OF THE HEBREW WORSHIP. ARY LIBRA OFIE UNIVERSITY CATE NIA of a people consecrated to the service of 1. 9. This ritual of purification, as God commanded it, was a frequent repetition, in an easy figurative meaning, of that excellent exhortation of the Apostle, Having there- 2 Cor.vij. fore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Thus they appeared an holy nation, consecrated to the service of the Holy One of Israel. tual. Finally, in this ritual of the Hebrew Privichurch we are to consider the privileges the Heleges by declared by it, which they were favoured brew riwith, as the holy seed of Abraham, and a peculiar people to Jehovah, above all nations of the earth. These privileges were declared by the ritual, in allowing a near approach to the Shechinah, and in the blessings promised thereupon by Jehovah. The Presence, or Shechinah, was so im portant a part of the Hebrew ritual, that all the other parts of that ritual refer to it, and centre in it. This Presence made holy the land, the city, and the temple. Hence the land of promise they inherited, and held as the gift of God, was styled the holy land; the city of Jerusalem was the holy city, as the camp, or congregation, were the holy congregation; the mountain on which the temple was built, was the holy hill of Zion; the temple itself the holy place; and the residence of the Shechinah, between the cherubim, the most holy place. This taught them, with great reaDeut. iv. son, to say, What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is, in all things that we call upon him for? 7. The nature of the peculiar privileges intimated by the presence of Jehovah in the Shechinah, is well explained by Moses himself, just upon his publishing the law: Exodus, Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians, xix. 4, 5, and how I bare you on eagle's wings, and 6. brought you unto myself, says he to the people, in the name of Jehovah; now therefore, he further adds, in the name of God, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me, above all people, for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. This great privilege and blessing, from the presence of Jehovah with them as his peculium, is explained, to to make Deut. them high above all nations which he hath xxvi. 19. made, in praise, and in name, and in honour, and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken. These great privileges were expressed in the ritual, chiefly in two things, the first in allowing a near approach to the Shechinah, the other the blessing from the Shechinah. The first of these blessings appeared in the ritual allowing all the Hebrews who were ritually clean, to approach the Presence, but expressly forbidding any of the heathen nations, or any who was not an Israelite, to come into the temple, the holy seat of the Presence. In this respect, the ritual considered all but the Hebrew nation cut off from this privilege, as persons unfit to have access to this gracious presence of God, on his mercy-seat. The same ritual represents it as a great punishment to to be cut off from the presence of God, Numb. and a very criminal action for an unclean xix. 20. person, by his presence at the sanctuary, to defile it. But But every Hebrew who was not unclean, had the liberty of entering into the congregation, and with it all the rights of the congregation of the Lord, and had, with every other Israelite, a personal interest in all the worship of the temple: one instance, in particular, may serve to Levit. xvi. 21. $4. viii. 29, be explain it. In the ritual for the service of the day of expiation, the high priest is thus directed; And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat. So that all the children of Israel had this privilege, that an atonement was made for all their sins once a year. The Presence itself over the mercyseat, gave encouragement to hope God would hear, and answer, the prayers of those who were privileged to approach it ; or, as Solomon expresses it at the dedica1 Kings, tion of the temple, That thine eyes may open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make towards this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place; and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest forgive. Thus the ritual encou-51, 52. raged them to hope, that his eye would be open unto the supplication of his people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto him; for they be thy people, and thine inheritance, says Solomon. For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses 30. 53. thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. vi. 23 to 27. It was another part of the high privileges of the Hebrews, as God's peculiar people, that the ritual appointed a solemn blessing for them, in the name of Jehovah. On this wise, says the ritual, ye shall bless Numb. the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them. The form of this blessing, without examining the critical meaning of each expression, plainly intends all those blessings the Hebrews had reason to hope for from Jehovah, their God and King, according to his promises and covenant with them, as his most favoured and peculiar people. There is one promise of this covenant with the holy seed of Abraham, which deserves particular attention: The sceptre Gen. xlix. shall not depart from Judah, nor a law- 10. giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering together of the people be. If this promise is to be understood of the Messiah, as, I think, it has been sufficiently proved it does, it promises the holy-seed of Abraham the blessing of Jehovah, in the continuance of their civil and religious laws; a blessing that includes |