nor, till our Lord had expiated the sins of the whole world, could the Gospel be universally proclaimed. But no sooner was his sacrifice offered, than God was reconciled to his guilty creatures; and from that time must the commission given to his Apostles be dated. A very few days had elapsed, when they sounded the Gospel trumpet in the ears of that very people who had crucified the Lord of glory; and had the happiness to find thousands at a time "brought from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." Thus clearly was the connexion marked between the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and the deliverance of sinners that was purchased by it.] But the agreement between the two is yet more manifest, II. In the blessings conveyed by them— The privileges imparted by the jubilee were many and of great value [There was, in the first place, an universal exemption from every kind of agricultural labour. None were either to reap the produce of the last year, or to sow their land with a view to a future crop; but all were to gather from day to day what had grown spontaneously; and every person had an equal right to all the fruits of the earth'. A better mode of improving their time was provided for them: public instruction was to be given to all, men, women, and children; in order that none, however their education had been neglected, might remain ignorant of God, and his law. Now also debts, in whatever way they had been contracted, and to whatever amount, were to be freely remitted. But, besides these privileges which were common to other sabbatical years, there were others peculiar to the year of jubilee. If any persons had, by their own voluntary act, or by the inexorable severity of some creditor, been sold, they were to receive their liberty, and to be restored to their families, as soon as ever the appointed trumpets should sound. Yea, if they had formerly possessed an inheritance in the land, they were to be instantly reinstated in the possession of it: so that in a moment they reverted to their former condition, with all the advantage of their dear-bought experience.] Analogous to these are the blessings imparted by the Gospel [Varying their order, we shall first mention the forgiveness of sins. Though the debt we owe to God exceeds all possible calculation, it is all freely, and for ever remitted, as soon as ever the Gospel trumpet is heard, and its glad tidings are b ver. 4-7, 11. e ver. 39-41. c Deut. xxxi. 10-13. f ver. 10, 28. d Deut. xv. 1, 2. welcomed to the souls. Our bondage to sin and Satan is reversed; so that nothing shall ever lead us captive, provided we assert our liberty, and claim our privilege: being made free by Christ, we shall be free indeed. And, notwithstanding we have sold out heavenly inheritance, and alienated it for a thing of nought, yet are we called to take possession of it: we are restored to our father's house; we are brought again into the family of saints and angels; and, with our title to heaven, have the enjoyment of it renewed. Now too are we com manded to rest from all the works of the law, and from all the works of the flesh; and, every one of us, to subsist from day to day upon the bounties of divine grace. As we sowed them not, so neither are we to reap them as our own, but to receive them on the same footing as the poorest and meanest of the human race; all of us being alike pensioners on the divine bounty. Nor are we to lay up in store of what God gives us; but every day to gather our daily bread. To all these blessings is added that of divine instruction: as we are taught how to improve our leisure, so are eyes given us to see, and ears to hear, and hearts to understand": and henceforth it is to be our daily labour to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Such are the blessings bestowed by the Gospel; nor can any unworthiness in us deprive us of them, provided we thankfully accept them as the purchase of Christ's blood, and the gifts of his grace".] INFER, 1. In what way it is that sinners are to be converted to God [The priest might have expostulated with the Jewish debtors or bond-slaves on the folly of their past conduct; but it was the sound of the trumpet alone that could bring them to liberty. So we may represent to sinners the evil of their past ways, and denounce against them the judgments threatened in the word of God; but it is the sweet voice of the Gospel alone that will enable them to throw off their yoke, and lead them to the enjoyment of eternal glory. This is told us by the prophet; who, speaking of the conversion of the world in the latter day, says, "In that day the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come who were ready to perish, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem." O h Rom. vi. 14. i John viii. 36. 8 Acts x. 43. * Eph. ii. 19. 1 Heb. iv. 10. Gal. ii. 20. m 1 John ii. 20. n For most congregations it would be more edifying to pass over briefly what was common to the sabbatical years, and to insist only on the blessings peculiar to the year of Jubilee, namely, deliverance from bondage, and restoration to one's inheritance. • Isai. xxvii. 13. that this were duly considered by all who go forth as the Lord's ambassadors! It is not to preach a scanty morality that we are called; but to publish the glad tidings of a full and free salvation; a salvation founded in the blood of Christ, and suited to those who are weeping for their sins. Behold then, "this is the accepted time; this is the day of salvation:" now the trumpet sounds in our ears; let us all arise, and bless our Deliverer; and improve the privileges so richly bestowed upon us. Then, when the last trumpet shall sound, and the time, which God has fixed for the redemption of his purchased possession, "shall be fully come," we shall be claimed by him as his property, his portion, his inheritance for ever.] 2. How solicitous is God to counteract the folly and wickedness of man! [A subordinate end of the Jubilee was, to counteract the cupidity of some, and the prodigality of others. But it is a very principal end of the Gospel to remedy the miseries, which men have entailed upon themselves. Well might God have said to the whole human race, "Ye have sown the wind, and ye shall reap the whirlwind:" but instead of that, He says, "Ye have sold yourselves for nought, and ye shall be redeemed without money?" "I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner; turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?" Let not then these gracious declarations reach our ears in vain; Behold," the year of the Lord's redeemed is come";"" the perfect law of liberty" is now proclaimed: the Lord himself now preaches "deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound:" he says to the prisoners, "Go forth and shew yourselves." The Lord grant that none may put from them these words of life, or receive this grace of God in vain !] 