1. The Tabernacle. This wonderful and superb structure was erected as the palace and presence chamber of God, their king and conductor. Moses received, in the mount, the most exact directions as to the form, size, and materials, of this place; and it was repeatedly enjoined on him, that it should be reared according to the fashion he had seen in the mount.-Ex. xxv. &c.

In order to provide the materials for this costly erection, God directed, in the first place, that the people should be numbered, and that every man above the age of twenty should pay half a shekel, a piece of silver about fifteen pence of our money. This sum from 603,550 persons, their number, would produce about £38,000., a sum far inferior to what was needed; but God required that all his people should do something for his house. After this, an appeal was made to the free-will offerings of the people, and so willing and wealthy were they, that of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and brass; of blue, and purple, and fine linen, spun and woven by the women; and of every requisite, more than enough was provided; so that a proclamation was made through the camp, that their gifts must cease. Ex. xxx. 13, & xxxvi. 6.

Under the direction of two divinelyskilled workmen, Bezaleel, of Judah, and Aholiab, of Dan, the whole of the structure with its appurtenances, was completed by a willing people in about five months.

In surveying the Tabernacle, we will begin with the outer court, and proceed afterward to the sanctuary. The outer court, open to the sky, was a long square, running from east to west. It was 100 cubits* or 182.4 feet long, and fifty cubits, or ninety-one feet, broad. This

was enclosed by pillars of brass nine feet high, and about the same distance apart, inserted in brazen sockets firmly planted in the earth. Upon these pillars, by means of silver hooks and fillets of silver, the chapiters were also silver, was a hanging of fine twined linen, so as to present the appearance of a wall nine feet high, enclosing the whole court. The entrance into this court was at the east end, twenty cubits, or

* The cubit is taken at 21.8 inches.

pillars, and covered with a curtain of rich embroidery.

When we draw aside this curtain and enter the court, the first object that strikes our attention is, the altar of burnt offering, standing near the middle of the court. Here the sacrifices were killed, and the burnt offerings consumed. The fire on this altar, originally kindled from heaven, was kept continually burning. Near to this was the brazen laver, in which the priests washed when about to engage in divine service. Beyond these, and at the western extremity of the court, was what was properly called the Tabernacle, or the sanctuary. This was thirty cubits, or fifty-four feet long, ten cubits wide, and ten high. Boards of cedar or acacia wood, overlaid with gold, and inserted in sockets of silver fixed in the earth, constituted its walls, which went round three sides. These, when inserted in their sockets and fastened together with bars covered with gold, running through rings or staples of gold, made a firm golden wall eighteen feet high. The covering of this was exquisite, and fourfold. First, were curtains of fine twined linen, on which were pictures of the cherubim, wrought in blue, and purple, and scarlet. This covering went over the top, from end to end, and hung down on the outside, within a foot of the ground, and formed the ceiling of the sanctuary. Upon this was a covering of goat's hair, a sort of strong camlet cloth, which extended to the ground on each side. Above the camlet was a covering of ram skins with wool dyed red; and upon the top, a covering of badger skins, or, as some suppose, a kind of leather impervious to the rain or weather.

This tabernacle, within, was divided into two parts. The inner apartment was ten cubits, or eighteen feet, every way, a perfect cube, and was called, "the holiest of all." It was divided from the sanctuary by four golden pillars, on which were hung the second veil, of most costly workmanship. There was also a curtain at the entrance of the sanctuary, so that when they were both down they would be like two rooms eighteen feet high; one, thirty-six feet

+ Josephus.

by eighteen, and the other eighteen feet square. If we enter the first and larger apartment, the curtain of which was generally lifted up, we shall see on the right hand a table overlaid with gold, on which were twelve loaves and vessels for wine: this was called the table of the shew bread. On the opposite side stands the golden candlestick, with seven branches of superb structure, weighing 125 pounds. In the centre, but rather more backward, is the altar of incense, or golden altar, where the priest ministered before the Lord daily.

