\ 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 A 
 
 MANUAL OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 GATHERED FROM 
 
 SCRIPTURAL FIGURES, PHRASES, TYPES, 
 DERIVATIONS, CHRONOLOGY, TEXTS, &c., 
 
 ADAPTED FOB THE USE OF 
 
 PREACHERS AND TEACHERS. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. G. S. BOWES, B.A., 
 
 Late Scholar of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge ; 
 
 AUTHOB OF " ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS FOE PKEACHKRS AND TEACHKES," 
 " IN PROSPECT OF SUNDAY," ETC. 
 
 <&rgi}fh Cbttion. 
 
 JAMES NISBET & CO. LIMITED 
 
 21 EEBNKBS STREET
 
 
 PEEFACE 
 
 IT is now seven years since the Second Series of 
 " Illustrative Gatherings " was first published ; in 
 the preface to which I promised (D. V.) to bring 
 out another volume, consisting of Illustrations, 
 especially from Scripture. From various causes, 
 I have been prevented from carrying out the 
 design, so soon as I had hoped. I have now, how- 
 ever, the pleasure of announcing its completion. 
 
 In introducing the present work to the Chris- 
 tian public, a few words may be said as to its 
 plan : 
 
 The title of itself furnishes the general object 
 I have in view, to gather illustrations on many 
 subjects from Scripture itself. In " Illustrative 
 Gatherings," figures, emblems, anecdotes, &c., are 
 culled from many fields, biography, history, and 
 general literature, with occasional illustrations
 
 IV PR K PACK. 
 
 irom Scripture. In the present work, the Scrip- 
 ture itself is made almost exclusively the source 
 of illustration. 
 
 In attempting to gather a manual of illustra- 
 tion from such a field, I need scarcely add, that it 
 is but an attempt, a specimen of what might be 
 done more largely and completely: the scope 
 afforded for such a work is necessarily inex- 
 haustible. I have confined myself chiefly to the 
 following sources of illustration : 
 
 (1.) The figures and emblems of Scripture ; the 
 many beautiful images and metaphors, which are 
 for the most part familiar to every Bible student; 
 but are sometimes found only by a deeper search 
 into the original languages or expressive idioms of 
 the Word of life. 
 
 (2.) The expressions and phrases of Scripture , 
 the comprehensive periphrases or brief sentences 
 which are often met with, describing character, 
 duty, &c. 
 
 (3.) The meaning of the proper names of Scrip- 
 ture, so far as I have been able to ascertain them. 
 In this very difficult department (where different 
 writers frequently assign quite different deriva- 
 tions to the same word) I have chiefly followed 
 the excellent works of the Kev. W. F. Wilkinson
 
 PREFACE. V 
 
 and the Kev. H. Jones on the subject, Bagster's 
 Commentary wholly Biblical, and one or two other 
 well-recognised authorities. 
 
 (4.) The chronology of Scripture, so far as it 
 illustrates, e.g., God's forbearance in dealing with 
 sinners, the trial of the believer's faith in long 
 waiting for the fulfilment of God's word; Chris- 
 tian steadfastness, &c. 
 
 (5.) The coincidences of Scripture, which are 
 frequently to be traced by comparing Scripture 
 with Scripture. 
 
 (6.) The typology of Scripture. 
 
 (7.) The institutions and design of the Mosaic 
 Economy. 
 
 (8.) Lessons drawn from an examination of the 
 chief characters of Scripture, exemplifying the 
 principles of good and evil, with the results. 
 
 (9.) The explanation of particular Hebrew and 
 Greek words used in connection with Scriptural 
 subjects. 
 
 (10.) The explanation or illustration of parti- 
 cular texts, gathered from various authorities. 
 
 From these sources mainly, and from some 
 others incidentally, the present compilation has 
 been prepared ; and, without speaking more than 
 is meet of its value, I may say it is the result of
 
 VI PRKFAC*. 
 
 much very careful though pleasant labour for 
 several years. In justice to myself I should add, 
 that it has been compiled under considerable dis- 
 advantages, a great part having been written 
 away from my own home and books ; and also 
 that, to confine it within a fixed limit, which T 
 have thought desirable, I have been reluctantly 
 compelled to compress much matter, and entirely 
 to omit several articles which I had prepared. But 
 such as it is, it is offered to the Church of Christ 
 
 The idea may seem a very simple one ; but I 
 have reason to believe its execution is unique. I 
 have never met with any book written on the same 
 plan ; nor can I, on inquiry, hear of any. Books 
 of illustration from general sources abound ; but 
 though the Word of God is the great and infallible 
 mine of Truth, no one, so far as I can ascertain, has 
 classified any collection of figures, dates, coinci- 
 dences, &c.,on the present plan. Text-books, which 
 simply furnish Scripture proofs and references, 
 without tracing the comparison of dates, or giving 
 the meaning of names, &c., have necessarily a dif- 
 ferent object. 
 
 It is therefore earnestly hoped that this new 
 effort in the field of illustration, may be helpful 
 and useful to preachers and teachers. God's Word
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 written is the great standard of doctrine and foun- 
 tain of truth ; and any one who helps to make that 
 Word more searched and loved must be an instru- 
 ment, however humble, of promoting the cause of 
 Christ. May such be the blessed result of the 
 present effort. Having had such constant and 
 continued testimony to the value of the two series 
 of " Illustrative Gatherings" from so many kinds 
 of readers, I cannot but hope that the same useful- 
 ness may follow " Scripture itself the Illustrator." 
 To the blessing of the Great Head of the 
 Church, and to the Holy Spirit, from whom all 
 grace and wisdom flow, it is now prayerfully and 
 hopefully committed. 
 
 G. S. BOWES. 
 
 CHILLENDEN HOUSE, 
 TUNBRIDGB WELLS, October 1872.
 
 The asterisk and double asterisk at the end of the titles of 
 the different subjects, indicate that there are articles on the 
 same subjects in the First and Second Series re?pectively of 
 " Illustrative Gatherings," to which the reader is referred. 
 
 The abreviation Cf. stands for Compare ; Cone, for Coo 
 cordanoe
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 ACCEPTANCE DIVINE. 
 
 How MANY precious lessons of Divine acceptance, 
 may be gathered from what is recorded in connection 
 with the ancient sacrifices. 
 
 (1.) The Lord was many times pleased to testify 
 His acceptance of sacrifice visibly by fire, as doubtless 
 in Abel's offering, Gen. iv. 4 ; in Aaron's first offering 
 after the erection of the Tabernacle, Lev. ix. 24 ; in 
 Gideon's offering, Judges vi. 21 ; in Manoah's, Judges 
 xiii. 19, 20; in David's, 1 Chron. xxi. 26; in Solo- 
 mon's, 2 Chron. vii. 1 ; in Elijah's, 1 Kings xviii. 38. 
 
 (2.) The Divine acceptance is marked equally of 
 the offerings of the poor and of the rich. See Lev. i. iv. 
 The Levites' tithe of the tithe was to be reckoned to 
 them "as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor 
 or the fulness of the winepress," Num. xviii. 26, 27. 
 Samuel's humble offering of one " sucking lamb," 
 
 1 Sam. vii. 9, was far more acceptable than vast 
 holocausts of pride and hypocrisy ; as in gospel his- 
 tory, the poor widow's mite was preferred before the 
 abundant offerings of the rich, Mark xii. 43, 44 ; see 
 
 2 Cor. viii. 12.
 
 2 SCRIPTURE ITSELF TIIK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 (3.) The sacrifices are in many cases spoken of as "a 
 sweet savour unto the Lonl." See Cone. Cf. Noah's 
 sacrifice after the flood, Gen. viiL 21 ; Aaron's ram 
 and wave-offering, Exod. xxix. 18, 25; the Levitical 
 offerings, Lev. i. U, 13, 17 ; ii. 2, 9, 12, &c. 
 
 We may beautifully compare under this allusion 
 " the sweet savour " of spiritual offerings : the gospel 
 ministry, 2 Cor. ii. 15 ; the love and liberality of the 
 Church, Phil. iv. 18, &c. See also Ezek. xx. 40, 41 ; 
 xliii 27, for Israel's future. 
 
 (4.) Frankincense mixed with the offering, or placed 
 upon the shewbread, was probably designed as a 
 symbol of acceptance. Fragrant in its perfume, it 
 shadowed forth the offering of faith, perfumed with 
 the rich incense of the Saviour's merits. 
 
 MANY TERMS are used expressive of the saints' 
 acceptance. They are 
 
 "Accepted in the Beloved" Eph. i. 6, ?xopfTw<r', a word 
 akin to grace graciously accepted. 
 
 " Knoum of God," Ps. i 6 ; 1 Cor. viii. 3 ; 2 Tim. 
 ii 19. 
 
 "Approved" 1 Cor. xi 9; 2 Tim. ii. 15; Rom. 
 xvi 10. 
 
 See Cone, under favour (as Prov. xii. 2 ; Cant viii. 
 10 ; Ps. cvi 4) ; finding grace, Gen. vi. 8 ; well-pleasing, 
 Col. L 10; m. 20; 1 Tim. iii. 22 ; Heb. xi. 5 ; well 
 done, Matt. xxv. 21, 23, &c. 
 
 The PARABLE of the Prodigal Son, Luke xv. 2032, 
 gives a beautiful representation of the Father's wel- 
 eome of the returning sinner. See Adoption. 
 
 AMBITIOUS OF ACCEPTANCE, 2 Cor. v. 9. See 
 Ambition. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. The Father's acceptance of the 
 Lord Jesus was testified abundantly. During His 
 earthly ministry thrice by a voice from heaven, Matt
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 3 
 
 iii. 17 ; Luke ix. 35 ; John xii. 28 ; in His resurrec- 
 tion, Rom. i. 4 ; in His exaltation, Phil. ii. 9 ; 1 Tim. 
 iii. 16 "received up" (the word is emphatic) "into 
 glory." See also 2 Cor. vi. 2 ; Eph. v. 2, &c. 
 
 Cf. the rejection so often marked of the sacrifices 
 and offerings of hypocrisy, Isa. i. 10 15 ; Prov. 
 xv. 8; Jer. vi. 20; Hos. viii. 4; Amos v. 21 27; 
 Micah vi. 7. 
 
 ACCESS TO GOD.* See Alienation Communion 
 with God Refuge. See Cone, under access approach 
 drawing near nigh, &c. 
 
 EVEN AMONGST MEN we know the difficulty there 
 often is in obtaining access to a superior. Not only 
 difference of rank, but insubordination and offences 
 erect a barrier. We have three examples of this in 
 Scripture of a wise ruler, a kind father, a great 
 king. 
 
 (1.) Joseph was a wise ruler, but his brethren 
 might not see his face, except upon the condition he 
 imposed, Gen. xliv. 23. 
 
 (2.) David was a kind father, but he forbad Absa- 
 lom from coming into the royal presence for a time, 
 2 Sam. xiv. 2428. 
 
 (3.) Ahasuerus was a great king ; but, according to 
 the law of his kingdom, it was death for any one to 
 come before the king, save those to whom the king 
 held out the golden sceptre, Esther iv. 11; v. 2. 
 
 UNDER THE LAW the difficulty of access to the 
 Most High, except through the intervention of sacri 
 fice or mediation, was continually set forth. 
 
 The guards and barriers set around Mount Sinai 
 testified of this, Exod. xix. 12; 21 25; Heb. xii. 
 18 21 : and afterwards, xxiv. 2. 
 
 In the Tabernacle service, the severe restriction laid 
 upon the people " the stranger that cometh
 
 4 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 shall be put to death" repeated in Numbers five 
 times, L 51; iii. 10, 38; xvl 40; xviii. 7. The 
 people were not to enter the tabernacle, except as 
 represented by the priests, nor the priests to enter 
 into the Holy of Holies, but only the high priest, and 
 he alone, once every year, not without blood, Heb. 
 ix. 7. The Kohuthites, when they carried the vessels 
 of the sanctuary in their official capacity, were not 
 to " touch any holy thing," nor " go in to see," lest 
 they die, Num. iv. 15 20. 
 
 But UNDER THE GOSPEL, through Christ, "by a 
 new and living way " believers have " access and 
 confidence through faith," Heb. x. 1922. 
 
 The vail is rent. " Before Christ died (says one), it 
 was death to go within, except for the high priest, 
 once a year. Now, since the vail has been rent, it is 
 death to remain without." 
 
 Christ is the door into the fold, John x. 7, 9 ; the 
 way, xiv. 6 ; the High Priest through whom we have 
 access, Heb. iv. 1416 ; vil 19, 25 ; x. 21, 22 ; like 
 the high priest on the day of atonement, Lev. xvi. 
 12-15; Heb. x. 1922. 
 
 Cherubim. Hyde and many others derive the word 
 cherubim from the Hebrew term meaning to draw 
 near, approach. The cherubim, as many think, were 
 emblems of the redeemed. 
 
 Cohen, the Hebrew word for priest, signifies to 
 draw near. Access to the holy place was essentially 
 a priestly privilege. 
 
 ADOPTION.* See Regeneration. 
 
 TITLES OF ADOPTION belonging to God's children. 
 See Cone, under Children (of God, of the living 
 God, of the Father, of the Highest, children of the 
 kingdom, of the light and of the day, children of 
 promise, children of Zion, children of the resurreo
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 5 
 
 tion, dear children, little children), sons of God, heirs 
 of God, joint-heirs with Christ, heirs of the kingdom, 
 heirs of salvation, &c. 
 
 PRIVILEGES of the adopted. 
 
 The few examples we have given of natural adop- 
 tion, are all suggestive of kindness and protection on 
 the part of the persons adopting, and of benefit and 
 favour received by the adopted. (Joseph's sons, Gen. 
 xlviii. 5, 14 ; Moses, Exod. ii. 10 ; Esther, Esther il 7.) 
 
 Hosea i 10 ; Kom. ix. 25, 26. 
 
 " We have heard of hopeless foundlings entertained by 
 miracle, as young Cyrus in a shepherd's house, a cottage not 
 much above the ground ; no likelihood of promotion there, yet 
 exalted to a throne ; of Moses among the bulrushes, taken up 
 to be the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; of David from the sheep- 
 fold advanced to the monarchy ; but no example holds propor- 
 tion to this. It is of Lo-ruhamah and Lo-ammi we speak, the 
 bastard fruit of fornication. That these should be fetched from 
 accursed thraldom, and estated in the glorious liberty of the sons 
 of God, this transcends all admiration." Thos. Adams. 
 
 Luke xv. 22 24. 
 
 The parable of the prodigal son serves beautifully to illustrate 
 the dignities and privileges of the believer's adoption. It sets 
 forth at once the grace of the Father, and the spirit and privi- 
 lege of the accepted son. The kiss, the robe, the ring, tbe sHoes, 
 the feast, were favours not given to slaves. Among the Rom ins 
 and earlier nations, slaves were not allowed to wear shoes. (Cf. 
 Isa. xx. 4.) Among the Romans, the master's inviting a slive 
 to sit down with him at table was in itself regarded as an act 
 of manumission ; from that time the slave was free. 
 
 Gal. iv. 6. "Abba, Father" 
 
 A beautiful word, used in His hour of suffering by Christ 
 Himself, Mark xiv. 36, and now the privilege of all God's 
 children, Rom. viii. 15 ; Gal. iv. 6. It is a word which belongs 
 to children. No slave uses such language. It shows the like- 
 ness of spirit that Christ's members have to Christ. As He 
 used it iii the garden, it expressed His tender affection, His filial 
 confidence, His undoubting trust, His earnest prayer, His entire 
 submission to the Father '^ will. "Abba, Father," the Reformer
 
 6 8CKIPTUKE IT8KLK TUB ILLUST11ATOK. 
 
 Beoon translated it as equivalent to " Dear Father." It is a 
 word, also, which, being given both in Hebrew and Greek, is 
 designed by the apostle to show that, whether we be Jew or 
 Gentile, we are placed on the same footing by the gospel of 
 Christ's grace. 
 
 Heb. xii. 511. 
 
 (1.) Times of trouble are times when we often forget our son- 
 ship. Trouble frets the mind, and makes men look to second 
 causes. But (2.) oh ! the comfort of calling to mind a Father's 
 hand, and realising the loving correction of a Father's rod. 
 Compare, to >, (3.) the contrast between the undue leniency, or 
 tin- over anxiety of earthly parents, with the unerring wisdom 
 and unchanging kindness of "the Father of spirits." They 
 correct their children according to their caprice, He corrects 
 His for their profit. 
 
 2 Cor. VL 1618. 
 
 The transfer in our adoption. (1.) It is well to understand 
 what God's children are required to surrender. (2.) But it 
 should never be forgotten how much they receive. 
 
 Rev. xxi. 7. 
 
 The riches of our inheritance through adoption. Could any 
 promise go beyond this exceeding weight of glory f 
 
 TEXTS which may be used by way of illustration, 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 5, inarg. " Their spot is not the spot 
 of His children." 
 
 The sin of rebellious Israel is a sad contrast to the holiness 
 which should mark the true people of God ; or, as in the margin, 
 " That they are not His children ; that is their blot." 
 
 2 Sam. xiil 4. " Why art thou, being the king's 
 son, lean from day to day ?" 
 
 Jer. iii. 19. "How shall I put thee among the 
 children ?" 
 
 How can the Holy One put backsliding Israel among Hi* 
 children ? The Lord Himself gives thu answer : " And I said, 
 Thou nhalt call me, My Father, " be restored, like the returning 
 prodigal ; "and thou nhalt not turn away from me.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 7 
 
 Matt. v. 45. " That ye may be the children of your 
 Father which is in heaven." 
 
 Be the children i.e., have a spirit like your Father. 
 
 ADVENT SECOND, OF CHRIST.** 
 
 THREE GREEK WORDS are used with reference to 
 Christ's second coming 
 
 irapovffia occurs 16 times. 
 cLTroKoXtyis occurs 5 times. 
 'eiri<f>dveia. occurs 5 times. 
 
 IT IS DESCRIBED by many figures and in many 
 ways : 
 
 The Bridegroom going forth to meet the Bride, 
 Matt. xxv. 113. 
 
 The Master returning to distribute his awards, 
 Luke xix. 12 ; Matt. xxiv. 4351 ; xxv. 1430. 
 
 The Time of Harvest, Matt. xiii. 30 ; Rev. xiv. 15 ; 
 and of Vintage, Rev. xiv. 17 20. 
 
 The Breaking forth and dawn of day, (Cant. ii. 1 7 ; 
 iv. 6) ; 2 Pet. i. 19. 
 
 The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Matt. xxii. 1 
 14; Rev. xix. 69. 
 
 The Times of refreshing, Acts iii. 19. 
 
 The Times of the restitution of all things, Acts iii. 
 21. Cf. Rom. viii. 21. 
 
 The Times of separation when the gospel net shall 
 be brought to shore, Matt. xiii. 47 50 ; and the 
 Shepherd shall divide the sheep from the goats, Matt. 
 xxv. 3146. 
 
 " The day of our Lord Jesus Christ" 1 Cor. i 8, 
 spoken of emphatically as the one great day ("the day 
 for which all other clays were made"). Hence de- 
 scribed as "that day" three times in one epistle, 
 2 Tim. i. 1218; iv. 8; see also Mark xiii. 32. 
 "That hour," Mark xiii. 32; John v. 28. The 
 very frequent recurrence of the expression " in that
 
 8 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 day," through the prophets may be seen by the Con- 
 cordance. It constantly refers to the great and final 
 day. As an example see Zech. xii xiv., where the 
 expression occurs fifteen times. 
 
 The day of the manifestation of the Son of God, 
 Rom. viil 19 ; 2 Cor. v. 11 (Greek), when "the Chief 
 Shepherd shall appear," and His saints shall appear 
 with Him in glory, 1 Pet. v. 4 ; Col. iii. 4. 
 
 CHRIST'S TRANSFIGURATION was designed, many 
 consider, to be a figurative representation of the 
 Lord's second coming. See 2 Pet. i. 16. 
 
 THE FEASTS -of the JEWS. Sir Isaac Newton says 
 the feasts of the seventh month (Feast of Trumpets, 
 Tabernacles, &c.) were typical of Christ's second 
 coming. 
 
 THAT BLESSED HOPE, Tit. it 1 3. From the earliest 
 times, the prophecy of the Advent runs through all 
 the dispensations. It was foretold by Enoch, Jude 
 14; by Job, xix. 25 27; by Halaam, Num. xxiv. 
 17; by the Psalmist, Ps. 1. ; xcv. xcvii. ; xcviii. ; 
 &c. ; by Isaiah, xxiv. 23 ; xxv. 9, &c. ; by Daniel, vii. 
 13, 14 ; by Zechariah, xiv. 3 ; by Malachi, ill 1 ; iv. 
 1, 2, and in many other places. 
 
 THE SUDDENNESS of Christ's coming is illustrated 
 by- 
 
 The lightning flash alike sudden, terrible, irresist- 
 ible, Matt. xxiv. 27. 
 
 A snare or trap, Luke xxl 35, surprising the 
 secure and unsuspecting. 
 
 A thief in the night, Matt. xxiv. 43 ; 1 Thcss. v. 2 ; 
 Rev. xvi. 15. 
 
 It will be unlookedfor by a jray and scoffing world. 
 
 " As it was in the days of Noah," and " of Lot," 
 Luke xvil 2630. Sec also Luke xviii. 8 ; 2 Pet 
 iii. 310.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 9 
 
 NEVERTHELESS there is a waiting for it. 
 
 The whole creation is earnestly expecting the great 
 day of liberation, (expecting, as the Greek word 
 imports, like one stretching out the neck with long- 
 ing looks), Rom. viii. 19 22. 
 
 The Church of Christ is waiting groaning for com- 
 plete redemption, Rom. viii. 23. The members of 
 Christ's Church are now, and will be, "looking," 
 "watching," "praying," "waiting" for His appear- 
 ing loving the anticipation, and hasting towards it ; 
 like the wise virgins waiting for the Bridegroom, 
 Matt. xxv. 1 13; like the wise servant waiting for 
 the master, Matt. xxiv. 45, 46 ; Luke xii. 35, 36 ; 
 like patient labourers waiting for the earth's ripe 
 fruits, Jas. v. 7, 8 ; like those night watchers who 
 keep their garments, and are not like watchmen 
 sleeping at their posts, Rev. xvi. 15. 
 
 Acts i. 11. "This same Jesus shall so come in 
 like manner." 
 
 " This very Jesus." The great God our Saviour, known still 
 by the name He received in His humiliation. " This very 
 Jesus shall so come again." The emphasis is made very strong 
 by the repetition, " shall so come in like manner," i. e., so cor- 
 poreally, so visibly, so gloriously,. 
 
 Heb. ix 2428. 
 
 Christ's three appearings : on earth, He appeared " to put 
 away sin by the sacrifice of Himself ; " in heaven, He now ap- 
 pears "in the presence of God for us ; " from heaven, He will 
 appear " the second time, without sin unto salvation." 
 
 1 Pet. i. 13. 
 
 Christ's longing for His Church, and the Church's longing 
 towards Christ, both meet in the one central point of the blessed 
 Advent. A vessel is swiftly borne onwards by wind and tide to 
 shore ; the children, expecting a long absent father's return, are 
 waiting to receive that vessel on the beach. Even so we may 
 compare the blessed meeting of the Lord of glory with His
 
 10 8CK11TUUE ITSELF THE 1LLUSTKATOK. 
 
 people, He hastening to them, and they longing to welcoin. 
 
 I. and II. ThesstUonians. It is often remarked that 
 these two epistles contain an allusion to the second 
 advent in every chapter ; and it is deeply interesting 
 to trace the different views and applications of tin 
 great doctrine in these eight chapters, whether for 
 warning, terror, comfort, hope, or rest 
 
 Heb. x. 37. "Yet a little while, and He that shall 
 come will come, and will not tarry." 
 
 Two diminutives " a little while ; " and three affirmatives 
 "He that shall come," Ac. 
 
 Rev. ill 11; xxii. 7, 12, 20. " Behold, I come 
 quickly." 
 
 How are these texts to be reconciled with the long time tin 
 Church has already had to wait ? and with our Lord's words- 
 Matt, xxv. 19 "after a long time ? " We must compare Scrip- 
 ture with Scripture. The Lord is Himself any moment "ready 
 to judge the quick and the dead," 1 Pet. iv. 5. But the Church 
 is not ready, nor will she be till the time shall come spoken of, 
 Rev. xix. 7 ; xxi. 2. As Esther, when king Ahasuerus took her 
 to be his wife, must first be purified and made meet, Either ii. 
 9 12, si it is with the Bride, the Lamb's wife. 
 
 1 Cor. xvi. 22. "If any man love not the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha." 
 
 . ., "accursed" "the Lord cometh ! " So solemnly St. 
 Paul closes his longest letter ; pointing onwards, with all the 
 weight of an apostle's authority, and the affection of a father's 
 love, to the day for which all other days were made. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 20. " Surely I come quickly ; Amen. 
 Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 
 
 The appropriate clotting of the Book of Revelation. Tin- la-; 
 words of the Lord Jesus to the Church sweet words of grace, 
 of certainty, and hope. tl Surtly I come quickly." NVt-11 may 
 the Church make answer, in the words of the lieloved disciple, 
 "Even so, come, Lord Jesun."
 
 SCRIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 11 
 
 AFFLICTION AND TRIAL.*** See Extremity- 
 Faith, Trial of. 
 
 It is a fact of deep significance, that of the many 
 figures which abound in the Scriptures, those for 
 affliction and trial are most numerous. The follow- 
 ing are amongst the most common : 
 
 Baptism (of suffering), bonds, broken, bruised, 
 crushed (like herbs, fruits, olives, &c.), a broken ves- 
 sel, captivity and imprisonment, cross, cup, darkness, 
 day of gloom, mourning, dove, fighting, fire, furnace, 
 the friction of precious stones, the melting of precious 
 metals, medicine, ploughshare, purging, pruning, 
 rod, storm and tempest, thorns, deep waters, waves, 
 billows, floods, rivers, valley, wormwood and gall. 
 
 NAMES OF PERSONS, expressive of trial and sorrow. 
 
 Baanah (son of affliction), five persons are so called; 
 Benoni (son of my sorrow) ; Jabez (sorrowful) ; Marah 
 (bitter), see Ruth i. 20 ; Beriah (calamity) ; Chilion 
 (wasting away); Job (probably persecuted or wearied): 
 Mary (the large family of names like Mary Mary, 
 Miriam, Marah, Merari, Meraiah, Merioth, Imrah 
 the pervading root of all is that of bitterness, i.e., of 
 trouble or sorrow). 
 
 NAMES OF PLACES associated with sorrow, all of 
 which have also the association of relief and deliver- 
 ance, most of joy and triumph. 
 
 Mount Mwiah Where Abraham's faith was tried, 
 and Abraham's sacrifice was spared, and Abraham's 
 trust was honoured. 
 
 Burning Bush Burning, but not consumed. 
 
 Marah The bitter waters sweetened. 
 
 The Wilderness The scene of Israel's wanderings, 
 and no less of Israel's mercies ; of the manna and the 
 smitten rock ; of Elim's wells and palms, &c., and Ca- 
 naan at the end.
 
 12 8CRIPTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Valley of Achor For a door of hope. 
 Cherith and Zareplwth Want supplied. 
 Valley of Boca Turned into a well. 
 Mount Olivet The scene of the Redeemer's agony, 
 and His triumphant ascension. 
 
 THE LARGE NUMBER OF WORDS expressive of sor- 
 row in our own language, may be traced out in Con- 
 cordances ; the derivations of which often suggest 
 many beautiful thoughts, as, e. g. 
 
 Trouble (there are no less than ten different words 
 or phrases rendered by our translators " Trouble ") ; 
 tribulation (a word derived from tribtdum, the Roman 
 threshing instrument or roller, which was afterwards 
 applied to the separating power of trial in the human 
 heart) ; affliction (from affligo, properly to throw or 
 dash on the ground, to demolish); anguish, bitter- 
 ness, calamity (properly a laying of com, beaten 
 down by heavy rain or storms of liail) ; chastening, 
 crushed, distress, grief, heaviness, brought low, 
 mourning, sorrow, sighing, smitten, suffering, over- 
 whelmed, weeping, wounded, &c. 
 
 MAY WE not safely say, there is no book of the 
 Bible which has not some reference to trial, whilst 
 many parts are full of reference to the subject ? 
 
 In the Book of Psalms, e.g., out of one hundred 
 and fifty psalms, it is reckoned that in ninety some 
 allusion is found to suffering ! 
 
 There is no saint in the liible, of whose history we 
 have any lengthened record, who was not called to 
 endure trouble in some form ; and very frequently 
 the most eminent saints were most tried. Those 
 who were called to important services, were generally 
 trained in the school of affliction. 
 
 AFFLICTION AND TRIAL. DIVINE DEALINGS
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 13 
 
 IN. See Cone, under melting trying purifying 
 scou rging chastening correcting smiting, &c. 
 
 The LORD chastens His people with tenderness 
 and love, 
 
 As a Father corrects and trains his children, Prov. 
 iii. 12; Heb. xii. 7; Deut. viii. 26. 
 
 As a Refiner purifies gold and silver, Isa. xlviii. 10; 
 Zech. xiii 9 ; Mai. iii. 2, 3. 
 
 As a Husbandman dresses and prunes the fruit- 
 trees under his care, John xv. 2. 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 7 ; Phil. i. 29 ; Ps. Iv. 22 (marg.) Af- 
 flictions are a Father's gift, John xviii. 1 1. 
 
 Isa. xxvii. 7 ; Jer. xxx. 11 ; xlvi. 28. 
 
 "In measure," i.e., in moderation : but there is much beauty 
 in our translation. God's corrections are measured like medi- 
 cines, first weighed out before administered, and they are ad- 
 ministered in mercy. We need never fear there being one grain 
 beyond the needful limit, Ps. Ixxviii. 38 ; ciii. 10, 14. 
 
 James v. 11. "Ye have seen the end of the 
 Lord." 
 
 The heaviest trials have an end ; and the Lord has provided 
 for the end from the beginning the beginning of trouble is 
 often Satan's work, but the end is the Lord's. 
 
 Ishmael was the first child whose name was divinely 
 appointed; the name means "God hath heard, or 
 will hear" (thy affliction), Gen. xvi. 11. 
 
 Reuben, the first son born to Jacob. " Surely," 
 said Leah, " the Lord hath looked upon my afflic- 
 tion," Gen. xxix. 32. 
 
 AFFLICTION AND TEIAL, BENEFIT OF. See in 
 Text-Books and in Cone. 
 
 (1.) Afflictions and trials are spoken of as marks 
 of sonship, Heb. xii. 7, 8 ; Job xxi. 9 ; Ps. Ixxiii. 5,
 
 14 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 lv. 19 ; Jer. xlviiL 11 ; and of privilege, Phil. L 29 ; 
 2 Cor. xii. 7. It is noteworthy in the seven churches, 
 that those which are marked by deadness and luke- 
 warmness (Sardis and Laodicea), had no apparent 
 trial, no special opposition or persecution, no contro- 
 versy ; whereas in one of the most faithful, Smyrna 
 (whose name is probably closely allied in derivation 
 to myrrh, which is most fragrant when bruised and 
 crushed), there was fierce trial and bitter opposition 
 to contend against. 
 
 (2.) Most Scriptural biographies bear full illustra- 
 tion of the blessed benefit of sanctified trial. 
 
 Abraham See Faith, Trial of. 
 
 Job A beautiful example of the blessing of sanc- 
 tified trial, most meekly borne at first, i. 19 ; ii. 10. 
 See how at last the end of the Lord was seen, xl. 
 35 ; xlii. 1012. 
 
 Joseph It is not improbable that the high eleva- 
 tion of Joseph might have been fatal to him, if he 
 had not been prepared for it first, by suffering so much 
 and so long. 
 
 Manasseh 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. Bound with 
 cords of affliction, he was by God's mercy loosed from 
 the bonds of sin. 
 
 Hezekiah Isa. xxxviii. 16. "By these things (all 
 these trials thou dost send) men live." 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar Proud and haughty; made humble 
 and contrite, Dan. iv. 34 37. 
 
 Ephraim Jer. xxxi. 18 20. 
 
 The prodigal Luke xv. 1620. 
 
 Lazarus -John xi. 4, 45. 
 
 Aeneas Acts ix. 35. Eight years confined to the 
 sick bed ; but see what came from his cure, not only 
 to himself, but to others ! 
 
 AFFLICTION AND TRIAL, THE BKLIEVKR'S 
 CONDUCT UNDER,
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 15 
 
 Ps. Iv. 22. " Cast thy burden upon the Lord." 
 
 Ileb. thy gift, i. e., the portion assigned thee. The LXX. and 
 Syriac translate " thy anxiety." " Cast," or rather " roll " it, as 
 Ps. xxxvii. 5 ; Prov. xvi. 3, the figure of one having a heavier 
 burden than he can carry, rolling it upon the shoulders of one 
 able and willing to bear it with or for him. 
 
 Prov. iii. 11 ; Heb. xii. 5. " Despise not .... nor 
 faint." 
 
 The two extremes " Despise not " correction ; as if the sick 
 man might throw aside the bitter medicine, and yet expect a 
 cure ; neither be weary "nor faint." Be not impatient nor de- 
 sponding. The Hebrew word is derived from the word for a 
 thorn. Do not regard the Lord's kind correction as an annoying 
 thorn. 
 
 1 Thess. iii, 3. " That no man should be moved 
 by these afflictions." 
 
 Swayed to and fro, from side to sidL, as some oscillate like a 
 pendulum. 
 
 Eev. ii. 10. " Fear none of those things which 
 thou shalt suffer." 
 
 (1.) The Divine Refiner is sitting by the furnace. (2.) The 
 devil's chain is measured. (3.) The crown will soon be on the 
 weary head. 
 
 AFFLICTION AND TRIAL, IMPENITENCE UNDER. 
 See Rebellion Hardness of Heart Stubbornness. 
 
 WHAT is it like, but 
 
 A fool brayed in a mortar among wheat with a 
 pestle, Prov. xxvii. 22. As hard as it is to separate 
 the husk from the grain of wheat, so a fool's folly 
 cleaves so closely to him by nature and long habit. 
 
 A wild bull in a net, Isa. li. 20, fretting and raging, 
 struggling to escape in vain. 
 
 A bullock fretting under the yoke, Jer. xxxi. 18, 
 galling itself the more without avail. 
 
 Eeprobate silver Jer- vi. 29, 30, which, when refined
 
 16 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 in the hottest furnace, is proved to be without real 
 value. 
 
 Job xxxvt 13. Unblessed sorrows are amongst 
 oar greatest curses. 
 
 Isa. be. 13. 
 
 Till God softens the heart, no troke of the heavy hammer 
 will mould man's iron will 
 
 "They refused to receive correction" "they turned 
 not. n 
 
 It is noteworthy how frequently we find very mournful com- 
 plaints of this in the writings of the prophets. See Isa. i. 5 ; 
 viii 21 ; xi. 23 ; xxii 12 ; xxvi. 12 ; xlii 5 ; IviL 17 ; Jer. ii 30 ; 
 v. 8 ; viL 28 ; Ezek. udv. 18 ; Ho* vii. 1014 ; Amos iv. 6, 8, 
 9, 10, 11 ; Zeph, iii. 4. 
 
 Was it not so with 
 
 Pharaoh ? After the most awful plagues inflicted 
 on him and on his people, he was still impenitent and 
 hardened in heart, Exod. viiL 19 ; ix. 30 34 ; xiv. 
 5 9. So Israel unwilling to be reformed, Lev. xxvi 
 23 ; Ps. Ixxviii 31, 32; Asa, 2 Chron. xvi. 12 ; Ahaz, 
 2 Chron. xxviii 22 27; so will it be even at the 
 end, Rev. xvL 9 11. 
 
 ALIENATION FROM GOD. See Backsliding 
 Enmity Rebellion. 
 
 Trace, in Cone., under departing estranged far 
 (from God from righteousness) forsaken gone 
 (away aside a-whoring) perverted turned away. 
 
 It is observable how frequently the connection is 
 traced in Scripture between forgetting and forsaking 
 God, and turning to idolatry and sin (as our English 
 words alienation and adultery both imply in their 
 derivation turning to another) ; such is spiritual adul- 
 tery. Man's heart is a throne that can never be left
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 17 
 
 long empty. See Deut. xxxii. 15 17; Judges x. 
 1013; Jer. ii. 13; iii. 20; Hosea yiii 14. 
 
 The root of spiritual alienation is in the evil heart 
 of man, Eph. iv. 18; Isa. Ivii 17 (marg.); Ezek. xiv. 
 5 ; Col. i. 21 ; Heb. iii. 12. 
 
 Jer. ii. 27 ; xxxii. 33. " Turned the back and not 
 the face," the sign of Israel's open contempt and un- 
 blushing revolt. 
 
 Luke xv. 
 
 The three parables in this most beautiful chapter, have been 
 spoken of by some, as marking a threefold gradation of guilt in 
 the sinner's wandering. The first parable may be taken as re- 
 presenting the case of simple stupidity ; the second of heedless 
 carelessness ; the third marks the deliberate and wilful turning 
 away from the kindness of the Father's house, to pursue with 
 unchecked avidity, the indulgence of pleasure and self-will. 
 
 Isa. i. 4 (marg.) A full description of the wide- 
 spread effects of estrangement from God natural 
 personal active passive. 
 
 AMBITION CARNAL.* 
 
 Ambition was one of the first temptations that 
 assailed and overcame our first parents " Ye shall 
 be as gods." 
 
 Ambition will be one of the most striking features 
 that will mark the character of Antichrist, 2 Thess. 
 ii 4 ; Dan. vii. 25 ; xi. 36 ; Eev. xiii. 5, 6. 
 
 The disciples of Christ. It is surprising how re- 
 peatedly the disciples were guilty of this sin, and at 
 times when it might have least been looked for ; 
 
 (1.) Luke ix. 46 48. Just after Christ's trans- 
 figuration, which three of them had beheld, and of 
 which the rest were most probably cognisant (as is 
 probable from Mark ix. 15). 
 
 (2.) Matt, xviii. 1 6. When the Lord a second 
 time set a little child in the midst of them.
 
 18 8CK1PTURK ITSELF T1JIE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 (3.) Matt. xix. 27.- -After the unadvised inquiry of 
 Peter, not unmixed with ambition, for himself and 
 his fellow apostles. 
 
 (4.) Matt. xx. 20 28. When James and John 
 came, through their mother, with their bold request ; 
 and were justly reproved for their ambition and self- 
 confidence. 
 
 (5.) Luke xxii 24 27. Before, or, according to 
 others, just after the institution of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 Jotham's parable, Judges ix. 8 15. The most 
 aspiring are frequently the most contemptible. 
 
 AMBITION CHRISTIAN. 
 
 It is remarkable that the Greek word which cor- 
 responds to our word ambition (iXoTi/^a/u, properly 
 meaning the love of honour), occurs only three times 
 in the New Testament. Our translators seem to have 
 shrunk from expressing the full meaning, and render 
 it by the three words, studying striving labouring. 
 Thus St. Paul speaks of it as a holy ambition, 
 
 1 Thess. iv. 11. To "study to be quiet." It might 
 almost be rendered to be ambitious to be unambitious, 
 (Conybeure and Hwson.) 
 
 Rom. xv. 20. To carry the gospel where no other 
 labourer had carried it. In this he strove. He was 
 ambitious of it. 
 
 2 Cor. v. 9. Whether present (in the body) or 
 absent, to be accepted of Christ 
 
 How different is such ambition from the ambition 
 of carnal men ! 
 
 APPLICATION PERSONAL. See Experience. 
 
 2 Sam. xil 7. " Thou art the man." 
 
 Never wtw arrow better aimed, nor wound more cently healed. 
 It ifl bard to nay which is more striking the .-kill with which
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 19 
 
 the application was made, or the readiness with which it was 
 received. 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 5. " Examine yourselves." 
 
 Is not the force of this charge enhanced, if we remember to 
 whom it was addressed ? No Church ever questioned St. Paul's 
 authority more than the Church of Corinth. It was on them 
 that he justly turned round with this needful caution, q. d., 
 Those who are ready to question others have often most need to 
 examine themselves. See ver. 6 8. 
 
 CHRIST THE GREAT TEACHER. One feature is 
 observable in our blessed Lord's teachings, His 
 pointed questions and personal applications. " He 
 that hath ears to hear, let him hear." " Take heed 
 how ye hear." "Dost thou believe?" "How is it 
 that ye have no faith?" "Where is your faith?" 
 "Are ye also yet without understanding ?" "Have 
 ye understood all these things?" "Do ye not err?" 
 &c. &c. It was one of Christ's modes of teaching to 
 turn the remarks of others into pointed and personal 
 appeals directed to themselves ; see Luke viii. 19 
 21 ; xi. 27, 28 ; xiii. 15, 23, 24. 
 
 APPROPRIATION PERSONAL, OF FAITH. 
 
 Luther used to say, the sweetest words in the 
 Bible are the pronouns and adverbs; "who loved me?" 
 "a very present help;" "exceeding abundant ;" "ex- 
 ceeding great and precious," &c. Take a few ex- 
 amples : 
 
 Ps. xviii. 1, 2. Nine "mys" in two verses. 
 
 Ps. xxii. 1. "My God, my God." 
 
 A bright ray of faith, even in the dark hour of fear. Observe, 
 faith speaks first, and speaks twice, before fear speaks once ; and 
 faith speaks confidently, whilst fear speaks doubtingly. 
 
 Ps. Ixiii. 1. 
 
 The sweet note of comfort in the wilderness. One great 
 result of wilderness trial David, driven from his own home to
 
 20 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 the dry and thirsty desert, clings closer to God, as the drought 
 drives the thirsting traveller to the cooling brook 
 
 Ps. Ixvii. 6. " (rod, even our own God." 60 xlviiL 
 14 ; Ixviii. 20. 
 
 Ps. cviii. Luther used to say, This psalm is espe- 
 cially for me. 
 
 Hosea ii. 23 j Zech. xiiL 9. 
 
 " My God," as Gouge well says, includes faith, hope, and love ; 
 and therefore contains the essence of true religion. It expresses 
 the strong confidence of many saints. Ruth's choice, Ruth i. 16 ; 
 David's heritage, 1 Chron. xxviii. 20 ; Ps. xxxi. 1 4 ; cxviii. 28 ; 
 Daniel's triumph, vL 22 ; Micah's confidence, vii. 7 ; Jeremiah's 
 portion, Lam. iii 24 ; Job's creed, xix. 25 ; Thomas's convinced 
 assurance, John xx 28. 
 
 Gal. ii. 20." Who loved me." 
 
 It is not gold in the mine that pays our debt, but gold in the 
 hand. Faith is the hand that receives Christ's golden riches. 
 
 Isa. xxv. 1, 9. "My God," "Our God." 
 
 The song of the redeemed in their glorified state, still cling- 
 ing to the Lord of glory. 
 
 BACKSLIDING AND APOSTASY.** See Aliena- 
 tion Lukewarmness Offences Profession Temporary 
 Restoration Unstable. 
 
 EXPRESSED in various ways: Falling departing 
 forgetting forsaking denying God, &c. See 
 Cone. 
 
 Sliding back, Hos. iv. 16; Jer. viii. 5. 
 
 Going back, Isa. i. 4 ; Jer. vii. 24 ; xv. 6 ; John vi. 
 66, 67. 
 
 Leaving the first love, Rev. ii. 4. 
 
 Falling from stedfastness, 2 Pet. iii. 17. 
 
 Erring from the faith, 1 Tim. vi. 10, 21. 
 
 Drawing back, Heb. x. 38. 
 
 Turning away, Jer. iii. 19; 2 Tim. iv. 4; aside to
 
 SCRIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 21 
 
 crooked ways, Ps. cxxv. 5 ; 1 Tim. v. 15 ; again to 
 folly, Ps. Ixxxv. 8. 
 
 Bewitched, as by the power of fascination, Gal. 
 iii. 1. 
 
 Corrupted from the simplicity of Christ, 2 Cor. xi. 3. 
 
 Tripping or stumbling (as the word "offend" 
 means), Jas. iii. 2 ; Ps. xvii. 5. 
 
 Surprised or overtaken in a fault, Gal. vi. 1. 
 
 Swerving, 1 Tim. i. 6 (the word means, like an 
 arrow missing the mark). 
 
 Wandering, Jer. xiv. 10; like blind men, Lam. iv. 
 14; like lost sheep, Isa. liii. 6. 
 
 WitMrawing the shoulder from the yoke, Zech. vii. 
 11 (marg.) 
 
 ILLUSTRATED by many figures : 
 
 A deceitful bow, Ps. Ixxviii. 57; Hos. vii. 16. 
 
 A backsliding heifer, Hos. iv. 16. 
 
 A treacherous wife departing from her husband, and 
 following after other men, Jer. iii. 2 ; Ezek. xvi ; 
 Hos. i. iii. 
 
 A branch not abiding in the true vine, John xv. 6. 
 
 Salt losing its savour, Matt. v. 1 3. 
 
 A lost and wandering sheep, Jer. 1. 6 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 
 6 ; 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 
 Smoking flax, Matt. xii. 20. 
 
 One putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, 
 Luke ix. 62. 
 
 A noble vine become degenerate, Jer. ii. 21. 
 
 The dog turned to his vomit, and the sow that was 
 washed to her wallowing in the mire, 2 Pet. ii 22. 
 
 FOUR BOOKS of the BIBLE seem especially ad- 
 dressed to blacksliders : 
 
 Canticles. See chap. iii. and v., where two periods 
 of declension are described, with the mournful results 
 and consequent humbling of the Bride. It is espe- 
 cially observable how much longer the Bride was in
 
 22 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 finding her Beloved the second time, and how much 
 more she suffered, than at the first. 
 
 Jeremiah The plaintive address of the weeping 
 prophet. The word "backsliding" occurs most fre- 
 quently in this book, of all the books of the Bible. 
 
 Hosea Sometimes called the Gospel of blacksliders. 
 The same argument is pursued as in Jeremiah. 
 
 Galatwm St. Paul's address to a Church noted for 
 its fickleness, " so soon removed" (i. 6) ; " bewitched," 
 "driven back," (v. 7, marg.) 
 
 Note also that the Epistle to the Hebrews is espe- 
 cially aimed against apostasy. 
 
 IT is remarkable 
 
 How many saints who are spoken of in Scripture 
 as "pei-fect" fell into grievous sin ; Noah Job 
 David Asa Hezekiah. 
 
 How many proved weak in their strongest points ; 
 Abraham, the man of faith, in unbelief ; Moses, pre- 
 eminent for meekness, overcome by anger ; Job, the 
 pattern of patience, became impatient ; Solomon, re- 
 nowned for wisdom, turned to folly ; John, the 
 apostle of gentleness and love, proposed revenge ; 
 Peter, the boldest in the hour of danger, turned 
 coward at last. 
 
 THE FALLS of believers have been greatly aggra- 
 vated, because often committed 
 
 (a.) After some special manifestation of the Divine 
 favour or presence so Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xx. 35, 
 after ver. 22 30 ; Hezekiah, Isa.xxxix., after xxxviii. ; 
 Peter, Matt. xvi. 22, 23, after ver. 17 19; Israel, 
 Deut. xxxii. 15. (See Privilege Prosperity.) 
 
 (b.) When they were/ar advanced in years and spi- 
 ritual experience ; so was it with Noah Eli David 
 Solomon. See Old Age, 
 
 (c.) They fell into the same sin more than once. 
 Abraham was twice guilty of equivocation about
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 23 
 
 Sarah ; Lot returned to Sodom after having been once 
 driven out of it ; Jacob dissembled to obtain the birth- 
 right and the blessing, and when with Laban ; Je- 
 hoshaphat formed alliance with Ahab twice ; the 
 Apostles were often guilty of an ambitious spirit. 
 See Ambition. Peter was often rash and impetuous. 
 (d.) They lay, in many instances, for some time in a 
 state of " unrepentance." As it was with David, e. g. 
 in three principal epochs of his life when he fled to 
 Achish, his season of mistrust and darkness seems to 
 have continued for about sixteen months ; when he 
 fell in the more terrible sin with Bathsheba, he lay in 
 guilt nine months or more ; when he sinned in num- 
 bering the people, it was nine months and twenty 
 days before he fully saw his error. 
 
 BARRENNESS SPIRITUAL. For the contrast see 
 
 Fruitfulness. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS of barrenness, which may aptly be 
 used as figures of the ungodly world, or fruitless pro- 
 fessors alike barren of spiritual fruit unto God : 
 
 The vast wilderness, the very symbol of drought and 
 desolation, Deut. viii. 15 ; xxxii. 10 ; Jer. ii. 31 ; iv. 
 26 ; xii. 10. 
 
 A salt land, Deut. xxix. 23 ; Judges ix. 45 ; Jer. 
 xvii. 6. 
 
 Barren earth, Heb. vi. 8. 
 
 " The wayside" ground, Matt. xiii. 4 19. 
 
 Eunuchs, Isa. Ivi. 3. 
 
 The barren fig-tree, Luke xiii. 6 9. 
 
 Jericho, 2 Kings ii. 1921. 
 
 Ebal the mountain of the curses. The word 
 "Ebal," according to Gesenius, means "void of 
 leaves" bare and blasted. 
 
 Ephraim. Strange that one whose name means
 
 24 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 fruitful is spoken of as being barren of fruit to God 
 bringing forth fruit, but " unto himself," Hos. x. 1 ! 
 
 It is sad to observe how, in many cases, the guilt 
 of barrenness is aggravated by the enjoyment of much 
 privilege ; 
 
 The barren fig tree, it is expressly said, was planted 
 in "a vineyard" a place where it had every advan- 
 tage ot soil and special care; and yet it remained 
 unfruitful, Luke viii. 7! 
 
 The degenerate vine, in like manner, was planted in 
 "a very truitlol hill" well cleared, and fenced, and 
 cared for, Isa. v. 1 7 ; Jer. ii 21 ; and yet it 
 brought forth no good fruit. Could a sentence pro- 
 nounced against such barrenness be unjust 1 
 
 BEGINNING OF EVIL. See Backsliding Influ- 
 ence. 
 
 LIKE the letting out of tcater, Prov. xvii. 14. 
 
 The famous Holmfirth flood, which caused so much damage 
 ome years ago, arose, it was afterwards found, from a tmaU 
 unobtenxd crack in the embankment. 
 
 A little leaven, 1 Cor. v. 6 ; GaL v. 9. 
 
 " A root of bitterness," Heb. xii. 15. 
 
 Trace the outbreak of evil from 
 
 Looking temptation entering by the eye Eve 
 Achan David Ahaz. 
 
 Listening Eve Rehoboam the disobedient pro- 
 phet, &c. 
 
 Lev. xiv. 35. " It seemeth to me there is as it were 
 a plague in the house." 
 
 Num. xi. 1. "The people were as it were com- 
 plaining" (marg.) the first mutterings of the rising 
 storm. 
 
 Prov. xxiv. 33, 34. " A little sleep," the precursor 
 of poverty and want, marching onwards as an armed 
 man.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 25 
 
 Matt. xv. 19. "Evil thoughts" and then, accord- 
 ing to the French proverb, " Ce riest que le premier 
 pas qui ccute." 
 
 Luke vi 9. 
 
 Our Lord probably now first saw the risings of malice begin- 
 ning in their hearts, and the purpose forming to destroy Him- 
 self, as verse 11 shows. 
 
 1 Tim. vi. 10. " The love of money is the root of 
 all evil." 
 
 Not money, but the undue love of money, is a root of bitter- 
 ness ; because it destroys the love of better things. 
 
 IT is OBSERVABLE in every dispensation how se- 
 verely God always punishes the first outbreaks of 
 sin : 
 
 Our first parents in Eden Israel in the wilderness 
 Achan in Canaan Ananias and Sapphira in the 
 early Christian Church. 
 
 BEREAVEMENT.* See Death Resurrection. 
 Gen. iv. 8. 
 
 The first bereavement. How closely it followed upon the 
 first birth ! 
 
 Gen. xxiii. 9 19. 
 
 The first land that Abraham could call his own in Canaan, was 
 the ground he bought for a burying-place. 
 
 Gen. xxiii. 2. " And Abraham came to mourn for 
 Sarah, and to weep for her." 
 
 In the Hebrew Bibles, the word for ' ' to weep " contains a 
 letter written only half the size. The Jews say this was to sig- 
 nify that his mourning did not exceed the proper bounds. 
 
 Gen. xxvii. 41. " The days of mourning for my 
 father are at hand." 
 
 From the earliest times, mourning for the dead has been the 
 acknowledged and proper tribute of natural affection. Thus
 
 26 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 mourning was made at the death of Abraham Sarah Detarah 
 Jacob Joseph Moses Aaron Absalom Josiah. (See 
 Cone, under mourning.) 
 
 Gen. xlviii. 21, and L 24. "I die; but God shall 
 be with you." 
 
 A blessed ground for faith to rest on. Amidst the constant 
 changes of mortality, the unchanging God remains the same. 
 Christ is still the chief Shepherd of the sheep, though under- 
 shepherdH are called away. See how beautifully this is lirought 
 out here by Jacob and Joseph ; so also in the last farewell of 
 If"***, Deut. xxxl 1 8 ; by the Psalmist, Pa. xviii. 45 and 46 ; 
 and in Heb. xiii. 7, 8 (Greek), where we are reminded that the 
 pastors and rulers of the Church are removed from time to time, 
 but Jesus Christ is still " the same, yesterday, and to-day, and 
 for ever." He changeth not 
 
 1 Chron. vii. 2022. 
 
 A father losing nine children apparently at one time. 
 
 Neh. ii. 3 5. Jerusalem, " the city of my futlierf 
 sepnlchres." 
 
 The sad association which endears many a spot to the be- 
 reaved! 
 
 Jer. xxxi. 15 17. Rachel's excessive grief com- 
 forted. 
 
 Matt. xiv. 1 2. " They came and took up the body, 
 . . . and went and told Jesus." 
 What better could they have done f 
 
 John xi. 2123. 
 
 It is very noteworthy the difference here ; Martha looked 
 bade, Jesus looked forward ; Martha at what miyht have been, 
 Jesus at what shall be. 
 
 The RESIGNATION of pious parents, in viewing the 
 loss of children, is several times marked very beauti- 
 fully in Scripture : Jacob, Hen. xliii. 14 ; Aaron, 
 Lev. x. 3; Job, Hi. 10; Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 18; David, 
 2 Sam. xii. 23 ; the Shunammite, 2 Kings iv. 26.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 27 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. The tenderest sympathy and 
 most mighty help were rendered by our blessed Lord, 
 in the prospect and presence of death, in the three 
 cases of restoration to life Jairus' daughter, the 
 widow of Nain, and Lazarus. Death, says one, is the 
 destroyer of domestic happiness ; but Jesus is the 
 destroyer of death. In the prospect too of His own de- 
 parture, how tenderly the Lord soothed and comforted 
 the hearts of His sorrowing disciples. 
 
 BLINDNESS SPIRITUAL.* See Dulness. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 The blindness of the men of Sodom, Gen. xix 11. 
 They were blinded with lust before they were blinded 
 in vision, and their lust still burned : " so that they 
 wearied themselves to find the door." 
 
 The blindness of the Syrians, 2 Kings vi. 18 20. 
 Bewildered and confounded, led, to their surprise, 
 into the midst of Samaria. 
 
 Blind captives. It was a cruel Eastern custom to 
 put out the eyes of prisoners taken in war, as in the 
 case of Zedekiah, Jer. xxxix. 7. 
 
 The film or hard covering on the eye causing blind- 
 ness. The same word is used for blindness and hard- 
 ness (irwpwffri) , Mark iii. 5 ; Rom. xi. 25 ; Eph. iv. 
 18 (marg.) 
 
 The vail upon the heart, 2 Cor. iii. 14 16, like the 
 Jewish tallith the thick vail of ignorance and un- 
 belief, spread, not only over Israel, but over all 
 nations, Isa. xxv. 7. 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS and DEGREES of BLINDNESS, 
 Isa. viii. 20. "No light" no clear light, only the 
 
 uncertain glimmer of dim twilight. " No morning " 
 
 dawn (marg.) 
 
 2 Pet. i. 9. " Blind, and cannot see afar off." Like
 
 28 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 a short-sighted person, having a clear view only of 
 things brought close to the eyes ; and heavenly things 
 are too far off ! 
 
 Mark viii. 24. The indistinct hazy vision of those 
 gradually recovering from blindness : seeing things 
 as a picture comes out in the earlier stages of photo- 
 graphy ; like a cloudy view of truth. 
 
 Isa. xliii. 8. " The blind people that have eyes :" 
 "which have eyes and see not," Jer. v. 21 ; seeing, 
 but not observing, Isa. xlii. 20 ; seeing but not per- 
 ceiving, vi. 9. None are so blind as those that will 
 not see. 
 
 Eph. iv. 18. "The blindness of the heart" (marg. 
 hardness.) The worst state of all blindness of heart. 
 But alas ! the state of every natural man, 1 Cor. 
 ii 14. 
 
 John iii. 20. Hating the light. 
 
 Spiritual blindness in enlightened England is wilful rebellion ; 
 because blind sinners hate the light, and shrink from its reveal- 
 ing and manifesting power, Eph. v. 13 ; as wicked men "rebel 
 against the light" of day, Job xxiv. 18 ; as the Jews would not 
 "comprehend" the light, when it came to them, John i. 5. 
 Men prefer darkness to light, John iii. 19. Compare the beauty 
 and contrast that lies in the Greek word for sincerity (ti\iKplveia) 
 that which is proved by being held up to the sun. 
 
 JUDICIAL BLINDNESS, especially of the Jews. 
 
 Isa. vi. 9, 10. It is a solemn thought that this 
 fearful passage is quoted more frequently in the New 
 Testament, than any other Old Testament text ; see 
 Matt xiii. 14, 15; John xii. 40; Acts xxviii. 26; 
 Rom. xi. 8 ; see also Isa. xxix. 10, xliv. 18: "He 
 hath shut their eyes," marg. daubed, (as with clay, as 
 is sometimes done to criminals in the East.) 
 
 2 Thess. ii. 11. "God shall send them strong de- 
 lusion, that they should believe (the) lie." 
 
 Esther vii. 8. Covering the face.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 29 
 
 A certain harbinger of death in the East ; blindfolding before 
 execution. It is an illustration of the impending ruin of con- 
 demned sinners when they are carried on blindfold in their sins. 
 Blinded by "the god of this world," 2 Cor. iv. 6 ; "condemned 
 already," John iii. 18. 
 
 The MISERIES of blindness. 
 
 Deprived of sight, men grope in misery in the 
 brightest light of the clearest day, Deut. xxviii. 29 ; 
 Job v. 14; Isa. lix. 10; stumbling, Prov. iv. 19; 
 and wearying themselves in vain to find the way, 
 Gen. xix. 11. 
 
 John ix. 39 ; Matt. xiii. 13. 
 
 It is remarkable that Christ seldom spoke by parables, until 
 the Jews had shown their rebellion against the light, by attri- 
 buting His miracles to Beelzebub, Matt. xii. 24, and were 
 already plotting to take away His life, xii. 14. 
 
 Matt, xxiii. 16, 17, 19, 24, 26. "Woe unto you, 
 ye blind guides." " Ye fools and blind." "Thou blind 
 Pharisee." 
 
 Blindness is especially disastrous in guides and teachers. 
 " If the blind lead the blind," &c., Matt. xv. 14. Under the 
 law, none of the seed of Aaron that were blind, were allowed 
 "to approach to offer the bread of his God." Lev. xxi. 17, 
 18. 
 
 ST. PAUL'S BLINDNESS at his conversion was an 
 apt illustration of his former state, when blinded by 
 prejudice and hatred to Christ, Acts ix. 8, 9. 
 
 ELYMAS. It is remarkable that while none of 
 the apostles had power to cure blindness, the first 
 miracle St. Paul wrought was to inflict it, Acts 
 xiii. 11. 
 
 The LORD JESUS was the great Restorer of sight to 
 the blind, Luke iv. 18; John viii. 12 ; ix. 39. It is 
 remarkable that no prophet of the Old Testament, 
 and no apostle of the New Testament, had the com- 
 mission to restore sight, nor was it included in the
 
 30 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 charge given to the seventy. (The recovering of St. 
 Paul s temporary blindness was an exceptional case.) 
 It is no less observable that of all our blessed Lord's 
 miracles of healing, none are so frequent as His kind- 
 ness to the blind. Five or six separate cases are 
 recorded, out of the thirty-three miracles narrated, 
 besides many of which we read, as in Luke vii. 21. 
 
 BODY.* See Death Resurrection. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. Man's body is compared to 
 
 A house of clay, " whose foundation is in the dust," 
 Job iv. 19 ; mean and mouldering. See also xiii. 
 12. 
 
 A curiously embroidered garment, Ps. cxxxix. 13 16. 
 " Curiously wrought," like tapestry interwoven with 
 many coloured threads. " Wrought as with a needle " 
 (Lowth); "fashioned" in the secret place, into the 
 most beautiful fabric ; every member carefully noted 
 in God's book. 
 
 A temple, designed to be the shrine and abode of 
 Deity, 1 Cor. vi. 15, 19. 
 
 A tent or tabernacle, frail and easily overturned, in 
 contrast to a fixed and strong house, 2 Cor. v. 1. 
 
 A frail vessel, 1 Thess. iv. 4. St. Peter's words - 
 "the weaker vessel," 1 Pet. iii. 7, imply that both 
 are weak. 
 
 Grots the flower of the field ; the flower perhaps 
 more delicate and beautiful than the grass, but both 
 alike when beneath the mower's scythe. Both, left 
 to themselves, are born to wither and pass away, 
 Isa. xl. 68 ; 1 Pet. i. 24. 
 
 The sheath of the spirit, Dan. vii. 15 (marg.), the 
 scabbard concealing the bright sword within. 
 
 THE FORMATION of man's body, in the several 
 stages, is described with singular scientific exactness, 
 Job x. 1012.
 
 SCRIPTtJRE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 31 
 
 THE RUINED PALACE. Ever since man's fall, sin 
 has wrought ruin upon that which God made perfect. 
 It is observable how frequently in Scripture we 
 find 
 
 Great physical powers, in connection with the carnal 
 seed, or used on the side of evil ; as in the case of the 
 giants, the Anakim, Goliath, and his compeers, Saul 
 and others. The moral lesson to be learned from the 
 history of Samson, is probably to show that great and 
 even supernatural powers, may be combined with 
 great deficiency of moral strength or spiritual 
 vigour. 
 
 Great personal beauty the cause of trouble or sin, 
 Prov. xxxi. 30. " Favour (a graceful form and mien) 
 is deceitful, and beauty is vain." One fit of sickness 
 may sweep it away, and make the fair form like a 
 moth-eaten garment, Ps. xxxix. 1 1 ; keen sorrow and 
 corroding care may soon wither its charms (Ps. vi. 7 ; 
 Job xvi. 16); whilst, should beauty remain, it has 
 often proved only a source of trouble to its possessor 
 and a snare to others ; as it did to Sarah, to Rebekah, 
 to Joseph, to Esther, to Thamar, and to Bathsheba. 
 
 All the members of the body may be perverted as 
 "instruments of unrighteousness," Rom. vi. 13. See 
 Isa. lix. 1 8; Rom. iii. 13 18. Fingers, feet, lips, 
 tongue, throat " perverse lips," " uncircumcised 
 ears," &c. Paul calls the whole body " vile" Phil, 
 iii. 20, (" the body of our humiliation ") ; Rom. viii. 
 10, "dead because of sin;" liable to suffering by its 
 very nature a mortal body in a fallen world, Heb. xiii. 
 3 ; weak, overpowered alike by an excess of anguish 
 or of ecstasy. (Let it be noted, that the disciples 
 slept alike during the vision of Christ's transfigura- 
 tion, and at the time of Christ's agony) ; corruptible 
 and mortal, 1 Cor. xv. 53. 
 
 NEVERTHELESS the bodies of the saints are now
 
 32 SCKI1TUKK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Honoured as "the members of Christ," 1 Cor. vL 
 15 ; "The temple of the Holy Ghost," ver. 19. 
 
 They should be 
 
 Mortified, 1 Cor. VL 13 ; be. 27 ; Rom. viil 10 ; Col. 
 iiL 5 ; in every member, Rom. vi 12, 13; Matt. v. 
 19 30 ; xviil 8, 9 (the right eye, the right hand, 
 the foot). This was set forth in the cleansing of the 
 leper, Lev. xiv. 14 17 ; where the right ear, the right 
 hand, and right foot are designed to represent the 
 whole body. See also in the consecration of Aaron 
 and his sons, Exod. xxix. 20. 
 
 They shall be 
 
 Glorified made spiritual and glorious ; no longer 
 depraved, corruptible, of limited capacity and power ; 
 but raised in glory, and made like Christ's glorified 
 body, Phil, iii 20 ; 1 John il 2, never again to know 
 the troubles of mortality. 
 
 THE BOOK OF PROVERBS suggests two practical 
 lessons 
 
 (1.) How great is the influence of man 1 8 mind over 
 man's body. See chap. xiv. 30; xv. 13, 15, 30; xvi. 24; 
 xvii. 22. It is singular to know the wise man's re- 
 ceipt for health. In two passages, what is called 
 " health " in the text is called " medicine " in the 
 margin, see chap. iiL 8 ; iv. 22. 
 
 (2.) The right keeping of the heart is the key to the 
 right keeping of the body. The mind affects the 
 body ; and the heart must rule the mind. " Keep 
 thy heart," iv. 23, is the rule tor those who would 
 keep the mouth, and lips, and eyes, and feet, ver. 
 2427. 
 
 BOLDNESS AND COURAGE, MORAL AND SPIRI 
 rUAL.* See Strength Witnessing Zeal. 
 
 FIGURES and EXPRESSIONS 
 
 A lion, Prov. xxviiL 1 ; 2 Sam. xvil 10 ; xxiil 20.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 33 
 
 A goodly horse in the battle, Zech. x. 3 ; Job xxxix. 
 1925. 
 
 A soldier, brave and fearless. See Deut. xx. 5 ; cf. 
 1 Tim. vi 12. 
 
 A defenced city, and iron pillars, and brazen walls, 
 Jer. L 18. 
 
 Setting the face like a lion, 1 Chron. xii. 8. 
 
 Setting the face like flint, Isa. L 7. 
 
 Setting the face like adamant, " harder than flint," 
 Ezek. iii. 9. 
 
 " Valiant for the truth" Jer. ix. 3 ; Heb. xi. 34. 
 
 "Not ashamed" Eom. i. 16; 2 Tim. i. 8; 1 Pet. 
 iv. 16. 
 
 " Not afraid, nor dismayed, nor confounded. 1 ' See 
 Cone. 
 
 " In nothing terrified," Phil, i 2028. 
 
 2 Pet. i. 5." Add to your faith virtue." 
 
 Christian manliness or courage. Observe the connexion 
 courage, the result of faith, tempered by knowledge, or moral 
 discernment, enlightened by conscientiousness, and leading to 
 love, 2 Tim. L 7. 
 
 1 Chron. xix. 13. A beautiful exemplification of 
 the wise remark, "Duties are ours, results are 
 God's." 
 
 " BE OF GOOD COURAGE." It is important to observe 
 how frequently this, or some similar charge, was 
 given to many chief ministers and leaders of the 
 Church at the commencement of their work ; as in the 
 case of Moses, Joshua, Solomon, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
 the Apostles, the Seventy, St. Paul, &c. Like the oft 
 repeated charge, "Be strong." See Strength. 
 
 Some of the noblest EXAMPLES of holy courage are 
 found in 
 
 (1.) Those who were at first fearful and timid ; like 
 Moses, who shrank back from being the leader of 
 
 C
 
 34 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 his people, Exod. iii. 11 ; iv. 117; Gideon, Judges 
 vi. 15 27; Isaiah, vi 5; Jeremiah, i. 6; Nicodemus, 
 John iii. 1 ; Joseph of Arimathea, John xix. 38 ; the 
 woman who came so timidly, yet gathered courage, 
 Luke viii. 47. 
 
 (2.) Those who might expect that their bold testimony 
 for the truth would expose them to opposition and persecu- 
 tion. Moses, Exod. iii. 19; v. xiv. ; Elijah, 1 Kings 
 xviii. ; Nehemiah, vi. 11 ; xiii.; Jeremiah, i. 7 9; 
 Ezekiel, ii. 6 8 ; iii. 8, 9 ; John the Baptist, Mark 
 vi. 17, 18; the Apostles, Acts iv. 1820; v. 17, 18, 
 41, 42 ; St. Paul, Acts xx. 2224. 
 
 (3.) Those who stood single handed in their holy zeal. 
 Moses, Exod. xxxii. 26 ; Phinehas, Num. xxv. 
 713; Ps. cvi. 31; David, 1 Sam. xvii. 3245; 
 Elijah, 1 Kings xviil 15 40 ; 2 Kings 115; Mor- 
 decai and Esther, Esther v. 1 ; vii. 3 ; viii. 5 ; Shadrach, 
 Meshach, and Abed-nego, Daniel, iii. ; vi. 10 ; Peter 
 and John, Acts iv. 18 20; the Apostles, Acts v. 
 1729; Stephen, Acts vi. 10, 15; vii.; St. Paul 
 before Felix, Acts xxiv. 25 ; before Agrippa, Acts 
 xxvi. 
 
 The LORD JESUS. Isa. L 7; Luke ix. 51 ; John 
 vii. 26. 
 
 It is well to remember how much many good men have suffered 
 from the want of boldness ; as Eli and David, in not restraining 
 their children. 1 Sam. iii. 13 ; 1 Kings L 6. See a striking 
 lesson on forbearing to itr&c, 1 Kings xx. 35- 42. 
 
 BONDAGE OF SIN. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Slavery. Like that of Israel in Egypt, Exod. i. 1 3, 
 14, when Israel was made to endure nard rigour in 
 " the house of bondage " (an expression used by Moses 
 eleven times) ; and in " the iron furnace," Deut. iv. 
 20 ; a bondage marked as cruel, unreasonable, and
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 35 
 
 tenacious. In later times, like the slavery of Greece 
 and Rome, no less severe; when the slave (often 
 a captive taken in war) was regarded as wholly 
 the property of his master, liable to be beaten, 
 chained, or even killed at the master's will and plea 
 sure. 
 
 The figure is aptly applied to the cruel and relent- 
 less slavery of sin ; and the word " servant " would 
 be more forcibly translated slave; so cf. John viii. 
 34 ; Rom. vi. 16 ; Titus iii. 3 "serving divers lusts and 
 pleasures," (the -slave and drudge of many masters); 
 2 Pet. ii. 19, "the servants of corruption." Still 
 worse is the case, when the sinner sells himself into 
 slavery like Ahab, 1 Kings xxi. 20 ; and Israel, 
 2 Kings xvii. 17; Isa. 1. 1. See also St. Paul's ex- 
 pression, Rom. vii. 14, "sold under sin." 
 
 Captivity, Rom. vii. 23 ; Isa. Ixi. 1 ; Luke iv. 18. 
 Probably alluding to the ancient custom of putting 
 out the eyes of captives, and then keeping them 
 bound in chains with cruel rigour. See 2 Tim. ii. 
 26. 
 
 Yoke, Isa. ix 14; Lam. i. 14; 2 Cor vi. 14. 
 Like the yoke of Israel's bondage in Egypt, under 
 which the people were bowed and bent down, and 
 unable to " go upright," Lev. xxvi. 13. 
 
 THE BINDING POWER of SIN may be illustrated by 
 any overcoming power, 2 Pet. ii. 19 ; as that of wine, 
 Isa. xxviii. 1 ; of lust and pleasure, Titus iii. 3 ; of 
 Samson held by Delilah to his ruin. 
 
 THE DEMONIACS of our Lord's time were sad illus- 
 trations of the devil's power and malice, especially 
 that sad case, the demoniac of Gadara, Mark v. 1 5. 
 It is not improbable that in some cases, at least, those 
 who were devil-possessed had first given themselves 
 over to the service of sensuality and sin.
 
 36 8CBIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLU8TKATOR. 
 
 THAT POOR WOMAN, bound by Satan for eighteen 
 years, Luke xiii. 11-16. 
 
 THE WEARINESS and TOIL of SIN. Hd"w hard blind 
 sinners toil for their destruction, Isa. Ivii. 10; Jer. 
 ix. 5; Hab. iL 13. 
 
 " AGAIN ENTANGLED therein and overcome," 2 Pet. 
 ii. 20 ; like silly sheep, no sooner freed from the 
 thorns and briers, than ready to wander and be 
 caught and torn again. 
 
 " TIED and BOUND with the chain of sin," Prov. v. 
 22 ; Rom. vii. 24 (like a living man condemned to 
 be tied to a loathsome corpse). Sin comes easily, 
 but binds strongly. "The bond of iniquity," Acts 
 viii. 23. 
 
 The JEWS boasted of their national liberty, <is 
 they once said to Christ, " We were never in bondage 
 to any man," John viii. 34. It was a saying mani- 
 festly untrue : but Christ's answer is very striking 
 " Whoever committeth sin is the servant (slave) of 
 sin," ver. 35. 
 
 BROTHERLY LOVE.**- See Love Kindness- 
 Union. 
 
 The pedigree, 2 Pet. i. 7 the daughter of godliness, 
 and mother of charity. 
 
 The peace-offering. The Jewish offering, which was 
 designed especially to foster holy fellowship. 
 
 The " New Commandment" John xiii. 34 ; 1 John 
 iL 7, 8 ; old and yet new ; a commandment given 
 under the law, but given by Christ with a view to 
 a new dispensation, with new motives, and after a 
 new model, and for a new necessity Like an old 
 book in a new edition, or an ancient silver cup re-
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 37 
 
 moulded and re-stamped, with the freshness of novelty 
 and the honour of antiquity. 
 
 The kiss of charity. In the early Church was not 
 only given as a friendly salutation, but as the symbol 
 of love and Christian brotherhood, Rom. xvi. 16; 1 
 Cor. xvi. 20. 
 
 The friendships of the Bible. It is interesting to 
 trace these as being founded on spiritual affinity, as 
 well as from natural affection. David and Jonathan ; 
 Naomi and Ruth ; Elisha and the Shunamite ; Peter 
 and John; Paul and Barnabas, &c. 
 
 ' ' Beloved " " Dearly beloved " " Brethren. " See 
 Cone. How often these and similar words occur in 
 the Epistles of St. Paul, St James, St. Peter, and 
 St. John, especially when it was designed to soften 
 reproof, and to conciliate affection. See below. 
 
 "A brother" ll Brethren." 
 
 Much is bound up in these words ! Alike in natural 
 relationship and spiritual, they have always been 
 held as the ground for harmony and affection. So 
 Abraham used it as an argument why strife should 
 cease, Gen. xiii. 8 ; and Moses, Acts vii 26 " we 
 be brethren." It is the word which naturally implies 
 sympathy and affection, Prov. xvii. 1 7 ; and union, 
 Ps. cxxxiii. 1. What a healing sound it had when 
 Joseph said, " I am Joseph your brother," Gen. xlv. 4. 
 
 Rom. XVL 23. " Quartus, a brother." St. Paul 
 said no more of one, from whom he sent a kindly 
 greeting. It was enough. 
 
 1 Cor. viii. 11. "The weak Brother, for whom 
 Christ died." 
 
 2 Thess. iii. 15. Admonish him as a brother. 
 James i. 9. " The brother of low degree " " low." 
 
 but no less on that account a " brother. 
 
 Gal. v. 23. " By love serve one another." Rather 
 "enslave yourselves one to another, by the bondage of 
 love." (Conybeare and Howsori).
 
 38 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 Rom. xil 10. "Be kindly affectioned with 
 brotherly love." See margin, and also see Kindnt-ss. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Ananias, Acts ix. 1 7. " Brother Saul : " so lovingly 
 Ananias at once greeted the proud and fierce perse- 
 cutor of the Church, when he was divinely instructed 
 of his marvellous change and future mission. 
 
 Barnabas, Acts ix. 26, 27, in the same spirit of a 
 Christian brother, took Saul by the hand to introduce 
 him to the Apostles, when all the disciples were afraid 
 of him, and stood aloof. 
 
 Aquila and Priscilla, Acts xviii. 24 26 ; Rom. xviii. 
 3,4. 
 
 St. Paul. A noble example of true Christian love 
 to the brethren ; enforcing his repeated exhortations 
 by his own devotion and self-abnegation. See 1 Cor. 
 viii 11, 13; ix. 1923; 2 Cor. xi. 2631; his 
 ministerial tenderness, 1 Thess. ii. 7 1 1 ; uniting a 
 father's wisdom with a nursing mother's love. 
 
 St. James. It is one peculiarity of the short Epistle 
 of St. James, that in five chapters the expression " a 
 brother," or " brethren," occurs sixteen times. 
 
 St. Peter. Four times in his two Epistles does 
 St. Peter enjoin brotherly love, 1 Pet. L 22; ii. 17; 
 iii. 8 ; 2 Pet. i. 7. 
 
 St. John (himself the apostle of love), as might be 
 expected, dwells with glowing fervour in every part 
 of his Epistles, upon the importance and sweetness of 
 Christian love, contrasting it with its opposite, and 
 urging it as a mark of the new birth, and of likeness 
 to God. See 1 John ii. 911 ; iii. 1119, 23; iv. 
 721 ; v. 1, 2 ; 2 John L 5 ; 3 John 1. 
 
 The LORD JESUS in the highest sense a brothei 
 "born for adversity," Prov. xvii. 17 honoured in His 
 teaching and example the love of holy brotherhood. 
 It was the " new commandment " which He stamped
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 39 
 
 with His especial sanction, John xiii. 34 ; xv. 12, 17; 
 the relationship to which He assigned especial honour, 
 Matt. xii. 46, 47; xxv. 40; John xx. 17; the bind- 
 ing tie to Himself, which He gave as the check to 
 ambition and party strife, Matt, xxiii. 8 ; and the 
 loving title He gave to His disciples, especially after 
 the resurrection, John xx. 17; Matt, xxviii. 10. 
 
 Philadelphia. It is a singular coincidence, that the 
 Church of Philadelphia (which word means brotherly 
 love) should have been apparently the most flourish- 
 ing of all the seven churches, and that it remained 
 the longest. It still exists under a Turkish name, 
 meaning "the city of God," and contains about 
 twenty-four places of worship, with a bishop and 
 body of clergy. 
 
 BUSINESS.* 
 
 Gen. xlvi. 33 ; xlvii. 3. " What is your occupa- 
 tion?" 
 
 (1.) It was anciently presumed that all men had some occupa- 
 tion. (2.) Whatever a man's business be, if his calling be a 
 lawful one, he need never be ashamed to own it. 
 
 BUSINESS COMPATIBLE with RELIGION. It is re- 
 markable how many illustrations we find in Scripture 
 of men engaged in the active business of life, who 
 were yet well marked as holy men. Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob, Moses, David, &c., were shepherds; besides 
 Moses being afterwards a ruler, and David a king ; 
 Amos was a herdsman ; Joseph, the husband of the 
 Virgin Mary, a carpenter ; Luke, a physician ; Zenas, 
 a lawyer; Paul and Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla, 
 tent-makers ; Lydia, a seller of purple ; Boaz, a rural 
 farmer; Simon of Joppa, a tanner; Joseph, Daniel, 
 and Nehemiah, prime-ministers, put in trust of vast 
 interests, and made rulers of provinces and kingdoms : 
 yet none of these were too busy or too high-minded
 
 40 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 to find the time, and have the heart, to serve and 
 worship God. 
 
 BUSINESS is often urged as a HINDRANCE to RELI- 
 GION : so it was by Gilead and Dan, who were " too 
 far" and "too busy," Judges v. 17; cf. the vain excuse 
 of " the farm and the merchandise," Lukexiv. 18, 19. 
 
 TYRE, an example of a great commercial city, 
 boasting in its wealth and luxury, and brought down 
 even to the dust, and yet to be favoured again. See 
 Tsa. xxiii. ; Ezek. xxvi. xxviiL, &c. 
 
 "NOT SLOTHFUL in business; fervent in spirit; 
 serving the Lord," Rom. xii. 11. The Christian's 
 motto, " Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy 
 work," is as truly the law of God, as " Remember the 
 Sabbath-day to keep it holy," Exod. xx. 8, 9. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS put honour upon honest labour, 
 by following His father's trade of a carpenter. It is 
 noteworthy, too, how He evangelised men when in 
 the midst of their worldly occupations, the shepherds 
 of Bethlehem while tending their flocks ; he called 
 Peter and Andrew, and James and John, when en- 
 gaged with their nets ; Matthew from his toll-booth. 
 He purged the Temple from being made " a house of 
 merchandise " and " a den of thieves ;" not condemn- 
 ing buying and selling, but condemning the profana- 
 tion of the Temple. 
 
 CARE.* 
 
 The close connection of the old English meaning of 
 "care" with "taking thought" is marked, 1 Sam. ix. 
 5; Matt. vi. 25, 27, 31, 34. 
 
 Matt xiii. 22; Luke xil 34. "The cares of this 
 world." 
 
 from fupifu to divide. Anxious care divides the 
 mind, and generally tnkea the "larger half." The figure our
 
 SCRIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 41 
 
 Lord uses is a very suggestive one ; comparing care and covet- 
 ousness to thorns. Thorns came in with sin, and are a fruit of 
 the curse. They are entangling, vexing, scratching, and they 
 choke the good seed. The man that deals with thorns must be 
 well armed and guarded, 2 Sam. xxiii. 6, 7. 
 
 Luke x. 40. " Cumbered about much serving." 
 
 irepieffiraTo drawn in different ways at the same time, ex- 
 actly answering to our English word " distracted." 
 
 Luke xii. 29. " Neither be ye of doubtful mind." 
 Margin, " Live not in careful suspense." 
 
 fjuereuplfrffOe tossed about as thistle-down in the air ; or like 
 a ship, the sport of the changeful tide and angry billows. 
 
 Phil. iv. 6. " Be careful for nothing." 
 
 Care is a Christian duty. Carefulness, in the literal meaning 
 of our English word (fulness of care) is a sin, arguing needless 
 perplexity and unworthy distrust, 1 Cor. vii. 32. 
 
 Ps. Iv. 22. " Cast thy burden upon the Lord." 
 " Thy gift" (marg.) thy allotted portion thy care 
 (LXX. and Syriac.) Roll it, as the word is, xxxvii. 
 5 ; Prov. xvi. 3 (marg.), where the text is " Com- 
 mit." 
 
 1 Pet. v. 7. " Casting all your care upon Him." 
 Not only sorrowful care, but every anxious thought every 
 lawful wish the " heaviness" that "makes the heart stoop." 
 Cast all upon God. Jesus is the care-bearer, as well as the sin- 
 bearer of His people, Isa. liii. 4, 5. 
 
 Prov. x. 22. " True riches," and " no sorrow" 
 added. 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 21. "Things present," "things to 
 come," " all are yours." Then what need for anxious 
 care? 
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.* 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 Stars, Gen. xxxvii. 9. See Family Religion..
 
 42 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Arrows in the hand of a mighty man, Ps. cxxvii. 4. 
 A Chinese proverb says, "When a son is born into a 
 family, u bow and arrow are hung up at the gate." 
 
 Olive Plants, Ps. cxxviil 3 the emblem of peace, 
 richness, and prosperity. 
 
 Plants, Ps. cxliv. 12 not useless weeds, nor hurtful 
 thorns, nor withered plants and blasted ; but health- 
 ful plants, growing in strength and increasing in 
 beauty. 
 
 The flower of man's age, 1 Sam. ii. 33. 
 
 Corner Stones, polished after the similitude of a 
 palace, Ps. cxliv. 12, useful and ornamental the 
 bonds of union and the upholders of harmony. 
 
 Lambs, John XXL 15. 
 
 The Hebrew idiom for childhood is taken from 
 building a house, from which the Hebrew word for son 
 (Ben) is derived see Deut. xxv. 9; Ruth iv. 11, 
 &c. 
 
 The " live coal" upon the hearth was another He- 
 brew idiom, 2 Sam. xiv. 7. 
 
 CHILDREN themselves are made the illustration 
 of 
 
 Simplicity and docility, Matt xviii. 2, 3. 
 Weanedness from the world, Ps. cxxxi. 2. 
 Desire for needful nourishment, 1 Pet. ii. 2. 
 Freedom from ambition, Mark ix. 36, 37. 
 Freedom from guile and malice, 1 Cor. xiv. 20. 
 Submission to correction, Heb. xii. 9. 
 Also of 
 
 Smallness of understanding, 1 Cor. xiii. 11, xiv. 20. 
 Instability of character, Eph. iv. 1 4. 
 
 1 Chron. xxix. 1. "Solomon my son .... is yet 
 young and tender." 
 
 " Youny and Under" when the rapple twig m*y easily be 
 bent
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 43 
 
 Prov. xxiii. 15. " My son, if thine heart be wise, 
 mine heart shall rejoice, even mine." 
 
 " Lord, let thy blessing so accompany my endeavours, that all 
 my sons may be Benaiahs (the Lord's building), then will they 
 be all Abners (their father's light) ; and that all my daughters 
 may be Bethuels (the Lord's daughters), and then will they be 
 all Abigails (their father's joy.)" Smnnock. 
 
 Prov. xxxi. 2. "What, my son? and what, the 
 son of my womb 1 and what, the son of my vows ? " 
 
 The thrice repeated interrogation implies the strength of a 
 mother's feelings. What am I to say to thee ? Words fail to 
 express the fulness of a mother's heart. 
 
 Job xx. 11, xiii. 26 ; Ps. xxv. 7. 
 
 The sins of our youth leaving a sad scar in riper years. 
 
 2 Sam. xviii. 18. Absalom's pillar. 
 
 Travellers say the place is taken notice of to this day ; and it 
 is common for passengers to throw a stone to this heap, with 
 words to this purpose, " Cursed be the memory of wicked Ab- 
 salom, and cursed for ever be all wicked children, that rise up in 
 rebellion against their parents." Henry. 
 
 Job i. 4, 5. 
 
 Job's pious sacrifice for his children. 
 
 CHRIST'S regard for children. 
 
 The Lord Jesus showed in many ways the tender 
 care He felt for children. (1.) He took them in His 
 arms and blessed them, Mark x. 13 16, expressing 
 His displeasure at the disciples who would have kept 
 them from Him. (2.) He twice made them the pat- 
 terns of humility and docility, Matt, xviii. 2, 3 ; Luke 
 xviii. 17. (3.) He spoke of them as being under the 
 guardian care of the angels in heaven, Matt, xviii. 10. 
 (4.) He received the hosannas of the children on His 
 entry into Jerusalem, Matt. xxi. 15, 16. 
 
 EXAMPLES of godly children. 
 
 Isaac Submitting to his father on Moriah ; suffer-
 
 44 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 ing himself to be bound on the altar, when he was 
 probably more than twenty years old, Gen. xxii. 
 9. 
 
 Joseph A beautiful example of filial obedience and 
 affection, in visiting his brethren, at his father's wish, 
 though they were ill disposed to him ; and persever- 
 ing in his search until he found them, Gen. xxxvii. 
 After the many years of separation, no scenes could 
 be more affecting than those in which he met with 
 his brethren, and asked, " Is your father well, the 
 old man of whom ye spake 1 Is he yet alive ? " Gen. 
 xliii. 27 ; and the affectionate care he took to send 
 and provide for him in Goshen, Gen. xlv. 9 11, 27; 
 xlvi. 29, 30; xlvii. 17, 11, 12 ; xlviii. 2. 
 
 Jephthah's daughter, Judges XL 36 40. 
 
 Samuel's early piety, 1 Sam. ii. 26. 
 
 David's piety, when but a stripling, with humility 
 and faith, he went forth and slew Goliath, 1 Sam. xviL 
 37, 45, 56. 
 
 Obadiah, who feared the Lord from his youth, 
 1 Kings xviii. 3, 12. 
 
 Josiah, when only sixteen, though the child of a 
 wicked father, and surrounded with the temptations 
 of royalty, began to seek after the God of David ; 
 and when twenty, to purge Judah and Jerusalem 
 from idolatry, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 13, 27, 28. 
 
 Daniel, carried captive to Babylon when quite 
 young, snowed his zeal for the law by refusing to eat 
 of the king's meat (Dan. i. 8) ; and is named as one 
 of the three great intercessors (Ezek. xiv. 14), though 
 he was then probably not more than twenty years 
 of age. 
 
 John the Baptist, Luke i. 15, 80 ; ii 40. 
 
 Timothy, 2 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
 Of the godly children of Scripture, we may note 
 Josiah as a young king, Phinehas as a young priest, 
 and Daniel as a young prophet.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 45 
 
 SPOILT CHILDREN The sons ot Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 13 
 Absalom Adonijah, 1 Kings i. 6. 
 
 WICKED CHILDREN Ham, Gen. ix. 22 24 ; Esau, 
 Gen. xxvi. 34, 35 ; sons of Eli, 1 Sam. ii. 1217; 
 sons of Samuel, 1 Sam. viii. 3 ; children at Bethel, 
 2 Kings ii. 23 ; Adrammelech and Sharezer, 2 Kings 
 xix. 37. 
 
 CHEIST.*** See Jesus Lord, &c. 
 
 TITLES AND FIGURES. See Text-Books and List 
 in Cruden's Concordance, and Bagster's Polyglott 
 Bible ; observing (1,) the great number and rich 
 variety of the titles of Christ ; (2,) how they are 
 chosen from the most needful, valuable, beautiful, 
 and endearing objects. 
 
 TYPES. See also Text-Books. Observe one fact 
 The many complex types, where many types are 
 joined together: as in connection with the Taber- 
 nacle, almost every part was a figure of Christ the 
 building the altar the sacrifice the priest the 
 candlestick the shew-bread the vail the mercy 
 seat the coverings, &c. So in the two birds used 
 for the cleansing of the leper, and other similar cases. 
 
 FIGURATIVE REPRESENTATIONS of the personal 
 glory of Christ, Cant. v. 10 16 ; Ezek. i. 26 ; Dan. 
 vii. 9 13; x. 5, 6 (probably); Rev. i. 1316; vi 
 2; xix. 1113. 
 
 Besides the references under respective heads, one 
 or two special references may be inserted here. How 
 precious are the allusions in Scripture to the 
 
 Fulness of Christ fountain river ocean ful- 
 ness, John i. 14 ; Col. i. 19 ; ii. 9 ; Eph. iv. 13. 
 
 Glory of Christ. See Isa. vi. 3 (marg.) ; cf. John 
 xii. 41 : Phil. iv. 19.
 
 46 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The unsearchable riches of Christ, Eph, iii. 8 ; CoL 
 L27. 
 
 The loveliness of Christ, Cant v. 16 altogether 
 lovely complete lovelinesses. 
 
 Christ is 
 
 The Alpha and Omega the first and the last the 
 beginning and the end, Rev. i. 8 11. 
 
 The centre of the Church, like the sun in the firma- 
 ment ; as in the figures of the golden candlestick 
 the ark in the midst of the tribes the leader of 
 praise in the church, Heb. ii. 12 the Lamb " in the 
 midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, 
 and in the midst of the elders," Rev. v. 6. 
 
 The corner stone, Ps. cxviii. 22; Isa. xxviii 16; 
 Eph. iL 20 uniting Jew and Gentile. 
 
 The "att in all" Eph. i 23 ; Col. iii. 11. 
 
 "The end of the law," Rom. x 4. 
 
 The spirit of prophecy, Rev. xix. 10. 
 
 The substance of all types, John i. 17; Col. ii. 17. 
 
 Gen. iii. 15. The first the acorn promise an- 
 nounced the Divine Redeemer to be a man, a suf- 
 ferer, and a conqueror. 
 
 Haggai ii. 7. "The desire of all nations shall 
 come." 
 
 The expression might almost be rendered by a word we often 
 use the detultratvm the object wanted the great desideratum 
 for the whole world. 
 
 Matt. i. 1. Jesus Christ, the son of David, the 
 son of Abraham. 
 
 The son of David the source and centre of universal rule ; 
 the son of Abraham the source and centre of universal blessing. 
 
 Matt xxii. 42." What think ye of Christ?" 
 A solemn question the one great test of man's heart and 
 state. 
 
 Rom. xiiL 14. " Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ."
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 47 
 
 The spirit and example of Christ as we speak of being 
 " clothed with humility " " girded with gladness " so are the 
 members of Christ to "put on Christ," Gal. iii. 27. 
 
 Phil. i. 21. "For me to live is Christ." 
 
