Numbers 21:4

“And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the journey.”

The history of human nature is nearly the same in all ages. Successive generations ought progressively to advance in wisdom, because they have the advantage of others’ experience. But youth will not avail themselves of the instructions of their forefathers; they will go forward in their own ways; exactly as if they had no compass whereby to steer, nor any chart of the rocks and shoals, on which so many thousands have been shipwrecked. “

A new generation had been born in the wilderness since the departure of the Israelites from the land of Egypt; and they had ample means of information respecting the rebellious conduct of their fathers, and the chastisements inflicted on account of it; yet on similar occasions they constantly acted in a similar manner, murmuring and complaining as soon as any new trial arose, and wishing themselves dead, to get rid of their present troubles. Thus it was with them at this time. We propose to inquire into:

I. The causes of their discouragement.

Doubtless, to those who could not implicitly confide in the wisdom and goodness of God, there was ground for discouragement:

1. There was a perplexing providence.

The period fixed for their entrance into Canaan was nearly arrived. They had just had a severe engagement with one of the Canaanite kings, who had come forth against them with all his forces; and, after suffering a partial defeat, had entirely vanquished him. But they were not allowed to follow up their success, or to proceed to the immediate invasion of his land. On the contrary, having been refused permission to pass through the territories of the king of Edom, they were directed to “compass his whole land, and to go back to the Red Sea,” perhaps as far as to Ezion-geber, Deuteronomy 2:8. This was after they had been thirty-nine years and six months in the wilderness; after two of their leaders, Miriam and Aaron, were taken from them by death; and when there remained but six months to the time fixed for their entrance into the promised land.

How perplexing did this appear! Must they wait to be attacked in the wilderness, and never be permitted to reap the reward of victory? Must they wait in the wilderness until their enemies would be willing to resign their land? Had God forgotten his promise, or determined that they should spend another forty years in the wilderness? If the promise was to be fulfilled, why give them the trouble of traversing the wilderness again? If it was not to be fulfilled, they had better die at once, than protract a miserable existence under such vexatious and cruel disappointments.

While they viewed the dispensation in this light, we do not wonder that “their soul was much discouraged.”

In truth, this is a very common source of discouragement to ourselves. Persons, on their first commencement of their journey heaven-ward, are apt to be optimistic, and to expect that they shall speedily arrive at the promised land. At one time they seem near it, but are turned back again, in order that by a long course of trials, they may be better prepared to enjoy it. At another time they seem almost to possess it; and then, not long after, find themselves at a greater distance from it than ever. Thus “hope deferred makes their heart sick;” and being disappointed in their expectations, they yield to great dejection of mind: ‘If I am not of the number of God’s people, whence have I these desires? if I am, why have I not those attainments?’

The same disquietude arises from perplexities of any kind, where the promise of God and the providence of God appear at variance with each other. Not being able to account for the Lord’s dealings towards them, “their souls are cast down, and greatly disquieted within them.”

2. There was a long protracted trial.

Forty years of trial was a long period; and the nearer they came to its completion, the longer every day appeared. Hence this fresh order to go back to the Red Sea, and there to recommence their travels, quite overwhelmed them.

And how do long-continued afflictions operate on us? For a season we can bear up under them; but when pains of body, or distress of mind, are lengthened out; when the clouds, instead of dispersing, thicken, and storms of trouble are gathering all around us; then patience is apt to fail, and the mind sinks under its accumulated trials. Because “our strength is small, we faint under our adversity.” Even Job, that bright pattern of patience, who after the heaviest losses could say, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord;” even he, I say, fainted at last, and cursed the day of his birth! He must be endued with an uncommon measure of grace, who under such circumstances can say with Paul, “None of these things move me!”

That we may see how their discouragement operated, let us consider,

II. The effects produced by it.

Their minds being discomposed, they immediately gave way to:

1. A dissatisfied spirit.

Many were the blessings which they received from the hand of God; they lived by a continual miracle; they were provided with water out of a rock, and with manna daily from the clouds; and yet they complain, “There is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul despises this light bread.” Because they did not partake of that variety which the nations around them enjoyed, they were discontented; or rather, because they were offended with the order to go back unto the Red Sea, they were displeased with everything.

What a picture is this of human frailty! The mind discouraged on one account, looks not out for circumstances of alleviation and comfort, but gives itself up to disquietude and dejection. Temporal blessings lose all their relish. Let even the bread of life be administered to people in such a frame, they can taste no sweetness in it; the promises of God seem not suited to their case; nor are they sufficient for their support. They “cannot hear the voice of the charmer, charm he ever so wisely.” If they even turn their minds to the right object, it is only to confirm their own doubts, and to augment their own sorrows. Their experience is like that of Asaph, “My sore ran in the night, and ceased not; my soul refused to be comforted; I remembered God, and was troubled, Psalm 77:2-3.”

2. A murmuring spirit.

How lamentable to hear them on this occasion accusing God and his servant Moses of having brought them out of Egypt with a view to deceive their expectations and to kill them in the wilderness! But the mind, once thrown off its bias, will stop short of nothing, unless it is restrained by the grace of God, Isaiah 8:21-22. Let anyone that has been in deep affliction, look back and see, whether he has not found his mind rise against the immediate authors of his calamities, and ultimately against God himself, for having appointed him so hard a lot, Proverbs 19:3.

It is true, we do not perhaps intend to accuse God; but we do it in effect; because, whoever is the instrument, it is his hand that smites. Whether Chaldeans or Sabeans invaded the property of Job, or tempests destroyed his family, the holy sufferer referred the events to God, as their true author. Without God, not a hair of our head could be touched, even if the whole world were confederate against us. When therefore we murmur at the calamities we suffer, we murmur in reality against God who sends them.

It may be asked perhaps: How could they help yielding to this discouragement? That they might have done so, will appear, while we show,

III. The way in which they should have fortified themselves against this severe affliction.

It behooved them in this trouble, as indeed in every other, to consider,

1. Whence this severe affliction came.

It did not spring out of the dust; it came from God; even from him who had brought them out of Egypt, and had supported them to that very hour. Had they not had evidence enough of God’s power and goodness during the 39 years that they had continued in the wilderness? And did it not befit them to place their confidence in him, though they could not see the immediate reason of his dispensations?

Thus should we do, when tempted to disquietude and despondency; we should say, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to Him,” “the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” Yes, “when walking in darkness, we should stay ourselves upon our God;” and determine with Job, “Though he slays me—yet will I trust in him.” This was the expedient to which David resorted in the midst of all his troubles, and which he found effectual to compose his mind, “he encouraged himself in the Lord his God, 1 Samuel 30:6 with Psalm 42:11.”

2. For what end this severe affliction was sent.

God has expressly stated the end for which he tried them so long in the wilderness; it was, “to humble them, and to prove them, that they might know what was in their hearts, Deuteronomy 8:2.” And was not the prospect of such an end sufficient to reconcile them to the means used for the attainment of it?

Let us also consider the ends for which our afflictions are sent; are they not sent with a view to make us “partakers of his holiness?” Who would be discouraged at his trials, if he reflected on the necessity which there is for them, and the blessed fruit that shall spring from them? Doubtless, they are “not joyous for the present, but grievous;” nevertheless the refiner’s fire may well be endured, if only it purges us from our dross, and makes us, as “vessels of honor, fit for our Master’s use.”

3. The certain outcome of this severe affliction, if duly improved.

They were well assured that God would fulfill his promises. Even their recent victory over the Canaanites was a pledge of their future conquests. What if they did not understand the way of the Lord? The direction they had taken at their first departure from Egypt had appeared to their fathers to be erroneous; but it had proved to be “the right way;” and they should have been satisfied, that this, though alike mysterious, would have a similar outcome; and that the number and greatness of their trials would ultimately redound to the glory of their God, and to their own real happiness!

Thus we should bear in mind that all our afflictions are working together for good, and that, “light and momentary in themselves, they are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!” Did we but consider this, we would be content to suffer, until we had filled up our appointed measure; yes, we would even “glory in our tribulations,” knowing that we are to be “made perfect by them,” and that “they are our appointed way to the kingdom of Heaven.”

APPLICATION.

Certain it is that “we have need of patience, in order that, when we have done the will of God, we may inherit the promises.” But let not any of the sons and daughters of affliction yield to discouragement. If their trials are great, their supports and consolations shall be great also. Are they particularly discouraged at the thought of their weakness and sinfulness? Let them recollect, what a fullness of merit and of grace is treasured up for them in Jesus; that “where sin has abounded, his grace shall much more abound; and that his strength shall surely be perfected in their weakness.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 20:27-28

“Moses did as the LORD commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain”

The lapse of time is so gradual and silent, that, for the most part, it escapes our observation; but there are seasons and occurrences which almost irresistibly force upon us the conviction that our days are coming to a close. The history before us is particularly calculated to impress our minds with this thought.

It was not until an advanced period of life that Moses and Aaron were called to their sacred office; and when, contrary to their expectation, they were turned back into the wilderness, and doomed to sojourn there during the space of forty years, it would appear as though that time would scarcely ever expire. But years rolled on; the destined period arrived; and death, which had nearly completed its work in the destruction of all the men who had come out of Egypt, received a new commission against those most distinguished servants of the Lord.

At the commencement of the fortieth year, Miriam died; before it was half expired, Aaron too was cut off. And before its termination, Moses himself also was constrained to yield to the stroke of death. In the death of Aaron, to which we would now call your attention, there are two things more especially to be noticed:

I. The transfer of Aaron’s office.

Moses received an order to “strip off Aaron’s garments, and to put them on Eleazar his son.” That order was now executed; and in the execution of it we may see the true nature of that law, of which Aaron was the chief minister. We may see:

1. That the Law could not save.

In the preceding Discourse we have observed, that the sentence of death passed on Moses, marked the insufficiency of the moral law to justify; and now we observe, that the transfer of Aaron’s priesthood marked the same respecting the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law was never designed to make any real satisfaction for sin. The annual repetition of the same sacrifices showed, that they had not fully prevailed for the removal of guilt. As they could not satisfy divine justice, so neither could they satisfy the consciences of those who offered them, “they were remembrances of sin,” calculated to preserve a sense of guilt upon the conscience, and to direct the people to that great Sacrifice, which would in due time be offered for the sins of the whole world, Hebrews 10:1-4; Hebrews 9:9-10.

This, I say, was shadowed forth in the death of Aaron; for, if those sacrifices which he had offered could really atone for sin, why were they not accepted for his sin; or why was not some fresh sacrifice appointed for it? They could not so much as avert from him a temporal punishment, or procure for him an admission into the earthly Canaan. How then could they prevail for the removal of eternal punishment, and for the admission of sinners into the heavenly land? The Apostle tells us, that “it was not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sin;” nor could a more striking evidence of its inefficiency be conceived, than that which was exhibited in the event before us.

2. That the Law was not to continue.

The sentence of death denounced against Aaron, manifested, as we have before shown, that the law itself was in due time to be abolished.

The stripping off of Aaron’s garments, and putting of them upon Eleazar, still more clearly marked the changeableness of Aaron’s priesthood; and intimated, that it should successively devolve on dying men, until he should arrive, who should never die, but “be a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek!”

But the manner in which this transfer was carried into execution deserves particular attention, inasmuch as it was peculiarly calculated to give the people an insight into the whole nature and design of the ceremonial law.

Whether the ceremony passed in the sight of all the congregation or not, we cannot say; but they were certainly informed of what was about to take place on the arrival of Moses and Aaron at the destined spot. Now Moses was the person who, by God’s appointment, had put the priestly garments on Aaron, forty years before, Exodus 29:4-7; and he also was the person appointed to strip them off.

