persons.

FAITH (ILTS.) In consequence of not attending to the ambiguity of
the word Ts, which in our authorised version is usually trans-
lated faith, it has been applied by many divines, wherever it occurs,
exclusively to faith in the Messiah, when the context often manifestly
requires it to be taken in a different sense. Faith or believing then
denotes,

1. Our assenting to any truth, even to such truths as are known by the
evidences of our senses: thus in John xx. 29. Thomas, whom the
evidence of his senses had convinced of the reality of Christ's re-
surrection, is said to have believed.

2. A general disposition of the mind to embrace all that we know concern-
ing God, whether by reason or revelation: as in Heb. xi. 6. Without
faith it is impossible to please God; which expression is subsequent-
ly applied to the existence of God, his goodness and bounty towards
his sincere worshippers.

3. A peculiar assent to a certain revelation; for instance, in Rom. iv.
throughout, and in other passages that treat of Abraham's faith, it is
manifest that this faith must be referred to the peculiar promises
made to Abraham that a son should be born unto him, though he
himself was then about a hundred years old, and Sarah, who was
ninety, was barren.

4. An assent given to the revelation made to Moses; as when the
children of Israel are said to have believed the Lord and his servant
Moses. (Exod. xiv. 31. compared with John v. 45, 46. and ix. 28)
5. An assent given to the relation made to the prophets: as when King
Jehoshaphat says to the Jews (2 Chron. xx. 20.,) "Believe in the
Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, 'so
shall ye prosper." Compare also Isa. vii. 9.

6. A cordial assent to the Christian revelation or to some of its leading
and fundamental points; as in those passages where we are com-
manded to believe in Christ, or that he is the Son of God, or that he
rose from the dead.

7. An assent to future and invisible things revealed by God, as in
Heb. xi. 1. where it is defined to be the substance of things hoped
for, and the evidence of things not seen, that is, the giving of a present
subsistence to things future, which are fully expected, and the
proving and demonstrating of things which are not seen.

8. The Gospel, as in Gal. iii. 2. where Saint Paul demands of the
Galatians, whether they received the Spirit by the works of the law,
or by the hearing of faith in which passage it is evident that the
hearing of faith denotes the hearing of the preached Gospel; and in
this sense the word faith appears to be used in all those parts of the
Epistle to the Romans, where it is opposed to the works of the law.
9. A persuasion that what we do is well pleasing to God: thus the
meaning of Rom. xiv. 23, Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, is, that
it is sinful in us to do any thing, which we are not fully persuaded
is well pleasing to God, or at least permitted by him.
10. Faith in miracles, that is, a firm confidence in Christ, to which, at
the first propagation of the Gospel, was annexed the performance
of miracles: such was the faith which Jesus Christ frequently re-
quired of his disciples and others, that he might work certain
miracles by them (compare Matt. xvii. 20. Mark xi. 22. xvi. 17. and
Luke xvii. 6. ;) and to which Saint Paul refers in 1 Cor. xiii. 2.
Lastly, faith sometimes signifies,

FIELD. The World.-Matt. xiii. 38.
FIRE.

1. With such adjuncts as denote that it is not put for light, it signifies
destruction or torment, great sickness, war, and its dismal effects.-
Isa. xlii. 25. It hath set him on fire.-Isa. lxvi. 15. The LORD will
come with fire. See Ezek. xxii. 20-22.

2. Burning fire.-The wrath of God.-Ezek. xxii. 31. I have con-
sumed them with the fire of my wrath.

3. Afflictions, or persecution. Isa. xxiv. 15. Glorify ye the LORD God
in the fires.
4. Coals of fire proceeding out of the month of God, or from his
countenance, denote his anger.-Psal. xviii. 8. 12, 13.
FIRMAMENT. See HEAVENS.
FLESH (or MEAT.)

1. The riches, goods, or possessions of any person conquered, oppres-
sed, or slain, as the case may be.-Psal. lxxiv. 14. Thou breakest
the heads of leviathan in pieces (didst destroy the power of Pharaoh
and his princes,) [and] gavest him [to be] meat to the people inhabiting
the wilderness: that is, didst enrich the Israelites with their
spoils. Isa. xvii. 4. The fatness of his flesh shall be made lean. See
also Mic. iii. 2, 3. and Zech. xi. 9. 16.; in all which places the Tar
To devour much flesh, is to conquer and spoil many enemies of their
gum explains flesh by riches and substance.
lands and possessions. In Dan. vii. 5. this expression is used to de-
note the cruelty of the Medes and Persians, many of whose sove
reigns were more like ferocious bears than men. Instances of their
cruelty abound in almost all the historians who have written of
their affairs.

2.

3.

4.

Weak, mortal man.-Isa. xl. 6. All flesh is grass.
The exterior of man; viz.

(1.) External actions, as circumcision, the choice of food, &c. in
which the body is the part chiefly affected.-Rom. iv. 1. What shall
we say then, that Abraham our father hath found, as pertaining to the
flesh i. e. so far as regards external actions.-1 Cor. x. 18. Behold
Israel after the flesh; i. e. as it respects the external performance of
their religious rites.-Gal. iii. 3....Are ye now made perfect by the
flesh will ye turn again to mere external ceremonies?
(2) External appearance, condition, circumstances, character &c.-
John vi. 63. The flesh profileth nothing.-2. Cor. v. 16. We know
no man after the flesh.

FLOOD-Extreme danger.-Psal. Ixix. 15. Let not the water-flood
overflow me. See RIVER.
FOOD. See BREAD.

FOREHEAD-A public profession or appearance before men.-An
tiently, slaves were stigmatised in their forehead with their master's
mark; hence to be sealed in the forehead (Rev. vii. 3.,) and to have
a mark in the forehead (Rev. xiii. 16. &c.,) is to make a public pro-
fession of belonging to the person whose mark is said to be re-
ceived.

FOUR. See NUMBERS.

