Holy Scripture be written by inspiration of God, it must be by a perfect or plenary inspiration; since nothing partial or imperfect can be supposed to come from Him who has done all things well. The death of Nadab and Abihu, which happened on account of offering strange fire to the Lord, does, by the law of inspiration, point out to every reflecting man that kind of worship that ends in death; and in mercy whispers, beware of the strange fire!
The burnt offerings and sacrifices made upon the altar of the Jewish church, were all emblematical of that spiritual worship of God, which, in the Christian church, should arise warm from the heart; for the heart of the true Christian is the consecrated altar whence ascends to the throne of his Father in the heavens, the sweet incense of his breath of praise.
The love of God to all is eternal, changeless, and constant! This is represented by the fire which was to be constantly burning upon the altar: the command respecting it was, "it shall never go out." (Lev. vi. 13.) O how blessed the thought that the love of God is constant and changeless to all! It is a divine fire, ever burning, to bless without consuming. To shew this, the fire on the altar was never to go out. All nature exhibits the fervency of Divine love; it warms in the sun—is reflected by the moon—twinkles in the stars—refreshes in the breeze—enamels the emerald plain—is lovely in the flowers, and is food in the fruits! To be impressed with this love, and to worship God from it, is to take the ever-burning fire from the altar to mingle with our devotions and praise. The happy result of such worship ends in a possession of the life that is everlasting—of the joys that never die.
