appears to be an allusion to this custom in Rev. 3. 4, 5: "they shall walk with Me in white; for they are worthy. He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life."1

The shining white robes of the ordinary Priests, and the magnificent golden vestments of the High Priest, were "for GLORY and for BEAUTY." 2

The dress of the Jewish High Priest, typifying the personal glory and functions of Christ Himself, was extremely rich and beautiful. "In public worship in the Jewish Church the people were not admitted to the most sacred parts of the Tabernacle and Temple. They were taught that direct approach to God, except through a mediator, was impossible. But as Christ, the only true and effectual Mediator between God and man, was not yet manifested, an inferior mediator, typical of Him who was to come, was provided for Jewish worshippers in the person of the High Priest, whose dress was symbolical of his functions." The High Priest wore linen drawers, like the ordinary Priests. He also wore the long cassock-shaped, shining white "coat" or tunic of byssus, and the long girdle, reaching to the feet, or to the ground, which were the principal official garments of the ordinary priests: but the long white tunic of the High Priest was "embroidered,” and his long girdle was made of variegated "needlework" of the four sacred colours, blue, purple, scarlet and white.

Besides these decorated priestly robes, the High Priest had other vestments peculiarly his own, called the "Golden Vestments," because, unlike the robes of the

1 Edersheim, p. 71. Smith's Dict of B., II. p. 919, Art. Priest.

2 Ex. 28. 2. 40.

3 See Hearty Services, pp. 104-110.

4 Ex. 28. 4, 39; 39. 29.

ordinary priests, gold, the symbol of the Divine splendour, appeared in them. First, above the long white robe of byssus, he wore a blue robe, called the Robe of the Ephod, which descended to the knees, and was adorned at the hem with a splendid fringe reaching almost to the feet, and composed of 72 golden bells, and, between each pair of bells, a blossom of pomegranate embroidered in blue, purple, scarlet, and white. Below the golden bells and embroidered blossoms of the fringe of this blue Robe, the skirts of the under-vestment of byssus appeared as a band of pure white reaching to the ground. Above the blue Robe of the Ephod, and covering the upper parts of the body, there was a short white linen coat, with sleeves, called the Ephod, which was richly embroidered, to a depth of 18 inches, with gold and the four sacred colours, and was provided with a similarly embroidered Golden Girdle. Upon the High Priest's breast, and attached by chains of gold to the Ephod, there was a Breast Plate, a span square, with twelve precious stones, set in gold, and bearing the Names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Upon each of his shoulders there was a large "onyx-stone," or beryl, with the Names of six of the Tribes graven upon it. When, therefore, the High Priest entered the Divine Presence, in the Holy Place," he, as it were, bore the Twelve Tribes collectively "upon his shoulders," and individually "upon his heart," "before the Lord." The official head-dress of the High Priest was an embroidered Mitre, surrounded by a triple Crown of Gold, with a Gold Plate in front, bearing the inscription HOLINESS TO THE LORD,1

The "Golden Vestments" of the Jewish High Priest were evidently intended to set forth the high dignity and

1 Ex. 39. 22-26. Josephus, Ant. iii. 7. 4, and 5. Smith's Dict. of B., I. pp. 805-807, Art. High Priest.

authority of the official head of the Jewish Church. They were also, I repeat, typical of the Divine splendour of Him who was to come, the One Great High Priest of our race. But they do not appear to have been in any special sense sacrificial vestments. The ordinary sacrificing Priests never wore them. And it is worthy of note, that the Jewish High Priest himself, when performing the most solemn sacrificial rite of the Jewish Church-namely, when he entered the Most Holy Place with blood on the Great Day of Atonement -laid aside His "Golden Vestments," and entered the immediate Divine Presence in the long white garment which was the official robe of the ordinary sacrificing Priests.1

4.-Westward Direction of Jewish Worship in the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle, although movable, in accordance with the requirements of a migratory people, was, in all its essential features, a Temple; and it is occasionally called a Temple in Holy Scripture. We have seen that the ornamental Entrance of the Outer Court was at the East; and that the beautiful Porch and Entrance of the Holy "House" were also at the East, and the Adytum, or inner shrine, the "Holy of Holies," at the West end. In short, the Tabernacle in the wilderness, like the majority of ancient temples, was constructed for Westward Worship.2

1 Lev. 16. 4, 23. Marriott, Vestiarium Christianum, p. 7 note.

2 In his Handful of Gleanings out of the Book of Exodus, § xxi., Dr. John Lightfoot, the learned Hebraist, assigns the following reasons for the Westward direction of Jewish worship in the Tabernacle and Temple: Ist, that the Jews in their worship desired to look towards the Gentiles in the West, expecting their conversion; and 2nd, that the Jews would not imitate the Heathen, who, he supposed, worshipped Eastward. These reasons, which

have, one or both, been adopted by Picart, Mosheim, and others, appear to be without foundation. In the time of Moses, the great Heathen communities dwelt in the East, South, and North, not in the West. And excepting when temples were built irregularly in order that their principal front and entrance might face a public square or street, or a river, the temples of the Heathen were ordinarily entered from the East, and constructed for Westward Worship. See above, Chapter XIV. § 3. Sacred rivers were, of course, especially regarded. Several of the Egyptian temples were built abnormally, as regards the points of the compass, in order that their principal fronts and entrances should look towards the stream of the great Nile-god. Egyptian Antiquities, I. p. 218.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON.

1. King David's Preparations for the building of the Temple.-2. The Platforms and Principal Gates of Solomon's Temple.-3. Further particulars respecting Solomon's Temple.-4. The Dedication of Solomon's Temple.

1.-King David's Preparations for the building of the Temple.

THE PREPARATIONS made by King David for the building of the Temple were worthy of a Sanctuary whose glory and fame were destined to fill the imaginations of all civilized men till the end of time. As a great warrior who subdued many nations, and collected their treasures into his capital, David was able to store almost incredible quantities of gold, silver, brass, iron, and precious stones. We know, from the ruins of great cities, and other evidences, that the populations and magnificence of the nations subdued by David were very great; and we also know that there were vast accumulations of the precious metals and gems in the capitals of the Asiatic kingdoms of antiquity. By the conquest of Asia, Cyrus obtained 34,000 pounds weight of pure unwrought and uncoined gold; and 500,000 talents, ie., 51,500,000 lbs. of unwrought silver; besides vessels and ornaments of wrought gold, of enormous weight and value. Alexander the Great captured, from the royal treasury at Susa, 40,000 talents-i.e. about