The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1900-05-25
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON TX, SECOND QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, MAY 27.
Text of the Lesson. Math. xiii. 24-33.
Memory Verses. 81. 33 - Golden
Text. Math. xiii. IS - Commentary
Prepared by the Rev. d. NJ. stearns.

Prepared by the Rev ID. M. StearnS.
copyright, 1900, by D. NJ. stearnsl
"a. Another parable put He forth I'M
to them. saying, The kingdom of heaven
is likened unto a man which sowed good
seed in his field" 1t may be well at the
beginning of this lesson to call attention
to verse II, where our Lord said that it
was given to the disciples to know the
mysteries Of the Kingdom" and these
parallels all refer to these mysteries"
The kingdom of God, or of heaven, is not
q mystery, but something very plain
" revealed in the Scriptures. But that
the kingdom then at hand should be post
poned and not come till the Kings re-
turn, at the end of the age, that was a
mystery not before revealed. These sew
en- parallels describe the nature of events
during this interval. We saw in last les
son how the word of God will be treated
sower is the Son of Man, and the good
seed is not the word, but those who have
received the word and thus become chill
dren of the kingdom verses 81, 3S).
% But while men slept his enemy
came and sowed tares among the wheat
and went his way" The enemy is the
devil, and the tares are the children of
the wicked one verses SO, 39). In the
parable of the ten virgins it is said that
they all slumbered and slept tMath. XIV.
o. Jonah, the servant of God, slept
while running away from the command
Of God: Samson, the servant of God, slept
in the lap of Delilah. Even on the Mount
OF TRANSPORTATION Peter and those with
him were heavy with sleep Luke tx. 32l.
Sleep suggests Indifference to things
about us. If we are Indifferent to the
things of the kingdom, we sleep.
26. Gradually. but surely, the work is
done whether for good or evil. First.
the blade; then the ear: after that the
full corn in the ear MARK iv. 2Sl. The
good or the evil does not fully appear
suddenly. Beware of little foxes.
27-20. IAN enemy hath done this" 1t
Is not as fully recognized as it should be
that there is an enemy of God and man
who is ever resisting God and seeking to
turn man from Him. His first recorded
utterances are, in the line of doubling the
word of God Sand the love of God Gen.
ILL., /, A. He is liar and a murderer
John viii. Az. deceiver and destroyer
and will yet gather his hosts against the
Son of God. seeking to overthrow Him
Rev. xix, 19). His end is the lake of
Ere Rev Xxx, 10l
80 LET both grow together until the
harvest" Verses 80 to 43 explain that
the harvest is the end of the age mot the
end of the world as many think. for the
word "world" is properly "age") and that
at that time the angels shall gather out
OF the kingdom all that offend and do in
iquity and cast them into furnace of
FIRE, and then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. If anything could be more plain
ly stated than that the righteous and the
wicked shall continue together in this
world till the end of the age, let some
one tell how Where any one can ind
authority for believing that the world
shall be all righteous before the end Of
the age and the coming of our Lord do
not know He said on another occasion
that as it was in the days of Noah and in
the days of Lot so shall it be when He
shall come luke xvii, 26l The parable
speaks of the wicked being gathered out
first. and some desire to know how this
can agree with the church being caught
away first 1t is all simplihed by the
truth of His coming to the air where His
saints meet Him Il Thess. iv. 14-lS) and
then coming to the earth with all his
saints Il Thess iii. 10; Xech. xiv .; Jude
14) The age is to end with great judg
ments. which will Immediately precede
His coming in glory tMath- xiv. Il. u
80, 30l. but before this great tribuation
He will take His own to Himself. where
with Him. they shall be safely hid in the
day of the Lords anger lisa. XVI. 70
81; Zcph ii. 8; Rev iii. l0l.
81, 81. In this parable the present
phase Of the kingdom. the time OF the
mystery. is compared TO the least OF
seeds. which, instead of becoming great
herb. becomes a great tree. with the
birds of the air lodging in the branches
To understand this parable we must re-
member the two preceding and that this
age is not one of outward encourage
ment TO the child of God. Only a part OF
the seed produces children OF GOD, ana
only part of those bear fruit. ana
among the children of God the children
of the devil are many. Now we see a
great tree. with birds in the branches.
Does this indicate the church hourishing
and many hocking to 1t. or Is It on tht
line of the other two parallels and to
sight discouraging? 1t seems to be all
one discourse. for in verses 81 to 80 we
read that when He had spoken these
things He sent the multitude away anu
went into the house with dis disciples.
In the parable of the sower the plrds, OF
fowls of the air, represented the devil
who catches away the seed. In this
parable the church, which is In God s
sight little flock Luke xii, 81. has DO
come II great worldly thing and has re-
ceived into it many Judas and Demos
and Balaam.
49, This parable of the leaven is gen
1lyy hoy