this interpretation. As the vail shadows forth Christ in the flesh, we cannot suppose that any type would be given representing the union of the Church with Him then; as, before death, the corn of wheat abode alone: it must die, in order to bring forth fruit. The union of the believer with Christ is in life, quickened together with Him; seated in heavenly places in Him. He was the substitute in death; but He is the last Adam, the head of the new family, and source of its existence in resurrection.

The lion (one of the four faces of the cherubim) is classed with the king, against whom there is no rising up, in Prov. xxx, 30, 31; and is also described as going well, and being comely in going; and as strongest among beasts, turning not away from any. Majesty, strength, and courage, are therefore here typified.

The ox, in addition to its well-known character for patient enduring labour, is also recognised in Scripture as knowing its owner; herein it may prefigure the persevering resolution of Him who unflinchingly set His shoulder to the arduous work committed to Him by His Father, and who always recognised His Father's will, and delighted to do it.

The way of an eagle in the air is alluded to in Prov. xxx, 19. as too wonderful to be known: referring probably to the astonishing extent and accuracy of its vision as to things of earth, when poised aloft; and to its swiftness of flight when the object of its search is discovered. Fit emblem this of Him, whose eyes search the depths of the heart, and who is as rapid in discovering where the lawful prey is, as in delivering it from the power of the destroyer.

These three faces, combined with the human face and form, completed the cherubim: for all this power, labour, activity, and quickness of perception, were put forth under the control and guidance of perfect wisdom and sympathy. Wings were also spread abroad over the surface of the vail, proceeding from the

cherubim; denoting the heavenly origin and unearthly ways of the Son of Man, who was "from above," and who could say, even while here, "The Son of Man, who is in heaven."

The vail, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, cherubim was made "of cunning work," or, as it might be translated, "the work of a deviser." It was skilfully wrought with wisdom and cunning device; a matchless fabric, copied from a heavenly pattern, and never again to find its equal on earth: type of Him who said "A body has Thou prepared me.' Gabriel's words to Mary betoken the wonder of Immanuel's birth. "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." She conceived in her womb, and brought forth a son, and called his name Jesus. He was the Son of the Highest, and to Him, the Lord God gave the throne of His father David : and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever: and of His Kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke i. 28-35.) Wondrous mystery! the Virgin's Son, and yet the Son of God: the Son of the Highest, and yet inheriting the throne of His father David: the Child born, the Son given; His name, Wonderful, Counseller, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace: Jesus, Immanuel, to whom every knee shall bow, and who is the object of the church's contemplation and worship on earth; and the subject of eternal song in glory for ever. May we ever be filled with reverence and godly fear, when speaking or meditating on Him. The precincts of the tabernacle are holy ground: and before we view the great sight of God manifested in the flesh, we must loose the shoes from off our feet.

The Hebrew word, translated Vail, is, according to Gesenius, derived from an unused verb signifying to break, and in a secondary sense, to separate. It is called the Vail of the covering. (Exod. xxxix. 34; xl. 5.

Num. iv. 5.) It was hung up, in order to separate between the holy place and the most holy, and also to cover or hide the ark, (Exod. xxvi. 33; and xl. 3.) And when the tabernacle moved, the vail was taken down, and thrown over the ark as its first covering. As long as the Lord Jesus was in the flesh, His very presence on earth declared the impossibility of any one approaching God excepting Himself, or unless having His perfectness.-He stood as the Perfect Man, who alone was fit to appear before God; the standard weight of the sanctuary. Any one, weighed against Him, was found wanting. His perfect righteousness placed in dark shade the uncleanness of all men. The measure of His stature declared the utter insignificance of all human attainments. His fulness proved man's emptiness. The white and glistening purity of His character, exceeding white as snow, put to shame the filthiness of all that was born of woman.

Thus, the very display of the Perfect One on earth, showed the impossibility of any approach to God, unless some way could be devised, whereby the sinner could draw near, clothed in garments equally unsullied. Man, both Jew and Gentile, had made it plain that he was by nature a sinner, and had come short of the glory of God: and the presence, amongst men, of One who was fit for that glory, only rendered the melancholy fact more apparent. The vail, as it hung on its golden pillars, precluded entrance into the holiest: the ark and mercyseat were hidden, instead of being laid open to public gaze.

The whole ritual of Jewish worship, under the law, was one that served to maintain the distance between God and the creature. Bounds were set about Sinai, so that not even a beast must touch it: and the people felt, their safest place was far off. One tribe alone was permitted to encamp around the tabernacle: one family alone of that tribe was singled out to be allowed to enter the holy place: and one man alone of that family had access

to the holiest; and that, only once a year, and with such preparations, and fearful ceremonies, as must have inspired him with dread, lest, in the very act of approach, through some omission, he might incur the judgment of the Most High.

The incarnation of the Blessed Lord, and His subsequent sojourn here, presented in themselves no gospel to the sinner: the requirements of a holy God were only made more manifest. A vail unrent, a mercy-seat without blood, might indeed exhibit what the glory of God required, but could not advance the ruined sinner towards that glory, or throw open the way of access.

THE RENT VAIL.

EACH dispensation, as it succeeded that which went before, only the more shut up man in the hopelessness of his misery. It left him manifestly worse at the close, than it found him at its commencement. The Law and Prophets effected no deliverance; the former, instead of proving a remedy for sin, became its strength; the latter were slain and persecuted, and afterwards their memory was honoured by the children of those who had so used them, and who thought themselves better than their fathers. At length, in the fulness of the time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. The second man, the brightness of God's glory, appeared on earth. Still, nothing was effected. He came into the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own; and His own received Him not. The world, in the stupidity of its brutish ignorance, caused by sin, recognised not its Lord. Israel, still worse, conscious to some extent of His presence, wilfully despised and rejected Him, treating Him with the scorn and derision, which devils dared not to offer.

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"The Word, made flesh," dwelling among men, and going about ceaselessly doing good, was not the fullest manifestation of the love of God. Man himself felt rebuked by the presence of the Holy One, rather than attracted; he might, for a moment, be startled at the glory, beauty, and grace, manifested in Him whom the vail typified but soon the contrast with himself made him hate the perfect One. The way into the immediate presence of God was not made manifest as long as the vail remained unrent. Two things had to be accomplished. God must declare His love after such a manner that the mouth of every gainsayer might be stopped, and man be left without excuse; besides which, a way of access must be prepared, so that the vilest sinner, covered with all his filthiness, might, without one attempt at self-amendment, be welcomed to the presence and heart of the Father. To effect these objects, God counted nothing too costly. The Wonderful One for whom He had prepared a body, and whom He had sent into the world, whom he delighted to contemplate, and on whom His eternal love rested with unabated fulness and complacency, was bruised, and utterly marred in death. But who can tell the feelings of His heart, when, compelled by His love to us, He spared not His own Son? Or, who can tell the sufferings of that Son, when bruised by the hand, and pierced by the arrows, of the Almighty?

The following is the record, in three Gospels, of the rending of the Vail:

Matt. xxvii. 46-52.-" And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether