the unchangeable priesthood of Christ Jesus, and of the perpetual enjoyment that his people will have of the blessings thereof for ever and ever. The walls, floor, roof, doors, posts, &c. of the tem ple, were overlaid with solid gold. The figures of cherubs, palm-trees, and open flowers, were inscribed on the walls, within and without: on the walls within, were fixed precious stones, which shone like so many stars in the firmament. This sacred edifice, a type and figure of Christ, was all glorious within; but as I did not propose to give a particular account of it, what has been dropped concerning it must suffice, whilst I pursue what I proposed concerning the solemn dedication of it.

The temple was finished in the month Bul, the eighth month of the jewish year. When completed, and the vessels and furniture belonging to it, being put in their proper places; the day fixed for its opening being come, and the congregation being assembled, the worship is begun with sacrifices. Those offered were twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep: and as the altar of burnt-offering was too small for the fat of all these, the middle of the court was consecrated to be an occasional altar.

Thus burnt-offerings, peace-offerings, meat and drink-offerings, expressive of Christ's death, were made use of on this solemnity, to contem

plate both the benefit of his incarnation, the love of his heart, and the fixedness of his will in the performing the work of salvation. It would be his meat and drink to do the will of him that sent him. He would, by bearing the sins of his people in his own body on the tree, and sustaining the whole curse, wrath, and punishment of it, in his making his soul an offering for sin, save his church and people with an everlasting salvation.

These costly sacrifices were testimonials of the costly price of our salvation, the precious blood of Christ, which exceeds in worth all the treasures of earth and heaven. The abundant number of these, shewed the fulness and sufficiency of Christ's oblation of himself.

The burnt-offerings, pointed out the removal of sin, and the curse from his people, by the substitution of his person, and the sacrifice of his body and soul, in union with his deity. The peace-offerings proclaimed that he would make peace by the blood of his cross. The whole was a most solemn and magnificent exhibition of the ever blessed Immanuel, God in our nature, and of his priestly office, and propitiatory sacrifice.

Thus as the first act of worship, immediately upon the fall, begun with sacrifice, a memorial of Messiah's death; and the new world, after the deluge, was begun with sacrifices, in the

faith of Messiah's future sweet smelling offering; so the temple, the type of the Messiah, is opened, and the worship there is begun with costly, solemn, and magnificent sacrifices. The design of which was to record the one everlastingly efficacious and all-sufficient sacrifice of the immaculate Lamb of God, who was to take away sin, who has been manifested in the flesh, and hath taken away the sin of the world; and his blood cleanseth from all sin. I proceed,

Secondly. With the testimony which the Lord God gave of his acceptance of the work and services, both of building the temple, and placing the furniture, offering the sacrifices, and offering up the prayer of dedication.

The worship and temple were of divine iustitution: great preparations had been made for the consecration of the house of God. The services to be performed, consisted in sacrifices and songs, which were to be performed with vocal and instrumental music and prayer. That every thing might be done decently and in order, a high scaffold was erected, and it is probable a throne placed on it for king Solomon. The sacrifices of burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, with their meat-offerings and drink-offerings, were properly prepared. The musicians, singers, and trumpeters, were placed at the east end of the altar. The hymn was chosen: the chorus of it was, "For he is good, for his mercy en

dureth for ever." All that vocal and instrumental melody could express, was on this occasion exerted to glorify God, for his unspeakable grace in the gift, incarnation, and mission of his Son; the promise of which they believed: and a pledge of his tabernacling, in the fulness of time, with poor sinners, was now before them, both in the temple, a type of it, and in the festival of its dedication.

David before his death, distributed four thousand sacred singers into twenty-four classes, who were to serve at the temple, in their turns. The three chief musicians were Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthan: the four sons of Asaph, six of Jeduthan, and fourteen of Heman, were constituted the chiefs of the twenty-four classes. It is probable they all, or most of them, attended at the solemn festivals: we are sure they did at this, because our text declares it. The king and people, the priests and levites, the singers and trumpeters, being properly arranged, and the ark being carried into the holy of holies, and all the furniture, vessels, and utensils of worship, belonging to the temple, and the courts of it, being properly placed, it came to pass, when the priests having deposited the ark in the holy of holies, and were come out of the holy place, (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:) also the levites, who were singers, all of them, of Asaph, of

Heman, of Jeduthan, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in 'white linen, having cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets." Thus the worship began with sacrifice, which while they were burning on the altar, all that sound could possibly do, with voices and instruments, was exerted, to rouse the attention, and to inflame the affections of the worshippers. The subject, the concert, the number of voices and instruments, the excellency of the music, and of the performance, were inconceivably great and glorious. It was a little heaven below. And the Lord was so well pleased with the temple built to his name, the placing the sacred furniture in its proper apartments and places, with' the sacrifices offered, the song sung, and the triumph which the people expressed, that he crowned the whole by a miracle; confirming thereby the faith, and strengthening the hope of his people, who were now present, in the future advent of his co-equal Son: "It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lift up their voice with the trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for