acting in direct violation of His laws; in direct opposition to his warnings, and in defiance of the penalties denounced against such conduct. Would it be just to say that the President of the United States sanctions murders, thefts, assaults and batteries, &c. because some of the citizens of these states commit such crimes, when it is well known that by so doing, they have violated the laws of this country? Are the laws of this, or any other civilised nation, more peremptory against all species of immorality than the laws of God? No! no! for the marrow of the laws of the most civilised Nations, is derived from that Sacred source. See Character. Morality.

LIGHT. In John, i. 9, it is written of Christ; "that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." The Apostle, in the beginning of this chapter, was proclaiming the great truth, "that all things were, made by him," (Christ,) " and without him was not any thing made, that was made." (ver. 3.) Then he alludes to John the Baptist, and the nature of his mis`sion. (vers. 6, 7, 8.) And then again returns to the nature of Christ, of whom he says, "that he lighteth every man that cometh into the world." That the word "lighteth" does not refer directly or indirectly to any spiritual operation on the minds of men, or to any illumination of their understandings, is proved, first, by the connection in which it is used; and secondly, by the fact that millions of the human race have never heard of the Gospel of God, consequently have never been enlightened. As to its connection, then, we find the writer has confined his remarks solely to the power of Christ in creation; and in the very succeeding verse (10) he says, "He was in the world, and the world was made by him,

and the world knew him not." And if we refer to verse iv., for what the writer means by the word light, we find him plainly telling us that it is "THE LIFE of men." This at once settles the question, and gives us the true meaning of it, viz. that Christ is the true life which giveth life to every man that cometh into the world." Accordingly, Jesus himself tells us, "I am the resurrection and the life." (John, xi. 25.) I would have at once referred to that fourth verse, which settles the question without any comment, were I not aware that many arguments are, by erroneous opinions, put into the hands of infidels.

LIGHT, Created. It is implied in Gen. chap. i. that light was created four days before the sun; which is by no means improbable; for modern discoveries tend to prove, that light is an element, extricated or given out from bodies, (i. e. rendered separate,) by certain operations. Thus the sun and moon are called in Gen. i. 14, two great light producers or generators; not two great lights, as in our common translation. The flint and steel, may with equal propriety be so denominated. Hence the statement in Genesis, which appears so contradictory and inconsistent, and which must have formerly so appeared to every human being, is now proved to be perfectly consistent; and the apparent inconsistency is owing to our own ignorance! See Sun.

LOCUSTS. There are several species of the gryllus. In the Chronicon of Hernanus Contractus, under the year 873, we are told, that so great a multitude of locusts, of an unheard of size, coming from the east in swarms, after the manner of an army, passed through these countries (Germany,) that for two whole months, they often, in their flight, obscured the rays of the sun for the space of a mile, and in one hour destroyed all kinds of verdure,

upon a hundred or more acres; which having been driven into the sea by the wind, and thrown up again by the waves, so corrupted the air with their stench, that they caused no small pestilence. Who can doubt after this account, the evils that occurred in Egypt by the plague of locusts, produced by the command of God. Exod. x. 4. 12. Locusts are very commonly eaten in the east, and allowed to be eaten by the Jewish law. Levit. xi. 22. John the Baptist, we read, lived on them, and on wild honey. Matt. iii. 4.

LORD, a name, which, though often applied to THE SUPREME, in the New Testament, and as a substitute for the name JEHOVAH, in the Old, yet it is also applied to men, both in the Old and New Testaments. It is applied to man in the following passages.

