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ing wolves." The word prophet does not, in Scripture usage, always denote one who has a knowledge of future events. It is frequently synonymous with our word preacher or teacher; and such seems its meaning in this place" Beware of false teachers." In Acts xv. 32, it is written, "And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them." Here the two disciples are styled 'prophets,' because of their skill in exhortation,' which is the peculiar talent of a 'preacher.' Paul very frequently uses the words 'prophet' and 'prophesy' in the sense of preacher' and 'to preach.' The 14th chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, contains at least thirteen instances of this application of the terms. It commences thus:--" Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but chiefly that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto God. But he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men, to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue, edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth, edifieth the church." The effects here attributed to prophecy show the sense in which that word is employed. They are all the natural results of preaching the Gospel; but do not necessarily, or even visibly, flow from the foretelling of future events. "Beware of false teachers," is, accordingly, the meaning of our Master's injunction; and in the 22d verse, “Have we not prophesied in thy name?" signifies, "Have we not preached the Gospel in thy name?”

Verse 21: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." As this is the first place in the New Testament in which Jesus of Nazareth is called Lord, it may be necessary to fix the meaning of that epithet. It was the usual address of civility and respect offered by one person to another, as commonly and abundantly as our word Sir, to which it is an exact equivalent. The Greek proselytes give it to Philip, probably a fisherman. "The same came, therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired of him, saying, Sir (Kugie, Lord), we would see Jesus," John xii. 21. The jailer of Philippi bestows it upon Paul, the

tent-maker, and Silas, his companion: "Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs (Kugio, Lords), what must I do to be saved?" Acts xvi. 29, 30. Mary Magdalene gives it to one whom she supposes to be a gardener: "She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir (Kugie, Lord), if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him," John xx. 15. The chief priests and pharisees bestow it on Pilate: "Sir (Kugie, Lord), we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again," Matt. xxvii. 63. Campbell's Remarks—in his Preliminary Dissertations to his work on the Gospels, on the error (is it not something worse?) of King James's translators, in always rendering this word " Sir," or "Master," when addressed to any other person, and always rendering it "Lord," when addressed to Jesus,are pertinent and judicious: "One who reads the Bible with reflection (which not one of a thousand does), is astonished to find, that-on the very first appearance of Jesus Christ as a teacher, though attended with no external marks of splendour and majesty; though not acknowledged by the great and learned of the age; though meanly habited, in a garb not superior to that of an ordinary artificer, in which capacity we have ground to believe he assisted his supposed father in his earlier dayshe is addressed by almost everybody in the peculiar manner in which the Almighty is addressed in prayer. Thus the leper, Lord, if thou wilt thou canst make me clean.' Thus the centurion, Lord, my servant lieth at home.' The Canaanitish woman crieth after him, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord. He is likewise mentioned sometimes under the simple appellation of the Lord,' without any addition—a form of expression which, in the Old Testament, our translators, as above observed, had invariably appropriated to God. What is the meaning of this? Is it, that, from his first showing himself in public, all men believed him to be the Messiah; and not only so, but to be possessed of a Divine nature, and entitled to be accosted as God? Far from it. The utmost that can with truth be affirmed of the multitude, is, that they believed him to be a prophet. And even

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those who, in process of time, came to think him the Messiah, never formed a conception of any character, as belonging to that title, superior to that of an earthly sovereign, or of any nature superior to the human. Nay, that the apostles themselves, before his resurrection, [nor, he might have added, after that event, so far as the nature of their Master was concerned,] had no higher notion, it were easy to prove. What, then, is the reason of this strange peculiarity? Does the original give any handle for it? None in the least; for, though the title that is given to him is the same that is given to God, it is so far from being peculiarly so, as is the case with the English term so circumstanced, that it is the common compellation of civility given, not only to every stranger, but to almost every man of a decent appearance, by those whose station does not place them in an evident superiority." (Dissert. vii. p. 1, § 13.) In accordance with these facts, Dr. Campbell always translates Kugos, Master, whenever it occurs in the Gospels; and the Improved Version renders it Master, Sir, Proprietor, Owner, as the occasion seems to require.

