it said specifically, "in his blood?" Because, in the Word of God, the blood is expressly said to be the life. I claim attention to this truth, and to a few brief statements of Scripture on the subject. It is a vital point. In the seventeenth of Leviticus it is written, "He shall even pour out the blood thereof, for it is the life of all flesh." And again, the life of the flesh is in the blood." Again, "the blood of it is for the life thereof." The shedding of blood is the rendering up of life. They are equivalent expressions; and therefore it is said in the same chapter, "It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Thus when the Scripture speaks of the blood of Christ, it means, his atoning death -his death, as having made an expiation or atonement for sin.

The Jewish sacrifices were some of the most striking types foreshadowing the great sacrifice of Calvary. Of these, none was more strongly expressive of its saving power, than that instituted on the memorable night when Israel came forth from Egypt. God was acting in judgment. The sword of the destroying angel was about to pass through the land, smiting the guilty. Why should not Israel be smitten? They were guilty. They had fallen, as Ezekiel tells us, into the abominations of Egypt, and had defiled themselves with idols. (chap. xx.) The Lord, in His distinguishing grace, for His own name's sake, chose to redeem them from this terrible judgment. How was it done ? The paschal lamb was slain, and the blood sprinkled on the door-posts. Under its protection they were safe; for the Lord had said, "When I see the blood I will pass over you." The blood of the slain victim-figure of the true Lamb of God-secured them from judgment. So, through faith, we can say, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us ;" and under the shelter of his redeeming blood we are perfectly secure. To doubt our safety under its protection, is not only to put indignity upon the blood of Christ, but to doubt the veracity of God.

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I would next direct attention to the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus, where the ceremonial of the day of atonement is described. To unfold at large the wondrous truths contained in that chapter, would require more space and time than we can devote. The ordinance of that day was two-fold in its bearing. The requirements of Divine holiness were first met: then followed the formal remission of the sins of the people, consequent upon the atonement which had been made. The sacrificial blood of the victim which had been slain for a

sin-offering was borne by the High Priest within the veil of the sanctuary, and was presented before the throne of God. The High Priest thereby, as it is written, "made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for the whole congregation of Israel.” The holy majesty of God being thus vindicated, the other part of the ordinance, which typifies the transference and bearing away of the people's sins, immediately succeeded. It so fully and simply illustrates the doctrine of the substitution of Christ, that I need not do more than cite the passage:"And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness; and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited." (Verses 21, 22.) Thus the sins of the people were transferred from themselves to the divinely-appointed substitute, and were borne away into a region where there was no memorial-where they could never again be found. They were eternally banished from remembrance . before God.

We may observe here, that the great truths respecting the vicarious character of the death of Christ, which it has pleased God to present to our dull minds in these vivid and living pictures of the Old Testament, are taught doctrinally in the

New, in plain and unequivocal language. The statements may be brief, but theyare so explicit,that he who does not receive them, rejects them, not because of their being uncertain and ambiguous intheir meaning, but because he will not believe the testimony of God. The death of our Lord is there spoken of as effected bythe hands of wicked men; but it is also declared to be a ran

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som, a sacrifice," an offering for sin." He is described as a willing victim, laden with the sins of others, bearing their judgment, and suffering in their stead. Thus it is written, "He gave himself a ransom for all." (1 Tim. ii. 6.) "Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust." (1 Pet. ii. 18.) He hath" put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Heb. ix. 26.) Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself without spot to God." (Heb. ix. 14.) "We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all." (Heb. x. 10.)

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There is one feature attaching to the typical representations of the great sacrifice for sin, which specially demands attention. The blood was always first presented to God: subsequently it was applied according to the occasion. On the great day of atonement, the blood was first sprinkled within the vail, on the mercy-seat, and seven times before the mercy-seat, indicating the completeness of the work; that is, it was presented to an offended God, to show that expiation had been made-that sin had been punished by death; so that God could now bless His people consistently with righteousness-that He could bless them whilst thus marking his abhorrence of their sin. The efficacy of the atonement did not depend upon the blood being seen by the people, but upon its being seen by God; and judgment was averted, not according to their estimate of it, but according to God's estimate.

At Calvary God was dealing with sin in a judicial manner. Christ was treated as the great sin-bearer. It is expressly declared, he bare the sins of his people "In his own

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body on the tree; and God dealt with him as if the sins which he bare were his own. In his person, sin-our sin—was judged. part of the penalty, therefore, remains for us to bear. If any portion of it remained, Christ's work would not have been complete. If it were not so, he could not have said, "It is finished." But blessed be God, the work by which sin is put away, "is finished" according to divine appointment. Sin has been put away according to God's own mind-we may say, by Himself. There cannnot, therefore, be any imperfection-any incompleteness. It is God who has ordered and effected the whole work. The words It is finished," leave no room for a single doubt. Faith receives God's words, and enjoys perfect peace.

