Aaron occupied a position so truly elevated that any inheritance in the way of earthly things would have been to him most degrading; whereas the Levites (looked at in one aspect) had not this high standing, but had much hard labor; and consequently, while Aaron"s very place and service was "_his reward_," the Levites had to get _a tenth_ for "_their reward_."
We come now to consider the third and last division of the Levites, viz., the Kohathites, of whom we read, "The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof" (chap. iii. 29-31). We can now have no difficulty in understanding why it was that Kohath had no share in the ministrations of the princes. Gershon and Merari might need wagons and oxen to carry the boards, etc., but not so Kohath; his charge was too precious to be committed to any or aught but himself, and therefore it was his high and honored place to carry all upon his shoulders. What a privilege, for example, to be allowed to carry _the ark_, _the table_, or _the golden candlestick_! And would it not have argued an entire absence of ability to appreciate his elevated calling if he had sought for the a.s.sistance of oxen in his holy service? What, then, we ask, would have been the effect produced upon the character of Kohath by this his service? Would it not have imparted a very elevated tone thereto? Surely it would. What can be more elevated, at least as far as development of character in the world is concerned, than the display of that congregational spirit which is expressed in the name of Kohath? Should not Christians be found rebuking, by a _real_ union _in everything_, man"s oft-repeated attempt at forming a.s.sociations for various purposes? And how can they effect that if it be not by gathering more closely around their common centre, Christ, in all the blessed fulness and variety of that Name? a fulness and variety typified by the varied furniture of the tabernacle, some of the most precious parts of which were designed to be borne on the shoulders of this favored division of the tribe of Levi.
And surely we may safely a.s.sert that what would lead the saints now into more of the congregational spirit is just communion with Him whom the ark and table shadowed forth. If we were more conversant with Christ as the ark, covering in this scene of death, and, moreover, with the table of s...o...b..ead, whereon stood _the food of the priests_--if, I say, we knew more of Christ in these blessed aspects of His character--we should not be as we are, _a proverb_ and a byword by reason of our gross disunion. But, alas, as the Church grew weary of the curtains and the boards, and laid aside her Gershonite and Merarite character, so has she laid aside her Kohathite character, because she has ceased to carry the ark and the table upon her shoulder, and cast those precious pearls which were, through the grace of G.o.d, her peculiar property, to the swine, and thus has she lost her elevated character and position in the world.
Thus, let us review those three grand features of character shown forth in the tribe of Levi.
1st. Strangership. "Therefore the world _knoweth us not_, because it knew Him not." "Here we have no abiding city." "Dearly beloved, I beseech you _as strangers and pilgrims_, abstain from fleshly l.u.s.ts, which war against the soul."
2d. Sorrow in the world. "_In the world_ ye shall have tribulation."
"If they have _persecuted Me_, they will also _persecute you_." "I RECKON that _the sufferings of this present_ time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." "After that _ye have suffered awhile_, make you perfect"--"_ye have need_ of patience"--"ye yourselves know that ye are appointed thereunto." "If we _suffer_ with Him, we shall also reign with Him." "These are they that came out of _great tribulation_, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
3d. Union. "That they _all may be one_." "He should gather together in _one_ the children of G.o.d that are _scattered_ abroad." "That He might reconcile _both_ unto G.o.d in ONE body by the cross." And here, again, I would request of my reader to bear in mind that, while there was this beautiful diversity in the character and line of service of the Levites, yet they were _one people_, and that _manifestly_--they were _one_ in _life_, _one_ in standing, _one_ in calling, _one_ in inheritance; and so should it be with Christians _now_. We are not to expect uniformity of opinion on every point, nor yet are we to look for a perfect correspondence in the line of service and development of life; but then the saints should be seen as _one people_--_one_ in worship,[14] _one_ in labor, _one_ in object, _one_ in sympathy; in a word, _one_ in everything that belongs to them in common as the people of G.o.d.