FOREST of the South-field. See SOUTH-FIELD.
FORNICATION. All those carnal impurities, which were common
among the heathens, and even formed a part of their sacred rites,
Rev. ii. 20. Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel....to seduce my ser
vants to commit fornification.
FORTRESS-See TOWERS.

Fox-A cunning, deceitful person.-Luke xiii. 32 Go, tell that fox.-
Ezek. xiii. 4. Thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
FRUIT.

1. The consequences of an action. Prov. i. 31. They shall eat the fruit
af their own ways.
2. Good works-Psal. i. 3, He (the pious man) .....bringeth forth
his fruit in his season.-Matt. iii. 8. Bring forth fruits meet for re-
pentance.
FURNACE.

1. A place of great affliction-Deut. iv. 20. The LORD hath... brought
you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt.

2. Such afflictions as God sends for the amendment and correction of
men. Jer. ix. 7. I will melt them, and try them, that is, in the
furnace of affliction.

GARMENTS.

FATHER.

9.

1. God, whose children we all are by creation and redemption.-Mal.
i. 6. If I be a father, where is mine honour?-Mal. ii. 10. Have we
not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? See Jer. xxxi.
2. Father of any thing; that is, the author, cause, or source of it.-
John viii. 44. When he (Satan) speaketh a lie... he is the father of
it.-James i. 17. The Father of lights; the source of spiritual and
coporeal light.

3. Example, pattern, or prototype.-John viii. 44. Ye are of your
father, the devil; ye follow the example of Satan, so that he may be
properly called your father, and ye his children.

White garments were not only the emblem of purity and being in
the favour of God (Psal. li. 7. Isa. i. 18.,) but also, as being worn
on festival days, were tokens of joy and pleasure. (Isa. lii. xi.
10.) Kings and princes likewise were arrayed in white garments
of fine linen. (Gen. xli. 42. 1 Chron. xv. 27. Luke xvi. 19.) Hence,
to walk or be clothed in white, signifies to be prosperous, successful,
and victorious, to be holy, happy, honoured, and rewarded.-Rev.
iii. 4, 5. They shall walk in white...... The same shall be clothed
in white raiment.

2. Souls.-Rev. iii. 4. Thou hast a few names in Sardis which have
not defiled their garments.-The Hebrews considered holiness as the
garb of the soul, and evil actions as stains or spots upon this garb.
GATES.

1. Gates of the daughter of Sion. The ordinances of Jehovah, by
which the soul is helped forward in the way of salvation.-Psal. ix.
14. That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter
of Sion.

2. Gates of Death.

Imminent danger of death.-Psal. ix. 13. Have mercy upon me, O
LORD..... thou that deliverest me from the gates of death. "The
Hebrew poets supposed the lower world, or region of death, to have
gates. Thus it is said in Job xxxviii. 17. Have the gates of death

been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of
death-King Hezekiah, in his hymn of thanksgiving for his re-
covery, (Isa. xxxviii. 10.) sings: I shall go to the gates of the grave."
[Burder's Oriental Literature, vol. ii. p. 11. The same image is
found among the Greek and Roman poets. Ibid. p. 12. Dr. Good's
Translation of Job, p. 452.]

3. Security (Because gates are a security to a fortress or city.)-Psal.
cxlvii. 13. He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates. That is, God
has given Jerusalem security, and put it out of danger. So, in Job
xxxviii. 10., the setting of bars and gates against the sea, means the
securing of the earth against its inroads. The decree, there alluded
to, as imposed by the Almighty upon the ocean, is that wonderful
law of gravation in fluids, by which, all the parts of them exerting
an equal pressure upon one another, the equilibrium of the whole
is maintained.

GIRDLE. The eastern people, wearing long and loose garments, were
unfit for action or business of any kind, without girding their clothes
about them. A girdle therefore denotes strength and activity; and
to unloose it is to deprive a person of strength, to render him unfit
for action.-Isa. v. 27. Nor shall the girdle of their loins be loosed.-
Isa. xlv. 1. I will loose the loins of kings to open before him (Cyrus)
the two-leaved gates.

GOLD.

1. Good men bearing trouble, as gold bears the fire.-Job xxiii. 10.
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

2. Such faith and virtue as will enable its possessor to stand a fiery
trial. Rev. iii. 18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the
fire.-See IMAGE.

GRAPES.-Fruits of righteousness.-Isa. v. 2. He looked that it should
bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

GRASS. The common people, or mankind in general.-Isa. xl. 6, 7.
All flesh is grass; that is, weak and impotent as grass.
GROUND. The heart of man.-Luke viii. 15. That on the good
ground, are they which, in an honest and good heart, having heard
the word, keep it.

GROWTH of plants.

1. Resurrection and glorification.-Hos. xiv. 7. They that dwell under
his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn; they shall
grow as the vine.-John xii. 24. Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much
fruit. See also Isa. lxvi. 14. and 1 Cor. xv. 36-44.

2. Growth in grace.-Isa. lv. 10, 11. For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the
earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater ;-so shall my word be."

HAIL.

1. The devastations made by the inroads of enemies.-Isa. xxviii. 2.
The Lord hath a mighty and a strong one [which] as a tempest of
hail......shall cast down to the earth with the hand.-Under this re-
semblance the prophet represents the utter destruction of the king-
dom of the ten tribes, which afterwards was accomplished by Shal-
maneser. Compare Isa. xxxii. 19. Ezek. xiii. 11. 13.

2. Hail and fire.-The calamities of war, with all their horrors.-Rev.
viii. 7. There followed hail and fire mingled with blood.

HAIR.

1. Grey hairs. Decay of natural strength, and tendency to dissolu-
tion.-Hos. vii. 9. Grey hairs are here and there upon him, and he
knoweth it not.

2. Shaving the head, the hair of the feet and of the beard, with a
razor hired (the king of Assyria), in Isa. vii. 20. signifies the troubles,
slaughter, and destruction that were to be brought upon the Jews
by the Assyrian king and his armies.

HAND-Power and strength.