Was this an accidental circumstance, without any mystical design? Can we suppose that, in a dispensation which was altogether figurative, such a singular fact as this was devoid of meaning? No; it was replete with instruction. We exceedingly dread the indulgence of imagination in interpreting the Scriptures; but we are persuaded that a very deep mystery was shadowed forth on this occasion.

Moses was the representative of the law, as Aaron was of our great High-Priest. Now it was the law which made any priesthood necessary.

If the law had not existed, there would have been no transgression.

If the law had not denounced a curse for sin, there would have been no need of a High-Priest to make atonement for sin.

And if there had been no need of a real sacrifice, there would have been no occasion for either a priesthood or sacrifices to shadow it forth.

The law then called forth, if I may so speak, the Lord Jesus Christ to his office; and therefore Moses put the priestly garments on him who was to prefigure Christ. But the same law which rendered a real atonement necessary, made the figurative priesthood wholly ineffectual; its demands were too high to be satisfied with mere carnal ordinances; there was nothing in a ceremonial observance that could be accepted as a fulfillment of its injunctions; nor was there anything in the blood of a beast that could compensate for the violation of them. Therefore, to show that nothing but the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ could be of any avail, the same hand that put the shadowy garments upon Aaron must strip them off again.

Thus in this transaction are we taught, not only that the ceremonial law was a mere temporary appointment, but that men should look through it to Him whom it shadowed forth. The language of it was, in effect, similar to that of the Apostle, “I through the law am dead to the law, Galatians 2:19.” That is, “I, through the strictness of the moral law, am cut off from all hopes of acceptance with God by any obedience to its commands. Yes, I despair of obtaining salvation by any works either of the ceremonial or moral law; and I trust wholly in the Lord Jesus Christ; I seek to be justified solely and altogether by faith in him.”

While our minds are instructed by the transfer of Aaron’s office to Eleazar his son, our hearts cannot but be affected by,

II. The surrender of Aaron’s soul.

“The time was come when his spirit must now return unto God who gave it.” He goes up to Mount Hor, the appointed place, where he must lay down his mortal body, and from whence he must enter into the presence of his God.

In this last scene of his life there is much that is worthy of observation:

1. The occasion was awful.

Aaron had sinned; and for that sin he must die. We doubt not indeed but that he found mercy before God; but still he died on account of his transgression; his death was the punishment of sin, verse 24. This, in fact, is true respecting every one that dies; though in some respects death may be numbered among the Christian’s treasures—yet in another point of view it must still be regarded as an enemy, 1 Corinthians 15:26, and a punishment for sin. In this light it must be considered even by the most exalted Christian, no less than by the most ungodly, “his body is dead because of sin, even though his spirit is alive because of righteousness, Romans 8:10.”

But in the death of this eminent saint we have a most instructive lesson. It was doubtless intended as a warning to all who profess themselves to be the servants of God. Like Lot’s wife, it speaks to all succeeding generations, and declares the danger of departing from God. No length of services will avail us anything, if at last we yield to temptation, and “fall from our own steadfastness, 2 Peter 3:17.” The death of Aaron shadowed forth that truth which is plainly declared by the prophet Ezekiel, that “if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, all his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned; but in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die, Ezekiel 18:24.”

Many there are, who, from an attachment to human systems and a zeal for truths of an apparently opposite nature, would almost expunge this passage from the sacred volume; but, whether we can reconcile it with other passages or not, it is true; and every one of us shall find it true at last, that not he who runs well for a season, but “he who endures unto the end, shall be saved! Matthew 24:13.”

2. The manner was dignified.

Methinks I see Aaron, accompanied by Moses and Eleazar going up to Mount Hor “in the sight of all the congregation.” There is in him no appearance of infidel hardness, or unbelieving fear, or pharisaic confidence; he acquiesces in the divine appointment, and, with meek composure, a firm step, and a cheerful countenance, ascends to meet his God. Thrice happy man! How enviable his state, to be so attended, and to be so assured!

What can a saint desire more than this: to have his pious relatives about him; to see, not only those with whom he has moved in sweet harmony for many years, and who are soon to follow him into the eternal world, but his children also, who are coming forward to fill the offices he vacates, and to serve the Lord as he has done before them; to see them around him, I say, in his last hours; to enjoy their prayers; and to bestow on them his parting blessings? How delightful, in that hour, to “know in whom he has believed,” and to be assured that he is “entering into the joy of his Lord!”

Such may be the state of all; such ought to be the state of all. Hear how Peter speaks of his death, “I know that I must shortly put off this my tabernacle, 2 Peter 1:14.” Hear Paul also speaking of his, “I know that when the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, I have a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me, 2 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Timothy 4:8.”

Shall it be said: These were Apostles; and we must not expect such attainments as theirs? I answer, These things are the privilege of all, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace! Psalm 37:37.”

3. The outcome was honorable.

Upon every recurrence of difficulties, the whole people of Israel had vented their spleen against Moses and against Aaron. On some occasions they had been ready to stone these distinguished servants of the Lord. But now that Aaron was taken from them, the whole congregation of Israel bemoaned their loss, verse 29. Now they call to mind those services, which once they despised. Now they say one to another, ‘How often have we seen him fall on his face before God, to implore mercy for us, at the very moment when we were murmuring against him as the source of all our troubles! How did we on a recent occasion see him rushing with his censer into the midst of the plague, to arrest the pestilence in its progress, even at the peril of his own life! Alas, alas, what a friend and father have we lost!’

Yes, thus it too generally is that men realize their blessings only by the loss of them. They enjoy a faithful ministry, but will not avail themselves of it, until “the lampstand is removed,” and the privileges, which they have slighted, are withdrawn.

The same is too often experienced by children who have neglected the admonitions of their parents, and servants who have disregarded the instructions of their masters. Happy are those who “know the day of their visitation,” and “walk in the light before the night comes!”

To those indeed who die, it is comforting to know that they shall leave such a testimony behind them; but, when we consider the augmented guilt and misery of those who have slighted our admonitions, our sorrow for them preponderates, and turns our self-congratulations into tender sympathy and grief; for the greater our exertions were for their salvation, the more certainly shall we appear as swift witnesses against them, to increase and aggravate their condemnation.

ADDRESS.

What if God were now to issue the command to any one of us: “Go up to your bed and die!” How would it be received among us? Would we welcome such an order? Would we rejoice that the period was arrived for our dismissal from the body, and for our entrance into the presence of our God? Such an order will assuredly be soon given to every one of us; the old and the young, the rich and the poor, those who have traveled all through the wilderness, and those who have but just entered into it—may have it said to them within a few hours, “This night your soul is required of you.”

But, however men might receive the summons, its consequences to them would be widely different, according as they were prepared, or unprepared, to meet their God. Think:

1. You who are regardless of your eternal state.

You are now perhaps adorned in costly array, and filling some high station; perhaps, if not crowned with a mitre, like Aaron—you are at least officiating at the altar of your God. But your honors and your ornaments must all be laid aside; and your office, together with your wealth, must be transferred to others. “Naked you came into the world, and naked must you go from it.”

But where must you go? To Heaven? Alas! people of your description can find no admittance there. You will be excluded, like the foolish virgins, who had no oil in their lamps. O think, from what you will be excluded; not from an earthly Canaan, but from Heaven itself; and not, to be merely bereaved of good, but to bewail your misery in Hell forever! Ah! fearful thought! May the Lord grant that it may sink down into all our hearts, and stir us up to “flee from the wrath to come!”

Do any inquire, What shall we do to he saved? My answer is, There is a High-Priest who never dies. Or rather, I should say: There is a High-Priest though once he died on Mount Calvary, now “lives, and behold he is alive for evermore!” It is to him who Moses directed you when he stripped off Aaron’s robes; and to him Aaron himself directed you, when he surrendered up his soul. The typical priests being inefficient, “were not allowed to continue by reason of death; but the Lord Jesus has an unchangeable priesthood; and is therefore able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives! Hebrews 7:23-25.” Believe in him, and the sting of death shall be removed; you shall have peace with God through his sin-atoning blood; and, when taken hence, shall be transported on the wings of angels to Abraham’s bosom!

2. You who profess religion—yet are living at a distance from God.

Let us suppose for a moment, you are not so far from God, but that you shall find mercy at his hands in the last day; still it would be very painful to die under a cloud, and to leave your surviving friends doubtful of your state. Yet this is the best that you can expect, while you are relaxing your diligence, and “the things which remain in you are ready to die.” But there is reason to fear that you are “drawing back unto perdition,” and that “your last end will be worse than your beginning!”

Think not that this is an uncommon case; there are many who “seem to be religious, and yet deceive their own souls.” How terrible then will be your disappointment, if, after walking, perhaps twenty, or, like Aaron, forty years, in expectation of reaching the promised land—you come short of it at last! Yet this will be the case with all who dissemble with God, Job 20:4-7.

When your minister, who had hoped that you would have been “his joy and crown of rejoicing” forever, shall inquire: “Where is he?” And your dearest friends also shall ask, “Where is he?” How painful will it he, and perhaps surprising too, to be informed, that you were counted unworthy of that heavenly kingdom, Job 20:7. May the Lord grant that this picture may never be realized with respect to any of you! But I must caution you in the words of the Apostle, “Let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into God’s rest, any of you should seem to come short of it! Hebrews 4:1.”

3. You sincere and upright Christian.

What a glorious change will it be to you, when God shall bid you to go up unto your bed and die! Whatever honors you possess here, you need feel no regret at parting with them. You have found your trials in this wilderness great and manifold; and happy may you he to go unto the rest that remains for you. You have no need to be afraid of death; it should be regarded only as the stripping off of your garments, to retire to rest. Or rather, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life! 2 Corinthians 5:4.”

Go forward then in daily expectation of your summons; yes, be daily “looking for, and hastening unto, the coming of that blessed day! 2 Peter 3:12,”when you shall “depart, and be with Christ forever.”

Who can conceive the bliss that awaits you at that hour? To behold Him, “of whom the Law and the Prophets testified,” and in whom their testimony received its full accomplishment! To behold Him whom Aaron’s love and services but faintly shadowed! Him, “the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person!” Were death a thousand times more terrible than it is, it should be eagerly to be coveted as an introduction to such bliss! Methinks, impatience were a virtue with such prospects as these; or if you must wait with patience your appointed time, endeavor at least so to live, that, at whatever hour your Lord may come, you may be found ready, and have “an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! 2 Peter 1:11.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 20:12

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

Scarcely shall we find any portion of sacred history that is more calculated to affect a pious mind, than this. When we see judgments inflicted on the rebellious Israelites, we acknowledge without hesitation the justice and equity of God. We regret indeed that their impieties called for such severity; but we approve of the severity itself, or rather, regard it as lenient, in comparison with their deserts.

But here our proud hearts are almost ready to revolt, and to exclaim, “Has God forgotten to be gracious?” “Is it thus that God deals with his chosen servants, who for forty years have been indefatigable in his service? Does he thus for one offence exclude them from the promised land, to the possession of which they had looked forward with such ardent desire and assured expectation?”

But we are soon silenced with that unanswerable question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Sinful men are totally incompetent to determine what befits the holy God to do. But though we are not to sit in judgment on his dispensations, we may with propriety inquire into the reasons of them, if only we do so with a view to vindicate his ways, and to gain that instruction which they are intended to convey. Let us then, while contemplating the exclusion of Moses and Aaron from the land of Canaan, consider:

I. The offence they committed.

Slight as it may appear to us, it was a complicated sin.

