they were organized by David before his death.

God's instituted worship is of himself. Its original is wholly divine. Moses, the man of God, as the Lord's servant, settled it immutably for the Jewish church. The Lord gives this testimony of him, He is faithful in all mine housem. Every type, symbol, sacrifice, ordinance, festival, &c. relative to Christ, and of divine appointment, Moses faithfully gave an account of, and registered in his writings. So that the Old Testament Church in succeeding ages had no further revelation to look for concerning divine ordinances until the coming of Christ.

Moses' writings were the text, and the Book of Psalms was a comment on them. Yet as the church was in the wilderness nearly forty years, and the people, when introduced into the land of Canaan under the command of Joshua, were some years in conquering and dividing it, (for the book, which bears his name, is said to contain an history of twenty-seven years) and after the death of Joshua the people of Israel most awfully revolted from the Lord; so they may be said to remain, and especially as to regularity of worship, in an unsettled state under the Judges. The book so called is an history of about three hundred years. Samuel, one of the m Numb. xii. 7.

last of the Judges, was solicitous to restore the people of Israel to proper views of divine institutions, and true regularity in divine worhip. He was president of a College at Ramah, where the sons of the prophets were educated and instructed in Psalm-Singing; and thereby they were trained and fitted for the public service of God.

Gad, Nathan, and David were cotemporary with Samuel. Now, as there were three things the Israelites had to expect from Moses' writings, when settled in the land of promise, viz. a King, a Temple, and the destruction of Amalek; and as two of these had taken place, it seems very natural to conceive, that David, who is styled the sweet singer of Israel, might be stirred up by the Lord the Spirit, under the prophetic direction of these eminent servants of his to study the sacred canons, concerning the public worship of God, and lay himself out to prepare himself and others for building the House of the Lord, and for the regular attendance of the Priests on all the ordinances and solemnities of public worship. And we find, that being visited with a national pestilence, and lamenting his sin, in causing the people to be numbered, which he considers as the occasion of the pestilence, he went by the order of the prophet Gad, and set up an altar in the threshing

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floor of Ornan the Jebusite", and offered sacrifices thereon; which the Lord testified his acceptance of by sending fire from heaven to consume them. From hence David concludes that this was the spot on which the Temple was to be built. He therefore purchased it at the price of one thousand and ninety-five pounds sterling. He set persons immediately to work, and informed Solomon, his son, what preparation he had made for this good work, viz. an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver"; "that is," says Brown, in his Self-Interpreting Bible, forty-six thousand thirty-eight tons weight, or carts load of silver and gold, and in value eight hundred and eighty-nine millions, six hundred eightyseven thousand, five hundred pounds sterling. But if it be reckoned by the Chaldean talent, it is about an half less." David adds, and of brass and iron without weight. Hereupon he exhorts Solomon to engage in this same good work. And as the Officers, Princes, Priests, and Levites were now before him, he without all doubt consulted with them about the expediency of it. And in concert with them issued out his royal order for the Levites to be numbered from thirty years and upwards.

1 Chron. xxi. 18, 19, &c.

• Ib. xxii. 14.

The Scripture distinguishes between the Priests and Levites; and the distinction is this. All the Priests were Levites; but all the Levites were not Priests.

The High-priest and Priests were of the family of Aaron. They were Kohathites. The Levites were Gershonites

and Merarites.

The order of ministers in this service of the Lord was as follows.

First, the High-Priest and his Sagan or deputy, mentioned in Jeremiah, and called the Second Priest.

Second, The Priests whose office it was to offer the daily sacrifices.

Third, The Levites, whose work was various. Some slew the sacrifices. Others skinned them. Others washed them. Others brought them to the altar. Others removed the ashes from it.

Fourth, The Nethenim, whose office it was to hew wood for the Altar, and draw water for the use of the tabernacle and temple service.

And beside those mentioned, there were the stationary men, or four and twenty courses of Israelites, over which a president was placed. And a course of these was to attend the service of God, as the representatives of all Israel.

a

Though this is not expressly comChap. lii. 24. b 2 Kings xxv. 18.

manded, nor expressly mentioned in the Scriptures, yet the grounds thereof are laid there. For example, the daily sacrifice, called the Burnt-offering, was for all Israel; and the expences of it were at the public charge. It was paid for out of the Treasury. Now it was impossible all the Israelites should be present. Therefore it was necessary some should be chosen to represent them, who should be present at every sacrifice offered up for the whole congregation. These Stationary-men went in and out by courses, like as the Priests and Levites also did.

There were also Trumpeters, Singers, Musicians, Porters, and Watchers, or Guards; and some were appointed to be Keepers of the Treasury.

Över all these, the High-Priest not excepted, were Officers, or Presidents, to oversee them, to call them to their various services, and to notice any misconduct in the discharge of their respective work and offices.

On DAVID'S causing the number of the Levites to be taken, they were found to be thirty and eight thousand. Of whom twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the House of the Lord, and six thousand were to be exercised in offices, as Officers and Judges in religious matters, and to act as Jus