but the finger of God. It grew wonderfully when three thousand souls were converted at once, and five thousand more in a few days afterwards. It grew wonderfully, when at Antioch, and Ephesus, and Philippi, and Corinth, and Kome, congregations were gathered together, and Christianity firmly established. It grew wonderfully, when at last the despised religion of Christ overspread the greater part of Europe, and Asia Minor, and North Africa, and, in spite of fierce persecution and opposition, supplanted heathen idolatry, and became the professed creed of the whole Roman empire. Such growth must have been marvellous in the eyes of many. But it was only what our Lord foretold in the parable before us. "The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed."
The visible church of Christ has not yet done growing. Notwithstanding the melancholy apostacy of some of its branches, and the deplorable weakness of others, it is still extending and expanding over the world. New branches have continually been springing up in America, in India, in Australia, in Africa, in China, in the Islands of the South Seas, during the last fifty years. Evils undoubt- edly there are many. False profession and corruption abound. But still, on the whole, heathenism is waning, wearing out, and melting away. In spite of all the pre- dictions of Voltaire and Paine, in spite of foes without and treachery within, the visible church progresses — the mustard plant still grows.
And the prophecy, we may rest assured, is not yet exhausted. A day shall yet come, when the great Head of the church shall take to Himself His power, and reign, and put down every enemy under His feet. The
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earth shall yet be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea. (Isai. ii. 2.) Satan shall yet be bound. The heathen shall yet be our Lord's inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth His possession. And then this parable shall receive its full accomplishment. The little seed shall become " a great tree/' and fill the whole earth. (Dan. iii. 35.)
Let us leave the parable with a resolution never to despise any movement or instrumentality in the church of Christ, because at first it was weak and small. Let us remember the manger of Bethlehem, and learn wisdom. The name of Him who lay there, a helpless infant, is now known all over the globe. The little seed which was planted in the day when Jesus was born, has become a great tree, and we ourselves are rejoicing under its shadow. Let it be a settled principle in our religion, never to " despise the day of small things." (Zech. iv. 10.) One child may be the beginning of a flourishing school ■ — one conversion the beginning of a mighty church — one word the beginning of some blessed Christian enterprise — one seed the beginning of a rich harvest of saved souls. *
* It is fair to say that the view which I have adopted of the meaning of this parable, is not the view which is held by some interpreters.
Some think that the parable is intended to show the progress of the work of grace in the heart of an individual believer. I am not prepared to say that this may not have been in our Lord's mind, in speaking the parable. I think it quite possible that the parable ad- mits of a double interpretation ; for the experience of a believer and the experience of the whole church, are much the same. My prin- cipal objection to this view is, that it does not appear to suit the lan- guage of the parable so well as that which I have maintained.
Some few interpreters think that the mustard seed signifies the principle of evil and corruption, and that the main object of the par- able is to show how insidiously apostacy would begin in the church,
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