1 KINGS viii. 10, 11.

"And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord."

Ps. lxxvi. 2.

"In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Zion."

Ps. xcvi. 6.

"Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary."

Ps. xviii. 11.

"He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."

JOB XXVI. 9.

"He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it."

HEB. vii. 24, 25.

"But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

REV. viii. 3, 4.

"And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."

Ye golden lamps of heaven, farewell,
With all your feeble light;
Farewell, thou ever-changing moon,
Pale empress of the night.

And thou, refulgent orb of day,
In brighter flames array'd;

My soul, that springs beyond thy sphere,
No more demands thine aid.

Ye stars are but the shining dust
Of my divine abode,

The pavement of those heavenly courts
Where I shall reign with God.

The Father of eternal light

Shall there His beams display;

Nor shall one moment's darkness mix

With that unvaried day.

No more the drops of piercing grief
Shall swell into mine eyes;

Nor the meridian sun decline
Amid those brighter skies.

There all the millions of His saints
Shall in one song unite,

And each the bliss of all shall view
With infinite delight.

PHILIP DODDRIDGE.

"The holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true."

HE tabernacle in the wilderness, and

the temple at Jerusalem, were each composed of three principal parts. First, there was a spacious area or court, where, under the open sky, stood the altar of burntoffering, and the brazen laver, and whither the whole congregation might come with their offerings. Next to this, was a large apartment, designated the Sanctuary, or Holy Place, into which it was the prerogative of the priests alone to enter, and where stood the golden candlestick, the table of show-bread, and the altar of incense. And lastly, beyond this, lay the third or innermost chamber, called the Holy of Holies, where, amidst gross darkness, were placed the ark of the covenant, with its hovering cherubim,

H

the golden pot of manna, and the miraculous rod of Aaron that budded. This was the chamber of audience, and the place of the oracle; and to this, the high priest alone had access once a-year, upon the great day of atonement.

In the words placed at the head of this chapter, reference is plainly made to this innermost and most sacred enclosure of the ancient tabernacle and temple; while the apostle intimates, that between it, and the celestial sanctuary, in which the High Priest of our profession now ministers, there obtained a decided and designed resemblance. This he infers from the circumstance, that, when Moses was on the secret summit of Sinai, holding solemn and mysterious conference with God, there was exhibited to him in vision some model, or plan of heaven, according to which he was commanded to make the tabernacle. For, in the immediately preceding chapter, he says, "The priests, according to the law, serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, See (saith he) that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount." Thus authorised by the

apostle, therefore, we proceed to trace some of the more prominent points of analogy between the ancient holy of holies, and the heaven of heavens, of which it was designed to be the type or pattern.

We begin, then, by observing, that the holy of holies was the dwelling-place of Jehovah, where He was wont to manifest Himself in visible glory. It will be remembered, that, above the ark, at the two extremities, were two figures of cherubim, overshadowing with their outstretched wings the lid, or mercy-seat, and that, between the cherubim was "the cloud of glory," which betokened the Divine presence, and which is so frequently mentioned in Scripture, as the "glory of the Lord." Hence he was invoked by the saints of old, as "He that dwelleth between the cherubim."

Even so, in the upper sanctuary, does Jehovah manifest the brightness of His glory to the innumerable hosts of holy angels and blessed spirits, by whom He is there unceasingly worshipped. It is true, that, as a spirit, He can never be the object of direct or immediate perception to "mortal sense." Accordingly, it