DISCOURSE XIII. The Tables of Testimony. Page And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of com- 290 DISCOURSE XIV. The Sacred Fire. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar: it shall never DISCOURSE XV. The Hidden Manna. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden DISCOURSE XVI. The Silver Trumpets. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trum- ADDENDA. An Essay on the Right of Private Judgment 311 339 . 357 375 DISCOURSE I. INTRODUCTORY:-THE TABERNACLE ENTIRE. EXODUS XXV. 1-9. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart shall ye take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim-wood, oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, onyx-stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary ; that 1 may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. THAT the worldly sanctuary, with its various ordinances of divine service, was typical of a more perfect tabernacle and of a sublimer ceremonial, no one, acknowledging the inspiration and authority of holy Scripture, will venture to question. Few, however, we conceive, will be found duly to appreciate the appointment, or to enter with profitable interest into the contemplation of its mystical observances. Hence the B books of Moses, particularly those of Exodus and Leviticus, are far too generally neglected even by piously disposed persons. Now, we hold that all Scripture, as given by inspiration of God, is profitable: and that consequently no portion of the sacred record can be slighted or partially perused without detriment to our growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We shall, then, feel it matter of great thankfulness should our present purposed discussions on the Tabernacle of Moses induce in the minds of any persons a more careful attention to the entire volume of Scripture, and a deeper enjoyment of its multiform contents, and its confessedly peerless excellence as a sacred whole. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. Prov. viii. 13, 14. : It is worthy of remark in this view, that when Jesus Christ exhorted the Jews to search the Scriptures as bearing especial testimony to himself, there were no Scriptures extant but the writings of Moses and the Prophets. When, too, St. Paul commended the knowledge of Timothy in the holy word, Timothy's grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice, could have instructed their youthful charge in no other sacred books but those of the Old Testament. Should not these simple facts reprove our too common neglect of the Old Testament Scriptures, and lead us to a more earnest and devout consideration of all God's holy revelations-the revelations of his being, of his high and eternal attributes, of the purposes of his grace, and of the promised manifestations of his kingdom and glory? I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Rev. i. 8. At once the centre and the circumference of all knowledge, the Lord presents himself to our view as the circle wherein all created intelli gences should exist and move. The amplest powers of intellect will find room for the fullest expansion here and what can be so gratifying to the human understanding as acquaintance with the Mind that is infinite and eternal? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John i. 1. The Word personal became incarnate, and dwelt among us: the heaven has now again received him; and during his personal absence, the word written, under the gracious guidance of the Spirit of truth, is given in the fulness of its letter, to be the book of our study, our grand directory in divine knowledge and in Christian duty. heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee. Prov. ii. 10, 11. Should it be said, Life and immortality are specially brought to light in the Gospelrecord: Yes, we reply; they are so: but Moses wrote of Jesus, John v. 46, and the Psalmist and all the Prophets bear witness of him. Luke xxiv. 44. Indeed, his going forth is prepared as the morning, Hos. vi. 3, and those simpler corruscations of light which betoken the advancement of meridian day, must not be contemned in the fuller blaze of the noon-tide sun. Jesus is the First as well as the Last in the high purposes of God and into him will all things, both in heaven and earth, eventually be gathered, Eph. i. 10: let us then thankfully avail ourselves of the adumbrations of his glory; and far as we may, endeavour to ascertain the will of our Father in the word of his grace. When wisdom entereth into thine Besides it should be remembered in reading Moses and the Prophets that the subjects treated of are often designedly figurative or symbolical. This observation holds with reference alike to places, things, and persons mentioned in the Old Testament. There are typical places: for example; the garden of Eden was no doubt a purposed representation of another and a fairer Paradise-a Paradise yet to be revealed, and thenceforward to be perpetuated in the vigour of unfading loveliness and beauty. Rev. ii. 7. Canaan also was typical of another, that is, a heavenly country. Heb. xi. 15, 16. Further, many things were typical: as, for instance, the slaughter of the paschal lamb in Egypt, prefiguring Christ our Passover as sacrificed for us, and whereof the holy Supper of the eucharist is now the memorial-sign. 1 Cor. v. 7. And relative to persons, scarcely can we read of any one remarkable for name, character, or exploit, but the Spirit of prophecy leads our contemplations forward to a greater than he. Instance the great progenitor of the human kind, Adam: was he as formed immediately by God, and constituted the father of a kindred race, peculiarly the son of God? Luke iii. 38. In these particulars Adam was the figure, that is, the type of Jesus Christ. Rom. v. 14. Hence, beautifully contrasted by St. Paul, are the first man Adam as made a living soul, and the last Adam, namely, Jesus Christ, who is become a quickening spirit. 1 Cor. xv. 45-49. Further, we may instance Abraham, the faithful father, as offering in virtual sacrifice a beloved son, and receiving him again from the dead in a figure or type. Heb. xi. 19. To this event particularly in the patriarch's life, might our blessed Lord refer when he declared, Abraham saw my day and was glad. John viii. 56. For, Isaac had said, My father, behold the |