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said, this is the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with the Lord. Num. xx. 13. Therefore, the time should come, according to the benediction of Moses upon Levi, when the URIM AND THE THUMMIM should be found, not with a Jewish priest, but with that person whom he calls the Holy One.

VI. Lastly, I shall attempt to show you from the New Testament, that all which was intended by the URIM AND THE THUMMIM, is in the highest degree possible, possessed by JESUS OF NAZARETH; and who, we are bold to assert, is the Holy One, the LORD MESSIAH, and the great high PRIEST of our pro

session.

The person predicted by Moses, in his benediction on the tribe of Levi, who should possess the URIM AND THE THUMMIM, was the Holy One: a descriptive character this, of the promised Messiah. Thus said the Lord by Isaiah: the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his HOLY ONE for a flame. x. 17. As for our Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is his name, the HOLY ONE of Israel. xlvii. 4. So David: thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine HOLY ONE to see corruption. Ps. xvi. 10. These, with the strictest possible truth, are applied to the person, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In his supernatural birth, he was announced that Holy Thing, the Son of God. He was known, and called the Holy One and the Just. And, that David prophesied of Christ, as the Holy One, in his death and resurrection, is sufficiently demonstrated in the second of Acts. His nature, life, manners and doctrine, were the perfections of holiness. By his vicarious death and resurrection, he became, as Isaiah hailed him, the Redeemer; and by his ascension to the right hand of the Father in glory, he exercises

his power and authority as THE LORD OF HOSTS over all, whether in heaven, earth, or hell. Moses further describes this HOLY ONE with whom the Israelites strove at the waters of Meribah. This could not have been Moses himself, nor Aaron, though their offices were relatively holy; but, as stated in Numbers xx. 13. This is the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with the Lord. And in the 1st Cor. 10th chapter, this is strictly applied to Christ, who, before his incarnation, appeared on various occasions to the Hebrews, as the angel of the Lord.—The priest whom the Tirshatha or Governor said to the Jews, should stand up with Urim and with Thummim, is verified in the person of Jesus, the Son of God. He hath indeed stood up between God and sinful man, for the important purposes of sacrifice, offering, intercession and benediction; and in whom alone men can be blessed forever! Besides, that with him is possessed all that is significant in the URIM AND THE THUMMIM, is a pleasing part of our subject now to describe.

URIM, lights, manifestation, doctrine, transparency ; all these, whether severally or combined, are possessed by Jesus Christ. He is the true emphatic light: not the blaze of sensible light; not the splendor of ten thousand suns, though he is the Creator of every illuminating orb in the heavens; but, above all, the light of the soul to all that live and think, and know God in him, in the charming relation of an everlasting FATHER; for he is, indeed, the Light of Life; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel. Whatever we may conceive of light, whether natural, intellectual, moral, judicial, spiritual or eternal, is possessed by Our HOLY ONE; and in his light we shall see light. The light of grace emanates from Jesus Christ in such an

admirable degree, that we behold the harmony of divine perfections in the salvation of men. All the law

required, the prophets predicted, and the various rituals and sacrifices intended, whether among the patriarchs in the Tabernacle, or in the Temple of Solomon: all these are consummate in the Son of God. They were shadows, the body is Christ; so that with John we may truly say, the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. Not only so, but our Saviour Jesus Christ hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel; and it is by his celestial rays we anticipate with pleasure, an Inheritance among the saints in light.

THUMMIM, perfections. By this we equally realize both the person and the work of this blessed HOLY ONE, the Son of God. In him was a perfection of human excellence without alloy; for in him was no sin : and, in him dwelleth cll the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He was the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person. His obedience, atonement, righteousness, and continued intercession, are perfect in the highest possible degree; commensurate with the demands of God's violated law against us, and to relieve us from all the miseries to which we were exposed. We therefore hail this HOLY ONE, the Lord Jesus, as the chief among ten thousand, the allogether lovely!

The USES for which the URIM AND THE THUMMIM were originally designed, are admirably calculated to teach us the benefits to be derived from the Lord Jesus. As the GREAT HIGH PRIEST of our profession, he bears the names and interests of his people upon his heart, now in the holiest of all, before the presence of his Father. Here, with freedom and boldness we may in

quire, what is the will of the Lord Jehovah concerning us; and here we may receive the most certain answers to direct us in all our embarrassments while on our journey through this wilderness of sorrow, until we arrive at the Canaan of everlasting rest. It has been stated to you, that by URIM AND THUMMIM the Israelites were to inquire of the Lord in extra cases only;— but we, at all times, may approach the Lord and cast ALL our cares upon him, with this assurance, that he eareth for us. It was likewise stated to you, that none but distinguished official characters could inquire by URIM AND THUMMIM; but of Jesus, our Priest and Intercessor, the penitent, the afflicted, and the miserable of every class and degree, both Jew and Gentile, may present their prayers and inquiries before the throne ;. for the same Lord over all, is rich unto all them that call upon him-The Urim and the Thummim were but of short duration, and eventually lost to the tribes. of Israel; but Jesus, our Priest before the throne, with lights and perfections upon his heart, forever lives, and is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. This is the source of all our triumph, till we arrive to that happy state, where we shall find that in God's presence there is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore!

Having thus offered you my sentiments upon the nature of the URIM AND THE THUMMIM-from whence they were produced-the meaning of their names-the uses for which they were designed-their durationthe reason for being laid aside-and, that they were admirably calculated to direct our attention to Jesus, the great High Priest upon his throne in the highest heavens, I will now close this discourse, by respectfully addressing the SOCIETY OF MASONS now assembled. .

GENTLEMEN,

your

I congratulate you on your present ANNIVERSARY, wishing you prosperity in every moral and benevolent action. Although no Mason myself, I must, with others, believe that ancient ORDER has been respectable, and has disseminated real benefit to its members by sea and land, at home, and in distant climes. It has, however, been suggested, that your Society has suffered reflection by admitting persons to membership, whose moral respectability was not approved: a complaint which, indeed, may be laid against many other societies, civil and religious. You will therefore, on this occasion, give me leave to recommend to you, in this particular, circumspection. The subject of this discourse aids me to delineate, what I presume, should be the character of a TRUE MASON. Lights and perfections should reside in the conscience, and shine in the life. A bad man cannot make a good Mason; nor a good man make a bad Mason. As the Urim and the Thummim were placed on the heart of Aaron, at the immediate command of the Almighty, as an act of his sovereign pleasure, so, if any possess the light and perfection of grace to constitute a real believer, and a good MASON, it is God that makes him so. And this constitutes that while stone which is the gift of God, and in which stone is a new name wrillen, which no man knoweth saving him that receiveth it. Rev. ii. 17. Thus we may say with David, the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. Psalm xxv. 14.

We take it for granted, GENTLEMEN, that you are belieyers in REVELATION, else why the open BIBLE carried in procession on the cushion, and now placed before us? Why the SQUARE AND THE COMPASS laid upon its

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