We, have done more in the separation of all figurative language into families of figurative speech than any other people. Among the ancients there were but few designations. In the Scriptures we have the parable, the proverb, the type, and the allegory named. We also have the fable used, but not named. Into these figures they crowded all we know of tropical language. They were free in the use of figures, but not in definitions of them. We must, therefore, be permitted to bring to the task everything we can get by which to understand the kinds of figurative language they employed, and the laws that govern each of these classes. The parable then contained all we put into the parable and the simile and the similitude, and sometimes the parable and the proverb were used interchangeably. At other times it means a type. This seems strange to us, for they are so unlike, as we speak of them. But we will give the reasons for this further along in the work. We do not stop to blame the Orientals for not distinguishing between one figure and another, for modern writers, with all the advantages of our schools; do not always succeed. Our works of rhetoric are not well agreed as to the exact office of the several figures that are now in common use; and there are many writers on types, and metaphors, and parables, and allegories, who do not seem to have taken any advantage of our [226] works of rhetoric. But when we have exhausted the list of figures found in our modern books on interpretation, we have not yet found all the figures that are used in the Scriptures. It has seemed necessary to either enlarge some of the figures we have now, or invent terms by which to indicate the character and power of other forms of speech found in the Bible.

      SEC. 53. THE PARABLE.--This is from the two Greek words, para, beside, and ballein, to throw; hence a placing beside or together, a comparing, comparison: a story by which something real in life is used as a means of presenting a moral thought. The actors in a parable are real--human beings are the actors, and they do nothing which they could not do; things were not related which could not be accomplished by the agencies employed.

      The parable is the oldest and most common of all the figures of speech. The Old Testament contains many of them, and the Saviour taught almost constantly by that medium of illustration.

      There seem to have been several reasons for its use in the teaching of the Master.

      "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? And he answered unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (Matt. xiii. 10-13).

      Now, in this declaration of purpose the Saviour seems to have in view the teaching of one part of the crowd, and preventing the other part of it from [227] understanding what was being said. His reason for not giving them the truth, was that they would not receive it nor follow it.

      And yet when we have read the Scriptures through, the parables seem to have been employed, for the most part at least, for the purpose of making clear that which would not otherwise have been understood. That purpose of the parable is so patent that it is the only view that the people generally have of it. The allegories which the Saviour employed in John vi., seem to have been to hide the truth from those who would abuse the light if it were furnished. And yet at the same time the teaching became more powerful to those who came to Him afterwards, and had it explained to them. And I think there is every reason to believe that the parable was used for the same purpose--that of embalming the truth, that it might never be forgotten. These story illustrations of the Saviour were not only a means of making truth to be understood, but to cause it to be remembered. Those who heard His stories of illustration never forgot them. Again, we find a purpose in the use of this figure that is quite in addition to any others yet mentioned: it was to present a truth to the mind, and yet keep the person for whom it was intended from seeing the point till the mind had assented to the truth that was taught thereby. To proceed by the use of statement and argument would cause the person to array himself against the force of the truth being presented. Nathan came to David with a very pitiful story about some man who went and took the ewe lamb, the only one his poor neighbor had, and killed it for the friend who stopped with him, while he had plenty of flocks of his own [228] (II. Sam. xii. 1-6). David could easily see the meanness of such conduct, and he became so enraged that he determined to have the man put to death--he was too mean to live. Nathan had not made the application. But when he said, "Thou art the man," David was soon made to see the force of the truth. He could not have been made to understand his sin in any other way--at least, not so clearly.

      In II. Sam. xiv. 1-24, we have the account of a parable arranged by Joab, and told to David by the woman of Tekoah, to have the king send for Absalom from the land of Geshur. She came looking very heartbroken, and told the king of her two sons who strove, and one having killed the other; the people were trying to kill him, and that would quench her coal, or extinguish her family. This so wrought upon the feelings of David that he said he would protect her son. Then she asked why he did not cause his own son to return home. The point was gained, and Absalom came home to his own possessions.

      An illustration of this use of the parable will be found in the teaching of the Saviour on the fourth day of the week of crucifixion. It is commonly called the parable of the vineyard, and will be read in full in Matt. xxi. 33-46; Mark xii. 1-12; and Luke xx. 9-19. To get this lesson properly before the mind of the reader, I will make a condensed reading from the three records:

      And he began to speak this parable to the people. There was a master of a house that planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and digged in it a winepress, and built a tower, and let it out to vine-dressers, and went into another country, and was absent from home a long time. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive the fruits of it. And the vine-dressers took his servants and scourged [229] one, and killed another, and stoned another, wounding him in the head. Again he sent other servants more than the first: and they treated them in like manner. And the owner of the vineyard said: What shall I do? Having one son, my beloved, I will send him; perhaps when they see him, they will reverence him. But when the vine-dressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying: This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and drove him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those wicked vine-dressers? They said to him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and let his vineyard to other vine-dressers, who will give him the fruits in their seasons. Yea, said Jesus, He will come and destroy those vine-dressers, and will give his vineyard to others.

      And when they heard it (perceiving how that he had spoken the parable against them), they said, Let it not be! And Jesus looked on them, and said to them: Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner? This was from the Lord, and it is wondrous in our eyes. For this reason, I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation that will bring forth the fruits of it. And he that falls upon this stone shall be dashed to pieces: but him on whom it shall fall, it will make him like chaff for the wind. And when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they sought to lay hold on him, but they feared the multitude, because they regarded him as a prophet.

      This is the form of the parable, and its results that I get by reading the account in all of the evangelists. If we have not read amiss, then Jesus did for them what Nathan did for David--He came up on the blind side of those men, and presented them truth so that they assented to it, before they saw that it meant them.

      I think, then, we are at liberty to say that parables were used for the following purposes--(1), To reveal truth: making the people to understand the unknown by a comparison with the known. (2) For the purpose [230] of concealing truth from the minds of those who had no right to it, or who would abuse it if it were given to them. (3) They were made the means of embalming truth. (4) And in the fourth place, for the purpose of causing men to assent to truth before they could know it certainly meant them.

      While we are ready to regard the parable as the most apt mode of instruction, and the easiest and safest manner of enforcing conviction, yet it is the most difficult of all figures to construct. It is easy to rehearse a story for illustration, but to construct a parable is not so easy.

      In I. Ki. xx. 35-43, we have a parable in which Ahab is condemned for permitting Benhadad to go free, when it was his duty to destroy him:

      "And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his head-band over his eyes. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and said, Thy servant went into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgement be; thyself hast decided it. And he hasted, and took the head-band away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, [231] therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria."

      The purpose of this parable is clear to every one. The king was to be condemned by himself. David had been led to do that; and the Master had caused the Jews to pass judgment against themselves by the use of a parable.

      The parables of the New Testament are quite clear. A few of them were explained by the Saviour, but most of them were so clear that no one would miss the meaning who wanted to know the truth. And yet some of these have been very strangely interpreted. The three parables in Luke xv., are so plain that it would seem impossible for any one to miss their import. And yet many things have been deduced from them that were not in the Saviour's mind. The first and second verses give the key to all of them:

      "Now all the publicans and sinners were drawing near to him for to hear him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them."

      Then, to show them the unreasonableness of such a complaint, He gave them the three parables that followed--the lost sheep, the lost piece of money, and the lost boy. By these He taught them that they ought to forget the better class, for the time, in their earnest endeavor to save sinners.

      The parable of the sower (Matt. xiii. 1-9) is explained in vers. 10-23; and the parable of the good seed and the tares (Matt. xiii. 24-30) is explained in vers. 36-43. Although these are exceedingly plain in themselves, and the explanation is as clear as language could [232] be, still they have been made to teach almost everything that genius could imagine. Quite a common interpretation of the good seed and the tares is that there can be no withdrawal of fellowship, for the wicked and the righteous shall grow together till the end of the world.

      It is nothing to these exegetes that the Scriptures teach in several places that they must withdraw from all that walk disorderly, and that the man that will not hear his brethren nor the church should be to them as heathen and a publican. Nor does it change the matter for them that the Master says the field is the world, and the harvest is the end of the world. Some way they have fixed it in their minds that the kingdom and the church are the same, and therefore the field is not the world, but the church. It is strange that they do not see that Christ is Ruler of the kings of the earth, and that all authority in heaven and earth was given into His hands.

      The rest of the parables spoken at the time that Jesus was in the boat at Capernaum, are easily explained as similes or similitudes. They differ from what we now denominate a parable, in that they are not stories, but statements of truth or fact, with which statement the unknown truth is compared. But of this in its own place.

      The parable of the great supper (Luke xiv. 16-24) has several points to present to the mind: (1) The greatness of the feast being prepared. (2) The unreasonableness of apologies that were made for not attending it. (3) The ease with which all could attend. (4) The sin of slighting honor and favor, and the punishment that would come to such persons. (5) And that the places that had been reserved for those first bidden would be given to others who would accept. Of course [233] it is easy to see that the Jews had been favored with this first invitation, and that, refusing it, they would be cast aside, to make room for those who would receive an invitation as a great honor.

      The parable in Luke xvi. 19-31, of the rich man and the poor man, has been made to mean almost everything within the range of theological speculation. And yet, if one will turn and read ver. 14, it will be easily seen that it was for the purpose of showing them the results of wealth on the mind that would yield to its influence and control. The Master had said that it was impossible to serve God and Mammon both; but there were wealthy Pharisees present who derided Him.

      To show the result of the course they preferred, the parable is recited:

      Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day: and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried. And in hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they which would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us. And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham with, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. [234] And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead."

      No one asked that this parable should be explained. Its meaning was clear to those to whom it was spoken. But modern theology is opposed to its teaching, and it is doubtful, if the Saviour had explained it, if the interpretation would be any better received.

      Some have been heard to say, "It is nothing but a parable." Well, what of that? It is not said to be a parable, and yet there is much evidence that it was. But does that fact lessen the importance of its teaching?

      Another way of removing the offensive truth is to say it refers to the Jews and the Gentiles. But why say that? There has been no reference to any such a topic in the connection--no evidence that the Master had these nationalities before Him. Here are a few reasons why it can have no such meaning:

      1. It was not stated, nor even hinted, as being any purpose in giving the parable. There is neither statement before nor afterwards, that would lead to such a conclusion; nor is there the slightest hint in the presentation of the parable that it had that thought for them.

      2. The purpose is clearly indicated, as before shown, to be to show the dangers of wealth.

      3. The Jews have never seen the Gentiles in a condition such that they regarded them as in Abraham's bosom and themselves shut out.

      4. They have never believed themselves delivered over to torment.

      5. They have never asked that the Gentiles should [235] come to their relief by administering comforts that were beyond their reach.

      6. There has never been any impassable gulf fixed between these peoples, so that one may not pass over to the other.

      7. The Gentiles were never laid at the gate of the Jewish nation, asking crumbs that were falling from their table.

      8. Neither nation has gone into another state of being, or into non-existence, as some critics would have death to signify.

      9. If the Jewish nation had died, it would not have five brothers remaining yet in the world, who might be warned against its fate.

      10. To try this interpretation of the parable by removing the word and inserting the definition, we would have nothing but nonsense made of the whole figure. If rich man means Jewish nation, then remove rich man and insert Jewish nation; and so for the beggar insert Gentile nation. Now read the parable, inserting these definitions, and nothing but nonsense is left in it.

      Then there is no reason for the interpretation, and every reason why it can not be correct.

      The real import of the figure may be easily gathered by any one at all interested in knowing the teaching of the Master:

      1. It is not possible to serve two masters (13, 14).

      2. After death, the conditions can not be changed. If men are not in a safe condition then, it will be impossible for them to be prayed out of that purgatorial condition, or for any relief to come to them.

      3. Praying to saints is of no value. [236]

      4. Men are expected to prepare to meet God by the light of the revelation which He has furnished.

      5. There are no warnings to come back to us from the Spirit land.

      6. There is consciousness between death and the resurrection from the dead.

      7. There is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection. This scene is laid on a condition that comes after death. It was before the resurrection, for there will be none on the earth to warn after the resurrection shall have taken place. But someone will say that the eternal state of these men being fixed, the judgment is passed with them, and therefore the resurrection, in their cases, has been accomplished. This is not true. Lazarus going back would be regarded as one going to them from the dead; and this could not be said of any one in the resurrection state.

      We have chosen to give this much space to this one parable, first, because of its own worth; and second, because of the many wrong views that have been taken of it. Many of the things to be gained from it have been taken for granted by the Saviour. He uses the words of the Pharisees, and evidently in the same sense in which they employed them.

      In Luke xviii. 1-74, we have two parables on the subject of prayer. In that of the importunate widow we have perseverance in prayer taught, and in the second, relating to the Pharisee and publican, the humility necessary to acceptance before God. These are the only lessons contained in them. The quality of the unjust judge in no way represents anything that is true with God; and the parable was not instituted for that [237] purpose, but simply to show that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.

      Jesus taught a young lawyer how to be neighbor by the use of the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke x. 25-37). We are not able to say if this case ever occurred, nor do we care: the lesson is perfect. Having agreed that to love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself, were the duties of men, he wished to excuse himself with a pretense of ignorance about who his neighbor was. So the Master has a Jew, who was hated by all Samaritans, to fall among robbers and to be left in need of help; and while the priest and the Levite passed without noticing him, looking on the other side, the Samaritan took him to an inn and paid his expenses. And, having presented the case, He said: "Go and do likewise." There could be no question asked respecting the meaning of this parable, for but one was possible--that the Samaritan was made to know that the Jew was his neighbor, and that he must do him good. Hence, if this man will love his neighbor as himself, he must do as that man did.

      It would seem impossible for any one to misunderstand the parable of the good Samaritan. And yet Bishop Heber has a sermonic exegesis of it in which the traveller represents the human race; his leaving Jerusalem is made to symbolize man's departure from God; Jericho is the symbol for temptations; the robbers are the devil and his angels; the priest signifies the sacrifices of the Old Testament; the Levite represents the law of Moses, and the Samaritan typifies the Saviour. And yet it is candidly asserted that the Bishop was a man of good sense! I think he might have gone further, and made the inn represent the church of Christ; [238] the oil and the wine the blood of the atonement and the gift of the Holy Spirit; the two pieces of money the two ordinances left till the Saviour shall come again; and the promised return of this man, to stand for the second coming of the Saviour to the world. Then it would be too bad to leave out the ass on which the man had ridden. The beast. might symbolize the feeling of self-sufficiency on which the world rides away from God. But the time is coming when such vagaries and conceits will not form any part of the culture or genius necessary to the ministry. It is high time that we were done with such foolishness. And yet almost every figure of the whole Bible has been rendered about as ludicrous as this, by some one who was regarded as brilliant.

      The parable of the Saviour concerning the feature of rewards in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. xx. 1-16), has suffered more from interpretation than did the woman with an issue of blood from the physicians during a period of twelve years. There was never any reason for all this, except that men have wished to find some apology for delinquency, or to exhibit skill in exegesis possessed by no one else.

      This householder went out in the first, hour, and in the third hour; also the sixth, ninth, and the eleventh. Each time he found men waiting for some one to employ them. In the evening he had his steward to pay them all alike--a penny.

      Many have seen in this parable that the Lord is holding out encouragement for those who come late in life to begin in the service of the Lord. They have lived, perhaps, in the light and blaze of Christian truth, and now, when the dying hour has come, and they have no further [239] strength with which to serve the devil, they repent, and are to be preached into the highest heavens, because there were some contortions when they came face to face with death.

      Others have shown skill in the work of interpretation by supposing that the Lord referred to different ages of the world by the several hours at which servants were employed. For instance, the Lord employed men in the Adamic period; then in the time of Noah, Abraham, Moses, John, Jesus. If this arrangement does not suit the particular fancy, then some other can be fixed upon that will show an equal amount of dexterity. It is not interpretation, however, but injection. Nothing like either of these was in the mind of the Master. The chapter begins with: "For the kingdom of heaven is like." Its beginning word is the sign of a logical conclusion, and hence the parable that follows is to illustrate a statement already made. Turning to the last verse of the previous chapter, and the remark that needs to be carried out is: "But many shall be last that are first; and first that are last." And then, when the parable has been recited, that point is supposed to have been gained, for He says: "So the last shall be first, and the first last" (xx. 16).

      By reference to the previous chapter, and the twenty-seventh verse, the reason for the remark appears to be the danger of Peter, and, perhaps, others of His early disciples, taking too much glory to themselves. He said, "We have left all, to follow thee." The Master says that all who had left houses, etc., to follow Him, should be rewarded; but it is not a question of having had first opportunities to know Him, for all those who would unite their fortunes with Him should receive the same reward. [240] There is no thought about any being acceptable to God who had wasted their lives in the service of the enemy, when they had a chance to know the will of the Saviour; nor is there the slightest reference to the different ages of the world. The parable is beautiful, when employed as the Master gave it.

