B.C. 1490. of, common uses. b Bonar, who by waiting. adds, "Every A curb to animal appetites.-The people, after their long wi fruit tree here derness life, would be anxious to taste at once the fruit of tle stands for three promised land. I. This law enforced self-control. II. Taugn their obedience. that the earth was the Lord's and the fulness thereof. III Every stranger Secured future advantages. The first harvest would prob. b saw, in Israel's scant. The people unused to tillage. By not using the frui vineyards, proofs they learned the laws of supply, etc. IV. It also manifested th of their obedience nature of the discipline of the past. may.. increase, they would lose nothing years, as a test of orchards and for Him. And to their supreme First-fruits.-The fruit of all manner of trees, for the firs Lord-a witness three years, was not to be eaten, nor any profit made of it: in th what a solemn fourth year it was to be holy, and used only to praise the Lor shadow they cast being either given to the priests or eaten by the owners befor the Lord at Jerusalem; in the fifth year it might be eaten an made use of for profit, and thenceforward every year. To th time of fruit, and the custom of bringing it up to Jerusalem there seems here to be an allusion.c over the fallen sons of Adam there, reminding them of the first father's sin. Is it fr. this, too, that the parable of the barren fig 26-29. (26) enchantments, auguries, divinations. ob. tree is taken? serve times, omens fr. the sky, clouds, etc. (27) round.. Three years bar- head, trim the hair fr. the temples. neither.. beard, another ren, it ought, in heathen custom. (28) cutting.. dead, prob. to propitiate evil to yield its first spirits. nor.. marks, tattooing practised by heathens. (29) fruits for the prostitute, etc., in heathen temples as acts of worship. the fourth year, Lord. c J. Cobbin, M.A. Acc. to Herodotus the Arabs honoured their deity Orotal by cutting the hair away fr. the temples in a circular form (iii. 8). were "Parents Popular superstitions.—I. These have been common in all lands. II. They are not to be traced to ignorance alone: eminent men have been superstitious. III. They indicate a general belief in supernatural powers and influences. IV. They should lead us to be grateful for, and trust in, the more sure word of prophecy. Wounding for the dead.-From this injunction we may infer that the practice of inflicting wounds in compliment to the dead was prevalent, if not amongst the Jews themselves, at leas! amongst the nations with whom they held communication. Upor not to prostitute the demise of their kings, the Lacedæmonians were in the habi their daus. by of assembling together, when every rank and sex expressed thei suffering them to be exposed to the grief by tearing the flesh from their foreheads with sharp instru danger of prosti- ments. The following corroborations of so singular a practic are derived from tribes widely separated. "One formality i mourning for the dead, among the Naudowessies, is very differer from any mode I ever observed in the other nations throug which I passed. The men, to show how great their sorrow i pierce the flesh of their arms above the elbows with arrows, tl scars of which I could perceive on those of every rank in a great or a less degree; and the women cut and gash their legs wi sharp broken flints, till the blood flows very plentifully." tution."-Bush. v. 30. Jos. Mede, i. 507; D. R. Warren, ii. 341; Dr. R. Munkhouse, 267; R. Southgate, B.A., ii. 60. a Carver's Trav. in N. America. 30-34. (30) sabbaths,a see v. 3. (31) regard.. spirits lit. turn not to the oboth. wizard, knowing one. (32) ri head, etc., respect due to age inculcated. (33) strange foreigner. ye.. him, not oppress, defraud. (34) thou thyself, be mindful of his welfare: just in dealings, etc. The almond-tree flourishing.-Give honour to the old manFor what he has been. There is something about all old obje that calls for our veneration: an old tree, for example, or 1 ivy-mantled " ruin. And especially do we venerate them wh we connect them with some historic event or scene. Think, th, 66 "old B.C. 1490. thern bottles. the LXX. who De. Xviii. 