1. Right hand.-Great protection and favour.-Psal. xviii. 35. Thy
right hand hath holden me up.

2. Laying the right hand upon a person. The conveyance of bless-
ings-strength-power, and authority. Thus Jacob conveyed bless-
ings to the two sons of Joseph. (Gen. xlviii. 20.) The hand that
touched the prophet Daniel (x. 10.) strengthened him; and Moses
by laying his right hand upon Joshua (Numb. xxvii. 18.), delegated,
a portion of his authority to him.

3. Hand of God upon a prophet.-The immediate operation of God or
his Holy Spirit upon a prophet.--Ezek. viii. 1. The hand of the
LORD God fell upon me. Compare 1 Kings xviii. 46. 2 Kings iii.

15.

HARVEST.

1. Some destroying judgment, by which people fall as corn by the
scythe.-Joel iii. 13. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
2. The end of the world.-Matt. xiii. 39.
HEAD.

1. The superior part or governing principle.-Isa. i. 5. The whole
head is sick.-Dan. ii. 38. Thou art this head of gold.--Isa. vii. 8,
9. The head (that is, the sovereign,) of Damascus is Rezin; and
the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son; that is, Pekah king of
Israel.

2. Heads of a people.-Princes or magistrates.-Isa. xxix. 10. The
prophets and your heads (marginal rendering) hath he covered.-
Micah iii. 1. 9. 11. Hear, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the
house of Israel.... The heads judge for reward.

3. When a body politic is represented under the symbol of an animal,
and is considered as one body, the head of it, by the rule of analogy,
is its capital city.-Isa. vii. 8. 9. The head of Syria is Damas-
VOL. II.
3 N

cus......And the head of Ephraim (that is, of the kingdom of
Israel,) is Samaria.

HEAT. (Scorching.)-Trouble and persecution.-Matt. xiii. 6. 21
When the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had not
root, they withered away...... When tribulation or persecution
ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
HEAVENS.

1. The Divine Power ruling over the world.-Dan. iv. 26....After
that thou shalt know that the heavens do rule.
2. God.-Matt. xxi. 25. The baptism of John, whence was it? From
heaven or of men? &c.-Luke xv. 18. I have sinned against hea
ven, and before thee. See also verse 21.

3. Heaven and earth.-A political universe.-Isa. li. 16. That I may
plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto
Sion," Thou art my people." That is, that I might make those who
were but scattered persons and slaves in Egypt before, a kingdom
and polity, to be governed by their own laws and magistrates. See
DOOR, 1.

HELL.

1. Utter destructión, a total overthrow.-Isa. xiv. 15. Matt. xi. 23.
Thou shalt be brought down to hell.
2. The general receptacle of the dead, the place of departed souls.-
Rev. i. 18.-I have the keys of hell and of death.
HELMET.-Salvation.-Eph. vi. 17. 1. Thess. v. 8.
HILLS. See MOUNTAINS.

HIRELING. A false minister who careth not for the sheep.-John x.
12, 13. He that is an hireling, whose own the sheep are not....fleeth,
because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

HOPE.

2.

1. Regal power, or monarchy.-Jer. xlviii. 25. The horn of Moab is
cut off. In Zech. i. 18. 21. and Dan. viii. 20-22. the four horns are
the four great monarchies, each of which had subdued the Jews.
Horns of an altar.-The Divine protection.-Amos iii. 14. The
horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. That is,
there shall be no more atonements made upon the altar. The
asylum or sanctuary thereof shall not stand. Antiently, both among
Jews and Gentiles, an altar was an asylum or sanctuary for such
persons as fled to it for refuge.

3.

Strength, glory, and power.-Horns (it is well known) are emblems
of these qualities both in sacred and profane writers, because the
strength and beauty of horned animals consist in their horns. By
the seven horns, attributed to the Lamb, (in Rev. v 6.) is signified
that universal power which our Lord obtained, when, suffering
death under the form of an innocent victim, he thereby vanquished
the formidable enemy of man. All power, said he to his disciples
immediately after this conflict, is given to me in heaven and in earth.
(Matt. xxviii. 18.)

4. Horn of Salvation.-A mighty and glorious Saviour, or Deliverer.-
Psal. xviii. 2. The LORD is... the horn of my salvation. See Luke

i. 69.

HORSE.

1. The symbol of war and conquest.-God hath made Judah as his
goodly horse in the battle. That is, He will make them conquerors
over his enemies, glorious and successful.

2. More particularly of speedy conquest.-Joel ii. 4. The appearance
of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen so shall they
run.-Hab. i. 8. Their horses are swifter than leopards.-Jer. iv.
13. His horses are swifter than eagles.

3. White being the symbol of joy, felicity, and prosperity, and white
horses, being used by victors on their days of triumph, are the sym-
bol of certain victory and great triumph upon that account.--Rev.
vi. 2. I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat on him....
went forth conquering and to conquer. See also BLACK.

HOUSE.

1. The Church of God.--1 Tim. iii. 15. The House of God, which is
the church of the living God. See Heb. iii. 6.

2. The body of man.-2 Cor. v. 1. If our earthly house of [this]
tabernacle were dissolved.

HUNGER and THIRST.-The appetites of the spirit after righteous-
ness.-Luke i. 53. He hath filled the hungry with good things.-
Matt. v. 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled.-Psal. xlii. 2. My soul thirst-
eth for God.

IDOL-IDOLATRY.--Any thing too much, and sinfully indulged.-1
John v. 21. Keep yourself from idols.-Col. iii. 5. Covetousness
which is idolatry.

IMAGE of gold, silver, brass, and iron. The four great monarchies or
kingdoms of the world.-Dan. ii. 31-45. Compare p. 207. of this
volume.

INCENSE.-Prayer, or the devotion of the heart in offering up prayer
to God.-Psal. exli. 2. Let my prayer be set before thee as incense.-
Rev. v. 8. Golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of
the saints. See also Luke i. 10.

