of Spain, he brought silver; and from the coast of Africa, gold, ivory, apes and peacocks. These commercial voyages produced a prodigious influx of wealth, the annual importation of gold alone amounting to £3,646,350; and as to silver, it was of no estimation, and was as stones for abundance." (Hales. Anal. vol. ii. p. 362.)

63 The regal state in which Solomon lived may be interesting to the Free and Accepted Mason; his provision for one day was 30 measures of fine flour and 60 measures of meal, 10 fat oxen and 20 oxen out of the pastures, and 100 sheep, besides harts, and roebucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl." (1 Kings iv. 22, 23.) This statement may excite surprise, but it is less astonishing to one who is acquainted with the extent and arrangement of the oriental courts. The daily consumption of provisions in the royal establishment of Cyrus was 1000 bushels of wheat, the same of barley meal, 400 sheep, 300 lambs, 100 oxen, 30 horses, 30 deer, 400 fat geese, 100 goslings, 300 doves, 600 small birds, 3750 gallons of wine, 150 gallons of milk, &c. Taverner says, that in the Grand Signior's seraglio there were seven kitchens, and not less than 400 cooks. After this we shall wonder less at the consumption of Solomon's household. Extended details on this subject may be found in the Pictorial Bible, vol. ii. p. 160.

"The heavenly oracle dictated the construction of the ark of the covenant and its protecting tabernacle in the wilderness, and the magnificence of King Solomon's temple afterwards, the two patterns of stone and military architecture."-WATSON.

In the middle of the procession is carried the ark of the covenant, covered over with a veil of blue, purple, and crimson silk. It is carried by four of the oldest Masons that can be found in the whole company. The age of the Masons and not of the Lodge is here to be observed. The furniture of the ark is the Old Testament, salt, clay, a pair of compasses, &c. Before the procession commences, the Grand Master, and all the company present. walk round the hall, preceded by a purple Brother with a basin containing perfumes. With this the Grand Master sprinkles the veil saying- May all our deeds be sweet and savoury; may we be a refreshing odour to all our poor Brethren, for charity is as sweet as roses."-HELVETIAN CEREMONIES.

THE ark of the covenant1 was a kind of chest or coffer, placed in the sanctum sanctorum,2 with the two tables of stone containing the decalogue, written with the finger of God, and containing the most sacred monument of the Jewish, or any other religion. Along with the ark were deposited the rod of Aaron, and the pot of manna.1 The ark was a symbol of the divine presence and protection of the Israelites, and a pledge of the stability of the theocracy, so long as the people adhered to the articles of the covenant which the ark contained."

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This sacred chest' was made of shittim wood, or the timber of a thorny shrub, which grew in great profusion in many parts of the wilderness where the Israelites were directed to encamp, and gave its name to a particular place, which was hence called Abel-Shittim. It is supposed to have been the wood of the burning bush, which was once held in such veneration in our Royal Arch Chapters. This timber had a close grain, and consequently was capable of receiving a beautiful polish, and

like the cedar, from its fragrance, was exempt from the attacks of worms and rottenness. Hence the ark endured, without losing any of its specific virtues, from the time of its construction in the wilderness till the demolition of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, a period of nine hundred years. It was made by Aholiab and Bazaleel, under the direction of Moses, and according to the pattern which Jehovah had shown him on the holy mountain; and appropriated to such a sublime office, that all persons were forbidden to look upon or touch it, under pain of death;10 a penalty which was inflicted on fifty thousand men of Bethshemesh for this offence only.

The ark was overlaid with plates of gold," and surrounded with a golden rim or cornice, which was denominated a crown, in reference to the ornament that was worn by monarchs as a symbol of their dignity.12 This fillet of gold served also to support the mercy seat, which constituted the lid or cover of the ark. The propitiatory was not made of shittim wood overlaid with gold, like the ark, but consisted of one plate of pure beaten gold, surmounted by two cherubims, formed out of the same mass, and it was so constructed as to fit exactly the inside of the crown, that no interstice might be perceived. Between these cherubims Jehovah is said to have dwelt.14 The cherubims being represented with their faces towards each other, and their eyes fixed on the covering of the ark, denoted that they were the guardians of the law enclosed within it.16 Their wings being expanded was symbolical of their readiness to fly wherever they might be commanded to execute the divine will." But the wings of the two cherubims met together over the centre of the mercy seat, forming a recess which was denominated the throne of God.18 Their faces being turned towards each other showed their mutual consent and co-operation.19