Lifting up the second veil, we enter the symbol of heaven, the residence of God himself. There is the ark, a chest of precious wood overlaid with gold, in which are deposited the tables of the law, a pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. This chest is covered with a lid of solid gold, with a border of the finest workmanship, called the mercy seat; and upon it are the cherubims extending their wings over the mercy seat, and there is no light in this place but what comes from the bright shekinah, the cloud of glory, the visible symbol of the Divine presence. Such was the tabernacle. Into the sanctuary or holy place none were permitted to enter but the priests and into the holiest of all, none could pass but the high priest, and he only once a year with the blood of the atonement. From behind the second veil God was accustomed to speak audibly for the instruction of his servants. When the tabernacle was reared, God honored it in a most signal manner, by causing the pillar of cloud to cover it, and filling the place with his glory.

2. The Vestments of the Priests, (who were exclusively of the house of Aaron,) claim a passing notice. These were generally of fine linen. The outer garment consisted of a tunic or robe, extending to the feet, bound round the waist with a curiously wrought girdle of needlework; and a mitre or turban of the same material. The dress of the high priest, on the day of expiation, when he went into the most holy place, was of the same kind as that of the ordinary priests, being entirely composed of linen. But, in his ordinary administrations in the sanctuary, his apparel was of the most superb order. It is hardly possible to give an

idea of its sumptuousness, in a few words. Of the outer garments, the first was the Ephod, which consisted of two pieces of linen richly embroidered with gold, and blue, and scarlet. These were clasped on the shoulders; and on each clasp was an onyx stone, on which were engraven the names of the twelve tribes, six on each. Then followed the robe of the Ephod, entirely of blue, extending below the knee, and wrought in a circular form, with an aperture for the head and the arms, so as to depend gracefully from the shoulders, below the clasps of the Ephod. The fringe of the robe was a wreath of pomegranates of different colours, and between each were golden bells. The girdle of the Ephod was curiously wrought. He also wore a rich breast-plate fastened with rings and chains of gold to the shoulders and the girdle. In this were twelve precious stones, arranged in four rows, with the name of a tribe engraven on each. The mitre was costly, and a plate of gold was upon it, on which was engraven, "Holiness to the Lord." The high priest, therefore, by the dress he wore, would at all times be distinguishable from the others, except on the day of atonement.

The appointments of the Levites, were generally to assist the priests, to take charge of the tabernacle, and to bear its various parts when the encampment removed. Each family had its allotment, and its office; so that, in a very short time, and without confusion, the whole could be taken up for removal, or fixed, and set up. The Levites were all sacred persons, set apart for the general service of God, the instruction of the people, and the assistance of the priests in the sacrifices and service of the tabernacle.

We shall not attempt to give a complete account of the various sacrifices and festivals of the Jews, but glance at the most prominent. The burnt offering, or as it was sometimes called, “the whole burnt offering," was the most complete that any individuals offered. In this case the offerer brought a male animal without blemish, into the court, to the altar before the Lord, and laid his hand on its head, as a sacrifice for himself; by this means symbolizing a transfer of his own sins to the head of the victim. It was then slain, and its blood sprinkled upon the altar; and,

according to the directions of the law, its whole body was consumed with fire. In the case of sin offerings, trespass offerings, a similar form obtained, only a part of the sacrifice was appointed as the food of the priests and their helpers. All the sacrifices under the law, where life was taken away, by whatever name they were designated, were of an expiatory character; and indeed no animal was allowed to be slain for food, without its blood being presented before the Lord for an atonement. Every known sin, in individuals, was to be expiated by sacrifice. Sacrifices of a general character were offered for the people at large. Every morning and evening a lamb was offered by the priest, as the daily sacrifice; and on the Sabbath day, two lambs were offered in the same manner; so that, at no season, could the pious Hebrew turn his face to the tabernacle, and remember his God, and pray to him, without looking to him through sacrifice.

There were also many special seasons of solemn festivity. These were all marked by sacrifice. The new moons, and every solemn assembly. There were moreover three great festivals, when all the adult males were expected to present themselves and their offerings before the Lord. These were, the passover, the pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles. The passover was instituted in commemoration of their deliverance from Egypt; it was also called the feast of unleavened bread, as from the fifteenth to the twenty-first of the month Abib, answering to our April, they eat only unleavened bread. The feast of pentecost, was seven weeks after the passover; it was a feast of first fruits, when first fruits were presented, and thanks offered to God for the promise of harvest. Burnt offerings and sacrifices were then freely offered to God. The feast of tabernacles was held for eight days in the month of Tishri, answering to our September and October, when the fruits of the field and vintage had been gathered in. It is called the feast of gathering. The people then constructed booths to dwell and feast in, in commemoration of their journey through the desert, when they dwelt in tents. This was a time of great rejoicing amongst the Hebrews, and the greatest number of sacrifices were offered at this feast. Five days

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previous to this latter feast day, was the great day of atonement. From even to even, the people were to fast and afflict their souls: and then it was when the high priest went into the most holy place, with the blood of the sacrifice to make atonement, because of the sins of the people. These are some of the chief sacred seasons of the Israelites, which were appointed of God by Moses.