 The noblest ambition of the Christian spirit to live in Christ 
 like Christ for Christ in the hope of soon and for ever being 
 with Christ. 
 
 ST. PAUL. The great apostle's own life and writ- 
 ings are the best proof of how fully he lived in the 
 spirit of his own words. His writings breathe it 
 everywhere. It is computed there are about 500 
 references made by him to Christ; very frequently in 
 verse after verse, as 1 Cor. i. 1 17; Rom. xvi. ; 
 Eph. i. ; Col. ii. 3 15, &c. The atoning work and 
 perfect example of the blessed Jesus are met with 
 everywhere. 
 
 ST. PETER dwells much on the same great theme. 
 In 1 Peter, an allusion is made in each chapter to 
 " the sufferings of Christ," (see Christ's Sufferings) ; 
 and in 2 Peter, four allusions in three chapters, to 
 the knowledge of Christ, i. 2, 8 ; ii. 20 ; iii. 18. 
 How strongly He speaks in 1 Pet. ii. 7, " Unto you 
 that believe, He is not only ' precious,' but stronger 
 i. e., the full abstract term He is preciousness 
 preciousness itself," 
 
 CHEIST, HUMANITY OF. 
 
 TYPES AND FIGURES. 
 
 The Tabernacle, both as a whole, and in its diffe- 
 rent parts. John i. 14. "The Word was made flesh 
 and dwelt (literally tabernacled') among us." The vail, 
 made of beautiful and costly work, rent at Christ's 
 death, Heb. x. 20 ; Matt, xxvii. 51 ; the shittim wood 
 of the brazen altar, and of the altar of incense, &c. 
 
 The Temple the shrine of Deity, John ii. 1921 ; 
 CoL ii. 9.
 
 48 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The Twig, or sprout, from the stem of Jesse, Isa. 
 xi. 1. Contrast the fall of the high trees, and Leba- 
 non destroyed (the great ones of the earth), with the 
 rise and reign of the slender twig, x. 33, 34. 
 
 The Tender plant, or sucker out of the dry ground, 
 Isa. liii. 2 ; see lii. 23. 
 
 The Branch, Zech. iii 8 ; vL 12 ; Jer. xxiii. 5 ; Isa. 
 iv. 2 ; xi. 1. The Hebrew word for branch (neetzer) 
 is most probably the origin of the name of Nazareth, 
 and helps to explain Matt. ii. 23. 
 
 The day-spring from on high, Luke L 18 (marg. sun- 
 rise, or branch). 
 
 Jacob's ladder of which the foot was on earth, and 
 the top reached to heaven, Gen. xxviii. 12 ; John i. 51. 
 
 EACH PERSON of the blessed Trinity took part in 
 Christ's humanity. 
 
 The Father sent the Son forth, and prepared for 
 Him a body, Heb. x. 5. 
 
 The Son delighted to carry out the Father's will, 
 Hejx x. 7 ; ii. 14 ; Phil, ii 7, &c. 
 
 The Holy Ghost overshadowed the Virgin Mother, 
 Luke i 35. 
 
 Heb. ii. 16. "He took on Him the seed of Abra- 
 ham." 
 
 Marg "Of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold." The 
 same word that is used when the Lord so kindly caught hold 
 of sinking Peter, Matt. xiv. 31. 
 
 Heb. ii. 14. "He also himself likewise took part 
 of the same." 
 
 " Likfwite." The word vapair\rioiua means to be dote by 
 the tide of very near to as FhiL ii. 27. "Near to death." 
 Christ's nature was as closely allied to ours as could be, ouly 
 without sin. 
 
 Heb. ii 17. " Like unto his brethren." 
 
 It t observable that this is especially referred to in each of
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 49 
 
 the three offices which were typical of Christ : as a prophet, 
 Deut. xviii. 15 ; as a priest, Exod. xxviii. 1, Heb. v. 1 ; as a 
 king, Deut. rvii. 15, 1 Sam. xvi. 13. 
 
 Eom. viii. 3. "In the likeness of sinful flesh." 
 
 There was a striking type in the brazen serpent, Num. xxi. 
 9. The people were bitten by serpents, and by serpents they 
 were healed. The serpent's bite was cured by looking upon a 
 serpent's form. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE especially describes the 
 Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. No gospel so fully 
 narrates the incidents of His human life ; the annun- 
 ciation conception birth presentation growth 
 agony, &c. 
 
 NAMES OF CHRIST, descriptive of humanity ; 
 Emmanuel "God with us" the name given to 
 
 Christ prophetically, Isa. vii. 14 ; and definitely, Matt. 
 
 i 23. 
 
 " Behold in this the deepest mystery, and the richest mercy 
 that ever was. By the light of nature, we see God as a God 
 above us ; by the light of the law, we see Hun as a God 
 against us ; but by the light of the Gospel, we see Him as Em- 
 manuel, God with us ; in our own nature, and (which is more) 
 in our interest." Henry. 
 
 Son of Man, the title of our blessed Lord, pecu- 
 liarly expressive of His humiliation. It is a title 
 pregnant with most precious mystery and is bound 
 up with all the most gracious elements of the Sa- 
 viour's character, as, e. g., 
 
 (1.) His true humanity. "Son of man" linking 
 Himself with man : taking man's nature ; as in the 
 Hebrew idiom, to be " the son," expresses being of 
 the same nature. 
 
 (2.) His deep humiliation. It is remarkable that 
 when the phrase, " son of man," is applied to man in 
 the ordinary sense, it almost invariably denotes 
 weakness and frailty, instability and dependence. 
 See Num. xxm. 19 ; Job xxv. 6 ; xxxv. 8 ; Ps. viii. 
 
 D
 
 50 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 4; cxliv. 3; cxlvi 3; Isa. li. 12. In Dan. vii. 13, 
 the won! is one of intensified force (Ben-enosh), ami 
 expresses in the strongest way the lowest humiliation 
 of humanity. 
 
 (3.) Hiji supremacy. Not a son of man, but the 
 Son the one above all others. Christ is the only 
 one so spoken of, though Ezekiel and Daniel are 
 addressed as Son of man Ezekiel nearly ninety 
 times. 
 
 (4.) His dignity. It was a title given Him before 
 His birth, no doubt, either from Ps. Ixxx. 17, or 
 more probably from Dan. vii 13. It was Christ's 
 own title, by which He spoke of Himself. Yet often 
 as He so spoke, He was never so spoken of by any 
 others whilst on earth, and after His death only once 
 by Stephen, Acts vii. 56 ; and twice by St. John, 
 Rev. i. 1 3 ; xiv. 1 4 ; and in each of these cases it was 
 used in connexion with His glory. Whilst, there- 
 fore, it was compatible with Christ's humility to 
 speak so of Himself as "Son of man," it seems to 
 have been considered too deep a mystery for any 
 mortal man to use the phrase. It is probable, more- 
 over, from Matt. xxvi. 63, 64, that "the Son of man" 
 was considered by the Jews equivalent to " Son of 
 God." 
 
 (5.) His immutability. It is especially worthy of 
 note that our Lord used this expression of almost 
 every part of His mediatorial work. His pre-existent 
 state, His incarnation, His earthly ministry, His death, 
 His resurrection, His ascension, His second coming. 
 See Cone, 
 
 In His teaching, He first used the word to Natha- 
 nael, John i. 51 ; and probably for the last time to 
 the high priest, Matt. xxvi. 64. 
 
 On ten occasions He coupled it with His rejection and death, 
 Matt viiL 20 ; xi 19 ; xii. 32, 40 ; xvii. 22 ; Mark ix. 12, 31 ; 
 Luke ix. 22 ; xxii. 48 ; John viii. 28. But on all the other nc-
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 51 
 
 casions He coupled it with the assertion of some attribute or act 
 of power. Thus the Son of man "saves," Luke ix. 56 ; xix. 10. 
 He forgives sins, Matt. ix. 6. He has authority over His own 
 ordinances, Matt. xii. 8. He ascends to heaven, John vi. 62. 
 He will come again in glory, Matt. x. 23 ; xxiv. 27, 30, 44 ; 
 Mark viii. 38 ; xiii. 34 ; Luke xi. 30 ; xii. 8; xvii. i2 ; xviii. 8; 
 xix. 10 ; xxi. 36 ; John i. 51 ; iii. 13, 14 ; v. 27 ; xii. 23, 34 ; 
 xiii. 31. He is the Head of His Church, and by His authority 
 the work of His Church upon earth is carried on, Matt. xiii. 37 ; 
 John vi. 27. The whole processes of the future judgment, from 
 the sending forth of the angels to the pronouncing of the final 
 sentence, will be executed by Him, Matt. xiii. 41 ; Mark xiii. 34 ; 
 John v. 27. 
 
 The expression occurs seventy-eight times in the gospels. 
 Sixty-seven times Christ calls Himself " the Son of man ; " whilst 
 five times he speaks of Himself as the Son of God. 
 
 Son of David. The familiar Jewish title of the 
 Messiah, which the Jews associated with the thought 
 of mercy and of power. See Matt. ix. 27 ; xii. 22 ; 
 xv. 22 ; xx. 30, 31. 
 
 VERY LITTLE is said in the gospels concerning our 
 Lord's external appearance and deportment ; yet there 
 are frequent indications, that there was authority in 
 His manner and majesty in His looks. Probably 
 Christ's influence as a teacher was enhanced by this ; 
 see Matt. Adi. 28, 29 ; John vii. 46. The immediate 
 obedience of those whom He summoned to leave 
 their callings, Matt. iv. 18 22 ; ix. 9 ; the submission 
 of the people at His purging of the temple, xxi. 12 ; 
 the wonder of the crowd after the transfiguration, 
 Mark ix. 15 ; and the prostration of the soldiers at 
 His betrayal, John xviii. 6 ; all show that there was 
 a majesty in His mien, which belonged to one who 
 was felt to be more than man. 
 
 CHRIST, SUFFERINGS AND DEATH OF. See Rejec- 
 tion. 
 
 TYPES AND FIGURES. 
 
 Abels sacrifice, Gen. iv. 4 ; Heb. xi. 4.
 
 52 SCRIPTURE ITSELK THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 Abraham's ram, Gen xxii. 13. 
 
 The Jewish sacrifices and offerings, varying in cost- 
 liness and number, but all typical of the one great 
 sacrifice and offering. 
 
 The paschal lamb, Exod. xii. 3 7 ; John xix. 36 ; 
 1 Cor. v. 7. 
 
 The smitten rock, Exod. xvii. 6 ; 1 Cor. x. 4. 
 
 The scapegoat, Lev. xvl 20 22. 
 
 The brazen serpent, Num. xxi. 9 ; John iii. 14, 15. 
 
 The leper's offering the bird killed, Lev. xiv. 45. 
 
 The red heifer, Num, xix. 26 ; Heb. ix. 13, 14. 
 
 Jonah in the whale's belly, Jonah i. 1 7 ; Matt. xii. 
 W). 
 
 The roasting, slaying, drying, &c., of the different 
 sacrifices and offerings ; animals slain, consumed in 
 whole or in part upon the altar ; corn ground and 
 baked; olives bruised, &c., all spoke of the sufferings 
 of the one great Victim. 
 
 MANY EXPRESSIONS are forcibly used to describe 
 the sufferings of Christ. The Lord Jesus was " the 
 Man of sorrows " (more than a sorrowful man one 
 whose whole life was deeply marked by sorrow). He 
 was despised ; rejected ; smitten ; afflicted ; stricken ; 
 bruised ; wounded ; cut off ; drank the bitter cup ; 
 was " baptized with the baptism " of suffering. 
 
 He was the stone "disallowed" of the builders the 
 Heir "cast out" of the vineyard the Bridegroom 
 taken away from the Church the Shepherd smitten 
 by Jehovah's sword "the hind of the morning" (Ps. 
 xxii. title) baited by the fierce dogs and bulls of 
 Bashan the one stone graven with seven eyes, Zech. 
 iii. 9. 
 
 IT IS REMARKABLE how soon, how gradually, and 
 how fully the Lord began to speak of His death upon 
 the cross ; and also how frequently He spoke at tho
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOR. 53 
 
 same time of the resurrection, looking beyond the 
 grave and gate of death. See John ii. 19 ; iii. 14, 15, 
 (only a few months after He began His ministry) ; 
 Matt. x. 38; xvi. 21; xvii. 22, 23; John vii. 19; 
 viii. 28 ; Matt. xx. 18, 19 ; Mark ii. 10 ; viii. 31 ; 
 Luke xiii. 32, 33 ; John xii. 24, 32. 
 
 CHRIST'S DEATH, according to Gresswell's Har- 
 mony, took place on His birthday, both being on 
 Nisan 10, i. e., April 5. 
 
 THE SEVEN SAYINGS ON THE CROSS. Of these, 
 three were taken from Scripture, three addressed to 
 the Father, three bespoke His unselfish, generous 
 thoughtfulness for others. 
 
 Luke xvii. 25. "But first He must suffer many 
 things." 
 
 The law of Christ's kingdom suffering first, and then glory : 
 the cross and the crown. See how it is the same with the Head, 
 as with the members of His body, Acts ix. 15, 16. 
 
 Luke ix. 31. " His decease, which He should ac- 
 complish at Jerusalem." 
 
 His exit or departure (^o5os), a beautiful softened expression, 
 which Peter, who witnessed the scene, uses in his second epistle 
 concerning his own death ; and the use of which would seem to 
 have called the scene of the transfiguration to his mind, as he 
 directly after refers to it, 2 Pet. i. 15 17. 
 
 Acts xxxi. 5. " They killed the Prince of Life." 
 They preferred a murderer, and killed the Saviour, the " au- 
 thor " (margin) of life. What suicidal blindness ! 
 
 1 Peter. 
 
 It is observable that in each of the five chapters of St. Peter's 
 first epistle he refers to " the sufferings of Christ ;" i. 11, as fore- 
 told ; ii. 21, as our example of meekness ; iii. 18, as the great 
 vicarious sacrifice for sin ; iv. 1, as our pattern of holiness ; v. 1, 
 as a ground of communion with the members of Christ's body. 
 In i. 11 and v. 1 the apostle connects "the sufferings of Christ" 
 with the "glory that shall be revealed."
 
 54 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLU8TRATOK. 
 
 CALVARY. Since Christ's death is no more a Gol- 
 gotha. Where men once went to die, now they go to 
 live ! 
 
 CHRIST, RESURRECTION of. 
 TYPES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Isaac received back from the dead, Gen. xxil 
 10 14; Heb. xi. 19, "he received him in a figure' 
 (or for a type). 
 
 Joseph raised from the prison to the throne, Gen. 
 xxxix. 20; xli 3945. 
 
 Jonah restored, after three days and three nights 
 in the whale's belly, Matt. xii. 40. 
 
 Eliakim signifies the resurrection of the Lord, Isa. 
 xxii 20 ; see ver. 2124. 
 
 The ark resting after the flood on Mount Ararat, on 
 the seventeenth day of the seventh month ; the very 
 day Christ rose, as some think, Gen. viii. 4. Jukes 
 on Offerings. 
 
 Aaron's rod that budded, life springing out of 
 death. 
 
 " Juat as Aaron was declared to be the man of God's choice 
 in the matter of the priesthood, by the signs of resurrection life 
 in his rod, which budded while all the other rods remained dead ; 
 so is Jesus declared to be the chosen One of God, His great 
 High Priest, the antitype of Aaron, by the resurrection from 
 the dead ; or, as it might have been rendered, " from among the 
 dead ones." A. L. Newton. 
 
 The first-fruits offered as a pledge of the harvest, 
 the morrow after the passover Sabbath, Lev. xxiii. 
 914. See 1 Cor. xv. 'JO, "Christ the first-fruits." 
 
 The first-born, having the pre-eminence the begin- 
 ning of strength and highest in rank ; see Col. i. 1 8, 
 Christ "the first-born from the dead;" Rev. L 6, "the 
 first-begotten of the dead."
 
 SCKIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOR. 55 
 
 The living bird let loose at the cleansing of the leper, 
 Lev. xiv. 53. 
 
 The scapegoat probably, Lev. xvi. 
 
 The corn of wheat first dying, then rising into life, 
 John xii. 24. 
 
 The temple destroyed and raised, John ii. 19. 
 
 The TIME of Christ's resurrection is variously 
 counted. 
 
 The first day, the early morning, Luke xxiv. 1. As 
 we now count the days, the resurrection of Christ 
 was, as it were, a new starting-point of time. 
 
 The third day from His death, according to the 
 Hebrew mode of reckoning. Cf. the many Scriptural 
 allusions to the third day, Gen. xlii. 17 ; Exod. xix. 
 16 ; Josh. ii. 16 ; Ezra viii. 15 ; Esther v. 1 ; Jonah 
 i. 17; Hosea vi. 2. 
 
 " It is ten times expressly said that our Lord rose, 
 or was to rise again, on the third day." Scott. 
 
 The eighth day. Eight was esteemed by the ancient 
 Fathers, as the symbolic number of the resurrection. 
 See Lev. xiv. 10, 23; xv. 14. 
 
 The Father. It is twenty-one times ascribed to His 
 power, Ps. ii. 7; xvi. 10; Acts ii. 24, 32; iii. 15; 
 iv. 10; x. 40; xiii. 30, 33, 34; xvii. 31; Eom. iv. 24; 
 vi. 4 ; viii. 11 ; x. 9 ; 1 Cor. vi. 14 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 4 ; 
 Eph. i. 20; Col. ii. 12 ; Heb. xiii. 20; 1 Pet. L 21. 
 
 The Son. Twice to Christ's own power, John ii. 19 ; 
 x. 18. 
 
 The Holy Spirit. \ Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 In the ACTS of the APOSTLES it is noteworthy 
 (1.) How the apostles made the resurrection of and 
 through Jesus, one of the most prominent subjects of 
 their teaching. See i. 22 ; ii. 32 ; iii. 15 ; iv. 2, 10, 
 33; v. 30; x. 40; xvii. 3, 18; yyin. 6; xxiv. 15, 
 21 ; and 
 
 (2.) How this stirred up the enmity of the Saddu-
 
 56 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 cees, who denied the resurrection, Matt. xxii. 23 ; 
 Acts xxiii. 8. Throughout the Gospels, the chief 
 hostility to Christian teaching was manifested amongst 
 the Pharisees, whilst througn the Acts it was chiefly 
 of the Sadducecs. Rev. J. 6. Blunt. 
 
 Luke xxiv. 3. " They found not the body of the 
 Lord Jesus." 
 
 The first time, as Bishop Brownrigg observes, that these two 
 titles of oar blessed Lord are joined ; and fitly, when He rose 
 from the grave, not as a sufferer, but as a conquering Saviour. 
 
 Rom. iv. 25. "Who was delivered from our 
 offences, and was raised again for our justification." 
 
 Christ's death is the meritorious cause of our justification, but 
 His resurrection is the applying cause. The intrinsic value of a 
 gold coin consists in the gold, but the stamp impressed upon it 
 gives it applicable currency for our use. Christ's death procured 
 the cancelling of the bond of justice against the sinner ; Christ's 
 resurrection was the tearing up of that bond ; Christ's death, 
 the acquittal of the prisoner ; Christ's resurrection, the jailor 
 opening the prisoner's cell 
 
 Acts xiii. 34. " I will give you the sure mercies of 
 David." 
 
 How strikingly the apostle makes the resurrection of Christ a 
 proof of the sureness of the everlasting covenant .' He who is 
 our blessed Surety died and rose, and can never die again ; there- 
 fore He says, "Because I live, ye shall live also," John xiv. 19. 
 
 JESUS the SAME. 
 
 It is beautiful to observe how the Lord Jesw 
 manifested the same spirit and character after the 
 resurrection, that He exhibited throughout His life 
 and ministry. 
 
 1. The same tenderness and grace. Witness His first 
 appearances to Mary, His kindness to Peter, His 
 gracious words "Woman, why weepest thou?" 
 "Peace be unto you," "Go ye into all the world," 
 " Beginning at Jerusalem."
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 57 
 
 2. The same spirit of active zeal. Witness His four 
 appearances the same day, and the long journey He 
 took with the two to Emmaus ; His teaching through 
 the forty days ; His establishing the first day of the 
 week as the Lord's day, &c. 
 
 3. The same gentleness in reproof. Witness His re- 
 proof of Peter, Thomas, and the rest. 
 
 4. The same love for the Scriptures. See Luke xxiv. 
 27, 44. 
 
 CHRIST, BLOOD OF. 
 
 REPRESENTATIONS. 
 
 The blood of the Paschal Lamb, sprinkled upon the 
 houses of the Israelites, which preserved them from 
 death, Exod. xii. 7, 13. 
 
 The blood of the Jewish sacrifices, used for atone- 
 ment, purification, consecration, &c. 
 
 Wine in the Lord's Supper, Mark xiv. 23, 24, the 
 symbol of what is festive and cheering. 
 
 Some would add Rahab's scarlet thread, Josh. ii. 
 18, the token of the preservation of herself and 
 family. 
 
 1 Pet. i. 19." The precious blood of Christ." 
 
 It is remarkable that whilst we find the expressions used, 
 "the blood of Christ," "the blood of Jesus Christ," "the blood 
 of the Lamb," "the blood of the Everlasting Covenant," we 
 scarcely ever (except Heb. x. 19) find "the blood of Jesus." 
 Was not this because Jesus more especially referred to our Lord 
 jn His human nature ? and the blood whereby our atonement 
 was secured, is the blood of the God-man Christ Jesus ? 
 
 Heb. ix. 7 25. Twelve references to blood shed- 
 ding in nineteen verses. 
 
 Lev. xvi. 14. The. day of atonement. One of the 
 fullest and clearest of all the types of atonement. On 
 that day Aaron was to sprinkle the blood of the 
 bullock upon the mercy-seat eastward, " and before
 
 58 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his 
 finger seven times." 
 
 CHRIST, ASCENSION OF. 
 
 TYPES AND FIGURES. 
 
 The high priest entering the Holy of Holies once 
 every year, on the day of Atonement, Lev. xvi. ; Heb. 
 ix. 24 26. The Holy of Holies, where the symbol 
 of Divine glory rested, typified heaven ; and within 
 that mysterious shrine the high priest, after he had 
 made atonement for himself, for the sanctuary, and 
 for the people, was to enter; and, dressed in the 
 white linen robes common to the priesthood (not in 
 the gorgeous robe of His high priesthood), was to 
 sprinkle with blood before the mercy-seat seven times, 
 taking with him also a censer full of burning coals, 
 and sweet incense, beaten small. 
 
 The ark carried up, with pomp and rejoicing, to 
 Mount Zion, Ps. xxiv. ; Ixviii. 18. 
 
 Moses going up into the mount to receive the law, 
 Deut. x., and Elijah's translation to heaven, followed 
 by the double portion of his spirit being given to his 
 successor, have generally been acknowledged by the 
 Church as figures of Christ's ascension. (See Wheat- 
 ley on Common Prayer.) Some add Samsons vic- 
 toriously carrying up the gates of Gaza to the top of 
 the hill, Judges xvi. 3. 
 
 For time, place, manner, &c., see 111. Gath., 1st Series. 
 
 Ps. viii., xv., xxi., xxiv., xlvii., cviii. The Psalms 
 appointed for Ascension Day. (See fPhaitley.) 
 
 Micah iL 13. "The breaker is come up before 
 them," &c. Very frequently referred to the glorious 
 ascension of the Great King. The Jews apply it to 
 the Messiah. 
 
 Luke ix. 51. "When the time was come that he 
 should be received up,"
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 59 
 
 Whether these are simply the words of the Evangelist, or 
 whether they were borrowed from Christ's own manner of 
 speaking, it would seem most probable that they refer to the 
 Ascension, and it is beautiful to see how they represent the 
 Lord Jesus as looking forward to that, even before His cruci- 
 fixion. How He fixed the eye of hope across the dark gulf of 
 sorrow, to the blessed issue and final glory, Heb. xii. 2. 
 
 Luke xxiv. 51. " While He blessed them, He was 
 parted from them, and carried (borne) up into 
 heaven." 
 
 The Saviour's last act was one of blessing, as it was the 
 design of His whole mission, Acts iii. 26. His ministry began 
 with blessing, Matt. v. 3 12 ; and His last act was to ascend 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 16. " Received up into glory." 
 
 In these words, the apostle assures us of the complete accept- 
 ance of Christ's finished work. 
 
 Acts vii. 56; ix. 4; Rev. i. 11 16; John xx. 
 16. 
 
 It is interesting to observe that often as our Lord spoke of 
 Himself as " the Son of Man," He is here so spoken of by 
 another ; and in what a tender and gracious relation does He 
 appear ! The Ascension into glory made no change in the loving 
 heart of Jesus to His people. 
 
 THE FOUR GOSPELS. It is remarkable that the 
 history of the Ascension, should have been given only 
 by one gospel. But the fact is implied or referred to 
 by all. In St. Matthew's Gospel, the prophecies of 
 the second ad vent imply the Ascension. .In St. Mark's 
 (the gospel of Christ's service), it is connected with 
 His exaltation to the right hand of God (Mark xvi. 
 19). In St. John's, we have the frequent pre-intima- 
 tion that our Lord Himself gave of it : see iii. 1 3 ; 
 vi. 62; vii. 33; xiii. 3; xiv. 2, 28; xvi. 5, 10, 16 : 
 xx. 17. 
 
 CHRIST, EXALTATION OF. See Ascension Head 
 King Lord.
 
 60 SCRIPTURE ITSELF TUB ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 EXPRESSED, as the Lord Jesus being 
 
 Exalted, Acts v. 31 ; " highly exalted," PhiL ii. 9 , 
 Eph. iv. 10, as "the Most High"; "exalted and 
 extolled, and made very high," Isa. Iii. 13; "higher 
 than the kings of the earth," Ps. Lxxxix. 27 ; " higher 
 than the heavens," Heb. vii. 26 ; 1 Pet iil 22. 
 
 Crowned with glory and honour, Ps. viiL 5 ; Heb. 
 ii. 9. See King Crown. 
 
 Glorified, John vii. 39; xil 16, 23; xvil 1, 5; 
 " entering into glory," Luke xxiv. 26 ; having "glory" 
 given him, 1 Pet. i. 21. 
 
 Received up into glory, 1 Tinx iii. 16 ; Luke ix. 51. 
 
 Sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 
 Mark xvi. 19 ; Acts ii. 34 ; Heb. L 3; viii. 1 ; x. 12 ; 
 xii. 2; Rom. viii 38 ; 1 Pet. iii. 22. The fulfil- 
 ment of the prophecy of Ps. ex. 1, which Christ 
 claimed as referring to Himself, Matt xxii. 44 ; the 
 posture of rest nearness to the Father dignity and 
 government 
 
 Receiving a name above every name, Phil. ii. 9 ; of 
 pre-eminence, dignity, and authority, over and above 
 every created being. 
 
 Having all things put under His feet, Ps. viii. 6 ; 
 1 Cor. xv. 27 ; Heb. ii. 8 ; Eph. ii. 22. 
 
 Receiving the promised throne of David, Luke L 32. 
 
 CHRIST, TENDERNESS AND COMPASSION OF. See 
 Sympathy Love Divine Unselfishness. 
 
 EXHIBITED in many ways. 
 
 THE TITLES OF CHRIST. " Son of Man " ' Son "/ 
 David." (See ChrMs Humanity.) The "Good (or kind) 
 Shepherd, John x. 1 1 (like Jacob in tenderness to the 
 weak, Gen. xxxiii. 13, 14; Isa. xl. 11). Lamb, so 
 called twenty-six times in the Revelation, of which in 
 several instances the word used is a diminutive a/wo*. 
 a tender or delicate lamb.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 61 
 
 THE TEACHING OF CHRIST, Isa. 1. 4 ; Matt. xi. 29 ; 
 Mark iv. 33, 34 ; John xvi. 12. Never did the great 
 Teacher seem to weary, to receive any who were 
 willing to receive Him, Mark ii. 13 ; iii. 20, 21 ; John 
 iv. 6. 
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST were miracles of mercy 
 and compassion for the poor, afflicted, and helpless, 
 wrought from compassion, Matt. xv. 32 ; Mark vii. 
 34. 
 
 The TEARS of Jesus, Luke xix. 41 ; John xi. 25. 
 
 The SIGHS and swrow for human misery and human 
 sin, Mark vii. 34; viii. 12; John xi. 33, 38; xiii. 
 21. 
 
 The HOLY GRIEF, Mark iii. 5. 
 
 The TENDER LOOK, Luke vii. 13 ; John i. 38, 42, 
 47; Markx. 14, 21, 23; Luke xix. 41 ; xxii. 61. 
 
 The YEARNING COMPASSION, Matt. ix. 36 (marg.) ; 
 xi. 28; xii. 20; xiv. 14; xv. 32 ; Mark vi. 34; viii. 
 9, ; Luke vii. 13. 
 
 How different at times was the kindness of Jesus 
 from the want of sympathy and kindness of those 
 around Him, Matt. xv. 23 ; xvi. 22 ; xx. 31 ; Mark 
 iii. 2; vi. 37; x. 13. 
 
 CHRIST'S TENDERNESS 
 
 In His last sufferings. Protecting the disciples, 
 John xviii. 6 9 ; excusing the three who slept in 
 the garden, Mark xiv. 37, 38 ; warning the disciples 
 of their desertion, yet with no upbraidings, Mark 
 xiv. 27. 
 
 On the cross. Praying for His murderers, Luke 
 xxiii. 34 ; providing a home for His mother, John 
 xix. '2 7. 
 
 After the resurrection. Christ's first words were 
 words of sympathy, " Woman, why weepest thou 1 "
 
 62 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 John xx. 15 ; His kindness to Peter, who denied 
 Him, and to Thomas, who doubted, Mark xvi 7 ; 
 John xx. 27 ; and to the two who were journeying 
 to Emmaus, and to the rest, Luke xxiv. 13 43. 
 
 OH the throne. The same still, seen by Stephen 
 "standing," Acts vii. 55; and by St. John, Rev. i. 
 1018 ; v. 6 ; as " one like unto the Son of Man," 
 and as " a lamb as it has been slain." 
 
 Gen. xvi. 11. It is observable that the first ap- 
 pearance of the angel of the Lord, t. e., of the Lord 
 Jesus, was to a slave a mother and one in sorrow. 
 His first revelation to Moses was, "I know their sor- 
 rows, Exod. iii. 7. 
 
 2 Cor. x. 11. "The meekness and gentleness of 
 Christ." 
 
 PhiL i. 8. " I long after you all, in the tender 
 heart of Jesus Christ." (Alford's Translation.) 
 
 Heb. v. 2. "Who can reasonably (calmly) bear 
 with the ignorant, and them that are out of the way," 
 The character of a true priest applied to Christ 
 
 CHRIST'S WILLINGNESS TO RECEIVE SINNERS. 
 See Grace Refuge. 
 
 Matt. viii. 2, 3." Lord, if thou wilt, I wilL" 
 
 Luke ix. 11. "And .... He received them." 
 
 Not minding the interruption of their breaking in upon Hi* 
 rest. 
 
 Luke xv. 2. " This man receiveth sinners." 
 
 The words of Christ's enemies, but blessedly true. What 
 caused their envy, is the poor sinner's ground of hope. The 
 original word " receiveth " is still stronger, and more impressive. 
 It means, lies in wait to catch waits for receives with kind 
 affection. Such is the love of Jesus. 
 
 John vi. 37. " Him that cometh unto me I will in 
 no wise cast out." 
 
 cellently rendered by Matthew of Erberg, in his Italian
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 63 
 
 Bible, " I will by no means thrust bim out of doors." Dr A. 
 Clarke regards tbe figure, as that of a poor man in deep distress 
 aud poverty, who comes to a nobleman's house for relief : he 
 appears at the door, and the owner receives him and relieves 
 him. The strong negative, " I will in no wise cast him out," is 
 equal to the affirmative I will kindly and graciously receive 
 him. 
 
 Christ was born at an inn, says Bishop Hall, to pre- 
 figure His willingness to receive all comers. 
 
 The cities of refuge were distributed over the land of 
 Canaan, and made accessible to all, and kept with the 
 gates open clear types of Jesus, the strong refuge, 
 ever ready to receive all needing shelter and protec- 
 tion. 
 
 CHURCH. See Union with Christ Kingdom of 
 Heaven. 
 
 FIGURES REPRESENTING 
 
 Body of Christ, Eph. i. 23 : the emblem of union 
 and subjection many members under one Head. 
 
 Bride, the Lamb's, spouse wife, Rev. xix. 7, xxi. 
 9; "my sister, my spouse," Cant. iv. 12 sister for 
 purity, spouse for love; "a chaste virgin," 2 Cor. 
 xi. 2. 
 
 Building of God, 1 Cor. iii. 9 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5 ; Eph. 
 ii. 21, 22. 
 
 Candlestick, Rev. i. 20, ii. 1. 
 
 City, Heb. xii. 22 ; Rev. xxi. 2 the emblem of 
 order, security, and harmony. 
 
 Dove, Cant. ii. 14, v. 2. 
 
 Family, Eph. iii. 15 the dwelling-place of order, 
 affection, and union. 
 
 Fold, John x. 1 6 the abode of peace and safety. 
 
 Flock, 1 Pet. v. 2. 
 
 Garden, Cant. iv. 12 ; Isa. Iviii. 11 enclosed fair 
 fragrant fruitful. 
 
 A house habitation household, Eph. ii. 19, 22 ;
 
 64 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 1 Cor. ill 9; Heb. ill 6 ; 1 Tim. ill 15; 1 Pet 
 ii. 5. 
 
 Lily among thorns, Cant. ii. 3. 
 
 Pillar and ground of the truth, 1 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
 Plants, beautiful and tender, Isa. v. 7. 
 
 Temple, 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16. 
 
 Vineyard husbandry, Isa. v. 1, xxvii. 2, 3 ; Matt. 
 xxi. 41 ; 1 Cor. iii 9. 
 
 Symbolized through all the dispensations : the 
 Burning Bush the Tabernacle the Temple the 
 Apocalyptic city New Jerusalem. 
 
 CLEANSING, SPIRITUAL. See Defilement Purity. 
 
 Is EXPRESSED by various terms : 
 
 " Washing" " Washing thoroughly" (as one needs 
 to be washed, who is steeped and soaked m sin's pollu- 
 tion), Ps. Ii. 2 ; guilty of scarlet and crimson sins 
 (fast colours and double dyed), Isa. i. 18 ; not like 
 the house which was swept, and garnished, but not 
 washed, Matt. xii. 44. 
 
 Sprinkling with blood or clean water, Lev. xiv. 7, 
 51 ; Num. viii. 7 ; Isa. Iii. 15 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 25 ; Heb. 
 ix. 19, x. 22, xii. 24 ; 1 Pet. i. 2. 
 
 Purging, Heb. i. 3 ; ix. 14, 22 ; like the leper, Ps. 
 1L 7 ; or gold and silver, Mai. iii. 3 ; or the barnfloor, 
 Matt, iil 12. 
 
 Purifying, by water, fire, or wind. See Cone. 
 
 Was well ILLUSTRATED by the divers washings and 
 sprinklings and ablutions under the Mosaic dispensa- 
 tion ; the water of separation, Num. xix. ; Naaman's 
 washing seven times in Jordan, 2 Kings v. 10, 14. 
 
 THERE ARE three things the believer needs to have 
 always clean clean hands, Ps. xxiv. 4 ; clean feet, 
 John xiii. 10 ; clean heart, Ps. Ii. 10 ; James iv. 8 ; 
 for which there are three principal means appointed
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 65 
 
 Christ's blood, 1 John i. 7 ; Heb. ix. 22 ; Christ's \ 
 word, John xv. 3; Christ's Spirit, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. 
 
 COMMUNION WITH GOD.*** See Access Faith 
 Prayer Trust Union, &c. 
 
 How MANY beautiful expressions suggest sweet 
 thoughts as to the believer's near communion with 
 God; 
 
 Abiding before God, Ps. Ixi. 7 ; under the shadow 
 of the Almighty, Ps. xci. 1 ; in the light, 1 John ii. 
 10; in the love of Jesus, John xv. 4, 10; as the 
 branch in the vine, John xv. 4, 5 ; the beautiful 
 emblems of constant nourishment, calm security, and 
 upholding trust. 
 
 Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, Ps. 
 xci. 1 ; in God, 1 John iv. 16; implying the ideas of 
 refuge and rest. 
 
 Delighting in the Lord, Ps. xxxvii. 4 ; Isa. Iviii. 14. 
 " If desire be love in motion, like a bird on the wing ; 
 delight may be compared to love at rest, rejoicing in 
 its own happiness." 
 
 Drawing near, Ps. Ixxiii. 28 ; as with Abraham's 
 reverence and confidence, Gen. xviii. 23. See Access. 
 
 Entering into the holiest, Heb. x. 19. 
 
 Fellowship, 1 Cor. i. 9 ; 1 John i. 3 ; symbolized 
 by eating and drinking together, as in the ancient 
 sacrifices, and now in the Lord's Supper. See Rev. 
 iii. 20 ; Cant. ii. 4. 
 
 Sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Eph. ii. 6, 
 our heart and hope being there already. See also 
 under Feeding, Walking. 
 
 MANY PROPER NAMES in Scripture express senti- 
 ments of great spiritual beauty, though they may 
 have been often rather the pious wish and hope of 
 parents than the indication of the true character of 
 those who bore them : Bethuel (father of Laban) 
 
 E
 
 66 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 means man of God ; Reuel, friend of God ; Ahiah, 
 Ahijah, friend of Jehovah ; Amisiah, one whom Je- 
 hovah carries in His bosom ; Ainmiel, one of the 
 family of God ; Elnaam, whose pleasure God is. 
 
 To BE WITH CHRIST will be one of the noblest 
 elements of the bliss of the glorified, so graciously 
 promised by our Lord, and so earnestly lonyed for by 
 His saints. See Ps. xvii. 15 ; John xii. 26, xiv. 3, 
 xvii. 24; 2 Cor. v. 8; Phil. L 23 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17; 
 1 John iii. 2. 
 
 The HOLY YEARNINGS of the saints have been ever 
 expressed by strong figures, especially in the Psalms. 
 See Cone, under hunger and thirst fainting fol- 
 lowing hard longing panting crying out break- 
 ing wasting away sweet figures of the devout long- 
 ings of the heart for communion with Heaven. 
 
 SONG OF SOLOMON a whole book in the heart of 
 the Bible describing the Church's delight in seeking 
 fellowship with Christ Mysterious as the book is, 
 the beginning and the close are a sufficient key to un- 
 lock the spiritual cabinet, see chap. i. 2, viii. 14. 
 
 THE PEACE OFFERINGS. " The characteristic cere- 
 mony in the peace offering was the eating of the flesh 
 by the sacrificer (after the fat had been burnt before 
 the Lord, and the breast and shoulder given to the 
 priest). It betokened the enjoyment of communion 
 with God at the table of the Lord, in the gifts which 
 His mercy had bestowed, of which a choice portion was 
 offered to Him, to His servant, and to His poor."- 
 Smith's Bible Dictionary. 
 
 WHAT BLESSED NEARNESS and COMMUNION stamps 
 the history of many of the saints of God, 
 
 Enoch and Nouh walked with God, Gen. v. 24, 
 ri 9 ; an expression denoting agreement communion 
 progress.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 67 
 
 Abraham What higher honour could have been 
 given to him than to be called " the friend of God," 
 James ii. 23 ; " Abraham my friend," 2 Chron. xx. 7; 
 Isa. xli. 8. 
 
 Moses The Lord spake unto him "face to face, as a 
 man speaketh unto his friend," Exod. xxxiii. 1 1 ; Num. 
 xii. 8. Moses was favoured with many visions of the 
 glory of the Lord, and yet it was he who prayed for 
 a still clearer manifestation " I beseech thee, show 
 me thy glory," Exod. xxxiii. 18. 
 
 David, "the sweet psalmist of Israel." Scarce a 
 psalm can be traced as his, which is not the rising of 
 a devout soul God-ward. 
 
 SAMUEL, ELIJAH, EZEKIEL, DANIEL, and others, 
 are examples of the communion the prophets had 
 with God, by visions and revelations. They were 
 men mighty in prayer and strong in faith. 
 
 The TWO DISCIPLES journeying to Emmaus. See 
 the enjoyment they had in a few hours' walk with 
 Jesus, Luke xxiv. 32. 
 
 ST. STEPHEN, beautified with the glory from within, 
 Acts vi. 15 ; Ps. cxlix. 4. 
 
 ST. PAUL, pre-eminent for his three desires to 
 be in Christ, like Christ, with Christ. 
 
 ST. JOHN, who wrote so sweetly of dwelling in 
 God, abiding in the light, &c. 
 
 CONFESSION OF SIN.* See Repentance Contri- 
 tion. 
 
 UNDER THE LAW, the only idea the Jews had of 
 confession, was that of connection with a victim or 
 sacrifice. " He could not conceive confession without
 
 68 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 a victim or sacrifice along with it" Dr. Gumming. 
 See Lev. v. 
 
 Lev. L 4 ; xvl 21. 
 
 The Jews Ray that when Aaron confessed the inns of the 
 people, and laid his hands upon the head of the victim, he was 
 to press with all his might 
 
 " / have sinned" 
 
 A confession uttered by men of all classes ; by Pharaoh, the 
 hardened rebel ; by Balaam, the specious deceiver ; by Achan ; 
 by Saul (three times) ; and by Judas, the arch traitor ; as also by 
 Job ; by David ; by the Prodigal. 
 
 Gen. iii. 
 
 Reluctance to confession began with the first sin. " They sewed 
 fig leaves together," to hide their shame ; and, when summoned 
 before the Lord, hid themselves amongst the trees of the garden ; 
 and then Adam blamed Eve, and Kve blamed the si-r|K-nt ; but 
 there was no frank and contrite confession of their sin. 
 
 Neh. ix. 3. 
 
 A remarkable instance of sincere and earnest confession. 
 Having separated themselves from all strangers, and thereby 
 given proof of their sincerity, they stood and confessed their sins 
 "one fourth part of the whole day." 
 
 Ps. xxxii. 3 5. 
 
 Stifled convictions, like ill humours in the body, and unclean 
 wounds, gender discomfort and distress ; and yet sinners little 
 think how closely confession and pardon lie together. See 2 Sam. 
 xii. 18 ; Job xxxiii. 27, 28 ; 1 John i. 9 ; Jer. iii. 12, 18. 
 
 Prov. xxviii. 13. 
 
 A house in not clean, though all the dust be swept together, 
 if it lie still in a corner within doors, nor if there liang cobwebs 
 about the walla, in bow dark corners soever ; a conscience is not 
 clean, though the sin brought to our memory be confessed, unless 
 it be forsaken. 
 
 Dan. ix. It is observable that \ve have one of the 
 fullest confessions of sin from Daniel ; almost, if not 
 the only, saint of whom we have any lengthened his-
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 69 
 
 tory, which contains the record of no failing or incon- 
 sistency of conduct. Yet he knew his own need for 
 confession ; and it was whilst confessing, that the 
 angel was sent to him. 
 
 Judas An example of confession drawn forth by 
 remorse. Judas confessed his sins before men, and 
 bewailed the result of his guilt. He repented after 
 he saw the fruit of his wickedness ; but he prayed for 
 no pardon, and he asked for no mercy. 
 
 CONSCIENCE.* 
 
 Prov. xx. 27. "The candle of the Lord." 
 Conscience is God's searcher and man's overseer ; as the Latin 
 epigram expresses it, index judex vindex. 
 
 THE TERRIBLE POWER OF CONSCIENCE. See "Illus- 
 trative Gatherings," first series. 
 
 Adam and Eve smitten with shame and fear. They 
 knew that they were naked, and hid themselves, Gen. 
 iii. 710. 
 
 Esau sold his birthright with profane indifference ; 
 yet what would he not have given years afterwards, 
 could he have changed his father's mind 1 ? What 
 bitter tears a few moments' pleasure cost him then ! 
 Gen. xxv. 2934; xxvii.; Heb. xii. 16, 17. 
 
 Jacob, who obtained the birthright and the blessing 
 by mean and ungenerous artifice, was filled with alarm 
 when conscience awoke after twenty years. It is 
 striking to compare Jacob's bold confidence when 
 pursued by Laban, and charged with theft (Gen. xxxi. 
 36 42), with his fear and alarm when about to 
 meet Esau (Gen. xxxii. 7, 8, 11. 
 
 Judah, when lie recognized his own signet and 
 bracelets and staff, Gen. xxxviii. 26. 
 
 Joseph's brethren. A remarkable instance of the 
 avenging power of conscience, long after the perpe- 
 tration of a crime. Thirteen years after Joseph's
 
 70 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 brethren, with unpitying cruelty, plotted to take 
 away his life, they stood before their brother ; and, 
 though by a circumstance which had no connexion 
 with their sin, conscience brought home the keen 
 remembrance of long-forgotten guilt. Happily Joseph 
 forgave them, and returned good for evil ; but seven- 
 teen years of kindness could not drown the voice of 
 conscience, when Jacob was dead, their fears revived 
 again, L 15. 
 
 Saul, smitten by David's generous kindness, con- 
 science rebuked the cruel king (1 Sam. xxiv. 16 19; 
 xx vi. 21. 
 
 Ahab. "Hast thou found me, mine enemy?" 
 1 Kings xxi. 20. Why should Ahab address Elijah 
 as an " enemy," when a short time before they had 
 parted as friends t The very spot where they met 
 gives the answer. It was in the vineyard of Naboth 
 the Jezreelite, which Ahab had obtained by the 
 murder of Naboth. 
 
 Zimri. " Had Zimri peace, who slew his master ?" 
 1 Kings xvi 1 8. Can there be peace in the breast 
 when there is guilt on the conscience ? Remember 
 Joram's question and Jehu's answer, 2 Kings ix. 22. 
 
 Herod. " It is John whom I beheaded : he is risen 
 from the dead," Mark vi. 20. Herod was, Josephus 
 says, a Sadducee (see Matt. xxii. 23). Why, then, 
 should he fear? It is a striking proof how little the 
 sophistries of infidelity can withstand the awakening 
 power of conscience. 
 
 Jvdas, in the very moment of his success, found his 
 bitterest remorse, Matt, xxvii. 3, 4 ; Prov. v. 22. 
 
 Felix, the judge, trembling before the prisoner, 
 because he was the slave of a guilty conscience, Acts 
 xxiv. 25. 
 
 CONSIDERATION- MEDITATION. See Cone, 
 under consider ponder think bethink mark
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 71 
 
 observe call to mind take heed remember count 
 reckon, &c. 
 
 The derivations of the two Greek words for repentance both 
 contain the idea of thought (/iercwWw, meaning literally after- 
 thought ; fjTO.fji\ofJMi aiter-care or concern). 
 
 The word translated "meditate," 1 Tim. iv. 15, is that used 
 by classical writers for the training of candidates for any profes- 
 sion. 
 
 SCRIPTURAL CALLS TO CONSIDERATION It is a 
 fact which should be duly weighed, how much stress 
 the Scriptures lay upon consideration. How large a 
 portion of the Bible, e.g., consists of repetitions, as if to 
 impress men's minds more deeply with the " tale 
 twice told." 
 
 The Book of Deuteronomy is a book of remembrance, 
 constantly repeating what has been said before. (The 
 charge, "Remember," occurs about twelve times; 
 "Take heed," eight times.) 
 
 The Gospels similarly. 
 
 The Prophecy of Haggai, in two short chapters, con- 
 tains four exhortations to " consideration," i. 5, 7 ; 
 ii. 15, 18. 
 
 SPECIAL WORDS, calling to consideration. 
 
 " Behold." This familiar word occurs throughout 
 the Scriptures nearly two hundred times, generally as 
 the preface to some announcement of unusual im- 
 portance. 
 
 " Take heed" occurs nearly sixty times. 
 
 The Hebrew word 
 
 Selah occurs seventy-one times in the Psalms, and 
 thrice in Habakkuk. Some regard it as a mark of 
 musical notation, but many able scholars take it 
 rather as having reference to the sense, and directing 
 a pause for especial attention, like our N.B., note 
 well. 
 
 Higgaion, Ps. ix. 16; xcii. 3, explained in the mar
 
 72 SC1UPTUKE ITSELF TI1K ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 gin of Ps. ix. 16 to mean " meditation." It is the 
 same word used, Ps. xix. 14. 
 
 " Set thiite heart" Haggai L 5 ; Job L 8, the mar- 
 ginal reading, in each case, for " consider." 
 
 JEWISH HELPS to reflection. 
 
 The phylacteries, a sign upon the hand, and a 
 frontlet between the eyes, Exod. xiii. 9, 16 ; Deut. vi 
 8 ; xi. 18. 
 
 The inscriptions upon the posts of their houses, and 
 on their gates, Deut. vi 9. 
 
 The fringes on the borders of their garments ; a 
 mark of separation, and a call to remembrance and 
 obedience, Num. xv. 37 41. 
 
 Num. v. 15. "An offering of memorial, bringing 
 iniquity to remembrance." 
 
 Ps. cvii. 43. A psalm recounting God's dealings 
 with men, of which the application is, " Whoso is 
 ftdse, and will observe these things," &c. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 15, 23, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148. A sevenfold 
 commendation of holy meditation and devout reflec- 
 tion on God's word and works. See also the Psalmist's 
 self-reflection, v. 59. 
 
 Jer. viii 6. " No man repented him of his wicked- 
 ness, saying, What have I done ?" 
 
 The want of consideration, that ruins so many. ' ' I never 
 thought of it " " I didn't mean any harm " " I never thought 
 it would have come to this." Oh, if poor helpless sinners would 
 but stop and think, what misery might they escape, and what 
 happiness might they gain 
 
 1 Sam. xxi. 12 ; Dan. vii. 28 ; Luke i. 66 ; it 19, 
 51. 
 
 The heart is the great store-house of wisdom, the precious 
 hive, with its many cells of hidden treasures. 
 
 Phil. iv. 8." Think on these things." 
 
 The dulness of our hearts make* them too often liku wet 
 wood : meditation is that which dr.-xws them into a gentle heat,
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 73 
 
 till at last the flame begins to burn, and the heart is on fire 
 with holy thoughts. 
 
 CONSISTENCY, THE BELIEVER'S, WITH HIS PRO- 
 FESSION.** See Holiness Holy Walking Offence 
 Prudence. 
 
 EXPRESSED in many ways. See Cone, under 
 
 A good conversation "chaste" "honest" "holy" 
 "as becometh the gospel of Christ" "without 
 covetousness " " in heaven." 
 
 Void of offence, Acts xxiv. 16; 1 Cor. x. 32; 2 Cor. 
 vi. 3. 
 
 Becoming, Rom. xvi. 2; Phil. i. 27 ; 1 Tim, ii. 10 ; 
 Titus ii. 3. 
 
 Blameless and harmless, without rebuke, unblamable, 
 Eph. i 4 ; Phil. ii. 15 ; 1 Thess. ii. 10 ; 1 Tim. iii. 2, 
 10 ; v. 7 ; like Zacharias and Elizabeth, Luke i. 6. 
 
 Honest (estimable), Acts vi. 3; Rom. xii. 17; xiii. 
 13; 2 Cor. viii. 21 ; 1 Thess. iv. 12; Heb. xiii. 18; 
 1 Pet. ii. 12. 
 
 Of good behaviour, 1 Tim. iii. 2 ; Titus ii. 3. 
 
 Walking wortliy of God of the Lord of our voca- 
 tion as children of light walking circumspectly 
 Exod. xxiii. 13; Eph. v. 15. 
 
 Neh. v. 9. " Ought ye not to walk in the fear of 
 our God, because of the reproach of the heathen our 
 enemies 1" 
 
 Ps. ci. 2. " I will behave myself wisely in a perfect 
 way." 
 
 The Householders' Psalm, a mirror for those who would walk 
 within their house, " with a perfect heart." 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 5. "Charity . . . doth not behave itself 
 unseemly." 
 
 In a manner unbecoming a person's station, age, or circum- 
 stances.
 
 74 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Titus ii. 8. "That he that is of the contrary part 
 may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you." 
 
 Cf. the cautions, 1 Tim. v. 14; Rom. xiv. 16, 21 ; 
 1 Pet ii 12, 15 ; iil 16. See Offence. 
 
 James L 27. "To keep himself unspotted from the 
 world." 
 
 To walk through a polluting world without catching its pollu- 
 tion, like the little hand of Sardian Christians, who " even in 
 Sanlis " had not defiled their garment*, Rev. iii. 4. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xvil 3, 4. 
 
 Nehemiah, see Neh. v. 911, 1418 ; vi. 3, 9, 11 ; 
 xiil 11, 30. 
 
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Dan. iii 16 18. 
 
 Daniel, i. 8 ; vi. 3, 4, 5, 10. 
 
 St. Paul. See his constant commendation of Chris- 
 tian consistency in the many texts quoted above. 
 
 Few men can appeal to their own personal con- 
 sistency of life with the same confidence that St. Paul 
 could. See Acts xxiii. 1 ; xxiv. 16; 1 Cor. iv. 16, 
 xi 1 ; 2 Tim. iii 10. See Zeal. 
 
 CONTENTMENT.* 
 
 1 Tim. vi 6. "Godliness with contentment is 
 great gain." 
 
 The apostle, observe, puts godliness first. Heal contentment 
 is the offspring of true godliness. "Contentment," literally 
 self-sufficiency (airra/wcfio), rendered "sufficiency, 2 Cor. ix. 8. 
 Godly contentment is independent of outward circumstances. It 
 is " the bird that sings so sweetly in the breast," as Luther say*. 
 "A good man shall be satisfied from himself," Prov. xiv. 14. 
 
 No worldly gain can satisfy man's heart. Israel murmured 
 as much when they had manna as when they had not ; and rich 
 men are as much troubled with what they possess as p*>r men 
 for what they want. . . . Hut when piety cometh, content fol- 
 lows it. If you find small j>earc in the world, you shall have 
 great peace in conscience. As Philip said, " Lord, show us the 
 Father, and it sufficeth us." Adamt.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 75 
 
 1 Tim. vi. 8. " Having food and raiment, let us 
 be therewith content." 
 
 " Food and raiment," a portion enough for the exile- 
 wanderer, Gen. xxviii. 20 ; for the stranger, whom the Lord 
 loves and provides for, Deut. x. 18. As God provided for Israel 
 in the wilderness, and they never wanted bread from heaven, 
 and their raiment waxed not old, neither did their foot swell, for 
 forty years, Deut. viii. 4 ; so let our daily bread be the ground 
 of our contentment, as provided by Him. Let us receive what- 
 ever God may send us as "food convenient," Prov. xxx. 8 
 ("food of my allowance," marg.) 
 
 Ps. xxxvii. 16. "A little that the righteous hath." 
 
 "A little, with the fear of the Lord," Prov. xv. 16 ; "even a 
 dinner of herbs where love is," Prov. xv. 17 ; "a dry morsel," 
 Prov. xvii. 1 ; or "a handful with quietness," Eccles. iv. 6; is 
 "better" "than the riches of many wicked," if they bring no 
 contentment ; " better than great treasure, and trouble there- 
 with," Prov. xv. 16 ; " than a house full of sacriBces (good cheer, 
 marg.) with strife," xvii. 1 ; than "both hands full with travail 
 and vexation of spirit," Eccles. iv. 6. 
 
 " A little.'' Our wants are really few and simple. " Man 
 wants but little here, nor wants that little long." Youvy. 
 " Nature is content with little, grace with less, sin with no- 
 thing. " Watson. 
 
 Phil. iv. 11. "I have learned in whatsoever state 
 I am, therewith to be content." 
 
 "Learned," been instructed, initiated a word generally sup- 
 posed to contain an allusion to the secret knowledge communi- 
 cated to those, who were initiated into the heathen mysteries. 
 
 Heb. xiii. 6. " Be content with such things as ye 
 have," or with present things. 
 
 Three of the greatest helps to holy contentment are given 
 here in ver. 5, 6. (1.) " Let your conversation be without 
 covetousness," because obviously there can be no greater 
 hindrance to true contentment than the insatiable craving after 
 something more or better. (2.) "Be content with present 
 things," not always living for the future, which robs the mind 
 of settled peace. (3.) " Let the sure and blessed promises of a 
 faithful God, who hath said, " I will never leave thee, nor for- 
 sake thee, " be the soul's sure anchor in the storms of life. " If 
 God be for us, who can be against us ?" Horn. viii. 31.
 
 76 8CRIPTUKB ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Gen. xxxiii. 9, 11. "I have enough." 
 
 So two brothers both exclaimed ; and it is a Htrange thing in 
 this murmuring world to find two brother* both uttering such a 
 sentiment ! But in the Hebrew there ia a striking difference, 
 not marked in our version. Esau said to Jacob, " I have enough," 
 the Hebrew "rab" means mueJi- "I have much; but Jacob 
 said, "I have enough," "kol" all everything. Esau had 
 much, but Jacob had everything, because he had all in God, and 
 God in all Brook*. 
 
 Prov. xiii. 15. " The righteous eateth to the satis- 
 fying of his soul." 
 
 Our English word tatitfaction well expresses true contentment, 
 from the Latin tat it (enough), and/acto (to make). 
 
 "So behave thyself in thy course of life as at a banquet. 
 Take what is offered with modest thankfulness, and expect what 
 is not yet offered with hopeful patience." Quartet. 
 
 " The nature of true content is to fill all the chinks of our 
 desires, as the wax does the seal. Content is the poor man's 
 riches, and desire is the rich man's poverty." Ailamt. 
 
 " I never complained of my lot," said the Persian poet, Sadi, 
 " but once, when my feet were sore, and I had no money to 
 buy shoes ; but I met a man without a foot, and I became con- 
 tent with my lot when I saw him." 
 
 CONTRITION.* See Conviction Repentance.' 
 
 The gracious sorrow of a penitent heart. 
 
 EXPRESSED by many different terms in Scripture, 
 
 " Godly sorrow," 2 Cor. vii. 10. " Godly," because 
 God is its author object end. It comes from 
 God and leads to God. It has regard to God in 
 Christ. It works " repentance unto salvation not to 
 be repented of ; " not like the " sorrow of the world," 
 which " worketh death." 
 
 "A broken Jieart and contrite spirit" Ps. li. 17 ; xxxiv. 
 18 a heart broken and melted by the Spirit's power. 
 Our two English words form an apt illustration, 
 " broken " and " contrite," like a stone taken from the 
 quarry, broken by the hammer, and then ground \f 
 powder. The Hebrew word for broken (Ps. li. 1 . f
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 77 
 
 is that from which our word shiver is probably de- 
 rived. 
 
 Mourning, 2 Cor. vii. 7, as parent birds passion- 
 ately cry for the loss of their young. So Homer uses 
 the word ddvp/iov. In Zech. xii. 10 we find a figure 
 stronger still. Ezek. vii. 16 mourning for ini- 
 quity, like the plaintive melancholy of doves of the 
 valley. 
 
 Rending the heart, with true deep grief, not as the 
 Jews used often to rend their garments with sham 
 repentance, Joel ii. 13. 
 
 Smiting upon the breast, Luke xviiL 1 3 ; upon the 
 thigh, Jer. xxxi. 19. 
 
 Girded with sackcloth, Ezek. vii. 18 ; Jonah iii. 8 
 
 Afflicting the soul, Lev. xvi 29. 
 
 Humbling the heart, Ps. xxxv. 13; Lam. iii. 20; 
 2 Kings xxii. 19. 
 
 Weeping, Jer. 1. 4. 
 
 Bemoaning, Jer. xxxi. 18. 
 
 Repenting in dust and ashes, Job xlii. 6. 
 
 See also in Cone, under ashamed blush con- 
 founded loathe trembled, &c. 
 
 JEWISH ORDINANCES. 
 
 The Passover, Exod. xii. 28 ; Deut. xvi. 1. Eaten 
 with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, " even the 
 bread of affliction," to mark it as a feast to be eaten 
 with remembrance of their past history, and con- 
 sciousness of the bitterness of sin. The words "in 
 all thy coasts" (Deut. xvi. 4) are to be noted as most 
 probably meaning, that even those who were not 
 able to keep the feast at the place appointed, were 
 still to have the memorials of repentance in their o t^n 
 houses. 
 
 The Day of Atonement a day for a man " to afflict 
 his soul," under the penalty of being " cut off," Lev. 
 xvi. 29, 31 ; xxiii. 29.
 
 78 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 LOATHINGS of SIN. 
 
 Ezek. vi. U, xx. 43, xxxvi. 31. Three times does 
 the prophet Ezekiel prophesy Israel's loathing the 
 thoughts of their past sins, and in each case as the 
 result of God's mercy drawing to repentance. Sense 
 of mercy, rather than of judgment, makes sin bitter, 
 and leads to godly sorrow. Mercies in Zion shall do 
 that which judgments in Babylon failed to do. Da- 
 vid's kindness broke the heart of Saul ; the Lord's 
 look opened the fountain of Peter's tears. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 It is observable how deeply contrition a holy 
 humiliation and mourning for sin have entered into 
 the experience of most of God's saints. Take a few 
 examples, 
 
 Moses. The book of Deuteronomy is a witness, of 
 which so large a portion is occupied in recounting the 
 history of Israel's rebellions, the writer not sparing 
 the recital of his own sin, and its chastisement. 
 
 Job. What a deep loathing of sin was Job brought 
 to at last. At the beginning of his affliction, he 
 loathed the thought of life, vii. 16; at the end, the 
 thought of sin, xl. 4, xlii. 6. 
 
 David. The penitential psalms show the depth of 
 his repentance, as well as the history, 2 Sam. xii. 13, 
 xxiv. 10. 
 
 Josiah, 2 Kings xxii. 19. 
 
 Daniel, chap. ix. 3 19. 
 
 St. Peter. The Gospel of St. Mark, written, as is 
 generally allowed, under the direction of St. Peter, is 
 a testimony of no little value, to the humility and 
 contrition of "the apostle of the circumcision." 
 Though written about thirty years after the event, 
 the account of St. Peter's fall is narrated with peculiar 
 force. We read in chap. xiv. 72, " when he thought 
 thereon he wept." The margin says, "he wept
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 79 
 
 abundantly, or he began to weep." The word means, 
 perhaps, " When he cast all these things together, "- 
 when he went step by step over the sad history, " he 
 wept, and continued weeping." Wordsworth. So 
 many passages in his epistles seem written as if in 
 mournful memory of his own weakness, 1 Pet. ii. 25 ; 
 2 Pet. ii. 1 ; iii. 17, &c. 
 
 St. Paul. In the same spirit, no reader of the New 
 Testament can fail to observe how frequently the 
 apostle of the Gentiles referred to the history of his 
 conversion, and of his former life. See Acts xxii. 
 320 ; xxvi 923 ; 1 Cor. xv. 9, 10 ; Gal. i. 13, 14 ; 
 Phil. iii. 6 ; 1 Tim. i. 13, 16. It should be marked, 
 too, how frequently his epistles contain exhortations 
 to remember the time before conversion, as 1 Cor. vi. 
 11; xii. 2; Eph. ii 2, 3, 1113; v. 8 ; 1 Thess. i. 9; 
 Titus iii. 3, &c. 
 
 CONVERSION. *** See Regeneration Salvation. 
 
 DESCRIBED as 
 
 A turning. (Compare the several English words 
 derived from the same root pervert, sw&vert, divert, 
 revert, &c.) 
 
 A turning ham to, Acts iii. 26; xxvi. 18; 1 Thess. 
 i 9. 
 
 Sin is alienation (turning from God to another). See Jer. ii. 
 27 ; xxxii. 33 ; conversion is a turning back to God, Isa. Iv. 7 ; 
 Jer. xxiv. 7 ; just as the repentant prodigal returned to his father's 
 house, Luke xv. 17 24. 
 
 A translation (transference) from being blind and 
 abject slaves of Satan, to the kingdom of the Son of 
 God's love, Col. i. 13 (marg.) 
 
 A restoration to a right mind, Ps. xix. 7 (marg.) ; 
 see Luke xxii. 32. See Restoration. 
 
 A healing, Isa. vi. 10, " convert and be healed." 
 
 A resurrection and reanimation, Ezek. xxxvii 1 10.
 
 80 SCRIPTURE ITSKLF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 CONVICTION OF SIN.* See Contrition Conver- 
 sion Repentance Conscience Temporary. 
 
 Is SET FORTH by different figures and expressions : 
 
 The keen North Wind, Cant. iv. 16. 
 
 Wakening from sleep, 1 Cor. xv. 34; Eph. v. 14. 
 
 " Pricked in the tmart," Acts il 37. 
 
 It is important to observe the contrast between the effects of 
 St. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, when great numbers 
 were " pricked in their hearts, " and the effect produced on two 
 other occasions, when many were " cut to the heart " (v. 33, 
 vii. 54.) In the former case the effect was a salutary conviction 
 of sin, leading to immediate inquiry, " What must we do?" In 
 the others it led only to rage against the preachers "They took 
 counsel to slay them ;" "they gnashed on" Stephen "with their 
 teeth." 
 
 Smiting As if with holy anger and penitent shame ; 
 upon the breast, like the publican, Luke xviii. 13; 
 and the Jews, xxiii. 48 ; or on the thigh, like Ephraim, 
 Jer. xxxi. 19. David's heart smote him, 1 Sam. 
 xxiv. 5 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. 
 
 Digging deep, Luke vi. 48. 
 
 THE PRODIGAL SON. The beautiful parable of the 
 prodigal son, affords an illustration of the risings of 
 conviction in an awakened conscience. " When lie 
 came to himself, 11 Luke XT. 17. What is sin but a 
 state of unconscious sleep and blind infatuation ? 
 Conviction is the sleeper roused to thought and terror 
 and concern. 
 
 THE ACTS of the APOSTLES might well be studied 
 as a record of the different results of conviction. How 
 strikingly it shows that conviction of sin is not con 
 version, as we see in the case of Felix trembling 
 nnder Paul's preaching, xxiv. 25, compared with those 
 who heard Peter preach at Pentecost, ii. 37 ; with 
 Lytlia, xvi 14; or with the Philippian jailor, xvi. 
 2534.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 81 
 
 THE WORK of the HOLY GHOST, see John xvi. 8. 
 " He will reprove" (marg. convince) the world." " The 
 word has the double meaning of convincing unto sal- 
 vation, or convicting unto condemnation" (Alford.) 
 If the world will not receive the Spirit's witness, they 
 are no less convicted and condemned ; but rather 
 more so. Observe also, it is "the Comforter" who 
 reproves the Paraclete, whose purpose is one of 
 mercy. To resist conviction is to " resist the Holy 
 Ghost," Acts vii. 51. 
 
 COVETOUSNESS.** See Miches Vanity Un- 
 selfishness. 
 
 (See Cone, under gain lust desire, &c.) 
 
 EMBLEMS and EXPRESSIONS, 
 
 Wolves Proverbial for their rapacity and savage 
 nature, Ezek. xxii. 27. 
 
 Ghreedy dogs, that can never have enough, Isa. 
 IvL 11. 
 
 The horseleach (or bloodsucker), Prov. xxx. 15, with 
 its two-forked tongue, which gorges blood, and hav- 
 ing emptied itself, craves for more. 
 
 The four insatiable things: the grave the barren 
 womb the parched land the fire, Prov. xxx. 15, 16. 
 
 The man " greedy of gain" Prov. i. 19 ; xv. 27 ; 
 " hasting to be rich" Prov. xxviii. 22 ; who " en- 
 largeth his desire as hell" (or the grave) ; that is (insa- 
 tiable) as death, that " cannot be satisfied," Hab. 
 ii. 5 , who makes " gold his hope" Job xxxi. 24 ; and 
 turns "aside after lucre," 1 Sam. viii. 3 ; whose eye is 
 evil, Prov. xxviii. 22 ; and whose heart " walketh 
 after his eyes," Job xxxi. 7. 
 
 The Greek word ordinarily used for covetousness 
 (ir\eoveia) means " a desire of having more than be- 
 longs to one." Parlchurst. 
 
 The covetous man's desire is "only to have enough;" 
 
 F
 
 82 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 But what is enough t The pleasure of what we have, 
 is lost by coveting more. 
 
 Another Greek word is also used, <fn\apyvpla, which 
 means the love of silver or money ; see 2 Tim. iii. 2, 
 where this is marked as a prominent sign of "the 
 last days ; " see Eccles. v. 10 ; 1 Tim. vi. 10. 
 
 Our English word miser is not more nearly allied 
 in sound than it is in sense to its derivation misery. 
 (See an interesting book by Cyrus Redding, " Re- 
 markable Misers.") 
 
 The JEWISH LAW was strikingly calculated, by 
 many of its enactments, to counteract the spirit of 
 covetousness, as by the regulations concerning the 
 poor, concerning servants, concerning gleaning, 
 usury, pledges, concerning the silver and the gold 
 of the graven images taken in war, &c. 
 
 St. LUKE'S GOSPEL, among other peculiarities, 
 especially sets forth the danger of covetousness. Sec 
 Riches. 
 
 The ACTS of the APOSTLES a book which strik- 
 ingly shows how covetousness is a sin pervading all 
 classes. We find it in Judas, one holding the high 
 office of an apostle, i. 18 ; in Ananias and Sapphira, 
 v. 1 11 ; in Simon Magus, viii. 18, 19; examples of 
 false professors; in many members of the early Church, 
 vi. 1 ; and amongst the heathen, xvi. 19, xix. 24 27, 
 xxiv. 26. 
 
 ST. PAUL in his epistles not only includes covetous- 
 ness amongst other sins, but marks it with a special 
 emphasis " covetousness, which is idolatry," Eph. v. 
 5 ; Col. iiL 5. 
 
 FEW SINS have brought more bitter fruit than 
 covetousness. See Text-book for examples, as Lot 
 Lillian Baalam Achan Saul Ahab Gehazi 
 Haman Rich young ruler Pharisees Ananias and 
 Sapphira, &c.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 83 
 
 YET it is remarkable that, wide-spread as is this 
 common sin, scarcely any of the prominent saints of 
 Scripture are particularly charged with it, save Lot ; 
 whereas very many were pre-eminently distinguished 
 for their disinterested and unselfish spirit. See Un- 
 selfishness. 
 
 It is also noteworthy how covetousness was one of 
 the first sins that broke out, both in Israel, after en- 
 tering Canaan, and also in the early Christian Church; 
 and how severely it was punished in both in Achan, 
 Joshua vii. ; and in Ananias and Sapphira, Acts v. 
 111. 
 
 The contrast of Abraham with Lot is very striking. 
 Lot, who sought wealth, lost it, and in twenty years 
 after his choice of Sodom lost all that he had ; Abra- 
 ham, who was willing to give up everything, found it. 
 Gen. xiii. 9 17 ; see Prov. x. 22, xxii. 4. 
 
 CROWN. 
 
 The emblem of honour favour royalty perpe- 
 tuity. 
 
 Used frequently in the Book of Proverbs ; applied 
 to a virtuous wife a wise man's riches the righte- 
 ous man's hoary head the prudent man's knowledge 
 the old man's children's children. See Cone. 
 
 THE BELIEVER'S crown of grace and of glory ; 
 
 A crown of beauty, Ezek. xvi. 1 2. The description 
 of the Church's glory ; applicable, also, in a general 
 sense, to the honour put on every true believer. 
 
 A crown of gold, Rev. iv. 4, upon the twenty-four 
 elders, who are spoken of as part of the redeemed, 
 v. 8. 
 
 A crown of righteousness, 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
 
 A crown of life, James i. 12 ; Rev. ii. 10. 
 
 A crown of rejoicing, 1 Thess. ii. 19 ; Phil. iv. 1. 
 
 A crown of glory, 1 Pet. v. 4.
 
 84 8CRIPTUKE ITSKLF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Contrast. The crown of pride, Isa. xxviii. 1, "whose 
 beauty is a fading flower ;' the " corruptible crown " 
 of worldly fame and honour, 1 Cor. ix. 25. The 
 believer's " crown," like his " inheritance," is " incor- 
 ruptible," 1 Pet. i. 4 ; v. 4. 
 
 STEPHEN, the name of the first Christian martyr, 
 was singularly prophetic of the " crown of martyr- 
 dom " he received. The word Stephen means a 
 crown. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS, crowned with glory and honour, 
 
 There were many prefigurements of Jesus crowned, 
 Aaron, as priest, wearing the crown upon his mitre, 
 Exod. xxviii. 36 38 ; xxix. 6, probably designed to 
 showthat He whom Aaron typified would also be a king 
 (see Scott) ; David, Ps. cxxxii. 18 ; xxi. 3 ; Solomon, 
 Cant. iii. 1 1 ; Joshua, Zech. vi. 1 1 14. The Lord Jesus 
 as the Head of Creation and the Head of the Church, 
 is " crowned with glory and honour," Ps. viii. 5 ; 
 Heb. ii. 7, 9. It is He, most probably, who is set 
 forth in Rev. vi. 2 as having " a crown " given unto 
 Him, and going forth " conquering and to conquer ;" 
 and as having on His head a golden crown, xiv. 14. 
 Certainly He it is who shall come at last as " King 
 of kings and Lord of Lords," when on His head are 
 "many crowns," xix. 12, 16. 
 
 What a glorious change from the time of humilia- 
 tion, when the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and 
 put it on His sacred head, John xix. 2. But this is 
 the law of Christ's kingdom alike for the Head as 
 for the members " No cross, no crown ; no pain, no 
 palm ; no grief, no gladness ; no thorns, no throne." 
 W. Penn. 
 
 See Cant. v. 11, gold of gold, under Head. 
 
 CURSE* See Wrath. Cf. the Implications of 
 Scripture, Ps. Iv. 15; Ixix. 2228; cix. 619 ; 1 Cor. 
 xvi. 22; 2 Tim. iv. 14, Ac.
 
 SCRIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 85 
 
 The Woes of 'Scripture, Isa. v. ; xxviii. 1 ; xxix. 1 ; 
 xxx 1 ; xxxi. 1 ; xxxiii. 1 ; Hab. ii. ; Matt, xxiii. ; 
 Luke vi. 2426. 
 
 Gen. iii. 14 19. The first curse pronounced when 
 our first parents fell. See below. 
 
 Deut. xi. 29 ; xxvii. 13. The curses pronounced 
 from Mount Ebal. It is observed by some that, 
 under the law, the curses were first pronounced, and 
 afterward the blessings ; whilst, when Christ came, 
 His teaching began with blessing, Matt, v., and ended 
 with pronouncing woes, Matt, xxiii. 
 
 Yet even on Mount Ebal Joshua was told to build 
 an altar, and offer burnt offerings and peace offerings, 
 Joshua viii. 33. 
 
 Numb. v. 11 31. " The bitter water that causeth 
 the curse." 
 
 Isa. xliii. 28. " I have given Jacob to the curse." 
 Jacob God's own long-favoured people once so 
 blessed ! 
 
 Mark xi. 1214, 20, 21. The fig tree cursed ; no 
 doubt representing the curse upon the Jewish nation, 
 one of the only two miracles of destruction our 
 Lord is recorded to have wrought. Obs. how speedy 
 was the curse in taking effect, and how complete, ver. 
 20 "In the (next) morning . . . they saw the fig 
 tree dried up from the roots. 
 
 Zech. v. 2, 3. The " flying roll " . . . " the curse 
 that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth," 
 &c. 
 
 Difficult as it may be to fix the exact interpretation of the 
 symbol, three things seem clearly hinted at, (1.) From its large 
 size, it points out the vast extent of the many curses pronounced 
 by God against sin and sinners ; (2.) its "flying" may intimate 
 that the Divine curse is continually hovering over the head of 
 the impenitent, and may any moment fall upon them, John iii. 
 36 ; (3.) that the curse of God is sure to find out every sinner, 
 though a man may " hold himself guiltless " (see marg.), and
 
 86 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 will " enter into the house," and destroy all the comfort and 
 credit and reliance of the traiiHgresuor. 
 
 Gen. iii 14; Isa. Ixv. 25. The serpent first and 
 longest cursed 
 
 Gen. iii. 15. We cannot fail, in thinking of the 
 curse, to observe how, even from the first, Divine 
 mercy was mingled with judgment When man fell, 
 the curse was forthwith pronounced ; but it was not 
 pronounced first upon Adam or the woman, but upon 
 the serj>ent ; and with the pronouncing of the first 
 curse was mingled the announcement of the first 
 promise. 
 
 Gal. iii. 13. We cannot but observe how complete 
 is the redemption brought in by Christ. In every 
 point, it has been said, He met the curse. One part 
 of the curse was death. The Redeemer died ; and 
 when, in after times, one particular kind of death was 
 especially pronounced accursed, He died that death. 
 The serpent was, at the first, pre-eminently cursed. 
 He made the uplifted serpent the emblem of His own 
 sacrifice, John ill 14, 15. Thorns were another effect 
 of the curse. He wore a crown of thorns, He sweat 
 the bloody sweat. In all and every point He met 
 the curse, and took it in our stead upon Himself. 
 
 DARKNESS, MORAL AND SPIRITUAL.** See 
 Jilmdness. 
 
 FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The darkness of cliaos, Gen. i. 2. 
 
 The darkness of night, Gen. i. 5 ; Ps. civ. 20 ; Prov. 
 vii. 9 ; 1 Thess. v. 4 8 ; Rev. viii. 12. 
 
 The darkness of the pruon-kotue, Isa. xlix. 9. 
 
 The vail spread over all nations, Isa. xxv. 7. 
 
 Abraltams vision " an horror of great darkness," 
 Gen. xv. 1217. 
 
 Egyptian darkness, Exod. x. 22, 23.
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 87 
 
 At the giving of the law, Deut. iv. 11; v. 22. 
 
 At the Crucifixion, Matt, xxvii. 45 ; Luke xxiii. 44. 
 
 The darkening of the third part of the sun, and 
 moon, and stars, at the sounding of the fourth angel, 
 Rev. viii. 12. See also ix. 2. 
 
 DARKNESS is one of the many abstract terms used 
 to express the evil and effects of sin. Sin is not 
 only dark, but darkness ; not an enemy, but enmity. 
 The expression, too, is intensified by the strongest 
 epithets : " gross darkness " " thick darkness " 
 "blackness of darkness." So we read of the actings 
 of sin as " ways of darkness " " works of darkness " 
 " deeds of darkness," &c. 
 
 DARKNESS lies in the sinner's heart, Rom. i. 21 ; 
 and understanding, Eph. iv. 18. It is the element 
 in which they live. So we read that they " walk " 
 in darkness; they "sit;" they "abide;" they "grope;" 
 they "stumble on the dark mountains." No wonder, 
 when we read that they "prefer darkness to light;" 
 they "hate;" "they rebel against the light;" 
 " there is no light in them ; " and their punishment 
 shall be analogous to their life " " driven into dark- 
 ness;" "cast into outer darkness " (three times re- 
 ferred to by St. Matthew, chap. viii. 1 2 ; xxiL 1 3 ; 
 xxv. 20), where " the light of the wicked shall be put 
 out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine," Job 
 xviii. 5, 6, 18. 
 
 SATAN'S CONNEXION with darkness. Christ's king- 
 dom is a kingdom of light. Satan's kingdom is that 
 of darkness, Eph. vi. 12 ; Rev. xvi. 10; Jude 6. 
 
 DEATH.*** See Bereave ment Providence (narrow 
 escapes from death) Rashness (disregard of life). 
 
 EMBLEMS AND EXPRESSIONS. 
 
 The king of terrors, Job xviii. 14. 
 
 Sleep, Deut. xxxi. 16; Dan. xii. 2; John xi. 11,
 
 88 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLDSTRATOK. 
 
 Ac. ; used jhiefly of believers, even of the blessed 
 calm of martyred Stephen's death, Acts vii. 60. 
 
 Putting off the tabernacle of the body, 2 Cor. v. 1 ; 
 2 Pet. i. 14. 
 
 Cut down, like the grass or fragrant flower, Ps. xc. 
 5, 6 ; Job xiv. 2. 
 
 Cut off, like the weaver's thread, Isa. xxxviii. 12 ; 
 or the tops of the ears of com, Job xxiv. 24. 
 
 Fleeing as a shadow, Job xiv. 1. 
 
 Carried away as by a devastating ttocd, Ps. xc. 5. 
 
 Tiie consuming of snow waters by the drought and 
 heat, Job xxiv. 19. 
 
 Water spilt upon the ground, that cannot l>e re 
 called, 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 In some Eastern lands, in ancient times, instead of throwing 
 dust into the grave at the burial of the dead, as we do, they 
 poured water into it, as a token of man's frailty. 
 
 Departing, Phil. i. 23 ; literally, like a vessel un 
 moored, and leaving the harbour. (Homer applies 
 the word to the unloosing a ship's cables,) 2 Tim. iv. 
 6 ; Gen. xxxv. 18. 
 
 The river Jordan the entrance to the land of rest. 
 
 Sowing, like seed, in the earth, 1 Cor. xv. 42 45. 
 
 Resting, as in a tranquil bed, Isa. IviL 2. 
 
 Returning to man's native dust, Gen. iii. 19 ; Ps. 
 civ. 29 ; Eccles. xii. 7. 
 
 Going the way whence there is no return, Job xvi. 22. 
 
 A war, from which there is no discharge, Eccles. 
 viii. 8. 
 
 MANY FIGURES of disease and terror, of sin and 
 sorrow, are associated with death. We read of " the 
 first-born of death," Job xviii. 13 (the most fatal dis 
 ease) ; the gates of death, Ps. cvii. 18 ; the shadow, 
 Job xiii 5 ; x. 21 ; the bitterness, 1 Sam. xv. 32 ; the 
 sting, 1 Cor. xv. 55, 56 ; the reign of death, Rom v. 
 14.
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 89 
 
 ; 
 
 The Hebrew word for the grave, Sheol, is derived 
 from the verb, meaning, to ask ; because the demands 
 of the grave are insatiable. 
 
 The Greek word Hades, means unseen,jmfenown. 
 
 It is observable howjnaey soft and gentle terms are 
 used of death : sfafiing sowing gathered resting 
 laid (Heb. added) unto his fathers. 
 
 Eom. v. 12. "Death passed upon all men, for 
 that all have sinned." 
 
 How true. Where is death not found ? " Where is the dust 
 that hath not been alive ? " In the palace, Jer. ix. 21 ; and the 
 prison, Matt. xiv. 10 ; amidst the rich man's luxury and the 
 beggar's poverty, Luke xvi. 22 ; peacefully in the ruler's house, 
 Matt. ix. 18 ; and terribly on the cross of shame, John xix. 32. 
 Where does death not creep in ? At the gate of the city called 
 Nain (which means beautiful), Jesus met death, Luke vii. 11, 12. 
 " In the garden (the place set apart for pleasure) there was a 
 new sepulchre," John xix. 41. 
 
 Gen. iv. 8. Death was denounced as a curse, but 
 the first person it lighted on was a saint. 
 
 Gen. xxiii. 1 6 20. The first land that Abraham 
 bought for a possession in Canaan was a burying- 
 place. 
 
 Gen. v. "And he died." The common epitaph 
 from the first ; even Methusaleh, who lived the longest, 
 not exempt. 
 
 Gen. xxxv. Three deaths recorded in one chapter 
 a father mother nurse. 
 
 Num. xxvii. 3. "Our father .... died in his own 
 sin." 
 
 1 Sam. xx. 3. " Truly .... there is but a step 
 between me and death." 
 
 But the believer may add, that step is in a Father's hands ; 
 and it is a glorious step, from a world of trouble to the realms 
 of sinless and everlasting rest. 
 
 2 Chron. xvi. 14. Asa's perfumed tomb. 
 
 Isa. xxii. 16. Shebna's prepared and costly 
 sepulchre.
 
 90 SCKIPTURK ITSELF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Tsa. xiv. 18. Royal mausoleums. 
 Gen. xxvii. 1, 2. 
 
 How little men know the time of their death. Isaac thought 
 he was about to die, and he lived forty-three years after, Ho 
 Ksan lived ninety years after his peevish speech, Gen. xxv. 82 ; 
 Jacob eighteen years after his gloomy foreboding, Gen. xlii. 38. 
 8t Paul could write, " 1 die daily," 1 Cor. xv. 31 ; and yet, 
 through the midst of his many narrow escajKJs, he was preserved 
 even seven or eight years, after he " despaired even of life," 
 2 Cor L 8. 
 
 IT is NOTEWORTHY that in the three cases where 
 the exact length of life was revealed, no practical good 
 seems to have followed. 
 
 ffezei-iah. was promised fifteen years of longer life, Isa. xxxviii 
 5. Tet the very next chapter (written probably soon after) 
 contains the record of his pride. 
 
 Hananiah was forewarned that he should die the same year, 
 Jer. xxviii. 16. But no record is added of his repenting and 
 preparing for death. 
 
 The rich fool was allowed only a few hours, Luke xii. 20. 
 Yet there is no reason to think there was any softening result 
 produced. 
 
 Heb. ix. 27, " It is appointed unto men once to die." 
 It was told Anaxagoras the Athenians had condemned him to 
 die. He only replied, " And Nature them. " 
 
 Num. xxxi. 2, "Every man is immortal, till his 
 work is done." 
 
 Luke vii. 1116. 
 
 Death is the destroyer of happiness ; Jesus is the destroyer 
 of death. 
 
 Ps. xxxvii. 37 (cf. v. 38) ; Isa. Ivii. 2. 
 
 Peace in death in the prospect and the passage. It is inte- 
 resting to observe how many saiuts are spoken of as preparing 
 for death, and how many peaceful deaths are reconled in Scrip- 
 ture : Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, David, 
 Hezekiah, Simeon, Paul, Peter, and even the martyr Stephen, 
 " who fell asleep." 
 
 1 Thess. iv. 14, "Them that sleep in Jesus."
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 91 
 
 Two precious thoughts are here of God's departing saints. 
 (1.) They sleep, as Isaiah says, Ivii. 2, " resting in their beds " a 
 blessed chamber " which the Lord shuts with the key of peace, 
 and will open with the key of resurrection" (Adams). The 
 Greek has been beautifully translated, " Them that are hushed 
 to sleep." (2.) They " sleep in Jesus " as safe in Him in death 
 as they were safe in life a precious treasure, which He will 
 never fail to keep. 
 
 1 Cor. xv. 57, " Thanks be to God, who giveth us 
 the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Christian's triumphant victory over the oppressor through 
 Christ. Like Israel passing dryshod through Jordan, because 
 the ark stood in the midst, till the last man had passed safely 
 over. 
 
 2 Cor. v. 4, " Mortality .... swallowed up of life." 
 Swallowed up as by a whirlpool a maelstrom. (See Barnes.) 
 
 2 Tim. i. 10, "Abolished," or deposed. 
 Rev. ii. 10. 
 
 The blessed contrast, "Faithful unto death," probably refer- 
 ring to a martyr's death sharp but short ; and then the never- 
 fading "crown of life." 
 
 DECEIT. See Hypocrisy Treachery. See Cone, 
 under crafty cunning subtlety feigned fraud 
 pretence show. 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 Serpent, Gen. iii. 1 ; Matt, xxiii. 33; 2 Cor. xi. 3. 
 
 Fox, Luke xiii. 32. 
 
 Summer Brooks, Job vi. 15. 
 
 Uncertain Bow, Hos. vii. 16. 
 
 DECEITFUL THINGS. The heart of man, Jer. xvil 
 9. The tongue, Ps. 1. 19 ; Isa. xxx. 10. The wink- 
 ing eye, and speaking foot, and teaching fingers, Prov. 
 VL 13. " The kisses of an enemy," Prov. xxvii. 6. See 
 Cone, for " bread of deceit " " balance of deceit " 
 "bag of deceitful weights" "feigned words" 
 " speaking fair," Prov. xxvi. 25, &c.
 
 92 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 DEDICATION, CONSECRATION. See Service 
 of God. See Cone, under hallowed set apart de- 
 voted offered presented, &c. 
 
 The word "Enoch" means dedicated; and it is 
 singular to observe how early the name was given, 
 both in Cain's line, and in the line of Seth, Gen. iv. 
 17; v. 48 24. Lemuel, Prov. xxxi. 1, means also 
 devoted to God. The word saint* has properly the 
 same signification sanctified, set apart for sacred 
 purposes. 
 
 To consecrate. The marginal translation of the 
 Hebrew word is generally, to "fill the hand." See 
 Exod. xxviii. 41 ; xxxii. 29 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 5. 
 
 To " yield to God " in the Hebrew is to give the 
 hand. See 2 Chron. xxx. 8 (marg.) 
 
 UNDER THE LAW. There were very numerous 
 examples and illustrations of dedication and consecra- 
 tion of persons and things. 
 
 The several sacrifices and offerings, especially the 
 burnt-offering, which was to be wholly consumed, and 
 which represents the entire dedication of the offerer 
 to God. 
 
 The first-born of men, Exod. xiii. 2 12 ; (after xii., 
 Israel's redemption) ; xxii. 29. 
 
 The firstling of cattle, Exod. xiii. 12; xxii. 30. 
 
 Theirs/ ripe fruits and corn, the first produce of 
 
 011, and wine, and fleece, Exod. xxii. 29 ; Num. xviii. 
 
 12. The fruit of trees in the fourth year, Lev. xix. 
 24. 
 
 A sheaf was presented at harvest time as a wave 
 offering, Lev. xxiii. 10 14 ; two wave loaves at 
 Pentecost, Lev. xxiii. 17 ; dough, as a heave offering, 
 Num. xv. 20. These were to be brought to God's 
 house, Exod. xxii. 29 ; xxiii. 19 ; with confession and 
 thanksgiving, Deut. xxvi. 3 10. 
 
 Nazarites, dedication of, Num. vi 1 8.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 93 
 
 Vows Tithe, &c. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. 
 
 It is striking how largely the house of the Lord 
 was enriched by dedicated things. 
 
 The tabernacle was richly adorned from the spoils 
 of Egypt; the gold and silver, and fine linen, and 
 various things required. The Lord so ordered it, not 
 only as intimating favour to the Gentiles, but as 
 representing the use which God often makes of the 
 abilities and substance of strangers, in supporting and 
 promoting true religion. Scott on Exod. xxv. 17. 
 
 The laver of brass was made of the looking-glasses 
 of the women, Exod. xxxviii. 8. 
 
 The Temple of Solomon was raised largely by the 
 dedicated things David gathered, 2 Sam. viii. 7, 8, 
 11 ; 1 Kings vii. 51 1 Chron. xviii. 7 11. 
 
 Large offerings were often voluntarily made, which 
 were devoted to holy purposes. See the offerings of 
 the officers and captains, after the victory over 
 Midian, Num. xxxi. 48 54, amounting to about 
 37,856 ; and the treasures of dedicated things, set 
 apart to maintain the house of the Lord, from the 
 days of Samuel, by Samuel, Saul, Abner, Joab, &c., 
 1 Chron. xxvi. 26 28 ; and the superabundant trea- 
 sures of dedicated gifts in Hezekiah's time, 2 Chron. 
 xxxi. 5 12. 
 
 The WALL OF JERUSALEM. The rebuilding of, was- 
 a noble example of difficult work done in a pious 
 spirit, first "sanctified," Neh. iii. 1; then "dedi- 
 cated," xii. 17. 
 
 GIVEN TO THE LORD. What large views St. Paul 
 had of the entire consecration of the believer to God ! 
 See 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20 ; Kom. xii. 1 ; see also Phil, 
 ii. 17, where he speaks of himself as willing to be 
 "offered," "poured forth" (marg.), like the libations
 
 94 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 or drink offerings of ancient sacrifices, with cheerful 
 surrender and sanctified joy. 
 
 Cf. the beautiful expression in the port communion service of 
 the Church of England "And here we offer and present unto 
 Thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, 
 holy, and lively sacrifice unto Thee." 
 
 THE CONSTRAINING MOTIVE, 2 Cor. V. 14. 
 
 THE RIGHTFUL ORDER, First the person, then the 
 gift ; the heart, and then the offering ; see 2 Cor. 
 viii. 5 ; Luke xi 41 j 1 Heb. xi 4. 
 
 THE ACCEPTANCE of offerers and offering. See 
 Acceptance; 2 Cor. viil 12 ; Num. xviil 26, 27 ; Gen. 
 iv. 4 ; Ezek. xx. 41. 
 
 DEFILEMENT OF SIN UNCLEA.NNESS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Dogs generally wild in the East, prowling about 
 the streets, savage, and feeding on garbage, Ps. lix. 
 6 ; Matt vii. 6 ; 2 Pet. ii. 22. 
 
 Swine delighting in filthiness and dirt, 2 Pet. ii. 
 22. 
 
 A cage of unclean birds, Jer. v. 27 ; Rev. xviii. 2. 
 
