oriental sages, intended to put to trial the acuteness of his readers. It has on this account afforded much exercise to the ingenuity of the learned; many of whom have differently, it is true, but with much learning and penetration, explained the passage.

There is also in Isaiah (xxviii. 23-29.) an allegory, which, with no less elegance of imagery, is perhaps more simple and regular, as well as more just and complete in the colouring, than any of those above cited. In the passage referred to, the prophet is examining the design and manner of the divine judgments, and is inculcating the principle, that God adopts different modes of acting in the chastisement of the wicked, but that the most perfect wisdom is conspicuous in all; that he will, as before urged, "exact judgment by the line, and righteousness by the plummet;" that he ponders, with the most minute attention, the distinctions of times, characters, and circumstances, as well as every motive to lenity or severity. All this is expressed in a continued allegory, the imagery of which is taken from the employments of agriculture and threshing, and is admirably adapted to the purpose.1

SECTION V.

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE PARABLES.

I. Nature of a Parable. II. Antiquity of this Mode of Instruction. -III. Rules for the Interpretation of Parables. — IV. Parables, why used by Jesus Christ.-V. Remarks on the distinguishing Excellencies of Christ's Parables, compared with the most celebrated Fables of Antiquity.

A PARABLE (Παραβολή, from παραβαλλειν, to compare together, is a similitude taken from natural things in order to instruct us in things spiritual. The word, however, is variously used in the Scriptures, to denote a proverb or short saying, (Luke iv. 23.) a famous or received saying (1 Sam. x. 12.3 Ezek. xviii. 2.); a thing gravely spoken, and comprehending important matters in a few words (Job xxvii. 1. Numb. xxiii. 7. 18. xxiv. 3. 15. Psal. xlix. 4. and Ìxxviii. 2.); a thing darkly or figuratively expressed (Ezek. xx. 49. Matt. xv. 15.); a visible type or emblem, representing something different from and beyond itself (Heb. ix. 9. and xi. 19. Gr.) a special instruction (Luke

1 Lowth's Prolectiones, No. 10. or vol. i. p. 220. of Dr. Gregory's Translation. 2 A verbo mapabaλλev, quod significat conferre, comparare, assimilare (ev. Marc. iv. 30.) ductum est nomen apabons; quod similitudinem, collationem Quinctilians (Inst. Or. 1. v. c. 11: 1. viii. c. 3. pp. 298. 302. 470.) interpretatur, Seneca (Ep. lix) imaginem. Itaque collatio, sive, ut Ciceronis (1. 1. de Invent. c. 30.) definitione utamur, oratio, rem cum re ex similitudine conferens, Græco nomine parabola appellatur. Eo sensu Christus (Marc. iii. 23.) ev napabodais locutus dicitur, quando per varias similitudines (v. 24—27.) probavit se non Satanæ ope, sed altiore virtute dæmonia ejicere. G. C. Storr, De Parabolis Christi, in Opusc. Academic, vol. i p. 89. The whole disquisition, to which this section is largely indebted, is well worthy of perusal. See also Rambach, Institutiones Hermeneut. p. 187. et seq., J. E. Pfeiffer's Instit. Hermeneut. Sacr. pp. 753-773.; and Chladenius's Institutiones Exergeticæ, p. 190. et seq.

3 In this and the other references to the Old Testament in the above paragraph, the original is, (мⱭSHUL) a parable.

xiv. 7.); and a similitude or comparison. (Matt. xxiv. 32. Mark iii. 23.)1

According to Bishop Lowth, a parable is that kind of allegory which consists of a continued narration of a fictitious event, applied by way of simile to the illustration of some important truth. By the Greeks, allegories were called awaι or apologues, and by the Romans fabula or fables; and the writings of the Phrygian sage, or those composed in imitation of him, have acquired the greatest celebrity. Nor did our Saviour himself disdain to adopt the same method of instruction; of whose parables it is doubtful whether they excel most in wisdom and utility, or in sweetness, elegance, and perspicuity. As the appellation of PARABLE has been applied to his discourses of this kind, the term is now restricted from its former extensive signification to a more confined sense. This species of composition also occurs very frequently in the prophetic poetry, and particularly in that of Ezekiel.

