no 



particularly the four constellations of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and 

 Aquarius. * It is an analogy, although slight, yet worthy of re- 

 mark, that the star in the Lion which is called Regulus, is named 

 the chief of the celestial host — in like manner as the tribe of Judah, 

 of which the Lion of the Cherubim is the type, was the chief of the 

 tribes of Israel ; and gave birth also to that chief of the Christian 

 church, who is called the J " Lion of the tribe of Judah," the root 

 of David, our Saviour Christ. Ar.d here I shall revert to the re- 

 markable expression of Isaiah -f- which I have cited before ; " and 

 " in that daj-, there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for 

 " an ensign of the people ; and remark, how these two texts tend 

 not only to strengthen each other, but my conjectures throughout — 

 The prophecy of Isaiah refers to our Saviour, by the metaphor of 

 an ensign ; an allusion which is fully pointed in the Apocalypse by 

 the text just quoted — ^The connexion also between the figure of 

 the Cherubim, the standard of Judah, and this reigning tribe is 

 manifested ; a connexion which the preceding observations carry yet 

 farther, in my opinion, to the constellation. 



But to follow this vision : above the firmament which was placed 

 over the constellations, is seen the great Judge of mankind. Let 

 us now turn to the parallel vision of St. Jolm in the Apocalypse. 

 In this, and in that of Ezekiel, the four beasts are described 

 in a manner so alike — with their wings, and " full of eyes 

 " within," and so on — that we at once feel, upon their intro- 

 duction, th^it we " know them to be the Cherubim " They 

 are clearly the same allegory, and must bear the same allusion ; 



* These are AlJebaran, in the neck of the Bull ; Regulus, or Cor-Leonis ; Anfares, in 

 the heart of the Scorpion ; and Fomalhaut, in Aquarius, in the mouth of the southern Fish. 

 i Rev. 5. 5. 

 t Ch. 11. 10. 



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