Numbers is the book of the wilderness-the world as that for us. There are three books before this. We must come to Numbers-the fourth book-in God's way; that is, through these books; and His way is a perfect one.

Genesis-which means beginning-is the book that speaks of life-the book of the Father:the producer of everything.

Exodus speaks of redemption. It is the story of a people redeemed out of Egypt, whence we all come. It was the place of bondage, and we must all find it a place of bondage before we accept deliverance out of it.

Leviticus-the book of holiness. Salvation once known, He brings us to His sanctuary:we become worshipers. After all this, we come to Numbers, which gives us the journey through the wilderness. Of course, beloved, with God it is we journey. After the knowledge of God, we come to practice, and Numbers is the book of practice.

In the first three we have God's name in trinity. In the beginning of His book, Genesis, we have God as a Father. In Exodus it is the Son-a Saviour. In Leviticus-the sanctuary-the book of holiness- it is the Spirit. In the fourth book it is the creature. It speaks of the frail, the poor, weak creature. We need not fear to know ourselves when, along with this, we learn the grace of God.

Have we all here to-night got there ? Are we all born again ? Have we the knowledge of the Father? Have you all learned to cry, Father-Abba Father? Do you know what it is ? But you must also learn what salvation is. Are you able, or afraid, to say, "I am saved"? There is no presumption in it-not a bit. If you were drowning in the river, and if some one saved you, you would not think it presumption to say, "He saved me," would you ? We are saved by Christ's work alone.

The beginning of their pilgrimage was after the Passover. What does this mean ? It was the time when the judgment of God passed over Egypt, and God taught His people the way of escape. It was the last way man would take. How would the blood of an innocent lamb keep out the judgment of God?. We can read it simply. It spoke of another Lamb, and God said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." Are you, then, under the blood-mark? Have you, beloved friends, accepted the judgment of God against you, and looked up at the blood-marked lintel and door-post ? I deserved death; so death is my doom; but my doom is fulfilled in the death of Christ:now, therefore, death is my shelter; and so, blessed be God, that is the way of shelter still. Whatever the condition may be, we are saved by the virtue of the blood of the Lamb slain. Is this your trust now ? You ought to, you must, know that blood is the dividing line between saved and unsaved. If you trust in that, then "blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.''

But, another question. Do you know what it is to be holy? If you have known what it is to be justified, you must also learn what it is to be holy. We have it through Christ, not as righteousness which is imputed, yet Christ is the sanctification of His people -"who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." (i Cor. 1:30.) He is the sanctification of every one that believeth
But how ?

In dropping your own righteousness, you got the righteousness of God; now drop your own holiness and you'll get holiness. This Christ-if I have a heart for Him,-and all who are saved have this, haven't they ?-look at Him! This itself is the beginning of holiness. Be true to this, and you'll be holy. All through the world here, there is what the heart of man craves naturally. Now, because He has saved us, our hearts follow Him up there, new-naturally. It is not, We must do this or that, but " If ye love me, keep my commandments, and my words." This is the way to change you, says the apostle. How ? '' From glory to glory." You begin with this -glory! "We all, with open face, beholding the glory of the Lord, arc changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit." (2 Cor. 4:)

How do you get the sunshine in your face? Go and sit in it. That's all, isn't it ? Go, put your face in His sunshine, and you'll be changed from glory to glory. This is the third step-Leviticus-true holiness.

Now, until you have learned these three steps, you are disqualified to walk through the world. I am afraid this disqualifies a good many. If you have Christ for holiness, you are competent to walk with Him through the world.