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Verses 24-27: "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock * * *. There is a beautiful appropriateness in this simile as addressed to the inhabitants of eastern countries, who had frequent opportunities of witnessing such floods as are here mentioned, and such destruction as is here recorded. In Judea, and in all countries in the neighbourhood of the tropics, the rain sometimes falls in torrents unknown in these kingdoms. It produces rivers which sweep away the soil from the hills; and as most of the houses in those lands are constructed of bricks which have been dried only in the sunshine, whole villages in the east are literally melted away by these rains and the floods to which they give birth. We have read also, that in Bengal the fishermen in the dry season erect their huts upon the sand from which the rivers have retired; but when the rainy season begins suddenly, as it often does, accompanied by violent north-west winds, in one night multitudes of those buildings are swept away, and leave behind scarce a trace of their existence. Thus, we

see how appropriate and how forcible such an illustration was, when addressed to a Jewish auditory. Rabbi Elisha, the son of Abuja, has a similitude very closely resembling that used by the Master:-" The man who studies much in the law, and maintains good works, is like to a man who built a house, laying stones at the foundation, and building brick upon them; and though many waters come against it, they cannot move it from its place. But the man who studies much in the law, and does not maintain good works, is like to a man who, in building his house, put brick at the foundation, and laid stones upon them, so that even gentle waters shall overthrow the house." If Jesus heard this parable, how is it improved in passing through his mind and lips! There is an authority, dignity, and importance in his delineation, which is not to be found in the Jewish model.

CHAPTER VIII.

Verses 1, 2: "When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." A leper was a person afflicted with leprosy, a disease which, thanks to the mercy of God, is almost unknown in these countries. Dr. Mead, who composed a work on the diseases mentioned in the Scriptures, says, "The skin of the leper was covered with white scales, shining like snow; and as these scales were daily rubbed off, the flesh appeared quick and raw underneath." It appears from the book of Leviticus, that leprosy was exceedingly contagious, contaminating not only the clothes worn by its victim, but even the house in which he lodged. Hence, the leper was commanded to dress so that all men should know and avoid him; to dwell far from any human habitation; and if he saw any one approaching, he was to give him warning of his danger, by crying out "Unclean, unclean." Such was the condition of the unhappy being who met Jesus, "and worshipped him, saying, Lord (Master, or Sir), if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The word worship has two significations; it sometimes means religious adoration, as when Jesus, refusing the devotional homage which John awarded to him, says, in the book of

Revelation, "See thou do it not; for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship GOD." It cannot have been such religious worship that the leper, the other Jews, and even some Pagans, wished to pay to Jesus of Nazareth; for they considered him, in nature, to be in all respects a man like unto themselves. Instead of believing him to be their invisible God, Jehovah, the Jewish people would not even admit his claim to be esteemed the promised Messiah. That the Apostles, who admitted that claim, conceived him at the utmost, as a mere temporal monarch, it were easy to prove; and the Romans and Canaanites saw in him neither God nor sovereign. Yet these several classes were equally willing to worship him. This word is often employed in the Bible to denote the yielding of allegiance, reverence, respect, or courtesy, to a king, a prophet, a teacher, or an acquaintance. It was rendered to David by his assembled subjects; "And all the congregation blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped Jehovah, AND THE KING." (1 Chron. xxix. 20.) It was rendered to Daniel by Nebuchadnezzar; "Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel." (Dan. ii. 46.) It was rendered to his master by the servant who owed ten thousand talents; "The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." (Matt. xviii. 26.) Jesus instructs his followers to acquire it by the practice of humility; "But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have worship of them that sit at meat with thee." (Luke xiv. 10.) At the period when the authorised version was made, the term "worship" was in ordinary use with the signification it bears in the foregoing passages, that, not of religious adoration, but of civil respect and reverence. Even at the present day, a magistrate is designated "the worshipful," and addressed, "your Worship." In many corporations, the freeman swears to "worship his Elders," i. e. to pay respect to the Elder-men, or Aldermen. In the marriage service

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