DECEMBER.

DECEMBER 1. "We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father."-John i. 14.

He had a glory; and he himself is called "the Lord of glory," and "the King of glory." But it was not the glory of this world, or the princes of this world, which come to nought. It was not such a glory as the Jews expected in the Messiah, the glory of a conqueror, striding from victory to victory, and setting his followers on the high places of the earth. It was not a glory arising from ambition and violence, from the desolations of war, from triumphs founded in blood, and from laurels drenched in the tears of widows and orphans. It was not the glory of a statesman working by policy, and ruling by cunning rather than rectitude, or even by fairer means-but a spotless, Godlike glory" The glory as of the only begotten of the Father."

God has many children. Men are his offspring. All believers are the sons of God. Some in the household of faith have been exalted above their brethren in endowment and office. Solomon was great; but a greater than Solomon is here. Moses was faithful in all his house. Yet "this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after. But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." Adam is called "the son of God" in a very peculiar sense, as he came immediately from the hands of God, perfect at once, and was the source, head, and representative of the human race. But "so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven." Angels are sons of God: but "to which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." "Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." "To which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" He is therefore-and we ask for no human definitions-we are afraid of them; the only begotten of the Father, in a meaning infinitely peculiar. He was the image of the invisible God: and could say, consistently with all the humility that distinguished him, "He that hath seen me hath (seen the Father. And from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." His attributes, his actions proclaimed Divinity. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God was seen in the face of Jesus Christ. His meekness, his patience, his benevolence, his readiness to forgive, are the perfections of the Being we adore and serve.

This glory had witnesses; and, says the Evangelist, we beheld it. They beheld it two ways: corporeally and spiritually. They beheld it even with their bodily senses. At his transfiguration they

saw the lustre of his face, and the shining of his raiment, and the homage paid him by Moses and Elias; and heard the voice from the cloud, "saying, This is my beloved Son, hear ye him." They often heard his own voice speaking as never man spake, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. They witnessed his miracles, and many more than they have recorded. They saw him heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, and raise the dead to life. They saw his glory in the garden, in his feeling submission to the will of God; in his tender excuse for the infirmity) (of his disciples; in his power in healing the ear of Malchus; in his majesty in causing the soldiers to go backward and fall to the ground, when he only said, "I am he;" in his authority in stipulating for the safety of the Apostles, "If ye seek me, let these go their way." They saw his glory also in the wonders that dignified his death and his resurrection.

But this was not all. Some witnessed his miracles, and ascribed them to the power of the devil. He said to many who had attended him, Ye also have seen me and believed not. But it was otherwise with his own disciples. Concerning these he said; "I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me." How much of his glory they saw spiritually before the day of Pentecost we cannot determine. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified; that is, it was not given so abundantly. For he had dcubtless partially enlightened the disciples before. At an earlier period our Lord said to Peter upon his confession, "Flesh and blood have not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven:" and this applied also to his brethren. Yet their views were in many things comparatively obscure, till the Spirit of truth had led them into all truth, as to the dignity of his person, the design of his death, and the nature of his kingdom. Then he was revealed in them. Then they knew in whom they had believed, and could say with the most determined confidence," We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”

But can we make this acknowledgment? Have we seen his 'glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father? This is possible. We cannot indeed view him with our bodily eyes. But we may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. We can see him by faith. We have in our possession all that these original witnesses have told of him. We have his picture. In the four Gospels we can look into his very heart. "He that seeth the Son and believeth on him hath everlasting life." n

And this perception of him is necessary. And if you have seen his glory you have seen enough to fix and fill your minds, to produce self-abasement, to wean you from the world, to induce you to follow him whithersoever he goeth, to recommend him to others, and to pray, "Let the whole earth be filled with his glory." And if this be the case, you will soon have another and a nobler sight of it. You will see him as he is. You will behold his face in righteous

ness-For the prayer will be accomplished; "Father, I will that
they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, to BEHOLD
MY GLORY."
1848

DECEMBER 2." And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; that the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: and they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: and four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the head of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders."-Numb. vii. 1-9.

It was a sad censure and disgrace the Apostle was compelled to utter, when he said "All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's." But it is delightful to see a public spirit in religion. And we have some noble instances of it recorded, not only in the New Testament, but the Old. In reading history these are the same to a Christian, as the meeting with a few green and watered spots to a traveller in a dry and sandy desert.

