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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Leviticus, Chapter XIV].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>L E V I T C U S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The former chapter directed the priests how to convict a leper of
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ceremonial uncleanness. No prescriptions are given for his cure; but,
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when God had cured him, the priests are in this chapter directed how to
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cleanse him. The remedy here is only adapted to the ceremonial part of
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his disease; but the authority Christ gave to his ministers was to cure
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the lepers, and so to cleanse them. We have here,
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I. The solemn declaration of the leper's being clean, with the
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significant ceremony attending it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:1-9">ver. 1-9</A>.
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II. The sacrifices which he was to offer to God eight days after,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:10-32">ver. 10-32</A>.
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III. The management of a house in which appeared signs of a
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leprosy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:33-53">ver. 33-53</A>.
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And the conclusion and summary of this whole matter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:54-57">ver. 54</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Le14_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Law Concerning Leprosy.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1490.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses, saying,
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2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his
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cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:
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3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest
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shall look, and, behold, <I>if</I> the plague of leprosy be healed in
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the leper;
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4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be
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cleansed two birds alive <I>and</I> clean, and cedar wood, and
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scarlet, and hyssop:
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5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed
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in an earthen vessel over running water:
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6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood,
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and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the
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living bird in the blood of the bird <I>that was</I> killed over the
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running water:
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7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from
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the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall
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let the living bird loose into the open field.
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8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and
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shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be
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clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall
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tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
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9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all
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his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all
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his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also
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he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. It is supposed that the plague of the leprosy was not an incurable
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disease. Uzziah's indeed continued to the day of his death, and
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Gehazi's was entailed upon his seed; but Miriam's lasted only seven
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days: we may suppose that it often wore off in process of time. Though
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God contend long, he will <I>not contend for ever.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. The judgment of the cure, as well as that of the disease, was
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referred to the priest. He must go out of the camp to the leper, to see
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whether his leprosy was healed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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And we may suppose the priest did not contract any ceremonial
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uncleanness by coming near the leper, as another person would. It was
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in mercy to the poor lepers that the priests particularly had orders to
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attend them, for <I>the priests' lips should keep knowledge;</I> and
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those in affliction have need to be instructed both how to bear their
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afflictions and how to reap benefit by them, have need of the word, in
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concurrence with the rod, to bring them to repentance; therefore it is
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well for those that are sick if they have these messengers of the Lord
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of hosts with them, these interpreters, to <I>show unto them God's
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uprightness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+33:23">Job xxxiii. 23</A>.
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When the leper was shut out, and could not go to the priests, it was
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well that the priests might come to him. <I>Is any sick? Let him send
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for the elders,</I> the ministers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+5:14">Jam. v. 14</A>.
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If we apply it to the spiritual leprosy of sin, it intimates that when
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we withdraw from those who walk disorderly, that they may be ashamed,
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we must not count them as enemies, but admonish them as brethren,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+3:15">2 Thess. iii. 15</A>.
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And also that when God by his grace has brought those to repentance who
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were shut out of communion for scandal, they ought with tenderness, and
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joy, and sincere affection, to be received in again. Thus Paul orders
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concerning the excommunicated Corinthian that when he had given
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evidences of his repentance they should forgive him, and comfort him,
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and <I>confirm their love towards him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+2:7,8">2 Cor. ii. 7, 8</A>.
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And ministers are entrusted by our Master with the declarative power of
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loosing as well as binding: both must be done with great caution and
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deliberation, impartially and without respect of persons, with earnest
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prayer to God for directions, and a sincere regard to the edification
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of the body of Christ, due care being always taken that sinners may not
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be encouraged by an excess of lenity, nor penitents discouraged by an
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excess of severity. Wisdom and sincerity are profitable to direct in
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this case.</P>
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<P>
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III. If it was found that the leprosy was healed, the priest must
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declare it with a particular solemnity. The leper or his friends were
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to get ready two birds caught for this purpose (any sort of wild birds
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that were clean), and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop; for all
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these were to be used in the ceremony.
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1. A preparation was to be made of blood and water, with which the
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leper must be sprinkled. One of the birds (and the Jews say, if there
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was any difference, it must be the larger and better of the two) was to
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be killed over an earthen cup of spring water, so that the blood of the
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bird might discolour the water. This (as some other types) had its
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accomplishment in the death of Christ, when out of his pierced side
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there came water and blood,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+19:34">John xix. 34</A>.