 Defiled garments, Isa. Ixiv. 6 ; Rev. iii. 4 ; Jude 23 ; 
 like Joshua's, Zech. iii. 3. 
 
 Spots and blemishes spots " that God hates and 
 man hides," 2 Pet. ii. 13. 
 
 Sepulchres "full of dead men's bones, and of all 
 uncleanness," Matt, xxiii. 27. 
 
 Under the MOSAIC RITUAL, the defiling character 
 of sin was brought out very promiently, as in 
 
 The leprosy the special type of sin, Lev. xiiL xiv. ; 
 
 1 " The simplest meaning of this sentence appears to be- 
 Give fir.-t the offering of the inward. Give your heart, your 
 
 affections, and your will to God Give yourselves firut to 
 
 the Lord, and then lie will be pleased with your gift" RyU.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 95 
 
 the melancholy picture of corruption, loathsomeness, 
 and decay ; affecting persons, garments, houses ; be- 
 ginning insidiously, and spreading with a relentless 
 progress, until complete destruction left nothing more 
 to do ; and besides incurable. 
 
 The rites enjoined in the case of the leper all denoted, in the 
 most humbling manner, the mournful effects of sin ; see Lev. 
 xiii. 45, 46 ; the rent clothes, bare head, covered lip, and the 
 leper's pitiable cry, if any one came near, "Unclean, unclean," 
 and the separation from society, without the camp. Some of 
 these signs are the same as those appointed in mourning for the 
 dead. 
 
 Regulations about social life. Child-bearing, Lev. 
 xii. 2 8 ; food, Lev. xi. ; disease, Lev. xv. ; contact 
 with uncleanness, Lev. v. 2, 3 ; xi. 24, 25 ; xxii. 5, 6. 
 
 Regulations about death. Touching a dead body, or 
 carcase of a beast, or a grave, Num. xix. 11 22; 
 Lev. xvii. 15, 16; v. 2 13; even entering the tent 
 where the dead lay, Num. xix. 14 ; the priests 
 mourning for the dead, Lev. xxi. 1 3. 
 
 Regulations about sacred duties. Even taking part 
 in these, in some cases, made men liable to ceremonial 
 uncleanness. Burning the sin offering, e.g., on the 
 day of atonement, Lev. xvi. 28 ; leading the scape- 
 goat into the wilderness, Lev. xvi. 26, &c. 
 
 THE RED HEIFER was a striking illustration of the 
 imputation of defilement, Num. xix. 1 10. (1.) 
 The heifer itself, as bearing the uncleanness of the 
 people, was to be carried without the camp. (2.) 
 Eleazar was to offer it, not Aaron, that the high priest 
 might not be defiled. (3.) Eleazar, the priest, the 
 man who burnt the heifer, and even the clean man 
 that gathered the ashes, were all rendered ceremoni- 
 ally unclean by the performance of these duties. 
 
 EVEN THE SANCTUARY itself might be defiled, Lev. 
 xx. 3 ; Ezek. v. 11 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14 ; Exod. xx. 
 25 ; Ps. xxiv. 7 ; Ixxix. 1.
 
 96 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 THE MORAL LEPROSY. It would be difficult to 
 describe to the full the awful extent of the spreading 
 taint of sin. Trace in Cone, under the head of <u- 
 fill, and see how " sin " is inscribed on men's mind 
 and conscience body hands feet flesh gar- 
 ments house land, &c. ; under filthy " filthiness 
 of the flesh and spirit " " filthy communications " 
 " filthy lucre " (five times) " all filthiness and super- 
 fluity of naughtiness" "even our righteousnesses 
 are as filthy rags," and man is "abominable and 
 filthy "" altogether filthy." 
 
 Zech. iii. The high priest Zechariah represented 
 Israel appearing before the Lord first, clothed with 
 filthy garments ; then clothed with change of raiment, 
 adorned and crowned with personal and official 
 dignity. 
 
 HaggaiiL 1113. 
 
 How much more easily is rmcleanness communicated than 
 purity ! One drop of ink will stain a glass of water, but one 
 drop of water cannot purify a glassful of ink. 
 
 Isa. liL 11. "Touch no unclean thing." 
 
 One of the great lessons God would teach His Church. It 
 was the charge given to Israel on thf ir entering Canaan " De- 
 file not yourselves," see Cone. , on their leaving Babylon, Isa. 
 Iii. 11 ; applied to the Church of Christ in her separation from 
 the world, 2 Cor. vi 14. 
 
 Isa. xxxv. 8; liL 1 ; Ezek xliv. 9; Zech. xiv. 21; 
 Rev. xxi 27. 
 
 The entire absence of all defilement in the Church's future 
 glory 
 
 DENIALS GOD'S, OF His PEOPLE'S WISHES.** 
 
 God seldom denies His people's requests, but He 
 gives them some better thing, or shows some token 
 of His love in the refusal. 
 
 Israel besought Moses to pray for the removal of
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 97 
 
 the fiery serpents. The Lord did not remove the 
 serpents, but gave them an effectual remedy for their 
 bite, Num. xxi. 7 9. 
 
 Moses. His earnest request to enter the promised 
 land was rejected, but God favoured him with a 
 miraculous view of Canaan before he died, and called 
 him gently to Himself in peace and honour, Deut. 
 iii. 2327 ; xxxiv. 17. 
 
 David very naturally prayed that his child might 
 live. The Lord refused the request, but gave him 
 another child, honourably born and rarely en- 
 dowed, and "the Lord loved him," 2 Sam. xii. 
 1625. 
 
 His desire to build the house of the Lord was also 
 denied, but he was allowed to gather the materials 
 for the work, 1 Chron. xxviii., xxix. 
 
 The Healed Demoniac wished to be with Christ. 
 The Lord was pleased rather to send him forth as a 
 missionary to his own home and country ; and not 
 improbably, the kinder reception our Lord met with 
 when He came into those parts again, was greatly the 
 result of this man's testimony, Mark v. 19, 20 ; vii. 
 3137 ; Matt. xv. 2931. 
 
 St. Paul. What a singular link in the chain of 
 God's providence is the narrative in Acts xvi. 6 34. 
 The apostle's desire to go into Bithynia was thwarted 
 without any reason apparently being given ; but the 
 result proved the opening of the gospel to Philippi, 
 and the founding of the first Christian Church in 
 Europe ! 
 
 So, similarly, the apostle's thrice repeated prayer 
 for the removal of the " thorn in the flesh," was an- 
 swered by the assurance of strength to endure the 
 trial, 2 Cor. xii. 9. How many have cause to bless 
 God for thwarted wishes ! 
 
 The LORD JESUS Himself prayed that His bitter 
 cup of suffering might be taken away, and " He was
 
 98 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 heard " (Heb. v. 7) ; but in being strengthened to bear 
 the conflict, Luke xxii. 42, 43. 
 
 DESPONDENCY- FOREBODINGS.* See Fear 
 Murmuring Extremities Unbelief. 
 
 EXPRESSED in various ways. 
 
 Discouraged, Num. xxi 4 ; xxxii. 9 ; Deut L 21. 
 
 Faint, Ps. xxvii. 13 ; Prov. xxiv. 10 ; Deut 
 xx 3. 
 
 Heaviness, Prov. xii. 25 ; Ps. xxxviii. 4 ; Isa. Ixi. 3. 
 
 Cast down perplexed 2 Cor. iv. 8, 9 ; Ps. xlii. 
 11. 
 
 "No hope," Job vii 15 ; Isa. Ivil 10. 
 
 Despairing, Jer. ii 25 (marg.); xviii. 12; Ezek. 
 xxxvii. 11 ; 2 Cor. i. 8. 
 
 See the Book of JOB as a wonderful record of the 
 afflicted patriarch's desponding thoughts, especially 
 the earlier chapters. 
 
 See the Book of PSALMS as an exemplification of 
 the mingling of fear and hope, so natural to the 
 chequered experiences of God's children, Ps. xlii., 
 Ixxiii., Ixxvii., &c. 
 
 See the Book of ISAIAH Israel challenged for her 
 fears, chap. xl. 27 ; xlix. 14 ; Ivi 3. 
 
 See the Book of JEREMIAH, viii. 18 ; xv. 18 ; xlv. 
 3; Lam. iii. 8, 17, 18; v. 20. 
 
 We cannot wonder that God's saints are often filled with 
 gloomy and foreboding thoughts. But there are two thirty* we 
 learn from Scripture history : (1.) How frequently they have 
 been troubled with despondency, when the Lord had either just 
 given them some manifestation of His power, or was atwut to 
 bestow some blessing. (2.) How frequently they were filled 
 with forebodings of ills that never came. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Jacob, Gen. xxxii. 7, 8 ; xxxvii. 33 35 ; xlii. 
 3638.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 99 
 
 Distressed in thinking Esau was coming against him, and 
 that Joseph was "without doubt rent in pieces." He little 
 knew how the undercurrents of God's providence were working- 
 out a happier issue ! 
 
 Moses, Exod. iv. 1 ; v. 22, 23 ; Num. xi. 10 15. 
 David, 1 Sam. xxvii. 1. 
 
 Only five years after his great victory over Goliath, and after 
 his repeated escapes from Saul, how sad to find him at last 
 fainting through fear, and thinking the best thing he could do 
 was to seek refuge in the court of the Philistines ! How much 
 better was it at another time, when in the midst of great dis- 
 tress, " David encouraged himself in the Lord his God," 1 Sam. 
 xxx. 6. 
 
 See David's record of his own history in the Psalms. What 
 he said "in haste," Ps. xxxi. 22 ; cxvi. 11 ; and what he felt in 
 calmer mood, xxvii. 13 ; xlii. 5, 11 ; xliii. 5, &c. 
 
 Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 1 18. 
 
 Flying from fear, and wishing for death ; saying with gloom, 
 " I only am left, and they seek my life," so closely upon his 
 heroic boldness on Mount Carmel. Great victories are not un- 
 frequently followed by great depression. 
 
 Hezekiah, Isa. xxxviii. 9 20. 
 
 Jeremiah, xx. 7 9. 
 
 The disciples after Christ's death. 
 
 Almost all seem to have lost hope. See Luke xxiv. 21, the 
 two journeying to Eminaus, and many others, Mark xvi. 10. 
 
 DIFFICULTIES DISCOURAGEMENTS.* See 
 
 Despondency Faith, Trial of Extremities Offences 
 Warfare. 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 Great mountains, Zech. iv. 7 ; Matt. xvii. 20 ; 1 Cor. 
 xiii. 2. 
 
 A lion in the way, Prov. xxii. 13 ; xxvi. 13. 
 
 A thorn hedge, Prov. xv. 19. 
 
 Thorns and briers, Ezek. ii. G. 
 
 Gates of brass, Ps. cvii. 1 G ; Isa. xlv. 2.
 
 100 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Rough roads (implied in Deut. xxxiii. 26) ; Ps. xviii. 
 33 ; Eph. vi. 15. 
 
 Eccles. xi. 4. " He that observeth the wind shall 
 not sow," &c. 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 1. " In the last days perilous (xoXroi 
 difficult) times sliall come." 
 
 THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL at different times may 
 furnish a good illustration of the difficulties that 
 attend the Christian warfare. On leaving Egypt, 
 what could apparently seem more embarrassing than 
 their position 1 and before entering the promised 
 land, when the difficulty of conquest was enhanced 
 by their unbelieving fears, and the report of the 
 spies 1 See Num. xiii. 26 33. So in later times, as 
 in the days of Hezekiah, Isa. xxxvi. 37 ; of Asa, 2 
 Chron. xiv. 9 15 ; of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xx. 
 1 30, and others. 
 
 THE HISTORY of many eminent saints similarly 
 shows that it is "no strange thing" to be dismayed 
 by real or imagined difficulty. How many have 
 shrunk back at first when called to undertake some 
 important mission, like Moses Gideon Elijah 
 Jeremiah Ezekiel ? 
 
 AFRAID OF SHADOWS. Our greatest fears often 
 arise from imagined difficulties ; which, when we go 
 forward in the strength of the Lord, prove to be only 
 shadows ! It is to be note. I, that the Anakims the 
 great giants at the thought of whom Israel trem- 
 bled, gave them really little opposition when they 
 entered Canaan! 
 
 HOW TO MEET DIFFICULTIEa 
 
 Take two examples 
 
 Num. xiii. 26 33; xiv. 1 10. Copy the noble 
 spirit of Caleb and Joshua, when the other spies 
 would have disheartened the people. See especially 
 xiii. 30 ; xiv. 8, 9.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 101 
 
 Nehemiah iii., iv., xii. 27. The building of the 
 wall of Jerusalem amidst the greatest opposition. 
 See Dedication. 
 
 FEAR NOT. See in Cone, the precious "Fear nots" 
 of Scripture. They are generally found as the pre- 
 paration and antidote for apprehended difficulty, or 
 felt discouragement. 
 
 1 Cor. xvi. 8, 9. "And there are many adver- 
 saries." 
 
 Difficulties dishearten the weak and timid. They bring out 
 the spirit of the brave. Difficulties make the man. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 Zech. iv. 7. "Who art thou, great mountain?" 
 
 Gen. xviii. 14; Jer. xxxii. 17. "Is anything too 
 hard for the Lord?" 
 
 Num. xi. 23. " Is the Lord's hand waxed short ] " 
 Isa. 1. 2. 
 
 Luke i. 34. How shall this be ? 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 Luke i. 37. " With God nothing shall be impos- 
 sible." 
 
 Isa. lix. 1. " Behold, the Lord's hand is not short- 
 ened, that it cannot save," &c. 
 
 DOCILITY. See Hearing. See Cone, under teach 
 learn show reveal understanding know, &c. 
 
 The open eye, Ps. cxix. 18, "Open thou mine eyes," 
 (marg. "reveal" take away the veil.) 
 
 The open ear, Ps. xl. 6 ; Job xxxiii. 1 6 , Isa. 1. 4, 5. 
 
 The open heart, Eph. i. 18, "the eyes of your heart 
 (as many ancient versions read) being enlightened ; " 
 Acts xvi. 14. 
 
 Ps. xxv. The response of a teachable spirit. The 
 Lord is ready to teach, see ver. 8, 9, 12, 14; there- 
 fore the meek pray to be taught, ver. 4, 5.
 
 102 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 Ps. cxix. Full of the spirit of docility. Nine 
 times does the prayer occur, "Teach me;" five times, 
 "Give me understanding ; " twice, "that I may 
 learn ;" once, "Make me to understand," and "open 
 thou mine eyes." 
 
 The Proverbs breathe throughout, the commendation 
 of docility " Buy instruction," xxiii. 23 ; " receive 
 instruction,'' L 3 ; " hear wisdom," iv. 1 ; " apply 
 thine heart unto instruction," xxiii. 12. 
 
 John vii 17. " If any man will do (is desirous to 
 do) his will, he shall know." " One must love," says 
 Pascal, "in order to understand." 
 
 Deut. xvii. 18, 19. By the Divine ordinance, even 
 kings were to take pains personally to write out the 
 law of the Lord, that they might read and learn and 
 obey it for themselves. 
 
 2 Pet.iii. 16. "The unlearned (Greek, unteachable) 
 wrest (the word means literally distort, as by a wrench) 
 the Holy Scriptures." 
 
 DOUBLEMINDEDNESS ALLIANCE WITH 
 EVIL. See Hypocrisy Lukewarmness Expediency. 
 
 Is LIKE a man with a double heart, Ps. xii. 2 ("a 
 heart and a heart," marg. with truth on the surface 
 and deception underneath) ; 1 Chron. xii. 33 compared 
 with ver. 38, men " of double heart " contrasted with 
 "perfect" and "one" (united) heart. "Ungodly 
 professors," says Cocceius, " have two hearts, two 
 lords, two ways, two ends." But of the godly man 
 it is said, " his heart is fixed," Ps. cxii. 1 ; yea, David 
 says it twice, " My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is 
 fixed," Ps. Ivii. 7 ; see Hosea x. 2. 
 
 Is LIKE "a cake not turned" half baked, half 
 dough, Hosea vii. 8 ; as Israel mixed idolatry with 
 the worship of God. 
 
 Is LIKE a speckled bird, Jer. xii. 9.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 103 
 
 Is LIKE a kingdom,, city, or house divided against itself, 
 that cannot stand, Matt. xii. 25. 
 
 VIEWED HISTORICALLY, it is easy to multiply in- 
 stances of the joining of evil with good, and the 
 results which necessarily follow. 
 
 " The mixed multitude " that went up with Israel 
 out of Egypt, Exod. xii. 38, were the means of lead- 
 ing Israel into lust and sin, Num. xi. 4 ; see the 
 same evil in Nehemiah's time, Neh. xiii. 3. 
 
 The mingled people, Jer. 1. 37 ; Ezek. xxx. 5. 
 
 The Samaritans, who " feared the Lord, and served 
 their own gods," 2 Kings xvii. 33, 34. 
 
 The Jews in their worship, joining the Mosaic ritual 
 with idolatry, 1 Kings xi. 33 ; intermarrying with 
 the Gentiles, though expressly forbidden, Deut. vii. 
 27 (cf. Samson, Judges xiv. 3; Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 1 ; 
 the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, Ezra 
 ix. 1, 2 ; Jews marrying wives of Ashdod, Neh. 
 xiii. 23, 24) ; swearing by the Lord and by M^alchom, 
 Zeph. i 5. The common sin of Israel, especially in 
 their earlier history, was not that they wished to 
 renounce the worship of the one true God, but that 
 they were ready to add and join with this the worship 
 of Baal, and the many false gods of the nations that 
 were round about them; see 1 Kings iii. 3; xv. 14; 
 2 Kings iii. 2, 3 ; x. 1631 ; xii. 3 ; xiv. 3, 4. Of 
 this we have a good illustration in Micah's " house of 
 gods," Judges xvii. 5. " It would seem that Micah 
 wished to gain the favour of heaven, by combining 
 various kinds of worship. He had the ephod to re- 
 present the worship of the tabernacle of the Lord ; 
 the teraphim, to represent the objects of Syrian wor- 
 ship ; the graven image and molten image, to repre- 
 sent the objects of Canaanitish worship. All these 
 were united in a kind of pantheon, in the fancied 
 hope that, by conciliating all, he might not miss,
 
 104 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 somehow, at least, to gain the favour of heaven." 
 Bishop Wordsworth. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE TEXTS. 
 
 Lev. xix. 19. (Of. Luke v. 3639.) 
 
 " The original prohibition of mingling divers things may not 
 inaptly be regarded, as implying a command of ' simplicity and 
 godly sincerity ' in all things. It may fairly be accommodated 
 to the case of those who endeavour to reconcile the service of 
 God and mammon, or the pleasures of the world with those of 
 religion ; to unite works and grace in the matter of justification, 
 and to many other heterogeneous and unnatural commixtures." 
 Scott. 
 
 1 Kings xviii. 21. "How long halt ye between 
 two opinions?" 
 
 The idea is taken from a bird hopping recklessly about from 
 bough to bough, not knowing on which to settle, Dr. A. Clarke ; 
 or, according to others, from the unequal walk of a lame person. 
 Scott. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 113." I hate vain thoughts." 
 
 The word " vain " is not in the original, and the meaning 
 might be expressed, " I hate other thoughts thoughts which are 
 at variance with the one law I follow.' 
 
 Prov. xxviii. 18. " He that is perverse in his ways 
 shall fall at once."" 
 
 The Hebre v word for " ways," is in the dual form, and 
 means, properly, in two vxtyt. " He that endeavours to preserve 
 himself by fraud and deceit, though he can wind and turn, and 
 hath several shifts he thinks to save himself by, yet in one or 
 other of them he shall perish." Bithop Patrick. 
 
 Jer. in. 10. " And yet for all this her treacherous 
 sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole 
 heart, but feiynedly, saith the Lord." 
 
 Like Jehu, who ;< took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord 
 his God with all his heart, for (he, too, was treacherous) lie de- 
 parted not from the -in> of Jeroboam, who made Israel t sin," 
 2 Kings x. 31 ; or, like Amaziah, " who did that which wan right 
 in the sight of the Ix>rd, but not with a i>erfect heart," 2 Chron 
 xxv. 2.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 105 
 Matt. vi. 24. " No man can serve two masters." 
 
 True, a servant may follow two masters, while they walk to- 
 gether, and strangers cannot judge which of the two he is engaged 
 to serve ; but if their roads part, it is then seen to which of the 
 two he belongs. 
 
 1 Cor. vii. 35." Without distraction." 
 
 Without being drawn in different ways. The meaning of the 
 Greek word (dTrepicrirdaTus) is exactly rendered by our English 
 word, "distraction." 
 
 James i. 8 ; iv. 8. " Double minded." 
 The cause and mark of instability and hypocrisy. 
 
 DOUBT.* See Unbelief. 
 
 Matt. xiv. 31. " Wherefore didst thou doubt ?" 
 
 ? " a figurative word, taken either from a person 
 standing where two ways meet, not knowing which to choose ; 
 or from the tremulous motion of a balance when the weights on 
 each side are nearly equal" (Parkhurst.) The same word oc- 
 curs Matt, xxviii. 17. 
 
 Acts x. 20 ; Rom. iv. 20 ; James i 6. 
 
 Three texts, where the same Greek word is rendered by three 
 different English words : doubting staggering wavering. 
 
 Luke xii. 29. " Be not of doubtful mind." 
 
 Or, as in the margin, "Live not in careful suspense." 
 fiereuptfcffde a figure derived from "floating in the air." 
 (Robinson. ) Or, as others take it, from a ship tossed in a storm 
 upon the rising and falling waves, in continued unrest and per- 
 turbation. 
 
 DULNESS SPIRITUAL. See Blindness. 
 
 " Dull of hearing," Heb. v. 11 ; Matt. xiii. 15. 
 
 Foolish (dull of apprehension) " and slow of heart," 
 Luke xxiv. 25. 
 
 Even under CHRIST'S TEACHING, it is marvellous to 
 trace the slowness of apprehension, so constantly re- 
 ferred to in the Gospels .'
 
 106 SCRI1TUKK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Among the men of His time generally, it is amazing 
 how little His miracles and teaching seem to have 
 been understood, Matt xiii. 54 58 ; John xii. 
 3740. 
 
 Amongst His own disciples, Mark vi. 52, vii. 18, 
 viii. 17 21 ; Luke il 50 (His own parents), ix. 45, 
 xviil 34 ; John x. 6. 
 
 They so frequently took the literal sense of His 
 words, instead of the figurative, Matt. xvi. 6 11 ; 
 Luke xxii. 3638 ; John ii. 1922 ; iii. 3, 4 ; iv. 
 3133; vi 34, 52; xi. 11 13; xiv. 4, 5. They 
 fell into the same fault :igain, after having had the 
 truth clearly put before them once, see Luke ix. 46, 
 and xxii. 24. 
 
 They clung so pertinaciously to the expectation of 
 Christ's introducing a temporal kingdom, Matt. xx. 
 20, 21 ; John vi. 15. 
 
 They preferred so few requests for directly spiritual 
 blessings (Luke xvii. 5 is almost the only instance) ; 
 whilst they would at times have stayed Christ's hand 
 of mercy, Matt. xv. 23 ; Luke ix. 54 ; frustrated 
 Christ's work of suffering, Matt. xvi. 22 ; or limited 
 Christ's ministry of benevolence, Luke ix. 49, 50. 
 
 Isa. i. 3 ; Jer. viii. 7, &c. The natural instinct of 
 the lower animals is often adduced as a humiliating 
 reproof to human dulness. 
 
 Cf. the frequent strain of many of the Psalms and 
 other parts of Scripture, stirring up the cold heart to 
 " awake," and shake off apathy and sloth ! 
 
 DUTY.*** See Obedience Pnvilege. 
 
 " DUTIES are ours, results are God's," see Exod. xxiii. 
 24, '25 ; 2 Sam. x. 12 ; 1 Chron. xix. 13. 
 
 " The path of duty is the ;)ath of safety." " Never 
 expect God's blessing out of God's way." 
 
 See Gen. xxxi. 3. "Return. I will be wiih
 
 SCRIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 107 
 
 thee," followed by xxxii. Oh, how happy are they 
 who go on God's errands. 
 
 1 Kings xiii. The "man of God" that came to 
 Bethel ; in the way of duty, he had no fear, even to face 
 the king, and the Lord protected him. Out of the 
 path of obedience, how soon was he overtaken by 
 God's judgment ! 
 
 Flying from the place and way of duty brings 
 chastening and sorrow: Abraham Hagar Dawd 
 Elijah Jonah. 
 
 Matt. x. is Christ's ordination charge to the twelve. 
 In chap. xi. 1 we read, " He made an end of com- 
 manding." Christ's commissions are Christ's com- 
 mands. 
 
 Duty goes side by side with privilege. It runs 
 throughout the whole Scripture, see 2 Cor. vi. 16,17, 
 vii. 1 ; Prov. iil 5, 6 ; Col. ii. 6, 7, iii. 1 ; Heb. xii. 
 11, 12. 
 
 The LORD JESUS. See Zeal Obedience. 
 
 Isa. 1. 4. " He wakeneth morning by morning." 
 The beautiful figure of a child wakened every morn- 
 ing to receive the commands and instructions of 
 the father. " He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the 
 learned" (or as an instructed person.) 
 
 EAENESTS. 
 
 The firstfruits, under the Mosaic dispensation, were 
 recognised as the earnest of the whole produce of the 
 corn and oil, wine, wool, &c. The figure is applied 
 to the firstfruits of the Church, James i. 18; "the 
 firstfruits of the Spirit," Rom. viii. 23 ; and to Christ, 
 the firstfruits of resurrection, 1 Cor. xv. 23. 
 
 The grapes of Eshcol, Num. xiii. 23, 24. The rich 
 clusters carried by the spies, as an evidence of the 
 fertility and fruitfuluess of the land of promise. 
 
 The " little cloud .... like a man's hand" 1 Kings
 
 108 SCK11TUKK 1TSKLF THK 1LLUSTKATOR. 
 
 xviii. 44, rising on the horizon, which Elijah well 
 knew to be the sure harbinger of "abundance of 
 rain." 
 
 Christ's breathing on the disciples, after the resurrec- 
 tion, was a kind of earnest of Pentecost. 
 
 The " many bodies of the saints which slept" being 
 raised with Christ " after his resurrection," Matt, 
 xxvii. 52, 53, may be regarded as a kind of pledge 
 and earnest of the power of Christ's resurrection. 
 
 " We which have believed do enter into rest" Heb. iv. 3, 
 xii. 22. Even now, believers have sweet foretastes of 
 eternal bliss. True faith begins the enjoyment of 
 "everlasting life" on earth, John iii. 36. Grace is 
 the earthly entrance into heavenly glory, 1 John iii. 2 
 the bud here, the full flower hereafter. 
 
 ENMITY AGAINST GOD AND GOODNESS. See 
 A lienaiion Rebellion Rejection. 
 
 Gen. iii. 15. From the very first promise, the 
 enmity between the serpent and his seed, and Christ 
 and His seed, was foretold. 
 
 Gen. iv. 5. " And Cain was very wroth, and his 
 countenance fell." So Cain's enmity rose, and see 
 the end, 1 John iii. 12, 15 ; ii. 911. 
 
 1 Sam. ii. 30." They that despise me" Acts xiii. 
 41. 
 
 Ps. 1. 17. " Thou hatest instruction." The Prayer- 
 Book version is, " Thou hatest to be reformed." Cf. 
 Jer. xxxvi. 23. 
 
 Kzek. xxv. 15. "The old hatred" against the 
 Tumi's land. 
 
 Amos v. 10. Hatred of reproof, Isa. xxix. 21. 
 
 Acts vii. 54. " They were cut to the heart (the 
 (Jreck means, as witli a saw), and gnashed on him 
 with their teeth." 
 
 Rom. i. 26. " And as they thought fit to cast out
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 109 
 
 the acknowledgment of God, God gave them over to 
 an outcast mind." Conybeare and Howson. Ver. 30, 
 " haters of God." 
 
 Eom. viii. 7. " The carnal mind (the minding of 
 the, flesh, marg.) is enmity against God;" "enmity," 
 which implies a hatred deeply seated, irreconcilable 
 with subjection to the law of God, so long as it governs 
 the heart and mind ; for " it is not subject," &c. 
 
 Eph. ii. 15. " Having abolished in his flesh the 
 enmity;" ver. 16, "having slain the enmity thereby" 
 (marg., "in himself.") 
 
 MANY of the bitterest enemies of Israel were de- 
 scended from near relations, the Edomites, Am- 
 monites, Amalekites, Ishmaelites, &c. ; see such a 
 group in Ps. Ixxxiii. 6 8. 
 
 Tobiah, one of the chief opposers of the building 
 the wall of Jerusalem, was himself an Ammonite of 
 the mixed race half Sodom, half Lot. He was 
 " allied " to Eliashib, the high priest, Neh. xiii. 4 ; 
 and his son was married into a godly Jewish family, 
 vi. 18; yet all his sympathies were against Israel, 
 he was in league with Sanballat, iv. 3, 7, 8 ; vi. 1. 
 
 CHRIST, ENMITY against. See Rejection of Christ. 
 
 The enmity of the Jews against Christ is marked 
 as a growing enmity, first murmuring, then speaking, 
 and laying in wait to entrap His words, then consult- 
 ing together to put Him to death, then with unfeel- 
 ing insult and cruel mockery " killing the Prince of 
 Life." 
 
 John xv. 25. " They hated me without a cause," 
 cf. vii. 19 ; x. 32. 
 
 John iii. 20. Hating the light. 
 
 John vii. 7. Hating reproof, Luke xvi. 14; xx. 19. 
 
 Luke xix. 14. " His citizens hated him, . . say- 
 ing, We will not have this man to reign over us." 
 
 John ix. 22; vii. 13; xii. 42.
 
 110 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Even Christ's miracles of mercy were often the 
 occasion of bitter hatred against Him, as in 
 
 John v., healing the impotent man at the pool of 
 Bethesda, was made the occasion of opposition at the 
 time. ver. 10, 16, 18; and a long while after, vii. 
 1423. 
 
 John ix., curing the blind man, ver. 16, 22. 
 
 John xi., raising Lazarus from the dead, ver. 
 4648, 53, 57; and see xii. 10, 11. 
 
 ENVY.*** 
 
 Is " as rottenness in the bones," Prov. xiv. 30. 
 
 What rust is to iron, and mildew is to corn, and the moth is 
 to the cloth it breeds in, that is envy to the unhappy heart in 
 which it dwells. It is " the deadly nightshade," which produce* 
 nothing but rank poison ; "the poisonful herb," which spreads 
 nothing but death. See what an apostle says, James iii. 16. 
 
 A fire, Ps. xxxvii. 1 ; Heb., ''inflame not thyself." 
 The evil eye, Prov. xxiii. 6; xxviii. 22; Matt vi. 
 
 23 ; xx. 15. 
 
 " Envy is the devil's evil eye, as hypocrisy is the devil's cloven 
 
 foot ;" see 1 Sam. xviii. 9, "Saul eyed DavidL" 
 
 How soon envy rose in the world. 
 
 " The first instances that we have of sin are Adam's pride and 
 Cain's envy. The first man was undone by pride, and the second 
 debauched by envy. The whole world, though otherwise empty 
 of men, could not contain two brothers, when one was envied. 
 Pride gave us the first merit of death, aud envy the first instant t 
 of it ; the one was the mother, the other the midwife, of human 
 ruin." Afanton. 
 
 The folly of envy, see 1 Cor. xii. 15 23. 
 The foot envying the hand, or the ear envying the eye. 
 
 Freedom from envy. It is beautiful to observe how 
 some eminent saints have been marked by freedom 
 from envy, as Moses, Num. xi. 27 29 ; Samuel, 
 1 Sam. xv. 11, 35; Jonathan, 1 Sarn. xxiii. 17, IS;
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF TUK ILLUSTRATOR. Ill 
 
 John the Baptist, John iii. 30; Peter, 2 Pet. iii. 15, 
 16; Paul, Phil. i. 1518; the Apostles, Gal. i. 23, 
 24. 
 
 It is one mark of angelic perfection, frequently 
 noticeable in their ministrations to the "heirs of 
 salvation." 
 
 EXPEDIENCE CARNAL.* 
 
 It should well be considered, how often we find 
 carnal expedience followed with disastrous results, 
 especially in the histories of godly persons. 
 
 Abraham twice tried to induce Sarah to equivocate, 
 Gen. xii. 10 13; xx. 5; and brought upon himself 
 thereby the rebuke of a heathen king, and might, but 
 for the Lord's intervention, have been involved in 
 serious disaster. 
 
 Sarah tried to hasten the fulfilment of the promise 
 of a child, by persuading Abraham to take Hagar, 
 Gen. xvi. 2. It brought upon her Hagar's contempt, 
 and ultimately led to Hagar's flight, besides bringing 
 trouble between herself and her husband. 
 
 Rebekah and Jacob, Gen. xxvii. How cunning was 
 the plot Rebekah laid to obtain the blessing for Jacob, 
 by deceit, to which Jacob consented ! Her deceit 
 ended in the hatred of Esau, in Jacob's being an exile 
 for twenty years ; and Rebekah never saw her favourite 
 son again, after he left his father's house. 
 
 Aaron, in the matter of the golden calf, Exod. 
 xxxii., when he asked for the golden earrings of the 
 people to be brought to him. Some think it was in 
 the hope that, by this expedient (which, perhaps, 
 he imagined they would be unwilling to comply with), 
 he should check them from proceeding to further evil. 
 If so, his carnal policy signally failed. 
 
 Gibeonites, Joshua ix. 
 
 Ahab's attempt, by disguising himself, to escape
 
 112 BCR1PTUKK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 the judgment threatened by Micaiah, only exposed 
 Jehoshaphat's life to danger, and failed to preserve 
 his own, 1 Kings xxii. 30 37. 
 
 Jeroboam. God promised, when He raised Jero- 
 boam to the throne, to make his throne as secure as 
 David's, on condition of Jeroboam's obedience, 1 Kings 
 xi. 38. But Jeroboam, not trusting God, thought he 
 would secure it better by his own crafty policy. 
 Thus "wise to do evil, but to do good having no know- 
 ledge," he and his family were soon cut off, 1 Kings 
 xv. 29, and his name branded with perpetual infamy, 
 2 Kings x. 31 ; xiii 6 ; xiv. 24 ; xvii 22. 
 
 Jehoshaphat, by marrying his son Jehoram to 
 Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, it seems likely Jehosha- 
 phat hoped to unite the two kingdoms of Israel and 
 Judah, or, at least, make a durable peace. The ex- 
 pedient failed, 2 Kings via. 16 18. 
 
 Jezebel's plot to procure Naboth's vineyard by his 
 death, brought the just retribution of her own death, 
 
 1 Kings xxi. 23 ; 2 Kings ix. 36. 
 
 Hezekiah's paying a bribe to the king of Assyria 
 only impoverished himself, and was of no avail, 
 
 2 Kings xviii. 14 17. 
 
 Caiaphns, in condemning our Lord, sacrificed justice 
 to expediency. His hope was, by this stroke of policy, 
 to turn aside the ruin of his country by the Romans, 
 Johii xi. 49, 50. The result was, to bring the very 
 ruin he sought to avert. 
 
 Pilate, by scourging Christ, hoped to pacify the 
 Jews, and wash his hands from the blood of an inno- 
 cent man, John xix. 1. 
 
 St. Paul. It is the opinion of many that St. 
 Paul acted too much from expediency, in Acts xxi. 
 18 26. Certainly the result, so far from being 
 what he desired, was the occasion of his predicted 
 sufferings.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 113 
 
 EXPERIENCE, PERSONAL, THE BELIEVER'S.** 
 
 See Appropriation Faith. 
 
 Is EXPRESSED in various ways 
 
 Trying. The Lord Jesus is the foundation stone, 
 precious and il tried " tried by the experience of the 
 saints of all ages, Isa. xxviii. 16. " The words of the 
 Lord are pure words," like " silver tried " in the crucible, 
 "purified seven times," Ps. xii. 6. The gospel of 
 God's grace is like " gold tried in the fire," Rev. iii. 
 18. The saints find God's promises always true, and 
 God's judgments always right. 
 
 Proving, by personal realisation and heart experi- 
 ences, Eccles. vii. 23 ; John iv. 42 ; Rom. xii. 2 ; 
 Eph. v. 10. 
 
 Seeing a step beyond "the hearing of the ear," 
 Job xlii. 5 ; Ps. Ixiii. 2 ; xlviii. 8 ; 1 John i. 1. 
 
 Tasting the relish and sweet savour of spiritual 
 blessings, Ps. xxxiv. 8 ; Heb. vi. 4 ; 1 Pet. ii. 3. 
 
 Exercised in discerning, Heb. v. 4; xii. 11. 
 
 Learning Phil. iv. 11, "I have learned" (literally, 
 being initiated, as certain persons were, anciently, 
 into the secrets of the heathen mysteries). 
 
 Knowing "I know" "we know," &c., the em- 
 phatic utterance of assured belief, which occurs so 
 frequently, Job xix. 25 ; 2 Tim. i. 12 ; 2 Cor. v. 1 ; 
 Gal. iv. 9 ; 1 .John iv. 6, 16 ; Heb. x. 34 ; Phil, i. 9 
 Col. i. 6, &c. 
 
 By tracing these and similar words in the Cone., 
 much light may be thrown upon the important sub- 
 ject of the saints' assurance and confidence of faith. 
 
 THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE PAST. 
 
 The Book of Psalms owes to this much of its spiri- 
 tual value. It is a record of the heart experiences of 
 many tried saints, who themselves learnt wisdom 
 from their deep trials of faith and patience. 
 
 Gal. ii. 13. When, through Peter's error, Barna- 
 
 H
 
 114 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 has was " carried away." Some writers have thought 
 that in the transition Peter makes in 1 Pet. ii. 
 18 24, the remembrance may have crossed his 
 mind of the servants in the hall, before whom he 
 quailed ! 
 
 WHAT HAS THE LORD DONE FOR ME? 
 
 Mark, on reading the Psalms, how at times the 
 psalmists pass from what the Lord does for men in 
 general, to what He has done for them personally. 
 See Ps. iv. 3. " The Lord hath set apart the godly 
 for Himself: the Lord will hear when / call unto 
 Him ; " cxvi. 6 " The Lord preserveth the simple : 
 I me." 
 
 Ps. xxxvii. a psalm of experience the testimony 
 of an old man's faith. See ver. 25, 35 40. 
 
 John iv. 39 42. Samaritan testimony. 
 
 "Come see," wan the woman's testimony, when she had 
 herself seen and heard. ' ' Now we believe," was the neigh- 
 bours' testimony, on the same ground of their own experience. 
 
 Rom. v. 4. "Patience worketh experience;" 
 rather, the grateful approval of our faith and trust 
 
 Heb. v. 13. "Unskilful" "hath no experience" 
 (marg.) 
 
 There is generally a close connexion Iwtwecn these two ; 
 where there is little or no experience, we look in vain for much 
 skilfulnt-Ks in the wo rd of righteousness. 
 
 St. PauFs frequent references to his conversion and 
 previous life are a standing testimony to the depth of 
 his convictions ; whilst the tone and style of his 
 epistles show how deeply he had learnt by experi- 
 ence in himself to comfort and counsel others, 2 Cor. 
 L 3 6 ; Acts xxii. 121 ; xxvi. 923; 1 Cor. xv. 
 8, 9; Gal. L 1324; Phil. Hi. 411; 1 Tim. i. 
 216. 
 
 Si. Peter's Epistles derive an additional force and
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRA'J OR. 115 
 
 beauty if read as the remembrance of Peter's history. 
 Cf. 2 Pet. ii. 1. "Even denying the Lord that 
 bought them," with Peter's own denial ; 2 Pet. iii 17 
 "led away" the very word used, Gal. ii. 13. 
 
 EXTREMITY, DELIVERANCE IN. See Trial oj 
 Faith. 
 
 " Man's extremity is God's opportunity." 
 
 Gen. xxii. 14. "JEHOVAH-JIREH:" "In the mount 
 of the Lord it shall be seen : " or " In the mount the 
 Lord will provide." 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 36. "When He seeth that their 
 power is gone." 
 
 Ps. xii. 1 5; xxvii. 10, 13; cvii. 18, 19; cxvi. 
 3, 4 ; cxix. 87 ; cxxx. 1, &c. 
 
 The Book of Psalms is full of expressions of deliverances out 
 of the extremity of danger. See Cone, under such words as 
 darkness depths pit floods sorrows death bowed down, 
 &c. Some of these expressions may be regarded as the words 
 of the Lord Jesus ; and in others, it is generally observable that 
 the psalms which describe the deepest darkness, end in light. 
 
 Isa. xxxiii. 10, after 79; lix. 1619, after 
 11 15; Ezek. xxxvii. 1 13. 
 
 What representation could be more hopeless than a vast num- 
 ber of dry bones, lying bleached and scattered in an open valley ! 
 Yet from a case so hopeless, will the life of God come to Israel ; 
 and so does it come to every dead and quickened soul ! 
 
 Zech. iii. 2. " A brand plucked out of the tire," 
 already scorched and barely saved. What can be 
 nearer destruction ? 
 
 2 Cor. i. 8, 9. " Pressed out of measure, above 
 strength," even to despair ! 
 
 But there was hope. We reproach our past experience if we 
 distrust God for the future. He hath " delivered " He " doth 
 deliver " and " He will yet deliver."
 
 116 SCRIPTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 THE LIGHTED VALLEY. 
 
 Pa. xxiii. 4 ia too commonly confined to the believer's aj>- 
 proach to death. But the expression "The shadow of death," 
 where it occurs elsewhere, more frequently refers to the ex- 
 tremity of darkness and terror in thts world. See Job iii. 8 ; 
 xxiv. 17 ; xxxiv. 22 ; Pa. xliv. 19 ; cvii. 14, &c, ; though also 
 to the chill darkness of the grave, as in Job x. 21 ; xxxviii. 17. 
 Pa. xxiii. 4, means, There ia no darkness so deep, no danger so 
 extreme, but th Lord can turn darknesa into light, Micah 
 rtt.8. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Abraluim. God spared Abraham from actually 
 offering up his treasured child ; hut to what an ex- 
 tremity was he first brought. The knife was uplifted, 
 and one moment more would have been too late ! 
 But that moment was enough! Gen. xxti. 10 12; 
 Rom. iv. 18. 
 
 Israel. How often were they delivered in times 
 of extremity ? 
 
 In Effjqit, when Pharaoh's cruel edict against the 
 male children was well-nigh executed ; when they 
 were oppressed and crushed to the lowest point be- 
 fore they left the house of bondage. 
 
 In tlie wilderness, when at times they suffered from 
 thirst or other trials ; when they were bitten by fiery 
 serpents ; smitten by the plague ; it was generally in 
 the extremity of distress that deliverance came ; fre- 
 quently it was not till then that they cried to the 
 Lord. See Ps. Ixxviii. 34 ; cvii 6, 13, 19, 28. 
 
 In Canaan, many times, as under Hezekiah, when 
 the Lord interposed in the hour of danger, Isa. 
 xxxvii. 36. 
 
 In Babylon. The very last year of the predicted 
 evenly came before any signs of deliverance appeared, 
 Dan. ix. 1,2; and meantime the crafty design of 
 Hainan had almost extirpated the whole nation. The 
 gallows was erected for pious Mordecai before the 
 Lord interposed to break the snare.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 117 
 
 In the time of Jacob's trouble, still to come, Jer. xxx. 
 7; Dan. xii. 1, before the advent, when sufferings 
 unparalleled shall befall Israel, " he shall yet be saved 
 out of it." 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. It is particularly observable 
 how frequently the Lord manifested His mighty 
 power in cases of the greatest extremity ; as in many 
 of His miracles, when other means had been tried 
 without avail, Luke viii. 43, 48 ; when death had 
 already seized its prey, Luke viii. 49, 50 ; vii. 12, 15 ; 
 John xi. 39, 43 ; as when He came to the disciples 
 in the storm at sea, in "the fourth watch of the 
 night." Matt. xiv. 25, when their ship was already 
 full, and they were in jeopardy ; and in other cases. 
 
 FAITH.*** See Appropriation Experience 
 Trust. 
 
 The Greek word for faith is derived from the verb 
 meaning to persuade ; passive, to be persuaded to 
 believe. 
 
 The Hebrew word (from which our word Amen is 
 derived) originally had the idea of leaning upon, as 
 on a prop or foundation. So Gesenius renders Isa. 
 xxviii. 16, "He that buildeth (upon this foundation) 
 shall not flee away." 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 A shield, Eph. vi. 16. 
 
 A breastplate, 1 Thess. v. 8. 
 
 A grain of mustard seed, Matt. xvii. 20 ; one of the 
 smallest of seeds, but containing the germ of a full- 
 sized tree, see Matt. xiii. 32. 
 
 The true nature and office of faith are clearly illus- 
 trated by the many 
 
 EXPRESSIONS which are used as synonyms. 
 
 Faith is repeatedly spoken of as 
 
 Believing, especially by St. John, in whose gospel
 
 118 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 it occurs about eighty times ; as receiving testimony 
 being persuaded fully persuaded seeing looking 
 coming apprehending comprehending taking 
 hold embracing feeding resting trusting. See 
 Cone, under these and similar words. 
 
 Heb. xi. 1 one of the few definitions given in 
 Scripture " Now faith is the confidence of things 
 hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," (Alford.) 
 "The confident expectation- -the powerful conviction," 
 (Doddrldge.) The Greok word for " substance" pro- 
 perly means a foundation a prop on which some- 
 thing can stand and be supported. 
 
 Rom. x 10. Faith is the belief of " the heart." 
 Matt, xvi 8 ; Mark viii. 1 7. Faith is the trust of 
 the heart more than the mere intellectual apprehen 
 sion. 
 
 We may illustrate the nature of faith by the case of Elijah, 
 1 Kings xviii. 41, 43 " Get thee up," said the prophet to Ahab 
 after his victory, "for there is a sound of abundance of rain." 
 How could Elijah know that ? That there was no sign in na- 
 ture, appears from his servant's testinv ny. The servant said, 
 when he looked to the horizxm, "There is nothing." But the 
 man of God had " the evidence of things not seen." He had 
 faith in the promise of Jehovah, and therefore his ean were 
 open, and he viewed what was coming as if it already had 
 come. 
 
 HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The hyssop used to sprinkle the blood of the paschal 
 lamb, and the blood of the sacrifices, has often been 
 regarded as an emblem of faith applying the blood of 
 Christ to the soul. 
 
 Laying the hand on the liead of the sacrifices was the 
 appointed sign of the confession of sin ; and no leas 
 of the offerer's faith in their transference to the vic- 
 tim, and the blessings to be obtained by substitu- 
 tion. 
 
 Looking to the brazen serpent the simple means by 
 which the Israelites were cured. What could be
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 119 
 
 easier ? Those who could not walk, could at least 
 lift up the eye and look ! 
 
 Christ's miracles were frequently wrought after 
 Christ had first required some evidence of faith ; 
 sometimes to do what seemed impossible ! " Stretch 
 forth thine hand," He said to the man whose hand 
 was withered, Matt. xii. 13. "Go, show yourselves 
 to the priests," was His charge to the lepers, Luke 
 xvii. 14, when yet they were still leprous. 
 
 St. JOHN'S GOSPEL. Each of the gospels might be 
 read with profit, as affording illustrations of faith ; 
 perhaps St. John's especially (see John vi.), where 
 the office and work of faith are set forth by so many 
 figures : coming to Christ seeing feeding eating 
 His flesh and drinking His blood, &c. all synony- 
 mous with believing on him. An old writer (Adams) 
 says, St. John treats in his Gospel especially of faith ; 
 in his Epistles of love ; and in the Revelation of hope. 
 
 THE GOLDEN THREAD. Faith is the golden thread 
 that runs through the many-linked chain of Chris- 
 tian graces. The Christian's life is the " life of 
 faith," as it is written, " The just shall live by faith," 
 Rom. i. 17 ; Gal. iii. 11 ; Heb. x. 38. We " stand" 
 we " walk" we " fight" we " resist" we "over- 
 come" by faith. The duties and privileges of the 
 Christian's life derive their energy and vigour from 
 the energy of faith hence we read of " the prayer of 
 faith;" "the hearing of faith;" "the obedience of 
 faith;" "the work of faith;" "the unity of the 
 faith ;" " the joy of faith ;" the " profession of faith;" 
 the " measure and proportion of faith ;" " the righte- 
 ousness of faith ;" the " assurance of faith." 
 
 THE MASTER GRACE. Faith may be rightly called 
 a master grace ; from it the other graces take their 
 rise. Faith stands first in St. Paul's trinity of graces, 
 1 Cov. xiii. 13; it is the foundation of St. Peter's
 
 120 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 spiritual temple, 2 Pet. L 5 7 ; it frequently takes 
 the lead, as in such passages as Rom. v. 1 5 ; 1 Thess. 
 L 3 ; Heb. x. 22 24. In our Lord's miracles, though 
 other graces were seemingly more prominent, it was 
 faith that drew forth His especial commendation. The 
 centurion was eminent for his humility ; the Syro- 
 phtenician for her importunity ; Bartimaeus for his 
 earnestness. But these were the results. It was 
 "faith" the Master commended. Faith was the 
 moving power, and therefore faith received the crown 
 " woman, great is thy faith ;" " 1 have not found 
 so great faith ;" "Thy faith hath saved thee," &c. 
 
 It was a quaint conceit of St. Bernard to compare religion to 
 a vine, whereof faith is the root, virtues are the branches, good 
 works the grapes, and devotion the wine. 
 
 THE POWER OF FAITH. 
 
 See what faith can do. Even weak faith is able to 
 remove " mountains," Matt. xvii. 20 ; and to plant in 
 the sea uprooted trees, Luke xvii. 6. See what strong 
 faith is in Abraham, Rom. iv. 19 22 ; in Stephen, 
 " full of faith and power ;" in the noble heroes of 
 Heb. xi. Christ imputes a kind of omnipotence to 
 faith, Mark ix. 23. See Trial of Faith. 
 
 The difference between weak faith and strong faith is well 
 expressed in the contrast between our two Englitth words, so 
 closely allied in derivation to the common word/at^, d'fndeuce 
 and coytfidence. 
 
 FAITH NOT ALONE. 
 
 James ii. 17. " Faith without works is dead.' 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 2. " Faith without charity is vain ' 
 
 " YE of LITTLE FAITH." 
 
 This gentle rebuke of our Lord occurs four times 
 in St. Matthew's Gospel vi 30, viii. 26, xiv. 31, 
 xvi 8. 
 
 QUESTIONS about FAITH 
 
 " Hast thou faith!" Rom. xiv. '22 ; " Where is yonr faith T"
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 121 
 
 Luke viii. 25 ; " How is it that ye have no faith ?" Mark iv. 40 ; 
 "Dost thou believe ?" John ix. 35; "How can ye believe?" 
 John v. 44, 47 ; " Do ye now believe ?" John xvi. 31 ; " When 
 the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth ?" 
 Luke xviii. 8. 
 
 FAITH, TRIAL OF. See Affliction, Benefit of Diffi- 
 culties Extremities. 
 
 Is LIKE the testing of 
 
 Silver in the fining pot, Prov. xvii. 3. 
 
 Gold in the furnace, 1 Pet. i. 7. A beautiful image ; 
 only in one point there is a most important differ- 
 ence, gold, though the purest of metals, is not in- 
 creased in the furnace; but faith, by being tried, 
 " groweth exceedingly." 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Noah commanded to build an ark. A strange work, 
 which had never been done before ; a work of im- 
 mense difficulty, toil, and patience; exposed to the 
 ridicule of that unrighteous age ; and then, when the 
 ark was finished, he was told to enter it, when there 
 was no sign of the threatened flood ; nor was he told 
 how long it might be before he was released from 
 his confinement. What a test of " the obedience of 
 faith ! " 
 
 Abraham, of all the early saints, was, perhaps, tried 
 the most, so many times, and so severely. 
 
 (1.) In the charge to leave his native land and 
 kindred, and go to a land which the Lord would 
 show him (it was not said at first," which I will give 
 thee") Gen. xii. 1. No place was named no dis- 
 tance mentioned no time of his prospective sojourn 
 intimated. He was to go forth, " not knowing whither 
 he went," Heb. xi. 8 ; and he had no inheritance in 
 it, and no child, Acts vii. 5. 
 
 (2.) In the promise given of a " seed " which 
 should inherit the land, when the Canaanite was
 
 122 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 then in full possession, Gen. xii. 6 ; xiii. 15 ; and he 
 had no heir (xvi. 1) for more than twenty years ; and 
 both he and Sarah were advanced in years when tho 
 promise was more definitely renewed, Gen. xviii 
 1014 ; Rom. iv. 18 21. See Promises. 
 
 (3.) In the strange command, when the promised 
 seed was given at last, and had grown, to offer him 
 for a burnt offering in the land of Moriah, Gen. xxii. 
 1 , 2 ; a command apparently contrary to all known 
 laws of affection, reason, revelation, and against 
 God's own promise of the seed's inheriting the land. 
 What trial could well be greater? 
 
 Isaac and Rebekah, having no child for twenty years, 
 Gen. xxv. 20, 21. 
 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is not a little re- 
 markable that there was a famine in the days of each 
 of the honoured three, Gen. xii. 10; xxvi. 1 ; xli. 
 54 ; xliii. 1. Thus were they not only called to 
 wander in a strange land, but almost driven from it 
 by want of sustenance. 
 
 Israel, tried by their hard bondage in Egypt, and 
 their wanderings in the wilderness, and at their en- 
 trance into Canaan ; see Deut. viii. 2, 3. What a 
 strange command it seemed, Exod. xiv. 15, "Go 
 forward !" "as if there had !><en a fleet of transport 
 ships ready for them to embark in!" So the Lord 
 tried their faith by leading them about, at times to 
 places like Rephidim, where there was no water, 
 Exod. xvii. 1. 
 
 Job, the patriarch, pre-eminent for unparalleled ac- 
 cumulation of trials, met with almost unexampled 
 fortitude; see Job i. 622 ; ii. 10; xiii. 15. 
 
 Elijah, the subject of many severe trials of faith. 
 During the time of famine sent to Cherith (which 
 means drought, as if it dried up sooner than other 
 brooks), and when that was dried, ordered to go to 
 Zarephnth, a Gentile city, nearly a hundred miles oft.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 123 
 
 in the very region where Jezebel came from, and 
 find support there from a widow woman, whose name 
 and residence were not foretold him. So, afterwards, 
 through his life. 
 
 Philip. In a later time, what a trial of faith it 
 cannot but have been to Philip to be called from 
 Samaria, where his ministrations had been so blessed, 
 to go forth "towards the south " by a desert road, not 
 knowing to what it might lead him ! Acts viii. 26. 
 
 The Lord Jesus in His miracles wns wont frequently 
 to require some evidence of faith in the person healed, 
 as when he bid the lepers go and show themselves 
 to the priests as cleansed, when as yet they were not 
 cleansed, Luke xvii. 14 ; when He bid .the man with 
 a withered hand, " stretch forth thine hand," Matt, 
 xii. 13; and commanded the man sick of the palsy to 
 take up his bed and walk, ix. 6 ; when He bid 
 Peter let down the net, after the whole night's 
 fruitless toil, Luke v. 4, 5 ; when He bid the disciples 
 give the vast multitude to eat, Mark vi. 37. The 
 Lord .tried the faith of others by apparently seeming 
 to disregard their cry, as with the woman of Syro- 
 phcenicia, Matt. xv. 21 26 ; and by the almost 
 greater trial of suspense and delay, as in the case of 
 Jairus, Mark v. 22 36 ; and Mary and Martha, 
 John xi. 5, 6. See also such cases as the nobleman 
 whose sick son Christ healed by word, without going 
 down to see him, John iv. 46 53. 
 
 In all these examples, and others which might be 
 adduced, it is most encouraging to remember the 
 abundant reward which has been given to faith, 
 which, when tried, has endured the trial. See James 
 i. 3, 4, 12; 1 Pet. i. 7; iv. 12. 
 
 GREAT FAITH is frequently tried the most severely. 
 Just as with the Syrophoenician woman, the greater 
 her earnestness, the more the Lord seemed to try it. 
 At first He was silent, then He calls the Jews His
 
 124 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 " sheep," and says that He was only sent to them ; 
 then He calls them His children, and the Gentiles 
 "dogs;" and on the apparent rebuff, the woman 
 framed her urgent plea, and the power of faith pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 FAITHFULNESS DIVINE. 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 A rock, the representation of stability and endur- 
 ance, Deut. xxxii. 4 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 3 ; Ps. xcii. 15. 
 
 A shield or truckler, Ps. xci. 4 ; xviii. 30. 
 
 The rainbow, the " faithful witness in heaven," Ps. 
 Ixxxix. 37. 
 
 Very blessed assurances are given us of the Divine 
 faithfulness. It is 
 
 Firmer than the strong mountains, Isa. liv. 10 ; more 
 fixed than the sun and moon and ordinances of heaven, 
 Jer. xxxi. 35, 36 ; of day and night, xxxiii. 20, 21, 25, 
 26 ; than the very existence of the heaven above and 
 earth beneath, with them that dwell therein, Isa. li. 
 6; Matt. v. 18; . . . more certain than any earthly 
 parents' love, Isa. xlix. 15, 16 ; reaching to the clouds, 
 Ps. Ivii. 10. 
 
 THE GOD OF TRUTH, Ps. xxxi. 5 ; Isa. Ixv. 16 ; see 
 Cone. Faithful. Isa. xlix. 7; 1 Cor. i. 9; x. 13; 
 1 Pet. iv. 19. How different to the undependable- 
 ness of man ! Num. xxiii. 19. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS " the way and the truth" John 
 xiv. 6 ; " faithful and true," Rev. xix. 11;" the 
 faithful and true witness," i. 5; iii. 14; "the Amen," 
 iii. 14;" the surety (guarantee) of a better testa- 
 ment," Heb. vii. ID, 22 ; compassed with faithful 
 ness as a " girdle," Isa. xi. 5. 
 
 THE LORD'S OATH. What stronger asseveration 
 than this could be given of Divine faithfulness?
 
 SCKIPTUKE ITSELF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 125 
 
 " The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent," Ps. ex. 
 4 ; Deut. vii. 8 ; ix. 5 ; Ps. cxxxii. 1 1 ; Isa. xxxi. 2 ; 
 and how? By what can God swear? "Because He 
 could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself," 
 Heb. vi. 13; see Gen. xxii. 16; Isa. xlv. 23; see 
 Cone, under "As I live;" "He hath sworn by His 
 holiness" (the essential attribute, which is the founda- 
 tion of the covenant, Ps. Ixxxix. 34, 35) ; by " His 
 right hand," Isa. Ixii. 8; by " His great name,"Jer. 
 xliv. 26; by "the excellency of Jacob" (probably the 
 Temple), Amos viii. 7; "in truth," Ps. cxxxi. 11; "in 
 His wrath," Heb. iii. 11. 
 
 THE LORD'S FAITHFUL REMEMBRANCE. "The 
 Lord remembered " Noah, Gen. viii. 1 ; Sarah, xxi. 1 ; 
 Abraham, xix. 29 ; His covenant with Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob, Exod. ii. 24 ; vi. 5 ; Ps. cv. 8, 42 ; 
 cvi. 45; Luke i. 54. What a contrast to the for- 
 getfulness of man ! The chief butler forgot Joseph, 
 Gen. xl. 23 ; Ahasuerus forgot Mordecai, Esther vi. 
 3 ; the delivered city forgot the wise man, Eccles. ix. 
 15 ; God cannot and will not forget, Heb. vi. 10 ; He 
 will perform His word, Gen. xxvi. 3 ; Joshua xxiii. 1 4, 
 15 ; Ps. cxi. 5 ; Micah vii. 20, &c. 
 
 Never leaving, forsaking, nor forgetting, Gen. xxviii. 
 15 ; Deut. iv. 7, 31 ; 1 Sam. xii. 22 ; 1 Chron. xxviii. 
 20; Ps. xciv. 14; Isa. xliv. 21 ; xlix. 7. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxix. A psalm testifying to the faithfulness 
 of God. Fourteen references occur of this at ver. 1, 
 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 16, 24, 28, 33, 34, 35, 37, 49. 
 
 Isa. Iv. 3. "The sure mercies of David." "Sure," 
 not always swift, but ever " sure." 
 
 1 Kings vii. 21. The two pillars in Solomon's 
 temple Boaz (in Him is strength), and Jachin (He 
 will establish) were probably meant as symbols, that 
 the counsels and purposes of God are faithfulness and 
 truth.
 
 126 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR 
 
 Ps. cxix. 89. "For ever, Lord, thy word is settled 
 in heaven." 
 
 Luther had this text written in charcoal upon the walls of his 
 chamber, and embroidered on the dress of his servants. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 160. " Thy woiJ is true from the begin- 
 ning." 
 
 Dr. A. Clarke would translate this, "true from the first 
 word." 
 
 Rom. xi 29. " The gifts and calling of God are 
 without repentance." 
 
 " God may will a change," as the old writers say, " but He 
 can never change His will." 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 19. "Nevertheless, the foundation of 
 God standeth sure." 
 
 Amidst all the upheavings of a restless world, and all the 
 errors of a distracted Church, the rock of truth remains stead- 
 fast for ever. The notions of men nre constantly changing ; the 
 founders of systems pass away ; but " the foundation of God 
 standeth sure. " The truth the word the promises the cove- 
 nant of an unchanging God, are as sure as Ho is faithful. 
 
 FAMILY RELIGION.* 
 
 There are few families of whom we read in Scrip- 
 ture, in which every member was really godly. There 
 was the family of Amram and Jochebed (including 
 Moses. Aaron, and Minain) ; and the happy home 
 of Bethany, where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived ; 
 and we read also of Zacharias and Elizabeth, who 
 "were both righteous." Luke i. 6 ; and of Mary, with 
 John Mark, in Jerusalem, Acts xii. 12; besides whole 
 households who believed as the nobleman's at Caper- 
 naum, John ix. 53 ; and the jailer at Philippi, Acts 
 xvi 34. Yet these are but few. 
 
 Gen. xxxvii. !'. 
 What a beautiful picture in a dream of what a family
 
 SCfelPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 127 
 
 should be ! The father as the sun, full of heavenly light, and 
 lighting all about him ; the mother as the moon, shining out in 
 her husband's absence, veiling to him, when he is in his place : 
 the children, as stars of light, or rather as a heaven, full of 
 stars. 
 
 Gen. xiv. 14 (marg.) ; xvii. 26, 27 ; xviii. 19. Ab- 
 raham, the godly head of a well ordered and instructed 
 household. 
 
 Joshua xxiv. 15. The noble resolve of one ^solved 
 to resist the power of evil example and popular cus- 
 tom. 
 
 2 Sam. vi. 20. David, no less a great ruler than a 
 godly master. 
 
 Exod. xii. 4, 26. The ordinance of the Passover 
 was especially a family ordinance. 
 
 See Deut. xvi. 4. " In all thy coasts." Does not 
 this mean that those who could not go with their 
 sacrifices to the tabernacle, should still have the sym- 
 bols of repentance in their own homes 1 
 
 See also Deut. vi. 6 9 ; Exod. xii. 26, 27 ; xiii. 
 8, 14; Joshua iv. 6; Ps. Ixxviii. 6. The Divine 
 appointment of family instruction. 
 
 Jer. xxxi. 1. The Lord's promise to all "the 
 families of Israel." 
 
 Ps. ci. Sometimes called the householder's Psalm. 
 Bishop Ridley used often to read it in his family. 
 
 Mark v. 18, 19. What an important lesson our 
 Lord taught here that we are not to allow personal 
 wishes, if even of a spiritual kind, to be preferred 
 before a holy zeal for home and social usefulness. 
 
 Acts xvi. 15, 3340. 
 
 It has been remarked, that the Philippian Church (which 
 was a kind of typical church) gives the first recorded instance of 
 whole families being gathered into the fold. Lydia, and her 
 household the jailer, and all belonging to him all were bap- 
 tized. Henceforth family religion became the starting-point of 
 the foundation of churches. "The church in the house of 
 Philemon grows into the church of Colosse ; the church in the
 
 128 SCRIPTURE ITSKLF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 house of Nymphas became the chtirch of Laodicea ; the church 
 in the house of Aquila and Pri--i-ill:i loses itself in the churches 
 of Epheaus and Rome." Liyhy'oot on Philippians. 
 
 It is worthy of note, how little is known of the 
 family relations of the Apostles ! Most of them were 
 apparently unmarried, or at least childless men : a 
 father, mother, and mother-in-law, are referred to, 
 but no son, or daughter, or other relation. Doubt- 
 less this was tenderly designed by our Lord, that 
 their disciple-life might be purely personal, and incur 
 no risk of neglecting family duties, and that the 
 danger of nepotism might be the more surely ex- 
 cluded. 
 
 CONTRAST with the beneficial effects of family 
 piety, (o.) The zeal of the wicked for evil ; see Jer. 
 vii. 18, father mother children all busy for the 
 " queen of heaven." (/3.) The thoughts lost spirits 
 are represented in the parable, Luke xvi. 27, 28, as 
 having beyond this world. 
 
 FATHER.* See Adoption. 
 
 It is interesting to trace tfle connection between the idea of a 
 father, and king, or ruler, existing from the earliest times : 
 Alnmdech, the title of the kings of Gcrar, means my father 
 king (as Padishah has the same meaning now among the Per- 
 sians, and Atalik (father) is the title still used by the kings of 
 Bokhara). Abrcch, the salutation addressed to Joseph, may 
 mean Tender Father, Gen. xli. 43 (marg.) Cf. xlv. 8, "a father 
 and a ruler." 
 
 HEBREW NAMES. 
 
 Abiah Abijah Abiel Eliab Joab all mean, whose 
 father is GOD, or Jehovah ; names no doubt devoutly given, in 
 acknowledgment of God's providential kindness, or in hope of 
 the manifold and spiritual blessings of H U family and church. 
 
 GOD'S FATHERHOOD. 
 
 The full meaning of God's Fatherhood was not 
 brought out in Old Testament times, as we under-
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 129 
 
 stand it now ; though it was known and recognised 
 by pious saints. See 1 Chron. xxix. 10 ; Ps. ciii. 13 ; 
 Isa. Ixiii. 16, rather nationally than personally. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN is the Gospel which 
 speaks most of God as the "Father." It contains 
 about one hundred references, with many varieties of 
 expression. See Cone. 
 
 " The FATHER of mercies," 2 Cor. i. 3 ; " Father 
 of spirits," Heb. xii. 9 ; " Father of lights," Jas. 117; 
 "Father of glory," Eph. i. 17. 
 
 "THE FATHER OF THE PRODIGAL SON, in our Lord's 
 beautiful parable, gives one of the most touching 
 portraits of Divine compassion and forbearance, Luke 
 xv. 1132. 
 
 Gen. xxxi. 5. 
 
 Though it may be painful to find a father's countenance change 
 from us, yet what is it, if we have the God of our fatheis with 
 us ? Rom. viii. 31. 
 
 Eph. iii. 15. "Of whom the whole family in 
 heaven and earth is named." 
 
 Some refer this to Christ, but more generally it is referred to 
 the Father. God's ownership over the Church is involved in its 
 being named from Him. To give a name to a person or a place 
 denotes lordship over it, or interest in it : as a father gives his 
 own name to a child ; a husband to a wife ; a conqueror to a 
 conquered city. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. 
 
 How touching is the endearing manner in which 
 the Lord Jesus always referred to the Father, espe- 
 cially as recorded in the Gospel of St. John. It has 
 been observed, that in John xvii., when Christ spoke 
 of Himself, He simply used the address "Father" 
 (ver. 1, 5) ; but when He spoke of the mystery of 
 Divine grace as regards mankind, He says " Holy Fa- 
 ther" (ver. 11); "Eighteous Father" (ver. 25.) 
 
 In the sermon on the Mount there are sixteen re- 
 
 l
 
 130 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 ferences to the Father, revealing Him in different 
 views of tenderness and glory : the object of be- 
 lievers' worship the pattern for their imitation 
 the observer of their ways the rewarder of their 
 obedience. 
 
 Our Lord's first and last recorded words bespoke 
 His relationship to the Father: "Wist ye not, that I 
 must be about my Father's business]" Luke ii. 4'J ; 
 " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," Luke 
 xxiii. 46. 
 
 FEAR GODLY.* 
 
 One of the expressive words used chie fly in the Old 
 Testament, denoting reverential love. It is used 
 about three hundred times in the Old Testament, 
 and about thirty times in the New Testament. " The 
 fear of the Lord " occurs about thirty-three times. 
 See Cone. 
 
 The " Fear nots" of Scripture a list of the most 
 gracious encouragements, stretching from Genesis to 
 Revelation, nearly eighty in number, containing as- 
 surances of Divine help in times of human weakness. 
 
 " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." 
 Four times we find this sentiment repeated : Job 
 xxviii. 28 ; Ps. cxi 10; Prov. i. 7, ix. 10. In Prov. 
 L 7 the marginal reading is " the principal part" (of 
 wisdom.) Solomon still more fully expresses this, 
 in another place, as his judgment, after he had tried 
 the whole round of pleasure, Eccles. xii. 13:" Fear 
 God, and keep his commandments ; for this is the 
 whole duty of man:" or rather (for the word "duty" 
 is only supplied) "this is the whole of man" the 
 full ideal of a perfect man, for present happiness and 
 future safety. 
 
 FEAR SLAVISH. See Conscience.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 131 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Faintheartedness, Lev. xxvi. 36 ; as in Gideon's 
 troops, Judges vii. 3 ; cf. Deut. xx. 8 ; a trembling 
 heart, Deut. xxviii. G5 ; like Saul, 1 Sam. xxviii. 5 ; 
 Felix, Acts xxiv. 25 ; a melting heart, Joshua v. 1, 
 vii. 5. 
 
 Terrified at the sound of a shaken leaf, Lev. xxvi. 36 ; 
 as with " a dreadful sound" in the ears, Job xv. 21 
 (" a sound of fears," marg.) ; " as the trees of the 
 wood are moved with the wind," Isa. vii. 2. 
 
 Flying, as from the sword, Lev. xxvi. 36 ; when no 
 man pursueth, Prov. xxviii. 1 ; Lev. xxvi. 17, 36. 
 
 Turning pale with terror, as the word." perish" 
 means literally, Acts xiii. 41. Atpaviadrjre, see Bengel: 
 (others make it to disappear to hide themselves in 
 dismay.) 
 
 The spirit of slaves of bondage and fear, Rom. viii. 
 15 ; the fear that "hath torment," 1 John iv. 18. 
 
 See Cone, under fear afraid affrighted trem- 
 bling terrified, &c. 
 
 Adam, Gen. iii. 10 : "I was afraid" one of the 
 first results of the fall. 
 
 Magor-missabib, Jer. xx. 3, 4. " Fear round about " 
 (margin.) The fear with which Pashur thought to 
 alarm Jeremiah, recoiling upon himself. 
 
 Death "the king of terrors," Job xviii. 14. 
 
 FEEDING UPON CHRIST UPON THE WORD and 
 
 SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS. 
 HISTORIC SYMBOLS. 
 
 The tree of life A beautiful figure found in several 
 of the dispensations ; originally in the sacramental 
 tree in Eden, Gen. ii. 9, iii. 22 ; ultimately in paradise 
 restored, Rev. xxii. 2. Ezekiel's trees (chap, xlvii. 
 12) are probably also symbolical the fruit for meat,
 
 132 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 and the leaf for medicine, representing the full pro 
 visions of God's love. 
 
 The paschal lamb Provided not only for sacrifice, 
 hut for feasting, Exod. xii. 8. Life is not only given 
 through Christ, but maintained by feeding upon Him, 
 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. 
 
 The manna That wonderful food ; "spiritual meat," 
 1 Cor. x 3 ; " angels' food " (bread of the mighty, 
 marg.), Ps. IxxviiL 25 ; which God " rained down 
 from heaven," Exod. xvi. 4 a striking type of the 
 inexhaustible store of grace and nieicy that comes 
 through Christ. It is computed that to provide the 
 vast camp of Israel with daily food, it would require 
 15,000,000 Ibs. of manna every week ! But this God 
 gave for forty years, and it never failed ! Oh ! the 
 fulness of Christ. He that sent the manna is the 
 manna that He sent " the hidden manna," Rev. 
 ii. 17. 
 
 The shewbread (literally, bread of the presence), 
 Lev. xxiv. 5 9 ; called " the continual bread," Num. 
 iv. 7 twelve loaves of fine flour presented before 
 the Lord every Sabbath, and placed on the table, and 
 sprinkled with frankincense, designed to represent 
 Christ, the bread of life. 
 
 The different offerings appointed to be eaten by the 
 priests and offerers represent the same truth. 
 
 EMBLEMS taken from ordinary life 
 
 Jlreatl The Lord Jesus is " the bread of God"- 
 41 the true bread"- " the bread of life"" the bread 
 from henv.-n," John vi. 32, 33, 35, 48, 5<>, 51, 58. 
 Born at Bethlehem (which means "the house of 
 br*'ad"); like the good corn, bruised and broken ; and 
 " fine flour," baked, He gave His Hesh for the life of 
 the world. An old writer well says, of our need of 
 Him, " Without bread there is no feast ; with bread, 
 there need be no famine." 
 
 Water " and wine," fresh and free fructifying and
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 133 
 
 reviving a figure of the sweet ordinances of spiritual 
 blessing, Ps. xxiii. 2 ; and of Christ Himself and Hie 
 Spirit, John iv. 10, 14. 
 
 Wine " that maketh glad the heart of man," Ps. 
 civ. 15 is symbolically used by Christ for the bless- 
 ings of His kingdom, Cant. v. 1 ; cf. Christ's first 
 miracle, John ii. 8 10; and His last supper, Matt, 
 xxvi. 27 29. Christ is the true Vine, John xv. 1. 
 
 Milk The simplest food for babes, Heb. v. 1 2 ; yet 
 the token of wealth and rich abundance, Isa. Iv. 1, 
 Ix. 16 ; the emblem of the sweet nourishment of the 
 Divine Word, 1 Pet. ii. 3. 
 
 Honey The emblem of sweetness, Judges xiv. 18 ; 
 Isa. Iv. 1 ; Ps. xix. 10, cxix. 103. 
 
 Marrow and fatness, Ps. xxxvi. 8, Ixiii. 5 ; Isa. 
 xxv. 6. 
 
 Fruit Representing the sweetness and variety of 
 gospel blessings through Christ, see Cant, through- 
 out. 
 
 THE GOSPEL FEAST "The wedding banquet"- 
 the "great supper," Matt. xxii. 1 14; Luke xiv. 
 1624. 
 
 Cf. Wisdom's feast, Prov. ix. 1 5 ; the Bride- 
 groom's call, Cant. v. 1 ; the Lord's Supper the feast 
 of commemoration, communion, and love, 1 Cor. x. 
 16, 17; xi. 2326. 
 
 It is also represented figuratively how believers 
 RECEIVE these gospel blessings. 
 
 They eat and drink of Christ's bounty, Isa. Iv. 1, 2; 
 John vi. 48 58. They taste the Lord's goodness, 
 Ps. xxxiv. 8 ; 1 Pet. ii. 3. They feed (Christ's sheep) 
 in the peaceful pastures, Ps. xxiii. 2; Isa. xl. 11. 
 They sit down as Christ's guests in His banqueting- 
 house, Cant. ii. 4. They are " satisfied," " abund 
 antly satisfied," with the fatness of the Lord's house, 
 while they " drink of the river of His pleasure," Ps. 
 xxxvi. 8 : Ixiii. 5.
 
 134 SCRIPTURE ITSKLF TUB ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 " Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness," Matt Y. 6. It was said in Egypt, 
 " Go unto Joseph : " when there was famine in the 
 land, there was corn stored up by him, and he had 
 the keys ! Let every Christless man read Isa. Iv. 2 ; 
 Luke xv. 17. 
 
 Contrast with this spiritual provision, the portion 
 of the carnal and ungodly. They feed on wind, and 
 follow the east wind, like Ephraim, Hosea xii. 1 , on 
 husks, as the prodigal was fain to do, Luke xv. ; on 
 ashes, Isa. xliv. 20. See Vanity. 
 
 FOLLY.** 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The ostrich, Job xxxix. 13 17, "deprived" of the 
 natural " wisdom " given to most other of God's 
 dumb creatures. 
 
 Sheep, prone to stray, without knowing where, 
 often to their own hurt, yet unable to find the way 
 back, Ps. cxix. 1 76 ; Isa. liii. 6 ; Luke xv. 4, 5. 
 
 A silly dove, without heart (or understanding), 
 Hosea vii. 11. 
 
 THE HEBREW WORD for fool, Nabalis derived 
 from a root, meaning to be dry withered shri 
 veiled. 
 
 THE GREEK WORD, purf, Matt. v. 22, means that 
 which is unsavoury (so it is applied by our Lord, 
 Matt. v. 13, to insipid salt). It is the word used of 
 the foolish builder, Matt. vii. 16, 17; and by St. 
 Paul of the heart in Rom. i. 22 ; and of foolish 
 talkers, Eph. v. 4. 
 
 Two PROPER NAMES may well stand for two classes 
 of mankind, both alike foolish 
 
 Nabtil one whose name means " fool," and whose 
 character was like his name, 1 Sam. xxv. 25. 
 
 .-Ihithophel one who was pre-eminently esteemed
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTltATOK. 135 
 
 for sagacity and wisdom, 2 Sam. xvi. 23. Yet the 
 word Ahithophel means "the brother of foolishness." 
 Is this not an illustration of Job xxxii. 9 ; 1 Cor. 
 iii. 20? 
 
 ISRAEL, the wise-foolish-people, Jer. iv. 22. Cf. 
 Rom. xvi. 19. 
 
 THE ROOT or FOLLY (as of wisdom) is described in 
 Scripture as deep-seated in the heart, Ps. xiv. 1 ; 
 Prov. xii. 23 ; proceeding from within, Mark vii. 
 21, 22; the inheritance of the simple, Prov. xiv. 18. 
 There is more folly in the heart of man than in the 
 head. Foolishness stands first in the dark catalogues 
 of evil, Rom. i. 21 ; Titus iii. 3. 
 
 THE EVIDENCE OF FOLLY may easily be traced by 
 looking into the Cone, under the word. In the New 
 Testament we read of the foolish builder, Matt. vii. 
 26 ; the foolish virgins, Matt. xxv. 3 ; the rich fool 
 (the New Testament Nabal), Luke xii. 16 21 ; 
 foolish talking, Eph. v. 4 ; foolish questions, 2 Tim. ii. 23. 
 Foolish lusts, 1 Tim. vi. 9, &c. 
 
 SOLOMON, the wisest of men, wrote most upon 
 folly. The Book of Proverbs traces it in its countless 
 forms of thought, xxiv. 9 ; and word, xv. 2 ; and 
 deed, x. 23; its blind infatuation, i. 17; its incor- 
 rigible persistency, xxvi. 11 ; xxvii. 22; its desperate 
 foolishness, xiv. 24 ; its grievous wickedness, xiii. 19 ; 
 xiv. 9. The Book of Ecclesiastes speaks of it again 
 and again as infatuated madness, i. 17; ii. 12; vii. 
 25. 
 
 F KUITFULNESS. ** See Usefulness Zeiu 
 (Contrast Barrenness.) 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 A vineyard. The Church is compared to a vine 
 yard, where both the vineyard and the vine are types
 
 136 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 of fruitfulness, Pa, Ixxx. 15 ; lea. v. 1 7 ; Hosea 
 xiv. 7 ; John xv. 1 8. 
 
 A garden, Cant. iv. 1215; Isa. Iviii. 11. "A 
 garden enclosed " " a little spot enclosed by grace " 
 the emblem of beauty fragrance fruitfulness. 
 
 Trees of righteousness. Believers are compared to 
 fruitful trees : The apple (or citron) for beauty and 
 variety, Cant. ii. 3 ; the vine, for luxuriance and rich- 
 ness of fruit, Ps. Ixxx. 8 11 ; Cant. ii. 15 ; Jer. ii. 
 21 ; Hosea xiv. 7 ; the fig for sweetness, Cant. ii. 13 ; 
 Luke xiii. 6 ; the olive for fatness, Hosea xiv. 6 ; Rom. 
 xi 24 ; the palm for usefulness, Ps. xcii. 12. 
 
 Fruits in their season. It is interesting to mark in 
 the Canticles, how the rich variety of the Church's 
 fruitfulness is set forth by the trees of the garden, 
 each ripe in its own season. Here are "tender 
 grapes" for the spring, ii. 13; spices and pleasant 
 fruits for summer, iv. 13, 14; au<l nuts for autumn, 
 vi 11. 
 
 The fruits Christians bear are not in every case, and at all 
 times, the same. The plant of prosperity stands in the garden, 
 and yields the rich fruit of thankfulness, whilst adversity brings 
 forth sweet patience suspense gently blossoms into hope and 
 service gradually ripens into happiness. But every kind is 
 beautiful in its season. 
 
 Aaron's dress. The golden bells and pomegranates 
 at the bottom of the ephod Aaron wore, are supposed 
 to represent the joyful sound of the gospel of Christ; 
 also the fruitfulness of the gospel ministry and 
 spiritual priesthood, Exod. xxviii. 34. 
 
 EPHRAIM. The word Ephraim means fruitful (pro- 
 perly, being in the dual form, twofold ; t. e. t abound- 
 ing fruitfulness). See Gen. xli. 52, (marg.) The 
 prophet Hosea often refers to this, as in ix. lb ; x. 1 ; 
 xiii. 15. 
 
 The word EPHRATAH is of kindred derivation 
 fiiiit-bearhif}. Its use is strikingly significant in Micah
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 137 
 
 v. 2 "thou Bethlehem Ephratah," the little spot 
 whence rose the Plant of Eenown. 
 
 FRUIT - BEARING. The figure of fruitfulness, 
 whether for good or evil, is one of the pregnant 
 figures especially used by St. Paul. See Cone. In 
 Phil, i. 1 1 he uses the word describing what a Chris- 
 tian should be, like a well-laden fruitful tree, bowing 
 down and bending beneath the weight of ripe and 
 mellow fruit "filled with the fruits of righteous 
 ness." 
 
 GENTILES. 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 Dogs, Phil. iii. 2 : Matt. xv. 26. 
 
 Wild olive trees, Rom. xi. 24. 
 
 Christ's " oilier sheep, not of this fold," John x. 16. 
 
 Aliens and strangers, Eph. ii. 12. 
 
 The " little sister, that hath no breasts," Cant. viii. 8. 
 
 RECEPTION into the Church. 
 
 Illustrated by 
 
 (a.) Many of our Lord's parables, as the transfer of 
 the Jewish vineyard, Mark xii. 9. 
 
 (b.) Peter's vision, Acts x. 1016, 28. 
 
 (c.) " The middle wall of partition " broken down, 
 Eph. ii. 14, referring probably to the partition wall 
 in the Jewish temple, on which notices were put up 
 forbidding Gentiles to enter ; which parting-wall is 
 done away in Christ. 
 
 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT was designed to in- 
 clude all true believers, from the very first, especially 
 as enlarged to Jacob, Gen. xxxv. 1 1 ; Rom. iv. 11, 
 12, 16, 17. 
 
 THE TABERNACLE AND TEMPLE. It is well worthy 
 of note ho\v the materials of the tabernacle and tem- 
 ple were obtained from Gentile sources, the gold 
 and silver and fine linen from Egypt ; the cedars of
 
 138 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Lebanon from Hiram ; the brass from Syria, A <. 
 See Dedication. 
 
 RUTH. Many regard Ruth as a figure of the Gen- 
 tile Church. By marriage with Boaz (which means, 
 " in Him is strength ") she was united to one who 
 was a Redeemer and Restorer of life. See chap. iv. 
 15 (marg.) 
 
 THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST. T wo Gentile mothers 
 (Rahab and Ruth) being included in Christ's ancestry, 
 may intimate the favour He has for the Gentiles as 
 well as for the Jews. 
 
 THE GODLY SEED. Throughout the several dis- 
 pensations there have been many of God's saints 
 called from the Gentiles as Melchisedek Job 
 Jethro Rahab Naaman and probably we may 
 add Caleb (see Smith's B. D.) Ruth ; besides num 
 bers about whom it is difficult to pronounce. 
 
 GENTILE WIVES. It is also observable, how many 
 Jewish men of note married Gentile wives as 
 Joseph, Gen. xli. 45 ; Moses, probably twice, Exod. 
 it 21 ; xil 1 ; Boaz, Ruth iv. 13 ; Solomon, 1 Kings 
 ill 1. 
 
 THE LORD JKSUS. The Lord's favour towards the 
 Gentiles, and His tender dealings with them, were 
 marked in many ways, 
 
 (1.) Some of Christ's most expressive titles exhibit 
 this, "The light of the world" ("not of the Jews 
 only"), Luke ii. 32 ; John viii. 12 ; cf. Isa. xlii. 6, 7 ; 
 so also the title of " the corner-stone," Eph. ii. 20 ; 
 " the desire (or desideratum) of all nations," Haggai 
 ii. 7. 
 
 (2.) Some of Christ's miracles. Matt viii. 5 13 
 (the centurion's servant) ; Matt. xv. 21 28 (the Syro 
 Phoenician's daughter); Mark v. 1 20 (the Gadarene, 
 most probably a Gentile).
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 139 
 
 (3.) Some of Christ's parables. 
 
 (4.) His commendation of the faith of a Gentile, 
 Matt. viii. 10 ; and of the good Samaritan, Luke x. 
 3037. 
 
 Christ was honoured at His birth by Gentiles from 
 the East, Matt. ii. 1 11 ; and, near His death, by 
 Gentiles from the West, John xii. 20, 21. The first 
 acknowledgment of the righteousness of Christ at 
 His death was made not by a priest nor by a Jew, 
 but by a Gentile and a soldier, Mark xv. 39. 
 
 THE GOSPELS of St. Mark and St. Luke were 
 written especially for Gentile Christians. 
 
 FOUR PRECIOUS WORDS, properly Jewish, have 
 gained a common usage alike by Jew and Gentile, 
 Abba Hosanna Hallelujah Amen. 
 
 GENTLENESS.** See Kindness Lave Meek- 
 ness. 
 
 Prov. xi. 30. " He that winneth souls is wise." 
 
 Prov. xv. 1. " A soft answer turneth away 
 wrath." 
 
 Prov. xvi. 24. "Pleasant, words are as an honey- 
 comb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." 
 
 Eccles. x. 4. " Yielding pacitieth great offences." 
 
 Cant. i. 15 ; iv. 1. "Thou hast doves' eyes." 
 
 The Bridegroom's commendation of the Bride, "doves' 
 eyes," gentle loving and pure. 
 
 Micah v. 7. " The remnant of Jacob shall be in 
 the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord." 
 
 Gently distilliny the blessing of truth. Cf. Deut. xxxii. 1 ; 
 Ps. Ixxii. 6. 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 4, 5. What a beautiful description of 
 the gentleness and meekness of true charity ! 
 
 1 Cor. xvi. 23, 24. Of all St. Paul's Epistles,
 
 140 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 1 Corinthians is the most severe ; yet how gently 
 does it close, with what words of love ! 
 
 Eph. iv. 16. " Speaking the truth in love." 
 
 Phil. iv. 5. " Let your moderation (your yielding- 
 ness) be known unto all men." 
 
 James i. 19. " Slow to wrath." 
 
 James iii. 17. "The wisdom that is from above 
 is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be 
 entreated." 
 
 1 Thess. il 7, 11. "We were gentle," with a 
 nursing mother's tenderness, and &fat/ter's care. 
 
 1 Pet. iii. 8. " B<> pitiful, be courteous." 
 
 Jude 22. Of some have compassion. 
 
 Matt xii. 19, 20. The Lord Jesus our example. 
 
 GIFTS.* 
 
 Luke x. 17 20. The abundance of gifts, however 
 great, can never be compared with the blessedness of 
 saving grace. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 411. 
 
 (1.) All our gifts are bestowed by God. (2.) Our gifts are 
 various, the Messed Spirit "dividing to every man severally 
 aw He will." (3.) All are given for " profit," and not for pride. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 31 ; xiii. The greatest gifts are no 
 thing in comparison with love. 
 Eph iv. 7. 
 
 (1.) Every one has some gifts ; therefore all should be useful. 
 (2.) No one has all gifts ; therefore none should be proud. (3.) 
 Every one has his gifts, according to the gift of Christ ; there- 
 fore all should be content. (4.) Every one's gift is for the 
 general good ; therefore we should seek the union of the Church. 
 (5.) All gifts are out of Christ's fulness (ver. 8) ; therefore all 
 should seek close union and fellowship with Him. 
 
 GODLINESS. 
 
 What is godliness T Conformity to the mind and
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 141 
 
 will of God, having the heart and eye turned to- 
 wards God. Cf. such expressions as "a good con- 
 science towards God," 1 Pet. iii. 21; "faith to 
 God- ward," 1 Thess. i. 8 ; " trust through Christ to 
 God-ward," 2 Cor. iii. 4 ; " alive unto God," Rom. vi. 
 11; see Cone, for references under " to God " " be- 
 fore God." 
 
 See also in Cone, how reference to God is inter- 
 woven with holy things. We read of " godly sor- 
 row " " godly fear " " godly sincerity " " godly 
 zeal " " godly men " " godly edifying " " the doc- 
 trine according to godliness " " the godly seed " 
 " godly jealousy," &c. 
 
 In one or two passages of the Old Testament, it 
 is interesting to observe how godliness is allied to 
 mercy. See the marginal reading of Isa. Ivii. 1, and 
 Micah vii. 2. 
 
 In the New Testament the word "godliness" is 
 used very frequently by St. Paul, and by him chiefly 
 in 1 and 2 Timothy, ten times in ten chapters. 
 Was this because they were (with the Epistle to 
 Titus) probably the last he wrote 1 as if the nearer 
 he came to the end of his course, the more he viewed 
 things with reference to God and godliness ? 
 
 GOODNESS DIVINE. 
 
 The most general meaning of goodness in Scripture is that of 
 bounty kindness. So the word is applied to "a good man," 
 Rom. v. 7 ; i.e., a liberal, beneficent man, one who is "a com- 
 mon good;" a "good" eye, Prov. xxii. 9 (marg.) ; "a good 
 work," John x. 33 ; "a good land," Deut. viii. 7, i.e., fertile 
 and productive. We read, 2 Chron. xxxii. 32, of Hezekiah 
 "and his goodness," which is explained in the margin his 
 "kindness." In like manner we must understand the expres- 
 sion when applied to God. Our English word God it is fami- 
 liar to most persons has just this meaning, God, i. c., the (food 
 one.
 
 142 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 GOODNESS is ascribed to each person of the Blessed 
 Trinity. 
 
 God the Father, Ps. xxv. 8 ; xxxiv. 8 ; Ixxxv. 6 ; 
 c. 5 ; cvi. 1 ; evil 1 ; cxviii. 1, &c. See Cone., Luke 
 jrii. 32. 
 
 God the Son. " The good shepherd," John r. 1 1. 
 
 God the Holy Ghost. Neh. ix. 20 ; Ps. cxliii. 10,; 
 cf. Matt. vii. 11 with Luke xi. 13. 
 
 The MANIFESTATION of Divine goodness is set forth 
 in numberless texts and phrases. We read of 
 
 " The riches of God's goodness. " Riches" one of 
 the intensive words of Scripture used especially by 
 St. Paul ; " the riches of God's goodness, and forbear- 
 ance, and long-suffering," Rom. ii. 4. (Wickliffe's 
 translation was "richesses") "The exceeding riches 
 of His grace," Eph. i. 7 ; ii. 7 ; riches of " mercy," 
 Eph. ii. 4 ; " the unsearchable riches of Christ," iii. 7 ; 
 riches " of glory," and " in glory," Rom. ix. 23 ; Phil. 
 iv. 19. 
 
 The pleasure of Divine goodness, Eph. i. 5; "the 
 good pleasure of His goodness," a remarkably in- 
 tensified expression " goodness " " pleasure of 
 goodness" and even "good pleasure of goodness," 
 2 Thess. L 11 ; see Cone. 
 
 The good will, Rom. xii. 2 ; " the good will of Him 
 that dwelt in the bush," Deut. xxxiii. 16. 
 
 The good hand of God, Ezra viiL 18, 22. See a 
 striking explanation of the liberal " hand " in 1 Kings 
 x. 13, where Solomon's ' royal bounty" is called in 
 the margin, "according to the hand of king Solomon." 
 