[14] I say, _one in worship_; and I would press this point, because at the present day it seems to be a thought in the minds of many that there may be unity in service and at the same time the greatest diversity in worship. I would appeal to the spiritual mind of the Christian reader, and I would ask him, Can this really be? What should we say to a family who would unite, or appear to do so, for the purpose of carrying on their father"s work, but who could not, by reason of division, meet around their father"s table? Could such unity satisfy a father who loved his children?
How sadly out of order it would have been for a Levite to call upon one of the uncirc.u.mcised of the nations around to a.s.sist him in carrying any part of the tabernacle! and yet we hear Christians now justifying and insisting upon the propriety of conduct not less disorderly, viz., calling upon the openly unconverted and profane to put their hands to the Lord"s work. Thus we see that the Levites have become scattered, and have forsaken their posts. The Gershonite has refused to carry the curtains because he has become weary of the stranger condition; the Merarite has laid down the boards and sockets because he grew weary of bearing the cross, and the Kohathite has degraded his high and holy office by making it the common property of those who have not authority from G.o.d to put their hands thereunto.
Thus the name of G.o.d is blasphemed among the heathen by us, and we do not "sigh and cry for the abominations" thus practiced, but lift up our heads in proud indifference as if it all were right, and as if the camp of G.o.d were moving onward in all heavenly order, under the guidance of the cloud, communicated by the silver trumpets. "My brethren, these things ought not so to be." May we walk more humbly before our G.o.d, and, while we mourn over the sad fact that "Overturn, overturn, overturn" has been written by the finger of G.o.d upon all human arrangements, let us remember that it is only "_until He come whose right it is_," and then _all_ shall be set right forever, for G.o.d, in all things, shall be fully glorified through Jesus Christ.
Thus, dear reader, have we followed Levi in his course; and oh, what a marvelous course has it been! a course, every step of which displays the visible marks of sovereign grace abounding over man"s sin--grace, which led G.o.d to stoop from His throne in the heavens to visit "the habitations of cruelty," in order to lift a poor perishing sinner from thence, and bring him, through the purging power of the blood, into a place of marvelous blessing indeed, even into the very tabernacle of G.o.d, there to be employed about the instruments of G.o.d"s house. We have found Levi to have been indeed the one who "was _dead_ and is _alive_ again, who was _lost_ and is found." May we, then, adore the grace that could do such mighty acts! and if we have felt in our hearts the operations of the same grace in delivering us from the death and darkness of Egypt, may we remember that its effects should be to constrain us to live, not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. We are now in the wilderness, where we are called to carry the tabernacle. May we cheerfully move onward, "_declaring_ PLAINLY that we seek a country," and anxiously look out for "THE REST THAT REMAINS."
PART I.
GLAD TIDINGS
"For G.o.d so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John iii. 16).
There are some pa.s.sages of holy Scripture which seem to contain, in a line or two, an entire volume of most precious truth. The verse which we have just penned is one of such. It is part of our Lord"s memorable discourse with Nicodemus, and it embodies, in a condensed form, a very full statement of gospel truth--a statement which may well be termed, "Glad Tidings."
It should ever be borne in mind, both by preachers and those to whom they preach, that one grand object of the gospel is to bring G.o.d and the sinner together in such a way as to secure the sinner"s eternal salvation. It reveals a _Saviour G.o.d_ to a _lost man_. In other words, it presents G.o.d to the sinner in the very character that meets the sinner"s need. A Saviour is precisely what suits the lost, just as a life-boat suits a drowning man, or a physician a sick man, or bread a hungry man. They are fitted the one for the other; and when G.o.d as a Saviour, and man as a lost sinner, meet together, the whole question is settled forever. The sinner is saved, because G.o.d is a Saviour. He is saved according to the perfection which belongs to G.o.d, in every character He wears, in every office He fills, in every relationship He sustains. To raise a question as to the full and everlasting salvation of a believing soul, is to deny that G.o.d is a Saviour. So it is in reference to justification. G.o.d has revealed Himself as a Justifier; and hence, the believer is justified according to the perfection which attaches to G.o.d in that character. If a single flaw could be detected in the t.i.tle of the very weakest believer, it would be a dishonor to G.o.d as a Justifier. Grant me but this, that G.o.d is my Justifier, and I argue, in the face of every opposer and every accuser, that I am, and must be, perfectly justified.
