Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_200.lzh/6_234.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-18 | 7KB | 128 lines

served. And all the forms thereof; the decorations of
it, signified by the cherubim and palm-trees; so Jar-
chi and Kimchi; and these expressive of ministers of
the word, and faithful men: this is often repeated,
that it might be the more observed; for to have mini-
sters to answer such characters is of great conse-
quence. And all the ordinances thereof, and all the
forms thereof, and all the laws thereof; the ordinances
are those of baptism and the Lord's supper, which are
to continue until the second coming of Christ: the
laws are, besides the moral law, in the hands of Christ
the lawgiver, the law of loving one anotller, called the
law of Christ, and his new commandment; and all the
laws relating to worship and discipline, concerning the
reproof of members, in case of private or public of-
fences; and concerning the exclusion of disorderly or
heretical persons.: and write it in their sight; the plan
and model of this house, and all things belonging to it,
that they may have it before them, as the rule of their
conduct and behaviour: that they may keep the whole
form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do
them; for all this is shewn, not for mere speculation,
and to gratify curiosity, but in order to be put in prac-
tice; all these rules, laws, .and ordinances, are to be
kept in faith, from a principle of love, in the name
and strength of Christ, and with a view to the glory of
God.
Ver. 12. This is the law of the house, &c.] Which
follows, the more general one, which comprehends the
rest: upon the top of the mountain; denoting the ex-
altation and visibility of the church of Christ in the
latter day, as well as its firmness and stability; see
Isa. ii. 2, 3: the whole limit thereof round about shall
be most holy; all belonging to it shall be as the most
holy place in the temple, sacred to the Lord;laws,
ordinances, doctrines, worship, members, ministers, all
holy; nothing said or done, or have a place here, but
what is holy; see Zech. xiv. 20, 2l: this is the law
the house; the principal one, according to which
are directed and governed.
Vet. 13. And these are the measures of the altar after
the cubits, &c.] Of the altar of burnt-offering, which
though measured before, the dimensions were not
given till now; see ch. xl. 47. this altar was a type of
Christ, Heb. xiii. 10. with respect to his deity, which
is greater than the sacrifice of his human nature, the
support of it, which sanctified it, and gave virtue and
effi.c..acy to it, and rendered it acceptable to God, Matt.
xxiii. 19. and the measures of it are said to be after
the cubits used in the measuring of places. and things
belonging to this house, described; and what these
were appears by what follows: the cubit is a cubit and
an hand-breadth; not the common cubit, but what was
larger than that by a hand-breadth, or three inches:
even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a
cubit; or, the bosom t; that is, the foundation of the
altar, as the Targum and Jarchi; the basis, foot, or
settle of it; this was a cubit high, and a cubit broad:
and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about
shall be a span; the edge or lip {u}, of this bottom or
settle, was a cubit broad, for the priests to stand
and go round the altar, and to this there was a border
of a span, or half a cubit, to prevent their slipping; or
else to keep the blood, poured at the foot of the-altar,
from running upon the pavement: and this shall be the
higher place of the altar; or the projection orjetting
of it out beyond others, which was further than any
other part; otherwise it was the lower part of the altar.
Vet. 14. And from the bottom upon the ground, even to
the lower settle, &c.] From the basis or foundation of
the altar, as it stood upon the ground, to the lower
settle or court ", as it is called, where the priests
stood; and in which they could walk round the altar,
to do their business: shall be two cubits, and the breadth
one cubit; that is, two cubits high, and one broad: and
from the lesser  settle or court, to the greater settle or
court, shall be four cubits, and, the breadth one cubit;
the lowermost settle is called the lesser, not in quan-
tity, but in height, it being but two cubits high from
the ground;. but the upper settle was tbur cubits from
that, and one broad, for the priests to walk on round
about; in all six cubits from the bottom.
Ver. 15. So the altar shall be four cubits, &c.] That
is, from the greater settle; so that in the whole it
was ten cubits high, the same with Solomon's, 2 Chron.
iv. 1. some make this to be eleven cubits high, one
higher than Solomon's; it is here called Harel, the
mountain of God, because it looked like a mountain in
the court, for its biguess: it was on a mouutain our
Lord was offered up a sacrifice for the sins of his peo-
ple; and which was far superior to all other sacrifices,
and for more persons than those sacrifices offered up
on the altar of burnt-offerings. And from the altar
and upward shall be four horns; or, from Ariel {x}; which
was the tbcus or hearth where the wood was laid, and
the fire kindled, called Ariei; which some render the
lion of God, because, as the Jewish Rabbius {y} say, the
fire of the altar lay upon it in the form of a lion; or
rather, because like a lion it devoured the sacrifices:
this name of the altar agrees well with Christ, the Lion
of the tribe of Judah; who was strong to bear the sins
of men, and the wrath of God tbr them, whereby they
are no more; though it rather signifies the fire of God,
which consumed the sacrifice, and denoted the wrath
of God on Christ, and also the divine acceptance of his
sacrifice: now from hence and upwards were four
horns at the four corners of the altar; which denote
the strength of Christ, to save all that come unto God
by him, and his being a refuge to them that by faith
lay hold upon him; and that he is accessible to per-
sons that come from all parts, from the four corners of
the earth.
Ver. 16. And the altar shall be twelve cubits long,
twelve broad, &c.3 The length of it, from east to
west, was twelve cubits; and the breadth, from north
to south, was the same; so that it was a proper four-
squae, as follows: Christ the altar, or the doctrine of
his sacrifice and satisfaction for the sins of men, is the
doctrine of the twelve apostles of Christ, and embraced
by the twelve times twelve, the 144,000 that belong

{t} \^qyx\^ sinus, Montanus; gremium, Munster, Cocceius, Starckius.
Ben Melech interprets it the middle of the altar.
{u} \^htpv\^ labium ejus, Pagninus, Montanus.
{w} \^hrzeh\^ atrium auxilii, Montanus.
{x] \^lyarahm\^ ab Hareil, Starckius.
{y} Misn. Middot, c. 4. sect. 7.