Whoso reads let him understand - Matt. 24:15.

Matt. 7:24-28.

By the sayings of Jesus Christ are to be understood the words which he spoke, and which contained the whole of his Divine Love and Wisdom in close conjunction. Thus the sayings of Jesus Christ are to be regarded as the complex of all divine good and divine truth, intending to form in man the divine image and likeness, by opening in him the kingdom of Heaven, by purifying him from all his natural evils, by restoring him to the form and order of Heaven, and by finally leading him to an eternal conjunction of love and of life with the God of Heaven.

A distinction is made in the above parable between hearing and doing. Let us examine the ground and meaning of this.

By hearing the sayings of Jesus Christ is to be understood their reception in the memory and understanding, where they appear and are stored up under the form of truths; but by doing them, is to be understood their reception in the will, or love, and their consequent operation on the thoughts, words, and works of the devout receiver of them. Thus hearing the sayings of Jesus Christ denotes their admission into the external man or mind only, by virtue of which the external thoughts, words, and works are in a measure directed and controlled; whilst doing the sayings of Jesus Christ denotes their admission into the internal man or mind, by virtue of which admission, interior evils are seen and combatted, interior goods are manifested and exalted, and thus the whole man, both internal and external, is brought into submission to, and conformity with the divine love and wisdom.

All the comparisons applied by Jesus Christ are to be regarded not as mere comparisons only, but as agreements or correspondences between the things compared; which agreements or correspondences were established at creation, and are the results of the relationship subsisting between things spiritual and things natural, in consequence of the derivation of the latter from the former, and thus of their constant connection with each other. The comparisons, therefore, applied by Jesus Christ, differ from other comparisons principally in this respect, that they are comparisons, or agreements and correspondences, between things natural and things spiritual; whereas other comparisons are comparisons only between things natural, which bear some kind of resemblance to each other. When Jesus Christ therefore says, I will liken him to a wise man which built his house upon a rock, he means to declare the existence, not only of a similitude between the two cases, but of a real agreement or correspondence, and this of such a nature, that, when considered in reality and truth, the things compared are the same. Thus, in the present instance, the things compared are a person who hears the sayings of Jesus Christ and does them, and a person who builds his house upon a rock. When, therefore, Jesus Christ says, that these persons are like each other, he intended to mark, by the most significant terms, the proper character of the person who hears and does these sayings, and to say, not only that he resembles a person who builds his house on a rock, but also that he really and virtually is such a person, which will be further evident from the consideration of what is to be understood by building a house upon a rock.

By the house here spoken of, is manifestly to be understood a spiritual house, which is no other than the interior and exterior mind of man, who is called a house in consequence of being the habitation, not only of the man himself, that is to say, of his supreme love, with all its derivative affections and thoughts, but also of the Lord himself, with his divine love and wisdom, together with all the angelic host, who constitute his eternal kingdom. This house is said to be built upon a rock, whenever man opens his mind to the reception of the divine truth of the Most High, and especially to that highest and most sublime truth, the manifestation of God in the flesh, or his revelation of himself in the Divine Humanity of Jesus Christ. For in the Sacred Scriptures all truth is called a rock, by reason of its consistency and durability, and the term is applied pre-eminently to Jesus Christ as being the Supreme Truth, agreeably to his own declaration, where he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The first step, therefore, towards building this spiritual house is to believe in Jesus Christ as the Supreme God, and thus, as the source and fountain of all divine truth, and the building is afterwards advanced and perfected, in proportion as man forms his mind and his life in agreement with the precepts of Jesus Christ, and especially of that most edifying and purifying precept, to shun all evil as sin against that Great and Holy God.

But it is said that the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house.

The rain, the floods, and the winds, here spoken of, are to be understood spiritually, or according to a spiritual idea, because they are here mentioned as beating upon a spiritual house; and by rain, according to a spiritual idea, is meant the assault of false principles and persuasions in their opposition to the truths and precepts of the revealed wisdom of the Most High; by floods, a destructive accumulation of those principles and persuasions; and by winds, the infernal influences with which they are in continual connection, and from which they derive all their activity, force, and overwhelming operation. By rain, indeed, and by wind, when applied in a good sense, as the terms frequently are applied in the Sacred Scripture, is to be understood the descent of the heavenly doctrine of truth and wisdom, operative under the influence of the power and spirit of the Most High; but in the present instance the two terms are manifestly applied in an opposite, or bad sense, and accordingly denote, as was said above, the assault and operation of false and destructive principles and persuasions infused by the powers of darkness.

The term beating, has relation to the assault made by false principles and persuasions against the principles and persuasions of heavenly truth in the human mind, and therefore it relates to a state of trial or temptation, which is necessary for all to undergo, before the principles and persuasions of heavenly love and wisdom, or, what is the same thing, of heavenly goodness and truth, can be fully fixed and confirmed in the mind and life of man.

It is afterwards said of the house, when thus beaten by the rain, the floods, and the winds, that it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

By falling, applied to a spiritual house, is to be understood the separation or disjunction of the house, and of all things contained in it, from the divine love and wisdom of Jesus Christ: for when this is the case, the house then of necessity falls, since it is then placed only under the rule and government of selfish and worldly love, which love, in respect to heavenly love, is grovelling and debased, and destitute besides of all order, strength, and consistency necessary for the support of a spiritual building. When, therefore, the house, as in the present case, is said not to fall, the expression was intended to denote, that what is signified by the house was still kept in conjunction with the divine love and wisdom of Jesus Christ, and consequently, that the trial, or temptation, signified by the beating of the rain, the floods and the winds, had produced no other effect than to strengthen the foundations of the house. For such is the nature of all opposition from the powers of darkness, when exercised on the well-disposed mind, that, instead of destroying, it strengthens the heavenly principles which it assaults, by bringing those principles more into exercise, by leading man into deeper humiliation, and by thus elevating him to a closer conjunction with the powers of heaven and their God than could otherwise have been effected. The Almighty, therefore, permits such opposition on account of the end which is accomplished by it, and which is no other than the more radical purification and regeneration of his children, agreeably to his own declaration, where he says, You shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy (John 16:20).

By the rock, as was shown above, is to be understood the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, or the Incarnate God, together with all the truth, or wisdom, which proceeds from him; and the nature of man's connection with this Lord and Saviour is such, that if he be wise to open his mind to the reception of him, and of the heavenly principles of life and love which proceed from him, by renouncing all the evils which are in opposition to those principles, he then connects himself with the Omnipotence of that Great God and Saviour, and thus cannot perish, since none is able to pluck him out of that Saviour's hand (John 10:28). Whenever, then, man is wise to build his house upon this rock, he may console himself with the blessed conviction, that it can never fall, but is that house not built with hands, of which it said, that it is eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1).

We have now considered what is meant by the sayings of Jesus Christ, and what by hearing and doing them. The meaning, therefore, of hearing and not doing them is plain: but we have yet to seek the reason why the man, who hears them, and does them not, is like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand.

He is like a foolish man, because he is a foolish man, agreeably to what is said above concerning the Lord's comparisons; and therefore the Lord would here teach that this is the essence of all folly, to hear his sayings and not to do them; in other words, to acquire speculative knowledge of holy things in the memory and understanding, without suffering that knowledge to influence the life and conversation. And this folly Jesus Christ further marks by the significant expression of building the house upon the sand. For sand, we know, is a strong substance, without coherence and consistency, and therefore is an exact representative figure of all that truth in the human mind which is not reduced to practice, by being allowed to govern and control the love and the life, in which case, being deprived of the heavenly conjoining spirit of love to the Lord, and neighbourly love, it has nothing to give it consistence and coherence, consequently, nothing to give it strength and stability. As, therefore, a material house must soon fall, if it has no other foundation for its security than material sand, in like manner, a spiritual house must soon fall, if it has no other security than spiritual sand; in other words, if it be built on mere speculative truths, or knowledges, which, being separated from heavenly life and love, are of consequence disjoined from each other, and therefore incapable of supplying a firm and durable foundation. It is accordingly said, that when the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, it fell, and great was the fall of it, to denote, that in time of spiritual trial or temptation, truth alone cannot stand; in other words, that the man of the church cannot be supported under spiritual conflicts, only so far as knowledge is formed into life, speculation brought into practice, and the whole man thus, both internal and external, restored to an eternal connection and conjunction of life with the divine fountain of all good and truth, whose high and holy name is Jesus Christ.

The fall is called a great fall, to distinguish it from lesser falls, and to teach the edifying and awful lesson, that the greatest fall to which the spiritual house of man is exposed, results not from ignorance, but from the knowledge of heavenly truth received in his understanding, when it is not suffered to operate and produce its proper fruits in the will and life, by purifying man from all his natural evils, and restoring him both internally and externally to the love and the practice of heavenly good. Jesus Christ therefore says, in another place, If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matt. 6:23). to instruct us, that great darkness does not result from mere ignorance, or the want of spiritual light, but that it results from spiritual life itself, when it is either perverted, suffocated, or rejected, - in consequence of not applying it to the purposes for which it was given, namely, purification, reformation, and regeneration of the heart and life. The same truth is again inculcated in these words of Jesus Christ, That servant, which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many blows. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of blows, shall be beaten with few blows (Luke 12:47, 48)

From this parable then, we learn, in the first place, the distinguishing marks and characters of wisdom and folly, and what it is which properly constitutes the essence of each. For we are taught that the proper mark and character of wisdom, is both to hear and to do the sayings of Jesus Christ, whereas the proper mark and character of folly is, to hear only, and not to do. A man therefore cannot properly be called wise, merely because he has much knowledge, or because he abounds in the science even of things the most heavenly and sublime, but he becomes wise in proportion as he suffers such knowledge and science to elevate his love and affections, to raise him above his corruptions, and to conjoin him with the Father of his Being, the High and Holy God. Neither can he be properly called foolish on account of any defect in knowledge or science, but he becomes foolish by the possession of knowledge or science unpractised, in consequence of not suffering it to convert him from the love of evil to the love of good, and thus to influence his life and conversation. We are instructed yet further by the above parable, that in building our spiritual house, we ought both to hear and to do the words of Jesus Christ, and thus to lay the foundations on a rock; in other words, we ought to believe in the incarnate God, and to form our life in obedience to his heavenly precepts of love and charity, in which case our house can never fall, because it will ever be kept in connection with the Eternal, and under the support of his Omnipotence; whereas, if we only hear, and do not, we shall then build our house on the sand, and when trial or temptation assaults us, it will fall, and its fall will be the greater, because we knew our duty and did not practise it. Let us endeavour, therefore, from now on, to acquire the blessed character of true wisdom, and for this purpose, both to learn what our Heavenly Father requires of us, and also to practise it, that so, when the hour of trial and temptation comes, we may stand steadfast and unmoved, and may enter into all the comfort of the blessed declaration, It fell not, for it was founded on a rock. Amen.

