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LUKE XII.

19 fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of 21 thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

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And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall 23 put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. 24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them how much more are ye 25 better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his 26 stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, 27 why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow:

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they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all 28 his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how 29 much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what 30 ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For

all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father 31 knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the king32 dom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little

flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, 34 neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart 35, 36 be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may 37 open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and 38 serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the 39 third watch,2 and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know,

that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken 40 through. Be ye therefore ready also for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

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41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or 42 even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their 43 portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord 44 when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he 45 will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men46 servants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint 47 him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, 48 shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit

1 Comp. Matt. 6. 25-33.

2 Second and third watch, that is, the depth of night, (from nine to three o'clock,) when men generally feel most sleepy, which made the wakefulness of the servants more commendable. 3 Comp. Matt. 24. 45-51.

4 He that knew not, &c. This shows that even those who sin in ignorance may be more or less guilty, the ignorance itself being sinful, which holds true, in a great degree, of even the heathen, and far more of all who have means of religious instruction in Christian lands.

LUKE XII.

things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

49 I am come to send fire1 on the earth; and what will I, if it be already 50 kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I strait51 ened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on 52 earth? I tell you, Nay;2 but rather division: for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

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And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, 55 straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but 57 how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of your58 selves judge ye not what is right? When thou goest with thine adversary

to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge de59 liver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

§ 53. THE SLAUGHTER OF CERTAIN GALILEANS. PARABLE OF THE BARREN FIG TREE.-Galilee.

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LUKE XIII. 1-9.

There were present at that season 3 some that told him of the Galileans, 2 whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above 3 all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, 4 except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were 5 sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

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He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his 7 vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

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said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth 8 it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this 9 year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.5 [See in § 94.]

I am come to send fire: by this we may understand a fire of purifying (Isa. 4. 4; Matt. 3. 11) and of holy zeal, as connected with fiery trials and persecutions, which the following verses (51-53) clearly set forth.

2 Comp. Matt. 10. 34-36.

3 This verse fixes the order of this chapter, as coming properly next to ch. 12.

4 Parable, from apaßoλr, etymologically sig

nifies juxta-position, as when two things are put side by side for comparing them, whence it denotes a comparison, and then an illustration by comparison. In explaining the parables, we should remember that the comparison or similitude is generally to be found only in the principal parts or scope, the minor parts being intended merely as the drapery or filling up of the picture. 5 Comp. Isa. 5. 5-7.

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§ 54. PARABLE OF THE SOWER.'-Sea of Galilee: near Capernaum?

MATT. XIII. 1-23.

The same day went Jesus out of the house,2 and sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the 3 shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying,

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Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured

5 them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no 6 deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered 7 away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and 8 choked them: but

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other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold,3 some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

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MARK IV. 1–25.

And he began again to teach by the sea side and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the 2 sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in 3 his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went

out a sower to sow : 4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it 5 up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no 8 fruit. And other fell

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on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some 9 an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples 10 came, and said unto

And when he was alone, they that were

The order here depends on Matt. 13. 1; the intervening events in §§ 51-53 being supplied by Luke. The place was probably Capernaum; but this is not certain.

2 The house: namely, that in which Christ

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usually tarried at Capernaum.

3 An hundredfold: such increase, though not frequent among us, is commonly yielded in the more fertile parts of Palestine, such as Galilee, and in Egypt.

MATT. XIII.

him, Why speakest thou unto them in pa11 rables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,2 but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath,

to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he 13 hath. Therefore speak

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I to them in parables: because they seeing 12 see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they under14 stand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith,3 By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal 16 them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they 17 hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see

MARK IV.

about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God:2 but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

1 Mystery, from uvoτnpov, denotes something secret, which is not known except by revelation. It does not necessarily denote, as employed in Scripture, something incomprehensible, for it is used generally, as here, for what may be known by instruction or revelation. Yet a fact or truth, as revealed, may involve more than we can com

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MATT. XIII.

those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard 18 them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the 19 sower. When any one

heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth awaythat

which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by 20 the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

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MARK IV.

13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

14 The sower soweth 11 15 the word. And these are they by the way 12 side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

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And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time:1 afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they 18 are offended.

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received seed into the 20 good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

MARK IV.

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LUKE VIII.

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

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on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no

root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.1

And 14 And that which fell a

these are they which are sown amongthorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 15 And these are they which are Sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

21 And he said unto them, Is a candle3 16 brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a

Comp. Heb. 10. 35-29; Eph. 3. 17-19.

mong thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

LUKE VIII.

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth

2 Comp. Acts 5. 1-11. 3 Comp. Matt. 5. 14-16.

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