ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants" (or slaves) "ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Read on to the end of the chapter. Is there no evil passion or sinful practice which you often give way to, or delight in? Remember, "no man can serve two masters," Matt. vi, 24. Satan is a hard master; turn then to Christ, whose yoke is easy, and whose burden is light, whose "commandments are not grievous;" and remember the words of the Psalmist, "I will walk at liberty; FOR I seek thy precepts," Matt. xi, 30; 1 John v, 3; Psalm cxix, 45.

When speaking of slavery, it should be mentioned, that among the Jews parents had power to sell their children. That this was sometimes done, we may conclude from Isaiah 1, 1, and Neh. v, 5. This is still the case in Eastern nations: persons who have traveled or lived among them, tell us of instances in which parents have brought their children for sale, particularly in times of famine, as in the days of Nehemiah.

The severe manner in which slaves were punished, is also alluded to in Scripture; they were often confined in dark dungeons, or sent to labor in the mines, either of which may explain the words of our Lord, Matt. viii, 12; xxii, 13. In Luke xii, 45, 46, our blessed Lord seems to have referred to the case of a slave that had been raised to authority, but proved to be a hypocrite, and deceived his master; who, at length, detecting his wicked conduct, ordered him to be cut to pieces. Another cruel punishment inflicted upon slaves, and the worst malefactors, was crucifixion. It was a punishment, in particular, for worthless slaves. St. Paul refers to this when he speaks of our Lord taking upon him the form of a servant, and becoming subject to death, even the death of the cross, Phil. ii, 7, 8. And in Heb. xii, 2, he speaks of our blessed Lord, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.' This explains why the apostle speaks of the preaching of the cross being foolishness to the Gentiles, (1 Cor. i, 23,) and of glorying in the cross. Worldly-minded men rejected the idea of receiving as their Lord and Saviour, one who had suffered the death usually inflicted upon slaves and malefactors. This is what St. Paul means when he speaks

of the offense of the cross, Gal. v, 11. In our times the same prejudice does not precisely exist, yet there are many who take offense at the truths of the Gospel. This will always be the case; for those that love the world, are not inclined to love the truth. But let us remember, our Lord requires us to take up our cross and follow him; that is, to show that we belong to him, and to live to the praise of the glory of his grace, without minding the perishing vanities and fashions of this world, which must pass away, 1 Cor. vii, 31; nor should we care for its contempt.

There were hired servants, as well as slaves, among the Jews. The law of Moses ordered that they should be treated kindly, and expressly directed that their wages should be paid every day before sunset, Lev. xix, 13; Deut. xxiv, 14, 15. From the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, (Matt. xx,) we find that they stood in the market-place to be hired; that their daily wages at that time were a denarius, or about sevenpence halfpenny of our money; also that they left work about six o'clock in the evening, and then were paid their wages.

When Morier was in Persia, a few years ago, he stayed some time in the city of Hamadan. He saw every morning, before sunrise, a great number of persons assemble in a large open square, with their tools in their hands, waiting to be hired. Some of them, as in the parable, remained till late in the day without being hired, and on asking them, in the words of Scripture, "Why stand ye here all the day idle?" he received the answer mentioned in the parable, though they had never heard of it. They replied, “Because no man hath hired us." In many parts of England, and even in London, laborers assemble in the morning, and stand to be hired.

In other parts of the Bible we find strong injunctions to deal kindly with hired servants, as Mal. iii, 5; James v, 4; Jer. xxii, 13. The reader will recollect the words of the prodigal son, when he reflected upon the plenty which the hired servants of his father enjoyed, and compared it with the scanty fare which his master, probably a heathen, allowed him. In like manner, such has ever been the bitter experience of all who follow the ways of sin; but the folly of sinners is such, that they do not take warning from the sad examples which prove that "the way of transgressors is hard.”

CHAPTER IV.

THE CEREMONIAL LAW.

MANY of the ceremonial laws given to the Jews referred to the great atonement, and were types and figures pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, our blessed Saviour, and his taking our nature, and dying for us. These sacrifices, and the various institutions connected with them, as the scapegoat, and the annual festivals, are noticed at page 201 of this work, to which the reader is referred for particulars concerning them, and also for remarks upon the circumcision and other religious observances practiced by the ancient people of God.

