Literal Interpretations.
By James White
“And if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” Matt. v, 29-32. A SAFE rule in the interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures is that every passage should be regarded literal unless a good reason can be given why a figure is used. The above words of our Lord cannot be understood as literal, for the very obvious reason that there will be none among the immortal in the kingdom of God with but one eye, or one hand. We may, therefore, safely conclude that our Lord uses a figure. What does this figure represent? It has been said that the offending members, namely, the eye and the hand, illustrate evil propensities. That these are an offense to the living Christian is true; but that Christ did not mean evil passions is certain, unless it can be shown that he has taught that we should rid ourselves of some of our evil passions, represented by the plucked-out eye, and the cut-off hand, and may enter Heaven with other wicked passions, illustrated by the remaining eye and hand. But as the Saviour taught no such absurdity, we inquire again, What does the figure illustrate? The human body, with its several members, is several times used in the New Testament as a figure of the church. And it is also true that offending members should be cut off. But the church when it enters the kingdom, will be complete in all its members. That will not be a maimed church. Again we inquire, What does the figure mean? We venture to answer the question as follows: The eye and the hand represent near and dear members of our families. The man is the head of the family, and the wife is his right arm of strength. How precious is the sight of the eye. This may represent a dear son or daughter. The truth frequently makes divisions in families, where some of its members steel their hearts against and oppose the other members who receive it. And that those members who live and obey the truth are not accountable for such divisions, if they are seeking, as much as within them lies, to live in the peaceable enjoyment of truth, is evident from the following words of Jesus: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it. Matt. x, 34-39.” Peace may be enjoyed in a household under two circumstances; first, where all are agreed in the truth, and second, where all oppose it. In the first case, all labor to shut Satan out, and in the second, the author of division is willing to leave whole households in the peaceable enjoyment of error. A third condition of the family, though seldom existing, might be mentioned, when there is such faithfulness, meekness and patience on the part of those who obey the truth, that those who do not receive it are induced to lead quiet lives, and generously cease to mar the feelings, by infringing upon the rights of those who believe. The sketch given by our Lord is a sad one, and how painfully has it been filled up by the kindling fires of jealousy, and the wrath of the dragon, in those members of families who reject sanctifying truth. But the only safe course for the believing husband or wife, son or daughter, in the midst of family foes, is to press forward meekly amid the storm, and ever bend their lonely footsteps toward the golden city of God. If such love an unbelieving father or mother, son or daughter, more than the Lord, they are not worthy of him. Those who give up the truth, and sell the Lord, in order to have peace with their near friends, part with their interest in the kingdom at too low a figure. Such save themselves in this short life; but lose the future life, which is in point of value and duration, eternal. But what goes to still further confirm the view that the offending hand or eye may represent the wife, son, or daughter, is the fact that our Lord in the connection, mentions the wife guilty of a great offense, which justifies the husband to cut her off by a bill of divorce. The proper course for the believing to pursue, is to courteously and kindly, but firmly, press forward in the path of truth. If they yield the truth and go to perdition, probably every member of their family will go with them and all be cast into hell. But if they are faithful, these dear members of their family, seeing their good works, and becoming tired of waiting for them to give up the truth, may embrace the truth, and the whole family be saved. We might give several worthy instances where whole families have in this way been rescued, and some very unworthy ones, where for the want of a little moral courage, whole families have given up their hope of the future life and sold their Lord for less than twenty pieces of silver. We have mourned that so few of our father's family were with us in the truth. But on looking the matter over, see great cause of rejoicing that our influence may have saved some of them. At Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, N. Y., lie a dear brother and sister that we took to our hired home in that city, and instructed in the way of truth. They were both marked for the grave when they reached our door. Their earthly prospects were blighted by disease, and they readily saw, loved and obeyed, the truth, and died in the triumphs of faith. In Oak Hill Cemetery, lies a beloved son whose death was most hopeful and triumphant. And our dear parents are also reverencing in their age, the commandments of God. At our last visit to Maine, our eldest sister embraced fully the present truth, and now rejoices in it. May others be brought to its acknowledgment. In our own family our two sons claim a part with the people of God. May they and we be found faithful, so that the entire family may be saved, without the loss of one member. But had we taken hold of the worldly baits thrown out to us, and yielded the truth to please friends, perhaps none of our family relatives would have embraced the truth and held it fast, excepting Mrs. W. To God be all the glory for what he has done for us. JAMES WHITE.