And, on the same principle, grant me but this, that G.o.d has revealed Himself as a Saviour, and I argue, with unclouded confidence and holy boldness, that I am, and must be, perfectly saved. It does not rest upon aught in me, but simply and entirely upon G.o.d"s revelation of Himself. I know He is perfect in everything; and, therefore, perfect as my Saviour. Hence, I am perfectly saved, inasmuch as the glory of G.o.d is involved in my salvation. "There is no G.o.d else beside Me: a just G.o.d and a Saviour; there is none beside Me." What then? "_Look_ unto _Me_, and be ye saved, _all the ends of the earth_; for I am G.o.d, and there is none else" (Isa. xlv. 21, 22). One believing _look_ from a lost sinner to a just G.o.d and a Saviour, secures eternal salvation.
"_Look!_" How simple! It is not "Work"--"Do"--"Pray"--"Feel"--no; it is simply "Look." And what then? Salvation--everlasting life. It must be so, because G.o.d is a Saviour; and the precious little word "look"
fully implies all this, inasmuch as it expresses the fact that the salvation which I want is found in the One to whom I look. It is all there, ready for me, and one look secures it--secures it forever--secures it for _me_. It is not a thing of to-day or to-morrow; it is an eternal reality. The bulwarks of salvation behind which the believer retreats have been erected by G.o.d Himself--the Saviour-G.o.d, on the sure foundation of Christ"s atoning work; and no power of earth or h.e.l.l can ever shake them. "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief Corner-stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded" (Isa. xxviii. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 6).
But let us now turn directly to the profound and comprehensive pa.s.sage which forms the special subject of this paper. In it, most a.s.suredly, we listen to the voice of a Saviour-G.o.d--the voice of Him who came down from heaven to reveal G.o.d in such a way as He had never been revealed before. It is a marvelously blessed fact that G.o.d has been fully revealed in this world--revealed, so that we--the writer and the reader of these lines--may know Him, in all the reality of what He is--know Him, each for himself, with the utmost possible certainty, and have to do with Him, in all the blessed intimacy of personal communion.
Reader, think of this! Think, we beseech you, of this amazing privilege. You may know G.o.d for yourself, as _your_ Saviour, _your_ Father, _your_ own very G.o.d. You may have to do with Him; you may lean upon Him, cling to Him, walk with Him, live and move and have your being in His own most blessed presence, in the bright sunshine of His loving countenance, under His own immediate eye.
This is life and peace. It is far more than mere theology or systematic divinity. These things have their value, but, be it remembered, a man may be a profound theologian, an able divine, and yet live and die without G.o.d and perish eternally. Solemn, awful, overwhelming thought! A man may go down to h.e.l.l, into the blackness and darkness of an eternal night, with all the dogmas of theology at his fingers" ends. A man may sit in the professor"s chair, stand in the pulpit and at the desk; he may be looked up to as a great teacher and an eloquent preacher: hundreds may sit at his feet and learn, thousands may hang on his lips and be enraptured, and, after all, he himself may descend into the pit, and spend a dismal, miserable eternity in company with the most profane and immoral.
Not so, however, with one who knows G.o.d as He is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. Such a one has gotten life eternal. "This," says Christ, "is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true G.o.d, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John xvii. 3). It is not life eternal to know theology or divinity. A man may sit down to the study of these, as he would to study law or medicine, astronomy or geology, and all the while know nothing of G.o.d, and therefore be without divine life, and perish in the end.
