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self. The whole law was to be put tent, used in this significations is liely read over at the feast of ta often meant one and the same thing. bernacles, in the year of release, ben | The name law, or commandment,TM sides the reading of it on other pub may denote a thing as the will of lic occasions. Nay, they were require a superior; statute, represents it as ed to have it written on their hearts, ordained and established by high au and to teach it diligently unto their thority judgment represents it as children, Deut. xvii. and xxxi. 9 full of wisdom, and as the standard 19. and vie and x. To this day, the by which God will judge men. These Jews have the utmost regard for passages of scripture, which require their law, reading in the ancient any good quality in us, or good manner so much of it every Sabbath, work to be performed by us, are the in their synagogues. The book of law in a strict sense, John is 17. The it publicly used, is written with the ten commandments are called the greatest exactness, and is carefully law, or commandment; nay, somepreserved from every thing tending times the last six are so called, Jam. to defile it. See TRADITION. With xxiii. 11. Rev. xxii. 14. Rom. ii. a great parade of ancient learning, 25. and vii. 78. and xiii. 8. The Spenser attempts to prove, that most commandment of loving one ano. of the Jewish laws, of the ceremother, is old, as it was contained in nial kind, are but an imitation of the customs of Egypt; and some the very reverse of others, of the abo minations used there, to render these odious to them. That some of the ceremonies were intended to render the vile customs of the Heathen around detested by the Hebrews, we doubt not; but that God formed the rites of his worship after these of idolaters, we dare not suppose. His own infinite wisdom, and theas, by the authority of God, so nature of the things to be represented many rites, especially relating to thereby, were a standard of regu- carnal sacrifices, washings and the lation, much more becoming the like, were therein required, Hebox. Majesty of Heaven. Many of the 1. and vila 16. Eph. ii. 15. The Egyptian rites were still very dif- five books of Moses are called the ferent from the Jewish; and as to law, as they abound with theore. the similarity of some, it is reason-quirements and prohibitions of God, able to suppose, that the Egyptians, Mal. ivo 4. Matth. v. 178; and for in the time of Joseph, Solomon, He- the same reason, the Old Testament zekiah, or afterward, borrowed them is called a law, John x. 34. and»kv. from the Hebrews. 35. 1.Cor.tiv. 21. The whole word of God is called a law, statutes, &c. as it is the sole rule of our faith and

the moral law ever since the creation; and it is new, as enjoined afresh by our Saviour, as exempli fied in his life, and enforced with the new motive of his dying love, John ii. 7, 8. and xiii. 14. The whole constitution of the covenant between God and the Hebrews, and the rites of worship thereto belong ing, are called a law, or law of or dinances, and a carnal commandment

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Some think, that by laws, precepts, or commandments in Moses, is meant the moral law; by statutes, the ce-practice, Psali. 1 and xix. 76–48u remonial; and by judgments, the ju. dicial laws, are signified; but this observation will not always hold. It iavcertain, that by law, command ment, precept,, statifte, and judge

The doctrines of the gospel are called a law, and the law of faiths they teachmande instruct memp and, when believed by faiththey strongly influence to Holysobediener, Isa. ii.

8. and xliique Rom. iii.27,1and || Ohey through the law is dead to the

law, and dies, when the command meht comes home in its convincing power on his conscience. Through its convincing force on men's cond science, they are made to give up with all expectations of life by their own works and fleet to Jesus and the new covenant for relief, Gal. i 19. Rom. vii. 9. The law is the strength of sin; the law as a covenant, occasionally irritates the corruption of men's nature, they being offended with the strictness of its precepts, and the terrible nature of its curse; and its curse binds them over to lie under the dominion of sin, as: archief branch of their punish

they are a perfect law of liberty, pros claim a perfect deliverance and rel demption to us through the blood of God's Son, and instigatesto kindly and free obedience to him; or, this perfect roof liberty may be taken for the law as a rule in the hand of Christ, which is pleasant to the saints, James is 25. and ii, 12. The law may sometimes denote men's observance of God's commandments, as that corresponds to the law im posed in the scripture, or impressed on the heart, Rom. iii. 21. Gal. iii. 11. Phil. ill. The command ments of men, were the traditions of the Jewish elders, Matth. xv. 9. The commandments, by willingly walk-ment, 1 Cor. xv. 56. Rom. vi. 14. ing after which the Jews ruined themselves, and the statutes not good given to them, were the idolatrous laws of Jeroboam, Omri, and Ahab, requiring them to worship the golden calves, Baal, &c. Hos. vll. Ezek. **25. Mic. vi. 16.