      The parable of the ten virgins is one of the clearest in all the New Testament. Its one point--the need of watchfulness, in view of the coming of the Lord--is apparent to every reader. And yet this parable has suffered much from over-interpretation. Men have seen that the Lord will come when the world will be indifferent, or sound asleep--it is midnight; that He will come with a crowd of attendants--or with all His holy angels; that the supply of the Holy Spirit will be wanting with those who do not renew frequently. Some have found that all the virgins slept before the Lord's coming, and therefore He must refer them to the time of the resurrection of the dead. But all of this is a work of supererogation. The whole thought of the figure is that they should always be ready; for the Lord will come at a time when men do not expect Him, and they must be ready to enter with Him, or they will not be able to enter at all. There will be no opportunity to prepare then for entering into the wedding.

      The parable of the unjust steward (Luke xvi. 1-13), has, perhaps, given more difficulty to critics and commentators than any other. Many strange translations have been proposed, to get rid of the imaginary troubles of the figure. It is maintained by some that the rendering generally given makes the Saviour recommend the dishonesty and theft of this man; whereas, instead of being held up as a model, he ought to be regarded as the [241] most arrant of knaves. Hence, instead of the common translation of vers. 9, "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness," it should read, "Make to yourselves friends without the mammon of unrighteousness." They think that it was the Saviour's purpose to direct them to do just the opposite of what this wicked steward did: he made friends with money, or wealth, and they should make friends without it. And this thought is supposed to be enforced by the fact that He said this to His disciples, who were without this mammon.

      I shall not stop to criticise the translation proposed, but suppose that the language may be so rendered. The way to settle the question is not, however, by the possibilities of translation. The Lord never presented a figure that He made to depend upon any renditional gymnastics. The truth is much easier than that. When we learn that there may be many things in a parable that are merely incidental, and are no part of the lesson to be learned, we will be ready to search, first of all, for the purpose for which the figure was employed. Learning this, the interpretation will be easy. No one can suppose, for a moment, that the Saviour had in His mind any sanction for the robbery perpetrated by this man (11-13). Several questions need to be settled, in order to assure ourselves that we know exactly the purpose of the parable:

      Who constituted His hearers?--It will be answered, "His disciples." But who are meant by that term? From the word "also" (1), we suppose it to be the crowd that He had addressed in the previous chapter. And we know that they are a mixed assembly--publicans and sinners, Pharisees and scribes. We learn from [242] xvi. 14, that these Pharisees were lovers of money, and that they heard this parable, and scoffed at Him for speaking it. Hence, if the word disciple must be limited to the apostles, yet it remains a fact that, as the sermon on the mount was delivered in the hearing of the multitude, and much of it for the multitude, so it was in this case. And yet it is more probable that Luke uses the term to indicate no more than those who were learning of Him at that time. These publicans were very much in need of something on the money question that would check their avarice and theft. It is seen that the Pharisees were in no better condition.

      What did He intend to accomplish by the parable?--They understood Him to condemn them for giving their hearts and lives in the acquisition of wealth. The closing of this parable and the institution of the next (19-31), show that such was His purpose.

      Where, then, is the lesson?--The wisdom of using the things of this life that we may have a home provided in the life that is to come. The Saviour does not commend the wrong that the steward did, but the wisdom of looking ahead far enough to secure a home when he should be cast out of this one. Hence they were not to be so wedded to their money that they would fail to make a good use of it; and to give their hearts to its acquisition would prevent that service of God which would be necessary to secure for them a home beyond this life.

      The seven parables of Balaam are difficult, because they are not what we call parables. There are in them similes, similitudes, and clear prophetic statements. See Num. xxiii. 7-10, 18-24; xxiv. 3-9, 15-19; xx. 21, 22, 23-25. Each time it is said in the beginning that Balaam "took up his parable." I understand this to [243] mean, he spoke by inspiration in figurative language. Some of these are beautiful similes, but there is not what we now denominate a parable.

      There are a number of parables in the New Testament that will be treated under the head of similes, because they belong in that line of figure. As we said before, they had but few figures, or but few names for figures of speech in Bible terms. We have now separated these, and given to them names by which we can understand definitely just what we have to deal with. There are also many parables which we have not mentioned; they are in the order in which parables are presented, but we have not the space to devote to them. Besides, there will not be found any difficulty in their interpretation.

      SEC. 54. THE FABLE.--This is often confounded with the parable. Yet there is a clear distinction. Webster says of a fable:

      "1. A feigned story or tale; a fictitious narration, intended to enforce some useful truth or precept; an apologue.

      "'Jotham's fable of the trees is the oldest extant, and as beautiful as any made since.'--ADDISON.

      "2. The plot, or connected series of events, forming the subject of an epic or dramatic poem.

      "'The moral is the first business of the poet: this being formed, he contrives such a design or fable as may be most suitable to the moral.'--DRYDEN.

      "3. Fiction; untruth; falsehood.

      "'It would look like a fable to report that this gentleman gives away a great fortune by secret methods.'"--ADDISON.

      If we take the fables of Æsop as a guide, a fable is an illustration made by attributing human qualities to animate and inanimate beings. The truth or moral to be enforced may be of a very high order, but the actors [244] are selected from those beings which are incompetent to do such things. Like a parable, it is put into a form of a story; but unlike the parable, its actors are unreal, while the parable is made from the actual occurrences of life, and no one is made to act a fictitious part.

      The fable is better suited to indicate some blunder made by men, and to serve the purpose of amusing criticism, than to illustrate any high moral truth. Hence it is little used in the Scriptures.

      "And all the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem. And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? And the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and uprightly, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands: (for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: and ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of [245] Shechem, because he is your brother:) if ye then have dealt truly and uprightly with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother" (Judg. ix. 6-21).

      The criticism of this fable was not only good for that time, but it is yet a fine illustration of the way of the world. Those least competent and worthy are most ready to assume responsibilities and take command.

      We have a fairly well constructed fable in II. Kings xiv. 8-10:

      "Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Ammazíah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory thereof, and abide at home; for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?"

      The criticism intended by this fable is easily reached. Amaziah had hired an army of Israelites to assist him against Edom, but the Lord refused to let them go with the Jews. So he paid them, and sent them home. But they were angry, and injured the people of the Jews on their return. Amaziah was successful against the Edomites, and then adopted their idolatry. When he returned, he asked that the matter of bad faith be settled between the armies of the Jews and the Israelites. This brought the reply from Jehoash in the form of a fable.

      SEC. 55. SIMILE.--Webster defines it. [246]

      "A word or phrase by which anything is likened in one of its aspects to another; a similitude; a poetical or imaginative comparison.

      "'A good swift simile, but something currish.'"--SHAKESPEARE.

      A few examples will suffice for this figure of speech:

      "And it shall be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion" (Isa. xxix. 8).

      Nothing need be said about this simile respecting its import. The prophet explains it. The nations that will come against mount Zion, while they will dream of getting spoil, will be mistaken, This has particular reference to the coming of Sennacherib, of Assyria, who should gather much spoil from the land of the Jews, and then, the night before he should expect to have Jerusalem in his power, would have nearly all his men destroyed in the night by the angel of the Lord.

      "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, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isa. iv. 10, 11).

      It should be noticed that this is said concerning the promises of Jehovah. What He has offered to those who love to do His will, He will give them. To show His faithfulness in this respect, He presents them with His work for the good of the race in the sowing and gathering of grain. God fulfills His part; and yet if [247] man does not fulfill his part, there will be no harvest. To those who will trust the Lord according to His word, there shall be no disappointment.

      "And the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah" (Isa. i. 8, 9).

      This simile is a very strong one, as the comparison is vivid. A booth in a vineyard or a lodge in a garden of cucumbers would not be expected to be very enduring; a besieged city would certainly be in great danger of destruction; indeed, if it had not been that there was a seed of those who did good and followed God, they would have been ruined before that time, and that as utterly as Sodom and Gomorrah.

      "Lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings" (Jer. iv. 4).

      "And the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods" (Dan. iii. 25).

      "And he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him" (Matt. iii. 16).

      "They are like unto children that sit in the market place, and call one to another; which say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not weep" (Luke vii. 32).

      "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matt. xxiii. 27).

      "All we like sheep have gone astray; . . . as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb: yea, he opened not his mouth" (Isa. liii. 6, 7).

      "And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites" (Matt. vi. 5).

      The simile always furnishes the means of a comparison by a statement, not a story. It also contains the [248] sign of that comparison. It is plainer than the metaphor, on that account; the metaphor makes the comparison by mentioning the one when you know the other is meant, because of some feature or features in the thing referred to that are like the thing that is mentioned.

      In many popular works these figures are used interchangeably. But they are more easily explained when properly defined.

      SEC. 56. THE SIMILITUDE.--This is a drawn-out or prolonged simile. It differs from an allegory, in that it is constituted of similes, and not of metaphors. It differs from the parable, in that it is made from statements, but is not woven into a story. The similitude frequently contains its own explanation. An allegory is frequently followed by an exposition. So are parables. We have a number of parables in the New Testament which, in the form we have them, are properly denominated similitudes. They may have been presented in the parable form, but, if so, they have been reduced to the form of statement, and are not parables as we have them. This should not excite any wonder, as they did not define figures of speech as we do. In Luke iv. 23, we have the word parable, where, in our custom, it should be proverb. Indeed it is so rendered in the Common Version. Jesus says: "Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable: Physician, heal thyself." Of course that is not a parable, in the sense in which we use the term. It also occurs in Heb. ix. 9; xi. 19, and in the Common Version is rendered "figure."

      In many other places we have been so long accustomed to calling them parables, that it is like sacrilege to us to have them called anything else. And yet there is no name given to them in the Scriptures. [249]

      "Every one therefore which heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, which built his house upon the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. And everyone that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof" (Matt. vii. 24-27).

      Here the comparison is clear, by means of this double simile or similitude. It would have been a parable if the same thought had been put into the form of a story, and exhibited in that way.

      "And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come" (Mark iv. 26-29).

      This, again, is called a parable; but if our definitions are correct, it is a similitude.

      What is usually called the parable of the lamp (Mark iv. 21, 22), is properly a metaphor. This, however, will be seen under that figure of speech.

      "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, except he have contended lawfully. The husbandman that laboreth must be the first to partake of the fruits. Consider what I say; for the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things" (II. Tim. ii. 3-7).

      Part of this has the exact form of the metaphor, but [250] it contains the likeness or sign of comparison, and therefore must be catalogued as a similitude.

      Many of the Psalms are in the form of similitude. It was a favorite form of expression with the writer. We are sorely tempted to give a number of these, but we must desist for lack of space.

      "Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress
      Incline thine ear unto me;
      In the day when I call answer me speedily.
      For my days consume away like smoke,
      And my bones are burned as a firebrand,
      My heart is smitten like grass, and withered;
      For I forget to eat my bread.
      By reason of the voice of my groaning
      My bones cleave to my flesh.
      I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
      I am become as an owl of the waste places.
      I watch, and am become
      Like a sparrow that is alone upon the housetop.
      Mine enemies reproach me all the day;
      They that are mad against me do curse by me
      For I have eaten ashes like bread,
      And mingled my drink with weeping,
      Because of thine indignation and thy wrath
      For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away.
      My days are like a shadow that declineth;
      And I am withered like grass" (Psa. cii. 2-11).

      Here we have a goodly number of similes for the purpose of expressing the condition of the writer. He was weak, short-lived, hated by many, and under the wrath of God. But to put it in that form would not do for an Oriental. He must have something stronger and more vivid.

      A beautiful similitude is found in Psa. xc. 4-6:

      "For a thousand years in thy sight
      Are but as yesterday when it is past, [251]
      And as a watch in the night.
      Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep
      In the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
      In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up;
      In the evening it is cut down, and withereth."

      This song is supposed to have been composed by Moses, and gives forth his thought respecting the shortness of human life. God's years shall not fail, but the time allotted to man is but "as a watch in the night."

      SEC. 57. THE METAPHOR.--This is from the two Greek words, meta, beyond, over, and pherein, to bring, to carry. Webster says of it: "A short similitude; a similitude reduced to a single word; or a word expressing similitude without the signs of comparison. Thus, 'that man is a fox,' is a metaphor; but 'that man is like a fox,' is a simile, similitude, or comparison."

      The metaphor is briefer and more pungent than the simile. On that account it was more frequently used by the ancients. It presents characteristics by the means of a representative of the thought that is intended to be conveyed, by calling one thing by another term which denotes the characteristic which is to be made prominent. The simile gently says that is like it; the metaphor says it is it. "I will devour them like a lion" (Hos. xiii. 8), is a simile; "Judah is a lion's whelp" (Gen. xl. 9), is a metaphor.

      The Bible is full of metaphors, and yet we must not now offer many. But we must have enough, that we may understand the allegory.

      "In that very hour there came certain Pharisees, saying to him, Get thee out, and go hence: for Herod would fain kill thee. And he said unto them, Go and say to that fox, Behold I cast out devils and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I am perfected" (Luke xiii. 31, 32). [252]

      If He had said, "Go tell that man that is like a fox," it would have been a simile, but it would have lacked its force. In Jer. ii 13, we have two metaphors, one by which God would be understood in His providential and benevolent character, and the other to indicate the condition into which Israel had come by forsaking His service:

      "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."

      In the song that Moses taught to the children of Israel, God presents His willingness to destroy the wicked, by the use of the metaphor (Deut. xxxii. 42):

      "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,
      And my sword shall devour flesh;
      With the blood of the slain and the captives,
      From the head of the leaders of the enemy."

      When the Saviour gave the institution of the supper, He did it in the most beautiful of metaphorical language (Matt. xxvi. 26-28):

      "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many unto the remission of sins."

      Paul presents this thought without the use of the metaphor (I. Cor. x. 16):

      "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?"

      But in xi. 23-25 he employs the same figure that the Lord did in instituting it. This shows that they [253] regarded the one form of expression as containing the same as the other. To say this is the communion of the body and blood of Christ, is metonymy of the agent; to say that these are like the body and blood, would be a simile, but the beauty and strength would have been removed in that way; hence the Master chose the form of the metaphor as the most expressive.

      In John vi. 32-65 is the finest collection of metaphors to be found anywhere. Some deal with this chapter as they do with the institution of the supper, in a spirit of legalism, as if the Master had been delivering a lecture on chemistry--and in that way rob themselves of the thought and sweetness of the teaching. There were those present on that occasion that did the same thing, and hence thought He had given them some very hard sayings. They were about as low-minded as the Samaritan woman, reported in John iv. Whosoever would drink of the water he would give, would never thirst, made her wish for that water, so that she would not have to come there and draw. And when the Saviour told the disciples that He had bread to eat they knew not of, they said, "Hath any man brought him aught to eat?"

      So they failed, about as signally as did the woman, to catch the meaning of His words. They did this again when they were on their way to Cæsarea Philippi (Matt. xvi.). They had forgotten to take bread, and in His teaching He said to them, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees;" and they regarded it as a rebuke, for not having provided bread. John seemed to understand this style of speech better than any of the other disciples, and therefore has made more frequent use of the Saviour's metaphors. [254] John ii. 19, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," had a meaning which the Jews pretended not to understand. Chap. vii. 37, 38, is so full of beauty and strength that John explains it, lest some would not be able to understand it:

      "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

      It would be as reasonable to interpret this literally as Matt. xxvi. 26-28, or the many figures of John vi.

      "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. v. 13-16).

      They were not said to be like salt, nor to have the qualities of light, or be in view of the world as a city on a hill, but they were all these.

      "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ: wherefore, 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" (I. Cor. v. 6-8).

      In a church like that at Corinth, a man living with his father's wife would have a bad influence--so corrupting that ruin would be almost sure to follow. Start a social disorder of that nature, and the church will come [255] to nothing unless the evil is removed very soon. It works like leaven, till it overcomes the entire body.

      In Eph. iii. 18, the love of Christ is presented by breadth and length, and height and depth, as if ii were something that might be weighed--measured with a yard-stick. This metaphor is difficult to explain, and yet it is understood by every one. All know that Paul meant to say that it is more profound than man can comprehend.

      "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born anew, he can not see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God" (John iii. 3-5).

      If Jesus had said that a man must pass through a process that is like a birth, it would have been a simile; but the form of expression here used is that of the metaphor--a man must be born again.

      The metaphor employed by Paul twice (Rom. vi. 3, 4, and Col. ii. 12):

      "Buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." "We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life."

      In one respect, the latter of these quotations has the feature of a simile, but on the whole it is better explained by the use of the metaphor. The burial was not literal--they could not have been entombed with the Saviour. It was therefore only in the likeness of that occurrence. If the sign of that likeness had been used, [256] it would have been a simile; but the burial stated, it has the form of the metaphor.

      Metaphors are frequently taken from the characteristics of animals.

      "Issachar is a strong ass,
      Couching down between the sheepfolds:
      And he saw a resting place that it was good,
      And the land that it was pleasant;
      And he bowed his shoulder to bear,
      And became a servant under taskwork" (Gen. xlix. 14, 15).

      Here the characteristics of the ass are ascribed to Issachar. If it had been said that he should be like an ass, in that he would be satisfied with plenty to eat and be willing to bear the burden placed upon him, then it would have been a simile; but the metaphor presents the thought in a more rugged way--"Issachar is a strong ass."

