teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord;" and since Paul has plainly given as commandment, 1 Cor. xiv. 30, "that if any revelation be made to another that sitteth by, the first is to hold his peace;" since this is the case under the New Testament, all superiors are so to be heard, that every lowest hearer be left free to judge of what the higher person advances, in those things which pertain unto faith, as far as the law of God will allow, which is a much greater liberty than was allowed the prophets in their resisting the elders of Israel: for in the synagogue, where the matter stood in the external ceremonies of the priests only, any error in the priests was not attended with peril. But in the church, where the matter stands in the spirit and in faith, it is of the utmost moment unto all, to observe whether or not the priest be in error: because, God is wont to reveal unto one of the lowest degree, what he does not deign to reveal unto one of the highest: that his church may stand firm in humility, in which alone it subsists.

And mark the force of the adverb "now." "Now," saith the prophet, that Christ is appointed king of all. In which time there are two things that will hinder you in coming to the knowledge of the things that are right.

First: It is that Christ, who was crucified by you, who died and was condemned, and even accursed, according to the law of Moses, by the will and authority of God, that is now proclaimed Lord of all lords. And therefore, it will be the most difficult matter possible to acknowledge him King who died such a desperate and ignominious death. For sense strongly resists such a faith, reason abhors it, experience denies it, and there is no example to support it. This is the height of foolishDess to the Gentiles, and a stumbling-block to the Jews, unless ye raise your minds far above all the external appearance of these things.

Secondly: This King so reigns as to teach that all things which you have hoped for from the law are to be

despised, and all things which you have feared are to be loved. He sets before you the cross and death. He admonishes you to set light by every thing human that appears either good or evil, in order to transport you into far different good things which neither the eye has seen, nor the ear heard, and which it has never entered into the heart of man to conceive. Ye must die if ye would live under this King: and the cross, the hatred of the whole world, poverty, ignominy, hunger, thirst, and, in a word, all the evils of this world, are to be endured, and cannot be avoided. For this King is one who was himself made a fool unto the world, and died: and he also bruises all his with a rod of iron, and dashes them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

How then shall he endure these things who stands in the flesh, and depends on sense; who measures every thing by reason; and who stands at the door of his tent, and will not look at the face of Moses? So necessary are instruction and understanding to rise above all these things, and, despising things that are seen, to be carried up unto things that are not seen; being made wise, not unto the things that are on earth, but unto the things that are above, where Christ is, &c.

Wherefore, the expression" be wise," is, in the Hebrew, ASCILU; which, being put absolutely, signifies make wise' that is, (as Hieronymus explains it), yourselves or others: that is, so do, so strive, that ye may be wise; may be wise unto spiritual and heavenly things. In the same way also it is said, Psalm xxxii. 9, “ Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding." And this understanding is not that concerning which philosophers dispute, but is faith itself; which, in times both of prosperity and of adversity, is able to see those things which are not seen.

Therefore, not fully describing those things which they are to understand, he says, absolutely, "be wise:" that is, take heed that ye be wise: take heed that ye be in the faith. For those things which faith understands are not to be described either in name or form. For the prosperity or adversity of present things utterly subverts

every man who does not, by faith, understand the things which are not seen. And this understanding comes of faith: according to that scripture, If ye will not believe, neither shall ye understand.' This is that entering into the cloud, in which is swallowed up every thing that sense, reason, or the mind or understanding of man can comprehend. For faith unites the soul to the invisible, ineffable, unnamable, unimaginable, eternal Word of God, and at the same time separates it from all things visible. And this is the cross, and the nature of the things of God; wherein it is necessary to preach this understanding.

Augustine receives, " be instructed, ye judges of the earth," as spoken tautologically. And these words also are put absolutely, the same as the preceding "be wise:" and the meaning is, Be separated from all ignorant and animal affections and opinions, and all senses and sensible things, that ye think not as children concerning Christ and his kingdom. For the animal man understandeth not the things af God, 1 Cor. ii. 14. I, however, seem to think, that this instruction' signifies a turning of the heart from all perishing things, just as understanding signifies the conversion of the mind, and the apprehending of eternal things. The former of which is wrought by the cross in the mortification of the flesh: the latter by faith in the renewing revival of the spirit.

