1. Its daily use —
[Aaron himself in the first instance, and afterwards other priests in their courses1, was to trim the lamps every morning and evening, and to light any of them that might have gone out. At these seasons, he was to take fire from the altar of burnt-offering, and to put it on a censer, and to burn incense with it upon the altar of incense. This, I say, he was to do every morning and evening; and that was called " a perpetual incense before the Lord."
This, beyond all doubt, was intended to typify the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as our great " High-Priest, is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not manb." To him is assigned the office of interceding for his Church and people ; and he has ascended up into the more immediate presence of his God for that end : as says the Apostle ; " Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for usc." There he superintends the lamps of his sanc- tuary, " walking amongst the seven golden candlesticks, which are the seven Churches d," and either trimming or furnishing them with supplies of oil, as their various necessities may re- quire. At the same time he offers up to God his intercessions for them, pleading with him in behalf of every individual, and obtaining for them all those blessings which they more par- ticularly stand in need of.
To the Aaronic priests God had said, " There will I meet with thee :" and no doubt he did, in numberless instances, as well as in that of Zachariase, vouchsafe to them there more peculiar answers to their prayers. Our Great Intercessor could say, " I know that thou hearest me always f :" nor can we doubt but that myriads of his people are either preserved from falling, or restored after their falls, purely through " his intercession for them, that their faith may not ultimately fail8."]
2. Its annual expiation —
[It was enjoined that " an atonement should be made upon the horns of this altar once a year with the blood of the sin-offering of the atonements." And this, I apprehend, was to shew that without the blood of atonement no intercession could be of any avail. An atonement must be made for sin : and " without it there could be no remission11." The blood, too, that must be put on this altar must be the blood of
a Luke i. 8, 9. t> Heb. viii. 1,2. c Heb. ix. 24.
d Rev.i. 13,20. and ii. 1. e Luke i. 11—13. f John xi. 42. g Luke xxii. 32. h Heb. ix. 22.