RESCUE FROM A FIERY LAW & INEXORABLE JUSTICE

"If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it." -Exodus 20:25 [KJV]

This chapter abounds with legal terror. Here, the glorious Jehovah is giving the law with thunderings and lightnings, and the sound of a trumpet. The mountain smoking. Poor sinners, trembling and fleeing, saying, Let not God speak with us, lest we die. Most awfully tremendous! Well might St. Paul call it, “the ministration of death and condemnation” (II Corinthians 3:7, 9.) But blessed, blessed be God, it contains precious gospel-grace to law-condemned sinners. Here, rejoice, and say, Let God speak, and we live. For here is an altar commanded. God is accessible to us. “An altar of earth thou shalt make unto Me.” 

Here is gospel-grace. That beloved Son typified, Who was made like unto us, and appeared in our earthly nature. Thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon it. “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29.) Yet, “we have an altar” (Hebrews 13:10.) Christ is both our altar, our burnt-sacrifice, our peace-offering, and our Priest. In Him, God is ever accessible to us, and we ever accessible to Him. We lay hold of the horns of this altar. This is our refuge from a fiery law and inexorable justice. There, says God, I will come unto thee, and bless thee. 

Blessed be our God and Father, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ (see Ephesians 1:3.) If thou wilt make Me an altar of stone, it shall not be hewn. See again the dear Mediator shadowed forth: “That stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands” (Daniel 2:45.) O how sweet, to see our Beloved in every line of revelation! Well might He say, “Search the Scriptures: they testify of Me” (John 5:39.) “If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.” 

What can this mean? To forbid thy pride and arrogance. Though thou art a law-condemned sinner, yet pride and vanity work in thee. We are prone to think by our works, our art, our device, we are to add something of our own to this altar to render our souls acceptable to God. But this is to pollute the altar, Christ Jesus. This, the foolish, bewitched Galatians did. So some are said to crucify the Lord afresh. O beware of this spiritual pollution of the blessed altar, Christ. Know, we are perfectly and everlastingly accepted in Him, without any work of our own. Believe this. Obey God; glorify Him. 

Does the law convince of sin, and cut us off from all hope in ourselves? This blessed altar is of itself all-sufficient to fill us with all hope, joy, and peace. For this typifies, that new and living way which Christ hath consecrated for us, through the vail of His flesh, to draw nigh unto God. -see Hebrews 10:20

 

I other priests disclaim, 

And laws and off’rings too: 

None but the bleeding Lamb 

The mighty work can do: 

He shall have all the praise, for He 

Hath lov’d, and lived, and dy’d for me.

 

-preacher Wm. Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)