Did not this patriarch prefigure our Jesus! his name is a bed of rest, and source of consolation. Amidst a crooked and perverse generation, he was singularly upright and holy, and preached righteousness in the great congregation. Through him, how the patience of God is displayed towards men! By him, the ark of the church is gradually reared; and in it, and chiefly in himself, are his cho-time of clear light, Job v. 14. So to sen few, Jews or Gentiles, saved from eternal ruin. His sweet-smelling sacrifice removes the curse and vengrance of God. With him and his seed is the new covenant established, VOL. II.

Jer. vi. 4. and xv. 8. Zeph. ii. 4. Atering by the north gate; and to go time of prosperity is called noon, be-out at the north gate, if entering by

cause of its glory, pleasantness, and brightness; how men delight to enjoy it! how pleased with the shining smiles of providence! and yet, how common a presage of an approaching night of adversity! Amos viii. 9. Isa. lviii. 10. A time of affliction, persecution, or temptation, is called noon, because men are distressed with the scorching heat of providence, fiery trials, and fiery darts of Satan, Isa. xvi. 3. Song i. 8.

NOPH. See MEMPHIS.

the south gate, may import, that Christians should go straight forward in their course of holiness, whether they meet with prosperity or adversity therein, Ezek. xlvi. 9.

NOSE, NOSTRILS. Camels and oxen were managed by iron rings in their nostrils, and thereto the allusion is made, 2 Kings xix. 28. As the Hebrews placed anger in the nose, and the same word signified both; nose and nostrils ascribed to God, denote his discernment of provocation, and his wrath to be executed on account thereof, Isa. lxv. 5. Exod. xv. 8. Psal. xviii. 8.

NORTH and SOUTH are represented relatively to Canaan, or the way of entrance to it, or to some other place spoken of in the text: So Syria NO, NOT, always signifies denial. was north from Canaan, and Egypt || (1.) Sometimes it imports it absolutewas south from it, Dan. xi. 1-43. ly, i. e. not at all, in any respect or Assyria and Babylon were said to be circumstance, Exod. xx. 3—17. (2.) north from Judea on account of their Sometimes it imports a conditional situation, or because their armies in- denial; these that are guilty of envy, vaded Canaan from the north, Jer. || murder, &c. shall not inherit the kingiii. 12. and vi. 1. and Media lay north- dom of God, i. e. unless they repent east of Babylon, Jer. 1. 3. The north of their sin, Gal. v. 21. Pharaoh did of Europe, and north-east of Tartary, not let the Hebrews go, no not by a are north from the Ottomon Turks,|| strong hand; no not, unless constrainDan. xi. 44. The one raised from ed thereto by the mighty and destructhe north to be a mighty conqueror, tive plagues of God; or perhaps, no is either Nebuchadnezzar, or rather not after some plagues inflicted on his Cyrus; or Constantine the Great, kingdom, Exod. iv. 19. (3.) Somewho was raised from Britain to deli- times it imports comparative denial. ver the Christian church, Isa. xli. 25. Christ sent me not to baptize, that is, I will say to the North, give up; and not chiefly to baptize, but to preach to the South, keep not back; bring the gospel, 1 Cor. i. 17. I desired my sons from afar, and my daughters mercy, and not sacrifice, i. e. mercifrom the ends of the earth. I will fulness in temper and behaviour, rabring the Hebrews from all the coun- ther than sacrifice, Hos. vi. 6. Matt. tries, whether north or south of Ca- xii. 7. I came not to send peace, but naan, and settle them in their own a sword: persecution and division, land; and from countries on both especially to the Jews, rather than sides of Canaan, as from Lesser Asia, carnal peace and prosperity, are the Europe, and Tartary, &c. on the north, consequents of my coming in the and from Egypt and Abyssinia, &c. flesh, Matth. x. 34. Luke xii. 51. on the south, shall multitudes be con- When Nor is in precepts or promises, verted to Christ, Isa. xliii. 6. Per- it is ordinarily to be understood as imhaps Ezekiel's visionary chambers on porting the contrary of what is prothe north, may respect the Protestant || hibited or forbidden. Thus, when churches in Europe and North Ame- God saith, Thou shalt not kill; it rica, Ezek. xlii. 1, 11, 13. The ormeans, that we should not merely der to go out by the south gate, if en-abstain from killing, but should use

all lawful endeavours to preserve and || being puffed up with pride, he should promote our own life, temporal, spir- fall under such condemnation and itual and eternal, and that of others, punishment as the devil did, 1 Tim. Exod. xx. 13. Or when he promi-iii. 6. seth, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee; it means, I will abide with, and encourage and strengthen thee, Josh. || i. 5. God desired not sacrifices or || offerings in order to merit, or in the case of capital crimes, Psal. xl. 5. and li. 16.