II. The use of parables is of great antiquity. In the early ages of the world, when the art of reasoning was little known, and the minds of men were not accustomed to nice and curious speculations, we find that the most antient mode of instruction was by parable and fable its advantages, indeed, are many and obvious. It has been remarked by an acute observer of men and morals, that "little reaches the understanding of the mass but through the medium of the senses. Their minds are not fitted for the reception of abstract truth. Dry argumentative instruction, therefore, is not proportioned to their capacity: the faculty, by which a right conclusion is drawn, is in them the most defective; they rather feel strongly than judge accurately: and their feelings are awakened by the impression made on their senses."3 Hence, instruction by way of parable is naturally adapted to engage attention; it is easily comprehended, and suited to the meanest capacity; and while it opens the doctrine which it professes to conceal, it gives no alarm to our prejudices and passions; it communicates unwelcome truths in the least disagreeable manner; points out mistakes, and insinuates reproof with less offence and with greater efficacy than undisguised contradiction and open rebuke. Of this description, we may remark, are the parables related by Nathan to David (2 Sam. xii. 1-9.), and by the woman of Tekoah to the same monarch. (2 Sam. xiv. 1-13.) The New Testament abounds with similar examples. "By laying hold on the imagination, parable insinuates itself into the affections; and by the intercommunication of the faculties, the understanding is made to apprehend the truth which was proposed to the fancy."4 In a word, this kind of instruction seizes us by surprise, and carries with it a force and conviction which are almost irresistible. It is no wonder, therefore, that parables were made the vehicle of national instruction in the most early times; that the prophets, especially Ezekiel, availed themselves of the same impressive

1 Glassii Phil. Sacr. lib. ii. pp. 1304-1306. ed. Dathii. Parkhurst and Schleusner in voce παραβολη.

2 Storr, Oposc. Acad. vol. i. p. 89. et seq.

3 Mrs. More's Christian Morals, vol. i. p. 106, 4 Ibid. p. 107.

mode of conveying instruction or reproof; and that our Lord, following the same example, also adopted it for the same important purposes.

III. Although a parable has some things in common with an allegory, so that the same rules which apply to the latter are in some degree applicable to the former; yet, from its peculiar nature, it becomes necessary to consider the parable by itself, in order that we may understand and interpret it aright.

1. The first excellence of a parable is, that it turns upon an image well known and applicable to the subject, the meaning of which is clear and definite; for this circumstance will give it that perspicuity which is essential to every species of allegory.

How clearly this rule applies to the parables of our Lord, is obvious to every reader of the New Testament. It may suffice to mention his parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. xxv. 1-13.), which is a plain allusion to those things which were common at the Jewish marriages in those days: the whole parable indeed is made up of the rites used by the Orientals, as well as by the Roman people, at their nuptials; and all the particulars related in it were such as were commonly known to the Jews, because they were every day practised by some of them. In like manner, the parables of the lamp (Luke viii. 16.), of the sower and the seed, of the tares, of the mustard seed, of the leaven, of the net cast into the sea, all of which are related in Matt. xiii. as well as of the householder that planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen (Matt. xxi. 33.), are all representations of usual and common occurrences, and such as the generality of our Saviour's hearers were daily conversant with, and they were therefore selected by him as being the most interesting and affecting.

If the parables of the sacred prophets be examined by this rule, they will not appear deficient; being in general founded upon such imagery as is frequently used; and similarly applied by way of metaphor and comparison in Hebrew poetry. Examples of this kind occur in the deceitful vineyard (Isa. v. 1—7.), and in the useless vine which is given to the fire (Ezek. xv. and xix. 10-14.); for, under this imagery, the ungrateful people of God are more than once described. Similar instances of opposite comparison present themselves in the parable of the lion's whelps falling into the pit. (Ezek. xix. 1–9.), in which is displayed the captivity of the Jewish princes; and also in that of the fair, lofty, and flourishing cedar of Lebanon (Ezek. xxxi. 3-17.), which once raised its head to the clouds, at length cut down and neglected: - thus exhibiting, as in a picture, the prosperity and the fall of the king of Assyria. To these may be added one more example, namely, that in which the love of God towards his people, and their piety and fidelity to him, are expressed by an allusion to the solemn covenant of marriage. Ezekiel has pursued this image with uncommon freedom in two parables. (Ezek. xvi. and xxiii.); and it has been alluded to by almost all the sacred poets.

