Patriarchal Faith

From: Present Testimony: Volume 6, 1854

• 2 hr. read • grade level: 9

The Patriarchs had come forth from the place of nature or of the flesh, in the faith of a promised inheritance in the land of Canaan. And what is to be noticed in the strength and victory of their faith is this-they cling to that promise, in spite of two very severe trials of it; that is, in the face of the poverty and sorrow and disappointment which they constantly experienced in the place of the promise; and also in spite of the desirableness and attractions and advantages which they enjoyed outside of it.

This is much to be observed; and it may be encouragement to us in such a time as the present.

There was famine in Canaan in the days of Abraham, and again in the days of Isaac, and again in the days of Jacob. Abraham, moreover, witnessed in that land the abominations of Sodom, and the common strife and contention of the potsherds of the earth. Isaac is forced from one spot of it to another by the injurious treatment of the natives of that land. Jacob is forced out of it by the threats of his brother Esau. And further, it was the scene of humbling and of discipline to each of them in their day, by reason of their own evil ways in the sight of the Lord.

Such was Canaan to the Patriarchs. They were, I may say, dishonored and disappointed, and well nigh heart-broken in that land of promise. But that which lay outside it was altogether different. It was just as attractive to them as Canaan had been trying and humbling.

Egypt, for instance, enriches Abraham when Canaan had left him at death's door-and to Jacob the same Egypt had become the scene and the occasion of all that heart or flesh could have desired; for he came to the end of a weary pilgrimage in that land. He had known plenty of sorrow in Canaan, both before he left it for Padanaram, and after he returned; but Egypt at last made up to him, and much more, for all his losses and sorrows. By royal grant he received the fairest and richest portion of it. He was honored and cherished there, and saw his family in increasing prosperity around him. The desires of his heart seemed all to get their answer there. And to crown all, Egypt restored to him what the wild beasts of Canaan had robbed him of. Joseph, whom he thought some beast in the former land had torn to pieces, was alive in Egypt, and the second man in the kingdom.

Here was Egyptian flattery and fascination indeed-and that too, in full contrast with all that Canaan had been to him. At evening-time there was light; but it was an evening in Egypt. His eye might well have desired the lengthening and lingering of such a sun-set, and his heart might have been tempted to contrast with it the clouds of his morning and his noon-day in Canaan. But faith is called a conqueror. It tries many a question with nature; and in some of the saints gets many a fair and brilliant victory. And so was it here with Jacob, though it may be humbling to one's own heart to trace it. For we have here before us a beautiful witness that in spite of all this, Canaan and not Egypt was the Patriarch's object.

This is the victory that overcame Egypt then, and overcomes the world to this hour. No recollections of sorrows or disappointments in Canaan, no present possession of honors and wealth in Egypt, moved him. The promise of God ruled in his heart. Of Canaan as promised of God he spoke; in Canaan he hoped; in the place of his present prosperity he was a stranger, and thought of home only in the degraded and impoverished land he had left behind him. It was in Canaan he would be buried. It was there he was in spirit when he blessed his children; and it was there he gave the double portion to his adopted firstborn.

There is something very fine in this; and for us something significant and seasonable. For I may surely say of the present time through which we are passing, there is the poor Canaan and the wealthy and important Egypt. That which, like Canaan to the Patriarchs, connects itself with God in the thoughts of faith is in a small and enfeebled state, while the world around is growing in its proper greatness and strength and dignity every hour.

It may be hard to learn this lesson which Jacob practiced. We may see it on the page of his history, without finding it on any corresponding one of our own.

Joseph, however, after Jacob, illustrates this same power of faith. Egypt had received him, when Canaan had cast him out. Out of the one land he had been sold as a bond-slave; in the other he had been seated on the second seat in the kingdom. But withal (for faith is " the victory that overcometh the world"), Egypt never became Canaan to Joseph. The promise of God lived in Joseph's heart, as it had lived in Jacob's. Disappointments and sorrows in Canaan, flatteries and successes and honors in Egypt wrought not their natural results in that heart, because it was thus the seat of the promise of God. This was in the vigorous words of the Apostle, (in the patriarchal form which such energy would take), " a laying hold upon eternal life"-which some of us know so little of.

But, I must observe something further. It is felt by us to be a serious and hazardous thing at times, to let the world know that we have learned this lesson-that poor Canaan is better than wealthy Egypt. We fully understand that men cannot lightly have the good thing they are nourishing and improving thus slighted. It is a reproach on themselves, when the world is undervalued.

There was a moment in Joseph's history, as I judge, when he felt this, when he had this experience of which I speak.

Jacob, his father, when dying, had made him swear, that he would bury him in the land of Canaan. When Joseph comes to act upon his oath, he seems to me to feel this, that he was now about to venture on a serious and hazardous matter. He evidently sets himself as before a business which had its special difficulties. He was high at court, as we may say; for, as we read, the physicians, the state physicians, were his servants. (Chapter 50 ver. 2.) And we know the resources of the kingdom, the strength and wealth of the realm of Egypt, were at that moment under his hand. But still, he hesitates about the matter of burying his father in Canaan, and gets the help and intercession of Pharaoh's near kindred.

Why all this? Was it not a small thing for so, great a man to do? Yes; but a request to be buried in Canaan was, in some sense putting a reproach upon Egypt. It seemed to say, after all, the Canaan of degradation and' poverty was better than the Egypt of honor and wealth; that the gleanings of such an Ephraim were better than the vintage of such an Abi-ezer.

This was the language of Jacob's request; and Joseph felt it to be a serious thing to convey such language to the ear of Pharaoh. But he did. Faith again triumphed -and after this manner, is he a witness to us, that we should let the world distinctly learn from us, that with all its advance and promise, it is nothing to us, while Christ's thing though in weakness, is our object.

The history of Christ's humiliation was looked at by Paul through the Holy Ghost—not in the touching detail of Christ's individual life, but as one immense fact, and a cardinal one, in the vast scheme of God. This was exactly in its place, and in keeping with the service for which he was employed.. John gives us the Divine nature-Paul the Divine counsels-Peter the walk of him who has a lively hope through the resurrection of One whose walk he had known and followed in its bright display on earth, towards the heaven into which resurrection is meant to introduce us; all founding the accomplishment of blessing on the redemption which He has wrought out for us.

THE SABBATICAL YEAR, AND THE JUBILEE.

Translated from, "Etude sur Levitique xxv.," par C. F. Recordon.

"The time of rest, the promised Sabbath comes."-Cowper.

I.-the Sabbatical Year.

Who is there that could continue to doubt the divine origin of the Scriptures, if he read without prejudice and with simplicity of heart, a chapter such as this? Who else than God, the Creator, could speak in such sort, could give to a people similar ordinances? Imagine the most mighty of the kings of the earth, Nebuchadnezzar or Alexander, Caesar Augustus or Charlemagne, prescribing to their subjects that the land should be left fallow every seventh year, that all agricultural toil should be suspended; and yet promising them abundance Would not every one be justified in crying out against the barbarous absurdity of such a law? Would it not be a decree of perpetual famine, and exposing, four times in every human generation, of a whole people to die by famine?

Ah! no: God alone, the Creator of all things, He who opens his hand and satisfies all created things, could say: " Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land."

In truth, God alone can resolve the doubts, calm the fears, dissipate the anxieties of those who flinch before such an edict, and who say: " What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:" God alone could say to them: " Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year."

God alone can prepare a table for his people in the wilderness; He did so during forty years in the, great desert, sending down every morning from heaven the manna for the nourishment of Israel; He did it again in satisfying, twice, in the desert place, thousands: of persons with a few barley loaves and a few small fishes; He will do it, once more again, nourishing, in the wilderness, the woman through twelve hundred and sixty days (Rev. 12:6⁶And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (Revelation 12:6)).

Without a doubt, He ordained and appointed toil to man, as one of the consequences of sin; He said to the man.... "in the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat 'bread." But God who can, when it seems good to him, suspend the laws of nature, can also, when he wills it, suspend a law such as that of which we speak.

Although the wisdom and the goodness of God have united, as to man, the right to eat with toil (2 Thess. 3:10¹⁰For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)), it is not therefore the less true that it is not the toil of man that secures him his bread. Man might in vain cultivate the earth, sow, plant, water, if the Creator did not send him the rain, the dew, and the fruitful season. If He gave not the increase, all the labor of man would be utterly useless. It is quite as certain, on the other hand, that here also, as in every other respect, God, if He will, can do without the labor of man. He has no need of the co-operation of His creature, in order to nourish it; and this is, I suppose, one of the first lessons which the Lord desired to give to His people when He imposed on them the year of rest for the land.

By this alone, the children of Israel ought to have learned to confide in God, to live in dependance upon Him, to count upon his faithfulness, and to repose for everything upon His promises, on His power, and not upon their own resources. What an admirable sight must this people have presented, if there had been faith enough to obey this law of their God (and often more faith is required for patient expectation of deliverance, without doing anything, than for action). How was their faith rewarded. How blessed was it to see the promise of God made good every sixth year, in such sort that the earth then brought forth for three years: for that sixth year itself, for the seventh, in which there was neither sowing nor harvesting, for the eighth, in which there was no ingathering, but in which preparation was made of sowing, in order to harvest only, however, in the ninth year. How blessed to see a whole nation, having sufficient confidence in its God to leave its soil thus without culture, and yet finding itself abundantly nourished. Oh faith is admirable; blessed is it to see it in action; how it glorifies the Lord!

