descendants were Samuel, Heman, || vered to be set to music, Exod. vi. 24. Numb. xvi. and xxvi. 9, 11. 1 Chron. vi. 33, to 38. and XXV. Some of them were porters to the temple, chap. xxvi.

and others, sacred musicians in the time of David; and to them were eleven of the psalms, viz. 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87, 88, deli

LABAN, the son of Bethuel, the lennial age, or in the different pe

brother of Rebekah, and father of Leah and Rachel. He appears to have been a very active man, and to have had a great deal of power in his father's lifetime; but he was an idolater, and a most covetous and deceitful wretch. See ELIEZER and JACOB.

riods of John Baptist, Christ's and his apostles' ministrations, Matth. xx. 1-16.

LACHISH; a city of Judah, about 20 miles southeast of Jerusalem, and seven southwest of Eleutheropolis. The king of it was one of the assistants of Adonizedek against the Gibeonites, and had his kingdom destroyed by Joshua, Josh. x. 5, 32. and xii. 11. and xv. 39. Rehoboam fortified it; Amaziah fled to it when his servants conspired against him, 2 Chron. xi. 9. 2 Kings xiv. 19. As it had been most early, or most eminently involved in idolatry, the inhabitants are ironically warned to flee whenever Sennacherib invaded Judea, Mic. i. 13. When he came, he besieged it with his whole force, and hence he directed his threatening missive to Hezekiah; but whether Lachish was taken, or whether Sennacherib raised the siege to take Libnah ere Tirhakah should come up with his Ethiopian troops, I know not, 2 Kings xviii. 17. and xix. 8. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9. Isa. xxxvi. 2. and

LABOUR; (1.) Diligent care and pains; and so the diligent and hard work of the ministry, is called labour, and ministers labourers; and travelling is called labour, Prov. xiv. 23. Eccl. i. 3. 1 Thess. v. 12. 1 Tim. v. 17. Josh. vii. 3. (2.) The pangs of a woman in child-birth, Gen. xxxv. 16, 17. (3.) The fruit or effect of labour and diligence, Exod. xxiii. 16. Eccl. ii. 10, 11. Hab. iii. 17. (4.) The evil of sin and misery, and the painful service of God, Rev. xiv. 13. The labour of saints and ministers includes both their obedience and suffering, 2 Cor. v. 9. To labour in the Lord, is, in a state of union to the Lord Jesus, and deriving strength from him, to be earnestly employed in his service, whether of preaching the gospel, supporting such as do it, privately instructing others, or caring for the poor, 1 Thess. v. 12. Rom. xvi. 12. Christ's hiring labourers into to bind the chariot to the swift beast, to prepare for flight. The expression may be his vineyard, at the 3d, 6th, 9th, and considered as ironical. You have had your 11th hour, signifies, his effectual chariots and your swift beasts; but where calling of men in very different pe- are they now? God's quarrel with Lachish riods of life, early, middle, declining is, that she is the beginning of the sin or decrepit age, or in different pe(probably of idolatry) to the daughter of riods of times under the Old Testa-punishment, who have been ringleaders in Zion. They must expect to be first in the ment, in the apostolic, or in the mil-sia.

The inhabitants of this city are called

Henry.

xxxvii. 8. It is certain, Nebuchad- venged seven-fold, Lamech should be nezzar took and demolished it, Jer. || seventy times seven-fold. The meanxxxiv. 7; but it was afterwards re-ing of this speech is not agreed on. built, and was a place of some note about 400 years after Christ.

LANCE; a spear; but the word CHIDON is translated a target, 1 Sam. xvii. 6.

LANCETS; javelins; short spears, 1 Kings xviii. 28.