LORD, as applied to man. Gen. xviii. 12; xxiii. 11. 15; xxiv. 18; xxvii. 29. 37; xxxi. 35; xxxii. 4, 5. 18; xxxix. 16; xl. 1; xlii. 10. 30. 33, xliv. 5. 8, 9. 24; xlv. 8, 9; xlvii. 18. Exod. xxxii. 22. Numb. xi. 28; xii. 11; xxxii. 25. 27; xxxvi. 2. Jude, iii. 25; iv. 18; xix. 26, 27. Ruth, ii. 13. 1 Sam. i. 15. 26; xxii. 12; xxiv. 8; xxv. 24, 25, 26, 27. 31; xxvi. 15. 17, 18; xxix. 8. 2 Sam. i. 10; iii. 21; ix. 11; xi, 9. 13; xiii. 32; xiv. 12. 17. 19. 20; xvi. 9; xviii. 31; xix. 19, 20. 30. 35. 37; xx. 6; xxiv. 3. 22. 1 Kings, i. 2. 27. 36, 37; ii. 38; iii. 17. 26; xi. 23; xviii. 7. 13, 14; xx. 4. 9. 2 Kings, 2. 19; iv. 16. 28; v. 3, 4; vi. 12. 26; vii. 2. 17; viii. 5. 12; ix. 11; xviii. 23. 2 Chron. ii. 14. Ezra, x. 3. Psal. xii. 4. Jere. xxii. 18; xxxiv. 5; xxxvii. 20; xxxviii. 9. Dan. i. 10; ii. 10; iv. 19. 24. Matt. x. 24, 25; xviii. 26. 31; xxiv. 48. Luke, xii. 36. 45; xvi. 3. 5. John, xv. 15. 20. Acts, xxv. 26. Gal. iv. 1. 1 Pet. 3. 6.

M.

MACHPELAH. Stephen, in his defence, as recorded in Acts, vii. 16, alluding to Jacob and the Fathers, says, "and were carried into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre, that Abraham bought for a sum of money, of the sons of Emmor, of Sychem." In Gen. xxiii. 3. 18, we read, that there were three parties concerned in the purchase of this field, and cave, of Machpelah. 1st. Abraham the purchaser. (ver. 3, 4.) 2d. The sons or children of Heth, who appear to have been a kind of negociators or agents. (ver. 3. 5. 8.) 3d. Ephron, the son of Zoar, the Hittite. Now Emmor, or Hamor, for they are the same, was prince of Sychem. Formerly, in monarchical governments, the people were called the sons or children of their king or prince; as now kings call them in monarchical governments, "my people!" And in verse 7, of this chapter, we find the terms “children" and "people" used synonymously. Therefore, Stephen was perfectly correct in stating that Abraham bought the field of the sons, that is the people of Emmor, the prince of Sychem; which he actually did, though he paid the money to Ephron, the son of Zoar, the Hittite, who was also one of the people or children or sons of Emmor. Suppose we were to say, William Penn bought Pennsylvania from the Americans; another writer were to say, he bought it from the Indians; and a third writer were to say, he bought it from a particular tribe of Indians; would not the three statements be perfectly correct and true? Certainly they would. Then exactly so with respect to this case. Abraham bought it from the children of Heth, the agents; from Ephron, the Hittite, the

actual owner; and from the sons of Emmor, the prince; for the children of Heth, and Ephron, the Hittite, were the children or sons of Emmor, the prince.

Jacob subsequently purchased another piece of ground, for a burying place, in Shechem, from the children of Hamor or Emmor. Gen. xxxiii. 19. See Names.

MAGICIANS. Many Christians have erroneously imagined, that the Egyptian magicians had the power of working miracles, and did actually perform the same miracles that Moses did. Whereas, there is no authority whatsoever for such an opinion. In Exodus, vii. 10, 11, we read, that they also (the magicians) did, in like manner, (that is did imitate,) with their enchantments, (slight of hand.) Again in chap. viii. ver. 7, it is written, "and the magicians did SO with their enchantments." Now, the meaning of the word "so," is, "in like manner, or resemblance," and this is exactly what every juggler at the present day does. (See Webster's American Dictionary.) He does "so," or imitates, by his slight of hand, so well, many transactions, that you commonly say on relating what you saw, that he did this, or did that, although by so saying, you mean only that he imitated these performances remarkably well. As to the capability of jugglers pretending to throw down rods, when in fact they threw down serpents, no one can doubt, who recollects the Chinese jugglers lately in Europe, who had á quantity of tamed serpents, with which they used to perform great feats, as turning them into rods, &c. (See Serpents.) And as to their making a quantity of water, (not the rivers, but some water procured by digging round about the river, vii. 24,) red, like blood, so as to resemble what Moses did, no one who has ever seen a juggler perform, can doubt for a moment. As for the