There was in it a mixture of:

1. Irreverence.

“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him! Psalm 89:7.” But on this occasion Moses and Aaron seem to have forgotten that they were in the presence of God, or that there was any necessity to lead the murmurers to a becoming affiance in him. They should have reminded the people of his past mercies, and shown them how to secure the continuance of his favors by penitence and prayer. But, notwithstanding “the glory of the Lord appeared unto them,” they omitted, as he complains, “to sanctify him in the eyes of the children of Israel.” This was a great offence. They should have remembered, that Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, had been devoured by fire before the Lord for irreverently offering common fire in their censers, instead of the fire that was burning on the altar; and that God on that occasion had said, “I will be sanctified in them that come near unto me, and before all the people I will be glorified, Leviticus 10:3.” There would therefore have been no ground to arraign the justice of God, even if he had smitten them in like manner on this occasion. Their exclusion from Canaan, though grievous, was less than their iniquity deserved.

2. Anger.

A certain kind of anger is allowable; nor is it wrong to testify that displeasure in words; but it must not be such an anger as transports us into unfitting actions or vehement invectives. The expressions used by Moses on this occasion, show, that his anger was by no means duly moderated. It did not terminate on the offence, but struck at the person of the offenders; towards whom nothing but pity, joined with faithful remonstrances, should have been exercised. Doubtless, his indignation was very hot, when he addressed the people, “You rebels!” and in this it is evident that Aaron also was a partaker with him. How sinful this was, we may judge from that declaration of our Lord, that “Whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, You fool, shall be in danger of Hell fire! Compare verse 10, 11 with Matthew 5:22.” Here then again we see that their exclusion from Canaan was justly merited.

3. Disobedience.

God had commanded Moses to “speak to the rock;” but Moses, in the paroxysm of his anger, smote it, yes “smote it twice.” Had Moses forgotten how strict God’s injunctions had been respecting the furniture of the tabernacle, that every the smallest vessel or pin should be “made according to the pattern shown to him in the mount?” Had he forgotten that, when bounds were set round Mount Sinai, even a beast, if he should pass them, was to be pierced through with a dart? Had he and Aaron forgotten how strictly the minutest service of the sanctuary was enjoined on the pain of death? How then could they dare thus to violate the divine commands? God himself complains of this as an act of direct rebellion against him, verse 21 with Numbers 27:14.

Who then can wonder that God saw fit to mark it with a testimony of his displeasure? It is not improbable that God, in ordering Moses to speak to the rock, intended to reprove the Israelites, when they saw the rocks themselves more obedient to the divine command than they.

But the disobedience of Moses altogether defeated this intention; yes, it was calculated to convey a most erroneous idea to those who understood the mystic import of this dispensation. The rock that had been smitten thirty-nine years before was a type of Christ, from whom, as smitten for our offences, the waters of life and salvation flow, Exodus 17:6 with 1 Corinthians 10:4. But Christ was not to be smitten twice, “he was once offered to bear the sins of many;” and it is henceforth by speaking to him, and addressing him in prayer and faith, that we are to receive renewed communications of his grace and mercy. But Moses and Aaron overlooked all this, (for what will not people forget, when under the influence of passion?) and justly brought upon themselves this severe rebuke.

4. Unbelief.

Of this in particular God accuses them, “You believed me not, to sanctify me.” Whether they doubted the efficacy of a word, and therefore smote the rock; or whether they acted in their own strength, expecting the effect to be produced by their own act of striking the rock, instead of regarding God alone as the author of the mercy, we cannot say. We rather incline to the latter opinion, because of the emphatic manner in which they addressed the Israelites, “You rebels, must we fetch water out of this rock for you?” In either case they were under the influence of unbelief; for distrust of God, or creature-confidence, are equally the effects of unbelief; the one characterized the conduct of those Israelites who were afraid to go up to take possession of the promised land; and the other, those who went up in their own strength, when God had refused to go before them. This was the offence which excluded the whole nation from the promised land, “they could not enter in because of unbelief, Hebrews 3:19;” no wonder therefore, that, when Moses and Aaron were guilty of it, they were involved in the common lot.

What has been said may suffice to show that their offence was not so light as it may at first sight appear to be; but its enormity will be best seen in:

II. The punishment inflicted for it.

The sentence denounced against them was, that they should die in the wilderness, and be denied the privilege of leading the people into the promised land. This was:

1. A dreadful sentence.

How distressing it was to them, we may judge from the prayer of Moses, who sought to have the sentence reversed, “O Lord God, I beg you let me go over and see the good land!” But, as Moses himself tells us, “God was angry with him, and would not hear him, Deuteronomy 3:23-26.”

How loudly does this speak to us! If we reflect on the length of time that they had served the Lord; the exemplary manner in which they had conducted themselves; (oftentimes at the peril of their lives expostulating with the people, and seeking to avert the wrath of God from them;) and that this, as it respected Moses at least, was almost the only fault that he had committed. If we at the same time consider, how grievous the disappointment must have been to them to have all their hopes and expectations frustrated, now that they had nearly completed the destined period of their wanderings; truly we cannot but see in this dispensation the evil and bitterness of sin; and feel the importance of that admonition, “Let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into God’s rest, any of us should seem to come short of it! Hebrews 4:1.”

We know indeed that this sentence of exclusion did not extend to the Canaan that is above; and it is probable that many others who died in the wilderness, were therefore “judged and chastened of the Lord, that they might not be condemned with the world, 1 Corinthians 11:32;” nevertheless the record of their failure is “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come! 1 Corinthians 10:11.” And as the great body of the nation were “examples unto us, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted,” so may the example of Moses in particular teach us, that “if the righteous turn away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, all his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned; in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die, Ezekiel 18:24.”

Indeed this is the very lesson which Paul himself inculcates from the exclusion of the Israelites at large, and which is doubly forcible when arising from the failure of Moses, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls, 1 Corinthians 10:12.” Were a man as eminent as Paul himself, it would behoove him to use the same vigilance as he, “keeping under his body, and bringing it into subjection, lest by any means, after having preached to others, he himself should be a castaway, 1 Corinthians 9:27.” Not he who “runs well for a season,” but “he who endures to the end, shall be saved.”

2. An instructive sentence.

Besides the general idea above suggested, there are several very important things prefigured in this dispensation.

First, it intimated the insufficiency of the moral law to justify us.

Moses, the meekest of all the human race, had once “spoken unadvisedly with his lips, Psalm 106:33;” and for that one trespass was excluded from the promised land, Deuteronomy 32:48-51. Now, if we consider the typical nature of the whole Mosaic economy, we shall not wonder that he whose whole office and ministry were typical, was ordained to instruct us even by his death. In fact, he was himself a commentary on his own law; that denounced every one “cursed, who continued not in all things that were written in the book of the law to do them;” and he, for one offence, was doomed to die among the unbelieving Israelites, and thereby to show, that “by the deeds of the law should no flesh be justified! Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10; Galatians 3:16.”

Let this be remembered by us: the law condemns us as truly for one offence as for a thousand! James 2:10; it is of excellent use to lead us through the wilderness; but it never can bring us into Canaan; and, if ever we would be saved at all, we must trust, not in our own obedience to the law, but in Him who fulfilled it, and redeemed us from its curse! Romans 8:3 and Galatians 3:13.

Next, it instructs us in the transitory nature of the ceremonial law.

Before the sentence was to be executed on Aaron, he was to go up to the top of Mount Hor, and there to be stripped of his priestly garments, which Moses was to put upon Eleazar his son, verse 25-28. By this transfer of the priesthood it was shown, that this typical priesthood was not to endure forever, but to be transferred from one generation to another, until at last it should be superseded by Him, who was to be “a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

This is no fanciful construction; it is the very idea suggested by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews; who tells us that the law was disannulled for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof; the priests, its ministers, being unable to continue by reason of death, yielded up their office to “Him who lives for evermore.” And thus the whole legal economy, not being able to make any one perfect, gave way to that better hope which does, Hebrews 7:18-19; Hebrews 7:23-24.

Thus, I say, Aaron’s death illustrated the weakness of the ceremonial law, as the death of Moses did that of the moral law. Neither could introduce any one to the land of Canaan; but the one “waxed old and vanished away, Hebrews 8:13;” and the other remained only to curse and to condemn all who were under its power, Romans 7:10; 2 Corinthians 3:9.

The last truth which this dispensation preaches to us is, that Christ is the appointed Savior of the world.

Moses and Aaron, being doomed to die in the wilderness, and Miriam having already died at the commencement of this fortieth year, the people were by God’s command committed to the care and government of Joshua, Numbers 27:18-23. He was to subdue all their enemies before them, and to put the Israelites into a complete possession of the promised land. Who does not recognize in Joshua the Lord Jesus Christ. Their very names are precisely the same in the Greek language; and their offices are the same. Jesus is “the Captain of our salvation;” God has given all his people into his hands, that he may give eternal life unto as many as the Father has given him! John 17:2.

Know then, all you who are going towards the promised land, to whom you must look for direction, support, and victory. Jesus is “given to be a Leader and Commander to his people;” and they who fight under his banners, shall be “more than conquerors.”

In a word, the moral “law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ;” and the ceremonial law was a visible representation to shadow him forth; and in reference to both of them it may be said, “Jesus was the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes! Romans 10:4.”

To conclude.

Let us receive from this history the instruction it was intended to convey.

Let us learn from it the excellency of the Gospel, which reveals the Savior to us.

Let us see the importance of adorning the Gospel by a suitable conduct and life; ever remembering, that to them, and them only, who, by a patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honor and immortality, will eternal life be assigned! Romans 2:6-7.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 19:17-20

“For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or someone who has been killed or someone who has died a natural death. The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and that evening he will be clean. But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, and he is unclean.”

An inspired Apostle has acknowledged that the yoke imposed upon the Jews was quite insupportable. Where the reason of the ordinances was apparent, and the observance of them easy, we may suppose that the people would cheerfully comply with them; but, in many cases, the rites prescribed were very burdensome; they laid the people under severe restraints, entailed upon them heavy expenses, deprived them of many comforts, and subjected them to great inconveniences, apparently without any adequate reason. This might be illustrated by many of the ordinances; but in none so forcibly as in that before us.

The kind of defilement which was to be remedied, was as light and venial as could possibly be conceived; it implied no moral guilt whatever; nor could it possibly in some cases be avoided; yet it rendered a person unclean seven days; and everything that he touched, was also made unclean; and every person who might, however inadvertently, come in contact with anything that had been touched by him, was also made unclean. Moreover, if any person that had contracted this ceremonial defilement, concealed it, or refused to submit to this prescribed form of purification, he was to be cut off from God’s people.

We do not wonder, that the proud heart of man should rise up in rebellion against such an ordinance as this; and still less do we wonder that the pious Jews should long for the Messiah, who was to liberate his people from such a yoke.

But if, on the one hand, this was the most burdensome ordinance, it was, on the other hand, the most edifying to those who could discover its true import. It may well be doubted whether in any other ordinance whatever there can be found so rich a variety of instructive matter, as may justly be deduced from that before us.

To confirm this assertion, we shall state:

I. Its typical import.

On this we shall dwell no longer than is necessary to prepare the way for the instruction which the subject is suited to convey. We will however, for the sake of clarity, call your attention to the ordinance under two distinct heads:

1. The preparation of the heifer for its destined use.

A red heifer was taken from the congregation; it was to be without spot or blemish; and it must be one that had never borne a yoke. Being brought outside the camp, it was slain in the presence of the priest, who with his finger sprinkled the blood “directly before the tabernacle, seven times.” The whole carcass was then burned in his presence; (the skin, the flesh, the blood, the dung, were all burned together;) and some cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet wool were burned with it. Then the ashes of the heifer were gathered up by another person, and deposited in a clean place without the camp.

