disperses the clouds and darkness which surrounds the God-head, in Nature and Providence and in the Old Testament. He marshals into harmony the stars which appeared to cross each other's paths in the skies of truth; He opens a path beyond the grave; He lifts the curtain from the Judgment Seat of the Great Judge.

All around the horizon of past and future, even outward eternally, Jesus floods the mountains with light. And yet He reasons not; He speaks not as man, with hesitation, with supposition, but with authority; an authority to which, while miracles certify, the soul itself responds; for, although His revelations could not be discovered by reason, they commend themselves to reason. As face answers to face in water, so the truths of Jesus to the hearts of man. 66 'Jesus spoke as never man

spoke."

The words of Christ are universally acknowledged to be the most potent ever uttered by any man, or heard by any mortal ear.

Wherever they are repeated, they carry light into dark homes, kindle hopes in desponding hearts, and give victory and life to dying souls.

The words of Jesus still live on, and will continue to live, until the final consummation of all things.

There is scarcely a scene or object familiar to the Galilee of that day, which Jesus did not use as an illustration of some great moral truth. He spoke of green fields, and springing flowers, and the building of the vernal trees, of the red or lowering sky, of the sunrise and sunset, of wind and rain, of night and day, of clouds and lightning, of stream and river, of stars and lamps, of honey and salt, of wine and wheat, and corn and oil. He spoke of stewards, and gardeners, laborers and employers, of kings and shepherds, of courtiers in soft clothing, and brides in nuptial robes. All these are

found in his discourses.

He knew all life and gazed on it with a kindly as well as a kingly glance. A method which in its unapproachable beauty and finish stands unrivalled in the annals of human speech, and shall continue to give comfort and strength to the children of men as long as the world stands.

CHAPTER XIV.

66 CHRIST TEACHING BY PARABLES."

WE have referred to our Saviour as the Great Teacher," and tried to point out some of the things in His teachings which helped to make Him great. And now it may be well to speak of His methods of instruction which He employed. These are called "Parables." The parables were the windows which let in the light upon the great doctrines which He had propounded.

At the beginning of His ministry our Saviour did not make much use of parables. But after He had been preaching for some time, He made a change in His way of teaching, and spoke in parables.

On one occasion, after He had used the Parable of the Sower, the disciples came to their Master and asked Him why He always spake to the people in parables? And the Master answered them as follows: "Because it is given

unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given."

The meaning of it is that He used parables for two reasons. One was to help those who really wished to learn from Him, to understand what He was teaching. The other was that those who were not willing to be taught, might listen to Him without understanding what He was saying. These people had heard Him when He was teaching without parables, but instead of being grateful to Him for coming to teach them, and of being willing to do what He wanted them to do, they found fault with His teaching, and would not give heed to what He said.

Now, there is a great difference in the way in which we are to learn what the Bible teaches us about God and heaven, and the way in which we learn other things.

We must be willing to be taught and willing to obey, if we wish to understand what Jesus, "The Great Teacher," has to tell us.

He uses parables among His disciples in order that He might help them to understand, and remember what He taught them.

We have a great many of the parables of Je

sus in the Gospels. There are not less than fifty, and it is impossible to speak of all of them in a Life of Christ. We, therefore, can only make a selection as specimens of this kind of teaching.

First.-We have Christ's estimate of "True Religion," as represented in the Parable of the Treasure Hid in the Field.

The Saviour spoke and said: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; which, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."

The words," Kingdom of Heaven," are used by our Saviour in different senses. Sometimes, as here, they mean the grace of God, or true religion. And what Jesus teaches us by this parable is that true religion is more valuable than anything else in the world.

Again.—“ The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a merchant seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it."

By this "pearl of great price" Jesus meant true religion, as he did by the "treasure hid in