16 And the glory of the Matt. 17.5. LORD abode upon mount b ch. 16. 10. с devouring fire on the top с BEFORE CHRIST 1491. of the mount in the eyes of c ch. 3. 2. & the children of Israel. 19. 18. Deut. 4. 36. 29. Numb.14.10. Sinai, and the cloud covered 18 And Moses went into Hebr. 12. 18, it six days and the seventh the midst of the cloud, and day he called unto Moses gat him up into the mount: Deut. 9. 9. out of the midst of the and Moses was in the ch. 34. 38. PRAYER. LET US PRAY, that as we know both the law of God and the will of God, we make a covenant with God, with the blood of the great sacrifice, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience; and so ascending higher and higher in communion with God, from a true conversion from evil, to rejoicing in the imitation of Christ, to the attainment of that peace with God which passeth all understanding; that we may find the cares and troubles of life to be the sources of our greatest praise, and the sense of God's presence to be the purest enjoyment of the soul. O ALMIGHTY GOD! Creator of the souls of men, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hast set before us in Thy Holy Word, life and death, the blessing and the curse-who hast given Thy law to direct the actions, and the knowledge of Thy will to direct the thoughts, the reasonings, the resolutions, and the intentions of the heart,-we Thine unworthy servants, praise and thank Thy holy name for these Thy mercies towards us; humbly beseeching Thee to grant that by the merits and death of Thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in His blood, we and all Thy whole Church may obtain remission of sins, and all other benefits of His passion; and be enabled to renew our covenant with Thee, that Thou mayest be our God, and that we may be found among Thy faithful, Thy peculiar people. As Thy servants in the olden time were commanded to build an altar to Thee, and to sacrifice thereupon the burnt-offerings and the peaceofferings, so would we build Thee an altar, so would we bring Thee an offering. Hear us, O merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, and grant that we, receiving Thy creatures of bread and wine according to Thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of His becoming the true sacrifice for us men and for our salvation, may be partakers of His most blessed body and blood. May we build to Thee an altar in our hearts. There, even there, may the blood of the Mediator of the New Covenant be sprinkled, to cleanse our consciences from the guilt and power of sin. There, even there, in our hearts and souls, may we be enabled to slay and to sacrifice every thought of sin within As the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled upon the altar, so may the blood of Christ, as the blood of the sacrifice which sealed the covenant, be sprinkled upon the heaven of heaven, the holy of holies, that our sins may not reach to heaven, but that the habitation of Thy glory may be the rest of our pardoned souls.-As the blood was sprinkled upon the book of the covenant, so may Thy Holy Word be sanctified to our spirits as the covenant of the atonement, whereby alone we can hope for the fulfilment of the promises which are secured to us by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ.-As the pillars which represented Thy Church and people were sprinkled with the blood, so may we, and all the Church, and us. all the people of God, and all the fallen race of man, in Thine own good time and way, be sprinkled with the blood of Christ, and be pardoned, accepted, and saved by Thee.-As Thy servants, the people, were commanded to behold Thy glory afar off, while the elders of Israel approached nearer, to eat and drink of the sacrifices in the presence of Thy Majesty; and Thy servant Moses was graciously commanded to ascend still higher towards Thee, and to pass into the midst of the cloud which veiled Thy Godhead from the eyes of man;-so enable us to approach to the living God. Enable us, as Thy people who have sinned against Thee, to worship Thee with reverence and godly fear. As the first step of progress to Thee and to heaven, may we, with all Thy people, confess our sinfulness; and that we are not worthy to offer unto Thee any sacrifice, nor to gather up the crumbs under Thy table. Purify our hearts from evil, and enable us, with broken and contrite hearts, to live before Thee, to repent us of our sins, to believe rightly, to do justice and mercy, and to walk humbly with Thee our God.-So may we hold communion with Thee in change of heart, in true conversion, in holy resolution and intention to devote ourselves in heart and soul to Thee. So may we increase in perfection that we rise higher and higher towards the enjoyment of the presence and glory of God. May the solemn vow be ours, "All that the Lord hath said will we do."