37 And thou shalt put it on a blue | tre; upon the fore-front of the milace, that it may be upon the mi- tre it shall be. rice, a holy minister, a holy people, and a holy covenant.' The children of Is rael could not look upon it without being reminded of the great principle which Jehovah would have to pervade all his worship, and which is elsewhere so solemnly announced, 'I will be sanctified in all them that draw nigh unto me.' And to the saints in all ages it should serve as a remembrancer of the equivalent intimation, that as he which hath called us is holy, so are we to be holy in all manner of conversation.' Like the engravings of a signet. the conscience, 'a holy God, a holy serIt is probable that the Jewish writers are correct in supposing that the letters were not cut or grooved into the plate, but were rather embossed or made to stand in relief upon it. The precise manner in which this was done, cannot at present be determined, but Maimonides says that in working the inscription, the instruments were applied to the inside and not to the outside of the plates, so as to make the letters stand out.T HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Heb. kodesh la-Yehovah, holiness to Jehovah, or the holiness of Jehovah, according to the Gr. which has aylaopa kupiov, the holiness, or sanctification, of the Lord. This was perhaps the most conspicuous object of the High Priest's dress, and was in fact a significant memento of the character of the entire service in which he sustained so prominent a part. By this inscription the wearer became as a city set on a hill, which cannot be hid;' the bright memorial incessantly, though silently, proclaiming to the eye, to the heart, to 37. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace. An idiomatic expression for 'put upon it.' It was to hang by a ribbon of blue upon the Mitre, as is intimated in the words following, and as represented in the cut. The Talmudists however say, there were three ribbons, one at each ear, and one in the middle, passing over the head. We have accordingly so represented it on the smaller figure in the cut, as there is no inconsistency in supposing it to have 38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may u bear u ver. 43. Lev. 10. 17. & 22. 9. Numb. 18. 1. Isai. 53. 11. Ezek. 4. 4, 5, 6. John 1. 29. Hebr. 9. 28. 1 Pet. 2. 24. the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his fore that he took the diadem from his head to bind up the wounds of Lysimachus. From these titles we perceive new evidence that the priestly Mitre car been the case. That it may be upon the mitre. Heb. n mitznepheth, from tzanaph, to wrap, to enwrap, to roll round. The term applies itself at once to the style of head-ried at the same time a kingly import; dress common among the Arabs, Turks, and it is even supposed that the inPersians, and other Oriental nations, veterate predilection of the Orientals called the turban, and formed of a num- for the turban arises from the belief ber of swathes or foldings of cloth. As of some mystic virtue emblematic of nothing is said of the precise form of sovereignty still clinging to it. The the High Priest's Mitre, we are doubt- Mitre of Aaron merely covered the less at liberty to suppose it justly rep- crown and upper part of the head withresented in the main by an eastern tur- out descending low upon the forehead, ban, though perhaps of more than usual which was left bare for the golden Plate amplitude. By the ancient Greeks this to lie upon it below the edge of the kind of covering for the head was called Mitre. In this respect the Mitre of the tiara, and cidaris, and sometimes dia- High Priest differed from the bonnets dema; and that it was not unusual to of the common priests, which having have it made of fine linen, as in the no plate sunk lower on the forehead. In present case, is clear from the fact that other points the general resemblance Justin relates of Alexander the Great, was very striking. head, that they may be w accepted the coat of fine linen, and thou before the LORD. shalt make the mitre of fine linen, 39 And thou shalt embroider and thou shalt make the girdle of needle-work. w Lev. 1. 4. & 22. 27. & 23. 11. Isai. 56.7. and let thy saints shout for joy. For thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed.' i. e. be propitious by looking upon the face; regard the significance of the golden. plate. The prayers embracing this expression appear to have a special allusion to the imperfections of the holy, things of the people of God. THE COAT OR TUNIC. ence to the typical character which the 39. Thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, &c. Heb. n kethoneth. This was the innermost of the sacerdotal vestments, being a long robe with sleeves to the wrists, which sat close to the body, and extended down to the feet. This garment was not peculiar to the High Priest, but was similar to that worn by the other priests while officiating. What became of the tunic of the High Priests we do not know; but that of the common priests was unravelled when old, and made into wicks for the lamps burnt in the 40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. 41 And thou shalt put them upon * ver. 4. ch. 39. 27, 28, 29, 41. Ezek. 44. 17. 18. THE GIRDLE. ¶ Girdle of needle-work. Heb. abnet. This was a piece of fine twined linen, embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet, and which went round the body. Josephus says it was embroidered with flowers; and also states that it was four fingers broad, and that, after being wound twice around the body, it was fastened in front, and the ends allowed to hang down to the feet, on common occasions; but that, when officiating at the altar, the priest threw them over his left shoulder. Maimoni des says the Girdle was three fingers broad, and thirty-two cubits long; being, as its length necessarily implies, wound many times round the body. As this Girdle was so narrow, its length, if this statement be correct, will not seem extraordinary to those who are acquainted with the ordinary length of Oriental girdles, and the number of times they are carried around the body. The Girdle was worn over the embroidered coat by the common priests, to whom this coat, unlike the attire of the High Priest, formed the outer garment. C 42 And thou shalt make them | gregation, or when they come near bunto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a statute for ever unto him, and his seed after him. a linen breeches to cover their na- a ch. 39. 28. Lev. 6. 10. & 16. 4. Ezek. 44. 18. b ch. 20. 26. Lev. 5. 1. 17. & 20. 19, 20. & 22. 9. Numb. 9. 13. & 18. 22. d ch. 27. 21. Lev. 17. 7. ical import. Here, and here only, in the glory of grace and the beauty of holiness, which they shadowed forth, do we behold the true glory and beauty of these sacred robes. It is only as the light of the substance is reflected upon the symbol, that the symbol itself can at all shine in our eyes. But when we discern in these beauteous robes an image of the spiritual attire of the saints, the true royal hierarchy, who are made at once kings and priests unto God, we feel no restraint in letting our admiration go forth towards the exter This, however, does not convey a very |