      Vers. 16, 17, is a beautiful metaphor:

      "Dan shall judge his people,
      As one of the tribes of Israel.
      Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
      An adder in the path,
      That biteth the horses' heels,
      So that his rider falleth backward."

      A play is first made on the word Dan, which means a judge; and then the character of the man and the tribe is given by the serpent which he is said to be.

      "Gad, a troop shall press upon him:
      But he shall press upon their heel" (ver. 19).

      Here, again, a play is made upon the word Gad, which means a troop; and then the characteristics of the Gileadites come to view in this metaphor. [257]

      "Naphtali is a hind let loose" (ver. 21).

      This is very expressive. In his history, or that of his descendants, he has more running to do than any other of the tribes. Stationed at the northeast of their territory, and most of the attacks on the land coming from that direction, they affected the tribe of Naphtali. He is first to be carried away, on that account.

      "Benjamin is a wolf that ravineth
      In the morning he shall devour the prey,
      And at even he shall divide the spoil" (ver. 27).

      In this way Christ is called a husband (II. Cor. xi. 2). He is the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, and also the lion of the tribe of Judah.

      All animate and inanimate creation has been put under tribute by this figure to represent God and his people, and also the enemies of the race. Christ is a vine, a shepherd, a door, a rock, a fountain, a servant, and the Captain of our salvation. God is spoken of as having ears and eyes, and hands and feet, and hinder parts; as hating, being jealous, divorcing Israel, and permitting his wife to return again, after she had played the harlot. Thus by the use of the metaphor vivid description is given, that all may understand.

      SEC. 58. THE ALLEGORY.--This word comes from allos, other, and agoreuein, to speak in the assembly, to harangue. Webster says:

      "A figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principal subject is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances. The principal subject is thus kept out of view, and we are left to collect the intentions of the writer or speaker by the resemblance of the secondary to the primary subject."

      "The distinction in Scripture between a parable and [258] an allegory is said to be, that a parable is a supposed history, and an allegory a figurative application of real facts. An allegory is called a continued metaphor. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Spenser's Faery Queen are celebrated examples of the allegory."

      In Hart's Rhetoric, page 167, the figures mentioned are shown in their relation to each other:

      "Difference between Allegory and Metaphor.--Allegory differs from Metaphor in two respects. First, it is carried out into a greater variety of particulars, making usually a complete and connected story. Secondly, it suppresses all mention of the principal subject, leaving us to infer the writer's intention from the resemblance of the narrative, or of the description to the principal subject.

      "Points in common.--Allegory, Metaphor, and Simile have this in common, that they are all founded in resemblance, there being in each case two subjects, a primary and secondary, having certain points of likeness. In Simile, this resemblance is expressed in form, as when it is said, 'Israel is like a vine brought from Egypt, and planted in Palestine.' In Metaphor the formal comparison is dropped, as when it is said, 'Israel is a vine brought from Egypt,' etc. In Allegory, both the formal comparison and the principal subject are dropped, and the secondary subject is described by itself, leaving the application entirely to the imagination of the reader, as when it is said, 'God brought a vine out of Egypt and planted it in Palestine.' The reader knows that by vine is meant God's people, Israel. Yet Israel is not once mentioned, and there is neither metaphor nor simile, though there is likeness.

      "This Allegory occurs in Psa. lxxx., and is as follows:

      "'Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt: Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it. Thou preparedst room before it. And it took deep root, and filled the land. The mountains were covered with the shadows of it, And the boughs thereof were like cedars of God. She sent out her branches unto the sea, And her shoots unto the River. Why hast thou broken down her fences, So that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it." [259]

      I do not agree with this author in the supposition that an allegory can be constructed and yet no metaphor be employed. In the illustration from the Psalm, there are a number of metaphors. Indeed the allegory stands to the metaphor as the similitude or the parable does to the simile. It is made by arranging metaphors into a story, or statement of fact, or secondary subject, by which the primary is to be understood.

      In a work on Composition and Rhetoric, by Quackenbos, page 248, is found a very direct statement:

      "It will be seen that an allegory is a combination of kindred metaphors so connected in sense as to form a kind of story. The parables of Scripture, as well as fables that point a moral, are varieties of this figure. Sometimes an allegory is so extended as to fill a volume; as in the case of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress."

      This statement is satisfactory, except that it is not quite correct to say that a parable is constructed of kindred metaphors. The truth is, metaphors are not used in the construction of parables. The remark, however, comes from a want of clear views as to the difference between a parable and a fable.

      Mr. Terry, in his work on Biblical Hermeneutics, says:

      "An allegory is usually defined as an extended metaphor. It bears the same relation to the parable which the metaphor does to the simile. In a parable there is either some formal comparison introduced, as 'the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed,' or else the imagery is so presented as to be kept distinct from the thing signified, and to require an explanation outside of itself, as in the case of the parable of the sower. . . . The allegory contains its interpretation within itself, and the thing signified is identified with the image, as, 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman' (John xv. 1); 'Ye are the salt of the earth' (Matt. v. 13). The allegory is a figurative use and application of some supposable fact of history. The [260] parable uses words in their sense, and its narrative never transgresses the limits of what might have been an actual fact. The allegory is continually using words in a metaphorical sense and its narrative, however supposable in itself, is manifestly fictitious."

      Most allegories are simple, that is, they are for a single purpose and have but one line of metaphorical representation in order to the presentation of the thought. But some of them are double, or, they are in the form of antithesis; there are two lines of metaphors, for the purpose of presenting two lines of thought, and these two lines of thought are put in the form of antithesis, one is set over against the other. Paul is more given to this kind of allegorical illustration than any other writer in the Scriptures.

      "Or ever the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain: in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and the caper-berry shall fail" (Eccl. xii. 2-6).

      In this way Solomon would exhort young men to seek after the Lord before the time of age comes on, when the weaknesses and fears of old age shall be realized. Here is a splendid list of metaphors, in which the light stands for the hope of youth; and the clouds returning after the rain, the dubiety of age. The keepers of the house are the arms as they are the defenders of a man, and the strong men are the legs, which are not now competent to bear him around as [261] before. The grinders (teeth) are few and the doors (lips) close because there are no teeth now to hold the jaws apart. These grinders make but a feeble impression on their work, and the eyes are looking as if through a glass darkly. Every noise now startles him, and the slightest weight is a burden. He finds no pleasure in the sense of taste as he once did, and even the caper-berry fails to give him appetite. The hair is white, giving the old man the appearance of the almond tree, for soon shall the silver thread of life be snapped, and all the vitality of life poured out as the golden bowl, broken at the cistern.

      When Jesus was at the house of Matthew, they came to Him with the question as to why His disciples did not fast, and insinuated that they were somewhat disorderly in that they did not keep the customs of the people. The Master responds by the use of an allegory. See Matt. ix. 16,

      "And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up, taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made. Neither do men, put new wine into old wine-skins: else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved."

      In this, Jesus recognizes the propriety of clothing religious thoughts and convictions with appropriate forms. But fasting was a symbol of grief, and as they could not be sorry while He was with them, it was impossible for them to fast without acting a lie. And as to their paying any attention to the forms and customs which they kept, it would not be appropriate for them to do so. His teaching was new and the old forms in which their convictions might find protection, would not be sufficient to retain the new wine of truth that He was [262] furnishing to the world. Hence He would have to give to them such forms and rites as would be appropriate to the truth He was then giving them.

      "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. vi. 11-17).

      This is Paul's description of the defensive armor, of the Christian's means of defense. It is one of the easiest allegories in the Scriptures to interpret. The foes are clearly announced and their manner of warfare was well understood. Only one set of foes were out of sight; the spiritual hosts. Still with the needed preparation, they should not fear. Let them be righteous, think, and speak, and live the truth, filling their hearts and their minds with the hope of salvation in Christ, and walking in the commandments of the Lord, and the darts of the enemy and missiles from ambush would do them no harm. The false teaching and the influences of wicked men would not harm them.

      I will cite a few double allegories--those in which there are two lines of thought., one put over against the other. These are difficult of interpretation, from the fact that they have twice as much in themselves for the mind of the interpreter to deal with, and [263] also when we have the two lines of thought, we have yet to find the purpose of the comparison. Fortunately, however, for us in the allegories of the apostle Paul, he has let us into the secret, and told us what he wished to accomplish by the figures:

      "For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? And if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive, wast grafted in among them, and didst become partaker with them of the root and the fatness of the olive tree; glory not over the branches: but if thou gloriest, it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wast cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and wast grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree" (Rom. xi. 15-24)?

      This allegory has given more trouble to exegetes than any other in the Bible, and it should certainly be managed with care. A number of the rules for the interpretation of figurative language will be demanded, that all possibilities for mistake shall be avoided:

      1. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles (xi. 1).

      2. But he was a Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin (ibid).

      3. God had not cast off His people whom he foreknew (2).

      4. For many of them remained faithful to God (2-5). [264]

      5. But for Israel to be saved, the dependence must be upon grace, not the deeds of the law (6, 7).

      6. Those who had depended upon this scheme of salvation by grace had found it (7).

      7. Those who refused that grace, had been blinded and hardened by that refusal (7-10).

      8. But the whole nation had not been cast away, nor had they stumbled so as to fall, and not rise again.

      9. By the temporary fall of Israel, salvation had been secured for the Gentiles.

      10. If their fall had been the enriching of the world, their rising would be much more fruitful of good results (11, 12).

      11. Paul hoped to stimulate them to thought and action by presenting to his people the glory conferred on the Gentiles through the acceptance of the Messiah (13, 14).

      12. Those who had failed to retain the favor of God, had failed through unbelief.

      13. The Gentiles had succeeded by faith.

      14. Hence, if the Gentiles did not continue in faith, they would be cast off.

      15. If the Jews should not abide in unbelief, they would be returned to the favor of God.

      16. It was much more reasonable, then, to suppose that the great mass of the Jews would, in the future, turn and accept the Saviour, their own Messiah, than to have expected that the Gentiles would do.

      17. Then (25-32) Paul argues that the Jews will finally accept the Messiah. Hence we now see that his allegory was a part of his argument to show that the Jews will finally turn to the Lord and be saved; and that when they do turn and accept of their Messiah, it will be like a resurrection from the dead. [265]

      18. The tame olive tree represents the Jews in a state of favor.

      19. The wild olive tree certainly stands for the Gentiles, at a time when they did not know God.

      20. The only difference, therefore, between the wild and the tame olive trees is a difference in culture and favor.

      21. Hence, when the Jews were broken off, they were separated from their former condition of culture and favor.

      22. The first fruit, and the root, are figures of the same thought, and were presented to show that God had not cast off Israel as a people. The only thing in their history that would prove that, was not what Abraham had done, or what he had been, but the fact that some of the Jews had accepted of Christ, and were saved. Hence these were the first fruit, or the wave loaf that was offered on the Pentecost, which, being accepted, the whole harvest might be eaten.

      23. The Gentiles were then to know that the Jews had not been sundered by an act of the Almighty, but those who had failed had done so for the want of personally accepting of the Messiah, and that they were all, therefore, on an equality: any Jew might be saved, and any Gentile be lost; on both sides, it would depend upon personal faith and obedience to the will of the Saviour.

      In the interpretation of this allegory, many more things are put into it than Paul ever thought of. They go to work to find a full grown tree, trunk and bark, and root, and then to demand something to answer in the place of every feature of a tree. This is the way that parables and types are interpreted to death. Nothing is said about Abraham, nothing about the trunk of the [266] tree, nothing about the tree being a church. Every bit of it has to be injected into the passage. Indeed, if the tame olive tree meant church, the wild olive tree would mean church, and then we would have a tame church and a wild church! But if we keep before the mind the purpose of the figure, and the rules of interpretation, there is no trouble.

      Paul's allegory of the two covenants, found in the second letter to the Corinthians (iii. 6-16) is next to the two olive trees in respect of difficulty in interpretation. It reads:

      "But our sufficiency is from God; who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written, and engraven on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly upon the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which glory was passing away: how shall not rather the ministration of the spirit be with glory? For if the ministration of condemnation is glory, much rather doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For verily that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasseth. For if that which passeth away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory. Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech, and are not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away: but their minds were hardened: for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth unlifted; which veil is done away in Christ. But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

      The change in the terms in which Paul presents the metaphors of this allegory, has been a source of darkness. When we come to know the versatility of the man, we will not expect him to continue the same form of [267] expression. He is rich in language, and changes the forms of expression more for the beauty of the composition than for any other apparent reason. That there should ever have been any trouble in the passage, seems strange to one that is familiar with it. It is plain at the first sight, that the two legs of the antithesis are the New Covenant in contrast with the Old Covenant; and that to make that contrast as bold as it ought to be, he selects its very heart--the ten commandments. This fact has frightened many commentators from making any clear and definite statement as to the teaching of this Scripture. Some way it has gotten into theology that the Decalogue is an essential part of the New Institution; hence Paul must not be permitted to say anything to the contrary.

      We may get the exact thought of this allegory by placing these legs of the antithesis over against each other. So we arrange two columns--the one headed Old Covenant, or Law, and the other headed New Covenant, or Gospel:

      There should not remain any trouble in the mind of any one as to the teaching of this allegory. Suppose that it does say that even the Decalogue was passing away! It was no more than he said elsewhere in didactic speech (Col. ii. 14-18). Whatever Christ has given us remains, for it can not pass away. He has condemned every sin and maintained every virtue. He is the one mediator between God and men, and it belongs to Him to say, in all respects, what shall, and what shall not, be law. Hence His apostles must be heard.

      Paul's allegory of the two women (Gal. iv. 21-v. 1), has the same object in view as the one just noticed. It is clearer, however, in that the apostle himself interprets it for us:

      "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman. Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise. Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother. For it is written,

      Rejoice thou barren, that bearest not;
      Break forth and cry, thou that travailest not;
      For more are the children of the desolate than of her which hath the husband.

      Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Howbeit what saith the scripture? Cast out the handmaid and her son: for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman. Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of the freewoman. With freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage." [269]

      One who has read what the apostle has had to say in all his epistles, has no trouble with this passage. Indeed, if we had read nothing from any other writing of his, this would seem to be very plain. Here are two sets of metaphors: Hagar (bondage), Sinai (law, or the law that was given on Sinai); Jerusalem that then was. On the other hand we have Sarah, (freedom); Jerusalem that is above; children of promise; made free in Christ. So far the antithesis is complete. But now, having these two institutions, or covenants, what about them? Can they be blended? "Cast out the bondmaid and her son, for the son of the bondmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman." Cast out the Old Covenant, that was given at Mount Sinai, for it shall not have possession along with the covenant of Christ by which we are made free.

      SEC. 59. METONYMY.--The etymology of the word indicates its meaning. It is from the Greek words meta, change, and onoma, name, hence a change of name; the employment of one name or word for another. Webster says of this figure:

      "A trope in which one word is put for another; a change of names which have some relation for each other, as when we say a man keeps a good table, instead of good provisions; we read Virgil--that is, his poems, or writings; they have 'Moses and the prophets'--that is, their books, or writings; a man has a clear head--that is, an understanding, or intellect; a warm heart--that is, affections."

      Many times this figure bears a close resemblance to the metaphor and the allegory. All figures of speech are related to each other, in that they are employed for the purpose of comparing one thing with another. The metonymy is one of the most definite of tropes. It is [270] capable of such divisions and subdivisions as will enable us to apply definite rules in the exegesis of the passage containing it. Hence, for the sake of perspicuity, we will consider it under its several heads.

      SEC. 60. METONYMY OF THE CAUSE.--By this figure the cause is stated while the effect is intended.

      (1.) God and Christ and the Holy Spirit are frequently mentioned, whereas the result of their efforts in the redemption of the race is intended.

      "But ye did not so learn Christ" (Eph. iv. 20).

      That is, ye did not so learn the teaching of Christ respecting the manner of living.

      "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory, (Col. iii. 4).

      Christ is our life, in that we have life through Him: He is the cause of life; He is named, but the effect of His work is intended.

      "Which veil is done away in Christ" (II. Cor. iii. 14).

      Here the word Christ stands for the New Covenant of which He is the author.

      "And he came by the Spirit into the temple" (Luke ii. 27).

      Simeon has received a communication before that, assuring him that he should not die till he had seen the Christ. And now that Joseph and Mary were there, be is informed by the Spirit that the promise of the Lord is being fulfilled, and if he will go into the temple he can see the Saviour. So in II. Cor. iii. 6, it is said that the "letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." The word Spirit is here employed for the New Institution which had been given by His inspiration. In the same way, [271] Jesus says (John vi. 36), "The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life."

      "He that doeth good is of God" (III. John 11).

      That is, he is living according to the truth which God has taught.

      (2.) Parents are put for their children.

      "And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him. And he said,
      Cursed be Canaan;
      A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
And he said.
      Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem
      And let Canaan be his servant.
      God enlarge Japheth,
      And let him dwell in the tents of Shem:
      And let Canaan be his servant" (Gen. ix. 25-27).