11; Ex. xxii. 18. d Le. xx. 6, 27; when you see the aged man, what toils and trials have bleached those hairs to snow. Think what an honourable man is an disciple." II. For what he is. There are two things about old Ventriloquists, age that should win your kindness and regard. It is-1. Beauti- Gk. eya ful; 2. Dependent. III. For what he is soon to be. The light o, those of earth is fading from his face but another light is soon to speak out of the belly. This Gk. break upon his dim eye he is about to become young again. word is used by Reverence for age.-Age naturally awakens our respect. A Greek historian tells how, in the pure and early and most virtuous days of the republic, if an old man entered the crowded assembly, all ranks rose to give room and place to him. Age throws such a character of dignity even over inanimate objects, that the spectator regards them with a sort of awe and veneration. We have stood before the hoary and ivy-mantled ruin of a bygone age with deeper feelings of respect than ever touched us have been in the marbled halls and amid the gilded grandeur of modern emplary in this palaces; nor did the proudest tree which lifted its umbrageous and are to this head and towering form to the skies ever affect us with such strange emotion as an old, withered, wasted trunk that, though hollowed by time into a gnarled shell, still showed some greene signs of life. 35-37. (35) judgment, private opinion; or, administration of justice. meteyard," thy measure of length shall be honest, whether cubit, span, etc. weight, as talent, shekel. measure, as ephah, hin, etc. (36) balances, scales. ephah, standard of dry measure, 8 galls. and a half. hin, liquid meas. little less than 1 gall. and a half. Egypt, where you suffered fr. unrighteous exactions. (37) therefore, etc., that you may be a more upright nation, and by contrast a teacher of others. Honesty in trade.-The late Mr. Burnett, of Aberdeen, was remarkable for his integrity. He was considered exceedingly careful in making bargains, but when they produced greater advantage than he expected, he returned to his friends, as a gratuity, the surplus of his honest computation. In this manner, during his mercantile career, some thousand pounds were restored. When he was asked if he thought his friends would have treated him in the same manner, if the favour of the bargain had been on their side, his reply uniformly was, "With the conduct of others I have nothing to do. It is my duty to regulate my own by the rules of equity, as they appear to me." The ancient Egyptians, like the Lacedæmonians and the old Roms., appear to ex respect: as were, day, most of the 28; 1 Ti. v. 1. Ex. xxii. 21, xxiii. 9; De. x. h Dr. Guthrie. trade bi Co. xiii. 4, 7; v. 17-19. he who enumerates the faults of what may set up a La CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH. 26, 31. 1–6. (1, 2) Molech," see xviii. 21. people.. land, his Molech neighbours. stone..stones, the principal cap. punishment a 2 K. xvii. 17, among the Jews. (3) set.. man, oppose him, withdraw pro- xxiii. 10; Ez. xx. tection. to.. sanctuary, "pollute the people as identified with the sanctuary." to.. name, lavishing on idols the honour due to God. (4) hide.. eyes, overlook, neglect to punish, wink at his sin. (5) all, etc.,d they shall be dealt with as accomplices. (6) soul.. spirits, etc., as case of Saul.e C The reasonableness of a Divine revelation.-I. The possibility of a Divine revelation. In order to this, two things must be proved. Ez. v. 11; Pr. 6-13; Is. i. 24. xxix. 1; 1 K. xi. c Spk. Comm. Ho. ix. 17; Mal. ii. 11. d De. xvii. 2, 5; B.C. 1490. e1 Ch. x. 13, 14. mis Desiderantes 1. That there is a Supreme Being; 2. That we are rational creatures. II. Its probability. Consider-1. The character of the Supreme Being, and our necessary connection with Him; 2. The peculiar capacities with which we are endowed; 3. The deInnocent VIII. plorable condition of the human race. III. Its necessity. 1. It issued the cele- has been the practice, amongst a few, to speak of believers as brated hull Sum-weak and irrational persons. Now, men of all ages have not in 1484, directing thought it a proof of weakness to believe that God has made some inquisitors and revelations to us; 2. He has not only revealed knowledge to us, others to put to but also His own character and law; 3. The necessity of this death all prac- revelation is fully sustained by facts. IV. The volume which craft and other contains this very revelation. All the disclosures which the Bible makes commend themselves to right reason. Look at those relating to-1. The Divine character; 2. The Divine law; 3. The system of reconciliation. tisers of witch diabol cal arts. And Dr. Sprenger (Life of Mohammed) com putes that as many as nine millions of perfered death for witchcraft since the bull of Inno sons have suf cent. J. Woodwark, g Lewis. filial duty, etc. a Le. xi. 45, xviii. 