Matthew 5:13–5:16

Matthew 5:13-16 Matthew 5:13-16 Mark 9:49-50 Luke 14:34-35 13. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if salt shall become tasteless, [372] with what shall it be salted? [373] It is good for nothing farther, than to be thrown out and trodden down by men. 14. Ye are the light of the world: a city placed upon a mountain cannot be hid. 15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it upon a bushel but upon a candlestick, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16. Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who is in heaven. 49. For every (man) shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50. Salt is a good thing: but if salt shall become tasteless, with what shall it be seasoned? Have salt in yourselves, and cultivate peace with one another. Mark 4:21 21. And he said to them, Is a candle lighted, that it may be put under a bushel, or under a bed? Is it not that it may be put on a candlestick? 34. Salt is good: but if salt shall have become tasteless, with what shall it be seasoned? 35. It is not useful either for the land [374] or for the dunghill: they throw it out. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Luke 8:16 16. And no man, when he hath lighted a candle, covered it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed, but putteth it on a candlestick, that those who enter may see the light. Luke 11:33 33. No man lighteth a candle, and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that those who enter may see the light. Matthew 5:13. Ye are the salt of the earth. What belongs to doctrine is applied to the persons to whom the administration of it has been committed. When Christ calls the apostles the salt of the earth, he means, that it is their office to salt the earth: because men have nothing in them but what is tasteless, till they have been seasoned with the salt of heavenly doctrine. After having reminded them to what they are called, he pronounces against them a heavy and dreadful judgment, if they do not fulfill their duty. The doctrine, which has been entrusted to them, is shown to be so closely connected with a good conscience and a devout and upright life, that the corruption, which might be tolerated in others, would in them be detestable and monstrous. "If other men are tasteless in the sight of God, to you shall be given the salt which imparts a relish to them: but if you have lost your taste, where shall you obtain the remedy which you ought to supply to others?" Our Lord skillfully pursues his metaphor, by saying, that other things when they lose their original qualities, are still useful after they have become corrupted: but that salt becomes even hurtful, and communicates barrenness even to dunghills. [375] The amount of his statement is, that it is an incurable disease, when the ministers and teachers of the word corrupt and render themselves tasteless: for they ought to season the rest of the world with their salt. This warning is useful, not only to ministers, but to the whole flock of Christ. Since it is the will of God that the earth shall be salted by his own word, it follows, that whatever is destitute of this salt is, in his estimation, tasteless, how much soever it may be relished by men. There is nothing better, therefore, than to receive the seasoning, by which alone our tastelessness is corrected. But, at the same time, let those whose business is to salt it beware lest they encourage the world in their own folly, [376] and still more, that they do not infect it with a depraved and vicious taste. The wickedness of the Papists is therefore intolerable: [377] as if it had been the design of Christ, to allow the apostles unbounded liberty, and to make them tyrants of souls, instead of reminding them of their duty, that they might not swerve from the right path. Christ declares what sort of men he wishes the teachers of his Church to be. Those who, without any proper grounds, give themselves out to be apostles, [378] hide by this covering all the abominations which they are pleased to introduce; because Christ pronounced Peter, and his companions, to be the salt of the earth. They do not, at the same time, consider the sharp and severe reproof which is added, that, if they become tasteless, they are the worst of all. This sentence is mentioned by Luke in an abrupt manner: but is introduced there for the same purpose as in this passage, so that it does not require a separate exposition. Mark 9:49. Every man shall be salted with fire. I have connected these words of Mark with the passage in Matthew which we have just considered: not that I look upon them to have altogether the same meaning, or to have been spoken at the same place and time, but rather to enable the reader to understand better, by means of comparison, the different applications