with men, and he will dwell with men.' This is the fulfilment of the prediction uttered by Ezek. 37. 26, 27. ‹ And I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore; my tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people,' announcing a period yet future when this earth shall again be distinguished by some visible manifestation of the Divine presence under circumstances of far more glory than those in which he appeared of old to the chosen people, and answering the same purpose in respect to the whole human race which the Shechinah of the tabernacle did in respect to a single nation. And this, it is to be remarked, will be a residence among men,' mortal men inhabiting this terraqueous globe, for there is no greater mistake than to interpret the sublime representations of the latter part of the Apocalypse of an extra-mundane state of glory, having no relation to the present condition of man, or to the original scene of his existence. Time and the Providence of God will doubtless work a great change in the views of believers in reference to the genuine scope of the visions contained in this wonderful book, a portion of revelation which unfortunately has fallen into a disesteem never enough to be deplored.

According to what model was the Tabernacle, with its appurtenances, to be constructed? v. 9. Tabernacle; Heb. ' Mischan,' a derivative from the root above mentioned, equivalent to habitacle, dwelling-place.

What was the first thing to be made, and of what form and dimensions? v. 10.

'An ark ;' or more properly a chest, a coffer, so called from its being a repository of the Divine testimonies. It is expressed in the original by a different word from that used in the description of Noah's ark, although in the Gr. they are rendered by the same term. Similar arks or chests, containing the mysteries of their religions, were common among nearly all the ancient heathen nations, the hint of which was probably taken from that of the Jews.-'Two cubits.' The cubit was a foot and a half, or eighteen inches.

How was it to be overlaid and ornamented, and in what manner transported? v. 11-15.

'A crown of gold;' i. e. an ornamental cornice, molding, or border, which went round the top, as a kind of enclosure serving to make firm the propitiatory in its place, and called a crown' from its encompassing the whole outer extremities of the upper side of the ark somewhat as a crown encircles the temples of the head. Gr. 'golden wreathed waves round about.'

What was to be put within the ark, and what above it as a covering? v. 16, 17.

'The testimony;' i. e. the two tables of stone on which the law of the ten commandments was written, which was a permanent testimony of the covenant between God and the people.-' A mercy-seat; Heb. 'Cophereth,' from 'Câphar,' to cover. The verb is, however, used for the most part in a moral sense, being applied to the covering, that is, the expiation, of sins. The Gr. version unites the two senses by rendering 'Hilasterion epithema,' propitiatory covering, or mercy-seat, a rendering sanctioned by the Holy Spirit, as we find it employed with the omission of the last word, by the apostle, Heb. 9. 5. And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-seal (Gr. hilasterion). The same term in Rom. 3. 25. is applied to Christ, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (hilasterion) through faith in his blood.' So also 1 John, 2. 2. 'He is the propitiation (hilasterion) for our sins.' From whence the conclusion is probably fairly to be drawn, that this mercy-seat was in some sense as an adumbration of Christ as the grand medium of expiation for the sins of

men.

What were to be the appendages of the mercyseat, and what is said of their construction and design? v. 18-22.

'Cherubims.' This is the plural untranslated of the original Heb. word 'Cherub,' a term of which the etymology is doubtful, though supposed, with considerable plausibility, to be formed by transposition of letters from 'Râchab,'

to ride, as they are described in the remarkable vision of Ezekiel, Ch. 1. as forming, together with the mystic animated wheels, a kind of living chariot on which the symbol of the divine glory is exhibited as upborne and transported; whence the Psalmist, Ps. 18. 10. describes the Most High as 'riding upon the Cherub;' and the cherubims in Solomon's temple, 1 Chron. 28. 18. are called 'a chariot.' The cherub was a compound figure of singular appearance, each having four faces, viz. that of a lion, of a man, of an ox, and of an eagle, all attached to a human body with four wings, and four hands under the wings, and standing on feet resembling those of a calf or ox; Ezek. 1. 5-14. Josephus says of the cherubims;* They are flying creatures, but their form is not like to that of any of the creatures which men have seen; though Moses said he had seen such beings near the throne of God.' That they were symbolical beings, shadowing forth some of the profoundest mysteries of the spiritual world, cannot be doubted, but of what particular truths, objects, or realities they were the emblems has been a matter much controverted among expositors. It is capable of very clear proof that the hieroglyphic beings which Ezekiel calls living creatures,' ch. 1, 5, are identically the same with those which he elsewhere denominates 'cherubim,' ch. 10. 20. This is the living creature (col. sing.) that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.' Again, it is as little to be questioned that the 'living creatures' of Ezekiel are the same with the 'four beasts' or 'living creatures' of John in the Apocalypse, as the original Gr. term by which they are expressed is in both instances the same, and the description of each in all essential features perfectly corresponds. Rev. 4. 6-8. Now it is to be observed that the original word for 'living creature' is in several passages of the O. T. employed to denote a vast concourse or multitude. Thus Ps. 68. 9, 10, Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary. Thy congregation (Heb. thy living creature') hath dwelt therein.' The word here used for 'congregation' is the same as that employed by Ezekiel for living creature,' and of which 'beast,' as it stands in the Gr. of