So also as to mere religiousness. A man may be the greatest devotee in the world. He may most diligently discharge all the offices, and sedulously attend upon all the ordinances of systematic religion; he may fast and pray; hear sermons and say prayers; be most devout and exemplary; and all the while know nothing of G.o.d in Christ; yea, he may live and die without G.o.d, and sink into h.e.l.l forever. Look at Nicodemus. Where could you find a better sample of religious human nature than in him? A man of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews, a master in Israel; one, moreover, who seemed to discern in the miracles of our Lord the clear proofs of His divine mission; and yet the word to him was, "Ye must be born again." We have no need, surely, to go farther than this to prove that a man may be not only religious, but actually a guide and a teacher of others, and yet not have divine life in his soul.
But it is not so with one who knows G.o.d in Christ. Such a one has life and an object. He has G.o.d Himself for his priceless portion. This is divine. It lies at the very foundation of personal Christianity and true religion. It is above and beyond everything. It is not, we repeat, mere theology, divinity, or religiousness; it is G.o.d Himself, known, trusted, and enjoyed. It is a grand, unmistakable reality. It is the soul of theology, the groundwork of divinity, the life of true religion. There is nothing in all this world like it. It is something which must be _felt_ in order to be known. It is acquaintance with G.o.d, confidence in Him, and enjoyment of Him.
Now, it may be that the reader is disposed to ask, "How can I possess this priceless treasure? How can I know G.o.d for myself, in this living, saving, powerful manner? If it be true that without this personal knowledge of G.o.d I _must_ perish eternally, then how am I to obtain it? What am I to do, what am I to be, in order to know G.o.d?"
The answer is, G.o.d has revealed Himself. If He had not, we may say with decision that nothing that we could do, nothing that we could be, nothing in us or of us, could possibly make us acquainted with G.o.d. If G.o.d had not manifested Himself, we should have remained forever in ignorance of Him and perished in our ignorance. But, seeing that He has come forth from the thick darkness and showed Himself, we may know Him according to the truth of His own revelation, and find, in that knowledge, everlasting life, and a spring of blessedness at which our ransomed souls shall drink throughout the golden ages of eternity.
We know of nothing which so clearly and forcibly proves man"s utter incompetency to do aught towards procuring life, as the fact that the possession of that life is based upon the knowledge of G.o.d: and this knowledge of G.o.d must rest upon the _revelation_ of G.o.d. In a word, to know G.o.d is life, to be ignorant of Him is death.
But where is He to be known? This is, in very deed, a grave question.
Many a one has had to cry out, with Job, "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him." Where is G.o.d to be found? Am I to look for Him in creation? Doubtless, His hand is visible there; but ah! that will not do for me. A Creator-G.o.d will not suit a lost sinner. _The hand of power_ will not avail for a poor, guilty wretch like me. I want _a heart of love_. Yes, I want a heart that can love me in all my guilt and misery. Where can I find this? Shall I look into the wide domain of providence--the widely extended sphere of G.o.d"s government? Has G.o.d revealed Himself there in such a way as to meet me, a poor lost one?
Will providence and government avail for one who knows himself to be a h.e.l.l-deserving sinner? Clearly not. If I look at these things, I may see what will perplex and confound me. I am short-sighted and ignorant, and wholly unable to explain the ins and outs, the bearings and issues, the why and the wherefore, of a single event in my own life, or in the history of this world. Am I able to explain all about the loss of _The London_? Can I account for the fact that a most valuable life is suddenly cut short, and an apparently useless one prolonged? There is a husband and the father of a large family; he seems perfectly indispensable to his domestic circle and yet, all in a moment, he is cut down, and they are left in sorrow and dest.i.tution; while, on the other hand, yonder lies a poor bed-ridden creature, who has outlived all her relations, and is dependent on the parish, or on individual benevolence. She has lain there for years, a burden to some, no use to any. Can I account for this? Am I competent to interpret the voice of Providence in this deeply mysterious dispensation? Certainly not. I have nothing in or of myself wherewith to thread my way through the mazes of the labyrinth of what is called providence. I cannot find a Saviour-G.o.d there.
