Malachi chap. iii. opens with a prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist, the messenger of the Messiah. The way having been prepared for the advent of Jesus, he was to come suddenly to his temple, as the messenger of that covenant of grace which he was to reveal fully to man. The effects of his appearing are indicated in ver. 2, 3:—“ But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Two aspects of trial are implied-one connected with the circumstances which were to accompany his coming; another with the influence of his truth on the spiritual nature of men. The dangers, difficulties, reproach, and persecutions which fell on those who acknowledged Jesus as the eternal son of God, were like the refiner's fire. They alone stood firm in whose hearts true love to him had a place, as the precious metal in the matrix in which it was hid. The holiness of his doctrine, the searching spirituality of his teaching, the flashes of light, from truth spoken by divine living lips, into the most secret recesses of the soul, were what no hypocrite could stand. They were like the fuller's soap, removing defilement and bringing out the beauty of truth.

This reference to the refining of gold and silver implies, that much attention continued to be given by the Hebrews to different branches of metallurgy. There is proof that they had carried with them from Egypt the knowledge of the methods employed in that country for making metals into articles of luxury and of use. The expression, "he shall sit as a refiner," is exceedingly precious. As the ancient metallurgist sat and watched the refining process, keeping the molten mass in motion till every particle of dross was destroyed, so does Christ watch with a yearning heart and with active hand over his people in their seasons of sorrow from the devil, the world, and the flesh, until his work in them is completed and they are fitted for unimpeded fellowship with him. The sons of Levi, typical of the New Testament ministry, are specially named in this refining work. Only after such dealing would they be able to "offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Levi no longer stands ministering before God. His place has been taken by those who, as "separated unto the gospel of God," like Paul style themselves "servants of Jesus Christ" (Rom. i. 1). But the experience of Levi is still continued in them. As one with Him who was made perfect through suffering, they hear Him

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saying:-"In the world ye shall have tribulation." It is thus with them that they may be fitted to enter into the thoughts of their living Head, and enabled to follow his example :

:

"The Christian pastor, bow'd to earth

With thankless toil, and vile esteem'd,
Still travailing in second birth

Of souls that will not be redeem'd;
Yet steadfast set to do his part,

And fearing most his own vain heart."

The work of the fuller is several times referred to in Scripture. In 2 Kings xviii. 17, "the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the high way of the fuller's field" is mentioned. So Isaiah vii. 3; xxxvi. 2. In Mark's description of the transfiguration we are told that Christ's "raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them" (ix. 3). The art of the fuller was practised at a very early time in Egypt. "Many persons, both men and women, were engaged in cleansing cloths and stuffs of various kinds; and the occupation of the fuller form one of the numerous subjects of the sculptures. It is probable they were only a subdivision of the dyers. In early times before, and even after the invention of soap, potash, nitre, and several earths were employed for cleansing cloths, as well as various herbs, many of which are still in use among the Arabs, one of which was doubtless the alkaline plant boréeth, mentioned by Jeremiah (ii. 22) and Malachi (iii. 2). Many of the Suadas (sea-blites) and Salsolas (salt-worts), and other alkaline plants, are found in the Egyptian deserts, as well as the gilloo, also called 'the soap plant;' and the people of Cairo and the Barbary coasts use certain woods for cleansing manufactured stuffs." "Soap," continues Wilkinson, was not unknown to the ancients, and a small quantity has been found at Pompeii. Pliny, who mentions it as an invention of the Gauls, says it was made of fat and ashes; and Aretæus, the physician of Cappadocia, tells us, that the Greeks borrowed their knowledge of its medicinal properties from the Romans."

The soap used by the Israelites was, no doubt, a compound of some fatty substance with alkaline matter obtained from plants. The Arabs of the present day obtain a material named borak from the Salsolas of the desert. From one of these, the soda saltwort (Salsola soda), until a comparatively recent date, the carbonate of soda was manufactured. The article known as barilla, still employed in the manufacture of soap, is procured from this plant. Many other vegetables supply saponine

a soapy principle-and are used in different countries for the same purposes as the soap of commerce. These Bible references to soap are thus suggestive of the application of chemistry, on the part of the Hebrews, to the preparation of a substance of great usefulness in the industrial arts. The fuller had his soap prepared for him by a complicated process, implying, on the part of many, considerable attainments in chemical knowledge. The substance known as fuller's earth is an oily clay, obtained from oolitic and chalk strata. It was wont to be much used in "fulling" woollen fabrics, but is now greatly superseded by soap.

A bright vision of Messiah's near approach flashed on the mind of the prophet (iv. 2). The world was sunk in darkness, but its LIGHT was near. The rays of the morning were already shooting above the horizon. The church was as the tree cut over by the earth, but it was soon to bud. "Behold the man whose name is the BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place" (Zech. v. 12). Sin-burdened ones were weary; Israel, beginning to doubt the promise of his kingdom, was cheered by new assurances :

"He shall redeem them one by one
Where'er the world-encircling sun
Shall see them meekly kneel:
All that he asks on Israel's part
Is only, that the captive heart
Its woe and burthen feel."

To the waiting and anxious company alive to their deep spiritual maladies, healing and health were once more promised before the Saviour, the great Physician himself, should come in the flesh: "Unto you that fear my name shall the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS arise with healing in his wings."

ST. MATTHEW.

"OW when Jesus was born at Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him" (ii. 1, 2). "Wise men from the east" (magoi apo anatolou). The name magi seems to have been given to them from their being guided by the star. The class thus named pretended to a knowledge of the future, and were generally known as "astrologers," "stargazers,' "prognosticators," "diviners," "soothsayers," &c. Isa. xliv., xlvii; Dan. i., ii., iv., v. That Daniel was classed among them (v. 11) is a proof that all thus named were not pretenders. As in the cases of Melchisedek and Job, we once more meet here with men to whom the Lord made known his mind, who could not be said to belong to the "chosen people." Kepler's pious attempt to identify this star with a periodically occurring astronomical fact (the conjunction of two planets) is not satisfactory. A revelation had been made to the "wise men," as truly as to the shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem. Thus they followed the divinely guided luminary. Miracle properly so called meets us at the opening of the New Testament, equally as it does in the first words of the Old Testament. He who is above nature uses it for the manifestation of his own highest purposes concerning the church.

Chapter iii. 4.—The "wild honey," Gr. meli agrion, answers to the "honey of bees," Heb. devāsh, of Judges xiv. 8; the honey characteristic of Canaan as a plentiful land, Exod. iii. 8, and the honey out of the rock, of Ps. lxxxi. 15. Attempts have been made to identify it with the manna of commerce, an exudation produced by insects (Coccidae) from the leaves of the tarfa-tree (Tamarix mannifera). But this is far fetched. See under 1 Sam. xiv. 24-30. The honey which formed a part of the Baptist's food was the honey of wild bees. This still abounds in Palestine, and amongst the rocks in the desert of Sinai. It is noticed by travellers as one of many present characteristics of those lands, which corroborate and shed light on the sacred Scriptures. Honey has always constituted an article of diet in lands where wild bees abound.