INFIRMITIES of the Body-All the distempers and weaknesses of the
mind.-Matt. viii. 17. Himself took our infirmities, and bare our
sicknesses. Compare Isa. liii. 4. and xxxv. 5, 6.

JERUSALEM.

1 The earthly Jerusalem.-A sign, earnest, and pattern of the heaven-
y Jerusalem.-Rev. iii. 12. Him that overcometh......I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God
which is] new Jerusalem.-"The numerous prophecies, foretelling
great and everlasting glory to Jerusalem, have not been fulfilled in
the literal Jerusalem; nor can be so fulfilled, without contradicting
other predictions, especially those of our Lord which have de-
nounced its ruin. They remain, therefore, to be fulfilled in a
spiritual sense; in that sense which Saint Paul points out to us,
when in opposition to Jerusalem that now is, and is in bondage with
her children, he presents to our view, Jerusalem which is above,
which is the mother of us all. (Gal. iv. 24-26.) This is the city
which Abraham looked to; a building not made with hands, whose
builder and maker is God (Heb. xi. 10-16. xii. 22-24. xiii. 14.);
even the heavenly Jerusalem." [Dean Woodhouse on Rev. iii.
12.]

2. Jerusalem that now is (Gal. iv. 25.); the Jewish or Mosiac dispen-
sation.

3. Jerusalem that is above (Gal. iv. 26.), the celestial Jerusalem, i. e.
the Christian dispensation, which will be perfected in splendour
and majesty, when Christ shall descend to judge the world.
JEZEBEL. A woman of great rank and influence at Thyatira, who
seduced the Christians to intermix idolatry and heathen impurities
with their religion.-Rev. ii. 20. I have a few things against thee,
because thou hast suffered that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself
a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication,
and to eat things offered unto idols.-Instead of that woman Jeze-
bel-
Is-many excellent manuscripts, and almost
all the ancient versions, read youaixe σou IshaByλ, THY wife Jeze-
bel; which reading asserts that this bad woman was the wife of the
bishop or angel of that church; whose criminality in suffering her
was, therefore, the greater. She called herself a prophetess, that is,
set up for a teacher; and taught the Christians that fornication and
eating things offered to idols were matters of indifference, and thus
they were seduced from the truth. [Dean Woodhouse and Dr. A.
Clarke, on Rev. ii. 20.]

LIFE.

1. Immortality.-Psal. xvi. 11. Thou wilt show me the path of life.
Psal. xxxvi 9. With thee is the fountain of life.
2. Christ, the fountain of natural, spiritual, and eternal life.-John i.
4. In him was life.-John xi. 25. I am the resurrection and the
life.-Col. iii. 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear.

3. The doctrine of the Gospel, which points out the way of life.-John
vi. 63. The words that I speak unto you, they are life. See TREE

of LIFE.

LIGHT.

1. Joy, comfort, and felicity.—Esther viii. 16. The Jews had light and
gladness, and joy, and honour.-Psal. xcvii. 11. Light is sown for
the righteous.-Psal. cxii. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in
the darkness; that is, in affliction.

2.

That which enlightens the mind: instruction, doctrines, &c., which
illuminates and fills the mind with higher and more perfect know-
ledge; so that men are led to adopt a new and better mode of
thinking, feeling, judging, and acting, and to entertain nobler
views and higher hopes. 1 Thess. v. 5. Eph. v. 8. Children (or
sons) of the light; that is, those who have been enlightened.

3. The author of moral light, a moral teacher.-Ye are the light of the
world. John v. 35. He was a burning and shining light; .e. a
distinguished and most zealous teacher of the mysteries of the king
dom of heaven.

LION.

1. An emblem of fortitude and strength.-Rev. v. 5. The Lion of the
tribe of Judah, means Jesus Christ, who sprang from this tribe, of
which a lion was the emblem.

2.

The lion is seldom taken in an ill sense, except when his mouth or
rapacity is in view.-Psal. xxii. 13. They gaped upon me with their
mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. See also 1 Pet. v. 8.
LOCUSTS.-Antichristian corrupters of the Gospel.-Rev. ix. 3. There
came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. Dean Woodhouse re-
fers them to the Gnostic heretics; but most other commentators to
the overwhelming forces of Mohammed.

LOINS.-Gird up the loins of your mind: hold your minds in a state
of constant preparation and expectation. The metaphor is derived
from the customs of the Orientals who, when they wish to apply
themselves to any business requiring exertion, are obliged to bind
their long flowing garments closely around them.

1. The Church. Song of Sol. vi. 10. Fair as the moon.
The Mosaic dispensation.-Rev. xii. 1. The moon under her feet.
See SUN, 3.
MOUNTIAN.

LABOURER.-The minister who serves under God in his husbandry.-
Matt. ix. 37, 38. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers
are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send
forth labourers into this harvest.-1 Cor. iii. 9. We are labourers
together with God.

LAMB.-The Messiah, suffering for the sins of the world.-John i. 29.
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.-Rev.
v. 12. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.
LAMP.

1. Direction or support.-2 Sam. xxii. 17. That thou quench not the
light (Heb. lamp) of Israel.

2. A Christian church.-Rev. i. 12. The seven golden lamps (incor-
rectly rendered candlesticks in our version) are the seven churches
of Christ (Rev. i. 20.), represented as golden, to show how precious
they are in the sight of God.

LEAVEN.-Corrupt doctrine and corrupt practices.-Matt. xvi. 6. Luke
xii. 1. Mark viii. 15. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees, which is hypocrisy.—1 Cor. v. 6-8. Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge, therefore, the old
leaven, that ye may be a new lump....... Let us keep the feast, not
with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
LEAVES.-Words, the service of the lips, as distinguished from the
fruits of good works.--Psal. i. 3. His leaf also shall not wither.
LEBANON. Zech. xi. 1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon; i. e. the temple
at Jerusalem, the stately buildings of which were compared to the
cedars of the forests of Lebanon.