3. How blessed are they who embrace the glad tidings of the Gospel! [We can easily conceive the blessedness of one, who is in an instant restored from poverty and cruel bondage to the possession of liberty and affluence. But who can estimate aright the happiness of those who are freed from the curses of the law, the fears of death, the bondage of sin, and the damnation of hell? Who can fully appreciate the joy of a trembling and condemned sinner, who by the sound of the Gospel is enabled to call God his father, and heaven his rightful inheritance? Well does the Psalmist, in reference to this very ordinance of the Jubilee, exclaim, "Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound." Surely there is no state on earth to be compared with this. May we seek it as our supreme felicity; and may we all enjoy it as an antepast of heaven!] P Isai. lii. 3. q Isai. lxiii. 4. VOL. I. r Luke iv. 18, 19. s Ps. lxxxix. 15. X X CXLII. THE SABBATICAL YEAR. Lev. xxv. 20-22. And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then will I command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store. MANY of the commands of God to his people of old appear to be mere arbitrary impositions, without any other use than that of subjecting their wills to his. But I doubt whether there be one single law that will fairly bear this construction. The reasons of many are not known to us, and perhaps were not fully understood by the Jews themselves: yet we cannot doubt but that if God had been pleased to explain them fully to us, we should have seen as much wisdom and goodness displayed in those which are at present unintelligible to us, as in others which we understand. The command to give rest to the land every seventh year, when the extent of country was so disproportionate to its population, must appear exceeding strange to those who have not duly considered it. The generality of persons would account for it perhaps from its being conducive to the good of the land, which would be too much exhausted, if it were not permitted occasionally to lie fallow. But this could not be the reason: for then a seventh part of the land would most probably have been kept fallow every year, and not the whole at once. Moreover, it would not have been suffered to produce any thing which would tend to counteract the main design; whereas all the seed that had been accidentally scattered on it during the harvest, was suf fered to grow up to maturity. Nor can the idea of lying fallow be applied with any propriety to the olive-yards and vineyards, which, though not trimmed and pruned that year, were suffered to bring all their fruit to maturity. We must look then to some other source for the reasons of this appointment. Those which appear the most probable and most important, it is the object of this discourse to set before you. The ordinance itself is more fully stated at the beginning of the chapter: and it was given, I. To remind them that God was the great Proprietor of all [In the verse following the text, God says to his people, "The land is mine." And it was his: he had dispossessed the former inhabitants, and had given it to his own people, assigning to every tribe its precise district, and to every family their proper portion. This they would have been likely to forget in the space of a few years; and therefore, as the great Proprietor, he specified the terms on which he admitted them to the possession of his land, reserving to himself the tithes and first-fruits, and requiring the whole to be left uncultivated and common every seventh year. Thus the people would be reminded from time to time that they were only tenants, bound to use the land agreeably to the conditions imposed on them. Instructive as this thought was to them, it is no less so to us. Indeed, we should never for one moment lose the remembrance of it. "The whole world is mine," says God, "and the fulness thereof." Nay more, our very "bodies and spirits are his:" and consequently, all that we are, and have, should be used for him, and be entirely at his disposal. Of what incalculable benefit would it be to have our minds duly impressed with this truth! How would it lay the axe to the root of all those evils which arise within us from the diversity of our states and conditions in the world! Pride in the attainment of earthly things, anxiety in the possession, and sorrow in the loss of them, would be greatly moderated Instead of being agitated with the keen sensibilities of an owner, we should feel only a subordinate interest, like that of a steward: we should be neither elated with prosperity, nor depressed with adversity, but in every change should be satisfied, if only we were sure that we had done our duty, and that no blame attached to us.] II. To keep them from earthly-mindedness— [When our corn and wine are multiplied, we are apt to be thinking how we may treasure them up, rather than how we shall employ them to the honour of God. To counteract this sordid disposition, God provided, that, when he had given his people the richest abundance, they should think only of the temperate and grateful use of it, and not of amassing wealth. By this ordinance he said to them, what he says to us also, “If a ver. 1-7. (Read it.) See also Exod. xxiii. 10, 11. |