Matt. 9:16-18.

Jesus Christ here speaks by correspondence, and thus represents spiritual things under natural images, agreeably to His usual mode of speaking.

The word new, is, in the original Greek, unwrought; and since cloth, according to its spiritual correspondence, signifies truth, inasmuch as it is applied to cover, defend, and keep warm the body, as truth is applied to cover, defend, and keep warm the spirit of man; therefore, by the un-worked cloth, here spoken of, is signified the truth of the Gospel, or the spiritual truth of the Christian church, as opposed to the old garment, or old truth, of the Jewish or representative church. Jesus Christ, therefore, here teaches, and warns his hearers of, the difficulty and the danger of imbibing the truths of the new Christian church, whilst the truths of the old or Jewish church, which were external and representative truths, were suffered to prevail, and to influence the persuasions and the conduct of their adherents. He says, therefore, that that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment, because the truths of the new Christian church, which are internal spiritual truths, if mixed with those of the old representative church, rob them of their importance and influence, on which account, He adds, the rent is made worse, since there is no agreement between the precepts and commandments delivered by the Lord himself, and the statutes and judgements of the Jewish church, which were principally concerning sacrifices and representative worship.

By the new wine is again signified the truth of the new Christian church, in like manner as by the unwrought cloth above, but with this difference, that by new wine is signified a more internal order of truth, than by unwrought cloth, because wine is for inward nourishment, whereas cloth is for outward covering; still, however, the sense is the same, as denoting that the internal truths of the new Christian church, do not accord with the external truths of the Jewish church, which external truths are here called old bottles, of which it is said, that if new wine be put into them, the bottles burst, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish.

By the bottles bursting, if new wine be put into them, is denoted, that the truths of the Jewish church, which principally relate to sacrifices and representative worship, have no coherence with the truths of the Christian church; and by the wine running out, is further to be understood, that interior spiritual truth is dissipated, when representative truth is alone seen and acknowledged; and, lastly, by the bottles perishing, is denoted, that the external laws relating to sacrifices and ordinances are done away as soon as ever the things which they represent are fulfilled.

The new wine, as was shown above, is the internal spiritual truth of the Christian church, which was opened by the manifestation of God in the flesh, on which occasion all the representatives of the Jewish church were fulfilled and realised; and by putting this new wine into new bottles is denoted, that this interior spiritual truth was to be taught, and admitted into human minds, by doctrines which were in agreement with it, and derived from it, thus by doctrines which would tend at once to promote its reception and perpetuity, on which account it is added, that both are preserved, namely both the truth and its doctrine, for doctrine is what contains and conveys truths, and is distinguished from truth as the bottle which contains wine is distinguished from the wine itself. When, therefore, doctrine is in agreement with truth, then both are preserved, because truth gives life and consistency to doctrine, whilst doctrine, in its turn, gives determination and support to truth.

The old garment and old bottles will apply, as apt figures, to the persuasions and sentiments of the old or natural man, in his unconverted state, before he begins to taste the new wine, and to put on the new garments of evangelical truth and righteousness. According to this application, the parable also teaches a lesson of important instruction and caution, by pointing out the extreme danger of mixing the principles of truth with those of error, or of imbibing heavenly knowledge, whilst the life and love of earthly science, and of vain imaginations, remains in its full force, unmortified and unsubdued. In this case, too, the divine declaration, that new wine must be put into new bottles, is full of wisdom and weighty obligation, enforcing on man the eternal law, that the persuasions dictated by the love of evil ought first to be combatted and removed, before the new wine of the everlasting Gospel is received, and that thus, new opinions, new persuasions, new principles, should be formed, capable of admitting and preserving the saving truth communicated from above.

The general instruction we gain from this parable may be thus summed up: we are taught by it, in the first place, that the truths of the Jewish church, which related principally to sacrifices and external ordinances, do not accord with the truths of the Christian church, which inculcate principally the law of love and charity, and thus the observance of internal worship, and that, consequently, the former are not to be mixed with the latter. We learn, in the second place, that the truths of the Christian church, being all of them from Heaven, are internal, spiritual, pure, and holy truths, and therefore require that the persuasions, sentiments, and ruling maxims of mankind should be in some sort of agreement with them, otherwise they will be dissipated, defiled, and destroyed. Let us resolve, therefore, from now on, to form our whole minds and lives according to the wisdom contained in the above parable, and whilst we venerate the law of the Jewish rituals, as being a law of divine revelation, and the best accommodated to the temper of the Jewish people, for whose use it was given; we need not conceive ourselves bound to observe it according to its letter, now that we are favoured with the interior spiritual law of the Christian dispensation. Let us resolve further, now that we have begun to put on the new garment, and to drink the new wine of evangelical truth, to lay aside the old garment, and discard the old bottles of our former mere natural ideas, sentiments, and persuasions, so that no rent may be made in the new garment, and the new wine may not run out. Thus may we hope that the Eternal Wisdom will obtain a safe and undefiled reception in our hearts, and, connecting itself with persuasions which are in agreement with itself, will conduct us to all that security and happiness announced by the Great Redeemer, when He says. They put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. Amen.

Matt. 11:16-17.

According to the letter, the expression, this generation, means the people who lived at that time in Judea; but according to its spiritual sense, it means the state of the church among that people, in regard to their reception of the eternal truth, for such is the spiritual idea of generation, whenever the term occurs in the Word of God, inasmuch as that Holy Book treats only of spiritual generations, which are those of goodness and truth, and not of natural ones, which relate only to this world and the flesh.

This generation is said to be like children sitting in the markets, because, by children, or, as it is expressed in the original, infant boys, are not here to be understood children, or infant boys, but the things signified and represented by them, which things are nothing else but the truths of innocence, which were at that time revealed from Heaven to the Jewish people, in order to make them a church, or the people of God.

These children, or infant boys, are represented as sitting in the markets, because by the markets are figured natural minds, or the common states of the life of natural men, which are therefore called markets, because all the goods and truths contained in the Word of God are there presented for purchase, and every one, who is so disposed, may there become a purchaser, and thus acquire the eternal possession of those heavenly blessings. It is on this account that mention is again made of a market-place in the parable of the householder who hired labourers into his vineyard, where it is written, that he saw others standing idle in the market-place, for by standing idle in the market-place, is signified, that they neglected to cultivate the natural mind, by preparing it for the insemination and growth of the Eternal Truth. In the present, parable, however, it is not said that the children were standing idle in the markets, but that they were sitting there; because, by the term sitting, whenever it occurs in the Sacred Scriptures, is always expressed a state of the will, or love, as the term standing is uniformly applied to express a state of the understanding or thought.

It is further written of these children, or infant boys, that they were calling to their fellows and saying, We have piped to you, and you have not danced; we have mourned to you, and you have not lamented.

The term here rendered fellows, is expressed in the original by a word which properly signifies companions; and companions, according to the spiritual idea, are all such as are associated with each other by knowledge and acquaintanceship, but not so much by love and friendship. When, therefore, the children are represented as calling to their fellows (or companions), it is to denote that they addressed themselves to the intellectual principle, in order to secure its attention to the truth of innocence, of which they were the representative figures. It is therefore written, that they called and said; because, calling is an expression which relates to the will-principle, or love, as saying is an expression which relates more to the understanding, or truth, and therefore the two expressions are combined, with a view to point at that heavenly marriage of love and wisdom, or goodness and truth, which constitutes the very life and soul of the Revealed Word, and is accordingly marked, even in the letter in numberless instances.

The term piping, is expressive of the affection of good with which truth is taught, and which it is intended to excite. For such is the spiritual signification of all instruments of music, whenever they are mentioned in the Word of God, that they are all applied to denote affection, but with this difference, that the wind instruments are applied to denote the affection of good, and the stringed instruments to denote the affection of truth. Thus, when it is said. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the psaltery and harp; praise Him with the timbrel and pipe; praise Him with stringed instruments and organs; praise Him upon the loud cymbals; praise Him upon the high-sounding cymbals-(Ps. 150:3, 4, 5) - it is to denote that the Lord is to be worshipped from every affection, both of good and of truth. The piping, therefore, above spoken of, has relation to the heavenly affection which influenced the truths, signified by the children; and when it is added, you have not danced, it is to denote further, that a reciprocal affection had not been excited in those to whom the truths were addressed. For dancing, according to its literal signification, is a motion of the body, corresponding with the musical sounds by which it is excited, and thus, according to its spiritual signification, it denotes an affection of the mind, corresponding with the affection by which truth is addressed to it, agreeably to which sense of the word it is written, Let them praise his name in the dance, (Ps. 149:3). to teach the instructive lesson, that man ought to glorify His Maker by receiving the truths of His Holy Word with a corresponding affection. To the same purpose it is written in another place, You have turned for me my mourning into dancing, (Psalm 30:11). denoting that heavenly truth was received with the heavenly affection which it is calculated to inspire. When, therefore, it is said, as in the present case, You have not danced, nothing else can be meant, according to the spiritual idea, but that the truths of Heaven had not excited a correspondent affection.