2. The image, however, must not only be apt and familiar, but must also be elegant and beautiful in itself, and all its parts must be perspicuous and pertinent; since it is the purpose of a parable, and espe cially of a poetic parable, not only to explain more perfectly some proposition, but frequently to give it animation and splendour.

Of all these excellencies there cannot be more perfect examples than the parables which have just been specified to which we may add the well-known parables of Jotham (Judges ix. 7-15.), of Nathan (2 Sam. xii. 1-14.), and of the woman of Tekoah. (2 Sam. xiv. 4-7.) The admirably devised parable of Nathan is perhaps one of the finest specimens of the genuine pathetic style that can be found in the Old Testament; and David's eager condemnation of the unsuspected offender at the same time displays a striking instance of the delusion of sin and the blindness of self-love. "He, who had lived a whole year in the unrepented commission of one of the blackest crimes in the decalogue - and who, to secure to himself the object for which he had committed it, perpetrated another almost more heinous, and that with an hypocrisy suited to his character — he could in an instance denounce death on the imaginary offender for a fault comparatively trifling."—"Seeing he saw not, and hearing, he heard not;" he immediately saw the iniquity and barbarity of the rich man's proceedings; his heart was in a moment fired with indignation at the thought of it; "the vehemence of his te

sentment even over-stepped the limits of his natural justice, in decreeing a punishment disproportioned to the crime, while he remained dead to his own delinquency. A pointed parable instantly surprised him into the most bitter self-reproach. A direct accusation might have inflamed him before he was thus prepared; and in the one case he might have punished the accuser, by whom, in the other, he was brought into the deepest self-abasement. The prudent prophet did not rashly reproach the king with the crime, which he wished him to condemn; but placed the fault at such a distance, and in such a point of view, that he first procured his impartial judgment, and afterwards his self-condemnation: - an important lesson, not only to the offender, but also to the reprover."1

3. Every parable is composed of three parts, 1. The sensible similitude, which has variously been termed the bark and the protasis and consists in its literal sense; 2. The explanation or mystical sense, also termed the apodosis and the sap or fruit, or the thing signified by the similitude proposed. This is frequently not expressed: for though our Saviour sometimes condescended to unveil the hidden sense, by disclosing the moral meaning of his parables (as in Matt. xiii. 3-8. 18-23. compared with Luke viii. 4-15. and Matt. xiii. 24-30. 36-43.); yet he usually left the application to those whom he designed to instruct by his doctrine. Of this description are the parables of the grain of mustard seed, of leaven, of the hidden treasure, and the pearl of great price (Matt. xiii. 31–33. 44-46.), between which and the kingdom of heaven a comparison is instituted, the mystical sense of which is to be sought in the similitudes themselves. 3. The third constituent part of a parable is the root or scope to which it tends.2

4. For the right explanation and application of parables, their general scope and design must be ascertained.

Where our Saviour has not himself interpreted a parable, its immediate scope and design are to be sought with great attention; this indeed will generally appear from the context, being either expressed at its commencement or at its conclusion; or it is sufficiently evident from the occasion on which it was delivered. More particularly, the scope of a parable may be ascertained,

(1.) From the clear declaration prefixed to it;

As in the parable of the rich glutton (Luke xii. 16-20.), which is prefaced by the following caution in verse 15. Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth. Thus in Luke xviii. 2-8. the parable of the unjust judge is preceded by this declaration, which plainly points out one of its senses: He spake a parable unto them, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. And again, in verse 9. He spake this parable (of the Pharisee and publican, verse 10-14.) unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. (2.) From the declaration subjoined to a parable;

Thus our Saviour concludes the parable of the unmerciful creditor, who would not forgive his debtor the minutest portion of his debt, though much had been forgiven him (Matt. xviii. 23-35.), by the following explanation: - So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Similar declarations are annexed to the parables of the wedding feast (Matt. xxv. 13. Luke xiv. 11.), of the rich glutton (Luke xii. 21.), and of the unjust steward. (Luke xvi. 9.) The prophetic writings will furnish similar instances: thus Isaiah (v. 1-7.) having delivered the parable of a vineyard - planted with the choicest vines, and cultivated with the utmost care, yet which pro1 Mrs. More's Christian Morals, vol. i. p. 108.

