invisible state. The birth of Messiah, and what followed upon it, was the hinge upon which the whole, Berith-olam turned. His death and resurrection were to form the cause and ground of theirs. "If Christ had not risen, their faith had been vain." What a beautiful light does this consideration throw around the appearing of Moses and Elias, with Christ, on the mount of transfiguration! They came out from the invisible world, and bore along with them the warm wishes of that world; expectants of Jehovah eager for the resurrection, and knowing full well what consti tuted the cause of it, they were desirous of con versing about it; "they spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." Lk.9.31.

In this invisible state, the comforts to be experienced were termed by the ancient Jewish church," the old wine which was hid in its grapes from the day that state was created, which is laid up for the just in Paradise." Hence Messiah, when he instituted the sacrament of the supper,

* In our version, the sense, from the not pointing off as a parenthesis, the words, "as he spake unto our fathers," is much obscured. The expression for ever, appears without any visible meaning. The original history clears up the whole (eis ton aiôna) denotes the period and world, through the extent of which, God had promised to be a God to Abraham, and his seed after him. Luke, i. 54, 55. The structure of the expres sion is taken from the Hebrew of Micah, vii. 20. Thou wilt perfrom the truth to Jacob, the mercy to Abraham, &c.

holding

holding in his hand the cup, the symbol of these intermediate comforts, says, "this cup is, i. e. represents the covenant in my blood." As the bread represented his body, so the wine, those consolations which by him are administered in that happy world. "Henceforward," says he, "I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until I drink it new in my father's kingdom."Mat26-26-2 I shall now endeavour to exhibit a more full view of the extent and diversified application of the Hebrew term, Olam, of which the covenant made with Abraham is the foundation. In its application to the rites of the Levitical priesthood, and its connexion in pointing every rite to its more sublime counterpart in the future age; it is, by being rendered for ever, everlasting, perpetual,completely veiled from the view. Commentators deem it sufficient to inform us, that these terms denote not a boundless duration, but merely the time the Jewish dispensation lasted: yet to the attentive investigator, this will by no means appear to be the information which the original intends to convey. In a great variety of places in the Pentateuch, the term Olam translated for ever, perpetual, is not employed to mark duration at all, but to occupy the place of an object to which the different rites mentioned bear an imitative reference. This, not expressed in our translation, is a very great defect. The reader, by it, is cut off from seeing that con

stant

stant connexion which runs between the patterns on earth and their originals in the invisible state. He is apt to wonder at the constant recurrence of everlasting statute, an ordinance for ever, (for so it runs in our version); but in these modes of expression he loses that nobler information which the Hebrew meant to convey, such as *" according to the model of the future age, after the patterns of the things of the world to come." Levit. xvi. 29, 34. This the apostle Paul saw, and, agreeable to the propriety of the Hebrew tongue, takes care to render, word for word, Le-hukath-Olam, he renders "to the copy or example of heavenly things." Heb. viii. 5. Here is nothing about an ordinance for ever, but a tracing in the elements of earth their corresponding originals in the celestial paradise.

I cannot help being of opinion that the frequent repetition of these references to their invisible originals, was of set purpose employed by Moses, in order to bear witness with what scrupulous care he, in the construction of the tabernacle and its various services, conformed himself to that model which was shewn him on the Mount. From this arose his character of being faithful in all the house of God: that the particular form of the things, the conducting of the service, through its various

* The literal meaning of hok and hukah is model or decli nation, whether described by lines on a plane, or by a con structed frame of the thing..

I

rites

Heb.3.2

rites, was no arbitrary fancy of his, but still it was Le-Hok-Olam, to the model of that world.

In the passages now to be adduced, by way of exemplification, Ishall give first the common trans lation, and then a literal version, in which these references to invisible things are expressed.

"And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them, and the priests office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute." Exod. xxix. 9. Now what is it that the reader sees here? Only a promise that the priesthood was, in the Aaronic line, to descend through a series of families from father to son. Yet when we turn to the original, not a syllable of such information was ever intended. The whole verse is the eking out of an examplar, and at the same time mentioning the sublime original to which it points. Literally thus: " and the priesthood shall be to them (Le-hukath-Olam) according to the pattern of the future age.'

When St. Paul says that "Moses was faithful through the whole house, for the testimony of the things that were to be spoken hereafter," the meaning, it would seem is, that when visions under the new dispensation were vouchsafed of the heavenly originals, it would then appear what an exact conformity subsisted between the earthly elements and their essences, in the world of souls. To this world, if we now direct the eye, there we

find the original succeeding to its model. The inhabitants of that blessed region appear clad in white robes, which is the sacerdotal habit; and, as priests, in that world, serve God in his temple. "And thou shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office, for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood, throughout their generations." Exod. xl. 15. Here there is a total darkness as to any declared reference to the things of another state; yet that such reference is intended, is plain from the words of the original; "And their anointing shall be to them for the priesthood of the future world." So in similar phraseology God says to Abraham, "my covenant shall be in your flesh for the covenant of the hidden period that is promissive of it." Gen. xvii. 13.. By the rite of circumcision, they were visibly distinguished from the rest of the nations. This rite then spoke a future and more perfect separation, of which baptism is also a figure. Of this St. Paul gives us his sense, where he says, "that the completion of the circumcision not made with hands is death," which he terms putting off the mortal body. This, in the most effectual manner, separates them from sinners, and sends them to dwell with kindred spirits: all such are, in the highest sense, sanctified, or wholly set apart and living unto God.