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Thus Christ comes into the soul for its cure and cleansing, <I>not by
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water only, but by water and blood,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+5:6">1 John v. 6</A>.
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2. The living bird, with a little scarlet wool, and a bunch of hyssop,
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must be fastened to a cedar stick, dipped in the water and blood, which
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must be so sprinkled upon him that was to be cleansed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>.
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The cedar-wood signified the restoring of the leper to his strength and
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soundness, for that is a sort of wood not apt to putrefy. The scarlet
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wool signified his recovering a florid colour again, for the leprosy
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made him white as snow. And the hyssop intimated the removing of the
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disagreeable scent which commonly attended the leprosy. The cedar the
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stateliest plant, and hyssop the meanest, are here used together in
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this service (see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+4:33">1 Kings iv. 33</A>);
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for those of the lowest rank in the church may be of use in their
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place, as well as those that are most eminent,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+12:2">1 Cor. xii. 2</A>.
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Some make the slain bird to typify Christ <I>dying for our sins,</I>
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and the living bird Christ <I>rising again for our justification.</I>
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The dipping of the living bird in the blood of the slain bird intimated
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that the merit of Christ's death was that which made his resurrection
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effectual for our justification. He took his blood with him into the
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holy place, and there appeared a lamb as it had been slain. The cedar,
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scarlet wool, and hyssop, must all be dipped in the blood; for the word
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and ordinances, and all the operations of the Spirit, receive their
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efficacy for our cleansing from the blood of Christ. The leper must be
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sprinkled <I>seven times,</I> to signify a complete purification, in
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allusion to which David prays, <I>Wash me thoroughly,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:2">Ps. li. 2</A>.
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Naaman was directed to wash <I>seven times,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+5:10">2 Kings v. 10</A>.
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3. The living bird was then to be let loose in the open field, to
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signify that the leper, being cleansed, was now no longer under
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restraint and confinement, but might take his liberty to go where he
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pleased. But this being signified by the flight of a bird towards
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heaven was an intimation to him henceforward to seek the things that
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are above, and not to spend this new life to which God had restored him
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merely in the pursuit of earthly things. This typified that glorious
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liberty of the children of God to which those are advanced who through
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grace are sprinkled from an evil conscience. Those whose souls before
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<I>bowed down to the dust</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+44:25">Ps. xliv. 25</A>),
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in grief and fear, now fly in the open firmament of heaven, and soar
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upwards upon the wings of faith and hope, and holy love and joy.
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4. The priest must, upon this, pronounce him clean. It was requisite
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that this should be done with solemnity, that the leper might himself
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be the more affected with the mercy of God to him in his recovery, and
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that others might be satisfied to converse with him. Christ is our
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priest, to whom the Father has committed all judgment, and particularly
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the judgment of the leprosy. By his definitive sentence impenitent
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sinners will have their everlasting portion assigned them with the
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unclean
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+36:14">Job xxxvi. 14</A>),
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out of the holy city; and all that by his grace are cured and cleansed
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shall be received into the camp of the saints, into which no unclean
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thing shall enter. Those are clean indeed whom Christ pronounces so,
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and they need not regard what men say of them. But, though Christ was
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the <I>end of this law for righteousness,</I> yet being in the days of
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his flesh <I>made under the law,</I> which as yet stood unrepealed, he
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ordered those lepers whom he had cured miraculously to go and <I>show
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themselves to the priest,</I> and <I>offer for their cleansing
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according to the law,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+8:4,Lu+17:14">Matt. viii. 4; Luke xvii. 14</A>.
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The type must be kept up till it was answered by its antitype.
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5. When the leper was pronounced clean, he must wash his body and his
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clothes, and shave <I>off all his hair</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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must still tarry seven days out of the camp, and on the seventh day
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must do it again,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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The priest having pronounced him clean from the disease, he must make
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himself as clean as ever he could from all the remains of it, and from
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all other defilements, and he must take time to do this. Thus those who
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have the comfort of the remission of their sins, by the sprinkling of
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the blood of Christ upon their consciences, must with the utmost care
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and caution <I>cleanse themselves from all filthiness both of flesh and
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spirit,</I> and thoroughly <I>purge themselves from their old sins;</I>
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for <I>every one that hath this hope in him will</I> be concerned to
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<I>purify himself.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Le14_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_20"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without
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blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and
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three tenth deals of fine flour <I>for</I> a meat offering, mingled
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with oil, and one log of oil.
