XXXVII. HIDING-PLACE. 'And a man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.' Isa. xxxii. 2. THIS phrase presents itself in three other instances, and is applied to the Supreme Being twice, and to signify a place where the wicked had secured themselves. Psa. xxxii. 7. cxix. 114. Isa. xxviii. 17. A more beautiful assemblage of ideas was never presented to the mind. We hardly know where to begin, or where to end; but we shall pursue our regular plan of considering one appellative at once. We need not stop for definitions. We will make a single remark in reference to the application of the word to Jehovah. 'Thou art my hiding-place,' says the Psalmist, xxxii. 7. How pleasing to contemplate God in this light. The same idea is expressed in another form: 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.'* In all the trials of life we may go to our Father in heaven, and he will save us, and 'compass us about with songs of deliverance.' David often experienced this in his eventful life. He was delivered from 'the lowest hell.' Often did he express his confidence in *Psa. xlvi. 1, 2. God, and flee to him as to an hiding-place from the storms of trouble. There is the same hiding-place for us all. There is one Being who will never change, who will never forsake us; for, we are told, 'The Lord will not cast us off forever.'* In trouble, we may go to his promises and find security. But we must turn from the Father to the Son, as he is the personage alluded to in the passage under consideration. In what sense then is Jesus an hiding-place? He is an hiding-place for the mourner. See how many came to him in affliction when he was on earth. The leper came to be cleansed, the lame to be made whole, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the bereaved to be comforted. Never was there so much disease and affliction presented before one individual since the world began. Yet all were cured. Jesus was an hiding-place for every one. He gave out an invitation broad enough to cover every case of affliction on earth. 'Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my The yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' widow of Nain, the sisters of Lazarus, and Jairus, all found Jesus to be an hiding-place. And even the weary sinner came, laden with guilt and wo, and found security in Jesus, not as one who would approbate his iniquity, but who came with power to cleanse and sanctify. His language was that of peace and comfort. Hear him in a certain case. An adulteress was brought before him by those who seemed eager Matt. xi. 28-30. *Lam. iii. 31. to condemn her at once. 'Woman,' said he, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.' But we need not multiply instances. They lie every where upon the eventful page of the history of the life of Jesus. All may go to him and find rest. There is room enough in this hiding-place for every sinner, and for all the afflicted on earth. Blessed be God for this hiding-place. We will go to it. Are any afflicted? Look to Jesus. Behold him persecuted even unto death. Are any tempted? Fly to Jesus. 'He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.' Are any poor? Look to Jesus. Though possessing all power in heaven and earth,' yet 'he had not where to lay his head.' Are any dying? Go to Jesus, and find an hiding-place. He came to show man how to live and how to die. Indeed, man can be in no situation where he will not find Jesus to be an hiding-place for him. We must look away from ourselves unto him, and we shall find that peace and security which the world cannot bestow nor take away. 'When dread misfortune's tempests rise, * John viii. 1—11. XXXVIII. HIGH PRIEST. 'Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.' Heb. iii. 1. WE come now to a very important part of our work; the consideration of a title which throws the mind back to the dispensation of rites and ceremonies, when the good things of the kingdom were shadowed forth by emblems. 6 We must apprize the reader that we cannot possibly go into all the various particulars connected with this title; for a little reflection must convince any one that a comparison is involved, not only between the Jewish high priest and Jesus, but between different priesthoods; their nature and design; and between the law and the gospel. Indeed, the two dispensations seem to have met in Jesus. You behold,' says an elegant author, 'the Law and the Prophets standing, if we may speak so, at the foot of the cross and doing homage. You behold Moses and Aaron bearing the ark of the covenant; David and Elijah presenting the oracle of testimony. You behold all the priests and sacrifices, all the rites and ordinances, all the types and symbols, assembled together to receive their consummation.' This appellative occurs in forty-two instances, but is only applied to Jesus in the epistle to the Hebrews in ten places. To ascertain why Jesus is thus styled, it may be well to look at the duties of the high priest under the former dispensation, and then present a comparison. The high priest enjoyed peculiar dignities and influence. He alone could enter the Holy of Holies in the temple; the supreme administration of sacred things was confined to him; he was the final arbiter of all controversies; in later times he presided over the sanhedrim, and held the next rank to the sovereign or prince. His authority, therefore, was very great at all times, and especially when he united. the pontifical and regal dignities in his own person. The most interesting light in which he can be viewed, is in making an atonement for the sins of the people. A judicious writer thus speaks on this subject:--'The high priest, after he had washed, not only his hands and his feet, as usual at common sacrifices, but his whole body, dressed himself in plain linen like the other priests, wearing neither his purple robe, nor the ephod, nor the pectoral, because he was to expiate his own sins, together with those of the people. He first offered a bullock and a ram for his own sins, and those of the priests, putting his hands on the heads of the victims, and confessing his own sins, and the sins of his house. Afterwards, he received from the princes of the people two goats for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering, to be offered in the name of the whole nation. The lot determined which of the two goats should be sacrificed, and which set at liberty. After this, the high priest put some of the sacred fire of the altar of burnt-offerings into a censer, threw incense upon it, and entered with it, thus smoking, into the sanctuary. After having perfumed the sanc |