1. The time of the apostles, . . ver. IB
2. After the decease of the apostles, . 25
3. Constantine, .... 32
4. Nine centuries under the trumpet of the
seventh ttureL . . . . 33
o '
5. The kingdom of the Beast, and the Reforma
tion, ..... 44
6. The kingdom of God esteemed above all
things, Satan being bound, . . 46
7. The last confusion, ... 47 O ffxfipuv. — He that soweth) in the present tense ; i.e. Christ.
4. Tlupa rr,v odov, by the war/side) when the field and the road touch each other.
5. Tlsrpudrj, rocky} This expression does not indicate stones ly ing scattered over the field, but a continuous bed of rock under the ground, Avith only a slight covering of soil. — O\JK s7^e, had not) We must understand «XX«, other, in the nominative plural. croXX^ = the Hebrew 21, much : it sometimes signifies too much ; here, sufficiently much. — Igavjrs/Xs, grew up high) not merely av'iruXe, sprang up.
6. 'Exau/^ar/ff^jj, they were scorched) sc. in a less degree from without. — efypdv^r!, they were dried up) sc. utterly from within.1
7. 'Avipriaav ai axav^ai, the thorns sprang up) beyond the crop itself. They had not before then grown so high. Those who have heard the Word, yet do not grow in good, turn their strength to increase in evil.
8. KaX^v, good) sc. soft, deep, clean (purgatam, i.e. cleared of stones, thorns, and weeds).2 — o /u,ev — o 8e — o &, some — some — some) referring to «>.Xa, other, at the commencement of the same verse.
9. 'O fyuv, he that hath) Cf. ver. 11, 12, 13.3 Let him that heareth, hear : to him that hath shall be given.
10. A/ar/, x.r.X., why ? etc.) It seemed a new thing to the disciples ; see ver. 3.
1 A man, to whom any degree of good begins to adhere, is liable to the loss of it, even though he may not lose it all at once. — V. g.
2 Soft or friable, deep, and cleared of weeds and thorns, are respectively opposed to the hard stiff soil of the wayside, the shallow soil spread over the underlying rock, and the thorny ground. — ED.
* E. B. adds 43.