The ark with its propitiatory was not only an emblem of peace and alliance between God and his people, but was also a plain type of the Messiah, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the godhead bodily. Over the ark appeared the glory of God20-over the head of Christ, the true ark of the covenant, the heavens opened at his conception, at his birth, at his baptism, at his transfiguration, and at his ascension; and in each case the divine glory was mani

fested. The pot of manna" was an emblem of Christ. Manna was bread from heaven; Christ is the true bread of life. He was the ark containing the holy law of God, and revealing its beneficent conditions for the benefit of man. In this ark all heavenly virtues centred, and from thence imparted, not only as an oracle to foretel future events, but also to confer present benefits-to heal the sick-to give sight to the blind, and feet to the lame-to raise the dead, and to cast out devils. The mercy seat was the oracle of the Jews; Christ is the oracle of us Christians. Did Dagon and the false gods fall prostrate before the ark? Tradition assures us that the Egyptian idols did the same before the infant Jesus when his reputed father conveyed him into that country to escape from the rage of Herod ;24 and more certainly, the demons, whom those inanimate statues represented, succumbed before the powerful word of Christ, and quitted their victims with reluctant howlings at his command.25 And the heathen oracles, which were the engines of those impure spirits to ensnare the souls of men, ceased, and were forever silenced at his appearance in the world. Was the presence of the ark necessary to the perfection of the Jewish religion? Christ is essential to ours; to that universal religion which shall one day prevail over the whole earth, and include Jew and Gentile alike in one fold, under one shepherd, Jesus Christ the Lord.

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Again the Urim and Thummim rested on the breast of the high priest; Christ reposes on the bosom of the Father. And the veil referred to the flesh of Christ which shadowed his divinity. The high priest is described as a temporary mediator, who offered sacrifices of atonement on the altar," to save the people from their sins; which constitutes a lively type of Christ, who offered a sacrifice once for sin, and for ever sits as a Mediator at the right hand of God. Hence the reason why the priestly orders were introduced into Freemasonry.

The tabernacle, with its holy emblems, was a type of a Masons' Lodge.29 It was an oblong square, and with its courts and appendages it represented the whole habitable globe. Such is also the extent of our Lodges. The former was supported by pillars, and the latter is also sustained by those of W. S. and B. They were equally

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situated due east and west.39 The sacred roll of God's revealed will and law was deposited in the ark of the covenant; the same holy record is placed in a conspicuous part of our Lodges. The altar of incense was a double cube; and so is our pedestal and stone of foundation. The covering of the tabernacle was composed of three colours, as a representation of the celestial hemisphere; such also is the covering of a Masons' Lodge. The floor of the tabernacle was so holy, that the priests were forbidden to tread upon it without taking off their shoes; the floor of the Lodge is holy ground. Like Freemasonry, the tabernacle worship enforced upon the Israelites three important duties-to God, their neighbour, and themselves. The Tetragrammaton is displayed on our altar; and in like manner it was engraven on the golden plate in front of the high priest's mitre. Jehovah was in the pillar of a cloud and of fire which hovered over the tabernacle; and the same appearances are symbolized in our Lodges by the two pillars which are usually disposed in front of the Master's chair. The pot of manna was placed in the sanctuary to commemorate the heavenly bread by which the Israelites were sustained in the wilderness; it has therefore been adopted as a Masonic emblem, to signify that Christ is the bread of God which came down from heaven. The Lodge being thus constructed on a plan similar to the tabernacle of Moses, it will scarcely be denied that its reference is the same. If the former was typical of Christianity,

so will be the latter also.

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NOTES TO LECTURE XXXIII

1 This sacred chest is a legitimate appendage to the third degree, although it is mentioned in many of the higher orders, and is particularly explained in the degree of Superintendent Scotch Master.

"At the east end of every synagogue the modern Jews have a chest, which they call aron, or ark, in which is locked up the pentateuch, written on vellum in square characters. This method of proceeding was also