The burning of incense in Scripture symbolizes the presentation of prayers and worship to God, as illustrated by the Old Testament tabernacle rituals and the high priest's ministration. The sermon details the five ingredients of the incense—perspective, onycha, galbanum, pure frankincense, and salt—interpreting them as symbols of Christ's character: gentleness, kingliness, sympathy, priestlyness, and purity. This rich symbolism is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane, where His own character and submission to God's will are presented as the ultimate incense before the Father. The sermon concludes by urging believers to enrich their understanding of Christ's character to enhance their own worship and spiritual lives.
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This is Mr. Fred Luton, Fred Condig of Luton. At the risk of being tedious, may I ask you to turn, for a moment this talk, to Luke chapter one again. Luke chapter one, verse eight. and it came to pass that while he executed the priest's office before God, in the order of his court, the eighth court, incidentally, according to the custom of the priest's office, his was to burn in sin when we went into the temple of the Lord.
We have been already reminded of the rich value of Luke chapter one. The devotional aspects of teaching that it presents are indeed fascinating. I learned many years ago as a young man something that was helpful to me and I'm sure will be helpful to the younger people in the gathering tonight concerning this very important matter of courtship and marriage.
I am not going to attempt to amplify what our beloved brother has already said before us, but I do want to tell you that I discovered from verse five that the priest made a good choice. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron and there was a good match because they were both righteous and there was a good walk walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the law and will you allow me to suggest that the lovely truths that are set before us in that great epistle to the Hebrews are illustrated in the circumstances of this priest ministration.
Look again, my brethren, and you will see a priest within and people without. I know there are many aspects of truth that could be amplified from that very rich epistle, but this is one. I am turning your attention to this passage because It is one of the six passages in the Holy Scriptures that deal with the presentation of incense in the presence of God. I invite my fellow saints to search out the six instances.
I am not going to attempt that tonight, but I do want to raise the question, what is this burning of incense? Turn back please to Exodus chapter thirty. Exodus chapter thirty, notice verse one. And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon. The description of the altar, the details about its manufacture, very definitely said before us the glory of him who is the great high priest of his people.
Now look at the end of the chapter and notice the reading at verse thirty-four. And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices Decta and Onica and Golanum, these sweet spices with pure frankincense, of which there shall be a light weight, and thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, or if you respect your margin, salted, pure and holy.
That makes five ingredients altogether. When I approach Exodus chapter thirty and notice its structure, I perceive the design of the Spirit of God I suppose my brethren and sisters in Ireland have been taught many years ago that the instruction pertaining to the tabernacle is set before you in seven sections, all opening with the familiar words and the Lord, Space and the Moses. I ask my brethren who study the tabernacle to take that into account.
You will be helped to see the meaning of that rich type if you keep that in your mind. I cannot say any more about it, but if we confine ourselves to chapter thirty and notice the opening that sits before the mind, the altar, of course the subject of worship is immediately brought to mind. Have you found yourself asking this question, how may I approach God more acceptably? How may I enrich my worship?
Take a good look at Exodus thirty, and you will find that the order of the instructions will answer your question. just glance now at the next occurrence of this formula verse eleven and below speak unto Moses you have instruction afterwards pertaining to the atonement money the spirit of God is telling you the first essential in worship is a knowledge of the redemptive work of Christ anything that retends to be worship that ignores the value of the work of Christ is mere ritual.
All worship is based upon the sacrificial work of the Redeemer. Now notice verse seventeen which opens the next paragraph and the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Thou shalt make a favour of God. and the moment the labor is mentioned, you think of the use of the word of God, the application of its truth to your life that cleanses the way. A man who is going to approach God perceptedly will recognize the value of his Son's glorious work and will cleanse his life by the word of truth.
Verse twenty-two, moreover the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, and then introduces the holy, aligning oil. Brethren, can we wash you apart from the power of the Spirit of God? We wash you, God, in the spirit, said Paul, and he is referring obviously to the glorious persons, the Holy Spirit of God. But verse twenty-four that I wish to focus your attention upon introduces the details about the instance.
Oh, this is a lovely study. I want my brethren pistols to grasp this one thing. Remember, the more you know about the fragrance of the Passion of Christ, The more expensive your knowledge is of what he is and what he has built, the better your worship will be. I am quite assured that the times of barrenness that we experience is due to our impoverishment of thought concerning the parcel of Christ. My brethren, let us be exercised before God about enriching our souls with the knowledge of heaven.
Now look at this instance, just ten minutes to show you something in connection with this passage. What are these ingredients? I know that expositors of all tend to tell us where they have come from and so on, but no information is reliable. The Spirit of God has withheld those details to advance the uniqueness of the portion of Christ. Don't spoil that. Respect the divine design of Scripture. But we do know that perspective was regarded by the Oriental as a symbol of gentleness and grace.
The word seems to drop. I leave you to work out all the details. Antonica, which means a lion, walks to the Oriental, a symbol of kingliness. We haven't any difficulty to understand that, have we? Thirdly, Angle bottom, the word means set, and that once you have set before you in simple, sympathy, warmth, or feeling, Are you linking up the gentleness, the kingliness, the sympathy?