And, that "earth" signifies, figuratively, the men in the earth, is too well known to need any exposition: excepting that, Augustine seems rather inclined to understand it to signify, in a trope, the body.

Verse 11.-Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice before him with trembling.

A wonderful expression this, and an absurdity according to human views. For fear works hatred and a fleeing from the object feared, but nothing of familiar union; and trembling militates directly against rejoicing. The Psalmist in another Psalm also speaks thus contrarily; wherein we are commanded to "serve the Lord with gladness," Psalm c. 2. What shall we under

stand, therefore, by these things? Let us hear the apostle Paul, as an intermediate teacher, to settle the matter who says, 1 Cor. i. 21, that "after the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." As if he had said, We must be made wise by becoming fools. Thus, in peace and prosperity we do not, as we ought, acknowledge God nor praise him: and so also, in security, we do not serve God with gladness: and therefore, it pleases him, that we serve him in gladness with fear, and rejoice before him with trembling.

And, in a word, as the world perverts all the things of God, so, again, does God pervert all the things of the world. The whole creation was given to raise up and illuminate man: but he uses it to blind and pervert himself: and therefore, God uses the whole creation to blind and pervert man. This is the cross of Christ, and that foolishness of preaching whereby he saves them that believe for the reasoners, the disputers of this world, the wise, the understanding, are offended at, and destroyed by, these things.

The meaning, therefore, of this passage is this,Since Christ the Lord rules with his rod of iron, and breaks in pieces the old man with the word of the cross, and that by the will and according to the commandment of the Father, who has put all things in subjection to him; it behoves you to acknowledge yourselves subject unto him; and subject unto him in fear also; that ye may patiently and humbly bear his cross; fearing lest, becoming unwilling to bear his hand and counsel, ye should prove to be reprobates; like those sons of Ephraim, mentioned Psalm 1xxviii. 9, "The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle." And this ye will assuredly do, if ye consider yourselves always to be dealt with in an indignant manner, and to deserve greater and better things. For the proud, who seem to themselves to deserve good things only, are secure, and are not, like Job, afraid of all their works,' chap. ix. 28. And therefore, in the time of temptation, they stand not,

but, like the house of the foolish man, mentioned Matt. vii. which was built upon the sand, they fall with a terrible destruction, and become worse and worse. Therefore, this fear in a man's whole life, and in all his works, is a great part of the cross, nay, nearly the whole of the cross.-But farther, we are with the Apostle Paul, Rom. v. 3, to glory in tribulations also,' and to rejoice in them with trembling. From all which things we collect that there are two kinds of serving, and rejoicing in God.

First, a serving in security, and a rejoicing in the Lord without fear: these are peculiar to hypocrites, who are secure, who please themselves, and who appear to themselves to be not unuseful servants and to have great merit on their side: concerning whom it is said, Psalm x. 5, "Thy judgments are far above out of his sight; and also afterwards, Psalm xxxvi. 1, "There is no fear of God before his eyes." These do righteousness without judgment at all times: and permit not Christ to be the judge to be feared by all: in whose sight no man living is justified.

Secondly, a serving in fear and a rejoicing with trembling; these are peculiar to the righteous who do righteousness at all times, and always rightly attemper both; never being without judgments, on the one hand, by which they are terrified and brought to despair of themselves and of all their own works; nor without that righteousness, on the other, on which they rest, and in which they rejoice in the mercy of God. It is the work of the whole lives of these characters to accuse themselves in all things, and in all things to justify and praise God. And thus they fulfil that word of Proverbs, chap. xxviii. 14, " Blessed is the man that feareth alway :" and also that of Philip. iv. 4, "Rejoice in the Lord alway." Thus, between the upper and nether mill-stone, Deut. xxiv. 6, they are broken in pieces and humbled, and, the husk being thus bruised off, they come forth the all-pure wheat of Christ.

And the emphatical force of the expression, "serve the Lord," I leave to your meditation: he does not