INTRODUCTION. Ivii 



the whole earth would have been so covered 

 by this palpable darkness, that no glimpse of 

 light would have been left to foster the hope 

 and prove the germe of a future day of glory. 

 The great object, therefore, of the Godhead 

 being the assertion of his own supremacy, 

 and to proclaim his own agency by the 

 powers that are known to govern in nature, 

 it w r as to be expected that a tabernacle or 

 temple erected after a pattern furnished by 

 the Deity would conspicuously do this. 



But before I enter further into this mys- 

 terious subject, it will be proper to obviate 

 an objection that may be alleged, viz. that it 

 is incongruous and out of place to introduce, 

 into a work like the present, any inquiry into 

 the nature and contents of the Jewish temple, 

 especially the meaning of those symbolical 

 images placed in the Holy of Holies and 

 called the Cherubim, but when it is further 

 considered that these symbols are represented 

 as winged animals with four faces, and that 

 these faces are those of the kings and rulers, 

 as it were, of the animal kingdom : namely, 

 the ox, the chief amongst cattle ; the lion, 

 the king of wild beasts ; and the eagle, the 

 ruler of the birds ; and lastly, Man, who has 