 The good word of God, 2 Kings xx. 19; Jer. xxix. 
 10; Heb. vi 5. 
 
 The good promise, 1 Kings viii. 56. 
 
 " The goodness of God comprehends all His attributes. All 
 the act* of God are nothing elite but the effluxes of His good- 
 ness, distinguished by several names, according to the object it
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 143 
 
 it exercised about. As the sea, though it be one mass of waters, 
 yet we distinguish it by several names, according to the shores 
 it washeth and beats upon, as the British and German Ocean, 
 though it be all one sea." Ckamoclc. 
 
 Gen. iii. 1. The first temptation was to cast a 
 doubt upon the goodness of God. 
 
 Exod. xxxiii. 18 ; xiv. 7. 
 
 How large a part the Divine goodness bears, in the proclaim 
 tion of the Divine name ! 
 
 Ps. Ixxiii. 1. " Truly God is good to Israel." 
 
 The beginning of the psalm probably represents the end ot 
 Asaph's thoughts ; and the blessed repose he found in the midst 
 of doubt, when he could rest upon this firm anchorage, " truly 
 God is good to Israel ! " 
 
 Nahum i. 7. "The Lord is good." 
 
 Following upon "God is jealous and the Lord revengeth,' 
 Divine justice is not prejudicial to Divine goodness. 
 
 GOSPEL.* See Law and Gospel 
 
 The meaning of the Greek word for gospel is well 
 known viz., good or glad tidings ; so it is used, Luke 
 ii. 10, viii. 1 ; Acts xiii. 32 ; Rom. x. 5. Our Saxon 
 word may mean either God's speech, or plan, or 
 teaching, or good news. 
 
 Many FIGURES may be used as illustrations of the 
 "good news from a -far country," Prov. xxv. 25. 
 
 It is grateful, " as cold waters to a thirsty soul," 
 Prov. xxv. 25. 
 
 It is welcome, as the herald's feet seen coming o'er 
 the mountains, Isa. Hi. 7 Rom. x. 17. 
 
 It is sweet, as the joyful sound of the jubilee 
 trumpet, proclaiming liberty and happiness, Ps. 
 Ixxxix. 15. 
 
 THE GOSPEL is compared to a glass or mirror, by 
 which is seen " the glory of the Lord," 2 Cor. iii. 18.
 
 144 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 To a law " The law of the Spirit of life in Christ 
 Jesus," Rom. viii. 2. 
 
 To a message of mercy " sent," Acts xiii. 26. 
 Many receive the gospel aa a tale that is told to all, rather 
 than as a message that is sent to them. 
 
 GRACE.*** See Inability Love Divine Mercy- 
 Salvation. 
 
 The Greek word ordinarily used for grace (x a /) 
 properly means gift, and is so translated, 2 Cor. viii. 
 4. The word duptdr, which also stands for grace, 
 well illustrates the freeness of God's grace in our 
 salvation ; it is rendered in John xv. 25, " without a 
 cause;" and in 2 Cor. xi 7, "freely," i.e., without 
 recompense. 
 
 The same idea in Greek belongs alike to the two 
 words of salvation employed in meeting and at part- 
 ing "all hail," Matt, xxviii. 9 (xo/peTe), Luke L 28; 
 James i. 1 ; "farewell," 2 Cor. xiii. 11 (xaf/*), both 
 expressing the wish for health, happiness, favour. 
 
 SCRIPTURAL NAMES. It is remarkable how many Scriptural 
 names are formed from words conveying the idea of grace and 
 favour. They are chiefly combinations of the words Natban 
 Hanan Nadab, as Jonathan, Elnathan, Nathaniah, Nnthtuiael, 
 Johanan (whence our word John), Hannah, Hananiah, Ananias, 
 Jonadab, Jehonadab ; also from Zabud (which signifies given), 
 whence Zabdi, Zebedee. The won 1* Matthew, Matthias, Mat- 
 thaniah, all signify the gift of the Lord. 
 
 GRACE is ascribed to each person of the blessed 
 Trinity : 
 
 " God the Father " is spoken of by St. Peter as " the 
 God of all grace," 1 Peter v. 10; see Ps. Ixxxv. 11. 
 
 "God the Son" see John i. 14, 16, 17 ; Rom. v. 15; 
 1 Cor. i. 4 ; Eph. ii. 7. 
 
 God the Holy Gliost : " The Spirit of grace," Zech. 
 xii. 10; Heb. x 29.
 
 SCEIPTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 145 
 
 So also, we read of " the throne of grace," where 
 God dwells, Heb. iv. 16 ; " the word of grace " which 
 God has given, Acts xiv. 3, xx. 32 ; " the gospel of 
 grace " which God has sent, Acts xx. 24. 
 
 The ORIGIN of grace is nothing less than the foun- 
 tain of God's own free love and will, Exod. xxxiii. 19; 
 Rom. ix. 15 18. It is given for His "own sake," 
 Lsa. xliii. 25, xlviii. 9 11; for His "name's sake/' 
 1 Sam. xii. 22 Ezek. xxxvi. 22 ; Ps. xxv. 11 ; 1 John 
 ii. 12. It is His own free gift " the gift of grace," 
 Rom. v. 15 ; " the grace of God that bringeth salva- 
 tion," Titus ii. 11 ; the salvation " sent" to the Gen- 
 tiles, Acts xxviii. 28 ; the repentance " granted," Acts 
 xi. 18 ; the salvation "granted," Ps. Ixxxv. 7 ; the 
 mercy granted, 2 Tim. i. 18; the reconciliation first 
 on God's side, 2 Cor. v. 18 20; 1 John iv. 
 10, &c. 
 
 HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The freeness and simplicity of the plan of salvation 
 are beautifully shadowed forth by many types and 
 histories of the Old Testament, as well as by the nar- 
 ratives of the New Testament ; as, e.g., by 
 
 The passover, Exod. xii., when the Israelites were 
 rendered secure by the simple appointment of sprink- 
 ling the typical blood of the lamb upon the door- 
 posts of their houses. Nothing could have been 
 simpler ! They were required to fight no battle ; to 
 undergo no weary labour : only to be found within 
 the shelter of the sprinkled blood ! 
 
 The manna, Exod. xvi., gathered every dty fresh 
 and free, and enough for all ! No seed to sow ; no 
 ground to prepare ; no field to reap ; no journey to 
 take. The " bread enough and to spare " lay round 
 about their tents ; they had only to gather it ; and 
 there was enough for all that multitude of 3,000,000 
 people to feed them daily for forty years. 
 
 K
 
 146 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE 1LLU8TKATOR. 
 
 The water from the smitten rock, Exotl. xvii. 1 7 ; 
 Num. xx. 10, 11. 
 
 The brazen serjtent, Num. xxi. 6 9. Here even a 
 Irok was sufficient! The man who might be too 
 weak to walk, or even lift a hand or move his tongue, 
 had but to cast his eye to the uplifted pole, and 
 "look and live!" 
 
 The cities of refuge, Num. xxxv. 6 34 ; Joshua xx. ; 
 within easy reach of every part of the land, and 
 always standing open to receive all comers. See 
 Krfuge, 
 
 Naaman's cure, 2 Kings v. ; washing seven times in 
 Jordan. The very simplicity of the cure was the 
 leper's stumblingblock. 
 
 The miracles cf healing wrought by Christ and the 
 apostles. 
 
 The FREKNESS of grace is also set forth by the ex- 
 pressions used, as, Isa. Iv. 1, Hi. 3, buying " without 
 money and without price;" redeemed when "with- 
 out strength," Rom. v. 6 (the very word used in 
 Greek for the " impotent folk " and " the impotent 
 man," John v. 3, 7) ; without limit on God's part, to 
 " whosoever will call on the name of the Lord," Joel 
 ii. 32 ; " whosoever will take of the water of life 
 freely," Rev. xxii. 18. 
 
 Richard Baxter used to say, I conceive there could be no 
 word so strong as the " whosoever" in the gosjwl offer. If God 
 had put my own name in His word, and made it an express re- 
 velation that Richard Baxter might be saved, it would not have 
 been half so strong, because there might have l>cn many Richard 
 Baxters, and how could 1 be certified that it was for me espe- 
 cially the word was meant ! But when He has said " vihoton-cr 
 will," then I can have no doubt. The word is so inclusive, that 
 none need fear exclusion ; so gracious, that none need apprehend 
 rejection. 
 
 GOD'S PRECIOUS GIFTS OF GRACE. It is interesting 
 to trace in the Cone, how many of man's most pre- 
 cious treasures aro said to be the yifls of God: God
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 147 
 
 gave the Sabbath, Ezek. xx. 12 ; the law, Ezek. xx. 
 11 ; His good Spirit, Neh. ix. 20 ; the spirit of man, 
 Eccles. xii. 7 ; the Lord gave the people rest, Joshua 
 xxi. 44 ; He gave the Lord Jesus to be the Head of 
 His Church, Eph. i. 21 ; and Christ gave Himself for 
 us, Gal. i. 4 ; Titus ii. 14 ; Eph. v. 25 ; 1 Tim. ii 6, 
 &c. 
 
 The TIME of GRACE, Isa. xlix. 8 : " In an acceptable 
 time" " a time of grace," marg. 
 
 The REIGN of GRACE, Rom. v. 21. The apostle re- 
 presents grace as a mighty monarch triumphing over 
 a cruel usurper. Sin and grace both have their king- 
 doms ; but the grand and final victory must belong 
 to grace. St. Paul has been, not without impropriety, 
 called "the apostle of grace." No New Testament 
 writer so exalts and dwells upon " the riches" " the 
 exceeding riches" of grace. How he magnifies it in 
 his own experience, 1 Cor. xv. 10 ; 1 Tim. i. 12 16 ; 
 Gal. i. 15, 16; and in the calling of the Gentiles, 
 Eph. iii. 2, 7, 8, where he multiplies words to make 
 the strongest superlatives " the gift of the grace 
 given!" All his fourteen epistles close with the 
 prayer for grace. It seems to have been his sign- 
 manual, which no other apostle used during his life- 
 time, though St. John used it after his death. The 
 word xa/>is, so common to St. Paul and to St. Luke, 
 is seldom or never used by St. Matthew or St. 
 Mark. 
 
 Gen. iii. 15. The first promise. 
 
 It is a fact which should never be forgotten, how entirely the 
 first promise speaks of grace. Our first parents sinned, but they 
 showed no signs of repentance ; they sought no pardon ; they 
 made no confession ; they prayed no prayer ; they fled from the 
 Creator, and hid themselves amongst the trees of the garden ! 
 Truly, it was all of grace that the Lord came to them ; it was 
 His own free thought of love that gave the first acorn promise 
 of redemption !
 
 148 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 Zech. iv. 7. 
 
 The final cry of grace : " Grace, grace," i.e. fulneM of grace ; 
 aa we read of " peace, peace," i.e. perfect |>eace, Isa. xxvi. 8, 
 marg. 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 18; 1 Pet. L 13. 
 
 Grace and glory in their union and commingling. It seems 
 strange, where we should have looked for grace, to read of glory, 
 aa in 2 Cor. iii. 1 8 ; and where we should have looked for glory, 
 to read of grace, as in 1 Pet. L 13. But "He that hath the Son 
 hath life," 1 John v. 12 : grace is only the dawn, of which glory 
 is the perfect day. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 17,21 
 
 The la*t word* of Revelation still sj enk of grace ; the echo 
 lingers. Despite all the accumulated guilt of man from Adam's 
 days, and the attempts of thousands to ]K>ison the sweet waters, 
 the river of the water of life still flows fresh and bright and full. 
 As the first promise came by grace, so the last offer of a free sal- 
 vation speaks of the same : only the river flows in a wider, 
 broader channel. 
 
 HARDNESS MORAL AND SPIRITUAL* See Rebel- 
 lion Stubbornness Unbelief Sin, Progress of. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 "A heart of stone," Ezek. xi. 19 ; xxxvi. 26 ; cold, 
 dead, insensible. 
 
 " A face harder than a rock, Jer. v. 3 ; impudent 
 and bold. See Shamelessness. 
 
 " Stiff of forehead and hard of heart," Ezek. iii. 7, 
 marg. ; Prov. xxi. 29. 
 
 Hard as an adamant stone, Zech. vii. J 2 ; probably 
 the diamond, remarkable for its excessive hardness; 
 of all known substances, the most difficult to work 
 upon. 
 
 Blind. The same Greek word (vupwfftt) is rendered 
 in the text and margin interchangeably " blindness " 
 and " hardness." See Mark iii. 5 ; Rom. xi. 25 ; Eph. 
 iv. 18. It is doubtful whether it refers properly to
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 149 
 
 the skin, causing a film over the eyes, producing 
 blindness ; or to the induration of bones, producing 
 callousness and insensibility to the touch. (See 
 Bishop Wordsworth, Mark vi. 52.) Both figures are 
 equally suggestive of a moral application. 
 
 Torpid and benumbed, Rom. xi. 7, 8 (quoting Isa. 
 xxix. 10), according to the view of Hammond and 
 others, is taken from the figure of one benumbed, 
 through the stupifying draught given to condemned 
 criminals before execution. 
 
 Seared, cauterized, or branded, " as with a hot iron," 
 1 Tim. iv. 2 ; made callous ; a terrible mark of the 
 apostasy of " the latter times." 
 
 " Past feeling, because of the blindness (marg., 
 hardness) of their heart," Eph. iv. 18, 19. 
 
 Isa. vi. 9, 10. It is a noteworthy fact that this 
 solemn passage is quoted most frequently in the New 
 Testament, of any Old Testament text. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Pharaoh the Old Testament type of incorrigible 
 hardness of heart, defiant alike of mercy and of judg- 
 ment. It is remarkable that Pharaoh " seems to have 
 been more emboldened to sin, by those miracles of 
 mercy which removed the plagues, than by those of 
 judgment which inflicted them." Nicholls. 
 
 The Canaanites in the time of Joshua were a strik 
 mg example of those who have nad many warnings, 
 and yet refuse all thought of submission. They had 
 heard of the flood ; of the destruction of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, and the cities of the plain ; the plagues of 
 Egypt ; the destruction of Pharaoh ; the destruction 
 of their neighbours the Amorites ; the miraculous 
 passage of the Jordan ; the miraculous overthrow of 
 Jericho ; the faith and preservation of Kahab and her 
 family ; and yet they hardened their hearts against 
 fear, and were justly destroyed, Joshua x. 40. 
 
 Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, though so solemnly
 
 150 SCRIPTURE 1TSKLF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 warned by what happened to liim and to the prophet 
 of Judah, was in no degree softened, 1 Kings xiil 4, 
 24, 33. 
 
 Ahaziah's hardened impenitence, even upon his 
 death-bed, 2 Kings i. 4. 
 
 Amon, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 2123. 
 
 Zedekiah, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 12, 13 ; and Jehoiakim 
 (Jer. xxxvi. 23), sons of pious Josiah. 
 
 Israel in the time of Jeremiah, Jer. v. 3, viii. 12, 
 xliv. 16, 17; of Ezekiel, iii. 7(marg.); of Hoshea, 
 2 Kings xvii. 14 ; in our Lord's time, and afterwards, 
 even until now, Rom. xi. 7 10; 2 Cor. iii. 14, 15. 
 
 Herod hardened his heart by putting his reprover 
 into prison, and allowing a just man to be wantonly 
 put to death, Mark vl 17, 27. 
 
 THE GOSPEL of ST. JOHN especially brings out the 
 unbelief and hardness of the Jews, after some of our 
 Lord's mighty works, see chap. v. 16, vi. 30, vii. 23, 
 ix. 1641, xi. 46 57, xil 10, 11. 
 
 HEAD OF THE CHURCH CHRIST. See King 
 Lord Union to Christ. 
 
 There is a threefold sense in which the figure is 
 applied 
 
 A natural head the head of the body ; suggesting 
 the figure of life, control, and sympathy, Col. i. 18. 
 
 A conjugal head as the husband is the head of 
 the wife; shadowing forth Christ's love and authority 
 over the Church, Eph. v. 23. 
 
 A political head as a king is the head of govern- 
 ment to his subjects, Isa. vii. 8 ; illustrating Christ's 
 rule and dominion in His kingdom. 
 
 The Lord Jesus is Head over the Church, Eph. i. 
 22 (divinely appointed); over every man, 1 Cor. xi 
 3 ; over all things, Eph. i. 22 ; over the heathen or 
 Gentiles, Ps. xviii. 43 ; over creation, Ps. viii. 6 8 :
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 151 
 
 Heb. ii. 6 8 ; over all principality and power, CoL 
 ii. .10. 
 
 He is the Head, as 
 
 Leader or prince, Acts iii. 15. 
 
 Captain of Salvation, Heb. ii. 10; foreshadowed, 
 Joshua v. 1 3 ; vi. 2. 
 
 Master, alone and supreme, Matt, xxiii. 10; John 
 xiii. 13. 
 
 The ShepJierd of the sheep, Zech. xiiL 17. See 
 Shepherd. 
 
 Forerunner, Heb. vi. 20. 
 
 First-born, Ps. Ixxxix. 27 ; first-begotten before 
 every creature (" begotten of the Father before all 
 worlds"), Col. i. 15; "the first-born" or chief 
 " among many brethren," Kom. viii. 29 ; " the first- 
 born from the dead," the earnest and pledge of resur- 
 rection life, Col. i. 18. 
 
 God is gathering together in one all things in Him, 
 as under one head," Eph. i. 10 ; all things in heaven 
 and earth ; angels and men, Jew and Gentile, the 
 living and the dead ; creation, animate and inani- 
 mate ; all God will gather together all in Him. 
 
 Christ's head is compared in Cant. v. 11 to the 
 "most fine gold" (Heb., gold of gold; gold wrought 
 to the highest purity), which may denote the Divine 
 supremacy of the heavenly Bridegroom (cf. the "head 
 of gold" in Nebuchadnezzar's image, representing 
 him as supreme king) ; or it may represent Christ as 
 crowned Head and Kincr of the Church. 
 
 HEARING.*** See Docility Swiptures. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS under the Law. 
 
 Aaron and his sons. At their consecration, the 
 blood of the ram was to be put partly upon the tip 
 of the right ear, Exod. xxix. 20 ; not only as one of 
 the three extremities of the body, but prob.aMy also
 
 152 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 with a symbolical meaning, that thuy should be ever 
 ready to hear the Divine commands. 
 
 The leper. At the cleansing of the leper in like 
 manner some of the blood of the trespass-offering, 
 and some of the holy oil, was to be put upon the tip 
 of the right ear, Lev. xiv. 14, 17. 
 
 The faithful servant, whose ear was to be bored 
 through at his master's door, was a beautiful token of 
 willingness, cheerfully to hear and obey a master's 
 wishes, Exod. xxi. 6. 
 
 HOW MANY KINDS OF EARS AND HEARING are 
 spoken of in Scripture ! Dull, heavy, itching, uncir- 
 cumcised, opened, obedient ears. See Cone. ; and also 
 cf. Ezekiel's hearers, Ezek. xxxiii. 30 33; Athenian 
 hearers, Acts xvii. 21 ; the parable of the sower, 
 Mark iv. 1420. 
 
 How MANY PRECKPTS urge the duty of attentive 
 hearing ! See Cone, under give ear hearken dili- 
 gently incline the ear (the figure of one stooping 
 down to catch the faintest whisper) "swift to hear." 
 " Hear this word " (the beginning of three consecu- 
 tive chapters of Amos, iii., iv., v.) ; " Hear, all ye 
 people ;" " Hear, I pray you, ... ye princes ;" " Hear 
 ye now what the Lord saith," the three sections 
 of the prophecy of Micah (i. 2 ; iii. 1,9; vL 1, 2) ; 
 " He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." No pre- 
 cept, perhaps, was so frequently repeated by Christ 
 as this, Matt. xi. 15; xiii. 9, 43; Mark iv. 9, 23; 
 vii. 1 6 ; Luke xiv. 35. Even from the throne above, 
 He addressed the same charge to each of the seven 
 churches, " He that hath an ear, let him hear what 
 the Spirit saith unto the churches," Rev. ii. 7, 11, 17, 
 29 ; iii. 6, 13, 22 ; cf. also Christ's miracles of healing 
 the deaf, Matt. xi. 1 1 ; Mark vii. 37 ; he. 25, with 
 their symbolical and spiritual meaning.
 
 SCEIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 153 
 
 HEAVEN.*** 
 
 FIGURES OF 
 
 A paradise restored, 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4 ; Eev. ii 7 ; 
 where there will be more than Eden's beauty and 
 Eden's peace, and no serpent creeping in to steal 
 away sweet happiness. 
 
 A city, Heb. xi. 16; xiii 14; a "city of God," 
 without griefs or graves, or sins or sorrows ; whose 
 inhabitants no census has ever numbered ; whose 
 walls are salvation, and whose gates are praise. 
 
 A country a "better country that is, an hea- 
 venly" (literally, a Fatherland), Heb. xi. 16; the 
 meeting-place of those who were redeemed from 
 among men unto G-od, and who worship Him with 
 holy angels in sinless happiness. 
 
 A temple, Rev. iii. 12; vii. 15; bright with the 
 Divine glory, filled with the Divine presence. 
 
 A garner, Matt. iii. 12. 
 
 A kingdom " the kingdom of Christ and of God," 
 Eph. v. 5 ; " the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 11. 
 
 An inheritance " incorruptible, undefiled, and that 
 fadeth not away," 1 Pet. i. 4 ; " the inheritance of the 
 saints in light," Col. i. 12. 
 
 " The rest that remaineth for the people of God," 
 Heb. iv. 9 (" the keeping of a Sabbath," marg.) ; the 
 rest from care and sin and sorrow, from labour and 
 trouble, weakness and want. See Rest. 
 
 God's dwelling-place, 1 Kings viii. 30 ; Matt. vi. 9. 
 
 Gods throne, Isa. Ixvi. 1 ; 1 Kings viii. 27 ; Acts 
 xvii. 24. 
 
 The "Father's house" of "many mansions," pre- 
 pared for the Redeemed by Christ, John xiv. 2. 
 
 HELP DIVINE.** See Strength Trust Upholding. 
 Some forcible illustrations may be gained of the
 
 154 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 meaning of the word help, from the marginal readings 
 of several texts. The word help is rendered "save," 
 Ps. xii. 1, marg. (as in Ps. cxviii. 25, "save now," is, 
 in the Prayer-book version, " help me now.") It is 
 rendered " strengthened" 2 Chrou. xxix. 34. marg. ; 
 " meet" t.., with succour, Ps. lix. 4, marg. 
 
 The Greek verb ordinarily translated help is, in 
 derivation, like our English word succour (from sub- 
 curro) ; so Parkhurst derives poWtw from i*l poty Ofa, 
 " to run on occasion of a cry " namely, " to give 
 assistance." How beautifully this illustrates such 
 precious texts as Heb. ii. 18; iv. 16; xiii. G. The 
 noun p<nj6tla, used in Acts xxvii. 17, suggests another 
 figure " they used helps, undergirding the ship." 
 
 Matt. xv. 25 (Peter's cry to Jesus); Mark ix. 22, 
 24 (the father of the poor child's) ; Acts xvi. 9 (the 
 man of Macedonia's) are illustrations where the verb 
 is used of cries for help. 
 
 Rom. viii. 26. "The Spirit helpeth our infirmi- 
 ties." Another Greek word conveying another striking 
 figure ffwami\a.npdvtra.i, " tiikctli hold together ;" a 
 figure taken from two persons, each helping to lift or 
 carry a heavy load. It is the word used Luke x. 40, 
 (" Bid her therefore " that she lend a helping hand.) 
 
 SCRIPTURAL NAMES. 
 
 Azariah and Azriel mean the help of God ; Azariah, 
 helped of Jehovah (six persons are so called) ; Ezcr 
 and Ezra, help, or a helper ; Eliezer (afterwards con- 
 tracted into Lazarus), means the help of my God 
 (eleven persons are so named). How appropriate the 
 name was, when Moses gave it to his son, Exod. xviii. 
 4 ; see marg. ; either in thankfulness for past mercies, 
 or in expectation of future help ; and in the case of 
 the poor beggar, Luke xvi. 20, who, in his deep 
 poverty, found help and hope in God. 
 
 Kbenezer "the stone of help" 1 Sam, vii. 12
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 155 
 
 (marg.) ; the pious memorial, set up in remembrance 
 of God's past mercies. 
 
 "The help of God's countenance, Ps. xlii. 5. An 
 expression implying omniscient care, unfailing sym- 
 pathy, and fatherly readiness to help. David's be- 
 lieving expectation of this, kept him from sinking ; 
 nay, it kept him from drooping! His harp was a 
 palliative to Saul's melancholy, but his hope was an 
 effectual cure for his own. 
 
 The help of God's hand, see Job viii. 20. "He 
 will not take the ungodly by the hand," is the mar- 
 ginal reading, when the text is " neither will he help 
 the evil doers;" see Ps. cxix. 173. 
 
 The help of God's shield, Deut. xxxiii. 29 ; Ps. cxv. 
 911 (three times). 
 
 THE BOOK OF PSALMS contains about fifty refer- 
 ences to help. Two thoughts seem to be clearly 
 brought out by them, 
 
 Vain is the help of man, see Ps. Ix. 11, &c. 
 
 Sufficient is the help of God, Ps. xlvi. 1 ; xxii. 19 
 (of. v. 11), xxxviii. 22 ; xl. 13, 17 ; Ixx. 1 ; Ixxi. 12 ; 
 xciv. 17, &c. 
 
 The earnest cry for speedy help should be noted. 
 " Make haste to help me ; " " Make no tarrying ; " 
 see Ps. xlvi. 5, " God shall help her, and that right 
 early," margin, " when the morning appeareth," as 
 Ps. xxx. 5 ; Exod. xiv. 24, 27 ; 2 Chron. xx. 20. 
 
 1 Chron. xv. 26." God helped the Levites." It 
 might scarcely seem as if they required Divine help 
 in this case ; but perhaps they were afraid after the 
 breach upon Uzzah. In any case, it is well to acknow- 
 ledge our dependence upon God's help in everything, 
 especially in our religious duties, Ps. xciv. 17. 
 
 2 Chron. xxxii. 7, 8. Hezekiah's noble confidence. 
 Acts xxvi. 22. St. Paul's testimony, after well 
 
 nigh thirty years of Christian warfare. 
 
 Dan. xi. 34. " Holpen with a little help" "a 
 little" but what a comfort at such a time !
 
 156 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. The " mighty One " chosen to 
 be our Helper, Ps. Ixxxix. 19; "able to succour," 
 Heb. ii. 18 ; to help them that have " no helper," Ps. 
 Ixxii. 12 ; just as He so graciously helped the impo- 
 tent man at the pool, John v. 7, 8 the blessed 
 Mediator, through whom we may " come boldly to 
 the throne of grace " for " help," Heb. iv. 16 ; the Son 
 " made perfect through sufferings," who Himself has 
 felt the succour of the Father's help, Isa. 1. 7 9. 
 QUKSTIONS. 
 
 Job vi 13. " Is not my help in me? " 
 Isa. JL 3.- "To whom will ye flee for help? " 
 Ps. xxii. 1. " Why art thou so far from helping 
 me?" 
 
 HIDDEN GOD'S PEOPLE* See Refuge. 
 
 "THY HIDDEN ONES," Ps. Ixxxiii. 3 ; " hidden," in 
 respect to their safety ; " hidden," in regard to their 
 sccresy ; " the world knoweth them, not," 1 John iii 
 1 ; " as unknown, and yet well known," 2 Cor. vi. 9. 
 
 Valuable things are often hidden ; as in nature, "full many 
 a gem of purest ray serene," &c. ; like beautiful flowers behind 
 the hedge ; like beautiful shells beneath the sea ; like beautiful 
 diamonds beneath the earth. Men hide their valued treasures 
 under lock and key, or in some safe hold. Eastern nations bury 
 their treasures in the ground (Matt. xiii. 44). The figure brings 
 out many truths about the " hidden ones " of Christ's kingdom. 
 
 Col. iii. 3, 4. " Your life is hid with Christ in 
 God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, 
 then," &c. 
 
 The Christian is now, in one sense, like the manslayer in the 
 city of refuge, hidden in safe keeping for a time; but the day 
 is coming of " the manifestation of the sons of God," when Christ 
 will bring forth His own, and then shall the redeemed ap)>ar 
 with the Redeemer, and be partakers of His glory. 
 
 Cant. iv. 12. "A garden enclosed" margin, 
 "barred."
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 157 
 
 A description of the Church in its separation from the world ; 
 like a sweet garden, set apart from the world's wide waste, where 
 the Divine proprietor cultivates the beautiful "plant" of His 
 pleasure, Isa. v. 7 (marg.) ; and looks to see it bloom and 
 flourish in spiritual beauty. 
 
 GOD often hides His people in times of danger and 
 peril from the stormy blast, or in time of their weak- 
 ness and fear. How many figures are there of this : 
 "The secret of His tabernacle" (in the innermost 
 shrine), Ps. xxvii. 5 ; so he hid Moses, Num. xiv. 10 ; 
 " His pavilion," or royal tent (the inner court, to 
 which only the special favoured ones have access, 
 Esther iv. 11; Ps. xxvii. 5 ; xxxi. 20) ; under the 
 shadow of the outstretched wings, Ps. Ivii. 1 ; xci. 4. 
 
 And how many examples too ! Noah and his family 
 hidden in the ark, Gen. vii. 8 ; Moses hidden by his 
 parents, Heb. xi. 23 ; Eahab and her household, Heb. 
 xi. 31; Elijah near brook Cherith, 1 Kings xvii. 3 ; 
 the hundred prophets hidden by Obadiah, 1 Kings 
 xviii. 4 ; and also the seven thousand " hidden ones," 
 1 Kings xix. 1 1 ; Rom. xi. 4 ; Joash concealed six 
 years in the house of the Lord, 2 Chron. xxii. 11, 12 ; 
 Jeremiah and Baruch, Jer. xxxvi. 26 ; Christians at 
 Petra, &c. 
 
 Zeph. ii. 3. " Hid in the day of the Lord's anger," 
 Isa. xxvi. 20, 21. 
 
 HOLINESS DIVINE. 
 
 GOD is LIGHT, 1 John i. 5 essential purity un- 
 sullied holiness. 
 
 " HOLY, HOLY, HOLY." The only attribute thrice 
 repeated. The Psalmist heard of God's power 
 " twice," Ps. Ixii. 1 1 ; but the ascription of holiness 
 is thrice repeated ; in the temple on earth, Isa. vi. 3, 
 and before the throne above, Eev iv. 8. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS." The Holy One," Ps. xvi. 10 ;
 
 158 SCUIJ TURK ITSELF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Acts iii. 14 ; Luke i. 35 ; untainted by sin, Ht^b. iv. 
 15; vii. 26; 1 Pet. ii. 22; "the image of God, 2 
 Cor. iv. 4 ; Heb. i. 3 ; typified by the ancient sacri- 
 fices " without blemish and without spot," by the 
 high priest, in his consecration, separation, dress, and 
 especially by the inscription on the crown of his 
 niitre, to be always worn " Holiness to the Lord," 
 Exod. xxviii. 3638. 
 
 The Holiness of the Lord Jesus. How many 
 striking proofs were given in His ministry upon 
 earth ! He touched defiling things, yet He Himself 
 caught no defilement. He was acknowledged inno- 
 cent by Pilate, and by Herod, and by the traitor- 
 apostle, Judas ! Even devils recognised Him as the 
 Holy One, Mark i. 24. 
 
 THE HOLY SPIRIT. Why is the title so especially 
 given, the Holy Ghost 1 the Holy Spirit ] Not be- 
 cause the third Person in the blessed Trinity is essen- 
 tially more holy than the other two. But is it not 
 because He is the great Communicator to the 
 Church ? Holiness (not strength, or wisdom, or any 
 particular grace) is the one especial thing, it is His 
 office to communicate, as the parent root of all 
 
 HOLINESS.* See Cfamsing Mortification Per- 
 fection Purity Walking Holy. 
 
 Many EXPRESSIONS of Scripture forcibly describe 
 the nature and effects of holiness in the believer 
 
 "Conformed to the image of Christ" Rom. viii. 29. 
 Close likeness to Christ is the very essence of all true 
 holiness in the Christian, Eph. iv. 24 ; Col. iii. 10. 
 
 Following or imitating God, as dear children, Eph. 
 v. 1. The highest dignity of the saints is to love 
 what God loves, and hate what God hates. See Ps. 
 xlv. 7, fulfilled in Christ the Holy One, Heb. i. 9. 
 Cf. Ps. cxix. 104, 113, 128, 163; Prov. viiL 13.
 
 SCRIPT UiiE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 159 
 
 " Partakers of the Divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4. 
 
 Walking in newness of life, Rom. vi. 6 ; doing all 
 things from new principles. 
 
 Walking in the light, 1 John i. 7 ; Eph. v. 8. 
 
 Alive unto God, Rom. vi. 11. 
 
 Renewal in the spirit of the mind, Eph. iv. 24; 
 Col. iii. 10. 
 
 Being transformed, Rom. xii. 2 ; transfigured, 2 Cor. 
 iii. 18, the very word applied to Christ's transfigura- 
 tion, Matt. xvii. 2 (Greek). 
 
 Undefiled, Ps. cxix. 1 ; Cant. v. 2 ; vi. 9 ; Rev. 
 iii. 4. 
 
 Unspotted from the world, James i. 27 ; Cant. iv. 7 ; 
 Eph. v. 27; 1 Tim. vi. 14. 
 
 See in Cone, the strong description of holiness as 
 separation from evil, under Departing from evil 
 Hating Abhorring Forsaking sin Freed from sin, 
 &c. 
 
 HOLINESS is constantly set forth under its double 
 aspect putting off the old man, and putting on the 
 new hating evil and loving good. See Lev. xviii. 
 3 5 ; Job i. 1 ; Ps. xxxiv. 14 ; xxxvji. 27 , xcvii. 
 10; cxix. 113, 163; Amos v. 15; Rom. vi. 11; xii. 
 19; Eph. iv. 2232; 1 Pet. iii. 11. 
 
 ST. PAUL'S THREE RULES for a holy life, 1 Cor. x. 
 31; Col. iii. 17, 23. 
 
 THE HOLINESS of God's saints is strikingly set forth 
 in the TITLES given to them. They are called saints, 
 or sanctified ones, meaning holy set apart to God ; 
 they are described as a " holy people " " called "- 
 "chosen" "created unto good works." See Eph. ii. 
 10 ; iv. 24 ; they are the " Temple of God," the shrine 
 where the Holy Spirit condescends to dwell. 
 
 The phrase " a man of God," is the beautiful de- 
 scription given of a teacher or a holy person. It is 
 applied to Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Shemaiah, David,
 
 160 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 in the Old Testament prophets ; Timothy, and others. 
 It implies entire consecration to God's service, and 
 marked holiness of character. See such texts as 1 
 Tim. vi 11 ; 2 Tim. iii. 17. 
 
 THE HOLINESS of God's worship is stamped on the 
 very name sanctuary, i. ., a holy place. It was 
 marked most prominently in every part of the taber- 
 nacle worship ; in the " holy sanctuary," the un- 
 blemished sacrifices offered upon the " holy altar," by 
 holy persons, in holy garments, with holy vessels, 
 and in the observance of the holy Sabbath, and the 
 presenting of holy gifts. Everything about the ser- 
 vice of the Lord was to be holy "holy water," 
 " holy ointment," &c. ; see in Concordance. When 
 the altar of burnt-offering at the entrance of the 
 tabernacle is declared to be most holy, the marginal 
 reading is still more emphatic " It shall be an altar 
 holiness of holinesses" Exod. xl. 10. 
 
 The BEAUTY OF HOLINESS, Ps. xxix. 2; xcvl 6, 9; 
 xxvii. 4. 
 
 The institution of NAZARITESHIP, Num. vi, was a 
 special type of holiness, as the leprosy was a type of 
 sin. See Mortification. 
 
 The BOOK OF LEVITICUS. Four charges are given 
 in this early book (xi. 44 ; xix. 2 ; xx. 7, 26), which 
 are quoted in 1 Pet. i. 15, 16, to point out the measure, 
 motive, and model of the believer's holiness. 
 
 Gal. vi 14. "Tho cross once seen is death to 
 every vice." 
 
 Eph. i 4. " He hath chosen us in Him .... that 
 we should be holy." 
 
 The broad seal of sanctification must witness to the privy Heal 
 of our election. 
 
 2 Tim. ii 19. 
 
 The faith that unites to Christ, and makes us His, separate* 
 from all iniquity.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 161 
 
 Heb. xii. 14. "Follow .... holiness." 
 
 Follow, as with a hound-like scent and eagerness. Cf. Isa. 
 xi. 3, marg. 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 11. " What manner of persons ought ye 
 to be in all holy conversation and godliness]" 
 
 Literally, in holy godlinesses. Our translators have supplied 
 the word "all," to express the full emphasis and intensity of St. 
 Peter's words. 
 
 Num. xiv. 24; xxxii. 12. "Caleb followed the 
 Lord fully." 
 
 Luke i. 6. Zacharias and Elizabeth " both righte- 
 ous before God, walking in all the commandments 
 and ordinances of the Lord blameless." 
 
 Mark vi. 20. John Baptist. Even Herod knew 
 that he was " a just man and a holy." 
 
 HOLY GHOST.*** 
 
 EMBLEMS OF. 
 
 Wind or breath, Cant. iv. 16; Ezek. xxxvii. 9 ; John 
 iii. 8 ; xx. 22 ; Acts ii. 2 ; mysterious sovereign 
 mighty. 
 
 Water, Isa. xliv. 3 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 25 ; John vii. 38, 
 39 ; pure cleansing refreshing fertilizing free. 
 
 Fire, Matt. iii. 1 1 ; penetrating illuminating 
 warming consuming. 
 
 Oil, Isa. Ixi. 1 ; Heb. i. 9 ; healing comforting 
 consecrating. 
 
 Seal, Eph. i. 13; iv. 30; authenticating marking 
 securing. 
 
 An earnest, Eph. i. 1 4 ; the pledge of future and 
 full possession. 
 
 A dove, Matt. iii. 16 ; gentle peaceful pure. 
 
 A guide, John xvi. 13; tender faithful unfailing. 
 
 UNDER THE LAW the Holy Spirit's work was set 
 forth chiefly by the emblems of water (pure, running
 
 162 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 water) and oil, which were used for purification, con- 
 secration, and anointing. 
 
 THE TITLES OF THE HOLY GHOST. See Text- 
 Books. 
 
 " It is carious to remark, that wherever the Holy Ghost is 
 spoken of in the Bible, He is spoken of in terms of gentleness 
 and love. We often read of ' the wrath of God ' the Father, a* 
 Rom. L 18 ; and we read of the wrath of God the Son, as Pa. 
 ii. 12 ; but we nowhere read of the wrath of God the Holy 
 abort." M'Cheyne. 
 
 He is called 
 
 The "good Spirit," Neh. ix. 20 ; Pa cxliii. 10. Cf. 
 the parallel texts, Matt. vii. 11, and Luke xi 13. 
 
 The "free Spirit," Ps. li. 12, literally liberal, gene- 
 rous, princely. 
 
 The Comforter, or Paraclete, John xiv. 16, 26 ; xv. 
 26 ; a word of wide signification ; ascribed alike to 
 God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost ; including 
 the ideas of teaching, exhorting, pleading, strength- 
 ening, comforting. 
 
 " We should not forget in measuring the fitness of Comforter, 
 ' as the meaning of the word Paraclete,' that the fundamental 
 idea of Comforter, according to its etymology and its early uses, 
 is that of strengthener, and not consoler ; even as the rapa- 
 K\TJTOS was one who, being summoned to the side of the accused 
 or imperilled (hence the word advocate), stands by to aid and 
 encourage. " Trench. 
 
 THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT is frequently described 
 by words expressive of abundance and continuance. 
 Thus the Holy Ghost is spoken of as 
 
 Coming, as a mighty and powerful impulse, as in 
 the case of Othniel, Jephthah, Samson, &c., personally, 
 and upon the Church collectively. 
 
 Poured out, Ps. i 23 ; Isa. xliv. 3 ; Joel it 28, 29 ; 
 Zech. xii. 10; Acts ii. 17, 18. 
 
 Shed abundantly, Titus iiL 6. 
 
 Clothing, Judges vi. 34 ; 1 Chron. xii. 18, margins;
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 163 
 
 so Luke xxiv. 49, " endued," or invested with the 
 Spirit. 
 
 Dwelling, Ps. Ixviii. 18 ; John xiv. 17; Rom. vi. 9 ; 
 1 Cor. iii. 16 ; and also vi. 19. 
 
 Abiding, John xiv. 16. 
 
 Supplying the wants of the Church, Phil. i. 19. 
 
 The Greek word here (Phil. L 19), is taken from the office of 
 the Choregus, whose place it was to supply the chorus, at his 
 own expense, with ornaments and all other necessaries. (See 
 Scapula, Xenophon, &c.) So the Holy Spirit supplies the wants 
 of the Church. 
 
 ST. LUKE'S GOSPEL contains the most frequent 
 references to the Holy Ghost of all the gospels. In 
 the first four chapters, we read of Zacharias and 
 Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Mary, Simeon, and our 
 Lord Himself, being filled with, or moved by, the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 A STRIKING CONTRAST. Thomas, though one o\ 
 our Lord's chosen apostles, who had been with Him 
 during His ministry, and heard Him so often foretell 
 His own resurrection, yet refused to believe the re- 
 surrection, until compelled by sight to say " My 
 Lord," John xx. 18. Elizabeth less favoured 
 when Mary came to see her before He was born, at 
 once acknowledged her as "the mother of my Lord," 
 Luke i. 43. " Elizabeth," we read, " was filled with 
 the Holy Ghost/' ver. 44. 
 
 FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. FULL OF THE HOLY 
 GHOST. 
 
 How often these pregnant expressions occur ; de- 
 noting the energising, ennobling power of the Spirit 
 in the heart of God's saints. They are generally 
 marked by some special result following. Take, e. g., 
 the following cases : 
 
 Bezakel Exod. xxxi. 3; xxxv. 30, 31 "filled
 
 164 SCRIPTURE ITSKLF TIIK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 with the spirit of God ; " to prepare the materials for 
 the tabernacle. 
 
 Zacharias and Elizabeth Luke i. 41, 67 inspired 
 with the spirit of prophecy. 
 
 John Baptist, Luke i. 15, 16. (See the beautiful 
 connection.) 
 
 The disciples at Pentecost, and afterwards Acts 
 ii. 4 ; xiii. 52 endued with the ordinary and extra- 
 ordinary gifts of the Spirit. 
 
 The seven deacons Acts vi. qualified for their 
 important offices ; filled with wisdom, ver. 3 ; faith, 
 ver. 5 ; and power, ver. 8. 
 
 Peter Acts iv. 8; xiii. 19, 20 emboldened to 
 confess Jesus Christ without fear. 
 
 Stephen Acts vi. 5 witnessing a good confession ; 
 rejoicing in the midst of danger, vi. 15 ; calm in the 
 hour of death, vii. 55. 
 
 St. Paul Acts ix. 17; xiii. 9 even from the 
 commencement of his ministerial course, was filled 
 with the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Barnabas, Acts xi. 24. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. The Holy Ghost took part in 
 the several steps of our blessed Lord's life and work. 
 In His conception, Matt. i. 20 ; His baptism, Matt 
 iii. 16; in the temptation, Luke iv. 1, 14; in His 
 preaching, Luke iv. 14, 16 ; His miracles, Matt. xii. 
 28 ; His resurrection, 1 Peter iii. 11. 
 
 Thus, by the Holy Ghost, the Lord was anointed, 
 Isa. Ixi. 1 ; Acts x. 38 ; filled, Luke iv. 1 ; led, Matt, 
 iv. 1 ; empowered, Luke iv. 14 ; and that without 
 measure, John iii. 34. 
 
 For the blessed results of the Spirit's work, see under convic- 
 tion quickening regeneration prayer zeal, &c. 
 
 THE DIFFERENT CRACKS spoken of in connection 
 with His work, should not be overlooked 
 
 Separately, faith, Acts vi. 5 ; xi. 24 ; hope, Rom.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 165 
 
 xv. 13 ; love, Eom. v. 5 ; xv. 30 ; joy, Acts xiii. 52 ; 
 comfort, Acts ix. 32 ; wisdom, Acts vi. 3 ; 1 Cor. xii. 
 8 ; patience, Gal. v. 5 ; goodness, righteousness, and 
 truth, Eph. v. 9 ; Acts xi. 23. 
 
 Collectively, in one harmonious chain of many links, 
 Gal. v. 22, 23. 
 
 HONOURING THE LORD. See Liberality- 
 Praise Submission Trust Zeal, &c. 
 
 1 Sam. ii. 30. The great principle, "Them that 
 honour me I will honour." See Ps. xviii. 20 26 ; 
 xci. 14 ; Prov. iii. 5, 6 ; John xii. 26, &c. 
 
 It was a singular coincidence, that when the Rev. C. Simeon's 
 funeral sermons were preached, two of the preachers, without 
 any previous consultation, fixed upon this text " What a testi- 
 mony to a holy life ! " 
 
 At the end of the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, the Emperor 
 of Prussia had a medal struck off of two different kinds, for 
 combatants and non-combatants, both bearing the device" God 
 was with us, to Him be the honour. " 
 
 THE FIRST and the BEST to be given to God. See 
 Dedication. 
 
 PUTTING FIRST THINGS FIRST. The foundation of 
 all moral and religious order is this, Matt. vi. 33 ; as 
 in the Ten Commandments, and in the Lord's Prayer, 
 God's honour is put as the first thing to be thought 
 of. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Noah. After leaving the ark, Noah first built an 
 altar to the Lord, before he sought a home and settle- 
 ment for himself: and how graciously his offering 
 was accepted, Gen. viii. 20 22 ; ix. 1 17. 
 
 Abraham. Wherever he pitched his tent, there he 
 built an altar, Gen. xii. 7, 8; xiii. 4, 18. 
 
 Jacob. One feature in Jacob's character was his 
 readiness to acknowledge God's hand and goodness.
 
 166 SCUIPTUUK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 See Gen. xxxi. 5, 7, 9, 42 ; xxxiii. 5, 11. In this he 
 was a striking contrast to Esau. See also Jacob's 
 vow and worship, Gen. xxviii. 16 22; xxxi 54; 
 xxxiii. 20 ; xxxv. 7 ; xlvi 1. 
 
 Moses. His noble regard to God's honour. See 
 Zeal, Exod. xxxii. 1114; Num. xiv. 1319; Deut 
 ix. 26 29. His constant reference in the Book of 
 Deuteronomy to " the Lord thy God." See Lord. 
 
 Joshua, xxiv. ' 5. 
 
 Hannah dedicating her first-born child the child 
 of prayer unto the Lord, 1 Sam. i. 11, 20 28 ; and 
 see her full reward, ii. 21 ; for one child given to 
 God, behold five added ! 
 
 David. His heroic faith when going against 
 Goliath in the name of the Lord, 1 Sam. xvii 32 37, 
 45, 47 ; his twice refusing to smite Saul, because he- 
 was " the Lord's anointed ; " his resignation in deep 
 trouble see Submission ; his care for the ark, 2 Sam. 
 vi, I, 2, 12 ; his desire to build the temple, and pre- 
 paration for it, 1 Chron. xvii. 1 15 ; xxix 1 5, 20: 
 his pouring out the water of Bethlehem unto the 
 Lord, 2 Sam. xxiii. 15 17. 
 
 Obed-edom, 2 Sam. vi 11. Blessed in his family 
 and descendants, 1 Chron. xvi 38 ; xxvi. 4 8. 
 
 Ebed-melech, Jer. xxxviii 7 13; xxxix. 15 18. 
 
 The Jews, on their return from Babylon, first set- 
 ting up the altar, and preparing to rebuild the temple 
 before rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Ezra iii 
 
 Ezra. His noble spirit, viii 21 23. 
 
 The Apostles, Acts iv. 19, 20 ; v. 29. 
 
 HOPE.*** See Faith Trust Watting. 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 An anchor, " entering into that within the vail," 
 Heb. vi 19.
 
 SCEIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 167 
 
 A harbour, or "place of repair," Joel iii. 16. marg. 
 
 A helmet, 1 Thess. v. 8. 
 
 A door, Hosea ii. 14, 15, like "the valley of 
 Achor" (the scene of Israel's trouble, Joshua vii. 26, 
 marg., and one of the first earnests of their future 
 acquisitions in Canaan), for a " door of hope." Deep 
 humblings of heart are often " the door of hope " to 
 joy and victory. 
 
 The hope of a tree cut down, Job xiv. 7. 
 
 The hope in the ploughman's expectation, 1 Cor. ix. 
 10 ; James v. 7. 
 
 The hope in a parent's chastening of a wayward 
 child, Prov. xix. 18. 
 
 Kom. viii. 19. "The earnest expectation of the 
 creature waiteth." 
 
 airoKapadoKia, properly, looking out with outstretched neck, 
 as if in intense and eager expectation of some much longed-for 
 object. 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 13. Rendered by Macbride, Faith 
 Expectation Love. 
 
 The encouragement of hope, Ezra x. 2. 
 
 The patience of hope, 1 Thess. i. 3 ; Kom. viii 24 ; 
 xv. 4 ; v. 4 ; Lam. iii. 26. 
 
 The joy of hope, Ps. xii. 12 ; Prov. x. 28 ; Rom. v. 
 2 ; Heb. iii. 6. 
 
 The strength of hope, Ps. xxxi. 24 ; Joel iii. 15 
 (hope and strength.) 
 
 The persistency of hope, Ps. Ixxi. 14; Rom. iv 
 1820. 
 
 The service of hope, Acts xxvi. 6, 7. 
 
 The reward of hope, Prov. x. 28; xiii. 12. 
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. It is worthy of note, 
 that in the Psalms of David, written in his deepest 
 trouble, from the persecution of Saul, the rebellion of 
 Absalom, &c., we always find some ray of hope.
 
 168 SCK1PTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Prov. xiii 12. "Hope deferred," &c. 
 
 Hope, like banger, IB at first a sensation pleasurable and 
 healthy ; but, like hunger, if too long protracted, it turns to 
 pain. But hope satisfied, when the object longed for comes, 
 puts men into a sort of Paradise, a garden of pleasure, for it in 
 " a tree of life." 
 
 1 Pet. i. 13." Hope to the end." 
 
 How long shall hope last f The ancients used to say, " Dum 
 spiro, spero." The Christian may go further, "Dum expiro, 
 
 2 Cor. iv. 8. "Perplexed, but not in despair." 
 " Not altogether without help or means," margin. 
 Our English word despair means having no hope (de spero). 
 
 First Epistle of St. Peter. 
 
 Weiss has called St. Peter " the Apostle of hope," from the 
 constant spirit of looking forward which pervades every part of 
 this epistle. In five chapters there are at least ten alluaions to 
 the future. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. 
 
 Our example in prayer and obedience was no less 
 our example in hope. It was hope that helped to sus- 
 tain His troubled spirit when He looked beyond the 
 conflict and the cross. It was thus He spoke of His 
 approaching sufferings as they drew near. John xii. 
 23 " Now is the Son of man glorified." Luke ix. 
 51 ; Heb. xii. 2 " who for the joy set before Him." 
 Our Lord, in speaking of His death, very generally 
 also spoke of His resurrection, and He is still the 
 same, still " expecting " the day of His coronation, 
 Heb. x. 13. 
 
 HOSPITALITY.* See Kindness -Brotherly 
 
 Heb. xiiL 2. " Be not forgetful to entertain 
 strangers." 
 
 There is a striking similarity in the Greek between ver. 1
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTHATOR. 169 
 
 and 2. Literally, " Let the love of the brethren continue ; of the 
 love of strangers be not forgetful ;" the same word love is com- 
 mon to both. It is observed by Gouge " I find not this com- 
 position in any Greek author before the apostles' time ; as it is 
 probable they were the first authors thereof. St Paul uses it 
 four times, Rom. xii. 13 ; 1 Tim. iii. 2 ; Titus ii. 3 ; Heb. xii. 2. 
 It is also used 1 Pet. iv. 9. 
 
 Kom. xii. 13. "Given to hospitality." 
 Literally, pursuing it a strong word, intimating that we 
 should not only embrace the opportunity, but even seek it re- 
 gard it as a privilege and an honour. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 2 Titus i 8 ; Heb. xiii. 2. 
 
 We must remember that the Christians in St. Paul's times, 
 as the Hebrew Christians, e.g., and the bishops in the early 
 Church, were for the most part poor (see Heb. x. 38) ; yet the 
 duty is pressed upon such no less than on the rich. Hospi- 
 tality in the poor is often a test of godly character, 1 Kings 
 xvii. 12. 
 
 An abundant RECOMPENSE generally follows hospi- 
 tality. Of this we have many examples : 
 
 Abraham received the strangers who came to him, 
 and " thereby entertained angels unawares ;" nay 
 more, he received the Lord of angels, Gen. xviii. 
 Heb. xiii. 2. 
 
 Lot was delivered from Sodom by the angels he 
 received. 
 
 Laban's hospitality was rewarded by his finding a 
 faithful servant for himself, and a good husband for 
 his daughter, and the Lord s blessing on his house, 
 see Gen. xxx. 27. 
 
 Rahab received the spies, and afforded them pro- 
 tection. How abundantly she was repaid in the pre- 
 servation of herself and of her kindred, Joshua vi. 
 22, 2325. 
 
 The widow of Zarephcdh had indeed her faith and 
 compassion put to a severe test in a time of famine. 
 But she was more than repaid in the provision for
 
 170 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 herself and son, and the restoration of her dead son 
 to life, 1 Kings xvii. 8 24. 
 
 The Shunammite was rewarded in a similar manner 
 for her kindness to Elisha the man of God, 2 Kings 
 iv. 837. 
 
 Martha and Mary, in giving the Master a welcome 
 in their home at Bethany. How they were honoured 
 in His teaching, and in the stupendous miracle of 
 raising th?ir brother from the grave, Luke x. 38 42 ; 
 John XL 
 
 ZacchfEus received the Lord joyfully, and salvation 
 came to his house, Luke xix. 1 10. 
 
 Lydia Justus Gains, gave the apostles and the 
 brethren shelter in those days of peril and persecution. 
 " The household of Stephanas " is especially favoured 
 with honourable mention, 1 Cor. xvi. 15 ; Acts xvi 
 15, 40, xviii. 7 ; Rom. xvi. 23 ; 3 John 5, 6. 
 
 Publius and the people of Melita courteously enter- 
 tained St. Paul, and Publius's father was miraculously 
 healed of a dangerous illness, and after him many 
 others also, Acts x xviii. 1 10. 
 
 The LORD JESUS Himself honoured hospitality in 
 his first miracle at Cana ; and, though He had no 
 earthly home, He provided " a table in the wilder- 
 ness" for those who followed Him, and wrought two 
 striking miracles to feed the hungry. 
 
 HUMILITY.* See Docility Meekness. 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 Lilies of the valley such as grow in the " valley ot 
 humiliation." 
 
 Babes free from conceit, Matt, xi 25. 
 
 Little cliildren free from pride and ambition, Matt, 
 xviii. 1 6 ; Luke xviii. 17 ; twice used by our Lord 
 as the emblem of humility. 
 
 See in Cone, many expressions and commendations
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 171 
 
 of humility under humble humbleness of mind 
 poor lowly meek contrite low degree, &c. 
 
 Of. especially throughout the Book of PROVERBS 
 the repeated commendations of humility. See Cone. 
 
 Matt. v. 3. " Blessed are the poor in spirit." 
 
 The first beatitude begins with humility. " Poverty of spirit 
 is the fruit of the law, and the germ of the gospel" (Lange.) 
 
 James iv. 7. " Submit yourselves therefore to 
 God." 
 
 Properly, as the Greek means in its derivation, maintain 
 your due subordination, as soldiers keep their proper rank. 
 
 1 Pet. v. 5." Be clothed with humility." 
 
 " Gird (chap i. 13) fast on humility. The Greek is very dif- 
 ficult to translate ; it means to tie on with a fast knot. Some 
 suppose it bears the thought Gird on humility as the slave- 
 dress, as the Lord girded Himself with a towel to perform a 
 servile office of humble love, washing His disciples' feet a 
 scene in which Peter took an important part, so that he would 
 naturally have it before his mind. Cf. similarly ver. 2 of the 
 chapter with John xxi. 15 17." Rev. A. R. Faussett. 
 
 Matt, xxiii. 12; Lukexiv. ll,xviii. 14. "Whoso- 
 ever exalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that 
 humbleth himself shall be exalted." 
 
 A saying so important that our Lord urged it witb different 
 arguments on three different occasions. 
 
 Rom. xii. 310, 16. 
 
 Three lessons on humility the absence of self-conceit ; the 
 readiness to prefer others before ourselves ; the patient bearing 
 if mean meu and mean things. 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 4. " Charity vaunteth not itself : is 
 not puffed up." 
 
 1 Kings xx. 11. " Let not him thatgirdeth on his 
 harness boast himself as he that putteth it off." 
 The only wise sentence that Ahab is recorded to have said.
 
 172 8CK1PTURB ITSELF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Prov. xv. 33, xviii. 12. "Before honour is humi- 
 lity." 
 
 In Gains College, Cambridge, there are three gateways in 
 succession : " the first is called Humilitatia, the next Virtutis, 
 the third (which opens towards the Senate House) Honoris. Not 
 in vain did our forefathers make these emblems of an under- 
 graduate's progress ; and happy would it be if every youth 
 entered by the gate of humility, to pass through the gate of 
 Christian virtue, that he might come forth in the highest sense 
 to that of honour." Rev. R. P. Walter. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Joseph who, in the height of his prosperity, did 
 not forget his former low estate, and was not ashamed 
 to own his father and brethren's trade of shepherds, 
 Gen. xlvi. 31 36; see also his refusal to receive 
 Pharaoh's flattery, xli. 15, 16. 
 
 David. How beautifully the sweet Psalmist mani- 
 fested true humility both before and after the victory 
 over Goliath, 1 Sam. xvii. 8 10, 43, 44 ; and in his 
 modesty before Saul, 1 Sam. xviii. 18 ; in the absence 
 of anything like elation after his vast preparations for 
 the temple, 1 Chron. xxix. 14; see many of the 
 Psalms probably written by him, x. 12, 17 ; xxxiv. 2, 
 cxxxi., &c. 
 
 Solomon. " Before honour is humility." The man 
 so eminent for wisdom was no mean illustrator of his 
 own twice-repeated proverb, Prov. xv. 33 ; xviii. 1 2 ; 
 cf. the humility of his early choice, 1 Kings Hi. 5 15; 
 and the constant commendation of humility in the 
 Book of Proverbs. See Cone. 
 
 John tlie Baptist. How beautiful it is to compare 
 John's testimony of himself, and Christ's commenda- 
 tion of him ! The Baptist himself never forgot his 
 inferiority to Christ. " 1 am," he said, " the voice," 
 John i. 23 ; whilst Jesus was " the Word," John i. 1 ; 
 " the latchet of whose shoes," he said. " I am not 
 worthy to stoop down and unloose," Mark L 7 ; "He
 
 SCKIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 173 
 
 must increase, but I must decrease," John iii. 30. 
 Yet see what the Master said in exaltation of one so 
 humble, Matt. xi. 21 ; John v. 35. 
 
 Mary. Three times we read of her in the same 
 posture, sitting " at the feet of Jesus," Luke x. 39 ; 
 John xi. 32; xii. 3. 
 
 The Evangelists are remarkable for so frequently 
 omitting the points of history which might have 
 thrown honour upon themselves ; whilst they are 
 careful to mention things which might tend to their 
 own humiliation. 
 
 St. Matthew, e.g., records his own name as "the 
 publican" (x. 3), and makes no mention of having 
 himself m&de the great feast at his house (ix. 10), nor 
 of his having left all to follow Christ, Luke v. 2729, 
 a circumstance which he carefully records about 
 James and John, iv. 20 22. 
 
 St. Mark, writing, as is supposed, under the direc- 
 tion of St. Peter, makes no mention of the keys, nor 
 of his (Peter's) walking on the water, whilst he re- 
 cords most fully Peter's rebuke, viii. 33; and Peter's 
 fall, and Peter's repentance, xiv. 66 72. 
 
 St. John. " That other disciple," who modestly 
 conceals his own name. 
 
 St. Paul. Three texts compared attest the growth 
 of his humility, if taken in connection with the dates 
 of the Epistles 
 
 1 Cor. xv. 9, probably about 59 A.D. 
 
 Eph. iii. 8, probably about 64 A.D. 
 
 1 Tim. i. 15, probably about 65 A.D. 
 The first two about twenty-five years after his 
 conversion. See also the striking reluctance the 
 apostle had to speak in his own honour (2 Cor. xii. 
 1, 11), and of his wonderful exaltation. For fourteen 
 years he kept silence about being caught to the third 
 heaven, and then only spoke because of false teachers ; 
 at the same time recording the humiliation of the
 
 174 SCRIPTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 thorn sent to keep him from being " exalted above 
 measure." When he wrote 2 Cor. xii. 1 11, he had 
 been at Corinth eighteen months, and had probably 
 never even named his rapture into paradise. 
 
 How many saints are spoken of who shrunk back in 
 humility, not, perhaps, unmixed with fear at first, 
 when charged with some important mission 1 Moses, 
 Gideon, Jeremiah, <fcc. See Boldness. 
 
 The angels veiling themselves in the presence of 
 God (Isa. vi. 2), and cheerfully ministering even to 
 the "little ones" of God's family on earth, Matt 
 xviii. 10 ; Luke xvi. 22 ; Heb. 114. 
 
 The LORD JESUS was Himself the pattern and 
 model of meekness and humility, Matt. xi. 29. How 
 often He taught the lesson, Matt. xi. 29 ; xx. 26, 27 ; 
 Luke xiv. 10 ; xvii. 10, &c. ; and how often He gave 
 proofs of His own humility ! One of His last acts 
 before going to the garden, was that lesson of wash- 
 ing the disciples' feet, John xiil 1 17. And see 
 what St. Paul says " Wherefore God also hath 
 highly exalted Him," <fcc., Phil. ii. 511. 
 
 HYPOCRISY.* See Profession Treachery. 
 
 The word " hypocrisy " (from the Greek vroKfur^t) 
 properly refers to an actor, one who wears a mask, 
 and plays a part on the stage. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Leaven, Luke xii. 1 ; Lev. ii. 11. 
 
 WTiited sepulclires, Matt, xxiil 27 31 ; painted and 
 garnished, but full of the corruption and decay of 
 death. 
 
 A whiled wall, Acts xxiii. 3, alluding to the beauti- 
 ful outside of some walls, which are full of dust and 
 rubbish within. 
 
 Graves overgrown with grass, and concealed from
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR.- 175 
 
 the notice of those who walk over them, and are hurt 
 or defiled by the unexpected contact, Luke xi. 44. 
 
 Potsherds, covered with silver dross, Prov. xxvi. 
 23. ' 
 
 Tares, Matt. xiii. 38, remarkable for their re- 
 semblance to good wheat, especially in the early 
 stages. 
 
 Wolves in sheeps' clothing, Matt. vii. 15. (See 
 Banyan's description of the town of Fairspeech, in 
 ' Pilgrim's Progress.") 
 
 Wells without water, 2 Pet ii. 17 ; Jude 12. 
 
 A cloak to cover sin, 1 Thess. ii. 5 ; 1 Pet. ii. 16. 
 
 Deceitful kisses, Prov. xxvii. 6 (Absalom, 2 Sam. xv. 
 5 ; Joab, xx. 9, 10 ; Judas, Luke xxii. 47, 48). 
 
 The spider's web, Job viii. 13, 14, a figure of the 
 hypocrite's trust. 
 
 The rush without water, and flag without mire, Job 
 viii. 11 13, a figure of the hypocrite's hope. 
 
 PARALLEL EXPRESSIONS. 
 
 Lying, Hosea xi. 12 ; Isa. xxx. 9. 
 
 Dissembling, Ps. xxvi. 4 ; Jer. xlii. 20 ; see marg. ; 
 Gal. ii. 13, "the other Jews dissembled" (the Greek 
 is, "were together guilty of the hypocrisy "), Rom. 
 xii. 9. 
 
 Feignedly, Jer. iii. 10, as when David "feigned 
 himself mad," 1 Sam. xxi. 13 ; or the woman of 
 Tekoah, feigned herself a mourner, 2 Sam. xiv. 2 ; 
 so the Pharisees, Luke xx. 20; the false teachers, 
 2 Pet. ii. 3. 
 
 False lips, Prov. xvii. 4 ; Ps. cxx. 4 ; false brethren, 
 2 Cor. xi. 26 ; apostles, 2 Cor. xi. 13 ; teachers, 2 Pet. 
 ii. 1 ; prophets, Matt. vii. 15, &c. 
 
 Jer. xxiii. 15. The marginal reading shows the 
 close alliance of profaneness with hypocrisy. 
 
 Phil. i. 8. Preaching " Christ in pretence ;" as a 
 cloak for party (Judaizing) purposes; "using the
 
 176 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 name of Christ to gain proselytes to the law."- 
 Lightfoot. 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 65. "Rending the garments" was a 
 sign of mourning amongst the Jews, but it was also 
 a frequent evidence of their hypocrisy. It is said 
 that many of them took good care to rend the gar- 
 ment on the seam, so that they might, without much 
 trouble or loss, repair the rent. Jacobi. Like the 
 " hypocritical mockers in feasts," Ps. xxxv. 16 ; and 
 the hired mourners and minstrels so customary in 
 Eastern countries in the house of death, Matt. ix. 13 ; 
 Mai. iii. 14 (see marg.) 
 
 Hosea vil 14 ; Mai. ii. 13 ; Matt. vi. 16, &c. 
 Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue ; but "it is as 
 like to piety as hemlock ia to parsley." Puller. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Joseph's brethren pretending sympathy with Jacob, 
 Gen.xxxvii. 35. 
 
 Absalom's make-believe vow, 2 Sam. xv. 7, 8 ; and 
 his flattery, ver. 2 6. 
 
 Jezebel 's hypocritical fast, 1 Kings xxi. 9 14. 
 
 Sattfs pretended gift to David, 1 Sam. xviii. 17 30. 
 
 Jehu's pretended zeal for the Lord, 2 Kings x. 16. 
 
 Johanan, Jer. xHi. 1 3, 20. 
 
 Ezekiets hearers, Ezek. xxxiii. 31. 
 
 Haman's pretended loyalty, Esther iii. 8. 
 
 The Pharisees, Matt. xvi. 1 3 ; Luke xii. 1 ; Matt 
 x xiii. Seven times in this chapter does our Lord call 
 the Pharisees " hypocrites." 
 
 The Herodians, Matt. xxii. 1618. 
 
 Judas, the traitor, Luke xxii. 47, 48. 
 
 The Jews wJio sought ChrisCs death. 
 
 Never was hyi>ocrisy more fearfully shown than in the con- 
 duct of the Jews in compassing Christ's death. The chief 
 priests arid elders professed to seek the death of Jesus in the 
 needful defence of their nation and law ! They saw no harm in
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 177 
 
 giving money to one of P own followers to betray Him ; no 
 wrong in obtaining false witnesses against Him. But they were 
 too conscientious to put the money into the treasury, or to enter 
 into the praetor's hall, lest they should be defiled ! The greatest 
 sin that ever was committed upon earth, was done professedly 
 on the ground of being zealous for the law ! 
 
 Ananias and Sapphira, Acts v. 1 8. 
 Simon Magus, Acts viii. 13 23. 
 
 IMMUTABILITY DIVINE.* 
 
 "Tnou ART THE SAME." The essential attribute 
 of Deity very forcibly contrasted with the mutability 
 of man, Ps. cii. 2427; Heb. i. 12. 
 
 James i. 17. With "no variableness, nor shadow 
 of turning," an allusion to the parallax of the heavenly 
 bodies. 
 
 Heb. xiii. 8. " Jesus Christ the same yesterday, 
 and to-day, and for ever." 
 
 A text to be especially read with the context the verse be 
 fore, and the verse after. The Lord Jesus is contrasted with 
 departed pastors, ver. 7 ; and with the Church's liability to be 
 " carried about with divers and strange doctrines," ver. 9 ; be- 
 tween these two the Lord Jesus stands, as the abiding ground 
 of comfort, and the unchanging basis of the truth. 
 
 Acts i. 11. "This same Jesus." 
 
 The same at the second coming as when He left the earth : 
 who declared Himself to St. John as "the Alpha and Omega, 
 the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and 
 which is to come, the Almighty^' Rev. L 8. 
 
 Exod. iii 14, " I am that 1 am" 
 
 Jehovah self -existent self-sufficient, and immutable. 
 
 It was a poor shadow which the ancient Greeks had, when 
 they put over the door of the temple at Delphi the Greek word, 
 (thou art). 
 
 IMPATIENCE. See Murmuring Rashness. 
 Esau, Gen. xxv. 29 34. " Behold, I am at the 
 
 M
 
 178 SCRIPTUKK ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOR. 
 
 point to die." Esau was then only about thirty-two, 
 and in perfect health ! " And what profit shall this 
 birthright do to me?" Too impatient to wait, the 
 craving a moment's gratification, made him blind to 
 the value of the birthright he recklessly threw 
 away 1 
 
 Sarah, Gen. xvi, grown weary of waiting God's 
 time, tried to hasten, by means of her own devising, 
 the fulfilment of Gods promise. See Expedience. 
 
 Rachel. " Give me children, or else I die," Gen. 
 xxx. 1. Oh, how hard it would go with us, if God 
 gave us all our desires ! Rachel had children given 
 her, and died in child-bearing, Gen. xxxv. 16 20. 
 
 " Enjoyments snatched out of God's hands, like fruit plucked 
 before it is ripe, soon rot, and only injure. Like David's child, 
 born in adultery, they die in the birth." Gurnatt. 
 
 The Israelites, Exod. xxxii. When Moses was gone 
 up into the mount, unable to wait, they broke out 
 into rebellion, and came to Aaron ; and Aaron yielded 
 to their impatience, and made the golden calf. It 
 was the thirty-ninth day after Moses went up. Only 
 one day more and he came down ! Their impa- 
 tience and rebellion cost the life of at least 3000 
 persons ! 
 
 Saul, 1 Sam. xiii. 8, an example of waiting till near 
 the end of an "appointed time," and yet wanting 
 patience to wait quite to the end. Samuel had ap- 
 pointed seven days for Saul to wait. Saul waited 
 but because Samuel did not come, he became impa- 
 tient, and himself offered a burnt-offering ! No sooner 
 had he done so, than Samuel came ! 
 
 Bertrhadad. "This evil is of the Lord; what 
 should I wait for the Lord any longer 1 " 2 Kings vi. 
 33, a right premiss, but a wrong conclusion. How 
 different was the pious exclamation of Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 
 18; of Job, i. 21, ii. 10; and of Hezekiah, Isa. 
 xxxix. 8.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 179 
 
 JoVs wife. Job xxxi. 9. 
 
 "If God afflict thee. let not impatience add to the affliction." 
 [t is the impatient patient, that makes the surgeon's knife inflict 
 more pain. 
 
 It is related of Mrs. Hannah More, that when on her death- 
 bed she was asked, If there were anything that could be done 
 for her ? Her reply was, " Nothing, but leave me, and forgive 
 me, if I am impatient." 
 
 Christ's brethren, John vii. 3, 4. 
 
 There is a time for God's purposes to ripen ; and as often a 
 shower comes near harvest, and fills out the corn, which they 
 lose who gather it too soon ; so our impatient desire to reap 
 when we should be content to wait, loses the fulness and ripe- 
 ness of many a blessing. 
 
 INABILITY, MAN'S MORAL AND SPIRITUAL. * 
 See Blindness Weakness Grace 
 
 May be well illustrated by the case of 
 
 Leprosy the deep and foul stain, which was not 
 only loathsome, but incurable, Lev. xiii. 
 
 Silly sheep going astray, Isa. liii. 6. Proverbial for 
 their proneness to wander, and their inability to find 
 the way back. 
 
 The Ethiopian. "Can the Ethiopian change his 
 skin, or the leopard his spots ? " Jer. xiii. 23. A pic- 
 ture of sin, inborn by nature, strengthened by educa 
 tion, and confirmed by habit. 
 
 The bankrupt debtor, who owed ten thousand talents, 
 and had nothing to pay, Matt, xviii. 24. 
 
 A corrupt tree, that cannot bring good fruit, Matt, 
 vii. 18. 
 
 A branch severed from the parent stem, John xv. 5. 
 
 We may also add the representations in Christ's 
 miracles of man's natural impotence, which were no 
 doubt designed to be symbolical. The man born 
 blind, John ix. ; the man with a withered hand, to 
 whom Christ said, "Stretch forth thine hand," Matt.
 
 ISO SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 xil 13; the impotent man at Bethesda, "without 
 strength," and " who had no helper," John v. 7 ; the 
 deaf, deformed, demoniacs, &c. ; sad pictures of suf- 
 fering humanity, but emblems of the sadder state of 
 sin and spiritual helplessness. 
 
 WHAT MAN CANNOT DO WITHOUT DIVINE AID. 
 No man of himself can come to Jesus, John vi. 44 ; 
 receive the spirit of truth, John xiv. 17 ; have saving 
 faith, John v. 44 ; Eph. ii. 8 ; hear and receive 
 Christ's words, John viiL 43 ; think anything aright, 
 2 Cor. iii 5 ; bring forth good fruit, Matt, vil 18 ; 
 please God, Rom. viii. 7 ; receive any spiritual hon- 
 our or success, John iii. 27 ; do the (good) things he 
 would, Gal. v. 17; Rom. vii. 18 25; nothing, in 
 short, that is spiritual or acceptable to God, John 
 
 XT. 6. 
 
 SOLEMN QUESTIONS 
 
 " Who then can be saved ? " Matt. xix. 25. 
 
 " Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" 
 Job xiv. 4 ; xv. 14 ; xxv. 4. 
 
 "Who can say, I have made my heart clean?" 
 Prov. xx. 9. 
 
 " How then can man be justified with God ? " Job 
 xxv. 4. 
 
 How can ye, being evil, speak good things ? " 
 Matt. xii. 35. 
 
 "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
 thistles?" Matt. vii. 16. 
 
 " Who is sufficient for these things ? " 2 Cor. ii. 1 C. 
 
 INCONSISTENCY IN PROFESSORS.* See Bad 
 gliding Hypocrisy Profession. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 " The salt losing its savour" of all things then most
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 181 
 
 worthless ; a figure used three times by our Lord in 
 His teaching, Matt. v. 13 ; Mark ix. 50; Luke xiv. 
 34, 35. 
 
 " Spots in your feasts of charity," Jude 1 2. The 
 Greek word refers to dangerous rocks sunken under 
 the sea. 
 
 Spots and blemishes, 2 Pet. ii. 13. 
 
 Rom. ii. 17 24. The sins of teachers are the 
 teachers of sins. 
 
 Prov. xxv. 26. The inconsistencies and falls of 
 professed believers before the wicked, are like "a 
 troubled fountain, and a corrupt (or muddy) spring." 
 
 Prov. xxv. 28. "He that hath no rule over his 
 own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and 
 without walls," lying open to the attacks of every 
 enemy, who may enter without resistance the un- 
 guarded castle. 
 
 Eccles. x. 1. "Dead flies" in the ointment are 
 like " a little folly " to the reputation of one honoured 
 for wisdom and good character. 
 
 Job xxxiv. 17. " Shall even he that hateth right 
 govern?" 
 
 1 Sam. xxix. 3. "What do these Hebrews here?" 
 
 What a reproach to be heard from Philistine lips of one like 
 David ! But what can any Israelite expect when found in the 
 Philistines' camp ? Is the resort of the world the place for the 
 child of God ? 
 
 John xviii. 25. "Art not thon also one of His 
 disciples 1" " Did not I see thee in the garden with 
 Him?" ver. 26. 
 
 Peter was now not at the upper end of the hall, standing by 
 his Master ready to witness for Him, but at the lower end, 
 amongst His enemies, following Jesus " afar off." 
 
 1 Kings xv. 5. " David did that which was right
 
 1 82 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 in the eyes of the Lord, .... save only in the matter 
 of Uriah the Hittite." 
 
 1 Rings iii. 3. "And Solomon loved the Lord, 
 .... only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high 
 places." 
 
 "Only" "save only." What a pity to find blots upon 
 escutcheons that ought to have been quite clear ! 
 
 INDECISION. See Lukewarmness. 
 
 INDIVIDUALITY. See AppltMticm Appropria- 
 tion Experience Influence Obligation. 
 
 See Cone, under each every man this man 
 whosoever whomsoever, &c. 
 
 Under the JKWISH DISPENSATION the twelve tribes 
 were represented in their individuality and their 
 unity, as in the twelve loaves of the shew-bread pre- 
 sented before the Lord, and in the twelve stones 
 upon the high priest's breast-plate. 
 
 The DIVINE CONCERN for individuals is most gra- 
 ciously marked in Scripture, in each person of the 
 Blessed Trinity : 
 
 God the Father, in His electing love to each of His 
 saints, Acts xxii. 1 4 ; Rom. xvi. 1 3 ; 1 Cor. vii. 1 7 ; 
 John vi. 44, 65 ; His omniscient knowledge of every 
 member of His family, Ps. iv. 3 ; 2 Tim. ii. 19 ; His 
 willingness to hear every one that asks, Matt. vii. 8 ; 
 and receive every one that comes, Isa. Iv. 1 . besides 
 the general tenor of the promises, addressed not only 
 to the Church in general, but in the singular number 
 to individual characters, as Isa. Ivii. 15 ; Ixvi. 2, &c. 
 
 The Lord Jesus, " the good Shepherd," who knows 
 His sheep by name, and regards them individually 
 with a shepherd's care, John x. 3, 14 ; xiii. 18 ; xv. 
 16. That beautiful text, John vi. 3740, while it 
 sets forth the Father's gift of the whole Church to
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 183 
 
 Christ, no less sets forth Christ's willingness to 
 execute the Father's will, that of " all whom He 
 has given," nothing should be lost." Cf. the contrast 
 of the comprehensive word " all " with the personal 
 words, " him that cometh," ver. 37 ; " he," ver. 35, 
 47, 56 58; "any man," ver. 51 ; "whoso," ver. 54. 
 The love of the Lord Jesus was eminently displayed 
 in the gracious care He showed in His earthly 
 ministry, to win and to watch over individuals. 
 Luke xv. 4 is an exemplification of the Shepherd's 
 care for one "lost" sheep; John iv., of His gentle 
 dealing with the woman of Samaria, cf. also His 
 training of the apostles, &c. Even in the midst of 
 His last acute and bitter sufferings, when the weight 
 of the whole world's guilt lay upon Him, His care 
 for individuals was never diminished ; and after the 
 resurrection He first appeared to the disciples, one 
 by one ; to Mary, and to the two, then to the eleven. 
 After the ascension, when His earthly ministry was 
 finished, He was seen by St. Stephen, by St. Paul, and 
 by St. John ; and at His second coming He will re- 
 ward each individual member of His kingdom accord- 
 ing to their works ; not only "all," 2 Cor. v. 10, but 
 "every one," Rom. xiv. 12. 
 
 The Holy Spirit, see Acts ii. 3, "cloven tongues 
 like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them ;" 1 Cor. 
 xii. 11, "Dividing to every man severally as He 
 will." 
 
 God's dealings with individuals are marked in 
 many ways, as, e.g., in 
 
 His purposes to Israel in their restoration. How 
 strikingly this is noted in such texts as Isa. xxvii. 
 12, "gathered one by one;" xliii. 7, "even every 
 one ; " Amos ix. 9, " every grain," not one grain lost. 
 
 Rev. vii. 1 8. The sealing of the twelve tribes 
 an aggregate number, but composed of units. 
 
 The distribution of gifts to His people in varying pro-
 
 184 SCRIPTURE ITSKLF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 portion and diverse manifestations, 1 Cor. xiL 4 1 1 , 
 2830 ; iii. 58 ; Eph. iv. 712. 
 
 The perfecting of the whole Church by the due per- 
 fecting of its several members; see Eph, iv. 16, 
 every "joint," every part ; as 1 Cor. xii. 12 27, the 
 body is perfect in the growth and proportion of every 
 member; so Eph. ii. 21 ; 1 Pet. ii. 4, 5, the living 
 temple grows up into beauty and completeness by the 
 union and fitness of each living stone. 
 
 WHAT ONK MAN MAY DO. See Influence. Examples 
 might easily be multiplied of the great power one 
 person may exercise, for good or for evil. " One sin- 
 ner destroyeth much good," Eccles. ix. 18 ; one traitor 
 within the camp may counteract the valour of thou- 
 sands of brave men ; one evil-disposed child may 
 kindle a fire which twenty strong men cannot quench, 
 and twenty years cannot repair. " The effectual, fer- 
 vent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," James 
 v. 16. What power Moses had, single-handed, to face 
 the whole multitudes of Israel's hosts ! Exod. xxxii. 
 26; and Elijah, to confront Ahab and the eight 
 hundred and fifty priests, and the people of Israel, 
 1 Kings xviii. 22, 40 ; see similarly the examples of 
 Shamgar, slaying with his ox-goad six hundred men 
 (Judges iii. 31) ; Samson, a thousand men (Judges 
 xv. 15) ; David becoming the champion of his nation, 
 1 Sam. xvii. ; the poor wise man who delivered a 
 city by his wisdom, Eccles. ix. 14, 15. 
 
 It has been remarked on our Lord's parable of the 
 sower, Matt. xiii. 3 9, " Sowing is generally lonely 
 work : one sower goes forth alone. The contrast is 
 all the more striking, between the proverbial sociable- 
 ness of reaping and the solitude of sowing. In this 
 age of associations and societies, is there not danger 
 of forgetting this, that the sower must often be a 
 lonely man 1" 
 
 When St. Paul preached at Philippi, we read of
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 185 
 
 only one of the women receiving the truth, Acts xvi. 
 1 3 ; but that one was, as it were, the first-fruits of 
 Europe. 
 
 INFLUENCE, POWER OF.** See Usefulness- 
 Zeal 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Ointment that bewrayeth itself, Prov. xxvii. 16 ; 
 Eccles. vii. 1. 
 
 Sound, spreading far and wide, like the shrill blast 
 of the trumpet, 1 Thess. i. 8. 
 
 Leaven, gradually fermenting and working into the 
 whole mass, for good, Matt. xiii. 33 ; or for evil, 
 Luke xii. 1 ; 1 Cor. v. 7, 8 ; Gal. v. 9. 
 
 Salt, preserving and seasoning, Matt. v. 13. 
 
 "A root of bitterness," Heb. xii. 15 ; cf. Dent. xxix. 
 18, marg. "a poisonful herb." See in Heb. xii. 15 
 what may come from one root " lest there be any 
 root .... and thereby many be defiled." 
 
 A canker or gangrene, 2 Tim. ii. 17, i.e. a mortifica- 
 tion in the flesh, which, unless stopped, is fatal. 
 
 Bewitching or fascinating, Gal. iii. 1. 
 
 A viper brood, Ps. Iviii. 4, cxl. 3 ; Matt. iii. 7. 
 
 Tares, choking the good wheat, Matt. xiii. 24 30. 
 
 See Cone, under example pattern follow, &c. 
 
 The power of individuals. What one man may do. 
 See Individuality. 
 
 Fully illustrated in the history of the kings of Israel and 
 Judah, especially "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made 
 Israel to sin." Fifteen times is his name so branded, 1 Kings 
 xiv. 16, xv. 30, 34 ; xxi. 22, 52 ; 2 Kings x. 29, 31 ; xiii. 2, 6, 
 11; xiv. 24; xv. 9, 18, 24,28. 
 
 So of bad wives Jezebel in Israel, I Kings xxi. 
 25; Athaliah in Judah, 2 Kings viii. 18. 
 
 The influence of a few, Deut. xx. 8 ; Judges vii. 3 ; 
 Isa. xxx. 17 ; exemplified in the spies who discouraged
 
 186 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR 
 
 the people, and brought down God's judgments upon 
 the nation, Num. xiii. 26 33, xxxii. 9. 
 
 The influence of the multitude, Exod. xxiii. 2 ; Prov. 
 i. 10, iv. 14, 16; Matt. vii. 13; illustrated in cases 
 like that of Israel overpowering Aaron, Exod. xxxii. 
 1,2; Saul, 1 Sam. xv. 9, 15 ; Pilate, Matt, xxvii. 24, 
 26, Mark xv. 16 ; Festus, Acts xxiv. 27. 
 
 1 Cor. xv. 33. "Evil communications corrupt 
 good manners." Prov. xxii. 24, 25. 
 
 How easy it would be to trace the history of this text through 
 Scripture. PB. cvi. 85 gives one moral of Israel's history 
 " They were mingled among the heathen, and learned their 
 works," see Hosea vii. 8, 9. The history of Lot is a mournful 
 instance of contact with evil (see Sin, Progress of.) Jacob's 
 seven years dwelling before Shalem was followed by the defile- 
 ment of his daughter, Gen. xxxiii. 18, 19, xxxiv. "The mixed 
 multitude" infected Israel, Num. xi. 4. False gods are found 
 in godly families, Gen. xxxi. 19, 84 ; xxxv. 2. Association be- 
 gets assimilation. Coals touched are sure either to burn or 
 sully. If we are not scorched by the fire of bad company, we 
 are sure to be blackened by the smoke. The sheep can scarcely 
 struggle through the thorns without losing some part of its 
 fleece. Sinful love leads to sinful leagues. 
 
 The influence of a good name, Eccles. vii. 1 more 
 diffusive than the sweet odour of " precious oint- 
 ment ;" more valuable than riches, Prov. xxii. 1 ; Ps. 
 cxii. 6. 
 
 David's " name was much set by," more valued 
 than Saul's splendour, 1 Sam. xviii. 30; Cornelius, 
 Acts x. 22 ; Ananias, xxii. 12 ; Demetrius, 3 John. 12 
 
 The influence of counsel and association, Prov. xiii. 
 20. Joash did well all the days of Jehoiada the high 
 priest ; whilst afterwards, associating with the wicked 
 princes of Judah, he was destroyed, 2 Chron. xxiv. 
 2,1725. 
 
 Uzziah, led by Zechariah, sought God, 2 Chron. 
 xxvi. 5. 
 
 Uuth the Moabitoss, brought into contact with
 
 SCRIPTTTEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 187 
 
 Naomi, learned from her to love the God of Israel 
 and the Israel of God, Ruth i. 16. 
 
 So Pharaoh, so far as he was led by Joseph ; 
 Moses, by; Jethro ; David, by Abigail ; Ezra, as he 
 was encouraged by Schechaniah ; Peter, brought to 
 Jesus by Andrew ; Nathanael, by Philip. 
 
 Rehoboam, led by the foolish young men ; Jehosh- 
 aphat, placed in imminent danger through his con- 
 nection with Ahab ; Jehoram marrying Athaliah, &c., 
 are examples of association for evil. 
 
 The influence of custom and example. How much is 
 implied in the words " The doings of Egypt," and 
 "the doings of Canaan," Lev. xviii. 2, 3; "the man- 
 ner of Beersheba," Amos viii. 14; and alas! "the 
 doings of (backsliding) Israel," 2 Chron. xvii. 4. 
 
 Mark xv. 8. The multitude began to desire Pilate 
 " to do as he had ever done unto them." 
 
 Acts xvii. 21. " The Athenians and strangers :" so 
 soon do the new comers catch the manners and 
 habits of a place. The Lacedemonians had a law, to 
 allow no stranger to remain longer than three days in 
 the same place. Was it not dwelling in Egypt that 
 gave Israel the thought and fashion of the golden 
 calf 1 and Jeroboam's calves also 1 
 
 The influence of rank and station, John vii. 48. 
 " Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed 
 on Him]" 
 
 The influence of neighbourhood, Num. xvi 1. The 
 family of Kohath and the family of Reuben joined in 
 the conspiracy against Moses and Aaron. Blunt notes 
 it as a coincidence, that both these divisions were 
 pitched on the same (the south) side of the taber- 
 nacle. They were therefore neighbours, and might 
 naturally communicate, and influence each other. 
 
 It was probably the same cause that led Reuben 
 and Gad to make the joint request to have their 
 portion on the east of Jordan. They had been neigh
 
 188 SCR1PTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 hours from their first encampment round the taber- 
 nacle, Num. v. 10 14. 
 
 SOMETIMES violent 
 
 Like a strong and rushing torrent, 2 Pet. iii. 17; 
 as Barnabas " was carried away," Gal. ii. 1 3 ; and the 
 Galatians were " driven back," Gal. v. 7, marg. ; and 
 the false teachers came as " with a tempest," 2 Pet. 
 ii. 17. 
 
 Insinuating and subtle, like those who " creep into 
 houses," 2 Tim. iii. 6 ; working " privily," 2 Pet. 
 ii. 1 ; climbing over the wall, John x. 1 ; entering by 
 the side door or postern gate, Jude 4 (Greek.) Se- 
 duction has generally been more fatal to the Church 
 than persecution. 
 
 Unconscious and urithout design, as when a few faint 
 hearts make many cowards, Deut. xx. 8 ; Isa. x. 18 ; 
 or as when the fragrance of a good man's character 
 exercises a magic influence over those whom he never 
 saw. Most men are led for good or for evil by the 
 magnetic influence of a few powerful leaders. What 
 a power was there in the name of the great Apostle 
 of the Gentiles ! 
 
 INTENTIONS.* 
 
 The Lord discerns them, Heb. iv. 12. 
 
 The chief value of good deeds, lies mainly in their 
 right intentions. 
 
 Abraham offered Isaac, not in deed, but in inten- 
 tion ; and the intention was accepted as the deed, 
 Heb. xi. 17. 
 
 David was commended for his desire to build the 
 temple, 1 Kings viii. 18. 
 
 The widow's mite, Mark xii. 43, 44. 
 
 Mary What a noble eulogy " She hath done 
 what she could," Mark xiv. 8. 
 
 Tlie Macedmians 1 liberality, 2 Cor. viii. 2, 3, 12.
 
 SCRIPTUUE ITSELF THE ILLUSTliATOK. 189 
 
 WICKEDNESS lies not in acts only, but in inten- 
 tions. 
 
 Looking may be lusting, Matt. v. 28. 
 
 Hatred is accounted murder, 1 John iii. 15 ; James 
 iv. 2 " ye kill " (marg.) ; " or envy." So Jacob was 
 a murderer in intention when he wished to kill Esau, 
 Gen. xxvii. 41 ; Joseph's brethren, xxxvii. 20, 21 ; 
 Saul, wishing to kill David, 1 Sam. xviii. 25, xix. 3, 
 and Jonathan, xx. 33 ; Solomon, wishing to kill Jero- 
 boam, 1 Kings xi. 40. 
 
 GOOD INTENTIONS cannot justify wrong actions. 
 
 Gideon perhaps meant no harm in making the 
 ephod, but he brought a snare upon himself, and 
 upon his house, Judges viii. 24, 27. 
 
 Uzzah, 2 Sam. vi. 6, 7. 
 
 James and John, Luke ix. 54. 
 
 Peter, striking Malchus, John xviii. 10. 
 
 JEWS.** 
 
 EMBLEMS AND FIGURES. 
 
 The vine, vineyard, Ps. Ixxx. 8 ; Isa. v. 1 7 ; Jer. 
 ii. 21, &c. See Privilege. 
 
 The fig-tree, especially in our Lord's parable of the 
 barren fig tree, Luke xiii. 6- 9 ; and of the fig-tree 
 cursed, because it bore leaves but no fruit, Mark xi 
 1214, 20. 
 
 The olive into which the Gentile Church was grafted, 
 Rom. xi. 1721. 
 
 The dry tree, ripe for burning, Luke xxiii. 31. 
 
 The dry bones very many and "very dry," in 
 Ezekiel's vision, Ezek. xxxvii. 1 14. 
 
 A vessel wherein is no pleasure, Hosea viii. 8. 
 
 Corn sifted (marg., caused to move), yet not lost, 
 Amos ix. 9. 
 
 The Lord's "peculiar treasure" Exod. xix. 5 ; Ps. 
 cxxxv. 4 ; the Lord's poiiion the lot of His inker i-
 
 190 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 tance, Deut xxxii. 9. See also some of our Lord's 
 parables. 
 
 JOY.*** See Praise Thankfulness. 
 
 EMBLEMS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Light from heaven, pure, cheering, diffusive, often 
 eclipsed sweetest after gloom and darkness. See 
 Cone. 
 