The miscellaneous ceremonial institutions of the Jews will here be noticed. These are well worthy of examination, since they will be found not to be arbitrary enactments, or such as must be traced up to the unrevealed will of God, like his providential dispensations, Deut. xxix, 29. In mercy to us he often restrains us from evil, by ways and means the wisdom of which we may not be able now to discern; and to such matters the words may be applied, "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter," John xiii, 7. In the ceremonial law, the meaning of every enactment may not be discerned, and may be mistaken in those which seem to be clearly understood; still there is much to be learned respecting them by searching into history, and inquiring respecting the customs of Eastern nations. And all we are able to understand will prove more and more abundantly, that these enactments were a reasonable service, well adapted to the Jews in their peculiar situation. The subject is interesting, as bringing before the mind many remarkable circumstances, and it should excite in the heart of the reader especial thankfulness for the time and place in which God has seen fit to fix our own lot, and for our superior religious advantages.

It has been said that the ceremonial law, by its sacrifices and other rites, pointed to the atonement-to Jehovah, as the Almighty God, just, and yet the justifier of those who come unto him through Christ Jesus. This revelation was

always directly opposed to idolatry, and made known the only true God as infinitely superior to idols, Psa. cxv; and thus the ignorant and uninstructed were guarded against the practices by which their souls would be deeply injured. Also a perfect ritual was given, through which also the people of Israel were taught instructive lessons, by outward and visible signs.

The Sun of righteousness had not then arisen; therefore it was the more necessary to guard the Jews against the dangers of darkness, and to give them some lesser lights to guide their steps, and to prepare them for the dawn of the Gospel light. In Romans i, a true picture of the state of the heathen world is given, showing how men did not like to retain God in their knowledge, but changed the truth of God unto a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

The minuteness of the Jewish ritual was then especially needful, since there was danger of lesser evils leading to greater sins, and of tempting to forbidden practices. Still there was full opportunity left for suiting the worship to the circumstances of time and place, whether private or public. The minute ritual observances, also, were calcuÎated to meet the situation of the Jewish nation, just able to take milk, but not to bear strong meat, (1 Cor. iii, 12,) having lived among the Egyptians, whose ritual ceremonies were very numerous and diversified. The minuteness of the ceremonial observances, which were burdensome rather from their numbers than their expense, showed that they were intended for the people at large; and, to a reflecting mind, would strongly confirm the declaration of the prophets as to the insufficiency of all ceremonial observances in themselves to procure pardon for the soul. A dependence on outward rites is an error common to human nature in every state. It abounds among ourselves, even more than we are aware. How many, in fact, rest their hope for acceptance upon certain ceremonial observances, instead of remembering that these are nothing in themselves, but only valuable as directing the thoughts to the one only perfect and sufficient sacrifice for sin.

"No bleeding bird, nor bleeding beast,

Nor hyssop branch, nor sprinkling priest,

Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea,
Can wash the dismal stain away.

Jesus, my God, thy blood alone
Hath power sufficient to atone ;
Thy blood can make me white as snow,
No Jewish types could cleanse me so."

One of the principal enactments which claims attention, as distinct from ritual observances, was the separation between clean and unclean animals. The principal mark of the clean animal was that it chewed the cud, and divided the hoof; that the foot was not covered with a solid mass of horn, nor yet separated into claws. These distinctions (Lev. xi and Deut. xiv) could not be merely to point out what was unwholesome, or unfit to be eaten; for several animals forbidden to the Jews are eaten in the present day, as hares, camels, and swine. The distinctions as to forbidden birds are still less clear upon common grounds. Some writers have labored to make out that the forbidden animals were symbolical of evil qualities, as the hare of cowardice, the hog of filthy desires, the hawk of rapine; while the ruminating animals, or those that chewed the cud, symbolized those who consider the truth, and the divided hoof the attempting no concord between sin and duty. But all these are mere guesses and fancies, such as the early fathers and Jewish doctors too often indulged. Neither can the injunctions be regarded as merely arbitrary tests of obedience, which would be unworthy of Jehovah. They were not requirements in conformity with the customs of the heathen, to which, in many instances, they were directly opposed, and in that light we may be enabled to discern the wisdom which forbade them. Thus the swine were not only disagreeable in appearance, and perhaps unwholesome if made a principal article of food in hot countries, but they were used largely, as heathen writers state, in pagan sacrifices, feasts, and magical rites. Thus the absolute abhorrence of their flesh kept the conscientious Jew from joining in observances which were very displeasing to the Most High. In like manner, other forbidden animals, as the goose, will be found to have been used by the heathen on particular

occasions.

It may also be observed, that the confining of the ritual observances to one fixed spot (Deut. xii, 14) placed a very decided mark of distinction between the Israelite and the