-And as the elders of Israel saw the God of Israel, and did eat and drink in his presence, so may our souls ascend still higher and higher unto Thee, till holiness be the habit of our souls, till all sin be loathsome, till we have no happiness but the sight of God in heaven, of Christ in His glory, and the welcoming of the comforts of the Holy Spirit in our souls. May all the afflictions of this life be only regarded as proofs of Thy love, till the vale of misery be a well of life, and we eat and drink in Thy presence, as partakers of the banquet where God, and Christ, and man, bestow and receive the blessedness of the fellowship and communion, which the divine Spirit of God alone can impart to the human and sanctified spirit of man. As Thy servant Moses was received into the cloud and glory which veiled Thy Godhead from mortal sight, so may we ascend higher and higher still to Thee,till the peace of God which passeth all understanding so direct and rule our hearts, that our hearts and souls, weaned from the world, and fitted for heaven, dwell in Thy courts; inherit Thy promise, await with peace and joy the summons of the death of the body, and experience, before death, some foretaste of the joy unspeakable and full of glory, which shall satisfy the longings of the soul for its perfect consummation and bliss in heaven.-Let not our prayers be vain. Pour forth upon us, we pray Thee, O Lord our God! O Saviour and Redeemer! such grace and power from on high, that we may all come, in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.-Like Him may we ascend in holy communion the mount of transfiguration, converse with the spirits of the departed, and hear the voice from heaven.-Like Him may we be ready to die. With him may we bear the cross now, with Him may we rise again, and come to Thee, and dwell for ever with Thee, His Father and our Father, His God and our God. In the name of Christ, and in the words of Christ, we sum up and we offer all our prayers, calling upon Thee as Our Father, &c. The grace of our Lord, &c. NOTES. NOTE 1. On the arrangement of the passages of Scripture in this Section. Exod. xxiv. 1,2; Deut. v. 30, 31; Exod. xx. 24-26; Exod. xxiv. iii. 18. There is some difficulty in ascertaining the precise time when the altar, mentioned in Exod. xx. 24, was built. This difficulty arises from the enumeration of numerous laws in Exodus xxi., xxii., and xxiii., which are not mentioned in the parallel passage in Deuteronomy. Now I think it most probable that the covenant which God made with Israel, after the promulgation of the ten commandments, would be ratified either at the beginning or at the end of the giving of the general laws, and not at any intermediate period. We do not read of any such ratification at the conclusion of the enactments of the law of Moses. I infer, therefore, both from the nature of the case, and from the order of the narrative in Exodus, that the first covenant between God and Israel, to which St. Paul alludes, and which he indeed describes so eloquently in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. ix. 18. 20), took place immediately after the promulgation of the ten commandments. There were indeed many repetitions of the sprinkling of the blood, by which the covenant was confirmed; but the most solemn act of ratification took place when the glory of the Lord was manifested on Sinai, with the utmost terrors and demonstrations of the presence of God. I have arranged the narrative, therefore, according to this view of the subject, and shall place the laws contained in the xxi. xxii. and xxiii. chapters, according to their subjects, under the proper heads in the harmony of the moral and ceremonial laws. I have no doubt that the precepts in those three chapters, which the commentators regard as the regulations of patriarchal society, may be considered as an abridgment or summary of the whole law, and that they are misplaced. I place, therefore, chapter xxiv. as the continuance of the narrative at the end of chapter xx.; and regard the building of the altar, which we find in ver. 4, on the day following the command, to be the proof of Moses' immediate attention to the order that he should do so. This ordering of the history renders the account of the manifestation of the glory of God on Mount Sinai, during the time of the assembling of the elders of Israel to ratify the covenant, more clear and consistent. If this may be allowed, it will follow that the book of the covenant, mentioned in ver. 7, was the recapitulation of the ten commandments, before they were engraved on stone; or it was some written document which was to be laid on the altar, and sprinkled with blood, containing a general declaration that God was to be honoured and obeyed, and that the people would honour and obey Him. It contained, therefore, a general promise and threatening on God's part, and general vows on the part of the people, which were afterwards more fully developed