We shall not attempt to explain every minute particular of this ordinance; but its leading features are clear. We see here the Lord Jesus Christ, taken from, and separated for, the whole mass of mankind. We see him who was “without blemish and without spot,” and who was under no previous obligation to suffer for us, coming voluntarily into the world for that express purpose. We see him suffering the most inconceivable agonies both in body and soul even unto death, outside the gates of Jerusalem. We see him sprinkling his own blood before the mercy-seat of the Most High God, in order to effect a perfect reconciliation between God and us. And that one atonement which was offered by him for the sins of the whole world, we see to be of perpetual efficacy in the Church, and ever ready at hand to be applied for the purification of those who desire deliverance from sin and death.

2. The application of it to that use.

A portion of the ashes being put into a vessel, running water was poured upon them; and then a bunch of hyssop was dipped in the water, and the unclean person, together with everything which had been defiled through him, was sprinkled with it. This was done on the third day, and on the seventh day; and then the unclean person was considered as purified from his defilement.

Here we behold the Holy Spirit co-operating with the Lord Jesus Christ in effecting the redemption of a ruined world. The Holy Spirit qualified the man Jesus for his work, and upheld him in it, and wrought miracles by him in confirmation of his mission, and raised him up from the dead, and bore witness to him in a visible manner on the day of Pentecost; and from that day to this, has been imparting to the souls of men the benefits of the Redeemer’s sacrifice. By working faith in our hearts, he enables us to apply to ourselves the promises of God, and thereby to obtain a saving interest in all that Christ has done and suffered for us. And by such repeated applications of the promises to ourselves, he conveys to us all the blessings of grace and glory.

That this is the import of the type we can have no doubt, since God himself has so explained it in Hebrews 9:13-14. We see particularly in this passage, what was the import of the living water with which the ashes were mixed; it intimated, that “Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit.”

This may suffice for a general explanation of the ordinance; but we shall gain a still clearer insight into it by considering,

II. Its instructive tendency.

We do not apprehend that any Jew, perhaps not even Moses himself, could discover in it all that we do with our additional New Testament light. Yet we would be extremely cautious of indulging our imagination, or of deducing from the ordinance any instruction which it is not well fitted to convey. We certainly keep within the bounds of sober interpretation, when we say that we may learn from it:

1. Our universal need of a remedy against the defilement of sin.

The contracting of defilement from the touch of a dead body, or a bone, or a grave, and the communicating of that defilement to everything that was touched, and the rendering of that also a means of communicating defilement to others, intimated, that in our present state we cannot but receive defilement from the things around us; and that, whether intentionally or not, we are the means of diffusing the sad contagion of sin. “There is not a man that lives, and sins not;” “in many things we all sin;” so that we may well adopt the language of the Psalmist, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from my secret faults! Psalm 19:12.”

Now as every one who was defiled, needed the purification that was appointed, so do we, even the most pure among us, need deliverance from guilt and corruption. However careful we are, we cannot plead exemption from the common lot of all; we are “corrupted and corrupters, Isaiah 1:4,” every one of us; and are greatly indebted to our God, who has graciously appointed means for the purifying of our souls!

2. The mysterious nature of that remedy prescribed to us in the Gospel.

Some have said, Where mystery begins, religion ends. We rather would say that Christianity is altogether a mystery in every part. Look at this typical representation, and say whether there is no mystery in it. Can we fathom all its depths? Or, if enabled by the light of the New Testament to declare its import, can we reduce it all to the dictates of reason? Look at the truths that are shadowed forth; is there nothing mysterious in them?

Think of God’s only dear Son, “in whom was no sin, becoming sin for us, that we might be mode the righteousness of God in him!” Think of the Holy Spirit, the third Person in the ever-blessed Trinity, concurring with him in his work, and exercising his almighty power to render it effectual for our good. Is there no mystery in all this? Truly, “great is the mystery of godliness;” and the more we contemplate it, the more shall we be constrained to exclaim with the Apostle, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

3. The precise manner in which that remedy becomes effectual.

What was it that rendered the ordinance effectual for the purifying of an unclean person? Was there any necessary connection between sprinkling the ashes of a heifer upon a person, and the cleansing him from sin? None at all. It was the divine appointment, and that alone gave efficacy to it. Indeed, so far was it from being able of itself to cleanse a person from sin, that the very observance of the ordinance rendered every person unclean who was engaged in it. The killing of the heifer, the sprinkling of its blood, the burning of it, and the gathering up of the ashes—rendered all the people who were occupied in those duties unclean until the evening; and laid them under a necessity of washing both their body and their clothes, in order to their purification from the defilement they had contracted.

All this showed clearly enough that the ordinance in itself had no purifying power. It went further; it intimated that neither could evangelical obedience cleanse us from sin. We cannot exercise repentance or faith, but we contract guilt through the imperfection of our graces. “Our tears,” as a pious minister expresses it, “need to be washed, and our repentances need to to be repented of.” There is no virtue in them to cleanse us from sin; nay, there is no necessary connection between the exercise of those graces in us, and the removal of guilt from our souls.

If the devils were to repent, or to believe, we have no authority to say that they must therefore be restored to the state from which they fell; and, independent of the divine appointment, there is no more connection between the death of Christ and our salvation, than between the same event and theirs.

It is from the divine appointment only, that the Gospel derives its power to save. It was from that source alone that the rod of Moses had power to divide the sea, or the bronze serpent to heal the wounded Israelites, or the waters of Jordan to cure Naaman of his leprosy. Consequently, if any of us obtain salvation, all ground of glorying in ourselves must be forever excluded; our repentance, our faith, our obedience are necessary, as the sprinkling of the ashes; but the ultimate effect, namely, the salvation of our souls, is altogether the free gift of God for Christ’s sake!

Unless we view this matter aright, we shall never know how entirely we are indebted to the free grace of God, or be sufficiently on our guard against self-preference and self-delight.

4. The indispensable necessity of resorting to it.

If any person had contracted impurity, it signified nothing how the defilement came; he was unclean; and he must purify himself in the appointed way; and, if he refused to do so, he must be cut off. If, previous to his purification, he should presume to enter into the sanctuary, the sanctuary itself would be defiled.

Thus whether a man has sinned in a greater or less degree, he must seek to be cleansed by the blood and Spirit of Christ; he must embrace the Gospel as his only hope. It will be in vain to plead, that his sins have been small and unintentional, and that he does not deserve the wrath of God. One question only will be asked, “Is he a sinner? has he at any time, or in any way, contracted the smallest measure of defilement?” If any man is so free from sin, as never to have committed it once in his whole life, in thought, word, or deed—let him reject the Gospel as unsuited to his state; but if the smallest evil has ever been indulged in his heart, he must submit to the purification that is prescribed. No other can be substituted in its place.

He may say, as Naaman, “Are not the waters of Abana and Pharpar as good as those of Jordan?” But, allowing them to be as good, they will not have the same effect, because they are not appointed of God to that end.

I say then to every person, “Repent, and believe the Gospel;” “Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out;” “He who believes shall be saved; and he who believes not shall be damned!” Think not to come to God in any other way than this; for Heaven itself would be defiled by your admission there, if you were not first purged from your sins by the blood and Spirit of Christ.

5. The efficacy of it when duly applied.

Every person who complied with the ordinance, was cleansed; and every one who has the blood and Spirit of Christ sprinkled on his soul, shall “be saved with an everlasting salvation.” The argument which the Apostle uses in a fore-cited passage, Hebrews 9:13-14, deserves to be attentively considered. It is this, “If the legal purification availed for the smallest good, how shall not the gospel method of purification avail for the greatest?” In this argument there would be no force at all, if only logically considered; but, if considered in connection with the deep mysteries of the Gospel, it has all the force of demonstration.

Consider who it was, whose blood was offered unto God for us? it was the blood of his co-equal, co-eternal Son!

Consider who that Agent was, who co-operated with him in the making of this offering? it was “The Eternal Spirit,” who, with the Father and the Son, is the one Supreme God.

Consider these things, I say, and nothing will be too great for us to expect, if only we come to God in his appointed way. Yes, our consciences shall be purged from guilt, and our souls be transformed into the divine image. Whatever our sins may have been, even “though of a crimson dye, they shall be made as white as snow.”

Let the sinner view an unclean person under the law, excluded from the society of his dearest friends, and prohibited from all access to the sanctuary; and then, on the renewed sprinkling of the ashes, instantly brought into communion with the Lord’s people, and invested with the privilege of drawing near to God. Let him view this, I say, and he has a striking representation of the change that shall take place in his own condition, the very moment he is savingly interested in the atonement of Christ. He shall instantly be numbered with the saints below, and assuredly be fellow-heir with “the saints in light.” Let then this sprinkling be performed without delay; exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to your great High-Priest, and say, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!”

But remember that you must repeat this sprinkling from day to day. The unclean person was to be sprinkled on the third day, and on the seventh; so must we be from time to time, even to the last period of our lives.

Consider, brethren, what I say, “and the Lord give you understanding in all things.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 17:10

The LORD said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.”

One cannot read one page in the Bible without seeing abundant evidence that God delights in the exercise of mercy. Judgment is with great truth called, “his strange act;” it is an act to which he never resorts but from absolute necessity; but mercy is his darling attribute; and to that he is inclined, even when the conduct of his enemies calls most loudly for tokens of his displeasure.

Of this we have a surprising instance in the chapter before us. The competitors with Aaron for the high-priesthood had been struck dead by fire while they were in the very act of presenting their offerings to God; while their associates in rebellion, with their whole families, were swallowed up by an earthquake! These judgments produced a murmuring throughout the camp; and fourteen thousand seven hundred were swept off by a plague, which was stopped only by the interposition of Aaron. The people now were silent; but God knew that, though intimidated, they were not so convinced, but that they would on some future occasion renew their pretensions to the priesthood, and thereby provoke him to destroy them utterly. Of his own rich mercy therefore he proposed to give them a sign, which should forever silence their murmurings and preclude the necessity of heavier judgments.

In opening this subject we shall show,

I. What God did to confirm the Aaronic priesthood.

He commanded the head of every tribe to bring a rod or staff to Moses, who inscribed on every one of them the owner’s name. These all together were placed before the ark; and the people were taught to expect that the rod belonging to that tribe which God had chosen for the priesthood would blossom; while all the other rods should remain as they were. On the morrow the rods were all brought forth. The owners severally took their own; and Aaron’s was distinguished from the rest by the mark proposed, “it was budded, and brought forth buds, and blossomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.”

The controversy being thus decided, God commanded that Aaron’s rod should be brought again before the ark, and “be kept for a token against the rebels.” How long it was preserved, cannot be ascertained; but that it was for a very long period, is certain; because Paul speaks of that, and the golden pot that had manna, as known appendages to the ark, Hebrews 9:4. Thus its use was not confined to that generation; it remained to future ages:

1. An evidence of God’s decision.

The change wrought upon the rod in one single night, together with its having at once all the different stages of vegetation, “buds, blossoms, fruit,” this was sufficient to convince the most incredulous; no room could hereafter be left for doubt upon the subject. Nor do we find from this time even to the days of King Uzziah, that any one dared to usurp again the priestly office.

2. A memorial of his mercy.

Justly might the people have been utterly destroyed for their continued murmurings against God. But God here showed, that “he desires not the death of sinners, but rather that they should turn from their wickedness and live.” This was the avowed design of the test which God proposed, “It shall take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.” What astonishing condescension! Was it not enough for him to make the appointment, but must he use such methods to convince unreasonable men; to convince those, whom neither mercies nor judgments had before convinced? Had it been given, like Gideon’s fleece, to assure a doubting saint, we would the less have wondered at it; but when it was given as a superabundant proof to silence the most incorrigible rebels, it remained a monument to all future ages, that God is indeed “full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great kindness.”

