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And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-flace of mount Zion, ana upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence (Isaiah iv. 5).

THE CLOUD ON THE ALTAR AND

THE HEARTH.

Much has been said and sung of Mount Zion in the utterances of the prophets, and in the psalms of the inspired minstrel of Judah-for example, when he bursts out in the rapture of admiring enthusiasm: "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion; the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge. And of Zion it shall be said, This man and that man was born in her; and the Highest himself shall establish her." "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." This mountain was the scene of divine ordinances -its crowning glory was the magnificent temple, erected as a generous and loving display of the nation's piety, and of their homage to the Father of an infinite majesty. This was called the mountain of His holiness, and it came to be regarded by the sacred. writers as a type of the Church of Christ in Gospel times the spiritual Zion of which the apostle writes when describing the privileges of believers under the new and better dispensation: "Ye are come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Of this Zion the words. of sacred song are true in a far higher sense than

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they were of the ancient scene of divine worship: "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of our God."

The words of the prophet place before us two objects of the deepest interest to the heart of man in every age and country, the Altar and the Hearth; in other words, the home circles and the sanctuaries of God's people. "On every dwelling-place of Mount Zion;" this is the hearth, the home aspect of the words, the sacred enclosure of loving hearts around the fireside. "And upon her assemblies;" it is the altar that now rises before us, in the midst of the great religious gatherings of the nation. What can be dearer to the heart of man than the altar and the hearth? These words have stirred nations to their inmost depths when both were threatened to be overturned. "For the altar and the hearth!" has been the rally cry of battle; and in defence of these how many have freely shed their life's blood! It was by the hallowed memories of the altar and the hearth that the ancient Roman sought to rouse his countrymen. His burning words stirred every heart, and nerved every arm:—

"And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods.
And for the tender mother who dandled him to rest,
And for the wife who nurses his baby at her breast."

The outward garb in which the promise is clothed belongs to Old Testament times, but its spirit to the New, to the days that are now passing over us, and to all coming ages, as long as there shall be a "dwelling

place and assembly"-an altar and a hearth on the Mount Zion of the gospel dispensation, to be blessed by the presence, the protection, and the guidance of Jehovah. "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence." This language is best explained by a reference to the wanderings of the children of Israel in the wilderness. A cloud rested upon the camp, but more especially on the sacred tent or tabernacle, as it was called, set apart for the solemn worship of Jehovah. That cloud was the symbol of His presence, and the assurance to the tribes of Israel of divine protection in all their wanderings, a token of safety to them, but of terror to their enemies. So we read, "And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night." Still further, that cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night, were given for guidance. When the cloud moved from off the sacred tent and went forward, this was the sign that all the people were to follow; when it stood still they pitched their tents; and so, on that memorable night when they fled from Egypt, and encamped on the edge of the wilderness, we read, "The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light; to go by day and night."

come.

"When Israel of the Lord beloved,

Out from the land of bondage came,
Their fathers' God before them moved,
An awful guide in smoke and flame.

"By day, along the astonished lands
The cloudy pillar glided slow;
By night, Arabia's crimson'd sands
Returned the fiery column's glow."

But it may be asked, "What interest can we possibly have, in the nineteenth century, in the promise of a cloud by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night? What is all this to us?" We have none of these outward symbols now, but we have surely in a much higher degree the spiritual privileges which they signified. These were but the shadows of better things to It would be strange, indeed, if, in a dispensation so much superior to the former, we should occupy a lower position in point of privilege than ancient Israel. It is not so. If they had the outward sign, which we now lack, we have the spiritual blessing to a much larger extent. We look in vain for the cloud by day hovering over our homes or our sanctuary gatherings, or for the shining of a flaming fire by night; but we have the divine presence, protection, and guidance, of which the cloud and the fire were but the visible symbols. The shadow has vanished, but the substance remains. The promise is still ours, but in a much higher and more spiritual sense, although the cloud and the fire have passed away. The sign suited to one age is not required by another, and so it gives place

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