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The commandments and word of God, are a law ordained to life, and are statutes of life. In believing and obeying these, we receive or possess life temporal and spiritual, and are prepared for life eternal, Rom. vii. 10. Ezek. xxxiii. 15. One is with out the law, when not under the ceremonial law, or not bound by the law, 1 Cor. ix. 21.; or when he is without the knowledge of it, and destitute of the experience of its Convincing power on the conscience, Rom. ii. 12. and vii. 8, 9. t or when they have not the word of God revealed to them, Rom. ii. 14. These under the law, are either Jews under the ceremonial, or sinners under the broken covenant, or saints under the law as a rule. By the law is the knowledge of sing by our conscience, comparing our dispositions and conduct with the commands and prohibitions of the divine law, our ainfulness is perceived, Rom. i 20.

The law as a covenant worketh wrath : it condemns us to the everlasting wrath of God, and occasionally stirs up our corrupt heart to rage against him more and more, Rom. iv. 15. This law has dominion over a man as long as it or he liveth. While we are connected with it, and not mar. ried to Jesus as the end of the law for righteousness, it constantly demands perfect obedience, under pain of eternal wrath, and full satisfaction for the crimes we have already committed, and retains full power to curse and condemn us to infernal punishments, for the least fault, Rom. vii. 2. One is dead to the law, and redeemed from under it, by the body or mediation of Christ, when, through the application of Jesus' law-fulfil ling and magnifying righteousness, to his person and conscience, he is united to him, justified, and infallibly fixed in a new-covenant state, Rom. vii. 4. and vi. 14. Gal. iv. 4 5. The law is not made for a right. eous man; it is not made for him as a covenant of works, to terrify, curse, and condemn him: but the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; if he improve it as a covenant, to drive him to Jesus Christ; and improve it

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principle of corruption in men, 'is called the law of sin, as it is altogether sinful, and determines to sinful thoughts, words, and actions; and is called the law in the members, as though dislodged from its throne in the heart, it continues strongly to actuates the powers of the soul and members of the body to what is filthy and wicked, Rom, vii 23, 25. Precept upon precept, line upon line, &c.imports, instructions given in small portions, and often repeated, as to children weak in capacity, Isa. xxviii. 10.

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LAWFUL; agreeable to all, AB things are lawful, but all things are not expedient: it is lawful, simply considered, to eat any kind of provision; but it may be so circumstantiated as not to promote the edifie cition of others, 1 Cor. vi. 12. In his trance, Paul heard things which were not lawful to be uttered; so my. sterious, and grand that it was not proper to declare, them to men in their embodied state, as they could not be profited thereby, 2 Cor. xii. 4.

as a rule, to instigate and direct him how to walk in Christ, 1 Tim. i8, 9. The law entered, that the effence might abound - the pub. | fishing of the law, moral, oricere monial from Sinai, occasioned the nérease of sin, and mightily tended to discover it, Rom.v. 20. It was added because of transgression, i. e, in order to restrain and discover, it; but could not make any alteration on the free promises of grace, as they are established in the law-mag. nifying righteousness of our Redeemer, Gal. iii. 17-19. The law isa schoolmaster to bring us to Christ; the ceremonial law pointed him out, | and led to him as the end and antitype of all its rites; the law as a covenant, applied by the Holy Ghost, instigates us to flee to Jesus, to obtain in him that righteousness which it requires, and escape that wrath which it denounceth, Gal. iv. 24. God puts his law into men's hearts, and writes it in their inward parts, when, by the powerful application of his word, he sanctifies their nature, and renders it conform to his law as a rule, Heb. vii. 10. and x. 16. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, makes free from the law of sin and death, The covenant of grace, or gospel, powerfully applied by the quickening Spirit of Christ, frees us from the broken covenant of works, which In the strength, irritator, and dis-lutely supreme and infallible. Moses coverer of sin, and condemns to death: the energy of the Holy Ghost, as in, and uniting us to Jesus Christ, frees us from the corruption of our nature, which is sin, and instigates to sinful deeds, and renders us: obnoxious to death, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, Rom. viii. 2. The principle of grace in the saints is called the law of their mind influenced by the views of LAWYER; an explainer of the God in Christ, it reigns, and de- Jewish laws. The lawyers were getermines the soul to obedience. Thenerally enemies to our Saviour in the