and written for their instruction. They were the substance of all which were afterwards more explicitly enacted, according to the promise in ver. 12. NOTE 2. On the altars and sacrifices of the Mosaic Law. Exod. xxiv. There will be so many opportunities of discussing these in detail, that though this would be a proper place to consider them, in consequence of the altar of earth and the sacrifices being now first mentioned, I shall consider each sort of sacrifice in detail in subsequent notes. NOTE 3. On the expression, "the paved work of a sapphire stone," and " as it were the body of heaven in its clearness." Exod. xxiv. 10. is the same לִבְנַת The expression here translated "paved NOTE 4. On the expression, The word signifies to send forth, or commission to an office. I interpret the word, therefore, not in the usual sense that He did not send forth His hand to destroy them, but that, as God purposed to commission the tribe of Levi to be His high priests and ministers, and not the first-born, as generally in the Patriarchal dispensation, He did not commission the of Israel to that high office. The word, which we here render 'nobles,' is said by Michaelis, ap. Rosenmüller in loc., to be derived from an Arabic word signifying noble by birth.' I conclude these seventy elders, therefore, to have been the elder, or first-born, of their respective families, and to have thus formed the chief of the existing aristocracy. The meaning, therefore, of the passage will be, that though they were admitted into communion with God, and did eat and drink in His presence; they were not ordained to be the priesthood of the new dispensation which was about to be appointed to the service of the tabernacle. We shall find this view of the passage to be confirmed by the conduct of Nadab and Abihu, the elder sons of Aaron, and the heads of the chief of the existing aristocracy, who had been admitted to a higher honour in their nearness to the glory of God on Mount Sinai; but who were not chosen to minister as the heads of the Priesthood. NOTE 5.-On the gradations in the spiritual life, and the three gradations of approach to God.-Exod. xxiv. 3-18. Maimonides notices, in his commentary on this chapter, four degrees or distinctions of the privilege of prophecy-Moses at the top; aron, Nadab, and Abihu, next; the seventy elders below them; and at the foot of the mountain, the people, according to their particular diversities or degrees of perfection'. I have not adopted this view of the spiritual instruction to be derived from the history; but as there is an analogy between the thought of Maimonides and the three-fold progress of the Christian described by the primitive Fathers, pourtrayed by John Bunyan in his Pilgrim's Progress, drawn at still greater length by the writers of the middle ages, and confirmed by the experience of every devotional heart, in the Church of God in all ages; I have made that analogy the foundation of the prayer. These are the things which convince me, that if the Christians who believe the Scriptures to be the word of God, would break down the walls of partition, which human laws, worldly ambition, and obstinate folly, have built up, there might be, and there will be, a revival of their ancient union; on the basis of a common devotion, founded on a common faith in Christ, and a common hope of immortality. This progress of a Christian from earth to heaven, is divided by the more systematizing mystical writers into three stages, the purgative, the contemplative, and the unitive. In the first stage of the Christian towards perfection, they place sinners on their first entrance after their conversion into a spiritual life, who bewail their sins, are careful to avoid relapsing into them, endeavour to destroy their bad habits, to extinguish their passions; who fast, watch, pray, chastise the flesh, mourn, and are blessed with a contrite and humbled heart.In the second stage, they place those who 1 See the Bibliotheca Biblica of Parker, vol. ii. p. 282, note e. divest themselves of earthly affections, study to acquire purity of heart and a constant habit of virtue, the true light of the soul; who meditate incessantly on the virtues and doctrines of Christ, and thereby inflame themselves to the imitation of Him.-Those, they suppose, to be arrived at the third stage, whose souls being thus illuminated are united to God, and enjoy His peace, which passeth understanding.