Again, my reader should seek to apprehend the meaning of the expression, "All the _males_ among the priests shall eat thereof." The ceremonial act of eating the sin-offering or the trespass-offering was expressive of full identification; but to eat the sin-offering--to make another's sin one's own, demanded a higher degree of priestly energy, such as was expressed in "the _males_ among the priests." "And the Lord spake unto Aaron, 'Behold, I also have given thee the charge of Mine heave-offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and _to thy sons_, by an ordinance forever. This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every trespass-offering of theirs, which they shall render unto Me, shall be most holy for thee and for _thy sons_. In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; _every male_ shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee. And this is thine; the heave-offering of their gift, with all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to _thy daughters_ with thee, by a statute forever: _every one that is clean_ in thy house shall eat of it." (Numb. xviii. 8-11.) It demanded a larger measure of priestly energy to eat of the sin or trespass-offering than merely to partake of the heave and wave-offerings of gift. The "daughters" of Aaron could eat of the latter: none but the "sons" could eat of the former. In general, "the male" expresses a thing according to the divine idea; "the female," according to human development. The former gives you the thing in full energy; the latter, in its imperfections. How few of us have sufficient priestly energy to enable us to make another's sin or trespass our own! The blessed Lord Jesus did this perfectly. He made His people's sins His own, and bore the judgment thereof, on the cross. He fully identified Himself with us, so that we may know, in full and blessed certainty, that the whole question of sin and trespass has been divinely settled. If Christ's identification was perfect, then the settlement was perfect likewise; and that it was perfect, the scene enacted at Calvary declares. All is accomplished. The sin, the trespasses, the claims of God, the claims of man--all have been eternally settled; and now, perfect peace is the portion of all who, by grace, accept as true the record of God. It is as simple as God could make it, and the soul that believes it is made happy. The peace and happiness of the believer depend wholly upon the perfection of Christ's sacrifice. It is not a question of his mode of receiving it, his thoughts about it, or his feelings respecting it; it is simply a question of his crediting, by faith, the testimony of God as to the value of the sacrifice. The Lord be praised for His own