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INTRODUCTION.

WHY DID OUR LORD USE PARABLES?

AND HOW SHALL WE BEST UNDERSTAND THEM?

A PARABLE is a kind of story, which has in it a hidden meaning-a story which is intended to teach us some spiritual truth.

This was a mode of teaching, which our blessed Lord seemed to take special delight in employing. And we may be quite sure, that as "He knew what was in man" better than we know, He would not have taught by Parables, if He had not felt that this was the kind of teaching best suited to our wants.

O blessed Saviour, do Thou teach us by Thy Holy Spirit, as we read these portions of Thy word; and open to us those precious. truths which are able to save our souls.

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There are some few Parables in the Bible, besides those which Jesus spoke. In Judges ix., for instance, we find one. We there read of Jotham speaking a Parable to the men of Shechem. He wished to reprove them for having chosen Abimelech as their King, and he thus addresses them :-"The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow; and if not,

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let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon."

Here was a sharp rebuke to Abimelech, and to the people of Shechem who had chosen him for their king.

In 2 Sam. xii., we find the Prophet Nathan also making use of a Parable, in order to convince David of his great sin in having taken away Uriah's wife from him. Nathan knew how very difficult it was to bring home a man's guilt to him. And he therefore thought that if he were to go to him, and at once accuse him of his crime, he would forthwith begin to defend and excuse himself: so he addressed him in the following most touching Parable :"There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man; and he spared to take of his own flock,

and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man."

There are also three or four more Parables in other parts of the Old Testament.

In some of the old Jewish Books too, which were composed long after the Scriptures were written, we meet with actual Parables, written after the same manner as the Parables of the Bible. I will give you one out of many.

The Writer is wishing to show why good people so often die when young. "To what (he says) is this like? It is like a king, who walking in his garden, saw some roses which had as yet only buds, breathing forth an unusual sweetness. He thought, If these shed such sweetness while they are buds, what will they do when they are fully blown?

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After a while, the king entered the garden anew, thinking to find the roses now blown, and to delight himself with their fragrance. But arriving at the place, he found them pale and withered, and yielding no smell. He exclaimed with regret, Had I gathered them, while yet tender and young, and while they gave forth their sweetness, I might have delighted myself with them, but now I have no pleasure in them.' The next year, the king walked in his garden, and finding roscbuds scattering fragrance, he commanded his servants, saying, 'Gather them, that I may enjoy them before they wither, as they did last year.

Here we are taught by a very beautiful Parable that God sometimes takes away His people early, out of love to their souls, knowing that, young as they are, they are ripe for His presence.

So much for Parables generally. But what we are most concerned about are those in the New Testament, which were spoken by our blessed Lord Himself. These Parables are

* Quoted by Archbishop Trench.

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