LEGION. Any great number.-Matt. xxvi. 53. More than twelve
legions of angels.

LEOPARD.

1. A swift, powerful, and rapacious enemy.-Dan. vii. 6. 1 beheld,
and lo, another like a leopard, i. e. Alexander, falsely named the
Great, whose rapid conquests are well characterised by this sym-
bol.

2. Men of fierce, untractable, and cruel disposition.-Isa. xi. 6. The
leopard shall lie down with the kid.

1. High mountains and lofty hills denote kingdoms, republics, states,
and cities.-Isa. ii. 12, 14. The day of the Lord shall be......upon
all the high mountains. In Jer. li. 25. the destroying mountain means
the Babylonish nation.

2. Mountain of the Lord's House.-The kingdom of the Messiah.-
Isa. ii. 2. It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of
the LORD's House shall be established upon the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalled above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.
See Isa. xi. 9. and Dan. ii. 35. 45.

3. An obstacle to the spread of the Gospel. Isa. xl. 4.
MYSTERY.

1. A secret, something that is hidden, not fully manifest, not published
to the world, though, perhaps, communicated to a select number.
In this sense it occurs in 2. Thess. ii. 7. where Saint Paul, speaking
of the Antichristian spirit, says, "The mystery of iniquity doth al-
ready work." The spirit of Antichrist has begun to operate, but the
operation is latent and unperceived. In this sense also the same
apostle applies the words "mystery," and "mystery of Christ," in a
peculiar manner to the calling of the Gentiles (Eph. iii. 3-9.);
"which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men,
as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit,
that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body (namely
with the Jews), and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel."
Compare also Rom. xvi. 25, 25. Eph. i. 9. iii. 9. vi. 19. Col. í. 26,

2.

27.

"A spiritual truth couched under an external representation or
similitude, and concealed or hidden thereby, unless some explana-
tion be given." To this import of the word our Saviour probably
alluded when he said to his disciples, To you it is given to know the
mystery of the kingdom of God; but, to them that are without, all
these things are done in parables. (Mark iv. 11.) The secret was
disclosed to the apostles, who obtained the spiritual sense of the
similitude, while the multitude amused themselves with the para-
ble, and sought no further. In this sense, mystery is used in the
following passages of the New Testament:-Rev. i. 20.
mystery, that is, the spiritual meaning, of the seven stars.-The seven
stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks
are the seven churches. Again, xvii. 5. And upon her forehead a name
written Mystery, Babylon the Great, that is, Babylon in a mystical
sense, the mother of idolatry and abominations; and, in verse 7.
will tell thee the mystery, or spiritual signification, of the woman, and

The

of the beast that carrieth her, &c. In this sense likewise the word
mystery is to be understood in Eph. v. 32.

3. "Some sacred thing, hidden or secret, which is naturally unknown
to human reason, and is only known by the revelation of God."
Thus, in 1 Tim. iii. 16. we read-Without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up into glory. "The mystery of godliness, or of true
religion, consists in the several particulars here mentioned by the
apostle-particulars, indeed, which it would never have entered into
the heart of man to conceive (1 Cor. ii. 9.), had not God accomplished
them in fact, and published them by the preaching of his Gospel;
but which, being thus manifested, are intelligible as facts to the
meanest understanding." So in 1 Cor. xiii. 2. the understanding of
all mysteries denote the understanding of all the revealed truths
of the Christian religion, which in 1 Tim. iii. 9. are called the mys

tery of faith, and of which, in 1 Cor. iv. 1., the apostles are called
stewards of the mysteries of God.

4. The word mystery is used in reference to things or doctrines which
remain wholly or in part incomprehensible, or above reason, after
they are revealed. Such are the doctrines of the resurrection of the
dead, that all shall not die at the last day, but that all shall be
changed (1 Cor. xv. 51.), the incarnation of the Son of God, the
doctrine of the Trinity, &c. This is the ordinary or theological
sense of the word mystery: it does not imply any thing contrary to
reason, nor utterly unknown as to its being; but it signifies a mat-
ter, of whose existence we have clear evidence in the Scriptures,
although the mode of such existence is incomprehensible, or above
our reason. (Schleusner's and Parkhurst's Greek Lexicons to the
New Testament, voce Musupov. Dr. Campbell's Translation of the
Four Gospels, vol. i. pp. 298-306. See also J. G. Pfeiffer's Instit.
Herm. Sac. pp. 704-724.)

NAKED.-Destitute of the image of God; not clothed with the gar-
ment of holiness and purity.-Rev. iii. 17. And knowest not that
thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
NAMES.-The persons called by them.-Acts i. 15. The number of the
names were about an hundred and twenty.-Rev. iii. 4. Thou hast
a few names even in Sardis.

NATURE.

1. Birth, origin, or nativity. Jews by nature. Gal. ii. 15.

2. The constitution and order of God in the natural world. Rom. i.
26. xi. 21. 24.

3. The native dispositions, qualities, properties, &c. of any person or
thing. 2 Pet. i. 14. Partakers of a divine nature.-Eph. ii. 3. We
were by nature, i. e. according to our natural disposition, when not
enlightened and renewed by the influences of the Gospel, children
of wrath.

4. A native feeling of decorum, a native sense of propriety, by which
a person is withheld from needlessly receding from the customs of
his country.-1 Cor. xi. 14. Doth not nature itself-doth not your
own native sense of decorum-teach you, that if a man have long
hair, it is a shame unto him, viz. among the Greeks, to whom alone
the apostle was writing; and consequently he does not refer to the
customs of the Hebrews. (Robinson's Lexicon, voce pris.)
NIGHT-Intellectual darkness; adversity.-Rev. xxi. 25. There shall
be no night there; that is, there shall be no more idolatry, no more
intellectual darkness, no more adversity in the New Jerusalem; but
all shall be peace, joy, happiness, and security.
NUMBERS.

Two; a few.-Isa. vii. 21. A man shall nourish two sheep.-1 Kings
xvii. 12. I am gathering two sticks.

blessed.

