Thummim and Urim are with God's holy one. (Deut. xxxiii. 8.) His light is beaming light

ner, and done in two parts, and in two different ways, were the things signified by the Urim and Thummim, which Moses is said to have put into the breastplate; and that these did give the oracular power to it. And many of the rabbins go this way; for they have all of them a great opinion of the miraculous power of this name; and therefore, not being able to gainsay the evidence which there for the miracles of Jesus Christ, their usual answer was, that he stole this name out of the temple, from the stone of foundation on which it was there written; (that is, the stone on which the ark formerly stood;) and keeping it always hid about him, by virtue of that did all his wonderful works. Others, who hold in general for the addition of some things corporeal, denoted by the names Urim and Thummim, think not fit to inquire what they were as to the particular; but are of opinion that they were things of a mysterious nature, hid and closed up in the doublings of the breastplate, which Moses only knew who did put them there, and no one else was to pry into; and that these were the things that gave the oracular power to the breastplate."

But Christians need not employ their thoughts in framing vague conjectures: the secret talisman is brought to open view. In these once ambiguous words, they clearly read that Tetragrammaton, or the ineffable name of God, could alone apply unto the glorious Son of God; they clearly read their blessed Master's character. For the undoubted meaning of the words Urim and Thummim were designed to signify and preshow that light and perfection could, and ultimately would, regain access to God. "For the use that was made of Urim and Thummim was to ask counsel of God in difficult and momentous cases;" (parallel to our now applying to the throne of grace for counsel, through the intercession of that light and perfection which has been fully manifested in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord.) "In order whereto the figurative high priest did put on his robes, and over them his breastplate, in which the Urim and Thummim were; and then presented himself before God, to ask counsel of him. The place where he presented himself before God, was before the ark of the covenant, not within the

throughout the Gentile world, and will become Israel's glory. By him both have access by one

veil of the holy of holies, (for thither he never entered but once a year on the great day of expiation,) but without the veil, in the holy place: and there standing with his robes and breastplate on, and his face turned directly towards the ark, and the mercy-seat over it, on which the divine presence rested, he proposed the matter concerning which counsel of God was asked; and directly behind him at some distance, without the holy place, perchance at the door, (for further no layman could approach,) stood the person in whose behalf the counsel was asked; and there with all humility and devotion, expected the answer that should be given. And for this reason it is, that the holy of holies, the place where the ark and the mercy-seat stood, from whence this answer was given, is so often in Scripture called the oracle-because from thence the divine oracles of God were uttered forth to those that asked counsel of him: and the oracular answers thus obtained by Urim and Thummim were not, like the heathen oracles, enigmatical and ambiguous, but always clear and manifest; not such as ever did fall short of perfection, either of fulness in the answer, or certainty in the truth of it. And hence it is, that the Septuagint translate Urim and Thummim by the words Anλwor kal 'Aλýðeιav, i. e. Manifestation and Truth; because all these oracular answers given by Urim and Thummim were always clear and manifest, and their truth ever certain and infallible."-Prideaux.

In the quotation just inserted, we perceive a confirmation of a former remark, namely, that the Israelitish nations appear to have in many, if not in most cases, been required to walk by faith, and to obey the commands of God, though they did not comprehend the meaning of them; which is clearly illustrated by their conceits and conjectures, as to the meaning of the words Urim and Thummim. Strangely parallel are, however, some of them to the real truth; for those who will have them to be Tetragrammaton, or the ineffable name of God, who is light and perfection, are unquestionably right in this conjecture. And still more extraordinary is their superstitious fancy respecting Jesus Christ having stole this name out of the Temple, from the stone

eternal Spirit to the eternal oracle; and the glistening brightness of his glorified presence illumines the whole universe of God!

We need not now to pray with Israel's royal psalmist, that God would send among us light and truth; but that Urim and Thummim may for ever lie within the inmost couplings of all Christian hearts. The sacred vestments which enrobe this blest celestial Priest, require not broidered borderings-scarlet, purple, blue, enwreathed pomegranates, hung with appendant bells, to sound his glorious entrance before the great Jehovah.*

of foundation on which it was there written; (that is, the stone on which the ark formerly stood ;) and, keeping it always about him, by virtue of that did all his wonderful works.