-According to these authors, the prayer of a person who is arrived at the last stage, is very different from that of a beginner in spiritual life. To present a pious subject to his mind, to place it in the various points of view in which it should be considered, to raise the devout sentiments which the consideration of it should produce, and to form the resolutions which those sentiments should inspire, must, these authors observe, be a work of exertion to a beginner. But when once he has arrived at that state of perfection as to have detached himself from those objects which are the usual incitements to sin, and to which, from the natural propensity of the human heart, the imaginations of man forcibly lead, and when an ardent love of virtue, piety, and whatever relates to them is habitual in her; then, our authors suppose that what was exertion becomes the usual state of the soul; a thousand causes of distraction cease to exist, and all the powers of the mind and affections of the heart rest with ease and pleasure on the subject of her meditation; God communicates to her His perfections; He enlightens her in the mysteries of religion, and raises in her admirable sentiments of wonder and love. This, our authors call the prayer of contemplation. In process of time, they suppose, that the habit of devotion increases, that the soul acquires a stronger aversion from every thing that withholds her from God, and a more ardent desire of being united to Him; and that, by continually meditating on the sublime truths and mysteries of Christianity, she is disengaged from earthly affections, is always turned to God, and obtains a clearer view of his perfections, of her obligations to him, and of the motives which entitle him to her love. Then, according to these authors, everything which is not God, becomes irksome to her, and she is united to Him in every action, and every thought. At first the soul, by these authors' description, calls to her mind the presence of God, afterwards she habitually recollects it; at length, everything else disappears, and she lives in Him1. 1 Butler's Lives of the Saints, edit. 3; Edinburgh, 1798, vol. ii. p. 38. Life of Rev. Alban Butler. SECTION CVI. EXODUS XXV. 1—22. TITLE. As the heaven of heavens cannot contain the invisible Spirit of God, yet the Spirit of God dwells in the humble and contrite heart, so though Mount Sinai could not contain the visible manifestation of His Glory, the promise is given, that the visible glory of God should be manifested in the sanctuary which Moses is commanded to build. Free-will offerings to God are the result of covenanting with God. The ark of the covenant, covered with the mercy-seat, and surmounted with figures of the cherubim, is to be placed within the sanctuary. The probable meaning of these commands. God promises to commune with the people from the visible glory between the cherubim. INTRODUCTION.-The people of Israel having now made their covenant with God, with solemn vows and promises, before the delivery of the ten commandments; and by communion with God and sacrifices after the delivery of the commandments; are directed to begin to prove their sincerity and zeal, by that next proof of love to God which always follows true devotion.-They are commanded to give gifts, to offer free-will offerings from a willing heart, to "bring presents unto Him that ought to be feared." The word "offering," in the second verse of this Section, is derived from a root which signifies to lift up, or heave, and the full meaning of the expression is found in the sacramental service of the Church, when we say, "Lift up your hearts," that is, Offer your hearts as a freewill offering to God; and the answer we give is, "We lift them up unto the Lord;" that is, we offer our hearts to Jehovah, the God of the Patriarch, the Jews, and the Christians. In the spirit of obedience to this command, the people willingly bring their offerings, the gold and silver, for the expenses of the building of the Tabernacle (ver. 3); fine linen, or silk of various colours, for its furniture (ver. 4); the skins of rams, not of badgers, dyed with red and azure, with acacia wood, oil, spices, and precious stones for the ephod and the breast-plate worn by the high priest, all of which, as will be explained in another Section, were typical offerings (ver. 5-7), and a sanctuary, or a place of worship, set apart as holy to the Lord, was to be made (ver. 8).—And because the object of the God of the Universe in thus ordaining these things, was to be the separation of Israel as a nation, to keep among them the knowledge of His truth, to protest against the idolatry among them and around them; and to establish laws, which while they effected these great objects should have an emblematical and spiritual meaning, and direct the attention of the enquiring to the coming, the office, and the kingdom of a spiritual Messiah; therefore an express, most positive, and repeated command was given to Moses, that he should be most careful to avoid making the Tabernacle on the plan which the Egyptians and the idolaters had adopted in the construction of their temples; but after the pattern showed to Moses on Mount Sinai, during his abode there of forty days and forty nights. The promise was given, that if the tabernacle was thus constructed, if the holy place was made according to the model which had been given from |