of the same sentence. According to Mark's narrative, our Lord, having spoken of eternal fire, ( Mark 9:48 ,) exhorts his own people, on the contrary, to offer themselves now to God to be seasoned with fire and salt, that they may be devoted sacrifices, [379] and that they may not draw upon themselves, by their sins, that fire which is never extinguished. To be salted with fire is an incorrect phrase; but as salt and fire possess the same quality of purifying and refining, Christ applied the same term to both. Such was the occasion on which this sentiment was uttered. It was, that believers may not refuse to be purified by fire and salt; since, without this seasoning, they cannot be holy to God. He alludes to an enactment of the Law: "Every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt, neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt," ( Leviticus 2:13 .) But now he shows, that believers are salted by the word of the Gospel, that they may be sanctified. He next adds, salt is good This extends generally to all, whom God has once been pleased to season with his own word. He exhorts them to retain always their savor. To give the name of salt to what is salted is rather a harsh metaphor, but it creates no doubt as to the meaning. When men have lost, by their carelessness, that savor which they obtained by the grace of God, there is no farther remedy. Those who lose their faith, by which they were consecrated to God, and become without savor, are in a desperate condition: for the good savor cannot be acquired by any other seasoning. Besides, those who have become corrupted, by making void the grace of God, are worse than unbelievers, as salt spoils the land and the dunghill Mark 9:50 . Have salt in yourselves This word may be taken in a different sense from what it had in the former verse, as meaning that seasoning of good odor, which is obtained by faith, or rather the wisdom of the Spirit. When Paul enjoins, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt," ( Colossians 4:6 ,) he means, that we ought to be holy, and purified from all profane follies and corruptions, and filled with spiritual grace, which edifies all who hear it, and diffuses over them its sweet odor. If this exposition is adopted, it may be necessary to understand the latter clause as referring to the mutual peace, which is promoted by that salt. Yet, as it is more probable, that this last sentence depends on the former discourse, I think that Christ is exhorting his own people to maintain the rigor of faith, which may serve also to purify others. "You must do your endeavor, not only to be salted within, but likewise to salt others." But as salt bites by its sharpness, he immediately admonishes them to regulate the seasoning in such a manner, that peace may be preserved entire with one another Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world We are all the children of light, after having been enlightened by faith, and are commanded to carry in our hands "burning lamps," (that we may not wander in darkness,) and even to point out to others the way of life, ( Luke 12:35 .) But, as the preaching of the Gospel was committed to the apostles above others, and is now committed to the pastors of the Church, this designation is given to them, in a peculiar manner, by Christ. "They are placed in this rank on the condition, that they shall shine, as from an elevated situation, on all others." He subjoins two comparisons. A city placed on a mountain cannot be concealed; and a candle, when it has been lighted, is not usually concealed, (verse 15.) This means, that they ought to live in such a manner, as if the eyes of all were upon them. [380] And certainly, the more eminent a person is, the more injury he does by a bad example, if he acts improperly. Christ, therefore, informs the apostles, that they must be more careful to live a devout and holy life, than unknown persons of the common rank, because the eyes of all are directed to them, as to lighted candles; and that they must not be endured, if their devotion, and uprightness of conduct, do not correspond to the doctrine of which they are ministers. Mark and Luke appear to apply the comparison in a different manner: for there Christ gives a general admonition, that they ought to take particular care, lest any one, trusting to the darkness, indulge freely in sin, because what is hidden for a time will afterwards be revealed. But perhaps the discourses related by both of them are detached from the immediate context. 