      It is clear to every one, at sight, that the curse has respect to the posterity of these men. Enlarging Japheth was not increasing the bulk of the man, but making his descendants numerous.

      "I will divide them in Jacob,
      And scatter them in Israel" (Gen. xlix. 7).

      Of course this refers to the descendants of Jacob--the tribes when they should be located in the land of promise. And so it was Simeon obtained a little corner of the country down toward Egypt, and Levi had no tribal possession. They received forty-eight cities, and were distributed among the other tribes. In Num. xxiii. 7, Balaam said that Balak had sent for him to come and curse Jacob and defy Israel. Jacob had been dead many years. It was the people of Israel or Jacob. So it is in the following chapter of the parables of this prophet. All the way through the Scriptures the word Jacob, or [272] Israel, represents the people that had descended from him. So it is with the tribes--the name of the head of the tribe passes upon the tribe, so that the people of the tribe of Reuben are named from the oldest son of Jacob, and so on to the close. Even Ephraim and Manasseh come to be terms by which we are to understand the people that sprang from them.

      "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. ix. 13), was not said concerning those twin boys, but their children, some twelve hundred years after their progenitors were dead. See Mal. i. 2, 3:

      "I have loved you, with the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness."

      "Shall I not in that day, with the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter. For the violence done to thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them" (Obadiah 8-11).

      These Scriptures show that the language was not concerning Jacob and Esau when they were children, or before they were born, but was used concerning their descendants, many centuries after these patriarchs were dead. And the good and sufficient reasons that are given for loving Jacob and hating Esau are based upon national character.

      (3.) Authors are put for the works which they have produced.--This is one of the most common forms of [273] metonymy at the present time. We inquire of the student if he has read Virgil, Homer, Xenophon, etc., etc., by which we mean to ask if he has read the writings of these men. In Luke xvi. 29-31, the Saviour makes Abraham say to the rich man in hades, that his five brethren back in the world had Moses and the Prophets, and if they would not hear them, they would not give heed to one though he should go to them from the dead. The meaning is easy: they had what Moses had said in the law, and what the prophets had written by way of warning the people against iniquity, and the truth there taught was the same that anyone else would have taught them if it should please the Lord to send them such warning. Hence, if they would not listen to the instruction already furnished, it would be unreasonable to expect them to attend to the same things if re-furnished by some inferior agent.

      "And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke xxiv. 27).

      No one is in doubt, for a single moment, as to the meaning of this language. It can have but one meaning. These disciples had misunderstood the prophecies respecting their Messiah; they held the common view that when He should come, He would remain forever, and reign as an earthly king. And when the Saviour was crucified, their hopes were destroyed at the same time. Now they had been astonished at what the women said to them that morning, when they reported that they had seen a vision of angels declaring that their Lord was not in the grave, but that he had risen from the dead. But the teaching of the Scriptures on that subject [274] was not known to them. Hence the Master makes them understand that the word of the Lord teaches that He must die and rise again. And again, that evening, as the ten were met together in the city, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and opened their minds to the word of the Lord on that subject, and showed them that they taught that the Christ should die and rise again (vers. 44-47). So it was with the apostles when they went to preach the gospel--they had to begin with the Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets, and show to the Jews everywhere that they had foretold that the Messiah should die for men (Acts xvii. 1-3). This is the meaning of Acts xv. 21: "For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath." Not Moses, but the law that was given through Moses. The same figure is found in II. Cor. iii. 15: "Wheresoever Moses is read" that is, the law given by him.

      (4.) Instruments are put for their effects.--These instruments, being supposed to be the immediate cause, are spoken of, whereas the result of their use is intended.

      "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death" (Deut. xvii. 6).

      Here the mouth is put for the testimony to be spoken by it. So in Matt. xviii. 16:

      "That at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established."

      From Acts xv. 7-11, we learn that the Gentiles were converted by Peter's mouth--that is, it was by the mouth of Peter that they first heard the word of the gospel and believed.

      In this way Christ is said to be our peace [275] (Eph. ii. 14-16), our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (I. Cor. i. 30). He is the means, the cause, the instrument in the hands of the Father, by which we have all these.

      "Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. x. 3-1).

      Christ was not intending to send a sword on the earth in any literal sense. The sword is the instrument of war, and stands for that disturbance which would follow the introduction of the truth of redemption.

      "Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money" (Ex. xxi. 21).

      This is the case of a man smiting his servant. Had it been another man, he would have been compelled to make good the time lost, and to cause the man to be healed. But in case of smiting his servant, he does not make good the time; but simply loses it. His servant was his money--that is, he was the means or the instrument of money. Very many times the sword, the bow and spear are spoken of, instead of the work which they were expected to accomplish, in which we have plain cases of the metonymy of the cause (Ex. v. 3; Lev. xxvi. 6; Isa. i. 20; Jer. xliii. 11; Rom. viii. 35).

      SEC. 61. METONYMY OF THE EFFECT.--The effect is put for the cause. The cause is meant, but the effect is named.

      "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days" (Eccles. xi. 1).

      A man casting bread on the water will not find it again; and Solomon did not intend to say the silly thing that he has been accused of saying. Let the bread stand for the bread seed, or wheat, sown on the water from a [276] skiff, to fall into the alluvial deposit below, and, with the going down of the stream, spring up and grow, and you will get the idea of sowing in hope.

      "And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy that sowed them is the devil" (Matt. xiii. 37, 38).

      The sons of the kingdom were not sown there by the Son of man; what was done by the Saviour was the sowing of the truth, giving to the world the word of the Living God, which has resulted in the Christians referred to. So it is with the children of the evil one--the devil did not sow them, but he presented the world with the falsehood, and gave the influences that have brought them into being, or made them the children of the wicked one. They are the effect, not the cause.

      "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil" (Deut. xxx. 15).

      But every one sees these as the result of serving God or refusing that service. The life and the good, the death and the evil, were the results of that which he presented to them.

      In Luke xi. 14, we read that Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was dumb. And then we are informed that when the demon was gone out, the man spoke. Now, as to the condition of the demon, nothing is intended to be affirmed. It was the effect of the demon on the man possessed by it. The man was dumb, and the possession made him dumb. The effect is spoken of, whereas the cause was meant. Christ is the resurrection and the life (John xi. 25). He is our wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; He is our [277] life, and our peace--that is, he is the cause of all these things to us. So is the kingdom of God righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit--that is, these are blessings derived therefrom. These are the effects. In all these the effect is mentioned, while the cause is understood.

      SEC. 62. METONYMY OF THE SUBJECT.--In this form of the figure, we have the subject announced, while some property belonging to it, or circumstance, is referred to. These things are meant, but the subject is named.

      (1.) The subject put for the adjunct: some mere appendage or circumstance dependent upon it. "Thou shalt love, the Lord thy God with all thine heart," means with the affections. (Deut. vi. 5). In Acts iv. 32, it is said that the disciples were of one heart and one soul--that is, they were one in feeling, wish, faith, desire to glorify the Lord. In I. Sam. i. 13, we are told that Hannah spoke only in her heart--that is, in her mind. David prayed that the meditation of his heart might be acceptable in the sight of the Lord. In that use of the word, the thinking power of the heart is intended. In Luke ii. 19, it is said that "Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart." The shepherds related what had occurred to them in the field, in the visit of the angels, and she remembered them, and thought over them frequently. In Acts viii. 22, Peter said to Simon the sorcerer, "Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee." The power of believing is ascribed to the heart (Rom. x. 9, 10); also the power to reason (Mark ii. 6-9); and the power to judge (I. John iii. 20). Now, no one of these passages fully represents the heart of man. In each of these we have an adjunct, a quality, [278] or power. So it is in all those Scriptures in which we have the different kinds of hearts referred to--the hard heart, the evil heart of unbelief, the upright in heart, the pure heart, the tender heart, the faint heart. These conditions and qualities are mentioned, not to indicate the whole heart. In this way an examination maybe conducted. For instance, it would not be agreed as to the meaning of the word heart as found in the Scriptures. The question might be decided by an induction of the whole number of things said of the heart; for a scriptural definition must certainly be equal to the whole number of things said of it. In this it would be found that the heart is said to imagine, to think, to reason, to meditate, to understand, to believe, to fear and love. Having, in this way, learned what the heart is supposed to be, it will be easy to understand the divine plan for the change and control of that heart.

      (2.) The container is put for the contained.--Gen. vi. 11: The earth was corrupt, means that the people living in the earth were corrupt. John i. 29: that taketh away the sin of the world--that is, of the people of the world. John iii. 16, 17: "God so loved the world"--that is, He so loved the human race "that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Psa. cv. 38: "Egypt was glad when they departed"--that is, the Egyptians were glad. See Matt. iii. 56: "Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." No one thinks of these places doing all that, but all know that the people living in those places are meant.

      In Matt. xi. 20-24, Jesus is reported as upbraiding [279] the cities wherein most of His mighty works had been done, and be says if the mighty works which had been done in Chorazin and Bethsaida had been wrought in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes; and that if the works that had been done in Capernaum had been wrought in Sodom, it would have remained till that time, and that it would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. Any reader will observe that not the cities nor the country of Sodom was had in mind, but the people who lived there. Luke says of Cornelius, that he was a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house--that is, he feared God, with all the members of his household. Ex. ii. 1: "There went a man of the house of Levi." Prov. xi. 29: "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind." Not the building in which he lives, but the members of his family. Ezek. xviii. 31: "For why will ye die, O house of Israel?" means the descendants of Jacob. In II. Sam. vii. 13, the Lord promises David to build him a house. It is then explained to mean that He would set up his son on the throne, and through his family put One on the throne at last who should never fail. The meaning of this language will be still more apparent by reading Isa. ix. 6, 7. And when, in the course of centuries, this family seems to be giving away, and likely to fail utterly, it was foretold that David's house should be reinstated in its former glory.

      "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this," (Amos ix. 11, 12). [280]

      Now, from the use of this language, by James (Acts xv. 13, 17), it is evident that the tabernacle of David is simply the house of David, and that in the re-establishment of the house, we have the Christ placed upon the throne, to rule it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even for evermore; now not to rule fleshly Israel only, but spiritual Israel.

      (3.) The possessor put for they thing possessed.--In this use of the figure the possessor is named but the thing possessed is to be understood.

      "Hear, O Israel: thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the sons of Anak? Know therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth over before thee as a devouring fire; he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thee: so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as the Lord hath spoken unto thee" (Deut. ix. 1-3).

      These nations were composed of men and women and children, but they were not to be their possession, for they were to drive them out; but their possession was to be in the cities which they had built and the land on which they lived. Hence these cities and lands were their possession. So the cities and lands are not mentioned, but nations are mentioned; but their possessions were intended.

      "For they have devoured Jacob,
      And laid waste his habitation" (Psa. lxxix. 7).

      Here is a double metonymy--first, the word Jacob refers to his descendants; and second, his descendants stand for the land they owned and occupied.

      Deut. x. 9: "Wherefore Levi hath no portion nor [281] inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance." See Josh. xiii. 33.

      The name of the Lord is here put for the sacrifices that should be given to the tribe of Levi. These sacrifices were the Lord's possession and they are given to this one tribe. Hence, to speak literally, Moses would have said that Levi had no possession with the other tribes, but their inheritance should be the sacrifices made unto the Lord. But by the figure of metonymy, he says the Lord is his inheritance.

      In Tit. ii. 14, I. Pet. ii. 9, Christians are presented as the inheritance of the Lord. Hence, by this figure (Matt. xxv. 31-40), the Lord indicates that he can be fed and clothed in the persons of His disciples. "I was hungry, and ye fed me"--that is, they fed His disciples, who are His possession. In strict accord with this is the language of the Master to Saul: "Why persecutest thou me?" He regarded the disciples as His own, and hence a part of Himself.

      Many times the church is presented under the figure of a body--the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, by the use of this figure we have the word Christ many times in the New Testament, in the place of the body, or church, which He owned. This is why Paul says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" (Gal. iii. 27). By this we come into covenant with Him, hence into His church; and by this figure Paul says "into Christ."

      (4.) The subject is sometimes named, whereas something consequent thereon, or connected therewith, is intended.--The burdens of Isaiah respecting the different countries, were evils or calamities that were coming upon them. But what follows the announcement of each one of these [282] burdens, is the prediction of the coming affliction (Isa. xiii. 1; xv. 1; xvii. 1; xxi. 1; xxii. 1; xxiii. 1).

      Also the promise is put for the faith that receives it:

      "That is, it is not the children of the flesh, that are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for the seed" (Rom. ix. 8).

      The whole contrast, however, is not respecting the promise so much as the manner of receiving that promise. The Jews had the idea that the promise was to be enjoyed because of fleshly relation to Abraham. Paul assures them that it is not so, but that the blessings of the Lord are appropriated by faith. Hence the word promise is used for the faith that accepts it.

      In Gal. iv. 28: that thought is presented in the same way: We, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise." By reading iii. 25-27, this language is interpreted: "For ye are all sons of God through faith, in Christ Jesus."

      In like manner sin is presented, instead of the offering that is to be made for its removal.

      "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him" (Gen. iv. 7).

      In this argument the Lord makes Cain to understand that there was no reason for a fallen countenance. The inheritance was his; his place was higher than that which belonged to his brother; and Abel would look to him for guidance and protection. If he did well, he would be accepted; and if he did not well, for whatever of wrong might be found in him, the sacrifice would be easily made, as if the animal was already crouching at the door, waiting for the services to be rendered. Hence, while the word sin is employed, the [283] sin-offering is intended. See Ex. xxix. 14; Lev. x. 17; Hos. iv. 8; Isa. liii. 10, where the Hebrew has sin, though our translators have felt it to be their duty to add the word offering, lest the language should not be understood. And we can scarcely suppress the wonder that it did not occur to them to do so in some New Testament cases.

      "Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (II. Cor. v. 21).

      Literally, Christ could not be sin; He was wholly without sin; and the only way for the language to be true is by the use of this form of metonymy. He became a sin-offering for us.

      "So Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation" (Heb. ix. 28).

      He shall come without a sin-offering the next time. He made the sin-offering the first time, and the next, He will come in judgment, not to make a sacrifice for the race.

      (5.) The thing signified is put for the sign.

      "Seek ye the Lord and his strength;
      Seek his face evermore" (I. Chron. xvi. 11).

      This is repeated in Psa. cv. 4.

      "Arise, O Lord, into thy resting-place;
      Thou, and the ark of thy strength" (Psa. cxxxii. 8).

      It is evident that the ark was the sign of the strength of Jehovah. It was always so regarded when taken into battle. But in those passages, the strength is mentioned rather than the ark which signified it. [284]

      "The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation" (Ezek. vii. 27).

      Here the word desolation refers to the sackcloth, or some other sign of sorrow indicated by the dress of the princes.

      Very many times in the Scriptures the word mourn is employed where some symbol of sorrow is intended. "We have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented." These children in the market had made the sound of mourning. There was a great deal of unreal mourning then, as now. There were hired mourners, who went about the streets making hideous noises and telling the good qualities of the dead. This is called "mourning," but of course it is only a symbol that is meant. The land of Israel is said to mourn, and the cities of Judah mourn, and Zion mourneth and languisheth. This can have no other meaning than that the land was neglected, the crops failed, and altogether there were everywhere the signs of lamentation, as if the land had been dressed in sackcloth and draped in the deepest sorrow. We now say of persons that they are wearing mourning, when they are wearing some badge of grief.

      (6.) Many times actions are said to be performed when they have only been permitted, or even foretold.

      "That my soul may live because of thee" (Gen. xii. 13).

      That is, if Sarah would claim to be his sister, they would not put him to death, but permit him to live.

      "Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul" (Jer. iv. 10).

      God had not told them that they should have peace in their iniquity, but He had permitted their prophets to do so. [285]

      Ezek. xiii. 19-22, speaks of slaying the souls that should not die, and saving the souls that should not live. This was done by the false dreamers, as they told the things that were not true. The mere telling of the things is spoken of as if they were done.

      "Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgements wherein they should not live; and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord" (Ezek. xx. 25, 26).

      This can not refer to any law that God ever gave to that people; indeed, the idea that the first-born child should be offered in sacrifice was not in existence at the time that God's law was given to them. The thought is that He gave them this bad law by their own hands, because of their wish in the matter, that they might reap the fruits of their own folly, and learn that He was the Lord.

      "I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and break down, and to destroy, and to overthrow; to build, and to plant" (Jer. i. 10).

      And yet the truth is, Jeremiah had been appointed simply to foretell these calamities that were about to come upon the nations for their iniquity.

      "Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgements are of the light that goeth forth" (Hos. vi. 5).

      No more is meant than that the ruin and general disaster had been foretold by the prophets of the Lord.

      "What God hath cleansed, make not thou common" (Acts. x. 15).

      God had removed the partition from between Jew and Gentile, and hence all the ceremonies of the Jewish [286] institution, and had called the Gentiles clean as well as the Jews. It does not mean that they were already pure in His sight, but that the whole world would be accepted on the same terms in Christ.

