faith. Sheltered from the judgment of God by the blood, we are delivered, by His power which acts for us, from the power of Satan, the prince of this world. The blood keeping us from the judgment of God was the beginning. The power which raised us with Christ, has made us free from the whole power of Satan, who followed us, and from all his attacks. The world who will follow that way, is swallowed up in it.

Considered as the historical type of God's ways towards Israel, the Red Sea terminates the sequel of events; as a moral type, it is the beginning of the Christian path, properly so called-that is to say, of the soul made free.

Hereupon, we enter the desert. They sing (chap. xv.) the song of triumph. God has led them by His power to His holy habitation. He will lead them into the place which He has made, which His hands have esta blished. Their enemies shall be unable to oppose themselves to this. There is a third thing which is found in this beautiful song-the desire to build a tabernacle for Jehovah. But what they sing, is the deliverance effected by the power of God, and the hope of entering into the sanctuary which the hands of Jehovah have made.

The deliverance, then, of the people is accompanied by a full and entire joy, which having the consciousness of this complete deliverance by the power of God, grasps the whole extent of His intentions towards them, and knows how to apply this same power to the difficulties of the way.

Afterwards, those difficulties arrive. They travel three days without water-a sad effect, in appearance, of such a deliverance and then the water is bitter. If death has delivered them from the power of the enemy, it must become known in its application to themselves; bitter to the soul, it is true, but, through grace, refreshment and life, for in all these things is the life of the Spirit; it is death and resurrection in practice, after the deliverance; thereupon we have the twelve wells and the seventy palmtrees-types, it seems to me, of those living springs and of that shelter which have been provided through instruments chosen of God for the consolation of His people.

Here we have the responsibility of the people put, as a condition of their well-being, under God's government. Still, however, it is always grace. The Sabbath-rest of the people—is established in connection with Christ, the true bread of life, who gives it Himself. Then comes the Spirit-living waters which come out of the rock; but with the presence of the Holy Ghost comes conflict, and not rest. Yet Christ places Himself spiritually at the head of His people, typified here by Joshua, of whom mention is now made for the first time.

However sure of victory they may be in fighting the Lord's battles, the entire dependance of the people, at every moment, on the divine blessing is presented to us in this -that if Moses (who with the rod of God represents to us His authority on high), if Moses, I say, keeps not his hands lifted up, the people are beaten down by their enemies. Nevertheless, Aaron the high priest, and Hur (purity?), maintain the blessing, and Israel prevails; the cause was a hidden one; sincerity, valiant efforts, the fact that the battle was God's battle, were of no avail-all depended upon God's blessing from on high. One would have thought, indeed, that if God made war, and unfurled the banner, it would soon be over; but no: from generation to generation, He would make war upon Amalek. For, if it was the war of God, it was in the midst of His people.

Up to this, all was grace. The murmurs of the people had only served to shew the riches of the grace of God, who displayed his sovereignty in giving them all they could desire; which appears so much the more striking, because afterwards the same desires, under the law, brought very bitter chastisements. At length, after this reign of grace, follows (chap. xviii.) the millennium where the king in Jeshurun judges in righteousness, establishes order and government. The Gentiles eat and offer sacrifices with Israel, and acknowledge that the God of the Jews is exalted above all gods.

During the days of the deliverance of Israel, Moses's wife had been sent back; but now she appears again upon the scene, and we have not only Gershom "a pilgrim

