Leviticus 19:36

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have." Lev 19:36

A book which talks in this language is a book which ought to be carefully preserved by the people. The Bible is not a sentimental book, dealing with abstract emotion, or confining itself to metaphysical mysteries. It has its deep places which cannot be plombed, and its great heights which dazzle the most daring eye, but again and again it comes upon the common ground and insists that everything between man and man shall be done healthily, honestly, and lovingly. A religion that examines the balances and weights is a religion that may be trusted to attach a true value to praise and prayer. This is the strength of Biblical doctrine. Many a man would be glad to accept the metaphysical mysteries of the Bible if he could escape its practical criticism. There would be no difficulty in making theologians if they could be allowed to do as they liked with the common practices of daily life. The Bible will not allow of any trifling with right and wrong, and therefore it is the terror of the bad man, and not likely to be a favourite in any circle whose worship is bounded by compromise or calculation. Just balances and just weights can only come out of a just creed. For a man to adjust his balances and his weights for fear of the penalty of the law is by no means to be honest. His care simply implies that he is afraid of punishment, otherwise he would gladly avail himself of the wages of unrighteousness. All these strict moral demands on the part of the Bible should make the acceptance of the spiritual mysteries, and even of miracles the more easy. We need not begin with the miracles, and because we cannot understand them reject the morality; we should begin at the other end, saying thankfully: A book which is so true, upright, and wholly just in all its views of social relations is a book which will not trifle with pro-founder mysteries and more distant truths, and though we cannot now understand these we will begin, by the grace of God, at all accessible and practical points. The just balances were not to be used only as amongst the children of Israel themselves. The Israelites were to be just to all men. When Christian nations are just to Pagan people, the Pagan people may begin to inquire the more carefully into the religion of such honest nations. We may astound men by our metaphysics; we can only conciliate them by our temper and conduct. Whilst it is well to reject the doctrine of works as between ourselves and God as constituting in any sense a ground of justification, we should cultivate that doctrine as between man and man and prove the reality of our faith by the genuine goodness of our actions.