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11 And the priest that maketh <I>him</I> clean shall present the man
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that is to be made clean, and those things, before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, <I>at</I>
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the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
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12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a
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trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them <I>for</I> a wave
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offering before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>:
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13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill
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the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for
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as the sin offering <I>is</I> the priest's, <I>so is</I> the trespass
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offering: it <I>is</I> most holy:
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14 And the priest shall take <I>some</I> of the blood of the
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trespass offering, and the priest shall put <I>it</I> upon the tip of
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the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb
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of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
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15 And the priest shall take <I>some</I> of the log of oil, and pour
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<I>it</I> into the palm of his own left hand:
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16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that
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<I>is</I> in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his
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finger seven times before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>:
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17 And of the rest of the oil that <I>is</I> in his hand shall the
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priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be
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cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the
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great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass
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offering:
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18 And the remnant of the oil that <I>is</I> in the priest's hand he
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shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the
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priest shall make an atonement for him before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an
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atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness;
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and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:
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20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat
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offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement
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for him, and he shall be clean.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Observe,
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I. To complete the purification of the leper, on the eighth day, after
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the former solemnity performed without the camp, and, as it should
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seem, before he returned to his own habitation, he was to attend <I>at
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the door of the tabernacle,</I> and was there to be <I>presented to the
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Lord,</I> with his offering,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Observe here,
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1. That the mercies of God oblige us to present ourselves to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+12:1">Rom. xii. 1</A>.
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2. When God has restored us to the liberty of ordinances again, after
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restraint by sickness, distance, or otherwise, we should take the first
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opportunity of testifying our respect to God, and our affection to his
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sanctuary, by a diligent improvement of the liberty we are restored to.
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When Christ had healed the impotent man, he soon after <I>found him in
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the temple,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+5:14">John v. 14</A>.
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When Hezekiah asks, <I>What is the sign that I shall go up to the house
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of the Lord?</I> he means, "What is the sign that I shall recover?"
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intimating that if God restored him his health, so that he should be
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able to go abroad, the house of the Lord should be the first place he
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would go to.
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3. When we present ourselves before the Lord we must present our
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offerings, devoting to God with ourselves all we have and can do.
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4. Both we and our offerings must be presented before the Lord by the
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priest that made us clean, even our Lord Jesus, else neither we nor
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they can be accepted.</P>
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<P>
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II. Three lambs the cleansed leper was to bring, with a meat-offering,
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and a log of oil, which was about half a pint. Now,
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1. Most of the ceremony peculiar to this case was about the
|
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trespass-offering, the lamb for which was offered first,
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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And, besides the usual rites with which the trespass-offering was
|
|
offered, some of the blood was to be put upon the ear, and thumb, and
|
|
great toe, of the leper that was to be cleansed
|
|
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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|
|
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the very same ceremony that was used in the consecration of the
|
|
priests,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+8:23,24"><I>ch.</I> viii. 23, 24</A>.
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|
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It was a mortification to them to see the same purification necessary
|
|
for them that was for a leper. The Jews say that the leper stood
|
|
without the gate of the tabernacle and the priest within, and thus the
|
|
ceremony was performed through the gate, signifying that now he was
|
|
admitted with other Israelites to attend in the courts of the Lord's
|
|
house again, and was as welcome as ever; though he had been a leper,
|
|
and though perhaps the name might stick by him as long as he lived (as
|
|
we read of one who probably was cleansed by our Lord Jesus, who yet
|
|
afterwards is called <I>Simon the leper,</I>
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|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+26:6">Matt. xxvi. 6</A>),
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yet he was as freely admitted as ever to communion with God and man.
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|
After the blood of the offering had been put with the priest's finger
|
|
upon the extremities of the body, to include the whole, some of the oil
|
|
that he brought, which was first waved and then sprinkled before the
|
|
Lord, was in like manner put in the same places upon the blood. "The
|
|
blood" (says the learned bishop Patrick) "seems to have been a token of
|
|
forgiveness, the oil of healing," for God first <I>forgiveth our
|
|
iniquities</I> and then <I>healeth our diseases,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+103:3">Ps. ciii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+38:17">Isa. xxxviii. 17</A>.