Canaan was in an especial sense the land of Jehovah, the country which pertained to Immanuel. The Israelites were as His husbandmen. He desired to show them that the right to the land was His, by recalling to them that He alone was its Owner and Lord. "The land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me."

If Canaan was the land of God, Israel were the people of God: produce of one and the same stock, of one father, who had been the friend of God, and for whose sake the Hebrews were and still are beloved. The children of Abraham were then, in the purpose of God, a great family, and apart from all others; they had to consider one another, and to act one toward another as brethren. Many of their institutions tended to recall to them this fact, and to clothe them with fraternal affections one toward the other. Such evidently was, if not the essential and primary object, at least, one of the objects proposed by their solemn feasts, as that of the Passover, for instance. Such also was one of the ends of the ordinance of the sabbatical year. Then the land of God, and its produce, belonged equally to all the inhabitants of the country. No one could harvest his field, or gather in his vineyard; but their produce served for nourishment for all;-.to the Israelites, the strangers dwelling with them, to their cattle, and to the animals of the land; all the produce of the sabbath of the land was for immediate consumption. Thus, each seventh year was to be seen realized without difficulty, by a vast people, that which has for so long a while constituted, and which preeminently, in our days, constitutes the subject of the chimerical dreams of so many a poor worldling. Community of goods cannot exist, save in the family of God. In order to it, there needs, as here, that God should enjoin it and manage it; or indeed, as in Acts 4:32-37³²And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. ³³And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, ³⁵And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. ³⁶And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, ³⁷Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:32‑37), that great grace should be upon all those who carry it into practice. Furthermore, it does exist, as a fact (and that in a manner even yet more blessed, inasmuch as it does not exclude the exercise of faith on the part of the poor), with every child of God for whom the heavenly calling of the church is an experimental truth, and the waiting for the Lord Jesus, a subject of daily hope. When we know that we have in heaven better and more abiding possessions, and that, in yet a very little time, He that shall come will have come, we can accept with joy the loss, by violence, of our possessions upon earth, and yet more willingly be ready to communicate of those goods of which we are but stewards.

Lastly, and above all, this appointment connected itself with all the sabbatical ordinances of which it was the filling up. It formed part of the sabbaths, concerning which God said, in the reproaches which he addressed to the children of Israel: Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them" (Ezek. 20:12¹²Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. (Ezekiel 20:12)). There were indeed several sabbaths. Every seventh day brought with it the rest of the fathers and children, the masters and servants, the strangers and the cattle. From the morrow of the sabbath after the Passover, seven weeks or seven sabbaths were counted, at the end of which was celebrated the feast of weeks or of Pentecost. The seventh month was quite distinctively the month of sabbaths and of feasts. On the first day there was rest and the memorial of blowing of trumpets, which was the feast of trumpets; the tenth day was the great day of atonement, a sabbath peculiarly solemn. On the fifteenth day commenced the feast of Tabernacles, which lasted eight days, the first and eighth of which were days of rest. More than any other did this last feast prefigure the final rest of the people of God. After these sabbaths of days and months, came the sabbath of years, in which God enjoined the rest of the land. This is not the place in which to develop the subject of the sabbath. I confine myself to the remark that it contained the idea, so precious for us also, of the participation of the rest of God. For Israel, it was a sign of the Divine covenant; in truth, it was an earnest of that promise, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." We may remark also, that every time that God communicates any new principle, or any modification of the relationship between Him and His earthly people, the sabbath is introduced.

Let us now see, in the word, what are the details of the appointment of the sabbatical year, called also the year of release. Its first mention occurs in Ex. 23:10,11¹⁰And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: ¹¹But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. (Exodus 23:10‑11), where we see, clearly enough, one of the objects we have pointed out-that the poor of the people might eat of it.

In Deut. 15:1-15¹At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. ²And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord's release. ³Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; ⁴Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: ⁵Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. ⁶For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. ⁷If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: ⁸But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. ⁹Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. ¹⁰Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. ¹¹For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. ¹²And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. ¹³And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: ¹⁴Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. ¹⁵And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. (Deuteronomy 15:1‑15), the year of release is again spoken of. " And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother..... Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him naught; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto."

The sabbatical year brought with it then this additional blessing to the poor of Israel. It was for them, as the clearing off of all their debts, and put an end to all claims, to which any of them could be subject on the part of their brethren.

Next, we have in the same chapter, the liberation of the slaves, which also was one of the benefits of the ordinance of the jubilee. "And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee." (Compare Ex. 21:2²If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. (Exodus 21:2)). "And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him." The slaves were then sent away free, and with a present.

Finally we see in Deut. 31:10¹⁰And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, (Deuteronomy 31:10), etc., an important act which was to be renewed every seventh year. " And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place that He shall choose, thou shall read this law before all Israel in His hearing." It was probably in order to conform to this ordinance, that Joshua, Josiah, and Ezra read or caused, to be read, the book of the law to all the people assembled.

Such in brief was the institution of the sabbatical year, to the observance of which, as we have just seen, precious blessings were attached. The people of a stiff-neck did not attach much value, at least not for any length of time, to these blessings. They were not slow to transgress this as well as the other ordinances of their God; they soon despised and profaned the sabbaths of Jehovah, the sabbaths of years as much as those of days, and thus drew upon themselves the judgments of God. There is no question but that the contempt of the sabbath of the seventh year was one of the iniquities of the Jews, which brought upon them the seventy years of captivity in Babylon. It was a fulfillment of this threat of the Lord to His people under the law: " But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise my statutes... I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and ye shall be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths when ye dwelt upon it" (Lev. 26:14,15,33-35¹⁴But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; ¹⁵And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: (Leviticus 26:14‑15)
³³And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. ³⁴Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. ³⁵As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. (Leviticus 26:33‑35)). In the second Book of Chronicles we see this threat fulfilled. It is said in chap. 36:20, 21. " And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the kingdom of Persia. To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath to fulfill threescore and ten years."

See again what God said to the people, by the mouth of Jeremiah (chap. xxxiv. 8-17) concerning the nonobservance of one of the ordinances which, as we have seen, formed part of the sabbatical institution: " Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, At the end of every seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee, and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee; but your fathers hearkened not unto me neither inclined their ear, and ye were now turned and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor.... But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure to return, and brought them into sub- jection' to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the Lord; ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty every one to his brother and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth."

Some outward results were caused by the Babylonish captivity which must not be misconstrued. It inspired the Jews with a horror of strange gods, to whom their fathers had so often sacrificed. This was the drift of what the Lord Jesus said in the parable of the unclean spirit gone out of a man. The man evidently signified " the evil generation" in whose midst Jesus was living. And when the evil spirit returns to the house from whence he went out, he finds it empty and swept out as to the defilements of idolatry (Matt. 12:43-45⁴³When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. ⁴⁴Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. ⁴⁵Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:43‑45)).

To judge by a fact which the Jewish Historian Josephus relates, it would appear that the Jewish people, at their return from the captivity, had likewise returned to the faithful observance of this ordinance relative to the sabbatic year. The fact is the following:-Alexander the Great, the conqueror having made his entrance into Jerusalem as a friend, asked the High Priest Jaddua (to whom he skewed the greatest respect) what favors the Jews would wish to receive at his hand. Jaddua answered him that they besought him to grant them the liberty of living according to the laws of their fathers, and in the seventh year to exempt them from the tribute which they paid to him in the others. Alexander granted it to him (Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, lib. 11 chap. 8). And nothing could be more just, for as the Jews did not gather in the harvest that year, it would have been unreasonable to exact from them the ordinary contributions.

Ii.-the Year of Jubilee.

"AND thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto

thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven

sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field." Such is the other institution mentioned in this precious chapter, and to which I desire specially now to direct your attention, whilst asking our God to aid us with His Spirit of light and truth, in the study of this too much neglected portion of His holy word. And first a few words on the name of jubilee, given by the Lord to this fiftieth year:, it is derived from the Hebrew word Jobel, employed thirteen times in this chapter to denote this period. We again find it used six times, with the same meaning, in chap. xxvii. and once in. Num. 36:4⁴And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. (Numbers 36:4). The only places besides in which it occurs, are Ex. 19:13¹³There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. (Exodus 19:13), where some translate it by the horn, and in Josh. 6:4,5,6,8,13⁴And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. ⁶And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord. (Joshua 6:4‑6)
⁸And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. (Joshua 6:8)
¹³And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. (Joshua 6:13), where it is rendered by some rams' horns. But in this last passage of Joshua, the greater part of the German translations, together with' the LXX. and the Vulgate, read, the seven trumpets of jubilee. De Wette and Van Ess, translate thus also the expression in Ex. 19:13¹³There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. (Exodus 19:13).

Opinions are divided as to the etymology of the word. Some give it the meaning of a sound greatly lengthened in opposition to a sound by starts and interrupted. Others derive it from an Arabic word which means a ram, thence the horn of a ram or made with the horn of a ram. Others again from Jubal, the inventor of instruments, of music. It would seem to me more probable (while at the same time retaining the idea of the sound of a trumpet), that it is derived from a verb, which signifies to restore, or bring back, because that, on the day when the jubilee began, the silver trumpet pro claimed the release, the setting free or at liberty, in one word, restoration everywhere in Israel.

Our word jubilee or jubilation, which signifies rejoicing, and the Latin jubilatio, acclamations, cries of joy, come from the Hebrew word jobel, and are quite in accordance with the feelings awakened by the trumpet of jubilee in the troubled souls and the broken hearts of the multitudinous troop of desolate ones in Israel.

The jubilee did not begin with the sacred year, that is to say, with the month in which the ears of corn became ripe, of which God had said to Moses, " This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first of the months of the year," that is to say, of the sacred year in its connection with the different feasts of the Lord.

