March 6

Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.—John 6:31-33.

THE Mosaic dispensation was so contrived as to bear a resemblance of the Messiah in all its parts: The law had a shadow of good things to come. Christ was the end of the law,—the substance of those shadows. The great number of types declare the variety of the divine wisdom, and the admirable fullness of Christ, in whom they are verified. Among these types was the manna that miraculously fell from heaven.

1. Manna was an eminent type of Christ. Accordingly the apostle declares of the Israelites, they did all eat the same spiritual meat, not in respect of its material, but symbolical nature. The express analogy between manna and Christ, is visible in respect of its marvellous production. The Mosaical manna was not the fruit of the earth, procured by human industry, but formed by the divine power, and rained down upon them; therefore it is called the corn of heaven, Psalms 78:24. This typified the celestial origin of our Redeemer: He is the true bread from heaven, given by the Father. He is called the gift of God eminently, being the richest and freest, without any merit or endeavor of men to procure it. And we may observe the truth infinitely exceeded the type; for manna descended only from the clouds, therefore our Saviour tells the Jews, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven. But he really came from heaven, where the great and glorious presence of God is manifested, and appeared under a visible form in the world. Manna was only styled the bread of angels, to signify its excellency above common food; but, the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven.

2. Manna was dispensed to all the Israelites equally: not as the delicious fruits of the earth, that are the portion of a few;

but as the light and influences of the heavens, that are common to all. And herein it was a representation of Christ, who is offered to all without distinction of nations, to the Jews and Gentiles, to the Grecians and Barbarians; and without the distinction of quality, to the honorable and mean, the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant. And here we may observe the excellency of the spiritual manna above the Mosaical: for that fed but one nation, but the bread of God gives life to the world; his infinite merit is sufficient for the salvation of all.

3. Manna was a delicious food: the taste of it is described to be like wafers mixed with honey, that have a pure, chaste sweetness. This typified the love of Christ shed abroad in the hearts of believers. Such an exalted ravishing pleasure proceeds from it, that the Psalmist breaks forth in an ecstasy, Taste and see how good the Lord is.

4. Manna was their only support in the wilderness; strengthening them to vanquish their enemies, and endure the hardships to which they were incident in their passage to Canaan. In this regard it was a lively image of Christ, who is our spiritual food while we are in the desert of this lower world, the place of our trial, exposed to dangers: by him alone we shall be finally victorious over the enemies of our salvation. And in this also the truth is infinitely above the type that prefigured it. For manna could only preserve the natural life for a time; as our Saviour tells the Jews, Your fathers eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. But Jesus Christ is the living bread that came down from heaven, and hath a supernatural virtue, to convey a life incomparably more noble, and answerable to the quality of his original. It is incorruptible, as heaven from whence he came: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. Death is so far from extinguishing, that it advances the spiritual life to its perfection.

"Father, supply my every need; Sustain the life thyself hast given, O grant the never-failing bread,— The manna that comes down from heaven."

Return unto thy rest, O my soul.—Psalms 116:7.

God is the rest of the soul. He is so,

1. As the light of the intellect. That men are indifferent to religious truth is a fact which, degrading as it is, must be acknowledged. God in his mercy does not, however, always suffer the spirit to rest; and a feeling after that which it knows not, that which it enjoys not, is excited. Where then shall the soul find that rest from its darkness and perplexity which it seeks? Its views of God, of itself, of the means of pardon, of spiritual things are obscure. Thus the soul is bewildered, till, with simplicity and docility, it returns to God in Christ. Then his character opens; then the helplessness of man is seen and felt; then the wondrous method of salvation by faith is discovered; then are seen the nature and beauty of holiness; then the methods of a holy walk with God are discerned; all is light. Good and evil then display their boundaries and distinctions. The paths of life and of death are set before the eye; this life is connected with another; and in that knowledge which the soul needs for its safety and comfort, it rests with a demonstration which dissipates all doubt. The morning has broken upon the steps of the traveler; and he has that rest of mind which results from his having found the path which leads to the end of his journey. "I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it."

2. God is the rest of the soul, as the refuge from the charges of our consciences. Conscience implies a knowledge of sin, with a sense of its evil, and a just apprehension of death as its consequence. In proportion as we come to the knowledge of the real fact of our condition, this "conscience of sins" must be more poignant. Perhaps none on earth know the extreme of the case. We must so know it, as that it may alarm, produce dread, and an effort to "flee from the wrath to come." But whither shall we flee? Shall we flee to God? But he is the offended party, the judge. It is his wrath we dread. True; and yet, such is the glorious mystery of the case, from that very dread he is the refuge. Through Christ he may be approached without dread. He enjoins faith, as the term of acceptance, instead of obedience; and the testimony of his reconciliation gives rest to the soul.