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|
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Wherever the blood of Christ is applied for justification the oil of
|
|
the Spirit is applied for sanctification; for these two are inseparable
|
|
and both necessary to our acceptance with God. Nor shall our former
|
|
leprosy, if it be healed by repentance, be any bar to these glorious
|
|
privileges. Cleansed lepers are as welcome to the blood and the oil as
|
|
consecrated priests. <I>Such were some of you, but you are washed.</I>
|
|
When the leper was sprinkled the water must have blood in it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
when he was anointed the oil must have blood under it, to signify that
|
|
all the graces and comforts of the Spirit, all his purifying dignifying
|
|
influences, are owing to the death of Christ: it is by his blood alone
|
|
that we are sanctified.
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|
|
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2. Besides this there must be a sin-offering and a burnt-offering, a
|
|
lamb for each,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>.
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By each of these offerings, it is said, the priests shall <I>make
|
|
atonement for him.</I>
|
|
|
|
(1.) His moral guilt shall be removed; the sin for which the leprosy
|
|
was sent shall be pardoned, and all the sins he had been guilty of in
|
|
his afflicted state. Note, The removal of any outward trouble is then
|
|
doubly comfortable to us when at the same time God gives us some
|
|
assurance of the forgiveness of our sins. If we <I>receive the
|
|
atonement,</I> we have reason to rejoice,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+5:11">Rom. v. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) His ceremonial pollution shall be removed, which had kept him from
|
|
the participation of the holy things. And this is called <I>making an
|
|
atonement for him,</I> because our restoration to the privileges of
|
|
God's children, typified hereby, is owing purely to the great
|
|
propitiation. When the atonement is made for him he shall be clean,
|
|
both to his own satisfaction and to his reputation among his
|
|
neighbours; he shall retrieve both his credit and his comfort, and both
|
|
these true penitents become entitled to, both ease and honour, by their
|
|
interest in the atonement. The burnt-offering, besides the atonement
|
|
that was made by it, was a thankful acknowledgment of God's mercy to
|
|
him: and the more immediate the hand of God was both in the sickness
|
|
and in the cure the more reason he had thus to give glory to him, and
|
|
thus, as our Saviour speaks
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+1:44">Mark i. 44</A>),
|
|
|
|
to <I>offer for his cleansing</I> all <I>those things which Moses
|
|
commanded for a testimony unto them.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Le14_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_32"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>21 And if he <I>be</I> poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall
|
|
take one lamb <I>for</I> a trespass offering to be waved, to make an
|
|
atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with
|
|
oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;
|
|
22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is
|
|
able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a
|
|
burnt offering.
|
|
23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing
|
|
unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the
|
|
congregation, before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
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24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering,
|
|
and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them <I>for</I> a wave
|
|
offering before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>:
|
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25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the
|
|
priest shall take <I>some</I> of the blood of the trespass offering,
|
|
and put <I>it</I> upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be
|
|
cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the
|
|
great toe of his right foot:
|
|
26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his
|
|
own left hand:
|
|
27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger <I>some</I>
|
|
of the oil that <I>is</I> in his left hand seven times before the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>:
|
|
28 And the priest shall put of the oil that <I>is</I> in his hand
|
|
upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and
|
|
upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his
|
|
right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:
|
|
29 And the rest of the oil that <I>is</I> in the priest's hand he
|
|
shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an
|
|
atonement for him before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the
|
|
young pigeons, such as he can get;
|
|
31 <I>Even</I> such as he is able to get, the one <I>for</I> a sin
|
|
offering, and the other <I>for</I> a burnt offering, with the meat
|
|
offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is
|
|
to be cleansed before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
32 This <I>is</I> the law <I>of him</I> in whom <I>is</I> the plague of
|
|
leprosy, whose hand is not able to get <I>that which pertaineth</I> to
|
|
his cleansing.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the gracious provision which the law made for the
|
|
cleansing of <I>poor lepers.</I> If they were not able to bring three
|
|
lambs, and three tenth-deals of flour, they must bring one lamb, and
|
|
one tenth-deal of flour, and, instead of the other two lambs, two
|
|
turtle-doves or two young pigeons,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here see,
|
|
|
|
1. That the poverty of the person concerned would not excuse him if he
|
|
brought no offering at all. Let none think that because they are poor
|
|
God requires no service from them, since he has considered them, and
|
|
demands that which it is in the power of the poorest to give. "<I>My
|
|
son, give me thy heart,</I> and with that the <I>calves of thy lips</I>
|
|
shall be accepted instead of the <I>calves of the stall.</I>"
|
|
|
|
2. That God expected from those who were poor only according to their
|
|
ability; <I>his commandments are not grievous,</I> nor does he make us
|
|
to <I>serve with an offering.</I> The poor are as welcome to God's
|
|
altar as the rich; and, if there be first a willing mind and an honest
|
|
heart, two pigeons, when they are the utmost a man is able to get, are
