his house, and were emblematical of those provisions of a spirit-. ual nature, provided for all people in the gospel of divine favour. They figured forth, in a most striking manner, the doctrine of grace of which Jesus spake, as recorded in the 6th of John, where he says; "I am the bread of life. This is that bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Whosoever eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." All this, the Saviour explains in the following words; "It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." That is, the doctrine which Jesus preached is the soul's spiritual meat; it is eternal life; it is the life of the world.

As the tithes under the law, which were brought into the house of the Lord, and there eaten before the Lord, were the natural life of those who ate them, as they constituted their flesh and blood, and were the aliment necessary to their support, they were bright emblems of those moral and divine principles revealed through the Saviour, which constitute the spiritual life of the soul, and are the necessary aliment by which it is quickened, and by which it lives. And as those tithes were brought into the house of the Lord, where God chose to put his name, it shows us that nothing but the liv ing bread of life, the pure doctrine of eternal life should ever be brought into our christian worship, or into the house of prayer, which is dedicated to the name of the living God. And as those tithes were eaten in the house of the Lord, by those who of fered them, and by their families, we are instruct

ed, that in our christian devotion we are to offer no principles, no doctrine, no sentiments which we cannot feed upon ourselves, or on which our households cannot feed and be nourished. And furthermore, as those tithes were to be eaten with rejoicing, we are reminded that no doctrine which issues in mourning and sorrow, should ever defile the house dedicated to christian devotion.

Preceding our text, God complains of the house of Israel, as follows; "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation." But we are not to conclude that there were no offerings; for this prophet in chapter 1st, accuses the priests of offering polluted bread, of offering the blind, the lame, and the sick; and says to them; "offer it now unto thy governor will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts."

My brethren, as the priests under the legal dispensation robbed God, by withholding the tithes and offerings which were required; and as they polluted his altars with meat which was unsavory, so the priesthood under the gospel dispensation, have robbed God of those spiritual tithes and offerings which the law of Christ requires, and they have polluted the table of the christian sanctuary with unwholesome meat; such as they cannot eat themselves, such as no one can eat with rejoicing, and such, of which if a man eat he must die. Therefore, in our future inquiries on this subject, on this interesting occasion, we shall,

1st. Examine the meat which has been offered in the sanctuary of christian devotion, and endeavour to show that, in some instances at least, it isnot the true spiritual tithes which Christ requires.

2. We shall attempt to bring forward the true and living bread, that there may be meat in the house of the Lord, and give some true tokens that