Three or third.-Greatness, excellency, and perfection.-Isa. xix. 24.
In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Assyria; that is,
as the prophet immediately explains, great, admired, beloved, and
Four-Universality of the matters comprised therein.-Isa. xi. 12.
The four corners of the earth denote all parts of the earth.-Jer. xlix.
6. Upon Elam (or Persia) will I bring the four winds from the four
quarters of the earth; that is, all the winds. In Ezek. vii. 2. the four
corners of the land, signify all parts of the land of Judea.
Seven.-A large and complete, yet uncertain and indefinite, number.
It is of very frequent occurrence in the Apocalypse, where we read
of the seven spirits of God, seven angels, seven thunders, seven seals,
&c. &c. [See Dr. Woodhouse on Rev. i. 4.]

Ten.-Many, as well as that precise number. In Gen. xxxi. 7. 41. Ten
times are many times; in Lev. xxvi. 26. ten women are many wo-
men. See also Dan. i. 20. Amos vi. 9. Zech. viii. 23.

OAKS of BASHAN.-The princes and nobles of Israel and Judah.-Isa.
ii. 13. The day of the Lord shall be....upon all the oaks of Bashan.
OLIVES.

1. The wild olive; Man in a state of nature.-Rom. xi. 17. Thou being
a wild olive-tree, wert graffed in amongst them.......

2. The cultivated olive; the church of God.-Rom. xi. 24. If thou
wert cut out of the olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and wert graffed
contrary to nature into a good olive-tree...

PALMS.-Symbols of joy after a victory, attended with antecedent suf-
ferings. Rev. vii. 9. I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude...clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands.

PARADISE. The invisible residence of the blessed.-Rev. ii. 7. To
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the

midst of the paradise of God.-Luke xxiii. 43. To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise.

PASSOVER-Jesus Christ.-1 Cor. v. 7. Christ our passover is
sacrificed for us. On the spiritual import of this term, compare Vol.
II. Chap. IV. IV. 3.

PHYSICIAN. The Saviour, curing the sins and sicknesses of the
mind.-Matt. ix. 12. They that be whole, need not a physician; but
they that are sick.

PILLAR or COLUMN.

1.

2.

The chief prop of a family, city, or state.-Gal. ii. 9. James, Cephas,
and John, who seemed to be pillars.

Pillar of iron.-The symbol of great firmness and duration.-Jer. i.
18. I have made thee....an iron pillar.

PLOUGHING and breaking up the ground. The preparation of the
heart by repentance.-Hos. x. 12. Break up your fallow-ground.
See also Jer. iv. 3.

POISON.-Lies, error, and delusion.-Psal. cxl. 3. Adders' poison is
under their lips.-Psal. lviii. 3, 4. They go astray as soon as they are
born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent.-
Rom. iii. 13. The poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth
is full of cursing and bitterness.
POWER.

1.

2.

Dignity, privilege, prerogative.-John i. 12. As many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.

The emblem of power, or of honour and dignity, that is, a veil.-1
Cor. xi. 10. A woman ought to have power on her head, that is to be
veiled, because of the spies, or evil-minded persons who were sent
into the meetings of the Christians by their enemies, in order that
they might be able to take advantage of any irregularity in their
proceedings, or of any departure from established customs. The
veil, worn by married women, was an emblem of subjection to the
power of the husband. The marginal rendering of 1 Cor. xi. 10.
is,-a covering, in sign that she is under the power of her husband.
PoWERS.-A certain order of angels; whether good, as in Col. i. 16.
Eph. iii. 10. 1 Pet. iii. 22.; or evil, as in Col. ii. 15. and Eph. vi. 12.
(Parkhurst and Robinson, voce 'Eği.)

PRINCE of the power of the air.-Eph. ii. 2. Satan. In this passage
the air denotes the jurisdiction of fallen spirits.

RAIN (gentle).

1. The divine goodness.—Isa. xxvii. 3. xliv. 3.
2: Pure and heavenly doctrine.-Deut. xxxii. 2. especially the word
of the Lord. Isa lv. 10, 11.
REAPERS.-The angels.-Matt. xiii. 39.
REGENERATION.

1. The melioration of all things, the new condition of all things in the
reign of the Messiah, when the universe, and all that it contains,
will be restored to their state of pristine purity and splendour.-
Matt. xix. 28. In the regeneration, when the son of man shall sit on
the throne of his glory.

2. In a moral sense, renovation, that is, the change from a carnal to a
Christian life.-Tit. iii. 5. (Robinson, voce Iλgg svorne.)
RICHES and TALENTS.-Gifts and graces from God.-Matt. xxv. 15.
To one he gave five talents, &c. See also Luke xix. 13, &c.
RIVER.

1. An overflowing river.-Invasion by an army.-Isa. lix. 19. The
enemy shall come in like a flood.-Jer. xlvi. 7, 8. Who is this that
cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt
riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers: and
he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city
and the inhabitants thereof. See also Isa. xxviii. 2. Jer. xlvii. 2.
Amos ix. 5. Nahum i. 4.

2.

3.

A river being frequently the barrier or boundary of a nation or
country, the drying of it up is a symbol of evil to the adjoining land;
and signifies that its enemies will make an easy conquest of it
when they find no water to impede their progress. Thus, Isaiah,
foretelling the conquest of Cyrus and the destruction of the Babylo-
nian monarchy, has these words :-That saith to the deep, Be dry:
and I will dry up thy rivers.-Isa. xi. 15. The LORD shall utterly de-
stroy the tongue of the Egyptian Sea (that part of the land of Egypt,
which was inclosed among the mouths of the Nile); and with his
mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite
it in the seven streams, and make [men] go over dry-shod. See also
Isa. xix. 6. and Zech. x. 11.