4, 5, xix. 2, xx. 22 -26. 6 Ex. xxi. 17; De. xxvii. 16: Ma. xv. 4; Mk. vii. 10. De. xxii. 22; Ex. xx. 14. " Honour your parents, i.e. 1. Obey them; 2. Respect them; The punishment of stoning.—One of the most common punishments in use among the Jews was stoning, which appears to have been a most grievous and terrible infliction: "When the criminal arrived within four cubits of the place of execution, he was stripped naked, only leaving a covering before; and, his hands being bound, he was led up to the fatat spot, which was an eminence about twice the height of a man. The first executioners of the sentence were the witnesses, who generally pulled off their clothes for that purpose: one of them threw him down with great violence upon his loins; if he rolled upon his breast, he was turned upon his loins again and if he died by the fall, the sentence of the law was executed; but if not, the other witness took a great stone and dashed it on his breast as he lay upon his back; and then, if he was not despatched, all the people that stood by, threw stones at him till he died." a 7-11. (7) sanctify, separate, i.e. fr. idolatry, etc. holy, in heart, life, worship. (8) I.. you, make you a distinct and holy people. (9) curse, make light of. shall.. death, such a crime fraught with special evil in a patriarchate. (10) man, etc., see xviii. 20. (11) man, etc., see xviii. 8. Reverence due to parents.-I. Reasons for treating them with respect. 1. To them, under God, we owe our existence; 2. Their toil and self-denial are great to provide us with the necessaries of life; 3. They are held responsible by law and by society for our character, conduct, etc.; 4. We may be to them sources of great sorrow or joy; 5. God enjoins filial respect. II. Penalties incurred by filial misconduct. 1. The anger of God; 2. The 3. Treat their reproaches of men; 3. The stings of conscience; 4. Retribution. opinions with re- A bad child will make a bad parent. In our own children we gard; 4. Treat their habits with shall reap the reward of our own misconduct. Learn to imitate respect. They the filial conduct of Jesus-(1) To His earthly; (2) To His may be dif. fr. Heavenly, Father. 66 ours; may be anFilial love.-Frederick the Great of Prussia, during his last tiquated, and to us strange, odd, illness, endured many restless nights, which he endeavoured to whimsical; but sooth by conversing with the servant who sat up with him. On they are the one of these occasions, he inquired of a young Pomeranian from habits of a parent, d they are not whence he came. From a little village in Pomerania." be ridiculed your parents living?" "An aged mother." "How does she 5. Provide for maintain herself?" "By spinning.' "How much does she gain them when sick, Sixpence." eary, old, and daily by it?" "But she cannot live well on that?" infirm.-Barnes. In Pomerania it is cheap living." "Did you never send her 66 "Are 66 anything?" "O yes, I have sent her, at different times, a few B.C. 1490. 12-17. (12) man, etc., see xviii. 15. (13) man, etc., see unnatural xviii. 22. (14) man, etc., see xviii. 17. they.. fire, having lusts first been stoned." (15, 16) man.. beast, etc., see xviii. 23. (17) man, etc., see xviii. 9. с b a Jos. vii. 15. A profligate woman.-A poor wretched female, religiously Jude 17-19. educated, but afterwards abandoned to sin, misery, and want, "The adulterer, even bef, damnation, is was struck with horror at hearing her own child repeat, as soon c Ge. xx. 2, 10as she could well speak, some of the profane language which she 12; Rom. v. 13. had learned of herself. She trembled at the thought, that she was not only going to hell herself, but leading her child thither. She instantly resolved that, with the first sixpence she could procure, she would purchase Dr. Watts's Divine Songs, of which she had some recollection, to teach her infant daughter. She did so; and, on opening the book, her eye caught the following striking verse :— "Just as the tree cut down, that fell To north or southward, there it lies; most miserable; still in fear, trembling at а shadow, fearing them that know not; always in pain, even in the dark."