16. Let your light shine before men After having taught the apostles that, in consequence of the rank in which they are placed, both their vices and their virtues are better known for a good or bad example, he now enjoins them so to regulate their life, as to excite all to glorify God. That they may see your good works: for, as Paul tells us, believers must, "provide for honest things, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men," ( 2 Corinthians 8:21 .) The command, which he gives shortly afterwards, to seek concealment and a retired situation for their good works, ( Matthew 6:4 ,) is intended only to forbid ostentation. In the present instance, he has quite a different object in view, to recommend to them the glory of God alone. Now, if the glory of good works cannot be properly ascribed to God, unless they are traced to him, and unless he is acknowledged to be their only Author, it is evident, that we cannot, without offering an open and gross insult to God, extol free will, as if good works proceeded wholly, or in part, from its power. Again, we must observe, how graciously God deals with us, when he calls the good works ours, the entire praise of which would justly be ascribed to himself. Footnotes: [372] "Ou, s'evente;" -- "or, is spoiled." [373] "Ou, luy rendra-on sa saveur?" -- "or, shall its taste be restored to it?" ( Leviticus 2:13 .) [374] "Il n'est propre ne (pour mettre) en la terre, ni au fumier." -- "It is not fit either (to put) on the land, nor on the dunghill." [375] "Que le sel estant empire, ne fait mesmes que gaster tout, a quoi qu'on le mette, tellement qu'il corrompt mesmes les fumiers, et consume toute la grasse d'iceux." -- "That salt, when it is decayed, does only spoil everything that it touches: so that it corrupts even dunghills, and consumes all their fatness." [376] "De ne nourrir le monde en sa folie et fadesse;" -- "not to nourish the world in their folly and tastelessness." [377] "Et pourtant la malice des Papistes n'est aucunement a supporter, quand ils n'ont point de honte de couvrir de ces titres leurs Prelats mas-quez, afin que nul ne presume de rien reprendre en leurs personnes."-- "And then the malice of the Papists is not at all to be endured, since they are not ashamed to cover with these titles their masked Prelates, that no one may presume to reprove any thing in their persons." [378] "Des gens qui se vantent a fausses enseignes de tenir le place des apostres." -- "People who boast, under false colors, of holding the place of apostles." [379] "Sacrifices ou offrandes sacrees;" -- "sacrifices or sacred offerings." [380] "Comme si tout le monde les regardoit;" -- "as if every body were looking at them."

Ye {2} are the salt of the {d} earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be {e} salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (2) The ministers of the word especially (unless they will be the most cowardly of all) must lead others both by word and deed to this greatest joy and happiness. (d) Your doctrine must be very sound and good, for if it is not so, it will be not regarded and cast away as a thing unsavoury and vain. (e) What will you have to salt with? And so are fools in the Latin tongue called saltless, as you would say, men that have no salt or savour and taste in them.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the salt of the earth — As salt keepeth flesh from putrefying, so do the saints the world: and are therefore sprinkled up and down (here one and there one) to keep the rest from rotting. Suillo pecori anima pro sale data, quae carnem servaret, ne putresceret, saith Varro. Swine and swinish persons have their souls for salt only, to keep their bodies from stinking above ground. Christ and his people are somewhere called the soul of the world. The saints are called all things; the Church, every creature, Mark 16:15 ; Tabor and Hermon are put for east and west, Psalms 89:12 ; for God accounts for the world by the Church, and upholds the world for the Church’s sake. Look how he gave Zoar to Lot, and all the souls in the ship to Paul, Acts 27:24 ; so he doth the rest of mankind to the righteous. Were it not for such Jehoshaphats, "I would not look toward thee, nor see thee," said Elijah to Jehoram, saith God to the wicked, 2 Kings 3:14 . The holy seed is statumen terrae, saith one prophet: the earth’s substance or settlement, Isaiah 6:13 . (Junius.) The righteous are fundamentum mundi, the world’s foundation, saith another, Proverbs 10:25 . ( Quia propter probes stabilis est mundus. because on account you may make the earth firm. Merc.) I bear up the pillars of it, saith David, Psalms 75:3 . And it became a common proverb in the primitive times, Absque stationibus non stare mundus: but for the piety and prayers of Christians, the world could not subsist. It is a good conclusion of Philo, therefore, Oremus, ut tanquam columna in domo vir iustus permaneat, ad calamitatum remedium. Let us pray that the righteous may remain with us, for a preservative, as a pillar in the house, as the salt of the earth. But as all good people, so good ministers especially are here said, for