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SECTION XXXII.

Explanation of the Parable of the Sower.

MATT. xiii. 18-24. MARK iv. 13-24.

Mark iv. 10.

of ver. 9. and 11—18.

LUKE viii. part

They that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

Luke viii. 9. saying, What might this parable be?

Mark iv. 13.

pa

And he said unto them, Know ye not this rable? and how then will ye know all parables? Matt. xiii. 18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower, Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Luke viii, 11.

Mark iv. 14.

Matt. xiii. 19.

The sower soweth the word.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then

Mark iv. 15. immediately,

Luke viii. 12. lest they should believe, and be saved,
Matt. xiii. 19. cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that
Mark iv. 15. the word

Matt. xiii. 19. that was sown in his heart.

Matt. xiii. 20.

This is he which received seed by the way-side. But he that receiveth the word into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Mark iv. 16. immediately received it with gladness:

Matt. xiii. 21.

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while;

Luke viii. 13. for a while believeth, and in time of temptation Matt. xiii. 21. for

Mark iv. 17. afterward, when affliction,

Matt. xiii. 21. when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended,

Luke viii. 13. and falleth away.

Matt. xiii. 22.

He also that received seed among the thorns, is he that heareth the word

;

Luke viii. 14 and when he hath heard goeth forth,

Mark iv. 19. and the cares

Matt. xiii. 22. and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness

of riches,

Luke viii. 14. and pleasures of this life,

Mark iv. 19. and the lusts of other things entering in,
Matt. xiii. 22. choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
But he that receiveth seed into the good ground,
is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it;
Mark iv. 20. and receiveth it

Matt. xiii. 23.

t Matt. v. 15.

u Matt. x. 26.

The word in the original signifieth a less measure,

as Matt. v. 15.

in an honest and good heart, and having heard Luke viii. 15. the word, keepeth it, and with patience,

which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth some Matt. xiii. 23. an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.

And he said unto them,"

Mark iv. 21.

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, co- Luke viii. 16. vereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.

"For nothing is secret, that shall not be made Luke viii. 17. manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known, and come abroad.

If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark iv. 23.

MARK iv. part of ver. 15, 16, 17. ver. 18. part of ver. 19, 20, 21. and ver. 22. 15 And these are they by the way-side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh-and taketh away-that was sown in their hearts.

16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word

-or perse

17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a timecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word.

19 of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word—and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some an hundred. 21 Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?

22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any

x Matt. x. 26. thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

LUKE viii. part of ver. 12, 13, 14. 15.

12 Those by the way-side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts

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

14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which—and are choked with cares and riches-and bring no fruit to perfection.

15 But that on the good ground are they, which-bring forth fruit—

SECTION XXXIII.

Christ directs his hearers to practise what they hear.

MARK iv. 24, 25. LUKE viii. 18.

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye Mark iv. 24. hear:

Luke viii. 18. how ye hear:

Mark iv. 24. "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured u Matt. vii. 2. to you and unto you that hear shall more be given.

Mark iv. 25,

12.

* For he that hath, to him shall be given: and Matt. xiii. he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.

Luke viii. 18. even that which he seemeth to have.

LUKE viii. part of ver. 18.

*Or, thinketh that he hath.

12.

18 Take heed therefore-y for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and y Matt. xiii. whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken

SECTION XXXIV.

Various Parables descriptive of Christ's Kingdom 6.

Mark iv. 26.

MATT. xiii. 24-54. MARK iv. 26-35.

And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

68 ON THE PHRASE 66 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN."

This phrase," the kingdom of heaven," is used in the New Testament to denote the various gradations of that dominion which the Messiah was about to establish. It sometimes alludes to its commencement, (Matt. iii. 2.) by the preaching, influence, and death of Christ; sometimes it refers to its gradual progress, and the consequent setting up and establishment of the Christian Church, Matt. xiii. 47; sometimes it is used to express the future perfection and consum. mation of the happiness of mankind and of the Church in a future state. The word bagiλeia, ought frequently to be translated "the reign," instead of "the kingdom."

"Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, and others of the prophets, had encouraged the people to expect a time when the Lord of Hosts should reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, when the people of God should be redeemed, and made joyful in Messiah their king.”'—" This period was generally understood by the phrases βαισλεία τῷ Θεῷ and βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν; the first approach of which was preached by the Baptist, and afterwards by Christ." When the word therefore refers to the time, it ought to be rendered the reign of God, the reign of heaven; when to place, it should be translated kingdom (a).

We read also (Luke xvii. 21.) " the kingdom of God is within you." There is a dominion over the passions and the inferior nature of man, which may be justly called the kingdom of heaven, or the reign of divine power within us. And it is of little consequence to us, personally and individually, what may be the nature, origin, progress, extent, and consummation, of all the plans of Providence, which shall establish the kingdom of God in the world; unless obedience to God, and faith in God, and the peace of God, be so known to us, that our nature become changed before Him. We may even assist to build up the

VOL. I.

(a) Campbell's Preliminary Dissertations, vol. i. p. 140.

And should sleep, and rise night and day, and Mark iv. 27. the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth

not how.

ark which shall save a drowning world; but, without repentance and faith, we, like the builders of the ark, may be destroyed by the deluge.

