him who officiated. The following are the words of the law; (vii. 29-36.) "He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace-offerings unto the Lord, shall bring his oblation unto the Lord of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings. His own hands shall bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire; the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave-offering before the Lord. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons. And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for a heave-offering, of the sacrifices of your peace-offerings. He among the sons of Aaron that offereth the blood of the peace-offerings and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. For the wave-breast and the heaveshoulder have I taken of the children of Israel, from off the sacrifices of their peaceofferings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest, and unto his sons, by a statute for ever, from among the children of Israel. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, in the day

when he presented them to minister unto the Lord in the priest's office; which the Lord commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever, throughout their generations." In like manner a portion of the leavened bread was to be given to the priest. "Of it," it is written, (vii. 14) “he shall offer one"--that is one loaf or cake, "out of the whole oblation, for a heave-offering unto the Lord, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings."

All the rest, except what was thus consumed by fire, or given to the priest, belonged to the offerer himself, and was to be eaten by him with his friends as a social and hospitable meal. If the peace-offering was for a thanksgiving, it was to be eaten the same day that it was offered, and none of it was to be left until the morning. But if the sacrifice of the offering was a vow or a voluntary offering, part of it might be eaten on the day on which it was offered, and part of it on the next day; but if any of it remained unto the third day,

that part must not be eaten, but must be burnt with fire.

II. Such were the ceremonies and injunctions belonging to the sacrifice of the peace-offering, and now let us consider, in the second place, the use which such an appointment might be to the Jew, and what it would teach him.

It would teach him the necessity of seeking peace with God, and give him a strong insight into the manner in which it must be obtained.

As the peace-offering was a transaction not between one individual, family, tribe, or nation, and another, but between the offerer and God, it would shew him how necessary it was that man should be at peace with his maker. It would necessarily lead him to desire the friendship of God above every other alliance, and dispose him to lay aside all his own enmity and disobedience. It would necessarily have a very favourable influence upon his feelings, and tend to produce in him every emotion of gratitude and love. It would bring something of the spirit

of a son, or at least of a friend, into his heart. It would give him moreover a great insight into the manner in which peace was to be obtained. For while he was required to bring the animal, and shed its blood before the altar, he would see that he might not look for peace with God, except through the death of another, and through the efficacy of blood which made an atonement for him. No doubt the generality of them would have but dim apprehensions of these great truths which we know to have been thus represented, but the pious among them could not but perceive the way in which they must come to God; they could not but see the necessity of a previous propitiation.

Again, the ceremony of the peace-offering would teach the Jew the blessed privileges which he enjoyed through his sacrifice. He would greatly rejoice that he was admitted to such a state of communion with God. Partaking of the same viands was ever considered as the boud and proof of friendship and peace; and here the Lord, his priests, and the offerer himself, all partook of the

same offerings. They sat down together, as it were, at the same table. This ceremony therefore would give the Jew a happy assurance of the favour of the Lord towards him. As he feasted with his family and friends on the portion assigned him from the altar, he would enjoy a peace in his soul from this instituted token of reconciliation and friendship. The whole ceremony was eminently calculated to produce all proper affections. As he brought his offering to the altar he would think of the great mercy and condescension of God in thus providing a way of peace for him, and admitting him to his own friendship and love, and admire the privilege thus bestowed upon him of drawing so nigh unto the Lord. He would feel deep humiliation for every proof of alienation and disaffection which appeared in his own heart. As he laid his hand on the animal's head, and as he saw its blood streaming at his feet, he would think of his own utter unworthiness to appear before God, and he would think that he owed all his permission to approach him to the sufferings of another in his stead. As