With regard to the fact before us, we may observe, First, the donors. They were "the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered." This was well. They who are placed above others are peculiarly bound to take the lead in every thing moral and religious. They are under an obligation of gratitude to their benefactor, who has distinguished and indulged them. They are also under an obligation of justice, which requires them to meet the design of their elevation, which is, not the indulgence of their vanity, pride, and selfishness, but their glorifying God, and serving their generation according to his will. They should consider their resources and influences as talents, and use them as stewards of the manifold grace of God. Having more means and opportunities of usefulness than others, they will be the more guilty if they neglect or misimprove them. When wicked, they never perish alone. Children justify themselves by the example of their parents, servants by that of their masters, people by that of their ministers, and subjects by that of their rulers; and one sinner thus circumstanced destroyeth much good. But all are not so. Some are preserved amidst the snares of wealth, rank, and authority; and feel it to be their honour and pleasure to do good. And we see from the offerers before us how wrong all general and indiscriminate reflections are. Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: but there are some; and in our day there is no little movement among the higher classes in life.

Secondly, their offering. They "brought before the Lord six covered wagons, and twelve oxen: a wagon for two of the princes,

and for each one an ox." As twelve oxen were necessary, every prince could give one: but as six wagons only were required, had each wagon been given by an individual, six only could have been gratified; but by uniting in pairs, all the twelve could equally share in the honour and pleasure.

Their use was to aid in the present service of the tabernacle. That service would not be needful when the ark had a fixed abode in Zion: but in its moveable state assistance was required, in transporting it from place to place. These oxen therefore were to draw the vehicles containing the appendages pertaining to the sanctuary; and hence the wagons were covered, or, as we should say, tilted; not only to preserve the sacred furniture from vulgar and rude gaze, but to keep them from dust, and rain, and sunshine, and all the injuries of the weather.

Thirdly, the manner of their giving. There is no doubt but these oxen were excellent, strong to labour, and well trained and that the wagons were of the best materials and workmanship, and well covered in honour of their destination and use. We know some who, if they could not have escaped giving, would have looked out the leanest beast, and the least valued vehicle they had. And we know the complaint brought by God himself against the Jews in the days of Malachi: "Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it: and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should Í accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." But we may fully presume that these pious donors presented what they deemed the best they had. And we are sure they gave readily: for they did it the very "day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it." They gave as soon as the things were wanted; yea, before they were wanted, in order to be in readiness. Here was no hanging back, hoping the offering might be dispensed with; or to see what others did first, to save as much as possible their pocket, without losing their credit. They required no excitement, no sermon full of motives from Moses or Aaron to work upon their feelings-They were volunteers; selfmoved; they chose to be examples rather than followers. God loveth a cheerful giver.

Fourthly, the acceptance and application of the present. At first Moses seems to have hesitated whether they should be used in the service of the tabernacle. The reason probably was, that God had given him before a model of every thing, and had said, "See that thou make every thing according to the pattern showed thee in the Mount." But the pattern did not extend to this, and here he was without orders. The thought had sprung from the pious reflection of these men; and it is not necessary that every minute circumstance in the administrations of religion should be prescribed; many things, or the world could not contain the books that would be written, may be, and must be, left to expediency. Thus David established the orders of singers; and thus the Jews, after their captivity, formed synagogues, in which our Saviour often taught and worshipped. Moses

therefore is enjoined to receive this donation, and consecrate it to the purpose for which it was designed: "Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites."

But see how they were distributed; for this will be found very instructive. To "the sons of Gershon he gave" but "two wagons and four oxen:" but this is said to be "according to their service;" for they had only to carry the drapery, the curtains, and hangings. To "the sons of Merari he gave four wagons and eight oxen, according to their service;" for they had to bear the heavy luggage, the boards, pillars, and sockets; and these were heavy. But to the sons of Kohath he gave none; because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was, that they should bear upon their shoulders." We may hence observe, First-That there is a difference in the services to which we are called. Some of them are more public, and some more private: some more painful, and some more pleasing. One serves God more relatively, another more personally-His work, so to speak, is more shoulder work. They have no outward resources: no wagons or oxen-They cannot command others by their authority or their abilities, but they can give themselves. If they are without substance, they can act, they can collect, they can teach in a Sunday school, they can visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction. "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness." "For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?"

Secondly, there is a proportion between our work and our strength: and "according to" our "service" is the assistance provided. Every Christian may claim Asher's promise; "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass and as thy days so shall thy strength be." "He will not suffer you," says the Apostle, 66 to be tempted above that ye are able." And has not this been exemplified in the experience of his people in all ages? And have not we found it true? Let the thought at once annihilate every tendency to envy-or despair. Say not, Ah! such an one has four wagons and eight oxen! But see what he has to carry! You may not know the extent and degree of his burden: but the Lord knows; and therefore as the sufferings abound the consolations abound also. Be not afraid of any work or trial that lies before you. View the things which would discourage you, not simply, as they are in themselves, but relatively to your resources. There is nothing to which he will call you for which he has not made provision; and his grace will be sufficient for you, for his strength is made perfect in weakness.