Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1923-11-15

W i God. AS the High
J%& ~ Priest of our con-
fession He repre-
before God In all His own projections
and glories.
His Call to the Priesthood.
OF the priests of Aaron's line 1t Is
said In chapter 5 "A "And no man TAX
eth this honor unto himself, but he
that Is called Of God, as was Aaron"
and Of our High Priest 1t is added:
so also Christ gloritied not himself
to be made an high priest; but he that
said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-
day have begotten thee" Now this
quotation from the second Psalm has
to Christ In His resurrection. 1t is not
therefore His virgin birth that Is con-
templated, but "This day have be-
gotten thee" from the dead. Gods
salutation to Ills Son as He comes
forth from the grave Is His call to
the priesthood.
Then, in chapter 1t Is further de-
clared that not alone by the call OF
God but by His oath Christ has been
made priest: "For those priests
were made without an oath; but this
with an oath by him that said unto
him, the Lord swnre and will not re-
pent, Thou art priest forever after
the order Of Melchizidec."
Must God take an oath? He has
done so, not once but thrice and that
threefold oath has to do with the flu
ture glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
the one hundred and tenth psalm,
quoted here, Ii guarantees to Him not
only perpetual priesthood but an
empire when He shall come to assume
his crown rights, for Melchizidec was
both priest and king.
Thus by the call and the oath of God
our Lord Jesus Christ appears In
heaven on our behalf.
The Priests Entrance Into the Sane
tuary.
In chapter 8 the tabernacle and the
typical ceremonies of the day of atone
ment are described. OF the two goats
brought to the priest on that day one
was slain, and the priest taking Its
blood inside the veil, sprinkled 1t upon
the mercy seat. That mercy seat was
Gods throne. Between the out
stretched wings Of the cherubim that
formed part of 1t appeared the cloud
of glory, symbol of Jehovah's pres
ence among His people. The cherubim
are the representatives of His throne
and the symbols Of His Righteousness.
Their attitude is significant. 1t is as
though they were swooping down to
execute the judgment required by
Gods righteousness, when they are
suddenly arrested In their flight by the
sight Of the blood. The blood Of that
innocent victim, shed outside, has met
the demands Of the throne so hat It
becomes mercy seat. This ceremony
is referred to in 9:7, and verse
IL proceeds: But Christ being come,
an high priest Of good things to
come !. neither by the blood of
goats 3. but by His own blood he
entered once into the hottest, having
eternal redemption"
Aaron, on the day of atonement, OBJ
tanned redemption for year, and at
the years end the ceremony was re-
peated. But Christ has obtained eter-
nal redemption. With His own blood,
most precious thing that God ever be-
held, He has gone into heaven. That
blood. shed by your sins and mine, has
been placed upon Gods throne and
thus has met every claim Of that
throne, forever satisfying all Its
righteous demands. The memorial of
the finished work is ever before the
eye Of God. The throne of the uni
verse has become the throne Of grace.
Thus God without compromising Him.
self can be gracious to sinners. Thus
is answered the question of Romans:
How can God be God and a Savior?
How can He justify the ungodly and
still be just? The blood of the cross
upon the throne answers the question.
Whom God hath set forth a mercy
seat through faith in His blood" If
grace reigns, 1t is not at the expense
of righteousness, but on account of it.
How deep Is our interest In that
Blessed One who has gone to heaven?