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But let us consider what it cost the Son of God to procure that salvation, which is now freely bestowed on every one that believeth." As Jesus approached the awful hour of Calvary, varied sufferings gathered thickly upon him. These sufferings, as we have said, were two-fold. He suffered from men, instigated by the malice of Satan. He was given, as it were, into the hands of the powers of darkness, (Luke xxii. 53.) But he suffered also from God. 'It pleased the Lord to bruise him ;" and this was an incomparably deeper trial. The garden of Gethsemane is specially the witness of what the cross was to Jesus. The horrors of the three hours of darkness were here foreshadowed in the most affecting manner. My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death." It was not the thought of his betrayal by his 66 own familiar friend," nor of his desertion by his loved and cherished disciples in the hour of his trial-it was not the anticipation of the cruel mockings and revilings— the stripes and the nails; it was not any, nor all the sufferings inflicted by man, that overwhelmed his soul. No; all that, anguish as it must have been, was as nothing compared with what he had to endure as "the Lamb of God"-the substitute for sinners. Accordingly as we follow Jesus in this intense

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ly affecting scene, we find his soul riven with agony unutterable and unparalleled agony known only to God and to himself. For a moment it seemed as if the willing servant and obedient Son shuddered and recoiled at the bitter cup which he had to drink—a cup mingled, we may say, by the sin of man and the wrath of God. Drops of bloody sweat fell from him, and the cry was uttered, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.' But he had come, in accordance with eternal counsels, to manifest the glory of the Father, to accomplish His will, and to effect the salvation of His people. On that one object his soul had been steadily set to that one purpose he had consecrated himself; and accordingly the words are immediate ly added, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." But in the accomplishment of it, must the light of that countenance, to him more than life, be forfeited? Must sin's odious and intolerable load be borne by him? and must Hethe guiltless and the Holy Oneinstead of enjoying the inshinings and communings of love, be visited with unmitigated wrath?

No words in the whole volume of Scripture disclose to us more fully the terribleness of sin, than those then uttered by the Saviour, "If it be possible." If it had been "possible" that salvation should be otherwise secured, that momentary utterance would have been heard, that cup would have been allowed to pass. But no ; none but He who created could redeem. Man brought in the mighty ruin; but no mere man could repair it. No creature can supererogate. If man is to have a Saviour, he must be divine: and even He must suffer death-death under God's righteous, holy wrath -to accomplish our redemption.

There are two features which distinguish the death of Christ from that of every other righteous person, and which exclusively characterize the expiatory sufferings of the Son of God: he was forsaken of God, and he endured sin's terrific judgment. What the three hours

of darkness were to the Son of God no human mind can conceive. The Holy One-He whose abhorrence of sin was infinite-had the accumulated load of sin laid upon him.. He, who was purity itself, 66 was made sin." His soul was made an

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offering for sin;" and accordingly the flames of righteous wrath descended and consumed the sino ering. The storms of Divine wrath against sin, which had we to bear them would be spread over endlesss ages, were concentrated in those three hours on the Divine Sufferer's head. Then indeed was the holiness of God manifestedthen indeed did the righteousness of God appear in full force. Eternity will never present such a display of these attributes as then appeared on Calvary. Not all the vials of judgment that shall be poured out upon a wicked world— not all the wailings and gnashings of teeth of self-convicted sinners

not all the undying groans of the damned, nor the irreversible sentence pronounced upon rebellious spirits, will ever give such a demonstration of God's righteousness and hatred of sin, as did the wrath of God poured out upon the Son of His love. Never did the divine holiness appear more transcendently glorious, than when that visage, in which the beauty of God shone forth in loveliest lineaments

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was so marred more than any man's," by the infliction of righteous judgment. The sword of the Lord of Hosts smote the man that was Jehovah's fellow. (Zech. xiii. 7.) Holiness ordered the stroke, and justice inflicted it.

But how was the suffering aggravated by the hiding of God's face. The light of his countenance was withdrawn. Many a witness for the truth has been so sustained by the presence of God, that he has been enabled to rejoice-yes, to sing triumphantly in the midst of the flames. Over the first martyr for Jesus, the heavens were opened, and the very glory of God shone upon him; but with God's beloved Son it was not so. The blackness of darkness rested upon him. The smile of God beamed

upon others-His comforts sustained their souls: but Jesus had to endure His frown. His soul was left desolate, and that utterance of intensest mental agony, that ever dropped from human lips, was drawn forth-" My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!" Instead of being upheld by the blissful communications of his Father's love, in all its plenitude, he drank to the dregs the cup of unimaginable woe.

