did of the appointed victim, "this is my expiation," —those who lay the hand of faith on the Holy Lamb of God, and approach the Father in penitence and contrition through His name—those who plead the merits of the blood that has made the atonement, and ask for pardon, restoration, and eternal life, through a crucified Redeemer, are heard and accepted, and justified and saved. The divine origin of the doctrine of the atonement is assured to them afresh by its sanctifying effect on their hearts when applied by the operation of the Holy Ghost. They eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, and find them to be meat indeed and drink indeed. They sprinkle the blood on their sindefiled conscience, and know that the angel of destruction will spare them for the sake of the blood. What wonder, then, if they exclaim with the Apostle, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world?" What wonder, too, if they regard as enemies of the cross of Christ, and subverters of the truth of God, those who ignore or deny Christ's sacrificial work? For if men can speak of His death as if it had no expiatory value at all, but were merely an exhibition of patience and love, and for a confirmation of His life and words, they rob Christ of His brightest glory, and the sinner of his

Galatians vi. 14.

1

only hope. God grant that we may all enter heartily into the Apostle St. Peter's estimate of "The precious blood of Christ."

My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
Whilst like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin.

Believing, we rejoice

To see the curse remove;

We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,

And sing redeeming love.

But let us now proceed to the third part of our subject, and observe that the introduction of literal propitiatory sacrifices into the worship of the present Dispensation, is contrary to the spirit of the New Testament, and dishonouring to Christ. My brethren, there is no imperfection in the provisions of the new covenant, which, like the first, was dedicated by blood, even, as we have seen, by the blood of the Divine Mediator Himself. The sacrifice through which we come to God is a perfect and sufficient one, and therefore was offered, as the Apostle says, 66 once for all." The High Priest who presents it for us is holy, harmless, undefiled, needs no sacrifice for Himself, and ever liveth within the holiest of all to receive confessions, offer prayers, and dispense forgiveness to every penitent soul that comes to God through Him. And He is one with the Father, and therefore must prevail. His name is "Emmanuel, God with us."

And consequently we need no other sacrifice and Priest in order to have access to our God. If we did require them, and if we were directed by the New Testament to make use of other sacrifices, of course, it would be perilous to approach God without them. But if we do not need them, and if the New Testament has not designated any other sacrifice and priest, save Him who is both the victim and the priest, it is an unwarrantable and daring act, for any human authority to introduce them.

If the priestly office was so carefully guarded in the Jewish Church, and intrusion on it so severely punished, as in the case of Korah1 and Uzziah,2 what must be the guilt of those who usurp the office of the Divine High Priest Himself, who is now fulfilling before the mercy-seat of God, within the veil, all that the high priestly office of old foreshadowed? He could not be a priest indeed until the hour of His sacrifice had come, and therefore a human priesthood was necessary until that sacrifice was offered on the cross on Calvary. And this explains the reason why our Lord Himself acknowledged the Jewish priesthood during His life on earth, saying to one whom He had healed, "Go show thyself to the priest." But when He laid down His life as a propitiation for human guilt, the veil of the temple was rent in twain, as if to signify that the whole sacrificial system of the

itical ceremonial was from that moment abrogated. e taketh away the first (covenant)," saith the stle, "that He may establish the second." 1 And now He Himself is our sacrifice, our Priest. Tertullian says, "He is the universal priest of ." "Through Him we have access by one Spirit he Father." And for man to interpose another sthood and sacrifice between the sinner and His is not only defrauding the penitent of one of the nctive privileges of the New Testament dispensanamely, free access to the Father through the but is also a blasphemous assumption of the office. h is the sole prerogative of Christ. "Thou art est for ever," said the Psalmist prophetically, er the order of Melchizedek." Melchizedek

not the first of an order of men, but stood out in his kingly and priestly dignity as a type of who is both our King and our Priest, and who ates neither one office nor the other to any human sentatives. What He did delegate to His inI apostles was His prophetical commission. He hem, as the Father had sent Him, to be witnesses truth, and to complete the revelation of the e will. And so far as we who minister abide ir testimony, and faithfully propound the way vation, are we true successors to their office. er they nor we have been called to be sacrificing

priests. The word that denotes that office (iepevs) is only applied in the New Testament to the Jewish and Pagan priesthood. Christian ministers are messengers, watchmen, stewards, as the Ordination service of our Church scripturally denominates them; but in no sense do they succeed to the Jewish priestly office.

The Prophet Daniel predicted the termination of such an office among men, when1 he declared that the Holy One, the Messiah, should be anointed for the purpose of finishing transgression, that is (cf margin), for restraining the overflowing of ungodliness; to make an end of sin, or, as it might be read, of the sin-offering; to make reconciliation for iniquity; to bring in an everlasting righteousness; and to seal up the vision and prophecy, that is, to verify and fulfil the vision and prophecies concerning Himself and His priestly office. It is almost inexplicable that in the face of such inspired declarations, and the argumentative reasoning of the Epistle to the Galatians and Hebrews, confirmed in its import by the practices of the early Church, men can be led to resort again to literal propitiatory offerings for the forgiveness of their sins. They had not learnt to do so in the second century of the Christian era; for then it was the accusation of the heathen against the Christians, that they had no sacrifice and no altar." 2 But soon the Galatian controversy revived, and Judaism was gradually (1) Daniel ix. 24. (2). Justin Martyr.