Let my strength turn to weakness, my glory to shame, Rev. T. Dale. XLII. In the different parables we have just read, the Lord Jesus gave the history of His kingdom on earth, beginning by the Parable of the Sower, who went forth to sow the seed which fell on many different soils; He showed his Gospel would be preached to all; to those who heeded, and to those who heeded it not. By the Parable of the Tares, He showed how Satan, the evil one, would always be at work to fill the world with false doctrines, and with lies that would seem to hinder the growth of true religion; that the true and the false must remain together till the end, when it would be seen which of the two was of the Lord's planting. By the Parables of the Mustard-seed that became a great tree, and of the Leaven hid in the three measures of meal till the whole was leavened, He showed how, from a very small beginning the religion of His kingdom would spread over the whole earth, and have power to change and stir into active ́ good, every thing with which it had to do. In the Parables of the Hidden Treasure, and the Pearl of Great Price, He taught this great truth, that man's only real happiness, is Christ's religion; and that when he has found and received it into his heart he is satisfied. Now, when these were ended, the Lord Jesus spoke to them yet another parable, which was to teach them, that the preaching of the Gospel in all lands, would bring into His kingdom on earth, many who were not His. In the new parable we are about to read, there is a prophecy which has proved to be but too sadly true; for how plainly it has been seen that many who have the name of Christian are neither Christian in their lives nor in their tempers. Most of the Apostles of Jesus were fishermen, and in speaking to them He used a figure they could very well understand, because it was a thing they had done as often as they went upon the sea in search of fish, He said : MATTHEW Xiii. 47-50. of every kind "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." In the heading of the chapter in our Bibles, this net that was cast into the sea, is called "a draw-net," which indeed is the right meaning of the word. It is a net of the largest size, and has leaden weights fastened to it below that it may sweep the bottom of the sea. The upper part is made to float on the top of the water by means of casks, or pieces of wood. When it is carried out in boats, it is dropped into the sea, and shuts in a large part of it. Then the two ends of the net are drawn forward, just in a half circle; then by little and little they are made quite to meet together, so that nothing can escape out of it, when it is drawn up upon the beech, with all that is in it.* This net the Lord Jesus said was like the kingdom of heaven, which He had come to bring into the world, by the preaching of the Gospel. Like the draw-net, it would gather into it of every kind, for as every Christian country has in it bad as well as good, so in the outward Church of Christ there must be of The same sort of net is now used on the coast of Cornwall, and is some. times half a mile in length. See Trench, p. 135. every kind. And this must still be so till the end of the world, when, at the appointed time, "the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Awful words-and the more alarming that they are repeated again exactly as the Saviour spoke them after the Parable of the Tares. Surely, surely, it concerns us much to search into our hearts, and to examine well our lives, lest we may be found to have been brought into the Christian Church, and yet to have no part in Christ. This is the time of trial, this is the time for turning to God with heart and soul. Let each of us take heed now, lest in the end he should be found a cast-away. When the Lord Jesus had ended this parable, He asked his disciples whether this meaning was quite plain to them. Verses 51, 52. "Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said He unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." The scribes were at that time the teachers of the people, therefore Jesus speaks here to his Apostles as teachers, and tells them that they, and all who like them should be appointed to teach, if they really understood the truths of God's kingdom, should each of them have in his mind a treasure from the stores of which He might give to others as they needed. This comparison of a householder who keeps in his storeroom things new and old for the use of his family, and brings out of it whatever he may find is wanted, is a lively picture of a teacher of religion, who in the stores of his mind and memory has the truths of the Old Testament and of the New, laid up, ready for use, and brings out the Law or the Gospel, as the case of each may need. Indeed, if we store our minds with Bible truths, as we have been taught them, we shall find them there, ready for use whenever we may want them. The believer, laid upon the bed of sickness, has in his memory a store-room of God's promises, and if he lifts up his heart in humble, earnest prayer for the Holy Spirit's helps, he will be able, in the things, new and old, which he was taught in the days of health, to find all he needs. Many have passed through the dark valley of the shadow of death fearing no evil, and have told their friends that all they had learned when they were children had then come back into their minds, and given them strength and comfort. All the words of the Saviour repeat to us one solemn lesson. Now is the time; haste to use it; soon it will be gone. When the angels come forth to separate the true children of God from those who only seemed to be his-then it will be too late. Nothing then will remain but the weeping and wailing of a lost soul. Prayer. O God my Saviour, I thank and bless thee for the storehouse of heavenly truths thou hast given us in thy holy Bible. Grant to each of us wisdom to use it well, to lay up in our hearts a store of things new and old, so that they may at all times be ready for our use. So shall we find guidance through every difficulty, comfort in every sorrow, strength in all our weakness, and in the hour of death peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. XLIII. MARK iv. 35, 36. "And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.” St. Mark, after giving the Parable of the Sower who went forth to sow his seed, and of the Grain of Mustard-seed, with our Lord's explanation of them to his disciples, says expressly, that it 66 was the same day, when even was come, that He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side." We must therefore suppose that it was, while the crowds who had been on the sea-shore, were breaking up, and "going away, that the Lord Jesus" went into the house "where his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the trees of the field," (Matt. xiii. 36) and that after the people were all gone to their homes, and the shores of the lake were again quiet, He saith unto those who were with him, "Let us pass over unto the other side.” It had been on this day that his mother and his brethren had come to seek for him, (Mark iii. 31.) no doubt to see if they could not persuade him to leave, for a time at least, the work that was more than enough to wear out his strength. When we remember this, and that his kinsmen had actually tried to lay hold of him, "for they said He is beside himself," (Mark iii. 21.) we may perhaps find the reason why our Lord, late in the evening of so wearying a day, other side of the sea of Galilee. himself quite from his family, and would have time, before she saw him again, to be turned into joyful hope, and stedfast faith, when she heard from every one, the wonderful words He had spoken of the sure growth of his kingdom on earth. It is written, "they took him even as He was, in the ship," all wearied and worn by a long day of fatigue. How weary! We see from this, that He had scarcely chose to pass over to the By doing so He withdrew his mother's fears for him |