We do not stay to notice the Sabbath of years when the land was to have rest; nor the Jubilee, the fiftieth year, when it returned to its original possessors, and the bondsmen of the Hebrew nation were to be liberated; nor do we expatiate on the general laws which were given for the government of the people, further than to state, that they were characterized by great wisdom and equity, and were beautifully adapted to the condition of the people on whom they were imposed, and to keep them apart from the idolatrous nations by whom they were surrounded.

3. Let us notice for a moment the form of their encampment and the order of their march in the desert. In doing this, the tabernacle is to be regarded as the centre of the camp, on which stands the pillar of the cloud. The Levites were stationed nearest the tabernacle. It was their charge. The three families into which they were divided occupying the posts at the three sides: the family of Gershom, consisting of 7,500 men, were on the west side; that of Kohath, whose men numbered 8,600, on the south; and that of Merari, which had 6,200, on the north. At suitable distances, Moses, Aaron, and his sons were at the east, guarding the entrance. To the east were the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon; to the south, those of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; to the west, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin; and to the north, Dan, Asher, and Napthali. The plain of encampment was nearly four square. Each section of three tribes formed, in a sense, a separate division; and the whole were an immense multitude, as, besides the Levites, there were 603,550 men. The prince of each tribe had his standard erected on his pavilion; and also the chief of every family. The whole space occupied by the encampment, was necessarily very extensive; and as the tents and booths

were ranged in regular and appointed order, they would present the aspect of an immense city, with its streets and courts, rather than anything else. Contemplating them from an eminence, as thus orderly in their divisions and arrangements, Balaam, the false prophet, exclaimed, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob; and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees which the Lord hath planted!"

Nor was the order of their march and

progress less exact. The cloud upon the tabernacle was their guide. When it was raised up from off the sacred place, it was an intimation from God to them to proceed. Their arrangements were such as to enable them, with comparative promptitude, to obey the first directions of Jehovah. As regards the tabernacle; when Aaron and his sons had covered over the sacred vessels of the sanctuary and the holy place, every family in the tribe of Levi, knew its allotted portion of the burden. Staves were attached to the ark, the table of shew bread, and the different instruments for worship, by which they could easily be borne by the Levites; and the whole encampment, in the space of a few hours after the command had been given with silver trumpets, provided for the purpose, would be seen slowly moving onward. When the trumpets blew first, the standard and tribe of Judah, now recognized as the leading and most powerful tribe, set out; and Issachar, and Zebulon, moved after him when the trumpets blew a second time, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad followed then, in the centre of the line, followed the Levites, bearing the various parts of the tabernacle and the ark and when the ark was borne from the earth, Moses cried aloud, Rise, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee

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before thee." The trumpets blew a third time, and Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin proceeded; and at the fourth blast, Dan, Asher, and Napthali brought up the rear. When the cloud again descended, the encampment was formed as before described; and as the ark was set down in its place, Moses exclaimed, "Return O Lord, unto the thousand thousands of Israel." So exact and complete was the order of their march!

Before, however, we proceed to trace their progress, we must tarry one moment, to notice the very princely offerings brought by the princes of the tribes, for the service and honor of God, at the dedication of the altar. They brought first, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen, two to each wagon; these were given to the Levites: two wagons and four oxen, to the family of Gershom: and four wagons and eight oxen, to that of Merari, as they had to transport the heavier materials of the tabernacle : to the Kohathites, who carried on their shoulders the most holy things, as the ark, the table of shew bread, the candlestick, and the altar of incense, were none given as they would not need them. The princes then offered in twelve successive days. These offerings were alike. This was the of fering, one silver charger of the weight of 130 shekels,* one silver bowl of seventy shekels, both full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering. One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: one young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year for a burnt offering: one kid of the goats for a sin offering: and for a sacrifice of peace offering, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year." Such were the offerings freely laid on the altar of the Lord.