|
|
as acceptable to God as two lambs; for he requires <I>according to what
|
|
a man has and not according to what he has not.</I> But it is
|
|
observable that though a meaner sacrifice was accepted from the poor,
|
|
yet the very same ceremony was used for them as was for the rich; for
|
|
their souls are as precious and Christ and his gospel are the same to
|
|
both. Let not us therefore have <I>the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ
|
|
with respect of persons,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:1">Jam. ii. 1</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Le14_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le14_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le14_35"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_36"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_37"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_38"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_39"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_40"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_41"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_42"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_43"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_44"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Le14_45"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_46"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Le14_47"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Le14_48"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Le14_49"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Le14_50"> </A>
|
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<A NAME="Le14_51"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le14_52"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le14_53"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>33 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
|
|
34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you
|
|
for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of
|
|
the land of your possession;
|
|
35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest,
|
|
saying, It seemeth to me <I>there is</I> as it were a plague in the
|
|
house:
|
|
36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house,
|
|
before the priest go <I>into it</I> to see the plague, that all that
|
|
<I>is</I> in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest
|
|
shall go in to see the house:
|
|
37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, <I>if</I> the
|
|
plague <I>be</I> in the walls of the house with hollow strakes,
|
|
greenish or reddish, which in sight <I>are</I> lower than the wall;
|
|
38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the
|
|
house, and shut up the house seven days:
|
|
39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall
|
|
look: and, behold, <I>if</I> the plague be spread in the walls of the
|
|
house;
|
|
40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones
|
|
in which the plague <I>is,</I> and they shall cast them into an
|
|
unclean place without the city:
|
|
41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round
|
|
about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off
|
|
without the city into an unclean place:
|
|
42 And they shall take other stones, and put <I>them</I> in the
|
|
place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall
|
|
plaster the house.
|
|
43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house,
|
|
after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath
|
|
scraped the house, and after it is plastered;
|
|
44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, <I>if</I> the
|
|
plague be spread in the house, it <I>is</I> a fretting leprosy in the
|
|
house: it <I>is</I> unclean.
|
|
45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the
|
|
timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall
|
|
carry <I>them</I> forth out of the city into an unclean place.
|
|
46 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it
|
|
is shut up shall be unclean until the even.
|
|
47 And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and
|
|
he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
|
|
48 And if the priest shall come in, and look <I>upon it,</I> and,
|
|
behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house
|
|
was plastered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean,
|
|
because the plague is healed.
|
|
49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar
|
|
wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
|
|
50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel
|
|
over running water:
|
|
51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the
|
|
scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the
|
|
slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house
|
|
seven times:
|
|
52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird,
|
|
and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with
|
|
the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:
|
|
53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the
|
|
open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be
|
|
clean.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This is the law concerning the leprosy in a house. Now that they were
|
|
in the wilderness they dwelt in tents, and had no houses, and therefore
|
|
the law is made only an appendix to the former laws concerning the
|
|
leprosy, because it related, not to their present state, but to their
|
|
future settlement. The leprosy in a house is as unaccountable as the
|
|
leprosy in a garment; but, if we see not what natural causes of it can
|
|
be assigned, we may resolve it into the power of the God of nature, who
|
|
here says, <I>I put the leprosy in a house</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>),
|
|
|
|
as his curse is said to <I>enter into a house,</I> and <I>consume it
|
|
with the timber and stones thereof,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+5:4">Zech. v. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
1. It is supposed that even in Canaan itself, the land of promise,
|
|
their houses might be infected with a leprosy. Though it was a holy
|
|
land, this would not secure them from this plague, while the
|
|
inhabitants were many of them so unholy. Thus a place and a name in the
|
|
visible church will not secure wicked people from God's judgments.
|
|
|
|
2. It is likewise taken for granted that the owner of the house will
|
|
make the priest acquainted with it, as soon as he sees the least cause
|
|
to suspect the leprosy in his house: <I>It seemeth to me there is as it
|
|
were a plague in the house,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>.
