and seed of Abraham, and consequently claimed to heir his promises. The object of our Saviour's discourse is, to convict them of hypocrisy, and get a present judgment right from Abraham against them. If he could show that Abraham rejected them, and that they would come short of an inheritance with him, their entire foundation would be swept away. And to say that our Saviour would discourse to these Pharisees other than by parable, is to contradict his own words: for without a parable, He says, spake he not unto them.

Our Saviour, therefore, puts forth this parable. The rich man represents these Pharisees, who it is said died. Lazarus represents Christ's Church, who inherit the promises of Abraham. He died and was conveyed by angels to be honored with Abraham. The Pharisees are rejected by their father Abraham, and in hell lift up their eyes in torment. Abraham and his true seed or children, are happy, and are now receiving their good things. Lazarus being full of sores, and desiring to be fed at the rich man's table, represents the moral corruption and destitution of the world, whom these Pharisees, if they were what they professed to be, ought to pity and relieve, instead of keeping them in this starving condition, and refusing even the crumbs that fell from their religious table.

Our Saviour took the ground of these Pharisees to test the woman that desired a favor of him. Says He: It is not lawful to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. She replied: But the dogs may eat of the crumbs that fall from their Master's table. It was just such poor creatures as this Lazarus represents, that Jesus came to save. He came not to call the righteous-like these Pharisees-but sinners to repentance. The poor have the Gos pel preached unto them.

The rich man lifts up his eyes in hell, being in torment, and seeing afar off, Abraham, and Lazarus in his

bosom. These very persons that the Pharisees refused even the crumbs here, are hereafter received and fed sumptuously by Abraham, at his table. What a keen reproof this! And further: These Pharisees, or the rich man, are now in evil circumstances, and brought to beg of Abraham and this poor Lazarus. Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this place. But it is too late, this cannot be done. There is an impassable gulph between such persons as Abraham and his children in the future, and the rich man, or the Pharisees. What a cutting and despairing reproof again, this is to them! He then desires that Abraham might send Lazarus to his brethren, the other sects of the Jews. But, says Abraham, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. No, but send one from the dead, and then they will repent. prophets, if they will not hear them, neither would they if one rose from the dead.

They have Moses and the

Now we have the full object and force of this allegory or parable. A present judgment and sentence is obtained. direct from Abraham, their father and head, against them, and that without any hope of recovery or mitigation of their torment that is sure to come upon them. With what tremendous weight and power of conviction and condemnation did this parable come down upon the heads of these Pharisees, who were deriding Christ and despising his disciples as unworthy of their notice and confidence! Christ and his disciples were doing that which Abraham would approve, viz. giving them Moses and the prophets, which they were now rejecting and treating with scorn. And if this sect, (the Pharisees,) or their brethren, the other sects of the Jews, rejected Him of whom Moses and the prophets did write, and whose predictions were now fulfilled before their eyes, nothing more could be done for them; they would not be persuaded though one rose from the

dead. With this view of the subject the parable has great force, and beautifully illustrates the point our Saviour wished to make bear on the consciences of these proud, haughty, self righteous Pharisees.

We will now take the other view of this parable, and present it as a literal fact, and see if this will harmonize with the plain teachings of Scripture, and with common sense. First, let me introduce a correct and infallible rule by which we must be governed in the interpretation of parables that Christ has not plainly interpreted himself. We must interpret them so as not to contradict the truth and doctrine in those parables that Christ has explained, and the plain testimony of Scriptural doctrine spoken without parables. Pause here, and read this rule over, till you get it fixed definitely in your mind.

We will now commence. The beggar died, and his immortal soul was carried by angels immediately to Abraham's bosom. Now, if we interpret, or understand this as a fact that then took place, and that is true of all the saints as soon as they die, we contradict the plain and positive assertion of the Scriptures, that the dead know not any thing, and that there is no consciousness or reward till the judgment. We have already noticed that Christ does not come at death, or send his angels to gather together his elect till the harvest-the end of the world. Then the angels will escort all the saints to Christ and to their inheritance with Abraham. Christ did not, neither could He, ascend to heaven to his God and our God, until after He was raised from the dead. Hence He says to Mary, Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. When he died, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit and when he said this, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23: 46. He died like other men, and the ghost, or spirit, went to God who gave it, and the body to the tomb.

Now if Christ does not rise, he is gone forever, and our preaching and faith is vain, saith the Apostle. If Christ and all the saints have immortal souls, and in death they do not lose their identity, and self-possession, and consciousness, but go to enjoy as created beings, the presence of God and angels in heaven, where is the propriety of their giving up or commending their spirit into the hands of God, as though they could no longer retain it and control it? There certainly could be no reason or propriety in it. We cannot give our spirit up into the hands of another, so long as we can retain it to ourselves. But there is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death. Eccl. 8: 8. Therefore the true doctrine is this: Christ must have a resurrection in order to be himself again, and in order to his ascension to the right hand of God. So must all the saints be resurrected before they can appear with Christ in glory, or be themselves again, and angels sent to gather them.

The rich man died, and in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment. Now, if this is a literal fact, then there is a literal hell of fire where the wicked are sent at once, as soon as they die. Will this harmonize with Scripture and the plain teaching of Christ? Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord, and shall leave them neither root nor branch. But they shall be ashes under the soles of saints' feet. In the end of the world, when the angels are sent to gather the beggar and all the saints to Abraham's bosom, or inheritance, then, at the same time, will the tares be gathered and cast for the first time into the fire. The wicked are reserved unto the day of judgment to be pun. ished. I have previously dwelt upon this point, and it is not necessary to recapitulate.

To interpret this parable, then, as a literal fact, and to

say that the righteous and wicked have immortal souls that go immediately to heaven or hell, and are living in conscious happiness on the one hand, and misery on the other, is to make it speak a lie, and to contradict every truth revealed in the Scriptures, concerning the moral condition of man, the state of the dead, resurrection, judgment, and rewards. Such an interpretation is out of joint in every limb, with God's great and glorious plan of redemption, and with sound reason itself. Besides, the rich man had eyes, and a tongue, and Lazarus fingers, which cannot be applied to the spirit in us that goes to God who gave it. We are not then, let it be remembered, to fix our attention on this fable or allegory, and take it in all its parts as a literal fact, but we are to fix our attention on the moral, and truth it is designed to illustrate and enforce.

CHRIST AND THE THIEF.

Luke 23: 42. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee To-day, thou shalt be with me in paradise. When will he come into his kingdom? and where is paradise ?His kingdom is this world, and he will come into his kingdom, when he comes in his glory-when he comes to judge the world, and gather out of his kingdom here all things that offend, and them that do iniquity-when he comes to redeem this earth and restore it to its primeval beauty, and give it into the hands of the saints. Then, and not till then, will Christ come in his kingdom. We shall speak of this under a separate head hereafter. Then also, paradise will be restored, and the thief and all the saints will be gathered into paradise, and so ever be with the Lord.

Paul says, 2 Cor. 12: 1, 2, 3, 4.