 Singing and music, the natural expression of cheer- 
 fulness and joy, especially at times of festivity and 
 rejoicing. God giveth His beloved "songs in the 
 night ;" Zion's pilgrims " sing in the way ;" " the 
 ransomed of the Lord shall .... come to Zion .... 
 with songs." 
 
 Dancing, leaping, shouting for joy, Jer. xxxl 13 ; 
 Ps. xxx. 11 ; Isa. xxxv. 6 ; Ezra iii. 12 ; Luke vi. 23; 
 Acts iil 8. 
 
 Seed sown in the earth, awhile hidden, but, by its 
 nature, in due time bursting into beauty, Ps. xcvii. 
 11. 
 
 The gladness of nature in her times of joy. 
 
 The Kinging of birds in early spring, Cant. ii. 12. 
 
 A desert land blooming with beautiful and fragrant 
 flowers, Isa. xxxv. 1, 2. 
 
 A watered garden, Jer. xxxi. 1 2. 
 
 The joy of festivity, 
 
 Wine, Ps. civ. 15; Cant i. 2; Isa. xxv. 6; Zech. 
 x. 7. 
 
 Christ's first miracle had a symbolical reference, 
 doubtless, to the joy of His kingdom, John ii. 10. 
 
 Oil " the oil of gladness," Ps. xlv. 7 ; " the oil of 
 joy for mourning," Isa. Ixi. 3 ; the festive anointing, 
 Ps. xxiii. 5. 
 
 While garments, Eccles. ix. 8 ; Rev. iii. 5. 
 
 The joy of the bride and bridegroom, Isa. Ixi. 10; Ixii. 
 5 ; Jer. xxxiii. 1 1 ; Rev. xxi. 2.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 191 
 
 The joy of harvest, Isa. ix. 3 ; Deut. xii. 7 ; Ps. 
 cxxvi. 5, 6, rejoicing in a finished work ; joy natural, 
 grateful, social. 
 
 The joy of victory, " when men divide the spoil," 
 Isa. ix. 3; Ps. cxix. 162; 1 Sam. xxx. 16. 
 
 The joy of a treasure found, Matt. xiii. 44. 
 
 A father's joy in receiving home a long-lost son, 
 Luke xv. 22 24 ; the joy of reconciliation. 
 
 See Cone, under joy gladness rejoice delight 
 merry laughter singing shouting, &c. 
 
 THE FULNESS OF JOY. It is difficult to express the 
 rich abundance of the believer's joy, so many words 
 of pregnant meaning are used to describe it. It is 
 great, abundant, exceeding, exceeding abundant, joy- 
 ful, exceeding joyful (even in tribulation), As with 
 a girdle the joyous believer is "girded with glad- 
 ness, and comforted on every side;" "compassed 
 about with songs of deliverance;" filled with joy; 
 able, even in this world of trial, to " rejoice with joy 
 unspeakable and full of glory," knowing that yet a 
 little while, and he shall have not only " fulness of 
 joy," but "pleasures for evermore." 
 
 SCRIPTURE NAMES, expressive of joy. Abigail 
 means my father's joy ; Isaac, laughter or smiling ; 
 Capernaum, the village of consolation ; Gennesareth 
 or Kinneroth, harp or psaltery, the emblem of glad- 
 ness or fertility. 
 
 JEWISH FEASTS. The Jews had several feasts 
 which they were bidden to celebrate with joy and 
 rejoicing; see Deut. xii. 7, 12, 18; xvi 11, 14; 
 whilst they had but one principal fast. Joy was 
 enjoined upon them as a special ordinance, Deut. 
 xxviii. 47, 48. 
 
 THE NEW TESTAMENT. Nearly all the books of 
 the New Testament end joyoxisly. Cf. the end of 
 the Old Testament.
 
 192 SCRIPTURE IT8KLF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES are full of joy and gladness, 
 and not least those that were written in times of 
 trial. It was the remark of Grotius, that of all St. 
 Paul's Epistles, the four which are most joyous are 
 those written in prison ; the Philippians, Colossians, 
 Philemon, and 2 Timothy. 
 
 The Lord Jesus. The "man of sorrows" was no 
 stranger to " holy joy." " Anointed " with the " oil 
 of gladness " above His fellows, Heb. i. 9. His first 
 miracle was at a wedding feast, John ii. 1 11. He 
 rejoiced in the contemplation of the Divine sove- 
 reignty, Matt. xi. 25 ; in sympathy with the success 
 of the seventy, Luke x. 21 ; in looking beyond the 
 cross and shame, Heb. xii. 2 ; as the good shepherd, 
 in bringing home his recovered sheep, Luke xv. 5. 
 See Isa. liii. 11, bo. 3. 
 
 KINDNESS MERCIFULNESS.* See Love- 
 Brotherly Love Hospitality Liberality Neighbour 
 Unseljishness. 
 
 Great beauty of thought is involved in many of 
 the words descriptive of true kindness-. 
 
 In Hebrew the same word (chescd) is rendered saints 
 merciful and kind, see Prov. ii. 8 ; Isa. IviL 1 
 (marg.) Speaking " kindly," or " friendly," or " com- 
 fortably," in Hebrew, is literally speaking " to the 
 heart," see the margin in Gen. xxxiv. 3 ; Ruth ii. 13; 
 Isa. xl. 1 ; Hosea ii. 14. 
 
 In Greek the ordinary word used is one meaning 
 gentle (x/"7<n-<), see Matt. xi. 30 "my yoke is 
 easy" (gentle.) 
 
 In English, how much is implied in our word 
 kind, from kindred, one of the same kin (as the word 
 humane is nearly allied to human), it being the law 
 of nature, that nearness of kindred should beget one- 
 ness of affection.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 193 
 
 It is interesting to observe how the word " kind- 
 ness" is sometimes interchanged, in the text and 
 margin of our authorised version for other words, as 
 
 " Mercy" Gen. xxxix. 21 ; goodness mercy or 
 kindness, Hosea vi. 4. 
 
 " Merciful men" Isa. Ivii. 1 ; see the margin " men 
 of kindness or goodness." 
 
 "Piety" at home, 1 Tim. v. 4; the margin reada 
 " kindness." 
 
 " Good" A very frequent meaning of this word in 
 Scripture is kind benevolent : " a good man " 
 " good words " " good gifts " " good pleasure," &c. 
 See Goodness. 
 
 Kind tenderhearted, Eph. iv. 32. 
 
 THE EXTENT of true kindness is sometimes marked 
 by expressions of great force 
 
 "Be kindly affectioned" Rom. xii. 10 two loving 
 ivords coupled together. The original word refers to 
 the strong affection one of the strongest in nature 
 which all animals have to their offspring. 
 
 " The kindness of the Lord" 1 Sam. xx. 14. 
 
 " The kindness of God" 2 Sam. ix. 3. 
 
 Hebrew idioms expressive of the greatest kindness : such 
 kindness as Jonathan sought of David, and David was ready to 
 " show to Jonathan's house." 
 
 THE LAW of KINDNESS, Prov. xxxi. 26 the gentle 
 rule that charms and sways the virtuous household. 
 
 The patient endurance of kindness, 1 Cor. xiii. 4. 
 
 The true position of kindness, Col. iii. 12 ; engen- 
 dered by mercy, and followed by humility. 
 
 Gal. v. 22. "Gentleness," preceded by "long- 
 suffering," and succeeded by " goodness," or benevo- 
 lence fidelity meekness. 
 
 James i. 27 ; Matt. xxv. 3540; 1 Tim. v. 10. 
 How largely kindness enters into the evidence of true 
 religion.
 
 194 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The reward of kindness, Prov. xi 17, xiv. 21 ; 
 Matt. v. 7. 
 
 EXAMPLES of kindness and its recompense 
 
 Job, chap, xxi .\. 1 1 1 7. A noble example of kind- 
 ness, in helping the helpless, and taking trouble to 
 search out the cause he would assist. 
 
 The Kenites, showing kindness to Israel an act 
 remembered many hundreds of years after to the 
 advantage of their descendants, 1 Sam. xv. 6. 
 
 Boaz, Ruth ii., iii. 
 
 Davufs kindness to the Egyptian slave, which was 
 the means of his own signal success, 1 Sam. xxx. 
 1 120. 
 
 Ebed-melech, Jer. xxxviii. 7 13. 
 
 Rahab amply rewarded for preserving the life of 
 the spies by the preservation of herself and family, 
 Joshua ii. 18. 
 
 Jonatluin's kindness to David, which led to his chil- 
 dren's preservation, 2 Sam. ix. 7, xxi. 7. 
 
 The centurion's anxiety for the welfare of his sick 
 servant, was the cause of his own faith being con- 
 firmed. He built the Jews a synagogue, and they 
 interceded for him to Christ, Luke vii. 2 10. 
 
 The good Samaritan an example of genuine kind- 
 ness shown to a stranger, without regard to personal 
 claim, race, or religion, Luke x. 30 37. 
 
 Cornelius, Acts x. 4. 
 
 The barlmrous people of MeliUi, very fully repaid for 
 their kindness to the shipwrecked mariners, Acts 
 xxviii. 1 10. 
 
 MANY of those who were healed by Christ's mira- 
 culous power, owed their cures to the kindness of 
 friends and neighbours who brought them before 
 Him, see Matt. xv. 22, 30 ; Mark ii. 3, vi. 5G, vii. 32; 
 Luke vii. 2, 3 ; John iv. 46, 47.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 195 
 
 KING-, CHRIST THE. See Crown Head Leader 
 Lord. 
 
 TITLES. 
 
 PRINCE, Acts v. 31 ; "Prince of peace," Isa. ix. 6 ; 
 "Prince of life," Acts iii. 15 ; "Prince of the kings 
 of the earth," Rev. i. 5 ; " Prince of princes," Dan. 
 viii. 25 ; " Messiah the Prince," Dan. ix. 25. 
 
 KING, Ps. ii. 6, xlv. 1 ; Zech. ix. 9 ; " King of 
 saints " (nations or ages, marg.), Rev. xv. 3 ; " King 
 of Israel," John i. 49, xii. 13; "King of glory," Ps. 
 xxiv. 7 10; " King of kings," 1 Tim. vi 15 ; Rev. 
 xvii. 14, yiV 16; "King of the Jews" (the title 
 given to Christ at His birth and at His death both 
 times by Gentiles), Matt. ii. 2, xxvii. 37. 
 
 EMBLEMS of SOVEREIGNTY. 
 
 The sceptre, Heb. i. 8. (Balaam's prophecy of " the 
 star and sceptre," Num. xxiv. 17, looked forward to 
 the first and second advents of our blessed Lord.) 
 
 The key or government on the shoulder, Tsa. xxii. 
 20 22, ix. 6 ; the crown, Rev. xiv. 14, xix. 12 ; the 
 throne, Rev. iii. 21. 
 
 (The ancients represented the Almighty by the figure of a 
 sceptre, with an eye at the top ; denoting omnipotent power, 
 guided by omniscient wisdom.) 
 
 TYPES of Christ's kingly character under different 
 aspects : 
 
 Melchizedek, the priest and king ; " king of righte- 
 ousness and king of peace," Gen. xiv. 18 20; Heb. 
 vii. 111." 
 
 David, the warrior king, 2 Sam. viii. 15 ; Jer. xxx. 
 9 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24 ; xxxvii. 24 ; Hosea iii. 5. 
 
 Solomon, the peaceful king " The man of rest," 
 1 Chron. xxii. 9 ; Ps. Ixxii. 1 (title.) 
 
 THE PRIEST UPON His THRONE, Zech. vi. 13. In 
 most of the typical histories the two offices of priest
 
 1 96 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 and king are represented by distinct persons, as in 
 Joshua and Eleazar; but there are many striking 
 illustrations of the two conjoined, as shadows of their 
 union in the one person of Christ ; as, e.g. 
 
 Melchizedek, Heb. viL 1 11 ; Ps. ex. 4. 
 
 Aaron. Himself of the tribe of Levi, Aaron mar- 
 ried Elisheba, sister to Naashon, of the royal tribe of 
 Judah, Exod. vi. 23. 
 
 "Thus an alliance was formed betwixt the family of the 
 priests and of the kings, which might shadow forth Him, who 
 was both Priest and King in one person." Scott. 
 
 Joshua the high priest, wearing the crowns of silver 
 and gold, representing the two offices held by one 
 person, Zech. vi. 9, 10. 
 
 The BRANCH, Zech. vl 12, 13 "The priest upon 
 His throne." 
 
 The two olive trees by the golden candlestick, Zech. 
 iv. 11 14, most probably stand for Zerubbabel and 
 Joshua, ruler and priest of Israel in Zechariah's time. 
 
 One like unto the Son of man, Rev. i 12 16. 
 In this vision of the Lord Jesus to St. John, the sym- 
 bols are taken partly from the priestly dress, and 
 partly from figures emblematic of kingly majesty. 
 
 It is very striking to compare with this appearance 
 in Rev. i., the appearance of "one like the Son of 
 man" to Daniel (chap. vii. 13), where Christ is pro- 
 bably so described, to contrast His humane and gentle 
 reign with the kingdoms of this world, represented 
 by fierce and savage beasts the lion, bear, &c., ver. 
 18. 
 
 Cant. v. 11. " His head is as the most fine gold." 
 See Head. 
 
 Heb. iv. 1416. 
 
 Here we have most beautifully joined again the royal and 
 priestly offices of Jesus. " The throne in heaven," which be- 
 lievers may boldly <x>me to, is a "throne of grace" (a thrnne
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 197 
 
 where "grace reigns through Christ") ; but they have "access 
 with confidence," because the great High Priest has " passed " 
 for them into heaven, with all His priestly tenderness, as well 
 as kingly power. 
 
 Acts v. 31. " A Prince and a Saviour." 
 So St. Peter speaks of Christ in His ascended glory. As 
 Joseph, when exalted after his sufferings to be ruler in Egypt, 
 was the saviour of the land ; as he was saluted as " tender 
 father," Gen. xli. 43 (marg.), and his power was used for the 
 well-being of the country ; so the Lord Jesus is " exalted to 
 have mercy." "The Lord of glory" is also "the Prince of 
 peace." 
 
 There are three books of Scripture in which 
 Christ's kingly office and character are brought out 
 with peculiar prominence. 
 
 THE PSALMS speak of Him as King. Ps. ii. 6, as 
 Divinely called to the kingdom, despite the confeder- 
 ate opposition of "the kings of the earth," "and their 
 rulers." Ps. xlv. sets forth the conqueror receiving 
 the promised throne, and entering upon His royal 
 dignity. Ps. Ixxxix. describes the King as established 
 on the throne by the covenant of the Divine faith- 
 fulness. Ps. Ixxii. prophesies the external diffusion 
 and internal blessings of His kingly reign ; whilst 
 Ps. ex. foretells the Melchizedek sovereignty of the 
 Lord. See also other Psalms, as xciii., xcvii., xcix., 
 &c. 
 
 ST. MATTHEW'S GOSPEL is especially the gospel of 
 the kingdom. The opening genealogy treats of 
 Christ, "the son of David, the son of Abraham." 
 It is the only gospel in which the expression is used, 
 " the kingdom of heaven ; " the only gospel in which 
 Christ speaks of Himself in His discourses as "King," 
 xxv. 34. It begins with Gentiles honouring Christ 
 at His birth as " King of the Jews ; " and it closes 
 with the same title as the superscription over the 
 cross, written also by a Gentile.
 
 198 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 THE BOOK OF REVELATION. See Christ the King, 
 chap. i. 5; iii. 7; xiv. 14; xv. 3; xvil 14; xix. 6, 
 1116. 
 
 CHRIST'S kingly character was acknowledged in 
 every part of His earthly ministry. In the annuncia- 
 tion by an angel, Luke i. 32, 33 ; in His infancy, by 
 Gentile philosophers, Matt. ii. 2 ; in His life, by the 
 Jewish multitude, Luke xix. 38 ; in His death, by a 
 heathen ruler, Matt, xxvii. 37 ; Mark xv. 26 ; Luke 
 xxiii. 38; John xix. 19; in His resurrection, by the 
 Father's decree and will, Ps. ii. 6. 
 
 NO KING LIKE JESUS ! 
 
 What a contrast is there between the Lord Christ 
 and the kings of this world ! 
 
 They are but 
 
 Cliangeable. "Another king arose, which knew not 
 Joseph," Acts viL 18. 
 
 Helpless. Darius "set his heart on Daniel to de- 
 liver him, and laboured." But he could not, Dan. vi. 
 14; cf. Hosea v. 13. 
 
 Ti/rannical. Pharaoh A hab Herod, &c. 
 
 Mortal. They must fall like meaner men, Ps. 
 Ixxxii. 7. 
 
 Vain "princes of this world that come to nought," 
 1 Cor. ii. 5. 
 
 The LORD JESUS is " the blessed and only Poten- 
 tate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords," 1 Tim. 
 vi 15. 
 
 KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. See King. 
 
 An expression used only by St. Matthew, and by 
 him twenty-eight times in twenty-eight chapters. 
 
 Why St. Matthew speaks of the " kingdom of hea- 
 ven," when other writers speak of " the kingdom of 
 God," is variously accounted for. Many say, because
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 199 
 
 St. Matthew wrote for Jews, and would teach them 
 the spiritual and heavenly nature of Christ's king- 
 dom. The Jews boasted that they were the subjects 
 of Jehovah ; and they looked for a temporal kingdom 
 of the Messiah ; God was their king ; but they must 
 learn that "to be subjects of the Divine kingdom as 
 Jews was quite distinct from being citizens of the 
 kingdom of heaven, as those whose hearts were under 
 a heavenly rule ; just as their being Abraham's chil- 
 dren did not necessarily involve their being the spiri- 
 tual seed of Abraham." Rev. G. D. Marston. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE.* See Wisdom Folly. 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 The tree of knowledge, Gen. ii. 9 ; iii. 6. Pleasant 
 and promising. The test of man's obedience, and 
 the occasion of man's fall. It was significant that 
 our first parents longed more for the tree of know- 
 ledge than for the tree of life. " They would rather 
 be learned than holy." Leighton. 
 
 "The key of knowledge," Luke xi. 52, to open or 
 shut the cabinet of truth. 
 
 A crown, Prov. xiv. 18, encircling the brow of the 
 prudent. 
 
 A sweet savour or perfume ; so the apostle compares 
 the knowledge of Christ to the perfumes scattered in 
 ancient triumphal processions, 2 Cor. ii. 14. 
 
 THE PRIDE OF LEARNING is often one of the greatest 
 obstacles to the reception of gospel truth. It is ob- 
 servable in Scripture, that the preaching of the gos- 
 pel has had least success in those places, and among 
 those classes, that were eminent for learning. The 
 scribes and Pharisees, the Sadducees and lawyers, 
 were the most learned men amongst the Jews in our 
 Saviour's day ; yet the great Teacher gathered few 
 converts from their ranks. Learned Athens was
 
 200 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 called "the eye of Greece," as Greece was called "the 
 eye of the world;" yet St Paul's preaching made 
 less impression in learned Athens than in the simpler 
 towns of Philippi and Colosse. 
 
 Of all the churches planted by St. Paul, none made 
 such boast of the abundance of their gifts and know- 
 ledge as the Church of Corinth. But it is to be ob- 
 served, that no church is so repeatedly called to 
 account by the apostle, on this very ground. How 
 frequently, e. g. t in 1 Corinthians, he repeats the 
 question, " Know ye not ? " (five times in chap, vi 
 alone,) and how earnestly he warns them against de- 
 ception, " Be not deceived " " Let no man deceive 
 himself." See vi. 9 ; xv. 33 ; iii. 18. See also i. 
 1731 ; viil 1, 2, 10, 11 ; xiii. 28. 
 
 Of all the heresies which troubled the Church of 
 the apostle's days, there was none which wrought 
 more evil than that of the Gnostics, a sect who de- 
 rived their name (which means, the knowing ones) 
 from the assumption ot their boasted wisdom. 
 
 John xiii. 1 7. " If ye know these things, happy 
 are ye if ye do them." 
 
 Our Lord here reveals the secret of true happiness, sanctified 
 knowledge, combined with holy obedience. Not knowledge 
 alone, knowledge may exist apart from wisdom ; nor obedience 
 alone, obedience may be sincere and self-denying, but mis- 
 taken ; but sanctified knowledge conjoined with spiritual obedi- 
 ence. Light in the head, with grace in the heart, an 
 enlightened conscience and a sanctified will both looking to 
 Jesus. 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 9. " We know in part." 
 
 The Syriac and Arabic versions read, "Of many things we 
 know a little. " 
 
 LAW, THE.* 
 
 The Helrrew word for law ^lorah) is derived from a 
 root signifying to point, as with the finger, and might
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTilATOK. 201 
 
 be well rendered the directory a good definition of 
 the law. 
 
 The Greek word ro/ws, according to Parkhurst, means 
 assigning, i.e., distributing to every man (his duty). 
 
 Our English word law (anciently written lagh), is 
 the past participle of the Anglo-Saxon verb lagyan, 
 or lecgan, to lay down, i.e., what should be a rule of 
 conduct. We still speak of " laving down the law," 
 a phrase, no doubt, borrowed from this derivation. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Fire, Deut. xxxiii. 2, " From his right hand went a 
 fiery law ;" a law given out of the midst of the fire, 
 iv. 33; and, in its nature, keen and consuming as 
 fire. 
 
 The vail on Moses' face, representing the obscurity 
 and shadowy nature of the Mosaic dispensation, Exod. 
 xxxiv. 33; 2 Cor. iii. 13. 
 
 A sketch, outline, or rough draught of a picture, 
 Heb. x. 1, compared to the full, clear, filling up. 
 
 A schoolmaster, Gal. iii. 24, or rather pcedagogue 
 (Greek) : among the Greeks a faithful servant en- 
 trusted with a boy from childhood to youth, to keep 
 him, with severe disciplinary strictness, from evil, and 
 to conduct him to the schoolmaster from day to day. 
 
 The handivriting of ordinances, Col. ii. 14; the obli- 
 gatory bond under which men lay, and by which they 
 are condemned. 
 
 A jailor keeping those in custody in ward and 
 bondage ; " shut up," Gal. iii. 22, 23 (the two words, 
 "concluded," "shut up," are the same verb in the 
 original). 
 
 Yoke of bondage, Gal. v. 1 ; Acts xv. 11. 
 
 Elements of the world, "weak and beggarly ele- 
 ments " or " rudiments," Gal. iv. 4, 9. 
 
 The minority of children, under tutelage, Gal. iv. 1. 
 
 A parenthesis, Rom. v. 20 ; " the law came in
 
 202 BCRIPTUKB ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 parenthetically," intervening between the promise 
 and its fulfilment in Christ; see Gal. iii. 19 ; not as 
 God's original and final plan, but added for a sub- 
 ordinate purpose, more fully to reveal the evil occa- 
 sioned by sin, and the glory of redemption by Christ 
 
 THE NECESSITY OF THE RESTRAINT of law is Well 
 
 shown by such instances as Judges xvil 6 ; xviii. 8 ; 
 xix. 1; xx. 25; 1 Sam. ix. 17 (marg.) To say of 
 fallen man, " every man did that which was right in 
 his own eyes," is as much as to say every man did 
 that which was wrong. 
 
 LAWLESSNESS is the very spirit and mark of Anti- 
 christ. It is the proper meaning of the Greek word 
 for iniquity generally (*o/ua), but the concentration of 
 all lawlessness and self-will will be developed at last 
 in Antichrist. His title is emphatically "that 
 wicked " or lawless one, 2 Thess. ii. 8 ; so " the 
 mystery of iniquity " is literally the mystery of law- 
 lessness. 
 
 SlNAI. The manner in which the law was given 
 at Sinai, amidst thunders, and lightning, and dark- 
 ness (see Exod. xix. 12 19; Heb. xii. 18 22), was 
 symbolical of the character of the legal dispensation. 
 The moral law being written on tables of stone, was 
 doubtless designed to show its perpetual obligation. 
 
 CIRCUMCISION was considered as legally and morally 
 binding the circumcised to keep the whole law, Gal. 
 v. 3. 
 
 Rom. xiii 10.- " Love is the fulfilling of the law." 
 
 " All God's law was at first reduced to ten precepts, .... 
 and all this is in so short bounds, that those ten precepts are 
 called ten words. Yet, when Christ came, He abridged this law 
 shorter, and reduced the ten to two, ' Thou sbslt love the Lord 
 thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself.' St. 
 Paul yet comes after, and rounds up all into one ; (iod reduceth 
 all into ten ; Christ those ten into two ; Paul those two into 
 one Love is the fulfilling of the law." Adams.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 203 
 
 1 Cor. ix. 21. The moral law is still a rule of life 
 to us. 
 
 Those that think they have done with the law, shall find that 
 the law has not done with them. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS is " the end of the law," Rom. 
 x. 4; the fulfiller, Matt. iii. 15; the expounder, 
 Matt. v. ; and our Redeemer from its curse, Gal. 
 iii. 13. 
 
 There were six points in which the Lord Jesus 
 paid especial honour to the law : (1.) in His circum- 
 cision on the eighth day, Luke ii. 21 ; (2.) in His 
 presentation in the Temple, Luke ii. 22 ; (3.) in His 
 being baptized by John, Matt. iii. 15 ; (4.) in His 
 paying the tribute-money, Matt. xvii. 24 27 ; Exod. 
 xxx. 13; (5.) in observing the feasts, &c., ordained 
 by. the law; (6.) in submitting to the penalty of the 
 law, and enduring its curse in His death. 
 
 It is a striking fact, that while infidels have pre- 
 sumed to mock the Lawgiver, and Him who has 
 redeemed us from the curse of the law, they have 
 never attempted to touch the law itself. The perfec- 
 tion of the Ten Commandments stands before the 
 civilized world unimpeached, as a perfect rule of right 
 and wrong. 
 
 LAW AND GOSPEL.* 
 
 In some instances the law and the gospel are, as it 
 were, connected ; in others they are contrasted. An 
 old writer says, Many ordinances of the law had 
 something of the gospel in them, and many gospeJ 
 ordinances have something of the law in them. 
 
 The law \vas chiefly negative " Thou shalt not ;" 
 the gospel is chiefly positive. 
 
 The law is compared to " the letter" the gospel to 
 " the spirit," 2 Cor. iii. 6. 
 
 The difference between the law and gospel, it has
 
 204 8CRIPTUKK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 been well said, consists in the transposing of two 
 words. The law says, Do and live, Ezek. xx. 4, 13, 
 2 1 ; the gospel says, Live and do. 
 
 Under the law the Lord is spoken of as leading 
 and training Israel, as the eagle trains her young, 
 Deut. xxxii. 11. The Lord Jesus spoke of Himself 
 by the familiar and more tender figure, " as a hen 
 gathereth her chickens under her wings," Matt, xxiii. 
 37. The eagle forces her young to fly, and teaches 
 them by terror ; the emblem used by our Lord is one 
 solely of affection and tender gentleness. 
 
 Moses' first miracle was significant of his dispen- 
 sation, turning water into blood, Exod. vii. 19, 20; 
 Christ's first miracle was turning water into wine, 
 John il 9, 10. 
 
 The yoke of the law was a " yoke of bondage," gall- 
 ing and unbearable, Acts xv. 10; Gal. v. 1. The 
 Lord Jesus says, " My yoke is easy, and my burden 
 is light," Matt. XL 30. 
 
 Moses might not enter Canaan ; neither he, nor 
 Aaron, nor Miriam, doubtless a figure of the weak- 
 ness of the law. It was reserved for Joshua (another 
 name and type of Jesus) to do that which the great 
 lawgiver could not do. 
 
 Leprosy was the special type of sin. It was the 
 office of the priest to examine and pronounce the leper 
 cleansed. The Lord Jesus made the lepers clean. 
 
 The rock smitten by the rod of Moses is generally 
 regarded as a type of Christ smitten by the law, 
 Num. xx. 8. 
 
 The law written on stones on Mount Kbal was to be 
 accompanied by an altar, on which were to be offered 
 burnt offerings and peace offerings, Dent, xxvii. 1 8. 
 
 The vail rent at the death of Christ made the way 
 into the holiest free, Matt, xxvii. 51 ; Heb. x. 19, 20. 
 
 " The law made nothing perfect" (could not pardon, 
 pacify, nor purify), " but the bringing in of a better
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF TIIE ILLUSTRATOR. 205 
 
 hope did ;" or, as it is in the margin, " it was the 
 bringing in of a better hope," Heb. vii. 19. 
 
 The law consisted of "carnal ordinances" "im- 
 posed " as a heavy burden, " until the time of refor- 
 mation," Heb. ix. 10. 
 
 The law was given peculiarly to one nation. The 
 gospel proclamation is, " the field is the world," Matt, 
 xiii. 38 ; " go ye therefore and teach all nations, Matt, 
 xxviii. 19. 
 
 The law is the " ministration of condemnation ;" 
 " the ministration of death ; the gospel is " the minis 
 tration of the Spirit," " the ministration of righteous- 
 ness," which " exceeds in glory," 2 Cor. iii. 7 9. 
 
 " The object of the law is to make men poor, the 
 object of the gospel is to make men rich." De Wette. 
 
 LEADER, CHRIST, OF His PEOPLE. See Head. 
 
 The Lord Jesus leads His people, as 
 
 The pillar of cloud and of fire went before Israel 
 for guidance and protection, Exod. xiii. 21, 22 ; xl. 
 3638; Neh. ix. 12, 19. 
 
 The ark led them over Jordan, Joshua iii. 
 
 A shepherd leads his flock, Ps. xxiii. 2, 3 ; Isa. xL 
 1 1 ; John x. 3, 4. 
 
 A standard-bearer among the Church's hosts, Cant. 
 v 10 (marg.); see Isa. xi. 10; cf. the type, 2 Sam. 
 xviii. 3. 
 
 A fo^'erunner, Heb. vi. 20. 
 
 Joshua led the children of Israel into Canaan, Deut. 
 i. 38. 
 
 Isa. Iv. 4. " A leader and commander." 
 
 Not every commander is a leader, but the Lord Jesus 
 heartens His soldiers by going before. " He is a commander by 
 H s precept, and a leader by His example ; our business is to 
 obey and follow Him." Cf. xxxv. 8 (marg.) ; xlv. 2 ; Iii. 12 ; 
 Micah ii. 13.
 
 206 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Heb. ii. 10. "The Captain of our salvation." 
 
 The archleader (dpxTX**), the name word that is translated 
 "author" in xii. 2, and "prince" in Acts v. 31. Cf. the "cap- 
 tain of the host of the Lord " that appeared to Joshua, Josh. v. 
 14, man; ; and the Angel promised to "keep Israel in the way, 
 and to bring them into Canaan," Exod. xxiii. 20. 
 
 Heb. xii. 2. " Looking unto Jesus." 
 
 Amidst the great "cloud of witnesses," the sacramental host 
 of God's elect, the Lord Jesus is the one great Prince, Leader, 
 and Example, who is above nil and over all The examples of 
 the holiest saints to Him, are but as bright stars to the central 
 sun ; we follow them, but only so f ar an their examples comport 
 with His. 
 
 Rev. vt 2; xix. 1116. 
 
 The Lord Jesus, as the King of Zion, in the Church's last 
 strangles, leading His people on to victory, going forth "con- 
 quering and to conquer." 
 
 Compare with these representations of the Lord 
 Jesus the beautiful figures of Divine leading. The 
 Lord led Israel with the strong arm and kind heart 
 of a father bearing his son, Deut. i. 31 ; viii. 2, 3; with 
 the instinctive wisdom of the parent eagle training 
 her young, Deut. xxxii. 10, 11; with "cords of a 
 man and bands of love," Hosea xi. 3, 4. 
 
 LIBERALITY. See Unselfishness. 
 
 THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. Few books of Scripture 
 more frequently enjoin and more highly commend 
 the spirit of liberality. 
 
 Chap. iii. 9. " Honour the Lord with thy sub- 
 stance, and with the first-fruits," &c. 
 
 The God who gives us all, has a right to claim at least, a 
 part. 
 
 Chap. xi. 25." The liberal soul." 
 
 Or, as in the marg., "the soul of blessing;" the soul of 
 giving and receiving blessing.
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 207 
 
 Chap. xxii. 9. " The bountiful eye" 
 
 Implying pity and commiseration. The eye that moves the 
 heart, and the heart that opens the hand ; like the good 
 Samaritan, who first saw, and then "the bountiful eye" touched 
 the kind and generous heart, Luke x. 33. 
 
 Chap. xix. 6, marg. "A man of gifts." 
 
 What a beautiful description of the liberal man ! One well 
 known by the mark, " ready to distribute, willing to communi- 
 cate," 1 Tim. vi. 18. 
 
 In many of these and similar texts, mark also the 
 blessing annexed, as in xi. 25. " There is no such 
 merchant," says Quarles, " as the charitable man, he 
 gives trifles which he cannot keep, to receive treasures 
 which he cannot lose." 
 
 Isa. Iviii. 7. 
 
 The two principal marks of godly liberality are here brought 
 out, self-denial and sympathy. See the full reward these re- 
 ceive, ver. 10 12. 
 
 Luke vi. 38. 
 
 Liberal giving enforced, as it were, to the fourth degree. 
 But observe, there is the same measure for giving and receiving. 
 
 Acts xx. 35. " It is more blessed to give than to 
 receive." 
 
 It is observable that this is the only saying of our blessed 
 Lord, handed down to the Church by tradition. 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 2 ; 2 Cor. ix. 7. 
 
 Liberality without charity giving without loving. 
 
 JEWISH LIBERALITY. 
 
 Besides the accustomed offerings made by the 
 Israelites at their annual feasts, when none were to 
 "appear empty," Deut. xvi. 16, 17, and their tithes, 
 &c., the enormous sums raised for building the house 
 of the Lord, seem quite unparalleled in the history of 
 the Church
 
 208 SCBI1TURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 For, 
 
 The tabernacle. Dean Prideaux computes their 
 offerings at about 244,127. 
 
 The temple of Solomon. The preparations made by 
 David are computed at 18,000,000; and of the 
 people at 30,000,000 ! besides brass, iron, and pre- 
 cious stones; and it should be especially observed 
 that those enormous sums are said to have been 
 offered willingly in every case, Exod. xxxv. 21, 22 ; 
 1 Chron. xxix. 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 17. 
 
 The second temple, Ezra ii. 69 ; computed at 80,000 
 for 42,360 persons (nearly 2 each, though many 
 were poor.) 
 
 The widow's mite, Luke xxi. 1 4. In this oft- 
 quoted instance the two extremes are said to meet 
 the deepest poverty and the greatest liberality. The 
 Greek word used to describe this poor widow denotes 
 one extremely poor ; yet, whatever her living was, 
 she cast the whole into the treasury of God. 
 
 Macedonian liberality, 2 Cor. viiL, ix. These two 
 chapters supply a beautiful exposition of the law of 
 charity in every point ; its source extent pattern 
 and reward. Though amongst the poorest, the 
 Macedonian Christians were amongst the most liberal ; 
 and they first gave themselves, and then their sub- 
 stance. See the beautiful reference to God's gift of 
 the manna, viii. 18 ; and to the greatest of all gifts 
 the gift of the grace of Christ ! viii. 9. 
 
 In Phil. iv. 18 St. Paul speaks of the liberality of 
 the Philippians as " an odour of a sweet smell, a sac- 
 rifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God." 
 
 LIFE. NATURAL FRAILTY OF.* See Vanity Pi- 
 cissitvOes Deatn. 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 A broken vessel, Ps. xxxi. 12.
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOK. 209 
 
 Crushed before the moth, Job iv. 19 ; Ps. xxxix. 11. 
 
 A dream, Ps. Ixxiii. 20. 
 
 An eagle hasting to the prey, Job ix. 26. 
 
 A flower, Job xiv. 2 ; Isa. xl. 6 ; James i. 10, 11 ; 
 1 Pet. i. 24. 
 
 Grass, Ps. xc. 5, 6 ; cii. 11 ; ciii. 15; Isa. xl. 11 ; 
 1 Pet. i. 24. See Cone, for many references to this 
 figure. One of the most striking points in the image, 
 is the contrast between the gayer flower and the 
 humble grass (see Isa. xl. 1 1 ; 1 Pet. i. 24) ; but both 
 are alike in this : they are equally liable to wither 
 or be cut down. In Ps. cxxix. 6 the figure is still 
 bolder " the grass upon the housetops," with its 
 feeble roots and little strength, "which withereth 
 before it groweth up," see Isa. xxxvii. 27. 
 
 Foam upon the waters, Hosea x. 7. 
 
 Handbreadth, Ps. xxxix. 5 one of the smallest 
 measures amongst the Jews. 
 
 A pilgrimage, Gen. xlvii. 9. See Strangers. 
 
 A shadow, Job. viii. 9, xiv. 2 ; Ps. cii. 21, cix. 23 ; 
 Eccles. vi. 2. 
 
 A shepherds tent, soon removed, Isa. xxxviii. 12. 
 
 Sleep, Ps. xc. 5. 
 
 A swift post, Job ix. 25. 
 
 A swift ship, Job ix. 26. 
 
 In these two verses the figures are taken from the three 
 elements of land, water, and air one figure in each. 
 
 A tale soon told, and often as soon forgotten, Ps. 
 xc. 5. 
 
 Thread cut by the weaver, Isa. xxxviii. 12. 
 
 Vapour breath, James iv. 14. 
 
 Water spilt upon the ground, 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 Wind, Job vii. 7. 
 
 Job x. 20. "Are not my days few 1 ?" Answer : 
 chap. xiv. 1, xvi. 22 ; Gen. xlvii. 9. 
 
 MANY SCRIPTURE NAMES are expressive of the 
 

 
 210 SCRIPTURE ITSELF TUB ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 frailty and uncertainty of human life Abel (a mist 
 or vapour) ; Enos (weak, frail) ; Mahlon (sickness) ; 
 Ghilion (consumption), <Vc. 
 
 LIFE SPIRITUAL.*** See Quickening Regenera- 
 tion. 
 
 " 'Tit not the whole of life to live" The word life 
 in Scripture, whether used of natural or spiritual life, 
 in its proper and highest sense, includes far more 
 than mere existence. We have an illustration of this 
 in 1 Sam. xxv. 6 " to him that liveth," where our 
 translators have added the words " in prosperity." So 
 we may explain such texts as Ps. cxix. 1 75 ; Prov. xv. 
 27 ; 1 Thess. iii. 8 ; and our Lord's expressed desire 
 for His true sheep " that they might have life, and 
 that they might have it more abundantly," John 
 x. 10. 
 
 GOD is the Author of life ; with Him is the " foun- 
 tain " of its blessed streams ; whence, as we read in 
 Psalm xxxvi. 8, 9, " the children of men abundantly 
 drink of the river of His pleasures." It is His high 
 prerogative to swear by Himself " As I live," saith 
 the Lord. St. Paul's quotation of Isa. xlv. 23, "I 
 have sworn by myself," is very noteworthy " As I 
 live, saith the Lord." 
 
 Christ is the " bread of life " " the Prince of life " 
 " the way, the truth, and the life " " the resurrec- 
 tion and the life " " the living stone." 
 
 Gen. xvi. 14. "The well of Him that liveth and seeth me." 
 The first recorded appearance of " the angel of the Lord." 
 
 Kxod. xii. The paschal lamb, both killed and feasted on, 
 presents a twofold figure of Christ ; both as the sacrifice for 
 His people's sins, and as the support of their spiritual life. 
 
 Ruth iv. 15. Boaz, the near of kin, was also a " restorer of 
 life " to Ruth. He is by many regarded as a type of Christ, 
 the restorer of life, especially to the Uentile Church. 
 
 2 Tim. L 10. " Brought life and immortality to light through 
 die gospel : " brought to clearer light elucidated.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 211 
 
 T/M Holy Spirit. "The Spirit of life in Christ 
 Jesus " " the living water," like the breath animat- 
 ing the dry bones in EzekiePs vision, Ezek. xxxvii. 
 9, 1014. 
 
 THE BLESSINGS of REDEMPTION are compared to 
 " living waters ;" wells of life ; living fountains ; 
 "life from the dead;" the "new and living way;" 
 the way and path of life; "the light of life;" the grace 
 of life; "the savour of life unto life;" the tree of life; 1 
 " the crown of life." 
 
 BELIEVERS are enriched with spiritual and eternal 
 life. (He only lives who lives unto eternal life ; all 
 else is living death.) They are spoken of as " living 
 stones ;" " living sacrifices ;" " alive unto God ;" 
 whose repentance is " unto life ;" who " walk in new- 
 ness of life ;" who " have eternal life ;" "justification 
 of life ;" who " reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." 
 
 The TREE of LIFE. The sacramental sign of life in 
 Eden (Gen. ii.), restored again in Rev. xxii. 2. The 
 figure is used four times in the Proverbs as the em- 
 blem of blessing : chap. iii. 18, xi. 30, xiii. 12, xv. 4. 
 
 The WORD of life, Phil. ii. 16. 
 
 LIGHT. 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS of LIGHT are used as emblems in 
 Scripture. 
 
 The sun is one of the most conspicuous and promi- 
 nent. God Himself, the great source of light, is 
 compared to the orb of day, as Ps. Ixxxiv. 11 ; and 
 probably in James i. 17, "the Father of lights" (a 
 word used by Greek and Roman authors for the sun.) 
 " Kings of the earth" were so called, the word Pha- 
 raoh is supposed to be derived from an Egyptian 
 
 1 The motto of the Fruiterers' Company is not more appro- 
 priate than beautiful " arbor vitae Christus : fructus per tidem 
 gustamus."
 
 212 SCKIPTUItK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 word meaning sun ; Plutarch says that Cyrus in 
 Persic signifies sun ; the name of Samson, the judge 
 of Israel, means a little sun ; all expressions, meant to 
 ascribe the idea of grandeur majesty and power 
 and central rule Tike that of the sun in Joseph's 
 dream, or in Deborah's song, Judges v. 31. Baal 
 also represented the sun. 
 
 The motm, " walking in brightness," Job xxxi. 26 j 
 Ps. civ. 19 ; Cant. vi. 10. 
 
 Stars, Ps. cxlviii. 3 ; Jer. xxxi. 35 ; Joel ii. 10 ; 
 Dan. xii. 3. 
 
 A candle candlestick, Luke xi. 36 ; Jer. xxv. 10 j 
 Ps. xviii. 28 ; Rev. i. 20. 
 
 A lamp lantern, Ps. cxix. 105 ; Prov. vi. 23, xiii. 
 i) ; Isa. Ixii. 1 ; Rev. iv. 5. 
 
 The dayspriny morning dawn, Luke i. 78 ; 2 Sam. 
 xxiii. 4 ; Job xxxviii. 1 2. 
 
 Day full, perfect day, Prov. iv. 18. 
 
 Precious stone, Rev. xxi. 11. 
 
 Fire, Ps. Ixxviii. 14 ; Exod. xiv. 20 ; Job xviii. 5. 
 
 SCRIPTURE NAMES are frequently associated with 
 the idea of light. 
 
 Abner meant* father of light ; Bosor (father of Balaam), lamp ; 
 Lapidoth, enlightened ; Neriah Uabaziniah, the lamp of Jeho- 
 vah ; Uriah, whose light is Jehovah ; Uriel, whose light i God ; 
 Phoebe, bright or pure. One singular conjunction of names occurs 
 in the case of Uri, the father of Bezaleel (Exod. xxxi. 2) Uri 
 means the light of Jehovah ; Bezaleel, under the shadow of God ; 
 as if the son's name was meant to be a supplement to the 
 father's ! 
 
 LIGHT DIVINE. 
 
 " GOD IS LIGHT," 1 John i. 5, essential purity- 
 unsullied holiness ineffable bliss. (See before, under 
 Stm.) 
 
 GOD IS LIGHT, " clothed with light as with a 
 garment," Ps. civ. 2 ; " dwelling in light " inaccessible
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 213 
 
 to mortal frames, 1 Tim. vi. 16; "the Father of 
 lights," James i. 17 ; "the light dwelleth with Him," 
 Dan. ii. 22. 
 
 CHRIST is "the light of the world," John viii. 12 
 xii. 46 ; " the true light," i. 9 ; *' the light of men," 
 i. 4 ; "a light to lighten the Gentiles," Luke ii. 32 ; 
 the light of the holy Jerusalem, Eev. xxi. 23 ; " the 
 bright and morning star," Rev. xxii. 16; "the Sun 
 of righteousness," Mai. iv. 2 ; typified by the pillar 
 of fire in the wilderness, aud the golden candlestick 
 in the Tabernacle and Temple. 
 
 John viii. 12. 
 
 " The light of the world ;" not a light, not the light ; and not 
 of Israel only, but "the light of the world." It was "early in 
 the morning " when Jesus came into the Temple, viii. 2. May 
 the figure have been suggested after our Lord's manner, by the 
 beaming forth of the sun's bright morning rays ? 
 
 Heb. vii. 14. 
 
 Our Lord " sprang out of Judah, " burst forth, as many take the 
 figure, like the rising beams of the morning sun. 
 
 Matt. iv. 15, 16. 
 
 The same figure ; Christ burst forth as the morning light, 
 scattering the gross darkness of midnight gloom ; appearing 
 first on the distant horizon, and then flooding the land with 
 light. 
 
 See Cone, under the light of God's countenance 
 the shining of His face, &c. 
 
 LIGHT SPIRITUAL.*** 
 
 SPOKEN OF AS 
 
 " The light of life," John viii 1'2 ; light like the 
 sun's, with quickening as well as illuminating power. 
 
 " Light in the heart" see Eph. i. 18 ; the reading of 
 some of the best MSS. is, " the eyes of your heart 
 being enlightened." 
 
 Illumination, Heb. x. 34.
 
 214 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Revelation, removing the vail, uncovering (see Job 
 xxxiii. 16, marg.); Gal. i. 16, the true inward revela- 
 tion. 
 
 Goshen, " light in the dwelling," Exod. x. 23. 
 
 The opened eyes. None but Christ opened the eyes 
 of the blind. See Blindness. 
 
 "Let there be light" the first command at the 
 world's creation, the first command in the soul's 
 awakening, Acts xxvi. 18 ; 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
 " Children of the light, and children of the day, 
 I Thess. v. 5 ; the beautiful title of Christians called 
 into God's " marvellous light," 1 Pet ii. 9 ; bidden 
 to " walk in the light," 1 John i. 7 ; putting on "the 
 armour of light," Rom. xiii. 12 (the nearer we walk 
 to God, the darker will appear the shadow of sin) ; 
 like lighthouses on a rocky coast, they are to stand out 
 in this evil world, holding out " the light of truth," 
 Phil. ii. 15 ; or, as the figure may mean, like stars 
 shedding their benign and gentle light upon the 
 earth. 
 
 LONG-SUFFERING DIVINE. Sec Christ, Tender- 
 ness of Mercy Warning Yearning Divine. 
 
 EXPRESSED in many ways : 
 
 The Lord "full of compassion" Ps. Ixxviii. 38; 
 Ixxxvi. 15; cxi. 4; cxii. 4; cxlv. 8, &c. ; as one 
 abounding in sympathy and pity. 
 
 The Lord suffering the sins of an ungrateful and 
 rebellious people, Acts xiii. 18 ; Matt. xvii. 17. 
 
 The Lord bearing long Kith evil, Num. xiv. 27 ; 
 Luke xviii. 11. 
 
 The Lord enduring " with much long-suffering the 
 vessels of wrath," Rom. ix. 22. 
 
 The Lord holding peace long time, ISA. xiii. 14; 
 Ivii. 11.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 215 
 
 The Lord refraining from words and acts of judgment, 
 keeping silence, Ps. 1. 21 ; Isa. xiii. 11. 
 
 The Lord forbearing, protracting judgment, Neh. 
 ix. 30 (marg.) 
 
 See Ps. Ixxviii., cv. ; Neh. ix., and other passages, 
 which chronicle the history of the Church. What 
 strange alternations they exhibit between the perverse- 
 ness of man and the marvellous forbearance of God ! 
 
 EXAMPLES of God's long-suffering in delaying judg- 
 ment. 
 
 The old world. More than a hundred years passed 
 while God still bore with its iniquity. It was the 
 tenth generation from Adam when the flood came, 
 and probably one hundred and twenty years while the 
 ark was preparing. 
 
 Sodom and Gomorrah, spared until their sin cried 
 aloud to heaven, and was " very grievous before the 
 Lord ;" and there could not be found ten righteous 
 persons for whom God might turn aside His threat- 
 ened judgment, Gen. xviii. 20, 33 ; xiii. 13. 
 
 Amorites, not destroyed till their iniquity was full, 
 Gen. xv. 16. 
 
 Amalek spared four hundred years, Exod. xvii. 14, 
 15; 1 Sam. xv. 23; xxx. 17. 
 
 Israel, borne with in all their provocations for more 
 than three centuries before they were sent into cap- 
 tivity ; like the barren fig-tree's probation, Luke xiii 
 69. 
 
 Jerusalem, see the Lord's pathetic appeals, Matt. 
 xxiii. 37 ; Luke xiii. 34 ; xix. 41, 42. See Yearning, 
 Divine. 
 
 LORD. 
 
 Many important and precious truths may be ga- 
 thered from the original derivation of the word 
 " Lord " in different tongues. 
 
 The Hebrew word generally translated Lord
 
 216 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 (Adonai), is derived, according to most authorities, 
 from a word signifying basis support. 
 
 The Greek word KV(*O* points rather to self-exist- 
 ence (from icvpu, to be, to exist , see Hesychius), 
 though others derive it from Kvpot, authority, legisla- 
 tive power. It is generally used in the Old Testa- 
 ment as the translation of the word Jehovah, refer- 
 ring to the eternity and self-existence of the Divine 
 Being. 
 
 The English word Lord carries with it originally 
 another thought. "Lord" is derived from the old 
 Saxon Laford, or Leaford, which meant the afforder 
 or provider of bread, the sustainer of the household. 
 In this view, and in his generous, noble character, we 
 have a beautiful illustration of the title in Joseph, 
 who became the " lord " over Egypt ; who fed the 
 whole land in time of famine ; who was, at the same 
 time, saluted as " tender father," and was made ruler 
 of the land, Gen. xli. 40, 43, marg. 
 
 BAAL. The word Baal corresponded in the idolatry 
 of the Phoenician to our word Lord. It is used in 
 many compounds, Baal-beerith, Baal-peor, Baal-hamon, 
 Beelzebub, &c. In one instance it is applied to 
 Jehovah Himself, Hosea ii. 16. Most writers sup- 
 pose that Baal was meant to represent the sun, as the 
 great ruling power above ; and the names of some of 
 the historic associations of our own country (as Bel 
 Tor, in Devonshire) are alleged to be traces of the 
 idol-worship of our ancestors in the early Pagan 
 days. 
 
 The LORD OF HOSTS. One of the Divine titles 
 frequently applied to the Second Person in the Blessed 
 Trinity, especially in the prophecies of Isaiah, Jere- 
 miah, Haggai, Zechariah, and others; as also are 
 other titles 
 
 "The Lord of glory."
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 217 
 
 " The Lord of lords," &c. See Cone. 
 
 SEVERAL BOOKS of Scripture are especially observ- 
 able, as speaking of " the Lord " with peculiar pro- 
 minence. 
 
 The Book of DEUTERONOMY particularly. It is 
 remarkable how frequently the word occurs through- 
 out this book : " The Lord thy God," two hundred 
 and eleven times ; " the Lord your God," forty-five ; 
 " the Lord our God," twenty-one ; " the Lord my 
 God," three ; " the Lord his God," two ; " the Lord 
 God of your fathers," two. May we account for this 
 because Moses wrote especially of God as the covenant 
 God of Israel? and also as marking a broader dis- 
 tinction between the recognition of the one true God 
 and idolatry 1 ? 
 
 The Book of EZEKIEL. In like manner the pro- 
 phecy of Ezekiel abounds with the words, " I the 
 Lord;" and the words constantly occur, "they shall 
 know that I am the Lord." This occurs at least fifty 
 times, generally marking the result of God's dealings 
 with His people. 
 
 The Prophecy of HAGGAI. In two short chapters 
 the title of " the Lord of Hosts " occurs thirteen 
 times. Cf. also how frequently it occurs in the pro- 
 phecy of Isaiah. See Cone. 
 
 Luke L 43." My Lord." 
 
 Elizabeth was probably the first person who acknowledged 
 Jesus as the " Lord." Hers was a clear and vigorous faith ; but 
 it is well explained, when we read that she " was filled with the 
 Holy Ghost," ver. 41. 
 
 Luke ii. 11. "A Saviour, which is Christ the 
 Lord." 
 
 The first time the two titles are so joined, at the advent of 
 Jesus. As the word Lord in Greek generally answers to Je- 
 bovah in the Old Testament, here it no doubt declares the 
 Divinity of Christ.
 
 218 SCRIPTURE 1TSKLF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Luke xxiv. 3." The Lord Jesus." 
 
 The first time these two words are joined, after the resurrec- 
 tion. 
 
 Heb. vil 14. "Our Lord." 
 
 The only place where the words, now so popular with us, are 
 used in Scripture of Christ. 
 
 JUDAS. It is observable that the traitor apostle, 
 Judas, never addressed Christ as Lord ! When the 
 other apostles asked, " Lord, is it 1 1 " Judas said, 
 "Master, is it I?" Matt. xxvi. 22, 25, 49; Mark 
 xiv. 45. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. It is also observable 
 that St. Mark's gospel, which is the gospel of Christ 
 as servant, seldom contains the title, " Lord ! " It is 
 so used by Christ Himself only twice, chap. ii. 28 ; 
 v. 19 ; and by others thrice, vii. 28 ; ix. 24 ; x. 51. 
 In direct narrative it occurs twice at the end, when 
 the Lord's work of earthly suffering was finished, 
 xvi 19, 20. 
 
 LOVE** See Brotherly LoveKindness. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The natural regard every man has jor his awn body, 
 Eph. v. 28, 29. 
 
 The endearing relationships of life; the love of a 
 parent husband wife brother sister child. 
 
 The marriage bond, Eph. v. 25, 28. 
 
 The love of women, 2 Sam. iii. 26. 
 
 The kiss of love, the symbol both of natural affec- 
 tion and Christian brotherhood ; used by the early 
 Christians in their feasts of love, 1 Cor. xvi 20 ; 1 
 Pet. v. 14; Jude 12. 
 
 Invisible bonds, Hosea xi. 3. 
 
 The yearning of the bowels a figure used in the 
 East for the drawings of a warm and generous heart ;
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 219 
 
 exemplified in Joseph yearning over his brethren, 
 Gen. xliii. 20 ; applied spiritually. See Yearnings. 
 
 LOVE is SPOKEN OF as 
 
 Charity. The word was first introduced into our 
 authorised version of 1 Cor. xiii. by Tyndale. 
 
 Jealousy. Not in its sinful form of evil passion 
 (the figure is applied to the Most High), but as the 
 intense manifestation of burning love. See Cant, 
 viii. 10. 
 
 The "more excellent way." More valuable than 
 gifts, or knowledge, or self-sacrifice, 1 Cor. xii. 31 ; 
 xiii. 
 
 "The fulfilling of the law" Rom. xiii. 10. "Love," 
 says Jenkyn, " is the decalogue contracted ; and the 
 decalogue is love unfolded." 
 
 " The end (or sum) of the commandment, 1 Tim. L 5. 
 
 LOVE is 
 
 The first named on the rich cluster of the Spirit's 
 " fruit," Gal. v. 22. 
 
 The last named in the ladder of Christian graces, 
 2 Pet. i. 6. St. Peter's list may be taken as repre- 
 senting a spiritual building of many parts, of which 
 faith is tiie foundation and love the roof! 
 
 "THE LABOUR OF LOVE," 1 Thess. i. 3. Labour, 
 in itself hard, how love makes it seem light; and 
 labour that is long, to love it seems but short. As 
 Jacob's " seven years of service " for Rachel seemed 
 unto him but " a few days, for the love he had to 
 her," Gen. xxix. 20 ; or Rizpah's five months affec- 
 tionate watching, 2 Sam. xxi. 10. Love is the wing 
 that no flight ever tires ; the vehement flame that 
 "many waters cannot quench." 
 
 SCRIPTURE NAMES. 
 
 Dodo David Hobab all mean Beloved ; Eldad 
 Jerahmeel mean Beloved of God ; Jedidiah 
 Hashabiah Haddadiah Beloved of Jehovah.
 
 220 SCRIPTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 ST. PAUL'S TWO CHIKF DESCRIPTIONS of love 
 Rom. xii. 9 18. St. Paul's description of love 
 may be likened to a river, branching out into seven 
 affluent streams. True love should be sincere ("with 
 out dissimulation ") ; affectionate (" kindly affectioned ") ; 
 unselfish (preferring others) ; liberal (" distributing ") ; 
 sympathising (whether in sorrow or in joy) ; uniting 
 ("of the same mind"); condescending ("to men of low 
 estate.") 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. The Prelation (as the heading of the 
 chapter says) of charity. 
 
 LOVE DIVINE.*** See Forbearance Goodness 
 Mercy Yearning, &<x 
 
 1 John iv. 8. "Goo is LOVE." A text which 
 faith may gratefully receive, but wisdom can never 
 fully fathom. Nothing is easier than to say the word 
 universe; but it would take millions of years, and 
 more, to grasp even the outline of what the universe 
 includes ! 
 
 THE LORD'S LOVING-KINDNESS. A wonderful word 
 loving-kindness. Surely all love is kind, and all 
 kindness is loving ! Loving-kindness is therefore 
 like loving love, love stretched out to the full ex- 
 tent. One of the strongest texts describing the 
 Divine loving-kindness, is Isa. Lxiii. 7, where words 
 are heaped on words to bring out the wonders be- 
 yond expression, of the greatness of the unutterable 
 thought " the loving-kindnesses (plural) of the Lord, 
 and the praises (calls for praises) of the Lord .... 
 and the great goodness, according to His mercies, 
 and according to the multitude of His loving-kind- 
 nesses." See a similar pregnant verse, Ps. Ixix. 16. 
 
 THE LORD'S PLEASURE in His saints, Ps. cxlvii. 1 1 j 
 cxlix. 4. See Cone., Pleasure. In their "prosperity," 
 Ps. xxxv. 27 ; in their " uprightness," 1 Chron. xxix.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 221 
 
 17; in their self-sacrifices, Heb. xiii. 1621. "The 
 good (gracious) pleasure of His goodness," 2 Thess. i. 
 1 1 ; and " will," Eph. i. 5 ; the Father's " good plea- 
 sure," Luke xii. 32 ; the Lord's care for " the plants 
 of His pleasures," Isa. v. 7, (marg.) 
 
 THE LORD'S DELIGHT. See Cone. As a bride- 
 groom delights in the bride, so the Lord delights in 
 Zion, Isa. Ixii. 5, giving her a new name, that she be 
 no longer called, "Forsaken," and "Desolate," but 
 Hephzibah, which means, "my delight is in her," 
 and " Beulah," i.e., married (ver. 4). 
 
 THE LORD'S KINDNESS. See Cone. Great 
 marvellous merciful, Titus iii. 4. "The kindness 
 and love" (marg. "pity"), literally philanthropy. It 
 is singular that in the only two other places where 
 the Greek word occurs it refers to kindness shown to 
 strangers, viz., Acts xxvii. 3 ; xxviii. 2. 
 
 Like an inextinguishable flame, Cant. viii. 6. The 
 only verse in the book where the name of God occurs 
 in the Hebrew. In our translation the word God 
 occurs neither in Esther nor in the Song of Songs ; 
 but in the Hebrew of Cant. viii. 6, the eulogium of 
 love's " most vehement flame," which " many waters 
 cannot quench," is "the flame of Jehovah," i. e., the 
 most intense and inextinguishable flame. 
 
 Like a magnificent temple, Eph. iii. 16 18, whose 
 breadth and length, and depth and height, are sym- 
 bols of the abounding extent of the love of Christ ! 
 The breadth may represent Christ's world-wide love ; 
 the length its extent throughout all ages ; the depth 
 represents the wisdom ; the height its being beyond 
 the reach of any foe ; or perhaps, the Saviour's love 
 raising the sinner from the depth of misery to the 
 height of happiness. 
 
 Like a waving banner floating over the house of 
 wine, Cant. ii. 4. The figure may possibly be that
 
 222 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 of a banner on which the inscription is Christ's name 
 of love. 
 
 THE IMPOSSIBILITY of describing the love of God 
 is strongly marked in Scripture, as in 
 
 John iii. 16. "God so loved the world" "so" 
 what mortal mind can gauge the depth or scale the 
 height ? 
 
 Eph. iii. 19. "To know the love of Christ, which 
 passeth knowledge." 
 
 1 John iii. 16. "Hereby perceive we the love of 
 God ; " rather, hereby perceive we love the words 
 of God are not in the Greek, " Hereby perceive we 
 what true love really is ! " We behold the manifest- 
 ation of Divine love when Christ laid down His life 
 for us. See John xv. 13. 
 
 Eph. iii. 17 19. "That ye, being rooted and 
 grounded in love, may be able to comprehend, &c." 
 Only love can understand what love is, and what love 
 does ! Only those who love God can at all rightly 
 conceive what Divine love must be can get a little 
 further than the shore of the boundless illimitable 
 ocean ! 
 
 LOVE TO GOD AND CHRIST.** 
 
 Deut. vi. 5, x. 12, xi. 13, xxx. 6, 16, 20 j Matt xxii. 
 3638 ; Mark xii. 2830. 
 
 " The first and great commandment." 
 
 " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
 with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. As if Ho would not 
 leave out the least sinew or string of the heart ; the least faculty 
 or power of the soul ; the least organ or action of the strength : 
 so Bernard, 'with all thy heart,' i.e., affectionately ; 'with all 
 thy soul," i.e., wisely ; 'with all thy strength,' i.e., constantly. 
 Let the zeal of thy heart inflame thy love to God ; let the wisdom 
 of thy soul guide it ; let the strength of thy might confirm it. " 
 Adams. 
 
 The BOOK of CANTICLES contains the richest ex-
 
 8CJRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOK. 223 
 
 pressions of the intense and impassioned love of the 
 Bride to the spiritual Bridegroom. See throughout, 
 as chap. i. 2, 3, 4, 7 ; ii. 5, 7, 8 10; iii 1 5 ; v. 
 210, 16; vi. 13 ; viii. 57, 14. 
 
 1 Kings iii. 3. Of. 2 Sam. xii. 25. 
 
 How different is man's love to God from God's pure love to 
 man. "Solomon (whose name Jedidiah means the. beloved of 
 the Lord) loved the Lord .... only." As one says very beauti- 
 fully, " God's love to us is like the boundless ocean ; our love to 
 God is like a dewdrop, and that dewdrop stained with sin. " 
 
 Hosea ii. 16. " And it shall be at that day, saith 
 the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi (marg. i.e., my 
 husband) ; and shalt call me no more Baali " (marg. 
 i.e., my lord.) 
 
 John xxi. 15 17. "Lovest thou me? Lovest 
 thou me more than these ?" 
 
 (1.) Believers must expect to have their love to Jesus tested, 
 especially when just recovered from grievous falls like Peter's. 
 (2. ) They must not wonder if the Saviour's probing be deep and 
 searching. (3.) Their love should be a preferring, practical, 
 glowing love. (4.) Happy beyond description is it when they 
 can appeal to Christ's heart-searching knowledge, and reply, 
 " Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love 
 thee." 
 
 1 Cor. xvi. 22. " If any man love not the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha." 
 
 2 Thess. iii. 5. " And the Lord direct your hearts 
 into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for 
 Christ" (marg. the patience of Christ.) 
 
 Probably "the Lord" here refers to the Holy Ghost. 
 
 LUKEWAKMNESS AND INDECISION.** See 
 
 Backsliding Doublemindedness - Temporary Weak- 
 ness. 
 
 Compare the EXPRESSIONS 
 
 Fainting, Deut. xx. 3 ; Luke xviii. 1 ; Gal. vi. 9 ;
 
 224 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Rev. ii. 3 ; disheartened and relaxed, as cowards in 
 battle, or sluggards in work. 
 
 Halting, 1 Kings xviii. 21. 
 
 Slack, Joshua, xviii. 3. 
 
 Growing weary. Gal. vi 9 ; 2 Thess. iii. 13. 
 
 Ready to die, Rev. iii. 2. 
 
 Neither cold nor hot, Rev. iii 15, 16. 
 
 Sleeping and slumbering, Matt. xxv. 5. 
 
 Slothful, Heb. vl 12 ; cf. Prov. xv. 19, xxii 13. 
 
 Ps. cxix. 25. "My soul cleaveth to the dust." 
 Earth-born and earth-bound. 
 
 Cant. v. 2, 3. See how the Bride, after her wan- 
 dering state, is represented as overcome with irreso- 
 lute and pitiable slothfulness. 
 
 Isa. Ixiv. 7. " There is none that stirreth (rouseth) 
 up himself to take hold of thee." 
 
 Jer. ix. 3. " Not valiant for the truth." 
 
 Jer. xlviii. 10. " Cursed be he that doeth the 
 work of the Lord deceitfully " (marg. " negligently ") ; 
 cf. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 12. 
 
 Ezek. xiiL 5. "Ye have not gone up into the 
 gaps (as brave soldiers rush into the breaches to turn 
 away the foe), neither made up the hedge for the 
 house of Israel (sought the Lord's protection) to stand 
 in the battle in the day of the Lord." 
 
 Matt. xxiv. 12. "Because iniquity shall abound, 
 the love of many (rather, of the majority) shall wax 
 cold " a fearful warning for the latter days. 
 
 Rom. x. 2. " They have a zeal of God, but not 
 according to knowledge." 
 
 It was the shrewd remark of Placcius, that the Jews had zeal 
 without knowledge ; Christians too often have knowledge with- 
 out zeal. 
 
 Lot A mournful example of one who had faith for 
 himself, but little zeal or power as a witness for the 
 truth. See Backsliding Sin, Progress of.
 
 SCEIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTEATOR. 225 
 
 The tribes of Israel Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, 
 Asher, Naphtali, are specially mentioned as so defi- 
 cient in patriotism and courage, that they were content 
 to allow the Canaanites to dwell in the land, and be- 
 come their tributaries, instead of boldly and resolutely 
 driving them out, Judges i. 27 36. 
 
 Meroz Cursed " bitterly" because of their supine- 
 ness in not coming " to the help of the Lord against 
 the mighty," Judges v. 23. 
 
 Reuben, Gad, and Gilead at the same time with- 
 drawing from war on account of internal divisions ; 
 or excusing themselves, because they were too far off, 
 and too busy, Judges v. 15 17. 
 
 The nobles of 2'ekoa, Neh. iii. 5. 
 
 John Mark, Acts xv. 38. 
 
 The Church of Sardis, Rev. iii. 1 5. 
 
 The Church of Laodicea, Eev. iii. 14 22. 
 
 LUST. 
 
 Lev. ii. ll. Honey was not allowed "in any offer- 
 ings of the Lord made by fire," " because it turns to 
 sourness, and leads to fermentation, and the Lord de- 
 sires nothing of earthly sweetness. His offerings have 
 neither corruption (like leaven), nor carnal sweetness 
 (like honey)." Bonar. 
 
 1 Tim. vi. 9. "Many foolish aud hurtful lusts, 
 which drown men in destruction and perdition." 
 
 Titus iii. 3. The slaves and drudges of divers lusts 
 and pleasures. Of all voluntary slavery, the slavery 
 of lust and pleasure is one of the most pitiable ! 
 
 Eph. iv. 19. The insatiable covetousness of lust. 
 
 Prov. vii. 6 23. The fascinating cobra-like power 
 of lust ; and the bitter end, 2 Peter ii. 14. 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 3." After their own lusts." 
 " List and lust lie close together." Old Proverb.
 
 236 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 There is a striking significance and moral in the 
 meaning of three SCRIPTURAL NAMES : 
 
 Balaam Probably meaning the conqueror or de- 
 stroyer of the people ; the false prophet, who led 
 Israel into lust, and brought upon them grievous 
 plagues, Num. \\.\i 16; Rev. iL 14. 
 
 Delilah Meaning pining with desire, or, as others 
 derive it, meaning weak, enfeebling, Judges xvi. 5 
 the woman who enticed Samson through the power 
 of lust, and robbed him of his strength. So often 
 lust and weakness lie close together. 
 
 Kibroth-hattaavah " The graves of lust," Num. xi. 
 34, marg. Israel sought carnal gratification, and it 
 was given them, and proved to many an unexpected 
 grave ! 
 
 MEDIATOE, CHRIST THE. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS of the need and benefit of a media- 
 tor. 
 
 Joseph's brethren felt this, when they tried to make 
 their brother's steward their friend, to come between 
 him and them, Gen. xliii. 19 24. 
 
 Israel desiring Moses to speak for them with God, 
 Exod. xx. 1821 ; Deut. v. 5, 2327. 
 
 Moses standing in the breach, Ps. cvi. 23 (cf. Ezek. 
 xiii. 5, xxii. 30). 
 
 Aaron standing " between the dead and the living," 
 to turn away the plague, Num. xvi. 48 ; see also the 
 design of the Levitical service, " that there be no 
 wrath any more upon the children of Israel," Num. 
 xviii 5. 
 
 Jonathan coming between Saul his father, and 
 David his friend, 1 Sam. xix. 4 7. 
 
 Abigail intercepting the wrath of David from 
 coming upon Nabal, 1 Sam. xxv. 14 35.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 227 
 
 Jodb, by his skilful policy, restoring Absalom to his 
 father's favour, 2 Sam. xiv. 
 
 Blastus, the king's chamberlain, interceding be- 
 tween Herod and the men of Tyre and Sidon, Acts 
 xii 20. 
 
 MEEKNESS. See Gentleness. See Cone, under 
 forgive gentle patient slow to anger slow to 
 wrath a soft answer tongue peace strife, &c. 
 
 Titus iii. 2. "All meekness unto all men," the 
 Christian's measure of meekness. 
 
 Matt. vi. 14, 15. The only part of the Lord's 
 Prayer which the Lord especially explained and en- 
 forced, is that relating to a meek and forgiving 
 spirit. 
 
 Luke xvii. 5. " Lord, increase our faith." 
 
 A remarkable prayer of the apostle's, if we may take it as 
 arising from the remarks of our Lord just before. Christ had 
 spoken of the need of much forgiveness, upon which they asked, 
 not as we should have expected, for an increase of meekness, but 
 for an increase of faith. May not this be taken as a proof that 
 faith is the root and source of meekness ? 
 
 Col. iii. 12; 1 Pet. iii. 4. 
 
 True, loving, Christian meekness should be " put on " by the 
 elect of God, as a garment, and worn as a graceful and becom- 
 ing ornament. "The back of love,'' says an old writer, "will 
 bear a load of injuries." 
 
 There are many kinds of meekness we read of, all 
 commended as marks of a Christian spirit : 
 
 The meekness of love, 1 Cor. xiii. 5, 7. 
 
 The meekness of wisdom, Jameb ii. 13. 
 
 The meekness of teaching, 2 Tim. ii. 25. 
 
 The meekness of self-restraint, Exod. xxiii. 4 9 ; 
 Prov. vi. 32, xix. 11. 
 
 The meekness of long-forbearing, Prov. xxviii. 15. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 It is worthy of note that some of the saints most
 
 228 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 eminent for meekness were made so by Dirine train- 
 ing and discipline ; naturally they were hot and im- 
 pulsive, as Moses, St. John, and others. 
 
 Joseph was a striking example of holy meekness, in 
 his silent forbearance, never uttering a word against 
 Potiphar's wife nor his brethren, nor complaining of 
 the chief butler, nor using the power he afterwards 
 attained for revenge. 
 
 Moses, the man who was marked above others, 
 as being especially and pre-eminently " very meek," 
 Num. xii. 3. We may rightly, indeed, say of him, 
 No one was bolder in defending the honour of God 
 than Moses was, and no one was meeker in defending 
 his own honour when assailed ; see Exod. xxxiii. 26 
 32 ; Num. XL 29. 
 
 David. How truly noble was his meekness, under 
 great provocation from his brethren, from Saul, from 
 A.bsalom, from Shimei ! 
 
 His " establishment on the throne of Israel arose, 
 not from his destruction of his enemies, but from 
 their destruction of each other. In a war of five 
 years' continuance, which followed upon Saul's death, 
 David never once lifted up a sword against a subject ; 
 and, at the end of it, he punished no rebel, he re- 
 membered no offence, but the murder of his rival, 
 2 Sam. iv. 912 ; Prov. xx. 28.NichoIls on Pro- 
 
 Samuel never ceased to bring the cause of those 
 who were virtually rejecting him before the Lord, 
 1 Sam. xii. 23, viii. 19 ; cf. Rom. xii. 21. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS was Himself the blessed pattern 
 of meekness, Matt. xi. 29 ; 2 Cor. x. 1. Cf. His 
 riding into the holy city on an ass, Matt. xxi. 5 j his 
 being led " as a lamb to the slaughter;" being " dumb 
 before the shearers," Isa. liii. 7 ; enforcing, by His 
 teaching and by His example, the evil of revenge,
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 229 
 
 and the beauty of meekness and humility. Christ 
 gave the fullest proof of true meekness by not sus- 
 pending His work of mercy because rejected ; nor 
 inflicting vengeance on His foes when persecuted; nor 
 upbraiding His disciples when forsaken, denied, be- 
 trayed ; but rather giving new evidence of His tender 
 and kind compassion, and, at last, by praying even 
 for His murderers, "Father, forgive them;" see Ps. 
 xxii., Ixix., and others. 
 
 1 Pet. ii. 23. " Who, when he was reviled," &c. 
 
 The margin says, He " committed them to Him that judgeth 
 righteously;" "them," i.e., "His reproaches and sufferings;" 
 but Alford and others think it more probably refers to those 
 who inflicted His sufferings, perhaps not without reference to 
 "Father, forgive them." 
 
 Rev. v. 8. " A Lamb, as it had been slain ;" bpviov, 
 a little or delicate lamb. It is singular to find this 
 word, except in John xxi., peculiar to the Apocalypse, 
 in which it refers twenty-eight times to the Lamb of 
 God ; why does not seem certain, unless to put for- 
 ward more prominently His meek and gentle nature. 
 
 MERCY DIVINE. See Forbearance Goodness- 
 Grace Love. 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 The rainbow, Gen. ix. 13 ; Ezek. i. 28 ; Rev. iv. 3 ; 
 x. 1 ; the divinely appointed token of the covenant 
 of mercy, beautiful in its simplicity, blessed in its 
 perpetuity, the bright bow formed on the dark cloud. 
 
 The mercy-seat or propitiatory, Exod. xxv. 17 22; 
 the lid of the ark, made of pure gold, of one piece 
 with the cherubim ; the appointed meeting-place of 
 Jehovah with His people. 
 
 A beautiful temple, "built up for ever," Ps. Ixxxix. 
 2 ; rising, in spite of opposition, stone by stone, to 
 perfection and completion
 
 230 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 A father's pity, Ps. ciiL 13. 
 
 A pioneer or harlnnger, Ps. Ixxxix. 16 ; going before 
 to mark out the way. 
 
 A girdle that compasses the righteous man on every 
 side, Ps. xxxii. 10. 
 
 A prop or support, Ps. xciv. 18. 
 
 Believers are called 
 
 Vessels of mercy, Rom. ix. 23 ; empty in themselves, 
 but honoured to receive God's grace. " Vessels of 
 honour must, to eternity, own themselves vessels of 
 mercy. " Henry. 
 
 Ituhamah, Hosea ii. 1, the pious remnant, whose 
 name should mean, "having obtained mercy," 
 marg. 
 
 Mercy and judgment, Ps. ci. 1 ; see the gracious in- 
 tertwining of these two, as it runs through many 
 parts of Scripture, Ps. Ixxviii. ; Hosea xiii., fec. 
 
 Mercy and truth, Ps. Ivil 3; Ixi. 7 ; Ixxxv. 10; Prov. 
 xvi. G ; Micah vii. 20, &c. 
 
 Goodness and mercy, Ps. xxiii. 6 ; c. 5. 
 
 The mercy of God, see Text books for expressions of 
 the aboundings of Divine nvjrcy great manifold 
 plenteous abundant sure everlasting, &c.' 
 
 Tender mercies (mercy even more than ordinarily 
 merciful) ; bowels of mercy (mercy from the inmost 
 part) ; merciful kindness, multitude of mercies. 
 
 God, " the Father of (tender) mercies and the God 
 of all (possible) comforts," 2 Cor. i. 3, is Himself " rich 
 in mercy " and " great in love," Eph. ii. 4 ; cf. how 
 He proclaimed His name to Moses, at a time when 
 Israel needed special mercy, Exod. xxxiv. 6, after the 
 rebellion of xxxii. ; as " the Lord, the Lord God, mer- 
 ciful and gracious, .... keeping mercy for thousands" 
 (mercy is the attribute first declared) ; so elsewhere 
 the Lord joins mercy with fulness of compassion, as 
 Ps. Ixxxvi. 15 ; cxi. 4 ; cxii. 4 ; cxlv. 8. He declares 
 mercy to be His peculiar delight, Micah vil 8 ; that
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 231 
 
 He is "very pitiful (full of pity), and of great mercy," 
 James v. 11. 
 
 The Lord Jesus, the propitiation, 1 John ii. 2. See 
 Tenderness of Christ. 
 
 HAVE MERCY UPON ME. Trace in Cone, how often 
 this occurs, as the cry of weakness and conscious sin. 
 It was the cry of David many times ; of Bartimaeus ; 
 of the Syraphoenician woman; of the lepers, and 
 of others. 
 
 John vi. 1 9. Bethesda. 
 
 The word Bethesda means " the house of mercy." It was a 
 fitting title for such a place. But see how graciously the record 
 brings out the sympathy and power of Jesus ! What compassion 
 He showed to the impotent man, who had " no helper," Ps. 
 Ixxii. 12. 
 
 1 Tim. i. 13, 16. "But I obtained mercy." 
 
 The sweet parenthesis of gratitude. It has been observed by 
 some, how St. Paul stops here to adore the abounding grace and 
 mercy of God to him. The words should be read as if this 
 sentence came in parenthetically, " who was before a blasphemer 
 and a persecutor and injurious, because I did it ignorantly in 
 unbelief, but I obtained mercy." But the apostle's sense of 
 Divine mercy was so strong, that he could not help breaking off 
 in what he was saying, to give utterance to the fulness of his 
 heart. It was now thirty years after his c inversion, yet how 
 fresh the remembrance was ; and observe, he says it twice, " but 
 I obtained mercy." 
 
 2 Tim. i. 8." Mercy in that day." 
 
 " Mercy " even to the last. The redeemed will find "grace" 
 even at the Lord's appearing, 1 Pet. i. 13 ; the Lord will "spare 
 them " with a Father's affection, when He makes up his jewels, 
 Mai. iii. 17. 
 
 Ps. Ixvi. 18 20. "If I regard iniquity in my 
 heart, the Lord will not hear me : .... but blessed 
 be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor 
 his mercy from me." 
 
 So David still gives the honour to God's mercy. We should 
 have looked for a different conclusion. " If I regard iniquity in
 
 232 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 my heart, the Lord will not hear me. " Therefore " I have kept 
 myself from mine iniquity. " But he ends in a different strain. 
 He -till givea the honour in all to God, and ascribes all, not to 
 hi* own piety, but to God's mercy. 
 
 MORTIFICATION OF SLN. See Self-denialr- 
 Warfart. 
 
 EXPRESSED as 
 
 Spiritual circumcision circumcision of the heart, 
 Deut. x. 16, xxx. 6 ; Jer. iv. 4 ; Col. ii. 11. 
 
 Spiritual death death unto sin, Rom. vi. 2 ; cruci- 
 fixion with Christ, Rom. vi. 6 ; Gal. it 20, v. 24 (a 
 slow, painful, ignominious death, but sure and cer- 
 tain) ; buried with Christ, Rom. vi. 4 ; Col. ii. 12. 
 
 Cutting off the right hand plucking out the right 
 eye ; parting with our nearest and dearest ties, Mark 
 ix. 4348. 
 
 Purging out leaven (the emblem of corruption), 
 1 Cor. v. 9 ; as the Jews searched their houses in 
 every corner with a lighted candle the night before 
 the passover, that no leavened bread might be left, 
 see 2 Tim. ii. 21. 
 
 UNDER THE LAW, the vow of the Nazarites was an 
 apt illustration of the duty of spiritual mortification. 
 Cf. their prescribed disregard of personal appetite, 
 appearance, and feeling ! They were to drink no 
 wine ; to let the hair grow ; not to mourn even for a 
 deceased father or mother, Num. vi. 1 12. 
 
 The expulsion of the Canaanites from the land may 
 also be taken as another illustration. The severest 
 penalty was pronounced against allowing these na- 
 tions to remain ; see Num. xxxiii. 55 ; Joshua xxiii. 
 1 3 ; Judges ii. 3. 
 
 The rough dress of Elijah, and the dress and habit 
 of John tlte Baptist, M'ere designed to express mortifica- 
 tion and deadness to the world, 2 Kings L 8 ; Matt, 
 iii. 4.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 233 
 
 CoL iii 5. " Mortify therefore your members that 
 are upon the earth." 
 
 j>e/c/3ci>(7aTe. There is a disease, called in medical language 
 Necrosis, which may serve to illustrate the great need of morti- 
 fying besetting sins. It is a disease affecting the bones, in 
 which they decay and waste away, until the whole frame seems 
 dissolved, and death puts an end to suffering. The illustration 
 may be applied to "the body of sin," which is to be mortified, 
 and deprived of strength and life. 
 
 Rom. xii. 1. "Present your bodies a living sacri- 
 fice." 
 
 "We cannot live comfortably unless we die daily." W. 
 Mason. 
 
 Gal. vi. 14. " The world is crucified unto me, and 
 I unto the world." 
 
 " Deadness to the world is the highroad to life unto God. 
 He who will not be a mortified saint on earth shall never be a 
 glorified saint in heaven/' Adams. Many Christians have 
 learned that Christ was crucified for them, who have yet to learn 
 that they must be crucified with Him. 
 
 Rom. vii. 24, 25. 
 
 Though the grand trunk be hewed down, the fibres of the old 
 tree of sin will remain, and must yet be plucked up as fast as 
 they arise. Sin in the believer is like a lion with the dart in its 
 side not killed at once, but wounded with a mortal wound. 
 
 Acts xxiv. 16. " Herein do I exercise myself." 
 Put myself in training, like one of the ancient athletae. 
 
 Phil. iii. 18. " Enemies of the cross of Christ." 
 " The persons meant were men who led licentious lives (like the 
 Corinthian freethinkers), and they are called ' enemies of the 
 cross,' because the cross was the symbol of mortification." 
 Conybeare and Howson. 
 
 MURMURING DISCONTENT. See Impa- 
 tience.
 
 234 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Gen. iiL 1." Yea, hath God said I" 
 " The first temptation to the first sin in the world was to dis- 
 content" A. FvUar. 
 
 Ps. xxxvil 1 7. 
 
 " The true remedy for sinful fretfulness. Fretting never re- 
 moved a cross, nor ever brought a mercy ; quiet submission doth 
 both." Jacomb. Sir Philip Sydney used to say, " I mourn, but 
 do not murmur." 
 
 Prov. xix. 3. " The foolishness of man perverteth 
 his way : and his heart fretteth against the Lord. ' 
 
 Like Kphrsim, when under chastening ; or Jonah, in his 
 
 I- .-vMiii. -.- ; or Israel, resenting the troubles they had brought 
 upon themselves. 
 
 Lam. iii. 39. " Wherefore doth a living man com- 
 plain, a man for the punishment of his sins ?" 
 
 Murmuring is the secret mutiny in the heart rising in rebel- 
 lion against God. But \vher.-fo: should any murmur ! A sin- 
 ner has no right to murmur ; a - ;iint -hul< 1 have no desire. 
 See Job xv. 12, 13. 
 
 THK UNDERTONE of discontent. 
 
 The Greek word generally used for murmuring in 
 the New Testament (yoyyvof** ) refers properly to the 
 suppressed mutterings of discontent " It seems to 
 be a word formed from the sound, like murmuro, 
 mussito, in Latin ; and murmur, mutter, grumble, 
 growl, in English." Parkhurst. This brings out Un- 
 meaning of many texts very forcibly ; as Matt. xx. 
 11 ; John vi. 41, 43 ; vii. 32. See how the spirit of 
 murmuring begins and spreads, Num. xi. 1, marg. ; 
 Ps. cvi. 25 they "murmured in their tents." 
 
 THE GROWTH of DISCONTENT. See Sin, Progress of. 
 
 ISRAEL'S MUIIMURINCS in the wilderness. 
 
 One of the darkest features in Israel's history was 
 their murmuring spirit. Consider (1.) the frequency ; 
 (2.) the unreasonableness and ingratitude of the sin ;
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 235 
 
 (3.) the Lord's wonderful forbearance towards them ; 
 (4.) the fearful judgments this one sin brought upon 
 the people. Take a brief sketch : 
 
 Exod. v. 20, 21. First murmuring against Moses 
 and Aaron, because of their hard bondage in Egypt. 
 
 Exod. xiv. 10 12. First murmuring after their 
 departure from Egypt, because they were still afraid 
 of Pharaoh's army. 
 
 Exod. xv. 23, 24. At Marah, murmuring because 
 the water was bitter. 
 
 Exod. xvi. 2, 3. After the Lord had sweetened 
 the bitter waters, murmuring because there was no 
 bread. 
 
 Exod. xvii. 2, 3. After the Lord had promised to 
 " rain bread from heaven," murmuring because there 
 was no water. 
 
 Exod. xxxii. 1. Murmuring because of Moses' 
 long absence the golden calf. 
 
 Num. xi. 1 3. At Taberah, the people " were as 
 it were complainers," (marg.) ; and the fire of the 
 Lord consumed many. 
 
 Num. xi. 4 34. At Kibroth-hattaavah, murmur- 
 ing because weary of the manna, when many 
 perished. 
 
 Num. xii. 1. Miriam and Aaron murmured against 
 Moses for his marriage. 
 
 Num. xiii. and xiv. 1. The people discouraged, 
 and murmured because of the evil report of the spies. 
 
 Num. xvi. The rebellion of Korah one of the 
 boldest and most defiant of their rebellions ; punished 
 by the earthquake and destruction of the 250 men, 
 &c. Yet on the morrow " all the people " rose up in 
 fresh rebellion, and 14,700 more perished in the 
 plague; and even then, see xvii. 12, 13. 
 
 Num. xx. 2. Murmuring the third time because 
 there was no water. 
 
 Num. xxi. At Hormah once more, after all their
 
 236 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 past experience, they murmured because " there is no 
 bread, neither is there water;" and they loathed the 
 manna, calling it " light bread !" 
 
 In these murmurings, alas ! all joined, the people ; 
 but not they alone. Even Moses, and Aaron, and 
 Miriam ! 
 
 Kitto well observes, that all Israel's " murmurings 
 before they came to Sinai were passed over, or merely 
 rebuked ; but all murmurings and rebellions after 
 Sinai, when they had had opportunities of knowing 
 more of God's law and God's unfailing goodness, 
 brought down punishment and judgment." 
 
 NEIGHBOUR. 
 
 "WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR ?" Lllke X. 29. 
 
 The heading of this chapter in our English Bible 
 supplies a good answer : " Christ tuacheth the lawyer 
 .... how to take every one for his neighbour that 
 needeth his mercy." 
 
 An illustrative answer to the question may be 
 found in the comparison of two Old Testament texts, 
 Exod. xxiii. 45, with Deut. xxii. 1 4 ; where the 
 Jews were enjoined to pursue the same law of kind- 
 ness towards an " enemy," one " that hateth thee," as 
 to a brother, one of the same race and kindred. The 
 sight of distress or helplessness is all that true kind- 
 ness needs to find a neighbour ! 
 
 St. Paul, in Rom. xiiL 8, 9, extends the love of our 
 neighbour to the widest limit : " He that loveth 
 another hath fulfilled the law," which he makes syno- 
 nymous with " Thou shalt love thy neiyiibour as thy- 
 
 OBEDIENCE. See Docility Service of God. 
 
 See Cone., under the expressions, doing the will
 
 SCRIPTTTKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 237 
 
 of God keeping the commandments observing 
 doing, &c. 
 
 "The obedience of faith" Eom. xvi. 21. Holy 
 obedience is distinguished by this from the obedience 
 of form, or of self-righteousness. 
 
 The obedience of children, 1 Pet. i. 1 4. Holy obedi- 
 ence is distinguished from the obedience of slaves. 
 
 It is observable that the same Hebrew word is 
 used for to hear, and to obey ; as in Greek the same 
 word is used for unbelief and disobedience. Cf. John 
 iii. 36 ; Acts xiv. 2 ; with Rom. ii. 8 ; 1 Pet. ii. 7, 8. 
 
 Deut. v. 29. " Oh that there were such an heart 
 in them," &c. 
 
 The Divine view of godly obedience : (1.) Its desirableness, 
 "Oh that," &c. (2.) Its source (obedience from the heart). 
 ',3.) Its office, to fear God and keep His commandments. (4.) 
 Its constancy, "always." (5.) Its blessedness, "that it might 
 be well," &c. See a striking parallel, xxvi. 13, 14. 
 
 Deut. xxii. 6, 7. The bird's nest. 
 
 The Jews say that this is "the least commandment." It is 
 striking that for so small a matter, so weighty a motive should 
 be assigned ! Is not this to teach us that the smallest matters 
 should be regulated by the principles of the highest law ? As 
 in a map of small dimensions, the prick of a pin may represent 
 the space of a hundred miles, so in the law of God, obedience 
 or neglect of the least commandment, may involve the smile or 
 the frown of God the Judge ! 
 
 Deut. xxvii 1 8. The memorial remembrance of 
 the law. 
 
 The connection is very striking of this ordinance. They 
 were to write the law upon the stones on Ebal, and to build an 
 altar close by, to signify that the law was to be kept before 
 them ; and no less that we cannot look upon the law with com- 
 fort apart from the altar, which represents sacrifice and atone- 
 ment. 
 
 1 Sam. xv. 22 ; Jer. vii. 22, 23 ; Hosea vi. 6 ; 
 Micah vi. 68. 
 
 Obedience is better than sacrifice.
 
 238 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 Ps. ciii. 20, 21. 
 
 The highest and noblest form of obedience, is when dignity 
 :itul power are combined with meekness :uul submission. 
 
 Jer. xxxv. 
 
 The condemning power of social virtue. The words of .Tona- 
 dab, though calling to self-sacrifice and hardship, were obeyed 
 for 300 years after his death, when the words of the great God 
 were disregarded and set at nought. 
 
 Luke xvii. 10. " When ye shall have done all," 
 &c. 
 
 (1.) The high standard of obedience. (2.) The impossibility 
 of gaining a claim on the ground of merit. 
 
 John xiii. xvii. 
 
 Seven times is obedience made the test of fellowship with 
 Christ. 
 
 EXAMPLES of eminent obedience. 
 
 Noah. One of the early saints of God, specially 
 commended for his strict obedience in Gen. vi. 22 ; 
 vii. 5 ; Heb. xi. 7. 
 
 Abraham. A bright example of unquestioning 
 obedience to the most mysterious trials of faith, in 
 the three important events of his life (see Faith, 
 Trial of) Gen. xii. 1 ; xvii. 1522 ; xxii. 1, 2 ; 
 Heb. xi. 810, 1719. 
 
 Moses. "As the Lord commanded Moses." We 
 read this again and again in Exodus and elsewhere. 
 Cf. Exod. xxxix. and xl. eighteen times. See Cone., 
 under " Did." 
 
 Joshua. Of him it is said, "he left nothing undone 
 of all that the Lord commanded Moses," xi. 15. 
 
 David. " I have found David a man after mine 
 own heart, which shall fulfil all my will," Acts xiii. 22. 
 
 Peter. Observe how in Luke v. 4 7 Peter did 
 just as the Lord told him, though at an unlikely 
 time, and when they had already failed.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 239 
 
 Israel. Three times Israel promised obedience 
 before, at, and after the giving of the law. See Tem- 
 porary. 
 
 THE importance of exact obedience is shown by 
 the examples, where the least deviation from the pre- 
 scribed order was followed by heavy judgments. 
 
 Moses struck the rocY, and that twice, instead of 
 speaking to it, and that once ; for which act of dis- 
 obedience he was prohibited from leading Israel into 
 Canaan, Num. xx. 8 12. 
 
 Uzzah. Smitten for his not attending to the regu- 
 lations of the law more strictly, 2 Sam. vi. 6, 7. 
 