The time will come when they will understand, that hid within the human nature of the man Christ Jesus, dwelt the brightness of the Almighty Father's glory, the second person of the glorious Trinity, one with the Father blessed for evermore! Then will truth, no longer clouded by fancies and conjectures, shine triumphant forth, and take the veil from off their erring hearts: then will they know that Jesus Christ was the foundation-stone of their revered temple; and that the name Tetragrammaton graven upon the foundation-stone of this typical erection, signified the same and that it was by the finger of God he cast out devils, and did his wondrous works.

"And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. And beneath, upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister; and his sound shall be

:

Myriads of ministering spirits form his refulgent train, and symphony his praise; attendant legions

heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not."

Josephus' account is as follows: "The high priest puts on a violet-coloured coat, extending in length to his heels, (we call it methir; this he girdeth to him with a girdle of divers colours, studded with gold; the shirt of the vest is bordered with fringes, to which are tied certain pomegranates and golden bells intermixed; so that between two pomegranates there is placed a bell, and between two bells one pomegranate. This coat is all of one piece, without seam, (almost needless to remark, symbolic of the seamless coat of our adored Saviour,) open in the collar, not athwart but longways, from the brim to the middle of the back. To it is a ribband or hem fastened, lest the opening should be perceived: it is likewise open in that place where the hands should be put out. Besides these vestures, he hath a third called an ephod (resembling the Grecian garment called epomis, and after this manner.) It is woven of divers colours, intermixed with gold. In the midst of the breast there is a space left open for the sleeves; and all the rest are in such sort composed that it seemeth to be a coat: in this void space, there is a piece enchased of the length of a span, embroidered with the same colours, gold and flowers, as the ephod is. This piece is called essen, which signifieth rational, (and wholly filleth the space that was left void by them that wove the ephod;) and is joined to every corner thereof, with buckles of gold, which are tied with a lace of hyacinth, applied to tie them together with these buckles. And to the end the space between the buckles be not slack, the opening is filled with an hyacinth ribbon but on either shoulder are two sardonyx stones enchased in gold, instead of buttons, to tie the hood, or ephod. In these are engraven the names of Jacob's sons in Hebrew characters-in either stone six; so that the elder of them were placed on the right shoulder. And moreover, twelve precious stones distinguish the essen, or rational itself, of excellent greatness and beauty which for their inestimable price could not be bought by any private man. They were enchased three-and-three in

VOL. I.

Ꭰ Ꭰ

usher his return with their triumphant pealsHosannah in the highest!

Superfluous employment for the engraver's signet would it be, to cypher upon his pure triune crown, Holiness to the Lord.* This typi

four ranks, in certain crowns of gold, to the end they might not fall out-and in these were the names of Jacob's sons engraven, whom we esteem for the first authors of our tribes-every stone being honoured with a several name, according to the order of their birth. But whereas these rings were too weak to sustain the weight of the precious stones, they fastened two greater in the top of the rational round the neck, being eminent above the texture which might receive the golden chains which met at the top of the shoulders, to be fastened with the little chains, the end whereof was crooked, and conveyed certain pipes put through the rings; and were more prominent than the brim behind the ephod-to fasten the rational, to the end it should neither sway this way nor that way. To the same rational also was there a girdle sewed, distinguished with the said colours and gold; which compassing the whole, and again knit up on the seam, was suffered to hang downwards. And as touching the fringes, they were fastened to hollow loops of gold, from the one end to the other"-typifying what Isaiah afterwards declared, namely, "Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins."

* "And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it like the engravings of a signet, Holiness to the Lord."

Josephus tells us, that the name of God was placed thereon, and that it was "a triple crown of gold, by its brightness representing his glory and sovereign majesty:"-manifestly symbolic of the glorious Trinity. And let it not be forgotten, that it is unto a Jew we are indebted for this interesting information.

The other particulars given by this author may not, perhaps, be altogether uninteresting: "Now the hat of the great high priest was such as the other priests used, on which there stood another sewed thereto, and flourished with hyacinthine: this was environed with a golden crown, in which there were divers cups of gold made after such sort as may be seen in that herb which