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And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-seat; on the cover of the ark at each end was a cherub of beaten gold; these and the cover of the ark were all of one piece, they had their feet on the ledge of the cover, or its crown, at each end; their faces looked towards each other, and their wings touched each other in the extreme part of them, and so on the cover formed the mercy seat see Exo_25:17-22: and Exo_37:6-9 40:20. Their form is described by Ezekiel, Eze_1:1-28 and Eze_10:1-22. They were glorious for matter and service, God in his glory manifesting himself over them, gave propitious answers unto Moses about his church, Exo_25:22 Lev_16:2. These cherubims typified the ministry of angels to our Lord Jesus, especially in his great work of rendering God propitious to his church, and saving it, Heb_1:14. Standing on the two ends of the ark’s cover, they showed Christ to be the basis of their own standing, when others fell: they spread out their wings, to show their readiness for serving him in all; with their faces opposite to each other, and looking down on the mercy-seat and ark, typifying what the apostle saith of them, 1Pe_1:10-12, desirous to pry into the mystery of this great Propitiator, the Surety and Mediator of God’s testament, and on his propitiation and its effects, which is admirable and astonishing, not to sinners only, but to angels, Eph_3:10.
Of which we cannot now speak particularly; the apostle apologizeth for his but mentioning these mysterious things now, that it was not to eclipse the glory of that administration, but because the matters were well known to them already, only in this they were defective, that they reached not after Christ, the truth and substance of all these types; and therefore he proceeds from the places, to treat of the services to be performed by the Aaronical priesthood in them.