      "And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Matt. xvi. 19).

      Not that these men could bind anything upon men as a requirement of the Lord, but they could announce the things which had been given them, and that should be ratified in the upper courts.

      "Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them" (John xx. 23).

      This does not mean that it belonged to men to forgive sins which had been committed against God, but they could make known the conditions of such heavenly forgiveness, and that should be approved in heaven.

      (7.) An action is sometimes said, to have been accomplished when all that is meant by it is that an occasion was given.--In nearly all the lives of the kings of Israel, there is a statement that "he followed in the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." Of course he did not make those men to sin who lived after his time, nor did he compel others to sin who lived at the same time that he did; but he set the example, and led them into that sin.

      This is the subject being stated, whereas the agent only is intended. So a man is said to do that which his action occasions, or which he causes to be done. In Acts i. 18, Judas is spoken of as having obtained a field with the reward of iniquity. It was the money that he obtained for the delivery of the Saviour from the hands of the priests that bought the field, and the act is [287] attributed to him because he was an actor in the matter, and what he did led to the consummation of that purchase.

      "Destroy not with thy meat him for whom Christ died" (Rom. xiv. 15).

      It would only be the example that might lead the man into idolatry.

      "For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O husband, whether thou shalt save thy wife?" (I. Cor. vii. 16).

      "Take heed to thyself, and to thy teaching; continue in these things; for in doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee" (I. Tim. iv. 16).

      Of course, these cases of one person saving another refer to the effect their actions and teachings have in the way of influence on others, to cause them to accept of the Lord and be saved.

      In this way it is said that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John. Yet Jesus did not baptize in person. He caused it to be done, and therefore the baptizing was credited to Him. The angels that came to Abraham at Mamre were regarded as men, yet one of them is the Lord, or the Lord's agent in the destruction of the doomed cities, and in the blessing of Abraham.

      In Gen. xxviii. 13; xxxi. 11, 13, the Lord God of Abraham is referred to as having appeared to Jacob while on his way to Paddan-aram; but in xlviii. 16, he is called the angel that had saved Jacob. In this way the angel is called by the name of Him whom he represents. He was simply the agent of the Lord.

      (8.) Sometimes a statement is made as complete when the thought is only comparative. Those who were acquainted with that figure would not be liable to be misled by it. But it differs so much from our didactic style of speech, [288] that we need to be reminded of the custom in the days of the Scriptures.

      "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices: but this thing I commanded them, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people" (Jer. vii. 21-23).

      But we know that God had given them commandments concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. Hence we find here the comparative. Higher than these services was His demand for obedience. Compare I. Sam. xv. 22.

      "If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can not be my disciple" (Luke xiv. 26).

      If this had to be understood literally, it would contradict what the Master said on the mount (Matt. v. 43-48). Indeed, it would contradict all we know in both Testaments respecting the duty of the race. To honor father and mother, was taught in the decalogue, and endorsed by the Saviour. Indeed, it was regarded as one of the great commandments to love one's neighbor as himself. Besides, to absolutely hate, as here indicated, would make a man a demon, This is not a parallel with Matt. x. 37, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;" for that was given to the twelve in Galilee; but this was spoken in Perea, a good while after that. And yet there is no doubt that the meaning of the two passages is the same. The "hate" of Luke xiv. 26 is comparative; hence it is, love less.

      "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood" (Eph. vi. 12). [289]

      This must be understood in a comparative sense. We do wrestle with flesh and blood; and no man knew it better or presented it in any stronger light than did the apostle Paul. In Gal. v. 19-21, and in the whole of Rom. vii., he treats on the danger of being in the body, and shows the only way of escape. Hence the meaning of the passage is, We wrestle not against flesh and blood only. While that is one of our foes, it is not the only one.

      "Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities" (I. Tim. v. 23).

      Here, again, beyond any question, the thought is comparative. He does not intend to prohibit the use of water, but prescribes a little wine with it, on account of some physical infirmity.

      In this way a very large number was spoken of as the whole. There went out to John the Baptist, "Jerusalem, Judea, and the region round about Jordan; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan." Yet there were many whom he would not baptize, calling them a generation of vipers; there were many who would not be baptized of him, of whom Jesus said, "they rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." And still it is said that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John; and that was said, too, of His work in the same country; hence only comparatively a large number were baptized of John.

      In Gen. v. 24, it is said that "Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." When it says that he was not, it only means that he was not on the earth.

      "Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away" (Gen. xlii. 36).

      Of course, Jacob may have thought that Joseph was dead; but that was not to be supposed respecting Simeon, [290] whom they had left in Egypt as a hostage. He did not mean that they were not in existence, as some have argued, but that they were not where he could secure them.

      Again, on the positive side (Matt. v. 48), we are required to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. And even though this refers to having love for all, and doing good unto all, still it is furnished as a copy after which we are to pattern, and in which we are to do our best as long as we live, form of the metonymy the adjunct is put for the subject: the subject is intended, but the adjunct is named.

      SEC. 63. METONYMY OF THE ADJUNCT.--In this form of the metonymy the adjunct is put for the subject: the subject is intended, but the adjunct is named.

      (1.) Sometimes an accident, or that which is in addition to the subject, is mentioned, whereas the subject is meant.

      "Then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave" (Gen. xlii. 38).

      Then shall ye bring me to the grave in sorrow. The gray hairs only relate to the age.

      "I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom" (Job xxxii. 7).

      The abstract thoughts of days, and multitude of years, stand for the man who had seen them.

      Circumcision and uncircumcision stand for Jews and Gentiles, because this mark on the Jew made him to differ from every other people (Rom. iii. 30; Gal. ii. 9).

      In Rom. xi. 7, the abstract thought of election stands for those who, from among Israel, had accepted the Christ, and thereby had become the elect of God.

      "For every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians (Gen. xlvi. 34).

      The thought is that a shepherd is an abominable thing or person; the abstract, abomination, is employed for the person or thing that was regarded with loathing. [291]

      "For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord" (Eph. v. 8).

      Darkness is the abstract for persons who were unenlightened by the power of saving truth. Being the light in the Lord, has just the opposite thought.

      "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes" (Matt. xi. 25).

      Here are the qualities of men, real or claimed, put for the men themselves. In literal language, these heavenly truths had not been given to the [supposed wise men of the country, but rather to the humble and the unpretending.

      (2.) The thing contained is put for the container.--In metonymy of the subject we saw that the container was frequently put for the contained; but this is just the opposite.

      "This stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house" (Gen. xxviii. 22).

      We would say, rather a peculiar kind of house. Rather the place where he set it up, should be God's house.

      "Opening their treasures, they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh" (Matt. ii. 11).

      What they opened was the wallets, or bags, in which these treasures were contained; the treasures are put for the bags that contained them.

      The "outer darkness" of Matt. xxii. 13, refers to the place of darkness--the quality of the place having been given for the place itself. And the marriage of Matt. xxv. 10 is the place where the marriage was to be. Demons cried out, and said this or that; whereas it was done by those who were possessed by them. So are the qualities of the person described by assigning those characteristics to the demons themselves. The container is intended, but the contained is mentioned. Acts xvi. 13: [292] "A place of prayer" is a place where people were accustomed to meet for prayer.

      (3.) Time, is put for the things which are done or happen.

      "Men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" (I. Chron. xii. 32).

      They understood the things done, and the condition of affairs (vers. 29, 30). The history of David had been written by Samuel and Nathan and Gad, giving his reign and his might, "and the times that went over him" that is, the things done in those times. Esth. i. 13: "Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times"--that is, the things that were occurring. II. Tim. iii. 1: "But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come." Grievous conditions and conduct. Deut. iv. 32: "For ask now of the days that are past"--the events of the past. Mark xiv. 35: Christ prayed in the garden that the hour might pass from Him--that is, that the suffering and trial might pass--if consistent with the will of the Father. John xii. 27: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour." This is the struggle that is in the mind of the Saviour, found in the last quotation.

      Days are said to be good or evil, according to the things done in them (Gen. xlvii. 9; Eccles. vii. 10; Eph. v. 16).

      A day is called in honor of some person, because of something done therein, or something promised to be done on that day. Hos. i. 11: "For great shall be the day of Jezreel." This day was in the future, when the language was written--the greatness was to come.

      "And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine [293] eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke xix. 41-44).

      Even at that late hour, if they could have discerned the signs of the times, and known and acknowledged the Saviour, their city and their own welfare would have been secured.

      For further investigation of this use of the subject, read Job xviii. 20; Psa. cxxxvii. 7; Ezek. xxii. 4; Obad. 12; Micah vii. 4; Psa. xxxvii. 13.

      The day of the Lord is spoken of as the day of judgment; but sometimes the destruction of Jerusalem, because it was a typological prophecy of that coming event (Job xxiv. 1; Isa. xiii. 6; Joel i. 15; ii. 1, 2; Amos v. 20; Zeph. i. 14-18; ii. 2). While these do not look directly at the day of judgment for the whole race, they have in view a punishment from the Lord. But many times the day refers to the judgment scene (Mal. iii. 2, 17; iv. 1, 3, 5; Matt. xxiv. 36, 50; xxv. 13; Acts ii. 20; Rom. ii. 5, 16; 1. Cor. i. 8; Phil. i. 6; II. Thess. i. 7-10).

      This custom of speaking of the day in honor of any one, was of long standing. The days of victories of the ancient generals and kings were known by their names. This is why the resurrection of the Saviour on the first day of the week, gave to that day his name, "the Lord's day" (Rev. i. 10). It rendered that day sacredly His own, because he had conquered death and the grave for the whole race on that day. This day should not be called the sabbath; it is "the Lord's day," and should be kept in honor of him (Acts xx. 7; 1. Cor. xvi. 1, 2). [294]

      The passover is frequently used, when the paschal lamb is intended (Ex. xii. 21; II. Chron. xxx. 17; Mark xiv. 12-14; Matt. xxvi. 17-19).

      (4.) Sometimes things are spoken of according to appearance, opinions formed respecting them, or the claims made for them. Thus in Jer. xxviii. 1, 5, 10, Hananiah is called a prophet. This was reputation, rather than fact. Ezek. xxi. 3: "Will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked." These were apparently righteous, rather than really so. Matt. ix. 13: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." The Lord does not mean to say that those men who complained against Him were righteous, bat that such was their claim. Compare Luke xviii. 9. In Luke ii. 41-48, Joseph is spoken of as the father of Jesus, because he was supposed to be. Compare iii. 23; John vi. 42.

      "For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe" (I. Cor. i. 21).

      This is not Paul's estimate, but the estimate of the Greek philosophers--it was foolishness to them (vers. 22: 24). In Gal. i. 6, Paul wondered that they were so soon turned away to another gospel; not because he thought there could be any other gospel, but because they thought the gospel of Christ ought to be conglomerated with the law of Moses, which would make a false teaching of it. Matt. xii. 27: "If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out?" He does not mean to say that they cast out demons, but that they thus claimed.

      "Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?" (Gen. xxxvii. 10). [295]

      Jacob did not refer to Rachel as the mother of Joseph, for she had been dead for a number of years, but to Leah, who was not his mother, but seemed to be.

      Psa. lxxii. 9: "His enemies shall lick the dust," must refer to their prostration, and hence seeming to lick the dust. Compare Isa. xlix. 23; Micah i. 10.

      "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here" (Luke xi. 31).

      Of course this coming from the ends of the earth is taken by appearance. There are many such expressions (Deut. iv. 32; xxx. 4; Neh. i. 9; Matt. xxiv. 31). And with all our scientific knowledge, we continue to say that the sun rises and sets. Angels are spoken of as men (Gen. xviii. 16; xix. 10; Luke xxiv. 4; Acts i. 10), because they were in the form of men--it was the appearance, not the fact.

      (5.) The action, faith, or feeling, stimulated or caused by anything, may be employed, instead of the thing which caused such action, affection or feeling.--The senses are put for the things apprehended by them. Rom. x. 17: "So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." This read in connection with the preceding verses, and it is apparent that the hearing is put for the gospel heard. In I. Cor. i. 21, the foolishness of preaching is not preaching, but the thing preached, that was decided to be foolishness, in the minds of the philosophers. Gal. iii. 2-5, the hearing of faith, is the gospel received. Matt. xiv. 1, Herod heard the report of what Jesus was doing. It was the faith in the statements made that gave him trouble, for which the hearing stands. Many times the word "faith" denotes the doctrine on [296] which it was founded. Acts vi. 7: "And a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Gal. i. 23: "He that once persecuted us, now preacheth the faith."

      "But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. So that the law hath been our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor" (Gal. iii. 23-25).

      Eph. iv. 5: There is one faith. Ver. 13: "Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith."

      I. Tim. iv. 1: "In latter times some shall fall away from the faith." (Tit. i. 13; Jude 3; Rev. ii. 13.)

      Love is put for the object of love. Jer. ii. 33: "How trimmest thou thy way to seek love!"--to seek some object of affection.

      Jer. xii. 7: "I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies"--the dearly beloved one.

      Fear is often put for the object of fear. Prov. i. 26: "I will mock when your fear cometh"--that is, when some object approaches that shall terrify you. Isa. viii. 13: "The Lord of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread" that is, fear ye the Lord, and be in dread of Him.

      "Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty" (Gen. xxxi. 42).

      Thus Jacob is made to remind Laban that the God of Abraham, who was feared by Isaac, was his defense.

      (6.) A sign is put for the thing signified.

      "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
      Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, [297]
      Until Shiloh come;
      And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be" (Gen. xlix. 10).

      Judah was characterized for strength, and should hold a ruling power till the time of the coming of the Messiah. This ruling power is signified, rather than stated.

      "And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder" (Isa. xxii. 22).

      This was said of Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and it is splendid typology of the coming Son of David, who shuts, and no man opens; opens, and no man shuts.

      Zech. x. 11: "And the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away"--that is, the power to rule, which is signified by the sceptre.

      "And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine band unto the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread," etc. (Gen. xiv. 22, 23).

      The thought is, that Abram had sworn to that effect, as the hand was lifted up in affirmation.

      "He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder" (Psa. xlvi. 9).

      As the bow and the spear were the weapons of war, breaking them is to cause war to discontinue.

      "My sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh," etc., etc. (Ezek. xxi. 4).

      The sign of destruction was the sword, hence general destruction is threatened. So in Matt. x. 34, Christ had come to send a sword--contention, and disturbance, as in war. To beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning-hooks, is to quit war and cultivate the arts of civilization (Isa. ii. 3, 4). To bow the knee is the sign [298] of reverence and worship (Isa. xlv. 23; Phil. ii. 10; Eph. iii. 14). To wear sackcloth was to mourn, as they did that in the time of very great distress:

      "When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a proverb unto them" (Psa. lxix. 11).

      (7.) The names of things are presented for the things themselves.--In many passages the name of the Lord, or of God, denotes Jehovah.

      "The name of the God of Jacob set thee up on high" (Psa. xx. 1).

      "O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name" (Psa. cv. 1).

      "The name of the Lord is a strong tower" (Prov. xviii. 10).

      "Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far" (Isa. xxx. 27).

      "Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name" (Jer. x. 25).

      Joel ii. 32; Acts ii. 21; Rom. x. 13: "Call upon the name of the Lord"--that is, they were to call on the Lord.

      Names are given in the place of persons. In the Common Version of Acts i. 15, "And the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty," meaning the number of persons.

      "But thou halt a few names in Sardis which did not defile their garments" (Rev. iii. 4).

      A few persons.

      Sometimes names are given to denote character or condition.

      "Afterward thou shaft be called The city of righteousness, the faithful city" (Isa. i. 26).

      The thought is that, having been cleansed by having all their sin removed, they would be a people that would be faithful in the service of the Lord. [299]

      "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah [my delight is in her], and thy land Beulah [married]: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married" (Isa. lxii. 4).

      The reason that they should be called the city in which the Lord delighted was, they should be that city; and the reason that they should be called married, was that they should be married.

      "So then if, while her husband liveth, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress" (Rom. vii. 3).

      That is, she shall be an adulteress.

      SEC. 64. SYNECDOCHE.--This word is from the Greek sunechdeechesthai, meaning to receive jointly. But the meaning now given to the trope is not easily traced from the origin of the word. It is usually spoken of as a figure of speech by which we speak of the whole by a part, or a part by using a term denoting the whole. But while this is the main feature of this trope, it by no means exhausts it.

      (1.) The whole is put for a part.--"By which means, the world that then was, being overflowed by water, perished." There are many evidences that the flood did not overflow all lands in all countries at the same time.

      "For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the world" (Acts xxiv. 5.).

      Now, after making all due allowance for the fact that Tertullus was a lawyer and had a case to gain, still the assertion that Paul was moving insurrections throughout the world is too large, except by the figure of synecdoche, that allows the whole to be put for the part.

      In Luke ii. 1, it is affirmed that from Cæsar Augustus [300] there went out a decree that all the world should be enrolled. This could not have embraced more than the Roman provinces.

