scribes the saints as singing "the
song of Moses, the servant of God" (this is his honourable title, as
elsewhere), "_and_ the song of the Lamb[10]." Above all, our blessed
Lord Himself sums up the whole subject we have been reviewing, both the
doctrine and Jewish illustration of it, in His own authoritative
words,--"If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead[11]." After this sanction, it
is needless to refer to the reverence with which St. Paul regards the
law of Moses, and to the commemoration he has made of the Old Testament
saints in the eleventh chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews.

Oh that we had duly drunk into this spirit of reverence and godly fear!
Doubtless we are far above the Jews in our privileges; we are favoured
with the news of redemption; we know doctrines, which righteous men of
old time earnestly desired to be told, and were not. To us is revealed
the Eternal Son, the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth. We are branches of the True Vine, which is sprung out of the
earth and spread abroad. We have been granted Apostles, Prophets,
Evangelists, pastors, and teachers. We celebrate those true Festivals
which the Jews possessed only in shadow. For us Christ has died, on us
the Spirit has descended. In these respects we are honoured and
privileged, oh how far above all ages before He came! Yet our honours
are our shame, when we contrast the glory given us with our love of the
world, our fear of men, our lightness of mind, our sensuality, our
gloomy tempers. What need have we to look with wonder and reverence at
those saints of the Old Covenant, who with less advantages yet so far
surpassed us; and still more at those of the Christian Church, who both
had higher gifts of grace and profited by them! What need have we to
humble ourselves; to pray God not to leave us, though we have left Him;
to pray Him to give us back what we have lost, to receive a repentant
people, to renew in us a right heart and give us a religious will, and
to enable us to follow Him perseveringly in His narrow and humbling way.

[1] 1 Kings iv. 33.

[2] 1 Cor. iii. 11.

[3] 1 John ii. 18.

[4] 2 Tim. iii. 13.

[5] Ps. cxv. 12.

[6] Isa. li. 9.

[7] Micah vii. 14, 15.

[8] Deut. xxxii. 7.

[9] Mal. iv. 4.

[10] Rev. xv. 3.

[11] Luke xvi. 31.

END OF VOL. VII.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAROCHIAL AND PLA