gee, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them."

The first parable which the blessed JESUS delivered to the multitude. was that of the sower, who cast his seed into different kinds of soil, the product of which was answerable to the nature of the ground; some yielding a large increase and some none at all; by which he elegantly displayed the success of his own doctrine, amongst the several kinds of hearers to which it would be preached. A sower," said he, went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth; and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them; but others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold."

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This parable was peculiarly proper to be considered by the multitudes who attended the Son of God, when such vast numbers heard his discourses, and so few practised his precepts, or profited by the heavenly doc. trines which he taught. Not only the multitude, but the disciples heard him with a mixture of pleasure and surprise; and, not understanding his meaning, they were impatient to hear it explained; and were very urgent to know, why he chose that method of instruction.

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The last of these questions, our Lord answered in the manner before related; and then, with condescending kindness, proceeded to give them the explanation of the parable of the sower: "When any one," said he, heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which receiveth the seed by the way side." The persons who are here represented as hearing the word of God without understanding, are those careless hearers, whose minds are diverted from attending to those things which concern their everlasting peace, by the gay, trifling amusements and alluring objects of sense. 'Such persons hear the word of God with so little attention, that they scarcely know what they hear; and, for want of an habit of serious thinking, their ideas are loose and scattered, and an universal dissipation of mind drives out all solid reflection. persons as these, are at all times proper objects for the great enemy of mankind to work upon; he well knows how to take advantage of the va cancy of thought, which exposes such minds to his malicious attempts; and, when he finds the mind empty, he takes care to enter there, and fill it with such furniture, as soon erases the slight impressions it may have received by hearing the word of God.

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The second kind of hearers, described in the parable of the sower, are those who receive the word with a great degree of attention, and in whom it produces an outward reformation of conduct and behaviour; but,not being impressed on the mind by the operation of the Divine Spirit, it does not effect a real change of heart. Such persons, while things go on smooth, and they meet with success and encouragement in the world, may make a profession, and appear to others, and think themselve religious, but, like seed sown on hard, stony ground, which, though it springs up, and looks green for a while, yet, when the sun shines hot and bright, soon withers for want of root; they cannot stand in the day of adversity and trouble: "for when tribulation, or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by they are offended.

The third kind of hearers, are those who seem to receive the word of God with great earnestness and attention; but however they may be delighted with it in the house of God, they do not carry a savor of it into the world. In some, the toil, trouble, care, and vexation arising from their

circumstances in the world, so fill the mind, engage the attention, over whelm the spirit, and oppress the heart, that, like a plant incumbered and surrounded with rank, poisonous weeds, the word of God, which they have heard, cannot grow; the noble truths of the gospel cannot have their proper influence on the mind, but gradually sink and decline, till at last they are disbelieved, or totally forgotten. Others, who meet with their desired success in their worldly affairs, are so assiduous in the pursuit, and so entirely devoted to the acqusition of wealth, that every thing to them seems little and low which does not produce some temporal advantage: as riches increase, they set their hearts upon them, and a worldly spirit 66 chokes the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

In opposition to those unprofitable hearers of the word, a fourth sort are represented in this parable, whose hearts, by the Holy Spirit, are prepared for the reception of divine truth; for, as the best of ground, except it be ploughed, harrowed and cleansed by the husbandman, will not receive the seed, nor produce a plentiful harvest; so the heart of man, except it be changed by divine power, will not receive the word of God, nor produce such fruit as the gospel requires: but, when the heavenly seed falls on those hearts which have been wrought upon and prepared by the Divine Spirit, the word is received with gladness, it takes deep root in the mind, it operates on all the powers and faculties of the soul, it terminates in obedience to the precepts of the gospel, and brings forth fruit to the honour and interest of CHRIST, in proportion to the capacities and circumstances of the different subjects on which it falls, "in some an hundred fold, in some sixty, and in some thirty."

Our great Redeemer, having finished his explanation of the parable of the sower, he turned to his disciples, and explained to them, by the simili. tude of a lighted candle, the use they were to make of the knowledge which they would acquire by conversing with him, and receiving his divine instructions. "Is a candle," said he, brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested, neither was any thing kept secret, but it should come abroad." By which the divine Instructor gave them to understand, that, though now these heavenly truths where veiled in shades and figures, and taught to mankind in parables, the time would come, that they would be more clearly revealed, and as a lighted candle, exalted on high, illuminate the whole apartment where it is placed, so shall the brightness of divine truth, by their preaching, be spread abroad, and enlighten the dark nations of the earth: therefore, as the disciples of CHRIST were intended to convey the precepts of heavenly instruction to the dark, unenlightened nations of the world, our Lord reminded them, that it was a matter of the highest importance, that they should be rightly and fully taught those truths they were to bear to the remotest nations; and, therefore, it behoved them to hear him with the utmost care and attention. "Take heed," said he, "what ye hear; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you; and unto you that hear shall more be given.

After our Lord had been thus discoursing to his disciples, he turned to the multitude on the shore, and, addressing them in the most pleasing and powerful manner, he delivered to them the parable of the enemy's sow. ing tares amongst the wheat. "The kingdom of heaven," says he, "is Jikened to a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares amongst the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the husbandman came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, an enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then, that we go and gather them up?

