fulfilled these promises, and gave a full and open pledge to their faith that he would, as Jah, the Saviour, in due season become incarnate, and fill the tabernacle of his humanity with all the fulness of deity. This supernatural, visible ap pearance of fire, light and splendor, surrounded with a cloud, was a solemn prefiguration of the future incarnation of the Son of God. This fire, light, and glory, was surrounded with a cloud; by it the Lord miraculously attested his presence with his own divinely instituted worship. The Lord had promised thus to meet Moses, and to commune with him from above the mercy-seat, and from between the two cherubims. Exod. xxv. 22. He says to Moses, “I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat." Levit. xvi. 2. And the glory of the Lord, or the Lord of glory, in this cloud took up his seat, and shone forth between the cherubim in the holy of holies. And I doubt not, but there was the appearance of the God-man over the cherubim, in the holy of holies. They were (says the truly excellent and learned Mr. Parkhurst) proper emblems of the three eternal persons in covenant to redeem man, and of the union of the divine and human nature in the person of Christ.' Thus the Lord sanctified the tabernacle with these visible evidences of his presence, as he afterwards did the temple built by Solomon.

The tabernacle being erected, the princes of Israel brought waggons and oxen for the service of it, and other offerings for the dedicating of the altar; which solemnity lasted twelve days. On the fourteenth day of this month, the Israelites kept the feast of the passover; and on the new moon following, which was on the first day of the second month, the Israelites were numbered, and their tents pitched in order, four square, round about the tabernacle. On the twentieth day of that month, the cloud removed, the tabernacle was taken down, and the people took their journies out of the wilderness of Sinai.

Soon after the tabernacle was reared, Aaron and his sons were consecrated, which solemnity lasted seven days. The cloud covering the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle, Moses could not enter it: nor the priests into the temple, when the same glory filled it. 2 Chron. v. 14.-vii. 1. This shews the weakness of all saints. The more the Lord's glory shines forth, the more ashamed and confounded they are at the views of their own sinfulness and unworthiness. "And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." And this cloud was a direction to the people: and when the cloud was taken up from over the

tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journies; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they journied not till the day that it was taken up. "For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the children of Israel, throughout all their journies." A full proof that it was the same cloud in which the Lord went before them, when he had brought them out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

May the Lord the Spirit bless the reading of this to you, and lead you to see into the exhibition of Christ in the types, symbols, figures, and memorials of him, in what hath been in this discourse set before you. Remember, Christ is with his church; he is the light, life, and glory of it; he is its defence and security; and were it to be wholly covered with a cloud, the splendor and brightness of his shining, and manifestative favour, would be found all-sufficient to dispel it. The Lord bless his truth unto you. Amen.

that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord." See Levit. xvi. 30. So Christ, his antitype, by bearing, as our great high priest, all our sins, the iniquities of all his church and people in his own body on the tree, hath removed them from us as far as the east is from the west. His blood cleanseth us from all sin. The high priest represented all the people in his own per son, wore their names on his heart, and bore them on the shoulders of his power, and entered into the holiest of all with blood and incense, and was interested in the good of the people in all his priestly performances; it was for their benefit, and on their behalf, that he performed these services. So Jesus wore all the names of his people on his heart: he represented them, acted for them, suffered for them, and having, by his own blood, obtained eternal redemption, he entered into the holiest of all, to appear in the pre. sence of God for us.

Aaron, the high priest, was a mortal man, he was inherently sinful, he was encompassed with infirmity; this served to give him to feel for those he represented: his office required this of him, to have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way. Our Christ, the essential Word and Son of God, took our nature, with all its sinless infirmities, into personal union, and is most graciously disposed to exercise all ways

ceived those commands concerning the tabernacle, ark, mercy seat, and cherubims of glory, the golden candlestick, shew-bread, table, golden altar of incense, vails, curtains for the tabernacle, and hangings for the court which surrounded it, with the brazen altar, and brazen laver, which are recorded in the 25th, 26th, and 27th chap. ters of this book.

These sacred utensils were all and each of them emblematical and figurative of Christ, in his person as God-man; and in a variety of ways they were very expressive of his work, offices, salvation, and grace. You may see the whole of them elucidated, and read a spiritual exposition of them in the epistle to the Hebrews.

In this chapter we have the Lord's command concerning the persons who were to officiate in his house, the church, with his command for separating Aaron and his sons to the office of priesthood. Aaron was to be the high priest, the others were priests. I shall, as the Lord may be pleased to assist me, speak of their call and ap pointment to their office of high priest, and priesthood, with their holy garments; after which I will shew how they were figures of Christ, and represented him, his work, and offices, with the blessings and benefits thereof; in which we shall see the glory of God shining forth in the face or person of Jesus Christ; and how Aaron and the priesthood were figurative of him.