The notions of many Christians on the subject of atonement are extremely loose and indefinite. Because Jesus was the Redeemer, they speak as if atoning efficacy was in some vague way to be attributed to the whole of his life, as well as to his death. This view does not appear to be warranted by Scripture. The Divine ordinance of atonement for the sins of the people of Israel was immediately connected with the shedding of the blood of the victim, and the transference of their sins to the substitute. So the great atonement, which that ordinance prefigured, did not, strictly speaking, commence, until on the cross, sin was imputed to the substitute. If Christ was always a substitute, bearing his people's sins, why was he not always forsaken of God, instead of being able to say, as in John viii. 29, "He that sent me is with me.' From the manger to the cross, Jesus was the object of God's infinite delight, as a man who manifested divine perfectness in all his thoughts, and affections, and words, and ways. He only could say in reference to God, I do always those things that please Him." In him, infinite grace to man was combined with the maintenance of inflexible truth; while perfect devotedness and obedience to God conspicuously characterized the whole of his ministry. God was with him in the full joy and communion of perfect complacency. But the moment his people's sins were transferred to him upon the cross, all was changed. God turned away His face from His beloved Son; and those cries of desertion and suffering which we find throughout the

Psalms, and which in the New Testament are expressly attributed to Christ, were the utterances of his afflicted soul.

Another observation I would make here, which is fraught with much comfort for us. In the ministry and mediation of Jesus, the Persons of the Godhead are seen united in the great work of man's blessing and redemption. As soon

as the ministry of the Son commenced, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended like a dove, and lighted upon him, and the words of the Father were heard, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;"-words expressive not merely of delight in him as the Son, but as the Son commencing the ministry of grace and salvation. How full of joy is this thought! The Father was delighting in the work of the Son. The Son was carrying out the will of the Father, and manifesting His love to us poor, worthless, ruined sinners. All had been planned and settled between the Persons of the Godhead for our blessing, as we find it again declared, respecting the great work of atonement, 66 CHRIST," through the ETERNAL SPIRIT, offered himself without spot to GOD.” (Heb. ix. 14.)

I desire to bring this sacred theme before my readers as matter for devout meditation; for, as I have observed, it is deeply comforting to the soul, to know that the work of atonement was a work transacted between the Father and the Son, through the Eternal Spirit. Man had, and could have no part in this august and divine solemnity. In the day of atonement, to which we would again refer, this important truth is expressly taught in the striking words, "There shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation, when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have

* In some of these, the sufferings of the cross are evidently anticipated; that last hour thus casting back its shadow upon the whole path that led thereto.

made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel." (Lev. xvi. 17.) None durst enter the sacred precincts but the High Priest, who was the typical representative of Christ. The work of atonement was a work transacted between him alone, and Israel's God.

This ordinance of atonement was the foundation of the people's relationship with God. All communion between them and God was based on it. The blood was sprinkled on the mercy-seat-the throne of grace as well as of righteousness; and there it was ever before the eye of God. God's estimate of its cleansing power is thus simply but authoritatively declared: "On that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. (Lev. xvi. 30.) Thus sanctified by blood, God saw no sin in them.

This sanctification of Israel was a type of the sanctification of God's people now; for in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the sacrificial ordinances of the Jews are expressly declared to foreshadow the great sacrifice of Christ; "For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without the camp; wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate," (Heb. xiii. 11, 12.) Here is an explicit statement as to the object of Christ's death. He suffered death without the gate of Jerusalem, that he might sanctify his people with his own blood. I here, that our minds may pause rest on these words of the Holy Ghost. Christ's people are sanctified " by his blood," and, as thus sanctified, God sees no sin in them. They are cleansed as it is said, "from all their sins before the Lord." As the prophet said of Israel.

"He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel." (Numb. xxiv. 21.) So, now, where the blood of Christ is applied by faith, there God beholds not a stain of sin. Were it not so, the cleansing

power of the blood of Christ would be incomplete.

THE SIGH AND THE TEAR.

[Taken from The Homilist for March, Communicated by G.]

THE sigh and the tear are bro

ther and sister. Both express in

their silent, modest, but most effective style, the inward emotions of the human bosom. One flies away and ascends the skies on the wings of air; the other falls down on the ground unheard, and often unobserved. But there are also bastard tears and sighs-those that intrude upon your notice, and seem anxious to claim your attention on any occasion. Some people seem to have their sighs and tears always ready at their command. They are superficials, made for show and display; the heart within belies them, having no sympathy with them. We would not give a farthing per thousand for such sighs, nor a penny per gallon for such tears. But, oh! there is a mysterious charm, a deep melting influence, an irresistible power in that modest, delicate, unassuming sigh, which is issued by the pressure of inward emotions-which struggles to escape unobserved, and unknown to any one save the parent heart alone, buries itself in the bosom of the breeze to be wafted away somewhere-somewhere, to tell something-something that words cannot express in the ear of some one -some one who can understand its language, and sympathize with its distress. And that silent, genuine tear that trickles down the cheek, hastening to the ground where it hides itself from observation, looking up, as it were, after its sisterthe sigh! Let not our soul come into the secret of that man who has no sympathy with such a sigh— such a tear. The heart of such a man must have become as dry and callous as the leather of the blacksmith's bellows. There is an eloquence in the genuine human tear, which penetrates and subdues the heart of an angel. 'O woman why weepest thou ?" said one of those

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