The jubilee began in the seventh month, that is to say, the first of the civil year; it thus brought round again this civil year, for which the sacred year had been substituted since the Exodus. Thus, including the last half of the forty-ninth year and the first half of the fiftieth, it did not make necessary two successive years of rest for the land.

Of course, during its continuance (ver. 11, 12), the people did not sow the ground, because the seed-time would necessarily have fallen on the ninth month of the sabbatic year; they neither reaped nor gathered the grapes, because they had neither sown the fields nor pruned the vines the preceding year; but as the jubilee finished in the seventh month of the sabbatic year, they might, in this same year, return to the labors of agriculture; and thus this command of God could take its course, without interruption (ver. 17), " Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy, vineyard and gather in the fruit thereof."

But, moreover, the day for the opening of the jubilee is clearly defined in the ninth verse; it is the tenth day of the seventh month, the great day of atonement, one of the most solemn of the year. This day, when every Israelite, under pain of being cut off; was to afflict his soul before God-this day of mourning, of humiliation, of tears, had been chosen by God for all the people, as the first day of this year of liberty, of grace, and of joy.

Ah! the reason is that the acts of the high priests, in the day of atonement, bring before us in the most striking manner, the perfect work of Jesus for His people-sole source of all pardon, of all grace, of all liberty, and consequently, of all joy really worthy of the name.

The sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is entirely appropriated to describing what was done by Aaron, in this solemn day. He acted by turns for himself and for his house (the type of the church), and for all the congregation of the people of Israel (a type of the earthly people). He was clothed in the holy linen garments (a type of the human nature perfectly holy of Christ); he offered a calf for a sin offering, making an atonement for himself and for his house; he then cast the lot upon the two he-goats, and offered that which was for the Lord; he went into the most-holy place within the veil, with the incense which he caused to burn before the Lord. Then he sprinkled the blood of the bullock seven times upon and before the mercy-seat. After which, he killed the he-goat of the people for a sin-offering; he carried its blood within the veil, and sprinkled it as he had done with the blood of the bullock. He made an atonement for the holy place, for the tabernacle, and for the golden altar, and cleansed them from the defilements of the children of Israel. The sins of all the congregation of Israel were confessed upon the head of the living goat, which was sent away into the wilderness, bearing away with him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited. Then Aaron changed his clothes, and having put on his own garments (Ex. 28:2²And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. (Exodus 28:2)) in the holy place, he came forth and offered his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and burnt upon the altar the fat of the sin-offering. He that had let go the goat for a scapegoat, washed his clothes and bathed his flesh in water, and. afterward came into the camp. The bodies of the beasts for a sin-offering, whose blood had been brought into the sanctuary, were burned without the camp. It was a sabbath of rest, and for afflicting their souls, which was to be observed every year-a perpetual statute.

Each time that this great day came round, nothing could exceed the distress, humiliation, mourning, and sorrow, with which Israel saw it begin, unless it were the joy and transports of delight with which the same people, Israel, saw it close. Every man returned in peace to his dwelling, carrying with him the precious assurance that the atonement for all his sins was completed according to the law. So long as the high priest was in the sanctuary, so long as there was still anything for him to do, all the congregation stood without, in tears and in fear, from the feeling of transgression which still weighed heavily on the consciences of the worshippers. But when, clothed with the garments of glory and of beauty, the anointed high priest came out of the tabernacle-when, lifting up his hands, he put the name of Jehovah on the children of Israel, blessing them according to the order of God; when he had pronounced these words, "The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord cause His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon thee and give thee peace" (Num. 6:22-27²²And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²³Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, ²⁴The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: ²⁵The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: ²⁶The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. ²⁷And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. (Numbers 6:22‑27)),—-then from the midst of this great multitude, nothing more was heard but shouts of joy, one song of royal triumph.

But if such was the joy on each ordinary return of this feast of the Lord, how much greater and more unbounded must it have been when the day of atonement brought round the year of jubilee. After forty-nine of these solemn feasts had gone round, after seven years of freedom and rest to the land, at the very moment of the close of the tenth day of the seventh month, when the congregation had just been dismissed with the blessing of the high priest, then the priests blew with the silver trumpets (Num. 10:8⁸And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. (Numbers 10:8)), whose joyful sound proclaimed the beginning of this year of the loving-kindness of the Lord, and published liberty throughout the country to all its inhabitants.

Before going further, I would stop a little at the precious instruction which God has given us by thus wonderfully placing together the great day of atonement with the year of the greatest joy, by which it is immediately followed.

The Epistle to the Hebrews, in different places, sets before us Jesus Himself, as the one grand reality of the Levitical institutions, as the body which casts its shadow over these rudiments of the world. And in a special manner does it point out to us all the acts of the Jewish high priest on the day of atonement, realized perfectly. in Him; for these acts, as well as the whole word of prophecy, testified beforehand, the sufferings of Christ and the glory which should follow. If He was "called by God an High Priest after the order of Melchizedek" (ver. 10), He nevertheless has not yet entered upon the exercise of this glorious priesthood; hitherto it is a type of that of Aaron which Jesus has fulfilled, and which He is still fulfilling. "Wherefore, it behooved Jesus in all things to be made like to His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" (ii. 17). " Such a high priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, then for the people's; for this He did once, when He offered up Himself (vii. 26, 27). " Now, when these things were thus ordained [in the holy place and in the most holy place], the priests who accomplished the service, entered always into the first tabernacle [the holy place]; but, into the second [the most holy place], went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people.... But Christ being come, a High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of bulls and of goats, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (9:6, 7, 11, 12). " For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (9:24).

The sacrifices offered by Aaron, in the day of atonement, his entrance into the holy of holies with the incense and the blood, his presenting himself before the mercy-seat in favor of the people: this is 'what Jesus has fully made good; to which we may add, that as Aaron, after having done thus, was to exchange his linen garments for the magnificent garments which were prepared for him, for glory and for beauty, in like manner, our heavenly Aaron has assumed a glorified body; and now we see him crowned with glory and honor.

And nothing now remains to be accomplished but the last act of Aaron in the day of atonement, and that is, our Great High Priest must yet come out glorious from the sanctuary to bless the people. Christ, who was once offered to bear the sins of many, must appear a second time without sin to those who look for Him unto salvation (Heb. 9:28²⁸So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)). Till then, the antitype of the jubilee cannot really be brought in.

In the mean time, the church being quickened together with Christ, being raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, already participates, by anticipation, in a spiritual manner, all the blessings brought in by the year of jubilee. What were these blessings? They might be summed up thus: 1. Remission or forgiveness of debts. 2. Setting at liberty of slaves. 3. Recovery of alienated property and restoration of all things. 4. Abundant provisions for the poor, and rest for the ground and for man throughout the whole year.

We read in Luke, chap. 4, that Jesus having gone on the sabbath day into the synagogue of Nazareth stood up for to read. " And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias; and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it is written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Isa. 61:1,2¹The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; ²To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (Isaiah 61:1‑2)). And He closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down; and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And He began to say unto them: This day is this scripture "fulfilled in your ears." It is generally thought that this "acceptable year of the Lord" was an allusion to the year of jubilee; in speaking of which, God also said, "Ye shall proclaim liberty" in the country, to all its inhabitants. But how, if the jubilee, as a type, has not yet had a fulfillment, could Jesus say, " To day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears?" The thing does not appear to me difficult to explain. The very fact that Jesus Himself, the Anointed One of God, was reading these words which the Holy Spirit of prophecy had beforehand put in His mouth, this fact, if only we observe it, was a fulfillment of these words. Jesus had, in effect, the Spirit of the Lord; He had, in effect, been anointed to preach the gospel to the' poor; He had, in effect, been sent to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, etc. On His part, and on the part of His Father, all was ready for its fulfillment. How then did it come about that the realization of the jubilee, of this acceptable year of the Lord which Jesus proclaimed, was delayed and put off till the latter times? Alas! it was the hardness of heart of the Jews which was the cause of it. It was in vain that the King had invited them to His feast; it was in vain that He had said to them, " All things are ready, come to the marriage." They made light of it and went their way: the one to his farm, the other to his merchandise. As to Israel, the Lord had been forced to say, "All the day long have I stretched forth my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people." Jesus was obliged to say (as it is told us by the same prophet Isaiah, 49), " I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for naught and in vain.... The Lord said to me that 1 should bring back Jacob again to Him; but Israel is not gathered... Jerusalem, Jerusalem! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not?"

John the Baptist, the forerunner, who was to prepare the way of the Lord, came preaching in the wilderness of Judah, saying, " Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." His mission was to urge upon the people the necessity of feelings becoming true children of Israel in the day of atonement-of afflicting their souls before God, so as to have hearts prepared to welcome the Messiah, who would in that case, establish the kingdom of heaven, or the true jubilee. Great multitudes went out after him, and were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing their sins, in the very same way as these sins were confessed over the head of the goat Azazel by the high priest. Jesus Himself began by preaching, like John, repentance and conversion, because the kingdom of God was at hand (Matt. 4.17).

Nevertheless, the jubilee could not begin till after the feast of the day of atonement. Notwithstanding such promising appearances at first-notwithstanding the eagerness with which they followed John, Jesus was obliged to say, "Who hath believed our report?" This appearance of piety among the Jews, was only like the dew of the morning which soon passes away. It again appeared for a moment, when the multitude welcomed with their homages the lowly King, seated on the foal of an ass, and cried, " Hosanna! blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!" But only a few days after, these very Jews, following only the voice of their rulers, cried out still louder, " Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him, crucify Him!" and instead of identifying themselves by faith with the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb without blemish, and without spot, which was about to be offered-instead of taking their place under the sprinkling of the precious blood which was about to be shed, they were not afraid to call down His blood in condemnation on themselves and on their children.