3. A witness for God, in case he should be hereafter compelled to inflict his judgments upon them.

It is well called “a token against the rebels.” God might at all future periods point to it, and ask, “What could have been done more for my people, than I have done for them? Isaiah 5:3-4.” Have they not procured my judgments by their own willful and obstinate transgressions? Jeremiah 2:17; Jeremiah 4:18. By this means, whatever judgments he should from that time inflict, he would “be justified in what he ordained, and be clear when he judged, Psalm 51:4.”

If we bear in mind that the Aaronic priesthood was typical, we shall see the propriety of considering,

II. What he has done to confirm the priesthood of Christ.

The whole Epistle to the Hebrews is written to show that the Aaronic priesthood typified that of the Lord Jesus, and was accomplished by it. This will account for the jealousy which God manifested on the subject of the Aaronic priesthood, and the care that he took to establish it on an immovable foundation. Whether there was anything typical in the peculiar means by which it was established, we will not pretend to determine; but certain it is that there is a striking correspondence between the blossoming of Aaron’s rod, and those things by which Christ’s priesthood is established.

Two things in particular we shall mention as placing beyond all doubt the appointment of the Lord Jesus to the priestly office:

1. The resurrection of Christ.

Christ is expressly called, “a rod out of the stem of Jesse, Isaiah 11:1;” and so little prospect was there, according to human appearances, that he should ever flourish, that it was said of him, “He shall grow up as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground;” “He is despised and rejected by men, Isaiah 53:2-3.” If this was his state while yet alive, how much more must it be so when he was dead and buried! His enemies then triumphed over him as a deceiver, and his followers despaired of ever seeing his pretensions realized. But behold, with the intervention of one single day, this dry rod revived, and blossomed to the astonishment and confusion of all his adversaries. Now indeed it appeared that God had “appointed him to be both Lord and Christ, Acts 2:32; Acts 2:36.” Now it was proved, that “his enemies should become his footstool, Acts 2:34-35.” On his ascension to Heaven he was laid up, as it were, beside the testimony in the immediate presence of his God, to be “a token against the rebels.” There is he “a token,” that God desires to save his rebellious people; that “he has laid help for them upon one that is mighty;” that all which is necessary for their salvation is already accomplished; that their great High-Priest, having made atonement for them, is entered within the veil; and that “he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.”

If any shall now reject him, he will be “a swift witness against them;” and God will be justified, yes he will glorify himself in their eternal condemnation.

2. The spread of the Gospel.

The Gospel is represented by God as “the rod of his strength, Psalm 110:2;” and in reference, as it should seem, to the very miracle before us, its miraculous propagation through the earth is thus foretold, “God shall cause those who come from Jacob to take root; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit, Isaiah 27:6 with Matthew 24:14.” Consider how the Gospel militated against all the prejudices and passions of mankind, and by whom it was to be propagated, (a few poor fishermen,) and it will appear, that the blossoming of Aaron’s rod was not a more unlikely event than that Christianity should be established in the world.

Yet behold, a very short space of time was sufficient for the diffusion of it throughout the Roman empire; and, from its first propagation to the present moment, not all the efforts of men or devils have been able to root it out.

The spread of Mohammadanism affords no parallel to this; because that was propagated by the sword, and tended rather to gratify, than counteract, the sinful passions of mankind. The doctrine of the cross not only gained acceptance through the world, but transformed the very natures of men into the divine image. Such operations, visible in every place, and in every stage of their progress from their first budding to the production of ripe fruit, could not but prove that:

the priesthood which it maintained was of divine appointment;

that the doctrine which it published was suited to our necessities;

and that all who embraced it should be saved by it.

In this view every individual believer is a witness for God, and “a token against the rebels;” inasmuch as he manifests to all the power and efficacy of the gospel salvation; he is “an epistle of Christ, known and read by all men;” and, by his earnestness in the ways of God, he says to all around him, “How shall you escape, if you neglect so great a salvation?” Yes; every soul that shall have found mercy through the mediation of our great High-Priest, will, in the last day, rise up in judgment against the despisers of his salvation, and condemn them; nor will the condemned criminals themselves be able to offer a plea in arrest of judgment.

Address,

1. Those who are not conscious of having rejected Christ.

It is not necessary in order to a rejection of Christ that we should combine against him as the Israelites did against Aaron; we reject him, in fact, if we do not receive him for the ends and purposes for which he was sent. Our inquiry then must be, not, Have I conspired against him, and openly cast him off? But, Am I daily making him the one medium of my access to God, and expecting salvation through him alone? If we have not thus practically regarded him in his mediatorial character, we are decided rebels against God.

2. Those who begin to be sensible of their rebellion against him.

Men are apt to run to extremes; the transition from presumption to despondency is very common. See how rapidly it took place in the rebellious Israelites! No sooner did they see the controversy decided, than they cried, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die. Are we all going to die?” verses 12, 13.”

What consternation and terror did they here express! Just before, they would be priests, and come to the very altar of God; and now, they will not “come anywhere near the tabernacle,” though it was their duty to bring their sacrifices to the very door thereof.

So it is too often with us. Before we are convinced of sin, we cast off all fear of God’s judgments; and, when convinced of our sin, we put away all hope of his mercy. Let it not be thus. The very means which God has used for our conviction, are proofs and evidences of his tender mercy. Only let us come to him through Christ, and all our past iniquities shall be “blotted out as a morning cloud!”

3. Those who confess him as their divinely appointed Mediator.

From this time the Israelites never presumed to approach the Lord but through the mediation of the high-priest. Whether they offered sacrifices or gifts, they equally acknowledged the unacceptableness of them in any other than the appointed way.

Thus must we do. Not anything must be presented to God, or be expected from him, but in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. If we approach God in any other way, we shall find him to be “a consuming fire.” Let this be remembered by us; it cannot possibly be too deeply engraved on our minds. If God manifested such indignation against those who disregarded the shadow, what must be the fate of those who disregard the substance? If we reject Christ, we have nothing to hope for; if we cleave unto him, we have nothing to fear.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 16:48

“Moses stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.”

As corrupt as human nature is, there are some sins which we scarcely think it possible for a rational being to be guilty of; and, if it were suggested to us that we ourselves were in danger of committing them, we should be ready to reply, “Is your servant a dog, that he should do this thing?” Such is the sin which all the congregation of Israel committed on the very day after the death of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!

These three people had excited a rebellion against Moses and Aaron; Korah and his company aspiring to the priesthood; and Dathan and Abiram, with their friends, desiring the office of supreme governor. For this their impiety they had been severely punished; Korah and his company being destroyed by fire that issued from the tabernacle; and all the relatives of Dathan and Abiram being swallowed up by an earthquake. These signal judgments, one would have thought, should have effectually silenced every murmur throughout the camp; but, instead of being humbled, the people were the more enraged; and murmured more than ever against Moses and Aaron, complaining, that the people who had been destroyed were “the people of the Lord,” and that Moses and Aaron had been their murderers, “You have killed the people of the Lord!”

God now renewed his threatening to destroy them; but Moses and Aaron “fell upon their faces,” as they had done frequently before, compare verse 45 with Numbers 14:5; Numbers 16:4; Numbers 16:22, and importuned God to spare them. God however would not spare them, but sent a plague among them for their destruction. But no sooner did Moses perceive that “the plague was begun,” than he sent Aaron with an offering of incense to arrest its progress. Aaron went immediately into the midst of the people, and succeeded according to his wishes, “he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped.”

This subject is to be considered in a two-fold view:

I. As a historical fact.

In this view it is worthy of particular attention. We cannot but admire:

1. The interposition of Aaron.

If ever opposition was unreasonable, it was then; if ever a people had offended beyond all forgiveness, it was at that time. Well might Moses and Aaron have said, ‘We have interceded for you often enough; we have repeatedly saved every one of you from destruction; and now, because God has seen fit to punish some of the ringleaders in rebellion—we are charged with having killed them. If mercies will not reclaim you, it is high time that judgments should be tried.’

But not a thought of this kind entered into their hearts. They were filled with nothing but compassion and love. They fell on their faces to intercede for these rebellious people, as much as if they had received no provocation at their hands. The expedient suggested by Moses was instantly carried into effect; and Aaron, at his advanced age, ran with haste into the midst of the congregation, to make an atonement for them. He did not know but that the incensed people would wreak their vengeance upon him, as they had frequently threatened to do; and put him to death, as the author of their present sufferings. Nor could he be certain, but that, if he ran into the midst of the plague, it might sweep him away together with the rest. But he thought not of himself, nor listened for a moment to any personal considerations. He was intent only on saving the lives of his fellow-creatures.

What a glorious example did he afford to all future ministers! What a blessing would it be to the Church, if all her ministers were like him; if all could say, “I count not my life dear to me, so that I may but fulfill my ministry, Acts 20:24;” “most gladly will I spend and be spent for my people, though, the more abundantly I love them, the less I am loved, 2 Corinthians 12:15;” “I could wish even to be accursed after the example of Christ, if I might but by any means save only some, Romans 9:3; 1 Corinthians 9:22;” yes, most cheerfully would “I suffer all things for their sakes, that they might obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory! 2 Timothy 2:10.”

Were there:

more tender compassion among us,

more ardent love,

more self-denying zeal,

more active exertion to “pluck our people as brands out of the fire,”

and more willingness to perish in the attempt

—then we might “save many souls alive,” and have them to be “our joy and crown of rejoicing” to all eternity. O that “God would speak the word, and that great might be the company of such preachers, Psalm 68:11.”

2. The effect of Aaron’s interposition.

How wonderful! No sooner does the cloud of incense arise from Aaron’s hands, than the plague is stayed! On the day before, two hundred and fifty censers full of incense had been offered at the tabernacle, and had brought instantaneous destruction on the offerers; now the incense from one single censer averts destruction from all the congregation of Israel. The plague was spreading its ravages with such rapidity, that already, notwithstanding Aaron’s haste, fourteen thousand and seven hundred people had died of it; but the moment he reached the spot, the arm of justice was arrested, and the sword fell from the hand of the destroying angel.

It proceeded irresistibly until it came to Aaron; but could not advance one hair’s breadth beyond him. On the one side of him all were dead; on the other, all remained alive. What a testimony was this to Aaron’s divine appointment! What a refutation was here of the accusations brought against him! And, above all, what an encouragement was here given to all future generations to abound in prayer and intercession!

O! what might be effected for the souls of men, if all ministers were men of prayer, and all who profess themselves the servants of the Lord would interpose between the living and the dead! O that “a spirit of prayer might be poured out upon us” all! If only we took our fire from off the altar of burnt-offering, the smoke of our incense would come up with acceptance before God. “We might ask what we would, and it should be done unto us, John 15:7.”

As a history this passage is instructive; but it is no less so,

II. As an emblematic record.

Those who read the Scriptures merely as a history, read them like mere children. The Old Testament, as well as the New, contains the deepest mysteries; and, to understand it aright, we must consider it not only “in the letter, but in the spirit.”

Now the passage before us has undoubtedly an emblematic import; it was intended to shadow forth:

1. The means by which God’s wrath is to be averted.

Aaron himself was a type of Christ; and the atonement which he now made for the people was typical of that great atonement which Christ himself was in due time to make for the sins of the whole world. There was indeed no animal slain; for there was now no time for sacrifice; but the fire taken from off the altar of burnt-offering, whereon the sacrifices were consumed, was considered on this occasion in the same light as “an atonement;” and the incense burnt on this occasion typified the intercession of our great High-Priest.

