Here are the three appearances of Christ: (1) He appeared once, at the ridge or meeting-place of the ages—where the first Covenant and -the second met—to put away the sin of the race; and he has done this for each of us. We are called on to believe this and to enter upon our inheritance without questioning or trying to feel it. Men are told clearly that God will not impute their transgressions unto

them, unless they place themselves out of the at-onement by the deliberate repudiation of Christ. The one question for us all is not sin, but our attitude toward Christ, the Sin-Bearer. See 2 Cor. 5:19.

(2.) He appears in heaven for us, as our Intercessor and Mediator, presenting our prayers mingled with the rich incense of his merit, and acting as the ground of our beseechings, Rev. 8:3. (3) He will appear the second time. There will be no sin-bearing then. His appearance will be ‘‘apart from sin.’’ But then salvation will be perfected, because creation itself will share in the liberty and glory of the sons of God, Rom, 8:21,

Hebrews 10:1-10. When a heavenly body is in eclipse it can be examined with even greater precision than when the astronomer’s eye is directed toward its burning glory; so in Leviticus we can discover details of our Lord’s atonement otherwise overlooked. This is notably the case in Lev. 1—4,

The keywords of this chapter are year by year and day by day as contrasted with continually and forever, Repetition means imperfection. The ancient offerers of sacrifice could never be sure that they were finally accepted. Hach year they had to go over the old ground. How different from us, who have heard Jesus say, ‘‘It is finished’’!

The spirit of inspiration offers to us the secret of our Saviour’s work in his voluntary identification with the divine purposes. It was not so much his outward anguish and blood-shedding that made reconciliation possible, as his ery, ‘‘Not my will, my Father, but thine.’’? His attitude reminds us of the ancient custom of boring fast to the door the ear of the servant, who desired never again to leave his master’s service, ‘Mine ears hast thou bored.’’ See Ps. 40: 6, margin.