Pardon those brief statements. Now notice the next pure frankincense. You cannot read of frankincense without thinking of priestliness. Every time priesthood comes into view, the lovely incense is associated with it. Accessory salt. It's almost unnecessary to ask, what does this symbolize, purity? Let me repeat those things.
These ingredients to the eastern of all. Four of those people were well taught in the types, saw in these ingredients symbols of gentleness, grace, beauty, a symbol of kingliness, a symbol of sympathy, a symbol of priestlyness, a symbol of purity. Now John from Leviticus chapter sixteen. Just a brief reading in Leviticus chapter sixteen. This is the great chapter that unfolds to us the complex ritual of the day of atonement.
You cannot understand Hebrews unless you become acquainted with this. A prophet who gives himself to the study of Hebrews is compelled to give attention to Leviticus, and particularly this chapter, the opening verses reveal to you the essentials of access. And in verses six to ten, you have a summary of the whole day's ritual. But when you come to verse eleven, you have the commencement of that instruction pertaining to the threefold entry.
I hope my brethren will not be alarmed when I say the threefold entry. What about Hebrews and the Bible? That is a summary statement. The complex nature of the entry is revealed to you here. Now notice one very lovely thing. Verse twelve, and he shall take a censer full of burning calls of fire from off the altar before the Lord. That, my brethren, in simple swift terms, is a recognition of the demands of divine holiness.
Then observe and his hand, not the plural word, is hand, full of sweet incense, beat small, and bring it within the base. The first entry which was bloodless, but was absolutely essential for the next entry. This was the preparatory ritual. The sacred shrine was covered with these clouds formed through the burnings of the sweet incense before the Lord.
I would love to amplify those details, but come away with me, please, to the Gospel of Matthew and look for a moment to saw at the great fulfillment of that ritual. Please turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter twenty-six. Verse thirty-six. Let me take time to read these verses. I shall soon myself just to have the privilege of reading these lovely words about the holy agony of our Lord.
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane and said unto the disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. Have you seen the structure of Matthew before? You will know that the Lord has bidden goodbye to the earthly temple. Your house is left until you detonate the end of chapter twenty-three. But look attentively at these verses in Matthew twenty-six, and you will see that you have a pointer to the new sanctuary which is being formed.
Watch the movements of this band. Mark the Lord says to the disciples in verse thirty-six, The greater part of the apostolic band is left at that spot. Now move forward, verse thirty-seven, and he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. The three men move forward more. I would require much more time to show you how in the dispositions of those three men you have illustrated the basic ideas of the three articles of furniture in the holy place.
But Luke verse thirty-nine says, And he went a little farther. The Lord is alone in the presence of God. And what has he said? Oh, my Father, if it be possible, let this cut pass from me. Nevertheless, not as thou wilt, but as thou wilt. That's where the blessed Son of God cast the holy incense of his matthew upon the altar before his God.
in Gethsemane. He is deeply conscious that he has worked out the divine and eternal works of God. My brethren, this is in truth holy ground. It is an impossibility for us to analyze abstainments. Over Christmas time, ladies are very fond of giving to each other profuse. I was vain enough to try one yesterday. I hope my brother will forgive me for that. But I perceive it is an impossibility to analyze its makeup. But I will point out to my fellow saint these lovely races that were portrayed centuries before in the mosaic ritual.
They're all seen in that fullness and beauty in the person of Christ. Allow me now just for a minute to do this. Look please at verse forty-nine. And forthwith he came to Jesus and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. I invite you to look at the face of the Lord as given in the passion story of Matthew. That lovely face was smitten by wicked men.
I have already found out to you that he fell on his face. My brethren, there was nothing more blistering than this kiss of betrayal. It scorched the face of your beloved Lord. Who is he taking? It's perspective of his holy character. Thanks be to God for the gentleness and grace of Christ that could submit to the betrayer's blistering gift. You see in that perspective, don't you? Look at verse fifty-three. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Who is this, who speaks in this way, who dares assume that the marshals hosts of heaven of his cause? My brethren, the answer is, the Messiah, the Prince. This is the kindleness of the Omicron of Christ. Look at the Gospel of Matthew, and you will see how the angels are interested in him. I cannot tell you those lovely things now. But you see his gentleness in taking that hiss of betrayal.
You see his timeliness in talking of the twelve legions of age. Look at verse forty-five. Then cometh he to his disciples and says unto them, Sleep on now and take your rest. Of course, I am assuming that my brethren have considered this passage before, and you will recognize, won't you, that this verse indicates, although the Lord was disappointed at the response from those disciples whom he must have, in all gods, in their time let us He keeps a lonely vigil over these nights.
Sleep on thou. What is this? Nothing less than the sympathy of Christ for men who were suffering the weariness of the flesh. I praise my God for the grace of that blessed one who is my savior. In thin, true kingliness, is made manifest. I have been him, a true sympathizer. He is in God's presence for me. And again, please look at verse thirty-six. Then come as Jesus with them, and to a place called Gethsemane, and say unto the disciples, Think, while I go and pray yonder.