context shews that this refers to Jesus Christ, and is an unanswerable proof of his divinity. Three times in this chapter (verses 11-13) eternal life is attributed to Christ as the author and dispenser of it (see also chap. i. 2); and what follows also adds greatly to the force of this interpretation, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols"-Christ is God, worship him, but the worship of any other is idolatry.

The immediate connection of a passage is sometimes interrupted (1) by digression or parenthesis.

This is frequent in St. Paul's writings. Thus :

Eph. iii. 1—14: verses 2-13 are a digression; the immediate connection of verse 1 is not with verse 2, but with verse 14.

(2) By the division of chapters.

Thus, Isa. ix. 8 to x. 4, Bishop Lowth remarks, is a distinct poem, having no connection whatever with what goes before or follows. Also the subject of Isa. liii. properly begins chap. lii. 13, and chap. li. ought to include to verse 12 of chap. lii.

The first three verses of the viii. chapter of Jeremiah ought not to have been separated from those of the preceding chapter. The sixth verse of the iii. chapter begins a distinct prophecy which continues to the end of the vi. chapter.

Bishops Lowth and Horsley consider Psalms xlii. and xliii. to be but one Psalm, and more than 30 MSS. confirm this opinion. Obviously the first verse of the iv. chapter to the Colossians ought to be joined to the iii. chapter.

The division of the Bible into chapters was probably not made till the middle of the 13th century, and into verses much later, A.D. 1661.

2. The Scriptures are so wonderfully interwoven together as parts of one system of truth, that frequently PORTIONS OF OTHER BOOKS of Scripture may be said to form part of the connection of a passage. Thus :

Ps. cvi. 19: "They made a calf in Horeb;" i. e. as appears from Exod. xxxii., on the very spot where, and at the time when, God was taking them into covenant. “ They worshipped the molten image," and that so soon after they had seen the terrible plagues inflicted on the Egyptians for their idolatry (Numb. xxxiii. 4).

1 Kings xxii. 48: "But the ships were broken," &c. In 2 Chron. xx. 35-37, the reason is stated.

Acts xv. 39: "Why should Barnabas so warmly espouse the cause of Mark?" Col. iv. 10. tells us he was his nephew.

Gal. vi. 15, with v. 6, and 1 Cor. vii. 19, explains what is meant by, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature." And John iii. 5, &c. explains the origin of this change.

The history of Balaam affords a remarkable illustration of the importance of comparing Scripture with Scripture. In order to obtain a complete view of his character, we must turn not only to the narrative in the book of Numbers (xxii -xxiv and xxxi.) but also to the prophet Micah (Micah vi. 6) from whom we learn the extent of his religious knowledge, the just views Balaam had of the spiritual nature of true religion and again to (2 Pet. ii. 15.) where we are informed what motive influenced him; and again to Jude, to see the deep hold which covetousness had upon him (verse 11): while the book of Revelation alone records a very remarkable fact concerning him (Rev. ii. 14.), that it was at his instigation Balak threw that temptation in the way of the Israelites which caused the destruction of 23,000 of them in one day.

The disregard of this rule of comparing Scripture with Scripture led the Jews to the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, and even to justify that rejection in their view by an appeal to Scripture.

John xii. 34: "We have heard out of our law that Christ abideth for ever, and how sayest thou the Son of man must be lifted up?" i. e. die. That Christ was to abide for ever, they gathered from those passages of Scripture where his kingdom is represented to be everlasting: as Dan. vii. 14. ; Ezek. xxxvii. 25. ; Isa. ix. 7.; and from God's promise to David, Psalm lxxxix. 36, 37. But had they also sufficiently attended, as Whitby remarks, to other passages, in which our blessed Lord is represented as a suffering Messiah (Ps. xxii. 18. xl. 6.; Isa. liii. 2, 12.; Dan. ix. 26.), they would have had their scruples removed, and would have readily believed what he so frequently foretold concerning himself.

& viii. Words used in different senses.

WORDS are not always used exactly in the same sense. For instance

Blood.

Acts xvii. 26: “Made of one blood," &c., i. e. hath created the race of man all from Adam, their first parent.

Matt. xxvii. 25: "His blood be on us," &c. ; i. e. the punishment due to the putting him to death.

Eph. i. 7: "Redemption through his blood;" i. e. by the sacrifice of his death upon the cross where his blood was shed; explaining the typical intention, under the Old Testament, of the blood rather than any other part of the victim being consecrated. Lev. xvii. 11: "For it is the blood that maketh atonement."

Covenant.

The term "Covenant" is frequently used in the Bible. We read of God entering into covenant with man; but this is in a sense differing somewhat from the covenants which men usually make with each other.