|
|
|
|
Sin, where that reigns in a house, is a plague there, as it is in a
|
|
heart. And masters of families should be aware and afraid of the first
|
|
appearance of gross sin in their families, and put away the iniquity,
|
|
whatever it is, far from their tabernacles,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+22:23">Job xxii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
They should be jealous with a godly jealousy concerning those under
|
|
their charge, lest they be drawn into sin, and take early advice, if it
|
|
but seem that there is a plague in the house, lest the contagion
|
|
spread, and many be by it defiled and destroyed.
|
|
|
|
3. If the priest, upon search, found that the leprosy had got into the
|
|
house, he must try to cure it, by taking gout that part of the building
|
|
that was infected,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:40,41"><I>v.</I> 40, 41</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was like cutting off a gangrened limb, for the preservation of the
|
|
rest of the body. Corruption should be purged out in time, before it
|
|
spread; for <I>a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. If thy right
|
|
hand offend thee, cut it off.</I>
|
|
|
|
4. If yet it remained in the house, the whole house must be pulled
|
|
down, and all the materials carried to the dunghill,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:44,45"><I>v.</I> 44, 45</A>.
|
|
|
|
The owner had better be without a dwelling than live in one that was
|
|
infected. Note, The leprosy of sin, if it be obstinate under the
|
|
methods of cure, will at last be the ruin of families and churches. If
|
|
Babylon will not be healed, she shall be forsaken and abandoned, and
|
|
(according to the law respecting the leprous house), they shall not
|
|
<I>take of her a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+51:9,26">Jer. li. 9, 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
The remainders of sin and corruption in our mortal bodies are like this
|
|
leprosy in the house; after all our pains in scraping and plastering,
|
|
we shall never be quite clear of it, till the earthly house of this
|
|
tabernacle be dissolved and taken down; when we are dead we shall be
|
|
free from sin, and not till then,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+6:7">Rom. vi. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
5. If the taking out the infected stones cured the house, and the
|
|
leprosy did not spread any further, then the house must be cleansed;
|
|
not only aired, that it might be healthful, but purified from the
|
|
ceremonial pollution, that it might be fit to be the habitation of an
|
|
Israelite. The ceremony of its cleansing was much the same with that
|
|
of cleansing a leprous person,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+14:49"><I>v.</I> 49</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. This intimated that the house was smitten for the man's sake (as
|
|
bishop Patrick expresses it), and he was to look upon himself as
|
|
preserved by divine mercy. The houses of Israelites are said to be
|
|
<I>dedicated</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+20:5">Deut. xx. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
for they were a holy nation, and therefore they ought to keep their
|
|
houses pure from all ceremonial pollutions, that they might be fit for
|
|
the service of that God to whom they were devoted. And the same care
|
|
should we take to reform whatever is amiss in our families, that we and
|
|
our houses may serve the Lord; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:2">Gen. xxxv. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some have thought the leprosy in the house was typical of the idolatry
|
|
of the Jewish church, which did strangely cleave to it; for, though
|
|
some of the reforming kings took away the infected stones, yet still it
|
|
broke out again, till by the captivity of Babylon God took down the
|
|
house, and carried it to an unclean land; and this proved an effectual
|
|
cure of their inclination to idols and idolatrous worships.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Le14_54"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_55"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_56"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le14_57"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>54 This <I>is</I> the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and
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scall,
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55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,
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56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:
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57 To teach when <I>it is</I> unclean, and when <I>it is</I> clean: this
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<I>is</I> the law of leprosy.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This is the conclusion of this law concerning the leprosy. There is no
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repetition of it in Deuteronomy, only a general memorandum given
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+24:8">Deut. xxiv. 8</A>),
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<I>Take heed in the plague of leprosy.</I> We may see in this law,
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1. The gracious care God took of his people Israel, for to them only
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this law pertained, and not to the Gentiles. When Naaman the Syrian was
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cured of his leprosy he was not bidden to show himself to the priest,
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though he was cured in Jordan, as the Jews that were cured by our
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Saviour were. Thus those who are entrusted with the key of discipline
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in the church judge those only <I>that are within;</I> but <I>those
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that are without God judgeth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+5:12,13">1 Cor. v. 12, 13</A>.
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2. The religious care we ought to take of ourselves, to keep our minds
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from the dominion of all sinful affections and dispositions, which are
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both their disease and their defilement, that we may be fit for the
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service of God. We ought also to avoid all bad company, and, as much as
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may be, to avoid coming within the danger of being infected by it.
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<I>Touch not the unclean thing, saith the Lord, and I will receive
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you,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+6:17">2 Cor. vi. 17</A>.</P>
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