By these two, the sacrifice and intercession of Christ, the whole world is to be saved. To this the whole Scriptures bear witness. What can be clearer than the prediction of the prophet Isaiah, “He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors, Isaiah 53:12.” What more express than the declaration of the beloved Apostle, “If any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, 1 John 2:1-2.” The one intent of the Epistle to the Hebrews is to establish and illustrate this glorious truth.

Let us then look beyond Aaron and the rebellious Israelites, to Christ and a rebellious world! Let us see with what eager desire for our welfare he left the bosom of his Father, and came into the midst of us, not at the risk of his life, but on purpose to “make his soul an offering for sin, Isaiah 53:10.” Let us hear too with what compassion he interceded for his very murderers, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Let us look through the shadow to the substance. Then shall we have a right understanding of the history when we view it as “a shadow of good things to come.”

2. The efficacy of Aaron’s atonement for the end proposed.

Death was arrested, and could proceed no further. And to what is it owing that our rebellious world has not long since been consigned over to destruction? “Not unto us, O Lord Jesus Christ, not unto us, but unto your name be the praise!” By your sin-atoning sacrifice you have made reconciliation between God and us; and by your prevailing intercession you have procured for us the mercies we so greatly need. Can we doubt whether this statement be true? Paul expressly tells us that Christ is “our Peace;” and, in that view of him, exultingly exclaims, “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather who has risen again, who also makes intercession for us! Romans 8:34.” He tells us further, that “Christ is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for us! Hebrews 7:25.”

Here then again let us view the history in its proper light; and let us learn, Where to look, and, In whom to hope, whenever our sins have raised the divine displeasure against us. Let us learn too the force of that apostolic argument, so weak in logic, but so sound in theology, “If the censer in Aaron’s hand prevailed for the preservation of one rebellious people from temporal death—then how much more shall the atonement and intercession of Christ prevail for the everlasting salvation of our souls, yes, for the souls of the whole world. See Hebrews 9:13-14.”

From the whole of this subject let us learn the duties:

1. Of faith.

In the case before us, the benefit was conferred on account of Aaron’s faith, just as our Lord afterwards healed the paralytic on account of the faith of those who brought him. But in the great concerns of our souls, nothing can be obtained but through the exercise of our own faith. Notwithstanding our great High-Priest has performed the whole of his office, no benefit will accrue to us unless we believe in him.

In this respect we are to resemble the Israelites when bitten by the fiery serpents; we must look unto the bronze serpent in order to be healed; or, in other words, we must regard the Lord Jesus Christ as our Advocate and sin-atoning sacrifice. We must renounce every other hope, and “flee for refuge to him as to the hope set before us.”

On the one hand, we must not construe the forbearance of God as an approbation of our sinful ways, as though we had no ground for fear; nor, on the other hand, should the greatness of our guilt or the multitude of our provocations make us despair, as though there were no ground for hope. But, viewing Christ as the appointed Mediator between God and us, we should “go to God through him,” trusting to his promise, that “he will never cast us out.”

2. Of love.

We see not men struck dead around us under any visible marks of the divine displeasure; but we know that “God is angry with the wicked every day,” and is summoning multitudes to his tribunal under the weight and guilt of all their sins!

How can we behold these things with such indifference? Why do we loiter? Why do we not run, as it were, into the midst of the congregation, in order, if possible, to awaken them from their stupor, and to save their precious souls? Why do we not betake ourselves to prayer? We have figuratively, at least, our censers near at hand, if only we would take fire from the altar of burnt-offering, and burn incense on them.

Let it not be said, “This is the work of ministers;” doubtless it is so; but not of them exclusively. They should lead the way, it is true, and be examples to the flock. But others should imitate their example, and “be followers of them, as they are of Christ;” or rather, should follow Christ, whether others will follow him or not.

I call you then, every one of you, to forget yourselves, as it were, and your own personal concerns, and to be swallowed up with love and pity for your perishing fellow-creatures! Remember that they are not a whit safer by reason of their delusions. They may call rebels, “the people of the Lord;” but that will not make them the Lord’s people. They may cry out against God’s judgments as injustice and cruelty; but that will not prevent those judgments from being inflicted, either on others or themselves; yes rather, it will bring down those very judgments the more speedily, and more heavily, upon them. Try then to stir up within you the feelings of Christians, “Of some have compassion, making a difference; and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh! Jude verses 22, 23.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 16:37-38

“The censers are holy—the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their souls. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”

It is painful, in perusing the history of the Israelites, to see how constantly they were murmuring and rebelling against God. Persons who are ignorant of their own hearts are ready to conceive of them as less perverse and obstinate than the rest of mankind; but they who know what human nature is, behold in their rebellions a true picture of mankind at large.

In the chapter before us we have an exact representation of a popular tumult; we see the motives and principles by which factious demagogues are actuated, and the lamentable evils which they produce. The censers of which our text speaks were formed into plates for a covering of the altar, that they might be a sign to all future generations; and, though we have not now the altar before us, they are no less a sign to us, than they were to the Israelites of old.

Let us consider:

I. The history before us.

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, raised a rebellion against Moses and Aaron.

Let us mark how they proceeded. They complained that Moses and Aaron had usurped an undue authority over them; and that Moses in particular had ensnared them, and brought them into the wilderness for that very purpose, verses 13, 14. For the purpose of making an invidious comparison between their former situation in Egypt and their present state, verses 13, 14, they represented Egypt as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” As to any personal interest, they disclaimed any regard to that; and professed to be actuated by a generous concern for the public welfare, verse 3. In a word, they were true patriots; they were enemies to usurpation and tyranny, and friends to the liberties of the people. Liberty and equality was their motto, verse 3.

Such were their professions—and by these they imposed upon the people, and rendered them dissatisfied with the government of God through Moses.

But what were their real principles? They envied the power and dignity with which their governors were invested, and were ambitious to obtain a like pre-eminence for themselves. As for any desire to ameliorate the state of the people at large, they had it not; a patriotic concern for others was a mere pretext, a popular cry raised for the purpose of gaining partisans.

Korah was at the head of the Levites; and Dathan and Abiram were “men of renown among the princes of the congregation;” but they were not satisfied; they could endure no dignity superior to their own; and this was the true cause of all their discontent and clamor, verse 7; and if by means of this insurrection they could have obtained the distinction which they aimed at, not a word more would have been uttered on the subject of national grievances; nor would one hundredth part of the care have been taken to prevent them. It is impossible to read the history and not to see that this was the true state of the case.

What an insight does this give us into that which is usually dignified with the name of patriotism! If ever there was a mild and just governor, it was Moses. If ever there was a pious, affectionate, and diligent minister, it was Aaron. If ever there was a well-administered government both in church and state, it was at that time. If ever people had cause to be satisfied and happy, it was then. There was not a single ground of sorrow among all the people, except that which had arisen solely from their own perverseness, their detention in the wilderness.

Yet a few factious demagogues prevail to spread dissatisfaction through the whole camp; and their oppressed state of bondage in Egypt is declared to be preferable to the grievances which they then experienced.

But, in fact, their rebellion was against God himself.

This is plainly declared to them by Moses verse 11. What matter was there of complaint against Aaron? He did only what God had commanded him; and was he to be blamed for that? Moses forbears to make the same apology for himself; but his observation was equally applicable to himself, who had done nothing but by the express command of God. The conspirators then were in reality fighting against God himself, by whose direction every measure of the government had been taken.

Moreover there was a typical design in these divine appointments, which this conspiracy was calculated to defeat. Thus, while envy and ambition characterized the conduct of the conspirators towards man, they betrayed also the grossest impiety and presumption towards God.

The best estimate of their conduct may be found in the punishment inflicted for it.

This was truly dreadful. Moses had obtained mercy from God for the congregation at large; but the leaders of the rebellion must be punished. Accordingly, while Dathan and Abiram, together with their wives, and families, and adherents, stood in the door of their tents, setting God himself, as it were, at defiance—Moses declared by what an extraordinary judgment they should perish; and no sooner had he spoken, than the judgment was inflicted, “the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them all up, with all that appertained unto them.”

As for the two hundred and fifty people who presumed to make their appeal to God respecting their title to the priesthood, “a fire came forth from the Lord, and consumed them all.” Terrible was this if viewed only as a temporal judgment; but if considered in reference to the eternal world, it was awful indeed! That it might be kept in remembrance for the instruction of future ages, “the censers, in which they had offered incense, were ordered to be made into broad plates for a covering of the altar.”

It will be proper then that we distinctly consider,

II. The instruction to be gathered from it.

To us, no less than to the Jews, does this event most clearly speak. It shows us:

1. That sin is an act of hostility against our own souls.

These rebels might be said to sin against their governors and against God; but they were “sinners also against their own souls;” and, had the object of their desire been the destruction of their own souls, they could not have prosecuted their end by any surer means.

Little is this thought of by those who live in sin; but, whatever be the sin which they commit, the effect is still the same, Proverbs 8:36. If a man will only keep from sin, he may defy all the assaults either of men or devils. Men may destroy his body, but they cannot touch his soul. Satan himself cannot hurt his soul, without his own consent. Sin is the only medium by which the soul can receive any injury. But sin inflicts upon the soul a deadly wound:

that destroys its innocence and peace;

that brings down upon it the wrath of an incensed God;

that subjects it to everlasting misery!

See how the earth swallowed up some, and how the fire consumed others—and there you will learn the fate of all who die in their sins! Hell will open wide its mouth to swallow them up, and unquenchable fire will consume them as its proper and appointed fuel! O that men were wise, and would consider this; and turn, every one of them, from the evil of their ways!

2. That opposition to constituted authorities is highly displeasing to God.

We are far from denying that there is such a thing as real patriotism; nor do we mean to say that tyranny and oppression may not rise to such a height, as to justify the overthrow of an existing government.

But this we say, that a real Christian will not be hasty to complain of grievances, even where they do exist; much less will he bear the smallest resemblance to these factious people, whose case we have been considering. The Christian is one of “those who are quiet in the land.” He regards government as God’s ordinance; and the people who are invested with authority as God’s representatives. He considers that, in obeying them, he obeys God; and in unnecessarily and vexatiously opposing them, he opposes God; and he knows that “God is the avenger of all such,” yes, that such people “shall receive to themselves judgment! Romans 13:1-2;” the government itself may justly inflict punishment upon them; and God himself will punish such conduct in the eternal world!

Persons of this stamp often pretend to religion; and so they did in the days of the Apostles; but those who “despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities,” have a “woe” denounced against them; their spirit is justly marked as a compound of envy, covetousness, and ambition; and having resembled Cain and Balaam in their spirit, they shall resemble Korah in their fate; they shall be eternal monuments of God’s heavy displeasure Jude verses 8, 11.

Happy would it be if people who are of a factious and turbulent disposition would look occasionally on these “censers,” and reap the instruction which they are intended to convey!

3. That a rejection of Christ must of necessity prove fatal to the soul.

Moses as the governor, and Aaron as the high-priest, of Israel, were types and representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, Acts 7:37-39; Hebrews 8:1-2; Hebrews 9:11-12; and in rebelling against them, the people virtually rebelled against Christ also. Thus, among ourselves, how many are there who say, “We will not have this man to reign over us! Luke 19:14.”

Some complain of Christ’s authority, as imposing an insupportable yoke upon them; and others complain of Christ’s priesthood, as prohibiting any access to God except through him as the only Mediator. But what the outcome of such rebellion will be, we are faithfully warned, and that too with some reference, it should seem, to the judgments exercised on Korah and his company, Hebrews 10:26-27.

At all events, if the opposers of Moses and Aaron were so fearfully destroyed—then we may be sure that a far heavier judgment awaits the despisers and opposers of Christ! Hebrews 10:28-29 with Luke 19:27.