Well, then, shall I turn to the law--to the Mosaic economy--the Levitical ceremonial? Shall I find what I want there? Will a Lawgiver, on the top of a fiery mount, wrapped in clouds and thick darkness, sending forth thunders and lightnings, or hidden behind a veil--will such a One avail for me? Alas! alas! I cannot meet Him--I cannot answer His demands nor fulfil the conditions. I am told to love Him with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my strength; but I do not know Him. I am blind and cannot see. I am alienated from the life of G.o.d, an enemy by wicked works. Sin has blinded my mind, blunted my conscience, and hardened my heart. The devil has completely perverted my moral being, and led me into a state of positive rebellion against G.o.d. I want to be renewed in the very source of my being ere I can do what the law demands. How can I be thus renewed?
Only by the knowledge of G.o.d. But G.o.d is not revealed in the law.
Nay, He is hidden--hidden behind an impenetrable cloud, an unrent veil. Hence I cannot know Him there. I am compelled to retire from that fiery mount, and from that unrent veil, and from the whole economy of which these were the characteristic features, the prominent objects, still crying out, "Oh! that I knew where I might find Him."
In a word, then, neither in creation, nor in providence, nor in the law, is G.o.d revealed as "a just G.o.d and a Saviour." I see a G.o.d of power in creation: a G.o.d of wisdom in providence; a G.o.d of justice in the law; a G.o.d of love _only_ in the face of Jesus Christ. "_G.o.d was in Christ_, reconciling the world unto Himself" (2 Cor. v. 19).
To this stupendous fact we call the reader"s earnest attention; that is, if he be one who does not yet know the Lord. It is of the very last possible importance that he be clear as to this. Without it there can be nothing right. To know G.o.d is the first step. It is not merely knowing some things about G.o.d. It is not unrenewed nature turning religious, trying to do better, endeavouring to keep the law. No, reader; it is none of these things. It is G.o.d, known in the face of Jesus Christ. "For G.o.d, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of G.o.d in the face of Jesus Christ." This is the deep and blessed secret of the whole matter. The reader, so far as his natural condition is concerned, is in a state of darkness. There is not so much as a single ray of spiritual light. He is, spiritually and morally, just what creation was physically before that sublime and commanding utterance fell from the lips of the Almighty Creator, "Let there be light." All is dark and chaotic, for the "G.o.d of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of G.o.d, should shine unto them" (2 Cor. iv. 4-6).
Here are two things; namely, the G.o.d of this world blinding the mind, and seeking to hinder the in-shining of the precious life-giving beams of the light of G.o.d"s glory; and, on the other hand, G.o.d, in His marvelous grace, shining in the heart, to give the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Thus all hinges upon the grand reality of the knowledge of G.o.d. Is there light? It is because G.o.d is known. Is there darkness? It is because G.o.d is not known. No doubt there are various measures in the experience and exhibition of this light: but there is light, because there is the knowledge of G.o.d. So also there may be various forms of darkness; some more hideous than others; but there is darkness because G.o.d is not known. The knowledge of G.o.d is light and life. Ignorance of G.o.d is darkness and death. A man may enrich himself with all the treasures of science and literature; but if he does not know G.o.d, he is in the darkness of primeval night. But, on the other hand, a man may be profoundly ignorant of all human learning; but if he knows G.o.d, he walks in broad day-light.
In the pa.s.sage of Scripture which is engaging our attention, namely, John iii. 16, we have a very remarkable ill.u.s.tration of the character of the entire Gospel of John, and especially the opening chapters. It is impossible to meditate upon it without seizing this interesting fact. In it we are introduced to G.o.d Himself, in that wondrous aspect of His character and nature, as loving _the world_, and giving His Son. In it, too, we find, not only the "world" as a whole, but the individual sinner, under that most satisfactory t.i.tle of "whosoever."
