1-6.) From the days of Abel downward, souls had been regenerated, influenced, acted upon, and qualified for office by the Holy Ghost; but the Church could not be anointed with the Holy Ghost until her victorious Lord had entered heaven and received, on her behalf, the promise of the Father. The truth of this doctrine is taught, in the most direct and absolute manner, throughout the New Testament; and its strict integrity is maintained, in the type before us, by the obvious fact that though Aaron was anointed before the blood was shed (ver. 7.), yet his sons were not, and could not be, anointed till after (ver. 21.). [14] The ear, the hand, and the foot, are all consecrated to God in the power of accomplished atonement, and by the energy of the Holy Ghost. But we learn more from the order of anointing in our chapter than the important truth with respect to the work of the Spirit and the position of the Church; we have also set before us the personal pre-eminence of the Son.--"Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness _above_ Thy fellows." (Ps. xlv. 7; Heb. i. 9.) This must ever be held fast in the convictions and experience of the people of God. True, the infinite grace of God is set forth in the marvelous fact that guilty, hell-deserving sinners should ever be spoken of in such terms--should ever be styled the "_fellows_" of the Son of God; but let us never for a moment forget the word "_above_." No matter how close the union (and it is as close as God's eternal counsels of redeeming love could make it), yet "in all things" Christ must "have the pre-eminence." It could not be otherwise. He is Head over all,--Head of the Church, Head of creation, Head of angels, Lord of the universe. There is not a single orb that rolls along the heavens that does not belong to Him, and move under His control; there is not a single worm that crawls along the earth which is not under His sleepless eye. He is "high over all," "the first-begotten from the dead," and "of all creation," "the beginning of the creation of God." "Every family in heaven and earth" must range itself, in the divine category, under Christ. All this will ever be thankfully owned by every spiritual mind; yea, the very enunciation of it sends a thrill through the Christian's heart. All who are led of the Spirit will rejoice in every unfolding of the personal glories of the Son; nor can they tolerate, for a single instant, any thing derogatory thereto. Let the Church be raised to the loftiest heights of glory, it will be her joy to bow at the feet of Him who stooped to raise her, by virtue of His completed sacrifice, into union with Himself; who, having satisfied, in the fullest way, all the claims of divine justice, can gratify all the divine affections by making her inseparably one with Himself, in all His infinite acceptableness with the Father, and in His eternal glory.