their doctrine, to be the salt of the earth; and for their lives, the light of the world. ( Doctrina salis est; vita lucis. Aret.) Ye are salt, not honey, which is bitter to wounds. Ye are light, which is also offensive to sore eyes. Salt hath two things in it, Acorem et saporem, sharpness and savouriness. Ministers must reprove men sharply, that they may be "sound in the faith," Titus 1:13 , and a sweet savour to God; savoury meat, as that of Rebekah, a sweet meat offering, meet for the master’s tooth, that he may eat and bless them. Cast they must their cruses full of this holy salt into the unwholesome waters, and upon the barren grounds of men’s hearts (as Elisha once of Jericho), so shall God say the word that all be whole, and it shall be done. No thought can pass between the receipt and the remedy. But if the salt have lost his savour, … — A loose or lazy minister is the worst creature upon earth, so fit for no place as for hell, -as unsavoury salt is not fit for the dunghill, but makes the very ground barren whereupon it is cast. Who are now devils but they which once were angels of light? Corruptio optimi pessima, as the sweetest wine makes the sourest vinegar, and the finest flesh is resolved into the vilest earth. Woe to those dehonestamenta cleri, disgraceful ministers that, with Eli’s sons, cover foul sins under a white ephod: that neither spin nor labour, Matthew 6:28 , with the lilies, unless it be in their own vineyards, little in God’s; that want either art or heart, will or skill, to the work; being not able or not apt to teach, and so give occasion to those blackmouthed Campians to cry out, Ministris eorum nihil villus: their ministers are the vilest fellows upon earth. (Campian in Rationibus. ) God commonly casteth off such as incorrigible; for wherewithal shall it be salted? there is nothing in nature that can restore unsavoury salt to its former nature. He will not only lay such by, as broken vessels, boring out their right eyes and drying up their right arms, Zechariah 11:17 ; i.e. bereaving them of their former abilities; but also he will cast dung upon their faces, Malachi 2:3 ; so that, as dung, men shall tread upon them (which is a thing not only calamitous, but extremely ignominious), as they did upon the Popish clergy; and the devil shall thank them when he hath them in hell, for sending him so many souls: as Matthew Paris telleth us he did those in the days of Hildebrand. Literas ex inferno missas commenti sunt quidam, in quibus Satanas omni Ecclesiastico coetui gratias emisit. As for themselves, it grew into a proverb, Pavimentum inferni rasis sacrificulorum verticibus, et magnatum galeis stratum esse: that hell was paved with the shaved crowns of priests and great men’s head pieces. God threatens to feed such with gall and wormwood, Jeremiah 23:15 .

In our Christian course we are not to trouble ourselves with what men say of us, and do unto us, but only to attend to our duty of holiness, and an exemplary life, which is what our Saviour presseth plainly, Matthew 5:16 , and leads his hearers to it by four comparisons, which he institutes between them and four other things. The first we have in this verse, Ye are the salt of the earth: the doctrine which you profess is so, a thing as opposite as can be to the putrefaction of the world, both in respect to corrupt doctrine and corrupt manners (therefore, by the way, it will be no wonder if they resist it by reviling and persecuting you). You are the salt of the earth: through the grace of God bestowed upon you, Mark 9:50 Colossians 4:6 . If it were not for the number of sound and painful ministers, and holy and gracious persons, the earth would be but a stinking dunghill of drunkards, unclean persons, thieves, murderers, unrighteous persons, that would be a stench in the nostrils of a pure and holy God. Look as it is in the world, if the salt hath lost its savour, its acrimony, by which it opposeth putrefaction in fish and flesh, not the fish or flesh only will be good for nothing, but the salt itself, so infatuated, (as it is in the Greek), will be good for nothing, but to be cast upon a dunghill and trodden under foot. So it is with ministers of the gospel, so with the professors of it; if they have lost their soundness in the faith, and holiness of life, they are of no value, nay, they are worse than other men. Money, if it be clipped in pieces, and hath lost its usefulness as coin, yet is of use for a goldsmith; meat corrupted, if it will not serve for men, yet will feed dogs; salt is good for nothing. No more are pretended ministers or Christians; their excellency lies in their savour; if that be lost, wherewith shall they be salted? Of what use are they, unless to cause the name of God and religion to be blasphemed? Such another similitude the prophet useth, Ezekiel 15:2 ,3 .