These words, We have mourned to you, and you have not lamented, are contrasted with the foregoing; and, therefore, as by piping was signified the heavenly affection with which truth was communicated from above, and as by not dancing was denoted that it had not been received with correspondent affection, so by mourning is signified truth communicated without affection, and by not lamenting is further denoted that the truth so communicated had not produced reciprocal and correspondent mourning.

Jesus Christ explains the nature and quality of this kind of truth in his illustration of this parable, where he says. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he has a devil. For John, as a teacher of truth, represented the Holy Word, but then he represented it as to a lower or more external order of truth than what was afterward taught by the Incarnate God; on which account he bears this witness concerning himself, I indeed baptise you with water to repentance; but He that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire (Matt. 3:11). For it deserves well to be noted, that the written Word of God contains truth of several orders and degrees, adapted to different minds, and to different states of the same mind, answering to the several instruments in husbandry, by which also those orders and degrees are expressed in the Sacred Records, such as the plough, the harrow, the sickle, the threshing instrument, the fan; all of them useful in their several places, because all of them serviceable for the production of heavenly love and charity, and its incorporation in human minds. John the Baptist was a representative figure of one of these orders of truth, namely, the lowest, or most external, adapted to the state of natural minds, to convince them of sin, and lead them to repentance, but not fitted to communicate any heavenly good with interior truth; on which account it is said of John that he came neither eating nor drinking, to denote that by this order of truth, no interior good of heavenly love and charity, with its attendant truth, could be appropriated. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, opened a new order of interior truth, which, being more closely connected with heavenly love and charity, gained more interior admission into human minds, and communicated to them a measure of the heavenly Spirit in which it originated; on which account it is said of Him, that He came eating and drinking, to denote that both the good and its truth might be incorporated into the life of man.

It is written, that of John they say. He has a devil, and of Jesus Christ they say. Behold a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

These words are another proof how difficult it is to adapt heavenly truth to the general reception of mankind, and how prone men are to frame excuses against admitting it, by vilifying both it and its teachers. Thus, in the present instance, the apparent severity of the truths taught by John the Baptist, is imputed to a diabolical agency, whilst the more consolatory and cheering doctrines delivered by the Great Saviour, are reprobated as allowing too many indulgences, and giving too much liberty to offenders against its sanctities. Nevertheless, the Divine remark which closes this parable, that Wisdom is justified of her children, must for ever remain true; because the children of wisdom are all those who are born of wisdom, not according to a figure of speech only, but in the greatest truth and reality, inasmuch as they are born of God, or of what the Apostle calls incorruptible seed, by the word of God which lives and abides for ever (1 Peter 1:23). These children, therefore, are taught by their Divine Parent to see that truth is of several orders and degrees, which may, in general, be distinguished into two, namely, truth of judgement, and truth of comfort, or, to express it otherwise, truth opposed to, and combating, evil, and truth cherishing and communicating good; the former being apparently harsh and severe, thus apparently separated from good, whilst the latter is soft and consolatory, and thus apparently nearer to good. Accordingly, as in the building of a house, there are variety of workmen, and an equal variety of tools or implements of workmanship employed; so in the building of that most grand and magnificent of all houses, the House of God, or His Church here on earth, a like variety of spiritual artificers are employed, and likewise of spiritual tools and implements of building, agreeably to what is written in the Prophet, So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith, and him that smoothes with the hammer him that beat the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering. He fastened it with nails that it should not be moved (Isaiah 41:7). The children of wisdom, therefore, justify their Divine Parent in this application of a variety of tools to effect her own blessed purposes, and especially in her adapting the two distinct dispensations of truth above referred to, namely, the piping and the mourning; the one figurative of the consolatory doctrine delivered by the Great Redeemer; and the other, of the apparently more severe and austere doctrine taught by His forerunner.

We are taught by this parable, that the Almighty applies a variety of instruments to effect His saving purposes, and that His Holy Word is accordingly stored with a variety of heavenly truths, suited to different persons, and to the same person at different times. We learn, further, that this variety may be distinguished, in general, into two orders of truth; one of which is attended with the love and joy in which it originates, and which it is calculated to inspire; whilst the other appears harsh, austere, and, so far from promoting joy, is productive rather of sorrow and severe suffering. We are instructed yet further, that, in a corrupt state of the Church, both these orders of truth are unattended to and rendered ineffectual, but that by the children of wisdom they are seen to be alike profitable, because proceeding from the same divine mercy, and productive of the same divine effects. Let us resolve, therefore, to attend carefully to these two distinct orders of truth, and to keep our ears ever open to their heavenly sound, whether it be that of piping or of mourning, that so, in the one case, we may be found dancing, and in the other lamenting. Thus will each order of truth become a friend and benefactor, whilst by the piping we receive consolation and support, and by the mourning are led to a more vigorous repentance and sorrow for our sins: and thus, finally, may we hope to rank amongst those pure and heavenly beings, of whom it is written, Wisdom is justified of her children. Amen.

Matt. 13:3-10.

The Sower is the Son of Man, or Jesus Christ, in His Divine Humanity. He is called the Sower, because the seed sown is the Eternal Truth, or the Word of God, and all Truth, properly so called, is from Jesus Christ, who on that account calls Himself the Truth.

By sowing, when spoken of Jesus Christ, is to be understood the insemination and implantation of His Divine Truth, or Word, in the understandings and lives of men; this is effected by man's hearing, or reading, the Word of God, by his meditating on what he hears or reads, but, above all, by the application of what he hears, or reads, to the purpose of reforming his life, by separating from himself all evil ends and purposes, and by loving, thinking, and doing those good things which the Word of God teaches to be good.

Mankind, then, differ in the way of receiving and admitting the Eternal Truth, and this difference is described in the parable to be four-fold, which four-fold reception is distinguished in the parable, first by some seed falling by the way-side; secondly, by some falling upon stony places, where they have not much earth; thirdly, by some falling among thorns; and, lastly, by some falling into good ground.

The first distinction, described by some seed falling by the way-side, includes all those who receive the Word of God, or the Eternal Truth, without affection.

Every one receives the Word of God without affection who hears it, and reads it, and yet is not interested in what he hears and reads, having his affections immersed merely in the things of time and of sense, without any elevation to the great things of Eternity.

The second distinction, described by the seeds which fell upon stony places, where they have not much earth, includes all those who hear, or read, the Word of God, and imbibe its truth, yet not from a genuine affection for that truth, but from some external affection which regards only the gain and glory of this world: thus they love the truth, not for its own sake, but for the sake of their own temporal interests, which they think to advance and secure by means of the knowledge of truth.

The third distinction, described by the seeds which fell among thorns, includes all those who hear, or read, the Word of God, without any desire to remove the cravings of evil, and who thus are desirous to become intelligent in heavenly knowledge, but not for the purpose of purifying and reforming their own hearts and lives in the sight of God.

The last distinction, described by the seeds which fell into good ground, includes all those who receive the Word of God, and its Eternal Truths, with a genuine and devout affection, at the same time applying them to the purposes for which they are given, namely, the purification, reformation, and regeneration of their hearts and lives in the sight of God.

Let us now consider the effects of these different receptions of the Word of God in the minds of men.

The first effect is described in these words. The birds came and devoured them up.

By the birds, in this passage, are to be understood all false persuasions of doctrine and of life, which always occupy the minds of those who are destitute of affection for the Eternal Truth; and by devouring up the seeds of truth is to be understood, that where the Word of God is received without affection it cannot produce its proper fruits, because it is liable to be perverted and destroyed by false persuasions, which occupy the natural mind of every man before he admits with affection the light of the Eternal Word.

The next effect of a wrong reception of the Word of God, is described in these words, Forthwith they sprung up, because they had no depth of earth; and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

This is to denote, that where the Eternal Truth is received from an affection not genuine, that is to say, from an affection grounded in worldly gain or glory, in that mind an appearance is presented of the growth of truth, but then it is a growth in the memory and understanding only, and not in the will, or love; therefore, it is said, because they have no depth of earth, for the earth, in this case, relates to the will, or love, and its depth has relation to the inmost principle of each.

The sun, as applied in the Holy Scriptures, is used both in a good and bad sense, according to the subject treated of; and in a good sense, it relates to the Lord Himself, and to the Divine Love and Wisdom which proceed from Him; but in a bad sense, it is applied to denote the destructive principle of self-love, when it is exalted in the human mind above the love of God and Heaven. By the seeds being scorched, then, is to be understood, that where the truth is not received with a genuine affection, or for its own sake, in that mind it is withered and destroyed by the influence of self-love, which will not allow it to take its proper root, and bear its proper fruits; therefore, it is added, because they had no root, they withered away, to teach the important lesson, that where self-love is predominant it is impossible that the Eternal Truth should gain a place in the natural mind of man, so as to produce all its blessed and saving effects.

The third effect of a wrong reception of the Word of God, is described in these words. The thorns sprung up and choked them.

By the thorns are to be understood the cravings of evil, which Jesus Christ, in his explanation of the parable, calls the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, by which are meant, all those anxieties, concerns, and affections of the merely external man, who prevail over the better desires of the internal man; and by choking the seed of truth, is to be understood, all that suffocation of the pure knowledge of God, and of His Holy Word, which must of necessity take place in that mind, where the appetites of the body, and the cravings of animal life, are suffered to exalt themselves above the higher interests to man's spiritual and eternal life; therefore it is added, by Jesus Christ, that such a mind becomes unfruitful, because the fruitfulness of heavenly truth can only be found in its effects upon the natural man, by purifying his ends of life, and forming him to every good thought, word, and work; in case, therefore, that the operation of heavenly truth is resisted by the natural mind, it is impossible there can be any fruitfulness of truth in the natural man.