LAWGIVER. God, or Christ, is a Lawgiver; his sovereign will is the infallible rule of our conduct; and he hath prescribed laws to us in his word, Isa. xxxiii. 22. James iv. 12. and he is the only Lord of our con. science, whose mere will binds it to obedience, and whose laws are sub. ject to no examination, being abso

was a lawgiver; by him God gave his system of laws to the Hebrews; the law is called his, and he is said to give its commandments, Numb. xxi. 18. Deut. xxxii. 21. | David and his successors in rule, are called lawgivers; they had power of enacting laws for civil government of the Hebrew nation, Gen. xlix. 10. Psal. Ix. 7.

tremendous ruin that fell upon the Jewish rulers and people, for their despising of Jesus; while he, after much suffering and contempt, and amidst multitudes of angels, ascend

Jewish rulers, that they resolved to murder both Jesus and Lazarus, that the report of it might be stopt. Six days before his crucifixion, Jesus lodged again in the house of Lazarus. Lazarus sat at the table, Mar-ed to heaven, never more to appear tha served, and Mary, to the great vexation of Judas, anointed our Saviour's head. Jesus vindicated her conduct, and told his disciples, that the deed of her's should, to her homour, be divulged through the whole world, John xi. and xii. 1, to8. Mat.ore of which, silver is ordinarily mixxxvi. 6, 13. Mark xiv. 3,-9.3

in the world till the end of time, Luke xvi. 19,―31.

LEAD; a coarse and heavy, but useful metal, from which an oil and spirit, somewhat like vinegar, is sometimes extracted, and with the

ed. It seems, that as early as the age of Job, it was used in engraving, and that they poured it into the incisions of the characters, for the lasting continuance thereof, Job xix. 24. It is certain that the Midianites, not long after, had considerable quantities of it among them, Numb. xxxi. 22. The Tyrians had plenty of it, from Tarshish, Ezek. xxvii. 12, The Jews were as lead, much abounding in guilt and corruption, and easily melted and afflicted in the fire of God's wrath, Ezek. xxii. 18, 20. Great wickedness, or the judgments of God on account of it, on the Jews or Chaldeans, are likened to a talent of lead on the mouth of an ephah, Zech. v. 7, 8.

LAZARUS, the name of the poor man in Christ's parable. He is represented as covered with ulcers; as laid at a rich man's gate, and in vain begging for some of the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table: as having his sores licked by the dogs; and, in fine, as dying, and carried by angels into the heavenly state. Soon after, according to the parable, the rich man died, and was buried; but his soul being tormented in hell, he, seeing Abraham and Lazarus afar off, in glory, begged that Abraham would send Lazarus to dip his finger in water, and cool the tip of his tongue. Abraham bid him remember that Lazarus in his lifetime had been afflicted, but was now comforted; and that himself had enjoyed his prosperity, and was now tormented; and told, that there was no passing from the heavenly state to the infernal regions. The rich man then begged that Lazarus might be sent to his five brethren, to warn them to flee from the wrath to come: but this was also refused, as one's re-ple in every age, by the direction, turn from the dead could be no more effectual to convince them than the inspired writings which they had. In this parable, perhaps, our Saviour partly alludes to some real event. It shews the danger and ruin of such as, amidst wealth and prosperity, contemn the indigent, afflicted, and pious. Perhaps, too, it hints the

To LEAD; (1.) To direct, Psal. xxxi. 3. (2.) To govern, conduct, Psal. lxxx. 1. (3.) To seduce; draw into error and wickedness, 2 Tim. iii. 6.

God led the Hebrews in the wilderness, by the symbol of his presence, in the pillar of cloud, that directed their motions, Psal. cxxxvi. 16. Isa. lxiii. 12.; and leads his peo

and drawing influence of his word, Spirit, and providence, Psal. xliii. 3. His goodness leads men to repentance; it points forth the duty and advantage thereof; and is calculated to stir up men to bewail their offence of God, so gracious and kind, Rom. ii. 4. Jesus is a leader, who by his authoritative word, Holy Spirit,