THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.

STUDY OF A MODEL.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

And they drew out the staves, that the ends thereof were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. 1Kings, viii. 6, 7, 8.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof.

And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without And there they are unto this day. 2 Chron., v. 7, 8, 9.

The Profound and varied character of the Sacred Scriptures demands, in the study of them, the application of every faculty of the human understanding, to penetrate their meaning even to a comparatively limited degree. The various languages into which they have been translated, as well as the ancient and original ones in which they were first written, not only tax the most searching intellects in their literary pursuit of a true meaning, but in certain cases, call into active exercise the most exalted and chastened ideality, and the power of constructiveness.

All that pertains to the revealed means by which the first true idea of obligation and of acceptable public worship to Jehovah were manifested, involves peculiarly these two attributes of the human mind.

The whole lesson of The Tabernacle, uttered by the voice of The Eternal One-touching as it did insensate objects, to give expression to spiritual gifts, desires and necessities—is marked by a constant reference to, not only what was so

definitely set forth, and actually "patterned in the Heavens," but also to that unerring connection between the seen and unseen, which so harmoniously blends the spiritual and the material as to be seized by both the intellect and the spirit of man. Of all the features of the Tabernacle, two stand out distinctly, and prominently so, above all the others, though inseparately united to each and all the rest. These are, on the one hand, the Atonement, and on the other, the transcendent Holiness of Jehovah. "The Covenant" was but the preparatory step by which a fallen race might ascend to a new and a higher life. Its preservation was imperative, not only by obedience, and therefore transmissive from generation to generation, but by guarded and inviolable seclusion, as a reality, and a memorial witnessin stone-engraven by the finger of God. Israel was, therefore, for nearly forty years, at least, led by the law applied to their daily lives, and saw it borne before them in the sacred treasury of The Ark of the Covenant, dominating not only a prescribed ritual, but every movement of their vast multitudes, accompanied with such marks of awful grandeur as to startle the idolatrous nations through which they wandered. It so continued to dominate all the religious services of the Israelites for centuries, finally inaugurating them in the Temple, when it had found a sanctuary within it. So considered, by the devout inquirer, this object becomes clothed with no ordinary interest, and to arrive at an appreciation of its appearance and meaning, no translation alone can convey an adequate definition of it. A reproduction of its form, adapted with reasonableness to all the uses to which it was placed, and all the positions it occupied when serving its Divine originator, can only satisfy such a learner.

So exact are the measurements set forth in the twentyfifth chapter of Exodus, that the materials can be put into shape, and so clear are the evidences in other particulars that occur in the Scriptures, extending over a period of rather more than five hundred years after its construction, that a conclusion materally accurate can be pointed out.

The prerequisite of all approach to the Holy One, and participation in His service, has been eternally, immutably

fixed-obedience, or its alternative, repentance, faith, and atonement.

By transgression man needed something to bring him back; rebind him anew, by bands, as it were. Hence, religion,-in the ten words-the law, paramount over all, was first given to Moses, following which, the system, orders, symbols and ritual, "once delivered," practical, indeed, in that age, and yet indelibly stamped with a character and significance, and steeped with an unalterable essence of what should be developed as the true spiritual worship of mankind in the ages to come. This law made palpable, perceptible, to imperfect but sentient beings, may be regarded as the germ and centre, around which Divine wisdom gathered accretions of ceremony and sanctified rites, which by operation in the human heart, might bring forth repeating growth of fruit and seed. Two remarkable features mark this law. It contained a code of perfect moral government and a perfect language, there being in the original Ten Words, practically, every letter of the ancient Hebrew language.*

Such a treasure and its security is first provided for.

Of all the appurtenances attending revealed worship, the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred, was first mentioned

* Twenty-one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are found in the Law.' The first Commandment contains one-half of the whole, while the second Commandment has nineteen of the twenty-two letters. It is remarkable that the first four Commandments, which are the ones relating to God Himself, contain the entire alphabet except the one missing letter, which appears nowhere in the Decalogue. Now this missing letter corresponds to our letter T. In the Hebrew there are two K's and two T's. One form of these T's does appear many times in the Commandments, and practically supplies the place of the other form of T. It is therefore fair to say that the whole alphabet is contained in the Commandments, and actually in the first four of them.

In the early Greek translation known as the Septuagint the first four Commandments contain the entire Greek alphabet; again, in the Vulgate, these four Commandments contain the entire Latin alphabet (except K, which is really the same as C). The Divine Law comprehends all the letters which are the symbols of all human thought, in various combinations.

The Title on the Cross, of the Universal Savior, was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, seeming to indicate that these three languages comprehended ALL human speech. The number Ten is the symbol of completeness.

and first shown to the eyes of Moses in "patterns" of the utmost particularity.

The two materials of which it was to be made were gold, the most precious of metals, and wood-Shittim wood, at once the most lasting, like sin, which it further well symbolized in its almost black color, devoid of any inherent property or suggestion of light. All this, however, was covered; and though the only foundation in the superstructure, was always completely covered, not one spot of the wood ever showing within any part of the Tabernacle or upon the "Ark."

With a certainty as to so many and explicit details of other particulars, still one is left in some doubt as to the arrangement of some of its more important parts, inasmuch as any misunderstanding impairs the symbolism and its apparent character; so, to attain symmetry and completeness, both the original description in its minutest particulars must be considered, and the "Ark" itself as a whole must be followed through the centuries wherein it was used and understood, even to its final and only real resting place in Solomon's Temple, before a painstaking restorer can exhaust or appropriate all that is required to reach a reasonable or satisfactory conclusion.

The approximate dimensions in modern measurement will give the exact proportions. It was of oblong square shape, of wood, covered with pure gold* both on the inner and outer surfaces, two cubits and a half in length, one cubit and a half in height, and a cubit and a half in width. Fixing, for convenience, the cubit at one foot six inches, we secure perfect accuracy of proportion, even if the dimensions might vary with whatever standard of cubit should be used.

By this is produced, as it were, a chest, three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches high, and two feet three inches wide. A cover † of corresponding length and width, of a thickness not mentioned, but made of a solid plate of gold, and which was movable, called "The Mercy Seat,"