For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their
The cloud of the Lord ... While it had hitherto appeared sometimes in one place, sometimes in another, it was now found on the tabernacle only; so that from the moment that sanctuary was erected, and the glory of the Lord had filled the sacred edifice, the Israelites had to look to the place which God had chosen to put His name there, in order that they might enjoy the benefit of a Heavenly Guide (Numbers 9:15-23). In like manner the Church had divine revelation for its guide from the first-long before the Word of God existed in a written form; but ever since the setting up of that sacred canon, it rests on that as its tabernacle, and there only is it to be found. It accompanies us wherever we are or go, just as the cloud led the way of the Israelites. It is always accessible-can be carried in our pockets when we walk abroad; it may be engraven on the inner tablets of our memories and our hearts; and so true, faithful, and complete a guide is it, that there is not a scene of duty or of trial through which we may be called to pass in the world, but it furnishes a clear, a safe, and unerring direction (Colossians 3:16).