Solomons Temple Spiritualized, Chapter 40 – Chapter 44
XL. Of the Instruments wherewith this Sacrifice was slain, and of the four Tables they were laid on in the Temple.
THE Instruments that were laid upon the Tables in the Temple, were not Instruments of Musick, but those with which the burnt-offering was slain.
And the four Tables were of hewen Stone for the burnt-offering: whereon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt-offering and the Sacrifice; Ezek. 40.42, 43.
1. Here we are to take notice, that the Tables are the same, and some of them of which we spake before.
2. That the Instruments with which they slew the Sacrifice, was laid upon these Tables.
The Instruments with which they slew the Sacrifices, what were they, but a bloody Ax, bloody Knives, bloody Hooks, and bloody Hands? For these we need no proof, matter of fact declares it.
But what were those Instruments a type of?
Answer, Doubtless they were a type of our sins. They were the bloody Ax, the Knife, and bloody Hands, that shed his precious blood. They were the meritorious ones, without which he could not have died. When I say ours, I mean the sins of the World. Though then the hearts of the Jews were the immediate Contrivers, yet they were our sins that were the bloody Tools, or Instruments which slew the Son of God.
He was wounded for our transgressions, he died for our sins; Isa. 53. 1 Cor. 15. Gal. 1.
Oh these Instruments of us Churls, by which this poor Man was taken from off the Earth! Isa. 32.7. Prov. 30.14.
The Whip, the Buffetings, the Crown of Thorns, the Nails, the Cross, the Spear, with the Vinegar and Gall, were all nothing in comparison of our sins. For the transgressions of my people was he stricken; Isa. 53. Nor were the flouts, taunts, mocks, scorns, derisions, &c. with vvhichwhich they follovved him from the Garden to the Cross, such cruel Instruments as these. They vvere our sins then, our cursed sins, by, vvith, and for the sake of vvhichwhich, the Lord Jesus became a bloody Sacrifice.
But why must the Instruments be laid upon the Tables?
1. Take the Tables for the hearts of the murderers, and the Instruments, for their sins, and vvhat place more fit for such Instruments to be laid upon? 'Tis God's command, that these things should be laid to heart, and he complains of those that do not do it; Isa. 42.25. chap. 57.11.
2. Nor are Men ever like to come to good, until these Instruments vvith which the Son of God vvas slain, indeed be laid to heart. And they vvere eminently laid to heart even by them, soon after; the effect of vvhichwhich, vvas the conversion of thousands of them; Acts 2.36, 37.
3. Wherefore vvhen it says these Instruments must be laid upon the stony Tables, he insinuates that God vvould take a time to charge the murder of his Son home, upon the Consciences of them that did that murder, either to their conversion or condemnation. And is it not reason that they vvho did this horrid villany, should have their doings laid before their faces upon the Tables of their heart: That they may look upon him, whom they have pierced, and mourn; Zech. 12.10. Revel. 1.7.
4. But these Instruments vvere laid but upon some of the Tables, and not upon all the Ten, to shevv that not all, but some of those, so horrid, should find mercy of the Lord.
5. But vve must not confine these Tables only to the hearts of the bloody Jevvs, they vvere our sins for the vvhichwhich he died. Wherefore these Instruments should be laid upon our Tables too, and the Lord lay them there for good, that we also may see our horrid doings, and come bending to him for forgiveness.
6. These Instruments thus lying on the Tables in the Temple, became a continual Motive to God's People to Repentance, for so oft as they saw these bloody and cruel Instruments, they were put in mind how their sins should be the cause of the death of Christ.
7. It would be well also, if these Instruments were at all times laid upon our Tables, for our more humbling for our sins in every thing we do, especially upon the Lord's Table, when we come to eat and drink before him. I am sure the Lord Jesus doth more than intimate, that he expects that we should do so, where he saith, When ye eat that Bread, and drink that Cup, Do this in remembrance of me: In remembrance that I died for your sins, and consequently, that they were the meritorious cause of the sheding of my blood.
To conclude, Let all Men remember, that these cruel Instruments are laid upon the Table of their hearts, whether they see them there or no. The sin of Judah is written with a pen of Iron, and with the point of a Diamond, upon the Tables of their heart; Jer. 17.1.
A Pen of Iron will make Letters upon a Table made of Stone, and the Point of a Diamond will make Letters upon Glass. Wherefore in this saying, God informs us, that if we shall forbear to read these Lines to our Conversion, God will one day read them against us unto our Condemnation.
XLI. Of the Candlesticks of the Temple.
AND he made ten Candlesticks of gold, according to the form, and he set them in the Temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left; 2 Chro. 4.7.
1. These Candlesticks were made of Gold, to shew the worth and value of them.
2. They were made after the form, or ex…ct according to rule, like those that were made in the Tabernacle, or according to the Pattern which David gave to Solomon to make them by; observe, there was great exactness in these, and need there was of this hint, that Men might see, that every thing will not pass for a right ordered Candlestick with GOD; Exod. 25.31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36. 1 Chro. 28.15, 16.
