The law of the house.
The connection to which is owing the introduction and treatment in this place of the law of the house, appears, though it is not very plain, to be this—Lawlessness has been described, lawlessness, taking the form of sinful rebellion against God, and defiance of just authority, especially in the sacred precincts of the temple, which have been diverted from spiritual worship to idolatrous rites. Lawlessness, by contrast, suggests law, and especially law as applicable to the house of God. And to the spiritual apprehension, the orderly arrangement, the symmetrical proportions of the temple, and the provision made for all proper services, all speak of the Church of Christ, which is obviously symbolized by the sanctuary beheld by the prophet in his vision.
I. THE FACT OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. With the increase of habits of observation and of accuracy, with the diminution of superstition, men have come to recognize throughout the universe the presence and operation of law. Many different opinions prevail regarding natural law; but it is recognized as a reality. No wonder that a settled conviction should have formed itself in men's minds that "order is Heaven's first law." It would be strange, indeed, were the Church, God's noblest revelation of himself now on earth, exempt from what seems a condition of all God's works. As there was a law of the house in the Jewish temple, so also is there in the Church of the redeemed, the living temple of the Spirit.
II. THE RANGE OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. Referring to the context, we observe that the prophet notes the application of law to the form, the furniture, the ordinances, the holiness, of the temple. When we come to consider the range within which law is observable in Christ's Church, we find ourselves constrained to believe that the principles are universal and unmistakable, but that in the details there is uncertainty. Opinions differ as to the measure in which law of an explicit character governs the constitution, the ministry, the observances, etc; of the Church of Christ. Some students are disposed to look to Scripture and to primitive usage for more explicit instructions regarding Church matters than are others; and this holds good of those taking different views of what are known as ecclesiastical principles. But all are agreed that mutual love is a universal obligation, that acceptable worship must be spiritual, that efforts are to be made for the enlightenment and salvation of mankind. And such laws as these are of far more importance than many customs and regulations upon which different opinions prevail.
III. THE AUTHORITY OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. It is the authority of right, which, however it may be misunderstood and practically repudiated by any, is not denied, but is admitted by all. It is also the authority of love; the Divine Lawgiver himself declared, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."
IV. THE BLESSINGS OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. These are apparent to those who consider how wretched would be the state of a Church without a law, and how little less wretched the state of a Church handed over to the control of fallible and imperfect human legislators. The past history of the Church shows that it has truly prospered just so far as the rules laid down for it by Divine authority have beer obeyed, just so far as man has been kept in abeyance, and human policy and human selfishness have been repudiated. Beside the direct blessings which have accrued to the Church itself through subjection to "the law of the house," it must be borne in mind that the world has benefited by the example which has thus been set to earthly institutions and secular rulers, that owe more than they are forward to acknowledge to those principles of authority and subjection which by the Church have been introduced into and impressed upon the world.—T.