time to time moistened with oil, Judg. || light; it discovers manifcid myste vii. 20. It seems Nineveh was taken ries; it directs men's course, and in the night, when the enemy needed || comforts their hearts amidst the darktorches to illuminate their chariots,ness of this world, Psalm cxix. 105. Nah. ii. 3, 4. Successors are called The lamp ordained for God's anointa lamp, because they increase or con- cd, is either Jesus, who is the light tinue the glory of their predecessors, of the world, and the continued ho1 Kings xv. 4. Psal. cxxxii. 17. The nour of David's family; or it is the governors of Judah, are like a torch gospel, which from age to age mainin a shaf amidst their enemies; the tains the fame and honour of our ReMaccabees, and their successors for deemer in the world, Psal. cxxxii. 17. about 100 years, were noted destroy- A profession of religion is called a ers of the Syro-grecians, Arabians, lamp; it renders men shining and Edomites, Philistines, and others; useful, and instructors of others, Matt. and in the beginning of the millen- xxv. 3, 4. Prosperity is a lamp; it nium, their governors shall still more renders men chearful, noted, and glosignally cut off their foes, Zech. xii. rious, Prov. xiii. 9. and xx. 20. See 6. The burning lamp issuing out of CANDLE, FIRE, LIGHT. The salvaa smoaking furnace, that passed be- tion of the church from her troubles, tween the pieces of Abraham's di- is likened to a burning lamp; it is vided pieces of animals, imported the bright and visible, and its effects are peculiar presence of God with the instructive and comforting, Is. lxii. 1. Hebrews in their Egyptian bondage, and that their salvation therefiom should at last be gloriously effected, Gen. xv. 17. God is likened to a lamp; he enlightens, comforts, and honours his people, 2 Sam. xxii. 29. The seven lamps of the golden candlestick, figured out Jesus and his church as possessed of the fulness of the Holy Ghost, and of divine oracles and knowledge, Exod. xxv. 37. The Holy Ghost is likened to seven lamps of fire burning before God's throne, to mark the fully instructive, comforting, heart-warming, and sindestroying nature of his influence, Rev. iv. 5. The seven lamps of the golden candlestick in Zechariah's vision, which received their oil from the bowl or fountain by pipes, are a sufficient number of ministers, deriving their light, comfort, gifts, and grace, from Jesus, by the pipes of ordinances, reading the scriptures, meditation, prayer, and by faith, Zech. iv. 2. Christ's eyes of infinite knowledge, and of discovered affection or wrath, are, as lumps of fire, most penetrating and pure, and yet how terrible to his enemies! Dan. x. 6. The word of God is a lamp and

LANCH; to put from shore into the sea, Luke viii. 22.

LAND; (1.) The whole continent of the earth, as distinguished from the sea, Matth. xxiii. 5. (2.) A particular country, especially what parts of it are fit to be ploughed, Matt. ix. 26. Gen. xxvi. 12. Acts iv. 37. Matth. xix. 29. (3.) The inhabitants of a country, Isa. xxxvii. 11. Canaan is || called Immanuel's land, or the Lord's land. It enjoyed the peculiar care, protection, presence, and ordinances of cur Redeemer, and in it he long dwelt, in our nature, Isa. viii. 8. It was a land of promise, as given by promise to Abraham and his sced, Heb. xi. 9. It was a land of uprightness; as there, men having the oracles of God, ought to have uprightly || behaved towards God and man, Isa. xxvi. 10. It is called a land of unwalled villages, as it seems, the Jews, at their return, in the beginning of the millennium, will not fortify their cities, Ezek. xxxviii. 11. Egypt is

||

called a land of trouble and anguish, because there the Hebrews were exceedingly distressed, and it has long been a scene of terrible calamities, Isa. xxx. 6. Babylon was a land of graven images; Idolatry mightily prevailed in it, Jer. I. 38. The land of the living, is this world, wherein men are before death, and the heavenly state, where no death ever enters, Psalm cxvi. 9. and xxvii. 13. The grave is the land of darkness and of the shadow of death, Job x. 21, 22;|| and of forgetfulness, as men are soon forgotten after they are buried, Psal. lxxxviii. 13.

LANES; the narrow streets or alleys in a city, where poor people generally dwell, Luke xiv. 21.

The competition of the Chaldaic, Assyrian, Arabic, or Ethiopic, in this claim is absurd. Every unbiassed observer will plainly see them but dialects of the Hebrew tongue; and perhaps they, as well as the Phoenician, were for many ages almost quite the same with the Hebrew. As the Jews lived in a manner so distinct from other people, they bid fairest to preserve their language incorrupted. As we have no standard book in the Hebrew, besides the Old Testament, the signification of not a few of its words, seldom used, is not altogether certain to us; but by tracing them in similar words of the Arabic, &c. we may arrive at what is very probable.