Nevertheless, Jesus having prayed for His murderers-Jesus having said upon the cross, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do;" in answer to this prayer, God once more calls in grace to this unhappy people; and this, when the Great High Priest had finished His work of atonement: He has offered Himself in sacrifice; He is risen; He is gone up into heaven; has gone into the true tabernacle; and has sent down the Holy Spirit on His disciples.

And in the words which He addresses to the apostles, before going up into heaven, there is again an allusion to the type of the day of atonement, and of the jubilee: " Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46,47⁴⁶And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ⁴⁷And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46‑47)).

Thus the twelve spake with boldness the great things of God to the multitudes which surrounded them; and Peter said to them, " Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)). A little later, the same apostle, on the strength of the prayer of Jesus upon the cross, says to them again, " I wot that through ignorance ye did it"; and he offers them, in the name of Jesus who had died and was risen, the pardon for which Christ Himself had prayed in their behalf: " Repent ye, therefore," he adds, " and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out; that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must receive until the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:17,19,21¹⁷And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. (Acts 3:17)
¹⁹Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)
²¹Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:21)). And what was this preaching, but a last call addressed to Israel to realize, by repentance and conversion, their part in the day of atonement, and the assurance that in that case, the Great High Priest, who on His side had perfectly fulfilled His work, would return as King of Glory, bringing to His people remission or pardon, refreshing or rest, and the restoration of all things of which God had spoken-in other words, the precious realities which were found veiled under the type of the blessings of jubilee?

In hearing these things, a great number of the Jews, it is true, had their hearts pricked with compunction, received the word with gladness, and were baptized. Peter, whom Jesus had made a fisher of men, had the joy of seeing, the first time he cast the net, three thousand souls snatched from the snare of the Devil and converted to Jesus Christ. Other thousands were afterward separated from the perverse generation, and formed the first little nucleus so blessed of the church of God on earth. But notwithstanding all this, the nation continued under the judgment pronounced against it (Isa. 6). Stephen was obliged to say to the Jews, " Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did so do ye." He paid with his life for his faithful testimony against their hardness; and he may be likened to the ambassador whom the fellow-citizens of the king sent a message after into a far country, to tell him, " We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14¹⁴But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. (Luke 19:14)); and Paul, whose affection was so great for his brethren-his kindred according to the flesh-was likewise obliged to testify against them, " that they filled up always the measure of their iniquities." "Therefore" he said again, "the wrath of God is come upon them to the uttermost" (1 Thess. 2:16¹⁶Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. (1 Thessalonians 2:16)). The wrath and not the favor of God is, to this hour, the harvest which the unhappy Jews have reaped. The true jubilee was to have brought to them the remission, of their debts-the pardon of their sins-and behold them still as a nation, under the weight of these sins and of the curse which they have pronounced against themselves. It is still the time of Jehovah's indignation against His people. Instead of freedom and liberty, they only know slavery and bondage; they are under the humiliating yoke of their prejudices, their ignorance, their blindness, their hardness of heart. " Their understandings were hardened..... When Moses is read to them, the veil remains on their heart." Satan holds them in his chains. Instead of seeing themselves re-established in their land, their house is left to them desolate, their country is deserted; they are now for eighteen hundred years still wandering in the desert of the nations; and Jerusalem is still trodden down of the Gentiles. Nor have they any more found the rest-the sabbath-that sign between the Lord and them has been taken from them. " Judah is gone into captivity, because of affliction, and because of great servitude; she dwelleth among the heathen, she taketh no rest" (Lam. 1:3³Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. (Lamentations 1:3)). The Lord has said, and has done it; the Lord "will cause all her mirth to cease -her feast days, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees... and I will make them a forest" (Hos. 2:11,12¹¹I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. ¹²And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. (Hosea 2:11‑12)).

Thus the Jews have lost, for a time, all the privileges which were promised them by the jubilee. They have been set aside, rejected, until the indignation be past. But, thereupon, the church has come in. God has visited the nations, and will visit them still, in order to take out of them a people for His name. The church-the body of Christ, of His flesh and of His bones-is blessed in Christ with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Cut out of the olive tree, wild by nature, and planted, contrary to nature, into a good olive tree, in the place of the branches which have been cut off, with them she became partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree; and consequently she has a right, but in an infinitely higher sense, even a spiritual and heavenly one, to all the expressions of free grace which the types of the law or the promises of God secured to the children of Israel, who will one day fully enjoy them, when the fullness of the Gentiles being come in, the church will be no longer on earth.

It is in this way that we all, who are believers-members of the body of Christ-partake in the blessings pointed out in the institution of the year of jubilee, as 1 am now about to show.

Who were those in Israel who most rejoiced to hear the sound of the trumpet proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord? Without a doubt it was the poor, the wretched, insolvent debtors; those who, from distress., had been obliged to sell themselves to their brethren, whose slaves they were, or who had been obliged to part with their houses and their possessions; those who groaned, overwhelmed with toils and labor: in the day the drought consuming them, and the frost by night, and their sleep departed from their eyes. What happiness, what transports of delight, did these joyful sounds cause in their hearts, which told them their deliverance was come and the end of their, toils I Well, it is the very same thing with the gospel; it is to the poor it is preached; it is wretched sinners, lost, and by nature children of wrath, that Jesus is come to seek and to save. The church of Jesus Christ is a company formed gradually, like that of David: " And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto Him; and He became a captain over them" (1 Sam. 22:2²And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. (1 Samuel 22:2)).

Ah! it was a happy day for these unhappy creatures, laden with debts, when the trumpet of jubilee sounded throughout the land; it was for them like a general acquittance given them by God Himself; it was the declaration that every plea of accusation against them was torn in pieces, annulled, annihilated. In the morning they were insolvent debtors; in the evening they owed nothing; their debt was considered canceled, paid-it was remitted. It is true, that it is only when speaking of the year of release that the abolition of debts is mentioned as one of the privileges which characterized it; but if it is remembered, that the jubilee was but the continuation the fullness, the perfecting of the year of release, it will easily be understood that all that which in grace took place in this latter year, must necessarily, also in that of the jubilee. Besides, it is of both these blessed years. that I am here speaking. Well, I would repeat it. 0 what joy, what happiness, for these poor debtors, was the sound of this trumpet of joy! But what were this joy and happiness in comparison with that joy and blessedness which overflows the heart of a poor sinner, when, by faith, he gives ear to the sweet and soft sound of grace, to the voice of Jesus, which says to him, "Thy sins are forgiven thee; go in peace." We know that sins are often represented as debts; our creditor is the justice of God, who has a right to demand of us even to the last farthing. And by nature we are all insolvent debtors; very far from being able, even in the smallest degree, to diminish aught from this mighty debt: man can only increase it each day, and each moment of the day. And what would have become of us if God had not had compassion on us-if God, in his great love, had not given us His Son, who has paid all for us, who offered up Himself a ransom for us?

It is "in Him that we have redemption through His blood; the forgiveness (the remission) of sins, according to the riches of His grace." We have to do with a compassionate master who has freely forgiven us all our debt (Matt. 18:27²⁷Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. (Matthew 18:27)). The death of Jesus has been, so to speak, the payment of this debt; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; He voluntarily took it upon Himself: this was why He tasted death and passed through the prison of the sepulcher.

When a debtor comes out of prison, it is a proof that he has satisfied his creditor; much more so if he comes out of his prison with glory. Thus Jesus, who was considered a debtor in our place, has fully satisfied the justice of God, who has raised Him up and glorified Him.

"To Him, give all the prophets witness, that through: His name, whosoever believeth on Him, shall receive in His name, the forgiveness of sins. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him, all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 10:43;13. 38, 39). It was thus the apostles preached to the Jews the gospel-jubilee. And now it is to us that these words are addressed: " And you, who were dead in your sins, and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting, in ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the midst, nailing it to His cross" (Col. 2:13,14¹³And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; ¹⁴Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Colossians 2:13‑14)).

This is, in reality, for us, the trumpet of Jubilee; this is the good news which rejoiced our hearts with joy unspeakable and full of glory, when it was given to us to receive and believe it. And we see, that this blessed news, this forgiveness, this free and full pardon, most intimately hangs on the perfect work of our High Priest; it depends on it, it flows from it, as well as all the other blessings of which we have yet to speak, in like manner as the Jewish jubilee preceded the day of atonement.

But further, the jubilee opened a spring of great joy to another class of unfortunate creatures, namely, to such as, from the depth of distress, had found themselves under the hard necessity of selling themselves to their brethren or to the stranger (ver. 39-55) " And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor and be sold unto thee... Then he shall go out from thee, with his children; he shall return unto his family." Certainly, it was not the will of God that an Israelite should be treated like a slave by another Israelite. Certainly, it was not His will that a stranger should rule hardly over a son of Abraham; moreover, God had given to the slave the right of redeeming himself, in case that any of his relations could and would redeem him, or that he himself possessed the means for it. "And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: after that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: either his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.

And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him." But notwithstanding these precautions, provided by the compassionate care of God, it remains not less certain that the position of these poor creatures must have been both hard and cruel, who were no longer their own, and consequently could not dispose either of their time or their strength for themselves or their families. How must they have longed after the happy day which was to bring round the year of deliverance. With what transports of delight did they welcome the sounds of the trumpet which proclaimed liberty in the country to all its inhabitants-which enabled them to say to their masters, " Behold us free and in liberty like yourselves; you have no longer dominion over us: we return to the full enjoyment of our rights. God has declared it; the sacred trumpet proclaims it as from Him."

