September Twentp-ninth.
THE UNITY OF THE BRETHREN.
"It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments."—Psa. cxxxiii. 2.
THE descent of the sacred ointment from the head to the beard of Aaron, and thence down to the skirts of his garments, is beautifully descriptive of the descent of the divine influence until it is properly prepared for, and adapted to, the state and condition of every man. There is only one source of life, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ; as it is written, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Man is created to become a receptacle of this life. It flows from the Lord into his will and thence into his affections, and into his understanding and thence into his thoughts; and by this he becomes a living soul. The divine influence, in its regular descent and orderly going forth, from the supreme or inmost part of the soul, to that which is external, is described by the descent of the holy ointment, or oil, from the head of Aaron to the extreme border of his garments. Aaron, the high priest of the Jews, while exercising the sacred functions of His office, represented the Lord himself,—Jesus being prophesied of as our King, Priest, and Prophet. Aaron was to the Jews what the written Word is to us; and a deep reverence of the Sacred Word is enjoined upon us, because, in its inmost sense, it is the infinite wisdom of the Lord, and consequently the Lord Himself; as it is again written, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was—God." The consecra-