A clear river is the symbol of the greatest good.-Psal. xxxvi. 8.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and
thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with
thee is the fountain of life.-Rev. xxii. 1. He showed me a clear
river of water of life, (that is, the inexhaustible and abundant hap-
piness of the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem,) bright as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb. Its clearness in-
dicates their holiness and peace; and the brightness of its shining
like crystal, the glorious life of those who drink of it.
ROCK.

1. A defence, or place of refuge.—Isa. xvii. 10. Thou hast forgotten
the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy
strength.-Psal. xviii. 2. The Lord is my rock.

2. A quarry, figuratively the patriarch or first father of a nation; who
is, as it were, the quarry whence the men of such nation must have
proceeded.-Isa. li. 1. Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, that
is, to Abraham and Sarah, whose descendants ye are.

3. An unfruitful hearer.-Luke viii. 6. Some fell upon a rock, and as
soon as it sprang up, it withered away. See the interpretation of
Christ himself, in verse 13.

4. Rock giving water to the Israelites. (Exod. xvii. 6. Numb. xx. 10,
11.) Christ.-1 Cor. x. 4. They drank of that spiritual rock that
followed them, and that rock was CHRIST.

ROD or WAND.--Power and rule.-Psal. ii. 9. Thou shalt break them
in pieces with a rod of iron.

SACRIFICE.

1. The thing sacrificed; a victim.-Eph. v. 2. A sacrifice to God. See
Heb. ix. 26. x. 12. and also in many other passages.

2. Whatever is exhibited or undertaken in honour of God or in refer-
ence to his will: as,

(1) Piety, devotedness.-1 Pet. ii. 5. Spiritual sacrifices.

(2.) The praises of God and works of charity to men. See Heb. xiii.
15, 16.

(3.) Virtuous conduct, correct deportment.-Rom. xii. 1. Present
your bodies a living sacrifice.

(4.) Exertions for the support of Christian ministers and of the
Christian religion.-Phil. ii. 17. If I be offered upon the sacrifice
and service of your faith.

SALT.-Sound doctrines, such as preserves the world from_corrup-
tion.-Matt. v. 13. Ye are the salt of the earth.-Col. iv. 6. Let your
speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.

SAND of the sea-An aggregate body of innumerable individuals.
Their widows are increased above the sand of the seas.-Gen. xxii.
17. I will multiply thy seed....as the sand which is upon the sea-
shore,

SCORCHING Heat. See HEAT.
SEA.

1. The Gentile world.-Isa. Ix. 5. The abundance of the sea shall be
converted. See also Rev. viii. 8. and Dr. Woodhouse thereon.
[Apocalypse, p. 213.]

2. The great river Euphrates, Nile, &c.-Isa. xxi. 1. The desert of
the sea, means the country of Babylon, which was watered by the
Euphrates.-Jer. li. 36. I will dry up her sea, and make her springs
dry: this refers to the stratagem by which Cyrus diverted the
course of the river and captured Babylon.-Ezek. xxxii. 2. Thou
art as a whale in the sea; the prophet is speaking of the king of
Egypt, through which the Nile flowed. See WAVES.

3. Sea of glass.-Rev. iv. 6. The blood of the Redeemer, which
alone cleanses man from sin. It is called a sea, in allusion to the
large vessel in the temple, out of which the priests drew water to
wash themselves, the sacrifices, and the instruments of which they
made use, for sacrificing.—1 Kings vii. 23. See also SAND and
WAVES.

SEAL-SEALING.

1. Preservation and security.-Sol. Song iv. 12. A fountain sealed,
is a fountain carefully preserved from the injuries of weather and
beasts, that its waters may be preserved good and clean.
2. Secresy and privacy, because men usually seal up those things
which they design to keep secret. Thus a book sealed, is one whose
contents are secret, and are not to be disclosed until the removal of
the seal. In Isa. xxix. 11. a vision like unto a book sealed, is a
vision not yet understood.

3. Completion and perfection, also authority; because the putting of
a seal to any decree, will, or other instrument in writing, com-
pletes the whole transaction.-Ezek. xxviii. 12. Thou (the King of
Tyre) sealest up the sum full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; that
is, thou lookest upon thyself as having arrived at the highest pitch
of wisdom and glory. See Neh. ix. 8. Esther viii. 8.
4. Restraint or hinderance.-Job xxxvii. 7. He sealeth up the hand
of every man; that is, the Almighty restrains their power.-Job ix.
7. Which sealeth up the stars; that is, restrains their influences.
5. Exclusive property in a thing.-Anciently, it was the custom to
seal goods purchased; each person having his peculiar mark, which
ascertained the property to be his own. Hence, the seal of God is
His mark, by which he knoweth them that are His. (2 Tim. ii. 19.)
Under the law of Moses, circumcision is represented to be the seal
which separated the people of God from the heathen who did not
call upon his name. (Rom. iv. 11.) And in this sense the sacra-
ment of baptism succeeding to circumcision, was called by the fa-
thers of the church the seal of God: but in the Gospel, this divine
seal is more accurately described to be the Holy Spirit of God.
They who have this spirit are marked as his (2 Cor. i. 22. Eph. i.
13. iv. 30.) Our Lord Jesus Christ is represented as eminently pos-
sessing this mark. (John vi. 27.) Generally, all who name the
name of Christ and depart from iniquity, are said to be thus divine-
ly sealed. (2 Tim. ii. 19.) By the seal of the living God, mentioned
in Rev. vii. 2., is signified that impression of the Holy Spirit upon
the heart of man, which preserves in it the principles of pure faith,
producing the fruits of piety and virtue. This is the seal which
marks the real Christian as the property of the Almighty. In Rev.
vii. 3, 4. the sealed mark is said to be impressed upon the foreheads
of the servants of God, either because on this conspicuous part of
the person, distinguishing ornaments were worn by the eastern
nations; or because slaves anciently were marked upon their fore-
heads, as the property of their masters. [Dean Woodhouse on Rev.
vii. 2, 3.]

SEED-The Word of God.-Luke viii. 11.