NOURISH; (1.) To furnish with food, Gen xlvii. 12. Acts xii. 20. (2.) Kindly to bring up, Acts vii. 21. (3.) To cause to grow, or to use all proper means for that end, Isa. xliv. 14. (4.) To cherish, comfort, James v. 5. Ruth iv. 15. (5.) To instruct. NOTABLE, or of NOTE; very And to be nourished in the word of remarkable, more than ordinary, Dan. || faith and good doctrine, is to be kindviii. 5. Rom. xvi. 7. ly and carefully instructed in the true principles of the gospel, and well ex

NUMBER; (1.) A reckoning of persons or things, whether they be few or many, Gen. xxxiv. 30. (2.) A

NOTHING, NOUGHT; (1.) Not any thing at all, Gen. xix. 8. (2.)perienced in the power thereof, for For no good purpose or end, Matth. the edification, progress in holiness, v. 13. (3.). No works truly good and and spiritual comfort of our soul, 1 acceptable to God, John xv. 5. (4.) Tim. iv. 6. Jesus Christ, and his Of no binding force, Matth. xxiii.|| fulness, as exhibited in the doctrines 16, 18. (5.) Entirely false, and and promises of the gospel, and apwithout ground, Acts xxi. 24. (6.)|| plied by the Holy Ghost, are the nouNo other means, Mark ix. 29. (7.)|| rishment, whereby the saints are deNo reward or wages, 3 John 7. (8.)||lightfully instructed, comforted, and No new doctrine relative to men's strengthened to every good word and salvation; no new knowledge or au- | work, Col. ii. 19. thority, Gal. ii. 6. (9.) No guilt or corruption to work upon, John xiv. 30. Nothing is sometimes taken comparatively; thus our age is no-society or company, Luke xxii. 3. thing before God, bears no proportion to his eternal duration, Psal. xxxix. || 5. All nations are nothing, and less than nothing, and vanity; bear no proportion to his unbounded excellency and greatness, Isa. xl. 17.—|| Sometimes it is taken relatively so Paul was nothing valuable in his own estimation of himself, 2 Cor. xii. 11. Circumcision, or uncircumcision, is nothing; is of no avail to render us accepted before God, 1 Cor. vii. 19. To come to nought, is to be ruined, turn out to no good purpose, Job viii. 22. Isa. viii. 10. To bring to nought, is to render unsuccessful, base and contemptible, Psal xxxiii. 10. 1 Cor. i. 23. To set at nought, is to undervalue, despise, Prov. i. 25.

NOVICE; one newly planted in the church; one newly converted to the Christian faith. Such an one was not to be made a bishop, lest,

Acts i. 17 and so Matthias was numbered, i. e. by virtue of suffrages added to the society of the apostles, Acts i. 26. The number of the Antichristian beast is six hundred and sixty-six. The numeral letters contained in his Greek name Laetinos, or in his Hebrew one Romith, Latin or Romish, or in Sethur, which signifies MYSTERY, when added together, amount to just 666. It was perhaps in A. D. 666, that Pope Vitalian restricted their public liturgy to the Latin language, and so marked the charch with an implicit subjection to Rome. From the time that John had his visions in Patmos, to A. D. 756, when the Pope became a civil prince, was perhaps precisely 666 years. This number too may denote a vast number of offices, errors and corruptions, which to carnal view, have a regular, well connected, ¿

beautiful appearance; as 666 has a and by the quails they lusted for more regular like gradation and ap- Miriam's leprosy; the search and pearance than 144,000, the number contempt of Canaan, and the begun of the Lamb's followers. More- punishment thereof; the punishover, if the square root of 666 be|| ment of Korah and his companions, extracted, it will turn out 25, with and the plague among the people for a small fraction. Now, multitudes of quarreling thereat; the budding of things in the Popish system, are pre- Aaron's rod; Moses and Aaron's cisely twenty-five. They have 25 ar- misbehaviour when the people murticles of faith. The council of Trent || mured at Kadesh; the death of Mirithat established them had, 25 ses-am and Aaron; the plague and cure sions. It was begun with 25 prelates; of the bites of fiery serpents; the and its acts were subscribed by 25 conquest and division of the kingdom Archbishops. Rome has 25 gates. of Sihon and Og; the oft-defeated atThere were originally 25 parishes tempts of Balak and Balaam to curse in Rome. The college of Cardinals Israel; the Hebrews' enticement to consisted of 25 persons. The cross whoredom and idolatry by the Miin St. Peter's church, is 25 hand- dianitish women, and the revenge breadth in height. In this church thereof in the death of 24,000 Heare 25 altars, and 25 marks of Christ's brews, and the almost total ruin of wounds are imprinted on each altar. the Midianitish nation; a delineation The celebration of their jubilee was of the borders of Canaan, and an apreduced to every 25th year. The pointment of twelve persons to divide 25th day of months is peculiarly it. With these narratives are mixed marked with their superstition, Rev. a variety of laws concerning suspixiii. 18. God numbered Belshaz-cion of adultery, Nazariteship, blesszar's kingdom, and finished it ; allowed it to continue for the years he had determined, and not one day more, Dan. v. 26. He numbers men to the slaughter, when he sets them apart by his providence to destruction and death, as a shepherd does his sheep to be slain, Isa. Ixv. 12. We number our days, when we seriously consider how frail, short, and uncertain our life is, how great the necessity and business of our soul, and what hindrances of it are in our way, Psal. xc.|| 12.-The inspired book of NUMBERS is so called, because it relates so much to the numbering of the warriors and journies of the Hebrews in the desert. It is an history of about 39 years. It relates the history of the numbers, station, and marching order of the various tribes of Israel, and of]| offerings of their princes at the dedication of the tabernacle; the consecration of the Levites; the observation of the second passover; the institution of the 70 elders; the destruction of the people by a fiery plague,