Ye are the salt of the earth,.... This is to be understood of the disciples and apostles of Christ; who might be compared to "salt", because of the savoury doctrines they preached; as all such are, which are agreeable to the Scriptures, and are of the evangelic kind, which are full of Christ, serve to exalt him, and to magnify the grace of God; and are suitable to the experiences of the saints, and are according to godliness, and tend to promote it: also because of their savoury lives and conversations; whereby they recommended, and gave sanction to the doctrines they preached, were examples to the saints, and checks upon wicked men. These were the salt "of the earth"; that is, of the inhabitants of the earth, not of the land of Judea only, where they first lived and preached, but of the whole world, into which they were afterwards sent to preach the Gospel. But if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? The "savour" here supposed that it may be lost, cannot mean the savour of grace, or true grace itself, which cannot be lost, being an incorruptible seed; but either gifts qualifying men for the ministry, which may cease; or the savoury doctrines of the Gospel, which may be departed from; or a seeming savoury conversation, which may be neglected; or that seeming savour, zeal, and affection, with which the Gospel is preached, which may be dropped: and particular respect seems to be had to Judas, whom Christ had chosen to the apostleship, and was a devil; and who he knew would lose his usefulness and place, and become an unprofitable wretch, and at last be rejected of God and men; and this case is proposed to them all, in order to engage them to take heed to themselves, their doctrine and ministry. Moreover, this is but a supposition; if the salt, &c. and proves no matter of fact; and the Jews have a saying (k), that all that season lose their savour "hmej hgypm hnya but salt does not lose its savour". Should it do so, it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot. Salt is good for nothing, but to make things savoury, and preserve from putrefacation; and when it has lost its savour, it is of no use, neither to men nor beasts, as some things are when corrupted; nor is it of any use to the land, or dunghill, for it makes barren, and not fruitful: so ministers of the word, when they have dropped the savoury doctrines of the Gospel, or have quitted their former seeming savoury and exemplary conversations; as their usefulness is gone, so, generally speaking, it is never retrieved; they are cast out of the churches of Christ, and are treated with contempt by everyone. (k) T. Bab. Betzah, fol. 14. 1.

Ye are the salt of the earth. Mankind, lying in ignorance and wickedness, were as a vast heap, ready to putrify; but Christ sent forth his disciples, by their lives and doctrines to season it with knowledge and grace. If they are not such as they should be, they are as salt that has lost its savour. If a man can take up the profession of Christ, and yet remain graceless, no other doctrine, no other means, can make him profitable. Our light must shine, by doing such good works as men may see. What is between God and our souls, must be kept to ourselves; but that which is of itself open to the sight of men, we must study to make suitable to our profession, and praiseworthy. We must aim at the glory of God.

13-16. We have here the practical application of the foregoing principles to those disciples who sat listening to them, and to their successors in all time. Our Lord, though He began by pronouncing certain characters to be blessed—without express reference to any of His hearers—does not close the beatitudes without intimating that such characters were in existence, and that already they were before Him. Accordingly, from characters He comes to persons possessing them, saying, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you," &c. (Mt 5:11). And now, continuing this mode of direct personal address, He startles those humble, unknown men by pronouncing them the exalted benefactors of their whole species. Ye are the salt of the earth—to preserve it from corruption, to season its insipidity, to freshen and sweeten it. The value of salt for these purposes is abundantly referred to by classical writers as well as in Scripture; and hence its symbolical significance in the religious offerings as well of those without as of those within the pale of revealed religion. In Scripture, mankind, under the unrestrained workings of their own evil nature, are represented as entirely corrupt. Thus, before the flood (Ge 6:11, 12); after the flood (Ge 8:21); in the days of David (Ps 14:2, 3); in the days of Isaiah (Isa 1:5, 6); and in the days of Paul (Eph 2:1-3; see also Job 14:4; 15:15, 16; Joh 3:6; compared with Ro 8:8; Tit 3:2, 3). The remedy for this, says our Lord here, is the active presence of His disciples among their fellows. The character and principles of Christians, brought into close contact with it, are designed to arrest the festering corruption of humanity and season its insipidity. But how, it may be asked, are Christians to do this office for their fellow men, if their righteousness only exasperate them, and recoil, in every form of persecution, upon themselves? The answer is: That is but the first and partial effect of their Christianity upon the world: though the great proportion would dislike and reject the truth, a small but noble band would receive and hold it fast; and in the struggle that would ensue, one and another even of the opposing party would come over to His ranks, and at length the Gospel would carry all before it. but if the salt have lost his savour—"become unsavory" or "insipid"; losing its saline or salting property. The meaning is: If that Christianity on which the health of the world depends, does in any age, region, or individual, exist only in name, or if it contain not those saving elements for want of which the world languishes, wherewith shall it be salted?—How shall the salting qualities be restored to it? (Compare Mr 9:50). Whether salt ever does lose its saline property—about which there is a difference of opinion—is a question of no moment here. The point of the case lies in the supposition—that if it should lose it, the consequence would be as here described. So with Christians. The question is not: Can, or do, the saints ever totally lose that grace which makes them a blessing to their fellow men? But, What is to be the issue of that Christianity which is found wanting in those elements which can alone stay the corruption and season the tastelessness of an all-pervading carnality? The restoration or non-restoration of grace, or true living Christianity, to those who have lost it, has, in our judgment, nothing at all to do here. The question is not, If a man lose his grace, how shall that grace be restored to him? but, Since living Christianity is the only "salt of the earth," if men lose that, what else can supply its place? What follows is the appalling answer to this question. it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out—a figurative expression of indignant exclusion from the kingdom of God (compare Mt 8:12; 22:13; Joh 6:37; 9:34). and to be trodden under foot of men—expressive of contempt and scorn. It is not the mere want of a certain character, but the want of it in those whose profession and appearance were fitted to beget expectation of finding it.

