HOMILETICS. ,~er,;. 24-31.-G,·eal, ~th worthily employed. I. THE A.MOUNT EXl'ENDED BY TRB limAEl,ITES WAS BREAT AB80LUTELY. Although the m&teria.ls CODtributed for the con- 11truction of the ta.bema.cle a.re quite within the estimate which would rea.sonably be formed of the wee.Ith of the Israelites from the genera.I tenor of the ne.rra.tive, yet they certainly rea.ch altogether to such an amount of value as would constitute e. very serious call on the resources of such a people. The worth of the mete.I@ alone was not far ehort of a quarter of a million of our money. (Gold, £175,000; silver, £40,000; bronze (say) £15,000-tote.1, £230,000.) The precious stones, the spices, the wood-work, the raw material for the cloths, the dyed rams' skins and seals' skins, have to be added, and would r:i.ise the sum tote.I to at least £250,000. This was contributed by a population of about two millions; which may be regarded as equivalent to 1(),;, a family, or half-a-crown a head. Now the entire taxation for imperia.J purposes of each British subject is abouL £2 a head, of which the a.mount paid in direct taxation is not more tha.n 5s. e. head. So that the Israelite of the 13th or 14th century, B.c., pa.id o.t one time for church pur- poses of his own free will, he.If as much as the British subject of the present day pays directly for State purposes in the whole course oi the year. Thus the amount was g1·eaC absolutely, and showed a noble spirit in those who contributed. ll. THE AMOUNT EXPENDED WAS A.LSO GREAT RELATIVELY TO THE PUBPOBE OF THE EXPEl>"DITURE. What was required was a structure sixty feet long by thirty, with e. skirting for a court or precinct 150 feet long by seventy-five. The main structure, or tabernacle, would be about the size of a small college chapel The precinct would be smaller than most churchyard&. Yet upon these two objects, without making any estimat.e for labour, a quarter of a million of money wa.s spent. On the first blush, one asks, how was it possible for so enormous an outlay to be m&dc? The answer is, by the lavish use of the precious meta.ls, especially gold. That the structure might he rich, splendid, magnificent, gold and silver were lavished upon it, both extemallyana internally-scarcely any wood was seen-nothing caught the eye but costly fabrics of rich colour, and masses of silver or gold. A warm, harmonious, rich result was no doubt produced ; and nomadic Israel, unable to compete with the settled nations in the size and grandeur of its "holy place," erected for it&elf a sanctuary, which in its own way was unequalled and unique. ill. THE OBJECT OF THE EXPENDITURE w.&.s A WOBTHY Ol>'E. If a people have temples at all, men will a.Jways judge their religious views, more or less, by them. If Israel was to have a place of worship-and it may be doubted whether any ra.ce of men will ever be able to do without one-it would certa.in.ly be subjected to rough criticism and com- parison. The Egyptian t.emples were magnificent-of vast size, of the most solid con- structior., of handsome materia.J, elaborately painted and adorned; they delighted those who worshipped in them, and challenged the admiration of extraneous beholders. Israel, in the desert, could not possibly vie with these. But it might construct a work perfect in iu; kind, of a different class, which would compensate for smallness of size by rich- £Jl:6S of material and artistic elaboration. It could show in this way its sense that men should give to God of their best. It could secure an extraordinary degree of beauty, finish, and elegance. The nations among which the tabernacle passed-even those who heard an account of it-must have been impressed with the feeling that here was a people which thoroughly believed in its God; which thought nothing too good for him; which CII. llXXIX. 1-31,) 1'HE BOOK OF EXODUS. 39S
WBe relldy for hie sllke to submit to much self-sncrifice. And the people itself must l\lso have been itnpress~d by its own work. No such npostaey as the worship of the calf ever took place llfter the tllbernacle had been constructed. It was no longer faith, but 1ight, which told them, that" God was in the midst of them." The senae of this becrat a courage and a confidence, which supported the nation under many trials, l\arl m,tnv temptntions. '!'hey had never to regret the outlay which they had made upon their " tent-temple." .Application.-There has been much church-building in modem times, but in no instance such a lavish outlay as thnt here held up to our imitation. Gerrn~ny, indeed, has completed the Dom of Cologne; but not much of the money was subscribed; for the most part, it came out of the general taxation of the country. Glasgow, E,linburgh, Calcutta, have raised cathedrals; but the cost has not been very considerable. The spirit of munificence has been shown rather by individuals than by any nation; and, in England at any mte, the nineteenth century will not, it is to be feared, be signalised among others by the completion of any really first-rate ecclesiastical edifice. N cw dioceses are formed; but new cathedrals, worthy of taking rank with th'l masterpieces of former times, do not arise. The prevailing practice is to convert a parish church into a cathedral. May it not be hoped that ere long some new diocese, where wealth abounds, will devote to its cathedral some such amount as the Israelites in the desert contributed towards their tabernacle, and raise an edifice which will prove to the world that Post- Reformation England does not yield to the England of the Middle Ages in the virtue of Christian munificence?
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 21-31.-Tke enumeration of the metals used. This served a useful purpose- 1. As an account rendered to the people of what had been done with their gifts. 2. As gra.tifying a very laudable wish of the contributors to know how much the sum-total of their contributions amounted to. 3. As giving a just idea of the splendour and costliness of the building. 4. Aa a testimony to the liberality, willingness, and unstinting self- ee.crifice of all classes in the congregation. 5. As specially indicating the destination of the atonement-money-the making of the "sockets" on which the tabernacle was reared (ver. 27). 6. As a lesson of exactitude in church finance. A church is not at liberty to deal in a slovenly manner with its receipts and disbursements. Careful accounts should be kept and published. This (1) Gives confidence in the management; (2) is an encouragement to giving; (3) prevents charges of maladministration; (4) is a ':>re,·ention age.ins\ waste.-J. 0.