      Rom. i. 8: The faith of the brethren was spoken of throughout the world. In Acts xix. 27, it is stated that not only Asia, but the world, worshiped Diana.

      By this figure the kingdom of Christ is spoken of many times, when but a single feature of that kingdom is meant. The parables spoken in Matt. xiii. are inexplicable on any other hypothesis.

      "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field." Some have gone to work to show some analogy between the kingdom as a whole and a man sowing in the field. But this is to fail of the purpose of the parable. The kingdom is not represented by a man, nor by the seed, nor by any other feature of the whole parable, but by all of them, and more, too. The truth is, the word kingdom is used in this limited sense--the whole being stated, whereas a part only was intended. The Saviour's purpose, in all these parables and similes, was to remove certain errors from their minds respecting the coming of His kingdom. They thought that it would come like all the kingdoms they knew anything about, and therefore with spears and bows and battering-rams. He wished to teach them that it was not that kind of kingdom, and that it could not gain its victories in that way. Its success was to depend upon truth, planted in the hearts of the people; and when it would grow, then would it bear fruit. So you see that the man who was to sow the seed was just one feature in that institution. By the figure of synecdoche the word kingdom is employed, whereas there is only the one element meant. [301]

      "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed." It would be the extreme of folly to undertake to find the analogy between the kingdom of Christ as a whole, and a grain of mustard. One feature of the kingdom is illustrated by it--it has a small beginning and a grand result. Again we have the word kingdom employed, only to give one thought with respect to it.

      "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened." Again there is but one point of analogy--that of a gradual enlarging from a small beginning to a grand final result. Hence the word kingdom is employed for the one idea of a quiet but certain gain, till the influence shall reach the ends of the earth.

      "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field." In one particular only is it like a treasure--it has great value. So with the pearl of great price: while the similitude of the "net and the fishes" gives the feature of the judgment. Take every parable-illustration of the kingdom of heaven, and it is the use of the synecdoche--the word kingdom being used, whereas there is but a single feature of that institution intended.

      "Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should lay his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence" (Matt. xix. 13-15).

      They brought these children to Jesus for a blessing, and He gave it to them, for it belonged to them. Here it is evident that the word kingdom is used to indicate the blessings to be conferred by the king. They had not sinned, and in that sinless condition they had a right [302] to these blessings. Indeed, this verse has been rendered by the best authority in the country, "To such as these belongs the kingdom."

      "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. xiv. 17).

      No one thinks that Paul had in his mind the kingdom as an entirety. He is not talking about the king, and the subjects, and the laws, and the officers and territory, and the throne for the king, nor of the judgment and the punishment that shall follow those who have been disobedient, but of the one great feature of holy living and peace in the service of God. Some of them were making this service to consist in forms and ceremonies and nice distinctions about meats, but He wished to have a larger view of the service of God and its blessedness than that; so he employs the word kingdom for the one thought.

      Under this figure, Lazarus (Luke xvi. 23) is put for the spirit of Lazarus. The angels carried him to Abraham's bosom, and yet the body of the poor man was lying at the gate of the rich man, and the dogs were his attendants. In John xix. 42; xx. 2, we have this figure used for the body. "There laid they Jesus"--that is, the body of Jesus. And Mary came and told the apostles that they had taken away her Lord. But in the twelfth verse the distinction is clearly made; she stooped down and saw two angels sitting, one at the head and the other at the foot, where the body of Jesus had lain. So in Luke xxiv. 3: "And they entered in, and found not the body o: the Lord Jesus."

      (2.) A part put for the whole.--Sometimes the spirit is spoken of as a possession. Christ gave up the Spirit [303] to the Father, and Stephen commended his spirit to the Lord Jesus. The Master said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." In this he might be understood to mean that the man was the being, and the spirit a mere dweller, or some feature of his mentality. In Rom. i. 9, Paul says that "I serve in my spirit, in the gospel." Here Paul is one thing and the spirit another, or a mere possession. When Paul was in Athens, "his spirit was provoked within him, as he beheld the city full of idols." But sometimes the other form is found, and the mental man is spoken of to indicate the whole man. In Gen. xlvi. 27, "All the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten." The word soul here, as in many places in the Bible, stands for person. One entity is named, but the whole person is intended. In other places, however, the outer and inner man are spoken of as the two great features of the man. In the whole of the seventh chapter of the Roman letter, Paul is showing the struggle that was going on between the spirit that consented to that which was good, and the flesh that demanded that which was not good. So in Gal. v. 16-24, the same struggle for the mastery is indicated. In II. Cor. iv. 16, Paul says that, "Though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day." Here is a something mentioned as the real self, having an outward man and an inward man, both of which are the property of this imaginary self.

      "And I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ signifies unto me. Yea, I will give diligence that at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things to remembrance" (II. Pet. i. 13-15). [304]

      Here the apostle speaks of himself living in a tent, or tabernacle, which is soon to be laid aside. Putting this tabernacle aside is explained to be death, or decease; hence, living in this tabernacle was living in the body. The body, then, was the tabernacle, and the inner man, or the spirit, was the real man.

      But in I. Thess. v. 23, and Heb. iv. 12, there are indicated three entities in the man--spirit, soul, and body. It is, then, very evident that, in many passages, a part is put for the whole.

      This is many times the case with the salvation of sinners. The whole number of conditions are indicated by the use of one. Generally the first one is mentioned--that of faith--because without it nothing else could follow. Men were to call on the name of the Lord, in order to be saved (Rom. x. 17); they must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts xvi. 31); they must repent of their sins (Acts xvii. 30); they must be baptized in the name of the Lord (Acts xxii. 16). But it is common to have one of these mentioned, without any statement as to the presence of any other.

      (3.) Time is put for a part of time.--All the way through the Scriptures the Oriental form of expression is found, in this respect.

      "Of them shall ye take your bondmen for ever" (Lev. xxv. 46)

      Whatever construction may be put upon this passage, they have long ceased to take bondmen from the strangers around them.

      "And my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" (Gen. xvii. 13).

      In Gen. xiii. 15, God promised the land of Canaan to Abram and his seed forever. In Num. xxv. 13, to [305] Phinehas was promised an everlasting priesthood. It failed a long time ago. Sometimes men have been staggered at the discovery of this fact, and have almost reached the conclusion that these statements were never made by the God of heaven at all. Others have concluded that wherever eternity or everlasting occurs, only limited duration is intended. But this will not do, for it limits the blessedness of the righteous, and the years of God himself. He is the same, and His years shall not fail; from everlasting to everlasting He is God. It will not do to rush from one extreme to another. This is the truth in the case, forever exhausts the period to which it belongs. If it was said to a king, "live forever," it meant a long life, and yet the life of a man. If it referred to a nation, it was to extend till that nation would be scattered and the nationality be destroyed. If we could know that it related to time, we could be sure that it would exhaust the period. But if it reach beyond the precincts of time, there then being no limit, it must have all the meaning that can attach to the word. Hence, because a word is sometimes used in a figurative sense, it does not follow that it is always to be so understood.

      (4.) The plural is put for the singular.--The ark that carried Noah across the flood rested on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. viii. 4). It could not have rested on more than one. To one accustomed to their style of speech there would be nothing strange in the expression. There were three ranges of hills, or mountains, and in one of these ranges the ark rested.

      "And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the [306] midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt" (Gen. xix. 29).

      But Lot only dwelt in one city--Sodom.

      "Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck?" (Gen. xxi. 7).

      She never had but one child, and no other was ever promised. In Gen. xlvi. 7, when Jacob was going into Egypt, it is indicated that he took "his sons, and his sons' sons with him; his daughters, and his sons' daughters." But Jacob never had more than one daughter--Dinah--that was defiled by Shechem.

      "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Jer. vi. 16).

      Here the paths denote that which is right in the sight of the Lord, and therefore could not have been different. This path meant the good way in which they were to walk.

      This may account for the singular being used by one apostle and the plural by another, when describing the same thing. Matthew and Mark usually differ in this respect. Matthew has two men possessed by demons in Gadara; Mark tells of but one. Mark tells of one blind beggar at Jericho that wished to be healed; Matthew has two. Mark describes the ride into Jerusalem to be on a colt whereon man never sat; Matthew has an ass and a colt. Mark and Matthew both say that they who were crucified with Jesus reproached him; while Luke declares that one defended his claims by rebuking the other (Luke xxiii. 39-43). To say that they reproached Him when only one did it, would not have been out of harmony with general custom at that time. A number are frequently said to have done a thing, when it is certain [307] that but one of the number did it. This may be all there was in the remark of Paul to the serjeants (Acts xvi. 35, 37), "They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans." We know that Paul was a Roman citizen; but that Silas was, could hardly be sustained by this text.

      (5.) The singular is put for the plural.--This is commonly understood when the statement is a general one. When God ordained marriage, it was not for the one man and woman in
      the garden--it was not for them that it was said, "Therefore shall a man forsake father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife"--for it meant all men; so that marriage was instituted for the race.

      "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and let fowl fly above the earth" (Gen. i. 20).

      The moving creature and the fowl do not mean one of each, but the whole family of each. In Ex. viii. 17; xiii. 15, we have the plagues of Egypt that came upon man and beast. While the words man and beast do not mean all men and all beasts, they do mean all those that were exposed in Egypt, belonging to the dominion of Pharaoh. The term is singular, but the meaning is plural.

      "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously:
      The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea" (Ex. xv. 1).

      "Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the ordinance of the Lord" (Jer. viii. 7).

      Here a number of things are spoken of in the [308] singular, while the whole number is intended: the stork, the turtle, the crane, stand for all such.

      "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib" (Isa. i. 3).

      All oxen, and all asses, is the meaning. Lev. xi. 29 tells of some unclean animals, such as the weasel, the lizard, and the mouse. In Deut. vii. 20, God promised to send the hornet, and drive out the inhabitants; and in Josh. xxiv. 12, they are reminded that God had sent the hornet, and had driven out the people in that way. Of course it was not any one hornet that did that work. He is to be regarded as a numerous hornet! This is, perhaps, the proper interpretation of Gen. vi. 16, respecting the light in the ark, which God appointed.

      (6.) A definite is put for an indefinite number.

      "That she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Isa. xl. 2).

      The word double stands for plenty.

      "Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works" (Rev. xviii. 6).

      That is, she must be punished sufficiently.

      "God hath spoken once,
      Twice have I heard this" (Psa. lxii. 11).

      "Howbeit in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue" (I. Cor. xiv. 19).

      In this he is understood to mean that he would prefer to use a very few words that would instruct the people than a great number that would not do any good. Elkanah said to Hannah (I. Sam. i. 8), "Am I not better to thee than ten sons?"--that is, than a whole family of sons? [309]

      "A rebuke entereth deeper into one that hath understanding
      Than an hundred stripes into a fool" (Prov. xvii. 10).

      That is, than any number of stripes.

      "If a man beget an hundred children" (Eccles. vi. 3).

      A great number.

      "For the child shall die an hundred years old, and the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed" (Isa. lxv. 20).

      This is a strong figure for the blessings that would be for them when they should return from their captivity in Babylon.

      One thousand stands for a higher number, and yet indefinite, many times.

      "And showing mercy unto thousands, of them that love me and keep my commandments" (Ex. xx. 6).

      Here the thousands include the whole number of those that love the Lord, and keep His word.

      "The Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times so many more as ye are" (Deut. i. 11).

      That is, increase your number very greatly.

      "He can not answer him one of a thousand" (Job. ix. 3).

      "For every beast of the forest is mine,
      And the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psa. l. 10).

      Ten thousand stands for a very great number, but sometimes as indefinite as the others.

      "And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel" (Num. x. 36).

      "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him" (Dan. vii. 10).

      "And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" (Rev. v. 10).

      Every one understands by these expressions a very [310] great number, but no one thinks of the number being accurately made out.

      The words hour, day, year, are employed with the same latitude. Jesus said to the disciples the night before the crucifixion, "Could ye not watch with me one hour?"--that is, just a little while.

      Numbers, among the ancients, were very loosely kept. All the antediluvian patriarchs seem to have died on their birthdays, for they were so many years old. The same is true of the men who lived on this side of the flood. And yet we do not think but what they lived months and days, more or less, just as the people do now.

      If we take the ordinals among the Greeks, first, second, third, etc., they are always to be relied upon; but if we have the indication in the use of the cardinals, one, two, three, etc, we may feel sure that it is not as we would say it. Jesus says that He was to be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights; and again, that He would rise again on the third day. As we speak, this could not be true. See John ii. 19; Mark viii. 31; Matt. xvi. 21. And by reading I. Kings xii. 5-12, both styles of record will be found.

      (7.) A general name is put for a particular name.--"All flesh" stands for all human beings. Psa. cxlv. 21. "And let all flesh bless his holy name, for ever and ever."

      "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass" (Isa. xl. 5, 6).

      "Because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Rom. iii. 20).

      "And preach the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark xvi. 15). [311]

      It is not meant to preach the gospel to the animal creation, but to the human family. The word creature stands here, for the human race, only.

      In the time of Abraham it was said that "the Canaanite was then in the land" (Gen. xii. 6). But this is the general for a large number of tribes into which the descendants of the fourth son of Ham had been divided. It is not certain that the races of giants--the Anakim, the Avim, the Emmim, the Horim, the Rephaim, the Zuzim, or the Zamzummim--were descendants from this line or not; but the probabilities are that they were. At any rate, the Canaanite includes the Amorites (between Hebron and the salt sea, that afterwards spread to the east side of the Jordan, and occupied the country from the river Arnon on the south, to the north line of Bashan); the Arkites (at Arka, opposite the northern part of Lebanon); the Arvadites (around Arad); the Girgashites (around the sea of Tiberius); the Hamathites (around Hamath, in the extreme north of the land); the Hittites (around Hebron); the Hivites (about the foot of Hermon); the Jebusites (about Jerusalem); the Perizzites (in Samaria); the Sinites (south of Arka); the Zerarites (south of Arad); and probably the Zidonians (at Zidon).

      It is quite common, in all ages of the world, to speak of the smaller tribes by mentioning the larger, which contained the smaller.

      (8.) Sometimes a special name or word is put for a general.

      "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
      He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in asunder;
      He burneth the chariots in the fire" (Psa. xlvi. 9).

      That is to say, God is the great peace-maker, and he [312] accomplishes the work by the destruction of the means of warfare. So bread is used in the place of food in general.

      "Command that these stones become bread" (Matt. iv. 3).

      "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matt. vi. 11).

      That is, our daily food. Many times the word meat is used in the same sense. These special names are employed because they are leading, and therefore indicate the whole line of food in general. In Dan. xii. 2, many is put for all mankind, for, though the thought to be conveyed is the restoration of Israel from Babylon, yet the scene is laid on the general resurrection of the dead. Hence the "Many that sleep in the dust of the earth" meant all that sleep in the dust of the earth. (II, Cor. ii. 6). In Mark xvi. 16, "He that believeth" stands for all who believe, etc. In Psa. i. 1: "Blessed is the man" blessed are all men who walk as indicated in that place. In like manner we have father, mother, brother, sister, daughter, son, etc., used for relatives that are more distant. They are the particular things used for the general. Consult Gen. i. 21; xvii. 4; xxiv. 38-40; xxix. 12; xxviii. 9; iii. 20; Judg. v. 7; Rom. xvi. 13; Deut. xv. 7; xxiii. 19; Ruth iv. 3; Mark iii. 35; Josh. vii. 19; Matt. i. 6. It will be found in the genealogy of Matthew, that there are skips where even the form of begat is used. We are ready to excuse Luke, in adopting the Septuagint in giving the line of Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David; and yet from the birth of Boaz to the birth of David, there is scarcely less than four hundred and fifty years of time, which would demand that each father mentioned should have been about one hundred and fifty years old when his son was born. And yet men were not as long lived then as now. David was [313] an old and worn out man at seventy, and Solomon reaches the end of life under sixty. It is better to concede that there are vacancies in the account, and that they did not choose to fill them, and have used the terms in a larger sense, giving the specific for the general, as in Rom. i. 16. In many other places the word Gentile occurs for all heathen.

      SEC. 65. PROVERB.--This seems to come from the Latin proverbium, from pro, before, or for, and verbum a word. A sentence condensed into a word, or its smallest form. Webster says of it:

      "1. An old and common saying; a phrase which is often repeated; especially a sentence which briefly and forcibly expresses some practical truth, or the result of experience and observation; a maxim; a saw.

      "'The proverb is true, that light gains make heavy purses; for light gains come often, great gains now and then.'--BACON.

      "2. Hence a striking or paradoxical assertion; an enigma.

      "'His disciples said unto him, Lo! now speakest thou plainly, and thou usest no proverb.'--WYCLIFFE'S BIBLE, 1551.

      "3. A byword; an expression of contempt.

      "Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations" (Deut. xxviii. 37).

      A proverb, then, may be regarded as a short, pithy sentence, containing a complete and valuable thought. Its value may be judged of (1) by its prominence and value of truth; (2) its brevity; (3) its elegance and beauty.