 The Israelite who kept not the passover when with- 
 out lawful excuse, Num. ii 13. 
 
 The disobedient prophet, 1 Kings xiii. 
 
 The leper, by rash zeal hindering Christ's work, 
 Mark i. 44, 45. 
 
 The LORD JESUS was Himself the perfect model of 
 holy and continued obedience. Even "though he 
 were a son," Heb. v. 18; all through His life, John 
 viii. 29 44 ; iv. 31 ; up to the time of death, Phil, 
 ii. 8 ; Ps. xl. 8. Christ's obedience was probably 
 prefigured by the two tables of the law in the ark. 
 
 OBLIGATION AND EESPONSIBILITY.* See 
 
 Consistency Opportunity. 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 Servants, entrusted with a master's property, Matt. 
 xxv. 1430; Luke xix. 1227; Mark xiii. 3436. 
 
 Stewards, Luke xii. 42 ; 1 Cor. iv. 1 , 2 ; 1 Pet. 
 iv. 10. 
 
 Husbandmen in charge of the vineyard, Mark xii. 
 19. 
 
 Debtors, Rom. i. 14 ; viii. 12 ; Gal. v. 3, (marg.) 
 
 Wives, bound during the husband's lifetime, Rom. 
 rii. 2.
 
 240 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Teachers, who must expect a stricter judgment, and 
 if unfaithful, look for a heavier condemnation than 
 other men, James iii. 1 (Greek). 
 
 Ministers, under shepherds, responsible to the great 
 Master and Head, 1 Cor. iv. 1 ; Matt, xxiii. 8 ; 1 
 Pet. v. 4. 
 
 Under the law 
 
 Circumcision was justly regarded as involving 
 liability to keep the whole law, Gal. v. 3. Christ 
 Himself, therefore, consented to be circumcised ; and 
 also to be baptized of John, Luke ii. 21 ; Matt. iii. 
 15. 
 
 Historically 
 
 The children of Israel repeatedly acknowledged 
 their obligation and allegiance to the Lord ; as when 
 they solemnly pronounced the " Amen " on Mount 
 Ebal and Gerizim, to the blessing and the curse, 
 Deut. xxvii., xxviii. ; when they bound themselves 
 three times to observe the law in Moses" time, Exod. 
 xix. 8 ; Deut. v. 27 ; Exod. xxiv. 3 ; in Joshua's 
 time, Joshua xxiv. 22 24 ; and still more solemnly 
 in the days of Nehemiah, Neh. x 29 32. 
 
 Pa. c. 3, (marg.) "It is He" .... and His we 
 we. 
 
 Ps. cxvi 16. "I am Thy servant .... Thou 
 hast loosed my bonds." 
 
 Every blessing is a binder, and every fresh mercy strengthen* 
 the tie. Our English words, obligation and religion, are closely 
 allied in derivation both compounds of the Latin word lujo, to 
 bind. 
 
 Eccles. viii. 2 ; v. 4, 5 ; Ps. Ivi. 12. 
 The solemn obligation of vows. See Cone. 
 
 Lev. iv. Sin is aggravated by a man's position 
 and responsibility. The sin offering for the High 
 Priest was the same as for the whole congregation.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 241 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 11. " Seeing .... what manner of per- 
 sons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and god- 
 liness." 
 
 In the Greek it is "in holy conversations and godlinesses." 
 The intense fulness of the apostle's meaning is expressed in 
 our authorised version, by inserting the word "all." Thus 
 great privilege can never be dissociated from great obligation. 
 
 John xiv. 9. "Have I been so long time with 
 you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? " 
 
 Actsiv. 19, 20; v. 29. 
 
 The apostles' strong sense of obligation to God. 
 
 THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE UNGODLY. It IS a 
 
 solemn thought, how many wicked men referred to 
 in Scripture had the truth brought before them, and 
 were therefore justly deserving of a heavier doom 
 Pharaoh Ahab Herod Simon Magus St. Paul's 
 three judges, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, &c. 
 
 OFFENCES. 
 
 The Greek word <riiv8a\ov (which means stumbling- 
 block or offence), refers properly to that piece ol 
 wood in a trap or pit for wild beasts, which, being 
 trodden upon by them, makes them fall into the un- 
 expected snare. It is used frequently for whatever 
 makes a man fall or stumble, as in Ps. Ixix. 22, "let 
 it become a trap," which is rendered in the Prayer- 
 book version, "an occasion of falling." 
 
 Isa. liii. The heading of this chapter in our Bibles 
 is interesting, " The prophet, complaining of incre- 
 dulity, excuseth the scandal of the cross." 
 
 As also the heading of Ps. Ixxiii., "The prophet 
 prevailing in a temptation, showeth the occasion 
 thereof, the prosperity of the wicked ; the wound 
 given thereby, diffidence. 
 
 Four eminent saints especially were nrach stumbled by this 
 
 Q
 
 242 SCttlPTUKE 1TSKLK THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 particular trial, the prosperity of the wicked, Job xxL 7 3-1 ; 
 David, Ps. xxxvii. ; Asaph, IV 1 \.\iii. ; Jeremiah, xiL 1, 2. 
 
 ST. MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. It is noted that of the 
 four gospels, by far the largest number of references to 
 " offences " are in St. Matthew's, who wrote for the 
 Jews. 
 
 THE TENDER CARE not to give offence. What an 
 example was our Lord Himself! See Matt. xvii. 
 2427 ; xxii. 1721 ; Luke xii. 13, 14 ; His charge 
 not to offend even the little ones, Matt, xviii. 6 10. 
 
 ST. PAUL was also a notable example. See through- 
 out his epistles, as (Acts xxiv. 16) ; Rom. xiv. 21 ; 
 
 1 Cor. vii. 35; viii. 9, 12, 13 ; ix 12; x 32, 33; 
 
 2 Cor. vi. 3 ; viii. 21 ; 1 Tim. v. 14 ; vi. 1. 
 ST. PETER. See 1 Pet. ii. 12, 15 ; iii. 16. 
 
 OLD AGE. 
 
 The same word was used in Greek (*prpvt) for an 
 old man, an ambassador and an elder, doubtless, 
 because old age was presumed to bring experience 
 and ripeness of wisdom, Job xii. 12 ; xxxii. 7. 
 
 Is like 
 
 A shock of corn fully ripe, Job v. 26. 
 
 The eagle renewing his strength, Ps. ciiL 5 ; Isa. 
 xL 31. 
 
 " A good old age" an expression three times applied 
 to aged saints; to Abraham, Gen. xv. 15; xxv. 8; 
 to Gideon, Judges viiL 32 ; to David, 1 Chron. xxix. 
 28. It is said of Abraham, Gen. xxv. 8, that In- 
 died "full" our translators supply the words "of 
 years;" some would read it "full," i.e., satisfied with 
 a long and happy life, full of blessings. 
 
 David's psalms for the aged, Ps. xxxvii., xxxiv. 
 box., Ixxi., were all probably psalms of David, written 
 near the end of his life. David's old age was marked 
 by trouble. When about sixty-two or sixty-three, he
 
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 243 
 
 was apparently enfeebled by great bodily debility ; 
 see 1 Kings i. 1 4 ; whilst his spirit was ruffled by 
 the rebellion of Adonijah, his own son, seeking to 
 supplant Solomon ; and by the treachery of Abiathar 
 and Joab. Yet, notwithstanding all these troubles, 
 Ps. cxlv., probably the last psalm he wrote, dies 
 away in praise and trust to the God of his life. 
 
 Prov. xvi. 31. " The hoary head is a crown of 
 glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. 
 
 "Ancient and honourable " is Scripture heraldry, Isa. ii. 15 ; 
 Prov. xx. 29 ; Lev. xix. 32 ; but the diamond in the crown is, 
 " if it be found in the way of righteousness." Aged Jacob, when 
 about ninety-eight, wrestled with the angel, and received the 
 title of "prince with God ;" the long- tried Joseph, after eighty 
 years of holy steadfastness, laid down to die with a bright lustre 
 on his name ; venerable Samuel received the reverence of an un- 
 godly people in the winter of his life, 1 Sam. xxv. 1 ; Elisha, 
 when probably nearly ninety, was visited by king Joash, who 
 showed his mark of respect for one who had, doubtless, often 
 been his reprover, 2 Kings xiii. 14 ; Jehoiada, a good prophet, 
 born in Solomon's tune, and living through six reigns, was useful 
 in life, 2 Chron. xxiv. 2, 16 ; and honoured in death, ver. 15, 16 ; 
 BO Zeckaiias and Elizabeth, Luke i. 5 7 ; and aged Anna, Luke 
 ii. 36. 
 
 It is NOTEWORTHY that while we have the history 
 of many Scriptural saints distinguished for early 
 piety, we have little evidence of many " born again" 
 in old age. 
 
 It is NOTEWORTHY, also, how many eminent^ saints 
 were advanced in years before they entered upon the 
 great mission of their life. See Preparation. Noah, 
 six hundred years old; Abraham, seventy-six; Moses, 
 eighty ; Aaron, eighty-three ; Joshua, seventy-five. 
 
 EiPENESS OF YEARS, which should teach wisdom 
 (Job xxxii. 7), greatly aggravates the heinousness of 
 sin committed. Noah was over six hundred when 
 guilty of drunkenness and incest ; David over fifty 
 when guilty of adultery and murder ; Asa, in his old
 
 244 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 age, sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians , 
 Herod was seventy when he slew the infants at Beth- 
 lehem, from fear of a rival 
 
 FRUIT IN OLD AGE, see Ps. xcii. 14. It is interest- 
 ing to find how, at the decline and close of life, many 
 eminent saints were still engaged in faithful service. 
 Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and David, all closed 
 their earthly career by giving dying charges, in the 
 spirit of St. Peter, 2* Pet. i. 13 15 ; Moses, full of 
 vigour to the last, laid down his trust only with his 
 life, Deut. xxxiv. ; Caleb, when an old man of eighty, 
 was still ambitious of conquest and danger, Josh, 
 xiv. 6 15 ; David, after his eventful life, ended his 
 career by preparing " with all his might " for the 
 Temple which he was not allowed to rear, and arrang- 
 ing the order of the Temple-service, 1 Chron. xxiii. 
 xxix. ; Daniel, at the venerable age of near ninety, 
 was found earnestly occupied in studying the word 
 of prophecy, with fasting for full three weeks, Dan. 
 ix. 2 ; x. 2, 3. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. Old age did reverence to 
 Him, when but an "infant of days." Simeon, an 
 aged man, and Anna, an aged woman, both did Him 
 honour, Luke ii. 25 38. 
 
 OMNISCIENCE DIVINE. 
 
 Trace in Cone, under 
 
 " The eyes of Hie Lord " beholding running to ancJ 
 fro in every place, &c. 
 
 The eyelids, Ps. xi. 4, " his eyelids try ;" as men 
 sometimes narrow the range of vision, to look more 
 intensely at an object. 
 
 Seeing looking knowing beholding trying pon- 
 dering weighing searching, &c. 
 
 Divine Omniscience is attributed to each person of 
 the Blessed Trinity.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 245 
 
 God the Father, Acts xv. 18 ; Prov. xv. 3 ; xvii. 3, 
 &c. 
 
 God the Son, Acts i. 24 ; Zech. iii. 9 ; the seven 
 eyes upon the stone laid before Joshua probably are 
 designed to denote the manifold wisdom of Christ 
 the " Wonderful Counsellor," whose eyes were seen 
 by Daniel " as lamps of fire," Dan. x. 6 ; and by St. 
 John as " a flame of fire," searching and keenly pene- 
 trating. 
 
 God the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. ii. 10. 
 
 WHAT a TERROR the DIVINE OMNISCIENCE is to the 
 WICKED ! Nothing can evade the all-searching glance. 
 No darkness, Job xxxiv. 22 ; no secret place, Jer. 
 xxiii. 24 ; no secret sin, Ps. xc. 8 ; no hypocrisy, Isa. 
 xxix. 15, 16 ; no thought, Job xxi. 27 ; Isa. Ixvi. 18 ; 
 Ps. xciv. 11. Bead Ps. xliv. 20, 21 ; Prov. xvii. 3; 
 Amos v. 12; viii. 7 ; ix. 1 4; Zeph. i. 12. 
 
 WHAT a COMFORT the DIVINE OMNISCIENCE is to 
 the RIGHTEOUS, 2 Tim. ii. 19, "The Lord knoweth 
 them that are His;" John x. 14, The good Shepherd 
 knows His sheep, their numbers, wants, and weak- 
 ness ; the Lord knoweth the righteous, their hearts, 
 their frames, their ways, their days, their thoughts, 
 &c. See Cone. 
 
 "Thou knowest." The Divine Omniscience has 
 often been a ground of appeal to many of God's dear 
 saints in trouble, " Lord, thou knowest. So it was to 
 Job, x. 7; to David, 2 Sam. vii. 20; Ps. xl. 8; 
 cxxxix. 2 (if written by him) ; to Solomon, 1 Kings 
 viii. 39 ; to Jeremiah, xii. 3 ; xv. 15 ; to Peter, John 
 xxi. 15 ; and to the Church generally. God's pray- 
 ing people have learned to cast their troubles upon 
 His Omniscient care and providence, to lay every 
 trial before His throne ; and it is enough for them to 
 say, "Now, Lord, behold!" "thou hast seen it"- 
 " look," " see," " Thou knowest all things."
 
 246 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 1 Sam. ii. 3." The Lord is a God of knowledge." 
 
 The Hebrew is plural (the plural exceUctUitr), a God of know- 
 ledges, i.e., of unlimited knowledge, and therefore qualified to be 
 a righteous judge. 
 
 Heb. iv. 13. "All things are naked and opened 
 unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." 
 
 Alluding, as many think from the Greek word, to the sacrifi- 
 cial victim, laid open and exposed to full view. See Doddridye. 
 
 Rev. ii., iii. " I know thy works." 
 
 The beginning of each of the epistles to the seven Churches ; 
 a beautiful proof that the Lord is unchanged in nature. It was 
 thus that He made the first declaration of His sympathy in the 
 days of Israel in her warfare, Exod. iii. 7 ; and so the Book of 
 Revelation closes. 
 
 OPPORTUNITY. 
 
 EMBLEMS and FIGURES of seasonable opportunities 
 to be embraced, 
 
 Morning and evening, Eccles. xi. G, the time foi 
 work. 
 
 Tlie day-time, John xi. 9, 10, xii. 35, 36, contrasted 
 with the time of night and darkness. 
 
 To-day, Ps. xcv. 7 ; Heb. iii. 7 15, contrasted with 
 the future. 
 
 Summer and harvest, Prov. vi. 6 8 : x. 5 ; Matt. ix. 
 38 ; John iv. 35. 
 
 The day of visitation, Luke xix. 44. 
 
 The day of salvation, Isa. xlix. 8 ; 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 
 The accej>table time, Isa. xlix. 8 ; Ps. Ixix. 1 3. 
 
 A time when seeking may expect to find, Isa. Iv. 6 ; 
 Ps. xxxii. 8, marg. 
 
 Space to repent, Rev. ii. 22. 
 
 An open door, Acts xiv. 27 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 9 ; 2 Cor. 
 ii. 12; Col. iv. 3; Rev. iii. 8. 
 
 Dumb creatures may teach man knowledge. Tlu-y 
 know their "appointed times;" as the ant, Prov. vi.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 247 
 
 6 9 ; the stork, the crane, and the swallow, Jer. 
 viii. 7. 
 
 Prov. xv. 23. "A word spoken in due season, 
 how good is it ! " 
 
 Like the opportune counsel of Xaaman's servants, 2 Kings 
 v. 13 ; or the "soft answer" of praying Hannah, 1 Sam. i. 15, 
 17, the word adapted to the time, dictated by wisdom and 
 spoken in love. 
 
 Prov. xxv. 11. "A word fitly spoken;" marg., 
 " spoken upon his wheels," i.e., moving quickly to the 
 end aimed at ; "is like apples of gold in pictures (or 
 settings) of silver." 
 
 Lev. xvi. 21. "A fit man;" marg., "a man of 
 opportunity." 
 
 1 Sam. xxv. 8. " We come in a good (opportune) 
 day ; give, I pray thee." 
 
 Esther iv. 14. "Who knoweth if thou art come 
 to the kingdom for such a time as this ? " 
 
 Eccles. viii. 6. " Because to every purpose there 
 is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is 
 great upon him" (if he neglect the opportunity). 
 
 Luke x. 40, 41. It was Martha's fault, to let slip 
 the opportunity which Mary seized. 
 
 Luke xiii. 7. " Behold, these three years I come." 
 
 A time of grace sufficient, but with a divinely appointed 
 limit." 
 
 Eph. iv. 27. " Neither give place to the devil." 
 
 Occasion " opportunity makes the thief ; " and Satan well 
 knows how to make use of times and seasons. 
 
 Isa. xxix. 20. " That watch for iniquity." 
 i.e., for opportunities of committing it, and make it their 
 study, Micah ii. 1 ; Hosea vii. 6. Take such examples as He 
 rodias's mother, seeking to gratify her revenge ; and her anxiety 
 not to let the king's heat cool, coming in " straightway with 
 haste," Mark vi. 25 ; Judas, seeking the opportunity, Matt.
 
 248 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 xxvi. 16 ; the "convenient time," Marie riv. 11 ; "in the ab- 
 sence of the multitude," Luke zxiL 6. 
 
 Gal. vi 10. " As we have therefore opportunity, 
 let us do good unto all men." 
 
 " Opportunity is the flower of time; and, as the stalk may re- 
 main when the flower is cut off, so time may remain with us 
 when the opportunity is gone." Bond. When God sets us an 
 altar we should be ready with a sacrifice. He that will not 
 strike the iron when it is hot, will lose his labour when it is cold. 
 
 Eph. v. 16 ; Col. iv. 5." Redeeming the time." 
 The original Greek is emphatic and suggestive buying up 
 the opportunity ; making the most of the busy day of life, an 
 buyers watch the favourable market, and are glad at all times 
 to take advantage of the time of opportunity. 
 
 1 Kings xx. 40. " As thy servant was busy here 
 and there, he was gone." 
 
 Lost opportunities, like the neglected wind and tide, cannot 
 be recalled. The ancients painted opportunity with a hairy 
 forehead, and head bald behind ; to signify that, while a man 
 has it before him, he may lay hold of it ; but if he let it slip, he 
 cannot pull it back. There is great truth in what the Rabbina 
 say, Every man hath his hour ; and he who oversteps his sea- 
 sons may never meet with the like again. 
 
 OPPORTUNITY EMBRACED. 
 
 The miraculous cures wrought by Christ are many 
 of them instances of opportunities embraced. " As 
 Jesus poised by," Bartimaeus heard it, and sought a 
 cure, Matt. xx. 30 ; Mark x. 46 52 ; the centurion, 
 " when he heard of Jesus," sent to him to cure his 
 aick servant, Luke viL 3 ; the multitudes, when they 
 heard where He was, brought their sick, Mark vi. 
 54 56 ; see similarly chap. ii. 1 3. 
 
 So, many instances are recorded of those who took 
 the advantage of seeking His instruction ; like Nico- 
 demus, John iii. 1,2; Zacchaeus, Luke xix. 1 6 ; 
 the disciples, Matt. xiii. 10 36 ; xxiv. 3 ; Mark ix. 
 28, <fec.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 249 
 
 OPPORTUNITY LOST. 
 
 Many solemn and familiar texts stand as beacon 
 lights to warn us of this peril : " The door was shut" 
 " The night cometh, when no man can work" 
 " The kingdom of God shall be taken from you" " I 
 will remove thy candlestick out of his place." Cf. the- 
 doom pronounced upon Jerusalem, because the Jews 
 knew not the time of their visitation ; therefore the 
 things offered for their peace were justly " hid." So 
 upon Chorazin, Bethsaida, &c. Napoleon used to say, 
 There is a crisis in every battle : ten or fifteen mi- 
 nutes, on which the issue of the battle depends j to 
 gain this is victory ; to lose it is defeat. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. In this the blessed Lord was 
 our example. How He embraced every opportunity 
 of doing good to the bodies and souls of men. " As 
 He passed by" " when Jesus heard of it." And see 
 how He gathered lessons of instruction from passing 
 objects, &c., see John ix. 4, 5 ; xi. 9, 10. 
 
 So St. PAUL, whether taking advantage of the 
 altar he saw near Mars Hill, or of the visitors who 
 came to him at his lodging at Rome, his motto 
 seemed to be, " In season, out of season" " if by any 
 means I may save some ! " 
 
 ORIGINAL SIN. 
 
 Received from Adam, Rom. v. 11 21 ; 1 Cor. xv. 
 22. See Gen. v. 3 "Adam .... begat a son, in his 
 likeness, after his image." It is striking to compare 
 this with Gen. i. 26, when God first made man in His 
 image ; and yet, it should be remembered, this is said 
 of Seth, through whom came the godly seed of Enoch, 
 Noah, Abraham, &c. So we have many texts like 
 Hosea vi. 7 " They like men (marg. like Adam) have 
 transgressed ;" 1 Cor. iii. 3 " are ye not carnal, and 
 walk as men ;" Ps. x. 18 "the man of the earth ;''
 
 250 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 1 Cor. xv. 49 " the image of the earthy ;" Ps. xvii. 
 14 "men of the world." 
 
 Born in the nature of every man, Ps. li. 5 ; Iviii. 3 ; 
 Isa. xlviii. 8. " Some children, by their features and 
 lineaments, do as it were father themselves ; and thus 
 we resemble our first parents." Boston. Cf. the fre- 
 quent use of the Hebrew idioms " children " or " sons" 
 to denote likeness of nature : " children of Belial "- 
 "children of disobedience" "of the wicked one," 
 <fec, used with no less than twenty different varia- 
 tions ; so also the expression " born after the flesh." 
 
 The root of, is in the heart, Matt. xv. 19, 20 ; Heb. 
 Hi. 1019 ; Ps. v. 9. 
 
 Still dwells even in the regenerate, 1 John L 7 10. 
 " That our apostle here intends original sin is pro- 
 bable, because he useth the singular number sin, not 
 sins (as if it were some special sin he pointed at) ; and 
 likewise because of the phrase of having sin, which 
 intimateth that he speaketh of that sin which is as 
 it were habitual and innate in us." Hardy on 
 1 John. 
 
 Rom. viL It is observable how, through the 
 three chapters, v., vi., and vii., St. Paul traces up 
 man's guilt and defection to the original root ; and in 
 this seventh chapter mentions, as Clarkson says, near 
 twenty aggravations of the sin that dwelleth in us, 
 
 Was recognised under the law. (1.) By the ordinance 
 of circumcision denoting that even infants con tract a 
 natural guilt, by coming through their "parents' 
 loins." Beveridge. 
 
 (2.) By the ceremonial purifications after childbirth. 
 
 (3.) Some also draw a distinction between the sin 
 offering and the trespass offering ; the former repre- 
 senting sin in general, the latter particular acts of sin. 
 Jukes on the Offerings. 
 
 (4.) Possibly by the plague of leprosy. This was 
 hereditary, though not showing itself at first. Leper
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 251 
 
 children were often bright and healthy-looking, but 
 by and bye the plague appeared. 
 
 THE OLD MAN, Eph. iv. 22. This expression may 
 have been used to show how original sin spreads 
 through the whole nature, and to remind us also of 
 its long standing in our fallen race. 
 
 THE BOOK of JOB contains some very humbling 
 statements as to the innate defection of fallen huma- 
 nity, see chap. iv. 1719; ix. 20, 30, 31 ; xi. 12 ; 
 xiv. 4 ; xv. 14 16 ; xxv. 4 6. 
 
 Prov. xiv. 18. "The simple inherit folly." 
 
 Prov. xxii. 15. "Foolishness is bound up in the 
 heart of a child." 
 
 Bound in or to not merely by slight threads, but as it were 
 by chains, so that it cannot easily be torn from it. The Hebrew 
 word expresses firm, compact, and close embrace. It is used, . 
 Gen. xliv. 30 ; 1 Sam. xviii. 1. 
 
 Jer. xiii. 23. " Can the Ethiopian change his 
 ,skin?" &c. 
 
 Sin is here represented as inbred by nature, strengthened by 
 education, and confirmed by custom. 
 
 Matt. xvi. 23. "Thou savourest .... the things 
 that be of man." 
 
 What a sad testimony to the evil of man ! 
 
 MAN. " It is worthy of note, that in the Anglo- 
 Saxon the word is used to express, not only the 
 human being so called, male arid female, but also mis- 
 chief, wickedness, fraud, and deceit." Dr. A. Clarke. 
 
 PARDON OF SIN FORGIVENESS. 
 
 FIGURES and ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Sin is said to be pardoned when it is 
 
 Borne or taken away, Isa. xxvii. 9 ; Hosea xiv. 2 ;
 
 252 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 as the scapegoat bore the iniquities of Israel into the 
 land not inhabited, Lev. xvi. 8 ; xxi. 22. 
 
 Blotted out, Ps. li. 9; Acts iii. 19; like a debt or 
 a bond cancelled, Isa. xliii. 25 ; or a thick cloud and 
 vapoury mist, xliv. 22. 
 
 Covered, Ps. xxxii. 1 ; Ixxxv. 2 ; as an object loath- 
 some and polluted. There is great force in the 
 Hebrew word (kaphar), which, as Bush observes, is 
 used not so much in the sense of wrapping with a 
 garment, as in that of smearing and plastering. "Its 
 radical sense, therefore, is rather of an adliesive than 
 of a loose covering." The word is first used of the 
 ark covered with pitch, Gen. vi. 14; and afterwards 
 applied figuratively to the covering of atonement, 
 ransom, the mercy-seat, &c. 
 
 Removed, as far as the heaven is from the earth, or 
 as far as the east is from the west, Ps. ciii. 11, 12. 
 
 Washed away, or washed out, as the stains from a 
 filthy garment, Ps. 11 2. The same Hebrew word is 
 applied to the clothes of the man who had burnt the 
 red heifer, Num. xix. 8. 
 
 Cast out of siyht, " behind the back," Isa. xxxviii. 
 17 ; "into the depths of the sea," Micah vii. 19 (al- 
 luding to the Egyptian army covered by the waters 
 of the Red Sea, ver. 15 ; Exod. xv. 10. 
 
 Passed by, Micah vii. 18. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS of full and free forgiveness are sug 
 gested by the 
 
 Year of jubilee the joyous time when all debts 
 were cancelled, and forfeited inheritances were re- 
 stored, and liberty was proclaimed, Lev. xxv. ; Isa. 
 Ixi. 1, 2. 
 
 The generous master, who frankly forgave his ser- 
 vant the debt of ten thousand talents, Matt, xviii. 
 2327. 
 
 The kind creditor, Luke vii. 42. 
 
 Lev. iv. v. vi. " It shall be forgiven him." This
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 253 
 
 precious promise is repeated nine times in three 
 chapters. 
 
 Ps. xxxii. 2 ; Rom. iv. 6. It is important to note 
 how St. Paul uses the Psalmist's word. The Psalmist 
 says, " Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord im- 
 puteth not iniquity." St. Paul quotes this as David's 
 description of " the man unto whom God imputeth 
 righteousness without works," thus making the non- 
 imputation of sin, and the imputation of righteous- 
 ness without works, to be coincident. 
 
 Ps. ciii. 3. The Psalmist puts the pardon of sin 
 first, at the head of all other blessings, just as in our 
 Lord's miracles. He first said, " Thy sins be forgiven 
 thee;" and then, "Arise, take up thy bed," Matt. 
 ix. 26. 
 
 Isa. i. 18. "Scarlet" and "crimson" sins. 
 
 These colours are of the deepest dye, and are called fast 
 colours. To remove such, and change them to the purest white, 
 is a striking emblem of the pardon of even the greatest sins. 
 
 Matt. xiii. 15 ; Mark iv. 12. There is a beautiful 
 coincidence between the two accounts of our Lord's 
 words. St. Mark has it, " Lest their sins should be 
 forgiven them ;" St. Matthew, " Lest I should heal 
 them." Pardon of sin and healing go together. 
 
 Heb. viii. 12. "Their sins and their iniquities will 
 I remember no more." 
 
 It is a precious thought that the sins of Old Testament saints 
 are never referred to in the New Testament. We read of 
 ' ; righteous Abel," "just Lot," "faithful Abraham," "of the 
 patience of Job," but find no allusion to Job's impatience or 
 Abraham's doubts. Is it not because of this, when God par- 
 dons sins He remembers them no more ? 
 
 PATIENCE. See Impatience Rashness Meekness 
 Submission Waiting. 
 
 The Greek word ordinarily used for patience
 
 254 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 which means, literally, to remain under, refers to the 
 subordination of spirit of one under rule, or under 
 the rod. 
 
 The English word "patience" reminds us of the 
 connexion between sufferings or trial and enduring ; 
 so the two are joined, Heb. vi. 15, "after he had 
 patiently endured;" and Col. i. 11, "all patience and 
 long-suffering." 
 
 PATIENCE is a grace chiefly consisting in enabling 
 us to exercise other graces. It is the happy power 
 of steady perseverance, in spite of difficulties. Thus 
 we find it applied to 
 
 Patient continuance in well-doing, Rom. ii. 7. 
 
 Patient enduring, Heb. vi 12, 15. 
 
 Patient waiting, Ps. xxxvii. 7 ; xl. 1 ; Lam. iiu 26. 
 
 Patient fruit bearing, Luke viii. 15. 
 
 Patient running, Heb. xii. 1. 
 
 " The patience of hope," 1 Thess. i. 3. 
 
 Hoj>e is, by its nature, sanguine, and then-fore needs in be 
 kept in check ; patience is apt to faint, and needs t<> ! cheered 
 and strengthened. The two are admirably joined in tlii.- happy 
 combination. 
 
 James i. 5. " Let patience have her perfect work. 
 
 Patience has a work, often a hard work, to do. Nay, wait- 
 ing is often harder work than working. To stand still and be 
 doing nothing while the battle is raging, and the enemy seenis 
 to be fast gaining ground ! Nevertheless, " they also serve who 
 only stand and wait." 
 
 ST. PAUL'S commendation of patience. Speaking 
 of faithful ministers, he names it as a first qualifica- 
 tion, " in much patience," 2 Cor. vi. 4 ; speaking of 
 the signs of an apostle, he names it first, "in all 
 patience," 2 Cor. xii. 1 2. 
 
 PEACE. See Rest Meekness. 
 
 The Hebiew word for peace (shalom), which is so
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 255 
 
 familiar in the eastern salaam, is derived from a root 
 which means perfect, full, complete. This gives us 
 one notion of peace, " Quietness comes from fulness." 
 The Greek word (tipt^) is a compound formed from 
 three other words, &/>" <^ s *". to take into one. Acts 
 vii. 26 gives an illustration of this meaning, "he 
 would have set them at one again," which Alford 
 translates, "he would have set them at peace." In 
 this view, peace comes from reconciliation, to which 
 our English word pacified corresponds. The Latin 
 word pax (a pactione) has the same derivation. 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 The olive leaf, Gen. viii. 11, the emblem of recon- 
 ciliation and peace. 
 
 Still waters, Ps. xxiii. 2. 
 
 Deep rivers, Isa. xlviii. 18 ; Ixvi. 12. 
 
 The kiss of peace, see Gen. xlv. 15. Joseph's brethren 
 seem to have been afraid of him, until he kissed them ; 
 but, after he kissed them, their fears were allayed. 
 
 SCRIPTURE NAMES compounded with peace, 
 Salem, Jerusalem, probably meaning the habitation 
 or vision of peace ; Solomon, peaceable, 1 Chron. xxii. 
 9 (Ps. Ixxii., see below); Absalom and Abishalom, a 
 father's peace, probably given because David hoped 
 there would be peace in his days, or that he would be 
 of a peaceable disposition, neither of which proved 
 true; Salome, Shelemiel, at peace with God, re- 
 sembling the German Gottesfried, God's peace, whence 
 Gottfried, and our English Godfrey; Shelemi, Shele- 
 mith, peaceable. 
 
 THE SOURCE of HOLY PEACE is traced to each per- 
 son of the Blessed Trinity. 
 
 " The God of peace " is an expression used by St. 
 Paul six times, and by him only. 
 
 God only can "create" peace, Isa. Ivii. 19; "ordain"
 
 256 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 peace, xxvi. 12; "speak peace to His saints," Ps. 
 Ixxxv. 8. 
 
 The Lord Jesus is " the Prince of Peace," Isa. ix. 6 ; 
 "The Lord of peace," 2 Thess. iii. 16 ; He is the 
 Shiloh prophesied of by dying Jacob, Gen. xlix. 10, 
 which word (Shiloh) probably means the tranquillizer 
 or peace-bringer ; He is " the priest after the ordei 
 of Melchisedec," "the king of Salem," i.e., king of 
 peace, Heb. vii. 1 3 ; the Lord Jesus is He who 
 makes peace, Eph. ii. 15 ; and gives peace, 2 Thess. 
 iii. 16 ; who " came and preached peace," Eph. ii. 17 ; 
 and "is our peace," Eph. ii. 14 ; Micah v. 5; Zech. 
 vl 13; ix. 10. 
 
 The Lord Jesus brought peace as a prophet, John 
 xvi. 33 ; as a priest, Col. i. 20 ; as a king, Isa. ix. 6. 
 Peace was announced at His birth, Luke ii. 14; peace 
 He bequeathed as His legacy before His death, John 
 xiv. 27 ; peace was His salutation to the disciples after 
 His resurrection, John xx. 19, 21, 26. 
 
 The Holy Spirit is also the giver of peace, see Gal. 
 v. 22, where peace is included in the rich cluster of 
 the Spirit's fruit. 
 
 JEHOVAH-SHALOM, "the Lord shall send peace," 
 Judges vi 24, marg. ; the name of the altar Gideon 
 reared. 
 
 THE PEACE OFFERINGS. An important class of 
 the Levitical worship, the principal design of which 
 is supposed to have been to represent the offerer's 
 perfect fellowship and communion with God, as one 
 of His reconciled children, privileged to come into 
 His presence, and sit down at His table. 
 
 " PEACE BE UNTO YOU," the well-known Eastern 
 salutation. It is noteworthy that our Lord first ad- 
 dressed these now familiar words to the disciples ajter 
 the resurrection, John xx. 19, 21, 26, never before :
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 257 
 
 though He said to the woman whom He healed, Mark 
 v. 34, as also to the penitent, Luke vii. 50, "Go in 
 (or into) peace." 
 
 THE BLESSED EFFECTS of peace may be aptly illus- 
 trated by many of Christ's miracles. Take three : - 
 
 His calming the storm on the lake with the word of 
 power, " Peace, be still," Mark iv. 39. 
 
 His tender charge to the woman, whose disease one 
 touch of His garment had healed, " Go in (or into) 
 peace," Mark v. 34. 
 
 The change wrought in the ungovernable and wild 
 demoniac, who was found calmly sitting, clothed, and 
 in his right mind, Mark v. 15. 
 
 May not these all be regarded as parables of the 
 blessed peace Christ gives to believers and to churches, 
 when He allays the storms without, and calms the 
 storms within 1 
 
 Ps. xxix. 11. A psalm describing a storm subsid- 
 ing into calm ; peace after storm. And when is it so 
 welcome 1 How grateful, after the earthquake and 
 thunder of Jehovah's power, is the still small voice 
 of peace ! 
 
 Ps. iii. 5. See the inscription of this Psalm (which 
 is generally allowed to be authentic). It was written 
 time of David's melancholy flight from Absa- 
 
 ^ yet then, mark how " the sweet Psalmist" laid 
 lim down and slept in peace. So Peter slept calmly 
 the night before his expected execution, Acts xii. 6. 
 How beautifully Bunyan remembered this when he 
 describes Christian as sleeping in the house Beautiful, 
 in a chamber called Peace ! 
 
 Ps. Ixxii. A prophecy of the peace of Messiah's 
 reign, especially appropriate in " a Psalm of or for 
 Solomon," the "man of rest," whose name means 
 peaceable. 
 
 Col. iii. 15. "Let the peace of God rule;" an 
 
 R
 
 258 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 allusion to the umpire in the ancient games, whose 
 office it was to preserve order, and assign the prizes. 
 Isa. xxvi. 3; Ivii. 19. The rich promise of "per- 
 fect peace," " peace, peace," marg. ; peace, the inherit- 
 ance of the mind calmly "stayed on God." 
 
 *Ps. xxxvii. 37 ; Isa. Ivii. 2. Peace in death, like 
 Simeon's swan-like song, Luke ii. 29 ; and Stephen's 
 peaceful sleep, Acts vii. 60. See Cone, under quiet- 
 ness still, &c. 
 
 PERFECTION. 
 
 Many figures and illustrations of perfection may he 
 collected by an examination of the derivation and 
 significance of the original words so rendered, as 
 
 .ff 
 
 The legal sacrifices, which were required to be per- 
 fectly sound and whole. The Hebrew word we ren- 
 der " perfect," is translated in more than forty places 
 " without blemish ; " in eight " without spot ; " and 
 in upwards of twenty "perfect." Elsewhere it is 
 rendered, upright sincere complete full sound. 
 
 Full of ripe age. Distinguished from a state of in- 
 fancy or immaturity, Heb. v. 1 4 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 20, 
 (marg.) 
 
 A ship in full sail, Heb. vi. 1. (So, at least, many 
 take the figure here.) 
 
 Racers that have, reached the goal, Phil. iii. 12. (See 
 Dr. A. Clarke.) 
 
 Scholars, " perfected," taught, who are proficient as 
 their masters, Luke vi. 40. 
 
 The daylight advancing to meridian fulness, Prov. 
 iv. 18. 
 
 Grain, perfect and ripe, Isa. xviii. 5. 
 
 A time fulfilled, Luke ii. 43. 
 
 A work completed, John xvii. 4 ; Acts xx. 24. 
 
 A rent perfectly joined together, 1 Cor. i. 10.
 
 SCKIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 259 
 
 PERFECTION may also be illustrated by its contrasts. 
 It is opposed to 
 
 What is false or mixed, Deut. xxv. 13 15 ; Prov. 
 xi. 1. 
 
 What is defective or immature, like a body wanting 
 some member, or a net requiring mending. See Matt. 
 xix. 21. So our Lord gave the charge, " If thou wilt 
 be perfect," to one who had just said, " What lack I 
 yet 1 ?" Luke viii. 14, 20; the thorny ground hearers 
 brought "no fruit to perfection" to perfect ripe- 
 ness. We read in James i. 4 of those who are " per- 
 fect and entire, wanting nothing." Of. similarly 
 Col. iv. 12, "perfect and complete." 
 
 SEVEN is the number of perfection in Scripture. 
 It is said to be so used because composed of the num- 
 ber three, representing the Deity ; and four represent- 
 ing the world in its fulness. 
 
 ONE of the Greek words translated perfect may be 
 illustrated by its use. It is applied to fishermen 
 mending their nets the re-fitting a ship the repair- 
 ing of a house the re-setting of a broken limb the 
 putting to right of what was defective and incom- 
 plete. 
 
 STANDARDS of Christian perfection 
 
 Matt. v. 48. " Be ye therefore perfect, even as 
 your Father which is in heaven is perfect." 
 
 Eph. iv. 13. "Till we all come .... unto a per- 
 fect man, the measure of the stature of the fulness of 
 Christ." 
 
 COMPARATIVE PERFECTION. 
 
 It is noteworthy how many Scriptural saints, 
 spoken of as " perfect," were marked by grievous 
 falls. See Backsliding. 
 
 ST. JAMES. Some have observed that St. James, 
 who dwells so much upon works, twice speaks of 
 perfection as lying much in what are called passive
 
 260 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 graces; the work of patience, chap, i. 4 ; and restraint 
 of speech, iii 2. 
 
 Perfection need not be always of the same dimen- 
 sions. A man may be perfect as a man, in every part 
 of the body ; but one man may be taller, or stronger, 
 or more handsome than another man ! The work of 
 the ministry is to labour to " present every man per- 
 fect" at last, according to his measure, in Christ 
 Jesus, Col. i. 28. 
 
 SOLOMON'S TEMPLE was noted for perfection and 
 beauty. Every part the vessels the golden altars 
 tables candlesticks, &c., were made "of gold, and 
 that perfect gold " " perfections of gold," 2 Chron. 
 iv. 21, marg., viii. 16. 
 
 THE PERFECTION OF GOD'S WORD, Ps. xix 11 ; 
 James i. 25 ; 2 Tim. iii. 17 ; Ps. cxix. 96. 
 
 The perfection of God's will, and irai/, and work, 
 Deut. xxxil 4; Ps. xviii. 30; Col. iv. 12; Kom. 
 xii. 2. 
 
 The perfection of the Church of Christ, when " that 
 which is perfect is come," 1 Cor. xiii. 10; and the 
 Church shall be presented "as a chaste virgin to 
 Christ," 2 Cor. xi. 2 ; " not having spot, or wrinkle, 
 or any such thing," but perfectly " holy and without 
 blemish," Eph. v. 27. 
 
 The Lord Jesus was "perfect" alike in personal 
 holiness and official sufficiency. Christ was typified 
 by the perfect and unblemished sacrifices. He was 
 "made perfect through sufferings." Like a faithful 
 servant and a loving Son, He could say, at the end 
 of his course, " I have finished the work which Thou 
 gavest me to do." He was the High Priest the 
 Son " consecrated (or perfected, Heb. vii. 28, marg. ) 
 for evermore." 
 
 John xix. 30." It is finished." 
 
 The same Greek word in other places rendered perfected, in
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOR. 261 
 
 which sense Christ's work stands alone. Not only is the work 
 of every man necessarily imperfect, as being the work of an im- 
 perfect being ; but man's work must always fall short of his 
 designs. No Christian ever came to the end of life, who fety 
 that he had accomplished all he designed for the glory of Christ. 
 The perfect God-man above could say of all He came to do 
 "It is finished." 
 
 PERSECUTION PERSECUTORS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The darkness that fell upon Abram when the burn- 
 ing lamp passed between the divided sacrifice, Gen. 
 xv. 921. 
 
 The burning lush, Exod. iii. 1, 2. 
 
 The wicked husbandmen in the vineyard, Matt. xxi. 
 3335. 
 
 The wild boar rooting up the vine, Ps. Ixxx. 
 12, 13. 
 
 The bulls of Bashan fierce dogs, Ps. xxii. 12, 13, 
 16, 20; the lion, 2 Tim. iv. 17; grievous wolves, Acts 
 xx. 29. 
 
 Archers, Gen. xlix. 23. 
 
 A great fight of afflictions, Heb. x. 32. 
 
 The Lord's people are described as corn threshed 
 upon the floor, Isa. xxi. 10 ; as sheep sent forth in the 
 midst of wolves, Matt. x. 16. 
 
 Gen. iv. 8. The first persecution. 
 
 The first man that died, died persecuted for religion. " Death 
 was denounced as a curse, and it first lighted on a saint." 
 Bishop Hall. 
 
 Gen. xxi. 9. Isaac mocked by Ishmael. 
 
 This reads as a simple narrative ; but the interpretation by 
 St. Paul (Gal. iv. 29) shows that it has a deeper meaning, and 
 is a plain forewarning of the irreconcileable enmity which ever 
 exists, between the carnal seed and the spiritual. 
 
 Matt. v. 1012; Luke vi. 22, 23. 
 
 The special promise given to the last beatitude should never 
 be forsrotten. It reads as if it were the climax of the whole
 
 262 SC1UPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 series. It is the only beatitude doubled, both in the beginning, 
 "Blessed Blessed," and also in the ending, " Rejoice, and be 
 exceeding glad " " leap for joy " " for, behold, your reward is 
 great in heaven." 
 
 Mark x. 30. " He shall receive an hundred-fold 
 .... with persecutions." 
 
 A strange addition to a long list of blessings. 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 12. " All that will (t. ., that desire to) 
 live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution." 
 
 And truly, as an experienced writer has well said, the prin- 
 cipal reason why Christians do not suffer more, is because they 
 do not live the godly life they should, in and for Christ Jesus. 
 
 Rev. ii. 812. 
 
 The Church of Smyrna is the church of the seven especially 
 marked by persecution. The name (Smyrna) is probably de- 
 rived from myrrh, which is most fragrant when bruised ; and 
 this of itself may suggest an application full of deep and spiri- 
 tual truth. 
 
 Acts xi. 19. 
 
 To persecution we owe the commencement of missionary work 
 in the early Church. 
 
 THREE THINGS may be traced in Scripture with 
 reference to persecution. 
 
 (1.) How many of the most eminent saints have 
 been called to endure the sharp trial : Abel Joseph 
 Moses David Elijah Micaiah Isaiah Jere- 
 miah Daniel and the apostles Stephen, Paul, &c. 
 
 (2.) How many persecutors of the saints have 
 themselves come to a sad, often violent, death : 
 Pharaoh Saul Jezebel Zedekiah Herod the 
 Great Herod Antipas Herod Agrippa, &c. 
 
 (3.) How strangely persecution has been generally 
 overruled, to the progress of the truth the wind which 
 has fanned the flame. Cf. Israel in Kgypt, Exod. i. 
 11; the early Church, Acts viii. 4 ; xi. 19; Phil, 
 i. 1214.
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 263 
 
 THE LORD JESUS was a perfect example of patience 
 under persecution, and of compassion towards his 
 persecutors. 
 
 PLEASURE CARNAL. See Sin, Deceivableness of. 
 
 Theirs/ temptation came partly through pleasure, 
 Gen. iii. 6. Our first mother saw the forbidden fruit 
 " pleasant to the eyes," so she looked and lusted 
 took and ate and gave, and learned the bitter fruit 
 of sin. 
 
 The love of pleasure is a mark of Babylon " given 
 to pleasures," Isa. xlvii. 8 ; Eev. xviii. 7, 12 19. It 
 is also one of the prominent signs of " the last days," 
 2 Tim. iii. 4. 
 
 The drudgery of pleasure. "We ourselves were 
 sometimes .... serving divers lusts and pleasures " 
 (the abject drudges of many masters), Titus iii. 3. 
 
 The satiety of pleasure, Prov. xxv. 16. Pleasure, 
 like honey, is to be used with moderation, else it 
 soon cloys. Pleasures are good as sauce, but insuffi- 
 cient for meat. 
 
 The danger of pleasure. It is the highroad to pov- 
 erty, Prov. xxi. 17 ; the close ally of death, 1 Tim. 
 v. 6 ; excess of pleasure chokes the word of truth, 
 Luke viii. 14; and brings disappointment, Eccles. ii. 
 1, 2. "A man of pleasure is a man of pains." 
 Young. 
 
 The cruelty sometimes mixed up with pleasure. 
 It seemed strangely unnatural that Esau could " com- 
 fort himself" in the prospect of murdering a brother, 
 Gen. xxvii. 41, 42 ; or that the saying to murder his 
 father David should please Absalom so well, 2 Sam. 
 xvii. 4 ! How pleased was Haman in the thought of 
 compassing Mordecai's death, Esther v. 14. The cruel 
 pleasure of the Jews is thrice referred to in the Acts, 
 see xii. 2 ; xxiv. 27 ; xxv. 9.
 
 264 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The disappointment and bitter end of pleasure. See 
 the Book of Proverbs for the mocking delusion of 
 wine and strong drink mirth and laughter luxury 
 and lust 
 
 It is remarkable how many of the FEASTS spoken 
 of in Scripture were attended with some sad result, 
 or ended in trouble. 
 
 Job's sons' feast, i. 13 19 ; the feast at the making 
 of the golden calf, Exod. xxxii. 7 ; Pharaoh's, Gen. 
 xL 2022 ; Adonijah's, 1 Kings i. 4149 ; Nabal's, 
 1 Sam. xxv. 36 38; Ben-hadad's, 1 Kings xx. 
 16 21 ; Belshazzar's, Dan. v. ; Herod's, Matt. xiv. 
 6 10; even the happy feast on the return of the 
 prodigal son was partly marred by the envy of the 
 elder brother, Luke xv. 25 32. 
 
 The short-lived duration of most sinful pleasures. 
 
 Heb. xi 25. "Pleasures of sin" which are but 
 " for a season." Of. our first parents' in tasting the 
 forbidden fruit ; Achan's possession of his Babylonish 
 treasures ; Ahab's seizure of Naboth's vineyard ; 
 Judas holding his cursed bribe. The sweetest things 
 usually corrupt most quickly. 
 
 1 Cor. xv. 32. " Let us eat and drink ; for to- 
 morrow we die;" Isa. xxii. 13. 
 
 So Esau thought, Gen. xxv. 32 84. "There were but two 
 common parents of mankind Adam the protoplast, and .Noah 
 the restorer ; and lx>th miscarried by appetite : the one fell by 
 eating, the other by drinking. We had need be careful. Christ 
 saith, 'Take heed of surfeiting and drunkenness ' even to Hi* 
 own disciples." Manton. 
 
 James v. 5. " Ye have lived in pleasure on the 
 earth, and been wanton." 
 
 The word ia-ra.Ta.\^<jare (been wanton) Purkhurtt derives 
 from araOaw, which projierly signifies to insert more threads 
 into the warp in weaving, and thence it comes to mean to spend 
 extravagantly or luxuriously. 
 
 Cf. with this the beautiful remark of Scott " It may deserve
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 265 
 
 to be impressed upon all our minds, that all the self-denial which 
 either reason or Scripture requires of us amounts to nothing 
 more than preferring long pleasures to short ones." 
 
 How many of the SCRIPTURAL NAMES describing 
 " pleasant" have a history of gloom and sadness con- 
 nected with them ! Naomi, whose name means plea- 
 sant (Ruth i. 20, marg.), was fain to say in her sad- 
 ness, " Call me not Naomi ; call me Marah (i.e., bitter) ; 
 Naaman the leper's name bears the same meaning ; 
 but what a name for a leper ! (2 Kings v.) ; the city 
 called Nain also, where the Lord met death at the 
 gate ! It was different in the pleasant things God 
 made at the first, when there was no sin, Gen. iii. 6. 
 
 POOK, THE. 
 
 " The poor of the flock," Zech. xi. 7, 11. 
 
 "The poor of His people," Isa. xiv. 32; Zeph. 
 iii. 12. 
 
 " Thy poor brother," Deut. xv. 7. 
 
 " Poor saints," Rom. xv. 26. 
 
 " The brother of low degree," James i. 9. 
 
 "Poor," yet a " brother." Poverty doth not take 
 away privilege. 
 
 For adjuncts, see Cone. : poor and needy poor 
 and afflicted poor and sorrowful, &c. 
 
 UNDER THE LAW, God's tender care and regard for 
 the poor was very prominently set forth, as in 
 
 The less costly offerings they were allowed to bring, 
 the laws about which are as exact and particular as 
 they were for the more costly sacrifices ; and they are 
 equally called " a sweet savour unto the Lord," see 
 Lev. i. 14 17 ; ii., iii. Lev. v. 11, 12 is very observ- 
 able, as prescribing the only sin-offering we know of 
 which was without blood. It was the humble offer- 
 ing of those who were so poor as not to be able to 
 buv even two turtle doves or two young pigeons !
 
 266 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The provisions made for their temporal welfare, 
 also, should be remembered ; as in the right of glean- 
 ing in time of harvest and of vintage ; the portion of 
 the produce of the sabbatical year assigned to them ; 
 the prohibition of usury and retention of pledges ; 
 and of permanent bondage, &c. 
 
 The half-shekel atonement money was a sum appointed 
 to be alike for all, whether rich or poor, Exod. xxx. 
 1216 (see Job xxxiv. 19.) 
 
 The poor man's refuge, Ps. x. 14, xiv. 8, xxxiv. 6, 
 xl. 17, Ixxii. 12, 13. 
 
 The poor man's worth, Prov. xix 1, xxviii. 6 ; 
 Eccles. iv. 13, ix. 1416. 
 
 The poor man's claim, Lev. xxv. 35 ; Deut. xv. 7, &c. 
 
 The poor man's exaltation, Ps. cxiii. 7, 8 ; James ii. 5. 
 
 It is noteworthy that the happiest mother and tho 
 holiest son were among the poorest of our race. 
 
 The poorest of our Lord's hearers were frequenth 
 the most accessible to the truth ; and from the poor 
 he chose his chief followers and apostles. 
 
 The poorest Churches yielded most fruit. St. 
 Paul had most success, not in literary Athens, nor in 
 luxurious Corinth, but in the poorer Churches of Ma- 
 cedonia, Philippi, Thessalonica, &c. It is remarkable 
 to note the contrast between Smyrna, Rev. ii. 9, 
 which in temporal poverty was pronounced spiritually 
 rich by Christ, and Laodicea, which thought herself 
 rich, and was pronounced by the Lord as wretched, 
 and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked ' 
 UL 17. 
 
 POVERTY HONOURED and ENRICHED 
 
 Jacob, Gen. xxxii. 10. 
 
 Gideon, Judges vL 12. 
 
 Ruth, ii. iv. 
 
 Widow of Zarephath, 1 Kings xvii. 12. 
 
 Prophffs widow, 2 Kings iv. 2. 
 
 David, Ps. xl. 17, Ixix. 29, Ixx. 5, cix. 22
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 267 
 
 Lazarus, Luke xxvi. 22 25. The word Lazarus 
 is a contraction of Eleazar, which means God is my 
 help. 
 
 The poor widow, who gave all her living to the trea- 
 sury, Mark xii. 43, 44. 
 
 The Macedonian Churches, 2 Cor. viii., ix. 
 
 The Apostles chosen from the poorer ranks. 
 
 The LORD JESUS himself was born of poor parents, 
 and had " no home where to lay His head," Matt, 
 viii. 20 ; no money to pay the tribute tax, xvii. 27 ; 
 He preached to the poor, xi. 8 ; and was received 
 gladly by the poor, Mark xii. 37. 
 
 POWER DIVINE. 
 
 Is EXPRESSED in various ways : 
 
 The hand of the Lord, strong mighty stretched 
 out lifted up, is referred to in Deuteronomy ten 
 times as the cause of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. 
 
 The right hand of the Lord is referred to about 
 thirty times in the Psalms alone. 
 
 The arm of the Lord, strong mighty holy 
 glorious stretched out, Job xl. 9 ; Isa. li. 9 ; 
 liii. 1. 
 
 The finger of God, a strange proof of Divine Omni- 
 potence. Some of the most mighty works ever 
 wrought are ascribed to the might of the finger of 
 God. The law was thus written on the tables of 
 stone, Exod. xxxi. 18 ; the creation of nature was 
 the work of God's finger, Ps. viii. 2 ; the creation of 
 animal life, Exod. viii. 39 ; the casting out devils in 
 our Lord's ministry, Luke xi. 20. 
 
 The voice of the Lwd, Ps. xxix. 4 ; Ixviii. 33 ; Rev. 
 i. 15. 
 
 The thunder of the Almighty's power, Job xxvi. 14 ; 
 xl. 9 ; see also Cone, under strong (foundation rock 
 tower hold) mighty able power, &c.
 
 268 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 THE TITLES and EXPRESSIONS applied to the Divine 
 Being denote the same. 
 
 The Almighty, a title ascribed about fifty times to 
 the Most High, of which it is singular that thirty are 
 found in the Book of Job. Al-mighty " one Al- 
 mighty is more than many mighties." 
 
 The blessed and only Potentate, 1 Tim. vi. 15. 
 
 The Lord God omnipotent, Rev. xix. 6. 
 
 The Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, Rev. 
 v. 6. 
 
 The Strength of Israel, 1 Sam. xv. 29. 
 
 The stronger than the strong man armed, Luke XL 22. 
 
 The Lord " clothed wUh strength," Ps. xciil 1 ; 
 " girded with power," Ps. Ixv. 6. 
 
 BOAZ, which means " in Him is strength," was one 
 of the pillars in Solomon's Temple, 1 Kings vii 21 ; 
 and the name also of one who was, as many think, a 
 type of Christ our Kinsman-Redeemer, Ruth ii. 1 ; 
 iv. 23. 
 
 How GREAT is the power of the LORD'S 
 
 Look, 2 Chron. xvi. 9 ; Ps. xxxiil 18 ; civ. 32 ; 
 Exod. xiv. 24; Judges vi. 14; Luke xxii. 61. 
 
 Word, Gen. i. 3 ; Ps. xxxiii. 9. See Cone, under 
 word spoken commanded. 
 
 Will, Dan. iv. 33. 
 
 Touch, Ps. cxliv. 5. 
 
 CHRIST'S MIRACLES afford most striking exhibitions 
 of His gracious exercise of Divine power. (1.) They 
 were wrought for the overthrow of evil, disease, sick- 
 ness, possession, death. (2.) They were wrought by 
 the most simple means ; a word, a touch sometimes, 
 even at a distance from the sufferer. (3.) They were 
 generally accompanied by some expression of sym- 
 pathy and grace. (4.) Whilst miracles of power, 
 they were no less parables of truth. 
 
 THE POWER of GOD is constantly coupled in Scrip-
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 269 
 
 ture with His mercy ; see Num. xiv. 17 19. (In the 
 Hebrew Bible the Hebrew word jigdal, " let the 
 power of my Lord be great," is written with a great 
 Yod, or a yod above the letters, to make it more em- 
 phatic), Ps. bdi. 11, 12; cxlv. 1315. 
 
 The vision of the Lord Jesus in Rev. v. 5, 6, very 
 beautifully combines these two mercy and power. 
 The elder who addressed St. John spoke to him of 
 the lion, " the lion of the tribe of Judah ;" yet when 
 the apostle looked, he beheld not a lion, but " a Lamb 
 as it had been slain," the emblem of gentleness and 
 peace. 
 
 PRAISE. See Thankfulness Joy. See Cone, 
 under the many terms expressive of praise exalt 
 extol magnify sing shout, &c. 
 
 Is FIGURATIVELY SPOKEN OF as 
 
 The calves of the lips, Hosea xiv. 2. 
 
 The fruit of the lips, Heb. xiii. 1 5. 
 
 The sacrifice of praise, Heb. xiii. 15. 
 
 Garment of praise, Isa. Ixi. 3. 
 
 THE JEWISH FEASTS were designed to foster the 
 spirit of praise and thanksgiving for God's mercies in 
 the harvest, vintage, &c. They were commanded to 
 be kept as seasons of rejoicing and festivity. See 
 
 Joy- 
 Historically, it is observable how little Israel was 
 ever given to praise. In their forty years' wander- 
 ings we read of constant murmurings, but only find 
 two songs of praise. Probably had they praised God 
 more, they would have murmured less. Neverthe- 
 less, the time shall yet come, when " the ransomed 
 of the Lord shall return with songs to Zion, and 
 everlasting joy upon their heads," Isa. xxxv. 10; 
 xii. 1 ; li. 3, &c. 
 
 In the Tabernacle there appears to have been no
 
 270 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 provision expressly made for the public service of 
 song ; whereas, in Solomon's Temple, and in the 
 Second Temple, this formed a prominent part of the 
 public worship. See Thanksgiving. 
 
 JUDAH (with the derivatives Judith, Jeduthan, 
 Jew, &c.) means praise ; see Gen. xxix. 35 (marg.) 
 Probably Rom. ii. 29 alludes to this " He is a Jew, 
 .... whose praise is not of men, but of God." 
 
 THE VALLEY of BERACHAH, 2 Chron. xx. 21 28. 
 A remarkable example of the blessing of a praising 
 spirit. Prayer is generally set forth as the chief 
 preparation for conflict ; but here is not only prayer 
 but praise. It was praise that was especially honoured 
 of God ; wherefore the place was called "the Valley 
 of Blessing." 
 
 The BOOK of PSALMS. The Hebrew title of this 
 book means the Book of Praises. Several facts of 
 interest may be noted about the Psalms. 
 
 (1.) The book begins with praise, and ends with 
 praise. (2.) There are few psalms which have not 
 some sweet note of joy and praise. (3.) Praise fre- 
 quently rises out of prayer. (4.) At other times 
 praise rises out of sadness. (5.) Praise takes in a 
 wide circle of subjects, creation, providence, and 
 grace. (6.) The spirit of praise seems to rise higher 
 as the book advances. There are no psalms composed 
 wholly of prayer, but several wholly of praise, till 
 the last few which seem to reach the highest climax 
 make up one continuous hallelujah. 
 
 THE SONGS of SCRIPTURE are beautiful specimens 
 of sanctified praise, as the song of Moses and Miriam, 
 Exod. xv. ; the song of the well, Num. xxi. 17, 18; 
 the song of Deborah and Barak, Judges v. ; of Han- 
 nah, 1 Sam. ii. 1 10 ; the song of the bow, 2 Sam. 
 i. 19 27 ; Israel's future songs of praise and joy, 
 Isa. xii., xxv., &c. ; Mary's song, Luke i. 46 55.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 271 
 
 THE DOXOLOGIES of SCRIPTURE. Ascriptions of 
 praise that occur in the Book of Psalms, and especi- 
 ally at the beginnings and endings of the Epistles and 
 the Apocalypse. 
 
 HALLELUJAH, "Praise ye the Lord," occurs only 
 in the Book of Psalms and in the Revelation. It 
 is the adoration of the Church militant and trium- 
 phant to the Great King, in the contemplation of 
 His works of mercy to His people, and judgments on 
 His foes. 
 
 THE WORSHIP of HEAVEN. The Book of the 
 Revelation especially shows how large a portion of 
 the worship of the redeemed in glory, and of the holy 
 angels, consists of adoration and praise. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS speaks of Himself as the pre- 
 centor of tfitt Church'e praises, Heb. ii. 11. See 
 Thankfulness. 
 
 PRAYER. See Communion mtk God. 
 SCRIPTURAL EXPRESSIONS are very numerous, de- 
 noting the nature and character of believing prayer. 
 
 Asking beseeching calling crying (aloud mightily with 
 the whole heart) continuing in prayer -drawing near entreat- 
 ing groaning knocking labouring fervently lifting up (the 
 heart the hands the soul) looking up pouring out (tht> 
 heart the spirit the complaint) spreading forth the hands- 
 bowing the knee seeking wrestling making intercession; 
 with groanings which cannot be uttered with tears, and sighs, 
 and weeping. (See Cone, for texts under those several heads.) 
 
 There are words, too, denoting the feebleness of prayer ; as 
 when it is but a whisper, Isa. xxvi. 16, marg. ; secret specrh, heard 
 by none but the great Hearer of prayer ; a "breathing," Lam. 
 iii. 56. 
 
 Gen. xxxii. 24; Hosea xii. 3 5. These texts 
 compared show that Jacob's " strength " was his 
 prayers and tears. 
 
 James v. 17. Elias prayed "he prayed earnestly," 
 marg., "he prayed in his prayer."
 
 272 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 All sound is not music ; the bowing of the knees is not at all 
 times the bowing of the heart. Elijah prayed a prayer ; his 
 lips prayed, and his heart prayed. He felt what he spoke. Lip 
 labour, if it be all, is worse than nothing ; it is the heart that 
 must pray. 
 
 Ps. cix. 4. " But I give myself unto prayer." 
 
 Literally, "But I .... prayer," or, as one translates it, "I 
 am all prayer." " In the midst of all their words of hatred and 
 cruel enmity, I turn everything into prayer." Just as we read, 
 Ps. cxx. 7, "I am .... peace ;" marg., I am "a man of peace." 
 What a happy description of a praying heart ! 
 
 Eph. vi 18. " Praying always with all prayer and 
 supplication in the Spirit." 
 
 A beautiful description of the importunity and warmth of 
 holy prayer. Prayer, to be successful, must be earnest. Incense 
 cannot ascend without fire. " Cold prayers," says Brooks, 
 " are as arrows without heads, swords without edges, as birds 
 without wings ; they pierce not, they cut not, they fly not up to 
 heaven." 
 
 ST. PAUL. " The chiefest of the apostles was 
 chiefest in prayer." Almost every epistle begins and 
 ends with prayer. And what an example are St. 
 Paul's prayers ! " Praying always " " without ceas- 
 ing " " night and day " " continuing " " with 
 many tears." 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. No gospel sets forth the Lord 
 Jesus as an example of prayer so fully as St. Luke's. 
 St. Matthew speaks of Christ praying twice ; St. 
 Mark, three times ; St. Luke, eight times. He speaks 
 of Christ's praying in connection with all the impor- 
 tant events of His earthly life ; at His baptism, iii. 
 21 ; before His choice of the apostles, vi. 12, 13; at 
 His transfiguration, ix. 28 ; He records His praying 
 for Peter, xxii. 32 ; and for Himself, before His suffer- 
 ings, xxii. 41 46 ; and for His murderers, xxiii. 34 ; 
 and also His prayers on the cross, xxiii. 34, 46 ; whilst 
 He speaks of the time which He spent in prayer in 
 the midst of all their busy work, v. 16.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 273 
 
 Besides which, it is in St. Luke we find those beau- 
 tiful parables which open out so forcibly the true spirit 
 and needful earnestness of prayer; the parable of 
 th<j friend at midnight, chap. xi. 5 10 ; the impor- 
 tunate widow, xviii. 1 8 ; and the Pharisee and Pub- 
 lican, xviii. 9 14. (Bishop Wordsworth thinks that 
 the probable reason why St. Luke's is especially the 
 gospel of prayer, is because St. Luke wrote for the Gen- 
 tiles, who had more need to be instructed on such a 
 subject than the Jews. See his Preface to the Gospel.) 
 
 We should add to this the testimony of the other 
 evangelists, especially St. Matthew's record of the 
 sermon on the mount, Matt. vi. 5 15 ; or such an im- 
 portant passage as Mark i. 35. If St. Luke tells us 
 how Christ retired for prayer after labour, chap. v. 
 15, 16; St. Mark tells us how solemnly He retired 
 for prayer before His daily work, i. 35. See also Mark 
 ix. 28, 29 ; and the great High Priest's prayer, 
 John xvii 
 
 Many of the psalms may be read as breathing the 
 spirit, rf not containing the very words the Blessed 
 Saviour used. 
 
 PRAYER INTERCESSORY. 
 
 Gen. xviii. 23 ; Jer. xviii. 20. Drawing near the 
 Lord in earnest pleading. 
 
 Ps. cvi. 23. Standing in the breach, Ezek. xiii. 5 ; 
 xxii. 30. 
 
 Isa. Ixii. 6, marg. " The Lord's remembrancers" to 
 " keep not silence, and give Him no rest." 
 
 Matt, xviii. 19. The harmony ' of united prayer. 
 "If two of you shall agree," (av^wv^a^aw, sympho- 
 nize) like the sweet harmony of many voices ; differ- 
 ent, yet in harmony. The prayers of the saints are 
 sweet music in the ears of God. 
 
 Acts xii. 5, marg. " Instant and earnest prayer' 
 w.as made of the Church for Peter.
 
 274 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Noah was evidently not only a " preacher of rights 
 ousness," but also a mighty intercessor, Ezek. xiv. 1 4. 
 
 Abraham, " the prophet," Gen. xx. 7 ; see his im- 
 portunate pleading, xviii. 23 33. 
 
 Moses a very striking example of one of God's 
 saints, laying aside all personal selfish feeling, to in- 
 tercede for others. How earnestly he prayed for 
 Israel, Exod. xxxii. 11 14, 31, 32 ; xxxiv. 9 ; Num. 
 xl 2; xiv. 13 19; for Aaron, Deut. ix. 20; for 
 Miriam, Num. xii. 13. 
 
 Job, Ezek. xiv. 1 4 one of the honoured three, see 
 Job xlii. 10. 
 
 Samuel, Jer. xv. 1. 
 
 Solomon, 1 Kings via. 30 61. 
 
 Jeremiah, xviii. 20 pleading for those who digged 
 a pit for his soul. 
 
 Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxx. 1820. 
 
 Daniel, Ezek. xiv. 14. It would seem that Daniel 
 was only a young man when he was so honourably 
 mentioned. We learn his earnest spirit from chap. 
 ix. 3 19, and from vi. 10, when in the face of danger 
 he resolutely continued in prayer, of which part was 
 doubtless for his country. 
 
 St. Paul, the apostle, pre-eminent in prayer. 
 
 St. Stephen, like Jeremiah, prayed for his enemies, 
 Acts vii. 59. 
 
 Epaphras, Col. iv. 12, "always labouring fervently 
 for you in prayers." 
 
 WHAT MIGHTY POWER the prayers of the saints 
 must have, when we read such passages as Jer. xv. 1 ; 
 Exod. xxxii. 10; Ezek. xiv. 14. 
 
 IT is worthy of note how we find carnal men de- 
 siring the prayers of the saints : so PJiaraoh asked 
 Moses to pray for him, Exod. viii. 8, ix. 28, x. 17 : 
 Jeroboam asked the man of God, 1 Kings xiii. t> ;
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 275 
 
 Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah, Jer. xxxvii. 3 ; Simon 
 Magus called on Peter, Acts viii. 24. 
 
 PREPARATION. 
 
 It is an instructive lesson to trace in Scripture, how 
 many blessings are referred to the preparations of 
 God's goodness. 
 
 In NATURE. 
 
 Take two books 
 
 The Book of Psalms. It is marked as a proof of 
 the Lord's goodness to prepare the light and the sun, 
 Ps. Ixxiv. 16; the plentiful rain and genial showers, 
 Ixv. 10; Ixviii. 9, 10 ; cxlvii. 8; the corn springing 
 up out of the ground prepared for it, Ixv. 9 (marg. ) 
 
 The Book of Jonah speaks all through of the things 
 prepared by God : the Lord " prepared " the fish, i. 17; 
 the gourd, iv. 6 ; the worm, iv. 7 ; the vehement east 
 wind, iv. 8 ; the Lord sent the wind that caused the 
 tempest, i. 4. 
 
 In GRACE. 
 
 God's " vessels of mercy," says St. Paul, are " afore 
 prepared unto glory," Rom. ix. 23; as "vessels of 
 honour," " prepared unto every good work," 2 Tim. 
 ii. 21 ; " created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 
 which God hath before ordained (marg., prepared)," 
 Eph. ii. 10 ; God's people are " a people prepared for 
 the Lord," Luke i. 71. 
 
 In GLORY. 
 
 Heaven is " a prepared place for a prepared people." 
 Our Lord Himself spoke of the " kingdom prepared," 
 Matt. xxv. 34; the "many mansions" in the "Fa- 
 ther's house," which He is preparing for His Bride, 
 John xiv. 2 ; St. John speaks of the Bride herself 
 prepared, Rev. xxi. 2 ; St. Paul of the " city" pre- 
 pared, Heb. xi. 16 ; and St. Peter of the "inheritance 
 reserved," 1 Pet. i. 4.
 
 276 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 As regards this life, it is no less instructive to ob- 
 serve how the Lord prepares his faithful servants for 
 their work of doing or suffering. It is not enough 
 that they are true in heart. A sword may be of good 
 metal, but the edge must be ground to make it fit for 
 use. And the Bible student will find much comfort 
 in tracing how God has graciously prepared His ser- 
 vants for special trials and special service. 
 
 ( 1 . ) Sometimes by special ma nifestation of Divine glory, 
 with the assurance of Divine presence, protection, and 
 help. So it was with 
 
 Abraham. The several appearances of the Lord to 
 him, renewing the covenant, were chiefly before some 
 special trial of his faith ! 
 
 Jacob. The vision of the ladder, with its cheering 
 intimation of God's watchful providence, was at the 
 beginning of his exile-wanderings ; and his wrestling 
 with the angel was before his meeting Esau. 
 
 Moses. The vision of the burning bush, with the 
 two signs added, and the assurance of Divine support, 
 Exod. iii., iv., were given before Moses commenced 
 his great mission as Israel's leader. 
 
 Joshua. The " Captain of the Lord's host" ap- 
 peared to him before the siege of Jericho, Joshua v. 
 13, vi. 5 ; see also the Lord's charge, chap. i. 1 9. 
 
 Gideon. A similar assurance of Divine help and 
 the four signs were given to him, Judges vi. 12, 16 ; 
 23, 3640 ; vii. 714. 
 
 So with Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel, and 
 others. 
 
 (2.) By the discipline of trial. See Trial of Faith. 
 MaL iii. 17 "my jewels" polished by friction. 
 
 (3.) By previous retirement, Moses Elijah John 
 Baptist^St. Paul. 
 
 (4.) By premonitory warnings. Israel were fore- 
 warned before the captivities of Egypt and Babylon. 
 The later prophecies of Isaiah (from chap, xl.), and
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 277 
 
 also part of Jeremiah, appear to have been written 
 with special view to their captivity and temptation to 
 idolatry in a foreign land. 
 
 (5.) By inclining men's hearts to a particular purpose. 
 Cyrus was influenced, it seems very probable, by 
 reading the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, to 
 help the Jews, Ezra i. 1 ; so Artaxerxes, Ezra 
 vii. 27 ; the king of Assyria, vi. 22 ; Titus, 2 Cor. 
 viii. 15. 
 
 St. PAUL. The great Apostle was an example of 
 one, especially prepared by God for an especial work. 
 Brought up at Tarsus, a place singularly adapted for 
 one who was to become the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
 combining, as it did, both the Jewish and Gentile 
 elements ; called afterwards by the vision of Christ's 
 glory ; led into seclusion for a time into Arabia, and 
 made to pass through very many and varying trials ; 
 St. Paul was trained in the school of retirement, trial, 
 and experience. Eight or nine years, it should be 
 remembered, passed between St. Paul's conversion 
 and his direct call to missionary work, Acts xiii. 2. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS also, " the Lord from heaven." 
 How marvellously do we trace Divine preparation for 
 Him and in Him. The providences of God had long 
 been preparing the world for His first advent ; when 
 at last He came, in " the fulness of time," when the 
 world was ready and the Church was waiting, " a 
 body" was " prepared for Him," Heb. x. 5. The Lord 
 Jesus Himself, be it spoken with all reverence, was 
 an example of one prepared for service and suffering : 
 first, by His thirty years' quiet waiting before His 
 public ministry commenced ; and also at the several 
 steps of His life. Cf. the descent of the Holy Ghost 
 before the temptation ; the transfiguration before the 
 cross, &c. ; also Christ's own habit of retirement and 
 prayer. See Prayer.
 
 278 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 PRI DE.** See A mlntion Self-righteousness - 
 Humility. 
 
 (Trace in Cone., under Arrogance Conceit Fro 
 ward Haughty High-minded Lofty, &c. 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 Superior height. A high wall high tree high 
 mountains high stature high fort high looks 
 high degree, &c. See Cone. Cf. Prov. xxx. 13; 
 Isa. ii. 1117; Chad. 3, 4. The word proud, 2 
 Tim. iii. 2, means setting up one's-self above others. 
 (See Greek.) 
 
 A stiff uplifted neck, Ps. Ixxv. 5 ; Isa. iii. 16. 
 
 An exalted gate, Prov. xvii. 19. 
 
 A chain compassing Hie neck or body, Ps. Ixxiii. G. 
 
 A crown encircling the head, Isa. xxviii. 1. 
 
 A budding flwoer, Ezek. vii. 10. 
 
 The lofty cedar, Ezek. xxxi. 3 ; Isa. ii. 13 ; xxxvii. 
 24. 
 
 The proud waves that toss their heads on high, Job 
 xxxviii. 11; Ps. cxxiv. 5 ; xciii. 3, 4. 
 
 We read of 
 
 The swellings of pride. " Great swelling words of 
 vanity," 2 Pet. ii. 18 ; Jude 16 ; "puffed up," 1 Cor. 
 viil 1 ; iv. 6, 18, 19 ; v. 2. 
 
 The stout heart of the proud, Isa. x. 12 ; xlvi. 12. 
 
 The extent of pride. No sin is more widely spread- 
 ing, nor pervades more thoroughly man's whole 
 nature. We read of the pride of the countenance, 
 Ps. x. 4 ; Isa. iii. 9 ; the lofty eye and look, Prov. 
 xxx 1 3 ; the proud heart, Prov. xxi. 4 ; " the foot 
 of pride," Ps. xxxvi. 11 ; the walk of pride, Dan. ii. 
 37; "the rod of pride," Prov. xiv. 3; xii. 18; and 
 St. John sums up the vast extent of this spreading 
 influence of pride in one all-comprehending word, 
 " the pride of life," 1 John ii. 1 G. 
 
 Where is pride not found /
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 279 
 
 In Churches ? Cf. Israel, Hosea v. 5. 
 
 Corinth boastful and proud " puffed up " with 
 pretended knowledge. It is noted as a curious fact 
 by Conybeare and Howson, that the word for boast- 
 ing, and its derivatives, occurs twenty-nine times in 
 2 Corinthians, and only twenty-six times in all the 
 rest of St. Paul's epistles ! 
 
 Laodicea, Eev. iii. 17. 
 
 In kingdoms? Cf. Moab, the personification of 
 pride, Isa. xvi. 6 ; Jer. xlviii. 29, where the same 
 charge is brought more than a hundred years after ; 
 Egypt (called Rahab, because of its pride) ; Assyria 
 Tyre Babylon Rome, &c. ; Israel and Ephraim, Hos. 
 v. 6 ; vii. to. 
 
 In kings of the earth and princes ? Cf. Pharaoh 
 Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar Herod, &c. 
 
 GOD'S special abhorrence of pride is expressed in 
 several places in the strongest terms. " God resisteth 
 the proud " " sets himself in battle array " (Dodd- 
 ridge). Two apostles assert this St. James, iv. 6, 
 and St. Peter, 1 Pet. v. 6, probably as a quotation 
 from Prov. iii. 34; so elsewhere we read, God 
 "hateth" the proud, Prov. viii. 13; "knoweth afar 
 off," Ps. cxxxviii. 6; esteems as "an abomination," 
 Prov. xvi. 5 ; " will not suffer," Ps. ci. 5. 
 
 The downfall of pride, Prov. xi. 2 ; xv. 25 ; xvi. 5 ; 
 xviii. 19 ; xvii. 19 ; xxix. 23. Nothing is weaker 
 than pride nothing stronger than humility. " The 
 greater the height the more terrible the fall." De- 
 struction is never so near as when pride and security 
 have driven away fear. " What is most our pride is 
 most our peril." 
 
 The end of pride. 
 
 Adam and Eve, aspiring to be as gods, lost their 
 primeval innocence, and involved themselves and 
 their posterity in ruin. 
 
 David, glorifying in the number of his people, lost
 
 280 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 70,000 of his subjects by the pestilence, 2 Sam. xxiv. 
 15. 
 
 Hczeldah, boasting proudly of his treasures, only a 
 year apparently after his recovery from sickness, re- 
 ceived the intimation of those treasures being taken 
 from him, and carried as a spoil to Babylon, Isa. 
 xxxix 
 
 Uzziah, " when he was strong, his heart was lifted 
 up to his destruction," 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. 
 
 Herod receiving the blasphemous adoration of his 
 subjects, " the angel of the Lord smote him, because 
 he gave not God the glory : and he was eaten of 
 worms, and gave up the ghost," Acts xil 21 23. 
 
 " O blessed Lord, who resisteth the proud, and givost grace 
 to the humble, give me more humility, that I may receive moru 
 graco from thee ; and Thou, whose gracious rain shelves from 
 the steep mountains, and sweetly drenches the humble valleys, 
 depress thou my heart more and more with true lowliness of 
 spirit, that the showers of thy heavenly grace may sink into it, 
 and make it more fruitful in all good affections and holy oliedi- 
 ence." Bishop ffali. 
 
 PRIEST,* CHRIST THE. 
 
 The Hebrew word for priest (cohen) is derived from 
 cahan, to draw near plead a cause ; and well illus- 
 trates the office of Jesus the Mediator, Advocate, and 
 Intercessor of His people. 
 
 TYPES. 
 
 Aaton, Exod, xxviii., xxix. 
 
 Mclchizedek, Gen. xiv. 18 20 ; Ps. ex. 4 ; Heb. vii. 
 1 11 ; uniting the offices of priest and king. 
 
 Joshua, Zech. i. 1 ; the High Priest bearing repre- 
 sentatively Israel's defilement ; then cleansed, clothed, 
 and crowned. 
 
 THE PRIEST UPON HIS THRONE. See under King. 
 
 THREE BOOKS of the Bible especially set forth 
 Christ's glories as Priest Exodus, Leviticus, and
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 281 
 
 Hebrews. It is observable in the Hebrews, that 
 Christ is scarcely ever spoken of as High Priest with- 
 out some epithet or additional title, He is called 
 " our Great High Priest " " the Apostle and High 
 Priest" "a merciful and faithful High Priest" 
 " the High Priest of our profession " " a High Priest 
 of good things to come," &c. 
 
 Heb. vii 24. "An unchangeable (intransmissible) 
 priesthood," " which passeth not from one to another" 
 (marg.) 
 
 It is reckoned that there were about eighty-three high priests 
 from Aaron to the destruction of the temple. We Christians 
 have but one unchanging and unchangeable. As one says, we 
 need never fear, like the ancient Jews, having to tell our tale to 
 a fresh advocate, our Great High Priest remains the same. 
 
 Cant. viii. 6. "Set me, as a seal, upon thine heart; 
 as a seal, upon thine arm." 
 
 The High Priest bore the names of the tribes of Israel upon 
 his breast and upon bis shoulder. Some distinguish between 
 bhese two, thinking the former represented the people individu- 
 ally the latter collectively. 
 
 PRIVILEGE.** See DutyObligatwir-Unthank- 
 fulness. 
 
 Two EMBLEMS of the Church set forth very strik- 
 ingly the subject of Privilege. 
 
 The vine or vineyard, figures both of Israel and of 
 the Church. A comparison of the successive passages 
 in which these figures are used, brings out two solemn 
 lessons. (1.) On the part of God, great and increas- 
 ing privileges are, from time to time, bestowed upon 
 the Church. (2.) On the part of man, too often increa- 
 ing privileges are met only by increasing guilt. Ps. 
 Ixxx. first describes the vine brought out of Egypt, 
 luxuriant and spreading, but wasted, because of un- 
 faithfulness to God's favours. Isa. v. 1 7 next de- 
 scribes still greater privilege, the vineyard fenced,
 
 282 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 cleared, with tower and wine-press built ; but the 
 result proved worse than before. Not only was the 
 vine unfruitful, but it brought forth wild (Hebrew, 
 poisonous, foetid) grapes. Matt. YYJ 33 describes 
 still greater privileges. The vine is planted, cared 
 for : husbandmen are left to dress and prune it, and 
 yet with the return of still deeper guilt. The wicked 
 husbandmen rejected and killed the servants, and 
 even slew the owner's son. Mark, therefore, the in- 
 crease of judgment. Ps. Lxxx. describes the vineyard 
 wasted, destroyed, and burnt. Isa. v. tells of the 
 vineyard laid waste, and doomed to barrenness and 
 desolation. In Matt, xxi., the husbandmen them- 
 selves are miserably destroyed, and the vineyard let 
 to others. But mark God's mercy in the midst of 
 judgment. In Matt. xxi. 41 43, the vineyard is 
 given to the Gentiles, who shall bring forth the 
 fruits in their season ; and it shall be finally given 
 back to Israel, and " Israel shall blossom and bud, 
 and fill the face of the world with fruit," Isa. xxvii. 
 2,6. 
 
 The parable of the barren fig-tree, Luke xiii. 6 9, 
 similarly describes the greatness of Israel's privilege. 
 Our Lord compared the Jewish nation to a fig-tree 
 a tree by nature luxuriant in fruit ; but this was a 
 fig-tree "planted" in a "vineyard;" not like a wild 
 tree, untended and uncared for, but with a " dresser 
 of the vineyard," and an owner, both wishing and 
 using means to make it fruitful, and willing to con- 
 tinue these means for a time with forbearing patience. 
 
 THE GREATER CONDEMNATION, John Hi. 19. Is it 
 
 not natural and just that privileges neglected or 
 abused should be remembered in God's righteous 
 judgment? 
 
 Solomon's heart was turned from the Lord, " which 
 had appeared unto him twice," 1 Kings xi. 9.
 
 SCRIPTURE USELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 283 
 
 Hezekiah "rendered not again according to the 
 benefit done unto him," when the Lord had shown 
 him special mercy, 2 Chron. xxxii. 21. 
 
 Judas. All the four evangelists seem to mark it 
 as a special aggravation of his treachery " Judas, 
 one of the twelve." 
 
 Thomas. So it is said of him " Thomas, one of 
 the twelve," John xx. 24. 
 
 Israel, eminent in privilege, was also eminent for 
 rebellion. See what is said, Deut. iv. 7, 32 35 ; 
 xxxiii. 29 ; 2 Sam. vii. 23 ; Amos iii. 2 ; Heb. iii. 9. 
 
 Chorazin, Bethsaida, Matt. xi. 20, 21. 
 
 Capernaum, Matt. xi. 23. 
 
 Jerusalem, Matt, xxiii. 37, 38. 
 
 PROFESSION AND APPEARANCE OF GOOD 
 WITHOUT REALITY. See Hypocrisy Temporaries* 
 
 Is well ILLUSTRATED by many figures. 
 
 The vine of Sodom, Deut. xxxii. 32 ; " nightshade 
 abounding round the sea of Sodom," remarkable for 
 beauty of appearance, whilst bitter and pernicious to 
 the taste. 
 
 Clouds and wind, that promise refreshing showers 
 ivithout rain, Prov. xxv. 14. 
 
 Wells without water, 2 Pet. ii. 1 7, disappointing ex- 
 pectation. 
 
 Clouds carried with a tempest, 2 Pet. ii. 1 7. 
 
 The fig-tree, Matt. xxi. 19, that grew by the way- 
 side, with profusion of leaf, but destitute of fruit; or, 
 as in another case, planted in a vineyard (the most 
 favoured spot), but no less barren, Luke xiii. 7. 
 
 The foolish virgins, Matt. xxv. 1 13. 
 
 The guest without a wedding garment, Matt. xxii. 
 12, 13. 
 
 The unprofitable servant, Matt. xxv. 24 30 ; one of 
 the household, who professed much respect and re
 
 284 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 verence for his master's trust, and yet hid the talent 
 in the earth. 
 
 A house on the sand, Matt. vii. 26, 27 ; perhajw 
 well built, and appearing tirni, with no outward differ- 
 ence from the house founded on the rock. 
 
 The tares, Matt, xiil 24 30, in eastern countries, 
 scarcely discernible in the earlier stages of growth 
 from wheat. 
 
 The branch in the vine bearing no fruit, John xv. 2. 
 
 Is FORCIBLY EXPRESSED as 
 
 Having " a name to live," whilst spiritually "dead," 
 Rev. iii. 1. 
 
 "Having the/orm (outward appearance) of godli- 
 ness, but denying the power thereof, 2 Tim. iii. 5. 
 
 "Making a show" of prayerfulness, Luke xx. 47; 
 of wisdom, Col. ii. 23 ; of ritual exactness, Gal. vi. 12 ; 
 of love, Ezek. xxxiii. 31. 
 
 "All are not Israel which are of Israel," &c., Rom. 
 ix. 6, 7 ; ii. 28, 29. 
 
 Saying, but not doing, Isa. xlviii. 2, compared with 
 ver. 4 8 ; Jer. vil 1 15 ; Hosea viii. 2, 3 ; Matt 
 xxiii. 3; Rom. ii. 19 ; James ii. 14 26. 
 
 Hearing, but not doing, Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32; Matt. 
 vil 26, 27. 
 
 Appearance, but not truth, 2 Cor. v. 12. 
 
 Outward profession, but not inward reality, Rom. ii. 
 28, 29. 
 
 Very often boastful words hide evil deeds, Prov. xx. 
 6. As was in the case of Absalom, who boasted of 
 his love of justice, whilst he murdered his brother 
 Ammon, and was plotting treason against his father, 
 2 Sam. xv. 4 ; and in the case of Jehu, who boasted 
 of his zeal for the Lord, whilst he was still an idolater 
 himself, and clave to the sins of Jeroboam, 2 Kings 
 x. 16, 28, 31 ; like the Jews, Rom. ii. 1723; like 
 I>aodicea, Rev. iil 17.
 
 SCULPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 285 
 
 It is a mournful fact, that of the six suicides men- 
 tioned in Scripture, three made a profession of reli- 
 gion. 
 
 BAALAM is, perhaps, one of the most striking 
 examples of great profession without reality. There 
 are few who made more vehement protestations than 
 Baalam; see Num. xxii. 12, 18, 38; xxiii. 8 10, 20; 
 xxiv. 13 ; yet read 2 Pet. ii. 15, and there we see his 
 real character unmasked. 
 
 The devout reader of Scripture may well contrast 
 the vain wish of mere profession with the blessed 
 realization of true godliness. Baalam's wish, " Let 
 me die the death of the righteous," was uttered when 
 near to Mount Pisgah, Num. xxiii. 10, 14. About a 
 year afterwards, Moses, the man of God, stood on the 
 same place, or near it, and Moses enjoyed the bless- 
 ing which Baalam wished. 
 
 THE PHARISEES of our Lord's time were examples 
 of profession and hypocrisy. Their name (from a 
 Hebrew word meaning to separate) laid claim to un- 
 usual separation and distinction from other men. But 
 tfhat was their true character 1 See how our Lord 
 unveiled it, Matt. v. 20 ; xxiii. ; Luke x. 29 ; xviii. 
 S 14. 
 
 CHRIST TESTS PROFESSION. It was our blessed 
 Lord's manner constantly to test the vehement pro- 
 fessions which many made to Him, as, e.g., in Luke 
 ix. 57 62, in the three who came expressing such 
 readiness to follow Him; or, Luke xviii. 18 23, the 
 young ruler who came running, but. soon turned back; 
 in John xvi. 30, 31, the disciples who professed such 
 strong faith in Him a short time before His death ; 
 in John xiii. 37, 38, Peter, who thought himself 
 ready for a martyr's death. See further. Trial of 
 Faith.
 
 286 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 PROMISES THE.*** 
 
 Gen. iii. 15. "The germ or acorn promise. 
 
 The first promise God gave to Adam WON the germ of all the 
 promises. It included all the covenant of grace, even as St 
 John groups all in the one great "promise," "that God hath 
 promised " " eternal life," 1 John ii. 25. 
 
 2 Cor. i. 20. " For all the promises of God in him 
 are Yea, and in him Amen, to the glory of God by 
 ua" 
 
 " The covenant is a cluster of grapes ; the several promises 
 are as particular grapes on that cluster ; Christ is thu branch or 
 stalk that holds them all. lie that lays hold on Christ hath the 
 talk in his hand, and so holds the whole cluster, ami every par- 
 ticular grape." Clarkton. 
 
 " Yea and Amen." 
 
 " God never gave a good promise, but He made His promise 
 ijood." Yenning. 
 
 Heb. xi. 13. "These all died in faith, not having 
 received the promises, but having seen them afar off, 
 and were persuaded of them, and embraced them." 
 
 A beautiful image is contained in this verse of mariners 
 homeward bound, who recognise afar off the well-known cliffs 
 and promontories of their beloved fatherland, and with affection 
 greet them from a distance. The word "embraced " is one of 
 strong affection; it is the word used, Acts xx. 1, Paul "em- 
 braced " the disciples when he parted from them. 
 
 Acts vii. 1 7. " When the time of the promise 
 drew nigh." 
 
 God's promises are dated, but with a mysterious character ; 
 *nd, for want of skill in God's chronology, we are prone to think 
 God forgets us, when, indeed, we forget ourselves in being so 
 bold to set God a time of uur own, and in being angry that He 
 comes not just then to us." Gttrnatt. 
 
 Rom. xv. 13." Now the God of hope." 
 One of the ancient versions reads this, " the God of the pro- 
 mises."
 
 SCKIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOR. 287 
 
 Eph. i 13. "The Holy Spirit of promise." 
 
 Not only the Spirit promised, but the Holy Spirit, who ap- 
 plies the promises to the saints. 
 
 Heb. xiii. 5. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
 thee." 
 
 Beautifully called by one "the pilgrim's staff," one of the 
 most emphatic promises of Scripture, containing in the original 
 five negatives. It is rendered by Doddridge, " I will not ; I 
 will not leave thee ; I will never, never, never forsake thee." 
 It is one of the special promises which runs through all the dis- 
 pensations. First, given by God to Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 15 ; 
 then passed on to Joshua, i. 5 ; and handed down to David, 
 1 Kings viii. 57 ; and on to Solomon, 1 Chron. xxviii. 20 ; it is 
 claimed by Moses for all Israel, Deut. xxxi. 6 ; and by the 
 apostle for all the Christian Church, Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
 There is little in the Scriptures out of which faith may not 
 extract the comfort of a promise. The titles of God are virtu- 
 ally promises. Many of the assertions of Scripture may be read 
 promissorily, the histories of God's past dealings, the prayers 
 of God's people, the commandments of God, and even the 
 threatenings, imply, by a happy contrast and lawful inference, 
 sweet promises to those who read them aright. 
 