These Candlesticks are said sometimes to be ten, sometimes seven, and sometimes one. Ten here, seven Revel. 1. and one in Zech. 4. Ten, is a note of a multitude, and seven, a note of perfection, and one, a note of unity.
Now as the precious stones with which the House was garnished, were a type of Ministerial gifts: so these Candlesticks were a type of those that were to be the Churches of the New Testament. Wherefore he says, The Candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven Churches; Revel. 1.12, 13, 20.
1. The Candlesticks were here in number ten, to shew that Christ under the New Testament would have a many Gospel Churches. And I, if I be lifted up from the Earth, saith he, will draw all men unto me; that is, abundance: For the Children of the desolate, that is, of the New Testament Church, shall be many more then they of the Jews were; Joh. 12.32. Gala. 4.27.
2. In that the Candlesticks were set by the Lavers and stony Tables, it might be to shew us, that Christ's Churches should be much in considering, that Christ, tho' he was righteous, yet died for our sins: Though his Life was according to the holy Law, yet our stony hearts caused him to die. Yea, and that the Candlesticks are placed there, it is to shew us also that we should be much in looking on the sins by which we caused him to die, for the Candlesticks were set by those Tables, whereon they laid the Instruments, with which they slew the Sacrifice.
3. These Candlesticks being made according to form, seems not only to be exact as to fashion, but also as to work. For that in Exodus with its furniture, was made precisely of one Talent of Gold, perhaps to shew, that Christ's true Spouse is not to be a grain more, nor a dram less, but Just the number of God's Elect. This is Christ's compleatness, his fulness, one more, one less, would make his Body a Monster.
4. The Candlestick was to hold the light, and to shew it to all the House, and the Church is to let her light so shine, that they without may see the light, Mat. 5.15, 16. Luke 8.16. Chap. 11.33. Chap. 12.35.
5. To this end the Candlesticks were supplied with Oil-olive, a type of the supply that the Church hath, that her Light may shine, even of the Spirit of Grace.
XLII. Of the Lamps belonging to the Candlesticks of the Temple.
TO these Candlesticks belonged several Lamps, with their Flowers, and their knops; 2 Chro. 4.21.
1. These Lamps were types of that profession, that the Members of the Church do make of Christ, whether such Members have saving grace, or not; Matt. 25.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
2. These Lamps were beautified with Knops and Flowers, to shew how comely and beautiful that Professor is, that adorns his Profession with a suitable Life and Conversation.
3. We read that the Candlestick in Zecharias had seven Lamps belonging to it, and a Bowl of Golden Oil on the top, and that by Golden Pipes this Golden Oil emptied it self into the Lamps, and all doubtless, that the Lamps might shine; Zech. 4.
4. Christ therefore who is the High Priest, and to whom it belongs to dress the Lamps, doth dress them accordingly. But now there are Lamp-Carriers of two sorts, such as have only Oyl in their Lamps, and such as have Oyl in their Lamps and Vessels too, and both these belong to the Church, and in both these Christ will be glorified. And they should have their proper places at last. They that have the Oyl of Grace in their hearts, as well as a Profession of Christ in their hands, they shall go in with him to the Wedding; but they who only make a Profession, and have not Oyl in their Vessels, vvill surely miscarry at last: Matt. 25.
5. Wherefore, O thou Professor! Thou Lamp-Carrier! Have a care and look to thy self, content not thy self with that only, that will maintain thee in a Profession, for that may be done without saving grace. But I advise thee to go to Aaron, to Christ, the trimmer of our Lamps, and beg thy Vessel full of Oyl of him, (that is grace) for the seasoning of thy heart, that thou mayst have wherewith, not only to bear thee up now, but at the day of the Bridegroom's coming, when many a Lamp vvill go out, and many a Professor be left in the dark, for that vvill to such be a vvoful day; Levit. 24.2. Matt. 25.
Some there are, that are neither for Lamps nor Oyl for themselves, neither are they pleased if they think they see it in others. But they that have Lamps, and they that have none, and they vvhichwhich vvould blovv out other folks light, must shortly appear to give an account of all their doings to God. And then they shall see, vvhat it is to have Oyl in their Vessels and Lamps; and vvhat 'tis to be vvithout it in their Vessels, though 'tis in their Lamps; and vvhat a dismal thing 'tis to be a Malignant to either; but at present let this suffice.
XLIII. Of the Shew-bread on the Golden Table in the Temple.
THere vvas also Shew-bread set upon a Golden Table in the Temple: 1 Kings 7.48.
The Shew-bread consisted of twelve Cakes made of fine Flovver, Two tenth deals was to go to one Cake, and they were to be set in order in two rowes upon the pure Table; Exod. 29.33. Levit. 8.31. Chap. 24.5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
1. These tvvelve Loaves, to me, do seem to be a type of the twelve Tribes under the Law, and of the Children of God under the Gospel, as they present themselves before God, in, and by his Ordinances, thorow Christ. Hence the Apostle says, For we being many are one bread, &c. 1 Cor. 10.17. For so were the twelve Cakes, though twelve, and so are the Gospel Saints, though many. For we being many are one body in Christ; Rom. 12 5.
