502 THE GLORY OF CHRISTI 4S GOD-MAN. saw net. The children of Israel were so prone to idolatry,. that Godnever gave them, nor perhaps even to Moses, the sight of au human face in all their visions, that there might be no found- ation for framing an image like him ; Dent. iv. 16. And it is evident that when Moses " went up into the mount, verse 10. it was only a cloud covered the mount, and the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai ; and the sight of the glory of God was like devouring fire on the top of the mount ;" whence probably St. Paul might derive that expression ; lieb. xii. 29. Our God is a consuming fire. Exod. xxv. 21. " And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark. Verse 22. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee, from above the mercy-seat, from be-. tween the two cherubims, which are upon the ark of the testi- mony ;" Exod. xxvüi. 30, 35. When Aaron goes into the holy place where the mercy-seat stood, he is said to go in before the Lord. Upon this account the Lord of hosts is said to dwell be- tween the cherubims; 1 Sam. iv. 4. and 2 Sam. vi. 2. and Psal. lxxx. i. and xcix. 1. On this account also when the ark was moved from place to`place, God himself is said to remove; Psal. xlvii. When David carried the ark into Zion, verse 5. God is gone up withdshout, the Lord with the sound ofa trumpet.' And when the ark came into the tabernacle or temple ; Psal. ixiv. 7: Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates ; be ye lift up, zje'everTsting doors, and the King of glory shall corne`in : The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. And when Solomon built the temple and brought in the arkof God to it ; 2 Chron. vi. 41. Solomon said, Arise, O LordGod, into thy resting-place, thou and the ark of thy strength : which is repeated ; "Ps. cxxxii. 8. And concerningZion it is said ; Psal. ìxviii. I8. " This is the 'hill which God desireth to dwell in. Verse 17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels : The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place." As God appeared on Sinai in a visiblecloud, in fire or glory where thou- , Satidsof angels surrounded him, so God dwelt in Zion over the mercy-seat in a visible and bright cloud, between the cherubims, representing the attendance Of angels. Then follows, verse 18: Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast,led captivity captive, Which is applied to Christ ; Ephes. iv. 8. Thus the ascent of the ark of Gad to Zion, was a type of the ascension of Christ to heaven : For as God dwelt upon the ark between the cherubims in abright cloud, under the Jewish dispensation, and thence comtnunicated'his mind to inén; andwas there solemnly invoked andworshipped,' so the " fulness of the 'godhead dwelt bodily in the Man Christ Jésus ;" Col. ii. 9. and thus God in Christ reveals" himself to us, and is worshipped and' invoked byus the christiandispensation ; butstill with this difference, that
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