ali,c .. Tb~ co~dition~ of the soil may change. Yet there are differences, the prlncip\e11 of which he bidden lil deepest mystery. Some hearts have a receptivity for God'& grace; some have not. Some men come to the light, hating their own darkness feel- ing their sinfulness, drawn to the light by its attractive power; others-strancr~ 0 and aw·ful infatu11.tion I-love darkness rather than light, and will not come to the Lighi which shineth in the world. But we must not despair; we know not what wonders the grace of God may work. The Sower soweth the Word; he sows it everywhere. Ili~ servants must do the like, sowing in all soils, even the hardest and most unpro- mising, in humble faith and hope. (2) We may notice a progress in the three classes of hearers figured in the parable (see Alford, in Zoe.). In the first case the seed doe11 not spring up at all; in the second, it springs up, but is withered almost immediately; in the third it is checked, but not withered; it yields stalk and leaves and empty ear&, but brings no fruit to perfection. The first understand not; the second receive the Vi" ord with joy; the third do something more-they "go forth," they enter on the way that leadeth unto life; but while they are on the way (..-op,11&µ.,101) the Word is choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life. "It has been noticed," says Deaa Alford, "that the first is more the fault of careles.., inattentive childhood; the second, of ardent, shallow youth; the third, of worldly, self-seeking age." All three cases are sad; the last is the saddest, "for it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy command- ment delivered unto them" (2 Pet. ii 21). LESSONS. 1. Hearken! it is the Lord's voice. His disciples must listen with soleDUl attention. 2. Blessed are they who hear the Saviour's voice. The saints of the Old Testament had not our privileges; let ns value them. 3. Pray for an honest and good heart. God can soften the hard-hearted; he can make the frivolous thoughtful; he can turn men from the cares of the world to the holy love of Christ. Pray always; despair not.
Yers. 24-43.-The tares ; the musw.rd seed ; the leaven. L Tm: STORY OP Tm: TAllES. L Resemblance to the first parable. Again we have the field, the sower, and the seed. Again the seed is good. "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Again the Sower sowed the good seed all over the field. No pa.rt was neglected. 2. The differeneu. (1) In this case there is an enemy; he came by night and sowed tares among the wheat. It was an act of pnre ma.lice; it could do him no good. But such things are sometimes done, we are told, in Eastern countries now; and, alas! actions of equal malice are done nearer home. In the blade the tares were like the wheat; the mischief was not discovered till the ears began te form. (2) There are servants also. They tell their lord; they suggest the plucking up of the tares. It is a thing often done (comp. • Sinai and Palestine,' p. 426); if the tares had been few and scattered, it would have seemed the best course. Bot the enemy had done his work too thoroughly; the tares were sown thickly all over the field ; their root.s were intertwined with the wheat-roots. The lord bade his servants wait till the harvest; then the field should be reaped as it was; the tares should be burned, the whea.t gathered into the garner. II. Tm: GBAIN oF MUSTARD BEED. 1. The parable. The mustard seed is small It is sown in the field; it becomes greater than the herbs, a tree; the birds of the air lodge in its branches. 2. Its meaning. Such was the kingdom of heaven. It was small in its beginning; only a. little Child was born in Bethlehem of Jud~. .At first its growth seemed very slow. The King was a Man of sorrows; he died the cruel, death of the cross. Twelve men were sent forth to fight the battle of the kingdom, te confront the whole power of heathendom; they were few; they were, for the most parfl, of no reputation, unknown and unregarded.. But as the little seed had a vital power inherent in it, so was it with the kingdom of heaven. It spread itself with a strange ex pan.sive force, till it filled all the greatest kingdoms of the earth, and men flocked from all sides to take refuge in its shelter. 3. Its encouragement. It may be, a.e Chrysostom thinks, that this and the following parable were intended to encourage the disciples. There was something very saddening in the lesson& of the first two paraL!es. Three parts of the good seed were lost; the remainder was mingled witll tares. Jt, seemed a melancholy prospect. But now there is a word of comfort. cu. xm.1-58.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 21