parts of the offerings of the day before not yet consumed. The priests having returned to the room Gezit, by a similar plan of counting, allotted thirteen particular services to as many priests; the others were to act as assistants.

A PRIEST WATCHING FOR THE DAWN.

The next proceeding was to offer the daily morning sacrifice of a lamb, Exod. xxix. 39. The president directed one to go and see whether it was time. He went to the top of a part of the building, and when he saw the dawn, said "It is day!" The president inquired, "Is the heaven bright up to Hebron?" On being answered in the affirmative, the lamb was ordered to be brought. The appointed priests examined for the last time that it was without blemish, and prepared to slaughter it on the north side of the altar. The other priests meanwhile brought forward the ninety-three silver and gold vessels used in the ordinary daily services of the temple, from one of which water was given to the lamb to drink. Those priests who had the keys of the gates, opened the doors of the court of Israel and of the holy place. The noise of the opening of the latter was the signal for killing the lamb. The silver trumpets were sounded as a signal for the musicians to be at their desks, and for the station men, who represented the people of Israel, to be at their places. Meanwhile, the lamps in the golden

L

:

candlestick were trimmed, the incense altar prepared, and the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the large altar. The priests then returned to the room Gezit, and offered the following prayer: "Thou hast loved us, O Lord our God, with an everlasting love with great and abundant compassion hast thou compassionated us, O our Father, our King. For our fathers' sakes who trusted in thee, and whom thou didst teach statutes of life, so be gracious to us also, O our Father, O most merciful Father. O thou compassionate One, pity us; and put into our hearts to know, understand, obey, learn, teach, observe, do, and perform all the words of the doctrine of thy law in love. And enlighten our eyes by thy law, and cause our hearts to cleave to thy commandments, and unite our hearts to love and fear thy name." The priests then recited the commandments and the contents of their phylacteries, and again had recourse to lots to fix who should offer incense, and who should lay the pieces of the lamb on the fire. Two persons having been selected for the first duty, proceeded to the sanctuary for that purpose, and joined two others who had trimmed the lamps. When all was prepared, three went into the porch, and only one remained to burn the incense. He waited till the president called to him to offer, which was not done till all the priests had retired from the space between the porch and the altar, and the people were ready to worship. The incense was then kindled, the holy place filled with perfume, and the people recited prayers, first for the heathens who were friendly to the Jewish people, and then for their own nation. These prayers have been translated by Lightfoot; and it is well observed, that, on comparison with the most reverent and best of the prayers offered by the heathen to their gods, we may plainly see the vast advantages a land possesses by being favoured with Divine revelation. In the emphatic words of the psalmist, "Blessed is the nation. whose God is the Lord," Psa. xxxiii. 12. However, the prayers used in the later times were disfigured by vain repetitions, and destitute of that unction which exists in the prayers of the gospel dispensation, wherein reference is made to the Saviour, the Lamb of God, who died to take away the sins of the world, and who pleads for his people, offering up their prayers with the sweet incense of his intercession. The office of burning incense was accounted particularly honourable; it could only be performed once by the same priest during his administration. It fell by lot to Zacharias at the time mentioned, Luke i. 9.

After these prayers were ended, the pieces of the lamb were laid reverently upon the fire. When this was done, the four priests who had been in the temple appeared upon the steps of the porch. They stood looking humbly towards the ground, their hands raised above their heads, and the one who had burned the incense solemnly pronounced the blessing, Numb. vi. 24 - 26. This explains Luke i. 9. The daily meat-offering was then offered, next the meatoffering for the high priest, and lastly the drink-offering. At the conclusion the Levites began the song of praise, pausing at times while the trumpets sounded and the people worshipped.

The psalms regularly sung were the 24th, 48th, 81st, 82nd, 92nd, 93rd, and 94th; one upon each successive day of the week, the last upon the sabbath. This selection, it is said, was made with some reference to each day of the creation. Other psalms probably were sung during the day, while the sacrifices of individuals were offering. On the sabbath also, there was an additional sacrifice, during which, in the morning, the Levites sang the song of Moses, Deut. xxxii., and in the evening that in Exod. xv., each divided into six parts, one for each of six successive weeks. Some think there is a reference to this in Rev. xv. 3, where the saints who had reached heaven, the place of everlasting sabbath, or rest, are said to sing the song of Moses. The singing was accompanied by instrumental music, mentioned in Kings and Chronicles. There never were fewer than twelve singers, frequently more. On this occasion, also, the young children of the Levites were allowed to stand between their father's feet and join in the psalm, though forbidden to enter the court at other times.