2 In parabolis, si integre accipiantur, tria sunt; radix, cortex, et medulla sive fructus. Radix est scopus, in quem tendit parabola. Cortex est similitudo sensibilis, quæ adhibetur, et suo sensu literali constat. Medulla seu fructus est sensus parabola misticus, seu ipsa res ad quam parabolæ fit accommodatio, seu quæ per similitudinem propositam significatur. Glassii Philologia Sacra, lib. ii. pars i. tr. 2. sect. 5. canon 3. col. 488. (Lipsiæ, 1725.) It is not a little remarkable that the nine very useful canons for the interpretation of parables, by Glassius, should be altogether omitted in Professor Dathe's valuable edition of his work.

duced only wild fruit- announces at its close, that by the vineyard were intended the Jews, and by the wild fruit their enormous wickedness, for which they deserved the severest judgments. Nathan, also, in the beautiful parable already cited, subjoined a declaration of its scope to the criminal sovereign. In the short parable, or apologue, communicated from Jehoash king of Israel to Amaziah king of Judah (2 Kings xiv. 9, 10.), the application of it to the latter is explicitly stated at its conclusion.

(3.) Where no declaration is prefixed or subjoined to a parable, its scope must be collected from a consideration of the subject-matter, context, or the occasion on account of which the parable was delivered.

Thus, in the parable of the barren fig-tree (Luke xiii. 5-9.), Jesus Christ has indicated nothing concerning its scope. But from the consideration of the context of his discourse, and of the occasion of the parable, we learn that it was designed to teach the Jews, that unless they repented within the space of time allotted to them by Infinite Mercy, severe punishments would await them, and their civil and religious polity be destroyed. The immediate occasion of the parable was, his disciples telling him of certain Galileans, who had come up to the temple at Jerusalem, to worship, and whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. On hearing this circunstance, Christ said, Suppose ye, that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered these things? I tell you, nay: But except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Having repeated the last sentence a second time, he delivered the parable of the barren fig-tree.

In like manner, to the parable of the prodigal son nothing is prefixed or subjoined; but the relation occurs immediately after two others, in which it was declared that the return of penitent sinners affords joy in heaven. This however, is an important topic, and will require to be more particularly considered. From the observations already made on the general nature of parables, it will be easily perceived that the objects of our Lord's parables were various; such as the conveying either of instruction or reproof, the correcting or preventing of errors; the instructing of men in the knowledge of some truths which could be viewed with advantage only at a distance, or of others, which would have startled them when plainly proposed. Further, there were truths which were necessary to be conveyed, respecting the establishment of his religion, and the conduct of his disciples on occasion of that event. These subjects required to be touched with a delicate hand; and a few instances will show that each of them was conducted with the highest grace and propriety.

Thus, the worldly spirit of the Pharisees is delicately yet strikingly reproved in the parables of the rich man whose grounds brought forth plentifully (Luke xii. 15–21.;) which was spoken to show the folly of covetousness,—of the unjust steward (Luke xvi. 1.), to show the proper use of wealth,-and of the rich man and the beggar (Luke xvi. 19-31.), to show the danger of abusing it. The selfishness and bigotry of the the same sect, which characteristic in some degree applied to the whole Jewish nation, who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others," is convicted in the parables of the Pharisee and the Publican praying in the temple, of the two sons commanded to work in the vineyard, of the guest who chose the highest seat at the table, of the lost sheep and money, of the prodigal son, and of the good Samaritan. In several of these parables the comparative merit of the Jew and Gentile world is justly though faintly stated, on purpose to abase the pride of the one and to exalt the humble hopes of the other.

Another class of parables is designed to deliver some general lessons of wisdom and piety: such are the parables of the ten virgins and the talents. The parables of the sower and of the tares, and many of the lesser parables, are designed to show the nature and progress of the Gospel dispensation, together with the opposition which would be made to it from the malice of Satan, and the folly and perverseness of mankind. With these are closely connected such parables as have for their object the rejection of the Jews, and the calling of the Gentiles: under this head are comprised the parallels of the murmuring labourers, of the cruel and unjust husbandmen, the barren fig-tree, and the marriage feast. By considering the occasions upon which these and other parables were delivered by the Redeemer of the world, we shall be enabled, not only to ascertain their scope and design, but also to perceive their wisdom, beauty, and propriety.

5. Wherever the words of Jesus seem to be capable of different senses, we may with certainty conclude that to be the true one which lies most level to the apprehension of his auditors.

Allowing for those figurative expressions which were so very frequent and fa