eye of God, a.nd always remembered before him for good; in which case this would empb81!ise the truth that we must without any intermission b-~ had in merciful remembrance before God, lest we die. And note (1) that as the ahew-bread on the t.able "!'as _covered ~~h a cloth of ecarlet, which is the colour of atoning blood, tbia may signify that 1t is as covered by and, so to speak, seen through the precious blood of Christ that the Church in all her travail is remembered before God for good. And note (2) that as the ark and the table were more honoured in their cover- ings 1:han the rest, t?ougb th~ ark most of all, th~ may intim!'te that the .two doctrines of cb1efest honour m the faith are those of Chnst and of hls Church, 1,, e. of God in Christ, and Christ in us ; God present with us through Christ, and we present before God through Christ (John xvii. 20-23, 26). VIL THAT THE SONS OF KOBA.TB 'WEBB TO CAIIRY THOSE HOLY THINGS, BUT NEITHER TO TOUCH THEM: NOR TO GO IN TO SEB THEll'. FOR AN INSTANT, LEST THEY SHOULD DIE. Even so the holy mysteries of the gospel 11.I'e ever to be borne onwards, but neither ro be handled with irreverent carelessness nor pried into with irreverent curiosity, else they become the savour of death rather than of life. It is indeed true that in Christ" the veil is taken away," and that now the gospel is openly declared to all nations ; but it is also true, as to its central doctrines, that wilful irreverence and idle curiosity are visited with severer punishments, because purely spiritual, now than then. It is not possible that any one be saved by faith if he handle the faith with rude familiarity, a.a having nothing sacred for him, or with cold cu.riosity1 as a matter of mere intellectual interest ( cf. Matt. :x:xi. 44 ; Luke ii. 34 ; 2 Cor. il. 16. Cf. a.I.so 1 Cor. xi. 29, 30). VIlJ. THAT THE PRIESTS WERE CHABGED NOT TO "CUT OFJl'" THE Koru.TWTES, i, e. NOT TO CAUSE THEIR DliTH .llY GIVING THEM EXAMPLE OR OPPORTUNITY OJ!' IBREVER- ENCI!: IN THEIR NECESS.AB.Y WORX ABOUT THE SACRED THINGS WRICH WOULD BE FATAL TO TB:Ellt. Even so an enormous responsibility is laid upon all who are set over others in the Lord, especially with respect to those who are necessarily brought into ontwe.rd contact with religion. Those who, being CUGtodes of sacred treasures, set an example of irreverence to those associated with them, or give them the impression of secret unbelief in what they preach or minister (an impression how quickly caught I), will be held responsible for any souls that may perish thereby. How miserably true that, "the nearer the Church, the further from God ; " that none are so hardened a.a those whose outward duties are concerned with the maintenance of public worship ; that no families are so notoriously irreligious as those of Church digrutaries and other ministers of God I .And this due not more to the subtle danger arising from famili- arity with the forms of religion, than to the subtler danger arising from the irreverent -and careless conduct and temper of the ministers of religion. How often do such, by their behaviour at home, or when oft' duty, lea.ve an impression of unbelief or of indifference, which they do not really feel, upon their families, dependa.nts, subordin- ates I How awful the responsibility of such an one I He has II cut off''' souls which were most nearly in his charge from amongst the people of God. The poison- breath of his (it ma! ~e, heedless) irreverence has blighted their eternal. f?ture. And this holds true, m its measure, of fathera, masters, all who lead the rehg1on of others. And note that as Aaron and his sons could only escape responsibility for any catastrophe among the Kohatbitee by doing exactly as t~e. ~ord commanded in the matter (see ver. 19), even so we can only escape responsibility for the los~ of other souls by following e:i:actly the Divine precepts; if we allow ourselves to deviate from them a.tall, others through our example will deviate from them more: we an: our brothers' keepers to the uttermost reach of our example.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1--4.-None m4'J/ bear the ves,eu of the Lord but Levitu at tluir bese. From the giving of the law till the building of Solomon's temple, a space of about 600 years, the Lord at no time "dwelt in any house, but walked in a trnt and in a tabernacle" (2 Sam. vii. 6). The sanctuary was a moving tent, ~n~ one principal part of the business of the Levites, the most honourable function assigned to them, waa the carriage of it from phice to place. Moses, who regulated so exactly CH. IV. 1--49.] 'IHE BOOK OF NUMBERS.