than he did, for his sons, and for the grandeur of his house, and not have advanced his brother's above his own. Indeed, the Levites were appointed to the service of the sanctuary by God himself for the following reason:— When he miraculously destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians, Exod. xii, 29, he spared the first-born of the Israelites, and, in order to preserve the memory of the miracle, and of that great deliverance from their bondage in Egypt which it occasioned, he was pleased to appoint, that for the future all the first-born males "should be set apart unto himself," Exod. xiii, 12-16; Numb. viii, 17. But afterward, upon the sons of Levi discovering an extraordinary zeal against idolatry in the case of the golden calf, Exod. xxxii, 26-28, he was pleased to assign the honour of attending his immediate service to that whole tribe, instead of the first-born of Israel, Numb. iii, 12, 13; chap. viii, 18. And that it might appear there was a just substitution of the Levites for the first-born, number for number, he ordered an estimate to be made of both; and when, on casting up the poll, the first-born were found to exceed the Levites by two hundred seventythree, the surplus was redeemed at the price of five shekels a head, which was paid to the priests for the use of the sanctuary, Numb. iii, 14, to the end. The Levites, originally, were distinguished into three classes, or families, from the three sons of Levi, Kohath, Gershon, and Merari, called Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites; though afterwards by David, as we have already observed, they, as well as the priests, were divided into twenty-four courses, 1 Chron. xxiii, 6; chap. xxviii, 11, 13. A great part of the service assigned them, on their first institution in the wilderness, was peculiar to the state of the Israelites at that time, namely, taking down the tabernacle, setting it up, and carrying it about, as they removed from place to place*. To the Kohathites was committed the charge of the most sacred things, the ark of the testimony, and all the instruments of the sanctuary. The Gershonites were to take down, carry, and put up, the curtains of the tabernacle, and its covering of badger skins, and the veil, or curtains, which served for a * See the respective service of the classes in the fourth chapter of Numbers. door; as also the curtain, which formed the court round it. The Merarites had the care of the boards of the tabernacle, with the bars, pillars, and sockets, both of the tabernacle and of the court. When the Israelites were settled in the land of Canaan, and the tabernacle was no longer carried about as before, the service of the Levites was of course changed, and became much easier. On which account, in David's time, they were thought fit to enter on their office at twenty years old, 1 Chron. xxiii, 24, 27, 28; whereas they were not admitted, by the original appointment of Moses, till they were twenty-five or thirty, and were discharged at fifty, Numb. iv, 3, 23, 43, and chap. viii, 24, 25; probably because their service was then very laborious, and required great bodily strength. I say, they were not to enter on their office till they were twenty-five or thirty years old;-the account in the fourth chapter of Numbers saith, they are to "do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation from thirty years old and upwards;" and in the eighth chapter it is said, that "from twenty-five years old and upwards they should go in to wait on the service of the tabernacle of the congregation." In order to reconcile these two accounts, some suppose, that from twenty-five to thirty years of age they attended only to learn the duties of their office, but did not actually perform any part of the service till they were fully thirty. This is the opinion of Maimonides*. But other rabbiest tell us, they entered on the easier and lighter parts of the service, such as keeping watch at the sanctuary, and bearing a part in the choir, at twentyfive; but did not meddle with the more laborious till thirty. The Jews indeed inform us, that the Levites passed through four different degrees. From one month old to their twentieth year they were instructed in the law of God; from twenty to twenty-five in the functions of their ministry; from thence to thirty they served a sort of apprenticeship, beginning to exercise themselves in some of the lower branches of the sacred service; and lastly, when they attained their thirtieth year, they were fully instituted in their office. Some have observed * De Apparatu Templi, cap. iii, sect. vii; and also the Babylonish Gemara, Cholin, cap. i. + Aben Ezra on Numb. viii. much the same degrees among the vestal virgins, which perhaps were borrowed from the Jewish Levites. Thirty years they were bound to the strictest chastity, the first ten of which were spent in learning the mysteries of their profession, the second ten they ministered in holy things, and the last ten were employed in bringing up young novices*. Some have thought, and in particular our author, that the apostle alludes to these degrees of the Levites when he tells Timothy, that they who perform the office of a deacon well, purchase to themselves a good degree, naλov Calμòv, 1 Tim. iii, 13. Moses ordered, that at the age of fifty the Levites should "cease waiting upon the service of the tabernacle, and should serve no more," Numb. viii, 25. Yet he immediately adds, They shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service." It seems, therefore, they were not dismissed; but, while they were exempted from all laborious employment, continued to execute the easier part of their ministry; and, probably, instructed the younger Levites in