Let those who do not thankfully come to God by Christ, and unreservedly obey his holy will, be instructed by these events. In particular, we entreat them to act like Israel in the case before us, “All Israel that were gathered round the tents of Dathan and Abiram, fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also! verse 34.”

Could we but hear the cry of those that are in Hell, we would no longer sit supine and confident. O let us realize this thought before it be too late, and “flee in earnest from the wrath to come!”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 15:37-41

“The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.'”

A very principal distinction between the Christian and Jewish laws is this; that our laws are given in broad, general, comprehensive principles; whereas theirs descended to the most minute particulars, even such as we should have been ready to conceive unworthy the notice of the Divine Lawgiver. There was scarcely any occupation in life, respecting which there was not some precise limit fixed, some positive precept enjoined, such as:

If they ploughed, they must not plough with an ox and a donkey.

If they sowed their ground, they must not sow various kinds of seeds.

If they reaped, they must not reap the corners of their field.

If they carried their grain, they must not go back for a sheaf that they had left behind.

If they threshed it, they must not muzzle the ox that trod it out.

If they killed their meat, they must pour the blood upon the ground.

If they dressed it, they must not seethe a goat in its mother’s milk.

If they ate it, they must not eat the fat.

If they planted a tree, they must not eat of the fruit for four years.

If they built a house, they must make railings on its roof.

So, if they made a garment, they must put upon it a tassel with a ribbon of blue. This last ordinance, it may be thought, like all the other ceremonies, being abrogated, is quite uninteresting to us. But, if we consider it attentively, we shall find it by no means uninstructive. It shows us,

I. The end which we ought to aim at.

That, for which the use of the tassel was appointed to the Jews, is equally necessary for us; namely, to preserve continually upon our minds a sense of:

1. Our duty to God.

We are told to “walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long.” For this purpose we should have the commandments of God ever, as it were, before our eyes. It is useful to have habitually some short portion of the Word of God, someone precept or promise, for our meditation through the day, especially at those intervals when the mind has nothing particular to engage its attention. The expediency of such a habit appears from the text itself; for, if we have nothing good at hand for our meditations, “the eye and the heart” will furnish evil enough. In our unconverted state we uniformly, as God himself expresses it, “go a-whoring after these;” our affections are estranged from God, and our thoughts from time to time fix on some vanity which our eyes have seen, or on some evil which our own wicked heart has suggested. How desirable were it, instead of having our minds thus occupied, to have them filled with heavenly contemplations; to be searching out our duty; to be examining our own hearts in relation to it; and to be inquiring continually wherein we can make our profiting to appear!

2. Our obligations to him.

How strong and energetic are the expressions in our text respecting this! “I am your God; I have redeemed you in order that I might be so to the utmost possible extent; and I consider all that I am, and all that I have, as yours.”

If these mercies, as far as they were given to the Jews, deserved to be had in continual remembrance, how much greater cause have we to remember them; we, who have been redeemed, not from Egypt, but from Hell itself; and not by power only, but by price, even by the precious blood of God’s only-begotten Son; and who have such a saving interest in God, that he not merely dwells among us, but in us, being one with us, as he is one with Christ himself, John 15:5; John 17:21-23 and 1 Corinthians 6:17. Methinks, instead of finding it difficult to turn our minds to this subject, it may well appear strange that we can for a moment fix them upon anything else. Were we day and night to “meditate on the loving-kindness of our God, our souls would be filled as with marrow and fatness, and our mouth would praise him with joyful lips! Psalm 63:3-6.”

The ordinance before us goes further still, and prescribes,

II. The means by which we are to obtain it.

It is true that no distinctions in dress are prescribed to New Covenant Christians; the Mosaic ordinance regarding tassels on our garments in this respect is annulled. But, as a means to an end, the appointment of the tassels may teach us:

1. To make a spiritual improvement of sensible objects.

This was the direct intent of the tassels on their garments; they were as monitors, to remind the people of their duty and obligations.

And why may not we receive similar admonitions from everything around us? Has not our blessed Lord set us the example? For instance, What part of farming is there which he has not made a source of spiritual instruction? The ploughing, the sowing, the weeding, the growth, the reaping, the carrying, the winnowing, the destruction of the chaff, and the treasuring up of the wheat, are all improved by him in this view. There are some things also which he has expressly ordained to be used for this end.

What is the water in baptism, but to remind us of “the answer of a good conscience towards God, 1 Peter 3:21.” What are the bread and wine in the Lord’s supper, but to be signs to us of his body given, and his blood shed, for the sins of the whole world? We acknowledge that those things only which he has appointed to be signs, are of necessity to be used as such; but we are at liberty to use everything in that view; and so far from its being superstitious to do so, it is highly reasonable and proper to do it; it then only becomes superstitious, when it is rested in as an end, or used as a mean for an end which it has no proper tendency to effect.

[Editor’s note: We find Simeon’s Anglican theology expressed in the the following material to be unbiblical.]

Some have been offended with the use of the cross in baptism; and if it were intended as any kind of charm, they might well be offended with it; but it is, as the Liturgy expresses it, “a token that hereafter the child shall not be ashamed to confess faith in Christ crucified;” and, if it serves to impress the minds of the sponsors in that light, it is well; if it does not, the fault is not in it, but in them.

The same may we say in reference to the names, the titles, and the habits that are in use among us. Our Christian name, as it is called, should never be mentioned without bringing to our remembrance him, “whose we are, and whom we are bound to serve.” The titles which are given to men, either on account of their rank in society, or of their consecration to the sacred office of the ministry, may well be improved for that end for which they were originally given; not merely to show to others what respect was due to the individuals, but to show to the individuals themselves what might justly be expected of them, and what their rank and office required; the one should maintain his honor unsullied; the other should be so heavenly in his deportment as to constrain all to revere him. In this view, the use of the surplice was doubtless well intended; and happy would it be if all who wear it were reminded, as often as they put it on, how pure and spotless they ought to be, both in their hearts and lives. The very sight of a lofty church should remind us, that we are temples of the living God; while the spire pointing upwards, may well direct us to lift up our hearts to God.

Let us not be misunderstood. We contend not for any of these things as necessary; but we learn from our text that they may be rendered subservient to a blessed end, and that it is our privilege to make everything around us a step towards Heaven.

2. To get the law itself written in our hearts.

While the tassels had in themselves a practical use, they were also emblematic of benefits which were to be more fully bestowed under the Christian dispensation. As a sign they are abolished; but the thing signified remains in undiminished force. What the thing signified was, we are at no loss to determine; it was, that the law, of which a visible memorial was to be worn by the Jews, was to be inscribed in living characters on our hearts. To this effect Moses speaks repeatedly, when giving directions respecting those other memorials of the law, which were to be worn on the forehead, and on the neck, and arms, “These words which I command you this day shall be in your heart; and you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes, Deuteronomy 6:6-9.”

And again, “You shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, Deuteronomy 11:18-20. See also Proverbs 3:3.” Hence the real design of God even as it respected them, and much more as it respects us, is evident. Moreover, God has promised this very thing to us, as the distinguishing blessing of the New Covenant, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts, Jeremiah 31:33 with Hebrews 8:10.”

Now this is the true way to attain that constant sense of our duty and obligations to God, which have been before mentioned. For, if his law is written on our hearts, then we shall find the same disposition to meditate upon it, as a covetous man does to meditate upon his gains, and an ambitious man on his distinctions. It is true, the heart has more to struggle with in the one case than the other; but, in proportion as divine grace prevails, holy exercises will be easy and delightful.

3. To exhibit that law in our lives.

The tassel was a distinction which showed to everyone of what religion they were. Thus there is a singularity which we also are to maintain; we are to be “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” If others will not walk with us in the narrow path of holiness, it is not our fault that we are singular, but theirs; we are no more blameable for differing from them, than Noah, Lot, Daniel, or Elijah, were for differing from the people among whom they lived.

As to singularity in dress, it is rather to be avoided than desired. Our distinctions must be found only in the conformity of our lives to the Word of God. While the world are clad in mirthful attire, let us “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and be “clothed with humility;” yes, let us “put off the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and put on the new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness.” This is the way to honor God; and the more we strive to adorn our holy profession, the more peace and happiness we shall enjoy in it.

In a word, holiness is our tassel; let us wear it; let us not be ashamed of it, but rather endeavor to “make our light to shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father who is in Heaven.” Of course, I must not be understood to recommend anything like ostentation; that is hateful both to God and man; but a bold, open, manly confession of Christ crucified is the indispensable duty of all who are called by his name; and “if we deny him, he will assuredly deny us.” I say then again, let us wear the tassel, and not indulge a wish to hide it. But let us be careful that “the ribbon be of blue;” it must not be of any fading color; our piety must be uniform in all places, and unchanging under all circumstances. We must be the same in the world as in the house of God. We must be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord;” and then we are assured, that “our labor shall not be in vain in the Lord.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 15:32-36

“While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.”

In large communities, instances of flagrant transgression will occur; nor can any mercies or judgments from God prevent them. Nothing but divine grace can keep individuals in the path of duty. The presumption of those, who, in opposition to the divine command, had gone up to the hill-top to engage the Canaanites, had been severely punished; and though God had since given instructions respecting the particular offerings which should at a future period be presented for sins of ignorance, he had expressly declared, that presumptuous sins should be punished with death; and that no offering whatever should be accepted for them, verses 30, 31. Yet, behold, scarcely had this declaration been given, before a man was found profaning the Sabbath-day; for which offence he was made a signal monument of divine vengeance.

His crime and punishment, which are specified in the text, lead us to notice the guilt and danger of profaning the Sabbath. Let us consider,

I. The guilt of profaning the Sabbath.

According to the estimate of mankind in general, the profanation of the Sabbath is but a slight offence; but, in fact, it is a very heinous sin.

1. Profaning the Sabbath is an unreasonable sin.

Consider who it is that requires the observation of the Sabbath. It is that God who made us, and endowed us with all our faculties, and upholds us every moment, maintaining our souls in life, and providing everything for our support and comfort. And is this the Being to whom we grudge that small portion of time which he requires? But further, this gracious God has so loved us as to give his only-begotten Son to die for us; and shall we think it hard to consecrate one day in the week to him?

Consider next, what portion of our time it is that he requires. If it had pleased him, he might have given us one day for our bodily concerns, and reserved six for himself; and whatever difficulties such an arrangement had occasioned, it would have been our duty cheerfully to obey his will. But the reverse of this is the proportion that he requires, “Six days,” says he, “shall you labor; and the seventh day shall you keep holy.” What base ingratitude then is it to grudge him such a portion of our time as this!

But consider further, for whose sake it is that he requires it. He wants it not for himself; he is not benefitted by it; he enjoined the observance of the Sabbath purely for our sakes; he knew that without some appointment for periodical returns of sacred rest, we would soon become so immersed in worldly cares, as utterly to forget our eternal interests; and therefore he fixed such a portion of our time as to his unerring wisdom appeared best, in order that we might be compelled to seek our own truest happiness. This is what he himself tells us, “The Sabbath was made for man, Mark 2:27.” Shall we then, for whose benefit that day was set apart, refuse to consecrate it to the Lord, according to his appointment?

Let but these considerations be weighed, and it will appear a most unreasonable thing to trespass upon that time for temporal pursuits, which God has so mercifully set apart for the concerns of our souls.

2. Profaning the Sabbath is a presumptuous sin.

It is particularly in this view that the context leads us to consider it. God had enjoined the observance of the Sabbath in an audible voice from Mount Sinai, Exodus 20:8-11; and had afterwards repeatedly commanded that every person who should profane that day by any kind of earthly employment, even the baking of his food, or the lighting of a fire, should be cut off from among his people, Exodus 31:14-15; Exodus 35:2-3. See also Exodus 16:23; Exodus 16:29.