but

How God confounded the language LANGUAGE; a set of words of mankind at Babel; whether he made use of by the people of any made them forget the meaning of particular country or countries, to their words, and put one for another, express their thoughts. No doubt or whether he inspired the most of God at first inspired men with lan- them with new languages, is not eaguage. Without supposing this, we sy to say. It is certain, the ancient see not how they could so early con- language of the Gomerians, Huns, verse with God, or with one another. Greeks, &c. did not a little resemble While men lived so long, and applied the Hebrew; and that there are oonly to the more simple methods of ther languages, such as the Sclavolife, as before the flood, their ideas nic, and sundry of America, between were few, and their language was eawhich and the Hebrew we can scarce sily preserved without alteration.- trace the smallest resemblance. InFor some time after the flood, to how many languages speech was mankind were still of one language divided at Babel, it is impossible to say. and speech; but what it was, is not Alstedius enumerates about 400; so readily agreed. Could we with makes only 72 distinguished ones, Shuckford, believe that Noah went and five chief ones, viz. the Hebrew, almost directly eastward to China, we Greek, Latin, Germanic, and Selavoshould readily imagine, the Chinese nic. At present, a sort of Arabic language, which is but simple, and mightily prevails in western Asia, its original words very few, was the and in the north of Africa. Mingled first one. But as it is certain, Noah dialects of the Latin and Teutonic, did not retire to these eastern regions &c. mostly prevail in the west of before the building of Babel, and it is Europe. The French and English not evident that he did so afterwards, are the most esteemed.-When God we cannot give into this opinion.- cast off the Gentiles, he confounded When we observe the simplicity and their language; when he called them emphasis of the Hebrew tongue; back to his church, he gave his aposwhen we consider how suitable the tles the miraculous gift of speaking Hebrew names of animals are to their with tongues, Gen. xi. Acts ii. The natures, and the names of persons to language of Canaan, or a pure lanthe reason of their imposition, we can-guage, is a proper manner of speech not but declare for the Hebrew.- in prayer to God, and edifying con

object being still kept unchanged, and no way obscured or diverted from, by a mention of things slightly related to it, whether included in parenthesis or not there ought to be strength, so as it may make the deeper impression; useless words ought to be rejected, and the principal words placed where they appear most brightly, and the members of the sentence so disposed as to rise in their importance: there ought to be HARMONY, the words being so chosen or disposed, as the sound may be expressive of the sense, at least not disagreeable to the ear. In every language, especially of the eastern nations, whose imagination were warm, there

verse with men, Is. xix. 18. Zeph. iii. 9.* As the use of language is to convey ideas from one to another, that must be the best style, which conveys them in the most just, clear, and affecting manner, suiting, at once, the subject spoken of, and the persons speaking, and those to whom he speaks. To render language perspicuous, every word and phrase, if possible, should be pure, belonging to the idiom in which one speaks; should be proher, authorized by the best speakers and writers in that language; and should precisely express the idea to be conveyed, without any foreign or superfluous circumstance added thereto. In sentences, there ought to be clearness; the words, es-is a great use of tropes and figures, pecially these which express the principal ideas, being so placed as to mark the relation of one idea to another, without the least ambiguity there ought to be unity, the principal

and which, if they rise naturally from the subject, and from the genius of the speaker, and are but sparingly used, and that only to express thoughts of proper dignity, tend not a little to explain a subject, and to embellish the style, by rendering it This phrase, the language (or, as the more copious, more dignified, more Hebrew word signifies, the tip) of Canaan expressive, and more picturesque. is used metaphorically for speaking and Metaphor, hyperbole, personification, thinking of God and religion, as did the address, comparison, interrogation, Jews who inhabited Canaan. Lip or language here is to be understood, not of the exclamation, vision, repetition, and words, but of the things spoken. So flat-amplification, are the principal figures tering or perverse lips, mean lips that of speech. To preserve the world speak flattering or perverse things. To from counterfeit writings, God has speak the same thing is to profess the same endowed every man with a style, or belief in matters of religion, 1 Cor. i. 10. so in Zeph. iii. 9. God promises to turn manner of language, peculiar to himto the people a pure lip or language; that is, self; and often it is concise; diffuse ; he will bring them to profess the doctrine perplexed; manly; smooth; sprightly ; of the true religion. This expression also smart; gloomy; or dull, &c. according to implies, that there is a style or diction, the turn of the person's passion, imaa sacred phraseology peculiar to the Spirit of God speaking in the scriptures, which gination, or thought. To hide pride is adapted to the spiritual things; a style, from man, scarce any possess all the which is never used by the men of this graces of language; few towering world, or the philosophers, even when they writers are very correct, and as few seem to be speaking of these things.Hence it is that a person, however unletter- very correct writers have much fire: ed, if he bave the saving knowledge of nay, few authors write always like Christ, is sensible, when he hears others themselves; but even the elegant discoursing of spiritual things, whether sometimes sink into the frigid, or they have made proficiency in the school soar into airy bombast.-As sublimiof Christ; whether they have learned of him, or be acquainted only with the instity of style lies in the expression of tutes of men, and the language of worldly grand thoughts in few and plain words, it must indeed be opposite to airy bombast, or high swoln language,

wisdom.

Vitringa on Isa. xix. 18.