the duties of their office. We have seen before, that the Levites were originally divided into three families. In David's time they were distinguished into three classes, to each of which a different service was assigned; and probably each was divided into twenty-four courses. The first class were "to wait upon the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of the Lord;" that is, to assist the priests in the exercise of their ministry, "to purify the holy-things, to prepare the shew-bread, and flour, and wine, and oil for the sacrifice; and sometimes to kill the sacrifice," when there was more work of that sort than the priest could conveniently perform, 1 Chron, xxiii, 28, 29; 2 Chron. xxix, 34; and chap. xxxv, 10-14. So that it was not necessary that the sacrifice should be slain by the priest, as some erroneously suppose, alleging against the consideration of Christ's death as a proper sacrifice, that he must, in that case, in the character of a priest, have slain himself. The second class of Levites formed the temple choir: the division of this class into twenty-four courses is expressly recorded in the twenty-fifth chapter of the First Book of Chronicles. Some imagine there were women singers, as well as *Dionys. Halicarn. lib. ii. men, in the temple choir; because in the book of Ezra, among those who returned from the Babylonish captivity, there are said to have been two hundred, Ezra ii, 65, and elsewhere we read of two hundred forty-five, Neh. vii, 67, singing men and women. The Jewish doctors will, indeed, by no means admit there were any female voices in the temple choir; and as for those meshoreroth, as they are called in the Hebrew, they suppose them to be the wives of those who sung*. Nevertheless the following passage makes it evident, that women, likewise, were thus employed: "God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters; and all these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God," 1 Chron. xxv, 5, 6. Instrumental music was first introduced into the Jewish service by Moses, and afterward, by the express command of God, was very much improved with the addition of several instruments in the reign of David. When Hezekiah restored the temple service, which had been neglected in his predecessor's reign, it is said, that "he set the Levites in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets," 2 Chron. xxix, 25. The instruments originally appointed in the law of Moses were only two; namely, then chatsotseroth, or silver trumpets, Numb. x, 2, which they were to blow in their solemn days, and over their burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of their peace offerings," ver. 10; and the shophar, or cornet, as the word is rendered in the following passage of the Psalmist, "With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the king," Psal. xcviii, 6. Here it is expressly distinguished from the trumpet, though in many other places, in our version, it is confounded with it. As we are informed, that the now shopheroth, used at the siege of Jericho, were of "rams' horns," Josh. vi, 4, it is probable this instrument was made of horn, and is therefore properly rendered a cornet. It was appointed by the law to be blown throughout 66 * Reland. Antiq. part ii, cap. vi, sect. vi, p. 235, third edit. 1717. the land, when they proclaimed the year of jubilee, on the day of atonement, Lev. xxv, 9. It may be observed, that as no other instruments are prescribed by the ritual, besides the trumpet and the cornet, it is likely they were the only ones at that time in use among the Jews, and which they had skill to play on, except we reckon the toph, or timbrel, which was But as that was properly used by the women, Exod. xv, 20. a sort of tabor, without any variety of notes, used only to accompany the voice, it hardly deserves to be ranked among the musical instruments. It is not indeed, likely, the Israelites, who were a poor labouring people, but lately come from working at the brick-kilns, should have much skill in music at the time of their receiving the law; only some could make shift to sound the horn, or the trumpet, which therefore was all the music that could then be prescribed to attend the sacrifices. But when they were grown more polite and skilful, in the reign of David, several other instruments were added by divine direction. When some, therefore, plead for instrumental music in Christian worship, as pleasing to God, though not commanded, from the notion of its having been first introduced into the Jewish worship by David, without any divine institution, notwithstanding which God approved of it, they commit two mistakes. For David did not introduce any part of the temple music without an express divine injunction: "so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets." And it was not first brought in by him, but by Moses, who prescribed it to attend the sacrifices, so far as it could be practised in those times. And when, in after-ages, they were more skilful in music, and capable of performing the service in a better manner, they were required so to do; nevertheless, not one new instrument was then added without divine direction and appointment. But to return to the temple choir. The music there used was both vocal and instrumental: as well singers as players on instruments shall be there," Psal. lxxxvii, 7. In David's time there were appointed three masters of the band of music, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, 1 Chron. xv, 17; whose names are prefixed to some of the psalms, perhaps because they set them to music. Asaph's name is inscribed to the fiftieth, seventy-third, and ten following psalms; Heman's to the eighty-eighth; and Ethan's to the |