 Abraham. The patriarch Abraham was a note- 
 worthy example of one eminently honoured with 
 special promises, and endued with special faith to 
 believe and embrace them. It is observable, how 
 God gave the promises to Abraham at first obscurely 
 (see Faith, Trial of] and gradually ; but the promise 
 was renewed and enlarged, and that generally before 
 some trial of faith, or after some act of obedience or 
 noble self-denial. (1.) When he left Ur of the Chal- 
 dees, and was starting for an unknown land, he re- 
 ceived the first promise, Gen. xii. 1 ; (2.) when he 
 generously surrendered his right in favour of Lot, 
 xiii. 14 17, the promise was enlarged; (3.) after his 
 brave rescue of Lot it was again renewed, xv. 1 5 ; 
 (4.) after his believing the Lord's declaration, and in 
 prospect of the captivity of His people in Egypt, God 
 spake again, xv. 6, 18 21.
 
 288 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Observe, too, his simple and unwavering faith 
 " He believed the Lord," Gen. xv. 6 ; "He staggered 
 not at the promise through unbelief:" "against (ap- 
 parent) hope he believed in hope." " Not weak in 
 faith," he looked from probabilities to the promised 
 word ; being " strong in faith," " being fully per- 
 suaded that what He had promised He was able to 
 perform," Rom. iv. 18 21. "And so, after he had 
 patiently endured, he received the promise," Heb. vi. 
 15 ; XL 1719. 
 
 PROPHET, CHRIST THE. 
 
 TITLES and ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Wonderful Counsellor, Isa. ix. 6 ; the words may be 
 read separately or in connection. 
 
 The Messenger (or angel) of the covenant, Mai. iil 1 ; 
 Acts vil 38. 
 
 The great Teacher sent from God, Isa. xlviii. 17; 
 Matt. iv. 23, xxi. 23, xxvi. 55 ; John iii. 2. 
 
 The Shepherd feeding His flock, Isa, xl. 11. 
 
 The Revedcr of truth, Matt. xi. 27 ; John iii. 11, 32; 
 riii. 26, 28 ; xii. 49 ; xv. 15 ; xvii. 8, 26. 
 
 The Ward of God, John i. 1 ; Rev. xix. 13. 
 
 CHRIST is set forth as 
 
 Wisdom, Prov. viii. ; 1 Cor. i. 30 ; Col. ii. 3. 
 
 Light, especially by St. John, John i. 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 ; 
 iii. 19 ; viii. 12 ; ix. 5 ; xii. 35, 36, 46 ; see also Isa. 
 xlix. 6 ; Luke ii. 32. 
 
 He is THE PROPHET, to whom all other prophets 
 witness, Acts x. 43. 
 
 " JESUS the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee," Matt 
 xxi. 11. 
 
 It is observable how often our Lord was acknow- 
 ledged as prophet, especially after some manifesta- 
 tion of His power and kindness, see Luke vii. 16; 
 John iii. 2, iv. 19, vi. 14, vii. 40, ix. 17.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 289 
 
 ANOINTED with the HOLY GHOST, Acts x. 38. In 
 the prophecy concerning the " rod out of the stem of 
 Jesse," Isa. xi. 1 5, it is observable how largely the 
 manifold gifts of the Spirit concern Him in His pro- 
 phetical work "the 'Spirit of wisdom and under 
 standing" of " counsel," and of " knowledge," and 
 of " quick understanding in the fear of the Lord." 
 
 He was the "PROPHET LIKE unto MOSES," yet 
 greater than Moses, Deut. xviii. 15; Acts iii. 22, 
 vii. 37. 
 
 " NEVER MAN SPAKE LIKE THIS MAN," John vii. 46. 
 Such was the witness of enemies ; while John iv. 19 
 gives the testimony of a Samaritan ; Matt. xxi. 46, 
 xxii. 33, Mark xi. 18, of the Jewish people; Matt. 
 xxii. 22, John iii. 2, of Pharisees. 
 
 " SEVEN EYES upon one stone," Zech. iii. 9. " This 
 refers to Christ's prophetical office, which He first 
 exercised, before He as priest offered up Himself a 
 sacrifice. " Barth. 
 
 PROVIDENCE DIVINE. 
 
 The word providence means literally fore-seeing 
 (pro- video). See Heb. xi. 40 (marg.) 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Jacob's ladder, Gen. xxviii. 12 15, connecting earth 
 with heaven, on which the angels of God were ascend- 
 ing and descending in their blessed ministry of 
 service. 
 
 The pillar of cloud and fire Israel's guide and guard 
 in their wilderness wanderings, Exod. xl. 34 38 ; 
 Num. ix. 1523. 
 
 The wheels in Ezekiel's vision, Ezek. i. 18, x. 12. 
 These were probably meant " to express the revolu- 
 tions of God's providence, which are regular, though 
 they appear intricate." Archbishop Newcome. 
 
 T
 
 290 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Speckled horses, Zech. i. 811. 
 
 The cup mixed by a Father's hand, John xviil 
 11. 
 
 The path marked out by Divine omniscience, Ps. 
 CTXTJX. 3, &c. See Cone. 
 
 A great deep deeper than the ocean's lowest depths, 
 Ps. xxxvi. 6. 
 
 THE PROVIDENTIAL WATCHFULNESS and POWER of 
 GOD are expressed by 
 
 The eyes of the Lord resting upon the sons of men, 
 2 Chron. xvi. 9 ; Deut. xi. 12; Ezra v. 5 ; Ps. xxxiii. 
 17, 18; xxxiv. 15; 1 Pet. iil 12; 1 Kings ix. 3; 
 Amos ix. 8. 
 
 The hand, Ezra viii. 22 ; Eccles. ii. 24, ix. 1. 
 
 The heart, 1 Kings ix. 3. 
 
 The arm, Ps. Ixxvii. 15, Ixxxix. 13. 
 
 The thoughts, Jer. xxix. 11. 
 
 The care, Deut. xi 12 ; 1 Pet. v. 7. 
 
 For the minute care God takes of His people, see 
 Cone, under head hair tears cry feet steps 
 way, &c. 
 
 God's providence orders and arranges man's con- 
 cerns and destiny, Deut. xxxii. 8 ; 1 Sam. it 6 10; 
 Ps. Ixxv. 6, 7 ; Isa. xlv. 7, <fec. ; man's goings, Prov. 
 xx. 24 ; steps, Job xiv. 16, xxxi. 4 ; Ps. xviii. 36, 
 xxxii. 23; Prov. xvi. 19 ; path, Ps. cxxxix. 3 ; Prov. 
 iii. 6 ; wanderings, Ps. Ivi. 8 ; icays, Ezra viii. 21 ; Job 
 xxiii. 10 ; Isa. xlii. 16. 
 
 1 Kings xii. 15, 24. "The cause was from the 
 Lord." " This thing is from me." 
 
 Is not this the right key to open many a difficult lock ? See 
 how it i> brought out in 2 Chron. x. 1 5 ; XL 4 ; xxii. 7 ; xxv. 
 20 ; ISA. xix. 1, 2, 14, and other texts. 
 
 The dispensations of God's providence have been well com- 
 pared to the workings of a well-timed watch ; some parts, like 
 the mainspring, seem more important ; others, like the pins and 
 pivots, are of less apparent value ; and the whole are hidden 
 iiml concealed we see only the results. Hut every part has its
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 291 
 
 proper office, and all were contrived and arranged by one master 
 mind. 
 
 God's providence often works by apparently casual 
 and trifling circumstances. Cf. the ram, caught in a 
 thicket by its horns, which provided a sacrifice for 
 Abraham, Gen. xxii. 13 ; the history of Ruth, whose 
 " hap " was to light upon the field of her near kins- 
 man, Boaz, Ruth ii. 3 ; the kine's taking the way to 
 Beth-shemesh, which directed the course of the ark, 1 
 Sam. vi. 8 15. A certain man "drew a bow at a 
 venture," and he was unwittingly God's executioner 
 on Ahab for his sins, 1 Kings xxii. 34; Ahasuerus 
 passed a sleepless night, and this was the turning 
 point of Haman's defeat and the Jews' deliverance, 
 Esther vi. 1. See similarly the Lord's directing of 
 the lot, Prov. xvi. 33. 
 
 Thus, as Bishop Hall says, " There is a great providence in 
 little things." " God often disposeth little occasions to great 
 purposes, and by those very ways, whereby proud men have 
 gone about to withstand God's counsels, they have fulfilled 
 them." Sibbes. 
 
 SOMETIMES God makes the apparently casual meet- 
 ing of two or more persons the hinge on which mat- 
 ters of deep importance turns. 
 
 Jacob and Moses both met their future wives un- 
 expectedly by a well. David met Saul in the cave, 
 and it was the occasion of his giving a noble proof of 
 a generous spirit, 1 Sam. xxiv. 3 22. Philip and 
 the eunuch met on the road from Jerusalem, Acts viii. 
 27 39. Apollos was located for a time in the same 
 town with Aquila and Priscilla, Acts xviii. 24 26. 
 The woman of Samaria came to Jacob's well at the 
 very time the Lord was resting there, John iv. 4, and 
 what blessed results followed ! 
 
 God's providence orders the exact times of things. 
 We see this in the dispensations, as in " the fulness of 
 time," when Christ came, when the world and the
 
 292 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Church were in a state of preparation, Gal. iv. 4 ; in 
 the fulness of nations for judgment, Gen. xv. 1C; 
 and for mercy, Rom. xi. 11, 25; see Eph. i. 10. So 
 we see it in the case of individuals. \Vhat could he 
 more remarkahle, e. g., than that Pharaoh's daughter 
 should come to the river just in time to see the out- 
 cast infant in the ark 1 Exod. ii. 5 9 ; or that Paul's 
 nephew should be at Jerusalem just at the time to be 
 the means of saving his uncle's life ? Acts xxiii 1 6. 
 How singular that tidings were brought to Saul, that 
 the Philistines had invaded the land, just at the time 
 that he seemed to have David in his grasp, 1 Sam. 
 xxiii. 27; and that Rabshakeh should hear a rumour 
 that should draw him from his design when just 
 ready to attack Jerusalem, Isa. xxxvii. 7, 8. But 
 such incidents show us the great truth, that "times 
 and seasons " are in God's hands, 1 Thess. v. 1 ; the 
 thread of our life is woven in His loom, Acts xvii. 26; 
 God has His own time for His purposes, and His 
 time must ever be the " due time," See 1 Pet. v. 6 ; 
 Isa. Ix. 22 ; Gen. xlvil 29 ; Esther iv. 14. 
 
 EVERY BOOK OF SCRIPTURE, and almost every his- 
 tory, might well be studied, with special reference to 
 the working of God's providence. Take, e. g., ihf- 
 histories of Abraham Jacob Joseph Moses - 
 Ruth David Daniel Jonah Esther St. Paul 
 &c. ; and the histories of the judges prophets 
 kings of Israel and of Judah what lessons they 
 teach ! 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. The earthly history of the 
 Lord Jesus forms a most striking illustration of the 
 watchfulness and power of Providence! Take the 
 several stages of Christ's life 
 
 The genealogy. The very fact of its being con- 
 tinued, in one direct and unbroken line, amidst all 
 the distraction of Israel's history ' and of the record
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 293 
 
 being preserved ! At one time the chain of the royal 
 line, through which Christ came, hung on the life of 
 an infant of only one year old, and it seemed the in- 
 terest of the reigning power to destroy that life ! 
 
 The birth. The birth of Christ was Divinely or- 
 dered in " the fulness of time," when the world and 
 the Church had long been prepared for it ; and it 
 was a time of general peace and expectation. Christ's 
 birth at Bethlehem fulfilled a prophecy ; and the 
 mother was brought there through a singular provi- 
 dence the taxing of the Roman empire a heathen 
 ruler thus undesignedly helping to fulfil a Scripture 
 prophecy (Micah v. 2). 
 
 The infancy. The infant Saviour was specially pre- 
 served from the wrath of Herod, Matt. ii. 12 15; 
 whilst the gold of the wise men probably helped to 
 provide means for His parents' flight into Egypt. 
 
 His ministerial life. The Lord Jesus was minis- 
 tered to by angels, Matt. iv. 11 ; Luke xxii. 43. 
 
 His death. The apparent causes of Christ's death 
 were the covetousness of Judas, the malice of the 
 Jews, and the weakness of Herod and ol Pilate. But 
 these things only accomplished what God's " counsel 
 had determined before to be done," Acts iv. 27, 28. 
 The soldiers rending the coat, and casting lots, Matt. 
 xxvii. 35 ; the people giving Him vinegar, xxvii. 34; 
 not breaking His legs, but piercing His side, John 
 xix. 32 37 : All these things were done casually, 
 but they fulfilled distinct prophecies of Scripture. 
 
 " The hour was not yet come." 
 
 It is observable the regard the Lord Jesus Himself paid to 
 the time and hour of His appointed mission. He Himself re- 
 ferred to it, as the reason why He could not do as His mother 
 and His brethren wished, John ii. 4 ; vii. 6, 8. The Evangelist, 
 St. John, twice refers to it as the reason why " no man laid 
 hands on Him," vii. 30 ; viii. 20. Compare with this Christ's 
 readiness to suffer when the hour was come, John xii. 23, 27 ; 
 xiii. 1 ; xvii. 1 ; His zeal to do the aoDointed work in the ap-
 
 294 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 pointed time, John ix. 4 ; He never shrank from the place of 
 danger, any more than from the huur of trial, Lake xiii. 32, 33. 
 
 PROVIDENCE DIVINE PRESERVING and PRO- 
 TECTING.* See Hidden Refuge, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 As a shield, Ps. iii. 3 ; xxviii. 7 ; Ixxxiv. 11, &c. 
 
 A buckler, Ps. xviii. 2, 30 ; Prov. il 7, &c. 
 
 A Mmet, Ps. cxl. 7. 
 
 A hedge, Job i. 10 ; ill 23 ; Hos. ii. 6 ; Matt. xxi. 
 33. 
 
 A wall of fire round about, Zecb. ii. 5. 
 
 A house of defence, Ps. xxxi. 2. See under Refuge, 
 and in Cone, under defence castle hiding-place 
 fortress strong tower pavilion secret place, &c. 
 
 The mountains round about Jerusalem, Ps. cxxv. 2. 
 
 Birds flying hovering over, and leaping forward 
 to protect their young, Isa. xxxi. 5 ; Ps. xci. 4. 
 
 The angel of the Lord encamping round, Ps. xxxiv. 7. 
 
 Sealing, Rev. vii. 2 ; ix. 4. 
 
 The burning bush, Exod. iii. 1. 
 
 Trace in Cone, under such words as preserve de- 
 fend protect keep stand by, &c. 
 
 The many NARROW ESCAPES from death of which 
 we read in Scripture are very striking. Man's life 
 often seems to hang on a thread. Oh, the rich com- 
 fort there is in knowing that that thread is well and 
 wisely woven in the loom of Providence ! " Every 
 man is immortal till his work is done." Cf. the case 
 of Jacob, when Esau purposed to kill him, and pro- 
 bably might as easily have done so as Cain killed 
 Abel, Gen. xxvii. 42 ; of Joseph, similarly preserved 
 from his brethren's design, Gen. xxxvii. 20. How 
 opportune and providential was it that the Ish- 
 maelites just then passed by ! So Moses was pre- 
 served from the wrath of Pharaoh, Exod. i. 15, 16; 
 ii. 1 15; and from the judgment of the Lord,
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 295 
 
 iv. 24 26 ; Samson from the Philistines, Judges xvi. 
 2, 3 ; David from Goliath, Saul, and others ; Jeroboam 
 from Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 40 ; Elijah from Jezebel, 
 1 Kings xix. 2 ; Joash from Athaliah, 2 Kings xi. 
 1 3 ; Jeremiah and Baruch from Jehoiakim, Jer. 
 xxxvi. 26. The case of Malchus is a singular one : 
 Peter struck his ear : is it not probable that he 
 meant to cleave his head ? John xviii. 10. 
 
 IT is WELL, also, in considering the providence of 
 God, to remember the weakness and impotence of 
 man. 
 
 Jacob wished, with all the yearning affection of a 
 father's heart, to save Benjamin from what he thought 
 might prove his death ; but his well-meant design 
 was overpowered, Gen. xlii. 38 ; xliii. 11. 
 
 Darius " set his heart" on delivering* Daniel, but 
 his hands were bound that he could not, Dan. vi. 4. 
 
 Of. with this the Omnipotence of the Almighty. 
 See Gen. xviii. 14 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 6 ; 2 Chron. xiv. 11 ; 
 xxv. 8; Job xxiii. 13; Isa. xlvi. 10; Dan. iv. 35; 
 Matt, xxviii. 18. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Israel. The preservation of Israel affords a mar- 
 vellous example of the providence of God. First, in 
 the wilderness, delivered safely from Pharaoh's rage ; 
 favoured with the pillar of cloud and fire, their guide 
 and guard ; protected, especially from the invasion 
 of any enemy, during their annual feasts (see Provi- 
 dence Restraining] ; and still they are preserved, a 
 distinct and separate people, the marvel of the 
 Church, and the wonder of the world. 
 
 Joseph. What a beautiful study is the history of 
 Joseph, preserved from his brethren's cruelty and 
 Pharaoh's passion. 
 
 David. " The Lord preserved David," 2 Sam. viii. 
 6, 14; 1 Chron. xviii. 6, 13. Few have been pre-
 
 296 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOK. 
 
 served through greater perila But the Lord kept 
 him from the lion and the bear; from Goliath's sword, 
 and from Saul's spear; from the Philistines; from 
 Doeg ; from Shimei ; from Ishi Benob. It is speci- 
 ally remarkable how he was preserved from Saul's 
 great fury by his own son Jonathan, and by bis 
 daughter Michal. 
 
 Elijah preserved from Jezebel. 
 
 St. Paul, "in perils oft," yet still preserved; let 
 down by a basket at Damascus; stoned almost to 
 death at Lystra ; barely escaped the forty men who 
 were bound by a vow to kill him ; shipwrecked ; 
 stung by a viper ; see the list of dangers, 2 Cor. xi 
 24 28; yet through them all the Lord preserved 
 him. 
 
 The disciples in our Lord's time, John xviii. 8. "Of 
 them which thou gavest me I have lost none," is here 
 applied to providential preservation, as it is in xvii. 
 12, to spiritual 
 
 PROVIDENCE PROVIDING.* See Cone, under 
 bread food plenty supply abundance poor 
 needy, &c. 
 
 Gen. xriL 14. " Jehovah-jireh," "the Lord will 
 provide." 
 
 The motto taken by the pioiis Hon. Robert Boyle, when he 
 became Earl of Cork, is worthy of every Christian " God's 
 providence u mine inheritance. " 
 
 " No want." Where God is the provide! there can 
 be no real want. Cf. the care the Lord takes for the 
 meaner animals, Matt. vi. 26 ; Luke xii. 6 ; 1 Cor. 
 ix. 9, 10 ; and the care He took for Israel 3,000,000 
 of people for forty years; and how He could provide 
 for Elijah in time of famine, &c. See the description 
 of the land of Israel, Judges xviii. 10; xix. ID ; and 
 the saints' charter, Ps. xxxiv. 9, 10- Ixxxiv. 10-
 
 SCKIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 297 
 
 Prov. xiii. 25; Rom. viii. 28; Phil. iv. 19. Those 
 that look to God as a provider, need never fear an 
 empty board. 
 
 PROVIDENCE, RESTRAINING the will and power 
 of man. 
 
 See Ps. Ixv. 7; Ixxvi. 10; xciii. 3, 4. 
 
 The Lord can restrain li the wrath of man," and " the mad- 
 ness of the people," as easily as the miller makes use of the 
 water in his mill, letting so much on as serves his purpose, and 
 holding back the rest by a powerful dam. 
 
 Zech. i. 1821. 
 
 The four carpenters sent to fray the four horns, a figurative 
 representation of the restraining and counter-working providence 
 of God. 
 
 Hos. ii. 6. "Behold, I will hedge up thy way with 
 thorns, and make a wall," &c. 
 
 The FEAR of GOD. It is noteworthy how we read 
 of " the fear of God " put upon the nations, for the 
 defence of Israel ; as in Jacob's time, Gen. xxxv. 5, 
 when he purged his house from idols, and built an 
 altar to the Lord ; in Asa's time, when he caused a 
 reformation through the kingdom, and cried unto the 
 Lord in his distress, 2 Chron. xiv. 14 ; in Jehosha- 
 phat's time, when he sent the Levites through the 
 land to instruct the people, 2 Chron. xvii. 10; and 
 when he sought the Lord's protection, xx. 29. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 ISRAEL. Exod. xxxiv. 24 the special promise 
 during their annual feasts; and generally, Exod. xxiii. 
 27; Deut. ii. 25 ; xi. 25; Josh. ii. 9 11, on their 
 entrance upon the land. 
 
 Pharaoh and Abimelech, Gen. xii. 17 20 ; xx. 3 6, 
 restrained from hurting Sarah. 
 
 The Sodomites, Gen. xix. 10, 11, from hurting Lot. 
 
 Laban, Gen. xxxi. 7, 24, 42, from hurting Jacob.
 
 298 8CR1PTUBK ITSKLF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Saul, 1 Sam. xxiv. 16, 17, from hurting David. 
 
 Jeroboam, 1 Kings xiii 1 4, from hurting the pro- 
 phet. 
 
 Sennacherib, Isa. xxxvii 29, " a hook " in the nose. 
 Of. Isa. xxx. 28, "a bridle" in the jaws. 
 
 Saul, Acts ix. 16. 
 
 Herod, from killing Peter, as he had killed James, 
 Acts xil 3 7. 
 
 PROVIDENCE, OVERRULING.* 
 
 Esau, Gen. xxvii. 41, xxviii. 5, divulging his evil 
 design against Jacob, was the means of Jacob's escap- 
 and preservation. 
 
 Joseph's brethren were instigated by envy and re- 
 venge in their cruel treatment of him ; but they be- 
 came undesignedly the very means of his exaltation, 
 and of the preservation of Egypt, and of their own 
 families in time of famine, Gen. xlv. 5 8 ; 1. 20. 
 
 Levi and his tribe were sentenced, as a judgment, 
 to be scattered in Israel ; but the Lord turned the 
 judgment into a blessing, in their being the teachers 
 and instructors of the people, Gen. xlix. 5 7. 
 
 The King of Assyria, " the rod " of God's anger, 
 though he meant it not so himself, Isa. x. 5 7. 
 
 Judah's covetousness, and the wickedness of both 
 Herod and Pontius Pilate, and the Gentiles, and the 
 people of Israel, were all overruled to bring about 
 the crucifixion of the Lord of glory, Acts iv. 27, 28. 
 
 St. PauFs first imprisonment at Rome, Phil. i. 12. 
 
 It would be an interesting study to trace how frequently 
 trivial events arise from some apparently unlikely cause. Lydia 
 went to Philippi for the purpose of trade. Onemmus fled to 
 Rome as a runaway slave ; and both were brought within the 
 sound of -..-)!,! preaching, and embraced the truth. 
 
 PROVIDENCE MISREPRESENTED. 
 See Prov. xxviii. 5 ; Dan. \ii. 10.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 299 
 
 Job's friends made the common mistake, that the 
 righteous are always rewarded, and the wicked pun- 
 ished in this life. See iv. 7 ; v., viii., xv., xx, &c. 
 
 Saul, 1 Sam. xxiii. 7 ; but cf. v. 14 and the end of 
 the chapter. 
 
 David's men, 1 Sam. xxiv. 4. 
 
 Abishai, 1 Sam. xxvi. 8. 
 
 Rechab and Baanah, 2 Sam. iv. 8. 
 
 Jonah, i. 3. Jonah's finding a ship going to Tar- 
 shish at the very time that favoured his flight, very 
 possibly seemed to his distempered mind, as a token 
 of God's providence concurring with his sinful wish. 
 
 The idolatrous Jews in Egypt, Jer. xliv. 17 23. 
 
 The common notion that special calamity is always 
 inflicted for special sin, is several times referred to in 
 the New Testament, as in Luke xiii. 1 5 ; John ix. 
 2, 3 ; Acts xxviii. 3, 4. It was doubtless to this 
 error that the anciently received opinion of Mary 
 Magdalene having been so great a sinner, is to be 
 attributed. 
 
 QUICKENING SPIRITUAL. See Life Regenera- 
 tion. 
 
 Is twofold, when from dead we are made living ; when from 
 dull and heavy we are made lively. (Cf. the etymology of some 
 of our English words re-creation, as if the influence of pleasure 
 and amusement was to impart new life and vigour re-new ~ 
 re- vive, &c.) 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Grass, newly mown, revived by the gentle rain. Ps. 
 Ixxii. 6. 
 
 Corn the vine lily olive, &c., refreshed and 
 strengthened by the genial and fertilising dew of 
 heaven, Hos. xiv. 5 7. 
 
 Willows that grow in luxuriance by the water- 
 courses, Isa. xliv. 3 ; as indeed trees generally, Ps. 
 i. 3.
 
 300 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 A tree bursting into leaf and beauty, after winter's 
 rest, in fresh spring life, Phil. iv. 10 (Greek). 
 
 The eagle renewing its plumage and strength in old 
 age, Isa. xl. 31. 
 
 The pilgrim or warrior resuming his march, re- 
 freshed by the draught of cooling water, Ps. Ixxxiv. 
 67 ; ex. 7. 
 
 Is EXPRESSED in many ways 
 
 Awakened, as from the sleep of sin to righteousness, 
 1 Cor. xv. 34 ; or as from the silence of lukewarm- 
 ness or fear to fervent praise, Ps. Ivii. 8. 
 
 llenewed, Ps. 1L 10; Isa. xl. 31; 2 Cor. iv. 16; 
 Eph. iv. 23. 
 
 Revived, Hab. iii. 2 ; Ps. Ixxxv. 6 ; Isa. Ivii. 15 ; 
 (ci. Ezra ix. 8) ; Phil. iv. 10, marg. 
 
 Stirred up, like the dying embers of an expiring 
 fire, Exod. xxxv. 21 ; Hag. i. H ; 2 Tim. i. 6 ; 2 Pet. 
 L 13 ; iii. 1. 
 
 Whet sJuirpened, Deut. vi. 7 (marg.) ; Prov. xxvii. 
 17. 
 
 Provoked, Heb. x. 24 (Greek), to a paroxysm of 
 holy emulation. See Cone., under each. 
 
 Is THE WORK especially of the HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 This is well illustrated by 
 
 Ezck. xxx vil 1 10. 
 
 !;/> -kid's vision of dry bones, which, though very many and 
 very dry, were stirred, shaken, and re-united, and filled with 
 breath ; a representation of the convincing, quickening power of 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Cant. iv. 16. "Awake, north wind," &c. 
 
 The call of the Bridegroom ; or, as others take it, of th* 
 Church, for the reviving of the Church's graces, by the sharp 
 north wind of correction, and the soft south wind of the Spirit's 
 comforts. 
 
 Isa. xi. 3. 
 Even the Lord Jesus the Spirit of the Tx>rd . . . was promised
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 301 
 
 to rest upon him, to make him of " quick understanding in the 
 fear of the Lord." 
 
 Rev. iii. 1. 
 
 It is observable that in the epistle addressed to the dead and 
 drooping Church of Sardis, which needed quickening, the title 
 of the Lord is, " He that hath the seven spirits of God." 
 
 THE WORD OF GOD is the instrument of spiritual 
 quickening. Heb. iv. 10 " quick and powerful." 
 Acts vii. 38 " lively " (life-giving) " oracles." See 
 Ps. cxix. " Quicken me," the prayer repeated nine 
 times, always with some varied argument and plea. 
 
 Acts iii. 19. "The times of refreshing ;" times of 
 breathing, like the welcome rest of those exhausted 
 by hard toil and weary work. 
 
 RASHNESS. See Impatience. 
 
 The writings of SOLOMON especially contain many 
 weighty words about undue haste. He shows the 
 mischief of hasty words, Prov. xxix. 20 ; Eccles. v. 2; 
 hasty feet, Prov. xix. 2 ; a hasty spirit, Prov. xiv. 29 ; 
 Eccles. vii. 9 ; being hasty in strife, Prov. xxv. 8, 
 iii. 30, xiv. 17. 
 
 EXAMPLES abound of the evil of rashness. 
 
 Eash wishes Rachel, Gen. xxx. 1 ; David, 2 Sam. 
 xxiii. 15 ; James and John, Matt. xx. 21. 
 
 Bash words, Eccles. v. 2. "No one knows the 
 length of one rash word." " I said in my haste," Ps. 
 xxxi. 22, cxvi. 11 ; James and John, Matt. xx. 22. 
 
 Eash promises and vows, Eccles. v. 4 7. Jeph- 
 thah's, Judges xi. 30, 31 ; Herod, Mark vi. 22, 23 ; the 
 Jews to kill Paul, Acts xxiii. 12. 
 
 Eash disregard of life. Esau, Gen. xxv. 29 34 ; 
 Reuben, xlii. 37 ; Moses, Num. xi. 15 ; David, 1 Sam. 
 xxv. 13, 34; Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 4; Jonah, iv. 3. 
 
 Moses, no doubt, thought to serve God when he \vent to visit 
 his kinsmen and smote the Egyptian. It was a bold act, but
 
 302 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 very rash ; and, for all we know, he had to pay the penalty in 
 forty years' solitude in the wilderness. Had it not been for this 
 hasty act, he mitrht have at leant passed mure happily a third 
 part of his noble life. 
 
 Hash jmlyiucnt of otliers. Potiphar, Gen. xxxix. 20; 
 the tribes of Israel in judging the two and a halt 
 tribes, Joshua xxii. 16 ; David listening to Ziba's 
 slander about Mephibosheth before inquiring, 2 Sam. 
 xvi. 4, xix. 24 30 ; Eli censuring Hannah, 1 Sam. i. 
 14; Ahasuerus listening to Hainan's slander against 
 the Jews, Esther iil 8 11. 
 
 The rash impulse of a moment cost Esau his birth- 
 right, Gen. xxv. 29 34 ; and well nigh involved 
 Saul in the death of Jonathan, 1 Sam. xiv. 24 45. 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 4. 
 
 It is one mark of true charity " Charity vaunteth not itself." 
 The marginal translation is, " is not rash." 
 
 Luke xiv. 2832. 
 
 Building without thought ; warring without consideration . 
 beginning in haste, and repenting at leisure ; like young bird/ 
 flying before fledged. 
 
 Mark i. 44, 45. 
 
 See how much harm the healed leper'a rash zeal did 
 
 REDEMPTION.** 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 The Cherubim in Eden and in the Tabernacle (or the 
 mercy seat, vail, and curtains) many take as being 
 emblems of the redeemed. 
 
 Deliverance from Egypt,\)y price, Isa. xliii. 3; Exod. 
 xv. 13, 16 ; and by power, Exod. vi. 7 ; Neh. i. 10. 
 
 Deliverance from lialijlon, Ps. Ixxiv. 2 ; Isa. Hi. 3, 
 &c. 
 
 SHADOWS UNDER THE LAW. 
 
 The redemption of the firstborn of man and of un-
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 303 
 
 clean beasts, Exod. xiii. 12, 13; Num. xviii. 15 17, 
 in. 4551. 
 
 The mercy seat or propitiatory, upon the ark, of 
 pure gold, the appointed meeting-place of God with 
 His people, Exod. xxv. 17, 20, 22. 
 
 The half-shekel atonement money, appointed equally 
 for the souls of all, Exod. xxx. 10 16. 
 
 The redemption of property from servitude, &c., 
 Lev. xxv. 
 
 The god or near kinsman. This Jewish ordinance 
 involved the three essential points, nearness of kin, 
 ability to redeem, and willingness to redeem ; and all 
 these met in Christ, the Divine Redeemer. The in- 
 stitution was illustrated in Boaz, the redeemer of 
 Ruth, Ruth iv. 14 (marg.) 
 
 TYPICAL PERSONS. 
 
 Moses, the redeemer or deliverer of Israel, Acts 
 vii. 35. 
 Boaz, the redeemer of Ruth, iv. 14 (marg.) 
 
 HEBREW NAMES. 
 
 Pedaiah means redeemed of the Lord. 
 
 Igal, God will redeem. 
 
 Elkanah, God hath purchased or redeemed. 
 
 The first person so called was the son of Korah, of the same 
 generation as Aaron's children, born about the time of Israel's 
 redemption from Egypt. The name was probably given in 
 thankful acknowledgment of that exodus. The elder brother of 
 Elkanah was called Assir, which means captive or bondman, 
 and was probably given while they were groaning under Egyp- 
 tian bondage. The same name (Elkanah) would appear to have 
 been given to other persons, in token of some deliverance. 
 
 Two THINGS are to be noted in connection with 
 redemption. 
 
 (1.) The words redeem and redemption almost 
 always, except in a few instances, bear the meaning 
 of recovery, deliverance. 
 
 (2.) The word is seldom used in the Old Testament
 
 304 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 in connection with spiritual deliverances, whilst it is 
 hardly ever used otherwise in the New Testament. 
 
 Exod. xiL 2. The change redemption makes. 
 
 From the time of the exodus, their great deliverance, Israel 
 was to count a new kind of year, which was called the sacred 
 year ; thus redemption is, as it were, a fresh starting point. 
 
 Exod x. 26 ; xi 7. 
 
 These texts show the completeness of redemption. " Not a 
 hoof " of Israel's cattle was to be left behind ; nor a dog to 
 move his tongue, though they left Egypt at midnight, when 
 dogs are wont to bark at the least sound. 
 
 Isa. xxxiv. 8 ; hri. 2 ; Ixiii. 4. 
 
 It is worthy of note, how three times Isaiah contrasts the day 
 of God's vengeance with the year of redemption. Mercy re- 
 joices over judgment. 
 
 John xviii. 39. Releasing one at the passover. 
 
 It is uncertain when this custom was introduced : whether 
 by the Jews themselves before their subjugation by the Romans ; 
 or by the Romans, to show favour to their Jewish subjects. 
 The first seems more likely ; and the custom was designed to be 
 a memorial of their great deliverance from Egyptian bondage 
 If so, it is a pleasing recognition of a grateful spirit. 
 
 CoL L 13." Who hath delivered us." 
 
 Literally, snatched away forcibly, as David rescued the lamb 
 from the lion's paw. 
 
 REFUGE, GOD A. See Hidden. 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 A hiding place, Ps. xxxii. 7 ; cxix. 114; Isa. xxxii. 2. 
 
 Cities of refuge, Num. xxxv. 6 34 ; Joshua xx. 
 
 Six cities chosen evenly in all parts of the land, and made 
 easily accessible, probably within half a day's journey from any 
 place. 
 
 Horn of the altar, Exod. xxi. 13, 14. 
 A sanctuary (or, probably, a sanctuary-stone), Isa. 
 viii. 14; Ezek. xi 16.
 
 A strong or high tower fortress, Ps. xviii. 1 ; 
 Ixi. 3. 
 
 A rock, Ps. xxxi. 2, 3; Ixi. 2, 7; xciv. 22; the 
 clefts of the rock, Cant. ii. 14 ; munitions of rocks, 
 Isa. xxxiii. 16. 
 
 Outstretched vnngs, Ps. xvii. 8 ; Ivii. 1 ; Ixiii. 7 ; 
 xci. 4. 
 
 The pavilion, or outspread covering of the Lord's 
 protection, Ps. xxvii. 5 ; xxxi. 20. 
 
 The shadow as of a " great rock in a weary land," 
 Isa. xxxii. 2 ; xxv. 4. 
 
 A harbour or haven, Joel iii. 16 (marg.) ; such as 
 Melita was to Paul and his companions. The Phoe- 
 nician name for Malta means refuge. 
 
 WHAT the ark was to Noah and his family and the 
 weary dove ; what Zoar was to Lot ; what Pella was 
 to the Christians in the siege of Jerusalem ; such is 
 Christ to His believing people. 
 
 Isa. xxviii. 17. " The hail shall sweep away the 
 refuge of lies." 
 
 Observe here, (1.) The true character of a sinner's refuge, a 
 "refuge of lies," deceitful and deceiving. Cf. the cave at Mak- 
 kedah, where the five kings hid themselves, Joshua x. 16 27 ; 
 or Rabshakeh's comparison of trusting in Egypt to leaning on a 
 "broken reed," Isa. xxxvi. 6. (2.) The Divine judgment. The 
 sinner's refuge, whatever it may be, will fail 
 
 Heb. vi. 10. " Who have fled for refuge to lay 
 hold of the hope set before us." 
 
 Contrast here very forcibly the beautiful description and se- 
 curity of the believer's refuge. Observe, (1.) The flight "fled 
 for refuge, " an expression used of the mauslayer flying to the 
 city of refuge, Num. xxxv. 6, 11, 15 ; Deut. iv. 22 ; xix. 3, 4, 5. 
 (2.) The grasp "lay hold," the same word rendered "hold 
 fast," Heb. iv. 14 ; like the eager grasp of one who laid hold of 
 the horns of the altar for protection, see Ps. cxliii. 9. (3.) The 
 strong consolation there is in flying to the " hope set before us " 
 certainty of protection in the two immutable things, the pro- 
 mise and oath of the Almighty God. 
 
 U
 
 306 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 REGENERATION.* See Conversion Life - 
 Quickening. 
 
 Was well expressed by the old Saxon word " Gain- 
 birth," used by Sir John Cheke in his version, for our 
 word regeneration. 
 
 Is DESCRIBED in various ways 
 
 Newness of nature : a new heart new spirit new 
 man new creature or creation newness of life 
 renewed. 
 
 " The washing of regeneration" Tit. iii. 3. 
 
 Moulding, Rom. vi. 17 (Greek). 
 
 Planting, Rom. vi. 5 ; 1 Tim. iii. 6 ; " not a novice," 
 literally, not one newly planted. 
 
 Grafting, Rom. xi. 17. 
 
 A spiritual resurrection, Rom. vi. 4 6 ; Eph. it 1, 
 5; Coi iii. 1. 
 
 The heart circumcised, Deut. x. 16 ; Col. ii 11 ; 
 opened (like Lydia's), Acts xvi. 13 ; changed from 
 stone to flesh, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. 
 
 MAY BE ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 The parable of the outcast infant, Ezek. xvi ; 
 found naked and polluted washed anointed 
 clothed beautified. 
 
 The restoration of Israel in the latter days, in its 
 several stages, Ezek. xxxvi. 25 38. 
 
 The resurrection of the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision, 
 Ezek. xxxvii. 1 14. 
 
 The resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Eph. i 19, 20 ; 
 Rom. vi 4 11. 
 
 A man becoming as a little child, free from pride and 
 ambition ; docile, trustful, guileless ; Matt, xviii. 3 ; 
 Mark x. 14, 15. 
 
 Some of our Lord's parables. 
 
 Some of our Lord's miracles : the happy change 
 wrought in the cure of the blind, deaf, halt, possessed. 
 tie.
 
 SCEIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 307 
 
 John iii. 3, 5, 7. Three times in our Lord's dis- 
 course with Nicodemus, he insisted on the absolute 
 necessity of being born again. 
 
 1 John. " Born of God." Under this expression 
 the several results and evidences of regeneration are 
 strikingly marked out in this epistle. 
 
 REJECTION OF THE TRUTH. See Enmity Re- 
 bellion. 
 
 Is SPOKEN of as 
 
 Refusing to hearken to learn to obey to receive 
 correction, &c., generally aggravated by the mention 
 of some mercy received, as Deut. ix. 23 ; Jer. xxii. 
 21. 
 
 Casting off " the thing that is good " " the first 
 faith " the law of the Lord. 
 
 Turning the back, Jer. ii. 27 ; casting the law be- 
 hind the back, Neh. ix. 26 ; Ezek. xxiii. 35. 
 
 Putting away the word, Acts xiii. 46. 
 
 Departing from God forsaking, &c. 
 
 Making light of the offer of mercy, Matt. xxii. 5 ; 
 as Ephraim and Manasseh laughed to scorn Hezekiah's 
 invitation to the Passover, 2 Chron. xxx. 10 ; and as 
 it was in Zedekiah's time, xxxvi. 16. 
 
 Making excuse, Luke xiv. 8. 
 
 REJECTION OF CHRIST. See Enmity. 
 
 SPOKEN of as 
 
 The " corner stone " refused, Ps. cxviii. 22. Matt. 
 xxi.42, "disallowed of men;" though "chosen of God, 
 and precious," 1 Pet. ii. 4, 7 ; " set at nought of the 
 builders," Acts iv. 11 ; and then becoming " a stone 
 of stumbling and rock of offence," 1 Pet. ii 7 ; Isa. 
 viii. 14; latt. xxi. 44; Rom. ix. 33. 
 
 " The light of the world " rejected for darkness, 
 John iii. 19.
 
 308 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The Heir cast out of the vineyard and killed, Mark 
 xii. 7, 8. 
 
 The Maker of the world coming to His own rights 
 and possessions, and ignored and rejected by His own 
 people, John i. 11 (Greek). 
 
 Isa. liii. 3, 4. Observe the threefold gradation 
 not desired despised rejected. 
 
 Luke xix. 14. "We will not have this man to 
 reign over us." 
 
 Two notes may be added. 
 
 (1.) It is striking to contrast the eagerness with 
 which Christ was welcomed at the beginning of His 
 ministry ; how the people "pushed" upon Him, Mark 
 iii. 10 (marg.) ; and " pressed," Luke v. 1 ; with His 
 rejection at the end. 
 
 (2.) It is striking to remember that the Jews, who 
 for idolatry were punished seventy years ; for their 
 rejection of the Messiah have been punished already 
 18001 
 
 REPENTANCE.*** See Conviction Contrition 
 Conversion Mortijiaition. 
 
 The two Greek words used for repentance, mean 
 after-thought and after-sorrow ; see Campbell on the 
 Gospels, Trench's Synonyms, <fec. 
 
 In Hebrew, the same word is used for repentance 
 and for comfort. 
 
 SCRIPTURAL EXPRESSIONS. 
 
 Repentance is spoken of in Scripture as 
 
 Turning or returning to God, Prov. i. 23 ; Jer. xxvi. 
 3 ; Ezek. xiv. 6 ; xviii. 30 ; Acts xxvi. 18, &c. See 
 Cone, under turn return. 
 
 Changing, Matt, xxt 2932. 
 
 Washing the heart from wickedness, Jer. iv. 1 4. 
 
 Humbling the heart, 2 Kings xxii 19.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 309 
 
 Amending the ways, Jer. vii. 3, 5 ; xxvi. 1,3; xxxv. 
 15. 
 
 Sowing in righteousness, Hos. x. 12. 
 "Repentance toward God," Acts xx. 21; "from 
 dead works," Heb. vi. 2 ; " unto salvation," 2 Cor. 
 vii. 10 ; "unto life," Acts xi. 18. 
 
 Many passages of Scripture open out, with parti- 
 cular prominence, the nature, parts, and blessed effects 
 of true repentance. 
 
 Ezra ix., x. give a striking example of sin 
 mourned over, confessed, and renounced. 
 
 Ps. li., cf. the several links in the chain ; original 
 and actual sin acknowledged and confessed; God's 
 pardon asked; God's favour sought; restored commu- 
 nion with heaven longed for, with zeal for the con- 
 version of transgressors. 
 
 Zech. xii. 10 xiii. 2. The beginning author 
 nature and blessed results ; humbled Israel, looking 
 with faith and hope to the pierced one. 
 
 2 Cor. vii. 10, 11. What repentance is, and what 
 repentance does. 
 
 Cf. also some of the figurative examples of repent- 
 ance; Ephraim, Jer. xxxi. 18 20; the penitent son, 
 Matt xxi. 28 32 ; the prodigal son, Luke xv. 18 
 21; the publican, Luke xviii. 13, 14; returning Israel, 
 Jer. xxxi. 9 ; 1. 4, 5 ; Zech. xii. 10 ; xiii. 2. 
 
 Judges ii. 1 6. " Bochim," i.e., weepers, an illus- 
 tration of sentimental sorrow and false repentance. 
 
 Matt. xi. The heading of the chapter in our au- 
 thorised version Bibles, is quaint and expressive 
 " Christ upbraideth the unthankfulness and unrepent- 
 
 ance of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum 
 
 He calleth unto Him all such as feel the burden of 
 their sins." 
 
 The great IMPORTANCE of right repentance is 
 shown, by the prominent place it has always occupied 
 in sound teaching of truth. It was the great labour of
 
 310 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 the prophets to bring men to repent (See Cone, 
 under turn return amend put away wash, &c.) 
 It was the foundation of the preaching of John the 
 Baptist, of Christ, and of the apostles. Sixty times, 
 at least, we find repentance spoken of in the New 
 Testament. The Lord Jesus Himself began His 
 ministry with this foundation " Repent and believe 
 the gospel," Mark i. 15 ; He closed His ministry with 
 the commission to preach " repentance and remission 
 of sins," Luke xxiv. 47 ; and after His ascension, five 
 out of the seven epistles to the churches show how 
 the Lord wishes all men to rvpent. 
 
 The FAVOUR God shows to the partial repentance 
 even of the ungodly, is very striking, as in the case 
 of Ahab, 1 Kings xxi. 27 29 ; of Kehoboam and his 
 princes, 2 Chron. xii. 5, 7, 12. Need any doubt His 
 mercy to true penitents 1 
 
 REST.**-- See Peace Retirement. 
 
 Many ILLUSTRATIONS of rest are found in Scripture. 
 We read of 
 
 Rest for the ark on Mount Ararat, when the 
 prisoners of hope emerged from their solitude, Gen. 
 viii. 4. 
 
 Rest in the ark for Noah's dove, when there was no 
 other rest for her weary wings, Gen. viii. 9. 
 
 Rest in the wilderness, bright spots in the dreary 
 desert, sweet resting-places, which the pillar of cloud 
 found out for Israel, see Exod. xv. 27 ; Num. x. 33 ; 
 Deut. i. 33; Isa. Ixiii. 14; Jer. xxxi 2. 
 
 Rest in Canaan, the special type of rest, Josh, 
 xxii. 4 ; Heb. iv. 5 8. 
 
 Rest under the apple (citron) tree, Cant. ii. 3 ; where 
 the bride could enjoy refreshing shade, and take of 
 the pleasant fruit. 
 
 Rest in the peaceful valley, Isa. Ixiii. 4.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 311 
 
 Rest in the green pastures, beside the still waters, Ps. 
 xxiii. 2, marg. 
 
 Kest in the peaceful bed of death, Isa. Ivii. 2 ; Job iii. 
 19; xvii. 16; Ps. xvi. 9. 
 
 Rest in the eternal glory of heaven, Heb. iv. 9. 
 
 Rest of the seventh day, the Sabbath, the day of rest, 
 Gen. ii. 2 ; Exod. xvi. 23 ; xxxi. 15. 
 
 Rest of the seventh month. It is observable that 
 most of the Jewish feasts were appointed for this 
 month, which formed a kind of resting time between 
 the seasons of harvest and vintage and seed-sowing. 
 See Num. xxix. 
 
 Rest of the seventh year, " a sabbath of rest unto the 
 land, a sabbath for the Lord," Lev. xxv. 4 7. It 
 was the time when debts were remitted ; and every 
 Hebrew slave might leave his servitude, Exod. xxi. 2. 
 
 Rest of the jubilee, seven sabbaths of years, Lev. 
 xxv. 8. 
 
 Noah, Manoah, both mean rest or comfort, Gen. v. 
 29, marg. 
 
 Solomon, " a man of rest," 1 Chron. xxii. 9 ; the 
 son and successor of David, the "man of war." See 
 King. He built the " house of rest " for the ark, 
 1 Chron. xxviii. 2. In his days the Lord promised 
 " peace and quietness unto Israel," 1 Chron. xxii. 9. 
 
 "The savour of rest," Gen. viii. 21, marg. The 
 gracious expression by which the Lord's acceptance 
 of Noah's sacrifice was marked. 
 
 Mark vi. 31. " Come ye .... and rest a while." 
 
 What a beautiful lesson we may draw from this invitation of 
 our Lord's, of the need and nature of the Christian's rest in 
 work ! Observe (1.) He called His disciples to rest after work, 
 when it was needful, and is always most sweet ; see ver. 30. 
 (2.) It was to rest a while; only so long as weary nature re- 
 quired to recruit its jaded powers. (3.) It was rest in retire- 
 ment ; withdrawing for a short time from the busy throng. It 
 is observable that St. Mark's Gospel, which is the Gospel of 
 tervice, especially records Christ's care that the disciples should
 
 312 SCRIPTURE ITSKLF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 rftt (here and at xiv. 41) ; and Christ's own eternal rent at the 
 md of His earthly life of toil and conflict, xvi. 19, "He sat on 
 the right hand of God ;" "sat," the posture of rest. 
 
 Ps. cxvi. 7. " Return unto thy rest, my soul." 
 
 "Lord, I am restless," said Augustine, " till my soul finds 
 rest in thee." 
 
 CONTRAST the unrest and disquiet of a sinner's 
 state, Isa. Ivii. 20, 2l ; xlviii 22. 
 
 Contrast the partial and broken rest of the earthly 
 Canaan, Judges iii. 11, 30; v. 31 ; "the land had 
 rest for forty" and for " eighty years." In Asa's time, 
 it is mentioned, "the land was quiet ten years," 
 2 ChrotL xiv. 1, 6. Such are the intervals of rest 
 the Church enjoys at times ; see Acts ix. 31 ; Esther 
 ix, 16; short, and often broken. Oh, what a con- 
 trast to the eternal and unbroken rest that is still to 
 come! 
 
 PROMISE of rest to restored Israel, Isa. xiv. 2 ; Jer. 
 xxx. 10 ; xlvi. 27. 
 
 Promise of rest to the Church triumphant, 2 Thess. 
 i. 9 ; Heb. iv. 3, 9 ; Dan. xii. 13 ; Rev. xiv. 13. 
 
 THE LORD'S OWN REST is noted in the Sabbath 
 after the creation, Gen. ii. 2 ; Exod. xx. 11 ; xxxi. 17 ; 
 in Mount Zion, Ps. cxxxii. 8 14 ; in His love, Zeph. 
 iii. 17. Cf. the Lord Jesus sitting down in the pos- 
 ture of rest, after all the conflicts and travail of His 
 earthly sufferings. See above. 
 
 RESTORATION SPIRITUAL.** 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 A wandering sheep, bruised, torn, and hungry, re- 
 covered to the fold, Ps. cxix. 1 76 ; 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 
 Captivity turned, deliverance from bondage, priva- 
 tion, and distress, as from the captivity of Babylon, &c., 
 Deut. xxx. 3; Job xlii. 10; Ps. xiv. 7; cxxvi. 1, 4. 
 
 Healing the broken bones and open wounds of sin
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 313 
 
 and sorrow, Ps. vi. 2 ; cxlvii. 3 ; Isa. Ivii. 18 ; Jer. 
 iii. 22 ; Hosea xiv. 4. 
 
 A dislocated limb set right, so the Greek word 
 means, Gal. vi. 1, 2 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 9. 
 
 Broken nets mended, Matt. iv. 21 ; another applica- 
 tion of the Greek word used, Gal. vi. 1, suggesting 
 a beautiful illustration of the restoration of an offender 
 in the Church. 
 
 Recovering from the sleep of intoxication, 2 Tim. ii. 
 26 (Greek). 
 
 The distracted Church (rent by divisions) perfectly 
 joined together, 1 Cor. i. 10. 
 
 " Converted" turned back again ; the word applied 
 by our Lord to Peter's recovery, Luke xxii. 32 ; as if 
 restoration from his fall was like a second conver- 
 sion ; cf. the two words interchanged, Ps. xix. 7, and 
 margin. 
 
 THREE BOOKS of the BIBLE are peculiarly full of 
 instruction and comfort as to the recovery of God's 
 people after declension. See Backsliding. 
 
 The Song of Solomon. In this book we have two 
 periods of declension, and recovery after each. Chap, 
 iii. 4 describes the bride's intense joy in again em- 
 bracing the Beloved, whose absence she had mourned ; 
 chap. v. and vi. describe the second period of separa- 
 tion and re-union, the Bride's restless uneasiness, and 
 the Bridegroom's gentle pleadings and gracious calls. 
 In the joy regained the second time, observe (1.) How 
 deeply the believer, when conscious of unfaithfulness, 
 is brought to yearn for restoration. (2.) How contri- 
 tion for sin makes the heart turn to the Divine 
 covenant, not our ho]d of Christ, but Christ's hold 
 of us. Cf. the striking transposition from ii. 16 
 (before wandering) to vi. 3, vii. 10 (after). (3.) How 
 Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom, is unchanging in 
 His love ; He still sees beauty in the Bride, vi. 4, 
 and welcomes her back to the joy of His love.
 
 314 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE I7XUSTRATOR. 
 
 Jeremiah, a book largely devoted to earnest expostu- 
 lations to wandering Israel to return. See the earlier 
 chapters especially, and Cone, under "return" 
 " turn." 
 
 Hosea, a third testimony, of which the last chapter 
 gives a summary of the whole ; see also chap. L ill ; 
 vi. 
 
 In DAVID and PETER we have two striking ex- 
 amples of the sanctified effects of spiritual restora- 
 tion. 
 
 The PSALMS, written by David also, after falling 
 into sin (as Ps. xxxiv. ; after his strange behaviour 
 before Abimelech ; Pa. xxxii., 11, &<x; after his still 
 deeper fall with Bath&heba.) And the Epistle of St. 
 Peter, bearing marks of the remembrance of his great 
 offence ; are all peculiarly characterised by a soft and 
 mellowed tone of humiliation and contrition. Read 
 also John XXL, whore so many points of beauty occur 
 in the Lord's restoration of Peter to favour and his 
 office. 
 
 RESURRECTION, THE.*** 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 A tree cut down revived and sprouting, through the 
 scent of water, Job xiv. 7 15. 
 
 Herbs revived by the moisture of dew, after the 
 parching heat of the burning day, Isa. xxvi. 29. 
 
 Dry bones, of all things most unlikely to be restored 
 to life, Ezek. xxxvii. 1 14. 
 
 Awaking out of sleep, Ps. xvii. 15 ; Dan. xii. 2 ; 
 John XL 11. 
 
 A com of wheat, or seed sown, dying to live, John 
 xii. 24 ; 1 Cor. xv. 3638. 
 
 THKRE WKRE three persons raised to life under the 
 Old Testament dispensation, and throe in the lifetime 
 of Christ.
 
 SCRIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 315 
 
 Job xix. 25 27. " I know that my Redeemer 
 liveth," &c. 
 
 Job's ancient creed. The Old Testament saints had often 
 bright glimpses of gospel truth. 
 
 Isa. xxviii. 19 (leaving out the italic words), "thy 
 dead shall live ; my dead body shall arise." This is 
 generally received as expressing " resurrection hope." 
 
 Luke xx. 36. "Children of the resurrection." 
 
 A beautiful expression, denoting, according to the Hebrew 
 idiom, full participation and fitness for the resurrection state ; 
 that the saints are born to that world, belonging to that family, 
 trained for it, heirs of resurrection glory. 
 
 John vi. 39, 40, 44, 54. 
 
 Four times in one chapter does our Lord repeat His gracious 
 promise, "I will raise him," or "it," "up at the last day." 
 
 Acts xiii. 33 37; xvii. 18, 31 ; xxiii. 6 ; xxxiv. 15, 
 21; 1 Cor. xv. 1220. 
 
 It is observable how constantly St. Paul made the resurrec- 
 tion the great foundation of his teaching. 
 
 Ps. xvii. 15. "As for me .... I shall be satis- 
 fied when I awake with thy likeness." 
 
 " I shall be satisfied when " Ah, what would 
 
 this blank be, if filled up by "men of this world?" (ver. 14.) 
 
 " Satisfied when and with what ?" It would be hard 
 
 to say what wished-for good would fill the void. But how differ- 
 ent with the godly man ! Even now, in a minor sense, " a 
 good man is satisfied," Prov. xiv. 14 ; and hereafter, at the 
 resurrection-day, he shall be perfectly and eternally filled with 
 " fulness of joy, and pleasures at God's right hand for evermore," 
 Ps. xvi. 11. 
 
 ETCHES.*** See Covetousness.See in Cone, 
 under goods money silver gold gain wealth 
 substance revenue treasures, &c. 
 
 FIGURES and ILLUSTRATIONS applied to riches, as 
 they too often are wrongly got or wrongly used. 
 
 Thorns, Matt. xiii. 7 ; our Lord's figure of the two
 
 316 SCRIPTURE ITSKLF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 extremes which choke the word, " the care of this 
 world, and the deceitfulness of riches." 
 
 Treasures got with toil, kept with care, and always 
 liable to be lost, Prov. xv. 16; x. 2; Matt. vi 19; 
 Jer. xlix. 4 ; James v. 1 , 2. 
 
 A strong city and high wall, which the rich man in 
 his " conceit " thinks to be impregnable," Prov. xviii. 
 11. (Observe the contrast to ver. 10.) 
 
 Thick day, Hab. ii. 6, with which covetous men 
 load themselves, to their own sorrow and destruction. 
 
 A snare or pit, 1 Tim. vi. 9, concealed in the 
 ground, and covered over. 
 
 Deep and dangerous waters, 1 Tim. vi. 9, where sailors 
 are driven upon the rocks and shipwrecked. 
 
 Sharp stakes, or other piercing things, 1 Tim. vi. 10. 
 
 The word irtpie-reipa.v signifies to be transfixed in every part, 
 and probably refers to one of the snares or pits spoken of, ver. 
 9, where a hole is dog in the earth, and filled with sharp stakes, 
 then slightly covered over, so that whatever steps on it falls in, 
 and is "pierced through" \\ith much pain and suffering. 
 Dr. A. Clarke. 
 
 The sweet morsel quickly swallowed down, and as 
 quickly cast up again, Job xx. 15. 
 
 Vanity (Heb., a vapour), "tossed to and fro of 
 them that seek death," Prov. xxi. 6. 
 
 The eagle disturbed, flying from her nest, Prov. 
 xxiii. 5. The rich man's goods are said, by Zophar, 
 to flow away as a stream, Job xx. 28 ; here, by Solo- 
 mon, they are said to fly away as a bird. 
 
 The partridge sitting on eggs, and liatching them not, 
 Jer. xvii. 11. 
 
 One of the large speculators in the railway mania many 
 years ago becoming deeply involved, committed suicide, and left 
 on his desk a paper, with written on it, Jer. xvii. 11. 
 
 RICHES rightly used are compared to 
 
 The crown of the wise, Prov. xiv. 24. 
 
 A defence, Eccles. vii. 11 ; margin "shadow." As
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 317 
 
 heat in the East is a figure of trouble, so shadow is 
 an emblem of safety and pleasure. 
 
 Consecrated gain, Micah iv. 13. 
 
 Friends ready to meet us in the everlasting habita- 
 tions of a future world, Luke xvi. 9. 
 
 MAMMON, Matt, vi 24. 
 
 The word Mammon is Aramaic for riches personified as a god. 
 The derivation is not quite certain, but it is most probably from 
 a root meaning to lean upon or trust to, answering to a common 
 use of our English word support. 
 
 I AM RICH. 
 
 Four references attest the spirit which too frequently marks 
 those who say this, Hosea xiii. 8 ; Zech. xii. 5 ; 1 Cor. iv. 8 ; 
 Kev. iii. 17. 
 
 FILTHY LUCRE. 
 
 Is it not worthy of reflection that, in all the five places where 
 the word " lucre " occurs in the New Testament, it is prefaced 
 by the word filthy,? 1 Tim. iii. 3, 8 ; Titus i. 7, 11 ; 1 Pet. v. 2 ; 
 and that in four of these five places it is specially spoken of with 
 reference to the ministers of Christ's Church ? 
 
 ST. LUKE'S GOSPEL. 
 
 Few books of the Bible bear more fully upon the influence 
 and peril of riches. St. Luke records three parables spoken by 
 our Lord upon the subject : that of the rich fool, xii. 16 21 ; 
 the rich steward, xvi. 1 12 ; the rich wordling, xvi. 19 81. 
 He also records the narrative of the rich young ruler, xviii. 
 18 25 ; followed by the con version of Zacchaeus, who was rich, 
 xix. 1 10 ; and it is further observable how, upon the conver- 
 sion of Zacchaeus, follows the parable of the pounds, with our 
 Lord's charge to faithful stewardship, " Occupy till I come." 
 (Is it not probable that Zacchseus heard this ?) The parable of 
 the rich fool, xii. 16 21, is preceded by a word to the rich and 
 covetous, ver. 15, and succeeded by a word to the poor and care- 
 ful, ver. 2230. 
 
 All the three synoptic gospels record the instructive narra- 
 tive of the rich young ruler, with our Lord's comment " It is 
 easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a 
 rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (See Matt. xix. 
 16 26 ; Mark x. 17 31 ; Luke xviii. 18 30.) St. Luke also 
 records how the rich Pharisees derided Christ, xvi. 1 4.
 
 318 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THK ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Generally speaking, however, it must not be forgotten 
 how many bright examples we have throughout the 
 Scriptures, of true saints who were rich : Abra- 
 ham Isaac Jacob Job Joseph Boaz Barzillai 
 David Jehoshaphat Hezekiah Joseph of Ari- 
 mathea Zacchaeus, &c. Riches need be no hindrance 
 to grace. It is only man's evil that so often perverts 
 God's good. 
 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.** 
 
 The primary idea of righteousness is properly that 
 of right or straight-ness, from which comes that of per- 
 fect justice, undeviating faithfulness, and unswerving 
 rectitude. Ps. xlv. 6. " A right sceptre" is literally 
 a straight sceptre. 
 
 CHRIST. "The Lord our Righteousness," Jer. xxiii. 
 6, is emphatically called " the Righteous One," or 
 "the Just," Acts vii. 52 ; iii. 14; Isa. xxiv. 16 (the 
 Righteous One) ; 1 John ii. 1 ; " the Sun of Righte- 
 ousness," Mai. iv. 2; "the righteous Branch," Jer. 
 xxiiL 5 ; the " righteous Servant," Isa. liii. 11;" the 
 righteous Judge," 2 Tim. iv. 8 ; He who wears righte- 
 ousness as a girdle, Isa. xi. 5 ; and puts it on as 
 His breastplate, Isa. lix. 17; to whom belongs the 
 sceptre of righteousness, Ps. xlv. 6 ; Heb. i. 8. ; the 
 true Melchisedek, " King of righteousness and King 
 of peace," Heb. vii. 1, 2. 
 
 Ps. xxxvi. 6. " Thy righteousness is like the great 
 mountains ; thy judgments are a great deep." 
 
 Two of the moat magnificent emblems nature affords. The 
 towering and majextic mountains, standing supreme over every 
 object ; and the vast and measureless ocean iinmeamirable in 
 vastness as fathomless in depth ; these are faint emblems of 
 the righteousness of the Most High. 
 
 Ps. Ixxi One of the psalms which dwells especially
 
 SCRIFIURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 319 
 
 upon Divine righteousness. Five verses mark it as 
 the strength and hope of the righteous. 
 
 Ps. cxix. contains eight references to the righteous- 
 ness of God. 
 
 1 Sam. xii. 7. " The righteous acts of the Lord ;" 
 the margin reads " the righteousnesses or benefits," 
 Judges v. 11. 
 
 KIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS.** 
 
 EMBLEMS and FIGURES. 
 
 " The sacrifice of righteousness" Ps. iv. 5 ; li. 19. 
 
 " Trees of righteousness" Isa. Ixi. 3 ; symbolical of 
 the saints of God, distinguished by the firmness of 
 their character and their growth in grace. 
 
 " Fruits of righteousness" Phil. i. 11 ; Eph. v. 9; 
 rich, ripe, and abundant ; cf. Rom. i. 29, the contrast 
 of the heathen "filled with all unrighteousness." 
 
 " Armour of righteousness" offensive and defensive ; 
 " on the right hand and on the left," 2 Cor. vi. 7. 
 
 "Breastplate of righteousness" Eph. vi. 14. 
 
 " Robe of righteousness" Isa. Ixi. 10 ; brilliant and 
 beautiful, like the gorgeously decked garments of a 
 bride and bridegroom. 
 
 Wedding garment, Matt. xxii. 1 2 ; provided by the 
 Master of the feast. 
 
 Fine linen, " clean and white," Rev. xix. 8 ; spotless 
 and brilliant, the dress of the Bride at the marriage 
 of the Lamb. 
 
 Servants of righteousness, Rom. vi. 13, 18, 19. 
 
 The crown of righteousness, given " at that day," by 
 Christ, " the righteous judge," 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
 
 " The city of righteousness ." Zion, when purged and 
 purified, Isa. i. 26. 
 
 SABBATH, THE.* 
 
 It is observable how strictly the observance of the
 
 320 SCKHTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Sabbath was enjoined upon Israel, and how it was 
 specially fenced against what might have seemed 
 lawful exceptions. The Book of Exodus contains 
 repeated proofs -of this : 
 
 Exod. xvi 2330. In gathering the manna. 
 
 One would think that might have been an exception ; for 
 manna was the staff of their life ; and the time when it fell was 
 early, between five and six in the morning, so that they might 
 have gathered it betimes, without interfering with their Sabbath 
 worship ; besides which the manna fell at their very doors, and 
 it required no long journey to fetch it ; yet, for all this, they 
 were strictly forbidden to gather manna on the Sabbath, and for 
 but purposing to gather it God was very angry, ver. 27, 28. 
 
 Exod. xxiii. 10 12. In the sabbatical year. 
 
 When the whole year was the time of rest, they were in no 
 wise to diminish the regular observance of the weekly Sabbath. 
 
 Exod. xxxi. 12, 13. In the midst of their preparation 
 for the tabernacle. 
 
 The law of the Sabbath was again repeated, lest any might 
 think that this, being holy work, might lawfully break the n-.-t 
 of the " holy day." 
 
 Exod. xxxiv. 21. In earing time and harvest. 
 
 Exod. xxxv. 1 3. The command to " kindle no 
 fire" referred either to their own domestic purposes, 
 or to the fires needed for the preparation of the taber- 
 nacle. 
 
 Exod. xxxi 14, 15 ; xxxv. 2. The extreme se- 
 verity threatened against any violation of the Sabbath 
 very probably included, not only death by the civil 
 magistrate, but also the immediate stroke of God, un- 
 der certain circumstances, like that in Num. xv. 
 3236. 
 
 To which should be added Num. xxviii. 9, The 
 daily sacrifice, morning and evening, which was to 
 be doubled on the Sabbath-day. How exquisitely
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 321 
 
 sweet are some of David's psalms when far from the 
 tabernacle. St. John was an exile in the Isle of 
 Patmos when he was " in the spirit on the Lord's 
 day," and received the revelation of God's pur- 
 poses. 
 
 MEMORABLE SABBATHS. Some think that Noah 
 entered the ark on the Sabbath. It seems certain, in 
 any case, that the seventh day was observed within 
 that floating home. According to Greswell, both 
 John the Baptist and our Blessed Lord were born on 
 the Sabbath. The day of Pentecost is supposed to 
 have been on the Sabbath ; and St. John's vision in 
 Patmos, Rev. i. 10. Besides the several occasions 
 marked in the Gospels, and the Book of the Acts, 
 when Christ and the apostles preached on the Sab- 
 bath (see below), it was a memorable day for 
 Europe when Paul preached to the little band at 
 Philippi, and laid the foundation of the first church 
 in Europe, on the Sabbath day, Acts xvi. 12 15. 
 
 RETRIBUTION OF NEGLECTED SABBATHS. The 
 seventy years captivity in Babylon was the retribu- 
 tion of just judgment, because the land had not en- 
 joyed her Sabbaths, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 20 ; Lev. xxvi. 
 34, 35. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS." The Lord of the Sabbath," 
 Mark ii. 28. Many things are noticeable as regards 
 the honour the Lord Jesus paid to the Sabbath day: 
 (1.) According to Greswell, our Lord was born 
 on the Sabbath ; circumcised on the Sabbath ; first 
 cleansed the temple; began His ministry at Caper- 
 naum ; came to Bethany before His passion on the 
 Sabbath day. (2.) It is observable how His custom 
 was to attend the synagogue service (Luke iv. 16), 
 even in those days of Jewish error and corruption, 
 (3.) Much of the day He spent in teaching, Luke iv. 
 15, 16, 31; vi. 6; xiii. 10, &c. (4.) In acts of 
 
 x
 
 322 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 mercy. It is observable how many of His miracle* 
 were wrought on the Sabbath day as healing the 
 man at the pool of Bethesda, John v. 10 ; the man 
 with a withered hand, Luke vi. 6 1 1 ; the blind 
 man, John Lx. 14, &c. (5.) Sometimes in social in- 
 tercourse, Matt. xiL 1 8 ; Mark L 29 31 ; Luke 
 xiv. 124. 
 
 It is observable how many disturbed Sabbaths our 
 Lord had ; how He was robbed of Sabbath peace by 
 the opposition and ill-will of His enemies. See Matt 
 xii. 214; Luke iv. 28, 29; vi. 711; John v. 
 1016; vii. 23; ix. 1416. 
 
 ST. PAUL, " as his manner teas, wont in unto them, 
 and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of 
 the Scriptures." Acts xvii. 2; see Lx. 20; xiii. 5 14 j 
 xiv. 1 ; xvi. 1 3 ; xix. 8. 
 
 SALVATION.** 
 
 The different renderings of the Hebrew and Greek 
 words usually translated salvation, serve well to illus- 
 trate the Scriptural application of the word. They 
 are used in the sense of 
 
 Deliverance see 2 Kings v. 1 (Heb.) ; 1 Chron. L 
 14, marg. ; Ps. xviii. 50; xliv. 4; Isa. xxvi. 18. 
 (The Hebrew judges were called saviours or de- 
 liverers, which word is from the same root as Joshua 
 and Jesus. See Judges iii. 8, marg.) 
 
 Making whole used of the infirm and diseased in 
 body, Matt. vii. 21, 22 ; Mark vi. 56 ; Luke viii. 48; 
 see also the compound word, Matt. xiv. 36, "were 
 made perfectly whole." 
 
 Healing Health, Mark iii. 23 ; Luke vii. 3 ; viii. 
 26 ; Acts xiv. 9 ; xxvil 34 ; Ps. Ixvii. 2, the know- 
 ledge and grace of God, are beautifully expressed as 
 "thy saving health." Isa. lix. 17, "an nelmet of 
 salvation," is rendered in an old version, " a helmet
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 323 
 
 of health." The Saxon word for saviour means " all 
 health." 
 
 Help, 2 Sam. xiv. 4, marg. ; Ps. iii. 2 ; xxii. 1 ; 
 xlii. 5 ; cxlvi. 3. 
 
 Welfare, Job xxx. 15, (Heb.) 
 
 Recovery from sickness, John xi. 12 (Greek). 
 
 Escaping danger, Acts xxiii. 24; xxvii. 43, 44; 
 xxviii. 1, 4. 
 
 Preserving, 2 Tim. iv. 18. 
 
 Victory, 2 Sam. xix. 12 ; xxiii. 10 12. 
 
 ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH, Gen. xli. 45. The meaning 
 of the name given to Joseph has by some scholars 
 been supposed to be, the saviour (or preserver) of the 
 age. Joseph was, if not a type, certainly a striking 
 illustration of the Saviour of the world. 
 
 MANY PROPER NAMES in Scripture bear the mean- 
 ing of salvation or deliverance, especially the names 
 Hoshea, which means, save thou ; which was changed 
 to Jehoshua and Joshua, i.e., Jehovah is salvation ; 
 or, as some take it, the Divinely appointed Saviour, 
 Num. xiii. 8 16. From this comes the blessed name 
 JESUS, Matt. i. 21, marg. Elisha and Isaiah both 
 mean, the salvation of God or Jehovah. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS is alike " the author," Heb. v. 9 ; 
 "the captain," ii. '10; and "the horn of salvation," 
 Luke i. 69. The compassion of Christ, says one, in- 
 clines Him to save sinners ; the power of Christ 
 enables Him ; the promise of Christ binds Him. 
 
 SATAN. 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 The serpent, Gen. iii. 11, 14; 2 Cor. xi. 2; Eev. 
 xii. 9, for subtlety. 
 
 A fowler, Ps. xci. 3, for cunning. 
 
 Birds, picking up the sower's seed, Luke viii. 5, 12. 
 
 A lion, 1 Pet. v. 8, for voracity.
 
 324 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 A dragon, Rev. xii. 9 ; xx. 2, for cruelty. 
 
 A sower of tares, Matt. xiii. 25, 39, for malice. 
 
 An angel of light, 2 Cor. XL 14, for deception. 
 
 A strong man untied, Luke XL 21. 
 
 A prince or ruler, Eph. iL 2 ; John xii. 31 ; xiv. 
 30; xvi. 11. 
 
 A liar, John viii. 44. 
 
 A murderer, John viii. 44. 
 
 The MEANINGS of some of the chiof TITLES of Satan 
 are descriptive of his character and work, Satan, the 
 adversary or enemy (closely allied in derivation to 
 the word sitnah hatred, Gen. xxvi. 21, marg.) ; the 
 Devil, or accuser, Rev. xii. 10 ; Belial, 2 Cor. vi. 16, 
 worthlessness, lawlessness; Abaddon and Apollyon, 
 the Hebrew and Greek for a destroyer, Rev. ix. 11. 
 
 SATAN. Both Genesis and Revelation record the 
 work of Satan, and in both the same character ap- 
 pears of the destroyer. Satan's nature is unchanged 
 from first to last. In the Revelation, it has been 
 observed, we read of three things especially in con- 
 nection with this name. We read of " the synagogue 
 of Satan," the " seat " or throne of Satan, and " the 
 depths of Satan," and these represent, Trench and 
 others take it, the Jewish, heathen, and heretical 
 antagonism of the last days to the Church, as ener- 
 gised by him. 
 
 SCRIPTURES, THE.*** 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 A lamp, lantern, light, Ps. cxix. 105 ; Prov. vi. 23. 
 
 A fire, Jer. xxiii. 29. 
 
 A hammer, Jer. xxiii. 29. 
 
 A sharp suord, Eph. vi. 17; Hcb. iv. 12. 
 
 A graft, James i. 21 (" the engrafted word.") 
 
 A glass, minor, James i. 23, 24. 
 
 Pure milk, 1 Pet ii. 2.
 
 SCKIPTT7RE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 325 
 
 The food of the soul, Jer. xv. 16. (See the heading 
 of Acts vi. in our authorised version). 
 
 THE INTENSE ESTEEM the saints have always had 
 for the Word of God is strikingly set forth by many 
 figures. 
 
 It is spoken of as sweeter than honey and the 
 honeycomb, Ps. xix. 10 ; cxix. 103 ; more valuable 
 than thousands of gold and silver, Ps. cxix. 72 ; xix. 
 10 ; more esteemed even than a man's necessary food, 
 Job xxiii. 12; as great spoil, Ps. cxix. 162; as a 
 lasting heritage, Ps. cxix. 111. 
 
 THE HONOUR put upon the Word by God Himself 
 may be very forcibly illustrated by the instance of 
 two separate books, one in each Testament. 
 
 In Deuteronomy we leara how Jewish thoughts and 
 Jewish laws were all to bo built upon this foundation, 
 e.g. 
 
 Chap. vi. 6 9. The words of the law were to be taught, 
 spoken of, and written before the Jews in the most conspicuous 
 places. 
 
 Chap. xvii. 18 20. A copy of the law was to be written out 
 by the king on his ascending the throne, and by him read and 
 observed as the rule of his life. 
 
 Chap, xxvii. 3 8. The words of the law were to be written 
 upon the stones set up in Mount Ebal, when they crossed over 
 Jordan. 
 
 Chap. xxxi. 10 13. The law was to be read publicly at the 
 end of every seven years, at the Feast of Tabernacles. 
 
 Chap. xxxi. 26. The book of the law was to be put in the 
 ark, to be a witness against Israel if they rebelled against God. 
 
 In the Ads of the Apostles, it is worthy of note how 
 all through, the Word of God is referred to as the 
 standard and embodiment of truth, as the basis of 
 the sermons of the apostles. (Cf. Peter's sermon at 
 Pentecost, ii. 16, 25, 34, on which it has been well 
 said, It is more noteworthy to find Peter making 
 Scripture the groundwork of his argument, because 
 now the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it was shown
 
 326 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 that this was not meant to supersede the use of the 
 written word) ; Stephen's address, vii ; Paul's, MIL ; 
 xvii. 3; James's, xv. 15, &c. It is remarkable to ob- 
 serve how the growth of the Church, and all mission 
 ary efforts are connected with the Word. They 
 preached the Word, the Word grew, &c. Chap, xix. 
 19, 20 gives one striking example of the triumph of 
 the one book over many. 
 
 QUOTATIONS from the Old Testament in the New 
 Testament. It is well to remember how frequently 
 our Lord and the apostles based their teaching on 
 Old Testament Scripture. Eight hundred and three 
 references are found on examination, of which two 
 hundred and fifty-five are from the Pentateuch ; only 
 four of the thirty-nine books are not referred to. 
 
 Also, it is very important to observe how the Holy 
 Ghost is spoken of as the speaker, in the quotations 
 from David and others ; and how the saints of each 
 dispensation seem to have made use of the Scriptures 
 as they had them in their day. The prayer of Jonah 
 (chap, iii.), and the song of Mary, and prophecy of 
 Zecharias, Luke i. 69 79, are based upon texts 
 quoted from former books of Scripture. See marg. 
 references. 
 
 EVEN IN HEAVEN the Word of God is referred to. 
 Cf. Rev. vii. 16 with Isa. xlix. 10; Rev. xv. 3 with 
 Exod. xv. 1. 
 
 2 Kings xxii. 13. What one copy of the Word may 
 do. 
 
 In the account of the history of the Reformation, in the days 
 of king Joftiah, we learn that it arose from one copy of the law 
 found (as many say, accidentally) in the Temple, by Hilkiah. 
 What a work that single copy did ! It brought to a sense of 
 rej>entance and duty the high priest, the Scribe, the King, the 
 people ; just as in later time* the Reformation, which shook all 
 Germany and Europe, may be traced to Luther's finding one 
 copy of the Bible in the monastery of Erfurth.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 327 
 
 Jude 3. " The faith .... once delivered unto the 
 saints." 
 
 A beautiful description of God's truth " delivered" not dis- 
 covered (man may discover science, God alone can deliver truth) ; 
 "delivered" once, and therefore not to be added to nor taken 
 from ; delivered " to the saints" and therefore to be received 
 with reverence, and kept with care, and searched with diligence. 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 16. The Scripture wrested. 
 
 A figure taken from a winch or hand-screw, forming a rack 
 for torture. 
 
 KEPT FROM THE PEOPLE. Is not the policy of 
 Popery something like that of the Philistines, who 
 would allow no smith in Israel, " lest the Hebrews 
 should make them swords or spears ?" 1 Sam. xiii. 9. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. It is most important to observe 
 the honour our Lord put upon the Scriptures, not 
 only by His constant quotations from, and references 
 to, them, but by the authority with which He in- 
 vested them. See John x. 34, 35; v. 39; xvii. 17; 
 Matt. v. 17, 18; Luke xvi. 17; Mark xii. 36. In 
 His personal ministry, our Lord honoured the Word 
 of Truth from first to last. It was His sword in 
 temptation, His standard in teaching, the basis of 
 His first sermon at Nazareth, and the ground of His 
 reasoning with the Scribes and Pharisees ; and, when 
 hanging on the cross, the words of Scripture were on 
 His lips ; and, after His resurrection," beginning at 
 Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto 
 them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning 
 Himself," Luke xxiv. 27 ; giving His full sanction to 
 the law, the prophets, and the psalms, i.e., to the 
 canon of Scripture, as received among the Jews, Luke 
 xxiv. 44. Even after His ascension, the Epistles to 
 the seven Churches are addresses delivered in His 
 name, the figures of which are based upon historical 
 allusions to the Old Testament histories.
 
 328 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 SELF-DENIAL-SELF-CONTROL. See Faith, 
 Trial of Liberality Mortification Unselfishness. 
 
 One of the first duties laid upon man was self- 
 restraint, and the first sin consisted largr-.ly in resist- 
 ing it " Self-denial," says Charnock, " is the great 
 gospel lesson." 
 
 MANY New Testament words bring out the duty 
 and nature of self-denial. 
 
 " Sober " " sober-minded." 
 
 " Temperance." 
 
 " Exercise " (or train discipline). 
 
 Abstain. 
 
 Not seeking self-pleasure or profit. 
 
 See Cone, for texts under those heads, all of which involve the 
 idea of self-restraint. 
 
 The two especial charges Christ laid upon His dis- 
 ciples, 
 
 "Follow me," Matt. iv. 1820; ix. 9; Luke ix. 
 5762. 
 
 " Take up thy cross " " daily." A charge addressed 
 on three different occasions, Matt, x. 38 ; xvL 24 ; 
 Luke xiv. 27. 
 
 It has been well Raid that the words, " take up thy cross," 
 should be received in their natural, though sometimes trying 
 fulness. "Take up" "bear" "carry" implying cheerful 
 submission and ready self-sacrifice. We read, too, one says, of 
 taking up the cross, but not of laying it down. Cross-bearing 
 must be the Christian's life-work. That day is lost in whi^h 
 some cross (however trifling) is not taken up. *' True grace 
 will enable a man to step over the world's crown to take Christ's 
 (TOSH. " Brookt. 
 
 "ENDURE HARDNKSS as a good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ," St. Paul's charge to Timothy, 2 Tim. ii. 3. 
 
 It is especially observable how St. Paul speaks 
 throughout this Epistle (2 Tim.), in every chapter, of 
 the affliction and sufferings, if not persecution, which 
 all who " will live godly in Christ Jesus " must ex
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 329 
 
 pect. See chap, i 8, 12 ; ii 3, 9, 10, 12 ; in. 11, 12 ; 
 iv. 58, 1618. 
 
 SELF-RESTRAINT is one of the true marks of a godly 
 spirit. So Job would keep a watch over his eyes, 
 xxxi. 1 ; David over his tongue, Ps. xxxix. 1 ; the 
 Psalmist over his feet, Ps. cxix. 101 ; St. Paul over 
 his whole body, 1 Cor. ix 27. It was the complaint 
 of Peter the Great, " I can govern my people, but 
 how can I govern myself 1 ?" 
 
 It was this arrow that pierced the hard conscience 
 of proud Felix. When Paul reasoned on " temper- 
 ance " (including self-control generally), it was then 
 that Felix, knowing his own unbridled life, "trembled " 
 before the prisoner at the bar, Acts xxiv. 25. 
 
 SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS SELF- JUSTIFICA- 
 TION.*** 
 
 SPECIAL TESTIMONIES against. 
 
 See Deut. ix. 4, 5. 
 
 Job ix. 20, 21, 30. 
 
 Prov. iii. 7 ; xii. 15 ; xiv. 12 ; xvi. 2 ; xx. 6 ; xxi. 
 2; xxx. 12, 13. 
 
 Jer. ii. 22, 35 ; vii. 4, 8 ; viii. 8 ; xiii. 22 ; xvi. 10. 
 
 St. Luke x 29 ; xvi. 15 ; xviii. 9 14. 
 
 The prophecy of Malachi is a true representation 
 of the Jews in their spirit of continued self-justifica- 
 tion, replying against God. 
 
 Self-righteousness is LIKE 
 
 The fig-leaf covering, which our first parents sewed 
 together, to hide their nakedness, Gen. iii. 7. Con- 
 trast the " coats of skins " which " the Lord God 
 made them," after, as is supposed, the first sacrifice, 
 ver. 21. 
 
 Filthy rags, " all our righteousnesses," Isa. Ixiv. 6 ; 
 our best works, in their fancied accumulation, all are 
 defiled and loathsome.
 
 330 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 A bed too short, and a covering too narrow; that 
 cannot be easy, safe, or sufficient, Isa. xxviii 20. 
 
 The light of afire emitting sparks, which serve but 
 to make the darkness visible, Isa. 1. 10, 11. 
 
 Is HATEFUL to God as a "smoke in the nose," 
 Isa. Ixv. 5. 
 
 Luke xviii 13. "God be merciful to me a sin- 
 ner." 
 
 It was a shrewd remark of Luther's that, in his day, many 
 Belf-righteoua persons had become proud of their humility. 
 Many had learnt to use the Publican's prayer with the Phari- 
 see's spirit. 
 
 Rom. x. 3. " Going about .... have not sub- 
 mitted themselves." 
 
 Observe the striking contrast between the laboured efforts of 
 the self-righteous, " going about " trying every method to estab- 
 lish their own righteousness, and the blessed simplicity of 
 humble faith, "submitting" itself to the righteousness of God. 
 
 Phil, ill 4 7. 
 
 Observe the exchange the apostle made iu casting away the 
 many-coloured dress of fancied excellence for the simple robe of 
 the righteousness of Christ. The word here used, " I count all 
 things but loss," is that used when the mariners threw the 
 tackling and lading of the vessel overboard, Acts xviL 10 ; xix. 
 38. 
 
 Rev. iil 17, 18. 
 
 What men say, and what Christ says. Man's pride, and 
 Christ's call to humility. 
 
 Matt, vil 22 ; xxv. 44. 
 
 Man's self-justification up to the last. Even " in that day " 
 the sinner is represented as unaluvshed. 
 
 SEPARATENESS of HOLY PERSONS and HOLY 
 
 THINGS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ISRAEL were designed to N? a separate people. (1.) 
 Cf. their history. The call of Abraham ; Gosheu's
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 331 
 
 light in Egyptian darkness ; the wilderness ; Canaan ; 
 and ever since, to the present day ; like the gulf 
 stream in the wide ocean, distinct and distinguish- 
 able, Israel has been a distinct people, " not reckoned 
 among the nations," Num. xxiii. 9 ; Exod. xxxiii. 
 16; Lev. xx. 24; 1 Kings viii. 53. (2.) Of. their 
 institutions and marks of separateness, circumcision, 
 Gen. xvii. 10 14; fringes on the garments, Num. 
 xv. 38 ; phylacteries, Deut. vi. 8, 9 ; Nazarites, Num. 
 vi. 1 21, (the type of holiness and separation, see 
 111. Gath., 1st series, under holiness) ; Levites, Deut. 
 
 THE CHURCH is compared to a garden, enclosed, 
 barred off, and separate from the wilderness, Cant, 
 iv. 12, marg. 
 
 BELIEVERS are chosen out and separate from the 
 world, John xv. 19; xvii. 16; 2 Cor. vi. 14. See 
 World. 
 
 Ps. xviii. 1. Separated to the search for wisdom. 
 
 Eom. i. 1. " Separated unto the gospel of God." 
 
 SANCTIFIED. The common meaning of the word 
 is set apart consecrated to holy use. See in Cone. 
 how this idea is applied to almost every holy ordi- 
 nance. The Sabbath sanctuary first-Lorn priests 
 Levites vessels, &c. 
 
 THE PHARISEES assumed their title from the Heb- 
 rew word pharash, to separate, because they professed 
 to distinguish themselves by a stricter manner of life 
 than other men. 
 
 SERVICE OF GOD. See Dedication Obedience- 
 Zeal. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS of service. 
 The Ox, Ps. cxliv. 14; Ezek. i. 10; Rev. iv. 7. 
 The Levites, Num. xviii. 21.
 
 332 SCR1PTURK ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 A faithful servant, Matt. xxiv. 45 ; xxv. 21 ; Luke 
 xix. 710. 
 
 Loins ffirded, ready for service, Luke xii. 35 ; 1 Pet. 
 i. 13. 
 
 Several SCRIPTURE NAMES denote consecration to 
 God's service, especially the name Obadiah. Twelvo 
 persons bear this name in the Old Testament. 
 
 The common Arab name Abdallab, has exactly the same mean- 
 ing, like our Scotch name Gttchrist, the servant of Christ, and 
 Gillies, the servant of Jesus. Abdool Messeh, the servant of 
 Christ, was a convert in our Indian Missions, whose touching 
 history is well known to many. 
 
 The SERVANT OF GOD. It is noteworthy how many 
 eminent saints have been marked with this honour 
 able title ! Abraham Jacob Moses (see obedience, 
 " as the Lord commanded Moses ") Caleb Joshua 
 Job David Isaiah Eliakim Zerubbabel 
 Daniel St. Paul St. Peter St. James St. John 
 Epaphras Timothy St. Jude, &c. In none is the 
 title better illustrated, than in the examples of Moses 
 and St. Paul. In the sense of instruments whom God 
 makes use of, Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar are called 
 God's servants. 
 
 A MAN OF GOD. A title similar to that of a ser- 
 vant of God. Given chiefly to the prophets and 
 ministers of God, it belongs in a general sense to all 
 engaged in doing God's work. 
 
 The PRIEST'S office was given them as " a service 
 of gift," Num. xviii. 7. Cf. St. Paul's view of the 
 grace and trust given him, Eph. iii. 8 ; Phil. i. 29 ; 
 1 Tim. i. 11, &c. 
 
 The HAPPINESS of spiritual service. Love always 
 makes hard service easy. We have an example of 
 this in Jacob, Gen. xxix. 10 ; and in the Jewish ser- 
 vant, who loved his master too well to go out, Exod. 
 xxi. 5, 6. It is the saints' happiness on earth to
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 333 
 
 serve the best of masters, and it will be their happi- 
 ness through eternity to be servants still, Rev. xxii. 3. 
 
 The OBLIGATION of service. Two illustrations are 
 given of this, the case of the Jewish servant, who 
 surrendered himself voluntarily to be his master's 
 servant for ever, in token of which his ear was to be 
 bored through with an awl, Exod. xxi. 5, 6 ; and in 
 the custom of staining or puncturing the master's 
 name upon the servant's hand or arm, as anciently 
 the slave bore the name of his master, the soldier of 
 his commander, the idolater of his idol-god, and as 
 now sailors sometimes stain their arms, Isa. xliv. 5. 
 
 The FELLOWSHIP of service. See Cone, under fel- 
 low-servants fellow-helpers fellow-labourers fel- 
 low-workers. 
 
 The REWARD of service. God promised a reward 
 to Israel generally, Exod. xxiii. 25 ; and even to un- 
 godly Jehu, for his special service, a reward is pro- 
 mised, 2 Kings x. 30. The case of Nebuchadnezzar 
 shows how none can serve God without full payment, 
 Ezek. xxix. 17 20. How much more may God's 
 true and believing people expect His favour ! See 
 John xii. 26 ; Col. iii. 24 ; Matt. xxv. 21 ; Luke xix. 
 16, 17. Observe, in the two last texts especially, 
 the proportion and measure of the reward " faithful 
 over a few things," made "ruler over many things ;" 
 "ten pounds," "ten cities." 
 
 The LORD JESUS was Himself the great pattern of 
 holy service. " The servant of God," He became in- 
 carnate in a servant's form ; and, in loving ministry, 
 He took up the servant's place, Phil. ii. 7, 8 Mark 
 x. 45 ; He claimed Isaiah's prophecy for Himself, Isa. 
 xlii. 1, 2; Matt. xii. 17, 18 (see also Isa. xlix. 5, 6; 
 Hi. 13). He was called by the Father, " My servant 
 David," Ezek. xxxiv. 23 ; xxxvii. 24 ; and " My ser- 
 vant the Branch," Zech. iii. 8.
 
 334 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The Gotpd of St. Mark is the history of Christ especially as 
 the servant ; and it is a beautiful study to trace how it exhibits, 
 in every chapter, the activity, humility, promptness, and un- 
 Hanging zeal of Jesus. See the works of Do Costa, Jukes, 
 Marston, and others, on the Four Gospels. 
 
 SHEPHERD, CHRIST THE. 
 
 A beautiful figure applied to the Lord Jesus in all 
 the dispensations. 
 
 In the Old Testament, it is ancient as the days of 
 Jacob (himself a shepherd), Gen. xlix. 24. It is 
 used in David's psalm, Ps. xxiii. 1 ; and Asnph's, Ps. 
 Ixxx. 1 ; in Isaiah's prophecy, Isa. xl. 1 1 ; in EzekiePs, 
 xxxiv. 11 23 ; xxxvii. 24 ; and in Zechariah's, xiii. 7. 
 
 In the New Testament, it is still more plainly 
 claimed by Christ Himself, and referred to Him by 
 His apostles. See below. 
 
 It is remarkable that three epithets are prefixed, 
 which have respectively a peculiar force and signifi- 
 cance, when viewed in connexion with Christ's death, 
 His resurrection, and His second coming. The Lord 
 Jesus is spoken of as 
 
 The good Shepherd. So He calls Himself, John x. 
 11. One chief point in this passage is the reference 
 to Christ's death. Five times here our Lord declared 
 His death was His own voluntary act (ver. 11 18). 
 