The fourth effect resulting from the reception of the Eternal Truth is described in these words, It brought forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.

By fruit is to be understood, all the good of love and charity, that is to say, of love towards God, and charity towards our neighbour; and by bringing forth this fruit is to be understood, that this good of love and charity manifests itself in the natural man in all good thoughts, words, and works, of a holy and useful life, agreeably to those words of Jesus Christ, where He says, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven: (Matt. 5:16). and in another place, If you know these things, happy are you if you do them (John 13:17). It is, therefore, said in the parable, that other seed fell into good ground, to denote that the reception of truth, in this case, was an interior reception, or, a reception in the inner man; that is to say, in the will, or love, as well as in the understanding and memory. Therefore, Jesus Christ, in explaining this reception of the Eternal Truth, says, He that receives seed into good ground is he that hears the Word and understands it, to instruct us, that a right and profitable reception of the Eternal Truth is a reception both in the will, signified by hearing, and in the intellect, signified by understanding; and to instruct us yet further, that all fruitfulness of the Holy Word is the result of this two-fold reception, or what may be properly called the heavenly marriage of good and truth, and not from the single reception of either of those principles separate from the other.

The distinctions expressed in the parable by hundred-fold, sixty-fold, and thirty-fold, are intended to express the different degrees of fruitfulness of the Eternal Truth in human minds, which will ever depend upon the degree in which good and truth are united, or in which the will and understanding are conjointly affected. As, therefore, in some cases, this conjunction may be less perfect than in others, in like manner it is to be supposed, that the fruitfulness will vary, and this agreeably to the distinctions here mentioned of an hundred-fold, sixty-fold, and thirty-fold.

Jesus Christ concludes this parable by saying, He that has ears to hear, let him hear; teaching us by these words, that He intended his instruction only for those who were in a disposition to receive it, and not for those who were in no disposition. For by those who have ears to hear He meant to describe all sincere and upright minds, which are desirous, both' to receive and profit by the lessons of the Eternal Wisdom, therefore He says of these, let them hear, in other words, let them understand and receive, because to them it is given, to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, inasmuch as they are in a right state of mind to profit, by those mysteries: whereas, to others it is not given, since others are not in a state to profit by them, and, therefore, if such mysteries were made known to them, they would but profane and defile them, and thus increase their condemnation, agreeably to those words of Jesus Christ, This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).

The general instruction then to be derived from this parable is, that men ought to be very careful in hearing, or reading, the Word of God, to note the affection from which they hear and read, and to see that this affection be pure and genuine, resulting from the love of truth, for its own sake, and not for any earthly ends of temporal gain and glory. We learn, yet further, from this parable, that the Eternal Truth can never produce its full fruitfulness in the mind and life of man until it operates conjointly on his will and understanding, that is to say, on his love and thought; but that when it is attended with this double operation, it forms in man the true heavenly marriage, by virtue whereof he has eternal conjunction with Jesus Christ and His kingdom, and through that conjunction is formed to every good thought, word, and work.

Matt. 13:24-31.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the government of the divine love and wisdom of Jesus Christ, and therefore, wherever this divine love and wisdom is allowed to have rule, whether it be in heaven or on earth, there is the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is likened to a man sowing good seed in his field, because it begins from a seed, which, like other seeds, increases and multiplies after its kind, and brings forth fruit, which also contains new seeds, and thus is capable of indefinite increase.

The seed is the Word of God, which is the Divine Truth of the Divine Love; and the Man that sows it is Jesus Christ, or God in his Divine Humanity, because all Divine Truth, which is of the Divine Love, proceeds from that Incarnate God, and is implanted by Him in the hearts of true believers. The seed is, therefore, called good seed, to denote that the Divine Truth, represented by the seed, is always in connection with the Divine Good of the Lord's mercy and love.

By the field is meant the Church here on earth, or the congregation of all good people who believe in Jesus Christ, and receive the seed of His Holy Word in sincere and devout hearts. This field is, therefore, called His field, because the Church is His, inasmuch as it is formed from those eternal principles of heavenly love and wisdom which proceed from Him, and which properly constitute Him.

By sleeping, according to a spiritual idea, is to be understood, the leading a natural life, separate from spiritual life, which life, in the Sacred Scriptures, is always called sleep, as spiritual life is always called a state of wakefulness.

By the enemy is meant the Devil, or the Spirits of Darkness, who are always present with man, watching and labouring to destroy the good seed of the kingdom.

The weeds denote all evil principles and false persuasions arising from selfish, worldly, and corporeal loves, which choke all the plants of heavenly growth, springing from the seed of the divine love and wisdom.

By the enemy going his way, is to be understood, his concealing himself, and appearing to be at a distance; for so it seems to the natural man, nor can he be persuaded to believe, until he becomes spiritual, that his spiritual foes, the Powers of Darkness, are always near at hand, and ready to do him the greatest mischief.

It is said, that when the blade sprung up and bare fruit, then appeared also the weeds.

By the blade is meant the first appearance of truth in man's understanding, and by its springing up, is meant its growth in the understanding; for the seed of the Eternal Truth is first sown in man's memory, where it remains as a mere seed, until man begins to feel a concern about it, on account of his eternal salvation, in which case he is led to meditate on the great truths of God, which were deposited in his memory, and in consequence of such concern and meditation, those truths are exalted to an interior place in the mind, where it appears as a blade.

This blade bearing fruit denotes a still further reception and exaltation of the Eternal Truth, which takes place when truth begins to affect the will, or love; for spiritual fruit is love and charity, love towards God, and charity towards our neighbour; and this fruit never appears until man, from a deeper concern about his salvation, is led to form his life according to the truths which he has admitted into his understanding, and thus to obtain a new will, capable of loving God above all things, and his neighbour as himself.

The reason why the weeds should then appear, that is, when the blade sprang up and bare fruit, and not before, is, because the weeds, as was said, denote all evil principles and false persuasions of selfish, worldly, and corporeal loves, and these weeds do not show themselves until there is some growth of the heavenly principles of love and wisdom in the human mind, for error can never be seen but from truth, neither can evil be seen but from good, and therefore, until some degree of good and of truth is formed in the mind, errors and evils do not appear.

By the servants of the Householder are signified those who are principled in true knowledge of truth, because all such knowledge is called a servant, in the Sacred Scriptures, as administering to the higher principles of the good of love and charity, this being the great use and design of all knowledge; and by their coming and saying to the Householder, Lord did you not sow good seed, is signified their perplexity and concern at finding evil mixed with good, and error with truth, and their anxious inquiry concerning the cause. For nothing is more perplexing to the human mind than the origin of evil; and therefore instruction from heaven is solicited on this occasion, and in consequence of such solicitation, is imparted. For God never excites any inquiry in the regenerate mind, but with a view to gratify it, and he excites it for this purpose, that it maybe gratified.

Mention is now first made of a Householder, who was before called a Man.

Both the Man and the Householder relate to Jesus Christ, - who is called a Man from the principle of Divine Truth, during its insemination in the human mind. But when this truth begins to spring up, and bear the heavenly fruit of love and charity, He is then called a Householder, because a house, whenever it is mentioned in the sacred Scriptures, has relation to love and charity, and since all love and charity are from Jesus Christ, and under his continual government and protection; therefore He is called a Householder.

The enemy is that principle in the human mind which opposes God, by Pot submitting its judgement and determination to the Divine Will and Wisdom; and on this account, the Devil is called the great enemy, because he is always opposing the will of the Most High. And here we may discover the true origin of all evil, and also of the evil one himself, called in the Sacred Scripture, the Devil, and Satan. This origin is not from God, because from God can come nothing but good, inasmuch as He is essential goodness; but it is from the determination of human minds, in the abuse of that freedom of will in which they are created, and without which they could not be men. From the moment, therefore, that the human will inclines to call anything a good, separate from God, from that moment it creates evil, which, in itself, is nothing else but a good so separated.

We read that the servants said to him, Will you then that we go and gather them together? But he said, Nay; lest, while you gather together the weeds, you root up the wheat together with them. Let both grow together to the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together the weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. The reason of this delay on the part of the Householder, in separating the weeds from the wheat, or the evil from the good. He explains himself, when he says, Lest, whilst you gather together the weeds, you root up the wheat together with them.

The Householder teaches by these words, that it is dangerous to attempt the entire extirpation of things evil and false in the human mind, until the principles of goodness and truth from Heaven are fully formed. The Divine Law, therefore, on this occasion, is, that man should labour for the implantation and formation of those heavenly principles in himself, bearing patiently with the opposition arising from contrary principles; in which case those contrary principles will assist him, by their opposition, and the spiritual combats to which he will thus be exposed, in effecting a more perfect reception of heavenly principles, and their deeper entrenchment in his mind and life. When, therefore, the opposing principles have thus fulfilled their appointed purpose, they are separated, but not before.

The harvest denotes the full formation of goodness and truth in the regenerate mind, and in this case, the separation of those principles of life which are in opposition, and cause combat and disturbance.

By the reapers is to be understood the angelic heaven, inasmuch as the Lord, by and through the angelic heaven, effects such separation.

The weeds mean all evil and false principles of life; and to bind them in bundles, denotes that such principles are in arrangement one under another, and are thus connected one with another. The Divine wisdom, in effecting the separation of those principles, first discovers to us that such arrangement and connection exists, and that the general principle of what is evil and false in man consists of innumerable evil and false principles, which thus make a one, which one can never be separated until it is thus viewed minutely and distinctly as to the varieties of which it is composed.

The wheat, it has been already seen, signifies all heavenly principles of goodness and truth; and the being gathered into the barn, is signified being brought into heaven, because heaven is the grand receptacle of all those principles. The barn, therefore, is here called my barn, that is to say, the Lord's barn, because heaven is from the Lord, and in continual connection with Him; as are also all the principles of goodness and truth, which constitute heaven.

