THE FAITH OF THE FATHERS.
By Charles P. Bollman
IN Psalms 51:17 we read: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." And this language not only expresses an important truth now, but it was equally true when first uttered by the penitent psalmist more than twenty-nine hundred years ago. The impression is quite general that in the "former dispensations" religion was little more than a mere form; that men brought their offerings and presented them according to a certain ritual, and that having done so, they were accepted of God, whether their act was one of faith or not. But this view, though so very common, is manifestly an error, for it was not a new but an old truth which the apostle stated when he said: "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him; for without faith it is impossible to please him." The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are a unit; they present not two systems of truth, but one, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; and the theology that does not recognize that fact is not Bible theology. In his letter to the Hebrews, the apostle Paul testifies that "by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." The offering itself was nothing; God looked not alone at the burning wood, nor at the bleeding victim upon that ancient altar, but he looked back of those crude symbols and saw in the heart of Abel a vital, living faith in the promised Saviour, whose death, that an atonement might be made for sins, was typified by the death of that firstling of righteous Abel's flock. Every rite and ceremony in the whole Jewish ritual, except those which were merely sanitary, had some reference to the work of Christ; and those rites and ceremonies were valuable only as Christ was seen and recognized in them. When man fell, or shortly after man had fallen, the Saviour was promised, and God provided for the offering of sacrifices to show the faith of those who should put their trust in the promised Sacrifice; and this sacrificial system we can trace all the way down to the cross, where it ceased, and the Lord's Supper took its place, not as a sacrifice, as the Romanists teach, but as an outward manifestation of faith in the heart; and so we read: "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come." If there ever was a time when men were saved by the blood of bulls and goats, then, doubtless, part of the throng of the redeemed will sing one song, and part another; the "song of Moses and the Lamb" would not be one song but two, the song of Moses being for those who were saved through Jewish sacrifices, and the song of the Lamb for those who are saved through Christ. But such is not the teaching of the Scriptures; when in prophetic vision John saw the great multitude of the saved from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, they all, without exception, ascribed their salvation to the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. The plan and the conditions of salvation have ever been the same, namely, "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." He who would serve God acceptably must keep both the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14:12. C. P. B.