soul (1 Cor. x. 16, 17; Heh. :xiii. 10; Matt. xxvi. 26 ; John vi. 54, 55). If, there- fore, the Holy Communion is not a sacrifice, properly so called (inasmuch as there is no death), it has these marks of a sacrifice, that it is an oblation, a memorial, and a feast. And when we consider these remarkable analogies, we can hardly doubt that even the saCTijices of Judaism have their counterpart in the institutions of Christianity. It was said by one of the Reformers that the man who can rightly distinguish between the Law and the Gospel should thank God and be assured that be is a true theologian. But theologians too often treat them as if they were antagonistic or irreconcilable, and one of the dangers to which the Reformed Churches are specially obnoxious is to forget the continuity of gospel and law: to forget that the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephes. ii. 20). If it is true that" Vetus Testamentum in Novo patet,'' it is also true "Novum Testa- mentum in Vetere latet." Ver. 19.-The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. This temple of Solomon, so 11 exceeding magnifical, " this " holy and beautiful hoUBe, " " of fame and glory throughout all lands ''-why was it b..ilt what its primary purpose'/ _It W!,!I above everything else a home for the ark (oh. viii 1, 6), a place for the. Divine Glory which hovered over it. In this temple, unlike the shrines of Paganism, there was no statue, no simili- tude of a God. Here was no "image which fell down from Jupiter," no Baal or Asherah, no Apis or Osiris. We may imagine how this would impress the Phceni- cian workmen. We know how it impressed Pompeius and the Romans. There is deep significance in those words of the Roman historian: Inania arcana, vacua sedes. Nothing bnt the ark. And this ark, what was it? It was a coffer, a chest. It was nothing in itself; but it was meant to contain something. It was the casket of a rare jewel. "There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables of stone," &c. (eh. viii. 9). It was the " ark of the testimo111y." So that the temple was properly and primarily the shrine and depository of the tables of the law graven with the "ten words,'' '' the words of the covenant" (Deut. iv. 13). Now we ha.ve just seen that the temple was the archetype of the Church : we have seen, too, that everything in Judo.ism has its analogue in Christianity. Wlmt, then, lat us ask, was the significance of the ark? To what does it correspond in the new dispensation ? In the Ohurch, to nothing. The "words of the covenant" are no longer kept in the dark. No ; we now inscribe them on our chancel we.lls. In the "sanctuary" of the Gothic church the ten commandments are" writ large" for men to see. But if Jude.ism was really the outline of Christianity, then there must be some- thing in Christianity answering to that ark which was the core and centre of the Mosaic system. Certainly. But it is to be found, not in '' temples me.de with hands," but in those other "temples II of the Christian faith, the bodies of believers, the temples of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. iii. 16 ; vi. 19). The ark was the soul of Judaism. It may fittingly represent the souls which Christ ho.s redeemed. Templo, ark, tables of the lo.w-these severally correspond to the " body, soul, spirit II of the Christian man. Within the temple was the ark ; within the ark the tables. Within the awp.rr. is the ,j,vxf, ; within the ,/rox;, the m,wp.a. Nor is this so fanciful as it seems. For are not our bodies the " t1Ymples of the Holy Ghost 11 ? And are not our hee.rts-i.e., our inmost being, our spiritual part (1 Peter iii. 4)-the fleshy tabl,es on which He writes His law? Yes, in the "new covenant" God writes His law in the heart, and puts it in the inward parts (sea J er. :x.x:xi. 83; cf. Ezek. :xi. 19, 20; 2 Cor. iii. 8). In the face of these scriptures, who can deny that the ark o.nd its tables have their analogues in the New Testa- ment? Such, then, being the symbolism and significance of temple, ark, and to.blea of law, what are their lessons ? Among others these: 1. That God dwells within us. No longer in temples me.de with hands, but "with him that is of e. contrite and humble snirit '' (Isa. lvii. 16\. DU thA RhA. 116 THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. [err. vr. 1-88 .
.:ihinah brood over the mercy seat? Not less truly does God's Spirit dwell (Rom. viii. 9) and witness (ver. 16) with our spilit. Men so.y the Sheohinah has left the world. On the contrary, It has enshrined Itself in the soul. " Ghrist in you" (Col. i. 27); God dwelling in U8 (1 John iv, 12); this is the last best gospel of olll' religion. The Old Testament, Neander says, tells of a God who is for mo.n, In the Gospels we bear of Emmanuel, God with man. But the Epistles speak to us of God in man. 2. That God writes His law upon us. We have seen that in the Church there is neither ark nor tables of stone. It is because there is no need of either. This is the age of that "new covenant" of which the prophet spoke, when the finger of God should write the law upon the spirit, and when the Bath Kol should speak -within. The laws of our country are so voluminous that no man co.n hope to know or to remember them, and their "glorious uncertainty" is proverbial. But God's law is but one (Rom. xiii. 9, 10; Heb. viii. 10; x. 16); e.nd that sweet and blessed statute the Spirit graves within us. Now observe- 3. The ark, led by God, conducted Israel to victory and rest. In the journeyings of Israel the ark went before them (Num. x. 33). At the Jordan it opened a way for them (Josh. iii. 14--17). Before Jericho it led them on to victory (Josh. vi. 9-11). Even so the soul, guided and taught of God, passes safely through its pil- grimage, conquers its foes, and gains its heavenly rest. Let us yield ourselves to 11 be "led by the Spirit of God (Rom. viii. 14). 4. The ark, led by man, conducted Israel to disaster and defeat. When the Israelites, instead of following the ark, would lead it (1 Sam. iv. 3), it landed them in a" very great slaughter." It proved to be no fetish, as they had hoped; it only led them to a shameful death. "It is one thing to want to have truth on our side; another to want to be on the side of truth" (Whately). It is of no avail to have the commandments of God, unless we keep them ; to know His will, unless we do it. And if we lean to our own understandings, the soul will make shipwreck. Reason, it is true, is "the candle of the Lord; but revelation is the " lamp to our 11