We learn from this parable, that man is placed here below between two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, and that Jesus Christ, from his kingdom of light, is always endeavouring to inseminate in the human heart, the eternal principles of His own most pure love and wisdom, whilst the Spirits of Darkness, from their kingdom, are endeavouring to inseminate their own wicked principles of evil and of error. We learn, further, that the principles of evil and of error can never be discovered until the contrary principles of heavenly love and wisdom, or, what is the same thing, of heavenly goodness and truth, begin to grow and produce their proper fruit. We are instructed, yet further, not only concerning the origin, but also concerning the separation and removal of evil and of error from the regenerate mind, being taught to expect that these effects cannot be produced suddenly, but in the divine order are of gradual operation. We are, therefore, lastly instructed, that we ought to run our Christian course in patient submission to the Divine Will, during the contest between good and evil, being well aware, that in such contest the opposition of evil is made to administer to the fuller implantation and fructification of good, and that, finally, through the Divine Mercy, the entire separation will be accomplished, when all of evil and of error will be put down into its own kingdom, and all of heavenly love and wisdom will be exalted to conjunction with Jesus Christ and the eternal happiness of His kingdom.

Matt. 13:31, 32.

We have already seen that by the Kingdom of Heaven is meant the government of the Divine Love and wisdom of Jesus Christ. This kingdom is here likened to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man sowed in his field, because the growth of the divine love and wisdom in man is from a small beginning, inasmuch as man, under the first reception of heavenly truth, is led to suppose that he can do good from himself, and not from the Lord, when yet such good is nothing but evil: but whereas, he is in a state of regeneration, there is something of good, but the least of all.

By this least of all seeds, when it is grown, being greater than herbs, and becoming a tree, is meant, that as faith is conjoining to love, the growth becomes greater, answering to that of the herb, until at length, when faith and love are fully conjoined, it acquires a full growth, answering to that of a tree.

By the birds of the air are to be understood things intellectual, or truths exalted into the higher or inner region of the understanding; and by the branches of the tree, the scientifics of those truths, or truth as it is received from the letter of the Word, when it first enters the memory, and is there deposited, as mere science of heavenly things; and by the birds making their nests in these branches, is denoted, that when faith and love are fully conjoined, then truths, or things intellectual, continually multiply and increase their kind in scientifics, which are of the memory.

We learn, generally, from this parable, that the Kingdom of Heaven, in man, who is the government of the Divine Love and Wisdom, is small at its beginning, because man, under the first reception of truth, supposes that he does good from himself. We are instructed further, not to be discouraged under these small beginnings, because, if we proceed patiently to acquire faith and love, there will be a gradual increase of heavenly good; until at length, when the conjunction is complete, the tree of righteousness will grow to its full size; in which case, things intellectual, which are heavenly truths exalted in the inner man, will be connected with the scientifics of truth in the outward man, and, by virtue of such connection, will multiply and increase immensely after their kind, until the human mind is restored to the order of heaven, through the reception of heavenly truth in all its degrees.

Matt. 13:33.

By the Kingdom of Heaven, as was observed in the former parable, is to be understood the government of the Divine Love and Wisdom. This government is like leaven, because by leaven is effected fermentation, and consequent purification of the bodies with which it is mixed.

Leaven, as being a fermenting substance, denotes all false principles of the understanding and life, and the three measures of meal denote all principles of heavenly truth in the regenerate mind. The comparison, therefore, here used by Jesus Christ, was intended to remind us of the combats which take place in such a mind, between false principles and true, with a view to the purification of the latter. For the effect of such combats is, to exalt in man the principles of heavenly love and charity above those of mere speculative truth and knowledge; and when man begins to act from the former principles, then the latter become purified, which they never can be so long as man acts from them alone, and not from the principles of heavenly love and charity.

By the woman is meant the Church, which is called woman, from the affection of truth, which makes the Church.

We learn from this parable, that the Kingdom of Heaven can never be opened and formed in man, until truth is purified from what is false, and that such purification cannot be effected without combat, by which is produced a kind of spiritual fermentation, in which case, good is conjoined with truth, and then all false principles are separated like dregs.

Matt. 13:44.

By the field is here meant the Church; and by the treasure hid in it is understood the Divine Truth in the Word of God, which lies concealed under the letter.

A man finds this treasure of the Divine Truth of God's word, when he is enlightened to see the distinction between the letter of the Word and the Spirit, and how the latter opens to him the Kingdom of Heaven, being in continual connection with Jesus Christ and His angelic kingdom.

He is said to hide the treasure of the Divine Truth when he stores it up in his interior mind, where it remains concealed from the observation of others, and even of himself, except when he is called to some particular notice of it; in which sense the Lord is said to feed him with the hidden manna (See: Rev. 2:17).

But it is said, that for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

By the joy is meant the delight arising from the affection of truth; for all joy comes from some affection, and spiritual joy from the affection of good and truth.

His going away denotes that he applied himself to live and act in agreement with the Divine Truth which he had found; and by selling all that he has, is meant that he renounces his own self-love, which had before led him to regard his faculties and possessions as his own, independent of God, and that he now discovers that he possesses nothing properly his own, because all things are God's.

To buy, is an expression used in the Sacred Scripture, to denote the procuring of spiritual property; and, therefore, by buying that field, is meant the procuring to himself the spiritual treasure of the Divine Truth which was hid in it: and this is the case whenever man renounces self-love, and exalts the Divine Truth in his own heart and life, as the blessed source of all that can be good, and wise, and happy for him.

This parable teaches us that in the Word of God is stored up the eternal treasure of the Divine Truth, and that when a man is wise to discover this treasure, he stores it up in the interiors of his mind, and suffers it to guide and govern him in all his affections, thoughts, words, and works. We learn further, that through this treasure he is led to renounce his self-love, and to acknowledge all his faculties and possessions, not only to be the gifts of God, but also continually to be God's, and that by this acknowledgement he procures to himself all the blessing, protection, guidance, and government of the Eternal Truth, which is of Jesus Christ, and in continual connection with his Divine Life and Love.

Matt. 13:45,46.

A merchant-man, in the spiritual sense of the word, means one who procures to himself the knowledges of truth and of good, and thus attains intelligence and wisdom, agreeably to which idea, it is said, in the book of Proverbs, that the merchandise of wisdom is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold (Prov. 3:14).

By goodly pearls are meant the knowledges of truth, and by seeking those pearls is meant the affection of truth for its own sake, because nothing but such an affection can properly discover the truth. In the same sense, we are called to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, to teach us that we ought to be affected with the Kingdom of God and His righteousness above all other things.

By the one pearl of great price is meant the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and especially of the union of His Divine Nature with the human, and of the human reciprocally with the Divine, until He became, even as to His humanity, the only God of heaven and earth.

This pearl is called a pearl of great price, because the knowledge of Jesus Christ is the most precious and blessed of all other knowledges, being the essential life of all others, insomuch that without this knowledge, all other knowledges are comparatively as dead, having no connection with their living source.

Man is said to find this precious pearl of spiritual knowledge when, from the affection of truth, for its own sake, he seeks it in the Word of God, and discovers its brightness and value in his understanding: and he is said to find the knowledge of Jesus Christ when, from the same affection, he delights in the discovery from the Holy Word, that Jesus Christ is the Most High God, because in His Divine Person the Father and the Son, or the Divinity and Humanity are made eternally One, and constitute the Supreme and Sole Object of all Christian worship.

By the man's going is meant that he formed his life according to the knowledge of truth which he had discovered; and by his selling all that he had and buying it, is meant that he submitted all things of his natural life to be governed and guided by the Lord's life, that is to say, by His Divine Love and Wisdom.

We learn from this parable that every man ought to consider himself as a spiritual merchant-man, sent into the world to seek the goodly pearls of the Eternal Wisdom, which are the bright knowledges of heavenly truth, procured by devout affection from the Word of God. We learn, also, that in seeking these heavenly pearls, if he be sincere in his search, he is sure, sooner or later, to discover the one pearl of great price, which is the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And, lastly, we learn, that when he has found this pearl, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it; in other words, he renounces self-love, that he may submit all his affections, thoughts, words, and works, to the mild and gentle government of the Divine Love and Wisdom of Jesus Christ.

Matt. 13:47-50.

The Kingdom of Heaven is here like a net cast into the sea; because by a net cast into the sea is figured and represented a gathering together of natural men to be instructed in the knowledge of the truth, and therefore the Apostles were called fishers of men, because they so collected and instructed them.

By this net bringing together of every kind is to be understood the collecting and instructing of all, both the good and the evil; for amongst natural men there is a difference, some being disposed to receive the Eternal Truth, and, by such reception, to become spiritual men, whilst others are disposed to reject the truth, and, by such rejection, to remain natural men.

The net is said to be full when full instruction has been received, or when all who are in the Church have imbibed the knowledges of truth.

By drawing it to the shore is meant a new state, when all who have received instruction are to be judged according to the use they have made of it in attaining, or not attaining, to the good of instruction, for the end of all instruction is, that man may attain the Eternal Good of Love and Charity.

Sitting, in the language of the Sacred Scriptures, is an expression used to denote a state of the will, or love, united with its proper wisdom; and since judgement is here treated of, or the separation of the evil from the good, therefore sitting down is here spoken of, because all such judgement is effected from the union of Love and Wisdom, or of Goodness and Truth.

By gathering the good into vessels, and casting the bad away, is to be understood the accomplishment of a work of judgement, or separation, when a fullness of instruction has been received; on which occasion, they who are principled in heavenly Good of Love and Charity, are gifted with all convenient truths and knowledges, by which the life is perfected to all eternity; whilst they who are principled in evil of selfish and worldly love, are deprived of all truth and knowledge, and left to perish in the fire of their own cravings.

