ful fervants, in the Church of thy faints on earth, in the throne of thy celestial glory, thou art prefent, and abideft for ever. All these were typified by thy material temple-it had its porch, its fanctuary, its Holy of Holies. Yet what is the value of this affemblage of gold and marble, in comparison with the living temple of the Holy Ghoft, which is our body? What is the temple of this body of ours, to the temple of CHRIST'S body, which is his Church? And what is the temple of GoD's Church on earth, to that which triumphs gloriously in heaven?

Lo, in the outward porch, we fee an image of the Christian soul, entering into the fociety of the Church-in the holy place, the communion of the true visible Church on earth, felected from the world-in the Holy of Holies, whereinto the High Priest entered once a-year, the glorious heaven, into which our true

High Prieft, CHRIST JESUS, entered once for all, to make atonement betwixt

GOD and man.

In all these there is the most perfect correspondence, in proportion, in matter, in fituation.

How exquifite a fymmetry haft thou ordained, O GOD, betwixt the faithful heart, and thy Church on earth, with that in Heaven! In the devout foul, there is no unmeasurable height of pride, no undue deficiency of virtue-in the militant Church, a neceffary inequality, without difproportion: its government, its extent, its jurisdiction, all in perfect harmony with each other-in the Church triumphant, eternity, perfection, and incomprehenfible glory.

WITH respect to the materials, all were most excellent. The wood was precious, sweet, lafting-the stone, beautiful, costly, infenfible of age-the gold, pure and glittering. So perfect are the VOL. II. graces

G

graces of the children of GOD-fo perfect are the ordinances of his Church-fo perfect is the felicity of his glorified faints.

IN fituation, we find one court of the temple open even to the uncircumcifed and unclean-another, referved for the children of Ifrael-a third, inacceffible but to the tribe of Levi. There was the altar for facrifice-there was the fea of brafs for purification. While in the covered rooms of the temple, one part was appropriated to the Levites-another yet more holy, to the priests-the holiest of all, to the chofen defcendant and representative of Aaron.

IF from the walls we look to the furniture, ftill every thing is typical and figurative. What is the altar, whereon our facrifices of prayer and praise are offered to the Almighty, but a devout and contrite foul? What the golden candlesticks, but the understanding illuminated by grace, wherein the light of the knowlege

of

Gop, and of his divine will, fhines for ever? Nay, if we prefume fo far as to enter into the Holy of holies, even there, O GOD, do we find our unworthy hearts fo honoured by thee, that they are made as the very ark where thy royal law and thine heavenly manna are preserved for ever: there do we behold that mercyfeat, from whence, shaded by the wings of the glorious Cherubim, thou givest the teftimony of thy good Spirit, witneffing with ours, that we are the children of GOD.

BEHOLD, if Solomon built a temple unto thee, thou haft built a temple to thyfelf in us. We are not only, by thy grace, parts of thy fpiritual building, but are ourselves living temples in thy Sion. O do thou ever dwell in this thine house, and there let us ever serve thee! Wherefore haft thou a temple, but that thou mayft be prefent with us, and that we may fhew forth thy praise ? G 2 Once

Once did thine ark refide, with thy people, in tents, ever changing, and removing from place to place-then didst thou fojourn in Shiloh-afterwards, thou didst condefcend to take up thine abode amongst men, and to dwell in thine own house at thy Jerufalem. So didft thou at the beginning hold converse with the patriarchs-fo didft thou fojourn with Ifrael under the law-but now under the gospel difpenfation thou doft make a constant refidence in the hearts of thy grateful children. From thence thou wilt depart no more-they shall be separated from the world-they fhall be feparated from themfelves-but who fhall feparate them from the love and from the prefence of CHRIST?

GREAT was the glory of the first temple—greater still that of the fecond. Though unequal to the former in outward circumstances of fplendour, the bringing in of a better hope caused the