Scripture-testimony is better understood and more commonly appreciated. It seems to be often overlooked, that when Jesus Christ inculcates singleness of eye in his disciples, that holy singleness or simplicity of character relates, not to the objects to be surveyed, but to the vision or faculty surveying them: the objects may be innumerable; the visive faculty must be single. Thus, while the astronomer directs his telescope to one particular part of the starry heavens for present investigation, he will progressively, by the due adjustment of his instrument, survey the heavens in all the immensity of their expanse, and in all the brilliancy of their shining hosts so the Christian, taught by the Spirit of God, will love to contemplate any isolated truth presented to the eye of his faith in the Holy Word; but, at the same time, he will feel a delighted interest to learn, so far as his powers of conception go, the whole recorded will of his Almighty Father. The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of fire, purified seven times: and in proportion to the believer's purity of heart and simplicity of intention, will the words of Jehovah become. precious and intelligible to him.

The author deems the foregoing remarks to be due to himself and to his subject, inasmuch as certain peculiarities of sentiment or of expression will probably be discovered by some readers in the following Discourses. He confidently, however, believes that such peculiarities (should they at all be judged to exist) will be found in strict accordance with the written Word. Every sen

tence of his volume would he found upon Scripturetestimony. References of importance are usually given in full to the scriptures used in the discussion of each particular subject; and where any occasional deviation. from the authorized version obtains, it will commonly be found in the adoption of the marginal reading. In the appropriation and exposition of particular texts, contexts should invariably be consulted, in order to the right determination of their meaning, and of their proper application to the subject in hand. The author is too sensible of his inability and insufficiency, not to be aware that he may sometimes fail in the exemplification of his rule but he wishes, on all occasions, the Bible to explain itself; and every student of the Bible to be found in Mary's posture, sitting at the Master's feet and hearing His words.

That there are yet undiscovered treasures of wisdom and knowledge in the Old Testament Scriptures, becomes more and more manifest, with the cultivation of Hebrew literature, and the appliance of spiritual intellect to this particular department of sacred study. Indeed, the writings of the great Jewish Lawgiver would seem to be almost an unexplored region of Divine inspiration. Very many readers of the Holy Word do greatly slight Moses and the prophets. Should the author of the present volume be found to have opened a door of admittance to the sacred field, and to have gathered a few flowers of thought within the hallowed enclosure, and thereby, other more proficient labourers be induced

to pursue the subject, he will feel greatly thankful. Certainly, very much land yet remains to be possessed and cultivated in theological learning; and these Sixteen Discourses on the Tabernacle of Moses do but form as it were preludia to the fulness of gospel-type and similitude to be discovered in the Pentateuch. Israel thought scorn of that pleasant land: do Christians always value as they ought their goodly heritage? or cherish, as they might do, acquaintance with the mind or will of their beloved Lord, in the glorious fulness of its revelation?

In the mouth of two witnesses shall every word be established: the author set out in the arrangement of his notes and recollections, with a determination to borrow from none: of course,

words or extracts, on the main have been studiously avoided.

ideas will recur; but subject of the volume, His maxim is, Let the

Bible speak. Since, however, the completion of his manuscript, the author has been favoured to peruse a Sermon, by the Rev. A. M'Caul, D.D., the now highly and worthily esteemed Professor of Hebrew and of Rabbinical Literature, in King's College, London; and where his voice, peradventure, would possess inconsiderable weight, that of the Rev. Professor's may more effectually prevail; and therefore does he feel peculiar pleasure in closing this address by a quotation from Dr. M'Caul's Sermon upon the blessed hope, Tit. ii. 13: "The subject applies, in the first place, to ministers of the gospel. If the doctrine of the second advent be

an essential doctrine of the gospel, we are bound to preach it; for upon us a necessity is laid; yea, woe unto us, if we preach not the gospel. Though we should faithfully and zealously preach forgiveness of sins by the atoning blood of the Saviour, and sanctification by the Spirit, yet are we not thereby excused, if we hold back the doctrine of the glorious appearing of our Saviour. Some persons attempt to justify an exclusive preaching of the first advent, by a text of the apostle's, in which he says, 'We preach Christ crucicified;' as if the death of our Lord were the exclusive theme of his preaching. That this exposition is false, has already been shown in the course of this sermon, where it has appeared that the second advent holds a prominent place in the preaching of St. Paul, as well as that of the Lord and the apostles. But it is not only false, it is a gross perversion of the apostle's words. 'We know that the word Christ is the Greek translation of Messiah. Let us then substitute this word, We preach a crucified Messiah, and the perversion will appear evident; for what does Messiah signify? Messiah is the name of our Lord's threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King. At his first advent, he appeared as a prophet, and before Pilate maintained that the kingdom was rightfully his. But the kingdom itself he had not received, as he himself testifies for when certain thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear, he undeceived them, by telling them, in a parable, that he had not yet received his kingdom; that he

could not until he went to the Father; and that the kingdom should not appear until his return. He said, therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And St. Paul preaches also, that Christ's kingdom is to be contemporary with his appearing, when he says unto Timothy, I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. If, therefore, we omit the doctrine of the second advent, we leave out one of our Lord's offices; and though we may preach him as the crucified, we only preach him partially as the Messiah. The prophets every where testify of two comings of the Messiah-one to suffer, and one to reign. And if we preach only one of them, we do not preach the crucified Messiah of the prophets, nor of St. Paul, whose doctrine most certainly agrees with that of the prophets; and thereby we give just reason to the Jews to reject our doctrine, and imperfectly explain the offices of our blessed Saviour unto Christians. This text, then, of St. Paul, will not excuse us. His practice, as well as that of our Lord and of the other apostles, will condemn us. We may, indeed, and

bringing forward the

must exercise a just discretion in various doctrines of the gospel: but this discretion must be regulated by the practice of the apostles and prophets. Whatever they preached as gospel, we must preach; and in the same degree and proportion. Did they preach any doctrine but seldom? We must not