From this parable we learn that all mankind, whether they be good, or evil, receive instruction from Heaven, in one degree or other, whereby they may be saved, and that such instruction is first received in a natural state. We learn further, that after instruction succeeds another state, which is that of exploration, or judgement, concerning the use which has been made of instruction. And, lastly, we learn, that they who have profited by instruction, so as to attain by it to a state of heavenly Love and Charity, are then gifted with new truths and knowledges in great abundance, for their further purification and regeneration; but that they who have not profited by instruction, by removing the evil of selfish and worldly love, and attaining to heavenly Love and Charity, are, in the Day of judgement, deprived of all the knowledge of truth, and left to be consumed and tormented by their own evil lusts.

Matt. 13:52.

A Scribe instructed to the Kingdom of Heaven is one who is initiated into the goods and truths of the Word of God, from which the Kingdom of Heaven is derived.

The Householder is the Lord Himself, because He is the sole proprietor of all things in the Grand House called Heaven and the Church.

Every one becomes like this Householder, in other words, every one becomes an image and likeness of God, that is to say, of Jesus Christ, by the reception of His Wisdom and Love, Wisdom being an image, and Love a likeness, and a likeness particularly in this respect, that man in such case wills and acts freely as from himself, as God wills and acts freely from himself; but yet under the full acknowledgement that the all, both of will and action, is from God.

The treasures of the Great Householder, Jesus Christ, are all the Divine Goods and Truths of His own Most Holy Word; and the things new and old, which He brings out of those treasures, are the interior and exterior Goods and Truths which He dispenses to mankind; the interior things of the Holy Word being called new, and the exterior things being called old, because the interior things are always filled with new life from their Living Fountain, whilst the exterior things, being more remote from that Life, are, comparatively, called old.

We learn from this parable, that in receiving into our minds and lives the Goods and Truths of God's Most Holy Word, we ought to imitate the Divine Giver of that Word, by not separating the letter from the spirit, nor the spirit from the letter; in other words, by not dividing between the internal and external sense of the Divine Law. Thus we learn, that we ought to cherish Goodness and Truth, in all their degrees, both internal and external, and to apply them to the regulation of our lives, since internal Good and Truth, without external, are imperfect and powerless, as external Good and Truth, without internal, want their life and fullness.

When viewed in a connected series, these parables express and describe the whole process of regeneration, commencing with the first reception of Heavenly Truth from the Word, and advancing through all gradations of its growth to the full maturity of heavenly love and life.

The first parable of the Sower, describes the first insemination of Truth, which is the first step towards the regenerate life: the second parable of the Weeds of the Field, describes the manifestation of Evils and Falses in consequence of such insemination, which is a second step, and an effect of the first: the third parable of the Grain of Mustard Seed, describes the small increase of heavenly life, whilst man supposes that he does good from himself alone, and not from the Lord, which is a third state in the regeneration: the fourth parable of the Leaven, &c., describes the temptations consequent on the reception of heavenly truth and good, which is a fourth state: the fifth parable of Treasure Hid in a Field, describes the further effect of the reception of heavenly truth and good, in leading man to renounce his proprium, or his own proper life, that he may appropriate the life of heaven, signified by selling all that he has, and buying that field, which is a fifth state: the sixth parable, speaking of the Merchant-man seeking Goodly Pearls, describes the effect of heavenly truth in leading man to the acknowledgement of the Lord, as the alone source of all good and truth, and to the consequent renunciation of self-love and its guidance, which is a sixth state: the seventh parable of a Net cast into the Sea, describes the last effect of the reception of heavenly truth and good, in accomplishing a full and final separation between Goods and Evils, and between Truths and Falses, so that Goods and Truths are brought into conjunction with Heaven, whilst Evils and Falses are cast down into Hell, and this is the seventh and last state of the regenerate life.

Matt. 15:10, 11.

Of the two expressions called and said, the first has relation to the divine love, the second to the divine wisdom; and, therefore, both expressions are used, in order to mark the heavenly marriage of love and wisdom, or of goodness and truth, which pervades every part of the Word of God, and from, and according to which, the Blessed Jesus on all occasions spoke.

Again, the term hear has more respect to the will, or love of man, as the term understand has more respect to the intellectual principle, or the understanding of man, and, therefore, the two terms, like called and said, are applied in reference to the heavenly marriage above spoken of, and to point out the necessity, on the part of man, of receiving and cherishing the Eternal Truth, both in his will and understanding, or with his affection and thought, before he can fully comprehend, and rightly profit by it.

By those things which enter into the mouth, in the sense of the letter, are meant foods of every kind, which, after use in the body, pass off through the stomach into the drain; but in the spiritual sense, by those things which enter into the mouth are signified all things, which, from the memory, and also from the world, enter into the thought; these things also correspond to food, and those which enter into the thought, and not at the same time into the will, do not render man unclean, for the memory, and hence the thought, are to man only as an entrance to him, inasmuch as the will is the man himself; those things which only enter into the thought, and no further, are rejected, as it were, through the belly into the drain; from which considerations it is evident, that by that which enters into the mouth, in the spiritual sense, is signified what enters into the thought from the memory and from the world; but by that which goes forth out of the mouth, in the spiritual sense, is signified thought derived from the will, or from the love; for by the heart, from which it goes forth from the mouth, and out of the mouth, is signified the will and love of man; and inasmuch as the love, or will, constitute the whole man, hence those things which go forth from the mouth, and out of the mouth, render man unclean.

In the Gospel according to St. Mark, where this same parable is recorded, we read, that what enters into the belly, and goes out into the drain, purges all meats (Mark 7:19).

The reason why the belly is said to purge all meats is, because by the belly is signified the thought of the understanding, as was said above; and by meats are signified all spiritual nourishments, and the thought of the understanding is what separates unclean things from clean, and thereby purges.

It is also added, for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, - by which we are to understand not only natural evils, but the spiritual evils which they signify; thus, by evil thoughts, or, as it might be better expressed, evil reasonings, are to be understood all oppositions in will and understanding to heavenly truth and good, whence come, first, murders, or the different modes of destroying charity; secondly, adulteries, or the perversions of good; thirdly, fornications, or the perversions of truth; fourthly, thefts, or the persuasions that life is self-derived; fifthly, false witness, or the confounding of good with evil, and of what is true with what is false; sixthly, blasphemies, or denials of the Lord's Divinity, and, thus, of all Divine Influence.

By the words which follow, and which conclude this parable, these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands defiles not the man; Jesus Christ would teach, that man cannot desist from thinking evil, but from doing it; and that as soon as he receives evil from the thought into the will, in this case it does not go forth, but enters into him, and this is said to enter into the heart, and the things which thence go forth render him unclean, because what a man wills, this goes forth into speech and into act, so far as external restraints do not forbid; this, therefore, defiles, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile, because to eat with unwashed hands, according to the spiritual idea, is to receive and cherish heavenly good, before purification has been effected by means of heavenly truth.

In the relation of this parable, as it is given in the Gospel according to St. Mark, the evils enumerated, as proceeding from the heart, are not only more numerous, but also stand in a different order from those enumerated in the Gospel according to St. Matthew; for thus it is written, in the former Gospel, on the occasion, for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. Thus, in the Gospel according to St. Mark, thirteen different classes of evils are enumerated, and the evil of murder is reckoned after the evils of adultery and fornication; whereas, in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, only seven classes of evils are enumerated, whilst the evil of murder precedes the evils of adultery and fornication.

Perhaps it is impossible for any finite intelligence to discover, and still more so to comprehend, all the depths of the divine wisdom involved in the difference here alluded to. Yet, if we are not allowed to see and apprehend the whole, it may still be granted us to investigate a part of the hidden treasures, at least, to form some conjecture concerning their nature and their value. May we not, therefore, without presumption, suggest the following query, namely: Whether the two distinct classes of evils, as above enumerated by the two Evangelists, may not be referred to the two grand, but distinct, fountains of all evil, namely, self-love, and the love of the world? Certain it is, that all evils originate in those two polluted fountains; and it is equally certain that, according to their origin, they take rank in a different order, which may account for the difference, in this respect, in the Evangelical history. It is remarkable, too, that in the relation of the parable given by both Evangelists, evil thoughts, or, more properly, evil reasonings, are placed at the head of the catalogue; by which is plainly implied, that all evils have their birth from perverse love in the will, confirmed by perverse thought in the understanding. But the term evil, here annexed to thought, is differently expressed in the original Greek of the two Evangelists; for, in St. Matthew, it is expressed by the adjective poneroi, and, in St. Mark, by the adjective kacoi, which is a further proof that the perverse love in the will is of a different quality, and from a different source in the two cases. But, whatever uncertainty there may be in the above conjecture, there can be no doubt of this, that all evils originate in perverse love, confirmed by perverse thought; and that whether this perverse love be the love of self, or the love of the world, the progeny derived from its conjunction with its favourite false reasonings and persuasions is both numerous and frightful, closing either in blasphemy or in foolishness, thus, either in the total denial of all divine influence, or in a total blindness, as to all the certainties and consolations of the divine wisdom.

We learn, then, from this parable, that there is a correspondence, or agreement, between the body and the spirit of man, and all the parts and principles of each, for in speaking of the thought and understanding of man, Jesus Christ expresses it by the mouth; and, again, in speaking of the will, or love, of man. He expresses it by the heart, which is a manifest proof that there is an agreement, or correspondence, between those bodily organs and those mental principles; so that what is true of the former, in regard to the body, is true of the latter, in regard to the spirit. We learn, further, that the evil which enters into man's thought, and is there rejected, so as not to be allowed admission into the will, or love, does not defile him, and that it only acquires the faculty of defiling- when it is cherished in his will, or love, and is suffered to proceed thence into act or operation. We learn, lastly, that there are several distinct genera, or species, of spiritual evil, which have all of them their origin from a perverse will and a perverse understanding, and which may be reduced to two distinct classes, namely, those which are derived from the love of self, and those which are derived from the love of the world, when those loves become predominant loves.