The above description refers to the ritual services of the temple every morning. The duties of the priests, during the middle of the day, varied according to circumstances : but some were always in readiness to offer the sacrifices any Israelites might come to present, whether a freewill-offering or to expiate an offence. Though the sacrifices sometimes were few, at other times they were numerous, especially at the great festivals.

The evening service began at the ninth hour, about three or four o'clock, and was nearly the same as that of the morning the same duties being, for the most part, performed by the same persons, and nearly in the same order.

:

Such was the daily routine of the temple service; there

is much in it very impressive, although many of the circumstances described sound strange to us as connected with the worship of God. These ritual observances were designed for the whole nation, to keep before their view continually the Great Atonement now so distinctly set before us in the Gospel. There were services of prayer and praise throughout their land, similar to our present public worship.

The regularity and minute exactness with which every circumstance was performed, were very suitable to the service of that Being who is a God of order and not of confusion, and widely different from the sacrifices and services of the heathen. The early hour of the morning sacrifice, which began with the first dawn-the nature of the sacrificial ceremonies, founded on the admitted fact that all mankind are sinners, and leading to Him who was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Rev. xiii. 8 -the awful silence at prayer-the solemn benediction from the steps of the holy place-the general and harmonious song of praise, and the open and regular repetition of all these services very strongly contrast with the abominations of the heathen rites, concerning which the apostle so emphatically says, "It is a shame even to speak of those things which were done of them in secret," in their, falsely so called, religious services, Eph. v. 12.

There were various minute regulations to insure the reverent and orderly conduct of the people at large, when attending the services in the inner court. Many of these became mere forms in the latter days of the Jewish state; some were burdensome; others, which were wholly of their own devising, were trifling or even absurd.

The sagan, it has been stated, acted as the substitute for the high priest, or as his assistant. Zephaniah, mentioned, 2 Kings xxv. 18, as the second priest, probably was this officer. From the priests were selected two overseers of the treasuries, seven overseers of the gates and chambers where the vestments and utensils were deposited; also deputy collectors, the president of the weekly course, and the heads of the houses of their fathers. There were fifteen overseers to superintend the due performance of various duties. Among them we need only mention three : "the man of the mountain of the Lord's house," whose duty it was to visit the nightly guards, the Levites; the overseer of the sick-the priests were often unwell from being thinly clothed and barefooted during the services; and the over

seer of the water, who had to take care that the temple was abundantly supplied. Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, is supposed by some to have held this office.

The Levites acted as guards during the night, at twentyone out of twenty-four stations, in the courts of the temple. Priests were stationed at the other three. These guards were visited by the officer called "the man of the mountain." If any Levite were found asleep, he was beaten upon the spot, and his garments set on fire by the torches carried by those who accompanied this visitor. Some think this is alluded to, Rev. xvi. 15. It has also been thought that Psalm cxxxiv. was repeated by this officer and the guards when visited.

The stationary men, or Israelites of the station, are not mentioned in Scripture; but, from the Jewish writings, we learn, that latterly there were twenty-four courses of persons, selected from the nation at large, who attended in rotation, in the same manner as the Levites. The objects in view in this appointment seem to have been, that there should always be a sufficient number of persons present at the temple services; particularly as the representatives of the nation, at the sacrifices appointed to be offered for the whole people. We do not learn their number, but are told that those at home met the priests and Levites in the synagogues of their respective cities to pray, read the law, and intreat that the services of their brethren, then in attendance at Jerusalem, might be accepted for the people. They might not be trimmed by a barber, nor have their clothes washed during their attendance; they were expected especially to manifest devout behaviour during that time. They also then read a portion of Scripture daily, part of Genesis i. and ii.

Some of these daily services were added after the return from captivity; but the main outline was the same, from the first erection of the tabernacle to the destruction of the last temple by the Romans. During the reigns of the idolatrous kings the services were discontinued, particularly by Ahaz, who shut up the house of the Lord, and suffered the courts to be defiled with filth, 2 Chron. xxviii. 24; xxix. 16. After the captivity, the services were very regularly attended to; any omissions were occasioned, not by neglect on the part of the Jews, but by the violence of their enemies.