in a foreign land," but a second son, Eliezer; for Moses said "the God of my father was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh,"-the application of which to the future deliverance of Israel is too evident to require any lengthened explanation. But having thus terminated the course of grace, the scene changes entirely. They do not keep the feast on the mountain, whither God, as He had promised, had led them-had "brought them to Himself." He proposes a condition to them: if they obey His voice, they shall be His people. The people, instead of knowing themselves, and saying, "We dare not place ourselves under such a condition, and risk our blessing, yea, even make sure of losing it," undertake to do all that the Lord had spoken. The people, however, are not permitted to approach God, who hid Himself in the darkness. In fact, they undertook obedience far from God, in a state in which they could not approach Him in that majesty to which obedience was due. Nevertheless, God gave all possible solemnity to the communication of His law, and sees it good that the people should fear before Him; but what can fear do towards giving power at a distance from Him. It may, perhaps, be proper; but it is not proper to undertake to obey in such a state. Moses, when God had spoken to the people, and the people dared no more to hearken, drew near to the thick darkness, and received the instructions of God for the people-moral and general instructions, relating to their possession of the land, in case they should enter upon it according to the covenant of the law. Two things are pointed out as to worship-the work of man, and his order in which his nakedness will certainly be made manifest; and they are equally and together prohibited by God. We have (as we may observe by the way) a beautiful type (chap. xxi.) of the devotedness of Christ to the Church and to His Father. Having served faithfully during His life-time, He would remain a servant even in death for the sake of the Father, the Church, and His people. He made Himself a servant for ever (compare Luke xii. even for glory, and Cor. xv.).

This covenant, made on condition of the obedience of the people, was confirmed by blood (chap. xxiv). The

blood being shed, death having thus come in as God's judgment, the elders go up to enter into relationship with God. They see His glory, and continue their human and terrestrial life: they eat and drink.

But Moses is called near to God, to see the patterns of things far more excellent; of heavenly things-of things which, while making provision for the faults and the failures of God's people, reveal to them the perfection and varied glories of Him to whom they approach as His people. And in fact, the glories in every way of Christ the Mediator are presented in the tabernacle; not precisely, as yet, the unity of His people, considered as His body, but in every manner in which the ways and the perfections of God are manifested through Him, whether in the full extent of the creation, the glory of His people, or in His person. The scene of the manifestation of the glory of God-His house-His domain, in which He displays His Being (in so far as it can be seen);-the riches of His grace and glory;-and His relationship in Christ with us-poor and feeble creatures, but who draw nigh unto Him-are unfolded to us in it.

Thus the tabernacle had two aspects-the glory which was proper to Himself, and the means of the relationship of God with His people. This is what is true of the Lord Jesus. I can view His cross in its absolute perfectness, according to the thoughts and the heart of God; I can find there, that which answers all my wants and failures. It would lead me too far to enter into the details of the construction of the tabernacle and its utensils, but I will make some general remarks. There is a certain appearance of disorder in the description, in that it is interrupted by the description of the vesture and of the order of consecration of Aaron. But this arises from what I have just said. There are things which are the manifestation of God, others which refer to the presentation of man to God; these things are linked together, for there are some manifestations of God which are the points and means of the approach of man, as the cross; but, while being the point at which man draws nigh, there is something there besides the act of drawing near, or even of serving God.

The description of the tabernacle presents to us, first, the things in which God manifests Himself, as the object however of the spiritual knowledge of human intelligence (by faith, of course), and then the priesthood and that which man does in drawing near to Him who thus reveals Himself.

First, then, there are the things which are found in the Holy of Holies, and the holy place. The ark of the covenant; the table of the shew-bread, and the candlestick with seven branches. This is what God had established for the manifestation of Himself inside, where those who enter into His presence could have communion with Him. Then we have the arrangement of the place of the tabernacle which enclosed all these things, and which divided it into two parts. And then the altar of burnt-offerings, and the court where it stood, to the end of the 19th verse of chap. xxvii. We will consider these things first. It is there the first part ends. In that which follows, there is what regards the action of man therein

of the priests-and God orders certain things to be brought in for that: this it is which introduces the priesthood which acted in it, and which alone could, in fact, so act.

The ark of the covenant was the throne where God manifested Himself in His holiness, and as the Sovereign to whom every living man was responsible-the God of the whole earth. However, it was the throne of relationship with His people. The law-the testimony of what He required of men- -was to be placed there. Over it was the mercy-seat which covered it in, which formed the throne, or rather the basis of the throne, and the Cherubim (formed of the same piece), which were its supporters. -its sides.

The Cherubim throughout the Old Testament, whereever they act, are connected with the judicial power of God, or are the executors of that power, and in the Apocalypse they are generally connected with providential judgments, and belong to the throne. Here, then, God manifested Himself as the Supreme God in His moral Being, armed with power to enforce respect to His laws,