I am aware that the original, ή βασιλεία τοῦ Θεῖ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν, may be translated the kingdom of God is among you, or, is now being established in the midst of you; and the ivròc is so used by Xenoph. Cyrop. 1. 1; and in the Anab. lib. 6. c. 5. § 5. we read έvròç tñs páλayyos, intra spatium, in quo exercitus erat. The word is used twice only in the New Testament; in Matt. xxiii. 26, where it evidently signifies the inside of the cup, &c.; and in this passage, Luke xvii. 21, where it is contrasted with the outward pomp and show with which the Jews expected the reign of their Messiah would commence. The kingdom of God cometh not μerà πaparηpýσews Heinsius paraphrases the word "non venit præstolando, aut exspectando regnum Domini." Schleusner quotes from Suidas, ἐντός· οἱ λογισμοὶ καὶ ἐνθυμήσεις καὶ πάντα τὰ τῆς Yuxñs кivýμara; and the Alexandrian version translates the word 2p in the last clause of ver. 1, of Ps. ciii. by the word ivròs, &c. 27, where no other meaning can be assigned but that which is internal: that is, the thoughts and motives of the heart. The phrase also, own niɔba, was used among the Jews to denote the influence of religion within the heart (b).

The Jews had long spoken of, anticipated, and described the future reign of the Messiah by the phrase now in question. They had been taught by their ancient prophets to expect a Messiah, who should restore the true religion, reform the Jewish people, atone for their sins, and release them from a foreign yoke. The apostles and our Lord used only the popular language, when they adopted the term expressive of this dominion of the Messiah. That the expressions βασιλεία τῷ θεῷβασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν-βασιλεία τῷ Ἰησῶ, did not refer only to the kingdom or dominion of Christ in the future world, is evident from the proclamation of the Baptist, Matt. iii. 2, йyyɩke yàp ǹ Baσiλeía, &c. and from the nature of the addresses of our Lord, such as in Matt. vi. 33, nreT E πрштоν την Baoiλɛíav тë Oɛs, and those in the Lord's prayer, "thy will be done in earth," &c.

As the treatise of Schoetgen is bound up with his larger work, and is rarely to be met with, I have made an extract from his observations on this phrase.

The expression own, the same as Baoiλeía rŵv épavŵv, frequently occurs in Jewish writers: in general it means the polity of the children of Israel under the old covenant, having God at its head. The kingdom of heaven is the same as the kingdom of God: in that kingdom the Jews were the subjects. Thus Josephus properly calls that government OEorparía, § 1 and 2.

To shew that Jewish writers used the expression in this sense, several quotations are brought, sect. 3. One is from Rabbi Schemoth: "When they (the Israelites) came to Sinai, and received the kingdom of God," &c. Our author supposes this " receiving the kingdom of God," to imply a confession of faith,

(b) Vide Schoetgen. Dissert. de regno Cœlorum, Hor. Heb. vol. i. p. 1149; Heinsius Exercit. Sacræ, p. 172; Schleusner in voc. ivróg; and Valpy's Greek Test, in Luke xvii. 20.

Mark iv. 28.

Mark iv. 29.

Matt. xiii. 24.

Matt. xiii. 25.

Matt. xiii. 26.

Matt. xiii. 27.

Matt. xiii. 28.

For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

But when the fruit is brought forth, immedi- Or, ripe. ately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest

is come.

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 housholder 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 hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

He quotes Sohar

that may be repeated for the greater confirmation therein.
Genes: "When a man goes to bed, he ought first of all to take upon himself
the kingdom of heaven, and then repeat one or more prayers," § 4.

It appears that when a man used the prayer Krischma, it was necessary first,
This is the common meaning of the
suscipere regnum cœlorum, § 5, in fine.
phrase, "kingdom of heaven," among Jewish writers. Still they have used it
(but rarely) in the sense of the times of the Messiah and the new dispensation.
Targum, Micah iv. 17. "The kingdom of heaven shall be revealed unto them
on Mount Zion, from this time to all eternity." But, independently of quota-
tions from these writers, it may be shewn, that the Jews used the expression in
this sense; otherwise John the Baptist, the Pharisees, and the hearers, would
Thus a Pharisee (Luke xvii.
neither have used the phrase, nor understood it.

20.) asks, "When the kingdom of God should come," § 6.

The expression took its origin from that passage of Daniel, where it is said, "Unto him was given a kingdom, &c. and his kingdom shall not be destroyed," § 7.

In the New Testament, the expression ǹ Baoiλɛía T8 018, means the Christian Church, or dispensation. The Apostle (Rom. xiv. 17.) exhorts Christians not to condemn others about meats; "for," says he, "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink;" that is, the Christian Church, under its king, the Messiah, is not bound by the ceremonies enjoined under the law, § 8.

There is sometimes an ellipsis of τ8 θεξ, οι τῶν ἐρανῶν; the word βασιλέια occurring alone. Thus Christ is said to have preached the Gospel of the kingdom, i. e. of the kingdom of the Messiah. The Jews are called vioì rîs ßaoiXeias, because the kingdom of Messiah was first sent to them, § 9.

It also denotes subjection to the kingdom of Messiah, Mark x. 15. "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of heaven," &c. § 10.

It is not denied that "the kingdom of heaven" is sometimes used to denote eternal life, § 11.

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