Well, whatever were the transports of delight of a poor Israelite, set free from bondage by the coming in of the jubilee, they were a small thing compared with that which fills, or which ought to fill, the soul of a poor sinner when set free by grace from a yoke that was heavy, ignominious, and hateful, though in a very different way. Truly, we are all by nature the poor slaves of sin, of death, and of Satan. For, says the scripture, " Whom a man obeys, of the same also is he the servant ... And, whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin.... Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, ye are servants to him to whom ye obey; whether it be of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.... When ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then, in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death."

And is it not true that, we also " were servants of divers lusts and pleasures; the slaves of corruption, walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit which now worketh in the children of disobedience?" Were not we-even we also—amongst the captives of the strong man, fast bound in the snares of the Devil, by whom we had been taken captive alive to do his will? Was it not " the spirit of bondage" which governed us? And did we not know, by sorrowful experience, that humiliating slavery to which they are condemned who are still under bondage through "the fear of death"-the wages, of sin? Well, the gospel is for us the good news, the proclamation of liberty as to all that about which we have just spoken. The knowledge of the truth has set us free. The Son having made us free, we are free indeed. We are the children of the free woman. It is the spirit of adoption that we have received; and there where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, therefore thou art no more a slave, but a son. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." "Having been made free from sin, ye have become servants of righteousness-servants of God." Yes, "the law of the spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus, has made us free from the Jaw of sin and of death."

Sin has no more dominion over us, for we are under grace.", Jesus, He who is stronger than the strong man, has come, and having conquered him, He has taken from him all his armor and has divided the spoil, He has delivered the captives of this tyrant. "Having ascended up on high, He led captivity captive." "Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly; triumphing over them in the cross." He has conquered the, world and its prince. By His death, He has destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the Devil, and he has delivered them who, through fear of- death, well deserved to be all their life subject to bondage.-Very far from still being in dread of this king of terrors, each of us can say with Paul: "To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, which is far better." "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?-Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!"

The third class of unhappy beings, whose hearts were rejoiced by the sound of the trumpet of Jubilee, were such as from poverty had been obliged to sell their houses and their lands. As soon as the Jubilee commenced, they had the most perfect right to return into the possession of their alienated properties. The only exception was for houses which, belonging to Israelites, not Levites, had been built within cities enclosed by walls. If these houses were not redeemed within a full year, they remained absolutely the property of the purchaser (ver. 29, 30), probably signifying, that that which was specially the work of man could be alienated, God only secured possession of the land, and of the country dwellings, of which the villages were considered as forming a part. All that is redeemed of the Lord shall abide; all that is of man shall be consumed. But as to the houses of Levites, even within cities, they could not be alienated, because they were a gift of God on their behalf (Rom. 11:29²⁹For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29)). Barnabas, a Levite, when he sold his field, showed that his possessions were now elsewhere than below (Acts 4:36,37³⁶And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, ³⁷Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:36‑37)). " It shall be to you the year of Jubilee; and ye shall return each one into his possession and every one into his family.", And here again was the restitution of all things, for each one returning to his possession, the land of Canaan was found at each Jubilee anew divided into portions amongst the families of Israel, exactly as it had been at the beginning by Joshua (ver. 10, 13). What joy for these poor creatures, cast out from their possessions! They could appear with confidence before their creditors, their successors in the enjoyment of their fields and houses, and say to them: " It is enough-now these goods belong to us again. The trumpet of God has proclaimed it; God has said it." How sweet for them again to find themselves possessors of the places which recalled to them so many happy remembrances; of the houses where they had passed their infancy in the bosom of their families. What joy for those who thus freely recover all that they had lost!

But again here, what was this joy when compared with that which our hearts feel at the thought and in the assurance of all that the work of Christ has recovered for us?-Man, as I have already said, is like a dethroned king. The Devil has spoiled him of all the privileges he once possessed; sin has blotted out the image of his Creator from him, and banished him from Eden, from the presence of God. Now by nature, there is no difference between one man and another, since all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). In the solemn history of the passion of the Savior, when even the words of the enemies of the Son of Man seem to partake of the deep solemnity of the moment, or were prompted by the Spirit of God whether in order that the scriptures might be fulfilled, or in order to express truths important, though unknown by those who uttered them-it was thus the impious Caiaphas prophesied, and Pilate, a heathen, the profane, indifferent Pilate prophesied in like manner, when he said, " Behold the Man!" Pilate had taken Jesus, and had scourged him, and the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it upon His head, and clothed Him with a purple rube. It was in this state that Pilate presented Jesus to the Jews, and that he said to them, "Behold the Man!" Yes, it was indeed "the Man," O Pilate!—Jesus, the Holy One of God, was there as the representative of sinners, presenting before all the image of what man had become through sin.

Here may truly be seen what has become of the primitive glory of man. His crown is a crown of thorns; the royal garment which he wears is only a clothing of derision, and which, like that of Jesus, covers wounded and bleeding shoulders. His scepter is nothing more than a scepter of a reed! Glory, dignity, moral excellency-he has lost all by the knowledge of good and evil.

But, in Jesus, dead and risen for us, we recover all these blessings, or rather blessings infinitely more precious, and which no one can take from us. The new man, with which we are clothed in Christ, is created after God in righteousness and true holiness; it is renewed in knowledge, after the image of Him that created it. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation." We who once were far off, have been brought nigh by the blood of Christ; we have, through Christ, access by One Spirit unto the Father. In Jesus, we are already glorified; He has made us kings as well as priests to His God and Father. Partakers of the heavenly calling, we have our citizenship in heaven. There is our country, and every day we are nearer to it, while passing through this world as pilgrims and strangers. There is our inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Christians!-then each one of us has the privilege to exclaim with the apostle of the Gentiles: " I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

But lands and houses could be recovered before the Jubilee, provided the seller had a near kinsman, possessing the right of redemption who could and would redeem the thing sold by his brother, or if he himself could find sufficient wherewith to redeem what he had sold (ver. 25-27). It was the same, as we have seen, with the redemption of a Hebrew become the bondman of the stranger (ver. 47-50). This particular ought not to be passed over in silence, because it brings before us afresh the work of love and redemption of Jesus on our behalf. There never was a man in a state able to redeem himself; none of us could have ever found sufficient wherewith to redeem his soul sold to sin and Satan. -No man, no earthly relation could "with his riches redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; for the redemption of the soul is too costly," and could never have been accomplished by man. But Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, Jesus took on Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself fully partook of the same. He was made like unto us in all things, except sin; He became our kinsman, our near kinsman, and as such, He has been, He is the Purchaser, the Redeemer, He " who had the right of redemption;" and the manner in which He exercised His right was by shedding His blood for the ransom of His people. He perfectly fulfilled the part of our Goel.

He could and would redeem us out of the hand of the stranger, and restore to us infinitely beyond all that of which sin had robbed our first father. He has eternally ransomed us, and that before the jubilee. To Him be the glory and the praise.

In short, all the poor, in general, had reason to rejoice both at the approach and the arrival of the jubilee, as also in the sabbatic year; for in these years; there was at the same time for them, abundance of provisions and rest. No harvest: all the produce of the fields, the vineyards, the olive-yards, belonged alike or equally to all -to the poor as much as to the rich proprietors. And even one of the objects clearly pointed out by these institutions, was, as has been already said: "That the poor of thy people may eat of it" (Ex. 23:11¹¹But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. (Exodus 23:11)). And on the other hand, perfect rest, at least, as to all culture of the soil; for as there was no harvest, neither was there any plowing nor sowing. Thou shalt give rest to the land, and thou shalt let it rest. It was to the poor Hebrews the realization of that word in the Proverbs, " The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He giveth no sorrow with it" (10:22).

Behold, here again, blessings which we enjoy spiritually through faith in Jesus. In Him there is provision in abundance for the souls of the poor who believe in His name. They who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. "I am," said He, " the Bread of Life;—he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." Again He says, "I am the door; by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved; and shall go in and out and find pasture... I am come that my sheep might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." God has appointed Jesus Heir of all things. All glory has been given to Him; and his desire is to share all that He has with the church, His bride, His co-heir. "Out of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace"; and now the Holy Spirit tells us that all things are ours, whether the laborers of the Lord, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. Yes, "all things are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." -In Him likewise our souls find rest and peace; in Him, whose voice of love still calls poor sinners, saying to them, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.... Learn of me... and ye, shall find rest unto your souls. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; the peace of God to keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, and the God of Peace, who shall bruise Satan under our feet shortly, and who, ere He does it, is able to sanctify us wholly, and to preserve us blameless, until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have indeed then every reason to say, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."

Now I would speak to you, my dear reader. If, as I cherish the hope, you are a child of God by faith in Jesus, you know, by precious experience, all the blessings which I have just recalled to your mind. You know and believe that your sins are forgiven you; you know, in some measure, the preciousness of the liberty of the children of God, into which you have been called; you know that heaven is yours, with the favor, the loving-kindness, and all the treasures of the grace of the God of heaven; you have part in all the blessings with which the Father has blessed you in Christ; and you taste, I hope, with delight the unspeakable peace of Jesus. And what more can I say to you? Nothing, unless it be: Rejoice in the Lord; oh! yes, rejoice always in Him. Be joyful in hope, and walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you are called; walk in Christ as the redeemed ones, as citizens of heaven, as children of the light and of the day, as the freemen of the Lord, the witnesses of Jesus, the friends of peace, should walk. As much as lieth in you, follow after peace; live in peace, both among yourselves and with all men, and let your words minister grace to those who hear them. In a word, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's; for having been bought with a price, ye are no more your own.

