fashioned after the mode of the heavenly, and that the tabernaole and its furniture were made according to the pattern showed in the Mount. What, then, did incense symbolize l' Was it prayer l' It has been very generally supposed (after Psa. cxli 2) to be an emblem of prayer. But this is a view which reflection hardly justifies. For (1) prayer was offered at the time of incense; it was an invariable adjunct thereto, and we should hardly have the type and anti- type, the shadow and the substance, together. The type is only needed until the antitype takes its place. (2) Incense is said to be offered with prayers (Rev. v. 8), where the "· which " (ai) would seem to refer to the "vials" (9'>uiXat) rather than to the 9vµ,aµarwa, (eh. viii. 1--4). In the passage last cited, this is beyond doubt, The incense was to be added to (A. V. "offered"), and was therefore distinct from, the prayers of all saints. No, the incense offered day by day, and century after century, prefigured the gracious intercession of Christ, that intercession through which alone our prayers are presented, which alone ensures their acceptance, and without which sinful man cannot draw near to God. When the high priest entered the oracle, as the repre- sentative of the congregation, the cloud of incense must cover him lest he should die. We have but to notice how close is the correspondence between type and antitype to be convinced that this is its true meaning. (1) His prayers are like the fragrant incense. In Him the Father is well pleased. And they are ordained of God. He is the" Anointed," the "Advocate with the Father,"" the one Mediator." (There is a "strange incense," too-the mediation of saints and angels.) (2) He stands "before the throne," "at the right hand of God," "in heaven itself." (3) He "ever liveth to make intercession for us." The incense never dies out of the heavenly courts. When we pray, morning and evening, our Intercessor prays also. When we offer our sacrifices, He offers the incense at the same time. And He is also (4) our High Priest. When He passed through the heavens with His own blood to make atonement, the incense, to make intercession, was not forgotten. And if it be objected that in heaven the incense was offered by the elders (Rev. v. 8), or angels (ib. viii. 3), we may remember that the ministry at the golden altar, which strictly appertained to the high priest alone, was also shared by other ministers of the congregation, and the angels are "ministering spirits." So that both the altars of Judaism speak to us of Christ: the one of His death, the other of His "endless life;" the first of the "one offering," the second of the ceaseless intercession. And between them they shadowed forth the fulness and completeness of our salvation. '' We have an Advocate with the Father "-this is the gospel of the incense. "We have a great High Priest "-this is the evangel of incense and sacrifice a.like.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 25.-Bolomon'a Worship. Our text appears at first sight to be introduced into this chapter in a superfluous and arbitrary manner. It is not without good reason, however, that this record of Solomon's religious worship stands between statements a.bout his fortifications and his fleet. We have much to learn from the Old Testament method of blending the earthly with the spiritual, and of suffusing national enterprise with religion. The verse before us, read in con- nexion with the statement made in eh. iii. 2, indicates that, after finishing the temple, Solomon swept away the abuses, and remedied the defects which had pre- vailed. He had built the temple, and now would be the leader of his people in using it. He did not consider that the erection of an altar excused him from sacrificing on it. He was not one of those who will encourage others to devotion, while they neglect their own personal responsibility. Apply this to any who con- triLuie to a society, but withold all personal service; or aid in tho celebration of worship, while their own hearts a.re never engaged in it. Ifwe compare the text with 2 Chron. viii. 12, 18, we see that it was not only on the national festivals (Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles), but on all occasions appointed by Mosaic law, that Solomon, through the priests, presented offerings before the Lord OIJ, IX, 10-28.] '!'HE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 201