Now it was in direct opposition to all these commands that the man of whom we are speaking presumed to gather sticks. He might be ready to excuse himself perhaps by saying, that this was but a small breach of the Sabbath, and the sticks were necessary for his comfort; but these were no excuses; his conduct was a decided act of rebellion against God; and it is manifest that both Moses and God himself regarded it in that light; it was therefore a presumptuous sin, and consequently, as the Scripture expresses it, “a reproaching of God himself” as a hard master that was unfit to be obeyed, verse 30, 31.

Such is every violation of the Sabbath among us. It is clear that we are not ignorant of his commands respecting that holy day; and what we do, we do in direct opposition to his will; we “reproach him” for exacting of us what he had no right to demand, and we are under no obligation to grant. Let the profaners of the Sabbath regard their conduct in this view, and they will need nothing further to convince them of their guilt.

Having noticed the guilt of profaning the Sabbath, let us consider,

II. The danger of profaning the Sabbath.

Wherein can this be painted more strongly than in the text? The very sight of this sinful act created instant and universal alarm; and, as Moses did not know in what way it was to be punished, he sought instructions from God himself. Behold now the answer of Almighty God—of him, whose wisdom is unerring, whose justice is most pure, whose mercy is infinite; his answer is, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones that he die;” and let this be done “outside the camp,” that he may be marked as an accursed sinner, that is separated from me, and shall have no part with my people.

Had the offender been cautioned respecting the consequences of such an act, it is probable that he would have laughed at the idea, or, as the Scripture expresses it, would have “puffed at it.” So it is with men at this day; they will not be convinced that there is any danger in what they are pleased to call light sins; but there is a day coming when they will find to their cost, that no sin is light, and least of all is presumptuous sin to be so accounted.

If anything more were needful to evince the danger of violating the Sabbath, we might mention, that this sin is particularly specified, as a very principal occasion of bringing down all those judgments with which the Jews were visited at the time of their captivity in Babylon. Nehemiah, after the return of the Jews from Babylon, found that the Sabbath was still shamefully profaned among them. To remedy this evil, he exerted all his authority, and expostulated with them in the most energetic manner, “I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing–desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn’t your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” Nehemiah 13:17-18.”

Surely then, if such was the outcome to the individual that led the way, and such the consequence to the whole nation, when it had followed the example, it will be madness in us to make light of this offence. We may, it is true, escape the judgments of God in this world; (though it is surprising how often they overtake the profaners of the Sabbath;) but we shall certainly not escape them in the world to come.

Let me then propose this subject to you as an occasion,

1. For deep humiliation.

We are apt to think highly of our nation in comparison with the Jewish people; but, if we compare ourselves with them at the period when the events mentioned in our text occurred, we shall see no great reason to boast. Among the Jews there was found but one person in the whole nation that dared to profane the Sabbath; among us there is scarcely one in a hundred that does not profane it. Among them it was profaned only by gathering a few sticks; among us, in every way that can be conceived; it is a day of business or of pleasure to all ranks and orders of men. Shops open, etc. etc. Among them, this solitary instance created universal indignation; the spectators instantly communicated the matter to the magistrates, and the magistrates instantly set themselves to stop the evil.

But among us, with the exception of a few who sigh and mourn in secret, scarcely any regard the evil as of any consequence; the very name of an informer is deemed odious, so that no one chooses to incur the obloquy attached to it; and, if any were zealous and courageous enough to inform, there are but few magistrates who would not shrink back from the task of exercising the power with which they are armed. Such is the state of this nation; such the state of almost every town and village in it. Who then does not see that this national evil calls for national humiliation?

But let us bring home the matter personally to ourselves. How many Sabbaths have we enjoyed, and yet how few have we kept in the way that God has required! A person that has attained to seventy years of age, has had no less than ten years of Sabbaths. What a time is this for securing the interests of the soul! And what a load of guilt has been contracted in all that time, merely from the one single offence of profaning the Sabbath-day! Brethren, we need indeed to lie low before God in dust and ashes. We have need to be thankful too, that God’s wrath has not broken forth against us, and cut us off in the midst of our transgressions. Let us know how to estimate the forbearance we have experienced; and let “the goodness of our God lead us to repentance.”

2. For holy vigilance.

The ceremonial part of the Sabbath is done away; so that there certainly is a greater latitude allowed to us than was given to the Jews. We acknowledge also that works of necessity and of mercy supersede even those duties which are yet in force on that day. Our Lord himself has taught us to interpret in this view those memorable words of the prophet, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” But the moral part is as strongly in force as ever. To have the mind exercised on spiritual subjects, and occupied in advancing the interests of our souls, is our bounden duty. It was the work of the Sabbath even in Paradise; and therefore must continue to be our duty still. If the Sabbath existed two thousand years before the ceremonial law was given, it can never be vacated by the abrogation of that law.

Would we know distinctly the duties of the Sabbath, the prophet Isaiah has, negatively at least, informed us, “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the LORD has spoken, Isaiah 58:13-14.”

We are to lay aside all the cares and pleasures of the world, and to seek all our happiness in God, and in his immediate service. Even common conversation should as much as possible be put aside, that the mind may be wholly occupied in the service of our God.

Now this requires much care and vigilance. The more decent among us are ready to think, that, if they attend the house of God once or twice, they have done all that is required of them; from a regard to the prejudices of mankind they abstain from some particular amusements; but they are not at all solicitous to make a due improvement of their time. But this by no means comes up to the injunctions of the prophet; nor will it ever be regarded by God as a just observation of the Sabbath.

The instructing of our families, the teaching of poor children, the visiting of the sick, and many other exercises of benevolence, may find place on this day. But in a peculiar manner we are called to secret meditation and prayer; we should study the Holy Scriptures, and examine our own hearts, and endeavor to keep ourselves in readiness to give up our account to God. Let the consideration of the guilt which we contract by spending our Sabbaths in another way, put us upon this; and let every Sabbath that shall be continued to us be so improved, that it may advance our spiritual state, and help forward our preparation for our eternal rest.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 15:30-31

“But anyone who sins defiantly (or presumptiously), whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the LORD’s word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.”

Every command of God is to be obeyed; and it is no excuse to say we were ignorant of the command. We know that there is a God to whom we are accountable; we know that he has given us a revelation of his will; and it is our duty to acquaint ourselves with all that he requires at our hands.

Even in reference to human laws, it is no excuse to say that we were ignorant of them. We are supposed to be acquainted with them; and if we violate them in any respect, the penalty is from that moment incurred. A merciful judge may consider our ignorance as a reason for mitigating, or even for remitting, the penalty; but the law knows nothing of this; its enactments are valid; its sanctions attach on everyone that transgresses them; and everyone feels interested in upholding its authority.

Thus it was under the Mosaic Law; even where the ordinances were so numerous, that they could scarcely be remembered by any, except those who were altogether devoted to the study of them. Yet, if any person transgressed through ignorance, he must, as soon as he was informed of his error, bring the appointed offering, in order to obtain forgiveness of his fault, verse 27, 28; and, if he refused to bring his offering, he must be cut off, as a presumptuous transgressor.

For sins of presumption, of whatever kind they might be, there was no atonement whatever prescribed. It did not befit God to spare one who could deliberately set himself against his authority; and therefore it was expressly commanded that the presumptuous sinner, whoever he might be, should be cut off. To illustrate this subject, I shall show:

I. The danger of presumptuous sin under the Law.

Presumptuous sin is not to be understood of every sin that is committed willfully; but of those sins which, as the marginal translation expresses it, are committed defiantly and “with a high hand;” such, for instance, as that of Pharaoh, when he set himself directly against God, saying, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord; neither will I let Israel go!” It is such also as David characterizes under the following terms, “The tongue that speaks proud things; namely, of those who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own; who is Lord over us? Psalm 12:3-4.”

The person committing this sin was doomed to death. No sacrifice was appointed for him; whatever injunction it was that he thus determinately opposed, whether it belonged to the ceremonial or moral law, he must suffer death for his offence. It is probable that the sentence executed, by God’s own command, against the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath-day was intended to illustrate this. His offence might appear but slight; namely, gathering sticks on the Sabbath-day; but, as it was done in a known and avowed contempt of the divine will, he must be stoned to death! verse 32-36.

Now, how can it be accounted for, that so severe a judgment should be executed for doing anything presumptuously? It was considered as reproaching God, and pouring contempt on God himself:

1. As unreasonable in his commands.

A man who sets himself avowedly against any command, does, in fact, complain of that command as unreasonable and unjust. A man, through infirmity, may fall short in his obedience, while he acknowledges that the law which he violates is holy and just and good; but if he sets himself against the command itself, it must, of necessity, be from an idea that it imposes an unnecessary restraint, or, at all events, that it may well be dispensed with for his convenience.

2. As weak in his threatenings.

No one who could form the least idea what “a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God” would despise his threatenings. But there is a vague notion in the minds of men, that God will never execute them. Thus David describes these poor deluded men, “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies, Psalm 10:4-5.” Would it be right for God to bear such an indignity as this?

3. As altogether unworthy of any serious regard.

Were the mind duly impressed with any of the perfections of the Deity, we could not possibly treat him with such contempt. His power and majesty would awe us into fear; his love and mercy would engage our admiration; and though we might still be far from that entire submission to his will which he requires, it would not be possible for us to set ourselves in array against him, and to “run upon the thick bosses of his buckler, Job 15:25-26.”

Conceive, then, of a creature thus rising against his Creator, and you will readily see why presumptuous sin should be thus severely punished.

But let us proceed to mark:

II. The still greater danger of presumptuous sin under the Gospel.

True it is, that under the Gospel we have a sacrifice for presumptuous sins as well as others; but if the Gospel is the object of our contemptuous disregard, we cannot possibly be saved, but must perish under a most accumulated condemnation.

1. Because a contempt of the Gospel is in itself more heinous than a contempt of the Law.

The Law contained innumerable ordinances, the reason of which, few, if any, could comprehend; and Paul, in comparison with the Gospel, calls them “weak and beggarly elements.” But the Gospel is the most perfect display of God’s wisdom and goodness that ever he revealed to mortal man. It exhibits the works and offices of the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the gracious influences of the Spirit; and, if they be despised by us, there can be no hope for us. For thus says the Lord, “Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:28-29.”

2. Because a contempt of the Gospel is, in fact, a rejection of the only means whereby sin can be forgiven.

Where shall a man flee, who rejects the Savior? “What other sacrifice for sin” will he ever find, or what other “way to the Father?” Well does the Apostle say, “If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries! Hebrews 10:26-27.”

Eli’s reproof to his sons puts this matter in the clearest light, “If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sin against the Lord, in despising his sacrifices—then who shall entreat for him 1 Samuel 2:25.”

APPLICATION.

1. Be thankful, then, that you live under the Gospel.

To you “all manner of sin and blasphemy may be forgiven.” However presumptuous your past iniquities may have been, they may all be “blotted out as a morning cloud,” and “cast into the very depths of the sea.” This could not be so confidently spoken under the Law of Moses; but to you I declare it with confidence, that “the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse from all sin! 1 John 1:7;” and that “all who will believe in him shall be justified from all things, from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses! Acts 13:39.”

2. Be earnest in prayer with God, that, whatever means he may find it expedient to use, he would keep you from presumptuous sin.

This was David’s course, “Keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me; so shall I be upright, and innocent from the great offence, Psalm 19:13.” Be assured you need to use this prayer, and will need it to your dying hour. David’s attainments were great; yet he felt the need of crying continually, “Hold me up, that my footsteps slip not.” So must you pray continually; and you may then hope that God will “keep you from falling, and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy! Jude verse 24, 25.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)