But if you are still a stranger to Jesus-to the grace and peace of God, I can only solemnly beseech you to believe in Jesus, in order to be saved. More than once, the gospel trumpet proclaiming a jubilee for souls, has sounded in your ears. Without doubt, more than once, the gospel of salvation has been preached to you. But, should it never have been before, it is at this time. It makes itself known to you in these pages. Now, if you will hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts. While it is yet time, while it is still called to-day, before the last jubilee, which certainly would otherwise be to you only judgment and condemnation, believe, O believe the gospel. May the God of all grace grant you His grace, and give you ears to hear. May the Lord Jesus, the Friend of sinners, pronounce over you His powerful Ephphatha! that you may hear His voice which calls you, and see for yourselves fulfilled that promise of the Lord: " Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour cometh and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear, shall live" (John 5:25²⁵Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25)). The desire of my heart for you is that you may be saved. And may God work it according to His mighty grace in Jesus.

But I would repeat it: this is rather a moral application than a fulfillment of the type of jubilee. The time for its fulfillment is not yet come: it is Israel, rather than the church, which is directly concerned in the realization of this magnificent type; so also is the land of Israel, and in a more distant sense, the whole creation.

The sabbath of the seventh day coming after six days of labor, as the year of rest to the land succeeded six years of labor, without doubt, prefigured the rest of God; but so did it likewise that blessed time for the earth and its inhabitants after the other times of suffering, groans, and labors of every kind. Now, the jubilee, which returned or came round after seven sabbatic years, after seven times seven years, after the perfection of the fullness or the fullness of the perfection, pointed out, in a still more striking manner, that time of peace, of happiness, of liberty, and of rest: that time, called by the Holy Spirit, " The dispensation (or economy) of the fullness of times" (Eph. 1:10¹⁰That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:10)); generally called the millennium. Then alone will be seen the perfect realization of these types which I have first considered, in the establishment of the kingdom of Christ and of God upon the earth.

And here I would recall to mind that the jubilee only began at the end of the day of atonement, after that the high priest and the people had each fulfilled their respective parts in this most solemn day. Now, we have seen, that Israel, through its hardness and impenitence, knew not the time of its visitation, and refused to turn to the Lord. And on the other hand, Jesus, the Great High Priest, has not yet come out of the true sanctuary in order to bless the people in the name of Jehovah.

But very soon this long interval, without feasts, which succeeded the Pentecost, will end for Israel; very soon, the antitype of the feasts of the seventh month will begin for this people of God; very soon, these words will again have for the Jews a real meaning-a blessed reality: "Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day: for this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. And it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem." Later still (for in these passages it is either the trumpet for the assembling of the people, Num. 10:3³And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Numbers 10:3), or that of the jubilee which is spoken of), behold "the Son of Man, coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

But most especially in Joel 2 is it that we see the people summoned by the sound of the trumpet, before the great day of humiliation, and engaged to prepare themselves for it. " Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?"

The faithful remnant give ear to these exhortations, and at length, through the grace of their God, come to the knowledge of the solemn reality, as to themselves, of the great day of atonement. This we see in Zech. 12:10-14¹⁰And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. ¹¹In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. ¹²And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; ¹³The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; ¹⁴All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. (Zechariah 12:10‑14), where the Lord thus speaks: " And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for Him as one that mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Meggidon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart... In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness." Israel or the remnant having afflicted their soul before God, as the law relative to the day of atonement appointed or required of them, then will Jesus close His service as high priest after. the order of Aaron. "He will come out of the heavenly sanctuary, and reign after the order of Melchizedek; He will be Priest upon His throne. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth."

Then will the children of Israel enjoy perfectly, and in some respects literally, all the blessings prefigured in the jubilee, and that always on account of the perfect work of Jesus, the Messiah, the King and Priest. Thus, as to the remission of debts, these prophetic words will have their perfect fulfillment: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and say unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins... And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I shall make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.... I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins, and their iniquities will I remember no more."

Or is it deliverance from bondage that is in question? " As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water. Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee." Thus hath the Lord said to His Christ: I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves... Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? or the lawful captive be delivered? Thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.... and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior, and thy Redeemer (Goel) the Mighty One of Jacob." For "the year of my Redeemed is come."

Or, the benefits which the jubilee brought to the poor who had been deprived of their lands are thus expressed: "Ye shall return each one to his possession." It is here especially that the type will be seen realized to the letter. According to the plain and unconditional promise made by the Lord to Abraham, the land of Canaan has been given to the children of Abraham for an everlasting possession (Gen. 13:14,15¹⁴And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: ¹⁵For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. (Genesis 13:14‑15), etc). They have been driven out of it because of their unfaithfulness; but this is but for a time. The promise of Jehovah abides, and very soon the oracles of God declaring their re-installation in their land will also have their fulfillment. Amongst a number of passages I could mention, I shall only quote the following: " Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children 'of Israel from among the Heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land... And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children, forever and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore... I will be their God and they shall be my people." "And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel; and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God."

Again, Jesus says to the Jewish remnant who had followed Him, "In the regeneration, every man. who shall have left houses, or brethren, or fields, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and shall inherit eternal life" (Matt. 19:28, 29²⁸And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19:28‑29)).

In the last place the jubilee was a season of abundance and rest to the poor, and this again is what innumerable prophecies promise to Israel for the last days. After the long ages of desolation, during which the' land will have rested, enjoying her sabbaths, it will again be inhabited; then "the wilderness and the solitary place shall rejoice and be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt."

The Lord hath said, "Zion is my rest forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread." "The Lord hath sworn by His right band, and by the arm of His strength:... They that have gathered the corn shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought the wine together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness." "In those days, Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby she shall be called: The Lord, our righteousness." " All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children." " And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." " And they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it."

All these blessings which await Israel, will be found beautifully summed up in chap. 36 of Ezekiel, ver. 22-38. " Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your. uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings which were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock; as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord."

Such is the deliverance, such the blessings, which the Redeemer (the Goel) will bring with Him, when "He shall come to Zion, unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob." How true will then be those words of the Psalmist: "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound [or sound of the trumpet]. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance." "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.... For He hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat."

Then the jubilee millennium will be indeed for. Israel, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. It will be also then the time of restitution of all things of which God hath spoken; and the whole creation shall partake of it. "For the earnest desire of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God (for the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same), in hope that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

Then will end forever that deep groan now unceasingly rising from the whole creation under the weight of the curse; suffering as they also do from the consequences of sin and death come into the world. Then there will be rest for the earth, restored to its state before the fall. Then even for the animals, freedom, relief from pain, and restoration to their first estate. The same God who gave this promise to Israel: "Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy," said immediately before, "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind." Then " the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them; and the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 'waters cover the sea."

" And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which come against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." "The nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of the holy city. Then shall be sung, songs such as these, which will then have a glorious reality: " The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice, yea, let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof ... The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory." "Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind fulfilling His word: mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl: kings of the earth: and all people, princes, and all judges of the earth; both young men and maidens, old men and children: let them praise the name of the Lord: for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven. Hallelujah!"

And let it be well observed, as our redemption and that of Israel is only in consequence of the work of Christ, so is it with this glorious deliverance of the creation. He is likewise the Goel for the earth. The earth is also "the possession which Jesus has bought" by His death. The world is the field in which was hidden a treasure (the church), and Jesus is the One who has sold all that he had (or given His life) to buy the field. Very soon He will come and deliver His purchased possession, which is still under the yoke of the adversary. Very soon He will break the seals of the book which contain, as it were, the contract of the possession, or the titles of the Lamb-Redeemer-to the possession and inheritance of all things. When all the seals have been opened, then the jubilee of the creation will commence, for the reign of the Lord will be begun (Rev. 5, 11:15, 17).

Christians! But we ourselves also, we who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we who are united to Christ and made partakers of the divine nature, even we groan within ourselves, because, though by our inner man we belong to the new creation, by our bodies we still partake of this creation which groaneth and travaileth together. Beyond a doubt, our life is hidden with Christ in God, but, we have not yet put on immortality. We groan, being burdened, waiting for the moment of exchanging our earthly house, which is but a tabernacle, for our eternal house, which we have from God in the heavens, the body of glory. Now our citizenship is in heaven; but we are still waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change the body of our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body. In Jesus we have redemption, even the forgiveness of our sins; but we groan after the redemption of our bodies, ever miserable vile, feeble, mortal; and in this respect we are saved but in hope. We are the Lord's freemen, but ever exposed to the attacks of the enemy, ever in conflict or warfare with spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, carrying about within us the Spirit of God, undoubtedly, but also the flesh, ever rebellious with its desires contrary to those of the spirit. We belong to heaven, undoubtedly, but living still in a world which is wholly lying in wickedness, a world which is altogether at enmity with the truth of God, and against Jesus whom it has crucified, a world that is already judged. Thus, though enjoying by faith the, peace of the Savior, this is not our place of rest, and for us likewise this world is a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. In passing through it we must meet with trials, conflicts, tribulations, of every kind. " In the world ye shall have tribulation," Jesus has said to us. Rest, happiness, glory, are still before us. Dear brethren, we know that " there remaineth a rest for the people of God." Glory: is promised to us by the same God who has already given us grace. Now already we are adopted by Him in Jesus Christ, to the praise of the glory of His grace. Very soon we shall be to the praise of His glory. Very soon, yes, very soon the church will realize, but in a manner altogether heavenly, what was shown in type by the year of release and the jubilee. " It is a righteous thing with God... to you who are troubled, (to give) rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven. Praise to the atoning work of Christ, we shall soon be clothed with a glorious body, and according to His promise, introduced by Himself into His Father's house, where there are many mansions. "I go," He said, "to prepare a place for you; and if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." To Jesus all the glory belongs, hut by adoption and redemption we have become joint heirs with Him. As He said to the Father, "The glory thou hast given to me I have given to them."