(To be continued.)

* A shekel is about oz. troy.

BAPTISM IN ITS MODE AND SUBJECTS. By ALEXANDER CARSON, L. L. D., Minister of the Gospel. London: Houlston and Stoneman, 65, Paternoster Row.

THE history of mental developments

abounds with strange anomalies. Nor is this the case only in connection with the vagrancies of undisciplined minds, but may be distinctly traced in the productions of intellects, chastened and invigorated by the severest application.

Such anomalies, there can be no doubt, are to some extent the results of abortive efforts to understand what, in the present state, transcends human comprehension. Mostly, however, they are associated with moral causes. That such causes are too frequently permitted to sway the intellectual powers in the adoption of religious theories, is a truth palpably and painfully evident; nor is this statement in the least invalidated by the fact that Divine grace gives a new bias to the mind; even the best of men are imperfect and ever liable to be imposed upon by the illusions of fancy and the force of prejudice. How often it is the case that a process of reasoning only augments the triumph of error! False data being furnished, conclusions are drawn from them as opposed to truth as darkness is to light. Perhaps there are not many subjects which more fully illus

trate and confirm these remarks, than the subject of baptism. Innumerable examples, involving the most palpable contradictions, might, if necessary, be adduced. Let the following suffice:

"Immersion is peculiarly agreeable to the institution of Christ, and to the practice of the apostolical Church, and so even John baptized, and immersion remained common for a long time after; except that in the third century, or perhaps earlier, the baptism of the sick (baptisma clinicorum) was performed by sprinkling or affusion. Still some would not acknowledge this to be true baptism, and controversy arose concerning it, so unheard of was it at that time to baptize by simple affusion. * It would have been better to have adhered generally to the ancient practice, as even Luther and Calvin allowed."

Again,

*

"Many of the ancient and moderns have disapproved of infant baptism.

**

* *

There is no decisive example of this practice in the New Testament, for it may be ob. jected against those passages where the baptism of whole families is mentioned, that it is doubtful whether there were any children in these families, and if there were, whether they were then baptized."-Vide Knapp's Christian Theology, pp. 431-4.

After these plain and straightforward admissions, who would imagine that a mind like Dr. Knapp's could for a moment entertain dogmas so flimsy, contradictory, and inconclusive as the following:

"That infant baptism, considered as a solemn rite of initiation into the Church, VOL. 6.-N. S.

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cannot be opposed to the design and will of Christ, may be concluded from his own declaration, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not." "The most decisive reason is the following, Christ did not ordain infant baptism expressly; but if in his command to baptize all, he had wished children to be excepted, he must have expressly said this."

Were it not for the influence which prejudice exerts over the human mind, we could regard this last sentence in no other light than as a wilful perversion of the Word of God. Christ order of the commission is that men gave no command to baptize all; the are first to be instructed, and that faith must precede the administration of baptism. From the uniform conduct light that this was the meaning which of the apostles, it is as clear as daythey attached to our Lord's language, indeed no other meaning can by any possibility be drawn from it without doing violence even to common sense.

*

"The law of Christ, (says Doddridge,) requires that all who believe the Gospel should be baptized; i. e., should be separated from unbelievers, and joined to the visible Christian Church, by being solemnly washed with water. * It is the duty of those by whom baptism is to be administered to make diligent inquiry into the character of those whom they admit to it, whether they have a competent knowledge of the Gospel, and give reason to believe they will behave in a manner becoming members of the Christian Church. 'They both went down to the water;' considering how frequently bathing was used in those hot countries, it is not to be wondered that baptism was generally administered by immersion. It would be very unnatural to suppose that they went down to the water, merely that Philip might take up a little water in his hand to pour on the eunuch. A person of his dignity had no doubt, many vessels in his baggage, on such a journey, through so desert a country, a precaution absolutely necessary for travellers in those parts, and never omitted by them."-Doddridge's Lectures on Pneumatology, Ethics, &c., pp. 324, 325. Expos. p. 29.

That persons of such acknowledged merit as the above should feel compelled to make admissions so distinct, is at once an evidence of the weakness of their cause, and that they should, notwithstanding such clear perceptions of apostolic precedent, yield to the in fluence of principles totally of a different character, presents a painful proof T