Let us resolve, therefore, to profit by all this divine instruction, and, for this purpose, to beg of Jesus Christ the illumination of His Holy Spirit, to enable us to discern, not only that the body of man is in perpetual connection with his spirit, and derives from it all its life, but likewise that all the parts of In's body are exact representative figures of the several principles in his spirit from which they proceed, and which they are intended to express. Let us resolve, further, to supplicate His divine grace, to enable us to discern the true and only source of all human defilement, until we discover clearly that this source is not in the thought or understanding, but in the will, or love; and to enable us farther to take heed, lest at any time we be found cherishing evil in this latter principle of mind and life, since in such case it must of necessity burst forth into manifestation, and cause defilement. Lastly, let us resolve to refer all evils to their two grand fountains, self-love, and the love of the world, and, especially to guard against the thoughts, or reasonings, derived from those two corrupt sources, when they become predominant; since from such thoughts, or reasonings, all evils are generated, which either defile or destroy mankind. Thus may we humbly hope, that the mind, or spirit, with which we have been gifted, instead of becoming the filthy den of the unclean affections of murder, of adultery, of fornication, of theft, of false witness, and of blasphemy, will become the clean and consecrated abode of charity, of purity, both in will and thought; of justice, of truth, and of devout acknowledgement that Jesus Christ, in His Divine Humanity, is the Father and Fountain of all life, love, peace, and benediction. Amen.

Matt. 18:23-35.

By the King is here meant Jesus Christ, as to His Divine Wisdom, or Truth, and by taking account of his servants is to be understood, the exercise of judgement from that Divine Wisdom, or Truth, so as to discover the qualities of each.

The ten thousand talents denote the immense debt which every man owes to his Creator for all the mercies of creation, preservation, redemption, and regeneration, which he has received at his hands.

No one is able of himself to pay this immense debt, nor even to take account of it, because of its immensity, therefore it is said he had not to pay.

By his Lord commanding him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made, is meant, that the man was brought into trial and exercise in his own mind, from a consciousness that, unless he paid the debt which was owing, he could not escape condemnation.

The first effect produced by this trial and exercise on the part of man, was humiliation, signified by the man falling down: the second effect was acknowledgement of the Lord, His Divine Love, Wisdom, and Providence, signified by worshipping him: the third effect was intercession for a such a measure of patient endurance, as might enable him finally to discharge the debt by a full acknowledgement of the mercies he had received.

By the Lord being moved with compassion, is meant the tenderness of the Divine Love towards His penitent children, when brought into judgement concerning trespasses, and especially concerning that immense debt which they owe to the Divine Being.

By loosing him, is to be understood that his Affections were set at liberty to pursue an eternal object, in consequence of the spiritual trial and exercise through which he had passed. For such is the nature and effect of spiritual trial, that by it the powers of evil, to which the mind had been before subjected as a miserable slave, are disturbed and removed, in which case the soul regains its proper liberty, and being loosed from the bands of worldly and selfish attachments, regains its native freedom, to choose and pursue the eternal good for which it was created in the kingdom and favour of its Great Creator.

The debt which every man owes to God is forgiven, or remitted, whenever man is brought into true humiliation of heart and life, because, in such case, he is disposed gratefully to acknowledge that all his faculties, both of body and mind, are from God, and are God's; consequently, that all his happiness, and even all his temporal property, are from the same Divine Source.

It is said of the servant that he went forth and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him an hundred pence, and that he took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that you owe; and that his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me and I will pay you all. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt. From this part of the parable we learn that, notwithstanding the operation of the Divine Love and Mercy in the inner man, the outward man was not yet reduced to obedience, so as to comply with that operation by correspondent acts of kindness and charity; in other words, the external man was not yet brought into entire submission to the law of the divine life and spirit in the internal man, as it ought to have been.

By fellow-servants are meant the dictates of heavenly truth, in the external man; and by their seeing what was done, is to be understood, that all things in the external man are under the view, or instruction, of the Divine Truth; and by their being exceedingly sorry is meant, the contrariety subsisting between the dictates of heavenly truth, and the unpurified affections of the natural mind before it is regenerated; and by their telling to their Lord the things which were done is meant, the influx and communication of the Divine Truth itself with those dictates.

By the Lord calling him is to be understood, the Divine Truth itself, which has its abode in the inmost principles of every human mind; and by what the Lord says to the servant, on this occasion, is to be understood, the influx of that truth into lower principles, reproving them for not attending to the operations of the Divine Mercy respecting them, and teaching that it is the intention of this mercy to produce its saving and blessed effects in the external, or natural, man, as they are manifested in the internal, or spiritual, man, that so the whole man may become a living operative form of that mercy.

By the Lord being angry is to be understood, the contrariety subsisting between the Divine Truth and the natural propensity of the unregenerate man; and by delivering him to the tormentors is meant, the pain experienced on the occasion in the consciences of those who are about to be regenerated.

It is said, until he should pay all that was due to him, from which words we learn, that the pain of trial and temptation is continued until a total surrender is made of the human will to the Divine, attended with the grateful acknowledgement, that all of saving Mercy, Love, Wisdom, Peace, and Protection are from God, and nothing at all from man's self; and, further, that man ought to extend in himself the operation of those Divine Virtues and Graces, by being kind, compassionate, and merciful to others, as God is to him.

The general instruction which we learn from this parable, is, that every man, from Creation, and also from Redemption, owes an immense debt to his Great Creator, and that the only method by which he can discharge this debt, is to forgive the debts of his fellow-creatures; in other words, to cherish towards them the spirit of heavenly Charity, by which he will be taught that, instead of their being indebted to him, as he must of necessity suppose in his natural and unconverted state, the truth is, that he is indebted to them, and that there is no human being to whom he does not owe obligation, more or less. We learn, further, from this parable, that it is the great intention of God to bring the internal and external man into agreement and conjunction, that so the Divine Love and Wisdom, in the internal man, may operate freely, and produce their proper fruits in the external man; but that this intention of the Divine Mercy cannot be accomplished without trials and temptations, by which the natural opposition of the external man to the Divine Rule may be overcome, and the whole man may finally be reduced to a state of total submission.

Matt. 20:1-16.

The Householder signifies Jesus Christ, as to his human and divine nature, who is so called, as being the Source and Preserver of all Goods and Truths, which make Heaven and the Church.

Early in the morning denotes the first state of the Church, when the light of the Divine Truth, which makes the Church, first begins to be manifested; and by going out early in the morning is signified, the first dawn of the influx of the Divine Good and Truth into the men of the Church.

By the vineyard is meant the Church, which is called a vineyard, from its being planted with vines, or heavenly truths, derived from Jesus Christ, who is the True Vine; and by the labourers in this vineyard are to be understood, all those who cherish in heart and life the above Goods and Truths of the Word of God, preserving them from all those natural evils and false persuasions which have a tendency to destroy them; and by hiring these labourers is to be understood, the blessed recompense of heavenly and eternal life, proposed to all such faithful labourers.

It is said, that when the Householder had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

By a penny a day is to be understood, the recompense given and procured under every particular state of the reception and growth of heavenly truth; and by agreeing with the labourers for this penny is to be further understood, conjunction of life with Jesus Christ, which is the result of that reception and growth.

Sending, when applied to the Divine Being, denotes the putting forth, or emanation, of His own Divine Power; and, therefore, by sending the labourers into his vineyard is to be understood, the communicating to them Divine Power from Himself, by which they might be enabled 'to cherish, in their own hearts and lives, the heavenly goods and truths of His Most Holy Word.

By the Householder going out is to be understood, the Divine Influx into the men of the Church; and by his going out about the third hour, is to be understood, a successive state of natural life with the men of the Church.

The market-place signifies a state of the natural life in which man is capable of procuring to himself the Goods and Truths of Heaven and the Church; and by the Householder seeing others standing idle in it is to be understood, the Divine inspection exercised on those who were not yet converted from a natural state of life to a spiritual state, having never done the work of repentance from a sincere desire to attain regeneration through conjunction with the Divine Love and Wisdom. All such are said to be idle, because they have never applied themselves to that one thing needful, which is the great work for which they were sent into the world.

But the Householder said to them, Go you also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is just, I will give you.

By saying to them is meant, a Divine dictate in their hearts and consciences; and by go also into the vineyard is meant, the object of that dictate, in instructing them that it is the Divine Will, grounded in the Divine Love and Mercy, that no human being should stand idle, but that every one should endeavour to cultivate, in his own heart and life, those heavenly graces and virtues which the Father of Mercies is desirous to implant in the minds of all his children, for their eternal happiness and salvation.

By the words, whatsoever is just I will give you, the Householder would instruct the idle, that they have a just God to deal with, who rewards every one according to his works; in other words, who imparts the grace of His own Love and Wisdom to every one, in proportion to his desire of it.

The sixth and ninth hour signify successive states of the natural life before man becomes spiritual; and by doing likewise is meant the same thing as hiring labourers into his vineyard; that is to say, the recompense of eternal life, proposed to all those of the Church, who are faithful and diligent in cultivating the graces of the Divine Love and Wisdom.

We now come to the eleventh hour, which is mentioned in the succeeding verse. Jesus Christ distinguishes the period of human life into twelve hours, when he says, Are there not twelve hours in the day? By the eleventh hour, therefore, is to be understood, the last period of natural life preceding its completion; in other words, preceding the period of final decision, either for eternal happiness or misery.

The Householder now first proposes the question, Why stand you here all the day idle? to the intent that he might lead those to whom it was addressed, to make the profitable inquiry in themselves concerning the causes which withhold them from cultivating the graces, and bringing forth the fruits of the Divine Love and Wisdom in their own minds and lives. For such is the design of all inquiry proceeding from the Most High. It is not made for his own sake, or for his own information, but for the sake and for the information of others, by suggesting to them the spirit of inquisition which may conduct them to a right knowledge of God and of themselves, by leading them to explore their own secret intentions and purposes, and thus to discover the interior operations of their own minds.