These "great and precious promises" will be fulfilled for us at the moment when the Lord shall descend from heaven. Then the saints who are sleeping in Him shall be raised by His voice, and we, who are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And here is a thing to be remarked! In the same way, or in the like manner, as the Jubilee was brought in, with the sound of the trumpet, so likewise it is at the sound of the trumpet of God-for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible-and we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

Dear brethren, Is this what we are all waiting for? Is this our future-our only future? The last words we find in Scripture the Lord Jesus spoke to His Church was: " Behold, I come quickly." The last words which in the Scriptures the Lord Jesus puts into the mouth of His Church are: " Even so, come, Lord!" Do our hearts often repeat them as the' expression of our sincere desire?

It is most important to be able to give an answer to these questions. Truly, the looking for the Lord Jesus has the most powerful influence as to practical holiness in all the details of our life. This is what I would desire to skew whilst unfolding the only two passages of this chapter which appear to me remain to be considered on this subject, in order to arrive at the end, at least, of my feeble light and small measure of understanding.

Vers. 14-16. " And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbor, or buyest ought of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress one another. According to the number of years after the Jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according to the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee: according to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it; for according to the number of years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee."

The reason for this clause in the Ordinance is most easy to understand. Every. Israelite, in the Jubilee, returning to his possessions, it is quite plain that it was not properly the lands that were sold, but only a fewer or greater number of harvests, according as the Jubilee was more or less distant. Thus, the. man who sold his field two years after the Jubilee, sold consequently the -product of forty-seven years, or, more properly, of forty years, for the years of rest for the land, when no harvest was gathered, must be deducted. Again, a man who sold his vineyard two years before the Jubilee, consequently sold only one or two vintages of his vineyard. Thus the interest in properties differed in value according as the Jubilee was more or less distant. The farther of was this year of redemption and restoration of all things, the more value had the lands and fields; on the contrary, the nearer it was, the less value every earthly possession had. Dear brethren! the very same thing. is true as to the Church.

As long as the redeemed ones of the Lord kept the word of "Looking for the coming of the Lord"; as long as they really believed that the night was far spent, and the day was at hand; as long as they could say truthfully with Paul: "WE which are alive and remain" till the coming of the Lord; as long as each one amongst them could say with David: " My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning; more, I say, than they that watch for the morning," their affections, loosened from things below, were set without an effort upon those in heaven: there were their possessions, their treasure, their life, their rest, their glory, their city, their country, their eternal house; in a word, Him they loved was there, and consequently, their hearts, their thoughts, and conversation. They were Nazarites purer than snow, and whiter than milk. They walked upon earth as strangers and pilgrims, as citizens of heaven; loving neither the world nor the things which are in the world, but on the con-tray, spewing by their whole life, by their moderation, their disinterestedness, their sobriety, in every sense of the word, their spirit always happy that they were dead to the world. They understood so much better, because they realized in their daily life this exhortation of Paul to the Saints at Corinth: " But this I say, brethren, that the time is short: it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not-abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away." Their riches were in heaven; they took literally, and in earnest, that command of the Lord Jesus: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth." They had not the thought of heaping up to themselves "thick clay." 'Their conversation was without covetousness, being content with such things as they had. Like Paul, they could say: "Every where, and in all things, I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me."

But as soon as Christians lost sight of this precious truth; as soon as the servants had begun to say, " My Lord delayeth His coming;" as soon as science, falsely so-called, had treated as enthusiasm the expectation of the coming of Jesus, and taught that the multitude of passages relating to the coming of Christ apply only to the death of the Christian; from the moment that the coming of Jesus to receive His Church was commonly confounded with the coming of the Son of Man with His Church upon earth, for the judgment of the world; and consequently, when events which Scripture say are—to precede this last, were placed arbitrarily before the first; from the moment when, for the gospel of the kingdom, preached by John the Baptist, Jesus Himself, and His Apostles, the reign of the Gospel was substituted (which after all is but a human invention); from the moment that men thought they could work for the advancement of the reign of Christ, as it is called, and began to dream of the conversion of whole nations, notwithstanding the plain and positive declarations to the contrary, as in Luke 17:26-30²⁶And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. ²⁷They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. ²⁸Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; ²⁹But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. ³⁰Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:26‑30); 2 Tim. 3:13,1-5¹³But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13)
¹This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. ²For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; ⁵Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1‑5); 2 Thess. 2:1-12¹Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, ²That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. ³Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? ⁶And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ⁷For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. ⁸And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: ⁹Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: ¹²That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:1‑12); then, most naturally, the children of God, thus badly taught and led astray, waited no longer for the Lord, but for the realization of the dreams of their own fancy and feelings. And what has been the principal moral result of this departure from the truth? Alas! it is but too manifest in every place. Is it not evident that a worldly spirit has come into the Church, and has taken possession of it, just in proportion as the expectation of Jesus has been lost by it! Yes, the Church, in ceasing to believe in the coming of the Lord being at hand (and, consequently, the introduction of the glorious and heavenly Jubilee which awaits her, though even she may have ceased to wait for it),... the Church has become worldly; she has placed herself under the patronage of the great, the noble, the rich, and the powerful of this world; she has despised and defiled her Nazariteship, and has become drunken with the wine and strong drink of the world; she has become united and mixed up with the enemies of her Savior; she has sought to settle herself down in this world, and to find here ease, honor, and rest. From hence arises a walk frequently so low among saints-thoughts, opinions, a language, and actions which have too much resemblance to the acts and language, the opinions and thoughts of this world-whereas they ought to be the contrast or them. They have no longer desired to be citizens only of heaven; heavenly blessings, which alone are promised and secured to us in Christ, were no longer sufficient for them; they sought their own, rather than the things which are Jesus Christ's; it might well be said of them that their thoughts were on earthly things. The heavenly calling has been despised and forgotten. The character of strangers and pilgrims has been looked upon as an exaggeration; the salt has lost its savor; selfishness, avarice, and worldliness, have ravaged, weakened, and dishonored for ages the Church of God. Alas! it can no longer be said as in the early times: " Behold the heavenly people of the Lord, a gathering of those who are not of the world, even as Jesus was not of the world; of those who, after the example of their master, testify of the world that the works thereof are evil; for these the world is still the same, the enemy of Jesus, the world of which Satan is the God."

But notwithstanding all the unfaithfulness of the Bride of Christ, the heart of Jesus cannot for a single moment forget or forsake her. If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself. Also, through His patient grace, better days seem now to dawn upon the Church. To day, perhaps, more than ever, since the days of the Apostles, is she exhorted afresh to awake and wait for her Lord. Every where, God is raising up a number of witnesses of the near appearing of Jesus,- truth of all importance, on which the word of God insists, and turns to again and again, perhaps more than to any other. To-day, more than ever, the Holy Ghost causes the sound to be heard on every side. "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep:; for now is our salvation [the true Jubilee] nearer than when we believed." On all sides the cry has been heard, "Behold, the Bridegroom corn eth, go ye out to meet Him." What is this a proof of, but that the time is near!

May the Lord, who acts thus in Grace towards His poor yet blessed children, give us to understand, from the heart, and in a practical way, these calls which He addresses to us; and may we more and more see our brethren, the saints, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God, living as though always at the very eve of the solemn day when the trumpet shall sound, to proclaim the eternal Jubilee. Then also, by happy conformity to them, will they understand better such exhortations as these: " Seek the things above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God; set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth."

But if the effect of looking for the coming of the Lord is to loosen our hearts from the possessions, the joys and vanities which are here below, on the other hand it would never turn from the path of obedience, specially from the work of faith and labor of love, whether `towards our brethren, or towards those around us. On the contrary, nothing is more calculated to send home responsibility on the conscience. This is what I would desire to show in closing.

God foresaw that in the case of badly disposed persons among the Israelites; their covetousness, selfishness, indolence or indifference, might lead them to take advantage of the approach of the Sabbatic Year or of that of Jubilee. And in reality there was a way of speculating upon it and making it an occasion of gain, or rather a means of justifying a man's own avarice and hardness of heart. They might say, " The year for the restoration of the poor draws near when they will again have abundance, then they can do without my lending a helping hand to their need since there remains so short a time for them to suffer. Besides, all debts will then be remitted. So it would be merely a trick and a loss to me to lend to them now; so I shall take care how I do it. Such a one among my brethren is the servant of a stranger; I could redeem him, but see, the Jubilee will soon set him free; why then should I spend my money only to save him so short a time of servitude. Let us wait quietly for the sounding of the trumpet of liberty, he can very well do without me."

We see how God answered these calculations of private ends: " If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine band from thy poor brother: but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, the seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him naught; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto" (Deut. 15:7-10⁷If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: ⁸But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. ⁹Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. ¹⁰Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. (Deuteronomy 15:7‑10)). And in the chapter we are considering, see again the charges which God gives to His people as to the Jubilee: " And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen into decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the Lord thy God which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond-servant: but as a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and he shall serve thee unto the year of Jubilee.... Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear thy God" (ver. 35-43).

