The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-05-24

harvest; and In the time OF harvest VIII
say to the reapers: Gather ye together
erst the tares, and bind them In handles
,o burn them: but gather the wheat into
my barn.
n Another parable put ne forth unto
them, saying: The Kingdom Of Heaven
ts like to a grain Of mustard seed. which
. man took, and sowed In his field.
4 Which indeed is the least OF ali
s.ei.: but when It Is grown, 1t Is the
greatest amCag herbs, and becometh
,ros so that the birds Of the air come and
Hodge in the branches thereof.
% Another parable spake He unto
chem: The Kingdom of Heaven Is ike
rnto leaven. which a woman took, ana mo
I'M three measures of meal till the whole
was leavened.
GOLDEN TEXT.-The field is the world.
Matt. 1888.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
This lesson properly includes the
seven parallels spoken at the same time
as the parable of the sower which was
considered last week. The seven
narables TO be studied are recorded in
Matthew 13:24-52 and Mark 4:26-35.
These parallels are the following:
OF the Tares.
on the Mustard Seed.
OF the Leaven.
OF the Hid Treasure.
OF the Pearl OF Great Price.
or the Fishing Net.
OF the Fruitful Field.
The Parable of the Tares.-1n the
earlier stages of its growth the tares
cannot be distinguished from the
= &, until nnnrlv harvest
tlme when the ear is developed that it
can be safely weeded out. This is an
accurate picture of the church. With
in its folds are good and bad alike. Not
all who have taken upon themselves
the vows of service to Christ are His
disciples. On the other hand it may be
that outside the church there are true
disciples of our Lord. Church fellow
ship. truly, is better, because of the
helpful associations and the greater
incentive to do Christian work; but
within the church who is to say which
pr. the wheat and which the tares?
esus says that "by their fruits ye shall
NOW them," therefore in His own time
be great Lord of the Harvest will sep
rate the good from the bad.
u 1t is we'll to note that there is moth
hg in the parable counter to the teach
bg of the last lesson concerning in
nstrious cultivation of the soil.
Thorns and known weeds must not be
allowed to flourish, but should be
plucked at once. The parallels of the
sower and of the tares should be dis
tinguished. The seed in the latter
parable is not the word of God, but
rather the children of the kingdom"
The field is the world rather than the
heart. So in other regards the parallels
are very unlike. The parable of the
sower gave us one aspect Of the King
dom of God, the parable Of the tares
gives us another and entirely different
aspect.
Parable of the Mustard Seed.-This
parable indicates the growth in eX-
tent of the kingdom. From the small
est beginnings the greatest things
often come. The Christian faith has
spread abroad in marvellous degree
since this parable was spoken. But
besides this broad application the
\rable has an individual application.
"a little faith may grow to be strong
stalwart faith. More than this the i'm
pOrtance of all little things is shown.
No one knows what may result from
single thought or word. Vast good or
harm may eventually come about.
Parable of the Leaven. - Another
great truth is inculcated here. 1t is
concerning the manner in which the
Kingdom is to grow. In another place
luke 11:2O Jesus says: "The king
dom of God cometh not with observa-
ton" The growth of the kingdom is
quiet and unostentatious, but none the
less powerful and effective.
Parable of the Hid Trcasure.-We
will touch upon one other of these para
bles. Jesus likens the Kingdom of
Heaven to q treasure that has been
lost in field. \ stranger happens
along and finds it. He hides it in an
other place in the same field for fear
that another knows of its whereabouts.
Then he goes to the owner of the field
and buys it. 1t is needless to say that
This does not teach that we are to hide
our light under bushel, but it does
show how very valuable thing can i'm
part value to comparatively worth
less thing. Any number of fields were
as valuable, in themselves considered,
as this, but they contained no extraor-
ainary treasure. So human life may
De comparatively worthless, but the
night of God in the heart transforms
The lie, and it becomes Of inestimable
value.
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