      It is constructed of several different figures of speech, and when they are employed the rules that relate to their interpretation should be used.

      As they were in the habit of calling nearly all figures parables, several times in the New Testament the word parable is used where, according to our forms of speech, we would say proverb. Once before we mentioned [314] Luke iv. 23 (See Parable), and also the parable of the fig tree (Matt. xxiv. 32) is a proverb: When the fig tree puts forth leaves, the summer is nigh.

      Here are a few model parables.

      "Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness" (I. Sam. xxiv. 13).

      "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts xx. 35).

      "The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth" (Ezek. iii. 22).

      The form of that was good enough, but God found fault with it on the ground that it was not true (ver. 23).

      They used another that looked well enough, but was faulty on the same account.

      "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Ezek. xviii. 2).

      Sometimes they spoke of proverbs as dark sayings (John xvi. 25, 29).

      These sayings, or "words of mine" (Matt. vii. 24), might be called proverbs. Indeed, the Sermon on the Mount is almost made up of terse, forceful sentences, each one of which contains a great volume of truth. From I. Kings iv. 32; Eccles. xii. 9, Solomon seems to have spoken many proverbs which have not been reported to us. The whole book of Proverbs should be studied, in order to be familiar with this form of speech.

      It was used by the ancients, as by us, for the purpose of making the truth appear with greater force, and to be remembered longer. "The legs of the lame are not equal." "Consistency thou art a jewel." "He laughs best who laughs last." Ahab, king of Israel, is the author of a very fine proverb. It was in answer to Benhadad, king of Syria: "Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off" (I. Kings xx. 11). [315]

      "It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to her wallowing in the mire." (III. Pet. ii. 22.).

      That illustrates those who are low in their disposition and practices, and have turned to be Christians, and then permit their old desires and customs to control them.

      A proverb may be enlarged into a parable, simply by the use of a story which will contain the thought that would otherwise be put into a brief sentence. The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke x. 25-37), might be made into a proverb: "To be neighbor, is to show kindness." And while that truth might be as potent to one who wished it, yet it would not enforce itself on the mind as well as in the parable form in which the Saviour put it.

      SEC. 66. IRONY.--From the Greek eironeia, dissimulation; as a figure, it means to dissemble in speech--to say one thing, while another is meant. Webster says of this word:

      "A kind of ridicule which exposes the errors or faults of others by seeming to adopt, approve, or defend them; apparent assent to a proposition given, with such a tone, or under such circumstances, that opposite opinions or feelings are implied."

      Irony can be detected (1) by a statement made by the author: he sometimes says that certain things were said in mockery. (2) It is sometimes apparent from the tone or accent, or the manner of the speaker. (3) Sometimes it will be recognized by the character of the address: if the speaker has been dealing in that kind of dissimulation for the purpose of ridicule, it will be the easier detected. (4) The extravagance of praise, when we know both the subject and the author, will enable us to note the intent. (5) When the language was used [316] orally, and has been printed, there may be nothing in the form of words to denote that it was an ironical speech; but if we can get the opinion of those who were present, it will assist us; for they would be able to discover in the tone or the accent what has been lost to us by distance and time.

      The Scriptures contain many examples of irony, but, with the rules we have given already for its detection, we will cite but a few, for the real meaning in any case is not difficult.

      "And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked" (I. Kings xviii. 27).

      "And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go up, and prosper; and the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?" (I. Kings. xxii. 15-18).

      There is nothing in the form of this address that would enable us to discern the irony in it. But Ahab knew the man, and perhaps detected in the tone and accent of the speech the ironical under-current.

      "No doubt but ye are the people,
      And wisdom shall die with you" (Job xii. 2).

      The wisdom these men supposed they possessed, but did not possess, made it necessary that the patriarch [317] should deal in a very rugged language to bring them to their senses.

      "Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress" (Judg. x. 14).

      "Already are ye filled, already ye are become rich, ye have reigned without us: yea and I would that ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. For, I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye have glory, but we have dishonour Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; and we toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now" (I. Cor. iv. 8-13).

      The wisdom that this church supposed they possessed, but did not possess, made it necessary that the apostle should deal in very rugged language to bring them to their senses.

      "But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine" (Acts ii. 13).

      Of course they meant to be understood as saying that they were drunk; but being full of sweet wine would not make them drunk. They meant what we now mean when we say of a man that "he is happy," or that he "he is full of milk." They say one thing, but mean another.

      SEC. 67. SARCASM.--This is from the Greek sarkasmos, from sarkadzein, to tear flesh like dogs; to bite the lips in rage; to speak bitterly; to sneer. Webster says of it: [318]

      "A keen, reproachful expression; a satirical remark uttered with some degree of scorn or contempt; a taunt; a gibe; a cutting jest."

      It is so related to irony that it is quite common for them to be regarded as the same. It differs, however, from the usual form of irony in its severity and evident spitefulness. It is only used for the purpose of reproof and condemnation, and when the soul is too angry to secrete its bitterness. It is used to condemn some action by seeming to order it, or decide the claims of those who are condemned.

      "And they plaited a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!" (Matt. xxvii. 29).

      "In like manner also the chief priests mocking him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe" (Mark xv. 31, 32).

      The Saviour uses sarcasm in His fierce condemnation of the self-righteousness of the Jews. They were punctilious in the payment of tithing on mint and dill and rue; they were strict in keeping the traditions of the fathers, but had little respect for the authority of God Himself.

      "And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition" (Mark vii. 9).

      In Paul's anger at the high priest at Jerusalem (Acts xxiii. 3-5), he gives vent to his feelings by the use of this figure.

      And when God told the Jews to get drunk and spew, He used the severest form of sarcasm. [319]

      SEC. 68. HYPERBOLE.--Greek huper, above, over, beyond; and bolee, from bolein, to throw. Webster says:

      "A figure of speech in which the expression is an exaggeration of a meaning intended to be conveyed, or by which things are represented as much greater or less, better or worse, than they really are; a statement which exaggerates through passion or intense excitement."

      "And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" (Num. xiii. 33).

      This was the report of the ten spies whose faith failed them. And, according to Deut. i. 28, they also said: "The cities are great and fenced up to heaven." In ix. 1, Moses repeats this to the Israelites just before they passed over the Jordan. In Gen. xli. 49, it is said that Joseph "laid up corn as the sand of the sea, very much." God said to Abraham (Gen. xiii. 16), "And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered." When the Midianites had overrun the land of Israel, for several years, the Lord raised up Gideon for their deliverance. But the insignificance of the army of the Lord, when compared to the Midianites and the help they had provided, is strongly expressed by Judg. vii. 12: "And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is upon the sea shore for multitude."

      "And the Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude" (I. Sam. xiii. 5). [320]

      "And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even an the sand that is on the sea shore" (I. Kings iv. 29).

      "But I am a worm, and no man;
      A reproach of men, and despised of the people" (Psa. xxii. 6).

      Again, in vers. 14, 15:

      "I am poured out like water,
      And all my bones are out of joint:
      My heart is like wax;
      It is melted in the midst of my bowels.
      My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
      And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
      And thou hast brought me into the dust of death."

      David expresses his sorrow in a very strong light in Psa. vi. 6, 7:

      "I am weary with my groaning;
      Every night make I my bed to swim;
      I water my couch with my tears.
      Mine eye wasteth away because of grief;
      It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries."

      "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written" (John xxi. 25).

      "All the nations are as nothing before him; they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity" (Psa. xl. 17).

      "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given" (Eph. iii. 8).

      There need be no rule for the interpretation of the hyperbole, except to keep before the mind the purpose of the author, and the language will interpret itself. It is simply an intensification, and not used with any intent to misrepresent the facts in the case. Of course, to make these statements literal will find the Bible guilty of many falsehoods; but when we treat such figures in the [321] Scriptures as we treat them elsewhere, there is no danger of failing to comprehend them.

      SEC. 69. THE APOSTROPHE.--Greek apo, from, and strephein, to turn, a turning from, or away from. In rhetoric it is a turning away from the real auditory, and addressing an imaginary one.

      (1.) When this audience is from the inanimate world, it is common to call it Personification. Yet there is a clear distinction between ascribing to them powers and volition and knowledge which do not belong to them, and addressing a speech to them. Personification is present, but it is not all; the turning aside from the regular discourse, and speaking to another than the real audience, makes it Apostrophe.

      "O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put up thyself into thy scabbard; rest, and be still. How canst thou be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given thee a charge?" (Jer. xlvii. 6, 7).

      "O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?" (I. Cor. xv. 55).

      "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Luke xiii. 34, 35).

      (2.) When the address is to an absent person, it is pure apostrophe.

      "And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (II. Sam. xviii. 33).

      This is an address to the absent son as though he were present, and is the unmixed apostrophe. [322]

      The finest and boldest apostrophe found in any book is to be read in Isa. xiv. 9-20. It is properly regarded as the prophet's address to the king of Babylon. The man of God had seen his work of disaster until he was sick at heart, and now that the Lord permits him to see what is reserved for that power that had trampled every other to the ground, he delivers the matter with zest:

      "Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to hell, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst lay low the nations! And thou saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the uttermost parts of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof, that let not loose his prisoners to their home? All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit as a carcass trodden under foot. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named forever" (Isa. xiv. 9-20).

      This is a most wonderful address, especially when we realize that the prophet was talking to a man who was not yet born, and whose end was two hundred years [323] away. He might have presented this in the usual form of prophecy, but he could not have given to it the strength and force that was desired. Hence he calls up the king of Babylon, and delivers to him the sentence of death, and even permits the slain kings to rise up from the grave and taunt him for not having a place in which to be buried; and the unseen is set into a roar of laughter at the pretensions of this mighty man.

      SEC. 70. PERSONIFICATION.--This is a figure of speech by which inanimate beings are spoken of as animated, or endowed with life and volition; animals are endowed with feelings akin to those of men.

      This is well suited to an imaginary condition of mind, and therefore frequently employed in the Hebrew Scriptures. Indeed, it is now a staple in the market of communication, and we use it so commonly ourselves that we have almost ceased to think of it as a figure of speech.

      "And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods" (Num. xvi. 31, 32).

      The earth opening her mouth indicates volition, and intent to remove those rebels against the Lord and His servant.

      "Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matt. vi. 34).

      Here is a day or some period of time spoken of as having the reason and interest of men.

      "The sea saw it, and fled
      Jordan was driven back.
      The mountains skipped like rams,
      The little hills like young sheep" (Psa. cxiv. 3-4). [324]

      "The mountains saw thee, and were afraid;
      The tempest of waters passed by
      The deep uttered his voice,
      And lifted up his hands on high.
      The sun and moon stood still in their habitation;
      At the light of throe arrows as they went" (Hab. iii. 10-11).

      Here the mountains, the sea, and the sun and the moon are endowed with powers which belong to the human race, and are not in the choice of inanimate things.

      "If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion is vain" (Jas. i. 26).

      In this text the apostle ascribes to the tongue of man an independent power, as if it were some ferocious animal. In iii. 9, 10, he has another use of it, very much the same.

      Job, in his valuation of wisdom and search for understanding, says some beautiful things respecting its home being in the mind of God.

      "The deep saith, It is not in me:
      And the sea saith, It is not with me" (Job. xxviii. 14).

      "Destruction and Death say,
      We have heard a rumour thereof with our ears" (ver. 22).

      In these texts the sea and death and destruction are regarded as considering questions which are worthy of the best minds of mortals.

      "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us" (Isa. xiv. 7, 8).

      This was the rejoicing of nature at the thought of the destruction of the king of Babylon. Isaiah sees everything as conforming to the feelings of the people of the [325] Lord respecting the breaking down of that power that had retained them in bondage away from their own land.

      So again, when he is permitted to see the dews returning home, it seems to him as if the very land itself will be frantic with joy at the sight, once more, of the children of that country.

      "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isa. lv. 12).

      Thus he gives to them all the volition and thought and feeling that belonged even to men.

      "Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, that handle the shield; and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow. For that day is a day of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its fill of their blood" (Jer. xlvi. 9, 10).

      Here the horses and chariots and the sword are filled with animation, and have desires that are to be satisfied with the destruction of those who oppose their country.

      Fables can only be constructed by the use of this figure of speech. From first to last, human ability must be ascribed to the lower animals, or to inanimate creatures.

      SEC. 71. INTERROGATION.--This is a figure of speech when it is employed for the purpose of affirming or denying with great force. It is no longer an inquiry into any proposition, but the end of it. By it the affirmation or denial is made, and is to be understood as the conclusion of all investigation, and is only referred to because it will serve as a basis for some conclusion which it is desired to reach. [326]

      "Nicodemus saith unto them (he that came to him before, being one of them), Doth our law judge a man, except it first hear from himself and know what he doeth?" (John vii. 50, 51).

      He meant to say that the law did not permit any man to he condemned without first having been heard, and he meant to say it with force.

      "Am I not free? am I not an apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?" (I. Cor. ix. 1.)

      Surely Paul does not ask these questions for the sake of any light he might gain respecting them. He meant to say, These things are so, and you know them to be so; these are facts about which there is no doubt.

      "Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?" (I. Cor. xii. 29, 30).

      Here are seven questions to which a negative answer was expected. Indeed, they are presented as if they were the conclusion on the subject--as if he had said: You know that all are not apostles, etc.

      "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?" (Heb. i. 14).

      It was not because Paul, or any one else, doubted that the angels were ministering spirits, that he puts the question, but because on that point there was no dispute, as if he had said, You know that they fill that mission. Job indulges this style, and the Lord, when He speaks to Job, presents the thought with great force in this way.

      "Canst thou by searching find out God?
      Canst then find out the Almighty unto perfection?" (Job xi. 7).

      Zophar the Naamathite, tries this form of emphasis (see Job xx. 4, 5): [327]

      "Knowest thou not this of old time,
      Since man was placed upon earth,
      That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
      And the joy of the godless but for a moment?"

      He is not inquiring after anything that Job might know on that subject, but using this figure as the best way of enforcing his thought.

      When the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind (xxxviii, xli.), everything, almost, was put in this terse way:

      "Who is this that darkeneth counsel
      By words without knowledge?"
      "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" "
      Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began!"
      "Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?"
      "Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?"
      "Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow?"
      "Hath the rain a father?"
      "Out of whose womb came the ice?"
      "Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
      Or loose the bands of Orion?"

      These are but a few for the whole; for God's reproof of this man was by the use of the Interrogative, making him to understand that he had undertaken to speak on subjects with which he was not acquainted. The reproof had its desired effect, for he was made to feel that his knowledge was not equal to the topics on which he had spoken.

      But one of the finest figures of this kind is to be read in Rom. viii. 31-35:

      "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised [328] from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Rom. viii. 31-35).

      SEC. 72. PROLEPSIS.--This is from the Greek pro, before, and lambanein, to take; hence to take beforehand. Of this figure Webster says:

      "'1. (Rhet.) A figure by which objections are anticipated or prevented'--BISHOP BRAMHALL.

      "'2. An error in chronology, when an event is dated before the actual time: a species of anachronism'--THEOBOLD.

      "3. A necessary truth or assumption; a first or assumed principle."

      The works on Rhetoric seem to know nothing of this figure, and yet it is one of the most common in all languages. In the Scriptures we have Bethel spoken of at the time that Abraham came into the land of Canaan (Gen. ii. 8), and yet at the time of Jacob's flight from the face of his brother, he slept there; and because of the visitation of the angels it received its name (Gen. xxviii. 10-19). When the writer gave the account, it lead long been known by that name, and he therefore speaks of it by the name commonly spoken by the people. So with Hebron; it was called Mamre, and Hebron is a later name; but because it was known by that name when the account is written, it is so denominated in the earlier record (Gen. xiii. 18; xxiii. 2; xxxv. 27; Gen. xiv. 14). In this way Moses is said to have seen as far north as to Dan (Deut. xxxiv. 1-5). In Josh. xix. 47, the country is described, indicating that place in the far north where a portion of the tribe dispossessed the people of Laish, or Leshem, and built up a city, and called it Dan. But there was no place by that name when Moses looked from the top of Nebo; and certainly not when Abraham [329] pursued the kings of the east. The account is completed, then, after the tribe had built up that city; and the name is carried back on the same principle by which we speak of "President Garfield, when, he was a boy." We do not mean to say that he was then President, but because he afterwards came to that position, we feel that we can carry back these honors, in mentioning his earlier life. So we hear of what General Grant did when he was a boy. He was not General then, but as the people have become accustomed to calling him General, we do so when referring to his early life.

      "And the man called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living" (Gen. iii. 20).

      At that time she was not a mother of any one. But when Moses wrote, she stood at the maternal head of the race. So he borrows from the then present knowledge and lends to Adam.

      "And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gen. ii. 23, 24).

      The ordination of marriage would seem to be from Adam. In Matt. xix. 5, the Saviour indicates that it was from God. But it is quite certain that God did not proceed at that time to instruct Adam on that subject. But long before Moses wrote the account of the beginning, marriage had been ordained, and the remark is thrown in here when the man and his wife were created, because at the time of the writing the institution had long been known. The Saviour is right in attributing it to the Father, for He was its author.

