The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1873-12-17

printed u Hlu al read as follows s-CEN. PREs
But let US scrutinize this passage on which
he lays so much stress. The most cursOry
examination of the Ola Testament reveals
at glance that the priests Of the altar lived
Of the sacrifices, and not Of the tithes. The
tithes belonged to the Lsvites as their in
heritance; the altar belonged to the priests
as theirs. The priests on the one hand did
not receive the tithes of the people; and the
Lsvitss on the other neither waited at the
altar, nor partoOk of the things Of the altar.
When the Apostle speaks Of the tithes in
Heb. VII: he makes no allusiOn TO the priests; (;
and when here he speaks Of the things Of
the altar, he makes ne sllusion to Lsvites
This fact gives wAally new aspect to the
point we are examining. The statutory reg
ulatiOns as to the naNinsenspcsUf priests and
ssises 1ss ..e,t-ely VI, y S4aasis Naua-
bers xviii. The Levites, besides special
duties of their own, were given to the priests
as attendants and assistants, " only they
shall not come NIGH the gesssLs of the sane
tUary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye
also = priests de-" verse 3. Therefore
thou (AarOn) aud thy sons with thee shall
keep your priests office for everything of the
altar and within the vail that is within the
tabernacle, where the Leyite dared not enter;)
and ye shall serve. l have given your
priests Office unto you as a service of gift;
and the stranger (Levite, or other not
priess) that eOmeth nigh shall be put to
death :" verse Z. Next follows copious
statement of the revenues of the priestly
Office, which are strictly things of the
altar. behold have given thee charge
of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed
things of the children of Israel. Ttis shall
Be thine Of the most holy things reserved
from the FIRE; every OblatiOn Of theirs, every
meat offering of theirs, every sin offering of
theirs and every trespass offering of theirs"
verses s, 9. "Heave offerings of their gift,
follow, and all their wave offerings. Under this
head, of things of the altar, fell the Offering
Of the first fruits, devoted things, and the
redemption money of the first born of men
and unolean beasts; while the blood of every
6rstling Of saerifelal beast, must be sprinkled |
on the altar, and the fat burnt thereon
(" but the flesh of them shall be thine (the /
priest's) as the wave breast and the right |
shoulder they are thine" verses 1919. This !
is what Paul means by living of the things |
Of the temple and partaking with the altar"
That the priests exclusively are meant by
those "vho minister about holy things, and
not the priests and Levites, is plain from the
fact that the Levites were not allowed to eat
Of the hOly things, which belonged TO the
priests only; and were forbidden to touch
any holy thing" of the tabernacle, or even
go in to see while the priests covered the
holy things, under pain of death. Numbers
iy: 15, 20, So exclusively were the priests
who ministered az the altar restricted to the
things of the altar for their subsistence,
that the tithe of the 1.-THE which they re-
eeived from the Levites, was made to par
take of saerifsial character, and became
"thing of the altar" Behold 1 have
given the children of Levi all the tenth in
Israel for an inheritance: verse q. "Speak
thus unto the Leyites and say unto them,
When ye take of the children of Israel the
tthes which have given you from them for
your inheritance, then shall ye offer up an
heaye Offering of it for the Lord, even a
tenth part of the tithe" Thus shall ye offer
an heave Offering unto the Lord of all your
tithes which ye receive of the children of
Israel and ye shall give there of tie Lords
hears Offering unto Aaron the priest: :" verses
26-2S.
Now as the tithes were paid to the Levites
as distinguished from the priests, and as the
things of the altar were for the priests as
distinguished from the Levites, it is manifest
that those who received the tithes did not
partske with the altar, and that those who
partoOk WITH the altar did not receive titheS.
Thus brother Miller's great New Testament
argument is disproyed and demolished. DR..
Hodge says the Apostles language has ref
erence to the priests who offered sacrifices
at the altar. Brother Miller himself applies
it to the priests also; and we have been at
pains to give him no escape from this posi-
tiOn, showing that the Levites who received
the tithes Of Israel were forbidden to touch
OF even look upon the "hOly things" to
come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and
the altar "under pain of death" But We
are not content with demOHshing this tithe
argument; we mean to turn it about against
its author For when it is remembered that
a general and characteristic trait of the offer
ings at the altar was that they were yolun-
tary {" be shall offer it of MS own voluntary
will at the door of the tabernacle" Lev. i;
s. and that only in few limited cases a
failure to offer them was attended with any
penal consequences, we see that "thOse who
ministered about holy things, and waited at
the altar, may be truthfully represented as
living of the voluntary offerings laid upon
the altar. So that this argument which was
to have bound a legal yoke upon the Chris
tisn Church far more oppressive than the
Mosaic 1.-THE law, goes rather to prove that