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8

FIRST DAY.

Parable of the Sower.

Matt. xiii. 3. Mark iv. 3. Luke viii. 5.

Mrs. B.—I TOLD you yesterday, my loves, that you would find nothing marvellous or absurd in the parables of Jesus Christ: the one which I have chosen to begin with, will, perhaps, seem to you so common as hardly to be what you would call a story. I dare say you have yourselves seen all the circumstances happen, without paying much attention to them in the point of view in which Jesus used them. sower," said he, "went forth to sow" corn in his fields. "And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and" as soon as he had let them fall, "the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth,

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and forthwith sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth; and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up" with them, and growing faster, "choked them;" that is, took from them the sun, and the nourishment of the earth, and dew, and rain, and they produced no fruit. "But other fell into good ground," properly prepared, and at the time of the harvest, this part had "brought forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold;" that is, a hundred, or sixty, or thirty grains of corn for every one that was sown.

Mary.- Well, Mamma, but is this all the parable? I thought you said there was a moral to all of them, as there is in the fable book; but I see no moral here.

Mrs. B.-No more did the disciples of Jesus Christ, for they came to him, after he had finished, and desired him to explain it. They were sure that he meant to give them some instruction, but what it was

they could not tell. He was so kind as to explain it to them Himself; and we will follow the parable with His own explanation, step by step. You will remember what I told you, that in the parables, outward and visible objects were often used to represent heavenly and invisible ones. In this instance the hearts of men of all kinds, good and bad, are represented by the different parts of the field. We will see what sorts of men, by and by. "The seed is the word of God." It is religion itself-every time you learn to know more of God, every fresh commandment of His which you hear, and which you will hereafter read in the Bible, His written word, every good feeling, every wish to be good, every thing which you learn of your duty to God and to your fellow-creatures, is so much "seed" sown in the "fields" of your "hearts." And does not this begin to shew you what is the nature of a parable? Do you understand me, Mary ?

Mary.I think I do a little, Mamma, but I am not very sure. You say that

every thing good that we learn is represented by the seed, and our hearts by the field. Then are you the farmer, Mamma? Mrs. B.-I see, my dear Mary, that you do understand the parable as far as we have gone; and, inasmuch as I instruct you in your duty to God and to man, I do indeed the business of the farmer. But tell me, whose seed is it that is sown? Who is it that in His word has taught me my duty to you, gives me health and strength to attend to it, and gives to you not only the means of instruction, but your life, your senses, your understanding, by which you can receive it?

Henry,-Oh! you mean the good God, Mamma.

Mrs. B.-Yes, my love, I do mean that good and great God, who has given you earthly parents to be the instruments and representatives of himself, your heavenly Father; a parent who loves you and cares. for you even more tenderly than I do, and not for you only, but for all His children here on earth. He it is who is the good

Farmer, from whom all the "seed" comes and who plants it in the hearts of all of us, whether we choose that it should grow there or not. You will now, I think, be able to make out with a little help, what is meant by the different soils in the parable. You know I told you the different parts of the field," the way-side," the ❝stony ground," the "thorny ground," and the "good ground,"-represented men of different characters. Who do you think are those by the way-side?

Mary.-Who, Mamma?

Mrs. B.—I want you to think a little. If you were sowing in your garden, why would you choose the mould which is well dug, rather than the gravel walk?

Mary.-Because nothing would grow on the walk; the seed would not go in, it is so hard, and it would lie on the top till the birds took it.

Mrs. B.-Well, my love, and however melancholy it sounds, it is yet true, that there are some hearts which perhaps have not been properly dug, that is, properly

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