      In the tenth and eleventh chapters of Genesis, where [330] the three sons of Noah are written up, with their posterity, the form of writing is frequently proleptic. The account runs many centuries in advance of the time. The history had been made when Moses wrote the account, and therefore he borrows from that future record.

      "And the Lord said unto her,
      Two nations are in thy womb,
      And two peoples shall be separated even from thy bowels;
      And the one people shall be stronger than the other people.
      And the elder shall serve the younger" (Gen. xxv. 23).

      This would be strange, if literally true. There were the potencies; and from those two sons should spring two nations, and by the figure of prolepsis they are said to be present.

      "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus, of Bethany, of the. village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick" (John xi. 1, 2).

      This anointing did not occur yet for about three months, but John speaks of it as having already taken place, because when he wrote the account it was generally known that she did this (John xii. 5).

      So in Matt. x. 4, Judas is mentioned as the one who betrayed Christ, and yet it was more than a year before the betrayal took place. He dates the event ahead, because at the time of writing it was known to almost every one who it was that betrayed Him. On the same principle the Saviour says (Matt. xxii. 30), "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven." Here they are spoken of as having passed into the resurrection state already, and they were a long ways from it; but in the contemplation of that condition He correctly speaks of [331] it as present, and puts "they are," for they will be. When the object is high, the intervening distance becomes trivial. Hence the Messianic prophecies are generally spoken of as if the event was just at hand, or even in the past. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given" (Isa. ix. 6). In view of the ascension and coronation that were soon to follow, Jesus came to His disciples and said, "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. xxviii. 18).

      Care must be taken that we do not avoid any facts respecting the time of any event. It will be easy to say that any reference to time, present or past, is a proleptic statement. We must be sure that we are not making a contradiction in the word of God by the introduction of this figure. However, there is but little danger in the hands of any conscientious man, for the presence of the figure is so guarded that there is no mistaking it. And when there is no such necessity laid upon us, we will do better not to regard the language as proleptic.

      SEC. 73. PARALLELISM.--Greek parallelismos, from para, beside, and allelo, each. As a figure of speech, it is placing beside each other several lines having the same or similar import. Bishop Lowth maintains that it is the sole characteristic of Hebrew poetry; that it is a certain equality, resemblance, or relationship, between the members of each period; so that in two lines, or members of the same period, things shall answer to things, and words to words, as if fitted to each other by a kind of measure or rule. Such is the general strain of Hebrew poetry. The origin of this form of poetical composition among the Hebrews, is supposed to be the chanting of songs, when one company or choir answers another. It is understood that Moses and Miriam (Ex. xv), [332] conducted their joyful singing in that way. In I. Sam. xviii. 7, it is quite certain that the women in their praises of David and Saul gave a song in this way. So it was when Deborah and Barak rejoiced against Sisera and his men, that they sang back and forth at each other in this responsive way. But to call this the origin of parallelism is certainly to miss the facts.

      The mind is most likely to give off poetry when highly wrought by love, triumph, or anger. There are few poets among farmers on level land, who pass their time in an even way. The imagination necessary to that kind of composition is not aroused. But those who live in mountainous countries, and are frequently thrown into a highly excited condition, will dream and talk in poetry. In the song of Deborah and Barak it is clear that the construction was the result of an exultant state of mind. They are not now angry, but they rejoice that their enemies have been destroyed. But in the response of Mary to Elizabeth, it can be seen that her heart is overflowing with love and gratitude to God for his wonderful works.

      "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
      And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
      For he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaiden.
      For, behold, from henceforth
      All generations shall call me blessed.
      For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
      And holy is his name.
      And his mercy is unto generations and generations
      On them that fear him.
      He hath shewed strength with his arm;
      He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.
      He hath put down princes from their thrones,
      And hath exalted them of low degree.
      The hungry he hath filled with good things;
      And the rich he hath sent empty away. [333]
      He hath holpen Israel his servant,
      That he might remember mercy;
      (As he spake unto our fathers)
      Toward Abraham and his seed forever", (Luke i. 46-55).

      A careful reading of this address will cause any one to see the parallel lines and rhythm in the heart wrought to the highest tension with love for and praise to God. But when Laban followed the fleeing Jacob out of Paddan-aram, and overtook him in the mountains of Gilead, his mind was highly wrought, but in a very different way.

      "What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me,
      And carried away my daughters, as captives of the sword?
      Wherefore didst thou flee secretly,
      And steal away from me;
      And didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth,
      And with songs, with tabret, and with harp?" (Gen. xxxi. 26-28).

      Laban makes a search for his teraphim, and finds nothing that was his, and Jacob is angry, and chides in the same way:

      "What is my trespass?
      What is my sin,
      That thou hast hotly pursued after me?
      Whereas thou hast felt about all my stuff,
      What hast thou found of all thy household stuff?
      Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren,
      That they may judge betwixt us two" (ver. 36, 37).

      I think it certain that this figure of speech has had its origin in the passions of the people, for it suited well as a method of giving vent to their feelings. A short, crisp, terse sentence or statement, and another following just like it in sentiment, gives the emphasis that is in a heart full of love or anger. [334]

      There are so many forms of parallelism that it will be better to treat it under the several heads into which it is naturally divided.

      SEC. 74. SYNONYMOUS PARALLELISM.--This is when the lines contain the same thought, or nearly the same thought.

      "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
      Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech
      For I have slain a man for wounding me,
      And a young man for bruising me
      If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
      Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold" (Gen. iv. 23-24).

      This may be denominated identical, for some of these lines contain exactly the same thought. Adah and Zillah were the same as the wives of Lamech, and the man that wounded him was the same as the young man that bruised him. In such cases we have the same thing repeated for the sake of beauty and force.

      (1.) We give, then, the first form of this kind of parallelism as identical, for the comparison is made by employing a part of the same words, intended to convey the same thought.

      "Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
      Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth" (Prov. vi. 2).

      "The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
      The floods have lifted up their voice;
      The floods lift up their waves.
      Above the voices of many waters,
      The mighty breakers of the sea,
      The Lord on high is mighty" (Psa. xciii. 3-4).

      In Isa. lv. 6, 7, we have a parallelism that is more nearly of this order than any other, and therefore we quote it:

      "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
      Call ye upon him while he is near: [335]
      Let the wicked forsake his way,
      And the unrighteous man his thoughts:
      And let him return unto the Lord,
      And he will have mercy upon him;
      And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

      (2.) A similar synonymous parallelism is one in which the lines have the same meaning, or nearly the same, but not couched in the same words.

      "Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?
      Or loweth the ox over his fodder?
      Can that which hath no savour be eaten without salt?
      Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
      My soul refuseth to touch them;
      They are as loathsome meat to me.
      Oh that I might have my request;
      And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
      Even that it would please God to crush me;
      That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off" (Job vi. 5-10).

      A good example of this is found in Hosea xi. 8, 9.

      "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?
      How shall I deliver thee, Israel?
      How shall I make thee as Admah?
      How shall I set thee as Zeboim?
      Mine heart is turned within me,
      My compassions are kindled together.
      I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,
      I will not return to destroy Ephraim
      For I am God, and not man;
      The Holy One in the midst of thee" (Hos. xi. 8, 9).

      "At their presence the peoples are in anguish
      All faces are waxed pale.
      They shall run like mighty men;
      They climb the wall like men of war;
      And they march every one on his ways,
      And they break not their ranks.
      Neither doth one thrust another;
      They march every one in his path [336]
      And they burst through the weapons,
      And break not off their course.
      They leap upon the city;
      They run upon the wall;
      They climb up into the houses;
      They enter in at the windows like a thief" (Joel ii. 6-9).

      "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
      The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under feet" (Psa. xci. 13).

      SEC. 75. ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM is that in which lines and sentences are made to oppose each other. Truth is often made to appear by the use of antithesis; and this may be done in poetry, as well as elsewhere.

      (1.) Simple antithetic parallelism is that in which the sentences opposed are simple.

      "In the multitude of people is the king's glory:
      But in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
      He that is slow to anger is of great understanding:
      But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
      A sound heart is the life of the flesh:
      But envy is the rottenness of the bones.
      He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker:
      But he that hath mercy on the needy honoureth him.
      The wicked is thrust down in his evil-doing:
      But the righteous hath hope in his death.
      Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding:
      But that which is in the inward part of fools is made known.
      Righteousness exalteth a nation:
      But sin is a reproach to any people.
      The king's favour is toward a servant that dealeth wisely:
      But his wrath shall be against him that causeth shame.
      A soft answer turneth away wrath:
      But a grievous word stirreth up anger.
      The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright:
      But the mouth of fools poureth out folly" (Prov. xiv. 28; xv. 2).

      (2.) A compound antithetic parallelism is one in which [337] the sentences opposed are compound, or have less of the directness and simplicity of the former.

      "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib:
      But Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider" (Isa. i. 3)

      "Come now, and let us reason together, with the Lord:
      Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
      Though they be red like crimson,
      They shall be as wool.
      If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land
      But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword" (vers. 18-20).

      In chapter liv. 7, 8, we have this form of parallelism, though it seems a kind of mixture.

      "For a small moment have I forsaken thee;
      But with great mercies will I gather thee.
      In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment;
      But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee."

      SEC. 76. SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM.--This is where the words and sentences do not answer to each other. There may be several lines running parallel bearing certain relations to each other, as our blank verse, with a view of bringing out a certain thought.

      (1.) The corresponding synthetic parallelism is where the correspondence is between relative sentences. Sometimes the responding thought is found in one sentence, and sometimes in two or more.

      "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
      The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psa. xxvii. 1).

      Any one will see that these sentences contain the same thought, and that the author repeated the thought of the first in the second, for the sake of strength. In [338] Psa. xxxv. 25, 26, we have a more difficult form of this figure:

      "Let them not say in their heart, Aha, so would we have it:
      Let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
      Let them be ashamed and confounded together that rejoice at mine hurt:
      Let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me."

      It will be seen that these sentences respond to each other; that they present the same view, but that they do so in different ways. In this way thought is intensified by being set forth in this compound or double manner.

      (2.) Cumulative synthetic parallelism.--This is ordinarily climacteric: each line or sentence is supposed to be a gain on the preceding one in some particular, until the purpose of the author finds satisfaction in a completed statement. The full truth might have been stated at the beginning, but the bearing, force and beauty would have suffered by that directness. It should be remembered that this is dust as competent to present the descendent as the ascendant scale. From not noticing that thoughts are increased in a downward course as well as in an upward, many beautiful Scriptures have been misinterpreted.

      Some examples of the ascendant scale (Psa. xix.): In verses one to six, the author gives us a view of the greatness of God, seen in the work of creation.

      "The heavens declare the glory of God;
      And the firmament showeth his handywork.
      Day unto day uttereth speech,
      And night unto night sheweth knowledge.
      There is no speech nor language;
      Their voice can not be heard.
      Their line is gone out through all the earth,
      And their words to the end of the world.
      In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, [339]
      Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
      And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
      His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
      And his circuit unto the ends of it
      And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

      In this way the Psalmist accumulates, and adds to the statements already made, till his mind is satisfied. And having sufficiently praised God for the wonderful work of His hands, for the wisdom and goodness everywhere displayed, he gives us his still higher appreciation of the law of the Lord in the same way. See vers. 7-11:

      "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul
      The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
      The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:
      The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
      The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:
      The judgements of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
      More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold
      Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
      Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
      In keeping of them there is great reward."

      To indicate the revealed will of God, the author uses the terms law, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, judgments; and to show his appreciation of it, has employed the terms perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true; and says of it, in a general way, that it restores the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, endures forever; and, not yet satisfied, he goes on to say that it is more valuable than gold, and more delightful than honey. While it can not be said that each line is a stronger statement than the preceding one, still, as a cumulative synthetic parallelism, it is very valuable.

      Psa. xxix. 1-9 contains an ode to the voice of the [340] Lord, in which this manner of accumulating thought is followed. It may be studied with profit.

      (3.) The descendent scale is seen also in many passages of Scripture.--Prov. ix. 13-17 contains Solomon's view of the woman of folly. She talks much, but knows nothing of any value; she shows herself at her own door, and in the prominent places in the city. She calls the attention of those who would otherwise go on and attend to their business, and suggests that secret vices are very pleasant; but her guests are killed. This begins in the ways that are not so palpably wrong, and by the cumulative method the whole road to evil is pointed out, and the terrible and awful results.

      The first Psalm, which has been a favorite with preachers as being easy of interpretation, has been quite generally misinterpreted from a want of acquaintance with this form of parallelism. David's aim is to show the difference between the righteous man and the unrighteous. He changes terms in presenting the man who is not blessed, but the degrees are made known in the other words indicative of conduct.

      If he will have the blessing of the Lord, he must not walk in the counsel of the wicked--no, he must not stand in the way of sinners--no, nor even sit among those who make light of divine things. Nor is that all--he must not only not be on the wrong side, but he must be on the right side: he must delight in the law of the Lord; yea, and must meditate upon it day and night. If he shall thus refuse the wrong and do the right, then he shall be like the tree beside the waters, that shall not be injured by any temporal calamity.

      (4.) Irregular synthetic parallelism is one in which the thoughts are brought together in an irregular way.--We [341] choose to denominate it irregular, because there are no exact rules or forms by which the thoughts are gathered. Sometimes there are three lines of comparative expression; sometimes there are four; but the first and the third are matched, and the second and fourth; sometimes the first and the last, and the two intermediate, are to be read together, while at other times there are several lines of comparative thought to be put in antithesis with a line before and one or more afterwards. To follow this out and illustrate ail these irregularities, would demand more space than we can give to it.

      "My son, if thine heart be wise,
      My heart shall be glad, even mine:
      Yea, my reins shall rejoice,
      When thy lips speak right things" (Prov. xxiii. 15, 16).

      It is common to denominate this the inverted form, but it is rather the introverted, as it reads from the inside out, thus:

      "My heart shall be glad, even mine,
      Yea, my reins shall rejoice,
      If the heart of my son is wise,
      And his lips speak right things."

      One of the loftiest Psalms containing a Messianic prophecy, has been composed on the plan of introverted parallelism. That this may appear, we will have to quote it as we think it should be read, in order to get its meaning (Psa. xxxv. 15-21). In this we will find that ver. 15 matches ver. 21; ver. 16 matches ver. 20; ver. 17 matches ver. 19; and ver. 18 is last, and is the relief that comes in the just judgment of God.

      Ver. 15: "But when I halted they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together; [342]
      The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not;
      They did tear me, and ceased not."

      Ver. 21: Yea, they opened their mouth wide against Me:
      They said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it."

      Ver. 16: "Like the profane mockers in feasts,
      They gnashed upon me with their teeth."

      Ver. 20: "For they speak not peace
      But they devise deceitful words against them that are quiet in the land."

      Ver. 17: "Lord, how long wilt thou look on?
      Rescue my soul from their destructions,
      My darling from the lions."

      Ver. 19: "Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me
      Neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause."

      Ver. 18: "I will give thee thanks in the great congregation;
      I will praise thee among much people."

      I was never able to see why the Psalmist should have stopped in the midst of the crucifixion of the Saviour to give praise to the Father, and then repeat the same things, or proceed to deliver himself with respect to the mocking of the high priests. But with this reading all is plain.

      In Isa. lxv. 21, 22, there is a parallelism in which the alternate lines are in antithesis, answering to each other in that way:

      "And they shall build houses, and inhabit them
      And they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
      They shall not build, and another inhabit;
      They shall not plant, and another eat."

      Sometimes the parallelism is in triplets--there will be three lines expressing the same thing, or one answering to two; at other times there are four expressing the same thing, but this is unusual. The Saviour and the [343] apostles many times quote from the Psalms a beautiful parallelism, but it is so written in the gospels and epistles as not to be noticed.

      Many times the copulative is employed for the purpose of intensification, where the thought is to be repeated either in the same, or nearly the same, words. The import of these passages is, many times, mistaken, from the want of noticing the figure of speech that has been employed.

      "And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye,
      And let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
      To the house of the God of Jacob;
      And he will teach us of his ways,
      And we will walk in his paths:
      For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
      And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa. ii. 3).

      Here the thoughts are repeated in couplets, and joined together, not by way of adding new thought, but to intensify the one already stated.

      "My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
      And forsake not the law of thy mother:
      For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head,
      And chains about thy neck" (Prov. i. 8, 9).

      (Jer. xxxi. 31; Hos. ii. 2.)

      "Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble,
      And as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame,
      So their root shall be as rottenness,
      And their blossom shall go up as dust:
      Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
      And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel" (Isa. v. 24).

      Very many times there is demanded the use of the disjunctive, that negative truth shall have the proper emphasis. Two very striking passages will be enough to cite--Neh. i. 7; II. Kings xvii. 34. [344]

      There is need of caution, however, in the use of this fact. While this figure has made the use of the conjunction that we have mentioned, we shall need to exercise care lest many truths shall be thrown away, by supposing the presence of the figure, when it is not present. [345]

[HATB 226-345]