in the valley of decision," shall be slain. Such a day of the Lord's vengeance shall come, when he shall gather together the nations of his enemies and their kings to battle, and Jesus, clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, shall appear against them, with the armies of heaven, and shall tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. But another day, still more remote, and far more terrible, shall come, when the wicked shall all be driven away into everlasting perdition, and cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for ever. O sinners, forsake your sins, seek the mercy of God in Christ, flee to his atonement, take hold of his covenant. So shall you have peace and not destruction.

SERMON X.

THE JEWISH SACRIFICES.

NUMBERS XXVIII. 2.

Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, my offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.

In the beginning of the book of Leviticus we considered several offerings of individuals, as appointed atonements for their sins, or freewill-offerings of gratitude for mercies received; such as the peace-offerings, the trespass-offerings, and others. Here we are presented with an account of the regular sacrifices of the whole congregation, the public and national service; and I have omitted the consideration of them until now, because this portion of the Holy Scriptures gives the most detailed and orderly account

of them altogether. They had been instituted before, and had been observed in the wilderness, but they are here enumerated in regular order, and this chapter, with the following one, presents us with a view of the congregational service of the Israelites in their daily burnt-offerings morning and evening, and in their offerings on the sabbath, and on the new moons, and on their appointed solemn festivals. These were offerings which God was pleased to require under the Mosaic dispensation, and which continued to be observed, with more or less punctuality as the people kept or deserted their allegiance to the Lord, until an end was put to the political existence of the Jews as a nation by the Roman conquest, and to the ceremonial observances of their law by the gospel of Jesus.

I. I will give you, first, an account of

their daily sacrifice. Two lambs were offered every day, the one in the morning, and the other in the evening. These were lambs of a year old, and without spot or blemish, the best and most perfect of their flocks. Each was burnt upon the altar, as a continual

burnt-offering, and along with each a meatoffering was also presented, consisting, in our measure, of about three quarts of the finest flour, mixed with rather more than a quart of the purest oil. A drink-offering likewise accompanied each, consisting of somewhat more than a quart of the richest and strongest wine, which was to be poured on the lamb and the mingled flour and oil as they were burning on the altar. These offerings, provided at the public cost, were presented to the Lord twice on every day. They were never to be omitted. Whatever other offerings were ordered for the sabbath or other peculiar days and seasons, or were brought by any of the people in their individual capacity at their own charges, these were not to supersede the daily morning and evening sacrifice, but to be presented in addition to them.

Here we may inquire, what did this teach the Jews? Evidently it taught them, in the first place, that God required of them a daily service. They were thus, through their priests and offerings, to present themselves

every day before the Lord. If God required this daily service of them as a nation, every pious individual among them would feel that in like manner he required their separate and personal worship. It appears from the gospel of St. Luke that numbers of the people were wont to assemble themselves about the temple as the services were performing within it, for the purposes of prayer and praise. Surely every individual Jew was thus taught that it was his duty to offer to the Lord a solemn stated personal worship every day.

2. They were clearly taught, in the second place, their need of a daily sacrifice for sin. They fully understood that these offerings were expiatory, and as they were required every day, they would perceive that they themselves were every day guilty of sin, and continually needed an atonement. They were thus instructed in the great fundamental doctrine of salvation. Though they were not so fully acquainted with it as we are, yet they might discern the principles, and feel the suitable emotions of soul. They might gather from these types and shadows something of