In covenants which men make with each other, as for instance Abraham and Abimelech (Gen. xxi. 27), the contracting parties, remarks Beausobre, are at liberty, and have nearly the same right of proposing the conditions on which they are willing to agree and covenant together. But the case is otherwise in those which God has made with man. God is the Creator, and men his creatures; He is the Supreme Monarch, and they his subjects; He is the Sovereign Lawgiver, and must be obeyed, absolutely and without reserve. When God, therefore, says that He makes a covenant with mankind, His meaning is, that out of condescension and mere goodness He is pleased, as it were, to descend from his Supreme Majesty, and not use his power, that He may engage them to obedience by a principle of gratitude and love.

Hence God's great covenant with fallen man, through the Lord Jesus Christ, is described (Luke i. 72) as his mercy promised to our forefathers, Abraham, &c. Mercy put in the form of a covenant, to assure us of its certainty, and to remind us of the solemnity of our obligation to holiness as partakers of such infinite mercy.

The New and Old Covenant alluded to (Jerem. xxxi. 31,

Gal. iv. 24, and in many other parts of the Bible) refer to the Jewish and Christian dispensations.

Faith.

1 Cor. xiii. 2: "All faith; i. e. such a reliance on some particular promise to that effect; evidently of a very different kind to that mentioned in Rom. v. 1.

Rom. iii. 3: "Faith of God; ' of God.

i. e. faithful promises

Acts xxiv. 24: "The faith in Christ; i. e. referring to the doctrines of the Gospel generally, of which a reliance on Christ alone for salvation is the distinguishing feature. Rom. xiv. 23. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Here faith signifies not the belief of the Gospel, but the persuasion that what we do is lawful.

Flesh.

Rom. vii. 5, viii. 8: "They that are in the flesh cannot please God;" i. e. those who are under the guidance of their corrupt nature; yet,

Ezekiel xxxvi. 26: "A heart of flesh means a tender, teachable temper.

Gal. iii. 3: "Are ye now made perfect by the flesh;" i. e. the outward ceremonies of the Mosaic law, particularly circumcision.

Job. xix. 26: "In my flesh," &c. : i. e. my flesh or body being raised from the grave.

Gen. vi. 12: "All flesh had corrupted his way; i. e. all men. So also Ps. lxv. 2: "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come;" i. e. all mankind.

Grace.

Grace means favour; but in the particular application of it, it is made to refer to different subjects.

Rom. iii. 24: "Being justified freely by his grace," refers to God's mercy in the pardon of sin, bestowed without any merit in us.

Titus ii. 11: "The grace of God, &c., teacheth," &c.; refers to the Gospel.

2 Peter iii. 18: "Grow in grace," &c.; i. e. holiness, and so called because it is the effect of God's grace, we being his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

Law.

Rom. iii. 20: Refers to law in general, comprehending the law written on man's heart (Rom. ii. 15) as well as the law of Moses, or the revealed law.

John x. 34: Refers to the Jewish Scriptures generally, it being a reference to Ps. lxxxii. 6.

Heb. x. 1: Refers to the covenant made with the Jews, particularly their ceremonial law.

Rom. vii. 7: Refers to the Ten Commandments.

Isa. ii. 3: "Out of Zion a law;" i. e. the doctrine of the Gospel; because it has the nature and power of a law, obliging us no less to the belief and practice of it than the old law did. " i. e. the Gospel.

James i. 25: "Perfect law of liberty;

All, every, &c.

1 Cor. x. 23: "All things are lawful," &c.; i. e. many things, otherwise permitted, become by circumstances inexpedient.

Phil. iv. 13: "I can do all things;" i. e. within the limits of Christian duty.

Luke xvi. 16, &c. : 66 Kingdom of Heaven, &c., every man presseth into it ;" i. e. without distinction of Jew or Gentile.

Luke ii. 1: “All the world," i. e. the Roman Empire. Acts xi. 28: "All the world," meaning Judea; the famine was not at Antioch, and Josephus mentions that large quantities of corn were sent up to Jerusalem from other countries.

1 John ii. 20: "Ye know all things," &c.; and again, (ver. 27), "Ye need not that any man teach you," &c. Not that they had absolutely no need of human teaching, or that the Holy Spirit would guide them by any other rule than that of his written word; but that word dwelling in them richly, they had not so much need to be taught as those that knew not the first principles of the oracles of God. If not taken in this restricted sense, it would reduce us to the absurdity of supposing it impossible that a man, in any degree of error, could be a true Christian (since all true Christians are anointed or taught by the Holy Ghost); and that the productions of a man's distempered brain, dignified with the name of revelations of the Spirit, were superior even to the Scriptures. See Doddridge, &c.