SERPENT.-Satan, the enemy of souls.-Rev. xii. 9. That old serpent,
called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.-2 Cor.
xi. 3. The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtility.
SEVEN. See NUMBERS.

SHADOW.-Defence, protection. In the sultry eastern countries this
metaphor is highly expressive of support and protection.-Numb.
xiv. 9. Their defence (Heb. s TsiLaм, shadow) is departed from
them. Compare also Psal. xci. 1. cxxi. 5. Isa. xxx. 2. xxxii. 2. and

li. 16. The Arabs and Persians employ the same word to denote
the same thing, using these expressions:-" May the SHADOW of thy
prosperity be extended."-May the SHADOW of thy prosperity be
spread over the heads of thy well-wishers."- May thy protection
never be removed from thy head; may God extend thy SHADOW
externally." [Dr. A. Clarke on Numb. xvi. 9.]
SHEEP SHEPHERD.

1. Sheep under a Shepherd. The people under a king.-Zech. xiii. 7.
Smite the shepherd; and the sheep shall be scattered.

2. The disciples of Christ, who is their SHEPHERD; the church_of
Christ, consisting of all true believers in Him their Shepherd.-
John x. 11-14. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep. I....know my sheep.-L Pet. ii. 25. Ye....
are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

3. Lost or straying sheep represent persons not yet converted, but
wandering in sin and error.-Matt. x. 6. xv. 24. The lost sheep of
the house of Israel.-1 Pet. ii, 25. Ye were as sheep going astray.
Compare also Matt. ix. 36. and Mark vi. 34.
SHIELD.

1. A defence.-Psal. xviii. 2. The LORD is my buckler or shield. See
Psal. xxxiii. 20.

2. Faith, by which we are enabled to resist the fiery darts of the
wicked. Eph. vi. 16.

SHIPS of Tarshish; merchants, men enriched by commerce, and
abounding in all the elegancies and luxuries of life, particularly the
merchants of Tyre and Sidon. -Isa. ii. 12-16. The day of the
LORD of Hosts shall be....upon all the ships of Tarshish.-Isa. xxiii.
1. Howl, O ye ships of Tarshish.
SHOES.-The preparation of the Gospel of peace.-Eph. vi. 15.
SILENCE.

1.

2.

Bringing to silence, or putting to silence.-Utter destruction. Isa.
xv. 1. As if Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence.-Jer. viii.
14. The LORD our God hath put us to silence.
A symbol of praying.-Luke i. 9, 10.

SIT-SITTING.

1. Reigning, ruling, and judging-In Judge v. 10. Ye that sit in
judgment, are the magistrates or judges. The sitting on a throne,
which occurs so very frequently in the Scriptures, invariably
means to reign.

2. With other adjuncts, sitting has a different signification: as,
(1.) To sit upon the earth or dust, (Isa. iii. 26. xlvii. 1. Lam. ii. 10.
Ezek. xxvi. 16.) or on a dunghill, signifies to be in extreme misery.
(2.) To sit in darkness (Psal. cvii. 10. Isa. xlii. 7.) is to be in prison
and slavery.

(3.) To sit as a widow (Isa. xlvii. 8.) is to mourn as a widow.
SLAVE-One who has no property in himself, but is bought by
another. Such are all mankind, whom Christ has redeemed from
the slavery of sin.-1 Cor. vi. 20. Ye are bought with a price. See
Deut. vii. 8. Isa. lxi. 1.
SLEEP.-Death.-Dan. xii. 2. Many that sleep in the dust of the earth

shall awake.

SODOM and GOMARRAH.-Any apostate city or people: or the wicked
world at large. Isa. i. 10. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of
Sodom; give hear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
See Rev. xi. 8.
SOLDIER-A Christian who is at war with the world, the flesh, and
the devil.-2 Tim. ii. 3. Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ.

SORES, or ULCERS, Symbolically denote sins; because, according to
the Hebrew idiom and notions, to heal signifies to pardon sins; and
to pardon a sin is equivalent to healing.-2 Chron. xxx. 20. The
pious monarch, Hezekiah, having prayed that God would excuse
and pardon those who had eaten the passover without being suffi-
ciently purified, the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the
people.-Isa. liii. 5. By his stripes we are healed. In Isa. i. 6.
Wounds, bruises, and sores, are sins; the binding up of them signifies
repentance; and the healing up, remission or forgiveness.
SOUTH.-Judæa.-Ezek. xx. 46. Set thy face towards the south, and
drop [thy word] towards the south.-Judæa lay to south of Chaldæa,
where the prophet Ezekiel stood.

SOUTH FIELD.-Ezek. xx. 46. Prophesy against the forest of the South
field; that is, against Jerusalem, in which there were good and bad
men, as there are trees in a forest.
SOWER.-A preacher of the word.-Matt. xiii. 3. A sower went forth
to sow. See verse 39.
SPEAKING. See VOICE, 2.
STAR.

1. A ruler or conqueror.-Numb. xxiv. 17. There shall come a star
out of Jacob and a sceptre shall arise out of Israel, and shall smile the
corners of Moab, and shall destroy all the children of Sheth.-See an
exposition of this prophecy in the note to p. 208 of this volume.
2. The rulers of the church.-Rev. i. 20. The seven stars are the
angels of the seven churches.

3. Glorified saints.-1 Cor. xv. 41. One star differeth from another
star in glory.

4. Wandering stars. Jude. 13. Wicked apostates, that go from light
into outer darknss.
STONE.

1. Head stone of the corner-JESUS CHRIST. See CORNER STONE.
2. Stone of stumbling, (1 Pet. ii. 7.) spoken of Jesus Christ; who is
termed a stone of stumbling, that is, an occasion of ruin to the Jews,
since they took offence at his person and character, and thereby
brought destruction and misery upon themselves.

3.

Stones.-Believers who are built upon the true foundation, the
Lord Jesus Christ.-1 Pet. ii. 5. Ye also as lively (or living) stones
are built up a spiritual house.