Ye are the salt of the earth - Salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrefaction. So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. By bringing down the blessing of God in answer to their prayers, and by their influence and example, they save the world from universal vice and crime. Salt have lost its savour - That is, if it has become tasteless, or has lost its preserving properties. The salt used in this country is a chemical compound - chloride of sodium - and if the saltness were lost, or it were to lose its savor, there would be nothing remaining. It enters into the very nature of the substance. In eastern countries, however, the salt used was impure, or mingled with vegetable or earthy substances, so that it might lose the whole of its saltness, and a considerable quantity of earthy matter remain. This was good for nothing, except that it was used to place in paths, or walks, as we use gravel. This kind of salt is common still in that country. It is found in the earth in veins or layers, and when exposed to the sun and rain, loses its saltness entirely. Maundrell says, "I broke a piece of it, of which that part that was exposed to the rain, sun, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, yet it had perfectly lost its savor. The inner part, which was connected to the rock, retained its savor, as I found by proof. So Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. ii. pp. 43, 44) says, "I have often seen just such salt, and the identical disposition of it that our Lord has mentioned. A merchant of Sidon having farmed of the government the revenue from the importation of salt, brought over an immense quantity from the marshes of Cyprus - enough, in fact, to supply the whole province for at least 20 years. This he had transferred to the mountains, to cheat the government out of some small percentage. Sixty-five houses in June - Lady Stanhope's village were rented and filled with salt. These houses have merely earthen floors, and the salt next the ground, in a few years, entirely spoiled. I saw large quantities of it literally thrown into the street, to be trodden underfoot by people and beasts. It was 'good for nothing.' "It should be stated in this connection that the salt used in this country is not manufactured by boiling clean salt water, nor quarried from mines, but is obtained from marshes along the seashore, as in Cyprus, or from salt lakes in the interior, which dry up in summer, as the one in the desert north of Palmyra, and the great lake of Jebbul, southeast of Aleppo. "Maundrell, who visited the lake at Jebbul, tells us that he found salt there which had entirely 'lost its savor,' and the same abounds among the debris at Usdum, and in other localities of rocksalt at the south end of the Dead Sea. Indeed, it is a well-known fact that the salt of this country, when in contact with the ground, or exposed to rain and sun, does become insipid and useless. From the manner in which it is gathered, much earth and other impurities are necessarily collected with it. Not a little of it is so impure that it cannot be used at all, and such salt soon effloresces and turns to dust - not to fruitful soil, however. It is not only good for nothing itself, but it actually destroys all fertility wherever it is thrown; and this is the reason why it is cast into the street. There is a sort of verbal verisimilitude in the manner in which our Lord alludes to the act: 'it is cast out' and 'trodden under foot;' so troublesome is this corrupted salt, that it is carefully swept up, carried forth, and thrown into the street. There is no place about the house, yard, or garden where it can be tolerated. No man will allow it to be thrown on to his field, and the only place for it is the street, and there it is cast to be trodden underfoot of men."