Thus we see, that the glorious prospect of the Jubilee does not by any means make us careless as to our present duties; but on the contrary it encourages us in them and urges us to fulfill them. However near it may be to our hearts, this looking for "The blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, the grace of God does not the less teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteous and godly in this present world."

Without doubt, in all ages, impious fanatics have known how cleverly to spread abroad rash and absurd predictions of the pretended end of the world, in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the credulous multitude; but the children of God, who are subject to the instructions of the word, will ever keep themselves far from such enormities. Nothing so much as the per-, suasion of the near return of Jesus, would lead them to obedience and holiness. Let it never be forgotten, this is the great motive, the motive generally presented in scripture as the strength of the precepts given to the saints; it may well be said that there is not a duty, not a detail in the walk of a child of the light which is not founded upon this truth, which comes so home, and is so certain, and so solemn, and so glorious.

For example, is it said, that the daily expectation of the return of Jesus will make us indifferent to the physical or temporal miseries of those around us. For myself, I can only say that nothing would so seem to me to draw out the sympathies of a Christian for these sorrows. Did not, to take an example, Noah, a preacher of righteousness, Noah warned before of God of the judgment about to burst on the world of the ungodly, did he not with so much the more earnestness beseech those around him to turn and flee from the wrath to come, by taking refuge in the ark, as the respite of 120 years granted by the Lord, drew near its close. And for ourselves, beloved, if we really believe that the Lord is at hand, and that when once He who now letteth be taken out of the way, then that wicked shall be revealed, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, a strong delusion being sent to them that they should believe a lie; the time of patience and of grace will be past for them; the apostasy will be at its height bringing with it the great tribulation and the judgment.... Yes, if we really believed these things, of which, we also, have been divinely warned:-Ah, I ask, could we remain indifferent to the fate of those around us? Shall we not be forced to cry to them to save themselves from this untoward generation which is going on to perdition, to believe on Jesus, in order that they might be counted worthy to escape all those things which shall come to pass, and that they may be in the number of those whom Jesus will keep from the hour of temptation, that is coming upon all the world to try them which dwell upon the earth (Rev. 3:10¹⁰Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)). Being convinced of the truth of such things, is it not powerful to cause each one of the redeemed of Christ to give a faithful testimony to the grace and truth of his God; as also to urge on those whom the Lord has more especially given as messengers of the Gospel, to proclaim the salvation which there is in Jesus, the only name under heaven which is given among men whereby they can be saved. And on the other hand is it not as discouraging as deceiving the expectation of the spiritual kingdom of Christ and of the conversion of the nations by means of the preaching of the Gospel, an expectation ever found false for ages, always falsified by facts, and which nevertheless continues to be the moving spring of the missionary labor of a number of pious laborers of the Lord.

As to the temporal miseries of those around us, how is it possible that the hope of the glory and of the appearing of Jesus should make us indifferent to their relief: since, as we have seen, on one hand, this hope loosens our hearts from the things of this earth, and, on the other, we know that the Lord will be pleased in a special manner to acknowledge and reward in His grace the works of love. But it needs only to open the word, and it will be seen how these works are joined with the looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus.

1 Thess. 3:12, 13¹²And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: ¹³To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:12‑13): " And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another and to- ward all men.... To the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."

Heb. 10:24, 25²⁴And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: ²⁵Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24‑25): " And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching."

I would now from amongst many passages, cite some which prove the practical and sanctifying tendency in general of the belief of the near approach of the Heavenly Jubilee; they show the all importance which this truth ought to have in the eyes of every Christian who desires to glorify the Lord.-In fact, it is held out to us as a motive for love for Christ.

1 Cor. 16:22²²If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. (1 Corinthians 16:22): " If any man love not the Lord Jesus. Christ, let him be anathema maranatha, that is to say, the Lord is coming."

For the mortification of fleshly lusts.

Col. 3:4, 5: " When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

To obedience and holiness in general.

1 John 2:28²⁸And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28): " And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before. Him, at His coming." Chapter 3:2,3: " We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."

2 Peter 3:14¹⁴Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (2 Peter 3:14): " Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace without spot and blameless."

To guard ourselves from forming rash judgments.

1 Cor. 4:5⁵Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. (1 Corinthians 4:5): " Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come," etc.

To vigilance.

Luke 12:3³Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12:3).5-37: " Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching."

Mark 13:33-37³³Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. ³⁴For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. ³⁵Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: ³⁶Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. ³⁷And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. (Mark 13:33‑37). " Take ye heed; watch, and pray; for ye know not when the time is: as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye, therefore; for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all: watch."

To patience and long-suffering. Heb. 10:36,37³⁶For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. ³⁷For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. (Hebrews 10:36‑37): " Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye may receive the promise. For yet a little while (how little, how little!), and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry."

James 5:7,8⁷Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. ⁸Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (James 5:7‑8): "Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.... Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."

1 Peter 4:12,13¹²Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: ¹³But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:12‑13) (compare 1 Peter 1:6,7⁶Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ⁷That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:6‑7)): " Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."

To moderation, sobriety, and confidence, without disquietude.

Phil. 4:5,6⁵Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:5‑6): " Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand; or, the Lord is near. Be careful for nothing."

1 Peter 1:13¹³Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (1 Peter 1:13): " Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind; be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the _Revelation of Jesus Christ."

To faithfulness in. the use and exercise of gifts received of the Lord for common profit.

1 Tim. 6:13-15¹³I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; ¹⁴That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁵Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; (1 Timothy 6:13‑15): " I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in his times He shall spew, who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords." See also 2 Tim. 4:1,2¹I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; ²Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. (2 Timothy 4:1‑2).

1 Peter 5:1-4¹The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: ²Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; ³Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. ⁴And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. (1 Peter 5:1‑4): " The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

And how many more Scriptural declarations might there not yet be mentioned. When speaking of the end of God in converting sinners to Himself, it is a double end: 1st. To serve the living and true God; 2ndly. To wait for His Son from heaven whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess. 1:9,10⁹For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; ¹⁰And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9‑10)). Is it to give comfort to those who mourn for relatives sleeping in Jesus: " Comfort one another with these words," said the Apostle. See what these words are in 1 Thess. 4:13-17¹³But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13‑17). Do we want to know to whom it is the Lord will appear when He returns, we read, He " will be seen a second time without sin, by those who look for Him unto salvation" (Heb. 9:28²⁸So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)). Do we want to know until when the Church ought to continue to observe the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus, it is said, that as oft as we eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death until He come. Does a question arise concerning the confidence we may and ought to have in Him who has loved us, each faithful one may say, as to himself, as did Paul: " I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12)). And as to our brethren, it can be said: " Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6⁶Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6)). In a word, is there a crown of righteousness, of which Paul, ready to seal by his death his faithful service, could say, " The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me in that day," and who shall receive with him a distinction so special? "And not to me only, he adds, but unto all them also who love His appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8⁸Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)).

And what could I more add to this mass of testimonies to prove the solemn responsibility we are set under to keep this Word of the waiting for the Lord, and consequently the waiting for the true Jubilee, unless it be this voice of Jesus Himself to each of those who keep this word: " Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Rev. 3:11¹¹Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11)); or this prayer of Paul's, which I would now put up for us all, to the Father of all grace: " And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ"? (2 Thess. 3:5⁵And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:5)).

" Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."

Through Israel's land, the Lord of all,

A homeless wanderer pass'd,

Then closed His life of sorrow here,

On Calvary, at last.

O Zion! when Thy Savior came

In grace and love to Thee,

No beauty in Thy royal Lord

Thy faithless eye could see.

Yet onward, in His path of grace,

The holy Sufferer went,

To feel, at last, that love on Thee,

Had all in vain been spent.

Yet not in vain-o'er. Israel's land

The glory yet will shine;

And He, thy once rejected King,

Messiah shall be thine.

His chosen Bride, ordain'd with Him

To reign o'er all the earth,

Shall first be framed, ere thou shalt know,

Thy Savior's matchless worth.

Then thou, beneath the peaceful reign

Of Jesus and His Bride,

Shalt sound His grace and glory forth,

To all the earth beside.

The nations to thy glorious light,

O Zion, yet shall throng,

And all the list'ning islands wait,

To catch the joyful song.

The name of Jesus yet shall ring

Through earth and heaven above;

And all his ransom'd people know

The Sabbath of His love.

" As regards the coming of the Lord, the purpose of God is evidently to make saints always wait for it as a present expectation; and this is shown in never telling them the moment. Nothing can be more explicit than Scripture on this head. St. Paul then made no mistake in expecting 'the speedy return of Christ from heaven.' He waited for God's son from heaven, and taught others to wait for it continually. He never prophetically announced the time. In each he was perfectly guided by the Spirit of God. That this was the Lord's mind as presented in Scripture, the following passages skew: But let your loins be girded about; and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that.... they may open unto him immediately. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed are those servants.... Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not.' So again, 'If that evil servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite ... . the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him.... and shall appoint him his portion with hypocrites.' Yet in the very same discourse, directly after, the Lord says, While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made,' etc. That is, if the heart counted on delay, it betrayed its wickedness; yet the bridegroom would delay, so trying the faith of his own. Yet, adds Peter, the ' Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish.... for the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation.' That is, the delay is not slackness in His promise to us, but God's patience with men prolonging the time of grace and salvation. But the same Apostle warns us that there would be scoffers, saying, Where is the promise of His coming?' The Apostle then, taught of the Holy Ghost, acted in the Spirit of Christ's direction to His disciples in the lively, and joyful, sanctifying, yea energizing constant hope of His coming, and yet never predicted the time which He had put in His own power, who had said, Sit on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool.' "

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