makes the bullock appear as insignificant as the turtledove. The waves of the sea cover every shallow pool!

Ver. 11. "But if he be not able to bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour, for a sin-offering: he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon, for it is a sin-offering."

The Lord descends even to the poorest of all, those who had no lamb to spare. He provides for the Lazaruses of Israel, and the widows who have but two mites remaining, in the very spirit of love wherein Jesus spoke of them. It is Jesus that here, as Jehovah, arranges these types for the comfort of his afflicted people.

The burnt-offering was never allowed to be of any inanimate thing. For in that great type of the Saviour blood must flow. It must exhibit life taken, and the sentence, "Thou shalt surely die," executed. The sacrifice which was the groundwork of all the rest must exhibit death. But this point being settled and established, any danger of misapprehension is removed. Whatever may afterwards be the varieties permitted in the forms of offering, yet at the threshold the necessity for the shedding of blood in order to remission must be declared and testified. (Heb. ix. 22.) But now there is here a permission granted-a permission which cannot be misunderstood, since its application is limited to this one particular class of persons, and for special reasonsa permission to bring an offering of fine flour, when the man is too poor to bring two turtle-doves or young pigeons. This meat-offering is expressly spoken of as not the strict and proper offering, but merely a substi

tute for that better kind.* And, as remarked by Magee, the poor man would look forward to the day of atonement to complete what this was a substitute for. He is then to take a handful of the fine wheat of the land of his Israel. A few ears of the wheat of that land would furnish enough; and every Israelite had some family inheritance. An omer, or the tenth part of an ephah, is the quantity; just the very quantity of manna that sufficed for each day's support. Probably the poor man, who needed to bring his offering for a sin committed, was thus taught to give up just his food for that day-fasting before the Lord.

As in the jealousy-offering, no oil or frankincence must be put upon it; for the very intention of it is to present to the Lord the person and substance of the offerer (see chapter ii. 1) as altogether defiled-a mass of sin!

No doubt this new kind of sin-offering is intentionally permitted, in order to show some things that the animal sacrifice could not have shown forth. It exhibits not the soul only (that is taken for granted when the body and substance are devoted), but all that belongs to the person-his body and his property-as needing to be redeemed by sacrifice, since it has become polluted. All is forfeited-no frankincense of sweet savor on it, no oil of consecration.

Vers. 12, 13. "Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the Lord: it is a sin-offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for him, as

* Socinians in vain try to make a handle of this case; for if ever there was an instance where it could be said, "Exceptio probat regulam," it is here.

touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him and the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meatoffering."

The memorial of this mass of sin is consumed in the fire of wrath; but the priest takes his portion, in order to show that the sin is cleansed out from the mass.

Shall it not be thus at the resurrection morning? The body now cleansed, and earth itself purged by fire? Then is man fully redeemed; his soul, his body, his inheritance or possessions. No sin left to bring in a secret curse! no Gibeonite-blood lying hid in its bosom to bring on sudden and unthought-of woes. No Achantreasure in the tent-floor, provoking the eyes of the Lord's glory.

In looking back on this chapter concerning sins of inadvertency, how awful is the view it presents of the Lord's jealousy! "His eyes are as a flame of fire;" and he "judges not according to the hearing of the ear," but according to the truth that remains untold. How great the provocation that his own saints give to him daily, by touching the unclean, and by other almost imperceptible movements of the heart towards evil. "Woe is me! I am undone! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips!" In such cases we need to take for ourselves the counsel that Cain rejected when the Lord said, "If thou doest well (sinnest not) shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well (sinnest), a sin-offering lieth at thy door" (sun). (Gen. iv. 7.) How ancient is the grace of God! How old is that gracious saying, "These things write I unto you that ye sin not; and if

any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins."

In these ancient days there was the same grace exhibited to the sinner as there is under the New Testament. God held out forgiveness, full and immediate, in order to allure the sinner, without delay, back to fellowship with himself. And as now, so then, many abused this grace. They used it not to cleanse their conscience, but to lull it asleep. Of these Solomon is supposed to complain,* in Prov. xiii. 6, " Wickedness perverteth the sin-offering," non. Nevertheless, the truth of God stood sure; "righteousness preserved the perfect."

* See Faber on Sacrifice.

The Trespass-Offering.

WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE TRUE, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE HONEST, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE JUST, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE PURE, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE LOVELY, WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE OF GOOD REPORT... THINK ON THESE

THINGS... AND THE GOD OF PEACE SHALL BE WITH YOU."-Phil. iv. 8, 9.

CHAPTER V.-CONTINUED.

Ver. 14. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul commit a trespass."

MANY of the best writers, such as Outram, come to no definite conclusion as to the difference between the sinoffering and the trespass-offering. But we are satisfied, on the whole, that the trespass-offering (x) was offered in cases where the sin was more private, and confined to the individual's knowledge. The sin was known only to the man himself; and hence, it was less hurtful in its effects. We have seen that chap. v. 6, is no contradiction to this especial use of the word, as was originally as general in its sense as ; and in Isaiah liii. 10, either it is used in that same general way, or, if meant to be more special, the sense will be, "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sins, which no one ever saw him commit;" for he had done no violence, nor was deceit in his mouth.

The sin-offering being of a more public notice was on