Numbers is a book of warfare. You find here at the start a camp, a register, fighting men, etc. We haven't got to fight the flesh. Don't fight it! It is stronger than you, if you fight it. He says, turn
away from it; "abstain from fleshly lusts "; "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin." That is faith. You can't get on one step without faith. " Reckon " (that's faith-faith is the reckoner) " yourselves dead indeed unto sin." Now how can I fight the flesh? Can a dead man fight ? You know it is an absolute impossibility. I am not talking" about the world, but about the flesh-myself. "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?" That's a plain argument-we died to it when Christ died (Rom. 6:). We are alive to God in Christ. Christ did it all. He died for sin-yours and mine. Now what is my relation to Him ? I am dead by His cross. This is not experience, but I see it by faith; so the apostle says "reckon." Turn your back upon sin, and your face toward Christ, and walk on. If you feel sin in you, don't think that it is you any more. Don't fight it; run away from it. This may not seem manly, but it is God's way. Israel, when they came to the Red Sea, with their enemies close upon and around them, could not fight. Instead of God putting arms into their hands and fighting Pharaoh, He opened the Sea, and said to them, "Just walk in here; walk this way." The cast wind opened the sea, during the night. This speaks of calamity; and beloved, this calamity is the cross-the dark night of calamity that fell upon Christ. The cross ends sin before God as well as sins. You cannot change sin in yourself; you are not called to make anything of yourself. What is the Christian called to, then ? He is called to make something-everything-of Christ. Israel is four camps-three tribes in each. What does this mean ? It is our spiritual history that is here. These tribes are our picture. Look at it, then.

Judah means praise ; and Judah goes forward first. On the east side, toward the sunrising:anything in this ? Oh yes; we associate something in our minds with the East. The cast wind was the wind of the desert, and it dried up and killed everything. It is what confronts you as an enemy, this east wind- always. Is the world an easy place, or a hard place, for yon ? They were going east, and had to face this east wind. JUDAH led, and faced it. These arc types, let us remember, and every word is the word of the living God-perfect.

But the East is also the sunrise, blessed be God. The sun rises beyond the wilderness. But who is the sun ? It is Christ. That's why you journey toward the East, toward the sunrising. Although, beloved, the east wind comes from there, beyond that the sun rises. When Jehoshaphat went to fight the Ammonites (east wind), he put the singers (Judah-praise) in the front, and God gave him the victory. Judah had the trumpet-the trumpet of praise. If you sound the trumpet as the trumpet of alarm-the spirit of prayer-there is always, thank God, the spirit of praise too-prayer and supplication with thanksgiving–Judah is in the front. Judah is the lion-the great lion; who shall stir him up? I tell you, beloved, the spirit of praise is the spirit of power.

Judah is, literally, confession. But of what ? Your sins? Oh no; but of Him-what He is, what He has done; and this is praise. The nearest place to God is filled by a Man who died for the children of God. Shout out what Christ has done, and what He is to you, in the hour of trouble, and the end of the conflict is sure before you begin. He is the Captain of our salvation. If the world is against you, you need a captain. You find the world a hard place because Christ found it a hard place. Carry Christ with you wherever you go, and you'll see if it is not a hard place. But "if ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye." (i Pet. 3:)

On the other hand, if you want to know what joy is, link yourself with Christ. The story of the first Spanish martyr-I have often told it-shows us this. They made bonfires of God's people in those days ; they'd do it still, if they dared. He was being burned at the stake for Christ's sake. Thinking he might recant when partially burnt, they took him out of the fire, and took the gag out of his mouth. His reply to their inquiry was, "Did you envy me my joy?" And they thrust him in again, and quickly finished their work. Wasn't Judah-this son of Judah-sounding the trumpet ? Judah is a strong man, but he doesn't use carnal weapons-only a trumpet. His leading man was Nashon (the diviner), son of Amminadab (the people of the liberal giver).

Balaam divined in a superstitious way. The people of God do not divine naturally, but as the fruit of the liberal giver-God-who giveth to all liberally, with both hands, and with all His heart. So, if you are one of His people, you can divine; you can say to what confronts you even as an enemy, It is the messenger of God. Able to divine His ways with us by the abundance of the gifts of His grace to us, we can ever say, " My Father is above all; " " Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." If it is an enemy who. does everything against me, still I say, The Lord sends him. If you say, But there is a black heart back of the hand that smites me, I reply, There is a loving heart back of the black one, and "all things work together for good to them that love God." If you walk with God, you'll meet the bitter wind of the desert by the glorious sunshine of His coming. How cheerfully, beloved, how happily, how holily will you meet it all thus! To be holy, you must be happy; so walk with Him, beloved brethren. In every trouble run to Him. Not very like a warrior, that ; but you'll gain the victory through Him, and get the everlasting crown that He will give you at the end. F. W. G.