We must ever be thankful to God for those gifts of His servants who

`wrestled with infinite difficulties', faced `the almost unconquerable

difficulty of the style, the frightful roughness of the language, and the

amazing emptiness and sophistry of the matter handled', which `do torture,

vex, and tire him that reads them'.

It is very difficult to give quotations from Lightfoot, as the pages

are full of Hebrew references, but here is a note on the parable of the

unjust judge who feared not God.

`Although in the triumviral court, all things are not expected there

which are requisite in the Sanhedrin, yet it is necessary, that, in

every one of that court, there should be this sevenfold qualification;

prudence, gentleness, piety, hatred of mammon, love of truth, that they

be beloved themselves, and of good report' (Maimonides).

Again in the same chapter of Luke where the Pharisee says `I fast twice

in the week' the writer again cites Maimonedes who says:

`The fasts, appointed by the congregation by reason of general

calamities, are not from day to day, because there are few that could

hold such a fast -- but on the second and fifth days of the week'.

Further, in the same chapter, the rich young man approaches the Saviour

with the words `Good Master' (Luke 18:18) and the Lord immediately remarks

upon the epithet `good'.  Lightfoot says:

`It was very unusual to salute the Rabbins of that nation with this

title.  For however they were wont to adorn (not to say load) either

the dead, or absent, with very splendid epithets -- yet if they spoke

to them while present, they gave them no other title than either

"Rabbi" or "Mar" or "Mari".  If you turn over both Talmuds, I am

deceived if you once find either "good Rabbi" or "good Mar"`.

Now these comments may not appear to be very striking in themselves,

but by the time you have all that Lightfoot has gleaned from the Talmud upon

the four gospels, the result is great indeed.  Even to speak with such

authority concerning the use of the title `good' implies a very thorough

acquaintance with these writings.

Bishop Lightfoot's most important works are his commentaries upon

Paul's epistles.

Commenting upon the word `mystery' in Colossians, he says:

`The idea of secrecy or reserve disappears when musterion is adopted

into the Christian vocabulary of St. Paul: and the word signifies

simply "a truth which was once hidden but now revealed, a truth which

without special revelation would have been unknown".  Of the nature of

the truth itself the word says nothing.  It may be transcendental,

mystical, mysterious, in the modern sense of the term (1 Cor. 15:51;

Eph. 5:32), gathered from the special circumstances of the case, for it

cannot be inferred from the word itself.  Hence musterion is almost

universally found in connection with words denoting revelation or

publication, e.g. apokaluptein, apokalupsis (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:3,5; 2

Thess. 2:7); gnorizein (Rom. 16:26; Eph. 1:9; 3:3,10; 6:19); phaneroun