The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-06-19

SAuu tney shall Dc 10 me q people.-deD,
viii, 10;
And he said unto Moses Come unto the Lord
thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy
OF the elders of Israel; and worship We affair of.
shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up
with him. And Moses came and told the people an
She words of the Lord and the judgments: and all
She people answered with one voice, and said,
JAIL the words which the Lord hath said we will do
And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose
up early In the morning, and builded an altar
$he HILL and twelve pillars according to the twelve
tribes of Israel And he sent young men of the
children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings.
and sacrificed peace offerings Of oxen unto the Lord
And Moses took half OF the blood, and put it into
Basins and half of the blood he sprinkied on the
altar. And he took the book of the covenant and
read in the audience of the people; and they said,
All that the Lord hath said we will do. and be
;obedient. And Moses took the blood and sprink!ed
vt on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the
covenant, which the Lord hat made with you con-
Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders
of Israeli and they saw the God of lsreal and there
was under his feet rs ii were paved work of a sap
phire stone and it were the body of heaven in
his clearnesS And upon the mobiles of the children
Of Isreal he laid not his hand; also they saw God,
And did eat and drink. And the Lord said unto
Moses, Come up to me into the mount and be there
and will give these tables of stone and law, and
commandments which have written, that thou
Snayest teach them.-Exodus xiv, LIZ.
The latter half of this years lessons begins
with new series of studies from the Old Tes-
Sament. The lesson for this week covers the
announcement and formal ratification of the
covenant which God made with the children
of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai From
Egypt to Sinai the people had had signal dis
plays of Gods power at the time of the giving
of the law they had beheld his glory the
Ilawgyer; now they are to have a glimpse of
His character exhibited i'll grace, though the
revelation was but partial. A covenant is q
voluntary agreement entered into by two or
more parties, in which both agree to do or to
Eefrain from doing certain things. The cove.
nant announced, accepted, and ratified in our
Sesson is that one which is known and spoken
of by the Apostle Paul as the first covenant.
The subject matter of it is contained for sub
sstance in chapters 20, 81, %, %, and "A Of
fhis book, and amplifed in the three following
books Of Moses.
1.-The Covenant Announced.
"And Moses came and told the people all
She words of the Lord and all the judg-
ments.' AS we have before stated, these
words of the Lord and all the judgments refer
to the things rehearsed in the last three and
half chapters from Xxx, 10, to the end OF
ixxiiD, and were spoken by Moses in response
90 the request of the people Xxx, 49,.
Ito whom it was spoken.-Of course,
Moses could not speak these words in the ears
of the whole people there were more than
Swo millions of them), but to the seventy ell
ders who represented the people and answered
for them. How these words were afterwards
made known to the whole congregation we do
not know, but possibly by transcripts multi
piled and read by the heads OF tribes and
families.
2.-WHERE IT WAS SPOKEN.
This covenant was probably announced to
che people Through their representatives" on
one of the lower shoulders of Sinai, to which
place Moses had summoned them. We can
well imagine that it was place most sacred,
and associated with the solemn awe of the late
scene of the glory of God in connection with
Che giving of the law.
Show IT WAS SPOKEN.
The covenant was announced in the most
deliberate manner. First, Moses ''told the
10 vide Mot 10 In OH
chem to them by word of mouth. Then, after
they had formally assented to them, it seems
.he retired and carefully wrote them out, and
the next day summoned them again, and, with
more formal preparation and circumstance, he
e'took the book of the covenant. and read in
che audience of the people," We are
so learn from this that God wishes
as carefully to consider his promises, and
then as carefully take upon ourselves an en-
gagemeat to keep His words. By our engage
ment to keep the words of His covenant we
will be judged (John xii, 49,. We are to
count the cost of discipleship. Jesus was con-
stantly urging elaboration upon his disciples,
carefully explaining to them what is involved
In accepting Him as Saviour and Lord. God
does not force His covenant of grace upon us
any more than He forced the covenant and
judgments which He made with the children
of Israel upon them. He offers us the good
things of His grace and urges upon us that we
choose life, but does not force us. Even after
accepting them he says to us: "Will We also
go away?" as though He had said: 81 will
not a hold you .o to your your covenant if
choose my way" We may learn from this
Chat, while it is a joyful privilege to accept
Gods gracious proposals of grace and mercy
TO u.s. it is also very serious and solemn en-
gagement on our part when we respond.
Remember the case of the scribe who professed
Willingness to follow Christ, and the man who,
after accepting, would first go and bury his
father, and what our Lord says about forsaking
E.. 4 i L. l..
sake. 1t is of Gods grace that he enters into
covenant with sinful men; it ought to be our
Coy, as it is our privilege, to accept his gracious
proposition.
H.-The Covenant Accepted.
After Moses had told all the words of the
Gord to the people, and again the next day
read them over to them out of the book in
which he had carefully written them down,
she people by their representatives answered
and said; "All that the Lord hath said will
we do and be obedient." This was their vol
untary acceptance of Gods covenant. 1t was
in the nature of confession of faith and the
declaration of their conservation to His ser
vice" When God proposes life to us through
the gospel, it is for us to confess our faith and
consecrate ourselves to His service. Some
thing like this was done by the people of Israel
on this occasion. 1t will be noted that at the
first announcement they said: "We will do )"
at the second declaration of the covenant they
added the words "and be obedient." Also
that there is significance in the fact that the
covenant was accepted upon the written word
as well as upon the spoken word. There is
great advantage to us in that all Gods
word is carefully written down. Many
persons, like the stony ground hearers, receive
The word with joy, only TO forget it by and by
when the memory of it fades away; whereas,
If the word is written, as well as spoken, we
may refresh our memory of it and keep our
purpose and enthusiasm. ga written reminder
Of the covenant as accepted by them was all
Smportant; a dying enthusiasm goes hand in
hand with a waning memory; only n record
which will revive the memory will rekindle
the enthusiasm" A constant reference to the
precious word Of God serves to remind us of
his grace and great promises, and if our con-
fession of faith in Him and solemn obligation
TO render to him whole service.
ALL THE PEOPLE ANSWERED WITH ONE
VOICE"
We have no other thought from the account
given than that with one accord the whole
people heartily and enthusiastically responded
to the covenant. There was Il universal con-
fession Of faith. Just as ON the day Of Peute-
cost when the multitude ran together and three
thousand people at once gave in their allegi-
ance 10 Jesus Christ. There have been many
such memorable days in the history OF the
church. Whole tribes and nations have been
baptized in a day, as in case Of the Gauls the