directly to the comprehension of his hearers, truths which he, in other instances, expressed in the most distinct and literal language.

Q. How are parables misused and misapplied?

A. Whenever they are so construed as to teach doctrines which the Redeemer never uttered in plain words.

Q. In what light should we view the parables in this respect?

A. We should never view them as revealing any doctrines not found in other portions of the Scriptures, but only as aids to a more perfect understanding of the great gospel truths proclaimed in the explicit and literal declarations of Jesus and the apostles.

LESSON IV.

Parable of the Axe.

"And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."-(Matt. iii. 10.)*

Q. By whom was this parable spoken?

A. By John the Baptist.

Q. Who was John the Baptist?

A. He was the messenger, or forerunner, who announced to the world, the advent of the Messiah. Q. Was there any relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ?

A. Their mothers were cousins.

Q. Was the coming of John as the percursor of Christ, foretold by any of the prophets?

A. His appearance was predicted by Isaiah.

* Let the teacher or a member of the class read the parable at the commencement of each lesson.

Q. Where do we find mention made of this prophecy?

A. In the third chapter of St. Luke's gospel.
Q. Can you repeat the passage?

A. "As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

Q. How long had John been preaching, when Jesus commenced the proclamation of his gospel? A. About six months.

Q. Was the ministry of John a permanent one? A. It was not. It was designed to be but introductory to the gospel, and ceased when that gospel was given to the world by its author.

Q. To whom was John speaking, when he uttered the parable of the Axe?

A. To the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Q. How did he address them, when he saw them approaching?

A. "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

Q. To what calamitous events do the words "wrath to come" refer?

A. They refer to the temporal judgments which God was soon to bring upon the Jewish nation.

Q. Does this construction agree with that of many eminent commentators ?

A. It does.

Q. Why should the opinions of commentators who disagree from us in general sentiment, be allowed great weight when they construe controverted passages in a manner to favor our views?

A. Because learned and candid men would not so

construe Scripture as to weaken their own doctrine and strengthen an opposite, unless irresistibly compelled to do so by truth and conscience.

Q. What does Dr. Adam Clarke say upon the words "wrath to come?"

A. The wrath to come, he says, is "the desolation which was about to fall on the Jewish nation for their wickedness."

Q. What construction does Dr. Gill, the eminent Baptist commentator, put upon this phrase?

A. He says, "by wrath to come, is not meant hell-fire, everlasting destruction, from which baptism could not save them; but temporal calamity and destruction, the wrath which in a little time came upon that nation to the uttermost."

Q. Do not those err who carry the fulfilment of

these words into another life?

A. They undoubtedly do.

Q. Can you repeat the parable under consideration?

Q. From what occupation did John evidently draw this figure?

A. From that of a woodman.

Q. How is a woodman described by certain writers, as proceeding in his work?

A. When he selects a tree to be cut down, he lays his axe at its roots, and strips off his outer garment, that he may wield his blows more powerfully.

Q. What, then, does it indicate when a woodcutter lays his axe near the foot of a tree?

A. It indicates that that particular tree is destined to fall beneath his blows.

Q. Do the Scriptures ever allude to the axe, as descriptive of the instruments by which God brings his judgments on a wicked nation?

A. They do. God thus speaks through the prophet Jeremiah-"Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war for with thee I will break in pieces the

nations; and with thee I will destroy kingdoms.' (Jeremiah li. 20.)

Q. Who are thus referred to, in the figure of a battle-axe?

A. The Persians under Cyrus.

Q. Do the Scriptures sometimes represent a nation who are to be destroyed, as a forest of trees about to be cut down?

A. They do.

Q. Can you quote a passage of this description? A. "They shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. They shall cut down her forests, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched."—(Jeremiah xlvi. 22, 23.)

Q. Is the overthrow of a nation frequently alluded to in the Bible, under the figure of casting wood into the fire?

A. It is. In Jeremiah it is said, in regard to Judea, "I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.”—(Jeremiah xxii. 7.)

Q. Did John probably draw the parable under consideration from this phraseology in the Old Testament? A. He did.

Q. Who did he represent by "the tree," in the parable?

A. The Jewish nation of that age.

Q. Who did he represent by the axe?

A. The Roman armies.

Q. What did he mean by the axe being laid at the foot of the tree?

A. That those armies were ready to enter Judea in hostile array, at any moment God should permit. Q. What did he signify by the cutting down of the tree, and the casting it into the fire?

A. The overthrow and destruction of the Jewish nation by their Roman enemies.

Q. Did the Romans actually overthrow and destroy the Jews, after the utterance of this parable? A. They did, in A. D. 70.

Q. Is the application which we have given to this parable supported by commentators of various sects? A. It is.

Q. What says Dr. Clarke in regard to this construction?

A. He says, "the Jewish nation is the tree, and the Romans the axe, which, by the just judgment of God, was speedily to cut it down."

Q. Can you name other eminent commentators who support this explanation of the parable?

A. Dr. Lightfoot, Dr. Hammond, Bishop Pearce, Dr. Gill, Le Clerc, and many others.

LESSON V.

Parable of the Fan.

"Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."-(Matt. iii. 12.)

Q. Who was the author of this parable?

A. John the Baptist.

Q. When was it spoken?

A. During the delivery of the same discourse in which he uttered the parable of the Axe.

Q. From what did John draw his figure, in the present parable?

A. From the Jewish manner of threshing and winnowing grain.

Q. Did they go through with this process in the same manner that is practised in our country at the present day?