ing of the people, chap. v. and vi: concerning the lighting of the lamps, observance of the passover in the second month, blowing of the silver trumpets, chap. viii, and ix. and x: concerning meat-offerings, drink-offerings, heave-offerings, sin-offerings, stoning for breach of Sabbath, and fringes on the borders of their garments, chap. xv: concerning the office and portion of the Priests and Levites, and the purification from the uncleanness of dead bodies by the ashes of the red heifer, chap. xviii. and xix: concerning the offerings at festivals; and concerning vows, manslayers, cities of refuge, chap. xxviii. xxix. and xxx. and xxxv: and concerning the marriage of heiresses, chap. xxviii. and xxxvi.

NUTS; that kind of fruit which is included in a hard shell, such as hazle-nuts, chesnuts, walnuts, nutmegs, &c. These called the female nutmegs, are, for ought we know the most valuable of ali nuts, and the Dutch have the sole trade thereof in`

their hands. They have four different coverings. Tournefort mentions nine kinds of walnuts; and no doubt there are sundry kinds of the other nuts. The saints are likened to nuts: their outward appearance on earth is

OAK

by the Assyrians, Chaldeans, or Ro

great and valiant men, are likened to the tall and strong oaks of Bashan, 10 mark their apparent power, strength, and firmness, and their fitness to protect others, Isa. ii. 13. Zech. xi. 2.

or Он, is expressive of earnest34: in prayer, 1 Kings viii. 26; in admiration, Rom. xi. 33; in reproving, or expostulating, Gal. iii. 1; or in calling and inviting, Psal. xcv. 6. OAK-TREES, have male flowers that are barren; but the embryo fruit appears in other parts of the An OATH, is a solemn act tree, which grows into acorns, the wherein we swear by God or call him kernels of which readily split into to witness the truth of what we assert two parts. There are about twenty or promise; and to avenge us in time !! kinds of oak; but the holm-oaks of and eternity, if we swear what is false which there are six kinds, differ con- or unknown to us, or if we do not siderably from the others. Oaks are perform what we engage. An oath shadowy in their leaves, slow in their must never be taken but in matters growth, and very firm and durable in of importance, nor sworn by the name their wood, and will continue fresh of any but the true God, as it is an for many ages, if kept always wet or act of solemn worship, Josh. xxiii. 7. always dry. Oaks were very plentiful Jam. v. 12. Deut. vi. 13. Matth. v. in Canaan; and these of Bashan were 34, 35. Jer. v. 7. Nor irreverently, the best. Perhaps the Hebrew words without godly fear and awe of the elah allah and elon, signify the Jewish Most High; and he is represented as turpentine, and only the word ALLON a wicked man, who is not deeply iman oak. It was common to sit under pressed with an oath, Eccl. ix. 2; ti shadow of oaks, 1 Kings xiii. 14;nor rashly, without due caution, Lev. and to bury under them, Gen. xxxv. 8. 1 Chron. x. 12; and to make idolatrous statues ofthem, Isa.xliv. 14; and to worship idols under them, Ezek. vi. 13. Isa. i. 29. Hos. iv. 13. Isa. lvii. † 5. The Tyrians made their oars for rowing their ships, of the fine oaks of Bashan, Ezek. xxvii. 6. The Hebrews were like an oak, whose leaf fad-having certain evidence and persuaeth; stript of their confidence in themselves and others, and bereaved of their honour, wealth, prosperity, and pleasure, Isa. i. 30; yet like an oak or teil-tree, whose substance is in it, could never be utterly destroyed

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v. 4. Matth. xiv. 7. Gen. xxiv. 5, 8; nor falsely, or deceitfully, affirming what is false, or without a candid intention and due care to perform our solemn engagements, Lev. vi. 3. and xix. 12. Jer. xlii. 5. But every oath ought to be sworn in truth, the thing sworn being true in itself, and we

sion that it is truth, and swearing it without fraud or deceit; and in judg ment, with understanding of the nature of an oath, and of the thing we swear, and with an heart-awing knowledge of him by whom we