J. A. B. 3. ch. 6.

the Apocalypse, is a literal translation. So also 2 Sam. 23. 11,And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop (Heb. 'into a living creature.') Again v. 13. 'And the troop (Heb. the 'living creature,') of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.' We infer therefore that the 'cherubims' of the Mosaic economy, and the 'living creatures' of the Christian, were symbolical of a multitude of intelligent creatures; and that this multitude was composed rather of men redeemed than of angels, is to be gathered, we think, from the fact that they are represented as singing praises to the Lamb, and saying, Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.' Rev. 5. 9. This, of course, could not be said of angels. Again, the four living creatures are in the same chapter expressly distinguished from the angels, v. 11. The conclugion then seems fair, that the cherubims are an adumbration of some portion or other of the redeemed church, but of what particular portion has never yet been satisfactorily ascertained. That the discovery however will yet be made and clearly demonstrated we see no reason to doubt. We conclude this note with the remark of Buxtorf: It is the opinion,' says he, 'of the Jews, that the ark, with the mercy-seat and the cherubims, form the foundation, root, heart, and marrow of the whole tabernacle, and so of the whole Levitical service;' and we suspect, of the whole Christian dispensation also. Of beaten work shalt thou make them.' This is generally explained as importing, that the cherubims were to be beaten out with the hammer from the same solid mass of gold with the mercy-seat, but no such meaning can be gathered from the genuine sense of the original. Mikshah,' from 'Keàshah,' to be hard, implies simply that the materials of the propitiatory and the cherubims were to be of solid massive gold in contradistinction from being hollow inside, or made of wood overlaid with gold. Besides, it must be evident to the slightest reflection that such a mode of construction is utterly beyond the art or power of man; it must have been nothing short of a miracle. The cherubic figures were doubtless either cast in a mold or sculptured by the engraver's tool, as the Gr. renders the word, and then permanently attached by soldering to either extremity of the mercy-seat.-' Of the mercy-seat shail ye make the che

rubims. A marginal reading, designed to be explanatory of this, is here given, which rests upon no sufficient autho rity, viz. of the matter of the mercy-seat.' The meaning is simply, that when finished the cherubims should be seen shooting up from the ends of the mercy-seat, not they should be continuously fabricated out of the same mass by a process of beating, which in the nature of the case was absolutely impossible. Of this any man may be convinced who shall take the most plastic and malleable piece of lead, and, with no other instrument than a hammer, endeavor to work it into the shape of a human head or body, or that of a bird or beast, much more into the complex configuration of the cherub. The common interpretation of this passage respecting the formation of the mercy-seat and the cherubims has been derived from the groundless conceits and puerile glosses of the Rabbinical critics who wished to multiply as much as possible the number of miracles pertaining to their economy.-' Covering the mercy-seat with their wings;' Gr. 'Shadowing over the propitiatory with their wings.' This word, 'shadowing,' instead of covering,' is adopted by the apostle, Heb. 9. 5, 'Over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-scat ;' where it is to be noted that the phrase 'cherubims of glory, might better be rendered 'cherubims of the glory, i. e. the glory of the Shechinah, the luminous splendid appearance which was visibly enthroned between them, the mystery or substance of which is disclosed to us in the visions of the Apocalypse, ch. 5, where we learn that the symbol of the divine glory dwelling between the cherubims was the hieroglyphic of the Son of God dwelling in the midst of his redeemed people, receiving their adorations, and shedding upon them the tokens of his complacency.

What was the next article to be made, of what form and dimensions, and with what design? v. 23-30.

A crown of gold round about;' i. e. encompassing the outer edges of the table.-" border; Heb. 'an enclosure.' This enclosure of an hand's breath was, if we rightly conceive the structure of the table, of the shape of a window-frame before the sashes are put in, and to be set on