Thus G.o.d and the sinner are together--G.o.d, _loving_ and _giving_; and the sinner, _believing_ and _having_. It is not G.o.d judging and exacting; but G.o.d loving and giving. The former was law; the latter, grace; that was Judaism; this, Christianity. In the one, we see G.o.d demanding obedience in order to life; in the other, we see G.o.d giving life as the only basis of obedience. In the one, we see man struggling for life, but never obtaining it; in the other, we see man receiving life as a free gift, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Such is the contrast between the two systems--a contrast which cannot be too deeply pondered. "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John i. 17).
But let us mark the way in which this is unfolded in our text. "G.o.d so loved the world." Here we have the wide aspect of the love of G.o.d. It is not confined to any particular nation, tribe, caste, or family. It embraces the whole world. G.o.d is love; and, being so, it is not a question of the fitness or worthiness of the object of His love. It is what He _is_. He is love, and He cannot deny Himself. It is the very energy and activity of His nature. The heart may have many a question, many an exercise as to its state and condition before G.o.d, and very right it should have them. The Spirit Himself may produce such exercises and raise such questions; but, after all, the grand truth shines forth in all its l.u.s.tre, "G.o.d is love." Whatever we are, whatever the world is, that is what G.o.d is; and we know that the truth as to G.o.d forms the deep and rich substratum which underlies the whole system of Christianity. The soul may pa.s.s through deep and sore conflict, under the sense of its own wretchedness; there may be many doubts and fears; many dark and heavy clouds; weeks, months, or years may be spent under the law, in one"s inward self-consciousness, and that, moreover, long after the mere intellect has yielded its a.s.sent to the principles and doctrines of evangelical truth. But, after all, we must be brought into direct personal contact with G.o.d Himself--with what He is--with His nature and character, as He has revealed Himself in the gospel. We have to acquaint ourselves with Him, and He is love.
Observe, it does not say merely that G.o.d is _loving_, but that He is _love_. It is not only that love is an attribute of His character, but it is the very activity of His nature. We do not read that G.o.d is justice, or holiness; He is just and He is holy; but it would not express the full and blessed truth to say that G.o.d is loving; He is much more, He is love itself. Hence, when the sinner--"whosoever" he be, it matters not--is brought to see his own total and absolute ruin, his hopeless wretchedness, his guilt and misery, the utter vanity and worthlessness of all within and around him, (and there is nothing in the whole world that can satisfy his heart, and nothing in his heart that can satisfy G.o.d, or satisfy even his own conscience) when these things are opened in any measure to his view, then is he met by this grand substantial truth that "G.o.d is love," and that He so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son.
Here is life and rest for the soul. Here is salvation, full, free, and everlasting, for the poor, needy, guilty, lost one;--salvation resting not upon anything in man or of man, upon aught that he is or can be, aught that he has done or can do, but simply upon what G.o.d is and has done. G.o.d _loves_ and _gives_, and the sinner _believes_ and _has_.
This is far beyond creation, government, or law. In creation, G.o.d spake and it was done. He called worlds into existence by the word of His mouth. But we hear nothing, throughout the entire record of creation, of G.o.d loving and giving.
So as to government, we see G.o.d ruling in unsearchable wisdom, amid the armies of heaven, and among the children of men: but we cannot comprehend Him. We can only say, as to this subject, that
"G.o.d moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs, And works His sovereign will."
Finally, as to the law, it is, from beginning to end, a perfect system of command and prohibition--a system perfect in its action as testing man, and making manifest his entire alienation from G.o.d. "The law worketh wrath." And again, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." But what could such a system do in a world of sinners? Could it give life?
Impossible. Why? Because man could not fulfil its holy requirements.