 " That great Shepherd," Heb. xiii. 20, spoken with 
 reference to Christ's resurrection. 
 
 " The chief Slwplierd" 1 Pet. v. 4 ; referring to 
 Christ's appearing at the second advent. 
 
 Christ is " the Shepherd of Israel" Ps. Ixxx. 1 ; of 
 the whole body of the Church ; and " the Shepherd 
 and Bishop of souls" 1 Pet. ii. 25 ; of every indivi- 
 dual member of His flock. How beautifully is this 
 set forth in the shepherd's care for the one stray 
 sheep, Luke xv. 4 6 ; and in his tender care for the 
 weak and weary, Ezek. xxxiv. 16 ; Isa. xlix. 11.
 
 SCKIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 335 
 
 Micah's prophecy (chap. v. 2) is quoted in Matt. ii. 
 6, as referriug to the Messiah not only ruling, but as 
 the shepherd feeding his flock ; see marg. ; so Moses 
 is spoken of as "the shepherd," Isa. Ixiii. 11. 
 
 SIN.*** See Bondage Defilement. 
 
 FIGURES and ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Leprosy, Lev. xiii. and xiv. Loathsome defiling 
 separating spreading incurable. 
 
 Physical disease. The blind lame deaf dumb 
 palsied withered bowed down ; doubtless our 
 Lord's miracles of healing such, were spiritual parables 
 of the cure of sinners. 
 
 Wounds bruises, Isa. i. 6; xxx. 26 ; Luke iv. 18. 
 
 Poison venom, Rom. iii. 13 ; James iii. 8. 
 
 Death, Eph. ii. 1 ; James i. 15 ; v. 20. 
 
 Burden, grievous and intolerable, Matt. xi. 28. 
 
 Slavery, as to the worst of masters, John viii. 34 ; 
 Rom. vi. 20; vii. 14; the drudgery, worse still, of 
 many lusts and pleasures, Titus iii. 3 ; 1 Kings xxi. 
 2025. 
 
 Captivity, such as in ancient times was marked by 
 cruelty and hardship, when captives were bound, and 
 often blinded, Isa. Ixi. 1. See Bondage. 
 
 Leaven, corrupting spreading, Matt. xiii. 33 ; xvi. 
 6 ; 1 Cor. v. 68 ; Gal. v. 9. 
 
 Debt, even to the utmost and most hopeless extent 
 the bankrupt's debt of ten thousand talents, Matt, 
 xviii. 24, 25. 
 
 Spots and stains crimson and scarlet dyed, Isa. i. 
 18 ; double dyed (as the Hebrew word for scarlet im 
 plies), Deut. xxxii. 5 ; 2 Pet. ii. 12; Jude 12 23. 
 
 Fountain of impurity, Jer. vi. 7. 
 
 Floods, Ps. xviii. 4 ; Rev. xii. 1 6. 
 
 Crooked perverse, Deut. xxxii. 5 ; Ps. cxxv. 5. 
 
 Cage, full of unclean birds, Jer. v. 27.
 
 336 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 Girdle, cleaving to a man, Jer. xiii. 10, 11. 
 
 Fine of Sodom, and grapes of Gomorrah, Dent. 
 \.\\ii. 32. 
 
 The old man; not called "old" for weakness and 
 decay (though Heb. viii. 18 is true of the believer) ; 
 but rather from antiquity, because inherited from 
 Adam, and also because pervading the whole of man's 
 fallen nature. 
 
 The body of sin, Rom. vi 6 ("body," as consisting 
 of many members, and all " instruments of unrighte- 
 ousness.") See the catalogue : hands lips tongue 
 throat feet, &c., Isa. lix. 3 7 ; Rom. iii. 1317. 
 
 The law of sin, Rom. vii. 25 the antagonistic prin- 
 ciple to the ruling power of grace ; the deliberate, 
 organised rule and system of evil, Ps. xciv. 10. 
 
 The reign of sin, Rom. v. 21. 
 
 The wages of sin, Rom. vi 23. 
 
 WORDS EXPRESSIVE of SIN. It has been remarked, 
 how rich the Hebrew language is in such synonyms ; 
 may not the same be said of most languages, our own 
 not least 1 The ordinary Hebrew and Greek words 
 include the ideas of missing the mark crookedness 
 deviating from the prescribed path lawlessness 
 rebellion, &c. Cf. the derivations similarly of our 
 English words : amiss abomination err fault 
 guilty evil or vile ill iniquity transgression 
 ungodliness wickedness mischief haughtiness 
 corrupt fro ward, &c., &c. 
 
 The intensity of evil ia sometimes set forth by some of these 
 expressive words being joined together, as " imiqnity, transgres- 
 sion, and sin," Exod. xxxiv. 7 ; Ps. xxxii. 1, 2 ; the iniquity of 
 sin, Ps. xxxii. 5 ; the transgression of sin, Lev. x vi. 21 ; the evil 
 of evil, Hosea x. 1 6 (marg. ) ; also by the intensified expressions 
 so frequently met with " the children of Israel have deeply re- 
 volted," Isa. xxxi. 6 ; "deeply corrupted themselves," Hosea 
 ix. 9 ; "altogether filthy," Ps. xiv. 3 ; "superfluity of naughti- 
 ness," James i. 21 ; " very wickedness," Ps. v. 9 ; " manifold 
 transgressions and mighty sins," Amos v. 12 ; full filled with
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 337 
 
 mischief and evil, Acts xiii. 10 ; Horn. i. 29 ; 2 Pet. ii. 14 ; like 
 the man " full of leprosy," Luke v. 12. 
 
 The INFATUATED PASSION of sinners after sin is 
 similarly painted in the darkest colours : as where we 
 read of them " drinking iniquity like water," Job xv. 
 16 ; drawing sin " as it were with a cart rope," Isa. v. 
 18 ; running with swift haste after evil, Prov. i. 16 ; 
 vi. 18; revelling in lust, from which they "cannot 
 cease," 2 Pet. ii. 14 ; unable to sleep without doing 
 mischief, Prov. iv. 16; doing evil "day and night," 
 Micah ii. 1 ; " with both hands earnestly," vii. 3 ; to 
 the utmost limit of their power, Jer. iii. 5 ! 
 
 The DARK GROUPS of many sins included in one sad 
 list present a painful picture, which is often drawn. 
 See Matt. xv. 19 ; 1 Cor. vi. 9; Gal. v. 1921; 
 2 Tim. iii. 25 ; Titus iii. 3 ; Rev. xxi. 8. 
 
 Every sinner is a MORAL SUICIDE, see Num. xvi. 
 38 ; Prov. viii. 36 ; xx. 2 ; Jer. xlii. 20 (marg.) ; Hab. 
 ii. 10 ; Hosea xiii. 9. 
 
 Gal. iii. 22. " The Scripture hath concluded (shut 
 up) all under sin." (rA irdvra: "all things" not only 
 all men, but all things in all men), as John iii. 6 is not 
 " he," but " that which is born of the flesh is flesh." 
 
 1 John v. 19. " The whole world lieth in wicked- 
 ness" lulled in the fatal sleep without alarm. 
 
 1 John iii. 4 may be translated " whosoever is a 
 doer of sin is a doer of lawlessness, for sin is lawless- 
 ness." 
 
 Ezek. viii. 7 18. The unfolding of what sin is, 
 when clearly seen in its real deformity. 
 
 Judges ii. 11. " The children of Israel did evil in 
 the sight of the Lord" an expression which occurs 
 about fifty times, as a terrible aggravation of the evil 
 and danger of sin. 
 
 SIN, DECEIVABLENESS and UNPROFITABLENESS of. 
 See Blindness Hypocrisy Vanity.
 
 338 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 LIKE the vine of Sodom, Deut. xxxii 32, 33 fair 
 in appearance, but bitter as gall ; deadly " as the 
 poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps." 
 
 Like a sweet morsel, Job xx. 12 14, which a man 
 rolls under his tongue, and holds in his mouth, to 
 enjoy its sweet flavour, till it presently turns to the 
 bitterness of gall, and he sucks the poison of asps. 
 
 Like honeyed words of lust, that end in bitter worm- 
 wood, Prov. v. 3, 4. 
 
 Like stolen waters, that lead to death, Prov. ix. 17. 
 
 Like bread of deceit, that fills the mouth with gravel, 
 Prov. xx. 17. 
 
 Like the vain toil of one who labours hard to earn 
 wages, and puts it into a bag with holes, Haggai 
 L 6. 
 
 Like the wild delirium of strong drink, that bites 
 like a serpent and stings like an adder, Prov. xx. 1 ; 
 xxiii. 32. 
 
 Prov. xiv. 12, 16, 25. "There is a way," &c. 
 
 The blind road. " Holiness ia sweet in the way and in the 
 end too ; wickedness is sometimes sweet in the way, but always 
 bitter in the end. Bithop Hall. 
 
 Prov. xii. 26. " The way of the wicked seduceth 
 them." 
 
 The mirage of life. The delusive appearance that cheats the 
 fainting traveller with bright hopes of fountains and shady 
 trees, and vanishes whilst he is still wasting his strength in the 
 weary chase. Ill-gotten gains seldom last. Remember Achan 
 and his wedge of gold. What profit was there in Naboth's vine- 
 yard to wretched Ahab ? in the thirty pieces of silver to miser- 
 able Judas! in Gehazi's talents ? in the rich fool's larns and the 
 rich man's purple ? The gilded bait of sin cannot long conceal 
 the hook Prov. xod. 6 ; 2 Pet. ii. 3. 
 
 Eph. iv. 22. "Lusts of deceit;" 2 Tliess. ii. 10 
 "all deceivableness of unrighteousness ;" Heb. iii. 13 
 " hardened through the deceitfulness of sin ;" 2 Tim 
 iii. 3; Titus iii. 3 "deceiving and being deceived."
 
 SCRIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOE. 339 
 
 SIN, PROGRESSIVE CHARACTER or 
 
 Is LIKE the leprosy, whether in a man's body or in 
 a house, characterised by a small beginning (Lev. 
 xii. 36), a steady growth, and fearful end. 
 
 Is like a canker or gangrene, 2 Tim. ii. 1 7, a morti- 
 fication in the flesh, spreading over the adjacent 
 parts, till death ensues, unless stopped by a timely 
 cure. 
 
 Is like a serpent's bite, a little puncture, hardly 
 visible, but large enough to admit the fatal poison. 
 
 Isa. v. 18. 
 
 It is a common saying among the rabbins, Sin is, at first, like 
 a fine silken thread, scarcely felt ; but the temptation strengthens 
 by habit ; the fine thread grows to the thickness of a cable or 
 cart-rope, which binds the unhappy victim with relentless 
 power. 
 
 Jer. ix. 3. "They proceed from evil to evil." 
 Hosea xiii. 2. " Now they sin more and more." 
 2 Tim. ii. 16. "They will increase unto more 
 ungodliness." 
 
 Isa. i. 5. "Ye will revolt more and more." 
 2 Tim. iii. 13. "They wax worse and worse." 
 Num. xxxii. 14. "An increase of sinful men." 
 
 Ps. i. 1. 
 
 The Book of Psalms, at the beginning, sets forth the down- 
 ward steps of sin. The ungodly (men regardless of God) soon 
 become sinners (the conscious and deliberate transgressors of 
 God's law), and end in being scorners (the defiers and scoffers 
 of all religion) ; thus, led by the syren lure of temptation, they 
 first walk, then stand, then sit, without alarm, in the road to 
 death. 
 
 Isa. Ivii. 8. " Thou hast enlarged thy bed." 
 Matt. v. 22. Observe the growth of unrestrained 
 anger. First felt, but silent ; then venting itself in 
 abuse, "Raca;" then in contempt, "thou fool." 
 2 Cor. xii. 20. Observe the growth of strife from
 
 340 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 half-smothered debates and secret envyings to open 
 tumults and unchecked quarrels. 
 
 1 Tim. v. 13. "Not only idle, but tattlers, also 
 busy-bodies." 
 
 It is seldom, indeed, that those who are idle are "idle only." 
 Idleness is often a btty thing ; " for Satan finds some mischief 
 still, for idle hands to do." 
 
 2 Pet. ii. 20. " The latter end is worse with them 
 than the beginning." 
 
 Apostasy, after partial illumination, brings the deepest dark- 
 ness ; as the eye is must dazzled in leaving a well-lighted room. 
 See Matt. xii. 45. 
 
 Jude 11. Observe the reckless course of sin 
 " gone " " ran greedily " " perished." 
 
 Jude 16. " Murmurers " (as it were, whisperers of 
 discontent in private); then " complainers," openly 
 expressing dissatisfaction ; " speaking great swelling 
 \vords of vanity." 
 
 Matt. xxiv. 12; Luke xviii. 8. As the wickedness 
 of the world grew from the creation to the Hood, till 
 the whole earth was filled with violence and guilt, 
 Gen. vi. 5, 11, 12, 13, so shall it be at the end, 
 before the second coming of the Lord. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Our first parents, Gen. iii. The first sin was a true 
 foreshadowing of the fatal progress of tomptation, 
 listening looking taking tasting eating giving 
 excusing and defending. 
 
 Babel-builders, Gen. xi. 6. "This they begin to 
 do : and now nothing will be restrained from them." 
 
 Lot. A striking instance. He first chose the 
 neighbourhood of Sodom from selfish motives, Gen. 
 xiii. 10, 11, and pitched his tent towards it ; then he 
 soon came to dwell in Sodom, xiv. 1 2 ; then, worse 
 still, after having been driven out, and losing all he 
 had, he returned to dwell in it again ; and this second
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 341 
 
 time he seems to have settled there, and become still 
 more intimately connected with the place, even catch 
 ing some of its evil spirit, in acting unjustifiably to 
 his own daughters, Gen. xix. 7, 8, 14. 
 
 Joseph's brethren. Envying a brother, planning to 
 kill him, covering their guilt by deceiving their 
 father. 
 
 Israel in the Wilderness. See Murmuring. 
 
 David, in his great fall, 2 Sam. xi., sloth lust 
 deceit adultery murder cruelty. 
 
 Peter's threefold denial, each more violent and ter- 
 rible than the former. 
 
 STEADFASTNESS. Contrast Backsliding Tem- 
 porary Unstable. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 A house built upon the solid rock, unmoved by floods, 
 and unshaken by storms, Matt. vii. 24, 25. 
 
 Pillars, the support of a building, Gal. ii. 9 ; cf. 
 the two pillars in Solomon's temple, Jachin (" He 
 shall establish ") ; and Boaz (" in Him is strength "), 
 1 Kings vii. 21. 
 
 Full-grown men of mature judgment and strong 
 will ; not weak children, easily " tossed to and fro," 
 Eph. iv. 13, 14. 
 
 An anchor " sure and steadfast," well fixed in firm 
 moorings, Heb. vi. 19. 
 
 A wrestler standing firmly, Phil. i. 27, unmoved by 
 fear or opposition. 
 
 A soldier standing and withstanding, planting his 
 foot firmly, and maintaining his ground bravely, Eph. 
 vi. 13, 15. 
 
 A racer running with unfaltering patience to the 
 end of the course, Heb. xii. 1 ; Phil. iii. 14. 
 
 A traveller, still holding on his way, Job xvii. 9. 
 
 A little band of hardy warriors, " faint, yet pursu- 
 ing," Judges viii. 4.
 
 342 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 MANY EXPRESSIONS forcibly set forth the duty ami 
 privilege of Christian steadfastness. See Cone, under 
 abiding cleaving constant continuing fixed 
 grounded and settled patient persevering rooted 
 and built up standing settled established not 
 moved not weary immovable stand fast hold 
 fast, &c. 
 
 Psalm cxix. Comprehensive as Ps. cxix. is on so 
 many points of doctrine and practice, not the least is 
 its testimony to the subject of holy steadfastness. 
 Soever. 10, 11, 16, 21, 31, 51, 101, 102, 109, 112, 
 115, 117, 133, 141, 157, 1G5. 
 
 The Book of Proverbs. Let us not forget how 
 earnestly the wise man sets forth the importance not 
 only of seeking, but of retaining, wisdom. See chap, 
 i. 1015; ill 2; iv. 413; xxiii. 23, &c. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 The early patriarchs, Heb. xi. 15, 16. 
 
 Joseph, Gen. xlix. 23 25. " His bow abode in 
 strength," though for eighty years he was surrounded 
 by every temptation to worldliness and idolatry. 
 
 Caleb, Num. xiv. 24 ; xxxii. 12 ; Deut. i. 36 ; Joshua 
 xiv. 8, 9, 14, six records of the one gracious testimony, 
 he " followed the Lord fully." 
 
 Joshua, Num. xxxii. 12 ; Joshua xxiv. 15. 
 
 Ruth. A beautiful example of one who was "stead- 
 fastly minded," Ruth i. 18. Cf. the striking contrast, 
 "Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave 
 unto her," ver. 14. 
 
 Josiah began to reign when eight years old, and 
 began to seek the Lord when ho was sixteen, and 
 reigned thirty-one years ; yet he " turned not aside 
 to the right hand or to the left," 2 Kings xxii. 1, 2. 
 
 Job, ii. 3 ; xxviL 5, 6. 
 
 Jotham, 2 Chron. xxvii. 6, marg. 
 
 David, Ps. xviii 21, 22 ; cviii. 1 ; 1 Kings xiv. 8.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOR. 343 
 
 Daniel i. 8 ; vi. 10. 
 
 The three Hebrew youths, Dan. iii. 
 
 Mary Magdalene, one of the most devoted and 
 steadfast followers of the Lord. From the time ot 
 her being healed, she appears to have followed Him 
 constantly, ministering to Him of her substance ; and 
 she followed Him even to the last, when all forsook 
 Him, "last at the cross, and earliest at the grave." 
 
 The early Christians, Acts ii. 41 47. 
 
 Paul, Acts xx. 24 ; xxi. 13 ; xxvi. 22 (after twenty- 
 eight years' steady continuance in the faith. (Cf. 
 2 Cor. iv. 1 ; xi. 9. 
 
 Philadelphian Church, Rev. iii. 8. 
 
 The LORD JESUS, Luke ix. 51. " He steadfastly 
 set His face ;" a form of expression borrowed from 
 the Old Testament. See the LXX. Exod. xiv. 8 ; 
 Jer. xxi. 10 ; see 2 Kings xii. 17 ; Isa. 1. 7. 
 
 STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. See Vicissitudes. 
 
 A life of pilgrimage has ever been the frequent lot 
 of the children of God. The carnal seed were the 
 first to build cities and develop kingdoms, see Gen. 
 iv. 17; x. 10. There were "dukes of Edom" when 
 Isaac and Jacob were "strangers" in the land, Gen. 
 xxxvi. 15 43 ; and xxxvii. 1. 
 
 ISRAEL'S WANDERINGS in the wilderness may be 
 taken as an illustration of the Church's history, Exod. 
 vi. 4 ; Lev. xxv. 23 ; see Num. xxxiii. for the list of 
 their encampments forty-two changes in forty years ; 
 and these, probably, are only named as being the 
 principal. The first place they stayed at was Suc- 
 coth, which means booths, an indication of the be- 
 ginning of their tent life. 
 
 IT should be studied, also, with reference to the 
 history, as an example not only of local changes, but
 
 344 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 a constant alternation of social and moral light and 
 shade one day at Elim, another at Marah. 
 
 The history of most eminent saints teaches the 
 same lesson. 
 
 THE BOOK of NUMBERS is especially the book de 
 scriptive of the Church's pilgrimage. If Genesis 
 speaks of election, Exodus of redemption, Leviticus 
 of access, Numbers treats of pilgrimage. 
 
 PALESTINE, PHILISTINES. These words are said 
 to be derived from the Hebrew palash, to wander ; 
 i.e., the land of sojourners, or the wanderers. The 
 name Falasshahs, applied to the Jews in Abyssinia, 
 means, in Ethiopic, exiles; .., the exiled Jews (who 
 profess to have settled there since the time of the 
 queen of Sheba). 
 
 THE FEAST of TABERNACLES was a feast designed 
 to keep in remembrance Israel's early pilgrim life, 
 Lev. rein 43. It is strange that from the days of 
 Joshua to those of Nehemiah (one thousand years), 
 this feast had been neglected, and so Israel missed 
 " great gladness," Neh. viil 1 7. But how happy it 
 must have been for those who had hung their harps 
 on the willows of Babylon, to find themselves beneath 
 the shades of the willows of Canaan ! 
 
 EXAMPLES of pilgrim life. 
 
 Abraham, when first called by God to go forth 
 from his native home, "went out, not knowing 
 whither he went," how far, how long, Gen. xii. 1 ; 
 xxiii. 4; Acts vii 5; Heb. XL 8 10; and the only 
 land he acquired was a burying-place. 
 
 Jacob was for twenty years a lonely wanderer, con- 
 stantly subject to changes and trials, Gen. xxviii. ; 
 xxxi. 7 ; xxxil 7. 
 
 Moses, himself a stranger, imprinted the rriemory 
 of his own wandering lite upon his son Gershom,
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 345 
 
 whose name means " a stranger here," Exod. ii 22, 
 marg. 
 
 David, the chosen king of Israel, was, for a great 
 part of his early life, a wanderer; and, after being 
 settled on the throne, he was for a time an exile. 
 Some of his sweetest psalms were written in his 
 wandering life. 
 
 The apostles and early Christians, scattered as they 
 were by persecution, Acts viii. 1 ; xi. 19, and by the 
 evangelistic nature of their mission, learnt much of 
 the discipline and usefulness of a Christian pilgrim's 
 spirit. One of the trials enumerated in St. Paul's 
 list, 2 Cor. iv. 11, is this, "no certain dwelling- 
 place." 
 
 The Lord Jesus Himself gave the pattern of pilgrim 
 life ; born at an inn, Luke ii. 7 ; having no settled 
 home, not even " where to lay His head," Matt. viii. 
 20 ; suffering hunger, Matt. iv. 2 ; xxi. 18 ; weary 
 with travel, John iv. 6 ; receiving subsistence from 
 the alms of His followers, Luke viii. 3. 
 
 STUBBORNNESS. See Rebellion Sin, Progress 
 of Affliction, Impenitence under. 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 The wild ass untameable, Job xvi. 12 ; the figure 
 applied to Ishmael in the Hebrews. Cf. Gen. xvi 12. 
 
 A bullock resisting the yoke, Jer. xxxi. 18. 
 
 A dog returning to its vomit, Prov. xxvi. 1 1 ; 2 Pet. 
 xii. 22. 
 
 The horse and mule, Ps. xxxii. 9. 
 
 The deaf adder, Ps. Iviii. 4, 5. 
 
 It is observable how often, where the text of our 
 Authorised Version reads " imagination" the margin 
 changes it to " stubbornness" as Deut. xxix. 19; Jer. 
 iii. 19; vii. 24; xvi. 12; xxiii. 17; implying the 
 fixed determination of the stubborn heart " set upon
 
 346 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 evil ;" see Hosea iv. 8 ; Ezek. xxiv. 25 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 
 8 ; Eccles. viii. 11. 
 
 Deut xxix. 19. The insatiable self-will of "stub 
 bornness" (rourg.) " to add drunkenness to thirst." 
 
 1 Sam. xv. 23. The desperate wickedness of stub- 
 bornness. It is ranked with idolatry, the great sin 
 against God, punishable with death. 
 
 Ps. Ixviii. 21. " Such an one as goeth on still in 
 his trespasses." 
 
 Ps. Ixxviii. 8. " A stubborn and rebellious genera- 
 tion." Bead the whole psalm as a melancholy proof. 
 
 Prov. xxiii. 35. The stubbornness of the besotted 
 drunkard, " I will seek it yet again." 
 
 Prov. xxvii. 22. The obstinacy of the foolish man. 
 Of. xiii. 19. 
 
 Eccles. iv. 13. Old and obstinate. Cf. Ezek. xxiii. 
 43 ; " old in adulteries," 2 Pet. ii. 14. 
 
 Isa. ix. 10. The vain boast of Ephraim, " The 
 bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn 
 stone," &c. 
 
 Isa. Ivii. 10. " Wearied," but yet unhumbled. 
 
 Jer. ii. 25. " I have loved strangers, and after 
 them I will go." 
 
 Jer. viii. 5. "They hold fast deceit, they refuse to 
 return." 
 
 THEY WILL NOT. See Cone, under hear (cf. Pa. 
 Iviii. 4, 5) turn come, &<x 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Esau, Gen. xxviii. 69. 
 
 Pliaraoh, the very type of obstinate and continued 
 stubbornness and rebellion against God, relenting 
 only for a moment through fear, and then becoming 
 harder than before. 
 
 Israel, in their "stubborn way," Judges iL 19; 
 Deut. ix. 27 ; a "stiff-necked people," Exod. xxxii. 9. 
 
 The men of Ashdod persisting in setting Datron in
 
 SC'RIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTKATOTl. 347 
 
 his place again, aftar he had fallen prostrate before 
 tfie ark, 1 Sam. v. 2 7. 
 
 Ahaz trespassing yet more "in the time of his 
 distress," and sacrificing to the gods of Damascus, 
 "who were the ruin of him, and of all Israel," 2 Chron. 
 xxviii. 22, 23. 
 
 Belshazzar, after all that had happened to his 
 grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. v., after iv. 
 
 The proud Jews in Egypt, in the time of Jeremiah, 
 Jer. xliv. 15, 17. 
 
 The men of Zedekiah's time, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17. 
 
 The men of our Lord's time, after He had purged 
 the Temple from their profanations, returning to 
 their courses again, John ii. 16; and Matt. xxi. 13. 
 
 TEMPORARY APPEARANCE OF RELIGIOUS GOOD. 
 
 See Profession Backsliding Hypocrisy Unstable. 
 
 IS LIKE 
 
 The morning cloud and early dew, which promise to 
 cool and refresh the earth, but leave no abiding 
 blessing, Hosea vi. 4 ; xiii. 3. 
 
 The rocky and thorny ground hearers, Matt. xiii. 
 2022. 
 
 The man from whom the unclean spirit went out, Matt, 
 xii. 43 45. Observe the difference marked between 
 going out and being cast out (ver. 28) ; in the one 
 case, the evil spirit returned with sevenfold power in 
 the other, it was as when Christ said on another occa- 
 sion, " Come out of him, and enter no more into 
 him," Mark ix. 25. 
 
 The sow once washed returning to its wallowing in the 
 mire, 2 Pet. ii. 22. 
 
 The husbandman who, having put his hand to the 
 plough, looked back, Luke ix. 62. 
 
 The five foolish virgins, Matt. xxv. 1 13. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Israel, in many parts of their history, gave much
 
 348 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 promise of sincerity and zeal ; but alas ! it was only 
 like the blossoms of spring, as, e.g., about the giving 
 of the law. Three times they voluntarily and so- 
 lemnly promised obedience (before the law was given, 
 Exod. xix. 8 ; when it was given, Deut. v. 27 ; and 
 shortly after it was given, Exod. xxiv. 3) ; and yet 
 how soon were their solemn vows forgotten ! So, in 
 their repentance at Bochim, Judges ii. 1 5. 
 
 Saul, king of Israel, at first gave much promise of 
 humility and religious fervour ; but his prophesyings 
 were of little value, and he soon showed how ready 
 he was for evil, till he would have murdered David, 
 and even his own son Jonathan ! 
 
 Ahab's humiliation, 1 Kings xxi. 27 29. 
 
 EzekieFs fiearei's, Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32. 
 
 The Jews who flocked to John's baptism, Matt. iii. 
 1 9 ; John v. 35 ; " willing for a season to rejoice 
 in his light" (as it were to leap as children do round 
 a bonfire, so the Greek word means.) 
 
 Many of tJiose wlw came to Christ turned back (see 
 Profession), and even vast numbers of those who came 
 to see him die " smote their breasts and returned," 
 Luke xxiii. 48 ; probably awe-struck, but not really 
 penitent. Transient convictions only harden the 
 heart. 
 
 THANKFULNESS. See Praise. 
 
 Our English word thankful is allied, from its Anglo- 
 Saxon derivation, to thinkful. To be thankful is to 
 be thoughtful or mindful of a benefit received. 
 
 JEWISH ORDINANCES. 
 
 The various feasts of the Jewish economy were 
 designed to teach the spirit of thankfulness and 
 praise, especially after harvest and vintage, and after 
 special mercies. The Feast of Weeks of Taber- 
 nacles the Peace offering of thanksgiving, Lev. vii
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 349 
 
 11 15 the Drink offering, and others, all had this 
 meaning. 
 
 The TEMPLE SERVICE. It is to be observed that 
 there was special provision made in Solomon's temple 
 and in the second temple for the service of thanks- 
 giving, see 1 Chron. xvi. 4 6 ; xxiii. 30 ; 2 Chron. 
 v. 12, 13; and for the second temple, Neh. xi. 17; 
 xii. 8, 27, 31. 
 
 MEMORIALS of MERCY. A transient thought is too 
 mean for a standing mercy. How many beautiful 
 examples have we of the memorials, the saints of old 
 preserved of God's goodness : like Jacob's pillar, Gen. 
 xxxv. 14; Joshua's twelve stones at Gilgal, Joshua 
 iv. ; the golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod laid up 
 in the ark, Exod. xvi. 33; Num. xvii. 10 ; Heb. ix. 4 ; 
 the stone Ebenezer, 1 Sam. vii. 12; David's sword, 
 1 Sam. xxi. 9. 
 
 For EXAMPLES, see the Scripture Text-books. Note 
 especially 
 
 David a noble example of one abounding in 
 thanksgiving, see 1 Chron. xvi. 7 36 ; 2 Sam. vii. 
 18 29 ; his thankful spirit in preparing for the 
 temple, 1 Chron. xvi. 4; xxix. 10 16 ; and the sweet 
 effusions of " the spirit of praise" in his psalms. 
 
 Danwl, vi. 10. Not disheartened by danger, nor 
 deterred by terror, from continuing his service of 
 thanks. Can we doubt that this helped to sustain 
 his courage? even as Paul and Silas "prayed, and 
 sang praises" in the prison, Acts xvi. 25. No anti- 
 dote can be found more powerful to remove fear than 
 prayer and praise. Daniel had known their power 
 before, ii. 1923. 
 
 Paul. Thanksgiving is a lesson taught in all his 
 epistles. Out of fourteen, twelve begin with expres- 
 sions of thankfulness. In that to the Colossians are 
 six references to thankfulness in four chapters. In
 
 350 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 other epistles thanksgiving is often the outgush of a 
 full heart at the close of a long address, as liom. vii. 
 25 ; 1 Cor. xv. 57 ; 2 Cor. ix. 15. 
 
 The Lord Jesus on many occasions set the example, 
 Matt. xi. 25 ; Luke x. 21 ; Mark viii. G ; Matt. xiv. 
 19 ; John vi 11 ; xL 41 ; Luke xxiL 17, 19. 
 
 TREACHERY. See Deceit Hypocrisy. 
 
 COMPARED to 
 
 The kisses of an enemy, Prov. xxvii. 6. 
 
 A broken tooth, Prov. xxv. 19. 
 
 A foot out of joint, Prov. xxv. 1 9. 
 
 A. potsherd covered with silver dross, Prov. xxvi. 23. 
 
 An arrow shot out, Jer. ix. 8. "As the arrow of a 
 murderer." Blaney. 
 
 Pretended friendship, Lam. i. 2 ; Ps. xli. 9 ; Iv. 
 1215. 
 
 Fair words " smoother than butter" and " softer 
 than oil," Ps. Iv. 21 ; xxviii. 3. 
 
 Deceitful hospitality, Prov. xxiii. 6 8. 
 
 Wounds given in the house of a friend, Zech. xiii. 6. 
 
 LIKE Joab's hidden dagger, 2 Sam. iii. 27 ; xx. 9, 10; 
 see Judges iii. 20, 21 ; Absalom's deceitful feast, 
 2 Sam. xiii. 23 29 ; Ishmael's double mockery, Jer. 
 xli. 1 7 ; SanballaFs offer of friendship, Nch. vi 2 ; 
 Judas's hypocritical kiss, Matt. xxvi. 48, 49. 
 
 TRUST HOLY.*** See Faith Hope Providence 
 Waiting. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS of trust. 
 
 To ding. The original meaning of one of the 
 Hebrew words (naa) used for trust It is the word 
 used for a child clinging to its mother's breast. 
 
 To run for sJielter, the original meaning of another 
 Hebrew word (nor) ; see Ruth ii. 12, Hebrew.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 351 
 
 To lean upon, another Hebrew word, from which 
 the word Amen is derived. 
 
 (Our English word trust is akin to troth or truth. 
 Of. the words intrust, trustee, trustworthy. 1 ) 
 
 See in Cone, under parallel words ; leaning rest- 
 ing relying staying confiding, &c. 
 
 Two FIGURES are given of holy trust. 
 
 The stability of Mount Zion, Ps. cxxv. 1. 
 
 The luxuriant growth of a tree by the waters, Jer. 
 xvii. 7, 8. 
 
 Ps. cxviii. 8. "It is better to trust in the Lord, 
 than to put confidence in man." 
 
 The middle verse of the English Bible. " It is a fact no less 
 singular than interesting, that the first verse in the English 
 Bible speak* of creation, the second of providence, and the last 
 of grace." 
 
 Ps. cxii. 7. " His heart is fixed, trusting in the 
 Lord." 
 
 Trust is strength ; daring to obey is preparing to receive. 
 
 TRUST MISPLACED. See Sin, Deceivableness of. 
 
 Is LIKE 
 
 A spider's web, Job viii. 14. 
 
 A broken tooth and foot out of joint, Prov. xxv. 19. 
 
 Parched heath in the desert, Jer. xvii. 5, 6. 
 
 A lie, Jer. xxviii. 15 ; xxix. 31 ; Hosea x. 13. 
 
 Leaning upon the Lord, when living in sin, Micah 
 iii 11; Isa. xlviii. 2 ; Jer. vii. 4. 
 
 Trusting in Egypt. Always the great snare ol 
 Israel from the first, though they were specially 
 warned against it, Deut. xvii. 16. It is compared 
 to trusting in a shadow, Isa. xxx. 2, 3 ; to leaning 
 upon the staff of a bruised reed, xxxvi. 6 ; Ezek. 
 xxix. 6, 7 ; see Isa. 1. 1 7 ; xxxi 1 
 
 1 The motto of the Weavers' Company combines the two, 
 " Weave truth w ; th trust."
 
 352 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Trusting in Assyria, Jer. ii. 18 36. 
 See Cone, for objects of misplaced trust wealth 
 beauty friends bow and sword, &c. 
 
 Mammon, Matt. vi. 24 ; leaning upon. See Miches. 
 REJECTED CONFIDENCES, Jer. il 37 ; Hosea x. 6 ; 
 
 I.-; i. XX 5. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Babel builders, Gen. XL 4. 
 
 Micah's confidence in the Levite, who deserted him, 
 directly he thought he could better his condition, 
 Judges xvii. 10; xviii. 20. 
 
 David wounded by the treachery of Ahitophel, Ps. 
 Iv. 12 14, and in his old age by the inconstancy of 
 Abiathar, 1 Kings i. 19, 25. 
 
 Benhadad, murdered by Hazael, who had been his 
 confidant, 2 Kings viii. 8 15. 
 
 Ahaz, distressed by the king of Assyria, to whom 
 he had given great treasures, 2 Kings xvi. 7 9 ; 2 
 Chrou. xxviil 20, 21. 
 
 Asa, relying on the king of Syria, 2 Chron. xvi 7 j 
 seeking to the physician, ver. 12. 
 
 UNBELIEF.** See Doubt. 
 
 Unbelief and disobedience. It is noteworthy that 
 one Greek word (dw0ew) stands for both. It is ren- 
 dered unbelief, Rom. xi. 30, 32 ; Heb. iii. 18; iv. 11, 
 &c. ; and disobedience, Luke i 17; Rom. x. 4; xi. 
 30 ; Eph. ii. 3 ; v. 6, c. In Eph. v. 6, Heb. iv. 11, 
 the two words are both given, in the text and in the 
 margin, so close is the connection between faith and 
 practice. (Cf. the similar moral in our word mis- 
 creant.) 
 
 Rom. iv. 20. " He staggered not at the promise 
 through unbelief." 
 
 An illustration of one effect of unbelief. Faith makes men 
 upright bold to stand ; steadfast in the truth. Unbelief i-.
 
 SCRIPTUEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 353 
 
 as it were, a moral paralysis, causing the faithless to stagger 
 and fall. 
 
 Ps. Ixvi. 7. " Let not the rebellious exalt them- 
 selves." 
 
 The Prayer Book rendering gives a striking variation : " Such 
 as will not believe, shall not be able to exalt themselves." An 
 evidence of the connection between unbelief and rebellion. 
 
 Matt. viii. 10; Mark vi. 6. 
 
 The only two things the Lord Jesus is said to have marvelled 
 at, were the strong faith of a Gentile, and the strange unbelief 
 of the Jews. 
 
 Matt, xiii. 58 ; Mark vi. 5. " He did not " " he 
 could not" "do many mighty works there because 
 of their unbelief." 
 
 Markix. 22, 23. "If thou canst do anything . . ." 
 " If thou canst believe " 
 
 Mark xvi. 16. "He that believeth not, shall be 
 damned." 
 
 Man's sin disables the law from saving him ; unbelief dis- 
 ables even the Gospel itself. 
 
 Unbelief, always sinful, is doubly sad when found 
 in God's children. See the examples of Abraham, 
 Gen. xvii. 17 ; Moses, Num. xi. 21, 22 ; Zecharias, 
 Luke i. 20 ; Thomas, John xx. 25. 
 
 UNION WITH CHRIST. See Christ the Head. 
 
 FIGURES. 
 
 The vine and the branches, John xv. 4 7. 
 
 The foundation and the building, 1 Cor. iii. 10, 11 ; 
 Eph. ii. 20, 21 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5. 
 
 The head and the members of the body, 1 Cor. xii. 
 12, 27; Eph. v. 30. 
 
 A husband and wife, Eph. v. 23 33. 
 
 MANY EXPRESSIONS of much significance are em- 
 ployed to represent the spiritual union of believers 
 with Christ, 
 
 7.
 
 354 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Christians are said to be 
 
 " In Christ" see Cone. ; as Rom. xvi. 7 ; 2 Cor 
 v. 17; xii. 2 ("a man in Christ"); partakers 01 
 Christ, Heb. iii. 6 ; married to Christ, Rom. vii. 4 ; 
 joined to Christ, 1 Cor. vi. 1 7 ; growing up into Christ, 
 Eph. iv. 15 ; abuling in Christ, John xv. 6 ; brethren 
 in the Lord, Phil. L 24. 
 
 So Christ is said to be " in us," Eph. iii. 17 ; CoL 
 L 27 ; Gal. iv. 19. 
 
 TOGKTHER WITH CHRIST. 
 
 The intimate and indissoluble union of believers 
 with Christ, is the golden band which runs through 
 every part of the believer's life. 
 
 " Dead with Him" (to the law the world and sin, &c.), 
 Rom. vi 8; they are "crucified" with Him, Gal. ii. 20; 
 " buried" with Him, Rom. vi. 4 ; " quickened " together, Eph. 
 ii. 5 ; " planted together," Rom. vL 5 ; "raited " together, Kph. 
 ii 5 ; CoL iii 1 ; "fitly framed together," Eph. ii. 21 ; made to 
 " sit together in heavenly places," Eph. ii. 5 ; tuffering with 
 Him, Rom. viii. 17 ; PhiL iii. 10 ; they "live" with Him, Gal. 
 ii 20 ; they are " complete in Him," CoL ii. 10 ; and shall for 
 ever " reign " with Him in His glorious kingdom, 2 Tim. ii 12 ; 
 Rom. vi 8 ; viii 17. 
 
 The same TYPES, FIGURES, and TITLES are in many 
 cases ascribed to the Lord Jesus and to His Church. 
 The golden candlestick doubtless represented Christ 
 as "the light of the world," Exod. xxv. 31. The 
 Lord Himself also referred the same figure to St. 
 John, as an emblem of the Church, Rev. i. 20. 
 
 "Israel" is applied to Christ as the "antitypical 
 Israel," Isa. xlix. 3 ; St. Paul uses it as designating 
 believers in Jesus, Gal. vi. 16. 
 
 Chrisfs own name is applied to the whole body 01 
 Christ's Church, 1 Cor. xii. 12. 
 
 " The Lord our righteousness," Jer. xxiii. 6 ; and 
 xxx iii. 16. 
 
 Many titles which are ascribed to the Lord Jesus 
 in the singular, are ascribed to His members in th
 
 SCKIPTTJEE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 355 
 
 plural. He is "the Branch" the " living Stone" 
 "the Son of God" the " Shepherd" the "King" 
 the " Servant," &c. They are made like unto Him 
 by virtue of a spiritual union : " He that is joined to 
 the Lord is one spirit," 1 Cor. vi. 17. 
 
 Acts ix. 4. " "Why persecutest thou me ? " 
 
 " The Head felt in heaven when the foot was trodden upon 
 on earth." See Col. i 24. 
 
 Heb. ii. 11. "He that sanctifieth and they who 
 .are sanctified are all of one." 
 One nature one family. 
 
 UNION OF SAINTS.** See Love Brotherly Love, 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 The body, which having many members feeble and 
 strong less and more honourable is still "fitly 
 framed" and "compacted together," Eom. xii. 4; 
 1 Cor. xii. 1227; Eph. iv. 1316. 
 
 The family of the redeemed, militant and glorified, 
 Eph. iii. 15. 
 
 A loaf the emblem alike of Christ's natural body, 
 broken for us, and of the united members of Christ's 
 mystical body many, but united, 1 Cor. x. 17. 
 
 A temple formed of living stones, built up upon the 
 " living stone," Eph. ii. 21 ; 1 Pet. ii. 4, 5. 
 
 A flock, with many folds, under the great and good 
 Shepherd's care, John x. 16. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS of union. 
 
 The curtains of the tabernacle, linked together by 
 golden taches, that it might be " one tabernacle," 
 Exod. xxvi. 1 11; xxxvi. 18. 
 
 The annual feasts of Israel helped largely to foster 
 the spirit of union. 
 
 The camp of Israel, gathered round the central 
 tabernacle, Num. ii.
 
 356 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 The one stick, which was the sign of the brother 
 hood of Ephraim and Judah, Ezek. xxxvil 19. 
 
 Christ's coat, " without seam, woven from the top 
 throughout," John xix. 23, 24. 
 
 EXPRESSIONS denoting the spiritual union of be- 
 lievers : 
 
 See Cone, under f ellowship agree " of the same mind " 
 " of one mind" " one spirit' " knit together" " builded to- 
 gether" "helping together" "striving together" joined 
 "perfectly together." 
 
 " Fellow-citizens" " fellow-heirs" "fellow-helpers" " fel- 
 low-labourers" " fellow-servant" " fellow-soldiers" " fellow- 
 workers." 
 
 " Union it strength." The Hebrew word for strength (S'PO 
 is derived from the verb to twist ; reminding us of the illustra- 
 tion of a twisted rope, the strength of many threads combined. 
 
 UNSELFISHNESS DISINTERESTEDNESS. 
 See Kindness Liberality Love Meekness Self-denial 
 -Zeal. 
 
 Enjoined and commended, Rom. xiL 10; xiv. 7, 
 13, 21 ; xv. 13 ; 1 Cor. x. 24 ; xii. 1427; xiii. 
 5 ; 2 Cor. v. 14, 15 ; Luke vi. 3235 ; xiv. 1214 ; 
 Phil. ii. 4 ; 1 Pet v. 2. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Al/ralmm. Though the elder and chief, giving Lot 
 the choice of the land, Gen. xiii. 8, 9 ; refusing to 
 take " from a thread to a shoelatchet" of the spoil, 
 Gen. xiv. 22, 23. It is well to observe how so noble 
 a spirit was in each case rewarded, Gen. xiii. 14 18; 
 xv. 1. 
 
 Moses. We cannot but mark the entire absence of 
 all care to make provision for himself and for his 
 family in Moses ; even declining God's offer for his 
 own advancement, Exod. xxxii. 10, 32 ; Num. xiv. 
 1 1 19 ; also, his freedom from anything like jealousy, 
 Num. xi. L'G 29 ; see the testimony, Heb. xi. 24, 25. 
 
 Joseph. With all the money, cattle, and property
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 357 
 
 that passed through his hands in Egypt, Joseph seems 
 never to have sought advancement for himself; nor 
 to secure places of rich emolument for his brethren. 
 
 Joshua divided the land to the tribes, but observe 
 how he waited till the end, till his own lot was fixed 
 and then he was content with Timnath-serah, a small 
 place of no note, in a rough, mountainous part of the 
 country, where he had to build or rebuild the city. 
 It was a humble portion for so great a leader, but it 
 was in his own tribe, and not far from Shiloh, where 
 the ark was ; and he sought no more, Joshua xix. 
 49, 50 ; xxiv. 30. 
 
 Gideon, declining the offer of royal dignity, Judges 
 viii. 22, 23. 
 
 Jonathan a beautiful example of unselfish love. 
 He knew that David was to supersede him in the 
 throne, yet there was no jealousy in his mind, 1 Sam. 
 xviii. 1 4 ; xix. ; xx. 
 
 David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 15 17; 1 Chron. xxi. 17; 
 2 Sam. xxiv. 22. 
 
 Solomon, 1 Kings iii. 5 13. 
 Elisha, 2 Kings v. 15, 16. 
 The pious Shunammite, 2 Kings iv. 1 3. 
 Daniel, v. 16, 17. 
 Nehemiah, v. 14, 15. 
 John the Baptist, John iii. 29, 30 
 The Apostles. It should not be forgotten, how en- 
 tirely free they were from seeking their own interests 
 in the organization of the early Church, Acts ii. 44, 
 45 ; iv. 34, 35. The choice of the seven " deacons," 
 xvi. 1 6, apparently from the Grecians, the very 
 party in which the murmuring had arisen, is a not- 
 able instance. Cf. also Peter's poverty, iv. 6, with 
 viii. 1820. 
 
 St. Paul a noble example of unselfishness. He 
 never coveted riches, Acts xx. 33 ; but rather worked 
 for his own support, xx. 31 ; 1 Cor. iv. 12 ; '2 The PS.
 
 358 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 iii. 8; enduring hardships, privation, and perils, 
 2 Cor. xi 23 30 ; willing to sacrifice personal liberty 
 and apostolic right, if for the cause of Christ and the 
 good of souls, 1 Cor. viii. 13; ix. 1 23; x. 33; 
 2 Cor. xi. 7 12 ; xil 14, 16. See the noble yearn- 
 ings of his burning zeal, Rom. ix. 1 3 ; Phil. i. 
 18, 19. 
 
 Timothy, Phil, il 21, 22. 
 
 THE LORD JKSUS Himself the perfect example of 
 holy, unselfish love. See Zeal. John v. 30 ; vi. 38 ; 
 Acts x. 38 ; in the one great sacrifice of His life, 
 John xv. 13. Often weary in body, the Lord was 
 never weary of doing good ; to the last, in all the 
 extremity of the cross, He thought of others, John 
 xviii. 8 ; Luke xxiii. 34 ; John xix. 26, 27. St. Paul 
 gives a beautiful epitome of Christ's life, when lie 
 says, " even Christ pleased not Himself," Rom. xv. 3. 
 
 UNSTABLE. See Backsliding Double-mindedness 
 Temporary. (Contrast Steadfastness.) 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 The wavfj of the sea, " driven with the wind and 
 tossed," James L 6 ; cf. Isa. Ivii. 20. 
 
 A reed shaken with the wind, Matt. xi. 7. 
 
 Children " tossed to and fro," with no firmness of 
 will, Eph. iv. 14. 
 
 Chaff, Ps. L 4. (The psalmist refers not to the 
 great day of sifting only, but to the present instabi- 
 lity and lightness of the ungodly,) 
 
 " Given to change" Prov. xxiv. 21 ; Jer. ii. 36 ; 
 " soon shaken" 2 Thess. ii. 2 ; " easily beguiled" 2 Pet. 
 ii. 14; "of doubtful (fluctuating) mind," Luke xii. 
 29 ; "carried about with divers and strange doctrines," 
 Heb. xiit 9. 
 
 HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The fickleness of Israel throughout their history.
 
 SCKIPTUKE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 359 
 
 quickly " turning aside " to murmuring and idolatry. 
 Read Ps. Ixxviii. and cvi. as a sad epitome. 
 
 The Galatian Church, planted by St. Paul, at first 
 fired with the greatest enthusiasm, see iv. 14, 15 ; 
 yet " so soon removed " from the truth, i. 6 ; easily 
 "bewitched" or fascinated by the subtle power of 
 evil leaders, iii. 1 \ ready to turn again to Judaism, 
 iv. 920. 
 
 The fickleness of popular feeling, Acts xiv. 11 13, 
 and 19, 20; Acts xxviii. 4 6. 
 
 UPHOLDING. 
 
 Each person of the Blessed Trinity is referred to. 
 
 God the Father, Hosea xi. 3, as a parent tenderly 
 trains a child to walk ; see Ps. cxlv. 14. 
 
 God the Son, Heb. i. 3, " upholding all things ; " 
 Rev. ii. 1, "holding the seven stars." The same 
 Greek verb is used, Heb. ii. 16, and Matt. xiv. 31. 
 
 God the Holy Spirit, Rom. viii. 26. " The Spirit 
 helpeth our infirmities." The word means, takes 
 hold of with us, as when one helps another to carry a 
 heavy burden ; see the prayer, Ps. Ii. 10. 
 
 Cant. viii. 3. Leaning on the Beloved. 
 
 The strongest ivy cannot stand without a lean-to. 
 
 2 Cor. iv. 9. " Cast down, but not destroyed." 
 
 Cf. Ps. xxxvii 23, 24 ; Ixxiii. 2, 23 ; xciv. 18 ; Micah vii. 8. 
 See Cone, under hold up hold fast keep strengthen lift 
 up able not slip stumble fall, &c. 
 
 VANITY.** See Ambition Covetousness Pleasure 
 Pride (Downfall of) Riches Sin (Deceivableness 
 of}. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Fading flowers, Isa. xxviii. 1. 
 
 Hasty fruit of summer, Isa. xxviii. 1 ; no sooner 
 discovered than gathered and eaten.
 
 360 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Broken cisterns that can retain no water, Jer. ii. 23. 
 
 Perishing gourds, like Jonah's, iv. 6 10. 
 
 Reeds, easily bruised and broken, a vain support to 
 lean upon, Isa. xxxvi. 6. 
 
 Brooks in summer vanishing in the heat, dried up 
 when most needed, Job vi 15 17. 
 
 Cockatrice (marg., adders') eggs, Isa. lix. 5. 
 
 Spiders' trebs, Isa. lix. 5, 6. 
 
 Vapawr or breath, James iv. 14. 
 
 The mirage of the desert, Isa. xxxv. 7 ; the waters 
 that fail and cheat the traveller, Jer. xv. 18. 
 
 Wind, Prov. xi 29, inheriting; Eccles. v. 16, labour- 
 ing for; Hosea viii. 7, sowing. See Cone. 
 
 Feeding on ashes, Isa. xliv. 20; on husks, Luke 
 xv. 16 ; on wind, Hosea xii. 1. 
 
 Putting wages into a bag with holes, Haggai i. 6. 
 
 Labouring in the very fire, Hub. ii. 13. Ct. Isa. Ivii. 
 10. 
 
 Itejoicing in a thing of nought, Amos vi. 13. 
 
 Physicians of no value, Job xiii. 4. See Cone, under 
 vain. (It is marvellous how many persons and tilings 
 are spoken of as vain.) 
 
 The BOOK of ECCLESIASTES the sober judgment 
 of wisdom upon vanity the verdict repeated five 
 times, " Vanity of vanities ;" the very essence of dis- 
 appointment and vexation " all is vanity," chap. L 
 3, 14; iii. 19; XL 8; xii 8. 
 
 Gen. iv. 2. 
 
 Eve's first non she called Cain (possession) . the neoond AU-1 
 (a mist or vapour, i.e., vanity). 
 
 Ps. xxxix. 6. 
 
 The threefold vanity of this world the vanity of pomp, care, 
 riches ; and the verdict is related and expanded, ver. f>, 11, 
 " Verily (without doubt), every man at hU best ewtato (the 
 flower in its gayest beauty) is altogether (in totty) vanity." 'Tif 
 vain to look for substance from a world of shadows.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF TIIE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 See two striking texts, Job xv. 13; Jonah ii. 8. 
 To follow shadows must be a weary chase. 
 
 VICISSITUDES UNCERTAINTY and CHANGES 
 OF LIFE. See Strangers Vanity. 
 
 How strikingly we find this characteristic of man's 
 life marked in 
 
 (1.) Many of the most prominent characters of Scrip- 
 ture, even among God's eminent saints. 
 
 Cf. the histories of Job, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, 
 Hezekiah ; most of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel ; the 
 apostles, nearly all of whom led wandering lives ; and, in the 
 end, according to history, died violent deaths. 
 
 (2.) The kings of Israel and Judah. 
 
 Saul raised unexpectedly from his father's house to the 
 throne ; anointed, rejected, after many changes dying in the 
 battle-field by his own hand ; Jeroboam, raised from being a 
 servant to be a king ; Manasseh, from a prison to a palace ; 
 Zedekiah, from a palace to a prison. 
 
 (3.) Some of the Books of Scripture. 
 
 Genesis describes the creation of the world, describes its de- 
 struction by the flood, the patriarchs' wandering, the chequered 
 history of Joseph and his family. 
 
 Exodus, the departing of Israel from Egypt. 
 
 Numbers, their constant changes and fresh removes, see chap, 
 xxxiii. ; forty-two removes in forty years, and probably not every 
 place named at which they pitched. 
 
 Ruth. 
 
 Psalms. " I do so like the ups and downs in the Psalms. " 
 A. L. Newton. 
 
 Ecdesiastes. Solomon's judgment, "time and chance hap- 
 peneth to all" See ii. 18 21 ; iii. ; v. 1317 ; vii. 14 ; ix. 
 11, 12 ; x. 6, 7 ; xi. 7, 8. 
 
 Gen. xxvii. 44. " Tarry a few days." 
 
 Eebekah's design for Jacob "a few days." So we propose. 
 But how was it ? The " few days " proved to be twenty years, 
 and Rebekah never met her exiled son again. 
 
 Gen. xxxv. 14 20. 
 
 Two pillars in the same chapter a pillar of mercy, and a 
 pillar of mortality.
 
 362 SCRIPTURE ITSELF T11E ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 ExocL L 8. "There arose up a new king over 
 Egypt, which knew not Joseph." 
 
 Ruth L 19." Is this Naomi ?" 
 
 Changed so much and so soon ! from Naomi (pleasantness) 
 to Marah (bitter). 
 
 Job. L xlii. 
 
 Could any history be more tragic ! The reverses of Job's 
 fortunes, from the most unbounded prosperity to accumulated 
 sorrow ; and then back again, from unparalleled calamity to the 
 full tide of restored prosperity. 
 
 Dan. ii. 49 ; iii 
 
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego first promoted, then in 
 apparent certainty of death, then again promoted. 
 
 Acts xxvii. 6 ; xxviii. 11. 
 
 Two ships of Alexandria, in which St. Paul sailed. The one 
 was wrecked, the other had a safe and prosperous voyage. 
 
 Acts xiv. 11, 19 ; xxviii. 4, 6. 
 The uncertainty of popular feeling. 
 
 2 Cor. vL 5. " In tumults " " tossings to and fro," 
 marg. 
 
 Even the best are, in this world's voyage, still upon the 
 waters, and must expect the rising and falling waves. 
 
 James iv. 14. " What is your life 1 ? It is even a 
 vapour." 
 
 A mist of the morning, an airy cA>ud, uncertain in its course 
 changing in its appearance, and transient in its duration. 
 
 VICTORY OF THE SAINTa 
 
 EMBLEMS. 
 
 Palm branches, Rev. vii. 9. 
 
 Crowns. See Crown. 
 
 Riding in triumph, as ancient victors were wont K> 
 do, leading their captives in chains, and scattering 
 incense and precious gifts in their triumphant pro- 
 gress, 2 Cor. ii. 14.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 363 
 
 Putting the feet upon the necks of vanquished foes, 
 as Josh. x. 24. 
 
 Treading under foot, as ashes, Mai. iv. 3 ; as the 
 mire of the streets, Micah vii. 10 ; Zech. x. 5. See 
 Ps. xlvii. 3 ; Rom. xvi. 20 ; Rev. xii. 1. 
 
 Sitting on thrones, Matt. xix. 28 ; Rev. xx. 4. 
 
 THE VICTORIES of ISRAEL over their many enemies 
 in the wilderness and in Canaan were, no doubt, 
 symbolical of the spiritual victories of Christ's Church 
 and people. See Warfare. Israel's victory was de- 
 signed to be complete and triumphant ; see Deut. vii. 
 24 ; xi. 22 25 ; Josh. x. 8 ; and it might have been, 
 Deut. ii. 36. It was only when their faith and courage 
 failed, that they were overcome. 
 
 SOME of the most wonderful deeds- have been 
 achieved by humble means, Moses' rod, Shamgar's 
 ox-goad, Samson's jawbone, Gideon's lamps and 
 pitchers, David's sling and stones ; so in the victories 
 of the saints. 
 
 ST. PAUL. Many noble apostrophes are found 
 in St. Paul's Epistles of the victories God's saints 
 obtain. 
 
 Rom. vii. 24, 25. The victory of Divine grace over indwell- 
 ing sin. 
 
 2 Cor. ii. 14. Our triumph in Christ over opposition to spiri- 
 tual work. 
 
 Rom. viii. 37. Our being made "more than conquerors" 
 over every impediment to "the love of Christ." 
 
 1 Cor. xv. 54 57 ; Isa. xxv. 8. Over the last enemy, and 
 "king of terrors." 
 
 To HIM THAT OVERCOMETH. See the rich and 
 blessed promises addressed to each of the Seven 
 Churches, Rev. ii., iii. 
 
 WAITING HOLY. See Rope Patience. 
 Described as waiting upon God, and waiting for
 
 364 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 God's mercy ; the waiting of devotion, and the wait- 
 ing of patience. 
 
 COMPARED to the waiting of 
 
 Servants for their master's eye, Ps. cxxiiL 2 ; for 
 their lord's return, Luke xii. 36. 
 
 Husbandmen for the early and latter rain, James 
 v. 7. 
 
 Those that stretch out the neck, anxiously looking for 
 some expected good, Rom. viii. 19 (Greek) ; waiting 
 till the "eye fails," Ps. box. 3; cxix. 82, 123; Isa. 
 xxx viii. 14. 
 
 Those who wait for the dawn of morning, Ps. cxxx. 5, 
 like travellers on the weary road ; the sick on their 
 bed of pain, Job vii. 4 ; or the priests and Levites in 
 their temple-watches ; or the city watchmen, waiting 
 to be relieved from duty. 
 
 Those that wait at the. Temple gates, Prov. viii. 34. 
 
 THE BELIEVER'S trustful and patient waiting upon 
 God is expressed in many ways. 
 
 " Commit thy work," Prov. xvi. 3 ; " thy ways " 
 " unto the Lord," Ps. xxxvii. 5; " cast (roll, marg.) thy 
 burden," Ps. Iv. 22 ; casting " every care," 1 Pet. v. 
 7, on Him ; resting, Ps. xxxvii. 7 ; staying, Isa. xxvi. 
 3 ; looking turning seeking calling expecting. 
 See Cone, under those and similar words. 
 
 Exod. xiv. 13. "Stand still, and see the salvation 
 of the Lord." 
 
 God's people are often called to "stand still ;" but it is not 
 lost time, if it be to see " the salvation of the Lord." Times of 
 seeming inaction are sometimes God's choice times of prepara- 
 tion for coming mercies. See the beautiful instance, Ruth iii. 
 18. 
 
 Num. ix. 15 23. 
 
 Waiting for the pillar of cloud to move. Observe how re- 
 gardless of time it was, " whether it were two days, or a month, 
 or a year ; " all was right that the Lord ordered.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 365 
 
 Ps. cxix. 84, " How many are the days (of wait- 
 ing) of thy servant ?" 
 
 It is not the intensity, but rather the duration, of trial, that 
 most wears out the patience of the saints, Dan. vii. 25. 
 
 Matt. xiv. 19. Waiting to be fed. 
 
 A picture of the obedience and expectation of faith. The 
 Lord commanded the people to sit down. There were no loaded 
 waggons, no well-spread tables ; they were only told to wait. 
 
 EXAMPLES of patient waiting in times of trial and 
 suspense. 
 
 Noah, a silent prisoner one year and ten days, 
 having had no pre-intimation how long his imprison- 
 ment was to last. 
 
 Abraham, kept waiting twenty-five years, after re- 
 ceiving the promise of a numerous seed; fourteen 
 years after the birth of Ishmael, till all human pro- 
 bability seemed gone, Gen. xvii. 1 7 ; xviii. 1 1 ; Rom. 
 iv. 1722. 
 
 Isaac, childless till sixty, after waiting twenty 
 years, Gen. xxv. 20, 21. 
 
 Jacob, childless till eighty-three, tried by twenty 
 years' exile ; but how beautiful were his last words, 
 Gen. xlix. 18. 
 
 Joseph, two years in prison, thirteen years till he 
 stood before Pharaoh, eighteen before his eyes be- 
 held his venerable father, see Ps. cv. 19. 
 
 Moses, eighty years before his mission began. 
 
 David, seven years after being anointed king be- 
 fore he received the throne of Judah, and other 
 seven more before he was made king of all Israel, 
 2 Sam. v. 15. 
 
 The little band waiting for the Lord's advent ; 
 Simeon " waiting for the consolation of Israel ;" Anna 
 speaking of Him to all who " looked for redemption 
 in Jerusalem," Luke ii. 25, 38 ; " Joseph of Arima- 
 thea," Mark xv. 43. 
 
 The impotent man at Bethesda, thirty-eight years of
 
 366 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 infirmity, and now waiting, almost hopelessly, at 
 Bethesda's pool. It was a gloomy prospect. The 
 angel came but once a year ; the time was uncertain, 
 and without previous warning ; and then he was 
 helpless, friendless, powerless ; still he waited, and 
 the cure came, though not as he expected. 
 
 The disciples waiting for Pentecost, a beautiful 
 lesson on waiting, Acts L 4. They were waiting in 
 an appointed place, for an appointed time, and upon 
 a certain promise. The early Church beautifully 
 called this week Expectation Week. 
 
 St. Paul had to wait eight or nine years from his 
 conversion till his special call to missionary work was 
 given, Acts xiii. 2. 
 
 The LORD JESUS, Himself an example of patient 
 waiting, waiting for the h'rst thirty years of His 
 earthly life in retirement, and then waiting for the 
 appointed " hour " of suffering and of victory. 
 
 WALKING HOLY. 
 
 See Cone, for the great variety of expressions which describe 
 the holy walk of saints, walking in the Lord in the light in 
 the truth, &c. And also similar expressions, Following the Lord 
 Running "the footsteps of the flock" step path way 
 feet, Ac. 
 
 There are three expressions used of the holy walk- 
 ing of believers 
 
 Walking before God, Gen. xvii. 1 ; said of Abra- 
 ham. 
 
 Walking with God, Gen. v. 24 ; vi. 9 ; Enoch and 
 Noah. 
 
 Walking after God, Deut. xiii. 4 ; Israel. 
 
 The figures remind us of the position of a child, a 
 friend, a servant, or of the stars and satellites revolv- 
 ing round a planet, sometimes seen before, sometimes 
 behind, and sometimes at the side, yet, in every case, 
 maintaining its due relation to the central orb.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 367 
 
 Gen. v. 24; vi. 9. Enoch Noah "walked with 
 God." 
 
 The beautiful description given of these two ancient and 
 honoured saints ; and, if we remember the days in which they 
 lived, and the few privileges they possessed, what a precious 
 testimony it is to exalted piety and calm and steady holiness ! 
 
 Ps. xxvi. 1, 11. "I have walked .... I will walk 
 .... in my integrity." 
 
 The believer's steadfastness of holy walking. 
 
 Gal. v. 15. " If we live, .... let us also walk." 
 
 Does not this imply that walking in the Spirit is a higher 
 state than living in the Spirit ? All believers are presumed to 
 live, but to walk in the Spirit, is to give full evidence of life by 
 activity, and power, and progress. 
 
 Eph. v. 2 ; viii. 15. 
 
 St. Paul gives here three simple rules for holy walking 
 " Walk in love " " walk as children of light " " walk circum- 
 spectly." 
 
 WARFAKE SPIRITUAL. See Boldness Difficul- 
 ties Strength Victory. 
 
 FIGURES of Christian warfare. 
 
 Fighting, 2 Cor. vii. 5 ; Heb. xi. 34 ; 1 Tim. vi. 12. 
 " Fight the good fight of faith " (literally, " strive the 
 good strife, agonize the good agony") ; cf. 2 Tim. iv. 
 7 ; Col. i 29, Greek. 
 
 Pairing a good warfare, 1 Tim. i. 18. 
 
 The athletic contests, so common in ancient Greece, 
 to succeed in which the competitors exercised the 
 strictest self-denial, and underwent the most rigorous 
 training, 1 Cor. ix. 24 27. 
 
 Racing, 1 Cor. ix. 26 ; 2 Tim. iv. 7 ; Heb. xii. 1. 
 
 Wrestling, 1 Cor. ix. 26 ("every man that striveth 
 for the mastery " most probably refers to this), Eph. 
 vi 12. 
 
 Striving together, Phil. i. 29. 
 
 Resisting unto blood, Heb. xii. 4.
 
 368 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Laying hold grasping the prize, 1 Tim. vi 12, 19. 
 
 THE WARFARE of ISRAEL in the wilderness and in 
 Canaan may be aptly regarded as an illustration of 
 the warfare of the Church of Christ, and of personal 
 Christian warfare. 
 
 The number and variety of their enemies, coming from every 
 quarter, Egypt, Amalek, Moab, Ammon, the Giants, Ac. 
 
 The ffreatneti of their power, as in the case, e.g., of Og, king of 
 Bashan, the huge giant, nine feet high, or more, with his sixty 
 walled cities, and many unwalled, " the land of giants," Deut. 
 iii. 1 1 4 ; of Sihon, king of the Amorites, " whose height was 
 like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oak," 
 Amos ii. 9 ; and others. 
 
 The victory, promised and often obtained by Israel, Deut. i. 
 7, 8, 21 ; iii. 2 ; Josh. L 3, 6 ; gained when they went forth in 
 faith, lost when they gave way to unbelief, or were under the 
 power of unpurged sin. 
 
 " Jehovah-nissi," the Lord my banner, Exod. xvii 
 15 (marg.), 16. 
 
 The name of the altar Moses built, after the first victory 
 Israel gained. 
 
 " The sword of the Lord and of Gideon" Judges vii. 1 8. 
 Fighting in faith ; putting faith in God first. See Ps. cxliv. 
 3, 6, 8, 14 ; ix. 6. 
 
 David's sling and stone, 1 Sam. xvii. 
 
 The whole conflict of David, the stripling with Goliath the 
 giant, is an admirable illustration of the "holy war." The 
 heading of the chapter says, " Without armour, armed by faith, 
 he slayeth the giant." 
 
 CONSECRATED ARMOUR. The Christian fights with 
 consecrated armour. "The whole armour of God" 
 is provided to every part of the body but the back, 
 Eph. vi 10 19; "the armour of light," Rom. xiii. 
 12 ; "the armour of righteousness on the right hand 
 and on the left," 2 Cor. vl 7. 
 
 WARNINGS. See Affliction, Impenitence under. 
 God seldom strikes but He first warns. The flash
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 369 
 
 is seen before the shot. And to the wise, premoni- 
 tions are premunitions; forewarned forearmed. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The bow bent before the arrow is discharged, Ps. 
 vii. 12 ; xxi. 12. 
 
 The sword sharpened and pointed before the stroke 
 is inflicted, Ezek. xxi. 9 15. 
 
 The axe laid to the root of the trees before the arm 
 is lifted up to. strike, Matt. iii. 10. 
 
 NOTABLE WARNINGS. 
 
 Sodom and Gomorrha, Jude 7; Lot's wife, Luke 
 xvii. 32 ; Miriam, Deut. xxiv. 9 ; Korah and his com- 
 pany, Num. xxvi. 10. 
 
 Absalom's pillar, 2 Sam. xviii. 18, which, though 
 reared to be a memorial of his name and honour, be- 
 came the memorial of his disgrace. The Jews used 
 always to cast a stone at it when they passed by, in 
 token of their abhorrence of his unnatural sin. 
 
 The ruins of fallen cities, palaces, &c. 
 
 The Jews in their dispersion, Rom. xi. 21. 
 
 Two FACTS are very noteworthy in connection with 
 the subject of Divine warnings. 
 
 (1.) The condescension with which God has gra- 
 ciously and repeatedly warned nations Churches 
 sinners, of approaching judgment ; as in the case of 
 Pharaoh the seven nations of Canaan Israel 
 Judah (see the prophecies from Isaiah to Malachi) 
 the seven Churches, &c. 
 
 (2.) The very few cases recorded in which such 
 warnings have stayed those who were bent on sin. 
 The Lord Himself warned Peter of his fall, and the 
 disciples of their desertion, and Judas of his treach- 
 ery ; Paul warned Felix ; yet, except in the case of 
 Nineveh, how few have heard the voice of warning 
 and escaped the danger threatened. 
 
 Mark xii. 12. " Our Lord's later parables appear 
 
 2 A
 
 370 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 to have been designedly made clearer than the earlier 
 ones ; so that even they who were most blinded by 
 prejudice could not fail to see their meaning ; they 
 were warned by Him even to the end." Bishop 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 WATCHFULNESS. See Waiting. 
 
 Angels are supposed to be meant by the title 
 "watchers," Dan. iv. 13, 17, 23. 
 
 The saints are commanded to uxiich, Matt. xxiv. 
 42 ; Mark xiil 37 j 1 Pet. iv. 7 ; v. 6 ; Rev. iii 2. 
 
 Evil men are, alas, too frequently melancholy ex- 
 amples of unwearying vigilance ! They " watch for 
 iniquity," Isa. xxix. 20; Ps. x. 8 10; xxxvii. 32; 
 Jer. v. 26 ; Hosea xiii. 7. See how keenly the 
 Psalmist ielt the watchfulness of his " observers" Ps. 
 v. 8 ; xxvii. 11 ; liv. 5 ; Ivi 2 ; lix. 10, margins ; like 
 Doeg and Saul ; or cf. the Jews lying in wait for 
 Paul, Acts ix. 25 ; xxv. 3 ; and even His enemies for 
 the Blessed Lord Himself, Luke xi. 54 ; xxii. 6. 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 41. " Watch and pray." 
 
 " Watchfulness without prayer is presumption ; prayer with- 
 out watchfulness is hypocrisy. By the first a man invades* God's 
 part in His great work ; and by the latter he neglects his own. 
 Prayer not assisted by practice is laziness, and contradicted by 
 practise is hypocrisy.'' South. 
 
 Matt. xiii. 25. "While men slept." Prov. xix. 16 ; 
 xvi 17, the need of watchfulness; Ps. cxix. 101; 
 
 xx xix. 1. 
 
 WEAKNESS INFIRMITY OF GOD'S PEOPLE. See 
 Inability. 
 
 See Cone, under faint feeble small infirmity 
 weak weary. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 A bruised reed a thing at the best pliable weak
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 371 
 
 powerless to resist ; much more a reed when bruised 
 and drooping, Isa. xlii 3 ; Matt. xii. 20. 
 
 Babes little children, 1 Cor. iii. 1 ; xiii. 11 ; Heb. 
 v. 13 ; 1 Pet. ii. 2 ; 1 John ii. 13. 
 
 Lambs, Isa. xl. 11 ; John xxi. 15 (the word here 
 means little delicate lambs.) 
 
 Sheep, Ps. cxix. 176; Isa. liii. 6; John x. 14; 
 xxi. 16. 
 
 Doves turtle doves, timid and trembling, Ps. Ixxiv. 
 19; Hos. vii. 11; xi. 11. 
 
 Worms, Isa. xli. 14. "Jacob" in his low estate 
 " thou worm Jacob," feeble and trampled upon, yet 
 acknowledged by God " worms," but not vipers. 
 
 God's ; ' little ones," so called twice in Zechariah; xii. 
 8, xiii. 8 ; and four times in St. Matthew ; x. 42 ; 
 xviii. 6, 10, 14. 
 
 The lame and halting, Micah iv. 6 ; Zeph. iii. 19 ; 
 Heb. xii. 13. 
 
 Weak hands, hanging down, and feeble knees, (the 
 hands of action and knees of prayer), Isa. xxxv. 3 ; 
 Heb. xii. 12 (cf. Exod. xii. 12 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 2.) 
 
 Feeble-minded and faint-hearted, 1 Thess. v. 1 4 (lite- 
 rally, of little soul.) 
 
 Faintness without might, Isa. xl. 29. 
 
 The day of small things, Zech. iv. 10. 
 
 Old bottles and worn-out garments. The heading of 
 Luke v. in our English Bibles says, He " likeneth 
 faint-hearted and weak disciples to old bottles and 
 worn garments." 
 
 The lowest stage of the believer's groAvth, when faith 
 is " as a grain of mustard seed," Mark iv. 31 ; and the 
 seed of the Divine word has only brought "the blade," 
 Mark iv. 28, or the state of thirty-fold fruitfulness, 
 Matt. xiii. 8. 
 
 The feeble and less honourable members of the body, 
 1 Cor. xii. 22, 23.
 
 372 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 The vessels of wood and earth in the " great house," 
 2 Tim. ii. 20. 
 
 Every branch in the Fine, John xv. 1, 2. " The very 
 weakest, little, shivering, trembling tendril of the 
 living Vine is as secure as the Son of God Himself." 
 Krause. 
 
 A novice (Greek, one newly planted), 1 Tim. iii. 6. 
 
 Of GOD'S MINISTERS. 
 
 Earthen vessels of fragile clay, soon marred or 
 broken, 2 Cor. iv. 7. 
 
 Of the CHURCH. Very many of the emblems of the 
 Church are taken from mean and lowly things the 
 burning bush the vine dove black tents of Kedar. 
 
 FOUR THINGS may be noted in reading the histories 
 of God's saints. (1.) How many of the best of men 
 have been guilty of the worst of sins. (2.) How some 
 who are acknowledged as being saints are known to us 
 in the Old Testament chiefly by the record of their 
 falls (as Lot, Samson, Jonah.) (3.) How impartially 
 the sacred writers record their own sins. (4.) How 
 in some cases the woundings of sin, are followed so 
 beautifully by the records of the dealings of Divine 
 grace. 
 
 Ps. ciii. 14. "He knoweth our frame." 
 
 " In his utmost weakness, the fainting believer may feel as- 
 sured that he has the compassion of God the Father, Ps. ciii. 13, 
 14 ; the sympathy of God the Son, Heb. iv. 15 ; ii. 18 ; the help 
 of God the Holy Spirit, Rom. viii 26. 
 
 Rev. iil 8. " Thou hast a little strength." 
 
 A solemn word to the Philadelphia Church. (1.) Be thank- 
 ful for even " a little strength ;" see how the Lord takes know- 
 ledge, cf. 2 Chron. xix. 3 ; xxxiv. 27 ; Ps. i 6. (2.) BeAwmWerf 
 and stirred up " a little strength," and why not more T 
 
 Judges viii. 4. " Faint, yet pursuing." 
 
 Heb. xi. 34. " Out of weakness were made strong.' 
 
 The common and bletsed experience of God's feeble saint*.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 373 
 
 " The lame take the prey," Isa. xxxiii 23 ; and often even 
 " leap as a hart," xxxv. 6 ; cf. Acts iii. 8. 
 
 St. PAUL. None of his letters contain such fre- 
 quent allusion to weakness and infirmity as his two 
 Epistles to the Corinthians ; yet none are written in 
 a bolder style, none are more full of sympathy and 
 encouragement for the weak. Four times does the 
 Apostle express with unusual solemnity his determi- 
 nation to "glory" and "take pleasure" "in infirmi- 
 ties," 2 Cor. xi. 30; xii 5, 9, 10. See Cone, under 
 weak infirmities, for several and beautiful refer- 
 ences. 
 
 The LORD JESUS. What inexpressible precious- 
 ness there is in realising this part of the Lord's priestly 
 office ! He is ever ready to sympathise with His 
 people, and yet able to succour them in their infirmi- 
 ties. The word (Heb. iv. 15) is one of inimitable 
 beauty. The Greek is exactly unable to " sympa- 
 thise ;" our version has expressed it with the deepest 
 tenderness "which awnot be touched with the, feeling 
 of our infirmities." Cf. another text, 1 Cor. viii. 11, 
 " the weak brother, for whom Christ died ;" Rom. 
 v. 6, " when we were yet without strength (the same 
 Greek word) Christ died for the ungodly ;" Rom. xvi. 
 1 3. And yet, Jesus gently chides weak faith. 
 Four times in St. Matthew does the expression occur 
 as one of gentle remonstrance, " ye of little faith," 
 Matt. vi. 30 ; viii. 26 ; xiv. 31 ; xvi 8. 
 
 WORLD, THE. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS of the world, especially as the snare 
 of the Church and the enemy of true godliness. From 
 the first, this has always been the Church's danger, 
 the want of separation and surrender of worldly 
 things. 
 
 Sodom was the world's great snare to Lot, when he
 
 374 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 forsook Abraham in his pilgrim course, to pitch to- 
 wards Sodom, and then to dwell and settle in the 
 guilty city. See Sin, Progress of. 
 
 Egypt was Israel's snare, from the time of their 
 leaving it all through their history. In the wilder- 
 ness they were often longing to go back, Exod. xvi. 3 ; 
 Num. xi. 4, 5, 18; xiv. 14; Neh. ix. 17. In the 
 time of their kings, they constantly sought help from 
 thence, and made alliances ; and much of their idola- 
 try was the result of what they had seen there, and 
 should have hated, as the people of the one true God. 
 
 The wilderness, through which Israel passed to Ca- 
 naan, is made the illustration of the world, Cant. iii. 
 6 ; v. 5. 
 
 The Canaanitfs, the original possessors of the land, 
 whom Israel was so slow to dispossess. We may 
 well compare the worldly compliance of too many 
 Christians of the present day, with Israel's treatment 
 of these cursed nations, see Judges i. 19 35. It was 
 deemed enough to allow those whom the Lord had 
 devoted to destruction to remain, and become tribu- 
 taries to Israel! "The Canaanites would dwell in 
 that land," ver. 28 ; " the Amorites would dwell in 
 Mount Heres," ver. 35 ; and Israel wjis content to 
 have it so ! 
 
 Jericho, "the city of palm trees" and of fragrance 
 fair and pleasant ; another representation of the 
 world, which the Church is to conquer and over- 
 come. 
 
 Babylon the " gilded," see Rev. xvii. 4, margin, the 
 opposite to " Jerusalem the golden ;" the personifica- 
 tion of the last great apostasy ; the consummation of 
 worldliness and luxury combined with bitter hatred 
 to the truth of God, Rev. xvii., xviii. 
 
 See in Cone. " the spirit of the world" " the course 
 of the world" "the fashion of the world" " the 
 lust of the world" how "the prince of this world"
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 375 
 
 reigns and rules through all, animating " the men of 
 the world" "the children of this world" "the 
 friendship of the world," &c. 
 
 Christ's people are " chosen out of the world " 
 "dead to the world" "crucified" "unspotted." 
 Their mission is to be " the salt of the earth ;" to 
 shine as lights of the world ; to " use the world as 
 not abusing (more literally, not over much using) it." 
 
 Our LORD'S TEACHING was all through one con- 
 tinued protest against the evil of the world. See this 
 especially set forth in the Sermon on the Mount and 
 throughout the Gospel of St. John, where "the world" 
 is generally found as opposed to the truth. 
 
 May we not take, as an illustration of sinful alliance with 
 the world on the part of God's servants, David's residence in the 
 court and camp of Achish ? See 1 Sam. xxvii. xxix. What 
 trouble and shame it brought upon him ; and how he was sus- 
 pected and discarded by the Philistines, who said, " What do 
 these Hebrews here ? xxix. 3. Read 2 Cor. vi. 14 16 ; Rom. 
 xii. 2 ; Jaines iv. 4. 
 
 WRATH DIVINE. See Curse. 
 
 Trace in Cone, under anger fury fierceness in- 
 dignation vengeance, &c. 
 
 FIGURES and ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Burning heat. " Hot anger," Judges ii. 14, 20 ; 
 iii. 8; x. 7; "hot displeasure," Deut. ix. 19; the 
 anger and jealousy of the Lord smoking against sin- 
 ners, Deut. xxix. 20 ; " fiery indignation" (the terrible 
 anger of insulted mercy), Heb. x. 27. Cf. the fire OH 
 the altar that consumed the sacrifices ; the fire of the 
 last great day of the Lord. 
 
 The vintage winepress wine, used especially in 
 the Book of Revelation. 
 
 Vials "full of the wrath of God," Rev. xv. 7, 16 : 
 the concentration of Divine fury. 
 
 The cup of fury dregs of the cup of trembling,
 
 376 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Jer. xxv. 15, 17; Zech. xii. 2; Rev. xiv. 10; xvi 
 19 ; xviii. 6. 
 
 " Vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction," Rom. ix. 22. 
 
 " Children of wrath" Eph. ii. 8. " Children" by 
 generation and by nature, inheriting and deserving 
 wrath ; born " children of Abraham," and yet " chil- 
 dren of wrath" till born again. 
 
 " The day of wrath," Rom. il 6 ; Rev. vi 17. (Ob- 
 serve how three times in Isaiah " the day of ven- 
 geance" is contrasted with "the year of the re- 
 deemed," xxxi v. 8 ; Ixi. 2 ; bail 4.) 
 
 "The wrath of God" revealed coming poured 
 out abiding filled up in its awful fulness upon the 
 ungodly. See Cone. 
 
 " The wrath of the Lamb." One of the most awful 
 words of Scripture ! Christ, " the Lamb of God," 
 " slain from the foundation of the world," so gentle 
 tender meek ; yet in the day of terror full of wrath 
 and holy vengeance ! " The wrath of the Lamb." 
 The word must imply all the indignation of insulted 
 mercy and rejected love ! 
 
 Now the LORD JESUS is the blessed Saviour "who 
 delivers us from the wrath to come," 1 Thess. i. 10. 
 
 Aaron, Num. xvi. 46 ; Moses, Ps. cvi. 23 : Phinehtis, 
 Num. xxv. 11, were faint illustrations of Him as 
 Mediator, turning away wrath. 
 
 YEARNING DIVINE. See Christ, Tenderness of 
 Love Divine. 
 
 GOD yearning over the sons of men. 
 
 Deut. v. 29. When He knew how soon Israel 
 would break their promise of obedience, see xxxii. 29. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxi. 13 16. When He looked back upon 
 their past rebellions, ver. 11, 12. 
 
 Prov. i. 2430 ; Ezek. xx. 36 ; Rom. x. 21. The 
 Lord condescending to plead with a gainsaying peo-
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 377 
 
 pie, " calling" " stretching out the hand" " all day 
 long," &c., Isa. v. 4. 
 
 Isa. xlviiL 18; Ixiii. 15. 
 
 Jer. ii. 14, 21, 31 ; iii. 19 ; ix. 7 ; xxxi. 20 ; xliv. 4. 
 
 Hosea vi. 4 ; xi. 8. 
 
 The Lord Jesus, Matt, xxiii. 37 ; Luke xiii. 34. 
 The same pathetic words were addressed to Jerusalem 
 on two different occasions. Cf. also Luke xix. 43. 
 
 YEAES. 
 
 How many different kind of years we read of in 
 Scripture. 
 
 Years of weakness and sorrow, Eccles. xii. 1 ; Ps. 
 xxxi. 10; xc. 9, 10, 15; Isa. xxxviii. 15. 
 
 Years of visitation (severe judgments), Jer. xi. 23 ; 
 xxiii. 12 ; xlviii. 44. 
 
 Years of recommences, Isa. xxxiv. 8. 
 
 Years of rest, Lev. xxv. 5 ; and of release, Deut. xv. 
 1, 9 ; xxxi. 10; the seventh year. 
 
 Years of jubilee, Lev. xxv. 8 54; xxvii. 17, 18; 
 the representation of rest release liberty provi- 
 sion restoration; probably the special type and 
 shadow of millennial happiness. 
 
 Isa Ixi. 2. " The acceptable year of the Lord" most 
 probably alludes to this ; the special year of grace, when 
 debts were remitted, forfeited inheritances restored, 
 servants set at liberty, and general rest and peace 
 enjoyed. The year of jubilee commenced from the 
 day of atonement, Lev. xxv. 8 10. In Ezek. xlvi. 17 
 it is called " the year of liberty." 
 
 Year of the Lord's redeemed, Isa. Ixiii. 4. (Observe 
 the beautiful contrast between "the day of ven- 
 geance" and "the year of my redeemed" three times, 
 xxxiv. 8 ; Ixi. 2 ; Ixiii. 4.) 
 
 Years of forbearance, Luke xiii. 7. "These three 
 years."
 
 378 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 
 
 Years approbation, Luke xiii. 8. " Lord, let it alone 
 this year also" one year more of Divine patience 
 and mercy's pleadings, and then 
 
 Years of revival, Hab. iii. 2. 
 
 Years of death, Jer. xxviii. 16, 17. "This year 
 thou shalt die." " So Hananiah .... died the same 
 year in the seventh month." 
 
 YEAR NEW. 
 
 It is an interesting study to trace in Scripture how 
 many important events are connected with "Die first 
 day of Die first month." 
 
 Gen. viii. 13. The waters were dried up from the 
 earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark. 
 
 Exod. xii. 2. The beginning of the year was trans- 
 ferred from September to March, in remembrance of 
 Israel's deliverance from Egypt, see xiii. 4. It is well 
 when we can mark a new era in our lives, from the 
 time of our new birth of the Spirit. 
 
 Exod. xl. 2, 1 7. The tabernacle was reared in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 Lev. xxiii. 23- 25. The feast of trumpets was to 
 celebrate the beginning of the civil year, as the pass- 
 over began the sacred year. 
 
 2 Chron. xxix. 17. At Hezekiah's instigation, the 
 priests and Levites began to cleanse and sanctify the 
 temple. 
 
 Ezra vii. 9. Ezra and a little company with him 
 started from Babylon for Jerusalem. 
 
 Ezra x. 17. Ezra and others completed the refor- 
 mation of putting away the "strange wives" which 
 had " increased the trespass of Israel. ' 
 
 Ezek. xxix. 17. The kind message was sent 
 through Ezekiel, that Nebuchadnezzar should have 
 Egypt as his reward for service against Tyrus. 
 
 Ezek. xlv. 18. The directions for the prince's 
 cleansing the sanctuary at the opening of the year. .
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 379 
 
 Ps. xc. The beautiful Psalm of Moses, sung in 
 the Protestant Churches of Hungary every New- 
 Year's day. 
 
 ZEAL. See Boldness Liberality Love Useful- 
 ness. 
 
 The radical derivation of the word zeal is well re- 
 presented by our English word fervent. The original 
 Greek reference is to intense heat (" like the Eng- 
 lish seethe by an onomatopoeia from the sound of 
 boiling water." Parkhurst.) The sect of the Zealots 
 (whence Simon Zelotes was called) took their name 
 from this their profession of extraordinary zeal. 
 
 We may gain many helpful illustrations of the fer- 
 vency of "spiritual zeal" by referring in Cone, to 
 some of the expressions used ; remembering that zeal 
 is not a separate grace itself, but an intensity of other 
 graces : as, e.g., when it is spoken of as 
 
 Fervency of spirit, Acts xviii. 25 ; Rom. xii. 1 1 ; of 
 mind, 2 Cor. vii. 7 ; of prayer, CoL iv. 12; James v. 
 16 ; of love, 1 Pet. i. 22 ; iv. 8. 
 
 Burning, Ps. xxxix. 3 ; Jer. xx. 9. Cf. " the bap- 
 tism of fire," Matt. iii. 11. 
 
 Pressed in spirit held as by a powerful vice-like 
 pressure, Acts xviii. 5. 
 
 Constrained, 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 
 Straitened pained with strong desire, Luke xii. 50, 
 margin. 
 
 Provoked, Heb. x. 24 ; literally with a paroxysm of 
 holy emulation. 
 
 Agony strong conflict of zeal, Col. i. 29; ii. 1 ; iv. 12. 
 
 Stirred up, Acts xvii. 16 ; 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 
 Consumed eaten up with intense desire, Ps. Ixix. 9 ; 
 John ii. 17. 
 
 Standing in the breach, Ezek. xiii. 5 ; as brave sol- 
 diers when a city is besieged. Cf. Ps. cvi. 23. 
 
 See in Cone, also references to the part the heart
 
 380 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR, 
 
 and heartiness have in the fervency of zeal " with 
 all the heart"" heartily "with all the might," &c. ; 
 and also under such words as diligently earnest 
 carefully instant forward run ready labour- 
 ing mightily. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 Moses, Exod. xxxii. 11 32; Ps. cvi 23. 
 
 fjgvi, Deut xxxiii. 9. 
 
 Phinehas, Num. xxv. 1113; Ps. cvi 30, 31. 
 
 Caleb, ambitious of danger even when eighty years 
 of age, Joshua xiv. 6 15. 
 
 Men of Zebulun and Naphthali, who jeoparded their 
 lives to the death, Judges v. 18. 
 
 David, Ps. Ixix. 9; 1 Chron. xxix. I it. 
 
 Elijah, 1 Kings xviii. 40; xix. 10. 
 
 Asa, 1 Kings xv. 12, 13. 
 
 Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxxi. 20, 21. 
 
 Josiah, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 33. 
 
 Jeremiah, xx. 9. 
 
 Nehemiah, ii. 10 ; vi 3, 11 ; xiii. 8, 17, 28, <tc. 
 
 The Jews who rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, Neh. 
 iil ; iv. 6, 21. 
 
 Esther, iv. 16 ; viii. 6. 
 
 Boanerges James and John, so called probably 
 from their glowing zeal, Mark iii. 1 7. 
 
 John Baptist, John v. 36 ; Matt. iii. 1 1 f>. 
 
 Apollos, Acts xviii. 25. 
 
 Aquila and Pri-scilla, Rom. xvi. 4. 
 
 Epaphras, Col. iv. 12, 13. 
 
 St. Paul one of the noblest examples of heroic 
 zeal for the gospel's sake. Cf. his fervency of prayer 
 (see Prayer) ; his glowing praise and thankfulness 
 (see Praise); his abundant labours, 1 Cor. xv. 10; 
 Acts xx. 18, 31 ; Rom. xv. 19, 20; 2 Cor. XL 23; 
 his willingness to sacrifice everything, Phil, iii, 8 ; 
 yea, even life itself, Acts xx. 24 ; Phil. ii. 1 7.
 
 SCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. 381 
 
 How often are we struck with the evidences of the 
 Apostle's strong and deep vehemence of zeal; as when 
 we read that he was " pressed in spirit," Acts xviii. 
 5, 6 ; his spirit was stirred up (literally, in a pa- 
 roxysm), Acts xvii. 16 ; " constrained," 2 Cor. v. 14 ; 
 till many thought him mad with enthusiastic blind- 
 ness, Acts xxvi. 24; 2 Cor. v. 13. Read his own 
 almost unparalleled testimony, Rom. ix. 2 ; and the 
 catalogue of his service and sufferings, 2 Cor. xi. 
 23 30; remembering the martyrdom which he 
 gloried in expecting, 2 Tim. iv. 6 8. 
 
 THE LORD JESUS. How can this book be more 
 fitly closed than by pointing to Him the one pure, 
 holy example of sinless and unwearied zeal ! To 
 quote distinct proofs would be to write the history of 
 the Saviour's life. Let three short texts suffice for 
 an epitome of the whole. John iv. 34 " My meat 
 is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish 
 His work ;" John ii. 17 " The zeal of Thine house 
 hath eaten me up;" Luke xii. 50 "I have a bap- 
 tism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened 
 (margin, pained) till it be accomplished." 
 
 God grant that some into whose hands this work 
 may fall may be stirred up to do God's work anew : 
 that, by searching the Scriptures for themselves, they 
 may be increased in Divine knowledge, and filled 
 with devout zeal. 
 
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