manhood is the time of growing. 'fbe full maturity of life is our reapincr-time. The man in middle life bas attained the character which is the seed-result ~f the spring sowing and the summer growing. He will not be very different as long as he Jives. II, 'l'IIl!l HAnVEBT OF THIS LIFE PBOVIDEB THE BEED-COBN FOR THE NEXT LIPE, Remember, every plant ie working for nezt year, The flower or the fruit of this year is not its end; the seed is its end. And cultured, finished, high-toned, spiritual character is the seed which we are to have ready for the next harvest-field. The eternal ages may prove to be successions of harvest-fields, in which, like the plants, we shall be ever sowing and maturing for the next age's seeding; ever trying to secure better, worthier, character- seeds. III. THERE 1B MUCH TO BE DONE WITH THE BEED-CORN, WIIEN IT 1B MATURE, BEFORE lT IS ALTOGETHER FIT FOK THE NEXT YEAR'S BOWING, It seems as if a piece of life were left out, and we ended it with manhood. But there is a space between full man- hood and decay, Tb_at piece of life should be the weathering, winnowing, cleansing of the seed-corn character, ready for the eternal fields. W eatbering, or exposing to the sun and wind of prosperity. Winnowing, or getting rid of the useless by adversity. Cleansing, or getting free from the mischievous by culture. Fully ripe and well pre- pared, God bears us off to seed his eternal fields.-R. T. Ver. 30.-Evil and good only together for a time. In every parable we should expect to find three things. 1. General hints in relation to the kingdom, common to many parables. 2. Special points of description necessary to the completion of the picture, but not to be unduly pressed to yield a meaning. 3. A particular aspect of truth, for the sake of which the parable is specially given. I. THE SALIENT POINTS OF THIS PARABLE. 1. Our inability to form perfect judg- ment of individuals now. 2. The duty of accepting profession now, and leaving perfect judgment for God's future. 3. The distinction between good and evil is vital; there is really no possible confusion between them, 4. The distinction between good and bad persons will one day be clearly seen. 5. The temptation to use outward pnysical force to accomplish the objects of the Church must be steadfastly resisted. II. THE ONE POINT CALLING FOB PABTICULAB ATTENTION. It is the fact of life that evil and good do now grow together, Illustrate weeds und flowers; poison and food ; fierce and gentle animals; good and bad men in every association. This is true of Christian worship, and even of the Church. lllnstrate Epistle to Corinlhians, which deals with a wicked man in the Church. Our Lord assumes the fact when he says, "By their fruHs ye shall know them." It would be an incomprehensible fact if this were our only life. We can a little understand it, if we see God's purpose to morally test every man. Everything in life is arranged for testing purposes. Disposition is tried at home. Character is tried in business. Principles are tried in society, Evil has everywhere the chance of mastering good if it can. Suppose evil people were now put all by themselves; there would be no hope of their deliverance from evil. Suppose the good people were put all by themselves; they would get conceited past bearing. As it is (1) evil finds itself revealed as evil; (2) evil gains space for repentance; (3) evil has opportunity and incentive to repentance. Evil put in close association with goodness (1) tests goodness itsdf; makes it no easy thing to be good; (2) finds spheres for goodness to work in; and so, by working, goodness is nourished. Heaven is not to be thought of as the place for becoming good, but for bting good. This life is the time for the training of man's character. We need have no fear concerning the issues of Divine training. As certainly as no tares will be spared from the burning, so certainly no true wheat will ever be lost.-R. T. Ver. 31.-The hope that may be in little things. Dr. Royle thinks the mustard i:i the plant called in Syria khardal, and known to botanists as the Salvadora persica. From a small seed it grows into a considerable tree, and its fruit bas a pleasant aromatic taste; birds like it much, end frequent the branches. It is said that it grew abundantly on the shores of the Lake of Galilee, and so came under Christ's direct notice. But Dr. Thom~on thinks the khardal was very rare in Palestine, and that our Lord referred to the common wild mustard, Sinapis nigra, which grows to a considerable height-as tall, indeed, as a hor,o and his rider. To call the ruwtard the least of seeds 58 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [err. xm. 1--58.
we.s a pro,erbial expression of the timo. It was the least that the husbandman would sow, and is fittingly taken as a type of little things that have great possibilities in them. I. CHRIST'.s. KINGDOM A_nvANOEs BY GROWTH, That is, by unfoldings out of rather than b_y add1t1on~ t_o. It 1s as a tree rather than as a house, Compare the mechanical extension of a religion, as In the case of Mohammedanism; and the miraculous exten• sion of a religion, which would tend to destroy its moral character. If· Christ's king• dam spreads by growth, we should not expect forced leaps, though we may look for periods of fuller flowing lifCs, such as is the spring-time of nature. Christ's kingdom comes by the "out-populating of the Christian stock," and by the out-reachina of the Christian example and influence. " II. THE GROWTH OFTEN STARTS FROM VERY MINUTE BEGINNINGS, Illustrate: 1. By the mustard seed, the acorn, or the cedar-cone. 2. By the Christian Church in Europe which began with the woman Lydia at Philippi. 3. By the unfoldings of missionary enterprise. 4. By the Sunday schools, which st;arted in an effort to save a few children from the street. 5. By instances of personal Christian labour. A youth's prayer unfolded into the Young Men's Christian Association. Never" despise the day of small things," or miss the opportunity of doing a little. , III. THE GROWTH MAY AT LAST REA.OH GLORIOUS RESULTS. A little seed, scarcely covering a spot, may grow to spread its branches in the sky. Illustrate from the Christian Church of to-day, which i_s represented in well-nigh every land. Do you say, " The results are not yet" ? That 1s only the result of your mode of reckoning.. If the kingdom be a life, if it be righteousness and mercy, theu the kingdom is nearer ·its full triumph than we have imagined.-R. T.