--Chrysostom. She read on; the event was blessed to her conversion, and she . 14. Bp. Lake, lived and died an honourable professor of religion. 18-21. (18) man, etc., see xviii. 19. (19) thou, etc., see xviii. 12. (20) man, etc., see xviii. 14. childless, i.e. not literally, but in a civil sense.a (21) man, etc., see xviii. 16. The praise of chastity. 'Tis Chastity, my brother, Chastity; She that has that is clad in complete steel, By grots and caverns, hagg'd with horrid shades, Hence had the huntress Dian her dread bow, 32. a This the view "He that hath a "Of all sights which can soften and humanise the heart of man, B.C. 1490. there is none that ought so surely to reach it as that of innocent children, enjoying the happiness which is their proper and natural portion."Southey. lines of a Ex. xiii. 5; Fair silver-shafted queen, for ever chaste, Fear'd her stern frown, and she was queen o' th' woods. That wise Minerva wore, unconquer'd virgin, Wherewith she freez'd her foes to congeal'd stone, But rigid looks of chaste austerity, And noble grace that dash'd brute violence 22-27. (22, 23) ye, etc., see xviii. 24-30. (24) ye..land, demarcation a punishment for them a warning to you. you.. it, as I promised and that you may show the nations a more excellent way. land.. honey,a see Ex. iii. 8, 14. (25) difference, etc., see xi. (26) severed, etc., by laws, privileges, religion. (27) wizard,ċ etc., see xix. 31. xxxiii. 3; 1 S. xiv. 25, 26; De. xxxii. 13, 14. b Am. iii. 2; 1 Pe. i. 16; Tit. ii. 14. e Ex. xxii. 18; 1 S. xxviii. 7, 8; 1 Ch. x. 13, 14. A treatise called a Hammer for b Lines of demarcation.-The separation of Israel from the rest of the world-I. Was effected by a God of wisdom and power. A herd of poor brickmakers could not of themselves have made a place for themselves, or constituted themselves a nation. II. Was based on moral differences. They were to be holy, etc. III. Was characterised by peculiarities of law and religion. IV. Was to be associated with distinguished privileges. Notes on witchcraft.-It was said that by drawing the blood of Witches (malleus a witch you deprived her of her power of sorcery. Glanvil says maleficarum) was that when Jane Brooks, the demon of Tedworth, bewitched a drawn up by Heinrich Institor boy, his father scratched her face and drew blood, whereupon the and Jacob Spren- boy instantly exclaimed that he was well again. It was in all. ger, systematis- to this old belief that Shakespeare wrote (1 Henry VI. i. 5) : ing the whole doctrine of witch"Blood will I draw on thee; thou art a witch." A shrub, called craft, laying the witch-hazel, was supposed to be efficacious in discovering down a regular witches, a forked twig of it being made into a divining rod for form of trial, and Witchcraft raged as an epidemic in the 15th, 16th, purpose. and 17th cents. In the middle of the last lived Matthew Hopkins, the witchfinder, who travelled through the E. counties to find out witches. At last he was himself tested by his own rule. Being cast into a river, he floated, was declared to be a wizard, and was put to death." & course of examination. d Dict. of Phrase and Fable. laws of holiness for the priesthood a "The sense seems to be that, owing to his position in the nation, he is not to defile himself in any cases except those named in vv. 2, 3."-Spk. Comm. The plainer the diamond, the the CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST. 1-4. (1) none.. people, hence, save in case of nr. kin, a priest was not to assist in lay. out the dead. (2, 3) kin.. him, a tender regard for family affection shown in this exception. defiled, and be subjected to purification. (4) defile.. people," the meaning seems to be that though the dead person had been a chief man among his people, the priest was not to defile himself. Social distinctions levelled by death. The sanctity of priesthood.-I. Was to be official. II. Moral. III. Social. IV. Personal. V. As such to reflect the holiness of God, and be a long-enduring type of the holiness of the great High Priest of our profession. Practical holiness.—The shining love of John, the burning and |