2. But they were a type of the true Church, not of the false. For Ephraim, who was the head of the Ten Tribes in their Apostacy, is rejected, as a Cake not turned. Indeed he is call'd a Cake, as a false Church may be called a Church: but he is called a Cake not turned, as a false Church is not prepared for God, nor fit to be set on the Golden Table before him; Hos. 7.8.
3. These Cakes or Shew-bread, was to have Frankincense strewed upon them, as they stood upon the Golden Table, which was a type of the sweet perfumes of the Sanctifications of the Holy Ghost. To which, I think, Paul alludes, when he says, The offering up of the Gentiles is acceptable to God, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost: Rom. 15, 16.
4. They were to be set upon the pure Table, new, and hot: to shew that God delighteth in the Company of new and warm Believers. I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth: when Israel was a child, I loved him. Men, at first conversion, are like to a Cake well baked, and new taken from the Oven, they are warm, and cast forth a very fragrant scent, especially when, as warm, sweet Incense is strew'd upon them, Jer. 2. Hos. 11.
5. When the Shew-bread was old, and stale, it was to be taken away, and new and warm put in its place, to shew that God has but little delight in the service of his own People, when their duties grow stale and mouldy. Therefore, he removed his old, stale, mouldy Church of the Jews from before him, and set in their Rooms upon the Golden Table, the warm Church of the Gentiles.
6. The Shew-bread by an often remove, and renewing, was continually to stand before the Lord in his House, to shew us, that all ways, as long as Ordinances shall be of use, God will have a new, warm, and sanctified People to worship him.
7. Aaron and his Sons were to eat the old Shew-bread, to shew that when Saints have lived in the World as long as living is good for them; and when they can do no more service for God in the World: they shall yet be accepted of Jesus Christ, and that it shall be as Meat and Drink to him to save them from all their unworthinesses.
8. The new Shew-bread was to be set even on the Sabbath before the Lord. To shew with what warmth of love and affections God's servants should approach his Presence upon his holy day.
XLIV. Of the Snuffers belonging to the Candlesticks and Lamps of the Temple.
AS there were Candlesticks and Lamps, so there were Snuffers also prepared for these in the Temple of the Lord. And the SNVFFERS were Snuffers of Gold; 1 King. 7.50.
1. Snuffers: The use of Snuffers is to Trim the Lamps, and Candles, that their Lights may shine the brighter.
2. Snuffers, you know are biting, pinching things, but use them well, and they will prove, not only beneficial to those within the House, but profitable to the Lights.
Snuffers, you may say, of what were they a type?
Answer, If our snufs are our superfluities of naughtiness; our Snuffers then are those righteous reproofs, rebukes, and admonitions, which Christ has ordained to be in his House for good; or as the Apostle hath it, if for our edification; and perhaps, Paul alludes to these, vvhen he bids Titus to rebuke the Cretians sharply, that they might be sound in the faith, Tit. 1.12, 13.
As who should say, thou must use the Snuffers of the Temple, to trim their Lights withal, if they burn not vvell. These Snuffers therefore are of great use in the Temple of God, only, as I said, they must be used wisely. 'Tis not for every fool to handle Snuffers, at, or about the Candles, lest perhaps, instead of mending the light, they put the Candle out. And therefore Paul bids them that are spiritual, do it; Gal. 6.1.
My reason tells me, that if I use these Snuffers as I should, I must not only endeavour to take the superfluous snuff away, but so to do it, that the light thereby be mended; which then is done, if, as the Apostle saith, I use sharpness to edification, and not for destruction, 1 Cor. 5.4, 5. 2 Cor. 13.10.
Are not the seven Churches in Asia called by the Name of Candlesticks? And why Candlesticks, if they were not to hold the Candles? And Candles must have Snuffers therewith to trim the lights. And Christ who is our true Aaron, in those rebukes which he gave those Churches, alluding to these SNVFFERS did it, that their lights might shine the brighter, Revel. 2, & 3. Chapters.
Wherefore as he used them, he did it still with caution to their light, that it might not be impaired. For as he still thus trimed these Lamps, he yet encouraged what he saw would shine, if helped. He only nipt the snuff away.
Thus therefore he came to them with these Snuffers in his hand, and trimed their Lamps and Candlesticks, Revel. 2, 4. ver. 20. chap. 3, 2. ver. 15.
This should teach Ministers, to whom it belongs, under Christ, to use these Snuffers well. Strike at the Snuff, not at the Light, in all your rebukes and admonitions, snuff not your Lamps of a private revenge, but of a design to nourish grace and gifts in Churches. Thus our Lord himself says he did, in his using of these Snuffers about these Candlesticks. As many, saith he, as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent: Revel. 3.19.
To Conclude, Watchman, watch, and let not your snuffs be too long, nor pull them off with your Fingers, or carnal reasonings, but with godly admonitions, &c. Use your Snuffers graciously, curb Vice, nourish Vertue, so you will use them well, and so your light will shine to the glory of God.