of Jacob's prophecy, and the many other prohecies concerning the Messiah, it must operate as a very forcible argument in favor of the divinity of those scriptures which were so remarkably fulfilled. What power of human wisdom, can we reasonably suppose, could discover to the dying patriarch that Judah would be the only surviving tribe, and that he would survive until the coming of Shiloh? If we attribute this to the sagacity of human wisdom, with a design to avoid the idea of divine inspiration, we only defeat our object, by giving to human wisdom that prescience which amounts to as much as divine inspiration.

PARABLE XII.

a man, he walketh through dry Then he saith, I will return inand when he is come, he find

When the unclean spirit is gone out of places, seeking rest, and finding none. to my house from whence I came out: eth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.'-Matt. xii, 43, 44, 45.

1. OUR Saviour in the above passage represents the then present generation of the house of Israel by a man who had an unclean spirit.

2. He shows that the unclean spirit which they were possessed of, at his coming would seem to be cast out; but that seven evil spirits would succeed and stand in the room of one.

3. He shows that that generation would not find the rest which remaineth for the people of God, on account of their unbelief.

4. He shows that they would enter into the old house of the law, or covenant of works, which they would find first empty.

5. 'Swept and garnished,' that is, made ready for their entrance; as they were not acquainted with the gospel, they would attempt safety in the covenant of works, in which situation they are seven times worse than before; which circumstances will be particularly described in notes on Luke xvi, last paragraph.

ILLUSTRATION.

It is generally understood that the Saviour pointed to a future state of endless punishment, when he said, 'the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be unto this wicked generation.' This is sup posing that Christ, at that time, judged and condemn ed that generation to a state of endless misery. Yet this same divine teacher says, 'For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.' It is evident that if Christ, condemned that generation in the sense above stated, he condemned it so as to render it im possible for him to do what God sent him to do, namely, to SAVE, and not CONDEMN. The mistake which has been made by supposing that the saviour alluded to a future state of endless misery in those passages where he speaks of the situation into which the Jews would be immediately brought, has given a general character to the preaching of the christian clergy, which is very different from that of the ministry of reconciliation. There is a passage in Luke xiii, which has been made frequent use of in the way of the above named mistake; and if it were not for the special demands of christian charity, it would be next to impossible to believe those sincere who misapply that text. It reads as follows: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kil

lest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate :' At this colon it is customary to stop short, and apply the text to the eternal destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, accompanying the application with an animadversion on the conduct of the Jews, by which they justly merited such punishment. However, the conclusion of the verse fully refutes such an application, and renders those who make the mistake as destitute of an excuse, at least, as the Jews were who denied Christ. See the text: 'And verily I say unto you, ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.' This precious prophecy, because it contains a declaration of mercy to the blinded house of Israel, is as much neglected by teachers in general, as the Saviour was by those to whom this merciful prophecy was spoken. The prayer of our Saviour on the cross is a complete refutation of all the arguments which are made use of to prove the sins of the Jews, in rejecting Christ, UNPARDONABLE, as is generally represented: 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' Who where those who knew not what they did? See the answer in Acts xiii, 27, 28, 29: 'For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.'

If the Saviour had before judged those people to an ndless state of punishment, or had represented their sins as unpardonable, where is the propriety of his praying to his Father, in the hour of his death, to forgive them? Here was a glorious display of the power of that love which triumphed over sin and death in the person of Jesus. How contrary is it to the very spirit of the gospel, to suppose that the sin of the Jews triumphed over the love of him who died for them, and prayed his Father to forgive them? Can we reasonably suppose that this prayer was contrary to the will of God in the plan of grace? Will it do to conclude that Jesus made this prayer without faith? The plain fact is, the common opinion makes the death of Christ void, makes his prayer void, makes his faith void, and, in a word, makes his gospel void. Hence it is evident that we ought to be cautious not to explain the scriptures in such a way as to confound them, or to contradict the grand design of the gospel dispensation. We ought to remember and keep it in mind, that God will never suffer any opposition to his gospel, to defeat his own plan of divine grace.

PARABLE XIII.

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among 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 householder 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 h done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gath er them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye

root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.'-Matt. xiii, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

THE reader, by casting an eye on the preceding paragraphs of this chapter, will find the above text introduced by an explanation of a preceding parable, in which a sower is represented sowing his seed; the seed falling in different situations and on different grounds, &c. Different effects were the consequence, as is shown in the explanation. Christ then goes on to give further intimations of what would happen, or come to pass, likening his kingdom, in the gospel dispensation, as follows: 1. Himself, to a sower of good seed. 2. The word of the kingdom, to good seed that was sown. 3. Man to whom the gospel was preached, to a field, whose owner is Christ. 4. He foreshoweth a declension in the religion which he was introducing, even a state of carelessness and inattention, by men sleeping. 5. The introduction of false doctrines into the church, is signified by an enemy's sowing tares among wheat. 6. He shows that falsehood would be mixed with truth, in the understandings of christians, by the tares appearing among the wheat. 7. The desire of professors to purge false ideas and notions out of the church, is represented by servants asking leave to gather tares from among wheat. 8. The unskilfulness of those professors, even all of those who vainly fancy themselves capable of purging Christendom of errors, is shown in the answer to the servants, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.' 9. That it was the will of the Saviour that false doctrines should be imbibed until their fruits should come to maturity, is