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The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.

EVENING SERVICE.- First Lesson: Micah vi.

Verse 6-8.-" Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

GOD had at this time a controversy with His people; they had sinned, and He was offended. He commands the prophet Micah to proclaim the quarrel in a voice that should be echoed by the hills, the mountains, and the foundations of the earth. The inquiry is made, on what ground could they support the quarrel on their part. What had God done to give them any cause for offence? What heavy burthens had He placed upon them? What oppressive measures had He exercised towards them? In what had He at any time wearied them? He calls upon them to testify against Him if they had any complaints to make. They were not able to reply to the challenge; but were silent. Then He proceeds to show that instead of having been their oppressor He had been their constant benefactor. In a few concise sentences He reminds them of the great goodness which He had manifested towards them from the time they were brought up out of the land of Egypt until they safely arrived at Gilgal. So forcible were the arguments employed that the people are represented as beginning to relent, and to inquire by what means God's

anger might be appeased, and how they might be reinstated in His favour. "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" This is bidding high; far too high to be real. Such extravagant proposals sound very much like the language of irony. Some of the things mentioned were utterly impossible, and others were extremely sinful, as if they would intimate that God's requirements were so great as to render compliance impossible. In fact, they mention every thing but the right thing; they express a willingness to give the most costly presents, but in no instance do they offer their hearts. This offering after all was the only one which He required, He was willing to dispense with the burnt offerings, and the calves, and the rams, and the rivers of oil, and the firstborn; but he required from them the consecration of the heart unto Him. "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" In the text we have brought before us the provisions of two laws, which are those of the ceremonial, and those of the moral; the great difference between the two laws is this, the one was commanded conditionally, and the other is commanded necessarily; the one was, therefore, necessary because it was commanded, the other is commanded because it is necessary. It is not now within our province to inquire why God commanded the offering of so many sacrifices in the observance of the ceremonial law; but of this we are assured, that no sacrifice was of any benefit, only as far as it had a reference to that one great sacrifice of which it was an emblem; but for the commands of the moral law we can at once see the reason, because they constitute the relation which exists between man and his God, and between man and his fellow-man.

There are two things here suggested which we shall briefly

notice: first, that the most costly ceremonial sacrifices which man can offer are inefficient to atone for sin; secondly, that the dedication of ourselves in accordance with God's prescription renders us acceptable to Him.

I. The most costly ceremonial sacrifices which man can offer are inefficient to atone for sin.

Man, under the conviction of sin, and the feeling of the necessity of some atonement, naturally turns to the execution. of some great deeds of virtue, attaching the idea of merit to his performances. Even the most devoted Christian somehow or the other feels it difficult to divest himself of the notion of meritorious actions. To feel that an act is good without being meritoriously good requires great spiritual discipline, and exclusive Divine teaching. The people addressed by the prophet Micah being convinced that God was justly offended at their transgressions, wished to offer an atonement, and inquired what they could do to appease His displeasure. They felt no sacrifice too great to make, no expense too considerable to incur; the best of their flocks, the richest of their produce, even the dearest of their kindred, should not be withheld to effect reconciliation. "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?" Taking the text as it stands, expressive of the real sentiments of the speaker, there is a vast amount of anxious feeling to be observed, "Wherewith shall I come?" I feel that I am a sinner, and that I am lost. I have forfeited every claim to the favour of God, and he is justly displeased; how can I be restored into His favour? Similar was the language and is the language of

of the trembling jailor of Philippi, every sinner when he is first awakened to see his real spiritual condition. Again, a devotional posture of body is proposed, "and bow myself before the most high God." Such a posture of humble prostration is both seemly and commendable in a poor mortal worm as man is when approaching his Creator and Judge. It is an acknowledgment of the great disparity which exists between the petitioner and the Being petitioned, and should be adopted whenever the throne of Divine majesty

is addressed. Then a series of self-denying sacrifices are enumerated, "Shall I come before him with burnt offerings?" They were commanded under that dispensation: "calves of a year old," were acceptable typical sacrifices; "rams" were required to be offered on the altar, but thousands were superfluous even under that economy. "Oil" was commanded in the meat offering, but ten thousands of rivers of oil was more than nature could supply; the "firstborn was to be dedicated unto God, but not to be sacrificed for the parent's transgression, much less reasonable was it that the whole of his offspring, the fruit of his body, should be sacrificed for the sin of his soul. Taking the whole of the language, as we have said, to be the sincere expressions of an overflowing heart, it indicates an intense anxiety to please God, and a willingness to part with all to purchase His favour. But provided the expressions were sincere, and provided it were within the possibility of man to offer such sacrifices, still they would be inadequate to meet the requirements of the case. They could not atone for sin. There are two reasons for this.

1. The nature of the sacrifices mentioned could not meet the requirements of the Divine law. Man had sinned, and man must suffer. If all the calves, and rams, and oil of creation were combined they could not constitute human nature; hence they could not be accepted as a substitute, and though the firstborn and the fruit of the body partook of the sinner's nature, yet, they were sinners themselves, and, therefore, could not atone even for a parent's sin. "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him."

Applying this to ourselves, nothing that we can do is sufficient to atone for one sin. The most pure act of morality, the most brilliant instance of charity, the most humiliating form of devotion, the most enduring infliction of penance cannot weigh a single grain in the scale of atonement. The religions of the world impose such on their devotees, with the view of purchasing heaven and happiness; but the Hindoo may lacerate his body, the Mahomedan may make long

pilgrimages, the Papist may undergo painful penances, but all will be in vain to atone for sin; they cannot approach the perfection of God's law, consequently they must be inadequate. Nothing which man can do will meet the demands; to give a ransom, either for himself or others, is therefore hopeless.

In

2. Such sacrifices were not intended to atone for sin. Before man had transgressed, God had fixed upon the atonement; it was one of His own appointment, and the only one that could answer the end. He instituted the sacrifices of animals as typical of that sacrifice which was to be offered once for all. Each sacrifice as its blood dropped upon the altar declared, "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin," and expiring under the hand of the worshipper it directed the mind of the worshipper to the Lamb of God that was to take away the sin of the world. that Lamb was found all that was necessary to constitute an atoning sacrifice, for possessing the nature of the sinner without partaking of his sin He could suffer the extreme penalty due to others; and possessing the nature of God He was able to support Himself under, and to impress infinite virtue upon that suffering. He therefore having suffered, the Just for the unjust, we are brought unto God. He being made sin for us who knew no sin, we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. Thank God we require no other atoning sacrifice, the one offered is sufficient. One stream of the blood of Christ is infinitely more valuable than ten thousands of rivers of oil,

We observe

II. That the dedication of ourselves in accordance with God's prescription will render us acceptable to Him.

He tells us plainly what He demands, and insists upon its fulfilment by those who would please Him. "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Let their money perish with them who think that the pardon of sin, and the favour of