From the answer, Because no man has hired us, we learn, that the true reason why mankind, in general, live carelessly, and with indifference to their eternal concerns, is, because they have never been brought to reflect, in their own minds, on the inconceivable happiness reserved in heaven for all those who have cherished in their hearts and lives the graces of heaven; that is to say, the graces and virtues resulting from a right reception of the Divine Love and Wisdom.

It is said, that when evening was come, the Lord of the vineyard said to his steward. Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last to the first. By the evening is meant in this passage, the termination, or final period, of man's natural life, when he enters upon the great realities of another world, and becomes associated with spiritual beings in that world, agreeing with the interior state of his own mind, whether it be good or evil.

The Lord of the vineyard properly denotes the Divine Good of the Divine Love; and His steward, therefore, denotes the Divine Truth of His Wisdom; hence, as a steward administers to his Lord, so the Divine Truth administers to the Divine Good. Moreover, all man's spiritual recompense is dispensed from the Divine Good by, or through, the Divine Truth; and, therefore, the Lord of the vineyard here says to his steward: Call the labourers, and give them their hire; because the hire of the labourers denotes their spiritual recompense, and all spiritual recompense is from the Divine Good, in conjunction with the Divine Truth.

It is said, beginning from the last to the first, because the subject relates to recompense, and all recompense has reference to joy, delight, and happiness; and this recompense commences, first, in the natural principle, which is the last, or lowest, and then advances to the higher, or first principles of the human mind, called spiritual and celestial; nor is it full till it is communicated conjointly to all the principles.

By a penny, it has been already shown, is meant the recompense given and procured under every particular state of the reception and growth of heavenly truth; and, therefore, by receiving each a penny, is to be understood, that each received a recompense of heavenly joy and delight, proportioned to the reception and growth of heavenly truth in his own mind and life.

By the first supposing that they should receive more than a penny, it was intended to point out what is the general mistake and misapprehension of mankind in regard to future recompense. For it is commonly supposed, that what is called the recompense of the righteous will be dealt out hereafter, either according to the arbitrary mercy of the Almighty, or in the way of payment for particular acts of service done by his creatures, just as a master here on earth pays his servant wages for the work which he has performed. Whereas, the real truth is, that every one is rewarded hereafter, according to his reception of heavenly life; and since all heavenly life is of love and charity, therefore, every one is rewarded hereafter according to the state of his mind, in regard to those two heavenly principles, namely, Love to the Lord, and Charity towards his neighbour. It is, moreover, to be observed, that all heavenly joy and delight spring from, and are connected with, those two heavenly loves, and, therefore, it is impossible for any one to attain heavenly joy and delight, which is the pure recompense of the righteous, only so far as, by the cultivation of heavenly truth in his mind, and its fructification in his life, he is rendered receptive of the full influence and operation of the above two heavenly loves. These first, therefore, likewise received every one a penny; in other words, they received happiness according to the state of their love and affection.

But it is said, that when they had received it, they murmured against the Householder, saying, These last have worked one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and heat of the day.

This murmuring denotes, that they had not worked in the vineyard from a right principle, but rather to establish their own merits; in other words, they had done good with a view to recompense, and not from the love and affection of doing good; and they had imbibed truth for selfish or worldly ends, and not from the genuine affection of truth for its own sake. And, where this is the case, it is always attended with a desire of pre-eminence and distinction, even in spiritual things; whereas, the love of goodness for the sake of goodness, and of truth for the sake of truth, is always accompanied with that spirit of self-humiliation and charity towards others which takes delight in seeing others exalted even to the highest state of happiness, whilst it is content itself to take the lowest place. And the reason is, because true love and charity find all their happiness in seeing others happy, and in serving them to promote their happiness.

The burden and heat of the day are expressions to denote spiritual labour, or the difficulties which man has to surmount in the work of regeneration. Two distinct expressions, therefore, are made use of, to denote the two distinct sources of such difficulty, namely, error in the human understanding, and evil in the will, the former being called a burden, and the latter heat. To bear the burden and heat of the day, then, is to endure patiently the opposition arising from the natural false persuasions in the understanding, and the natural cravings or perverse desires in the will. The day, according to its spiritual meaning, denotes every successive state in the regenerate life.

In the original language of the New Testament, the labourer is not here called friend, but companion; and this latter term is very well adapted to express the relationship subsisting between him and the Householder, which the term friend does not express. For a companion is one with whom we have acquaintance indeed, but this not of any very intimate sort, such as marks the connection of friendship. In the language of God, therefore, every man is called His companion who has gained any acquaintance with Him, through the knowledge of His Word and Kingdom; but he is never called a friend, until he obeys that knowledge, so as to find a delight in obedience, and in the application of what he knows to the purification and reformation of his life.

The Householder says to the labourer, I do you no wrong, by which he meant to instruct him, and, through him, all the generations of men, that His ways, as being the God of the universe, are ways of justice and of judgement, and that He deals with all His children, and cannot but deal with them, according, to the most exact measure of what is right and equitable resulting from those divine principles. He meant, therefore, to teach further, that none of his children have any reason to complain of the dispensations of the Divine Providence towards them, because the wrong, or injustice, is always on their part, and not on God's, from whom nothing can proceed but what is grounded in the purest love and mercy, directed by an infinite and unerring wisdom.

The Householder further says to the labourer, Did you not agree with me for a penny? thus instructing him, that he had no reason to complain of injustice, when he had received the recompense which had been previously agreed upon; and, through him, instructing all labourers in the spiritual vineyard, that they always receive reward in proportion to their labour; in other words, that the good of heavenly love is always communicated to them in proportion to the earnest desire with which they seek it, and the sacrifices which they make of their self-love in order to attain it.

In the next verse the original has it. Take your own, and go; by which is meant, that man ought to be content with that measure of the divine grace and mercy which is imparted to him by his Heavenly Father, because in all such grace and mercy, to whomsoever it is given, there is contained an infinity of blessing, and, therefore, he has no occasion either to be discontented at his own lot, or to envy another's, because it is impossible that he himself should receive more than an infinite good, and it is alike impossible that any one else should receive more, consequently, every receiver has reason to be fully contented with the promised recompense.

Again, I will give to this last even as to you, is expressed in the original, I am willing to give to this last, even as to you; and, therefore, the Householder meant to instruct the labourer, and, through him, all other spiritual labourers, that God is ever willing, out of His adorable and inexhaustible mercy, to communicate Himself, and all that He has, to the least and lowest of His creatures, and that the only limit set to such communication, is the capacity of his creatures to receive. He meant, therefore, to improve that capacity, by exciting in his creatures such a devout sense of His fatherly tenderness and loving-kindness, as may dispose them to exert all possible earnestness in rendering themselves suitable to receive and to co-operate with His Divine Love and Wisdom.

The Householder then proposes these two significant questions to this murmuring labourer:- Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is your eye evil, because I am good? The purport of the first question cannot be understood, until a correction be made in its expression; for, in the original tongue, it is not said with mine own, but in mine own, and according to this mode of expression the sense is plain and obvious, teaching that the Almighty has all power in His own kingdom, and in his own people, to mould and form them after His own image and likeness, but with an endless variety, according to the several capacities and degrees of reception in each. It was intended, therefore, to teach further, that man's highest duty consists in preparing himself to be a humble and thankful receiver of the Divine Mercy and Truth, because, in such case, he admits into his mind a measure of the Divine Omnipotence, to which he attaches himself, and in connection with which he finds the Scripture fulfilled, which says, All things are possible to him that believes.

The question, Is your eye evil because I am good? involves in it two points of the greatest moment, to be well considered by every.intelligent mind. The first point is, that God is the purest goodness, and, consequently, that from him no evil can come of any sort or degree. The second point is, an inquiry concerning the origin of evil, and particularly concerning the origin of a perverse understanding, or judgement, signified here by an evil eye. The Almighty, therefore, by this significant question, intended to lead all his children to explore in themselves, so as clearly to discover, the origin of all that corruption of the will, or heart, and that perverseness of the understanding and thoughts, which are so manifestly at variance with His Divine Love and Wisdom. He meant thus to lead them to see that all evil originates in a perversion of good, and, therefore, is nothing else but a good separated from its divine source, by being supposed to belong to man as his own, and not to be derived continually from God.

The parable concludes with these words. So the first shall be last, and the last first, for many are called, but few chosen, by which is meant, that they who have cherished humble and lowly sentiments of themselves, shall be exalted in the divine favour and mercy; in other words, they shall become receptive of that favour and mercy in a degree proportioned to their humiliation. On the contrary, they who have cherished high ideas of their own merits, and have thought to gain the highest place in Heaven, in the way of recompense for their good works, will be last and lowest in the divine estimation, and that because by their high opinion of their own merits they have separated themselves from a right reception and acknowledgement of the divine mercy and favour, and have thus been led to impute salvation to themselves, more than to God.

The called, are they who receive the knowledge of God in their understandings; and since this is the case with the generality of those who possess the Sacred Scriptures, or Word of God, therefore they are said to be many: but the chosen, are they who receive the love of God in their wills, together with the truth of God in their understandings, for these are they whom God always chooses, as being in most agreement with the purities of His own love and mercy: and since this love of God is a plant of rarer growth than the knowledge of God, therefore, these are said to be comparatively few.

We learn generally from this parable, that the Almighty in His infinite mercy, is at all times desirous to communicate to man His own eternal truth, for the purpose of reformation and regeneration, and that with this view He invites man to co-operate both with his will, his understanding, and his works, that so all those principles of his life may be formed according to the truth, and rendered productive of its heavenly fruits of love and charity. We are instructed further, that different persons are called, at different periods of life, to this great work, and that some, therefore, enter upon it at an earlier period, and some at a later, but that the recompense promised to all is the same, namely, that every one shall be gifted with heavenly love and wisdom in proportion to his desire of those heavenly graces, and in proportion also to the sincerity with which he labours to remove all opposi