But he said, Nay; lest, while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also ther wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest, 1 will say unto the reapers, Gather ye the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.” This parable, as our Lord afterwards explained it to his disciples, relates to the different states of men at the end of the world. The husbandman is our great Redeemer himself; the field is the Christian church, planted in various parts of the world; those Christians who are enabled by the Holy Spirit to love the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and bring fruit worthy their high profession, are the wheat; and those who make an empty profession, without knowing the power of true religion are the tares. These are seduced into the paths of wickedness by the enemy of God and man; and the parable elegantly represents, the mixed state of the professing church on earth, and the deplorable end of the hypocrite and those who know not God. Such characters as these may mix with the real Christians, and may deceive for a time, by assuming the appearance of superior sanc tity and strictness of life; yet they will not fail sooner or later, to betray themselves, and make it manifest that they are but tares amongst wheat. Yet we are taught by this parable, how sincerely soever we may wish to free the church from all corruption both in doctrine and practice, it is not lawful for us to assume the prerogative of the great Judge of heaven and earth, by persecuting, or following with any corporeal punishment, any who we apprehend to be hypocrites and corrupters of true religion. The tares and the wheat are to grow together till harvest, they are not to be separated, lest by mistaking the character of the persons, we bestow those censures, on the true Christian which belong to the hypocrite: but the harvest will come when they will be separated by our great Redeemer himself, and his attending angels; then the tares will be bound up in bundles and burnt, but the wheat carefully gathered into the barn. For at the end of the world, our great Redeemer will distinguish between the pretended & the real Christian; the wicked will be condemned to eternal torment, but the righteous will be received to life eternal; when they "shall shine fortb, as the son, in the kingdom of their Father."

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The next parable which our exalted Redeemer thought fit to propose to the listening multitudes, was that of the seed which sprang up and grew imperceptibly. "So is the kingdom of God," said he, as if a man shoald east seed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of itself; first the blade and then the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." This beautiful picture represents the gradual and silent progress of the gospel in the heart of man; as the husbandman does not by any power of his own, cause the seed to grow when he has sown it; but the blade and the fruit are produced by the power of the great Creator, and by those laws of nature which he hath established in the vegetable creation: so the seed of divine truth does not thrive in the heart of man by the power of the preacher, but by the silent and efficacious energy of the Spirit of God. Thus JESUS and his apostles, having preached the gospel in the world, and taught the doctrines of true religion, they gave no commission to any to use the terrors of fire and sword to propagate them, but left it to the silent and secret influence of the Holy Spirit. And it is very probable that the blessed Jesus spoke this parable to convince the Jews of their mistake, in supposing that their Messiah would set up a temporal kingdom, and advance his dominion by the means which are used in the world to rise to sovereign greatness: and also it might be intended to quiet the minds of his disciples, and prevent them from being discouraged when they saw that an immediate and rapid success did not attend their laboura in the gospel.

whose house was completely furnished, and bringeth "forth out of his treasures things new and old."

Not long after this our great, Redeemer left Capernaum, and repaired to Nazareth, the city where he had spent his younger years, and where he had dwelt with his relations till he entered on his public ministry, and preached, amongst his old friends and countrymen, the glad tidings of the kingdom. But they, though astonished at his doctrine, could not overcome the prejudices they had formerly conceived against him, on account of the meanness of his family, and therefore would not own him to be the Messiah; they could not overcome the strong national prejudice they had conceived against their promised Deliverer's appearing in a low mean condition in the world; nor could they give up their ideas of the glory and grandeur of the Messiah's s appearance, so far as to suppose it possible that JESUS should be the man. Our Lord, therefore, finding them in the same temper of mind as when he formerly visited them, did not chuse to stay long with them, but departed and taught in the neighbouring villages.

During our Saviour's stay at Nazareth, he sent out his disciples to preach in different parts of Galilee, and proclaim the glad tidings-that God was going to establish the glorious kingdom of the Messiah, in which he would be worshipped in spirit and truth; and that they might confirm the doctrines they taught, and convince the whole nation that they received their commission from the Son of God, they were endowed with the power, of working miracles. The evangelists have not informed us how long they continued their preaching; but it is reasonable to suppose that they spent a considerable time in carrying on their work in several parts of the country.

The people perceiving such wonderful works preformed by the disciples of CHRIST, were exceedingly amazed, and their expectations were raised very high; for they could not recollect that the old prophets had ever given to their servants the power of working miracles, and of consequence, they concluded that, JESUS must be greater than any of them. This extraordinary circumstance raised the attention of the nation, and spread his fame so effectually about the country, that it reached the ears of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. This prince having lately, in an unjust and cruel manner, taken away the life of John the Baptist, he heard of the mighty works performed by CHRIST, and his disciples, with the utmost uneasiness & concern. His attendants endeavoured to dissipate his fears, by telling him that one of the old prophets was risen from the dead; but a conciousness of his guilt would not permit him to rest; for he eapprehended, that the illustrious person he had so basely murdered, was risen from the dead, and would doubtless be revenged on his murderer. He said unto his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him."

It has been before related, on what occasion, & in what manner the Baptist was put to death; and the news of this mournful event having reached the disciples of CHRIST, while they were preaching in Galilee, those of them who had formerly been the disciples of John, went and paid their last respects to the remains of their master, whom having decently interred they carried the tidings to Jesus. When our great redeemer had heard of the death of his relation and fore-runner, he found himself disposed for retirement, and sought the silent shades of the desert of Bethsada: he departed as private as possible, that he might not be incommoded by the multitude, and for the greater secrecy he went by sea. But every precaution was insufficient to screen him from the penetrating eyes of the multitude who followed him; and his departure was not long concealed, for great numbers repaired to the desert, and found out the place of his retreat. The miracles which he performed, the benefit which the helpless, and miserable always found from his goodness, and the strain of

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