The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1898-03-09
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON xl, FIRST QUARTER. INTER
NATIONAL SERIES. MARCH 10.

@o&e VI tho Lesson. mhtn. XII, Sf-oO' on
4s-Memory Verses. Stakeholder Text,
Math. xiii. s1-Commentary by the Rev.
ID. M. stearns.
copyright. 1897 by ID. NJ Stearns.1
"a Another parable put He forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven IL
hkened unto man which sowed good seed
in his field" AS this parable Is only one
of a series of seven recorded in this chap
ter, and probably spoken on one day, four
by the seaside and three, with the inter
probation of this one, privately In the
house, we must consider briefly the seven
that we may better understand this one.
We must also notice why He now began to
speak in parallels. 1t was not that they
might better see and understand, but just
the contrary Verse 13) They had rejected
their King (chapter xii, 14), and now He
will not tell them plainly what would
happen in consequence 1t was no mys-
terry, but something very plainly revealed
in the prophets, that there should be
kingdom on this earth, with righteous
King on David's throne, bringing blessing
TO all nations, but IL was a mystery still
hidden as to what would take place on
this earth If this kingdom should for any
cause be postponed. These seven parallels
set forth the mysteries of the kingdom OF
heaven-that is, the course of this age till
the harvest. Only portion of the seed
sown will bring fruit to perfection, and
much of that will be hindered by tares
sown by the devil The little company of
true believers will become great worldly
thing full of birds in the branches, the fol
lowers of the devil joining the church for
their own ends The church herself (the
woman with the meal) will so corrupt her
food that there will be but little sound
doctrine, the preachers preaching to please
the people and not the Lord. But there is
another side TO this dark story and that is
told to the disciples in the house privately
Verse 36). Because there is real treasure
of true believers in this field, the world,
One has bought Ii who has the right of re-
demption, and He did so by giving up all
that He had. The treasure may be the
true Israel See FIX. xix, B, q; NAL Iii, II,
margin. The one pearl from the depths OF
the sea is very suggestive of the church
gathered out of all nations. The One buy
ing it must be, as in the former case, the
Lord Himself, for He gives up all He has
Then when the elect church has been pre-
sented faultless, the one pearl and elect
Israel made a righteous nation, the treas
ure for the time being hidden in the field,
there shall be great multitude from all
nations who shall form the saved nations,
who shall walk in the light Of the New
Jerusalem and bring their glory and honor
into il (Rev xxi, "a, 26). God has a great
plan which He has revealed to us and those
who walk with Him will never be discour
aged lisa xiii, 4 lii, ~. AS to the first
verse of our lesson His own explanation is
Lot ic ha tr1ta hal
ers are the seed, and the field is the world.
%. But while men slept, his enemy
came and sowed tares among the wheat
and went his way" His explanation in
verses 3S, 80, is that the tares are the chill
dren of the wicked and the sOwer of such
is the enemy, the devil If men were wide
awake-that is, Gods men-the enemy
might not get in as many tares as he does,
but too many are asleep, like Jonah, turn
ing their backs on what God wants them
to do, or, like Samson, given up TO living
unto themselves. Let us all give heed To
Rom. xiii, IL; Eph. V, IA. Many preach
err out of employment might find light on
his path very quickly if he had no touch OF
either Jonah or Samson 5 trouble.
26. But when the blade was sprung up
and brought forth fruit, then appeared the
tares also" One cannot always tell which
are tares and which are wheat but the
Lord knoweth them that are His, and He
will make no mistake. Each one can be
sure for himself whether he is tares or
wheat, child of the wicked one or a child
of God. ! John V, l2, with John /, 12, and
iii, 10, will tell any one who wants really
to know.
81. $50 the servants of the householder
came and said unto him, Sir, didst not
thou SOW good seed in thy fieldg From
whence, then, hath it taresr" At the mar
riage in Cana the servants knew whence
came the wine, but this is n more difficult
case, and servants do not know every
thing; not by good deal. We know in
part, and if any man thinketh that he
knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing
vet as he ought to know Il Cor. xiii, 8, IL;
viii, %.
% "He said unto them, An enemy
hath done this The servants said unto
him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather
them up?" Some servants seem TO enjoy
gathering out, or attempting to gather out,
the tares, or at least in letting the tares
know what desperate tares they are in the
estimation of the wheat.
90 But He said, Nay; lest while We
gather up the tares, we root up also the
wheat with them" The roofing up or
gathering up process can have no reference
to salvation, for in harvest time all are
gathered-the tares for the fire and the
wheat for the barn. In chapter XIV, 13, He
says, Every plant which My Heavenly
Father hath not planted shall be rooted
up"
80. Let both grow together until the
harvest, and in the time of harvest l will
say to the reapers, Gather We together first
the tares and bind them in bundles to
burn them, but gather the wheat into my
barn" This verse is fully explained by
verses 80 to 43. The harvest is the end OF
the age as the expression lend of the
world" always signifies. do not know
where we are told that this planet shall
ever be destroyed. Even Peter, in speak
ing of wonderful changes which shall oc
cur, says with great emphasis, "Neverthe
less, we, according to His promise, look
for "A new heavens and new earth where
in dwells righteousness" II Pet. iii, 49,
There have been ages, and there are
ages to come the present one, of which
our Lord spake, already draweth to q
close, but the beginnings and closings
q